Stalinismin lyhyt kurssi : Suomalaiset Moskovan Lenin-koulussa 1926-1938

This study of the Finns at the International Lenin School (ILS) reflects history of the Soviet Union during Stalin's era, history of the Communist International (Comintern) as well as history of Finnish communism. The life span of the ILS (1926-1938) matches up with creating and establishing the power structures of Stalinism. Both the ILS and Finnish Communism in the USSR became casualties of the Great Terror (1937-1938). After the WW2, however, the Soviet education was appreciated inside the Communist Party of Finland (CPF). If Finland would have become People's Democracy, the former ILS students would have composed the inner circle of the new "democratic" government. The Finnish teachers of the ILS were leaders of the CPF that was headquartered in Moscow. At the ILS studied in total 141 Finnish communists. The purpose of the ILS was to educate the communist parties' leading stratum of functionaries. They were supposed to internalize current values, methods and discipline of the Bolsheviks. This study evaluates the effects of the total school experience on the Finns that often ended in another total institution in Finland: prison. The curricula of the ILS consisted of theory of Marxism-Leninism, party history, political economics and themes of campaigns of Stalinism. The ILS year included participation in Bolshevik party life and practical work. During summer excursions (praktikas) the students could acquaint themselves with building of socialism in the Soviet Republics. At the ILS, intention to ideological moulding was not hidden. The students were supposed to adopt the Stalinist identity of the professional revolutionaries of the era. The ILS was saturated with ideology and propaganda. This study analyzes especially uses of history as vehicle of ideological standardisation and as instrument of power. Stalin contributed personally to shortcomings of history writing of the communist party. Later he supervised writing of the inclusive handbook of communism, "History of the All-Union Communist Party. Short Course". Special attention will be paid to the effects of Stalin's intervention at the ILS and inside the CPF. The life of the Finns at the ILS and outside the school is described at grass roots. The dividing line between personal and political is analyzed by charting emotional, intimate and bodily experiences of the Finns of the ILS. The fates of the ILS Finns after the studying or teaching period in Moscow are explored in detail. The protagonist among the teachers is Yrjö Sirola that was called "father of the CPF cadres". The Finnish ILS teachers and the formed students that had remained in the USSR were most severely hit by the Great Terror. The Soviet education had most importance in Finland of post WW2 period. The training at the ILS, however, did not contribute to revolution in Finland. The main heading of the study, "A Short Course of Stalinism", crystallises interpretation of the ILS as seat of learning of ideological unity of Stalinism. On the other hand, the title includes a statement of incompleteness of the Stalinist education if the schooling at the ILS had remained in one year.

Scopophobia/Scopophilia: electric light and the anxiety of the gaze in postwar American architecture

In the years of reconstruction and economic boom that followed the Second World War, the domestic sphere encountered new expectations regarding social behaviour, modes of living, and forms of dwelling. This book brings together an international group of scholars from architecture, design, urban planning, and interior design to reappraise mid-twentieth century modern life, offering a timely reassessment of culture and the economic and political effects on civilian life. This collection contains essays that examine the material of art, objects, and spaces in the context of practices of dwelling over the long span of the postwar period. It asks what role material objects, interior spaces, and architecture played in quelling or fanning the anxieties of modernism’s ordinary denizens, and how this role informs their legacy today. Table of Contents [Book] Introduction Robin Schuldenfrei Part 1: Psychological Constructions: Anxiety of Isolation and Exposure 1. Taking Comfort in the Age of Anxiety: Eero Saarinen’s Womb Chair Cammie McAtee 2. The Future is Possibly Past: The Anxious Spaces of Gaetano Pesce Jane Pavitt 3. Scopophobia/Scopophilia: Electric Light and the Anxiety of the Gaze in American Postwar Domestic Architecture Margaret Petty Part 2: Ideological Objects: Design and Representation 4. The Allegory of the Socialist Lifestyle: The Czechoslovak Pavilion at the Brussels Expo, its Gold Medal and the Politburo Ana Miljacki 5. Assimilating Unease: Moholy-Nagy and the Wartime-Postwar Bauhaus in Chicago Robin Schuldenfrei 6. The Anxieties of Autonomy: Peter Eisenman from Cambridge to House VI Sean Keller Part 3: Societies of Consumers: Materialist Ideologies and Postwar Goods 7. "But a home is not a laboratory": The Anxieties of Designing for the Socialist Home in the German Democratic Republic 1950—1965 Katharina Pfützner 8. Architect-designed Interiors for a Culturally Progressive Upper-Middle Class: The Implicit Political Presence of Knoll International in Belgium Fredie Floré 9. Domestic Environment: Italian Neo-Avant-Garde Design and the Politics of Post-Materialism Mary Louise Lobsinger Part 4: Class Concerns and Conflict: Dwelling and Politics 10. Dirt and Disorder: Taste and Anxiety in the Working Class Home Christine Atha 11. Upper West Side Stories: Race, Liberalism, and Narratives of Urban Renewal in Postwar New York Jennifer Hock 12. Pawns or Prophets? Postwar Architects and Utopian Designs for Southern Italy Anne Parmly Toxey. Coda: From Homelessness to Homelessness David Crowley

