“青县模式”与“麻柳模式”:两个基层民主创新案例的比较——兼论中国农村民主治理的前景

在中国农村基层民主治理的实践中,以“八步工作法”为核心内容的“麻柳模式”和以常设的村代会为主要特色的“青县模式”是两个引起社会广泛关注的创新案例.由于产生背景、地方经济发展程度以及地方领导人意志等因素的不同,这两个基层民主治理模式也体现出明显差异,分别体现了直接民主和代议民主的特点,在制度设计、具体运作和制度绩效方面都有各自的优势.但这并不排除它们之间存在共同点.从解决当前农村基层治理存在问题的角度来看,“麻柳模式”和“青县模式”都表现优异,并且体现出一些对中国农村民主治理的规律性认识和共同启示.中国村民自治的发展不能局限于村委会的选举,必须在民主决策、民主管理、民主监督方面不断深化.     

农村基层协商民主的时代价值

农村基层协商民主是农村民主政治发展的新形式,是中国民主政治在农村发展的最广泛实践。农村基层协商民主是一种村民的价值理念,是一种农村社会治理机制,更是一种村民的生活方式和行为方式。农村基层协商民主具有重要的时代价值,它在规范村民选举行为,推动农村选举公平公正;提升村民参与能力,推动农村决策科学民主;完善农村治理结构,推动农村治理创新优化;确保村务信息公开,推动农村监督规范完备等方面发挥着重要作用。农村基层协商民主对改变村民的政治面貌、建设社会主义新农村、实现中华民族伟大复兴的"中国梦"具有重大的现实意义。     

农村地方治理与基层民主——党的十六大以后农村地方治理的走势与思考

本文通过对农村社会中地方政府执政方式及同村民自治关系现状的观察分析 ,认为党的十六大以后农村地方治理的走势和解决问题的方略有二 :一是如何从农村地方治理的实际出发 ,突出地方政府的权威 ,不断革新执政方式 ,建立强有力的地方政府 ,以推动农村经济的繁荣和社会的发展。二是重视村民自治 ,强调“还政于民” ,突出地方政府与农村社会广泛合作的关系 ,坚持发扬基层民主 ,严格依法行政 ,为农村基层民主的发展创造条件。     

改革开放40年来我国农村基层协商民主与选举民主的协同演进及其创新发展

依据"实践发展-法律与政策指向-理论回应"的三维分析框架,改革开放40年来我国农村基层民主政治建设进程大体上经历了"选举民主主导""协商民主后来居上""协商民主与选举民主协同发展"三个发展阶段。未来农村基层民主政治建设需要在选举民主与协商民主协同发展的框架下做好两方面的工作:一方面是通过强化制度设计,在坚持协商无果必经投票表决、投票表决前充分协商沟通和重要决策投票表决与一般抉择诉诸协商相结合等原则下建立和完善协商与投票表决衔接机制,致力于促进协商与投票表决机制的有序衔接转换;另一方面是立足于基层民主自治,通过法治、问责、便利化民主参与平台建设和公民教育等途径,致力于提高农村基层民主质量。     

论农村基层党内民主与村民自治的衔接与互动

扩大民主范围到基层党内,是村民自治发展的逻辑延伸。农村“一肩挑”、“两票制”、“直选书记”等模式的建立,是农村基层党内民主同村民自治实行对接的有益尝试。其良性互动,必须以建立群众公认机制为增强合法性的基础,以实行选举联动为民主整合的途径,以制度供给为规范化运作的支撑。     

改革开放以来我国农村基层民主建设

改革开放以来,我国逐渐建立起了适应农村经济社会发展要求的农村基层民主自治制度。我国农村基层民主自治制度从建立到逐步走向成熟进而得到不断完善和发展取得了一些成就,而这些成就的取得并不是一帆风顺的,其中也存在一些问题,如民主参与程度低,选举不规范等问题。针对这些问题应该采取有效的措施来完善我国农村基层民主建设。如:强化民主意识教育、加强制度建设等措施来完善我国农村基层民主建设。     

民主恳谈机制对基层民主的启示

浙江"温岭模式"是通过民主恳谈活动对村内事务进行讨论,决策与协商,并对村内事务进行公开的一种民主模式。"温岭模式"对于拓宽群众参与自治的渠道进而实现决策的民主化和科学化有着重要的意义,拓宽民意反馈渠道,信息公开透明,对议案进行公开讨论都丰富了村民自治的实践方式。民主恳谈的方式对于新时期农村基层民主有着重要的借鉴意义,依据其实践模式,总结基层民主的重要原则:基层民主的发展应以人为本,以实践为源,以创新为魂。     

