The use and non-use of policy appraisal tools in public policy making: an analysis of three European countries and the European Union

The increasing complexity of policy problems, coupled with the political desire to base new policies on the foundation of firm evidence, has accelerated the development of policy assessment tools. These range from complex computer models and cost benefit analysis through simple checklists and decision trees. In the last decade, many governments have established formal policy assessment systems to harness these tools in order to facilitate more evidence-based policy making. These tools are potentially widely available, but to what extent are they used by policy makers and what becomes of the evidence that they generate? This paper addresses these questions by studying the empirical patterns of tool use across 37 cases in three European countries and the European Commission. It uses a simple classification of tools into advanced, formal and simple types. It finds that even when tools are embedded in policy assessment systems, their use is differentiated and on the whole very limited, in particular when it comes to more advanced tools. It then explores these patterns from contrasting theoretical perspectives to shed light on why, when and how different policy assessment tools are used in the policy process.     

析我省刑事附带民事执法从宽执行新规定

2007年6月,云南省高级法院、省检察院、省公安厅、省司法厅联合出台的《关于在刑事执法活动中贯彻宽严相济刑事司法政策的实施意见》规定:法院在审理刑事附带民事案件时,被告人行为危害不大,只要积极赔偿被害人,取得被害人谅解的,法院在量刑方面从轻考虑。这一规定,有利于解决法院"执行难"的问题,有利于化解被告人与被害人双方之间的矛盾,起到了法律效果和社会效果的统一。     

Policy Narratives across Two Languages: A Comparative Study using the Narrative Policy Framework

The Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) focuses on the role of narratives, drawing from a rich scholarship in narrative, language, and culture. Despite the understanding that narratives are constructions of language and that narrative construction differs across languages, NPF studies have not focused on policy narratives in languages other than English. Language characteristics of narratives are important to assess the stability of policy narratives when there are multiple dominant languages in a political system. This study investigates the use of narrative elements in policy narratives in agricultural biotechnology policy in India across Hindi and English media coverage to examine the NPF assumption that narratives have generalizable narrative elements irrespective of variation in linguistic context and, specifically, tests the transportability of narrative elements. Findings validate the transportability of narrative elements in Hindi narratives, indicate variation in the use of narrative elements over time, and have implications for applying NPF across languages.     

历史演进视角下的欧盟与北约关系走向——兼析拜登当选的影响

自欧盟确立共同安全与防务政策以来,欧盟独立防务与北约之间存在着“相互替代”和“相互增强”两种论调。争论焦点在于价值观念、威胁评估和战略文化、军事和民事能力、国防工业和支出。在过去几年,欧盟与北约的关系也围绕上述四个方面发生变化。具体而言,欧盟与北约之间总体上呈现以合作为主、竞争为辅、两者同步增强的发展态势。美国新任总统拜登承诺修复美国与盟友的关系,包括进一步加强北约。同时,美、欧将在价值观念上回归“旧常态”,在威胁评估和战略文化上进一步靠拢,在民事和军事手段的运用以及增加国防工业投入上也会有更多共识和共同行动。因此,欧盟与北约的关系将进一步呈现相互增强的态势,但前提是欧盟的战略自主建设不只是出于做强自身,而是更多地为了使欧、美双方公平承担相应的责任。     

Killing the Third World: civilisational security as US grand strategy

Abstract

This article disputes explanations of American expansionism that are based on the requirements of national security or more abstract theories such as the balance of power. In contradistinction to the imperatives of defence and survival, the article shows how civilisational factors weighed heavily on the emergence of US grand strategy at the turn of the nineteenth century. In particular assumptions about the peoples of the Third World being lesser played an important role in the conception and legitimation of imperial expansion. During this period, the US Navy went through a dramatic build-up. The article shows the ways in which the worldviews of many of the key players (such as Alfred Mahan and Theodore Roosevelt) contributed to the militarisation of global racism, a development that led to widespread killing in the Philippines and elsewhere.     

政策类型理论的批判及其中国经验研究

洛伊提出的政策类型理论以＂政策特征决定政治过程＂的假设为基础,从公共权力运用的两个维度构建出四分的政策分类框架。这一政策类型理论一经提出即引起学术界广泛关注,同时也激发了诸多学者的质疑和批判,以及针对质疑和批判进行的辩护和发展。一些开拓性研究表明,该理论对于透视和分析中国背景下的公共政策过程同样具有深邃的理论洞察力。循着＂政策类型视角下政策过程＂的思路,可以发展出关于中国公共政策规划与决策、执行与评估等不同阶段的经验性假设,以逐渐积累关于中国政策过程的知识和认知,并发展出本土化的政策过程理论。     

重刑化刑事政策之商榷

以刑事一体化为视角对2005年12月至2011年5月间司法解释进行分析，发现重刑化的实体法与微罪处分的程序法共同构成了宽严相济刑事政策的架构。刑事政策重刑化使我国刑罚体系水涨船高；在此情境下，程序设计的严谨不过是出于对严罚的合理化，而社区矫正等微罪转介措施则促使更广泛入罪化。其解决方法是：重新提倡刑法谦抑；对首重严刑的民意进行理性审视；以及推行恢复性司法，通过沟通实施控制。     

政策性银行法律地位探析

本文探讨了政策性银行的法律地位问题。政策性银行是我国新出现的一种新型法人 ,具有独立的法人地位 ;我国民法对法人的分类并不能囊括政策性银行这类新出现的法人 ;当前强调公私法的区分和公法人私法人的划分 ,具有重大的理论意义和实践意义 ;我国政策性银行应是公法人 ,具有充分的根据     

和平共处五项原则的演变与中国对外政策

和平共处五项原则自 1 953年 1 2月提出后 ,经历了四个前后相接的发展阶段 ,即 :新中国成立初期着眼于周边安全 ,确立和平共处五项原则 ;50 - 60年代着眼于世界革命 ,局部推进时期 ;70年代跨越意识形态的鸿沟 ,重新推进时期 ;80年代调整基点 ,全方位挺进时期。这四个时期与中国外交政策定位之间有着互动关系     

中国沿海外商直接投资外移趋势分析

受外商投资区位优势加速变迁,国际经济环境剧烈变动,尤其是全球金融危机冲击实体经济,各国对国际直接投资(FDI)的争夺日趋激烈等因素影响,中国沿海地区劳动密集型制造业的FDI大量外移。减少FDI向国外转移,促进其向内地转移,既有利于沿海发达地区经济结构升级,又有利于推动内地经济发展和对外开放,加快中国工业化进程,增加国内就业机会。促进沿海劳动密集型制造业的FDI内移,必须正视中国二元经济结构的现实,避免工业化进程中好高骛远,选择内地区域中心,形成产业集群效应,拓展产业链条,降低外商投资内地的综合成本。