News from Governance May 27, 2014
An International Journal of Policy, Administration, and Institutions

Co-Editors  Alasdair S. Roberts and Robert H. Cox  Book Review Editor  Clay Wescott 
Europe's elections produce more of the same

 

By Thomas Risse, Freie Universit�t Berlin, writes for the Governance blog.  Next to India, the elections for the European Parliament (EP) have been the second-largest democratic voting on the globe, with about 400 million citizens in 28 countries eligible to pick 751 members of parliament. The elections took place against the background of the Euro crisis threatening the core of European integration; austerity policies, the worst recession in decades and widespread (youth) unemployment in Southern Europe; and the crisis in the Ukraine and the Russian annexation of the Crimea. As a result, many pundits predicted the rise of Euro-skeptical parties on the left and the right. Yet and contrary to what one reads in the media, the most important outcomes of the EP elections have little to do with Euro-skepticism.  Read more on the Governance blog.  

India's Congress Party gives Modi an historic opportunity

 

Rahul Mukherji, National University of Singapore, writes for the Governance blog.  The ruling Congress Party received the thrashing of a lifetime when Indians went to the polls earlier this month. The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) scored its first resounding majority by winning 282 seats (out of 543) in the Indian Parliament on May 16. Incoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi must now manage three challenges: restoring high rates of growth, improving the efficiency of anti-poverty programs, and resisting pressure from Hindu nationalists within his own party.  Read more on the Governance blog.
The Eighth European Parliament will see more politicization

 

Alexander Katsaitis, University College London, writes for the Governance blog.  Expect to see more politicization in EU policy than before.  The pro-/anti- EU position is a central point on the agenda of all political parties elected, in the most polarized EP ever. This will usher a new era of more politicized debates, post the right/ left continuum. Moreover, this is likely to increase input legitimacy; as both sides will raise demand for more political input from their electorate and interest groups rather than technical expertise.  Read more on the Governance blog.
Governance roundtables in Melbourne and Wellington
Melbourne School of Government, May 20
The Melbourne School of Government hosted a roundtable on the Asian Century and its impact on the study of public policy on May 20.  The panel included professors Helen Sullivan, Pradeep Taneja and Janine O'Flynn of the University of Melbourne as well as Governance co-editor Alasdair Roberts.  The panel discussed a forthcoming commentary by Helen Sullivan and Sarah Bice.  Read and comment on the work-in-progress.

And at Victoria University of Wellington, academics had a roundtable discussion about the thirtieth anniversary of the watershed New Zealand election of July 1984.  The long-term impact of changes to the state sector that were begun in 1984 is discussed in a commentary by Jonathan Boston and Chris Eichbaum that will appear in the July issue of Governance.
Victoria University of Wellington, May 14
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