The state of public discourse in Kenya’s post-Moi era: Where are Kenya’s organic intellectuals?

One of the defining moments in Kenya’s political landscape was the defeat of KANU, the party that had been in power since the country’s independence in 1963, by the National Rainbow Coalition, NARC in 2002. The victory was hailed as a new dawn that would entrench good governance, equity, rule of law, and human rights. After all, the victory was a culmination of many years of agitation against KANU dictatorship. Furthermore, NARC was a mass movement with national appeal and led by renowned anti-establishment politicians, civil society, and activist intellectuals and clergy. But, these aspirations would be betrayed by fragmentation of elites in NARC and re-invention of corruption by the same elites. This paper investigates the ramifications of the NARC collapse to the country’s post-Moi democratization process, more so the diminished role of intellectuals in public discourse. The paper demonstrates the urgent need for organic intellectuals and the way forward.     

Meeting development goals: evidence from the Civil Society Education Fund

In recent years, the Civil Society Education Fund has supported national education civil society coalitions (NECs) in low-income countries so that they put pressure on governments and donors to implement the Education for All agenda and the Millennium Development Goal on education. This article draws on literature on global governance as well as on an extensive evaluation of the CSEF to explore the actual contribution of this initiative to the activity of NECs. The article highlights the achievements and shortcomings of the CSEF and includes a set of practical recommendations on the role of global civil society in international development processes.     

Strategic or Principled? The Engagement of Civil Society Organizations with the EU

This article links the literature on the Europeanization of civil society organizations (CSOs) with the literature on the contribution CSOs can make to democracy in the EU. To do so, it asks which are the pull factors that support CSOs’ Europeanization: are they mostly strategic and linked to where law-making and the money are? Or are they likewise linked to a desire to contribute to EU democracy? To explore this question, the article looks at agricultural, environmental and anti-poverty groups and combines fresh qualitative with quantitative data. The findings suggest that we need to distinguish strategic Europeanization, on the one hand, from the identification with supranational democracy, on the other. They also show that the most Europeanized organizations need not be the most interested in EU democracy, whereas organizations with a comparatively low degree of Europeanization can still be interested in EU democracy.     

ROYAL WRIT AND BRITISH RESIDENCY IN THE SULTANATE OF BRUNEI: A FLUID PARTNERSHIP

The aim of the article is to explore and illustrate some “dynamics of transition” across some six decades of British protection of the Brunei Sultanate, 1906-1967, with particular reference to the interaction of traditional administration and the new system of governance of a Residency, especially in the part of Tutong district that was home to the Dusun/Bisaya ethnic minority.     

关于“民政”问题的理论探微

什么是民政,民政有没有理论,如果民政有理论,同哪些学科、理论关系最为密切,民政工作是不是只是国家、政府民政职能部门的事等等,对于这些问题目前学界似乎还没有引起足够的重视,展开认真的研究,给出具有共识性的回答。本文拟从民政与人政、民政与政府、民政与民本、民政与民权、民政与民生以及民政生态等角度,对民政问题的相关内容做些理论上的探微。本文认为民政有理论,而且民政理论应当先行于民政实践,政治学应当关注和加强民政问题的理论研究;认为从特定意义上说,民政亦即人政,民政不仅以"民"而且以"人"为中心或核心,民政应以人为本,民政工作不仅仅是国家、政府民政职能部门的事,整个国家和政府的机构设置都是为着民政的,并以民政为核心,只是分工不同罢了;认为以人为本的民政理论与实践工作有着广阔的前景。     

