Studying Peace in and with Central Eurasia: Starting from Local and Trans-Local Perspectives

ABSTRACT

In view of a crisis of liberal universalism peace research must reflect on how it is perceived, how peace is constructed in other places and how it can cope with diversity in ordering and peacebuilding. This Special Issue is an attempt to search starting points for peace research in and with Central Eurasia. The introductory concept clears a path through current research questions, normative problems and barriers of knowledge production. Considering ethnographic methodologies, it starts from the local everyday and takes an interest in how actors and institutions in concrete places and multiple socio-spatial configurations navigate conflict and peace.     

Improvising Peace: Towards New Social Contracts in Tunisia

ABSTRACT

Eight years after the Arab Spring revolutions, Tunisia's state and citizens are crafting an increasingly resilient national social contract, despite setbacks. This case study examines what is driving Tunisia's efforts, focusing in particular on key transition initiatives – including a national dialogue and a forward-looking constitution adopted by broad consensus, following nation-wide consultations. The case examines how informed and empowered Tunisians built these structures to leverage the inherent resilience capacities of the people, which developed throughout state and civil society formation, women's movements, labour movements, and civic education. The research suggests that two issues that gave rise to the revolution have remained particular challenges for efforts to mediate and address conflict: political and social polarisation and lack of livelihoods. It reveals how Tunisians are calling for more inclusion and institutionalised citizen engagement as a means to address them. Conclusions point to how post-revolution, democratisation gains as well as values of compromise, tolerance, dialogue appear to be immunising Tunisia against irreparable reversals and are laying the foundations for sustainable democratic peace.     

Psychological factors influencing religious congregation members’ reporting of alleged sexual abuse

ABSTRACT

The sexual abuse of children within religious institutions has become a topic of increasing public concern in recent decades. However, to date there has been little in the way of psychological analyses of the processes by which congregation members judge the credibility of alleged abuses, or whether they would intend to report such allegations to the police. In this study, we examined the roles of ingroup identity, moral foundations, and social dominance orientation on reporting intentions and allegation credibility assessments among Church of England congregation members (n?=?454) and non-religious controls (n?=?457). While there were few predictors of reporting intentions, we found that churchgoers were consistently more sceptical of allegations of abuse, with these trends being differentially moderated by ingroup identification, the endorsement of various moral impulses, and anti-egalitarianism. We discuss our data in light of ongoing attempts to improve reporting procedures within the Church.     

Performing the ‘India Permitida’: The Counter-Gift of Indigenous Women Targeted by a Corporate Social Responsibility Programme (Chile)

Relying on ethnographic data, this article critically analyses the pro-mining position adopted in Chile's Atacama Region by a group of Diaguita women who benefited from a corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme to revive indigenous culture. While the desire to escape from poverty (salir adelante, moving forward) appears as the main reason for participating, the benefits generated a sense of indebtedness resulting in allegiance to the company. The investigation also shows how this programme played a part in building a scenario in which indigenous females perform subjects apparently more suited than men to the neoliberal and multiculturalist governmentality of the Chilean State, whose politics favours mining.     

犯罪学视角下的矫正社会工作专业性和有效性分析

当前我国矫正社会工作教育主要采取福利服务模式，且面临专业性和有效性的考问。西方犯罪学不同流派提出了不同的预防犯罪策略。实证学派之后矫正恢复成为主流，矫正社会工作由此得以蓬勃发展。然而，20世纪70年代中期后矫正社会工作的有效性受到空前质疑，由此兴起的反矫正运动导致矫正社工发展严重受挫。20世纪90年代起北美循证矫正运动开始全面量化检验影响犯罪和再犯的因素，得出了若干核心原则和因素。我国矫正社会工作福利服务模式集中体现在上海模式上，但最终被迫与刑事司法进行融合。我国本土性循证矫正得出，有效矫正应建立在实证知识和实践性知识与策略的结合上，这需要社会工作同犯罪学、法学和地方性知识的深度融合。     

