At the time of the decision to negotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), advocates argued that closer integration with Canada and the United States would have a democratizing influence on Mexico's political regime (Baer and Weintraub, 1994: 174–79; Pastor, 1993: 67). Critics of the deal suggested just the opposite, insisting that NAFTA might perpetuate or even reinvigorate authoritarian rule (Aguilar Zinser, 1993: 203–15; Castañeda 1996). With the breakthrough elections of July 2000 and the transfer of executive power to an opposition party the — PAN, or National Action Party — it is timely to ask: were the advocates of NAFTA right all along? Was NAFTA the impetus for Mexico's long overdue transition to democracy?

Abstract. Disagreement over how and between whom power should be shared has led to competing conceptions of federalism in Canada. The model of federalism adopted in the Constitution Act 1867 divides power between the provinces and the federal government to the exclusion of Aboriginal peoples. However, pre-Confederation documents such as the Royal Proclamation of 1763 and the early treaties suggest that federalism is founded on the coexistence of self-governing nations. This paper presents a case study of how one Aboriginal people, the Métis, are reviving the pre-Confederation vision of federalism founded on mutual recognition by carving out a space for themselves in Canada's political and institutional landscape. We argue that by delivering an expanded array of programs and services to their citizens, creating innovative governance structures, adopting legislation in key areas of Métis interest and fostering economic self-sufficiency, the Métis are reshaping federalism from the bottom up.

Résumé. Deux visions antagoniques du fédéralisme canadien existent en raison de conceptions divergentes de la séparation des pouvoirs. Le modèle de fédéralisme adopté par la Loi constitutionnelle de 1867 divise les pouvoirs entre les provinces et le gouvernement fédéral, en dépit des peuples autochtones. Or, la Proclamation royale de 1763 et les premiers traités proposent une vision du fédéralisme fondée sur la coexistence de nations autonomes. Cet article présente une étude de cas qui démontre comment un peuple autochtone, les Métis, fait renaitre la vision originale du fédéralisme fondée sur la reconnaissance mutuelle en se taillant une place au sein du paysage politique et institutionnel canadien. Les Métis prennent une approche ascendante pour façonner le fédéralisme canadien à cette image par le biais du développement de programmes et services, la création de structures de gouvernance innovatrices, l'adoption de politiques dans des domaines clés et la poursuite de l'autosuffisance économique.

Abstract. Despite the nationalization of politics in established democracies, the study of local dynamics remains fundamental to our understanding of electoral politics, especially in plurality contests. In plurality systems, local competition indeed has important consequences for the distribution of seats in parliaments and cabinets. While a plethora of measures exists to assess electoral competitiveness, none adequately captures the dynamic nature of party support at the local level. Making use of the Canadian case as an illustration, we propose a new classification of electoral districts that aims at filling this gap. Districts are divided into two categories, strongholds and battlegrounds, depending on the successive performances of parties. We argue that such a classification should be utilized in addition to static measures of competitiveness, notably in the study of political participation.

Résumé. Malgré la nationalisation de la politique au sein des démocraties établies, l'étude des dynamiques locales demeure fondamentale pour bien comprendre la politique électorale, particulièrement dans les systèmes pluralitaires où la compétition locale a des conséquences importantes sur la distribution des sièges au parlement et au cabinet. Bien qu'il existe une panoplie de mesures de compétition électorale, aucune ne capture adéquatement la nature dynamique de l'appui aux partis à l'échelle locale. À l'aide du cas canadien, nous proposons une nouvelle classification des districts électoraux qui corrige cette lacune. Les districts sont divisés en deux catégories – bastions et champs de bataille – en fonction des performances successives des partis en présence. Nous suggérons que cette classification soit utilisée en plus d'autres mesures statiques, notamment dans l'étude de la participation électorale.

Abstract. Both developed and developing countries have experienced turmoil associated with banking sector failures. However, while there exists literature studying the economic costs of banking meltdowns, little scholarly attention has been devoted to examining the relationship between banking crises and domestic agitation (internal conflict). Failing to explore the impact of banking crises on domestic agitation risks excluding a key component in understanding the puzzle of domestic political stability. Examining a dataset of 125 countries for the years 1981 to 2000, we find banking crises to be systematically associated with greater levels of collective protest activities such as riots, anti-government demonstrations and strikes.

