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The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between governance structure and tourism growth in China. This study examines the worldwide governance indicators' correlation with tourism development (TD) through the time and frequency approach. The sample used in this study covers the duration from 2002Q1–2019Q4; the connection among the variables under consideration, named corruption control, political stability and absence of violence/terrorism, the rule of law, voice and accountability and regulatory quality, is examined individually with respect to TD. The outcome of the study highlights the considerable importance of governance structure indicators in developing the tourism sector. Moreover, the results verify causal connections among the time‐series of the variables under consideration, pointing towards the dynamic nature of their influence. Based on the results, this study stresses the imperative role of government and authorities in improving the quality of governance. Moreover, governance indicators are crucial for economies as they portray the reputation and image of a country, therefore interesting international tourists and strengthening the tourism sector. Additionally, the results not just emphasize the significance of a strong governance structure but also call for a strategic plan which fosters TD in the upcoming years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is a unilateral duty‐free access program granted by the United States (US) to exports from sub‐Saharan African (SSA) countries. However, provisions of the AGOA text specify that countries can be suspended from the program in case of political turmoil and human rights violations that threaten democracy and the rule of law. This paper constructs a two‐step framework combining matching techniques and gravity regression to quantify the loss of exports due to AGOA suspensions using high‐disaggregated data of exports (10‐digit HTS level) from Africa to the US during 2001–2020. The AGOA suspension resulted in a 54% decline in SSA countries' exports to the US. Estimations suggest that, since 2004, the US suspension policy led to a reduction in exports from suspended countries of approximately 691 million USD on average per year. Over the 17 years (2004–2020), the suspended countries lost a total of 11.7 billion USD in the value of their exports to the US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to synthesize knowledge on the interconnections between the rule of law and environmental sustainability by reviewing existing literature across various contexts. The topic is timely and highly relevant, particularly in the context of climate change, global environmental challenges, and ongoing discourse about the role of the rule of law in promoting sustainable development. We utilized the PRISMA framework for literature search and selection, organizing it into two main themes: one investigating the direct effects of the rule of law on environmental policies and regulations, while another examining its mediated role related to financial development, foreign direct investment, trade openness, equitable resource distribution, human development, and innovation's influence on environmental quality. This review underscores the significance of clear frameworks, fair accountability mechanisms, and stakeholder engagement in preventing institutional collapse and ensuring effective environmental sustainability. A major gap identified in the existing literature is the limited exploration of specific components of both concepts, such as fundamental rights, the justice system, biodiversity, and waste management. These areas present avenues for future research. This review offers insights for policymakers to advance global environmental objectives through a better understanding of the role played by the rule of law in promoting environmental sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines pardon to develop a more holistic understanding of prerogative. Executive prerogative, the power to do what is necessary for the public good without the explicit sanction of the law and sometimes against it, is widely seen as an extraordinary power most relevant in times of crisis. Pardon, however, has been historically understood as an important example of prerogative. Even in times of political stability, pardon and therefore prerogative are nearly always needed to maintain rule of law because pardon preserves the reputation of the law. American political practice and political theory both indicate that pardon is less dangerous to rule of law than other forms of prerogative. My analysis of the pardon prerogative reveals that exercises of prerogative threaten to entirely displace rule of law only insofar as they can achieve something without rule of law that rule of law normally achieves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promulgation is a fundamental component of most theories about the rule of law yet remains an under‐theorised aspect of the concept. This article makes two contributions concerning the functions of promulgation in the rule of law. First, promulgation can be broken down into formal promulgation, the process of formally publishing rules, and full‐bodied promulgation, where public officials will informally intervene to inform citizens about a change in the law. Full‐bodied promulgation is necessary in certain cases for the rule of law to be satisfied. The article constructs this argument, discussing the virtues of promulgation, and explaining how they are not all satisfied by formal promulgation alone. It explains the distinction between formal and full‐bodied promulgation, and how this distinction plays out in theory and in practice. Second, the article argues that full‐bodied promulgation is necessary in two specific instances: where a new rule diverges from a long‐standing legal rule, and where a new rule diverges from pre‐existing moral norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hayek and Buchanan endorsed Böhm's "private law society" as expressive of the ideal of a government of laws, and not of men. But they also acknowledged that among the many, the enforceability of legal custom, adjudication, and legislation must be politically guaranteed by a state. Due to unavoidable state‐involvement, risks of excessive rent‐seeking and authoritarian arbitrary government loom large once "rules of rule change" enable sophisticated forms of ruling by law. Even if in WEIRDS (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic, Societies) legal rules are enacted, modified, and derogated exclusively according to legal "rules of rule change," the prevalence of the key attributes of "generality, certainty, and equality of enforcement" of the Rule of Law is in no way guaranteed. — The paper addresses this and the role, nature, and significance of constraining ruling by law through practicing the "political ideal of the Rule of Law". