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This study challenges traditional rentier state theory and contributes to a new generation of scholarship focused on state-business relations by evaluating the relationship between different degrees of state policymaking autonomy and business elite influences in political and economic institutions. The findings of this study address central policy questions about economic reform in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Using primary data from my case studies of Qatar and Kuwait, I posit two arguments. First, states with lesser business elite influence over political institutions have more autonomy to realise their economic reform goals; a less dominant and influential business elite circle will more likely submit to state-led economic reform initiatives. Greater business elite dominance, meanwhile, tends to create a powerful bloc undercutting economic change, such as labour reform or new regulatory frameworks, that would benefit the long-term stability of the state. Second, rentier states with higher degrees of state-led capitalism have more autonomy to conduct economic reforms; state-led capitalism produces more coherent and cohesive state apparatuses that can incentivize business elite cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to conduct a preliminary re-evaluation of the claim made by the Government of Sarawak regarding its jurisdiction over oil and gas on the continental shelf. The basis of Sarawak's claim is rooted in the pre-Malaysia status quo of state territory, which was established through the Alteration of Boundaries of 1954. This proclamation extended the borders of the state to include the continental shelf adjacent to its coast, ensuring the state's rights to natural resources, including oil and natural gas. However, this research questions the legality of the 1954 law based on the context of legal history. It appears to be incompatible with the 1958 Geneva Convention on the High Seas and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. These conventions provide the statutory basis for incorporating sea territorial waters beyond three nautical miles and designating Exclusive Economic Zones for specific nations. As such, obtaining jurisdiction over sea territorial waters was the responsibility of the federal government of Malaysia, which acted as the deemed signatory. The research will employ content analysis of relevant secondary sources, as well as selected historical and legal documents. By doing so, it hopes to bring clarity to the legal complexities in the historical context surrounding Sarawak's claim. The ultimate goal is to redefine the current dimension of the issue and seek an amicable solution to address the jurisdictional matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turkey's per capita income was nearly three times South Korea's in 1962. Dramatic change has been observed since then. South Korea has transformed into an innovative economy approaching the global technology frontier in only a few decades. Turkey, on the other hand, has attained limited success with missed opportunities and has fallen behind. This article asks why this spectacular success was observed in South Korea, but not in Turkey. It seeks an answer by concentrating on certain variables that may explain this outcome. Assuming that primarily different types and capacities of societies and states explain the variations in economic performance, the article examines in particular, the institutional foundations of Turkish and Korean societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing studies of state-led industrial development argue that state autonomy is essential for formulating consistent and coherent industrial policies. This article shows that autonomous bureaucracy, while useful for fending off the politics of interest groups, is not free of politics in itself. Using Chinese industrial policy-making as a strategic case study, this article uncovers the competitive dimension of bureaucratic decision-making and the extent to which it serves as a driving force for industrial policy paradigm change in China. Equipped with a theory of policy articulation, this article details the strategies used by multiple superagencies and groups of career bureaucrats to vie for industrial policy authority within the Chinese state. In sum, this article seeks to expose the role of intrabureaucracy competition in mediating international political economic environment and national policy outcomes. Looking forward, this article proposes that the renewed focus on industrial policy by many national governments compels an analytical re-engagement with the role of large bureaucracies in economic decision-making and the kind of organizational and cognitive frameworks by which bureaucrats mobilize to chart our industrial landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the labor-controlling orientation of the Japanese developmental state and its consequences today. Developmental state studies has given us a robust epistemological grid whereby we can make non-Western state formation intelligible. Yet, mainstream authors have tended to treat the working class as a mere appendage to state– business relations, relegating labor politics at the analysis of state– society relations. By using democratic Japan—a prime example of this sort of obfuscation—in combination with Marxian state theory, this paper outlines the difficulties, addresses them, and extends the scope of developmental state studies to labor. After identifying main tenets of the literature, the author constructs a theory of labor control as a stabilizer of relative state autonomy. The author applies this to Japanese labor movements since 1945 and interprets events and processes of labor