The present state of knowledge concerning Congressional elections involving incumbents runs something like the following. After 1964 a great decline in marginality occurred within contested incumbency districts. This decline related primarily to changes in individual voting patterns, especially among members of the challenger's party, who since 1972 have defected to incumbents at rates equal to or greater than their votes for their own party's candidate. However, this increased pro-incumbency voting was not accompanied by an increased incumbent visibility advantage over challengers. Moreover, our one visibility measure seems to have been defective because voters recalling neither candidate still strongly supported the incumbent. But name recall saliency being the only individual level measure over the period, the reasons for the rise in incumbent advantage amongl voters have become anybody's guess. The best guess perhaps is that increased constituency service aby incumbents induced a deeper impact among those to whom they were visible. This dissertation asserts that while the decline of marginal incumbent districts is hardly to be questioned, many claims about individual level effects surrounding the incumbent phenomenon (if it is a phenomenon) are mostly mythical. Pro-incumbency voting has been severely overestimated. The incumbent-challenger saliency gap among voters has never been introduced and all evidences of name recall available in the SRC-CPS Surveys have not been tapped. In establishing a methodology providing continuity across surveys, we discover that individual level pro-incumbent voting has risen at a more moderate pace than presently claimed, that the incumbent-challenger name recall gap has opened up over time due primarily to a severe decline in challenger saliency, that after controlling for several factors, name recall saliency is closely related to the changes which have occurred, and that when all evidences of name recall are tapped, those recalling neither candidate demonstrate the expected patterns, i.e., they favor neither incumbent or challenger. Among both partisans and independents only those recalling both candidates demonstrate a clear extra-salient effect. The relationship between those recalling both cadidates to those recalling only the incumbent appears to be especially important to developments within the so-called "period of change" in Congressional elections. Reasons for the pro-incumbent bias in the 1978 survey are also examined, going beyond the speculated nature of districts or voters sampled to focus on a proposed survey-induced bias. In conclusion, reasons for the decline of challengers, focussing on definite legislative acts rather than constituent service, are discussed with implications for politics, policy, and polity articulated.

The primary purpose of this analysis is to examine voting alignments in the U.S. House of Representatives during the post-New Deal era. The analysis focuses on House alignments during three periods: the 74th-76th (1935-40), the 84th-86th (1955-60), and the 94th-96th (1975-80) Congresses. Two approaches that have shaped the last decade's study of congressional voting alignments are considered. One is termed the party voting approach. It is designed to monitor change in the collective voting behavior of the legislative parties. The other is termed the policy content approach. It is designed to monitor change in the voting patterns associated with broadly defined policy areas. An examination in Chapter 1 of prior research reveals that the two approaches attend to different research problems and to different aspects of change in voting patterns. Despite the influence of both approaches in recent longitudinal analyses of congressional voting, the two have yet to be compared systematically. Chapter 2 considers the theoretical and conceptual tenets of the two approaches. The discussion leads to the development of a conceptual framework that depicts four scenarios of congressional voting alignments. It is then argued that longitudinal change and stability may be conceptualized as the movement (or lack of movement) between the four scenarios. The third chapter evaluates the conventional methodologies associated with the two approaches. Several problems are identified in both methodologies. Modifications are introduced to address the problems and the research design employed in the analysis is presented. The fourth chapter presents the results of the modified party voting approach and the modified policy content approach for the three periods. In general, the results indicate a decline of the partisan cleavage and an increase in both consensus and alignment fragmentation. The final chapter summarizes the major findings of the analysis, reconsiders the strengths and weaknesses of the two approaches, and draws comparisons with other research. In conclusion, possible causes and consequences of the changes observed are considered.

The nonpartisan slating group is an organization which serves the same functions as a political party, but operates in a nonpartisan electoral system. As such, it is extremely important in efforts to structure the scope of conflict in municipal electoral politics to favor identified interests. With its origins in the Municipal Reform Movement of the Progressive Era, those interests who established and most benefited from these organizations were predominantly upper and middle class and white. The nonpartisan slating group must therefore be understood as a further effort on the part of municipal structural reformers to institutionalize their domination of city politics. Their success has worked to the systematic disadvantage of working classes and ethnic and racial minorities.

This study examines the manner in which the House of Representatives has dealt with the appropriations of money. To that end I focused this research on two major areas: (1) the importance of factors external to Congress, and (2) internal factors, primarily membership and career patterns and the reasons for, and the results of changes by the House to the rules under which appropriations were made. The findings indicate that (1) in the absence of external factors such as major political realignments, or internal changes such as the move to decentralize in the 1885-1889 or recentralize in 1920, the Committee, and the entire process operates in a fairly predictable manner; (2) committee actions generally conform to the what one would expect if the norms of subcommittee autonomy, reciprocity, specialization and apprenticeship offered by Fenno (1966) are followed; (3) a change in party control is accompanied by non-incremental changes in the budget, especially during periods of political realignments; and (4) even when major political events occur (e.g., "external" events such as realignments or "internal" events such as the rules changes), the resulting change is short-lived.

