Luís de Sousa

Measuring Local Government Transparency

Abstract Despite the importance of government transparency to promote accountability and prevent maladministration, empirical research has failed to produce proper tools to assess and compare government transparency practices. Most contributions to the topic do not address it from a stakeholder’s perspective, particularly in selecting the indicators to include in transparency indexes. This paper contributes to the debate by developing a municipal transparency index based on information available on local government official websites. The methodological approach borrows insights from the decision analysis literature to structure the index through a participatory process. An application to the Portuguese local government setting is briefly discussed.

Understanding European Cross-border Cooperation: A Framework for Analysis

Abstract European integration has had a dual impact on border regions. On the one hand, borders were physically dismantled across most of the EUs internal territory. On the other hand, they have become a fertile ground for territorial co-operation and institutional innovation. The degree of cross-border co-operation and organization achieved varies considerably from one region to another depending on a combination of various facilitating factors for effective cross-border co-operation, more specifically, economic, political leadership, cultural/identity and state formation, and geographical factors. This article offers a conceptual framework to understand the growth and diversity of cross-border regionalism within the EU context by focusing on the levels of and drives for co-operation.

‘I Don't Bribe, I Just Pull Strings’: Assessing the Fluidity of Social Representations of Corruption in Portuguese Society

Abstract Portugal has often been considered as a case of successful democratic consolidation; and in fact the same ethical standards underpin democratic government and the rule of law – equality, transparency, accountability, impartiality, legality and integrity – as are found in most other mature Western European democracies. However, there is something singular about the Portuguese case that may be of interest to scholars of other southern European countries and the consolidating democracies of Eastern Europe: The coexistence of modern/rational and pre-modern/family-based relations between citizens and the public administration. This means that corruption in Portugal is not only about bribery but also about a series of other practices and conducts – ones in which the exchange of money for decisions is neither clear-cut nor automatic. Drawing on European and national survey data, this paper sets out to demonstrate that beneath the apparently consensual condemnation of corruption at a symbolic level, citizens tolerate it, by engaging in small influence peddling, in their daily relationships with the public administration.

Parlamentos supranacionais na Europa e na América Latina: entre o fortalecimento e a irrelevância

Virtually no process of regional integration has been safe from the criticism of allegedly suffering from either democratic deficit, institutional deficit or both. These deficits, the argument goes, are the consequence of scarce accountability and the lack of transparency in regional decision-making. Different regional blocs have attempted in a variety of ways to confront one or both of these deficits, the most visible of which is the creation and empowerment of a regional parliament. This paper presents a comparative analysis of five of these institutions in Europe and Latin America - i.e. the European Parliament, the Latin American Parliament, the Central American Parliament, the Andean Parliament, and the Joint Parliamentary Commission of Mercosur - with the aim of understanding their impact on regional representation, decision-making and accountability. The conclusions pinpoint five plausible factors in accounting for the differences found across the Atlantic divide.After four centuries of gradual development, the modern parliament was born in England in the 17th century as an instrument by which the rising bourgeoisie could control the monarchy. It claimed legislative supremacy, full authority over taxation and expenditure, and a voice in public policy through partial control (exercized by impeachment) over the king’s choice of ministers. It later spread to America ‐ becoming a separate branch of power ‐ then to continental Europe and subsequently to the rest of the world, becoming the emblematic institution for political deliberation and legislative decision-making in modern nation-states (Orlandi 1998). Parliaments, or analogous legislative assemblies, were also established in several subnational units such as states or provinces, some of which were originally autonomous but later united into federal nation-states. Subnational parliaments date back at least as far as the 18th century, being present in the American colonies when independence was declared and the Constitution established. Supranational parliaments, in contrast, are a much more recent phenomenon. The first significant supranational parliament was the European Parliament which, in the words of the 1957 Treaty of Rome, ‘represents the peoples of the States brought together in the European Community.’ The Parliament’s first direct elections were held in June 1979; since then, it has derived its legitimacy from direct universal suffrage and has been elected every five years. Other processes of regional integration have attempted to replicate such a supranational legislative assembly, Latin America being the region where these experiments have gone the farthest. In November 2005, membership of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) accounted for 143 national members and seven associate members, all of the latter having an international nature: the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Andean Parliament, the Central American

Political Parties and Corruption in Portugal

Portugal is often considered an example of successful democratic consolidation. Yet it has not been exempt from corruption scandals. By the mid‐1990s, transparency and the moralisation of political life had come to dominate parliamentary debates and reforms. The illegality surrounding party life must be seen against the background of dominant ethical standards in society. Voters appear tolerant of the unethical behaviour of political leaders, while parties are gradually becoming less responsive to their electorate. Representation and delegation rely more on tacit consent than on voice, thus encouraging complacency over corruption.Portugal is often considered an example of successful democratic consolidation. Yet it has not been exempt from corruption scandals. By the mid‐1990s, transparency and the moralisation of political life had come to dominate parliamentary debates and reforms. The illegality surrounding party life must be seen against the background of dominant ethical standards in society. Voters appear tolerant of the unethical behaviour of political leaders, while parties are gradually becoming less responsive to their electorate. Representation and delegation rely more on tacit consent than on voice, thus encouraging complacency over corruption.

