立法机构在公共政策制定中的功能与作用——韩国国会与中国全国人大的比较

国会的立法决策是公共政策的最基本形式之一。在议会政治中,政党、国会议员代表选民输入利益需求,经过立法活动的整合、调整,最终形成能够代表或反映特定利益诉求的、以法律或其他特定权威形式表现出来的公共政策。本文以韩国国会在公共政策制定中所扮演的角色、发挥的功能为参照,对比中国全国人大在公共政策制定中的作用和影响,通过总结韩国国会的经验和教训,试图为全国人大的制度建设提供有益的借鉴和启发。     

政治稳定的公共政策悖论解析

公共政策事关国家兴衰和政治稳定的全局大局。由公共政策在政治系统中的地位和功能所决定,在一定意义上可以说,公共政策是政治系统为解决社会公共问题实现政治稳定而制定实施的对策措施。没有良好的公共政策,政治稳定是难以实现和缺乏保障的。公共政策是政治稳定的内生变量,是影响政治稳定的深层次原因。本文采用规范的分析方法,对政治稳定与公共政策的关系进行探讨,本文认为,缘于国家悖论,公共政策对政治稳定的作用也是一个悖论,公共政策既是实现政治稳定的手段和关键,也是人为的政治不稳定的根源。好政策促进政治稳定,不良政策破坏政治稳定。只有通过对公共政策的持续优化,才能维系和促进政治稳定。     

公共政策、经济发展与政治稳定:中国村民自治的发展逻辑

公共政策、经济发展、政治稳定是伴随中国村民自治发展的三个重要因素。公共政策制定是村民自治的运行基础,村民自治为公共政策执行树立了正确的价值导向;农村经济发展与基层民主运行互为因果,经济发展促进了社会结构变迁并有助于村民民主价值观的形成;村民自治隶属程序化民主的治理方式,通过合法竞争充分彰显民意。公共政策执行与政治参与的适应程度是决定农村政治稳定的关键因素,其不仅为民主的发育提供充分的空间,而且维持了农村经济的繁荣,保障基层政府的稳定。     

论公共政策执行中的公民政治参与

公共政策执行中的公民政治参与是社会主义国家民主政治的基本内涵 ,是公民享有参与管理国家和社会各项事务的权利体现 ,是公共政策执行民主化的必然要求。公共政策执行中的公民政治参与要求公民参与政策执行计划、沟通、监督、评估等基本过程之中 ,以人事行政参与、行政合同参与、社区自治参与和政务公开参与为实现途径 ,确保公共政策执行民主化的真正实现和公民政治参与的具体落实     

我国公共政策公信力危机及消解对策

公共政策是为解决社会问题、协调与平衡公众利益而由社会公共权威机构凭借公共权力制定和实施的具有权威性的行为规范、行为准则和活动策略。公共政策公信力是一国政治体系存在、持续、稳定和发展的前提与基础。     

政治问责及相关概念辨析

基于问责的语义分析与学理阐释可知,作为机制的问责是指问责对象有义务就其行为、政策或职责表现等向问责主体告知、回答、解释与证明,如果问责对象存在失责行为则应接受问责主体的惩罚或制裁。政治以公共决策为重要内容,以行使公共权力为主要方式。在此意义上,可将狭义的政治问责界定为政治官员有义务就其在公共决策与推动公共政策执行中的行为与绩效,向社会公众、代议机关或执政党告知、回答、解释与证明,如果存在违法或不符合民意等失责行为,则应承担政治信任流失甚至公共决策权力丧失的后果。此外,政治问责与行政问责、民主问责、公共问责、社会问责等相关概念既有区别又存在交叉重叠,对其进行比较分析,有助于促进问责领域概念使用的规范化。     

网络媒体条件下的政治参与对公共政策制定的影响

网络媒体所独具的外部性以及网络开放交互的本质性特征给政府制定公共政策带来了冲击与挑战,网络媒体条件下政治参与机制形成的网络政治,成为了公众与政府重要的互动平台,也成为了政府制定和公开政策的一个新路径。但是网络媒体条件下的政治参与也给公共政策的制定带来一定的挑战。政府只有充分认识网络媒体的双重属性,并加以合理的运用,才能使网络媒体更好地为公共政策制定服务。     