This research considers the relationship of ideology to public policy. The hypothesis it tests is that verbal adherence to an ideological orientation by a decision maker should translate into the implementation of related public policies. It is further posited that the intensity of adherence to that ideological orientation affects the scope of the decision maker's policy choices. The ideological orientations and policy decisions of thirteen of Mexico's postrevolutionary presidents from 1915 to 1965 were selected to test this relationship. Using content analysis of presidential addresses before Congress, a measure of the intensity of verbal ideological adherence to the revolutionary goal of land reform was assessed for each postrevolutionary administration during the time frame of this analysis. This information was then compared to actual policy choices and implemented programs to determine whether ideological identification influenced the selection and implementation of land reform policies. The results of this research show that verbal ideological orientation toward the revolutionary goal of land reform reflected the intensity of adherence to that ideological goal. But in the case of Mexico, two competing theories of appropriate governmental action in the land reform area developed out of the revolution of 1910. In most cases one of these orientations received greater governmental attention than the other and influenced the policies that were implemented. During six administrations, presidents verbally identified with a liberal land reform orientation that emphasized agricultural development, productivity, and the distribution of land into private properties. The policies implemented during these administrations were consistent with this orientation. During three administrations, the orientation was centered on social justice through land reform, and the policies which were implemented tended to be redistributive and collectivist. In the other three cases the role of ideology seemed to be more symbolic. Presidents employed popular revolutionary symbols relating to land reform to encourage support for the regime. The conclusions reached by this research suggest that the relationship of ideology to public policies needs to be explored rather than discounted as much of the contemporary public policy literature suggests.

Variations in institutional arrrangements and policy agendas are an integral part of the policy-making process. This study seeks to analyze the effect of agenda structure on policy in terms of the relationship between the United States House Committee on Agriculture and farm policy over an eighty year period. Aspects of agenda structure include House reforms affecting the ability of Agriculture to appropriate and the establishment of formal, commodity subcommittees, affecting committee policy-making. It is argued that the structural changes are one, but not the only important factor in changing public policy. Formal models and empirical literature in political science are used to outline several predictions as to the outcomes under different agenda structures. To test the claim that changes in agenda structure facilitate policy shifts, one committee is studied over a period of time in which there are changes in its ability to control the agenda and in farm policy. Analysis was conducted on changes in both structure and policy. The results indicate that structural change is indeed one component of policy shifts. The ability to appropriate enhanced members' incentives to increase agricultural appropriations, whereas when appropriations were recentralized farm members' strategy was to increase the number of committee meetings on farm problems. During the New Deal period the establishment of formal, commodity subcommittees helped to facilitate the formalization of the policy shifts begun in 1933. In general, the results are consistent with the expectations outlined in the dissertation. The results are in line with the empirical work which finds that structure influences policy outcomes, and the more formal literature which finds that there are theoretical reasons for expecting this to be so.

French industrial strategy in the postwar period is examined in the context of theories of state autonomy. The underlying continuity of industrial strategy is brought to light. The attention of French policymakers, particularly in the Fifth Republic, was focused on the relationship between the international economy and the domestic economy as they sought to guide French industrial development. The strategic orientation of the French state has been to encourage national champion firms capable of competing in the global marketplace. The ability of the state to integrate its economy into the global trading regime while retaining control over the rate and direction of industrial change is crucial to state power. In formulating state industrial goals, policymakers have derived their policy preferences from the nature of the international environment. The organization of the French state and state interaction with the international environment give French industrial strategy its characteristic features. Domestic institutions, traditions, and the ideology of state elites are found to be important factors shaping industrial strategy; the influence of the international economy is found to be decisive in shaping changes in the strategy over time. The structural consistencies underlying Frenchy industrial strategy are due to the organization of the state. Changes in the focus of industrial strategy under various governments are due to the influence of the international environment. The French state is found to be relatively autonomous in pursuing its industrial goals, while the theories of state autonomy are found to be useful in elucidating industrial strategy.

