The dialectics of modernising local government: An assessment for the mid-90s and an agenda for the 21st century (Agenda 21)

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ASSESSING THE TURKISH MODEL: THE MODERNISATION TRAJECTORY OF TURKEY THROUGH THE LENS OF THE MULTIPLE MODERNITIES PARADIGM

With the Arab uprisings of 2011, the so-called ‘Turkish model’ emerged as central to a number of debates within academia about the significance of the modernisation experience of Turkey and its alleged applicability for developing countries of the Middle East and North Africa region. This thesis explores the concept of the Turkish model through the lens of modernisation studies. There are two mainstream conceptualisations of the Turkish model within the scholarly literature, namely what this thesis terms the ‘structural model’ and the ‘societal model’. While the structural model emphasises the value of the Kemalist secularisation program and the pre-1980 period of state-led development for the alleged success of Turkey in modernisation, the societal model highlights the role of social forces, particularly focusing on the post-1980 period of economic liberalisation and the rise of the AKP (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi) after 2002. The methodology of the structural model is based on hypotheses of ‘classical modernisation theory’, whereas the societal model is inspired by ‘neo-modernisation theory’. Nevertheless, there is a gap in the existing literature on the Turkish model in terms of holistically examining this country case with a rising approach within modernisation studies in recent years – the ‘multiple modernities paradigm’. This thesis offers an alternative approach to the study of the Turkish model by applying the multiple modernities paradigm. This theorem challenges Eurocentric and deterministic conceptualisations of modernity by arguing that the processes of secularisation and economic development do not necessarily result in the consolidation of liberal democratic regimes. The thesis argues that the conceptual frameworks used by the structural and societal models within Turkish studies are based on the historical Western European experience of development, which prevents the two schools from fully accounting for the nuances of the unique process of transformation in Turkey. While expecting Turkey to replicate the Western experience, both approaches neglect the significance of historical contingency, path dependency and international context for the socio economic and political history of this country. By contrast, the multiple modernities paradigm acknowledges the profound impact these factors had on Turkey’s modernisation experience. Based on this framework, the thesis analyses the economic, social and political development trajectories of Turkey, showing that modernisation in this non-Western society has been a complex phenomenon that produced a divergent ‘modernity’ rather than converging towards Western values such as liberal democracy

Agencification in Asia: Lessons from Thailand, Hong Kong, and Pakistan

This paper discusses the agencification phenomena as one of New Public Management (NPM)-based administrative reform initiatives. Thailand, Hong Kong, and Pakistan were chosen because of their similarity on administrative legacy and availability of data. The study uses a review of literature research method, while comparative approach was employed to analyze experiences of agencification in the three selected cases. Research result showed that the three countries implemented agencification in different ways; rational agency model is not the only driver for agencification initiatives; and contextual factor that include traditions, cultures, structures, and values influence the implementation of agencification process as a public sector reform initiative. Policy implications can be drawn by reading the three countries on agencification. Thus,  Indonesia, as one of NPM adopters can learn from experience gleaned from the three polities in conducting its administrative reform agenda

Civilian control of the military in Portugal and Spain: a policy instruments approach

Despite their economic, political and cultural similarities, Portugal and Spain experienced different trajectories of civil-military relations during the twentieth century. After having handed power over to a civilian dictator, Salazar, the Portuguese military eventually caused the downfall of his authoritarian Estado Novo regime and led the transition to democracy. In contrast, in Spain the military, which had helped Franco to defeat the Republic in 1939 remained loyal to the dictatorship’s principles and, after his death, obstructed the democratisation process. This research sheds light on these different patterns by comparing the policy instruments that governments used to control the military throughout Portuguese and Spanish dictatorships and transitions to democracy. First, it applies Christopher Hood’s (1983) ‘NATO’ (nodality, authority, treasure and organisation) framework for the study of tools of government in order to identify trajectories and establish comparisons across time and countries. These tools can be considered as the institutions that structure the relationship between the governments and the military. This thesis documents that the tools used in both counties differed considerably and evolved over time and that only from 1982 onwards a process of convergence can be observed. Second, this thesis contrasts two types of neo-institutional explanations for the evolution of tool choice and civil-military relations. One based on historical junctures and path-dependence (historical causes) and the other on the continuous impact of environmental factors (constant causes). is research demonstrates that both approaches are largely intertwined and to a great extent become complementary and necessary to capture complexity in tool choice. In sum, this thesis shows that dialogue and exchange between different analytical approaches contributes to a deeper understanding of multifaceted social phenomena. The utilisation of public policy analytical frameworks, such as the NATO scheme and neoinstitutionalism, provides a new angle on the evolution of civil-military relations in Portugal and Spain