oppression/regulation through which Japanese capitalism subsumed the working class under the aegis of the developmental state. Labor control, emerging out of an "exceptional state" (Poulantzas, 1974), evolved into a refined socio-relational system that insulated developmental goals from labor movements. This Japanese trajectory keenly mobilized big business and elite labor, which transformed labor control into a bilateral and then a tripartite league in defense of industrial policy and its deskilling/reskilling intervention. By the 1970s, this achieved the famous docility of Japanese labor. The historically constructed character of docile labor force was exploited once again when Japan made a neoliberal turn in its post-development phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rule of law is a moral ideal that protects distinctive legal values such as generality, equality before the law, the independence of courts, and due process rights. I argue that one of the main goals of an international rule of the law is the protection of individual and state autonomy from the arbitrary interference of international institutions, and that the best way to codify this protection is through constitutional rules restraining the reach of international law into the internal affairs of a state. State autonomy does not have any intrinsic value or moral status of its own. Its value is derivative, resulting from the role it plays as the most efficient means of protecting autonomy for individuals and groups. Therefore, the goal of protecting state autonomy form the encroachment of international law will have to be constrained by, and balanced against the more fundamental goal of an international rule of law, the protection of the autonomy of individual persons, best realized through the entrenchment of basic human rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2016 1(3), 921-941 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. Horizontal federalism in the US. - II.1. Full faith and credit. - II.2. Extradition. - II.3. Interstate commerce. - II.4. Interstate compacts. - III. Horizontal federalism in the EU: mutual recognition. - III.1. Constitutional principle by accident? - III.2. Apogee and after. - III.3. Mutual recognition, harmonization and national autonomy. A decision making triangle. - IV. Conclusions. | (Abstract) The - vertical - relation between the central level and sub-central levels of government is a key issue in federal-type systems, including the EU. A question which usually attracts much less attention is how the - horizontal - relations between the sub-central levels are shaped. In this contribution, the legal arrangements in the US and EU legal orders to shape the horizontal relations between the (Member) States ("horizontal federalism") will be analysed and compared. Whereas the US legal system contains a variety of arrangements, the EU relies rather exclusively on the principle of mutual recognition. The central question is how legal arrangements of horizontal federalism balance harmonization (or control by the central/federal level), recognition and acceptance of foreign rules and (host) State autonomy. From the perspective of the host (Member) State, the question is thus to what extent it may apply its own rules (host State autonomy) or whether it must comply with central rules (harmonization) and foreign rules (from other States). This article examines how this balance is struck in different policy fields, what mechanisms are applied (especially in the US context) and which factors determine the choice for a particular balance.

This is paper aims to describe the completion of local autonomy based on local culture system in West Sumatera and Bali Province. Beside that, this paper also tries to find out the role of state which depicts state autonomy in implementation of government functions at lowest level, such as nagari in West Sumatera and Desa Pakraman in Bali. Although the local culture system could be applied in local autonomy, yet the modern government system which is introduced by state has affected local culture system at the lowest level. In this context, state autonomy has been involved in fusing local culture system into modern government system so that performing of local democracy declines.

This study discusses the dispute between state and capitalist class. State consists of local government elite and central government elite. Local elite consists of 10 regents/mayors in Lake Toba region and Asahan River basin, while the central elite are President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa, Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Dahlan Iskan, Minister of Industry MS Hidayat as well as Leaders and Members of Commissions VI & IX of the House of Representatives Republic of Indonesia. Meanwhile the capitalist class is represented by Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan and Association for Mineral Entrepreneur Indonesia (APEMINDO). This research aims to clarify underlying factors of dispute between state and capitalist class in the nationalization of PT. Indonesian Asahan Aluminum (Inalum) which implies to conflict among elites. This study uses qualitative method by analyzing research findings with the Theory of State Autonomy proposed by Ralp Miliband and Nicos Poulantzas as the main perspective. While the theory of conflict and consensus by Maswadi Rauf, authority of elite theory by C. Wright Mills, theory of decentralization by Vedi R. Hadiz, theory of oligarch's power by Jeffrey A. Winters, theory of patron-client by James C. Scott, and theory of rent seeking by Anne G. Krueger are applied as supporting perspectives. This research finds that conflict between central and local elites occurs due to struggle over economic resources, especially share ownership