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The last decade has witnessed material interest in the relevance of organisational purpose to organisational governance for both for‐profit corporations and charities. A purpose‐focus promises greater clarity for responsible person duties, as well as motivational benefits. However, despite its centrality, the nature of organisational purpose remains under‐theorised. This article first explores theoretical understandings of organisational purpose to provide a robust base for purpose‐based governance theories and to provide potential methods for identifying organisational purpose. This is a descriptive project. Second, it examines the extent to which that theoretical understanding is reflected in charity law. This is a mildly normative project – all else being equal, there are rule of law reasons (greater clarity and stability) for the law to reflect our best understanding of a phenomenon, such that theory may help guide choices between divergent legal approaches to matters like the relevance of organisational values and activities in characterising purpose. Third, the article employs organisational purpose theory to understand the duties applying to charity governors in the context of a change of purpose. This is a mildly normative step again – all else being equal, it would benefit the rule of law if governance obligations reflect our best understanding of organisational purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the next pandemic likely not far off, the debate over the suitability of a broad, general vaccination mandate (GVM) goes on. This essay proposes a novel argument in favor of GVM—one based on the reality that left to its own devices, executive power, from governments to the local administration and even corporations, tends anyway to impose on the nonvaccinated restrictions of such harshness that vaccination becomes de facto mandatory. The most coercive measure was banning the nonvaccinated from the workplace, which was done—despite the fundamental importance of the right to work to the human being—without any genuine examination of the elements of balancing (necessity, proportionality) required whenever a right is limited by the authorities. Mandating vaccination de jure, by parliaments, before the next pandemic strikes would have the merits of avoiding legal hypocrisy and would be achieved following national public debate and a thorough process of balancing the rights at stake. Key points: "No jab, no job" policies adopted by executive power in pandemics make vaccination de facto mandatory.These policies are highly coercive, as joblessness is an unreasonable alternative to vaccination.De facto mandatory vaccination eludes the requirement of proportionality and rights balancing.Especially the use by private executive power (business) of such coercion is unacceptable.De facto mandatory vaccination is a case of legal hypocrisy.Legal hypocrisy is harmful to democracy and the rule of law, and erodes trust in legal and political institutions.General de jure mandatory vaccination, adopted before the pandemic by parliaments, is therefore preferable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While in Poland the October 2023 elections led to a government halting the rule of law crisis, in Hungary the political situation continues to deteriorate. Focusing on European Parliament resolutions, this article analyses Hungarian developments from the prism of human dignity, the EU's first foundational value under Article 2 TEU. First the article discusses the key features of human dignity with reference to the original commitment to human dignity under the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to the EU Charter. Secondly, it uses these key features as an analytical grid for evidencing the construction of a counter‐model of human beings made to live in a society of inequality and exclusion. Finally, this paper outlines five reasons why human dignity as the first Article 2 value is breached by the Hungarian regime and why the EU Commission's decision not to trigger Article 7(2) is so problematic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lack of convergence between rating agencies in the assessment of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects of companies leads to the so‐called ESG rating disagreement. Although this phenomenon causes confusion and uncertainty among investors, it is still little investigated. Previous research has only focused on some determinants of the disagreement, mainly related to nonfinancial disclosure and corporate aspects, while broader determinants remain unexplored. This study aims to fill this gap by analysing the effects of market value, industry sensitivity, and institutional context on disagreement between two different rating providers. To achieve this goal, a cross‐sectional analysis was conducted for 1809 companies from the S&P 1200 Global Index. The results show that companies with a better market rating, belonging to critical sectors and located in countries with a better institutional environment, have a lower level of ESG disagreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the European Union's response to the rule of law crisis, focusing on the emergence of a new conditionality regime. It highlights the challenges faced by the EU in safeguarding its values amidst backsliding in certain Member States. The article delves into the political dynamics within EU institutions, the implementation of soft and hard policy instruments, and the effectiveness of the new rule of law regime. It concludes by drawing five lessons from the EU's response to the rule of law crisis, emphasizing the importance of internal and external factors in shaping the EU's political authority and credibility. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the 2023 elections in Poland and Slovakia, highlighting the change elections marked by the electorate's reaction to the governing parties' performance. The return of prominent politicians to power in both countries led to significant shifts in the direction of democracy, impacting the European Union and international politics. The elections also revealed deep divisions in public opinion and marked a period of reversal, restoration, or revenge politics, with implications for democracy in both nations. The formation of new governments in both countries was influenced by the mechanics of the electoral systems, with coalitions playing a crucial role in shaping the outcomes. [Extracted from the article]

