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The legislature in immigration policy-making : a liberal constraint?Walsh, Peter William January 2017 (has links)
Over the last thirty years, research on the immigration policy-making of liberal democratic states has been preoccupied with the puzzle of why migrant inflows have reached unprecedented levels in Western countries, despite popular calls for restrictionism. A common response of scholars to this puzzle is that whilst governments endeavour to reflect public preferences for restrictive immigration policy, they are prevented from doing so by norms and institutions that are characteristic of liberal democracies. These ‘liberal constraints’ include the national judiciary; international human rights norms; and supranational institutions, such as the European Union. But what of the national legislature? What is the role of this key liberal institution in shaping immigration law within Western democracies? On this question, the literature says remarkably little. This thesis endeavours to redress this apparent neglect. Its case study is the United Kingdom, which is viewed, on the basis of existing research, as a ‘most-likely’ case for having a weak legislature; and in which the executive branch of government has been shown to be relatively unconstrained by the judiciary in comparison with other European states. Does anything, then, act to constrain the immigration restrictionism of the British government? Informed by a novel theoretical framework, ‘interpretive political opportunity structures’, the investigation focuses upon the Parliamentary passage of a single policy: the Immigration Bill 2013-14. Its analysis is based on a detailed examination of the Bill and its legislative process; and on thirty-three interviews that I conducted with key immigration policy stakeholders, including two Government ministers, one from each of the Coalition parties; Government and Opposition MPs; members of the House of Lords; civil servants; legal professionals; and lobbyists. The findings reveal that the UK Parliament had an important liberalising impact upon the Bill, acting to constrain the restrictionist bent of the executive. If the UK is accepted as a case in which we are most likely to find the opposite of this, i.e., a legislature impotent against a dominant executive, then the orthodox view that the legislature is in general a marginal actor in shaping immigration law may have to be revised. Notably, the unelected upper chamber, the House of Lords, appeared to constitute a stronger check on executive power than the elected lower chamber, the House of Commons. This is consonant with Peers’ understanding of their duty to legislate responsibly, rather than responsively (i.e., in line with popular opinion) like MPs in the Commons. Insulated from populist pressures, the Lords invites comparison with respect to its function and impact to the judiciaries of other Western nations, suggesting, perhaps, that in the British constitutional system, known for its pusillanimous judiciary, the Lords evidences an ‘adaptation’ to the marked power imbalance between the judicial and executive branches of the UK state.
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Sekularismus v kontextu liberárně demokratického státu / Secularism in context of liberal-democratic stateŘepa, Karel January 2016 (has links)
The thesis deals with the concept of a secular state from a perspective of comparative constitutional law and theory of state. The concept is in various forms part of almost all constitutional systems in Europe. With focus on European area the whole idea of secular state is exclusively designed and evaluated within the structure of the normative requirements of the liberal democratic state. The aim of the thesis is to reveal the guiding principle determining the content of secular state and to rethink its application on all imaginable interactions between state and religion. The result is presented as a state theory model called as "classical model of secular state", which is subsequently used as a tool for evaluation of relevant phenomena on level of selected constitutional systems. The first chapter discovers the principle of state neutrality with respect to religion as an essential principle guiding the content of secular state. Applying this principle to the deeply complex relationship between state and religion in the real world leads to a definition of all theoretical implications of the principle, which in sum create the "classical model of secular state". Their modifications preserving the dominant application of the principle of neutrality lead to an analytic differentiation of religious...