公共政策制定中的公民参与——基于杭州开放式政府决策的经验研究

随着我国政治民主化进程的推进以及公民意识的日益觉醒,公民有序参与公共政策制定过程这一议题备受学者、政府官员与民众的关注。本文特选取获得2010年中国地方政府创新奖的杭州开放式政府决策为研究对象,从公共政策制定过程视角出发,剖析杭州开放式政府决策的过程、决策特点和公民参与的形式,总结并诠释杭州市开放式政府决策的实践作法与相关经验,认为构建公共政策制定过程中的公民参与机制关键在于回答好四个问题:谁参与、参与什么、怎样参与以及参与效果如何。     

社会资本:公共政策过程的变量

社会资本作为一种资本形式和新的解释范式,对当下社会科学界产生着深远影响,但目前各种社会资本的概念界定和理论运用不乏混乱和矛盾,本文视之为以信任的核心、以公民参与网络和互利互惠规范为来源的一种资源;然后表明社会资本与公共政策过程有着内在的逻辑关联,社会资本的正负效应无不影响着公共政策的制定和执行,公共政策的有效制定和执行与社会资本的储量也息息相关,因此政府在公共决策过程中必须考虑社会资本这个变量,以形成社会资本和公共政策过程之间的良性互动关系,从而有利于维持公共政策的公共利益的价值取向。     

政治稳定与公共政策的相关性分析

政治稳定历来是政治系统及其统治者所追求的重要目标之一。公共政策是政治稳定的重要维度,是政治稳定的内生变量。公共政策对政治稳定既具有促进作用,也具有破坏作用。政治稳定的实现需要依靠制度和公共政策的建立与完善,政治稳定的缺失也是由制度和公共政策的问题导致的。公共政策是政治系统应对公共问题,建构公共生活秩序而采取的策略性选择,肩负着建立健全社会公共生活秩序,促进社会政治稳定的重任。公共政策是政治稳定的关键,不良政策是人为的政治不稳定的根源。公共政策的持续优化是维系和促进政治稳定的根本措施。     

Party patronage in contemporary democracies: Results from an expert survey in 22 countries from five regions

This Research Note presents a new dataset of party patronage in 22 countries from five regions. The data was collected using the same methodology to compare patterns of patronage within countries, across countries and across world regions that are usually studied separately. The Note addresses three research questions that are at the centre of debates on party patronage, which is understood as the power of political parties to make appointments to the public and semi‐public sector: the scope of patronage, the underlying motivations and the criteria on the basis of which appointees are selected. The exploration of the dataset shows that party patronage is, to a different degree, widespread across all regions. The data further shows differences between policy areas, types of institutions such as government ministries, agencies and state‐owned enterprises, and higher, middle and lower ranks of the bureaucracy. It is demonstrated that the political control of policy making and implementation is the most common motivation for making political appointments. However, in countries with a large scope of patronage, appointments serve the purpose of both political control and rewarding supporters in exchange for votes and services. Finally, the data shows that parties prefer to select appointees who are characterised by political and personal loyalty as well as professional competence.     

政治地位中的性别差距

全球范围内存在着程度不同的政治地位性别差距问题。造成政治性别差距的显性因素已经随着历史发展过程的推进而逐渐破除，但是形成政治地位上性别差距的隐性因素如文化、制度和人自身仍然在实践中大量存在，需要进一步关注和研究。去除我国女性政治发展边缘化隐性因素的关键在于：通过多种方式尤其是在媒体传播中增强社会性别意识，创造有利的文化舆论环境；公共政策尤其是党政干部的培养选拔要防止产生无意识损害女性群体政治权利的问题；女性领导者自身增强职业发展规划意识，实现从优秀到卓越的跨越。     

The constitutional court in Italian politics

The Italian constitutional court was established as an extra‐political guardian of the constitution, but it has assumed an important role in policy‐making which is far removed from its original, intended functions. This article describes the political background to its development and analyses the variety of ways in which the court has to take decisions of considerable political sensitivity with increasing frequency. The court is most in the public eye when it carries out its functions in the referendum procedures, but its involvement is more continuous, more creative and more positive than this might suggest. The article concludes that the court has to take action in areas for which it lacks the proper instruments, and that us relationship with other institutions in the policy‐making process is worthy of more attention than such relationships often receive.     