Résumé. Les défaillances du secteur bancaire ont causé des perturbations sociales aussi bien dans les pays développés que dans les pays en voie de développement. Toutefois, tandis qu'il existe des recherches sur les coûts économiques des faillites bancaires, les chercheurs se sont peu intéressés au rapport entre crises bancaires et problèmes socio-politiques intérieurs. En négligeant l'effet des crises bancaires sur les troubles sociaux intérieurs, on risque d'exclure un élément clé de l'analyse complexe de la stabilité politique intérieure. L'examen d'un ensemble de données sur 125 nations pour les années 1981 à 2000, nous permet de constater que les crises bancaires sont systématiquement associées à une accélération des activités de protestation collective telles que les émeutes, les manifestations anti-gouvernementales et les grèves.

Any attempt to assess the direction of social change in a particular society is a risky business at best. Yet, inasmuch as sociology, in its official texts on method, rests its claim to scientific status on its predictive capacities, it must somehow, sometimes, take this risk and say something about what are the significant changes occurring in the social organization of a society. In order to achieve any such general assessment the social analyst needs, it seems to me, to consider the society as a whole, and through time.

Sociologists are generally reluctant to view the whole of a society as a proper subject of study and reluctant also to study social phenomena through time. Indeed, what is at present felt to be adequate methodology, or should we say prestigeful methodology, requires living respondents whose answers can be given statistical treatment, and therefore becomes largely irrelevant for studies with historical dimensions; and while it may be quite useful in measuring change it is quite helpless of itself to account for it. Furthermore its preference for piecemeal and detailed verifications makes it a rather awkward instrument to use when dealing with general analyses. Anthropologists, by tradition, have commonly achieved such analyses in the case of less complex cultures. Even they, however, when confronted with large societies, have tended either to adopt the sociological habit of narrow investigation or to postulate that an image of the larger whole can be gleaned through the minute study of a particular instance, a particular cell such as a village, or a town. In choosing the first alternative, they abdicate what seems to have been a traditional objective of anthropology. In the second case, they stand in danger of missing the target through oversimplification.

A significant aspect of anarchism, which brings it close to Russian nihilism and in the minds of some people is responsible for the erroneous identification of the two, is individual terrorism. Individual acts of violence, known especially in the last century as “propaganda by deed,” have been regarded by some anarchists as part and parcel of the over-all revolutionary activity which is to culminate in the overthrow of the existing social system by acts of mass violence. There were and are anarchists of different schools opposed to violence as a means towards the establishment of an anarchist society, and they include not only religious anarchists like Leo Tolstoy and individualists like Benjamin Tucker, but also many of those who at one time or another could be classed as anarchist communists, for instance, Francisco Ferrer, Louisa S. Bevington, and Gustav Landauer. The so-called philosophical anarchists are also opposed to violence, if by them are meant people who believe in the possibility or at least the desirability of realizing the ideals of anarchism but do not accept the usual anarchist analysis of the existing system or the methods generally advocated by anarchist groups for the achievement of anarchism. Thus Godwin, Tolstoy, and Tucker, could be included in this group, and among our contemporaries Bertrand Russell.

In the present century anarchists have almost ceased in theory and practice to view individual terrorism as important. Violent acts have been usually perpetrated by people who had practically no significance as thinkers and writers. Alexander Berkman is probably the only notable exception here, while men like Kropotkin, fortunately for anarchism, propagated anarchist ideas by the written and spoken word rather than by “deed.”

This article explores neo-conservative ideology in the industrialized West through a comparative analysis of the arguments advanced against a strong role for the federal government in regulating child care services in the United States and Canada. Existing analyses of neo-conservatism suggest that it is composed of many different elements which may lead to contradictory policy prescriptions; this literature also downplays the presence of a “pro-family” component in the Canadian context. The article illustrates the presence of an “anti-statist,” a “pro-market” and a “pro-family” strand of neo-conservatism in each country, and shows that they converge in opposing federal regulation of child care services. It also suggests that, while there appears to be a shared neo-conservative vision of the appropriate relationship between families and the state across national contexts, discussions of the state and its relationship to the market take on a distinctive tone in each country.

