20世纪国际关系领域的基准时间:历史视角中的三次世界大战

基准时间是宏观历史过程中的临界点,标志着一连串的重大变革可能会在较长时间内延续。基准时间具有九条标准,可以分为一等基准时间、二等基准时间和三等基准时间。20世纪的基准时间主要包括三次世界大战(一战、二战和冷战),第二次世界大战前后发生的变革比第一次世界大战和冷战前后的变革都要来得更为深远。将20世纪的三个基准时间置于两个世纪的视角中加以审视,可以突出现代性革命,这种视角能够观察20世纪的三个基准时间在正在展开的"全球性变革"这一大的主题下是否会相互联接、是如何相互联接的。20世纪国际政治的关键事件,都应该被视为19世纪"全球性变革"所引发的发展态势和挑战的后期结果。     

Learning for change: The art of assessing the impact of advocacy work

The field of advocacy work is growing and changing rapidly and there is much to be done in exploring not only how best to carry out effective advocacy, but also how best to use the tools of monitoring & evaluation and impact assessment (M&E/IA) to promote learning, improve accountability, and assess the value of advocacy. This paper starts by exploring the complex and changing nature of advocacy work, arguing that standardised forms of M&E/IA are likely to be inappropriate--they will probably provide misleading information, and may create perverse incentives that undermine joint action. However, while there are obvious pitfalls, there are few ready-made answers. The authors suggest that NGOs involved in advocacy at all levels should identify essential elements of their work at the outset and ensure that they monitor and evaluate those areas that they deem most important. Indeed, evidence shows that short-term successes of advocacy work may often be won at the expense of longer-term aims-- such as building capacity among partners and contributing to more fundamental change in the future. Throughout, the authors argue that an analysis of power and power structures should guide advocacy strategy and the ways in which advocacy can effectively be evaluated. A successful M&E approach must be flexible enough not only to adapt to external events, but also to be a tool for reshaping the campaign. Those of us concerned with developing M&E/IA tools for effective and accountable advocacy need to start breaking new ground.     

Public support for private R&D: The case of the research tax credit

The U.S. government has long included in its tax code various special provisions designed to stimulate industrial R&D. In 1981, those provisions were substantially augmented by a special R&D tax credit, and various proposals are now under consideration to relax the antitrust statutes in order to encourage research through joint ventures. The case for any of these measures is difficult to establish, being based on assumptions that are not readily tested in objective terms. Nevertheless, one point is fairly clear: As between stimulating industrial R&D by individual firms and stimulating R&D joint ventures of such firms, the joint venture approach appears superior in its likely results.     

Globalisation, Ecological Modernisation and New Labour

Ecological modernisation (EM) provides the principal framework within which environmental policy reform projects are understood. However, writers using the approach, neglect to explain the political contexts within which it is possible to pursue such projects. Specifically, they ignore how discourses of globalisation structure the attempts of states to introduce environmental policy measures consistent with EM agendas. Through an analysis of the UK government's attempts to introduce policies consistent with an EM approach, we show that New Labour's discourse of globalisation acts to create opportunities for EM in some policy arenas and hinder them in others. We examine the development of a renewable energy strategy, the case of genetically modified foods, and transport policy. By specifying conditions under which EM may be pursued, the analysis reveals the potential, but also the limits, of this approach, which attempts to ignore the deep political questions raised by environmental degradation.