<p>One of the fundamental distinctions between classical political philosophy and the political philosophies of modernity is the attempt by modem philosophers to show that classical thought rests on utopian illusions about man and his relationship to nature. One of the early modern philosophers who played a crucial role in developing a conception of politics that rejects classical thought is Thomas Hobbes. However, in one crucial respect Hobbes builds on a conception of political philosophy as developed by the ancients: he believes that the study of politics as a means to the improvement of the human condition is possible and necessary. This is an assumption that he shares with the majority of modern political philosophers.</p> <p>If modern political philosophy is justified on the basis of its rejection of ancient thought as illusory, and yet shares a crucial assumption of ancient thought, then this raises the question of where to tum in order to gain a critical perspective on the political writings of modernity. One possible answer is the writings of St. Augustine. Augustine's Christian thought cannot be classified as either ancient or modem; it lies somewhere between the two. He is concerned with the development of man's moral virtue, but his conception of virtue and how it is obtained is very different from the ancient understanding of virtue. Moreover, he shares with the modem writers a rejection of the classical conception of reason, but his rejection goes much further. Augustine is skeptical of the idea that human reason can discover natural standards by which we can orient our lives. This differentiates him from modem writers like Thomas Hobbes. Perhaps then, Augustine can offer an alternative to the assumptions of ancient and modem political philosophers. It is my goal in this thesis to explicate this alternative conception of politics through a comparison of the writings of Augustine with the writings of Hobbes. Specifically, I will focus on Augustine's and Hobbes' critiques of political idealism in the City a/God and Leviathan respectively. I aim to show how Augustine's more realistic political analysis offers a formidable challenge to the modem conception of politics as outlined by Hobbes.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>This thesis is a response to the contemporary controversy concerning whether Rousseau's view of women is chauvinistic or radical in nature. These critiques remain inadequate guides to a clarification of his view since they disregard the tensions which permeate his perspective and they concentrate, instead, on assessing his treatment of women on the basis of pre-established frameworks of thought. Rousseau presents two arguments: first, he describes women as being powerless and suitable only for a home life; and secondly, he argues that better education ,should be extended to women because this would benefit society. If Rousseau's view is chauvinistic, why would he advocate measures to improve the situation of women and how would this benefit society? Alternatively, if his theory is radical, why would he argue that women be deprived of social power? This thesis will clarify Rousseau's view of women and show that the tension existing in his perspective is caused by his attempt to conceal a special role for women; one which makes them active social participants.</p> <p>This analysis,the~ will examine his perspective on women in:'relation to his views on men and society. Proceding in this manner is beneficial because: it provides a theoretical framework within which his treatment of women can be better understood; and it reveals Rousseau's account of male psychology, and his view of women cannot be understood without this; and it facilitates the comparison of the situation of women and social practices. This comparison is quite significant since it reveals the similarities between the role of women and that of the Legislator, and since it is from these similarities that Rousseau reveals his assertion that women are the actual, albeit covert, rulers of society. Rousseau, however, is not entirely radical; his view of women is radical in its aim, but it remains essentially chauvinistic.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>The dissertation is devoted to the development of a systematic theory of political experience. While this project involves, at first, the synthesis of the pragmatist tradition in political philosophy into a theory of reconstructive empiricism, it also entails the elaboration of this revision of political epistemology into a paradigmatic theory of human action. Using this paradigmatic theory of human action as the basis of analysis, an examination then follows of three generalized modes of political experience, and of the relationship which hold between them.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p>This dissertation examines how governments may use results-based budgeting to co-ordinate horizontal policies, and how a country's regime type may affect the incidence and success of such efforts. A rational choice institutional approach is used to frame the relations between "guardian" budget-makers in central budget agencies and "splender" civil servants in line departments. We undertake a quantitative analysis of primary budget documents of selected departments in the federal governments of Canada and the United States, and confirm our findings through a series of interviews with budget-makers, departmental officials and academics in both countries. Our findings suggest that, regardless of regime type, results-based budgeting is rarely used to help co-ordinate horizontal policies, for two main reasons. First, results-based