The reformers’ dilemma: media,policy ownership,and reform

Current proposals for strengthening policy ownership in reforming economies are fundamentally flawed. Modeling the reform process as a prisoners’ dilemma demonstrates that political agents must overcome this conflict of interests before present proposals for bolstering ownership will work. A politically autonomous mass media is one important mechanism enabling political agents to do this. Reforming countries without free media face an uphill battle overcoming the problems associated with transition. We test our theory by investigating the relationship between media freedom, foreign aid, and economic development in 26 post-socialist transition countries. The results of this analysis support our theory.      

Decision rules,membership and political centralization in the European Union

The decision to enter the European Union is based on a comparison of the costs of staying out and going it alone, and the costs membership. The latter depend on the degree of preference heterogeneity between prospective members and the Union as well as the decision rules employed for “constitutional” decisions. The same calculus guides the decision, by member states, to shift policies up to the Union level, only now the decision rules refer to centrally assigned policies. Preference heterogeneity makes more inclusive rules optimal in either case while at the same time reducing the attractiveness of membership or the centralization of policies to the EU level, respectively. The analysis complements and extends both traditional fiscal federalism literature as well as the more recent political economics literature on federalism.

The Value of Art and Culture in Everyday Life: Towards an Expressive Cultural Democracy

ABSTRACT

Ever since the earliest forms of mass media, the dichotomy of mass culture/high culture has been a topic of debate. The concept of cultural democracy has developed as a way to acknowledge a variety of cultural activities. Despite attempts to develop a broader understanding of culture, cultural policy still seems to reproduce the dichotomies, and to value one over the other. In this article, we would argue for an expanded understanding of cultural democracy, which may serve as a starting point for a turn of perspective of arts advocacy and cultural policy—the perspective we call an expressive cultural democracy.     

欧洲近现代历史上宪政民主政制的生成、建构与演进

宪政民主政制与社会经济发展之间的关系,是一个值得深入进行理论探讨和实证研究的新课题。本文对西方宪政民主的起源、生成与演变史做了一个鸟瞰式的回顾,为探究宪政民主与经济发展之间的关系提供一些背景知识。在从词源和辞义上辨析了西方文字中的"constitution"以及以及与之对应的中文"宪法"和"宪政"的基本含义之后,本文对英国、法国和德国近现代宪政民主政制的生成、建构和演变史做了一些简略的历史考察,并在最后一部份对近现代欧洲历史上宪政民主政制下的法律制度的生成原因做了理论的和历史的分析。     

应对文物危机的路径选择——以国内法和国际法对文物的保护为分析框架

最近，圆明园兽首拍卖事件再次引发了人们对与文物和文物保护有关的法律问题的思考。文物所具有的突出价值及其面临的危机使许多国家都通过制定法律对文物实施特别保护。随着文物危机的国际性因素的增多，国际文物保护法得以兴起和发展。在国内文物保护法和国际文物保护法的共同推动下，兴起了世界范围内的文物保护运动，在此过程中，国内文物保护法和国际文物保护法相互影响，形成了在协调中相互发展、在冲突中寻求妥协的发展进路。     

The US financial regulatory reform, causes of financial crisis and its enlightenment on China

Deficiency of the US financial regulation has stimulated the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The fundamental causes of the regulatory deficiency can be categorized as follows: excessively indebted consumption culture in a long term, permanently abolishing the regulation on financial derivatives by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the regulations before the reform not fitting for the fictitious economy. The operation of financial products is like to fly a kite. The financial product is the kite, governmental adjustment is the string, market regulation is the wind, national culture and legislature and judicature are the environment. Those coordinated elements can guarantee a healthy financial market. To construct an effective financial regulatory system in China, it is needed to make culture with Chinese characteristics, advance the coordinated development of governmental and market regulation, and promote financial legislations and related implementation.     

从威权型法到自由民主型法——法治发展的全球趋势

法治社会的生成是一个不断削弱政治专权、捍卫个体尊严的过程。威权型法作为政治权力的孳息物 ,具有人格贬损、话语霸权、政法合一、严刑峻法等特征 ,从而使人不成其为人 ,使法不成其为法。从威权型法转向自由民主型法是全球化时代的法治发展趋势。自由民主型法的价值取向是权利至上 ;制度支撑是宪政体制 ,具体内容包括人民主权、权力分割、违宪审查、司法独立和政党守法等内容。     

领导干部宪政意识之现状、成因及对策研究

宪政是以良宪为基础,民主为基石,法治为载体,人权实现为宗旨的一种政治理念、政治形态或政治过程。中国正走在通向宪政的路上,可是要实施宪政,必先要研究宪政意识,特别是领导干部的宪政意识;因为宪政意识是实现和实行宪政的思想基础,也是进行宪政建设的思想条件。本文着重分析了领导干部宪政意识薄弱的四大表现,并对其深层原因作了探寻。最后,对如何培育和提升领导干部宪政意识提出了对策建议。     