Research on enforcing compliance with the European Union's (EU's) rule of law value has focused on the roles of the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Court of Justice of the EU. However, the Council of the EU has attracted less attention. Existing scholarship has convincingly established that the rotating Presidency can crucially influence the functioning of the Council, and, accordingly, this paper examines the discretionary impact the Presidencies have towards Art.7 procedures. Drawing on official documents and statements, this paper compares how the various Presidencies from 2018 to 2022 have used their privileged position on the Council's agenda to decide whether to move forward with hearings. In doing so, they selected appropriate agenda‐shaping strategies, shaped the Commission's perceived opportunities to exercise its agenda prerogatives, avoided compromises on the trios' agendas and, sometimes, benefited from not dealing with Art.7 to pursue other agenda priorities. The Presidency's wide room for manoeuvre hinders the Council's activity in scrutinising backsliding governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that the protection of 'community interests' in international law includes intertemporal obligations of States, in cases where it is scientifically foreseeable that preserving the 'status quo' of a protected community interest is increasingly unlikely. The argument is developed for climate change as a 'common concern of humankind' and based on the premise that even if a temperature limitation of 1.5°C would be achieved towards the end of this century, future generations will nevertheless live in a world that has fundamentally changed due to current policy and law choices. The article introduces the new concept of 'intergenerational preparedness' to operationalise and expand the normative scope of the principle of intergenerational equity. While some argumentative structures will be examined where intergenerational preparedness can be given effect through legal interpretation, the expectation that States must adopt preparatory measures to account for their community interest obligations deserves a more explicit recognition. It is a matter of the (environmental) rule of law to protect community interests on a time continuum, and this encompasses measures to prevent the deterioration of protected interests and to prepare communities for foreseeable detrimental changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We study the relationship between lack of recusals by Supreme Court justices in cases where they have a direct or indirect personal financial interest and diffuse support for the Court. Justices should recuse when they have a personal stake in a case; otherwise, decisions are perceived as biased and violating the rule of law. Despite popular interest in this behavior and significant consequences for societal acquiescence, there are no empirical studies assessing this relationship. Methods: We construct a survey experiment with four conditions and a control. Each condition displays an article discussing the failure of different justices to recuse from a case involving a direct (stocks owned in the litigant party) or an indirect (stocks owned in the industry of the litigant party) personal financial interest. Results: We find that not recusing from a case where direct personal financial interests exist negatively affects institutional legitimacy, but indirect conflicts of interest show no effect on diffuse support. Additionally, ideological congruence between the public and justice involved in the scenario not only does not mitigate negative effects but rather enhances harm toward diffuse support. Conclusion: Non‐recusals in cases where a justice has a direct financial conflict of interest negatively affect Court legitimacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Central bank independence (CBI) has been widely advocated as a means to address the time‐inconsistency problem of controlling inflation. Consequently, many countries have embraced central bank reforms since the 1990s. While extant research in political science has sought to unveil the consequences of CBI, there remains an unexplained variation in the response of countries with regard to capital account openness. Notably, a positive association exists between CBI and capital account openness due to the constraints CBI places on leaders' discretionary monetary and fiscal policies, thereby fostering reliance on financial policy to boost their economies. However, this relationship is contingent on the domestic political contexts of countries. CBI leads to capital account liberalization only when the rule of law is guaranteed, given that CBI is often stipulated by laws. Therefore, in countries where political leaders can easily override formal rules, CBI shows no discernible impact on capital account openness. Employing two‐way fixed‐effects and error‐correction models, the study reveals that CBI increases capital account openness only in democracies, in the presence of multiple veto players, and a high level of transparency. The findings underscore the pivotal role of the domestic political environment in analyzing how CBI constrains political leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a sample of EU banks covering the period 2007 to 2021, I explore the impact of gendered language on bank board diversity policies. I find that gendered language negatively affects banks' gender diversity practices, especially after the passage of board reforms. Further, I find that rule of law and government efficiency explain the relationship, suggesting that these are useful mechanisms to reduce the negative effect of language gender‐marking orientation on banks' gender diversity practices. However, results do not show a statistically significant effect of board gender diversity on riskiness of banks operating in countries with higher language gender orientation. My study provides a timely contribution to the literature by filling the gap regarding the importance of language gender‐marking orientation in explaining banks' diversity practices and suggesting that regulators and institutions should take stronger actions aimed at reducing such cross‐country heterogeneity. It also provides useful insights for EU regulators following the passage of the mandatory "Women on Boards" Directive in 2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study attempts to fill an important gap in the empirical literature by investigating the impact of institutional quality in destination countries on emigrants from Türkiye using bilateral migration data from 2010 through 2020. For this purpose, the study builds an augmented gravity model, including economic, geographic, and cultural variables in an exponential form and estimates it by the Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood (PPML) method. Empirical results significantly confirm the pulling role of strong institutions in destination countries for emigrants from Türkiye since all institutional quality indicators are positively associated with emigrant movements, albeit just one of them, regulatory quality, is statistically insignificant. Among indicators of institutional quality, the most pulling ones for emigrants are voice and accountability and the rule of law, followed by government effectiveness, control of corruption, and political stability and absence of violence, respectively. Overall results indicate that institutions are front‐line players in the emigrants' migration decision and destination choice process. In this context, policy‐makers in both Türkiye and the destination country may