和谐社会视域中的政治参与机制研究

社会稳定是建设社会主义和谐社会的必要前提,政治稳定则是社会稳定的关键,只有有序且有效的政治参与才能维系政治稳定。因而深入研究政治参与与政治稳定的关系,改革、完善政治参与机制,创造稳定安宁的政治环境,对于构建社会主义和谐社会意义重大而深远。     

物化观与马克思问题域逻辑转换

物化观是解答当代价值观的一个核心问题。马克思的物化观有一个从早期费尔巴哈人本主义理性批判到实践唯物主义经济分析的问题域逻辑转换过程 ,对物化观的经济分析是马克思主义价值观确立的基础。物化实质上体现了作为商品的劳动产品在资本主义利益关系下对主体 (劳动者 )生存和发展的一种否定关系。正如消灭异化要以生产力高度发展为前提一样 ,只有适应生产力的发展要求 ,改变滋生物化的特殊经济利益关系 ,建构一个用公共的生产资料进行劳动的自由人联合体 ,劳动 (实践 )创造的产品才会体现对主体 (人 )生存和发展的肯定关系。这就是马克思物化观问题域逻辑转换的价值指归。而卢卡奇把物化从经济因素中剥离出来 ,按黑格尔理性革命观的图式将其提升为马克思主义哲学的核心概念 ,它无疑为一切把客观的经济利益关系当作价值事实的唯意志主义提供了理论支持。     

Four Lessons for Developing Countries from the Trade Negotiations Over Access to Medicines

After the Agreement on the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) came into operation in 1995 developing countries have found themselves in a process of continual negotiation over intellectual property rights and access to medicines. These negotiations have taken place in the World Trade Organization and in the context of free trade agreements. The paper suggests that the only real win for developing countries has been the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health in 2001. What have been the lessons for developing countries in a decade of negotiations over access to medicines? Drawing on themes of rule complexity and regulatory ritualism the paper discusses four key lessons for developing countries. It concludes by arguing that developing countries will do better if they adopt a networked governance approach to negotiation rather than continuing to rely on traditional coalition formation.     

“The Spectacle of Fearsome Acts”: Crime in the Melting P(l)ot in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gangs of New York</Emphasis>

This paper explores the multi-layered representations of violence and crime in the recent Hollywood film Gangs of New York [Scorcese (2003) Miramax]. We use our exploration of this film to suggest that popular culture, even through its most mainstream products, can be seen as a critical criminological space where alternative views of law, crime and the state are made available. Rather than understanding Hollywood movies simply as vehicles for disseminating conventional mores, we suggest that they can furnish critical (and complex) points of view on law and crime and that the project of a critical criminology can be strengthened by engaging more forthrightly with these ubiquitous cultural forms.     

The challenge of institution-building in Asia and its implications for Asia-Europe relations

  East Asia, including Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia, has developed tightly-linked production/distribution networks through globalizing corporate activities. The vertical chain of production in East Asia has been even more sophisticated than economic integration in East Europe or Latin America. However, the political environment of East Asia for trade and investment has been far from borderless. The integration effort at the policy level has been very much limited so far, due to the historical background as well as geopolitics surrounding East Asia. The Asian currency/financial crisis provided these countries a historical turning point. After the burst of the crisis, East Asians realized that they have to take care of themselves in their difficulties, not depending on outside forces. A natural choice for them was to step into the realm of regionalism. In 1998, Japan and Korea officially announced that they would discard the long-lasting GATT/WTO-only approach and adapt the multi-layered approach, including both regionalism and multilateralism. The ultimate goal of regionalism would be a region-wide integration including ASEAN+3. As a steppingstone, Japan signed the Japan-Singapore Economic Partnership Agreement (JSEPA) in January 2002. In a parallel move, the ASEAN and China Leaders announced in November 2001 the establishment of an ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) within 10 years. This article will follow up the most recent advancement of regional institutional building in East Asia with the emphasis on peculiar characteristics of economic integration in the region and discuss its implications for Asia-Europe relations. This paper is heavily drawn from Kimura (2002, 2003).     

S&;T Parks and business incubators in middle-sized countries: the case of greece

This paper links the policy context regarding S&T parks to the objectives and characteristics of the established parks and incubators in a relatively small, converging European country. S&T parks and incubators in Greece during the past decade and a half have gradually shifted in terms of ownership and management from university/research institute to the private sector and in terms of financing from public to private funds, also involving the provision of seed capital and access to venture capital. This gradual shift toward more private engagement has created a variety of models out of which, it is hoped, successful innovative companies will emerge in larger numbers than in the past.

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A comparison of the Russian 13% flat rate PIT evasion stratified contributions and the US tax schedule

This paper reviews the existing literature on consumer credit reporting, the most extensively used instrument to overcome information asymmetry and adverse selection problems in credit markets. Despite the copious literature in economics and some research in regulatory policy, the legal community has paid almost no attention to the legal framework of consumer credit information systems, specially within the context of the European Union. Studies on the topic, however, seem particularly relevant in view of the establishment of a single market for consumer credit. This article ultimately calls for further legal research to address consumer protection concerns and inform future legislation.      

The European airline industry: law and economics of low cost carriers

This article offers an analysis of the European airline industry in order to understand the new dynamics of the competitive field. The liberalization process did not lead the entrance of competitors similar to incumbents, but a new organizational model has been developed, the one of low cost carriers. The incumbents’ reaction to the liberalization process coupled with the entrance of low cost companies into the sector are hence considered. Two theories are analysed: the contestable markets theory, to understand the theoretical vision that has influenced the liberalization process, and the core theory, a modern approach to the concept of destructive competition that, according to some authors, is a recurring problem in the sector. While numerous barriers to entry still exist, the paper examines how the organizational model of low cost companies has helped new entrants to overtake these obstacles. By the same token, the application of the core theory does not seem to justify strategic alliances taking place in these years. The competitive framework is definitely clearer if we analyse sector changes in a different way, from the point of view of low cost companies considered as new market actors.