Social Living Labs for Digital Participation: Designing with Regional and Rural Communities [workshop proceedings]

“Fostering digital participation through Living Labs in regional and rural Australian communities,” is a three year research project funded by the Australian Research Council. The project aims to identify the specific digital needs and practices of regional and rural residents in the context of the implementation of high speed internet. It seeks to identify new ways for enabling residents to develop their digital confidence and skills both at home and in the community. This two-day symposium will bring together researchers and practitioners from diverse backgrounds to discuss design practices in social living labs that aim to foster digital inclusion and participation. Day one will consist of practitioner and research reports, while day two will provide an opportunity for participants to imagine and design future digital participation strategies. Academic participants will also have an opportunity to contribute to a refereed edited volume by Chandos Publishing (an imprint of Elsevier).

Politiikan paluu : Globalisaatioliike ja julkisuus

The struggle over globalization has arguably been the most important debate in world politics of the 2000 s. This study maps the origins of this debate, its most important actors and its results so far. The focus is on the Global Justice Movement which launched the globalization debate to the mass media spotlight. Particular attention is given to the World Social Forum, the movement s global gathering, analyzed as a new form of global publics. The mediation of the debates initiated by these publics to the Finnish national context is analyzed at two levels: First, through forums for policy debate such as the Helsinki Process on Globalization and Democracy and second, through the public debate in the Finnish mass media. The study proves many common assumptions about the Global Justice Movement wrong. Rather than being a marginal actor, the movement is the initiator of the whole debate. Combining expert knowledge to carnevalistic demonstrations rarely seen in Finland, the movement gains more public attention and more members in Finland than in many other European countries. The political and economic elites are not just adversaries of the movement. Rather, the Finnish elite is divided in two. Some top politicians starting from the president and the minister for foreign affairs adopt many of the movement s claims. Later, the business elite, with support from the nation s largest newspaper, begins a counterattack to challenge the movement and its allies. The return of politics staged by the movement is, first and foremost, a phenomenon in the public sphere. Two downward trends, the decline of party politics and the traditionally strong Finnish field of politically oriented civic associations remain unchanged. This allows for the conclusion that we are witnessing a move from organizational politics towards politics in the public sphere. The study develops a theoretical perspective on social movements as actors in the public sphere. It argues that movements have, in fact, played an important role in the very development of the democratic public sphere as we know it. In the light of this observation, the study assesses the potentials and the pitfalls of social movements and their related publics to global democracy. Methodologically, the most important contribution is the development of Public Justifications Analysis, a method for analyzing political claims in media debates and the ways in which these claims are justified.