Recent works have compared political participation in a variety of democratic polities. One major finding of some of this research is that to classify individuals as highly active or inactive politically is to oversimplify the notion of participation. Political participation is multidimensional: active participants in one kind of political behaviour may be inactive in another. Preoccupation with one form of participation, such as voting, may obscure the extent and nature of participation taking place. This finding was summarized neatly in a recent work: “Citizens differ not only in the overall amounts of participation they perform but also as to the types of acts in which they choose to engage. Furthermore, these different types of acts are quite distinctive in form and function and can almost be thought of as alternative participatory systems: – systems that are used for different purposes, that are able to provide types of benefits, and that relate the participant to his government and to his fellow citizens in fundamentally different ways.” Surprisingly, perhaps, these types of participation have been found to be similar across several democratic polities. Four distinct activities have been located in the several nations: (1) voting; (2) active participation in political campaigns; (3) cooperative activity such as joining with others formally or informally to pursue political goals; and (4) contacting government officials about some public problem. There has been little analysis of the forms of participation of Canadians.

Abstract. A vote-maximizing incumbent government is expected to adjust discretionary spending and taxation in ways that increase its probability for re-election. Unequal voters per electoral district in Canada distort this calculation in favour of small electoral districts. Using two measures of federal expenditures, and one of income taxes, between the years 1961–2000, empirical estimates indicate that greater representation per capita (lower relative electoral district populations) results in higher federal spending, and lower income taxes, per capita, even after controlling for income and unemployment.

Résumé. Un gouvernement en place tentant de maximiser les votes en sa faveur est censé ajuster les dépenses discrétionnaires et les impôts de manière à augmenter la probabilité de sa réélection. L'inégalité du nombre d'électeurs des districts électoraux au Canada crée une distorsion en faveur des districts de petite taille. En utilisant deux mesures des dépenses fédérales et une mesure des impôts sur le revenu entre 1961 et 2000, nos résultats empiriques montrent qu'une plus forte représentation par habitant (plus petits districts électoraux) entraîne des dépenses fédérales plus importantes et des impôts sur le revenu moins élevés par personne, même en contrôlant pour le revenu et le taux de chômage.

Immanuel Kant remains a figure of enduring interest to students of international politics both for the content of his writings and for the place which those writings have come to occupy within contemporary debates in International Relations theory. But most of the secondary literature does not have a sufficient appreciation of Kant's wider philosophy and hence misunderstands or distorts his theory of international relations. Once this background is more fully appreciated, Kant's analysis becomes largely immune from many of the standard criticisms levelled against it. A reinterpretation of Kant's critique of international politics is important not only for the position which Kant has come to occupy in contemporary debates. It also raises anew fundamental questions about the theoretical and practical adequacy of the Realist theory of international relations which continues to dominate the discipline.

Abstract. Michel Foucault's late turn to ethics for an understanding of subject self-constitution is explored in relation to the problematic of humanism. Foucault's reconsideration of Immanuel Kant's Enlightenment-grounded legacy constitutes, it is argued, a significant resource for thinking about new ways to approach cultural practices that have as their aim a reconstitution of identity outside dominant structures of scientific and legal knowledge. This essay explores how Foucault's earlier anti-humanist misgivings give way to a more ethical-pragmatic conception of humanism in relation to notions of freedom, rights and equality. The insights of pragmatism—particularly those of John Dewey—are employed as a means by which to situate what is called here the “pragmatic humanism” of the later Foucault.