budgeting's potential to co-ordinate is limited by methodological difficulites. In particular, it is often difficult to fully understand the casual theory behind programs and to fully measure all the relevant aspects of programs. Second, the motivation of budget-makers to so use results-based budgeting is limited by political disincentives. In particular, there are many disincentives to publicize the true objectives of programs and to reveal the actual performance of programs. On balance, the theoretical potential of and incentives to adopt "horizontal budgeting" is often outweighed by the practical difficulties and disincentives. This research contributes to existing knowledge of the public administration of expenditure budget-making by highlighting similarities between current budgeting systems in Canada and the U.S. and the program budgeting experiments of the 1960s and 1970s, by exploring the potential and incentives to use results-based budgeting to co-ordinate horizontal policies, and by advancing the research methodology of comparative budgeting studies. Furthermore, by increasing our knowledge of the process of budgeting, we also inform understandings of the contents of budgets, and so inform understandings of the contents of a wide range of policies and programs.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p>By constructing a theory of multi-level governance, the thesis advances a framework to study the internationalization of public policy and that of the international economy. The theory is used to analyse the autonomy of states and national governments in a globalizing environment. The thesis looks at the policy process in Canada and France in the financial services sector to determine the effects of multi-level governance on the way states take policy decisions. In Canada, the policy process for Bill C8, often incorrectly referred to as the merger legislation, was studied noting the changes that have occurred in the policymaking process since the last cycle of reform in the early 1990s. In France, the same type of analysis is provided for the newly adopted Financial Safety Bill, comparing the process for this legislation to that of the country's 1984 Bank Act. In both states, the discourse was adapted to include commitments and market opportunities provided through multi-level governance. The policy options studied took into account (though were not directed by) multi-level governance participation. The issue of competition was a dominant consideration in the policy process for both Canada and France. Lastly, the actors involved in the policy process have changed partly as a result of multi-level governance. Just as importantly, multi-level governance has strengthened the role of both public and non-governmental actors in policymaking. Contrary to those who see political globalization as restricting accessibility of policymaking processes, the strengthening of multi-level governance leads to greater openness of policy networks. Non-governmental actors, including private actors and consumer and civil society groups, are more prominent in these networks, but they do not exercise control, but rather engage further in broad-based policy consultation and negotiation. A striking feature of this thesis is the autonomy retained by states, even in Europe, in policymaking despite the internationalized nature of the fmance industry.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p>The use of "voluntary measures" as an alternative policy instrument by government agencies has increased across the world. Such initiatives are based on voluntary commitments by the private sector to improve their environmental performance beyond what the law demands. While there have been many studies which look at the implementation and design of such programs, few provide an empirical comparison of the effectiveness of voluntary measures to other policy instruments. This study provides a comparative analysis of the relative effectiveness of two voluntary measures (the ARET Program in Canada and the 33/50 Program in the United States) in reducing emissions of targeted toxic substances versus reductions under the mandatory regulatory system alone. Data were collected for two study populations, tracking trends in emissions of ten substances from 1988-2000: firms that were participants in the programs and nonparticipating firms (representing the business- s-usual scenario). These ten chemicals were common to the target lists of both programs. The Great Lakes Basin was used as the region of analysis as it is an area of high industrial activity and shared environmental policy between Canada and the United States. Data were also collected for each firm with regards to the following variables in order to evaluate how such firm characteristics affect both participation in and performance of the two programs: industrial sector; firm size; pollution prevention activities; region; compliance records; and participation in other voluntary programs. The study concluded that, for this sample of firms, the ARET program was shown to be more successful in achieving emission reductions than the standard regulatory system alone. Firms participating in the ARET Program reduced their emissions of the ten substances by 44 percent during the tenure of the program, versus a reduction of 18 percent by non-participating firms. For this sample of participating firms, the criticism that a large proportion of reductions claimed under the program actually took place before the start of the program in 1994 is proven false. In contrast, the 33/50 Program in the United States was not as successful. For this sample, participating facilities reduced their emissions of the ten substances by 49 percent during the tenure of the program versus a 60 percent reduction by non-participating firms (representing achievements made under mandatory regulations alone). Regarding firm characteristics: larger firms were both more likely to participate in and perform better in the ARET case study; firms located in Quebec reduced emissions more than those in Ontario; and no correlation was found between firm compliance records and participation in other voluntary programs and greater emission reductions which may indicate that firms joined the two programs as a way to improve their "green image".