This article argues that the effect of economic crises on democratic transition is contingent on economic structure. Specifically, a high level of state engagement in the economy makes social forces dependent on the ruling elites for patrimonial interests and, therefore, the authoritarian regime liable for economic failure. Moreover, when authoritarian elites own a high share of economic assets...

The new Constitution of the Republic of Armenia was adopted by referendum held on July 5, 1995. This represented a historic event for both the people and the state of Armenia. Whereas the adoption of the Constitution and the parliamentary elections were indicative of the thrust to adopt democratic processes, they also laid the foundation of the state system in Armenia by establishing the consti...

That health care is a subsystem of the welfare state has dominated the study of states and health care policy. But this conception omits two other faces of the state--as a putatively democratic organization and as the manager of industrial economies in a capitalist world. Policy can be analyzed fruitfully in terms of the tensions between these three faces of the health care state.

Changes in the international system, along with crises in the Middle East and the emergence of inefficient states coexisting with religious and racial groups in the region, make one wonder about the nature of the state in today’s systematic world, in general, and the nature of the state in the Middle East, in particular. The present study provides a theoretical framework based on quantum mechan...

Canada is a leader in developing health promotion concepts of providing the prerequisites of health through health-promoting public policy. But Canada is clearly a laggard in implementing these concepts. In contrast, France is seen as a nation in which health promotion concepts have failed to gain much traction yet evidence exists that France does far better than Canada in providing these healt...

nowhere are the barriers to a functional health infrastructure more clearly on display than in the goma region of democratic republic of congo. kaboru et al. report poorly integrated services for hiv and tb in this war-torn region. priorities in conflict zones include provision of security, shelter, food, clean water and prevention of sexual violence. in goma, immediate health priorities includ...

The established view in political science is that a sound and functioning state has to be in place before democracy can be introduced. State first, and then democracy. While acknowledging that the basic infrastructure of state authority and administration has to be there for a democratic system to be established and work, this paper examines the possibility that democratisation itself may play ...

The phenomenon of expertise produces two problems for liberal democratic theory: the first is whether it creates inequalities that undermine citizen rule or make it a sham; the second is whether the state can preserve its neutrality in liberal “government by discussion” while subsidizing, depending on, and giving special status to the opinions of experts and scientists. A standard Foucauldian c...