implement an institutional policy considering the outcomes stemming from migration movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing body of research theorizes that partisanship can undermine democracy as citizens prioritize their political interests over abstract norms and values. We argue that crises might counteract intense partisanship by giving citizens clarity on the threats posed by rule of law violations. Examining the differential application of a law – a breach of democratic norms – we draw on an experiment embedded in representative surveys of Germany, the United States, Hungary and Poland to examine citizens’ sense of appropriate punishment for elites’ violation of a municipal mask‐wearing ordinance. We find evidence of partisan bias in citizens’ willingness to support punishment in all four countries. But, in the two consolidated democracies, we find that concern about the Covid‐19 crisis diminishes partisan biases in punishment preferences: citizens who are most concerned about the crisis also model the most consistency in their willingness to hold copartisans into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the historical and social origins of the bifurcation in the political institutions of China and Western Europe. An important factor, recognized in the literature, is that China centralized state institutions very early on, while Europe remained politically fragmented for much longer. These initial differences, however, were amplified by the different social organizations (clans in China, corporate structures in Europe) that spread in these two societies at the turn of the first millennium AD. State institutions interacted with these organizations, and were shaped and influenced by this interaction. The paper discusses the many ways in which corporate organizations contributed to the emergence of representative institutions and gave prominence to the Rule of Law in the early stages of state formation in Europe, and how specific features of lineage organizations contributed to the consolidation of the Imperial regime in China. This publication follows on from the Economica Phillips 2022 lecture presented by Professor Guido Tabellini on 01 December 2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the nexus between Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and financial deepening is critically examined. The study employed a robust dynamic panel cross‐sectionally augmented distributed lag method for 31 countries in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). The results reveal that: (1) a strong significantly positive long run impact of FDI on financial deepening exists; (2) real gross domestic product (GDP), trade openness and government effectiveness stimulate the positive FDI–financial deepening nexus; (3) the strength of the FDI–financial deepening nexus also depends on the percentile position in the income distribution of SSA countries (countries in the upper strata of the income distribution evidently had stronger FDI–financial deepening relations than those in the lower strata and (4) real GDP, trade openness and government effectiveness also enhance financial deepening in SSA. The study recommends that governments in SSA should foster fiscal, financial and regulatory incentives for attracting FDI for improved financial depth in SSA by: strengthening the regulatory frameworks and institutions of governance through the removal of unwarranted governmental interferences in the administration of justice and electoral processes; removing multiple tax regimes; and stabilizing prices and exchange rate volatility via stimulating local productivity and guaranteeing the rule of law, political stability and security of life and property in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to assess how some governance dynamics, such as political stability and the rule of law, moderate the incidence of some macroeconomic factors (i.e., domestic investment and trade openness) on tourism development. The focus of this study is on 47 countries in sub‐Saharan Africa with data from 2002 to 2018, and the Generalized Method of Moments is employed as the empirical strategy. From the findings, synergy effects are apparent in the role of the rule of law in moderating domestic investment for tourism development in terms of tourism receipts. It follows that, for the sampled countries, promoting tourism development can be most effective if policies for enhancing domestic investment and promoting the rule of law are implemented simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, nexuses between governance and trade performance in terms of natural resource rents are assessed in 44 Sub‐Saharan African countries. The empirical evidence is based on Tobit regressions. The findings show that political governance (entailing "voice and accountability" and political stability) and institutional governance (consisting of the rule of law and corruption control) have a negative effect on trade performance. The findings are consistent with the perspective that resource rents are linked to inefficiencies in governance which are further detrimental to trade performance within the remit of natural resource rents on the one hand and, on the other, the premise of the prevailing weak institutions in the region less likely to boost trade performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the 1990s onwards, fraud detection has become an increasingly important focus in the design and implementation of a variety of welfare schemes, including unemployment benefits, social assistance benefits, pensions, and personal care budgets. This culminated in the 2014 Fraud Act, which introduced a system of high sanction in all cases of benefit fraud, even if they were causes by administrative errors. In 2020 a parliamentary investigation committee concluded that the Dutch government had violated the foundational principles of the rule of law through the way suspected fraudsters with childcare allowances had been treated. This so‐called Childcare allowances affair undermined the support for the harsh approach to fraud and led to a series of proposals to reform the Dutch 'surveillance welfare state'. The Dutch Childcare allowances affair is an interesting case of a social policy crisis because its origins are not external events but lie in the regular implementation of policies that have been approved and supported rather widely by politicians, policymakers and street‐level bureaucrats. In this article, we define and apply the concept 'institutional implosion' to analyse the Childcare allowances affair and its consequences. Moreover, we argue that the implosion in this affair follows from an extension of the target group from 'non‐deserving' to 'deserving' citizens. Whereas the Fraud Act primarily was aimed towards recipients of unemployment, disability and social assistance benefits, a change in the system of childcare allowances extended the scope of the Fraud Act to an almost universal group of parents that use childcare facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By