2019年中国刑法实施报告

2019年是新中国成立70周年的伟大日子。70年来,在中国的刑事法治建设取得长足发展的同时,中国刑法学在始终恪守重视基础理论的总结、创新与完善的基础上,亦更加主动地回应社会现实关切的热点、疑点、难点问题,彰显出鲜明的时代特色,凸显出刑法积极参与社会治理的重要功能,弘扬了新时代我国刑法学鲜明的问题意识与自主意识。相较以往,2019年度刑事犯罪在涉众型、风险型、科技型等领域较为突出,呈现出涉案金额巨大、危害面广、手法多样且不断翻新等特点。2019年度刑法实施报告主要将以下七个板块作为研究重点:新中国成立七十年刑事法治和刑法理论的变迁与反思、正当防卫制度的适用与完善、"扫黑除恶"专项斗争、人工智能时代刑法挑战的前瞻应对、互联网金融领域腐败犯罪治理防范问题、认罪认罚从宽制度实体适用问题及民刑交叉、行刑衔接等问题。     

或有期间三论

或有期间研究的一个必然逻辑起点就是论证或有期间真伪问题。从制度的本源上展开分析,或有期间与诉讼时效和除斥期间具有本质上的差异,乃为独立存在的期间制度。然存在或有期间却并非当然具有存在之必要,还需要论证或有期间具有存在的合理性、必要性。或有期间应当是具有独特存在价值之制度,即能够通过限制处于比较优势地位的一方当事人获得或行使特定的权利,结束权利所处的不确定状态,从而妥当地均衡双方当事人之间权利义务关系。或有期间制度的构建则应当遵循或有期间内在价值的指导,着眼于"严格性"的基本定位,同时尊重当事人意思自治,兼顾公平,以安排或有期间基本制度的具体内容。或有期间制度的基本规定应当与诉讼时效和除斥期间并列规定于我国未来民法典期间制度一章节之中。     

履行迟延的合同解除规则释论

针对主给付义务的履行迟延,符合我国《民法典》第563条第1款第3项、第4项的构成要件即可解除合同。符合我国《民法典》第563条第1款第3项之情形,直接落入“主要债务”的文义射程。合同解除法上的广义附随义务囊括了传统“债法上之义务群”中的狭义的附随义务与从给付义务,只有迟延履行广义附随义务不符合合同目的,方落入“主要债务”的射程,此时需将“主要债务”进行目的性扩张解释。在履行迟延中,应将我国《民法典》第563条第1款第4项作目的性限缩解释,并可采用类推适用违约损害赔偿的可预见性规则予以适用。就合同目的不能实现之判断,以公式来表明,即为“重大违约(需结合个案判断)+并非债务人订约时不可预见或不可认识(当事人主观标准+理性人标准)=合同目的不能实现”。可预见性的判断时点为合同订立时。不能实现合同目的的举证责任原则上由主张根本违约之一方当事人负担,但在如合同已明定给付日期等无争议之重要事项之场合,当事人无需负担举证责任。履行迟延中的合同解除权之发生不以债务人的可归责性为必要。在解释上,应当认为我国《民法典》第563条第1款第3项适用于非定期行为,我国《民法典》第563条第1款第4项适用于定期行为。关于相对的定期行为之成立,除有“履行期日严守”要件之外,还须结合合同目的予以判断。     

The Monitoring Capacity of Civil Society Networks: A Social Network Analysis in the Case of Gender Equality Policy

The role of civil society organizations (CSOs) as a watchdog in the implementation process is widely acknowledged. However, little is known about what determines their capacity to monitor EU policy implementation and how it differs across member states. This article accounts for social capital as well as human and financial capital to determine the monitoring capacity of CSOs. To capture sources of social capital, a network analysis is applied in a comparative case article on the monitoring networks of national platforms of the European Women’s Lobby across eight EU member states. The analysis reveals that CSOs in western member states are rich in human, financial and social capital, while CSOs in CEE member states compensate for this lack of resources by linking up with the Commission.     

Raised By a Predator: Sex Offender Parents and an Effort To Keep Them Out of the Child's Home

Registered sex offenders are obligated to comply with rules put forth by their state's registry. While there are stringent guidelines regarding the offender's interaction with the public, a sex offender's ability to obtain custody of their child is less rigid. Statutes differ on the level of scrutiny referencing their right to parent, which leaves an opening for offenders to abuse their child. This Note proposes the adoption of a model statute in which registered Tier III sex offender parents who were convicted for a crime involving a minor are precluded from gaining physical or legal custody of their child.