Résumé. Le tour en retard de Michel Foucault à l'éthique pour une compréhension d'individu-constitution soumise est exploré parrapport au problématique de l'humanisme. La reconsidération de Foucault du legs d'Immanuel Kant publiant hors de l'éclaircissement constitue, il est discutée, une ressource importante pour penser à de nouvelles manières d'approcher les pratiques culturelles qui ont en tant que leur but une reconstitution des structures dominantes d'extérieur d'identité de la connaissance scientifique et légale. Explore comment des craintes plus tôt d'anti-humaniste de Foucault mènent à une conception moral-pragmatique d'humanisme par rapport aux notions de la liberté, des droites, et de l'égalité. Les perspicacités du pragmatisme—en particulier ceux de John Dewey—utilisé comme moyens par lesquels pour situer ce qui est s'appellent ici l'humanisme pragmatic du Foucault plus défunt.

Abstract. This paper takes the Prometheus story in chapter 12 of Leviathan as the point of entry for an examination of the importance that Hobbes assigns to the problem of an uncertain future in his political philosophy. Hobbes's thinking on human nature represents a dramatic departure from the ancients not only because his mechanistic psychology reverses the ancient conception of the relation between reason and passion but also because his understanding of the temporal situation of human beings privileges the future to an unprecedented degree. It is against the backdrop of a universe in which the problem of an uncertain future has reached intolerable proportions that Hobbes develops his portrait of human nature; it is against the backdrop of this universe that he develops his account of Leviathan as the only earthly power capable of stabilizing the horizon of expectation.

Résumé. Cet article utilise l'histoire de Prométhée au chapitre 12 du Léviathan comme introduction à l'examen de l'importance qu'accorde Hobbes au problème de l'incertitude de l'avenir dans sa philosophie politique. La pensée de Hobbes sur la nature humaine constitue une dérogation spectaculaire par rapport aux Anciens non seulement parce que sa psychologie mécaniste s'oppose diamétralement à l'ancienne conception de la relation entre raison et passion, mais également parce que sa compréhension de la situation temporelle des êtres humains privilégie l'avenir et ce, à un degré sans précédent. C'est sur la toile de fond d'un univers dans lequel le problème de l'incertitude de l'avenir a atteint des proportions intolérables que Hobbes construit son portrait de la nature humaine comme un tourbillon de passions incontrôlées; c'est sur la toile de fond de cet univers qu'il élabore son récit du Léviathan, seule force terrestre capable de stabiliser les attentes de l'avenir.

Abstract: The experience of implementing self-government in the Yukon offers important insights into the future of self-government nationally. Yukon First Nations have created institutions that reflect their traditional values, that achieve creditable levels of accountability and that have limited their responsibilities to what their staff resources can handle. Yukon First Nations have assumed relatively few jurisdictional responsibilities because they reject the financial terms presented by the federal and territorial governments. This pattern is likely to weaken inherence-based governments as they appear elsewhere in Canada. This prospect raises the question of how First Nations should divide their energy and resources between pursuing inherence and strengthening the capacity of their existing institutions.

Résumé. La mise en oeuvre d'un gouvernement autonome au Yukon offre d'importants aperçus sur l'avenir de l'autonomie sur le plan national. Les autochtones du Yukon ont créé des institutions qui reflètent leurs valeurs traditionnelles, atteignent des niveaux estimables de responsabilité et ont limité leurs engagements en fonction de leurs ressources en personnel. Les autochtones du Yukon ont assumé relativement peu de responsabilités juridictionnelles parce qu'ils rejettent les conditions financières présentées par le gouvernement fédéral et le gouvernement territorial. Ce dilemme va vraisemblablement affaiblir les gouvernements inhérents qui verront le jour ailleurs au Canada. La question se pose dès lors de savoir comment les autochtones devraient diviser leur énergie et leurs ressources entre la poursuite de l'inhérence et le renforcement de la capacité de leurs institutions existantes.

