博弈论视角下的人大代表选举问题

全国人民代表大会制度是我国民主政治的一项根本制度。但是,这一制度还存在民主基础不够的问题。比如,民主和平等的选举原则有待于深入贯彻,选民对代表不便进行有效监督,选民素质与民主选举要求有一定距离,选举制度的某些规定不科学、不完善,各级人大代表数量过多,影响人大职能的发挥,等等。     

对美国社区矫正管理机构和人员配备的借鉴与思考

目前我国社区矫正试点阶段的管理机构和人员配备的模式并非是一种最佳的选择。结合我国国情借鉴美国成功的经验和做法是很有必要的,本文试结合目前美国的现状与我国进行比较研究,希望引起学者、实际工作者和立法者的进一步思考。     

十六大以来党建理论创新的思考

创新是马克思主义政党的基本品质,十六大以来,以胡锦涛为总书记的党中央在党建理论的发展创新方面主要体现在：加强党的执政能力建设、党的先进性建设、党风廉政建设和党建制度创新四个方面。用党建的最新理论成果武装头脑,指导实践,既是党的理论建设的重要任务,也是推进中国特色社会主义事业实践的客观需要。     

The return of the empire? Russia's counteraction to transatlantic democracy promotion in its near abroad

Russia's recent actions in its neighbourhood have not only upset Western policies but have also reinvigorated arguments that Russia may be promoting autocracy to counteract democracy promotion by the European Union and the United States. They have also underlined a broader problem: that of how illiberal powers may react to democracy promotion, especially when their strategic interests are at stake. This article investigates these issues by studying Russia's interactions with the countries in its neighbourhood and democracy promoters. First, the article argues that even if Russia has contributed to the stagnation of democratization and ineffectiveness of democracy promotion in its neighbourhood, its actions do not constitute autocracy promotion and largely lack ideological underpinnings. Second, Russia's counteraction to democracy promotion stems from its ambitions of restoring its great power status, maintaining its regional influence, and perceiving Western policies as a threat to its interests. Third, when it considers its strategic interests undermined, Russia employs economic and military threats (sometimes incentives) against its neighbourhood countries to make the compliance with Western policies less preferable.     

Local actors in the driver's seat: Transatlantic democracy promotion under regime competition in the Arab world

In studies of political transition, scholars started to explore the effect of competition between foreign policies of antipodal regimes on the political trajectories of transition countries, notably between traditional Western donors such as the European Union and the United States of America and regional authoritarian powers such as Saudi Arabia. Drawing on existing accounts, this article studies the conditions under which external actors can effectively steer local elite towards democratic reforms despite illiberal regional powers’ potential counteractions. We argue that the reform-oriented political elites in the recipient country are the ultimate judges in this competition for influence. If democracy promotion is credible, they will decide in favour of democratization, but only if the expected costs and benefits of democratic engagement resist solicitation by authoritarian powers. A study of post-Arab Spring democracy promotion in Tunisia supports the pivotal role of the external donors’ credibility in times of complex donor constellations.     

当代中国特色社会主义理论和实践的新发展——学习党的十八大报告

党的十八大报告对中国特色社会主义理论和实践的新经验作了深刻总结和精辟概括,提出了一系列紧密相连、相互贯通的新思想、新观点、新论断。高度评价和提升了科学发展观的理论地位和指导作用;全面总结和评估过去五年工作和十年历史;重新认定中国特色社会主义“三位一体”科学内涵;提出和确认全面建成小康社会新目标;提出加快完善社会主义市场经济体制,促进经济发展方式转变新思路;深刻阐述推进政治体制改革新思想;提出建设社会主义文化强国整体新理念;提出加强社会建设新部署;提出并描绘生态文明建设新篇章;提出推进党建科学化水平全面提升新理论。     

廉洁政治:内涵、结构与运行逻辑

十八大报告在党的重要文献中第一次提出"廉洁政治"这个概念,要求做到干部清正、政府清廉、政治清明。从政治发展角度来看,廉洁政治是现代国家治理的必然要求。廉洁政治内涵具有三个理论维度:政治设计、价值取向和实践状态。政治设计为廉洁政治建设提供合法性,价值取向为廉洁政治建设提供发展方向,实践状态让政治设计和价值取向实现统一,从而为廉洁政治建设开辟道路。廉洁政治的内在结构包括廉洁政治观念、廉洁政治关系和廉洁政治行为三个部分,这三个部分具有一定的逻辑关系,从廉洁政治观念到廉洁政治关系再到廉洁政治行为,一个比一个更接近于政治生活现实。建设廉洁政治应遵循并实现法治逻辑、制度逻辑和治理逻辑的统一:法治逻辑要求依法治腐,把所有廉政建设事务纳入法制框架;制度逻辑要求制度反腐,推进宏观层面的行政体制改革、中观层面的廉政制度建设以及微观层面的分权机制探索;治理层面要求实现廉政组织重构、廉政资源配置、廉政信息公开、廉政主体合作等。     

The evolution of the New Patriotic Party in Ghana

This paper examines the emergence and development of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) government in the context of a broader examination of the roles of political parties within the Ghanaian political landscape. After describing the political architecture as well as some significant constitutional issues of Ghana's democracy and the roles played by other societal stakeholders, the paper examines the rationale for the formation of the NPP, its manifesto, structure, constituency, power brokers. It then analyses various aspects of the implementation (or not) of the NPP's political and economic objectives since it came to power in 2000 with a message of ‘positive change’. The electoral politics of the campaigns against its major opposition, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and issues of regionalism, ethnicity and other factors are considered in detail. The paper concludes with some lessons learned and generic recommendations for emerging African political parties in relatively young democracies.     

Cosmopolitanism and the African Renaissance: Pixley I. Seme and Alain L. Locke

Abstract

The heretofore unknown relationship between Pixley kaIsaka Seme, one of the founders of the African National Congress, and Alain L. Locke, the primary architect of the Harlem Renaissance, is revealed and explored. I suggest that Seme's Pan-African sensibilities created the conditions for Locke to explore what it means to pursue an African Renaissance; and Locke's focus on literary expression was an exemplar for Seme's later forays in journalism and cosmopolitan unions across ethnic lines. Seme and Locke, however, created significantly different concepts of African regeneration, Renaissance, race and cosmopolitanism. Their concepts are described and evaluated. Seme's approach to Renaissance is criticised for its reliance on an ideal of valuation that renders values stable and unchanging. Locke's value theory contends that valuation is necessarily engaged in transvaluation, thus, human cognition is necessarily always engaged in creating new value categories. Locke's approach is criticised because it allows for what I define as ‘sophisticated cruelty’ – the unintentional social destruction of ethnic group values. I argue that Locke's approach of moderate cosmopolitan has the least theoretical disadvantages of major concepts of cosmopolitanism and Pan Africanism.     

Institutional reform and political party engagement: Challenges to democratic transformation in post-CPA Sudan

ABSTRACT

This article looks at the role of institutions and political parties as main agents of the democratisation process in the Sudan, following the signing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). A review of the historic weaknesses of intermittent democratic rule in the Sudan, since its independence in 1956 and through to the signing of the CPA, is offered. Those elements of the CPA critical to institutional reform and democratisation are identified and their implementation assessed, including the results of the CPA-mandated elections held in April 2010. The four principal political parties and their capacities to contribute to democratic transformation are analysed.