How does the infusion of refugees into Canadian neighbourhoods affect relations with other physically-established minority groups? Using Winnipeg's inner city as a case study and drawing on 20 in-depth interviews with key informants, this thesis analyzes the attitudes and interactions between two minority groups: recently-arrived African refugees and urban Aboriginals. Refugees' attitudes portray an overall negative evaluation of Aboriginals. Refugees dissociate themselves from Aboriginals in order to be accepted by the mainstream population and achieve upward educational and occupational success. Aboriginals, on the other hand, appear to have a mixed perception of refugees because of their minimal history and contact with this group; this stands in contrast to the Euro-Canadian population and the state, towards which Aboriginals hold feelings of resentment for past and current injustices. Impersonal and fleeting street-level interactions reinforce distant relations. Implications for Canadian inter-minority relations are discussed, and policy recommendations to bridge relations are proposed. / Comment l'infusion des réfugiés dans les voisinages canadiens affecte-t-elle des relations avec d'autres groupes minoritaires physique-établis ? En utilisant le centre urbain de Winnipeg comme étude de cas et le schéma sur 20 entrevues détaillées avec les informateurs principaux, cette thèse analyse les attitudes et les interactions entre deux groupes minoritaires : réfugiés africains récent-arrivés et Aboriginals urbains. Attitudes de réfugiés les' dépeignent une évaluation négative globale des Aboriginals. Des réfugiés se dissocient des Aboriginals afin de pour être acceptés par la population traditionnelle et réalisent le succès éducatif et professionnel ascendant. Les Aboriginals, d'une part, semblent avoir une perception mélangée des réfugiés en raison de leur histoire minimale et entrer en contact avec ce groupe ; ceci se tient contrairement à la population Euro-Canadienne et à l'état, vers lesquels les Aboriginals tiennent des sentiments du ressentiment pour des injustices passées et courantes. Les interactions impersonnelles et passagères de rue-niveau renforcent des relations éloignées. Des implications pour des relations canadiennes d'inter-minorité sont discutées, et des recommandations de politique de jeter un pont sur des relations sont proposées

This thesis compares the health care systems in Canada and the UK with a particular focus on equity of access and equity of outcomes. It explores causal factors such as organization, financing and delivery of care. The paper presents background and historical context on the two health systems, a review of current national and comparative international studies on health equity in each country, and qualitative analysis from four key informant interviews. Overall, the paper finds greater equity in Britain's NHS in terms of access to services and pro-poor allocation of resources than in Canadian Medicare. The Labour government is actively working to redress inequalities in health, while in Canada there are numerous barriers to system reform. Additionally, the current Conservative federal government has not made improving health equity a primary concern in Canada, and creeping privatization of the system is likely leading to further inequity. / Ce mémoire compare les systèmes de santé canadien et britannique en apportant une attention particulière aux questions d'équité d'accès et de soin. On y explore les facteurs causals tels que l'organisation, le financement et l'offre de soins. Une mise en contexte historique, un état de la littérature et une série de quatre entrevues avec des acteurs clés dans les deux pays sont offertes. Ce mémoire conclut à une plus grande équité dans le système public britannique tant en terme d'accès que d'allocation de ressources au profit des plus démunis. En effet, le Parti travailliste britannique s'efforce activement de redresser les iniquités alors que le gouvernement canadien est confronté à de nombreuses difficultés dans ses tentatives de réforme. De plus, le gouvernement Conservateur canadien n'a pas fait de l'amélioration des conditions d'équité une priorité tout en tolérant une privatisation rampante du système qui mènera surement à davantage d'iniquités.

This thesis is concerned with the tension between unity and difference in contemporary political theory. It argues that this tension can be resolved by understanding unity and difference in their political and institutional context rather than in isolated abstraction. The first section examines some existing responses to the challenge of diversity, and suggests that the incompatibility of unity and difference is grounded in a misconception of how we should approach and understand each of the concepts. The second section seeks to ground the compatibility of unity and difference in a diverse and inclusive communicative public sphere. Unity, conceived as the product of political cooperation, in fact relies upon engagement with difference, understood as fluid and relational. The third section shows how the compatibility between unity and diversity proposed in the second chapter can ground alternate institutional and policy opportunities for the integration and accommodation of religious minorities, looking at the examples of France, the Netherlands and Quebec. / Ce mémoire traite la tension entre l'unité et la diversité dans la théorie politique contemporaine. Elle postule qu'une résolution à cette tension peut être atteinte si l'on considère l'unité et la différence dans leur contexte politique et institutionnel, et non dans une abstraction isolée. La première section examine des réponses au défi posé par la diversité et suggère que l'incompatibilité entre l'unité et la différence est fondée dans une mécompréhension de comment on devrait approcher et considérer chacun des concepts. La deuxième section cherche à fonder la compatibilité de l'unité et la différence dans une sphère publique inclusive, communicative et hétérogène. L'unité, conçue comme produit de la coopération politique, dépend sur la participation avec la différence, conçue comme étant fluide et relationnelle. La troisième section indique comment la compatibilité entre l'unité et la différence développée dans le deuxième chapitre peut créer des opportunités institutionnelles et politiques alternatives pour l'intégration et l'accommodement des minorités religieuses, examinant les exemples de la France, des Pays Bas et du Québec.