Hedge Funds, the Deutsche Börse Affair and Predatory Anglo-American Capitalism

Boardroom trouble at Deutsche Börse, the company that operates Germany's main stock market, has recently provoked an important debate about competing capitalist models. Werner Seifert, Deutsche Börse's ousted Chief Executive, was eager to portray himself as the innocent victim of aggressive Anglo-American investors who had bought into his company but failed to understand its traditional operating ethos. In this, he was ably supported by key figures within the ruling Social Democratic Party, who, in order to shore up the party's core support, had increasingly come to blame overseas hedge funds for the development of German corporate governance models which prioritised profits over jobs. I review the SPD's structural reading of the Deutsche Börse affair, whilst comparing it to an alternative interest-based reading. The latter allows me to focus more closely on the issue which, more than any other, led to Seifert's downfall: his refusal to bow to the expressed interests of his own shareholders by pressing ahead, against their wishes, with a hostile bid for the London Stock Exchange. Seifert's eventual removal foreclosed the possibility of an integrated London-Frankfurt stock market and, somewhat ironically given the SPD's response to the affair, as a consequence it also prevented the entry of London's highly capitalised institutional investors into the German market for corporate control. The actions of Deutsche Börse's overseas shareholders might still be seen as evidence of a predatory Anglo-American capitalism. However, their successful removal of Werner Seifert may well have been responsible for temporarily keeping other financial predators at bay.     

党务公开：发展党内民主的理论和制度创新

党的十六届四中全会《决定》首次明确提出逐步推进党务公开,这是党的执政理念的新突破和提高党的执政能力的新举措。党务公开是发展党内民主的内在要求,贯穿于党内民主建设的各个方面和环节。推进党务公开,进一步扩大了党员和群众对党内事务的知情权、参与权、选择权和监督权,成为新时期发展党内民主的理论和制度创新。     

非营利组织绩效评估初探

对非营利组织进行绩效评估有助于激励非营利组织更广泛地承担公共责任,提高自身服务质量和效率。非营利组织绩效评估的主要困难在于目前的评估标准易倾向于公益的特殊性,社会公众普遍混淆了效率和公平的关系等。为此,非营利组织绩效评估需要在评估机构、评估体系、社会认同和沟通平台等方面加以改善。     

保护规范理论的始源形态——布勒公权论的再认识

布勒的公权理论可谓保护规范理论的始源形态,应当立足于其历史脉络与整体结构来理解。在布勒的保护规范理论中,法规的强行性排除了裁量规范,但包含不确定法律概念的法规范仍具有强行性。私益保护目的以公私益的划分为基础,构成了布勒保护规范理论的核心要义。援用可能性不同于诉讼可能性,是指受保护的私人可以援用法规范请求行政机关为特定行为。只要法律并未明确排除,即可承认援用可能性的存在。经由布勒保护规范理论所得出的公权具有严格的法规从属性,但也使公权受立法者的宰制。此外,布勒所讨论的公权仅指以特定实体决定为内容的实体性公权,程序性公权被排除在外。在审判实践中,我国法院应对布勒的旧保护规范理论保持警觉,合理地确定行政诉讼的原告资格。     

Governance and Regulation of the Peruvian University System: Overcoming Reform Resistance through Quality Assurance Policies

This article examines the new governance of the Peruvian university system, which evolved in response to market liberalisation and weak quality assurance mechanisms. New actors and commercial interests emerged, building their network of relationships within the political arena. With the passing of a new Universities Law in 2014, ambitious reforms were set in motion, designed to reverse the decline in the quality of higher education. This study examines these reforms, focusing on whether and how they are changing the governance and structure of the system. It also identifies some conceptual and design flaws, such as the weaknesses of the main steering body and the accreditation regime, as well as limitations on the independence of the regulatory agency.     

Trends and mechanisms of corruption in South Korea

Corruption remains one of the key obstacles to democratization and good governance. Given the nature of the subject, corruption is notoriously difficult to study. International comparisons and rankings of good governance such as the World Bank World Governance Indicators, the Bertelsmann Sustainable Governance Index, or Transparency International's Global Corruption Index are very useful for providing the big picture on corruption. To understand trends and mechanisms of corruption, however, it is necessary to conduct case studies on both successful and failed cases of anti-corruption policies. This paper investigates the successes and challenges of the fight against corruption in South Korea since the beginning of democratization in 1987. The investigation shows that Korea has generally been successful in controlling corruption. The paper argues that the remaining problems can be largely explained by the legacy of authoritarian rule and the undermining of state autonomy through the concentration of economic power.     

Re-conceptualizing State Responsibility: Human Security Protection, Confl icts and Governance

Different from the perspective of traditional national security, human security is an essential component of non-traditional security. Human security is influenced by multi-dimensional factors. Human security will be threatened if one or more of these dimensional factors get twisted. Such threats, once accumulated to a certain level, may trigger a confl ict. While some factors may have a low correlation with confl ict, some other factors may have a multiplying effect in triggering the confl ict. Further, confl ict may be triggered by a single factor or multiple factors. Poor governance may lead to escalation of confl icts. Deep understanding of triggering effects and their correlation with confl icts is essential to addressing the root causes and the management of conflicts effectively. Concepts of human security, state responsibility of protection and neo-interventionism have been developed in succession. Though the people-centered security framework draws global attention, it should be recognized that there is no international consensus on an optimal type of governance. However, according to the Charter of the United Nations, the primary responsibilities of human security protection should be rested on the government of a state. The principle of sovereignty remains the fundamental principle of international relations, which should be the guiding principle for addressing human security issues.     

“勾肩搭背”式腐败的预防及治理:官商关系的政治学思考

官商之间的"勾肩搭背"现象,表面上看来属于正常人际交往,但其实质仍然是一种腐败,具有普遍性、模糊性、隐秘性和集体性的特点。官商"勾肩搭背"现象的产生和发展,具有文化诱因、制度诱因、思想诱因和社会诱因,并且具有非常大的危害性,需要从思想和制度层面加大预防和治理的力度。     

提升政府公信力的路径探析

政府公信力是政治合法性的重要基础,是市场经济有效运行的重要保障,更是社会稳定和发展的前提条件。在社会转型期的今天,应加快行政管理体制改革,坚定不移地发展社会主义民主政治,加快政治文化建设,提升政府公信力。     

清末北京城市治理和治安立法样式的法理分析

清末北京城市治理和治安立法是依法治市，实现城市治理法治化的新尝试，可谓中国城市治理和治安法制模式的现代化启动。从法律文本分析入手，对清末北京城市治理法规的结构、渊源及其社会基础等相关问题在制度层面进行探讨，可以反映北京城市治理和社会治安法律制度的实际变迁。可以说，该时期的有关立法尝试是具有现代意义的城市法制建设活动，在推动北京城市治理初步迈向法制现代化的同时，也深刻影响了民国时期及其后来城市立法样式及法制现代化进程。