疫情危机下社会大众意见治理反思

新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情发生以来,社会舆论纷繁复杂,在一定程度上影响了疫情防控工作的进行。同时,社会大众意见趋于分裂,将对我国治理体系和治理能力构成较大挑战。疫情危机下,社会意见治理应从三个方面入手,即保障公民言论自由,规范言论行为,壮大高扬主流思想舆论。在保障言论自由、区别对待不同意见、社会合力治理原则指导下,形成规范社会言论行为以进行“治”、壮大抗疫主流思想舆论以进行“理”的社会意见治理思路,以期较为客观全面地缓解社会疫情意见压力,在社会舆论场域弘扬主旋律,为打赢疫情防控阻击战提供良好的舆论环境,减少舆情次生危害。     

Finanzpolitik als Nachahmungswettbewerb: Empirische Ergebnisse zu Budgetinterdependenzen unter den Schweizer Kantonen

This article examines whether spending decisions in Swiss cantons are interdependent, that is, whether the spending decisions of a canton are influenced by those of other cantons. Theoretically, fiscal policy imitation among cantons can be interpreted as a process of policy and innovation diffusion, as a result of tax competition or as a consequence of federalism as a policy laboratory. The panel analysis presented in this article provides evidence of the existence of budget spillovers among neighbouring cantons. Cantonal governments do not take spending decisions in isolation, but by systematically comparing the fiscal policies in neighbouring cantons.     

Steuerwettbewerb und direkte Demokratie in den Schweizer Kantonen

The issue of the impact of tax competition between the cantons has been quite present in the public discussion, especially in relation with the reform of the Swiss system of financial equalization. The connection between the degree of direct democratic rights and the intensity of tax competition ana‐lysed by Feld (1997) seems to be particularly interesting for political science. Differently to the approach of Feld (1997) this research note examines it with regard to the tax policies in the cantons. In addition, a less criticized way to measure the institutions of direct democracy is used and the research period is extended. The analysis shows that there is a trade‐off between the exit‐ and the voice‐option. In other words: those cantons that have well developed direct democratic institutions, are less affected by the pressure of tax competition. As a consequence of the perceived influence, their citizens do less probably move to an other canton as a reaction to a heavy tax burden.     

Financial crisis and capital controls: Latin America

Over two decades Chile has moved from an inward‐looking model of development based on industrialisation through import‐substitution to an outward‐looking model opening the economy to the outside world and based on export‐led development. This shift has brought about a profound change in the country's trade policies, entailing the adoption of neutral tariffs and tax policies, non‐discriminatory policies, and low level of protection. As a consequence, there has been a drastic improvement in the resource allocation process. Diversification of the country's foreign markets is a key component in the success of the new strategy, which has been reflected in the country's rapid economic growth of the last 12 years.     

Is It Putin or Is It Oil? Explaining Russia's Fiscal Recovery

What accounts for the sea change in Russia's fiscal health? This article evaluates several contributing factors: high world energy prices, economic recovery, new tax policies, and the consolidation of state power. By examining the fiscal politics under the Yel'tsin and Putin governments, this article seeks to uncover the relative importance of political and economic causes for the recovery of the tax state in the 2000s. While increased energy production and high world prices augmented the Russian tax base tremendously, the consolidation of power under Vladimir Putin heightened the Russian state's extractive capacity and has enabled Russia's fiscal recovery.     

Starker Steuerwettbewerb – starke Reformen? Ein neuer Blick auf Unternehmenssteuerreformen in 15 EU‐Staaten (1998‐2011)

Although many EU‐countries have reduced corporate taxes in the recent years, there is still a substantial variance between the 12 oldest EU‐member states. This contribution revisits this variation and analyses the determinants of corporate tax reforms and their magnitude from a perspective which is new in two respects: First, we combine logistic panel regression and fsQCA analysis allowing for an integration of qualitative assessments of tax reforms in the QCA analysis. This adds to the existing studies on tax reform which almost exclusively rely on regression techniques. Second, we focus on the time period 1998‐2011 where we expect tax competition to be especially intense. The results of our analyses confirm the major impact of tax competition on national corporate tax policies. This relationship dominates the regression analyses as well as the fsQCA. Furthermore, our findings allow nuancing the existing results on the influence of institutional constraints and partisan politics.     

Structural and Contingent Inequalities: The Impact of COVID-19 on Migrant and Refugee Populations in South America

In a comparative assessment of the pre-pandemic living conditions of migrants and refugees in six South American countries, we analyse the structural and contingent challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic on these populations. We argue that they are particularly exposed to the harmful effects of the pandemic, given their segmented incorporation into labour markets and their limited and fragmented access to and exercise of health, housing, and other social rights. The evidence points to a significant deterioration in their livelihoods and social inclusion, and potential profound changes in (im)mobility regimes caused by pandemic-induced restrictive measures.     