Social Networks and Everyday Practices in Russia

My doctoral dissertation in sociology and Russian studies, Social Networks and Everyday Practices in Russia, employs a "micro" or "grassroots" perspective on the transition. The study is a collection of articles detailing social networks in five different contexts. The first article examines Russian birthdays from a network perspective. The second takes a look at health care to see whether networks have become obsolete in a sector that is still overwhelmingly public, but increasingly being monetarised. The third article investigates neighbourhood relations. The fourth details relationships at work, particularly from the vantage point of internal migration. The fifth explores housing and the role of networks and money both in the Soviet and post-Soviet era. The study is based on qualitative social network and interview data gathered among three groups, teachers, doctors and factory workers, in St. Petersburg during 1993-2000. Methodologically it builds on a qualitative social network approach. The study adds a critical element to the discussion on networks in post-socialism. A considerable consensus exists that social networks were vital in state socialist societies and were used to bypass various difficulties caused by endemic shortages and bureaucratic rigidities, but a more debated issue has been their role in post-socialism. Some scholars have argued that the importance of networks has been dramatically reduced in the new market economy, whereas others have stressed their continuing importance. If a common denominator in both has been a focus on networks in relation to the past, a more overlooked aspect has been the question of inequality. To what extent is access to networks unequally distributed? What are the limits and consequences of networks, for those who have access, those outside networks or society at large? My study provides some evidence about inequalities. It shows that some groups are privileged over others, for instance, middle-class people in informal access to health care. Moreover, analysing the formation of networks sheds additional light on inequalities, as it highlights the importance of migration as a mechanism of inequality, for example. The five articles focus on how networks are actually used in everyday life. The article on health care, for instance, shows that personal connections are still important and popular in post-Soviet Russia, despite the growing importance of money and the emergence of "fee for service" medicine. Fifteen of twenty teachers were involved in informal medical exchange during a two-week study period, so that they used their networks to bypass the formal market mechanisms or official procedures. Medicines were obtained through personal connections because some were unavailable at local pharmacies or because these connections could provide medicines for a cheaper price or even for free. The article on neighbours shows that "mutual help" was the central feature of neighbouring, so that the exchange of goods, services and information covered almost half the contacts with neighbours reported. Neighbours did not provide merely small-scale help but were often exchange partners because they possessed important professional qualities, had access to workplace resources, or knew somebody useful. The article on the Russian work collective details workplace-related relationships in a tractor factory and shows that interaction with and assistance from one's co-workers remains important. The most interesting finding was that co-workers were even more important to those who had migrated to the city than to those who were born there, which is explained by the specifics of Soviet migration. As a result, the workplace heavily influenced or absorbed contexts for the worker migrants to establish relationships whereas many meeting-places commonly available in Western countries were largely absent or at least did not function as trusted public meeting places to initiate relationships. More results are to be found from my dissertation: Anna-Maria Salmi: Social Networks and Everyday Practices in Russia, Kikimora Publications, 2006, see www.kikimora-publications.com.

Humanitaarisuuden varjossa : Poliittiset tekijät lastensiirroissa Ruotsiin sotiemme aikana ja niiden jälkeen