relying on province‐level data from Italy, this paper empirically studies the factors that correlate with the development of third sector organizations (TSOs) in the Italian territory. Moving beyond traditional explanations of TSOs development based on population heterogeneity theories, our analysis points to the role of public institutions as key driving factors of Italian TSOs development. It specifically suggests that public authorities may shape the development of TSOs through three different, albeit interconnected, institutional dimensions: (1) control of corruption—that is, design and implementation of policies and regulations to prevent corruption and strengthen trust in the relationships between public authorities and TSOs; (2) rule of law—that is, creation of stable legal frameworks to reduce the uncertainty faced by TSOs when collaborating with the public sector and to limit arbitrary decisions by politicians and bureaucrats; (3) government effectiveness—that is, improving governments' credibility and administrative capacity to provide grants and funds to TSOs for social and public services delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We leverage theoretical insights from political economy to study several aspects of the institutional development of the Italian city‐states during the High Middle Ages (1000–1350). A society's regime type depends on its domestic balance of power. When the ruled can credibly threaten to punish a rogue ruler, the rule of law prevails. If the ruler can easily overpower the ruled, despotism results instead. The transition from one regime to the other results when exogenous shocks and endogenous dynamics disturb the prevailing balance of power. This framework accounts for the rise and eventual decline of rule of law regimes in the towns of central and northern Italy between the 10th and 14th centuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses how the automation of border control challenges the rule of law requirement on sufficient limits to discretion by using the idea expressed by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) non‐delegation doctrine that it is possible to make a clear distinction between technically complex assessments and political discretion. To illustrate these challenges, the article uses the examples of the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) and the conferral of discretionary powers to EU agency Frontex to establish pre‐determined risk criteria. The article argues that not recognising the inherent political aspects of exercising technical powers leads to insufficient limits to discretionary powers in the context of automated risk assessments. Beyond raising serious rule of law concerns of arbitrary exercise of power, the idea that technical assessments and policy choices can be clearly separated enables 'algorithmic discretion' as a new form of administrative discretion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The essay deals with the enhancement of the legal framework for informal readmissions at internal borders enshrined in the former Schengen Border Code (now Union Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders), which in turn requires enhancement of bilateral police cooperation. It focuses on the impact of the new rules on the prohibition on police controls equivalent to border checks to highlight that the case‐law of the Court of Justice on the matter creates a huge grey area which is critical for the ideal of a border‐check‐free Union. Increased use of video surveillance and other technologies also faces the legal bottleneck of prohibition on police controls having equivalent effects to border checks, as well as raising serious concerns about fundamental rights. It is argued that the situation resulting from these amendments to the former Schengen Border Code should be considered in terms of an impending rule of law crisis at internal borders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the author discusses articles within the issue on various topics, including the rule of law crisis occurring within Europe, accountability mechanisms to safeguard the rule of law in the European Union, and the challenges in ensuring access to justice.

With the discharge procedure of the 2020 budget of Frontex, the European Parliament played a primary role in addressing the policy drift of the most important decentralised agency operating in the area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ). This case demonstrates the potential of the discharge tool in steering the performance of decentralised agencies at a time when the mandate of these agencies within the EU executive order is affected by a structural accountability deficit. Confronted with a Rule of Law crisis in the AFSJ, the European Parliament has effectively leveraged the evolving normative framework to imbue the discharge process with significant political oversight functions. In this article, I aim to show that a constitutional dimension of the discharge procedure can be conceptualised, enabling the European Parliament to reaffirm its political account‐holder role as derived from the Treaties and ensure agencies' compliance with their EU‐oriented mandate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to widespread human rights violations involving the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), multiple accountability mechanisms were activated, leading to the resignation of the agency's executive director. Does this mean the current framework can ensure Frontex's overall accountability? Playing with IT metaphors, this article scrutinises Frontex's accountability framework as a whole. It explores a holistic understanding of accountability, which includes judicial and non‐judicial (administrative, democratic, social) accountability mechanisms that can together safeguard the Rule of Law. The article highlights the fragmented and ineffective current accountability framework. It challenges traditional accountability notions and suggests a 'system reset', introducing the concept of systemic accountability. Systemic accountability addresses systemic issues underlying consistent rights violations through focused structural solutions. As an accountability model, it can be applied further than Frontex operations to the complex realities of shared administration at external borders, where multiple actors and obscured accountabilities lead to systemic violations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article emphasises the role of criminal law as a strategic form of accountability aimed at safeguarding the EU rule of law, especially when public officials are entrusted with powers that may violate fundamental rights. Abuses committed in the context of border management serve as a case study and a test bench for the more general argument developed in the contribution. It is argued that criminal law—through sanctioning serious abuse of power irrespective of any lucrative intent—contributes to the legitimacy of policies and actions carried