Empire,State and the Bedouin of the Middle East,Past and Present: A Comparative Study of Land and Settlement Policies

The Bedouin of the Middle East have been one of the region's most marginalized groups in modern times. This study assesses the interplay between state policies and the Bedouin in the last 150 years, from a comparative standpoint. We examine the development of land laws in the Middle East as they have affected the Bedouin, from the enactment of the Ottoman land laws of 1858 up to the present. Moreover we explore whether the land laws and the fate of the Bedouin are associated with the characteristics of the regime in each country. We find that the imposition of land laws and policies directed at nomadic and sedentarizing Bedouins has depended on disparate factors such as the origins of the leadership of countries (i.e. Bedouin or non-Bedouin) and the social and economic models embraced. Regimes with origins in the tribal-Bedouin fabric of the Middle East have pursued land policies that were favorable to the Bedouin, whereas regimes drawing their strength from urban elites and with socialist outlooks encouraged very different policies. We also consider whether the case of the Bedouin in Israel is unique or reflects a larger regional context.     

The Distributional Impact of Austerity and the Recession in Southern Europe

Southern European welfare states are under stress. On the one hand, the recession has been causing unemployment to rise and incomes to fall. On the other hand, austerity has affected the capacity of welfare states to protect those affected. This paper assesses the distributional implications of the crisis in Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal from 2009 to 2013. Using a microsimulation model, we disentangle the first-order effects of tax–benefit policies from the broader effects of the crisis, and estimate how its burden has been shared across income groups. We conclude by discussing the methodological pitfalls and policy implications of our research.     

How the Global Pandemic Intensifies Vulnerabilities for Colombia's Women Social Leaders

Women social leaders in Colombia say that the biggest danger posed by the global pandemic comes not from contracting the virus, but rather from non-state armed groups taking advantage of the quarantine to violently pursue social and territorial control. This article details three phenomena that highlight how existing vulnerabilities for women social leaders have been sharpened by the global pandemic: (a) women's community work increases while state and institutional support decrease; (b) armed groups' ability to target violence increases while women's ability to self-protect decreased; and (c) armed groups' ability to act with impunity is increasing as access to justice is limited.     

Shifting Priorities or Business as Usual? Continuity and Change in the post-2011 IMF and World Bank Engagement with Tunisia,Morocco and Egypt

Following the popular uprisings that erupted across North Africa in 2010 and 2011, international financial institutions have embarked on a significant re-engagement with governments in Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt. New lending arrangements and project initiatives by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, in particular, have emphasised a supposed turn towards pro-poor policies, social inclusion and public engagement with economic decision-making. This article analyses the content and logic of IMF and World Bank lending to these three countries, examining whether this re-engagement represents a substantive shift away from the neoliberal policies that characterised pre-2011 IFI relationships with the region.     

The Explosive Combination of Inefficient Local Bureaucracies and Mining Production: Evidence from Localized Societal Protests in Peru

Although numerous scholars have analyzed the effects of natural resource extraction at the national level, few have explored it systematically at the local level. Focusing on Peru, where both mining production and local social protests have greatly increased in recent years and where a new tax has required mining companies to transfer revenue to subnational governments, this study explores the resource curse at the local level. In particular, why do protests arise mostly in the areas of natural resource extraction? Employing subnational data for Peru for the period 2004–9 and LAPOP survey data from 2010, the research confirms previous findings that social conflict is provoked by both the negative externalities of mining and the revenues from the new tax. The article further demonstrates that local bureaucratic capacity is a significant independent variable. Greater subnational bureaucratic capacity can ameliorate the pernicious societal effects of a local resource curse.     

Social challenges and progress in IBSA

The India–Brazil–South Africa (IBSA) Dialogue Forum was launched in June 2003 to push for these countries' bids for a place on the United Nation' Security Council, but IBSA's attention has shifted over time towards development and economic reform. This article discusses the progress in addressing social development challenges within the member countries of IBSA. It examines the social achievements of IBSA members, in the context of their economic performance and the Millennium Development Goals. It also assesses the forces which propel these societies' social policies, especially the influence of civil society, and whether there has been benefit in this regard in their collaboration within the IBSA forum. Their experiences show the critical importance of civil society in design and execution of programmes directed towards the poor, an important factor to be kept in mind by multilateral and bilateral agencies involved in poverty alleviation projects in developing countries. The three nations could cooperate to share ideas for effective social welfare programmes, and join together in multilateral forums to form a powerful voice for change.     