The evacuation of Finnish children to Sweden during WW II has often been called a small migration . Historical research on this subject is scarce, considering the great number of children involved. The present research has applied, apart from the traditional archive research, the framework of history-culture developed by Rüsen in order to have an all-inclusive approach to the impact of this historical event. The framework has three dimensions: political, aesthetic and cognitive. The collective memory of war children has also been discussed. The research looks for political factors involved in the evacuations during the Winter War and the Continuation War and the post-war period. The approach is wider than a purely humanitarian one. Political factors have had an impact in both Finland and Sweden, beginning from the decision-making process and ending with the discussion of the unexpected consequences of the evacuations in the Finnish Parliament in 1950. The Winter War (30.11.1939 13.3.1940) witnessed the first child transports. These were also the model for future decision making. The transports were begun on the initiative of Swedes Maja Sandler, the wife of the resigned minister of foreign affairs Rickard Sandler, and Hanna Rydh-Munck af Rosenschöld , but this activity was soon accepted by the Swedish government because the humanitarian help in the form of child transports lightened the political burden of Prime Minister Hansson, who was not willing to help Finland militarily. It was help that Finland never asked for and it was rejected at the beginning. The negative response of Minister Juho Koivisto was not taken very seriously. The political forces in Finland supporting child transports were stronger than those rejecting them. The major politicians in support belonged to Finland´s Swedish minority. In addition, close to 1 000 Finnish children remained in Sweden after the Winter War. No analysis was made of the reasons why these children did not return home. A committee set up to help Finland and Norway was established in Sweden in 1941. Its chairman was Torsten Nothin, an influential Swedish politician. In December 1941 he appealed to the Swedish government to provide help to Finnish children under the authority of The International Red Cross. This plea had no results. The delivery of great amounts of food to Finland, which was now at war with Great Britain, had automatically caused reactions among the allies against the Swedish imports through Gothenburg. This included the import of oil, which was essential for the Swedish navy and air force. Oil was later used successfully to force a reduction in commerce between Sweden and Finland. The contradiction between Sweden´s essential political interests and humanitarian help was solved in a way that did not harm the country´s vital political interests. Instead of delivering help to Finland, Finnish children were transported to Sweden through the organisations that had already been created. At the beginning of the Continuation War (25.6.1941 27.4.1945) negative opinion regarding child transports re-emerged in Finland. Karl-August Fagerholm implemented the transports in September 1941. In 1942, members of the conservative parties in the Finnish Parliament expressed their fear of losing the children to the Swedes. They suggested that Finland should withdraw from the inter-Nordic agreement, according to which the adoptions were approved by the court of the country where the child resided. This initiative failed. Paavo Virkkunen, an influential member of the conservative party Kokoomus in Finland, favoured the so-called good-father system, where help was delivered to Finland in the form of money and goods. Virkkunen was concerned about the consequences of a long stay in a Swedish family. The risk of losing the children was clear. The extreme conservative party (IKL, the Patriotic Movement of the Finnish People) wanted to alienate Finland from Sweden and bring Finland closer to Germany. Von Blücher, the German ambassador to Finland, had in his report to Berlin, mentioned the political consequences of the child transports. Among other things, they would bring Finland and Sweden closer to each other. He had also paid attention to the Nordic political orientation in Finland. He did not question or criticize the child transports. His main interest was to increase German political influence in Finland, and the Nordic political orientation was an obstacle. Fagerholm was politically ill-favoured by the Germans, because he had a strong Nordic political disposition and had criticised Germany´s activities in Norway. The criticism of child transports was at the same time criticism of Fagerholm. The official censorship organ of the Finnish government (VTL) denied the criticism of child transports in January 1942. The reasons were political. Statements made by members of the Finnish Parliament were also censored, because it was thought that they would offend the Swedes. In addition, the censorship organ used child transports as a means of active propaganda aimed at improving the relations between the two countries. The Finnish Parliament was informed in 1948 that about 15 000 Finnish children still remained in Sweden. These children would stay there permanently. In 1950 the members of the Agrarian Party in Finland stated that Finland should actively strive to get the children back. The party on the left (SKDL, the Democratic Movement of Finnish People) also focused on the unexpected consequences of the child transports. The Social Democrats, and largely Fagerholm, had been the main force in Finland behind the child transports. Members of the SKDL, controlled by Finland´s Communist Party, stated that the war time authorities were responsible for this war loss. Many of the Finnish parents could not get their children back despite repeated requests. The discussion of the problem became political, for example von Born, a member of the Swedish minority party RKP, related this problem to foreign policy by stating that the request to repatriate the Finnish children would have negative political consequences for the relations between Finland and Sweden. He emphasized expressing feelings of gratitude to the Swedes. After the war a new foreign policy was established by Prime Minister (1944 1946) and later President (1946 1956) Juho Kusti Paasikivi. The main cornerstone of this policy was to establish good relations with the Soviet Union. The other, often forgotten, cornerstone was to simultaneously establish good relations with other Nordic countries, especially Sweden, as a counterbalance. The unexpected results of the child evacuation, a Swedish initiative, had violated the good relations with Sweden. The motives of the Democratic Movement of Finnish People were much the same as those of the Patriotic Movement of Finnish People. Only the ideology was different. The Nordic political orientation was an obstacle to both parties. The position of the Democratic Movement of Finnish People was much better than that of the Patriotic Movement of Finnish People, because now one could clearly see the unexpected results, which included human tragedy for the many families who could not be re-united with their children despite their repeated requests. The Swedes questioned the figure given to the Finnish Parliament regarding the number of children permanently remaining in Sweden. This research agrees with the Swedes. In a calculation based on Swedish population registers, the number of these children is about 7 100. The reliability of this figure is increased by the fact that the child allowance programme began in Sweden in 1948. The prerequisite to have this allowance was that the child be in the Swedish population register. It was not necessary for the child to have Swedish nationality. The Finnish Parliament had false information about the number of Finnish children who remained in Sweden in 1942 and in 1950. There was no parliamentary control in Finland regarding child transports, because the decision was made by one cabinet member and speeches by MPs in the Finnish Parliament were censored, like all criticism regarding child transports to Sweden. In Great Britain parliamentary control worked better throughout the whole war, because the speeches regarding evacuation were not censored. At the beginning of the war certain members of the British Labour Party and the Welsh Nationalists were particularly outspoken about the scheme. Fagerholm does not discuss to any great extent the child transports in his memoirs. He does not evaluate the process and results as a whole. This research provides some possibilities for an evaluation of this sort. The Swedish medical reports give a clear picture of the physical condition of the Finnish children when arriving in Sweden. The transports actually revealed how bad the situation of the poorest children was. According to Titmuss, similar observations were made in Great Britain during the British evacuations. The child transports saved the lives of approximately 2 900 children. Most of these children were removed to Sweden to receive treatment for illnesses, but many among the healthy children were undernourished and some suffered from the effects of tuberculosis. The medical inspection in Finland was not thorough. If you compare the figure of 2 900 children saved and returned with the figure of about 7 100 children who remained permanently in Sweden, you may draw the conclusion that Finland as a country failed to benefit from the child transports, and that the whole operation was a political mistake with far-reaching consequenses. The basic goal of the operation was to save lives and have all the children return to Finland after the war. The difficulties with the repatriation of the children were mainly psychological. The level of child psychology in Finland at that time was low. One may question the report by Professor Martti Kaila regarding the adaptation of children to their families back in Finland. Anna Freud´s warnings concerning the difficulties that arise when child evacuees return are also valid in Finland. Freud viewed the emotional life of children in a way different from Kaila: the physical survival of a small child forces her to create strong emotional ties to the person who is looking after her. This, a characteristic of all small children, occurred with the Finnish children too, and it was something the political decision makers in Finland could not see during and after the war. It is a characteristic of all little children. Yet, such experiences were already evident during the Winter War. The best possible solution had been to limit the child transports only to children in need of medical treatment. Children from large and poor families had been helped by organising meals and by buying food from Denmark with Swedish money. Assisting Finland by all possible means should have been the basic goal of Fagerholm in September 1941, when the offer of child transports came from Sweden. Fagerholm felt gratitude towards the Swedes. The risks became clear to him only in 1943. The war children are today a rather scattered and diffuse group of people. Emotionally, part of these children remained in Sweden after the war. There is no clear collective memory, only individual memories; the collective memory of the war children has partly been shaped later through the activities of the war child associations. The main difference between the children evacuated in Finland (for example from Karelia to safer areas with their families) and the war children, who were sent abroad, is that the war children lack a shared story and experience with their families. They were outsiders . The whole matter is sensitive to many of such mothers and discussing the subject has often been avoided in families. The war-time censorship has continued in families through silence and avoidance and Finnish politicians and Finnish families had to face each other on this issue after the war. The lack of all-inclusive historical research has also prevented the formation of a collective awareness among war children returned to Finland or those remaining permanently abroad.. Knowledge of historical facts will help war-children by providing an opportunity to create an all-inclusive approach to the past. Personal experiences should be regarded as part of a large historical entity shadowed by war and where many political factors were at work in both Finland and Sweden. This means strengthening of the cognitive dimension discussed in Rüsen´s all-inclusive historical approach.

