Democracy,Power and Indigeneity

This article identifies a theoretical nexus between indigeneity and liberal democracy in three post‐colonial contexts. Like democracy, the politics of indigeneity asks questions and makes assumptions about where power ought to lie and how it ought to be shared in relation to political inclusion and national sovereignty. The interaction of indigeneity with democracy highlights the limitations of liberal theory as well as the opportunities it provides to meet indigenous claims and conceptions of justice. Exploring the ideological tensions and commonalities between democracy and indigeneity allows a contrast, in comparative context, of the proposition that in Fiji, for example, democracy is “a foreign flower” unsuited to the local environment with the argument that liberal representative democracy can, in fact, mediate power in favour of an inclusive national polity.     

“伙伴”意识与日本式民主主义

从日本人“伙伴”意识的角度分析了日本政治中的“派阀”、“世袭”和“学阀”现象,认为这三种现象都是日本的集团主义,特别是封建的宗派主义的表现。“派阀”是日本各个政党中普遍存在的现象,本文着重以自民党内的“派阀”为例,分析了它的现状和特点,也兼顾了民主党的派性并进行了分析;“世袭”也是日本政界普遍存在的“伙伴”意识的一种特殊反映,着重对其在选举中的作用和日本政界“世袭”的现状进行了分析;最后对以出身大学相同而结成的“学阀”现象进行了分析。无论是政党政治中的“派阀”现象,各政党内存在的“世袭”现象,还是日本社会广泛存在的“学阀”现象,都是日本文化中“伙伴”意识的反映。它本身并无优劣之分,在政治活动中以宗派主义的形式出现,却使小集团的利益高于政策的制定,甚至由此忽视了政治理念的实践。特别是它经常无视民意的结果,还反映了日本式民主主义的封建局限性。     

泰国民主政治的怪圈

泰国实行宪政以来经历了多次军人政权和民选政权的交替,形成了政治循环的怪圈,而且每个周期的更替多伴随着暴力冲突和政治动乱.近两年来,泰国政治进入了新一轮循环周期,政治动荡更是此起彼伏.本文重点回顾了2008年的政治危机,分析了危机的根源,并对泰国政治制度发展前景作出预测.     

从“自由民主”到“可控民主”:俄罗斯政治体制改革的经济学解析与启示

从"自由民主"到"可控民主"俄罗斯的民主政治改革引起了广泛关注.本文在梳理俄罗斯政治体制改革曲折历程的基础上,力图运用放宽了假定条件的"新比较经济学"分析框架,解读俄罗斯政治体制改革与经济绩效之间的因果关系.文章认为,关于俄罗斯实行"可控民主"制度原因的诸多分析中,历史传统回归论是正确的,所以"可控民主"在俄罗斯将具有持久的生命力.     

Indigenous Parties and Democracy in Latin America

In recent years, important indigenous parties have emerged for the first time in Latin American history. Although some analysts view this development with trepidation, this essay argues that the indigenous parties in Latin America are unlikely to exacerbate ethnic conflict or create the kinds of problems that have been associated with some ethnic parties in other regions. To the contrary, the emergence of major indigenous parties in Latin America may actually help deepen democracy in the region. These parties will certainly improve the representativeness of the party system in the countries where they arise. They should also increase political participation and reduce party system fragmentation and electoral volatility in indigenous areas. They may even increase the acceptance of democracy and reduce political violence in countries with large indigenous populations.     

Democracy,African intellectuals and African Renaissance

Abstract

This article argues that democracy is a prerequisite for the African Renaissance. The role of African intellectuals is crucial in making the dream of the African Renaissance come true. This article revisits the discourse on the African Renaissance, its history and content before dealing with the issue of democracy. Democracy is closely related to human rights and development and is a sine qua non for the African Renaissance. The current discourse on the African Renaissance is not new. The first international conference on the African Renaissance was held in Dakar, Senegal, from 26 February to 2 March 1996 where African intellectuals gathered to celebrate the works of Professor Cheikh Anta Diop, ten years after his death. The theme of the conference was ‘African Renaissance in the Third Millennium’. The first African Renaissance Conference in South Africa took place from 28 to 29 September 1998. Thabo Mbeki ‐ then, Deputy Pesident of South Africa ‐ read the keynote address on ‘Giving the Renaissance content: Objectives and definitions’. This article complements efforts at redefining the roles of African intellectuals in fostering democracy through a conscious application of the framework of African Renaissance.     

亚洲式民主:功能及其限度

亚洲式民主是90年代以来引起广泛争议的重大国际学术问题.本文认为,亚洲式民主在东亚国家实现经济现代化的过程中发挥了双重功能,即既维持了政治稳定,又促进了经济发展.但另一方面,随着环境和条件的改变,亚洲式民主也日益暴露出局限性.文章最后指出,亚洲式民主可能是通向自由式民主的一种过渡形态.     

Globalisation and the End of Social Democracy

It has been very widely argued that processes of globalisation render traditional forms of social democratic politics impossible. The paper identifies and reviews three key claims in this debate — concerning trade, capital mobility and a new international division of labour. It is argued that, whilst much has changed, this has not always led in the direction anticipated by those who foresee an end to “traditional social democracy”. In particular, the sorts of changes that have taken place do not add up to an endorsement of recent enthusiasm for a “third way”.     

亚洲式民主述评

多年来,国内外学者对亚洲式民主问题进行了探讨.归纳起来主要有三种观点.本文在介绍这三种观点的基础上对它们进行了比较分析.     

柬埔寨多党民主政治的困境

历经三次大选后柬埔寨的政治发展进入了向多党民主政治过渡的转型期.柬埔寨的政党政治面临着政治经济基础薄弱,党派之争错综复杂,外部势力的介入与干涉等问题的困扰.党派间的权力与利益之争更是直接导致了2003年第三次大选后的政治僵局.但从未来发展来看,困境只是暂时的,付出了高昂代价才走上民主发展道路的柬埔寨是没有回头路可走的.     

The Inner Enemies of Democracy

The Inner Enemies of Democracy. By Tzvetan Todorov, trans. Andrew Brown (Malden, MA: Polity Press, 2014), pp.vi + 201. £20.00 (cloth).