Doctoral Dissertation Research in Political Science: "Federal-State Divided Government. Consequences for the Mexican Federal System"

这篇博士论文研究支持调查研究如何增加政党竞争-特别是联邦州分裂政府的出现-在九十年代改变了墨西哥联邦系统。Riker（1964）认为，有助于维持联邦协议的条件之一是，如果一个全国性政党控制联邦行政部门，并与其他政党分享对州行政部门的控制权，或者，可以称之为联邦-州分裂政府。这一假设背后的基本原理是，相关各方成为下一任联邦或州领导人的可能性实际上阻止了他们侵犯对方的责任领域。然而，这一假设提出了一个检验问题，因为在民主联邦体系中，联邦-州分权政府是常见的现象-或者至少是一个非常切实的威胁。因此，墨西哥的情况提供了一个独特的机会进行测试，因为它是最近才成为真正的竞争性政党制度。第一部分论述墨西哥联邦制度的转变。该项目利用定性和定量分析，探讨非革命制度党州长的日益增多是否改变了联邦系统的运作（立法活动、最高法院的裁决以及联邦和州部委的活动）。第二部分运用计量经济学模型和定性分析，考察联邦-州分权政府是否影响了政策的选择、设计和实施（具体而言，包括财政资源分配、公共卫生、公共教育和自然资源管理）。该项目的第二部分主要依靠在墨西哥下加利福尼亚、奇瓦瓦州和索诺拉等州的实地研究（档案工作和访谈）。该项目完成后，将有助于了解具有专制历史、最近经历了民主化进程的联邦安排的运作情况（如阿根廷、巴西、俄罗斯）。我们还应该更深入地了解民主化、政党竞争加剧和联邦制度之间的关系。该项目将研究民主化进程的一个重要但被忽视的后果：中央和地区之间关系的变化，以及这些变化对政策的影响。收集的数据和信息将提供给广大学术界。

This Doctoral Dissertation Research Support investigation examines how increased party competition --- specifically the emergence of federal-state divided government --- has transformed the Mexican Federal System during the nineties. Riker (1964) suggests that one of the conditions that helps to maintain the federal bargain is if one national party controls the federal executive and shares with other parties control over the state executives, or, what might be called federal-state divided government. The rationale behind this proposition being that the constant possibility for the relevant parties to become the next federal or state leaders actually prevents them from invading each other's areas of responsibility.The hypothesis, however, presents a problem for testing because, in democratic federal systems, federal-state divided government is a common occurrence --- or at least, a very tangible threat. For this reason, the Mexican case offers a unique opportunity for testing because it is only recently that the party system has become truly competitive.The dissertation consists of two main parts. The first part deals with the transformation of the Mexican federal system. Using qualitative and quantitative analysis, the project explores whether the increasing presence of non-PRI governors transforms the operation of the federal system (legislative activity, Supreme Court decisions, and activities of federal and state ministries). With econometric models, and qualitative analysis, the second part investigates if federal-state divided government has affected the selection, design and implementation of policies (specifically, allocation of fiscal resources, public health, public education, and management of natural resources). The second part of the project relies heavily on field research (archive work and interviews) in the Mexican states of Baja California Norte, Chihuahua and Sonora. Upon completion, the project will shed light on the operation of federal arrangements with an authoritarian history that have undergone a democratization process recently (e.g. Argentina, Brazil, Russia). We should also gain a deeper understanding of the relationships between democratization, increased party competition, and the federal system. The project will examine a critical but overlooked consequence of democratization processes: changes in the relationships among the center and the regions, and the consequences of these changes for policy. The data and information collected will be provided to the scholarly community at large.