Legal Environment,Finance Channels and Investment: The East African Example

How do legal environments and finance affect investments by firms in the East African community? Property rights, external and internal finance channels – key conduits of the transmission mechanism from ‘legal environment’ to ‘investment’– individually and interactively affect firms' decision to invest. Firms that perceive secure property rights are more likely to invest in fixed capital. The interactions suggest governments in this community would do well to pursue investment/growth policies that slant heavily towards financial markets deepening while not ignoring enhancement of legal infrastructures. Overall, property rights, external finance, internal finance, firm size, and an export-orientation, are important determinants of the investment decision.     

East African Economic Development Over the Next Twenty Years: Some Forecasts About Qualitative Changes

Combining social movement approaches to resource mobilization and collective identity, this article investigates the role of external material resources in shaping the direction of collective action against HIV/AIDS within the Kamwokya Christian Caring Community (KCCC), a Catholic community-based initiative in Kampala. From its origins in the late 1980s as a community of Christians providing “holistic care” to people living with HIV/AIDS, the KCCC has in the wake of increasing external funding been transformed into a professional development non-governmental organization (NGO). In the process, the ideals of holistic care have gradually been overshadowed by neo-liberal development rationalities and bio-political concerns. The article therefore argues that successfully mobilizing donor funding can have unintended consequences for the nature of religious collective action against HIV/AIDS.     

Designing a fiscal federal mechanism for the transition period: the case of the Russian federation

In countries undergoing economic transition, economic factors have caused discord between central and regional authorities. This paper explores the causes and consequences of fiscal conflicts between the federal and regional governments and discusses what elements in an optimal fiscal management would best preserve federal integrity. It provides a plausible game-theoretic representation of the power struggle between the center and regional governments in the Russian Federation. This representation describes the rules and political environment that served as a background for the budgetary wars of 1992 to 1994, the objectives of both the regional and federal players, and a history of game play during the transitional period.     

论青少年法制教育体系的构建

尽管青少年犯罪问题并非单纯是一个教育问题,但是教育,尤其是法制教育的成败无疑与青少年犯罪之间有着密切的关系。当前我国青少年法制教育状况堪忧,应当加快建立、健全青少年法制教育体系。     

Assessing asymmetrical federal design in the Russian federation: A case study of language policy in tatarstan

This article seeks to further the understanding of language policy in Tatarstan by examining the development of language legislation and policies in the republic in the post-Soviet period and by placing the issue of language policy within a federal – republican context. The article finds that asymmetrical federalism is an appropriate and workable response to Tatarstan's demands for policy capacity over issues pertaining to language. It is Russia's federal design itself, and not processes of ad hoc constitutional bargaining, which creates governance capacity in this policy area and provides Tatarstan with the de jure power to implement measures to protect the Tatar language.     

以色列教育发展面面观

以色列位于地中海东岸,人口约为650万(2002年统计).从自然条件上看,全国近一半的地区是半沙漠和沙漠,水资源十分紧缺.     

当前中东形势的特点及发展趋势

李国富(中国国际问题研究所中东研究中心主任、研究员):近一两年来,中东局势发展持续动荡,诡谲多变.伊拉克已取代巴以成为地区局势动荡的策源地;围绕着伊朗核问题的紧张局势正越来越成为地区更大危机的爆破点;人们虽对巴以不间断的暴力冲突已习以为常,但这并没有削弱它对中东其他问题的影响力.     

Budgetary politics in the Russian federation:(1) the case: of sakha (yakutia)

This article traces the evolution of center-periphery relations between the Russian federal government and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) using an institutional framework. During each of three stages the author identifies a distinct set of institutional parameters that, to varying degrees, determined the powers of federal and regional institutions. Each stage is also identified with a unique central institutional conflict that helped shape the rules of the political games played during that period. From this perspective, institutional change is seen as a major determinant of Russian center-periphery relations. The article concludes that Sakha has had remarkable success in extracting budgetary concessions from the federal government. However, Sakha has been unable to force the federal government to implement all the promises it has made.

Nonetheless, the concessions that Sakha and others have received are significant, and prompt the conclusion that Russia has become a federal state. However, Russia is far from an equal federation.     

欧洲一体化经验对东亚区域合作的启示

2010年10月10日,第二次中日韩领导人会议在北京举行。三方提出要“共同努力,继往开来,不断深化面向未来、全面合作的伙伴关系。”日本首相鸠山由纪夫重提了“东亚共同体”的设想,并得到了中韩两国的积极响应。目前,东亚区域一体化逐渐显示出强劲势头。     

触摸非洲雕刻的脉搏

当飞机快到苏丹的首都喀土穆时,从空中望下去视野之内极少绿色.这里的大地、楼房的颜色都像还没有出炉的砖似的颜色,土色中夹杂着红色与黑色.整座城市除沿尼罗河两岸是绿色以外,几乎满是黄沙,因这是撒哈拉沙漠边缘的缘故.一踏上非洲这片土地,一股干而热的风就迎面扑来,仿佛进入了一个大浴池一般.刚到的几天还有些新鲜感,但日子久了就感到十分地平淡,觉得在这里已经没有什么事值得我惊奇得大呼小叫的.日子就这么一天天平淡地过去,直到有一天……