Shaking off the neoliberal shackles: “democratic emergence” and the negotiation of democratic knowledge in the Middle East North Africa context

ABSTRACT

There is a general assumption in democracy promotion that liberal democracy is the panacea that will solve all political and economic problems faced by developing countries. Using the concept of “good society” as analytical prism, the analysis shows that while there is a rhetorical agreement as to what the “good society” entails, democracy promotion practices fail to allow for recipients’ inclusion in the negotiation and delivery of the “good society”. Contrasting US and Tunisian discourses on the “good society”, the article argues that democracy promotion practices are underpinned by neoliberal parameters borne out from a reliance on the transition paradigm, which in turn leave little room to democracy promotion recipients to formulate knowledge claims supporting the emergence of alternative conceptions of the “good society”. In contrast, the article opens up a reflective pathway to a negotiated democratic knowledge, which would reside in a paradigmatic change that consists in the abandonment of the transition paradigm in favour of a “democratic emergence” paradigm.     

Parliamentary Prorogation in Comparative Context

This paper examines the power to prorogue (or suspend) Parliament following the 2019 prorogation controversy in the UK. We outline the legal basis of prerogative-based prorogation, survey its uses in the UK and other Westminster systems, and compare it with equivalent rules in other European parliamentary democracies. The comparative perspective highlights the outlier status of the UK among comparable European democracies. In the UK, the absence of explicit legal limits on the use of prorogation gives the executive exceptional scope to employ the power for political purposes to sidestep Parliament. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for current discussions about the desirability of reforming the UK’s prorogation rules and placing express legal limits on the executive’s power.     

程序的多重视角

程序是法学(法律)的一个独立范畴。由于语境不同,中西方对“程序”的理解有较大的差异,国内学者对法律程序进行解释时存在误读现象。完整地认识程序,需要完整的观察视角。只有从人权、法治、民主和经济等多元视角来诠释法律程序的价值和功能,才可能较完整地认识实体权利和程序权利的相互关系。     

简论以法治腐--学习邓小平反腐倡廉思想

邓小平反腐败思想的一个重要特点就是把治理腐败与民主法制建设紧密地结合起来,这不仅为我们指出了防治腐败的根本方法,也为我国政治现代化建设提供了一个整体思路.     

无诉讼即无宪政

宪法之生命在于宪政 ,而宪政之精髓则在于法治 ,惟法治之精神方可葆宪政生命之树长青。宪法诉讼既是宪政法治存在的基本标志 ,也是宪政法治实现的必要条件 ,因此说 ,没有宪法诉讼 ,就没有宪政。     

Reviews

Books reviewed:
Christine Gray, International Law and the Use of Force
Phoebe Okowa, State Responsibility for Transboundary Air Pollution in International Law
Brian Leiter, Objectivity in Law and Morals
Robert Wintemute and Mads Andenas (eds.), Legal Recognition of Same–Sex Partnerships: A Study of National, European and International Law
Gillian Douglas, An Introduction to Family Law
Sandra Fredman, Discrimination and Human Rights: The Case of Racism
John Monahan et al, Rethinking Risk Assessment: The MacArthur Study of Mental Disorder and Violence
Jenny Fleming and Ian Holland (eds.), Motivating Ministers to Morality     

浅议邓小平的民主法治思想与人本发展观

崇尚法治,反对人治是邓小平法治思想的基础和核心,民主法治思想与人本发展观的完善是邓小平理论的结晶,它的立法、执法、守法等基本思路对维护社会主义市场经济的新秩序,具有广泛深远的意义。     

民主生活会上怎样才能"讲真话"

完善民主生活会制度,充分发挥其在发展党内民主、加强党内监督中的作用,是以党内和谐促进社会和谐的迫切需要。民主生活会上不讲真话风气的蔓延,严重影响了民主生活会的质量。因此,坚持“讲真话”的要求不能放松,保护“讲真话”的措施亟待强化,督促“讲真话”的力度必须加大,回应“讲真话”的整改务必到位。     

Democracy, rule of law and human rights protection under gradually developed constitutionalism

With the shifting of the economic pattern and the developing of administrative law, the modern constitutionalism of China has adopted a progressive development process. Over 20 years, the development of democracy, the rule of law and the human rights protection clearly illustrate this point. For the gradually developing constitutionalism, the theory of limited rational is a theoretical basis, the stability of society is a social basis, the changing economic system is a economic basis, and Confucianism is a cultural basis. Constitutionalism of China should continue to go in such an active, steady and gradual way. Wang Zhuojun, Professor and Director of Administrative Affairs of Soochow University (till now) and as a visiting scholar in the Department of Government & Politics, University of Maryland, USA (1996.1–1997.1), whose research focuses on culture, politics and science of law. So far, his publications are “The Political System in the Perspective of Culture”, “A History of Epistemology”, “A Study of the External Economy of China’s Universities”, and his translations include “Introduction to Culture and Anthropology”, “Challenge to Culture from Science and Technology”, etc. Moreover, He has presided several research projects sponsored by The Ministry of Science and Technology of China and the Education Department of Jiangsu Province, China.     

实证主义经济宪法学的基本结构——一个基于文献综述的研究

实证主义经济宪法学的研究包括了对制宪程序及其影响因素的经济研究和对宪法规则产生的经济影响的研究两个部分。前者包括:第一,静态经济研究,主要是对影响制宪程序的因素的研究,在制宪的经济背景,个体的利益衡量、偏好、价值观、意识形态,社会的风俗、习惯、社会规范和诸如利益集团、社会组织、供以参考的其他国家的宪政制度等。第二,动态经济研究,主要包括对显性宪法变迁的经济研究和对隐性宪法变迁的经济研究。后者包括研究宪法权利的经济影响和研究统治结构的经济影响。