协商民主是我国基层治理的重要方式

基层治理是国家治理的重要组成部分。随着社会的发展,群众利益诉求趋向多元化,基层民主成为基层治理的重要取向。选举民主在我国基层治理中发挥着重要作用,体现了人民当家作主,保障了人民的权益。同时,在基层治理中,选举民主也暴露出诸如侧重于民主"准入"程序、忽视程序之后的民主决策和民主管理等问题,这难以保证人民群众广泛平等常态化的民主参与。而协商民主可以让人们平等、自由、常态化的参与,通过协商议题的确定、协商程序的设计、协商人员的吸纳及协商过程的控制,实现多元权利和利益主体的共同参与,这些与治理现代化的要求高度吻合,有助于促进国家治理现代化的发展。实现基层协商治理的要点是在制度设计中把党的领导置于关键位置,广泛吸纳优秀人才、社会资源,扩大党组织的有效覆盖面。     

选举民主:政治合法性的建构及其困境

选举民主的合法性功能问题一直是西方政治学争论的焦点。对选举民主的结构要素及其与政治合法性的理论分析揭示出,选举民主为政治合法性的建构提供了"多数者同意"、"竞争性选举"和"择优性授权"三方面的合理依据,因而选举民主可以增强政治合法性;然而,选举民主在政治合法性的建构上存在"同意困境"、"规则困境"和"绩效困境",因而选举民主的合法性建构功能是有限的。辩证地看待选举民主的合法性建构功能有助于理解民主建设的路径选择和合法性建构的策略选择。     

北京农业社会主义改造时期的农村基层民主

本文对北京市农业社会主义改造时期的农村基层组织体制、农村基层选举、农村经济组织的民主管理、党组织与农村基层民主建设的关系进行了描述和分析,指出了北京市农业社会主义改造时期农村基层民主建设中存在的问题,总结了农村基层民主建设应当吸取的经验教训.     

Portents of Pluralism: How Hybrid Regimes Affect Democratic Transitions

The original studies of "competitive authoritarianism" and "hegemonic authoritarianism" inspected the occurrence of hybrid regimes during the 1990s but stopped short of testing their propensity for democratic change. This article assesses the causal effects of hybrid regimes, and the post–cold war period itself, on regime breakdown and democratization. Using a dataset of 158 regimes from 1975 to 2004, and a discrete measure for transitions to electoral democracy, I find that competitive authoritarian regimes are not especially prone to losing power but are significantly more likely to be followed by electoral democracy: vigorous electoral contestation does not independently subvert authoritarianism, yet it bodes well for democratic prospects once incumbents are overthrown.     

Elections and Democratization in Authoritarian Regimes

When do elections in authoritarian regimes lead to democracy? Building from the distinction between competitive and hegemonic authoritarian regimes, I argue that presence of relatively weaker incumbents renders competitive authoritarian elections more prone to democratization, but only when domestic and international actors choose to actively pressure the regime. The effects of two forms of pressure—opposition electoral coalitions and international conditionality—are theorized. Propositions are tested using a comprehensive dataset of elections in authoritarian regimes from 1990 to 2007. Results support two core claims: that the effect of electoral pressure is conditional on the type of authoritarianism and that this greater vulnerability to pressure is the reason why competitive authoritarian elections are more likely to lead to democracy. In contrast, several alternative explanations—that differences across regime type are explained by alternation in power, better electoral conduct, or ongoing processes of liberalization—are not supported by the evidence.     

Democracy and Education Spending in Africa

While it is widely believed that electoral competition influences public spending decisions, there has been relatively little effort to examine how recent democratization in the developing world has resulted in changes in basic service provision. There have been even fewer attempts to investigate whether democracy matters for public spending in the poorest developing countries, where "weak institutions" may mean that the formal adoption of electoral competition has little effect on policy. In this article I confront these questions directly, asking whether the shift to multiparty competition in African countries has resulted in increased spending on primary education. I develop an argument, illustrated with a game-theoretic model, which suggests that the need to obtain an electoral majority may have prompted African governments to spend more on education and to prioritize primary schools over universities within the education budget. I test three propositions from the model using panel data on electoral competition and education spending in African countries. I find clear evidence that democratically elected African governments have spent more on primary education, while spending on universities appears unaffected by democratization .     

