俄罗斯经济“V型”增长的原因基于“广义制度关联性”的解释

转型以来，俄罗斯经济明显呈“V型”增长：叶利钦时期大幅下降；普京时期大幅上涨。本文以广义制度关联性为分析视角解析整个“V型”过程。广义制度关联性作为分析工具，包括三个层次即基础性制度与次级制度的关联性、正式制度与非正式制度的关联性以及正式制度与制度运行环境的关联性。叶利钦时期广义制度关联性遭受严重破坏是俄罗斯经济大幅下降的根本原因，而普京时期俄罗斯经济的大幅度增长得益于对广义制度关联性的修复。     

俄罗斯中东政策的演变

俄罗斯的中东政策经历了叶利钦时期、普京时期、梅德韦杰夫时期三个阶段。叶利钦时期的俄罗斯中东政策缺乏战略考虑,普京时期的俄罗斯围绕国家安全、经济发展和扩展国际影响力三个目标形成了明确而积极的中东政策,梅德韦杰夫时期基本继承了普京时期的中东政策,但在中东地区的政治问题上较多强调与西方国家的合作。     

关于俄罗斯制度移植的评析

来自俄罗斯的转型经验证明,以"移植资本主义"为转型路径的经济转轨,是俄罗斯过去10年经济危机和衰退的根源之一.普京时期,俄罗斯推行适合其国情的转型策略并加强国家治理,为俄罗斯实现正式制度与非正式制度的有效叠合开创了一条新路,这是俄罗斯实现经济增长和社会稳定的一个重要原因.本文试图探讨"移植的资本主义"如何将正式制度嵌入剧变后的俄罗斯,俄罗斯与国际学术界关于俄"移植的资本主义"的讨论,从而阐述普京时期俄罗斯制度演进的路径、正式制度与非正式制度从磨合到"叠合"的过程及其对俄罗斯社会经济发展的影响.     

普京时代俄罗斯经济转轨方向的调整:从宪政治理到威权治理

从戈尔巴乔夫改革开始,俄罗斯经济便陷入了困境,叶利钦时期的"休克疗法"更加使俄罗斯经济陷入水深火热的境地。普京执政后,俄罗斯经济逐渐走出困境,不仅实现了政局稳定、经济增长的目标,而且逐步恢复了其在世界经济的大国影响力。是什么原因造成如此大的反差?我们的观点认为正是普京的威权治国模式才使得俄罗斯经济重新崛起。中国和东亚一些国家威权治理的成功经验,反衬了叶利钦时期俄罗斯宪政治理的弊端与缺陷,从而得出在经济发展初期,必须保证国家的权威,即实行威权治理。而在具备一定经济基础的条件下,必须适时由威权治理向宪政治理转轨。     

普京新政与俄罗斯发展的几个趋势性问题

普京当选总统意味着俄罗斯社会发展可能进入了一个新阶段.这个阶段将以整顿和调整为核心内容,以稳定和发展为目标.普京实行新政可能使俄罗斯社会的发展出现不同于叶利钦时期的某些特征,这种差异的积累和效应将使俄罗斯社会政治经济出现某些非叶利钦化趋向.     

从俄罗斯政治力量消长看普京的核心地位

本文通过对俄罗斯政治力量消长及其社会思想基础等方面论述了普京政治核心地位的确立,并分析了普京推行新政特别是行政改革受阻是否会动摇普京的政治核心地位问题.就普京的政治核心地位是否确立作出判断,对研究俄罗斯未来走向是十分重要的因素之一.普京执政时间短,政治力量消长仍处于动态之中,对有些问题尚难以得出结论.针对这种情况,本文尝试以比较的方法描绘普京时期与叶利钦时期的不同特点.     

再论俄罗斯国家转型中的“普京主义”:基于国家治理的视角

作为俄罗斯在渐进改革阶段的主要产物,"普京主义"适时应对了叶利钦末期上演的经济转型危机与社会转型危机,逐步建构起大众支持的意识形态和价值观,使国家在公共政策制定方面的政治能力有所增强,同时致力于实现安全稳定、运行秩序和社会经济发展的多重转型目标。借助国家治理的理论视角,有助于超越西方自由主义民主理论的固有争论,化解俄罗斯转型时期难以回避的威权色彩与民主因素之间的内在张力。在普京当选俄罗斯新一届总统之后,"普京主义"继续折射出多种国家治理要素间的互动关系,处于渐进改革时期的俄罗斯必须寻求一种基于传统政治文化价值与现代化转型发展的均衡。     