out in the name of the union. As impunity gaps may result from the difficult application of domestic law, the article maintains that it is necessary to stigmatise at the union's level such misdeeds that go beyond cases of mere bad policy or 'maladministration'. It therefore advocates for a directive requiring Member States to criminalise abuse of powers, which are in breach of the rule of law as one of the foundational values enshrined in Article 2 TEU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Next to the rule of law 'crises' within Member States, a new facet of this rule of law crisis is emerging at the external borders of the EU, and sees the EU border agency Frontex as its epicentre. This article illustrates the multiple facets of this crisis which concerns Frontex's functioning and activities, discussing a form of 'agency capture' that occurred under the mandate of the former Executive Director and a legal framework ensuring limited monitoring and transparency on operations. Subsequently, the article delves into the constitutional meaning of the rule of law for an agency such as Frontex, both for its significance on relations between authorities and individuals and for the interplay between the rule of law and accountability. The article concludes by calling for a rethinking of the accountability instruments in place, to constrain more effectively the exercise of discretion by agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extant literature indicates that financial inclusion has a direct influence on economic growth. This has been examined by previous studies by analysing the link between financial inclusion and economic growth. This study uses the two‐step system GMM approach to investigate the moderating role of financial regulation and quality of institutions on the linkage between economic growth and financial inclusion in Africa, using balanced panel data of 52 African countries spanning 2002–2019. The findings reveal a number of things; (i) financial inclusion, financial regulation, and all proxies of institutional quality exert strong and significant effects on economic growth; (ii) institutional quality enhances the impact of financial inclusion on economic growth; iii. Financial regulation dampens the effect of financial inclusion on economic growth. Based on these findings, we recommend the following; (i) central, local governments, and policymakers should formulate public policy that promotes inclusive finance. Such policies should aim at removing barriers and constraints such as excessive customer identification requirements that hinder people from gaining access to finance; (ii) central governments and policymakers in Africa should refine policy that promotes the involvement of the citizenry in governance processes, promote accountability of public institutions, ensure effective governance systems, controls corruption, promote rule of law, and political stability and ensure quality legal and regulatory regimes; (iii) African central governments should fine‐tune policy aimed at strengthening institutions and the regulatory framework. By implication, strong, independent, and quality institutions coupled with sound financial regulatory framework is required to spur the growth of African countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whereas most studies on the European Union's (EU) responses to the rule of law crisis stress the underenforcement of EU law, this article offers a different perspective. Focusing on the long‐term dynamics concerning rule of law protection, we detect a gradual trend towards supranationalism. The Rule of Law Conditionality mechanism adopted in 2020 is the first instance of 'effective supranationalism', that is, a rule of law tool that combines supranational decision‐making procedures with binding and enforceable consequences. To explain this development in an area that has been marked by considerable resistance to efforts to strengthen supranational oversight, we draw on the agent‐centric historical institutionalist approach. Our qualitative study shows that supranationalisation has become possible through two interrelated factors: the joint strategies of community bodies, which have promoted competence transfer to the EU level, and the increasing marginalisation of sovereigntist positions within the Council, given the escalating conflicts with Hungary and Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine whether the strength of norms and tolerance for deviations play a role in explaining cross‐country differences in tax evasion (TEVA). We also investigate the effects of religiosity, legal enforcement, voice and accountability, and the stability of political systems on TEVA across 48 countries over the period 1997–2018. Results show that the higher the voice and accountability and the lower the degree of cultural tightness–looseness, the rule of law, and political stability, the higher the degree of TEVA across nations. The results are important for policymakers to assess the likelihood of TEVA from a holistic perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The March 2024 issue of World Affairs Journal covers a wide range of topics including artificial intelligence, cyberspace regulation, defense policy, international law, populism, African governance, South Korean foreign policy, and Dalit rights in India. The editor emphasizes the importance of political scientists and policy scholars in providing sound policy advice, particularly in the area of AI regulation. The issue includes articles on the United States Space Force, international law and cyberspace operations, refugee migration, African governance, South Korean foreign policy, the concept of a republic in the United States, and caste discrimination in India. The editor encourages readers to submit their own articles and commentaries on these topics. [Extracted from the article]

Despite previous studies investigating the impacts of various factors such as peace years, natural resources, and the rule of law on foreign direct investment (FDI), empirical findings remain inconclusive. Therefore, this study investigates the interplay between these factors in shaping host country conditions that facilitate FDI inflows. Using generalized additive models, we examine the simultaneous effects of peace years, oil wealth, and the rule of law on FDI inflows in a sample of non‐OECD countries from 1970 to 2009. Our results reveal that established peace is a critical factor in attracting FDI inflows for both oil‐exporting and non‐oil‐exporting countries. However, the effects of the rule of law vary depending on oil wealth. Oil‐exporting countries receive more FDI inflows when they have a weak rather than a strong rule of law, while non‐oil‐exporting countries tend to receive more foreign investments when they have a moderately strong rule of law. We argue that countries with oil wealth combined with a moderately weak rule of law provide an environment that is conducive to multinational corporations (MNCs) in extractive industries seeking monopoly