<p>The downfall of the communist regimes of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union has given rise to a crucial debate in China, the last major bastion of communist countries in the world. The debate, which places advocates of thorough economic reform against those who wish to preserve the present communist system, has ended in a tacit agreement between them that the Chinese regime should continue with economic reform if the regime is to survive in power. This policy raises the prospect of the link between China's post-Mao reforms and the democratization of the nation, following the logic which holds that as an economy grows rapidly, a stable democracy is likely to emerge and consolidate. It is, however, apparent that economic development cannot alone determine the prospects for democratization. The case of china demonstrates that while economic activities have increased, the limited political liberalization that took place during the early and mid-1980s has not progressed any further; the authoritarian natrire of China's political system has even been strengthened. Therefore, the analysis needs to be expanded to other variables in order to help explain what has been happening in China. It is argued that due to socioeconomic development, China's political culture and eliie politics, the process of political change in China tends to follow the evolutionary authoritarian route wnicn involves a dual transition. The first phase of the transition, which has been under way since the late 1970s' involves a transformation from a politically and economically closed communist regime to an authoritarian regime with a market-oriented economy. This process will continue in the short to medium term after Deng's death. The second phase will see the transformation of the present authoritarian regime into a democratic government based on a market economy. The preconditions for China's departure from communism to democracy will be the spread of economic prosperity, changes in the political culture, and the emergence of new political elites, most likely the fifth or sixth generation of rulers who wiil show less aversion to the idea of democratization and put up less resistance to democratizing pressures from below.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>As the world approached the end of the 1980s, human rights and democracy became major issues not only within the Third World countries, but also in international relations. lt was in this newly emerging environment that Indonesians found themselves at the centre of a prolonged debate about, on the one hand, the need to maintain strict political control to enable the country to catch up with the more developed countries and, on the other hand, the need to democratize the existing political system to accommodate increasing national and international pressures for more democratic governance. This thesis is of the opinion that, contrary to the pessimistic views held by some scholars, Indonesia will inevitably democratize in the future, although the process of democratization will proceed only gradually and cautiously, under Indonesia's own terms, and towards Indonesia's own form of democracy that blends some basic values and norms of Western democracy with indigenous values and norms. This thesis focuses on the four, most commonly discussed factors influencing democratization-socioeconomic development, international factors, the role of the elite, and political culture. However, since domestic politics does not take place in an international vacuum, and because international interference in domestic politics of the Third World countries is not always welcomed by the latter, this thesis also gives special attention to the realm of Indonesian foreign policy and relates it to the issues of democratization. A central feature of this thesis is to understand Indonesian political culture and the elites of the Suharto government. lt will be contended that, while socioeconomic and international factors make it increasingly difficult for the present government to maintain its strict political control over the population, Indonesian political culture and the persistence of elites' interests leave litfle room for revolutionary, large-scale, foreign-influenced democratization to take place.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>The purpose of this thesis is to explore the concept of indigenous self-determination as it is being developed and put into practice by the indigenous peoples and governments of Canada and Australia. Based on a critical comparative analysis of the four most recent and innovative indigenous self-determination initiatives of Canada and Ausffalia - the dismantling of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northem Development (DIAND) initiative and the creation of the Territory and Government of Nunavut in Canada, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) initiative and the development of responsible territorial government for Torres Strait in Australia - the central argument of this thesis is that Canada and Australia's unique socio-political contexts (defined by indigenous and non-indigenous histories, institutions and cultures) determine how indigenous self-determination is defined, pursued and given a meaning in practice by indigenous peoples and government in the two countries' This thesis concludes that the socio-political context of Canada has permitted a more broadly based and notably more extensive definition, pursuit and meaning in practice of indigenous self-determination than permitted by the socio-political context of Australia. ln Canada, self-determination is directed toward the attainment of self-government with indigenous peoples largely directing the process and non-indigenous peoples generally supportive of this pursuit. In Australia, the pursuit of selfdetermination is directed towards the attainment of self-management with Commonwealth and State governments largely directing the process and non-indigenous Australians generally opposed to this pursuit.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>This thesis explores the utility of Marxist conceptions of the state in examining the relationship between the state and development in Bra.zil. The development of the state form in Brazil is analysed as a factor of dependent development, State-class relations, with respect to the ruling class and the subordinate classes, are examined to determine the logic of state intervention in Brazil's capitalist development. State intervention is seen both in its political context eg. as a coercive apparatus to contain class antagonisms, and in its economic context eg. as the means by which capital accumulation is facilitated. Finally the thesis takes into account the crisis of the state which is the result of the contradictions of dependent development. Through the study of the material conditions of Brazil's development and the role of the state in that process, it becomes evident that Marxist theory has much more to offer than traditional development theories assume.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>This thesis seeks to investigate the Sino-Canadian relationship in terms of shifts in policy and within the context of sovereignty. Canada's China policy since 1949 has been distinguished by three distinct: phases: "no China", "one China" and "greater China" strategies. The thesis reviews the reasons attributed to the Canadian government's adoption of each of the three approaches. Furthermore, this thesis outlines the characteristics of Canada's "no China", "one China" and "greater China" policies. The conceptualization of sovereignty outlined in the works of Jean Bodin and Thomas Hobbes provides a framework in which the evolution of Sino-Canadian relations may be analyzed. Negative and positive sovereignty present the different attributes of sovereIgn power. In terms of the exercise of sovereignty, the notions of final and ultimate recourse are useful in interpreting the Chinese perception of sovereign authority. It is only when a foreign state, such as Canada, intrudes upon the Chinese government's ultimate authority that a genuine intrusion upon Chinese sovereignty occurs. Conversely, the use of final sovereignty by Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Chinese provinces does not represent legitimate possession of power but merely the exercise of it; the sovereignty of the Chinese state remains paramount. This thesis outlines the characteristics and usage of both final and ultimate sovereign authority.