Importance of Interdisciplinary Spatial Planning of National Parks＂ Case Study of Croatia

With the attempt to ＂reconcile＂ protection and tourism activities, spatial planning has a great importance in sustainable planning and management of Nature Protected Areas （NPAs）. The spatial dimension of sustainability involves numerous processes and links among different purposes of lands, ecosystems, and biotopes at different levels through time, therefore, it is necessary to include all sciences and professions, whose common goal is the sustainability of the area, in the spatial planning process. This paper argues that there is a critical need for an interdisciplinary approach in spatial planning, which could improve the quality of planning of national parks and all other sensitive nature areas. Such approach should strive to the sustainability of protected nature destinations with the integration of knowledge. In Croatia, national park planning is still mostly done without comprehensive and integrated involvement of a wide range of science and profession, which ultimately significantly reduces the quality ＆the plans, as well as may have potentially negative effects on the future development.     

Main operational issues of medium term budget plan： The case of Albanian Ministry of Defence

This article is mainly concerned with some technical issues of preparing the medium term budget plan （MTBP） in Republic of Albania. This is a period of three years into the future. A period of three years is the right period for some realistic planning. Planning for one year only is not realistic planning, because decisions taken in one year will have consequences for later years. In Albania, there are a number of policy development processes, for example those related to the government programme, the sector and national strategy process and European integration process. The medium term budget programme seeks to complement other policy processes by drawing on their results and linking the associated policy objectives explicitly to expenditure programmes in a formal management process. Albanian Government is adopting an international sample of composing a good MTBP, so we found a very interesting research on this topic. The article is composed of three lines： The first part, named as ＂introduction＂, treats the work done by Albanian Government in preparing MTBP document; second part deals with main components of MTBP document prepared by an Albanian Ministry （14 in total）; while the third part refers to an MTBP for a programme taken as an example at the Albanian Ministry of Defence.     

The Assessment of the Impact of an Aging Population of China on the Country＇s Economy

In the article, the author on the basis of the analysis of the structure of the population of the People＇s Republic of China （PRC） is making an attempt to identify the influence of increasing number of people over 65 years on the economic situation in the state. The introduction of reform of pension system of China is related to the additional expenses of the state. Basing on the method of pair correlation, the author shows that with increase of percentage of the aging population of PRC, the foreign exchange reserves of the state are increased; it is evident that the state forms the financial reserves for the pension fund of the country.     

Interpretation of the Prohibition of Torture: Making Sense of ‘Dignity’ Talk

The right not to be subjected to torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is invariably associated with ‘human dignity’. The idea of dignity plays some role in this right’s interpretation, although the content of the idea in this context, as in others, is unclear. Making sense of the dignity idea involves a number of challenges. These challenges give rise to the methodological-type question at the heart of this article: how should human rights lawyers go about articulating the content of ‘dignity’? The article proposes, and models, a methodological approach in response. Its core argument is that human rights law needs the vocabulary provided by theorizations of dignity but that these theorizations should be anchored in authoritative human rights jurisprudence. It argues that this approach can help make sense of the dignity idea in a way that facilitates a richer understanding of its influence on interpretation.     

Can parity of self-esteem serve as the basis of the principle of linguistic territoriality?

In this paper, I argue that Philippe Van Parijs’ argument for the principle of linguistic territoriality rests upon an unexamined and unvindicated assumption, to the effect that most situations in which smaller languages are threatened by larger ones can be assimilated to ‘colonial cases’, that is to cases in which there is injustice as between the two linguistic groups, as opposed to ‘mere number cases’, that is cases in which linguistic groups of different sizes coexist in the absence of injustice. Moreover, I argue that Van Parijs underestimates the amount of coercion that will have to be applied even within linguistically defined territories in order to avoid the erosion of the smaller language.     

Formal independence of regulatory agencies and Varieties of Capitalism: A case of institutional complementarity?

The Varieties of Capitalism literature posits that national economic institutions reflect the mode of coordination of a country's market actors. Despite the importance of this claim and a rich literature on the emergence of regulatory capitalism, few studies test such prediction for Independent Regulatory Agencies (IRAs). This article connects the two fields of research by analysing the impact of economic coordination on the formal independence of IRAs. The results show that, beyond issues of credible commitment and policy stability, the collective action capacity of market actors matters. In particular, regulators in Coordinated Market Economies enjoy less independence than in Liberal Market Economies, while intermediate regimes grant IRAs the least autonomy. The policy implications are nontrivial. Similar to other macroeconomic institutions, inappropriate combinations of economic coordination and IRA independence may engender Pareto‐suboptimal regulatory solutions. In such cases, policymakers should reconsider the rules governing national regulators.     

The Dilemmas of China’s Political Science in the Context of the Rise of China

The rise of China has changed the global balance of power, which could also have an impact on the international development of political science scholarship. Very little attention, however, has been paid to the impact of China’s rise on the development of political science within China. This article examines how the rise of China has posed serious challenges to political studies in China. It addresses critical issues concerning the contemporary features and strategic direction of the discipline. It first analyzes three different meanings of what constitutes China’s political studies and discusses three different intellectual production models. It then highlights the dilemmas that political science faces in China, and exposes problems of and obstacles to its development, such as an unwarranted sense of pride, the bureaucratization of the scholarly community, and, critically, the absence of democracy and academic freedom. The paper examines and engages several ongoing debates on China’s political studies. In responding to the debate over whether it is desirable for Chinese political studies to move towards scientification, this paper presents four arguments for a balance between science and the humanities and outlines four strategies for achieving this balance. It also examines the debate on the localization of Chinese political studies and the doctrine of China’s uniqueness; and points out that the rise of China requires Chinese political studies to be cosmopolitan, global and universal, but the current regime is interested in reproducing the discourse of China’s uniqueness to maintain its political legitimacy.     