Democratic 'Misfit'? Conceptions of Civil Society Participation in France and the European Union

The European Union's attempts to improve its democratic character increasingly often lead to debates about how to include civil society organizations in its decision-making processes. However, this interpretation of participatory democracy seems at odds with democratic traditions in a number of member states. Among those, France is said to be at the diametrically opposite end of the EU democratization debate spectrum. French democratic thought is based on government through electoral representation. The aim of this article is to analyze both theoretically and empirically the discourse and participatory processes in both the EU and France. While normative approaches to democratic patterns in the EU and French political debate show important differences, empirical evidence suggests that the misfit between the European and French conception of democracy is less developed than one might believe.     

„Bunte Revolutionen“ – Durchbruch zur Demokratie oder Modus der autoritären Systemreproduktion?

The bulk of the debate on “colour revolutions” interprets them as instances of democratic breakthrough promoting the democratization of postcommunist “laggards”. It contributes to democratization studies delivering neoinstitutionalist interpretations of electoral revolutions, models of the interplay between international and domestic factors, and implications for democracy assistance. There is, however, an alternative interpretation of the “colour revolutions” as instances of authoritarian regime instability and reproduction. It provides insights into the dynamics of post-Soviet (semi-)authoritarian regimes which are related to the ongoing debate on comparative authoritarianism. The different perspectives on “colour revolutions” also offer various prospects for postcommunist area studies.     

Federalism and Democratic Transitions: The "New" Politics of the Governors in Brazil

Although federalism is a potentially important variable in democratization,few studies explore its impact in democratic transitions andconsolidation. Scholars generally agree that federalism is quitestrong in contemporary Brazil. This study examines how and whystrong federalism reemerged in Brazil following twenty yearsof centralizing military rule. In brief, the 1964–1985military regime tried but failed to transform the state-basedorganizational structure and power base of Brazil's traditionalpolitical elite; Brazil's "transitional" electoral cycle alsoreinforced the strength of state governors. Examples are providedof how subnational actors influenced the transition processin the national government and how state based actors and interestschallenge Brazil's efforts to consolidate its democracy.     

Democracy and State Capacity: Exploring a J‐Shaped Relationship

In this article we probe the effect of democratization on the state's administrative capacity. Using time‐series cross‐section data, we find a curvilinear (J‐shaped) relationship between the two traits. The effect of democracy on state capacity is negative at low values of democracy, nonexistent at median values, and strongly positive at high democracy levels. This is confirmed under demanding statistical tests. The curvilinear relationship is due, we argue, to the combined effect of two forms of steering and control; one exercised from above, the other from below. In strongly authoritarian states, a satisfactory measure of control from above can at times be accomplished. Control from below is best achieved when democratic institutions are fully installed and are accompanied by a broad array of societal resources. Looking at two resource measures, press circulation and electoral participation, we find that these, combined with democracy, enhance state administrative capacity.     

Political parties, electoral systems and democracy: A cross-national analysis

Abstract.  The number of political parties and the type of electoral system may impact the level of democratic functioning within a government. Models are used to explore whether the number of political parties increases a country's democracy score on the POLITY IV measure of democracy, and whether countries with proportional representation electoral systems have higher democracy scores than those without. Multiple regression analysis reveals that countries with proportional electoral systems have higher democracy scores. Countries involved in the Third Wave of democracy may find the choice of an electoral system among the most important issues in structuring a democratic government.     

协商民主：完善选举制度的路径选择

选举制度是建立以选举民主为基础上的现代宪政制度之一。但由于选举民主存在自身局限性，导致建立在选举民主基础上的选择制度存在自身无法克服的缺陷。通过将协商民主导入选举民主，有助于选举制度的完善。     

Democratisation through the Supply–Demand Prism

The end of the Cold War brought about a new wave of proliferation of market economy and democracy. Both are spreading through purposeful efforts of Western exporters and Eastern importers as well as by way of example. These generally positive processes are not, however, without considerable negative side effects and setbacks. The article considers three pairs of dialectical contradictions: parallel democratization and introduction of free markets, democratization and liberalism, and democratization and nationalism. Naïve, hypocritical, and pragmatic approaches to democracy promotion, as well as factors facilitating or hindering democratization (sometimes making it impossible) of specific societies, are analyzed. One of the central problems is the question of absolute or relative (contingent on time, space, and other factors) universality of democracy. The article concludes that democracy has to be mainly demand-driven, not supply-induced. It also considers to what extent external efforts can compensate for the weaknesses of domestic facilitators and what happens when there are attempts to export democracy to societies that are not ready for that.