Democracia radical,entre la crítica y el nihilismo: un abordaje de la propuesta desde el diálogo entre Ernesto Laclau y Slavoj Žižek

This article hypothesizes that the work of Ernesto Laclau is a proposal that aims to be a review, in times of crisis, to the very idea of criticism. Throughout the years, this thinker has defended his proposal for radical democracy to different remarks and rants. In these pages, we propose resuming talks between Laclau and Slavoj Žižek as one of the possible ways to address this debate. Given the difficulty of providing an exhaustive answer to the main question in our debate, we have raised the issue in terms of the “risks” or “dangers” that the work of Laclau approaches, while avoiding definitive statements.     

Hungary’s radical right 2.0

In the digital age, the Internet is an important factor in the emergence and success of political parties and social movements. Despite growing evidence that extremists of all stripes use the virtual world for their purposes, research on this topic still lacks a wide array of empirical data, case studies, and theoretical background. In particular, Facebook, as the most important social networking site, is a new tool for political parties and movements to mobilize followers. The article explores how the extreme-right party Jobbik uses this tool more successfully than other Hungarian parties or Western European extreme-right parties. Comparing the growth in followers highlights this success, and a look at how it generates likes helps to explain it. The article argues that Jobbik uses Facebook in a sophisticated way and suggests that this “likable” attitude helps to attract young and first-time voters.     

Russia and its supporters in Europe: trans-ideology à la carte?

The impact of crisis in Ukraine on EU–Russia relations appears twofold. On the one hand, it revealed the high degree of disdain all across Europe to Moscow's neo-imperial approach. On the other hand, it unveiled a great deal of affection and sympathy to Kremlin's policy among a number of non-mainstream but significant groups within the EU. In this article, we mirror the major troubles of today’s Europe, as seen from Moscow’s perspective, with four nodal points of the Kremlin’s hegemonic discourse: social conservatism, nation state-based policies, independence from the US influence and the glorification of Russia’s self-inflicted mission of fighting contemporary neo-fascism. Our analysis of non-mainstream political parties in EU member states, sensitive and responsive to the Kremlin’s agenda, suggests that Putin's regime and Russia sympathizers in Europe pragmatically use each other, thereby challenging the classical ideological paradigms. This translates Russia’s policies into a trans-ideological repertoire of different discourses that differently resonate among the groups of Russia sympathizers.     

Farmers Stage a Comeback: But Have the Greens Sold Out?

In 2001 farmers in the UK seemed besieged both by domestic crises and international pressures for reductions in agricultural subsidies in order to stop trade distortions which harm developing countries. However, since then cutbacks in EU farm subsidies have failed to materialise and the reformed subsidy system is now given political cover by a new alliance with environmentalists. This follows linkage of increasing proportions of farm subsidies to environmental purposes rather than agricultural production. This article questions whether the reforms will achieve cuts in agricultural overproduction. Moreover, environmentalists who have supported the reforms may be sidelining the interests of developing countries in return for environmental gains which are at best superficial and at worse totally illusory. An alternative environmental strategy is discussed.     

践行科学发展观,遵循"以人为本"发展社会主义文化

我们当前提出社会主义文化大发展大繁荣，提出建设社会主义先进文化，特别是十七大提出增强文化“软实力”。但是，我国的文化发展也面临一系列的难题与挑战，如传统文化如何尽快实现现代化，如何更好地融合本土文化与外来文化，特别是马克思主义的中国化。此外，还要面对文化全球化的冲击；实现文化的现代化的同时还要考虑如何摆脱文化的过度被同化导致的文化丰富性减弱等问题。面对诸多问题，如何更好地发展社会主义文化？最根本的原则就是遵循“以人为本”。     

大众民主何以可能：一种现实主义民主观的审视

对于现代大众大规模地走向政治公共领域，西方理论界存在着现实主义和激进主义的观念分化。其中，现实主义民主观看到了大众民主的限度，即大众的非理性、群众煽动家的操控和大众治理资质的贫乏。历史与现实都可以证实，对大众民主的这种批判有其合理的成分。对此，我们在思考大众民主之可能性时，需要解决如下基本的认知问题，即防范民粹主义倾向，建立民主规则共识，培养大众开明理解力。     

Production of Scientific Knowledge and Radical Uncertainty: The Limits of the Normative Approach in Innovation Economics

The aim of this article is to explain that, in the context of the production of scientific knowledge, it is logically impossible to define some institutional structures enabling the maximization of the social surplus.Our argumentation relies on the theory of Popper according to which it is impossible to anticipate the result of a given process of production of scientific knowledge. Consequently, we conclude that it is impossible to compare the respective efficiencies of alternative structures of production of scientific knowledge.The document consists in a critical review ofthe literature in economics of innovation and knowledge. JEL Classification: D8, L1, O3     

美国言论自由之民意基础实证考察

实证考察表明,美国绝大多数公民在理论上崇尚言论自由,但在实践中却并非如此。美国之所以成为世界上言论自由保障程度最高的国家,这既与美国的自由主义政治、文化、法律传统相关联,又与美国司法界、学术界对言论自由价值的日益重视以及新闻媒体的身体力行密不可分。针对现实生活中存在的某些充满道德与法律争议的言论,多数美国公民的否定性态度与司法、学术和新闻传媒领域的主流群体所秉持的宽容与开放的立场,形成了评判美国言论自由事业的两个关键性支点和衡平力量。在美国宪政框架内,美国特色之言论自由事业的快车将驶向何方,值得中外学界不断关注与研究。     

论刑事诉讼的北美模式

发现案件的客观真实是刑事诉讼所追求的首要和主要目的,法庭审判选择哪种诉讼模式取决于其是否能够实现客观真实.在这方面北美国家纯粹的对抗制表现出严重缺陷,由陪审团进行审判甚至会加深这些缺陷.在北美刑事诉讼中占据支配地位的辩诉交易制度,由于取消了以公开和言词审理为中心的庭审方式,使得刑事诉讼脱离了其所追求的客观真实目的,而转向仅仅证明谁能在诉讼中取胜.这不仅在理论上破坏了北美刑事诉讼的公正性,而且导致了刑事诉讼实践中的根本改变.但是,正是辩诉交易存在的这些可疑却很有诱惑力的影响,使得北美的刑事诉讼模式对于欧洲当代的刑事诉讼改革有着如此大的吸引力.     

DEVELOPMENT AND FRACTURE OF A DISCIPLINE: LEGACIES OF THE SCHOOL OF CRIMINOLOGY AT BERKELEY

In the early twentieth century, the University of California—Berkeley opened its doors to police professionals for instruction in “police science.” This program ultimately developed into the full‐fledged School of Criminology, whose graduates helped shape American criminology and criminal justice until well into the 1970s. Scholarship at the School of Criminology eventually fractured into three distinct traditions: “Administrative criminology” applied scientific methods in pursuit of refining law enforcement practices, “law and society” coupled legal scholarship with social scientific methods, and “radical criminology” combined Marxist critiques of the state with community activism. Those scientific traditions relied on competing epistemic premises and normative aspirations, and they drew legitimacy from different sources. Drawing on oral histories and archival data permits a neo‐institutional analysis of how each of these criminological traditions emerged, acquired stability, and subsided. The Berkeley School of Criminology provides fertile ground to examine trends in the development of criminal justice as a profession, criminology as a discipline and its place in elite universities, the uncoupling of criminology from law and society scholarship, and criminal justice policy's disenchantment with the academy. These legacies highlight how the development of modern criminology and the professionalization of American law enforcement find precedent in events that originate at Berkeley.