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Professionals and zenophobia : a sociological analysis of skilled African immigrants in GautengMarcos, Bento Gilberto Mazula 25 August 2010 (has links)
The transition, in 1994, in South Africa from an authoritarian ethno-nationalist Apartheid state where racial categories determined inclusion and exclusion to a liberal democratic state, raised the promise of greater inclusion within society. The post-Apartheid state formally abandoned racism and discrimination, at least in its legal sense. Paradoxically, in a context which enabled greater engagement with Africa, the new ‘Rainbow Nation’ with an emphasis on nation-building and emerging nationalism, led to manifestations of discrimination and exclusion of a different kind. An escalation in incidents of xenophobia within post-Apartheid South Africa has been fully documented. However, it could be argued, not all immigrants are subject to incidents of xenophobia. In the new South Africa, targeting the black African immigrant, in particular, has resulted in a new cycle of exclusion. As Nyamnjoh puts it these black African immigrants are associated with “the Heart of Darkness north of the Limpopo”. In contrast, foreign whites seem to be more acceptable in the new South Africa. Experiences of xenophobia and the concomitant exclusion and/or discrimination have been raced. African immigrants, however, are not a monolithic grouping. The dissertation argues that whilst all black African immigrants potentially experience xenophobia, socio-economic status may mitigate the extent and immediacy of this, as well as the ability to escape or avoid such experiences to some extent. AFRIKAANS : Die oorgang vanaf 'n outoritêre etno-nasionalistiese Apartheid-staat, waar rasse-kategorieë insluiting en uitsluiting bepaal het, na ’n liberale demokratiese staat in 1994, het die belofte van groter insluiting in die samelewing gehuldig. Die “post-Apartheid” staat het rassisme en diskriminasie ten minste op wetlike-vlak, formeel afgeskaf. In 'n konteks wat groter verbintenis met Afrika moontlik gemaak het, het die nuwe "Reëboog nasie" met die klem op nasiebou, nasionalisme ontketen. Paradoksaal het dit tot manifestasies van diskriminasie en uitsluiting van 'n ander aard gelei. 'n Toename in die voorvalle van xenofobie in “post-Apartheid” Suid-Afrika is ten volle gedokumenteer. Tog kan dit aangevoer word dat, nie alle immigrante onderworpe is aan voorvalle van xenofobie nie. In die nuwe Suid-Afrika is dit gerig op die swart Afrika-immigrant, in die besonder. Dit het tot 'n nuwe siklus van uitsluiting gelei. Soos Nyamnjoh dit stel word hierdie immigrante van Afrika met die "Heart of Darkness north of the Limpopo" geassosieer. In teenstelling blyk dit dat blankes van die buiteland meer aanvaarbaar in die nuwe Suid-Afrika beskou word. Ervarings van xenofobie en die gepaardgaande uitsluiting en/of diskriminasie is ras-gebonde. Immigrante van Afrika is egter nie 'n eenvormige groepering nie. Die verhandeling voer aan dat alhoewel alle swart immigrante van Afrika potensieel xenofobie ervaar, sosio-ekonomiese status, die omvang en die onmiddelikheid hiervan versag, sowel as die vermoë om van sulke ervaringe, tot 'n mate, te kan ontsnap of dit te kan vermy. Copyright / Dissertation (MSocSci)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Sociology / unrestricted
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L’idee russe de l’Etat, contribution a la théorie juridique de l’Etat : le cas russe des origines au postcommunisme / The russian idea of the state contribution to the legal theory of the state : the russian case from its origins to the postcommunism periodLherbette-Michel, Isabelle 16 December 2013 (has links)
Il existe une continuité dans l’« idée » russe de l’Etat qu’une analogie dans la continuité des systèmes ne reflète pas. De la Russie impériale à la Russie soviétique, l’Etat (Gosudarstvo) n’est pas conçu comme une entité abstraite et autonome. A la dimension césariste du pouvoir correspond la non-émergence, et du concept et de la réalité d’un Etat. Jusqu’en 1917, la conception russe du pouvoir est conditionnée par le discours idéologique – religieux. Après 1917, sa principale caractéristique est d’être subordonnée à l’idéologie, en tant qu’expression de la volonté du Parti communiste. L’Etat soviétique s’impose donc comme un Etat « de fait » et non comme un Etat « de droit ». La prédominance du discours idéologique entrave, à la fois, la constitution d’une culture de l’Etat, qui reste une culture du pouvoir, et la formation d’une culture de l’antériorité et de la supériorité du droit sur l’Etat. Après la désintégration de l’Union soviétique, la référence à la démocratie libérale et à l’Etat de droit devient un outil de la création d’une nouvelle légitimité pour l’Etat postcommuniste. L’entrée de la Russie dans la modernité politique nécessite une rupture avec les postulats idéologiques du passé. Or, la déconstruction du socialisme est un processus beaucoup plus complexe que la construction de la démocratie. Bien qu’ayant subi, sur plusieurs siècles, plusieurs types de transitions – de l’absolutisme de droit divin au socialisme, puis au postcommunisme -, l’Etat russe a donc conservé certains caractères constants et typiques qui en font, encore aujourd’hui, un modèle hybride, en tension entre autoritarisme et démocratie. / There is a continuity as concerns the « idea » of the state that an analogy with the different systems does not reflect. From imperial to Soviet Russia, the state (Gosudarstvo) is not thought of as an abstract and autonomous entity. Until 1917, the Russian conception of power is conditioned by the religious ideological discourse. After 1917, her main feature is one of submission to ideology, in other words the expression of the will of the Communist Party. The Soviet state stands out by its « de facto » nature, rather than a « de jure » state. The supremacy of the ideological discourse hampers both the constitution of a new state culture, which remains focused on power, and the formation of the precedence and the superiority of law over the state. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, reference to liberal democracy and the rule of law becomes a tool in creating renewed legitimacy for the postcommunist state. Russia’s entry into political modernity demands a rupture with the ideological postulates of the past. The dismantlement of socialism is a much more complex process than the construction of democracy. Despite having been subjected, over centuries, to many types of transition – absolutism founded on divine right to socialism, then postcommunism -, the Russian state has always preserved certain features (be they constant or specific) that make it, and still today, a hybrid model pulling towards both authoritarianism and democracy.
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