Republicanism and the political economy of democracy

Europe is experiencing rapidly accelerating poverty and social exclusion, following half a decade of financial crisis and austerity politics. The key problem behind Europe's malaise, in our view, is the economic disenfranchisement of large parts of its population in the winner-takes-all-society. This article proposes that we examine the contribution of republican political theory as a distinctive approach that provides us with the conceptual and normative resources to reclaim what we call the political economy of democracy, the constellation of political and economic institutions aimed at promoting broad economic sovereignty and individuals' capacities to govern their own lives. This article identifies three key ideas that together constitute a distinctively republican approach to political economy: (1) establish an economic floor; (2) impose an economic ceiling to counter excess economic inequality; and (3) democratize the governance and regulation of the main economic institutions

Mediterranean-climate streams and rivers: geographically separated but ecologically comparable freshwater systems

Streams and rivers in mediterranean-climate regions (med-rivers in med-regions) are ecologically unique, with flow regimes reflecting precipitation patterns. Although timing of drying and flooding is predictable, seasonal and annual intensity of these events is not. Sequential flooding and drying, coupled with anthropogenic influences make these med-rivers among the most stressed riverine habitat worldwide. Med-rivers are hotspots for biodiversity in all med-regions. Species in med-rivers require different, often opposing adaptive mechanisms to survive drought and flood conditions or recover from them. Thus, metacommunities undergo seasonal differences, reflecting cycles of river fragmentation and connectivity, which also affect ecosystem functioning. River conservation and management is challenging, and trade-offs between environmental and human uses are complex, especially under future climate change scenarios. This overview of a Special Issue on med-rivers synthesizes information presented in 21 articles covering the five med-regions worldwide: Mediterranean Basin, coastal California, central Chile, Cape region of South Africa, and southwest and southern Australia. Research programs to increase basic knowledge in less-developed med-regions should be prioritized to achieve increased abilities to better manage med-rivers

Mixed ligand complex formation in the copper (II)-salicylate ion-picolinate ion system

La formation de complexes mixtes entre l'ion cuivre (II), l'ion salicylate et l'ion picolinate a été étudiée par une méthode potentiométrique, à 25°C et dans un milieu de KN03 1.0 mole dm-3. Comme que la deuxième protonation du picolinate ion et la complexation binaire de ce ligand avec l'ion Cu (II) ont lieu dans des milieus très acides, on a dû étudier soigneusement dans la région de pH O-2 les divers-paramètres que influent les résultats potentiométriques (particulièrement le potentiel normal de l'électrode indicatrice et le potentiel de junction liquide. La détermination simultanée de ces deux paramètres et de la deuxième constante de protonation de l'ion picolinate a été faite à l'aide du programme MINIPOT. Une électrode sélective de l'ion Cu (II) a été employée pour déterminer les constants de stabilité des complexes binaires Cu (II)-picolinate. Les données expérimentales ont été traitées par les programmes MINIQUAD et LETAGROP. La stabilisation du complexe mixte Cusalpic (sal = ion salicylate ; pic = ion picolinate) est supérieure a celle estimée en considérant uniquement des facteurs statistiques et elle est supérieure aussi a la stabilisation trouvée pour le complexe Cusalen (Cu = éthylènediamine) étudié préalablement

Protonation equilibria of 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid in dioxane-water solution : effect of the solvent composition and of the ionic strength of the medium

The influence of the variation in the solvent composition and in the ionic strength of the medium on the autoprotolysis constant of the solvent and on the acid dissociation constants of 3-hydroxynaphthalene-2-carboxylic acid in dioxane-water solutions are studied at 25°C. In the full composition range studied (20-80% dioxane) the log of these constants is linearly correlated with the solvent polarity measured by the parameter ET/30) of Dimroth and Reichardt. In dioxane-water 1:1 (v/v) the constants are correlated to the ionic strength according to the model set by Davies equation

2-aminobenzenethiol and its disulphide as complexing agents for metal ions. I. Protonation equilibria in water-ethanol solution (I + I, v/v), redox properties

Some properties of 2-aminobenzenethiol (2-abt) solutions, in ethanol and in water-ethanol mixtures (stability against auto-oxidation, UV and IR spectral features and effect of oxidation on these features) are studied, and the protonation constants of 2-abt and its oxidation product, the disulphide 2.2'-dithiobis(benzeneamine) (dtba) in water-ethanol (I + I, v/v), in 1.0 mol l–1 sodium perchlorate, at 25°C, are determined. The results are, for 2-abt : log β1 = 7.104 ± 0.01, log β2 = 9.732 ± 0.04 ; for dtba, log β1 = 2.309 ± 0.02 log β2 = 3.673 ± 0.05. Qualitative tests for some metal ions using dtba as a reagent are described