Performing ethnic relations in Russia's North Caucasus: regional spectacles in Stavropol’ krai

Using materials gathered during fieldwork carried out in Russia in 2008 and 2009, this paper examines the ‘Day of Stavropol’ krai 2009’ celebration and links it to debates on ethnic relations, identity and nationalism in post-Soviet Russia. It is argued that celebrations, festivals, parades and other ‘spectacles’ are significant, yet often overlooked, influences on ethnic relations. Although authorities at national and regional scale play a prominent role in governing ethnic relations, it is often the case that they revert to Soviet-era practices – such as the ‘folklorization’ of ethnic groups – and produce a narrative that proclaims the ‘eternal harmony’ of ethnic relations. Given widespread ethnic tensions that exist in Russia, such a representation of ethnic relations is far from the reality lived by people in everyday life. Thus, this paper explores how citizens' understandings of ethnic relations relates to that portrayed by state authorities.     

Introduction: negotiating the promotion of democracy

ABSTRACT

This article makes the case for why we should turn to studying democracy promotion negotiation, outlines the research questions guiding this special issue, identifies overarching findings and summarizes the individual contributions. After outlining the rationale for more attention to the issue of negotiation, which we understand as a specific form of interaction between external and local actors in democracy promotion, we outline three basic assumptions informing our research: (1) Democracy promotion is an international practice that is necessarily accompanied by processes of negotiation. (2) These negotiation processes, in turn, have an impact upon the practice and outcome of democracy promotion. (3) For external democracy promotion to be mutually owned and effective, genuine negotiations between ‘promoters’ and ‘local actors’ are indispensable; the term ‘genuine’ here being understood as including a substantial exchange on diverging values and interests. The article, then, introduces the three research questions for this agenda, concerning the issues on the negotiation table, the parameters shaping negotiation processes, and the results of democracy promotion negotiation. We conclude by presenting an overview of the overarching findings of the special issue as well as with brief summaries of the individual contributions.     

A Tale as Old as (Devolved) Time? Sewel,Stormont and the Legislative Consent Convention

Interparliamentary relations do not attract much in the way of public or even academic attention. However, they are an aspect of parliamentary life in which there has been a series of experiments by select committees in the House of Commons. While one of the more prominent examples of such experimentation was the international grand committee on Big Data, Privacy and Democracy spearheaded by the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, this article will look at another example of select committee-led interparliamentary relations, namely the ‘joint inquiry’ conducted by the House of Commons Defence Committee and the Assemblée nationale’s Standing Committee on National Defence into Future Cruise and Anti-Ship Missiles in 2018. This article, written by an official involved in the inquiry, offers the first reflections on the experience of this joint inquiry, demonstrates how the model undertaken for the inquiry differed from the approaches taken by other select committees involved in interparliamentary working, and explores whether it might offer a blueprint for future joint inquiries.     

Whither a Theory of Inter-organisational Relations: A Burgeon Field of Research Between Conceptual Innovation and Fragmentation

ABSTRACT

This article discusses the potential emergence of a theory on inter-organisational relations (IOR). Although no dominant set of causal statements about IOR exists, which is traditionally associated with a theory, the literature has made substantial advancements in the last decade. The main aim of this contribution is to review the respective literature, portraying its merits and shortcomings. The article shows that a rich analytical repertoire of instruments for research exists but that scholarship struggles to make use of these advancements. The article argues that an IOR theory is on the horizon but the field needs to accept and better conceptualise phenomena which lay outside the traditional understanding of theory building.     

论生态文明与科学发展观

科学发展观是在总结国内外经验教训、立足我国现实国情的基础上提出的,为我国经济社会建设提供了理论支持,指明了发展方向。生态文明建设是我党在我国新的经济发展形势以及人与自然关系矛盾凸显的时期适时提出的,为我国当前正确处理人与自然关系的指明了前进的道路。科学发展观的四项主要内容分别为生态文明建设提供了现实措施,找到了归宿,提出了要求,指明了发展路径。     