Tsoi Yuen Resistance and Post-80s Generation: A new wave of domestic social movement

Hong Kong was once a British colony and has been under the sovereignty of People’s Republic of China (PRC) since 1997. However, some of the unjust practices and colonial legacies are infiltrated into the development ideology as well as the social structures. The construction of intercity express railway project announced in 2008 causing the demolishment of Tsoi Yuen Tsuen, a “non-indigenous” agricultural village in Hong Kong, was one of the current examples. Tsoi Yuen village was established under the former colonial sovereignty sixty years ago. Approximately 450 populations were affected that they had to relocate their homeland involuntarily. However, these villagers were very attached to their homelands and were unwilling to move, and meanwhile they found that they were absent in the government’s consultation and decision-making process. Soon they began their resistance and demanded for “No Move! No Demolish!”. Their movement was strongly supported by a group of “Post-80s generation” and turned into the most important social movement of the city in recent years. In fact, demolition of Tsoi Yuen Village for city development is not an isolated case in the city. Meanwhile the situation is getting worse in Mainland China. I chose the case study of Tsoi Yuen Resistance from 2008 to 2011 for revelation of the complicated colonial history and postcolonial era of Hong Kong. I focused on discussing the Tsoi Yuen Resistance and the Post-80s movement, and how they have exposed the tension between top-down urban planning and development and public movements fighting for a more democratic process in choosing their way of living. Through the study of a village movement which as well as the rationale behind the Post-80s’ support, I hoped to illustrate how this movement has awaken a different sense of living for the new generations in the midst of the high-sounding urban development. It is an opportunity to examine Hong Kong’s colonial epoch in a different perspective: through studying the Tsoi Yuen Village, let them (subalterns) speak for themselves. Furthermore, the significance of this resistance, taking place eleven years after the handover to the PRC, is an important fact that I shall not miss in later discussion. Last but not least, during the resistance, advanced technology and social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, iPhone were used by Post 80s generation to spread the latest information in order to attract public’s concern and participation. Therefore, apart from studying Tsoi Yuen Resistance as a local social movement, I also regard it as a part of the global movement in perusing ecological lifestyle and civil society. How Post 80s’ generation manipulates the global idea in a local context will also be examined.