rents. Conversely, countries without oil wealth should create stable yet efficient environments that protect property rights and promote labor market flexibility to appeal to non‐resource‐seeking MNCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the growing power and influence of corporations and governments in the 20th century, often referred to as a new leviathan. It explores how corporations have become difficult to regulate and have gained significant power comparable to nation-states. The article also discusses the expansion of government and the interdependent relationship between corporations and governments. It raises concerns about the potential loss of human freedom and the rise of technologies that offer a false sense of security. The article further delves into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including government responses and the erosion of trust in public health officials. It concludes by introducing a collection of articles in the issue that cover topics such as national security, biopolitics, truth distortion by global institutions, human rights, climate science, and alternative visions for the future. These articles explore the role of organizations like the World Economic Forum in shaping global policies, the manipulation of scientific information for political purposes, and the erosion of human rights protections. They also propose alternative approaches to governance, including the ideas of Henry George and the concept of wu wei. Overall, the articles emphasize the importance of critical thinking, transparency, and inclusive institutions to foster a more just and sustainable future. [Extracted from the article]

How does fiscal decentralization influence fiscal discipline and the probability of a fiscal crisis? Discrete choice analysis used with panel data reveals that crisis probability is associated positively with spending decentralization and negatively with vertical fiscal imbalance. These effects are prevalent in countries with a higher degree of tax revenue decentralization, while a stronger rule of law mitigates such adverse decentralization effects. The findings imply that reduced risk sharing against local shocks under tax revenue decentralization destabilizes the sustainability of a nation's fiscal system. Therefore, policymakers should be cognizant of the undesirable impacts of decentralization on fiscal crisis and indiscipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the impact of populism on the rule of law in Hungary and Poland. It argues that political discourse is important in setting the political agenda and is often followed by the criminalization of minorities, Euroskepticism, intervening in the operation of supreme courts, affecting the decisions of the judges, and disregarding international law and/or supranational legal orders. It also highlights how politicization and securitization increasingly operate under populist authoritarian regimes through the legal system and legislative initiatives to increase the power of the government and the ruling party. Discourse analysis is a valuable tool to reveal whether a legislator's intention serves the people or exploits power to change the structure and functioning of the political system. Thus, this article follows the course of politics in Hungary and Poland from discourse to hijacking democracy through instrumentalizing the rule of law. Related Articles: Deegan‐Krause, Kevin, and Tim Haughton. 2009. "Toward a More Useful Conceptualization of Populism: Types and Degrees of Populist Appeals in the Case of Slovakia." Politics & Policy 37(4): 821–41. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2009.00200.x. Skowronska, Kaja. 2021. "The Recent Politicization of Immigration in Poland in Light of Preexisting State Practices: Continuity or Change in the Understanding of Citizenship and Nationhood?" Politics & Policy 49(4): 940–67. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12424. Zafirovski, Milan. 2022. "Toward a New Political Democracy Index: Construction, Validation, and Calculation for Individual Societies and Types of Society." Politics and Policy 50(4): 663–99. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12488. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the salience of transparency in policy and democracy debates a global measurement of transparency has always been missing. In its absence, measuring the impact of transparency on accountability and corruption for a large number of countries has been difficult, with scholars using more or less adequate proxies. This paper introduces a new measurement of real transparency—the T‐index—using 14 de facto components, based on direct observations of official websites in 129 countries and five de jure components, based on the transparency laws and conventions adopted. The resulting index is a measurement with very good internal and external validity and moderate precision. The paper argues that de facto transparency must be considered alongside de jure (legal) transparency if we are to judge the impact (or lack of) transparency against accountability and corruption, as a large implementation gap exists, in particular in poor countries, between legal commitments and real transparency. The T‐index has significant impact on both perception and objective indicators of corruption, including perceived change in corruption over time as measured by the Global Corruption Barometer. An analysis of outliers shows that high transparency alone is not sufficient to achieve control of corruption, especially in countries with low human development and poor rule of law, although transparency is a robust predictor of corruption with GDP controls. The data with all sources is available for download as T‐index 2022 dataset: DOI 10.5281/zenodo.7225627 and an interactive webpage developed for updates is available at www.corruptionrisk.org/transparency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates how statehood experience influences financial institutions' efficiency through the quality of governance. To this effect, the study employs a Tobit instrumental variables technique with data from 22 African countries for the period 2002–2018. The state antiquity index, recently provided by Ang and Fredriksson (2018), is used to capture statehood experience whereas rule of law, voice and accountability, regulatory quality, political stability and absence of violence, government effectiveness, and control of corruption are the indicators of the governance quality. Our results show that statehood experience, directly and indirectly, influences financial institutions' efficiency. The nature of the direct effect is negative, while that of the indirect effect depends on the governance indicator considered. Indeed, the negative effect of statehood experience is moderated by the strict application of the rule of law and amplified by control of corruption, political stability and absence of violence, and excessive regulation. Thus, to reduce the negative effect of statehood experience on the efficiency of