The five shades of grey: party systems and authoritarian institutions in post-Soviet Central Asian states

ABSTRACT

This article overviews and seeks to explain the processes of party system formation in the post-Soviet Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) by focusing on a crucial party-system property, fragmentation. The analysis reveals that to a much greater extent than in democracies, where party systems are largely shaped by societal factors, the level of party system fragmentation in autocracies is determined by the scope of presidential powers, as entrenched in the formal institutional order and reflected in the national constitution. The level of authoritarianism is largely inconsequential for party system fragmentation, while the role of electoral rules is secondary. Institutionally weak and institutionally strong autocratic presidents have a preference for fragmented party systems, while presidents with an intermediate range of powers seek and obtain low levels of party system fragmentation.     

《公安机关适用继续盘问规定》亮点解析

2004年7月,公安部发布了《公安机关适用继续盘问规定》。适用范围缩小、三类人不得进候问室,明确限定持续的时间、妥善安置弱势者家属、致人死亡三级问责制和严格候问室设置管理等内容都是其中的亮点,人民警察需要认真学习和理解,规范执法行为。     

论《不扩散核武器条约》的缺陷与朝鲜"核危机"

<不扩散核武器条约>是核裁军领域中一项十分重要的条约,由于它是在特殊历史条件下核大国与无核国通过斗争妥协所得到结果,因而它在确定有核国与无核国权利义务上存在着比较严重的"失衡"现象,尤其是无核国应当获得的"不受核攻击"的安全保证在条约中未得到很好的体现,引起了无核国家的不满和质疑.目前所爆发的朝美"核危机"也从侧面说明该条约到了需要修改的时候了.     

正确把握"高与低、虚与实、新与旧"三对关系--略谈当好公安机关"一把手"的知与行

要当好公安机关的"一把手",就应该把握好"高与低、虚与实、新与旧"三对关系,并努力在知与行上下功夫,在"抓班子,带队伍,促工作,保平安"的进程中不断提高自己知与行的水平.     

日本新国家安全战略及其对中国的“强烈关注”

日本2001年度<防卫白皮书>中有关中国军事力量的描述与评论表明,现今的日本已将中国看作事实上的防卫对象和对其构成"潜在"威胁的国家,中国在日本安全战略中地位上升.日本政府的这一动向,表明了日本对现今国际局势、东亚地区安全,特别是对中、日、俄等国国家力量消长变化的认识和因此进行的政策调整,突出反映了日本对华政策中的防范和制约内容,这对未来的中日关系将产生消极影响.     

新形势下治安管理社会化的新探索

组织和发动群众参与治安工作,是我国公安工作的特色和优势所在,是适应治安形势变化、改变群防群治弱化状态、缓解治安管理任务繁重与警力不足的需要.可采取聘用"联防钟点工",吸引群众直接参与治安工作;将现有的专职联防队逐步过渡到理顺体制的保安队,改善群防群治队伍的成员结构,提高治安管理辅助力量的个体素质等措施,以提高整个治安主体的战斗力.     

Assembling security in a ‘weak state:’ the contentious politics of plural governance in Lebanon since 2005

Lebanon is most often depicted as a ‘weak state’ lacking territorial sovereignty and thus fostering the proliferation of violent non-state actors that generate political instability and regional insecurity. In contrast, this essay explores the dynamics of security politics in Lebanon since 2005 through the lens of hybrid sovereignty. It shows how an assemblage of state and non-state actors has been able to navigate between rival understandings of insecurity, producing at times shared, but still contested, understandings which have sustained a system of plural governance over security that has been able to respond to a shifting geography of threats.     

试述执法过错责任追究制度

当前,公安机关执法过错责任追究制度中错案范围界定方面存在一些问题,该制度的激励作用也给法律的基本原则、运作带来一定的冲击,其程序中也存在一些问题.故此,要充分完善该项制度,以发挥其应有的作用.     

Does China’s middle class prefer (liberal) democracy?

Many surveys show that China’s political regime, under the Chinese Communist Party’s authoritarian rules, enjoys a high level of public support. However, it is still uncertain whether China’s emerging middle class will become the “agent of democratization” as suggested by modernization theory. Using the data of Asian Barometer Survey conducted in China in 2011, this article demonstrates that the relationship between class identity and preference for liberal democracy in China may be inverted U-shaped. The Chinese middle class shows a higher preference to features of liberal democratic regimes than its counterparts of the lower- and upper-class. Members of the Chinese middle class also tend to regard democracy as the best form of government. Thus, the middle class has the potential to initiate democratization in China if the Chinese government fails to keep satisfying the middle class’ quest for economic well-being and protection of property rights.     

Why developing countries are just spectators in the ‘Gold War’: the case of Lebanon at the Olympic Games

At the Olympic Games, there is an increasing gap between developed countries that are investing more and more government resources into sporting success, and developing countries that cannot afford the “Gold War”, and are just spectators in the medal race. Based on studying a representative case, Lebanon, I investigate issues and interests of developing countries in the Olympics. On the political level, the main motivation for participation is global recognition. On the sporting level, developing countries seek to use Olympic participation as preparation for regional Games where success is more likely, serving as a soft power tool for regional influence.