This article examines Hobbes' conception of natural right in society as presented in Part Two of Leviathan (primarily chapters 21 and 26 through 28). In contrast to Hobbes' earlier works, this section contains an implicit but important account of natural rights (called “true liberties”) in society and a corresponding set of restrictions on the proper use of law and punishment. Authority is thus absolute, but its proper use is limited. I argue that these limits are significant, that they represent an important revision in Hobbes' theory and that the resulting conception of natural right provides a useful basis for understanding rights today.

In the Quaderni del Carcere, Antonio Gramsci provided the foundations for a socialist theory of democracy. This theory can be drawn from some of Gramsci's most important concepts: his views of intellectual activity on the one hand, and the conceptions of hegemony and civil society on the other. The former provides a general conception of a non-bureaucratic relationship between leaders and the led, the latter points to a participatory model of political activity. This thesis, however, is formulated within the framework of a realist epistemology in which the class structure is conceived as the long-term determinant of the general historical process. Hence, although Gramsci's thought sheds new light on a non-class domain of political activity, it is constrained by both socio-economic conditions and the realism of available knowledge.

Pierre Bédard, leader of the French Canadian party in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada from 1792 until 1812, and a staunch defender of British political institutions, is compared with two of his compatriots whose opinion of the British system is less admiring. To understand the dilemma of colonial politics Bédard attempts to reconcile the idea of tolerance and freedom that he finds in British constitutional authorities like Locke and Blackstone with his perception, illuminated by those same authorities, that British rule in Lower Canada was intolerant. What emerges is an unmatched description of the constitutional principle enabling free criticism of government in Parliament and in the press. Blanchet and Taschereau, in contrast, provide an argument that promotes reflection on the limits of political dissent even in an essentially tolerant polity.

This article investigates press coverage in Canada and the United States of the 1982 and 1984 Salvadoran elections employing the concept of the “demonstration election,” which posits that some elections occur not to select governments and solve problems but rather to confer international legitimacy on the government holding the election. The press plays a vital role in creating this aura of legitimacy. There is some evidence that the American press played a legitimizing role in the elections. While the elections received twice as much coverage in the American press as they did in the Canadian press, with the exception of some differences in leader evaluation and emphasis on issues, Canadians received essentially the same media portrayal of the elections as did Americans.

Despite much attention, aboriginal governments in Canada have not yet been the focus of comprehensive, sustained and focussed research on the part of the academic and aboriginal communities. In this article 14 areas which require study are cited under three major headings: aboriginal communities and their governments, the components of governance and the wider policy environment. These clusters of research subjects are related in a systematic fashion. A selection of the literature is placed in context and practical suggestions for fostering co-operative approaches to research are suggested. Throughout, it is argued that a critical focus for such efforts on the part of political scientists, other scholars and analysts should be placed on the needs, experiences and goals of aboriginal peoples and their governments.

There is substantial disagreement over the extent to which political parties in Canada can be distinguished on ideological grounds. Research on mass publics has usually concluded that ideology plays only a modest role in structuring orientations towards parties. However, a growing body of survey data on party activists suggests a greater degree of ideological clarity and policy cohesiveness. This note extends earlier research by Blake, Johnston and Perlin on Liberal and Conservative convention delegates and compares them with delegates to the 1987 federal New Democratic party convention. Survey data on convention delegates suggest that political activists array themselves in a relatively consistent manner across a range of issues in ways that are compatible with a left/right ideological typology. Our findings also suggest that New Democrats display the greatest consensus and ideological distinctiveness of the three parties studied.

This study challenges the claim that foreign-owned firms do not differ significantly from Canadian-owned firms with respect to political donations. Tests for association and correlation show that overall, foreign-owned firms are significantly less inclined to contribute money to Canadian parties. Behaviour varies according to nationality, so that British firms are most likely to contribute, followed by Canadian and then American companies. Japanese firms are least likely to contribute.