Political context,policy networks and policy change: the complexity of transition in Hong Kong

Abstract

Central to the debates on the transition of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty is how this process has affected change in the policy process and policy outputs. Many see policy change as a result of the evolving political environment in Hong Kong following the political transition. This article, however, adopts the notion of policy networks and argues that the analysis of policy change cannot be reduced to a simple contextual stimulus – the policy alteration model. A case study – ‘the development of civic education’ – demonstrates the importance of policy networks, as a particular structure of government and group relations in decision making, in explaining the course of policy change. It is apparent that the relationship between regime change and political liberalization, on the one hand, and established networks, on the other, tends to be complex and dialectical in Hong Kong. Despite the importance of sovereignty transition and political restructuring, the effect of contextual factors on public policy greatly depends on the nature of the network involved.     

Managing business political activities in the USA: bridging between theory and practice

The political arena in the USA is portrayed as a marketplace in which businesses and other groups compete to influence public policy decisions. Managers can view this political market as an opportunity to shape the rules of the game by which they operate but must realise that it is a very competitive arena. Drawing on concepts from business strategy advocacy activities like lobbying, making campaign contributions, and organising grassroots efforts are analysed in terms of opportunities for gaining competitive advantage. Results from case studies indicate that many businesses miss opportunities to build support among employees for political advocacy because few firms use bottom up approaches for political action committees or grass‐roots efforts. Suggestions for managers interested in improving the effectiveness of their business advocacy efforts are discussed. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications     

公共政策制定过程中公意的应然表达

在一个民主的社会，是否合乎公意无疑是评判公共政策的最为重要的指标之一。公共政策制定过程中公意的应然表达包括三个层次。其一，公意作为全体人民的意愿和需求的表现形式，应该是公共政策制定的逻辑起点；其二，公意作为全体人民对政治系统输出的公共政策的认同和忠诚的观念，应该是公共政策制定的合法性基石；其三，公意作为民主政府公共政策的依归，应该是公共政策制定的价值取向。     

Public relations for public affairs

The term ‘public affairs’ has now become a much‐discussed topic in continental Europe's political and economic circles, including Germany and Austria. The problem is that few people really understand just what the term means. Many people have the impression that ‘public affairs’ is another way of describing lobbying. Others perceive it as classic public relations. In Europe many decision makers of the business world lack the specific knowledge of policy making; however, until now just a few such executives have taken advantage of the real opportunities opened up by using the services of professional public affairs consulting. Communications companies in Europe are now offering public affairs consulting as part of their services, with increasing success. The first task to make public affairs better known in Europe therefore must be public relations for public affairs. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications     

Depleted Uranium,Public Science,and the Politics of Closure

The public controversy over depleted uranium (DU) seems to follow a standard trajectory—scientific closure, via the reduction of scientific uncertainty, led directly to policy closure, as government bureaucracies increasingly downplayed its dangers and denied redress to exposed individuals. Closer inspection, however, reveals a more complex dynamic. A series of expert, public science reports, while articulating a shared narrative of DU safety, actually accentuated great uncertainty concerning DU's biological effects, mirroring new uncertainties raised by ongoing scientific research. Policy closure is thus mirrored in neither the scholarly scientific literature nor in broader political realms, suggesting a close and unique relation between the expert reports and governmental policy making. Public science institutions and the expert reports they produce are crucial political resources for resolving governmental policy making but are decidedly less successful at closing the broader political debate.     

Political Attention and Public Policy: A Study of How Agenda Setting Matters

Political science research on agenda setting has been focused on how and why political agendas change over time. This article addresses the different but equally important question about how agenda setting actually matters to the policy outputs of national policy making. Do changes in the political agenda foreshadow changes in public policies? And does the effect of changes in the political agenda depend upon the policy preferences expressed by the mass public? Integrating research on policy agendas with well‐established ideas about re‐election‐oriented representation, this article offers a new approach to the study of such agenda effects. Furthermore, it demonstrates the empirical validity of this approach using a Danish dataset of public opinion, public policy and the national political agenda spanning a quarter of a century and covering several different issues.     

Degrees of influence: Educational inequality in policy representation

Education plays an important role in the political, social and economic divisions that have recently characterised Western Europe. Despite the many analyses of education and its political consequences, however, previous research has not investigated whether government policy caters more to the preferences of the higher educated than to the preferences of the lower educated. We address this question using an original dataset of public opinion and government policy in the Netherlands. This data reveals that policy representation is starkly unequal. The association between support for policy change and actual change is much stronger for highly educated citizens than for low and middle educated citizens, and only the highly educated appear to have any independent influence on policy. This inequality extends to the economic and cultural dimensions of political competition. Our findings have major implications for the educational divide in Western Europe, as they reflect both a consequence and cause of this divide.