of PT. Inalum. Dispute over economic resources in governmental system has resulted in the country's autonomy dysfunction, in this case North Sumatra Provincial Government. It is characterized by the government being instrument that cause rent seeking to grow. Conflict which arise among local elite interfere local governance consolidation. This occurs because the capitalist class is capable to influence policies run by North Sumatra Provincial Government. The dispute is impacted on the provincial government incapable of taking political decisions reasonably. While Central Government with the approval of Commission VI of the House of Representatives conducts political process to reduce capitalist class influence in the nationalization of PT. Inalum by unilaterally give North Sumatra Provincial Government 30% share only. Theoretical implication of this research supports and strengthens Miliband Ralp's theory on state as an instrument of capitalist class and Nicos Poulantzas's theory of relative autonomy state. It especially regards to the state autonomy that is distorted by capitalist class interests i.e. Luhut Pandjaitan. Based on Miliband Ralp's theory on state as an instrument of capitalist class in the context of local elite power in North Sumatra, then the Governor of North Sumatra, 10 regents/mayors in Lake Toba region and Asahan River basin, as well as several other political elites, represent the tool or instrument of the capitalist class, in this case Luhut Pandjaitan, to realize their ambition of enriching economic resources. While President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, along with related ministers and parliament, weaken the capitalist class influence in political decision making in order to create a relatively autonomous political decision-making, as it is explained in the theory of Nicos Poulantzas. One thing that has not been addressed by Nicos Poulantzas in state relative autonomy theory is how to cope with global capitalist class distortion or pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When do states forge technological change in mature industries? This article challenges the emphasis on bureaucratic autonomy in explaining the ability of governments to promote technological change. We show that structural features of the bureaucracy alone are insufficient to account for variation in policy intervention, and argue that sectoral patterns of interest intermediation shape state capacity. Political coordination leads industry and government to broker technological transformations in consensus-driven negotiations. This prioritizes the interests of incumbent firms, likely resulting in regulatory capture and weak policy intervention. Political competition among interest groups and state agencies, by contrast, allows policy-makers to organize coalitions of technology challengers, likely leading to strong policy intervention. We examine this argument in the case of electric vehicle policy in Germany and the United States. Germany failed to disrupt its auto sector to transition to electric vehicles, while the United States adopted comprehensive policies for the manufacturing and commercialization of electric cars against incumbent opposition. Counter to conventional wisdom, our findings suggest that states can effectively engage in sectoral intervention to drive technological change in the absence of autonomous bureaucracies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a number of ethnic groups and communities in contemporary India have been asserting their rights as nationalities because they perceive a threat to their identity and seek to protect the same by trying to extract as many concessions as possible from the central political authorities. It is this process of bargaining with the Centre for a better deal which appears to be associated very often with the politics of assertion of nationalities in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This thesis deals with post-war development in Austria (1945-1955). Describes the first stage after the end of the Second World War, which can be characterized by the words: collapse and humiliation. However, the feeling of catastrophic destruction quickly and surprisingly was replaced by optimism in a new beginning. And the first stage immediately underwent reconstruction and the so-called economic miracle in Austria. The article describes how the Marshall Plan and the monetary reform have had a major impact on the economic recovery of the country. The final part of the thesis deals with the struggle of Austria for full freedom and autonomy, which culminated in the signing of the state treaty and the declaration of the country's neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present global recession that sprung out of the US banking and Real Estate sectors in 2007 has its roots in the massive State and financial upheavals implemented in the face of the 1970s crisis of over accumulation. These transformations had as their objective the reneging of the Keynesian, tripartite model of regulation and its association with the ‘Welfare State’. As such, the post-1970 neo-liberal financial order can be best seen as a ‘class project’ to reassert the dominance of grand capital, especially financial capital, both in the political and economic fields. Examining the intricate links between the present crisis and the structural governance changes enacted over the past 30 years, principally in the United States, the fallacies of ultra-growth and the speculative model become obvious as do their class dimensions and impact. However, despite the seeming ideological death of neo-liberalism, on close inspection, the policies so far enacted by the Obama administration make no concerted move out of the past era of financial sector hegemony.