Place and Policy Preferences – Spatial Divides in Attitudes towards Social Policies in Germany

The rise of the knowledge economy has led to a bifurcation between prosperous, often urban, areas and “left-behind” regions. While the literature has started to analyse the political implications of these developments for electoral behaviour and socio-cultural attitudes, the structuring of social policy preferences by place remains unclear. Distinguishing between an economic (booming-declining) and a geographic (urban–rural) dimension, I argue that differences in material self-interest and ideological predispositions explain spatial divides in support for different types of social policies. Combining original survey data on voters' preferences with municipal-level data in Germany, I show that general support for social policy is higher in declining than in booming regions. However, social investments (e.g., active labour market policies) are preferred over consumption policies (e.g., unemployment benefits) in booming and, to a smaller degree, in urban than in declining and rural regions. These findings contribute to a bigger discussion on compensating “left-behind” regions.     

Imaginaries of the Pandemic in Chile: A Conceptual-Empirical Discussion

This article aims to reconstruct the social imaginaries of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Chile. We seek to understand how families interpret their experience confronting the pandemic by identifying four main aspects: (a) the COVID-19 pandemic, (b) working and learning, (c) health and (d) family life. Following Habermas' distinction between lifeworld and social systems, we consider these issues as constituting the social imaginary of lifeworld, different but related to the imaginaries of social systems. The qualitative empirical data was gathered through a sample of 38 families interviewed online between September 2020 and January 2021 in four Chilean cities: Iquique, Valparaíso, Santiago and Concepción. Other complementary sources of information are multimodal ethnography (digital diaries), press articles and state reports.     

Explaining the Prevalence of Illegitimate Wage Practices in Southern Europe: An Institutional Analysis

This paper proposes that the prevalence of illegitimate wage practices in Southern European societies results from the discord between the formal rules (formal institutions) and the socially shared unwritten rules that reflect citizens' beliefs (informal institutions). To evaluate this, a 2013 survey is reported on whether employers in five Southern European countries fraudulently evade tax and social security payments by paying employees a portion of their salary off the books. A strong association is revealed between the extent of wage under-reporting and the degree of institutional asymmetry across these societies. The implications for theorising illegitimate wage practices are then explored.     

The Experience of Women Regarding Chilean Government Measures during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study explores the experience of ten possible beneficiaries of the measures provided by the Chilean government during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic through remote semi-structured interviews. The results show a scenario of improvisation. Instead of relying on solid gender equity policies, a patchwork of focused measures was implemented, which increased uncertainty and vulnerability. As a result, women experienced sorrow and despair while facing economic constraints and care tasks mostly on their own. This article shows that care remains invisible in politics while overwhelmingly evident at home. Social care policies are urgently needed.     

Necropolitics in the Jungle: COVID-19 and the Marginalisation of Brazil's Forest Peoples

COVID-19 has been particularly damaging to already vulnerable social groups, such as forest peoples. In Brazil, indigenous, Afro-Brazilian quilombolas and other racialised communities have suffered disproportionately under Bolsonaro's hands-off policy during the pandemic. We argue that, far from happenstance, this policy fits into a form of necropolitics towards forest peoples. Drawing from Achille Mbembe's seminal work, this article analyses how underlying (and sometimes overt) racism, cultural depredation, and government-supported deforestation constitute an assault now catalysed by the pandemic. Understanding forest peoples' disproportionate deaths in perspective is critical for addressing their growing vulnerability and the broader politics currently at play.     

Turkish Tourism at the Door of Europe: Perceptions of Image in Historical and Contemporary Perspectives

This article deals with press coverage of the 1942 Wealth tax and focuses on the Turkish press's use of a discriminatory discourse against non-Muslim minorities to designate non-Muslims as other than Turkish. More specifically, this article analyses linguistic and discursive strategies adopted by the press in reporting on the Wealth tax. The press attempted to explain the tax on non-Muslims that aimed to liquidate non-Muslims' wealth as a tax that would establish social justice by making war profiteers and black-marketeers pay the government what was due. By adopting various linguistic devices and discursive strategies, the press played a significant role in the construction of meaning through a related set of assumptions about non-Muslims and Turkishness embedded within news reports on the Wealth tax. This critical analysis of power and inequality in language reveals the dominant discriminatory discourse of Turkish nationalism as manifested in the coverage of the Wealth tax and the role of the press in the reproduction of the hegemonic discourse connected to Turkish national identity and the criteria governing exclusion from it.