Investigation of officials＇ behaviors of lnternet abuse under e-government in China

The paper investigated the lnternet abuse behaviors of government officials in public administration or public service departments in China. The time period and frequency being on Internet for private purposes, the non-official business surfing behaviors within working hours, as well as the main harms brought to the government affairs and government networks were analyzed statistically. The attitude of officials upon being online supervised and controlled by technical tools, the requirements of internal entertainment web construction, and the proposals to improve the management systems of e-government network were collected and analyzed systematically. This study has provided the first hand materials for treating Internet abuse in e-government environment in China.     

Autonomy and Performance of Agentification： Cases of Nine Independent Agencies in Thailand

Facing the limitations of bureaucracy and the pressures of crisis and change, the government reforms in many countries adopted a discipline of new public management （NPM） by separating autonomous agencies （agentification） in the public sector. Nonetheless, there are still very few empirical studies of performance assessment of this type of agency. This paper has two main objectives： （1） to explore the governance and autonomy of nine independent agencies under the Ministry of Industry （MOI） in Thailand; and （2） to present performance assessment of these nine independent agencies. This study uses both qualitative and quantitative approaches in collecting data, including three focus groups, 37 in-depth interviews, and 3,428 questionnaire surveys. The paper applies the concepts of agentification of NPM to examine the multidimensions of autonomy and to evaluate the performance of the nine agencies, covering effectiveness, financial self-reliance, and the impact on industrial development. Finally, this paper discusses the effects of agentification and suggests policy and managerial implications as well as further research directions.     

Alliance of Civilizations： The global peace project of the 21st century

The Alliance of Civilizations was established in 2005, at the initiative of the Governments of Spain and Turkey; under the auspices of the United Nations for inter civilizations dialogue to bridge the gap between the West and Muslim world. This article analyzes advantage and disadvantage sides of the success of this initiative.     

One for me and one for you? The spillover effect of heads of lists on the presence and success of candidates of immigrant origin

As gatekeepers to elected office, party selectors are often held responsible for the political under-representation of social groups, including immigrant-origin citizens. This article investigates how the socio-demographic characteristics (immigrant background and gender) of heads of list affect the presence and success of immigrant-origin candidates. Heads of lists constitute a unique group, as they simultaneously act as selectors and role models for aspirants and voters. We rely on an original dataset based on the 2018 local elections in Flanders (Belgium) (N = 31,173 candidates on 1309 lists). To our knowledge, it is the first time such a big endeavour is undertaken. The results show that whereas having an immigrant-origin head of list has a positive effect on both the presence and success of other immigrant-origin candidates, having a female head of list does not. We find a spillover effect within one under-represented group, but not between under-represented groups.     

A positive theory of the earnings relationship of unemployment benefits

In a wage bargaining model, a stronger earnings relationship of unemployment benefits may reduce wages. Therefore, the benefit structure significantly influences profits and trade union utility, raising the question as to how the benefit structure is determined in the political process. We consider a government that chooses the earnings relationship in order to maximize its political support. Our model predicts a strong earnings relationship under right-wing governments and a weak relationship when unions are influential. Using panel data for 19 OECD countries, we find support for these theoretical predictions. Moreover, we show that the earnings relationship varies negatively with openness.     

The fraying of the socio‐economic fabric of Hong Kong

Abstract

Since the 1980s, Hong Kong has undergone momentous socio‐economic changes, which in turn have greatly affected public attitudes toward society and the economy. Interpersonal trust and the sense of community have weakened. Hong Kong as a society is increasingly seen as unfair in the sense that it is not perceived as a land of opportunities for the hardworking. The capitalist rules of the game are increasingly considered by the people to be unacceptable. Public demands for more governmental intervention in the economy, particularly in the area of income redistribution, are increasingly raised. Nascent feelings of class antagonism are palpable as economic inequalities are getting worse. As social conflicts of various kinds proliferate, public anxieties about Hong Kong's fraying socio‐economic fabric have come to the fore. People expect the government and the legal institutions to strengthen social order. At the same time, however, public trust of all social, economic and social authorities is declining. Accordingly, as social discontent and anxieties accumulate, the socio‐economic system of Hong Kong will face serious challenge in the years ahead.     

The afterlife of modernity in the politics of the postmodern∗

Abstract

Though poststructuralist and postmodern critiques provide a powerful tool for deconstructing contemporary power relations, when they are overextended, they lose their subversive edge and actually begin to serve the development of new forms of social domination. Taken as an example, Baudrillard's theory of postmodern society reflects this very tendency. While on the surface Baudrillard has abandoned the hierarchies of modernity upon which order and domination have depended, his critique reintroduces its own countersubversive hierarchy upon which a postmodern order depends. As parts of a postmodern conceptual framework, these hierarchies serve to expand the system of domination manufactured in contemporary communications industries and to undermine resistance through the production of simulated social and political realities.