论俄罗斯新制度安排及其特点

现阶段，俄罗斯基本上完成了大规模的制度变迁，正在努力构建一种与俄罗斯本土价值观念相适应的制度安排。这种制度安排的基本特点体现在“可控的民主”与“可控的市场”，它们被认为是俄罗斯“可控式”制度安排的主要内容。这一制度安排的产生基于以下社会背景：第一，叶利钦时期所推行的“自由式”的制度安排，被俄罗斯转型10多年的实践证明在俄罗斯行不通；第二，普京治理国家的理念及普京政府的政策措施的推动；第三，“可控式”制度安排是俄罗斯民族价值观的体现，并成为俄罗斯经济增长及其未来崛起的一个重要推动因素。在这种推断的基础上，本文对俄罗斯“可控式”制度安排及其主要内容和具体表现，以及它对于拉动俄罗斯经济增长、促进俄罗斯崛起的作用进行了分析，试图给出一个结论：俄经济发展将有可能沿着具有俄罗斯特征的“可控式”制度安排的方向演进。     

“第二次转型”的理论向度与原社会主义国家转型的多样性——以普京时代的俄罗斯制度转型为例

对于俄罗斯而言，叶利钦时代与普京时代的转型既是一个延续的过程，但又呈现出截然不同的面貌，体现出一定的断裂性。自上个世纪90年代和本世纪初开始，俄罗斯改革的目标，至少在口头宣示上，与其说是从极权体制向民主制度以及从计划经济向市场经济转型，不如说是要从叶利钦时代转型形成的制度陷阱——非效率制度均衡中脱离开来，试图通过增加国家能力的途径建立新的效率制度均衡。运用“第二次转型”的理论范畴有助于全面认识发生在俄罗斯的由传统体制向现代民主政治和市场经济的转化以及与此相伴的社会转型进程，能够对叶利钦时代俄罗斯之所以败、普京时代俄罗斯之所以兴提供一种新的解释，同时，这也表明原社会主义国家转型具有丰富的多样性。     

普京执政六年来俄罗斯经济盘点

普京执掌俄罗斯6年,使在叶利钦手中奄奄一息的“北极熊”重新获得了生机,政局稳定,经济恢复。经济的增长是俄罗斯面貌改变的基础,通过对普京任期内俄罗斯国民经济的盘点,并进一步分析造就如此辉煌成果的各项有利因素,综合国内外对普京执政的评价并对俄罗斯下一步走向进行展望。     

文化意象视角下的语言相对主义

语言相对主义是萨丕尔—沃尔夫假说中的一部分,是关于语言、思维和文化之间关系的论述。基于这一理论,本文提出:语言相对主义本质上是一种多元文化理论,它实际上代表了语言研究中的人文主义传统,是一种以人类学、社会学为本的语言理论。从文化意象的视角来研究语言相对主义给这一理论注入了新的活力和提供了更强的解释力。     

Justice without judiciary in East Timor

Typical for international state-building interventions, the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor relied on a fundamentally western model in its attempt to establish a rule of law. At independence, an official judiciary was trans ferred to Timorese control as part of the new government. However, this institution has proved to be one of the weakest minted during the transitional period, in part because it was placed on top of an entirely different, indigenous system of justice at the grassroots level. The concept of a crime, and means of redress, or a conflict and process of resolution, accepted as legitimate by the local population contradicted the type of judiciary being imported. UNTAET failed to appreciate the resilience of local structures, and therefore did not reconcile the two contrasting systems of justice. International approaches to post-conflict (re)construction of a rule of law have to be re-thought, taking account of indigenous notions of justice in the architecture of a formal judiciary.     

Repression,Grievances, Mobilization,and Rebellion: A New Test of Gurr’s Model of Ethnopolitical Rebellion

The concept of polarity has been subject to imprecise and often diverse use. This note explores problems associated with the varied use of the term and proposes an alternative approach to classifying international systems which treats horizontal and vertical dimensions of power as distinct structural variables. In this approach, the present system is distinguished from the classical balance of power system containing pluralized patterns of conflict on the one hand and from the Cold War system with a marked concentration of power on the other. In the contemporary system polarized patterns of conflict coexist with processes of power diffusion. To the extent polarizations persist in a more diffuse power setting, the decentralized power balancing system through which stability was sought in multipower systems cannot function‐nor are the polarized conflicts likely to be controlled as a result of the two‐power effort at balancing power which occurred during the post‐war period. The factors affecting the stability of the present system, it is suggested here, can be better understood by examining analogous structures in which processes of power diffusion occur in the context of polarized conflict and not as a result of spurious comparisons which mistake the diffusion of power for the pluralization of conflict.     

Perils of parliamentarism? Political systems and the stability of democracy revisited

Parliamentary systems are generally regarded as superior to presidential ones in democratic sustenance. This article contributes to the debate on the relationship between systems of government and the survival of democracy by bringing in a new perspective and analysing the experiences of 131 democracies during 1960–2006. We argue that systems of government do matter, but their effects are indirect; they exert their influence through societies' prior democratic records. Confirming the conventional argument, our data analysis shows that uninterrupted parliamentary democracies face significantly lower risks of a first breakdown than their presidential counterparts. Contrary to the common understanding, however, we find that the risk of a democratic breakdown can be higher for parliamentary regimes than for presidential regimes among the countries whose democracy has collapsed in the past. Furthermore, the risk of a previously failed democracy falling again grows as (the risk of) government crises increase(s). Hence our study questions the common belief that parliamentary systems are categorically more conducive to democratic stability than presidential ones.     

