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There has been a significant proliferation of decentralization and local government reforms in the world, including Africa, in recent years. However, decentralization is particularly challenging in Africa where many countries face poverty and fragile democratic institutions. The purpose of this paper is to explore the decentralization efforts in Botswana and Zambia over time. The paper examines the types of the decentralization strategies undertaken and the progress of decentralization in both countries. In order to explore the success of decentralization in Botswana and Zambia, this paper focuses on a comparative analysis of local government in the context of political reforms undertaken by both governments. This paper argues that all three mechanisms of deconcentration, devolution, and development of a viable local political process are necessary for successful decentralization. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper carries out a comparative analysis of high-skilled immigration (HSI thereafter) policies in advanced industrial countries and seeks to explain differences in countries' policies in terms of openness towards HSI. I take from the traditional partisanship approach that political parties will pursue policies consistent with the preferences of their major constituencies. However, I divide labour into high- and low-skilled workers and capital into high- and low- skilled sectors and propose the following hypotheses. 1) If the constituency of the Left is strong among high-skilled workers, then I expect the Left to be against HSI. If the constituency of the Left is strong among low-skilled workers, then the Left should be guardedly supportive of HSI. 2) If the Right's constituency is made up to a large extent of high-skilled capital (businesses and employers), then I assume that the Right will be more supportive of HSI than the Left. I argue that divergence between advanced industrial countries' HSI policies continues, even if national governments display converging policy goals for more open HSI in order to fill labour market shortages at the high-skilled end. The shift toward greater HSI liberalization is visible in most countries, but it is not going on to the same extent or at the same rate. No consistent HSI position of left and right parties exists cross-nationally because different coalitions between sectors of high-skilled labour, low-skilled labour and high-skilled capital take place. I present several country examples to analyze different HSI outcomes by portraying the preferences of actors that are aggregated in various coalitions and intermediated by different institutional constraints (such as labour market organization and electoral system) across advanced industrial countries. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article calls for contextualizing inter-racial trust by examining the dynamics of the phenomenon with different community settings. It looks at the proposition that under varying community conditions, different forms of social capital might be transferable to inter-racial trust. A qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) and a cluster analysis on the Community Quotient matrix are performed in order to create a taxonomy of distinct social capital contexts that can be used to identify off the line cases.

The article presents a comparative analysis of nation-building in Cameroon and Nigeria. Particular focus is given to how two different political cultures approach nation-building, along with the political histories of the two countries. Also included are information on the different policies implemented by Cameroon and Nigeria to resolve the national question in an effort to establish their respective nation-states.

Levels of voter turnout are affected by institutional differences across states. Specifically, states differ in the number of days required to register prior to an election and the number of days one is required to reside within that state, ranging from 0-30 days. States with longer requirements may be responsible for decreased turnout rates that negatively affect the nation as a whole. This study comprises a comparative analysis of the 50 United States where as of yet a comparative study has not conducted on the restrictions set forth by individual states and how it affects turnout as a nation. Since voting is a two step process of first registering then voting, lower voter turnout may result. An Ordinary Least Squares multivariate regression analysis was used to examine the effects of institutional state restrictions which include closing dates, residency requirements and felony disenfranchisement laws. Political culture was incorporated as well by utilizing the level of social capital exhibited by the states. The socio-economic levels of the states populations were held constant and were comprised of education levels and income. Each variable was regressed with total voter turnout for the 1996, 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. The results revealed that restrictive registration policies negatively affect voter turnout at the state level while an increase in civic participation showed an increase in turnout. The most significant increase in turnout was exhibited by those states with no registration or Election Day Registration policies in place. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]