The issue of moral dimensions of the state and its statecraft is the focus of this article. The issue is premised on two questions: how do we secure moral responsibility of the state and its functionaries; and what can be done to enhance the sense of mission, dedication and service which used to be the hallmarks of the public service? The concept of “administrative theology” is suggested as a possible answer in our search for a moral government and statecraft. Particular emphasis is placed on the concept of service and the doctrine of vocation. The author concludes by pleading the case of administrative theology as a possible source for a moral government and its statecraft.

The Supreme Court's position in federal states, especially in Canada and the United States, is often delicate when it has to settle cases under dispute involving the sharing of powers between the states (or provinces) and the central government. For the United States, even if civil rights affect only indirectly these powers, several Supreme Court decisions curtail the autonomy of the states, from which follows a long process of centralization. Nonetheless the Supreme Court is only one actor among others, and a limited one, in this process.

This article examines the relationship between the previous political experiences of immigrants and their subsequent involvement in Canadian politics. A 1983 Toronto-area survey of immigrants of various ethnic origins (British, West Indian, Southern and Eastern European) who had been in Canada for five years or less serves as the study's data base. Two hypotheses derived from the relevant literature are investigated: immigrants will have difficulty “transferring” or making relevant past political experiences; and only those (that is, the British) whose system resembles the new one (Canadian) can accomplish transference. However, a more optimistic perspective is proposed suggesting the likelihood of transference regardless of the system of origin. Test results support this latter view.

The predominant view of Marx's communist society is that it is a form of Utopia in which there is complete social harmony, with no private space for individuals, no conflicts, and no politics. The author argues that this “orthodox” view is a misreading of Marx's works, especially of certain key early works. According to his interpretation, in Marx's communist society there is private space, private/particular interests, controversy, politics, and rights. The author discusses the major theoretical/ methodological errors of the “orthodox” interpretation, such as interpreting key statements by Marx at the wrong level of generality.

Students of Canadian politics and public policy have produced numerous studies on the importance of regionalism in Canadian politics. A wealth of essays now exists on regional political culture and numerous suggestions have been put forward to make our national political institutions more regionally sensitive. One institution—the federal public service—has been virtually ignored in this context. Yet many now recognize the considerable influence the federal public service has on the government's policy-making process. With the aid of a survey, this article assesses if senior federal officials themselves view the government's policy-making process as centralized or decentralized. The survey also seeks to assess the importance senior federal public servants attach to regional economic circumstances in policy-making. The survey is broken down on a regional basis.

This article examines changes in individuals' identification with Canadian federal political parties in the period 1977 to 1981. The analysis suggests that differences in class and ideology have a significant, if not very large effect on shifts in partisan identity. There was a slight bias toward more upper-class identification with the Progressive Conservative party and more lower-class identification with the Liberal party. Unstable partisans were at least as ideologically constrained as stable partisans, and partisan instability was more pronounced amongst the more left-wing individuals. Changes in partisanship were more likely among younger respondents, particularly lower-class and more left-wing youth. The largest bloc of unstable partisans was closest ideologically to the more left-wing stable New Democratic party partisans, and shifted only between the New Democratic and Liberal parties. A smaller bloc moved to the Progressive Conservative party and was ideologically closest to its more right-wing stable partisans.

This note addresses questions relating to the level of women's political activity and specific obstacles that restrict it. The work of Black and McGlen, showing a decrease in the traditional participation differences between Canadian men and women, is replicated over an expanded series of six national election studies. The results challenge the suggestion that there has been a decline in difference over time, and there is an attempt to account for this lingering distinction between the genders. Data are presented which indicate that the presence of children in the home has a much more constraining impact upon women's political activity than upon that of men.