</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p>This dissertation examines the performance of policy makers in the environmental sector. It is suggested that policy makers perform at a high level when they are capable of making changes in existing policies. Specifically, policy makers must be able to expand the reach of their country's environmental policy to the agricultural sector and increase the intrusiveness as well as the comprehensiveness of policy instruments to prevent the intensification of farming from causing serious damage to the environment. When performing at a high level, however, policy makers should be able to achieve these policy changes without endangering the economic viability of agriculture. The general performance of policy makers was found to be higher than expected. It is argued in this dissertation, however, that France performed at a higher level than the United States which itself performed at a higher level than Canada. Variations in institutional arrangements explain these differences. In France, the European Union empowered environmental actors pressing for the adoption of intrusive environmental regulations for the agricultural sector. But this pressure was mediated by a corporatist policy network in a manner that minimized the cost of the policy to farmers. In contrast, the pressure for the adoption of stringent environmental regulations in the United States entered a federal arrangement in which state-civil society relations were regulated by pluralist policy networks. This enabled swift policy changes that conflicted with the interests of farmers in several states. Nevertheless, the American federal setting worked better than that of Canada where the central government failed to adopt a significant environmental policy for the agricultural sector and where environmental standards from one province to the next vary enormously.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p>This thesis explores the role of the Irish people as a dominant force testing and weakening the British Liberal Party in the years immediately preceeding the First World War. The period 1911-1914 is crucial in the development of Anglo-Irish relations, yet it has previously been almost entirely neglected. And though the decline of the Liberal Party has been the subject of considerable historical controversy, the part played by the Irish question has been largely overlooked.</p> <p>My thesis provides a detailed, analytical study of the Liberal government's response to the Irish crisis from 1911-1914. The main emphasis is placed on the activities of the Liberal cabinet at the centre of power in Westminster, giving particular attention to the influential roles of Asquith, Birrell, Lloyd George and Churchill.</p> <p>My sources have included cabinet and parliamentary papers, newspapers, Hansard, and relevant secondary material. The thesis is mainly based on about fifty collections of private papers of leading policiticans, back-benchers, and newspaper editors, including several not previously consulted by scholars.</p> <p>Though the Liberals shelved Home Rule from 1895 until the passage of the Parliament Act in 1911, the party retained a genuine commitment to Irish self-government. During 1911, the cabinet aimlessly considered United Kingdom devolution as a way to settle the Irish question. The scheme was finally abandoned as too ambitious and impracticable, but it remained a convenient panacea which could be used at points of deadlock in 1913-1914, when conciliatory negotiations seemed tactically expedient. The cabinet turned instead to the Gladstonian Home Rule bill of 1893, largely by default, and this provided the somewhat inadequate basis for the 1912 bill.</p> <p>The central theme of the thesis is the inability of Asquith's government to deal effectively with the Ulster problem. Asquith's failure was all the more tragic, since the years between the Parliament Act and the Easter Rebellion offered a unique opportunity to settle the Irish question. The Parliament Act at last made it a practical possibility, and its provisions allowed Asquith to incorporate special terms for Ulster into the bill during the first parliamentary circuit, without requiring Opposition agreement. But Asquith ignored the Ulster problem while the bill was being drafted, and rejected the appeal of Churchill and Lloyd George in February 1912 that Ulster should be excluded. The majority of the cabinet followed Asquith's lead in refusing to treat Ulster's resistance to HomeRule seriously until autumn 1913, when it was too late to avert the growing crisis.</p> <p>The parliamentary debates on Home Rule from April 1912 to January 1913 have been analysed thoroughly for the first time, concentrating especially on the reaction to the two significant Ulster exclusion amendments. The thesis then examines the various pressures leading towards conciliation by autumn 1913, and the secret negotiations between the party leaders from September 1013 to March 1914. Asquith's Ulster policy was finally wrecked by the Curragh incident in March 1914, since the government believed thereafter that it could not use the army to impose Home Rule on Ulster.