What’s left out and why? Informal provisions in formal international law

When states face an international cooperation problem requiring enforcement, when do they decide to make that enforcement formal versus informal? I introduce a research design for investigating how informal mechanisms might be relevant to formal international agreements. I present an overall theory of punishment provisions and a set of hypotheses about whether any needed punishments will be formalized or not. This theory gives rise to a two-part empirical analysis conducted on a large-n dataset. First, the presence of enforcement mechanisms in agreements is predicted, and, second, those cases that are “misclassified”—ones in which the model predicts the presence of such mechanisms, but the agreements lack them—are analyzed. These misclassified agreements, candidates for informal enforcement, are characterized by regime heterogeneity and military asymmetries among parties. Case study evidence supports the results.     

Voting void? Young South Africans,elections and the media

In May 2014, many of South Africa’s young citizens had the opportunity to vote in national elections for the first time. Youths who were born post-1994 (often referred to as the ‘Born Frees’) are the first generation of South Africans who live in a democratic country and hold no individual memory of life under apartheid. These young South Africans were born during a period of democracy, a time of transition and of great hope for the future. As a result of having been born outside the confines of apartheid racial segregation, they are expected to be racially integrated with their peers. The expectation which comes with the freedoms fought for by previous generations is that the youth will take up formal democratic practices, such as voting and engaging with parliament. However, during the recent national elections, the youth turnout revealed surprising differences amongst the 18–29-year age group. Young people aged 18–19 opted not to take up the right to vote – in fact, only 31 per cent of them had registered. This article interrogates the attitudes and actions of young South Africans within the political sphere, specifically by examining a group of young South Africans who are eligible to vote, as well as the role of the media in aiding or deterring voting engagement and perceptions. The central argument is that the local media fail to engage young people with content which advances their political identities. Despite high levels of media consumption, youths are engaging with formal politics as a result of pressure from family or due to socio-economic limitations, rather than a desire to add value to their citizenship.     

缅甸有现代化进程吗？——兼论第三世界国家现代化进程的起点

现代化是一个从传统农业社会向现代工业社会全面转变的历史过程,不等于工业化。第三世界国家的现代化进程开始于殖民统治时期,部分封建国家的“防御型现代化改革”也可以视为该国现代化进程的启动。第三世界国家政治上的独立和明确的工业化战略的提出只是这些国家现代化历史进程划分不同阶段的标志,而不是现代化的起点。因此,目前经济发展水平较低的缅甸也有一个缓慢但是比较完整的现代化进程。     

Promoting Stability or Instability? Arms Transfers and Regional Rivalries,1950–1991

There has not been much formal or empirical research on the impact of ColdWar–era arms transfers on regional subsystems, and the work that has been undertaken is inconclusive: arms transfers appear, in some cases, to promote stability, but in other situations they are shown to be destabilizing. This study confronts the issue directly by developing and testing both stability and instability models of Superpower (U.S. and USSR) and third-country arms transfers. The models examine the effects of exported arms on the political and military relationships between three sets of rival importers—India-Pakistan, Iran-Iraq, and Ethiopia-Somalia—during the 1950–1991 period. Tests of the models with recently released arms trade data reveal that the weapons shipments of the U.S. and USSR were profoundly destabilizing, while those of third parties generally had little impact on subsystem political and military relationships. An intriguing exception to these patterns is the weaponstransfers of the PRC, specifically to Pakistan: these are found to have lessened the military imbalance between Pakistan and India, suggesting that the PRC's reputation as an irresponsible exporter deserves further review.     

Formal versus traditional institutions: evidence from Ghana

Citizens in Ghana have a host of options when it comes to local governance provision as a result of the government’s decentralization policies. We undertake to explore and understand how Ghanaians navigate the constellation of local institutions, both formal and traditional, to solve an array of common problems. A four-constituency survey was administered during the summer of 2009 and asked respondents about their experiences interacting with four formal institutions and one traditional institution. We find that formal institutions are by and large working effectively and are enhanced by the presence of a traditional institution. We consider the implications of our results with respect to both democratization and decentralization.     

The Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe: A New Approach to a Regional Problem

The European Data Protection Directive is often considered the Internet Privacy Global Standard, but this in only partially true. While the European Union sets a formal global standard, the 1995 Data Protection Directive has two loopholes that Internet companies exploit to set the effective global standard for internet privacy. The United States and Ireland have become safe harbours for Internet companies to collect and process Europeans’ personal data without being subject to the stringent laws and regulations of some continental European countries. Companies, and not the European Union or governments, are the ones that set the effective global standard of internet privacy.