Direct Taxation and State–Society Relations in Lagos,Nigeria

Existing research suggests that external sources of finance, such as foreign aid and natural resource rents, allow states to generate revenue independently of their societies, disincentivizing them from forming close links with their citizens and severely problematizing the notion of a social contract. In Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital, a series of personal income tax reforms have seen an increase in taxpayer compliance. Considering Lagosians’ perceptions of their relation with the state government, this study examines whether the state had to ‘earn’ its revenue by developing a closer relationship with its citizens, and whether citizens responded through a greater willingness to pay tax. It explores how citizens understand this relationship, what role they perceive themselves to fulfil, and what their expectations are for the future of state–society relations. The study shows how, through efforts to visibly link tax to service delivery, a social contract is emerging between Lagos State and its citizens — but that this relationship differs among groups, in that it is shaped by pre‐existing concepts of public organization and modes of political engagement.     

MacDonald's Parties: The Labour Party and the 'Aristocratic Embrace', 1922-31

The article tests the claim that certain Labour MPs and ministersin the 1920s succumbed to an ‘aristocratic embrace’.It begins with a short account of debates in the early LabourParty over social mixing, which culminated in the 1924 disputeover the wearing of Court Dress by some Labour ministers. Theextent of ‘embrace’ is assessed through the examinationof who wore Court Dress (and why), who was offered and acceptedhonours, and of patterns of residence, income and wealth, andparticipation in London Society, measured by club membershipsand appearances in the Court & Social columns of The Times.The article concludes by examining the usefulness of the ideaof ‘aristocratic embrace’ in explaining the defectionof J.R. MacDonald and others from the Labour Party in 1931.     

Reviews

THE MIND OF GERMANY. Hans Kohn. London, Macmillan & Co., 1961. Pp. xi + 370. Australian price 49/9d.

DOLLFUSS. Gordon Brook‐Shepherd. London, Macmillan & Co., 1961. Pp. xvii + 296. Australian price 41/6.

RELIGION IN THE SOVIET UNION. Walter Kolarz. London, Macmillan & Co., 1961. Pp. 3rii + 518. Australian price 72/‐.

THE KENYATTA ELECTION: KENYA 1960–1961. George Bennett and Cart Rosberg. On behalf of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, Oxford. London, Oxford University Press, 1961. Pp. viii + 230. Australian price 49/9.

SOME NEWLY ESTABLISHED ASIAN STATES AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW. J. J. Syatauw. The Hague, Martinus Nijhoff, 1961. Pp. xii + 249. 19 Guilders.

THE INDIAN MIDDLE CLASSES: THEIR GROWTH IN MODERN TIMES. B. B. Misra. For the Royal Institute of International Affairs. London, O.U.P., 1961. Pp. x + 438. Australian price 64/9d.

POLITICAL ADVANCEMENT IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC. Francis West. Melbourne, O.U.P., 1961. Pp. xii + 188. Australian price 35/‐.

AUSTRALIA IN THE ANTARCTIC. R. A. Swan. Melbourne, Melbourne University Press, 1961. Pp. xxiv + 432. Australian price 57/6d.

AUSTRALIA AND THE ANTARCTIC. Phillip Law. Brisbane, University of Queensland Press, 1962. Pp. 22. Australian price 3/6d.     

Context,Continuity, Correspondence,and Continental Connections: New Approaches to the Ironwork Hoards of Roman Britain

For over forty years the study of Roman ironwork hoards in Britain has been defined by a single study by Manning (1972). This article summarizes the wealth of advances made since that publication regarding the distribution, context, and contents of these hoards, highlighting how these alter our understanding of them as a continuation of Iron Age practices. Furthermore, by looking at British hoards at a European level for the first time, we see that British and Continental hoards are closely related. Using Correspondence Analysis to produce new groupings based on content, which crosscut those proposed by Manning (1972) based on distribution, the article provides the first analysis of the entire contents of these hoards. Finally, a discussion of hoard contents is used to examine the potential significance of the artefacts deposited.     

Inside and outside the school lunchbox: themes and reflections

We examine here the discourses surrounding the lunchbox taken to school by children: aspects both of the contents and of how children consume and understand these.1 The observations presented here form part of the preliminary stages of a broader project examining ‘Men, Children and Food’. The project itself is part of a large research programme – ‘Changing Families, Changing Food’ – funded by the Leverhulme Trust (award number F/00118/AQ) from 2006 to 2008, and situated at the University of Sheffield, working in collaboration with colleagues at Royal Holloway University of London. Our aims, in ‘Men, Children and Food’, are to explore the experiences of fathers (and other male figures in the household) and of children, in relation to food practices, including ways in which the two interconnect. View all notes Examples within and beyond the UK suggest that the lunchbox is a container for various aspects of the private and public. What traces can be found inside of wider social relations, including processes of care and surveillance? We argue that the lunchbox consists of intersecting spatialities, within which children constitute a public face, and create identities, relationships and subjectivities; this perspective frames opportunities for priorities in future empirical research with children.