Timing the Information System Upgrade

A system upgrade requires careful planning as its implications to organizational systems might beenormous. Although in IS literature the requirements and process of systems upgrade have been discussed,the timing when to upgrade and what factors guide it has been of lesser interest. Consequently,in this paper we focus on information systems upgrading and its timing from the perspectiveof the user organization. Upgrading is enabled by the availability of a new software version. When toupgrade, meanwhile, is determined by the business interests of the customer organization, businesscalendar, development projects, and the vendor. These factors were identified by interviewing 14 ITmanagers, mainly CIOs, from middle size to large organizations in Finland. They presented 16 differentcases of upgrading or modifications of enterprise systems or similar undertakings. The analysis ofthe cases and the identification of the upgrade timing factors not only increase our understanding ofthe phenomena in general, but also reveal the customer’s motives and interests regarding IS upgradingand its timing

Climate challenges, ecological modernization and technological forcing: policy lessons from a comparative US-EU analysis

The practice of “technological forcing,” understood as policy designed to accelerate technological innovation for the purposes of environmental protection, was pioneered in the USA during the 1970s and continued in Europe with feed-in tariffs for renewable energy and the emissions trading scheme. In order to draw lessons for climate policy, the article tests the capacity of “technological forcing” to translate ecological modernization theory into effective policy and practice, by providing analysis of three case studies. It argues that ambitious climate policies require not only technical proficiency in policy design, but also greater acknowledgment of the need to achieve structural change in major industrial sectors. It concludes that technology-based policies need to be accompanied by economic and political strategies to counteract incumbent resistance, and delineates potential means to do so. </jats:p

The Port of Hull, 1945-2000 : change, adaptation and memory

In this study, which draws on a large body of archival and oral history material, I outline the economic shifts, technological development and political factors that impacted the British port system after 1945 and transformed its spaces, practices and work cultures. I argue that these developments were felt particularly keenly in the port of Hull which was forced to contend with marked changes to its cargo handling profile as well as specific geographical and operational disadvantages. In addition, I will also address how these structural changes were experienced, interpreted and remembered by those working on the docks in Hull. The attitudes of some associated with the port often remained deeply rooted in the past, a feature that encouraged inertia and a reluctance to adapt to modern trading conditions. In contrast, others at the port who embraced, and benefitted from new developments, often recalled the period as one marked by progress and modernisation. These tensions between broader economic, political and social change and the ways these changes were experienced by the dock workforce have rarely been addressed in previous academic research - this thesis highlights this crucial relationship that is at the heart of the transformation of the port sector. Finally, this thesis also engages with the ways that the port and its work are remembered in contemporary Hull. Since the 1990s the port has experienced comparative success and revival. The local authority, however, is keen to re-brand the city with a modern, vibrant, pioneering image and have therefore neglected the heritage of those who once lived and worked on the industrial waterfront and many of whom suffered the destruction of a way of life. This thesis therefore also outlines how the memory and heritage of the port, and its broader roles in the city of Hull, are changing and developing in the early twenty-first century

The party evolution framework: An integrated approach to examining the development of party communications and campaigns

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Existing theories of party organisation, and political communication and marketing, address the issue of party evolution and electoral behaviour from opposing and largely one-dimensional angles. The purpose of this thesis is to develop a more integrated perspective to party campaigning that goes beyond the traditional approaches of party behaviour and present the relationship between intra-party organisation and campaign evolution in a new light. The party evolution approach is an alternative conceptual framework of party campaigning, which integrates the classic approaches of party organisation with the modern accounts of political communication and marketing while taking into consideration the institutional and ideological constraints of political parties. The main aim is to bridge the worlds of marketing and politics by offering a distinct perspective that integrates elements of a party’s innate political identity and readdressing the notion of party communications professionalisation within the wider context of party evolution process. To this end, the employment of consumer marketing techniques and approaches in party campaigning is not considered a means to the end of electoral success but an integrated element of the party’s evolving identity. The intention is that the Party Evolution Framework be used as a tool for comparative analysis. The holistic and integrated scope of the framework is likely to qualify its application to a cross-section of democracies, regardless of their party and electoral systems, campaign regulations, and historical, socio-economic and political landscape. To this end, the present thesis illustrates the use of the party evolution framework in two largely contrasting contexts; British and Greek politics