Professional non-neutrality: criticising the third party in psychotherapy

Using audio-recorded data from cognitive-constructivist psychotherapy, the article shows a particular institutional context in which successful professional action does not adhere to the pattern of affective neutrality which Parsons saw as an inherent component of medicine and psychotherapy. In our data, the professional’s non-neutrality functions as a tool for achieving institutional goals. The analysis focuses on the psychotherapist’s actions that convey a critical stance towards a third party with whom the patient has experienced problems. The data analysis revealed two practices of this kind of critique: (1) the therapist can confirm the critique that the patient has expressed or (2) return to the critique from which the patient has focused away. These actions are shown to build grounds for the therapist’s further actions that challenge the patient’s dysfunctional beliefs. The article suggests that in the case of psychotherapy, actions that as such might be seen as apparent lapses from the neutral professional role can in their specific context perform the task of the institution at hand.

Democratic Values Transmission

This study addresses the issue of intergenerational transmission of democratic values embedded in social choice rules. We focus on a few rules which have been the focus of social choice theory: plurality, plurality with a runoff, majoritarian compromise, social compromise and Borda rule. We confront subjects with preferences profiles of a hypothetical electorate over a set of four alternatives. Different rules produce different outcomes and subjects decide which alternative should be chosen for the society whose preference profile is shown. We elicit each subject's preferences over rules and his/her parents' and check whether there is any relationship; 186 students and their parents attended the sessions at Istanbul Bilgi University. Overall, we find support for the hypothesis of parental transmission of democratic values and gender differences in the transmitted rule.

Liberdade de Expressão e os Mecanismos de Promoção do Pluralismo nos Meios de Comunicação Social

O objetivo deste trabalho é demonstrar que intervenção regulatória para promoção do pluralismo nos meios de comunicação social é condizente com a ordem democrática instituída pela Constituição Brasileira de 1988, e tem papel fundamental na garantia do pleno exercício do direito à liberdade de expressão. Demonstraremos que a proposta está em harmonia com as concepções contemporâneas sobre o regime democrático, que emergiram na segunda metade do século XX. Serão explorados os preceitos constitucionais que incidem sobre a discussão, quais sejam, o pluralismo político, a liberdade de expressão e o dever de proporcionalidade, que vincula a atividade dos poderes públicos. Delinearemos os contornos do conceito de regulação, expondo a discussão sobre sua aplicabilidade ao setor de comunicação social, e os tipos de políticas públicas comuns nesse sentido, o que inclui a promoção de pluralismo. Listaremos os mecanismos de promoção de pluralismo interno e externo verificados no direito comparado. À luz dos entendimentos consignados no texto e das discussões em voga sobre a regulação do mercado de comunicação, iremos propor parâmetros de interpretação para futuras políticas públicas de promoção do pluralismo no mercado de comunicação social brasileiro.

Descentralização e centralização na federação brasileira pós-1988

Esta dissertação visa apresentar tendências do federalismo brasileiro com a promulgação da Constituição de 1988. Para tanto, ela se divide em três etapas. Na primeira, faz-se uma revisão bibliográfica que remete às origens do federalismo e às principais escolas debatedoras do tema. Observam-se muitas divergências entre essas escolas, mas enfatiza-se o consenso que existe em torno da característica marcante das federações: a descentralização política que confere autonomia aos entes federativos. O foco da segunda etapa é a descentralização na história do federalismo brasileiro. No que tange à passagem do Império unitário à República federativa, a dissertação recorre principalmente a relatos de importantes figuras políticas contemporâneas do processo de transição. Já no Brasil republicano, analisam-se as constituições federais e outros instrumentos legais e extralegais que deram forma e materializaram a federação. A essa análise, soma-se o suporte de historiadores e cientistas políticos para construir um panorama das diversas fases do federalismo brasileiro. Verifica-se que são conflitantes as opiniões sobre a autonomia de fato dos entes federativos, em especial nos períodos de ditadura. Na terceira etapa, parte-se do exame da transição da ditadura militar para o regime democrático e dos trabalhos da Assembleia Nacional Constituinte, em especial no que tange os debates acerca da descentralização. A posterior investigação do texto constitucional de 1988 revela um arranjo federativo que consagrou a autonomia de quatro entes federativos (União, estados, Distrito Federal e municípios), cooperativo, que descentralizou receitas, mas centralizou competências. Em seguida, estuda-se a distribuição de poder decisório entre os diferentes níveis de governo em matéria de finanças públicas, políticas sociais, segurança-pública e auto-organização. Conclui-se, então, que o arranjo, gerado em uma atmosfera favorável à descentralização, é marcado pela convivência com tendências politicamente centralizadoras, motivadas por estímulos heterogêneos