The Moroccan system of labour institutions: a class-based perspective

Abstract

The relevance of workers’ mobilisations in the 2011 Arab uprisings and – more recently – in the Algerian movement for democracy and social justice has encouraged a renewed interest in labour–state relations in the region. This article presents a class-based perspective on labour institutions, taking Morocco as a case study. In contrast to institution-based approaches, this research argues that it is problematic to treat the trade unions as analytical proxies for the working class, because this heuristic move conceals how class struggles – from below and from above – can transcend and transform labour institutions. The article proposes a framework to study labour–state relations, highlighting the relative autonomy of union officials from workers and vice versa. In this way, it shows how, in the neoliberal phase, the Moroccan state increased inducements to the unions while decreasing those to the workers and maintaining significant constraints on workplace organising. To use a simplified formulation, the regime included the unions to exclude the workers. In such a context of low union representativeness, the dangers of reducing the working class to the trade unions emerge clearly.     

中国境内德昂族汝买支系族群语言关系与语言自信研究

中国境内德昂族主要有布雷、汝买、梁三个支系。以往德昂族研究主要以布雷支系为主体研究对象,而其中偏居国境线一隅的点状散布居住的汝买人由于浸没于傣族、景颇族之中,几乎不被外界所熟知。以语言为核心对汝买支系族群语言关系与语言自信的研究不仅有利于解决当下境内濒危小语言现实社会处境、命运和语言归属问题,而且也是对濒危小语言活态的有利保护。     

“一带一路”倡议下西方国家对中资企业在非洲劳动关系的认知误区 ——以埃塞俄比亚东坚公司为例

自"一带一路"倡议实施以来,中国政府积极推进"一带一路"建设,中国企业加快了对沿线国家的投资。非洲的埃塞俄比亚是中国企业投资的重要国家之一。但是西方国家对中国在非洲的投资一直存在着许多认知误区,其中一个主要误区就是中国企业的劳动关系管理问题。研究以中国的劳动密集型企业东坚公司为例,从招聘雇佣、工资福利、劳动关系管理、企业文化等多个方面来考察中国企业是如何促进非洲发展的。研究认为,以东坚公司为代表的中国企业严格遵守投资对象国的法律,促进了当地的就业和工业化发展,但也存在本地化雇佣不够理想等问题。     

Asymmetrical rivalry between China and Japan in Africa: to what extent has Sino-Japan rivalry become a global phenomenon?

Abstract

To what extent is China–Japan rivalry a global phenomenon, and what is the nature of the rivalry they engage in outside their own region? Literature on Sino-Japanese rivalry abounds, but it pays scant attention to the relevance of the rivalry outside East Asia. This article argues that Sino-Japanese rivalry has indeed become a global phenomenon, that various forms of the rivalry are evident in Africa, and that they are mostly of an asymmetrical nature. Quantitatively, China’s contribution to Africa is far greater than that of Japan, with the exception of foreign direct investment (FDI). Qualitatively, though, Japan has a stronger sense of the rivalry than China has, revealing a psychological aspect to the asymmetry as well. Contextually, the types of activity that Chinese and Japanese actors carry out in Africa are not necessarily the same, which makes the rivalry all the more asymmetrical. The rivalry has become more apparent recently, not only because of the rise of China but also because of a change in the meaning of ‘Africa’ – from a region of ‘poverty’ and ‘hunger’ to a region of ‘economic opportunities’. That said, Africa – to a greater or lesser degree in each of its countries – still suffers from conflict and instability. As a result, the ability of Japan and China to exert power and influence throughout Africa is somewhat restricted.     

Purposefully Triggering Unintended Consequences: the European Commission and the Uncertain Future of the EU-ACP Partnership

ABSTRACT

The EU’s proposal to renew the EU-ACP Agreement in spite of a number of signals pointing in the opposite direction is, inter alia, the unintended consequence of independent decisions taken in three different policy areas (trade, environment, and foreign and security affairs). The common unintended consequence that the three decisions shared would not have materialised if the European Commission had not purposefully triggered it to justify its vision of future EU-ACP relations. These findings challenge the prevailing and superficial usage of the notion of the unintended as a synonym for unanticipated and undesirable, and demonstrate that unintended consequences do not necessarily presuppose lack of anticipation, but may well be the result of calculation by policymakers.