<p>In Russia federalism and the design of federal institutions have been greatly debated topics ever since the beginning of the 1990s. When the newly elected Russian president Vladimir Putin introduced a number of federal reforms in May 2000 it represented the culmination of a debate on federalism that had been triggered by the political and economic crisis of 1998. In many ways these reforms entailed a different perspective on federalism, or in the terminology of this thesis a new “federal paradigm”, from the one that had dominated most of the Yeltsin era. At the same time the relations between federal and regional authorities, often referred to as intergovernmental relations, appeared to become less confrontational and fragmented than before. This work examines this latest stage in the Russian state-building process.</p><p>In particular two elements are scrutinized. The first is the shift of federal paradigms that the federal reforms reflected. Combining organisation theory and historical institutionalism it is argued that the origins of federal paradigm shifts often can be traced to the federal system itself. In Russia the failure of the federal system manifested through the political and economic crisis of 1998 changed many governmental actors’ views on federalism. However, it was not until Putin became president that the new federal paradigm could consolidate.</p><p>The second element concerns the connections between the new federal paradigm and the mode of intergovernmental relations. This work presents the argument that the way in which federalism is interpreted and conceptualised by governmental actors is important for the variation of intergovernmental relations across and within federal systems. Deriving from federal theory and some comparisons with other federal systems it is concluded that the federal paradigm that Putin represented in his first presidential term was on the whole more conducive for coordinate intergovernmental relations, at least in the short term.</p>

The effect of federalism on the development of public policy is a widely debated topic. In terms of environmental policy, this issue assumes greater importance because of the lack of clarity in the constitutional division of powers. It is the purpose of this research to examine environmental impact assessment (EIA) &mdash; one of the higher-profile aspects of environmental policy &mdash; in order to establish how intergovernmental relations in Canada have affected policy and process development in this area. It is hypothesized that unilateral federal action in this policy area contributes to a corresponding increase in the stringency of provincial EIA processes. To test this, a two-step analysis is adopted: first analyzing developments at both the federal and provincial levels from 1985-1995 &mdash; a period which witnessed exceptionally high levels of public concern for the environment and increased federal involvement in EIA &mdash; and second discussing key events and agreements which affected intergovernmental relations and determining whether these related to those developments identified. This research finds that greater federal involvement in EIA was a catalyst for some positive reform at the provincial level, although this result varied significantly between the provinces examined. Based on the evidence gathered, it is concluded that some form of intergovernmental collaboration and competition both have a place in the development of EIA policy and that neither should be pursued as an end in itself.

This is a comparative study of intergovernmental relations in labour market policy in Canada and the United Kingdom (UK) between 1996 and 2006, the first phase of devolution in each country. The study focuses primarily on relations between the central government and a single sub-state in each country (Alberta in Canada and Scotland in the UK) and addresses three research questions: 1) to what extent were there differences in intergovernmental relations between the countries?2) what accounted for these differences? 3) what impact did these differences have on the character and workability of the intergovernmental relations system in each country? Workability was assessed based upon the degree to which trust ties developed between senior officials. The analysis concludes that the structure of the state, the structure of the policy domain, and the presence of two important accommodation mechanisms in the UK not found in Canada (the party system and the civil service) made intergovernmental relations in labour market policy in the two countries fundamentally different. In Canada, intergovernmental relations were multilateral, interprovincial and bilateral, whereas in the United Kingdom they were only bilateral. Despite devolution, the UK Government retained control of most policy levers, whereas in Canada devolution has limited federal control and influence and any notion of a national labour market system. Trust ties were enhanced by consistency between the key players, routinized engagement, reliability, honesty, respect, capacity and willingness to engage, and transparency. Although shared objectives made engagement easier, they were not a prerequisite for a positive relationship. Bilateral relationships that took place within the geographic boundaries of Alberta and Scotland were considered as positive and highly workable. Difficulties arose when relationships became multilateral or bilateral relations were managed at a distance. Despite devolution, multilateral relations in the historically conflicted labour market policy domain in Canada remained competitive, with a low degree of workability. Relationships with respect to disability and immigration issues were more positive. In the UK relationships in the welfare to work policy area were cooperative and highly workable. Relationships in skills and immigration did not fare as positively.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. / The federal government has undertaken a massive reorganization in order to create the Department of Homeland Security, and a parallel debate over how to organize homeland security functions has arisen at the State and Local government levels. In a time of severe budget constraints and rapidly changing threats, governments at all levels recognize the need for multiple government agencies, the private sector and nongovernmental organizations to work together in order to provide effective homeland security. The effort to improve cooperation, especially at the "first responder" level, has become a major priority in the homeland security arena. How then can local governments improve interagency cooperation for homeland security? A recent conference of government officials and homeland security experts concluded that the central coast of California has one of the best emergency preparedness systems in the country. This thesis examines the high level of interagency cooperation that has arisen among public safety agencies in Monterey County, California in order to determine what factors have contributed to their success and how they might be applied in other situations. The author proposes that theories from multiple disciplines can provide insight into the likelihood and ability of organizations to cooperate. / Major, United States Army