</p> <p>Asquith's weaknesses as a war-time leader were already foreshadowed in his mismanagement of the Ulster crisis before the war. He relied throughout on a high-risk policy of prevarication, which had clearly failed by May 1914, though the utter hopelessness of the Irish situation was partially concealed by the European conflagration. The Irish problem of 1911-1914 also highlighted the essential problem for Liberalism of coming to grips with the 'progressive' demands of the twentieth century electorate, while still haunted by the traditional consitutional commitments of nineteenth century Gladstonian Liberalism.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p>The purpose of this thesis is to study the role that Canada played in the commonwealth and to assess the impact that this association had on several aspects of Canadian foreign policy from 1945 until 1968 by selected studies of particular issues that have been important to the Commonwealth during these years. The method used for assessing the evolution of Canada's relations with the Commonwealth is historical. In this historical study every aspect of the Commonwealth relationship was not surveyed, but our approach did permit a general assessment of changes in Canada's attitude and behaviour towards the Commonwealth and the impact that the association has had on Canadian foreign policy within the context of selected case studies.</p> <p>Indian membership in the Commonwealth, first as a Dominion in 1947 and then as a republic in 1949, transformed the association from one which was Anglocentric to one which was multiracial in composition. As a member, Canada was compelled to support principles which were fundamental to the new Commonwealth and embodied the aspirations of the non-white members. It was as a result of Asian membership that Canada became increasingly more tolerant towards admitting non-white immigrants, or at least those from Commonwealth countries, and furnished economic assistance. Indeed, the evidence indicates that the shape and content of our aid program in its early years was clearly influenced by our Commonwealth association.</p> <p>By 1961 it had become evident that the continued existence of the Commonwealth, serving as a forum to promote closer relations between peoples of different races, was threatened by the presence of a member state which practised a public policy of racial discrimination, and a British territory which continued to be governed by a white minority in sharp contradiction to the principles of this multiracial association. In order to preserve the Commonwealth from dissolution over these racial problems, Canadian prime ministers took a leading part in compelling South Africa to depart and repeatedly played a "lynchpinmanship" role during the Rhodesia issue.</p> <p>In sum, there was an extraordinary transformation in Canada's attitude and behaviour towards the Commonwealth between the mid-1940s and late-1960s. Moreover, the case studies concluded that successive Canadian governments were subject to direct and indirect influences from various Commonwealth actors and from the institution itself. Yet, while Canadian perspectives were broadened or initiatives apparently taken in the best interests of the Commonwealth, Canada shared similar interests and values with its fellow members, and achieved its own policy objectives by preserving this institution as an instrument of foreign policy. Thus, Canada had broadened its conception of the Canadian "national interest" to embrace the Commonwealth. To this extent, the Commonwealth had an impact on Canadian foreign policy.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p>This thesis examines the role of international organizations in the shipping industry, and specifically the role of UNCTAD's committee on shipping. By using the concept of regime analysis the thesis aims to establish how international agencies have reflected and challenged the structures and principles of the industry relative to other factors either specific to the sector or of a broader economic or political origin.</p> <p>Regime analysis is an outcome of the debate within international theory about the relevant focus for the study of international relations and the significance of international institutions. It seeks to establish the structure and dynamics of particular areas of the international system, or international political economy, and looks at the roles of states, and other actors, whether they be non governmental or international, in shaping the regime. It also examines the principles and norms which govern a regime and how these manifest themselves in practice. Within this context it becomes possible to assess how far international organizations are autonomous actors within that regime and how far they merely reflect its structure and principles.</p> <p>Using this analysis the thesis proceeds to examine the structures and principles of the international shipping regime. It surveys the progress of the regime from statism to a self-regulation and back again and looks at the factors behind these changes. It then looks at the role of international ,organizations in that regime and especially of UNCTAD. The development of the Shipping Committee is dealt with in the fourth chapter as is the evolution of the Code of Conduct for Liner Conferences. The conclusion assesses the significance of UNCTAD within international shipping and at the relevance of the case for regime analysis and theories of international relations.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)