Os caminhos da avaliação de desempenho do setor saúde no Brasil: os dois lados do mesmo sistema de saúde

Esta revisão de literatura é fruto de indagações sobre a mudança na postura do Estado brasileiro no que concerne à avaliação na atualidade. A temática desta pesquisa é a inserção da ferramenta da avaliação de desempenho da saúde no Brasil. Mais precisamente, o estudo traz uma análise dos índices de desempenho do subsistema público (IDSUS) e do índice elaborado pela Agência Nacional de Saúde (ANS) para avaliar o subsistema privado da saúde (IDSS). Dessa maneira, esta dissertação tem como objetivo analisar os programas de qualificação do sistema de saúde brasileiro através da avaliação do Índice de Desempenho da Saúde Suplementar (IDSS) e do Índice de Desempenho do SUS (IDSUS), considerando seus impactos na relação público-privado do setor saúde. Para dar conta desses objetivos, a pesquisa examinou os Programas de Qualificação do Sistema de Saúde Brasileiro tanto na sua face pública quanto na privada, utilizando as técnicas de análise documental e bibliográfica. A análise transcorreu a partir do levantamento de documentos oficiais e da literatura produzida sobre o tema. Além da leitura de documentos da Agência Nacional de Saúde (ANS), Ministério da Saúde (MS), Instituto de Estudos da Saúde Suplementar (IESS), Federação de Seguros (FENASEG), Associação Brasileira de Medicina de Grupos (ABRAMGE) e Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE), foram consultados trabalhos acadêmicos e selecionados textos jornalísticos que evidenciaram o processo de implantação e utilização do Programa de Qualificação da Saúde no Brasil. A dissertação então trouxe à tona, admitindo como base a análise do IDSUS recentemente criado e do IDSS, a necessidade de se rediscutir as finalidades das avaliações de desempenho propostas. Tanto o IDSS quanto o IDSUS são iniciativas pioneiras positivas que podem e devem ser aprimoradas, para que possam de fato instrumentalizar o controle social e o gestor na priorização e no planejamento das ações de saúde. O instrumento utilizado pela ANS foi considerado eficaz, democrático e participativo no que diz respeito ao alcance dos objetivos do Programa de Qualificação das Operadoras de Planos de Saúde. O mesmo conseguiu integrar pressupostos de modelos e instrumentos de gestão referenciados pela literatura como modernos e eficazes, como a gestão por resultados. Promoveu não só mais transparência ao subsistema privado, mas induziu, em certa medida, a concorrência do setor. Já em relação à face pública, percebeu-se que mesmo em face da jovialidade da proposta do IDSUS, o mesmo mapeou alguns pontos críticos do subsistema e apontou a necessidade de se trabalhar o setor de forma mais eficiente. Entretanto, esta pesquisa concluiu que ambos os movimentos de avaliação dos subsistemas público e privado não se completam, não dialogam como deveriam, evidenciando uma dificuldade em perceber e organizar o sistema como um todo.

Sociedade de risco e bens jurídico-penais transindividuais: argumentos favoráveis à legitimação no contexto social complexo