This study explores collaboration between state actors and non-state specialists in the market for coercion. We focus on the case of forced evictions in South Korea, where violence carried out by private companies has occurred with the implicit, and at times explicit, sanctioning of the state. This level of government–private security cooperation has traditionally been explained by various hypotheses, including arguments about the weak capacity of a state to enforce compliance, trends in the neo-liberal marketization of state power, or as the outcome of a state being captured by the capitalist classes. Documenting the history of urban redevelopment projects and changes in government responses to major protest incidents in Korea, we instead argue that this niche market for private force is an observable implication of a shift in state–society relations in the wake of democratization. This phenomenon is, in effect, a very undemocratic response to democratization, by state elites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The creation of a buffer state aimed at providing a political and security zone is normally the initiative of powerful states within the region it is being established. Globalization has, however, placed buffer states at the centre of the new security dilemma creating national and transnational security risks that adversely impact on the capacity of neighbouring states to effectively perform their basic functions. The establishment of Somalia’s newest semi-autonomous region Jubaland, perceived as Kenya’s buffer zone, has created a new security dilemma for Somalia. This article examines the relationship between the creation of Jubaland and the national and transnational security risks it poses for Somalia’s state capacity building efforts. The mutually related national and transnational security risks examined emanate from the adverse effects of Somali clan/militia conflicts and Kenya Defence Forces operations in Jubaland as part of the African Union Mission in Somalia. These security risks have adversely impacted on state capacity and state autonomy hence hindering the ability of the collapsed Somali state to re-build itself and effectively provide political-military security. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Along with other progressive experiments in the region, the government of the Citizens’ Revolution has restored the state to a central position with regard to social coordination and the promotion of economic development. The open conflict created by the return of the state between 2007 and 2012 transformed power relationships, allowing civil government to expand the state’s relative autonomy and orient it toward constructing a public policy agenda associated with transcending neoliberalism. The challenge of this transition has been to modify the pattern of commodity specialization away from the primacy of primary exports. While reappropriating the surplus that comes from the income from strategic resources increases national sovereignty, it may also contribute to preserving the nation’s position in the international division of labor. The National Plan for Living Well aims at overcoming the centrality of the primary sector and of oil exports in the national economy.En convergencia con otros gobiernos progresistas de la region, el gobierno del la Revolución Ciudadana relanza el Estado al primer plano de la coordinación social y la promoción del desarrollo. El conflictivo proceso político abierto en relación a dicho retorno estatal entre 2007 y 2012 trastrocó de los factores de poder y permitió al gobierno civil ampliar la autonomía relativa del Estado y orientarlo hacia la construcción de una agenda de políticas públicas asociada con la superación del neoliberalismo. El desafio de dicha transición reside en la posibilidad de modificar el patrón de especialización productiva más allá de la centralidad de las exportaciones primarias. Aunque la estrategia estatal de reapropriación del excedente que proviene de las rentas de recursos estratégicos eleva los márgenes de soberanía nacional respecto a la determinación global, también puede contribuir a la continuidad del lugar del país en la vigente división internacional del trabajo. El Plan Nacional del Buen Vivir apunta a superar en el mediano plazo la centralidad del sector primario y de las exportaciones petroleras en la economía nacional. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intergovernmental forums facilitate negotiation, non-hierarchical exchange of information and cooperation between the institutions of the two levels of government. This article explores the experience of the House of Federation, the Ministry of Federal Affairs and sector by sector harmonization in two federal Ministries and their respective regional bureaus. There is lack of an independent institution in charge of consolidating inter-governmental relation (IGR) and this in turn has led to gaps in the regularity, continuity and effectiveness of the interactions. Save for some provisions of the Constitution dictating non-hierarchal relationship between the federal and regional states, the Ethiopian federation is generally characterized by a top-down relationship which can erode the spirit of partnership. Establishing an appropriate legal framework is thus essential to optimize the role of IGR in the Ethiopian federal system. The House of Federation seems the appropriate institution to organize IGR, and if the current dependence on the executive line remains unchanged, the focal point for IGR should be the Prime Minister's Office owing to its enhanced opportunity to give binding decisions and its ability to control the execution of decisions. Excessive reliance on political party lines evokes the question as to what will happen if opposing parties manage to win elections at federal and regional levels, and whether under such settings the collapse of the Soviet Union could be a prophesy to the Ethiopian federalism as well. Such risks call for stable and formal legal and institutional frameworks of IGR toward harnessing centrifugal forces and nurturing unity within diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]