社区工作者能力量表开发与检验：以上海为例

建立社区工作者能力量表能够填补当前社区工作者能力界定研究的不足，同时为探索我国社区工作者能力的内涵和未来提升的方向提供参考。社会工作的专业化发展和政府行政力量共同形塑了社区工作者能力的界定，构成了我国社区工作者能力发展的背景。量表的开发借助社会工作专业能力模型，分别从政策、文献和实践角度，梳理了与社区工作者相关的能力条目，在此基础上，通过探索性因子分析筛选出30个条目，共分五个维度，包括：分析判断的能力、维护关系的能力、依法治理的能力、建立项目的能力和服务群众的能力。心理测量学检验结果显示，该量表具有较为良好的信效度，可以为开展社区工作者能力内涵研究、促进社区工作者能力发展提供参考。     

Tackling the Big Questions in Social Impact Bond Research through Comparative Approaches

Abstract

This special issue of theJournal of Comparative Policy Analysis brings together four cross-disciplinary articles representing the first concerted attempt to combine comparative approaches to extend theoretical and empirical understandings of Social Impact Bonds (SIBs). SIBs are investment-backed payment-by-results projects and have been subject to vigorous academic debate on their appropriateness and efficacy since the first SIB launched in 2010. This introduction to the special issue outlines the state of the academic literature on SIBs, identifying gaps and suggesting five big questions that do not yet have satisfactory answers: (1) What are the administrative or political problems to which SIBs respond? (2) Where and why do SIBs emerge in particular contexts? (3) What is the role of SIBs in the evidence-based policy movement? (4) Is delivering an intervention through a SIB more effective than other means and are associated costs justifiable? (5) Do SIBs catalyse wider organizational, system, or institutional changes? This introduction then summarizes the articles included in this special issue, discusses how they respond to these big questions, and suggests that further comparative research might best address remaining gaps in the literature.     

双向汲取:社区社会组织的行动路径分析

社会组织是推动国家治理体系和治理能力现代化的重要力量。聚焦社会组织行动策略研究,能够更好地揭示外部制度环境制约下的社会组织参与基层社会治理的微观运行机制。运用"制度环境-行动策略-行动目标-行动任务"的分析框架,着重探讨社会组织与基层政府、社区居委会、社区居民之间的复杂互动关系,剖析复杂制度环境下社会组织行为策略选择及其多元化行动路径。S市G组织的个案研究表明,G组织通过"双向汲取"的行动策略能够实现社会组织行政性目标与社会性目标的双重目标达成。由于G组织接受任务的不同行动目标来源以及不同任务之间的相关性程度差异,使得G组织"双向汲取"行动策略呈现出复杂制度结构约束下的多元化行动路径。     

政府与社会组织关系演进的历史逻辑

从总体性二元合一走向分化性二元合一,解决分化与耦合两个方面的问题,是中国政府与社会组织关系演进的总体态势。运用结构功能主义视角,可以发现,演进历经让渡与承接、规范与依附、激活与协同等阶段,由政府与社会组织的功能性界分,到基于责任结构整合的政会功能黏附,逐渐发展为基于全面结构整合的政会功能分化与耦合。演进的基本逻辑,是政府主导下功能演变与结构调整的互动,即由政府主导的演进轨道、由功能演变与结构调整互动而构成的演进机制。展望未来,分化性二元合一体系的完善,必须按照现代国家治理的要求,在政府与社会组织之间打造共建、共治与共享的结构功能系统,实现基于责任结构契合的功能目标一致、基于权力结构合理的功能形式耦合、基于利益结构规范的功能输出互益。     

Covid-19 Pandemic,Social Mitigation and Taxation: The Open Veins of Inequality in Latin America

The pandemic of Covid-19 has exposed the veins of inequality in Latin America. With a socioeconomic disaster looming, social emergency policies seemed inevitable. Yet while governments argue over the continuity of such policies and whether the fiscal rules in place should be respected, no sustainable response has come out. This essay problematises whether the pandemic could represent a critical juncture to forge ahead with political narratives that highlight tax exemptions and privileges enjoyed by the rich. We analyse the mitigation measures adopted by Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay and their repercussions on the debate surrounding progressive tax reforms to fund social schemes.