Trade Unions in the Comfort Zone: Liberal Authority in Yeltsin’s Russia.

While much has been written on the failure of the Yeltsin presidency and the transformation of Russian society since 1991, little work has been done that illustrates the participation of established liberal democracies in supporting Yeltsin’s authoritarian, politically unresponsive ‘superpresidentialism,’ or linking this support to the authoritarian nature of the modern liberal democratic project itself. By examining Russian trade union culture and history, as well as international trade union representative involvement, this paper argues that the persistent neglect of unions in the 1990s to challenge social relations of production can be understood as paradigmatic of an authoritarian dynamic focused on the political elite rather than on their membership. With international support, the regime’s concern was with the dismantling of Soviet economic relations and social institutions. Working from the culture and history of Russian trade unions, the unions’ efforts to retain a place in the new era through a strategy of ‘social partnership,’ combined with the collapse of the social welfare system, reinforced a top-down inertia characteristic of the unions. The result, predictably, was an era marked by a politics of irresponsibility, a political ethic is not indicative of an inherent Russian authoritarianism, but that of the authoritarian nature of the liberal modernity itself

The struggle to create a market economy in Russia

Market reforms are a significant event in the history of modern Russia. Today, almost 15 years after reforms started, they are summarized as a disaster. Answering the question of why reforms did not succeed is important for Russia, which is still experiencing a problematic transition to a market economy. The aim of this project is to analyze what went wrong in Russia and answer the question of whether markets can be created spontaneously, without an existing institutional infrastructure. --P.ii.The original print copy of this thesis may be available here: http://wizard.unbc.ca/record=b132609

Les élites soviétiques et la création du discours pro-marché en URSS de 1986 à 1991

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal

Intellectual property law food and agricultural law and food security : the case of Southern Africa

This thesis is written with the purpose of answering three basic questions: Is the current intellectual property (IP) law capable of facilitating and supporting the goal of ending hunger and increasing food security? Will the current international food law promote fair and equitable food production and supply practices to benefit all who need it and will the existing international food law including IP, create incentives for farming practices that are ecologically sound as well as culturally and socially appropriate? The Southern African communities, in particular the San communities, will be used as a classic case study to highlight the reality experienced in developing countries under existing international food systems and IP law. The study will analyse the law by using this has created a gap and impacted on broader food security, making it difficult for small level agribusinesses to cope and compete in the midst of global economic change. The study will further illustrate the negotiations that have led to the formulation of various multilateral systems, including IP, dealing with food and agriculture. It is argued that the primary failing of the current global food systems in addressing food security is of great concern and should be addressed with urgency and a high level of commitment and political will. Negotiations on agriculture and food in various international forums should take some responsibility for the lack of transparency, commitment and consistency within its member states. Subsequently the historical disadvantaged position of developing countries to negotiate more favourable terms in international treaties governing food and agriculture is important and should be critically analysed to develop a more sustainable solution for food security.case study that will allow the comprehension of the law, the behaviour of society and the outcome in the application of the law in real life experience. This enables us to identify the gap created in the law addressing food security. The analysis deals with the interface between IP law and food control, as well as international conventions and treaties governing food and agriculture. This study will promote a better understanding of how the international food systems affect the future of food security exposing the fragility of the system. Furthermore, this study will summarise the negotiations that led to the formulation of various multilateral systems including IP dealing with food and agriculture. After providing the background to the current IP law and international food law addressing food security, the way in which the current international food law influences food security is analysed. It is argued that the existing international food and IP law approach to food securityThesis (LLD)--University of Pretoria, 2018.Private LawLLDUnrestricte

Building State Capability: Evidence, Analysis, Action

Governments play a major role in the development process, and constantly introduce reforms and policies to achieve developmental objectives. Many of these interventions have limited impact, however; schools get built but kids don’t learn, IT systems are introduced but not used, plans are written but not implemented. These achievement deficiencies reveal gaps in capabilities, and weaknesses in the process of building state capability. This book addresses these weaknesses and gaps. It starts by providing evidence of the capability shortfalls that currently exist in many countries, showing that many governments lack basic capacities even after decades of reforms and capacity-building efforts. The book then analyzes this evidence, identifying capability traps that hold many governments back—particularly related to isomorphic mimicry (where governments copy best practice solutions from other countries that make them look more capable even if they are not more capable) and premature load bearing (where governments adopt new mechanisms that they cannot actually make work, given weak extant capacities). The book then describes a process that governments can use to escape these capability traps. Called PDIA (problem-driven iterative adaptation), this process empowers people working in governments to find and fit solutions to the problems they face. The discussion about this process is structured in a practical manner so that readers can actually apply tools and ideas to the capability challenges they face in their own contexts. These applications will help readers devise policies and reforms that have more impact than those of the past