A teoria da sociedade de risco foi estabelecida por Ulrich Beck no ano de 1986 por meio da obra Risikogesellschaft - Auf dem Weg in eine andere Mordene. Beck propõe um novo rumo para a pesquisa sociológico segundo o qual o parâmetro clássico de estudo das ciências sociais baseado na luta entre classe deveria ser superado, pois esse modelo seria incapaz de explicar as complexas relações da sociedade moderna (pós-industrial) em que a característica principal não mais se encontra na disputa entre detentores do capital e explorado, mas, sim, em tentar reduzir ou repartir de modo mais justo os riscos sociais. Foi estabelecida a teoria da sociedade de risco a partir do incremento da tecnologia (por exemplo, energia nuclear, produção de alimentos transgênicos, etc). Com essas novas técnicas científicas praticamente impossível é conter os riscos sociais, uma vez que são neste momento difusos, ou seja, atingem um número indeterminado de pessoas. Neste ambiente de proliferação de riscos a demanda social direcionada à proteção por meio de intrumentos de controle dos riscos ganha papel de destaque. O sentimento social de insegurança baseia-se, principalmente, no fato de não ser mais o ser humano capaz de prever todos os efeitos das condutas a que está sendo diariamente exposto. Diante desse novo quadro social, o Direito, em especial, o Direito Penal não deve mostrar indiferença às necessidades de proteção. Neste contexto, questiona-se se o Direito Penal clássico, isto é, o Direito Penal produzido segundo bases Iluministas tipicamente liberal-burguesas do final século XIX conseguirá fornecer respostas úteis a um modelo social tão diferente daquele originalmente considerado. É necessário um arcabouço teórico próprio aos dias atuais, sem desconsiderar o avanço no campo dos direitos humanos. Defende-se na presente dissertação ter o Direito Penal por escopo a proteção de bens jurídicos, desde que, evidentemente, estejam lastreados no princípio da dignidade humana que serve de inspiração a todos os ordenamentos materialmente democráticos na atualidade. Não se pode negar o relevante papel assumido pelo bem jurídico-penal individual como contenção do jus puniendi estatal, no entanto, tal instrumento teórico deve ser combinado a outro: o bem jurídico-penal transindividual. Como técnica dogmática visando à gestão dos riscos por meio do Direito Penal destinado à proteção de bens jurídicos transindividuais adotar-se-á, geralmente, a utilização de tipos penais de perigo abstrato. Por fim, expõe este trabalho como pode ser empregado o bem jurídico-penal transindividual em zonas de difusão de riscos como a genética e o meio-ambiente.

Capital financeiro, fundo público e políticas sociais : uma análise do lugar do gasto social no governo Lula

O orçamento constitui um instrumento imprescindível para avaliarmos as prioridades de um governo e as disputas existentes entre as diferentes classes sociais no que diz respeito à apropriação dos recursos do fundo público. Neste sentido, uma aproximação cuidadosa acerca das particularidades que vêm assumindo a dinâmica de acumulação capitalista, bem como das contradições que envolvem o processo de luta e implementação das políticas sociais, parecem elementos que contribuem para nos ajudar a entender de que forma esta disputa vem acontecendo. O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar o lugar do gasto social no governo Lula. Para tanto, consideramos importante analisar os principais elementos da dinâmica de acumulação capitalista tendo como referência a constituição do capital financeiro e o processo de financeirização da economia; discutir a relação entre divida pública, financeirização e crise do capital; apreender as tendências da política social, buscando identificar sua configuração na atualidade; resgatar o processo de formação do Brasil para pensar o governo Lula e a dinâmica da luta de classes na atualidade; e analisar os gastos sociais do governo federal, tendo como base a metodologia desenvolvida pelo IPEA, considerando o período de 2004 a 2011. Por entendermos os gastos sociais como reflexo de um processo de correlação de forças que tem, na relação entre capital e trabalho sua dimensão fundante, esta análise não pode ter um fim em si mesma. Ao contrário, entender as particularidades da dinâmica de acumulação no tempo presente é imprescindível para apreender os movimentos do capital e sua força para fazer valer os seus interesses no enfrentamento às resistências impostas pela classe trabalhadora e desta para lutar contra seus grilhões. A atuação do Estado só pode ser entendida em meio a este terreno de luta de classes e suas decisões expressam o poder destas classes de impor suas demandas, além de trazerem consigo o traço das heranças do passado, em especial os vínculos de dependência e subalternidade aos interesses imperialistas. A ausência de ruptura com o capital que marca a ascensão do Partido dos Trabalhadores ao governo federal é permeado por contradições e a análise de seus resultados situa-se em uma série de polêmicas, muitas das quais somente um maior distanciamento histórico permitirá avaliar. Isto não significa que não seja possível empreender um esforço no sentido de identificar as mudanças em curso e levantar as contradições, os limites e as possibilidades abertas pelos mandatos do presidente Lula. De maneira geral, podemos dizer que não houve avanços estruturais significativos neste governo e que a lógica da gestão dos recursos que prioriza o pagamento da dívida pública permanece tendo sofrido alterações pontuais. Entretanto, existem algumas diferenças na composição do gasto social. Estas estão mais atreladas ao provimento de programas voltados para a população de baixa renda do que à melhoria substantiva na garantia das políticas sociais universais. De qualquer forma, seu efeito sobre a melhoria nas condições de vida e de acesso ao consumo de uma parcela da população pode ser sentido.