This thesis deals with activities of the Intergovernmental Commission for Economic, Industrial and Scientific Cooperation between the Czech Republic and the Russian Federation, describes its real impact on Czech companies trading in the Russian Federation and analyzes the usefulness of the Intergovernmental Commission activities for Czech exporters who have already traded with Russian entities or who are planning to do so. The first section defines the institutional structure of the Intergovernmental Commission and its history. The following section is devoted to quantitative and qualitative research activities with their impact on business activities of Czech companies on the Russian market. The final part of the thesis on the Intergovernmental Commission analyzes its activities and proposes recommendations for streamlining.

This thesis investigates economic aspects of the measurement of fiscal decentralisation to establish how a nation's fiscal arrangements can be consistently measured, so they can be compared internationally. A new index of fiscal decentralisation is developed that reflects two key elements of the theory of fiscal decentralisation: the fiscal autonomy of subnational governments; and their fiscal importance. The role of fiscal inequality in subnational governments' public finances is also considered. The thesis consists of nine chapters which are distinct but closely related. These nine chapters can be divided into the three

Thesis (D.Admin.(Public Administration))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Summary and abstract in English. Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

<p>This paper investigates the effects of intergovernmental grants on municipal labour demand in Finland and Sweden during the period 1985-2002. Both these countries have large public sectors in which local authorities play a significant role. In addition, both countries went through major grant reforms in 1993, reforms that meant that most targeted grants were replaced by general, non-earmarked grants. This allows for studying the effects of the different types of grants separately. The results suggest that targeted grants affect Finnish municipal employment more than general ones do, at least when looking at levels. When looking at elasticities, however, the opposite is indicated. In Sweden intergovernmental grants appear to have no effect at all on municipal employment before the reform, but after the estimated elasticity is 0.10. This is somewhat lower than in Finland, where the estimated elasticities are 0.13 and 0.14 before and after the reform, respectively. The results also lend additional support to the so called “flypaper effect”, an empirical phenomenon that has been observed in numerous previous studies.</p>

In Russia federalism and the design of federal institutions have been greatly debated topics ever since the beginning of the 1990s. When the newly elected Russian president Vladimir Putin introduced a number of federal reforms in May 2000 it represented the culmination of a debate on federalism that had been triggered by the political and economic crisis of 1998. In many ways these reforms entailed a different perspective on federalism, or in the terminology of this thesis a new “federal paradigm”, from the one that had dominated most of the Yeltsin era. At the same time the relations between federal and regional authorities, often referred to as intergovernmental relations, appeared to become less confrontational and fragmented than before. This work examines this latest stage in the Russian state-building process. In particular two elements are scrutinized. The first is the shift of federal paradigms that the federal reforms reflected. Combining organisation theory and historical institutionalism it is argued that the origins of federal paradigm shifts often can be traced to the federal system itself. In Russia the failure of the federal system manifested through the political and economic crisis of 1998 changed many governmental actors’ views on federalism. However, it was not until Putin became president that the new federal paradigm could consolidate. The second element concerns the connections between the new federal paradigm and the mode of intergovernmental relations. This work presents the argument that the way in which federalism is interpreted and conceptualised by governmental actors is important for the variation of intergovernmental relations across and within federal systems. Deriving from federal theory and some comparisons with other federal systems it is concluded that the federal paradigm that Putin represented in his first presidential term was on the whole more conducive for coordinate intergovernmental relations, at least in the short term.

This paper investigates the effects of intergovernmental grants on municipal labour demand in Finland and Sweden during the period 1985-2002. Both these countries have large public sectors in which local authorities play a significant role. In addition, both countries went through major grant reforms in 1993, reforms that meant that most targeted grants were replaced by general, non-earmarked grants. This allows for studying the effects of the different types of grants separately. The results suggest that targeted grants affect Finnish municipal employment more than general ones do, at least when looking at levels. When looking at elasticities, however, the opposite is indicated. In Sweden intergovernmental grants appear to have no effect at all on municipal employment before the reform, but after the estimated elasticity is 0.10. This is somewhat lower than in Finland, where the estimated elasticities are 0.13 and 0.14 before and after the reform, respectively. The results also lend additional support to the so called “flypaper effect”, an empirical phenomenon that has been observed in numerous previous studies.