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>There is no simple, single explanatory model which will explain why a given national legislative assembly is fixed at a particular size. A number of research tools are required to fully understand decisions regarding legislature size. This thesis contributes to our understanding of legislature size by outlining three approaches and then applying the research tools of these approaches to the problem of legislature size in Canada.</p> <p>The first approach is based on the assumption that any study of legislature size must include an exploration of the constitutional and legal context within which decisions are made. In Canada, where specific constitutional formulae have bound legislators to fix the size of the House at specific levels after each decennial census, it would be foolhardy to study legislature size without a solid understanding of these institutional constraints.</p> <p>The second approach suggests that it is essential, when studying legislature size, to recognize the substantial influence which population size typically exerts on legislature size. Comparative empirical analysis demonstrates that the size of nations' populations explains in the range of 80 per dent of the variance in legislature size between nations. Thus, the influence of population size must be fully explored.</p> <p>The third approach employed in this the~is, suggests that choices regarding legislature size can be explained with reference to prevailing conceptions of political representation. At its simplest level, the assumption behind this approach is that different understandings of political representation involve different priorities and different styles of representation, each of which will have different ramifications for legislature size. It is the emphasis placed on this previously under used approach which is the principle contribution of this thesis.</p> <p>With regard to legislature size in Canada, this thesis demonstrates that once the institutional constraints and the influence of population size are understood and accounted for, the choices which have been made regarding the size of the Canadian House of Commons can be most effectively explained by the pervasiveness of a Burkean conception of political representation.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>This thesis examines the competing perspectives of the Asia-Pacific region held by the different participants in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). APEC's regional definition includes North America, South America, East Asia and the Pacific. The result is a region with many diverse languages, religions, political and cultural systems and geographical locations. The notion of embracing the diversity of the Asia-Pacific region, espoused by APEC founders and economists, appeared to function well in the beginning. Now, however, this diversity may ultimately prove to be APEC's main weakness. Indeed, the major sources of divisiveness within APEC are the contrasting regional perspectives which are rooted in different definitions of the Asia-Pacific. Through a study of the four major divisive issues within APEC, membership and regional definition, defining and implementing objectives, the pace and process of institutionalisation, and the future expansion of the APEC agenda, this thesis will demonstrate that the competing conceptions of the Asia-Pacific have been affecting, and will continue to influence, the ability of APEC to fulfil its goal of free and open trade and investment.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>The advent of the Iranian revolution has provided social scientists with another example of rapid social transformation. An important feature of the revolution was the role of the clergy in leading the successful revolution against the apparently stable regime of the Shah, and in establishing an Islamic Republic in Iran. Most theories of revolution fail to address the role of culture in social processes. In his book, Revolution and the Transformation of Societies, S.N. Eisenstadt makes culture into a usable variable. Eisenstadt's five categories provide a schema to analyze the international, political, economic, social and cultural factors which contributed to the Shah's downfall, as well as the outcome of the revolution. The clergy emerge as a disembedded elite motivated by both symbolic and material interests. They led a revolutionary movement which demanded social and political reforms while asserting their Islamic identity.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>[missing page 226]</p> / <p>Conventional analysis suggests that the Canadian House of Commons suffers from a lack of experienced parliamentarians. This thesis attempts to provide an analysis of political careers in Canada, and suggests that not all careers are of such a short duration. An initial analysis of Canadian political careers found some evidence to support the argument that there is little opportunity for advancement within Parliament, and that this affects the choices individuals make about staying in political life. Politicians who made it to cabinet have had longer careers than MPs who spent their entire career as a private member.</p> <p>An analysis of exit patterns of politicians however, found that advancement within Parliament is not the only inducement for a long political career. MPs, both cabinet ministers and backbenchers, who leave parliament by choice tend to leave after a career that is much longer than that of members who leave through electoral defeat. This indicates that a number of MPs are not making decisions to leave office, based on their inability to receive quick promotions to positions of authority (namely cabinet or positions of authority within their parties).</p> <p>The thesis concludes by suggesting that the rational choice model has helped our understanding of political careers, but does not offer an encompassing explanation. It is suggested that future work in this field should examine the role that institutions (Parliament and parties) play in structuring MPs views about the attractions of pursuing a career in the Canadian House of Commons.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>The foreign policy of a state accounts for its activities, attitudes and behaviour toward other sovereign political units existing in the international community. Historically the pinnacle of responsibility for the formation of foreign policy has varied. With the advent of democratically elected governments in the western world, this responsibility has befallen on the elected governing party. In the democratic west a newly elected government can theoretically alter the foreign policy program inherited from previous administrations. In actual practice a governing party operates in an environment of constraining forces which limit the ability of an administration to substantially deviate from existing foreign policy. This thesis by addressing the formulation of foreign policy, will attempt to accomplish two primary objectives. The first is to illustrate many of the instrumental forces that play a significant role in the formulation of foreign policy. The other is to examine how the official development assistance (aDA) programs of three middle powers have undergone structural changes in order to reflect the respective donor's foreign policy. This thesis will concentrate its examination of aDA resource transfers during two historical periods. The first stage will consist of the years of the First Development Decade 1960-1969, the second the years of the Second Development Decade 1970-1979. These stages were selected because they signify the first concerted attempt by the nations of the advanced world to transfer development resources to states of the emerging world.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)