financial institutions, older African states should: i) promote strict enforcement of the rule of law and alternation of power, and ii) relax regulation and government intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For more than a decade now a profound rule‐of‐law crisis has gripped the European Union, and while the fight for the rule of law has topped not only the academic but also the judicial and political agenda, the results have been disappointingly meagre. This article argues that the main reason for that should be sought in a political strategic move of justifying the assaults on the rule of law by resorting to an "illiberal democracy." This premeditated political narrative shift has unleashed onto the political sphere and onto public discourse at large comprehensive doctrines which had hitherto been left dormant thanks to an overlapping consensus on the rule of law as a central building block of the political conception of justice à la Rawls. Once this overlapping consensus was broken, the rule of law itself lost its neutral character as a referee on the right among the many conceptions of the good, itself becoming part of the highly politicized power play for dominance among irreconcilable—liberal and illiberal—comprehensive doctrines. The overlapping consensus in the EU is thus broken, but there are no conceptual reasons inherent to the rule of law itself for which it could not be rebuilt in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study complements the extant literature by assessing the role of governance dynamics in food security in Ghana for the period 1980–2019. The empirical evidence is based on the fully modified ordinary least squares technique and governance is categorized into political (entailing political stability and voice and accountability), economical (consisting of regulatory quality and government effectiveness), and institutional (entailing corruption‐control and the rule of law) governance dynamics. The study finds that the engaged governance dynamics improve food security in Ghana. Policy implications are discussed with specific emphasis on the sustainable development goals. Related Articles: Ayanoore, Ishmael, and Sam Hickey. 2022. "Reframing the Politics of Natural Resource Governance in Africa: Insights from the Local Content Legislation Process in Ghana." Politics & Policy 50(1): 119–36. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12449. Oehmke, James F., Sera L. Young, Godfrey Bahiigwa, Boaz Blackie Keizire, and Lori Ann Post. 2018. "The Behavioral‐Economics Basis of Mutual Accountability to Achieve Food Security." Politics & Policy 46(1): 32–57. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12244. Pelizzo, Riccardo, and Zim Nwokora. 2018. "Party System Change and the Quality of Democracy in East Africa." Politics & Policy 46(3): 505–28. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12255. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development initiatives focused on illegal artisanal and small‐scale mining (ASM) typically assume that formalisation will address environmental degradation and poverty. But there is little research on legal small‐scale miners' (SSMs) perceptions of their environmental impacts, or on demographic characteristics that should inform development programmes. Based on a survey of 137 legal SSMs, this study analysed the perceptions and practices of legal SSMs within the context of an accountability, rule of law and anti‐corruption programme, with an environmental governance subtheme, in Ghana. Data suggest that formalisation may not be a panacea for improving environmental governance, findings with policy and practical implications for development programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I distinguish between four foundational narratives about the EU and outline how they continue to shape EU politics of the present day. The foundational narratives are (1) the EU as a peace project, (2) the notion that the EU is forged in crisis, (3) the sense that deeper economic interdependence fosters political change and (4) the idea that law can replace power politics in the EU. In order for the European project to address current challenges, such as climate change, economic instability, political polarization or the rule of law crisis, I argue that Europeans need to confront their past. History is not only the recollection of events; it represents the connections that the public and elites wish to make. So, in order to develop policy solutions to cross‐border issues, European contemporaries need to critically revisit past connections and to uncover blind spots. If Europeans revisit the EU's foundational narratives, they might also figure out what should change in the EU today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a footnote, Sagar announces that Smith is anything but an adherent to the idea now often associated with so-called Classical Liberalism, proponents of which sometimes claim Smith as an inspiration, and according to which liberty is something that exists prior to the institutions of the state, and respect for which properly imposes restraints upon what the state may rightfully do. Smith can't uphold this view, because "like Hume and Montesquieu, Smith saw the direction of European politics as being set by modern monarchies: the small southern republics had already had their day - the future belonged to the large states of northern Europe" (p. 97). Dr Sagar, senior lecturer in political theory at King's College London, considers Smith as a political thinker and not merely as a philosopher who casually engaged in political thinking, or as the founder of economics who could not avoid getting into policy issues. Sagar stresses that Smith understands slavery (a phenomenon so common in human history that not by chance many thought it to be universal - Smith feared it was) as the consequences of "the love of dominion and authority" ( I Lectures on Jurisprudence i (A) iii. [Extracted from the article]

This note explores the holding, context and aftermath of the judgments which declared the so‐called ʻimmigration exceptionʼ set out in the UK Data Protection Act 2018 incompatible with, and assumed it subject to, the (UK) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) restrictions clause (article 23). The subsequent limitation of this exemption's use to the government is impactful in itself. However, this case has much wider significance. Firstly, the finding that the restrictions clause mandates granular specificity places in jeopardy many exemptions not only in the UK but also in EU States. Secondly, the assumption that this article was engaged is questionable since, as reworded post‐Brexit, it is restricted to limitations laid down in delegated legislation. Nevertheless, this rewording depended on powers limited to addressing post‐Brexit technical ʻdeficienciesʼ and so is ultra vires. The Court of Appeal should have addressed this in order to vindicate the rule of law and separation of powers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]