Sovereign Debt and Governance Failures: Portuguese Democracy and the Financial Crisis

International economic crises are critical periods for any political regime. The 2008 global financial crisis brought to the surface several weak spots in the institutional performance of various southern European democracies. Portugal was no exception. Government attempts to tackle its negative externalities through a series of austerity measures did not prove successful on various grounds. Poor scoring in the economy generated social unrest. This article tries to assess the reaction of the Portuguese citizenry to the symptoms of failure in economic governance, particularly in what concerns their attitudes vis-à-vis the political realm by using different survey data sets. The analysis reveals that the decline in economic performance and in quality of governance is clearly reflected in citizens’ rising discontent with the performance of democracy and suggests even negative spillover effects for regime support. The available data also suggest that any expectations that the economic crisis might have ignited in citizens’ engagement in political issues seem only partially fulfilled.

Hard Responses to Corruption: Penal Standards and the Repression of Corruption in Britain, France and Portugal

Despite its difficulties and inconsistencies in framing those practices andconducts recently unveiled by the press and judicial investigations whichhave caused considerable public discontent, the penal definition ofcorruption still highlights an interesting conceptual diversity across spaceand time that should not be overlooked. Most official discussions about andreferences to corruption and its volume are still framed within these hardparameters. It is, therefore, important to look at the intricacies ofcorruption as a crime in order to understand the virtues and failures ofnational repressive efforts. While crime statistics are of limited use for itsmeasurement, they can nevertheless help to interpret the way corruptionhas been treated through repressive instruments cross-nationally over aperiod of time.The aim of this paper is to assess the dynamics of the various processes ofsetting and revising penal standards to the conduct of office holders and theresults observable from the application of corruption and related offencesacross countries with different legal traditions.Despite its difficulties and inconsistencies in framing those practices andconducts recently unveiled by the press and judicial investigations whichhave caused considerable public discontent, the penal definition ofcorruption still highlights an interesting conceptual diversity across spaceand time that should not be overlooked. Most official discussions about andreferences to corruption and its volume are still framed within these hardparameters. It is, therefore, important to look at the intricacies ofcorruption as a crime in order to understand the virtues and failures ofnational repressive efforts. While crime statistics are of limited use for itsmeasurement, they can nevertheless help to interpret the way corruptionhas been treated through repressive instruments cross-nationally over aperiod of time.The aim of this paper is to assess the dynamics of the various processes ofsetting and revising penal standards to the conduct of office holders and theresults observable from the application of corruption and related offencesacross countries with different legal traditions.

New Challenges to Political Party Financial Supervision in Portugal

After a decade of successive changes to its political financing regulatory framework, and a cumbersome dual monitoring system, Portugal has decided to adopt a single supervisory body – the Entity for Accounts and Political Financing (EAPF). Notwithstanding these improvements, the diffused perception of the existing political financing regulatory and supervisory arrangements remains overall negative. This article discusses the scope and impact of the new Portuguese political financing supervisory body, by focusing on its format, location, mission, competences, composition, resources and performance and proposes alternative integrated solutions for improving its enforcement capacity.After a decade of successive changes to its political financing regulatory framework, and a cumbersome dual monitoring system, Portugal has decided to adopt a single supervisory body – the Entity for Accounts and Political Financing (EAPF). Notwithstanding these improvements, the diffused perception of the existing political financing regulatory and supervisory arrangements remains overall negative. This article discusses the scope and impact of the new Portuguese political financing supervisory body, by focusing on its format, location, mission, competences, composition, resources and performance and proposes alternative integrated solutions for improving its enforcement capacity.

MuSec: Sonification of Alarms Generated by a SIEM

The information generated by a network monitoring system is overwhelming. Monitoring is imperative but very difficult to accomplish due to several reasons. More so for the case of non tech-savvy home users. Security Information Event Management applications generate alarms that correlate multiple occurrences on the network. These events are classified accordingly to their risk. An application that allows the sonification of events generated by a Security Information Event Management can facilitate the security monitoring of a home network by a less tech-savvy user by allowing him to just listen to the result of the sonification of such events.