The external economic relations of a country over time can be most effectively examined by a historical study of the balance of payments and, accordingly, economists studying countries whose growth has been fundamentally influenced by their international economic relations have evinced a growing interest in such studies. This interest is not new. Albert Gallatin, Adam Seybert, and Ezra Seaman recognized the importance of America's external relations in the early nineteenth century and attempted to estimate the components of a balance of payments. Better known are the studies of Robert Giffen and C. K. Hobson on British international economic relations. Giffen's and Hobson's works were pioneering efforts at constructing estimates of the various service items and have served as a point of departure for more recent efforts. For the United States, the early essays by Worthy P. Sterns and the classic study of Charles Bullock, John H. Williams, and Rufus Tucker which followed were landmarks in the analysis of the balance of payments just as the studies by J. Viner of Canada and H. D. White of France were for those countries. As a result of these studies, the techniques of estimating the separate components of the balance of payments have been refined and significantly improved. In almost every case the transport account has been the most important service item and has received a great deal of attention. Yet not one of the studies mentioned above is satisfactory on this account, and the error in the estimate of shipping earnings in most of them has been of significant proportions. The errors in these studies stem from two sources, an inadequate understanding of the determinants of shipping debits and credits over time and inadequate data. This paper will analyse the determinants of shipping earnings in the context of the two general methods of estimating earnings, and examine critically the estimate of shipping earnings in existing studies.

Canada had a flexible exchange rate from October 2, 1950, to May 2, 1962. Many observers have commented on the stability of the Canadian exchange rate during this period and have discussed the significance of the Canadian experience for the general debate on fixed v. flexible exchange rates. The purpose of this article is not to enter this debate directly, but rather to document the facts on stability and to examine two possible reasons for it.

Using daily data on the US/Canadian exchange rate, measures of the stability of the rate are presented in section I. In section II tests of the hypothesis that speculators were a stabilizing force are conducted, and an affirmative conclusion reached. Finally, in section III the argument is made that much of the stability may have been a result of the generally parallel courses of the Canadian and United States economies in the years from 1950 to 1962.

The economic problems of a new country have, of course, a general as well as a particular interest because new countries are a distinct and important class among the countries of the world. But there are two reasons for an even broader scientific interest in such problems. It is here that problems of economic development can be studied; here are the clearest cases. Economic history continues to suffer because economists know too little history and historians too little economics. It can be said in defence of the historians that the scant attention given by economists to the economics of development has left them with but poor equipment. In criticism it might be said that historians have been over-ready to make economic generalizations. Generalizations in economic history are more attractive and more dangerous than in any other field except historical geography. It is, then, in the history of new countries that the economics of development can best be studied.

There is a second reason for our interest. Economists are prone to think in terms of closed systems, i.e., hypothetical economies, isolated and sufficient unto themselves. Studies in international trade and finance have been directed in the main toward the mechanism of adjustment. It is an important problem and a neat, tidy problem, but in most countries policies must rest on an analysis of the operation of open systems—economies functioning in full relation with other countries. I suggest that the fully operating open economic system is best exemplified in new, pioneer countries.

The picture superiority effect suggests that a single photograph can communicate a significant amount of political information to voters. Accordingly, politicians must make strategic choices in their self-presentation, particularly when considering how to respond to gender-based stereotypes. Strategic stereotype theory suggests that politicians will either emphasize or rescind gender-based stereotypes depending on whether they believe them to be advantageous to their political image. While the literature on gendered self-presentation is largely confined to television advertising, there is a growing literature focused on the online environment. In this research note, we develop a methodological framework to assess gender-based stereotypes in a purely visual environment. We test the framework using photographs from the Twitter feeds of the main party leaders in the 2018 Ontario election. The note concludes by reflecting on the methodological challenges of examining gender in visual political content online.

The rational choice model of politics, which construes important political processes as a series of choices taken by self-interested political actors, has dominated theorizing on the subject of policy instruments in Canada. While useful, this approach is nonetheless limited by its narrow conception of rationality and its inattention to the context of instrument choice. As an alternative, the neo-institutional approach offers a perspective on political choice that takes better account of contextual and organizational factors. In this article, the logic of both approaches is used to explain the policy process in the case of automobile insurance in Ontario. The purpose of this exercise is exploratory, not confirmatory. Both approaches do, in fact, offer plausible explanations for the creation of a rate review board, the retention of fault-liability as the basis of compensation and the apparent rejection of public automobile insurance. However, the study concludes that it is essential that research strategies in the realm of instrument choice incorporate insights from the neo-institutional approach.