The science commons in health research: structure,function, and value

The “science commons,” knowledge that is widely accessible at low or no cost, is a uniquely important input to scientific advance and cumulative technological innovation. It is primarily, although not exclusively, funded by government and nonprofit sources. Much of it is produced at academic research centers, although some academic science is proprietary and some privately funded R&D enters the science commons. Science in general aspires to Mertonian norms of openness, universality, objectivity, and critical inquiry. The science commons diverges from proprietary science primarily in being open and being very broadly available. These features make the science commons particularly valuable for advancing knowledge, for training innovators who will ultimately work in both public and private sectors, and in providing a common stock of knowledge upon which all players—both public and private—can draw readily. Open science plays two important roles that proprietary R&D cannot: it enables practical benefits even in the absence of profitable markets for goods and services, and its lays a shared foundation for subsequent private R&D. The history of genomics in the period 1992–2004, covering two periods when genomic startup firms attracted significant private R&D investment, illustrates these features of how a science commons contributes value. Commercial interest in genomics was intense during this period. Fierce competition between private sector and public sector genomics programs was highly visible. Seemingly anomalous behavior, such as private firms funding “open science,” can be explained by unusual business dynamics between established firms wanting to preserve a robust science commons to prevent startup firms from limiting established firms’ freedom to operate. Deliberate policies to create and protect a large science commons were pursued by nonprofit and government funders of genomics research, such as the Wellcome Trust and National Institutes of Health. These policies were crucial to keeping genomic data and research tools widely available at low cost.

亚洲法研究:过去、现在与未来

亚洲法研究始于二十世纪五、六十年代的美国,其后在欧洲、亚洲国家陆续展开。存在两种主要的亚洲法研究进路,一是以"法律与发展理论"为代表的西方法律视角;一是基于亚洲法的内部立场。美国的"法律与发展理论"经历了三个阶段的发展历程,各个阶段有其自身的特征。亚洲的亚洲法研究始于日本,韩国、中国等国家也正逐步展开,但其也存在若干困难。未来的亚洲法研究需要亚洲国家加强合作以及建立起对亚洲法的身份认同。     

政治文明、和谐社会与法治理念——法治乃政治文明所需、和谐社会所求

由政治文明与和谐社会思想衍生的法治理念具有丰富的内涵。实践社会主义法治理念,必须建立中国特色的以权力制约与权力统合为内容的分权体制,不断提升执政党的民主能力和法治能力;必须贯彻人本思想、民本精神,尊重和保障人权,实现人民参与,使权力“属于人民、通过人民、为了人民”;必须以宪政与人权为核心价值,改造国家精神和政治价值观,建立和完善全面的权力制约体系,建设有限政府;必须将公平正义视为立法和制度的首要价值,为法制注入人性、人道和人权精神,通过公正司法维护社会正义;必须强化法治思维,将人权和正义价值作为政治社会稳定的内涵,以贯彻法治、保障人权和维护正义为服务大局的指导思想和行动指南;必须构建以正义和良知为基本内涵的政法文化。     

以审判为中心的诉讼制度改革:实效、瓶颈与出路

通过对2018年和2014年基层法院审理的有争议刑事案件判决书的抽样调查,并在一系列核心指标上进行对比研究,发现以审判为中心的刑事诉讼制度改革启动四年来,除了在辩护指标上有明显好转外,在证人、鉴定人出庭率等核心指标上,2018年的数据与2014年的数据相比并未观察到明显变化。以审判为中心改革的实际效果有限。究其原因,在以案卷为中心的审判认知结构和副卷集中反映的判决权威结构未发生根本性改变的情况下,改革的实际空间十分有限。深化以审判为中心改革,需要解决好以两卷问题为代表的审判认知结构和判决权威结构的问题。为重塑审判认知结构,需要弱化案卷在审判中的作用,强化被告人的对质权;为重塑判决权威结构,需要合理确定院庭长的审判监督与法官依法独立公正履行审判职责之间的界线。以审判为中心改革的深入推进,会引发审前阶段的连锁反应,客观上强化检察机关指导和控制侦查人员取证行为的合理需要。目前检察机关内部的捕诉一体化改革是这种诉求的反映。然而,满足这种需要的正确路径应当是加强侦诉一体化。     

MP Transparency,Communication Links and Social Media: A Comparative Assessment of 184 Parliamentary Websites

Parliamentary websites (PWs) can potentially enhance the quality of government by providing information and communication links that stimulate political awareness, deliberation and participation. This article focuses on two particular uses of PWs that can facilitate communication between constituents and their Members of Parliament: provision of MP contact and background information; and links to social media. Through a seminal empirical examination of all 184 functioning lower house and unicameral PWs around the world, this study found that although PWs in wealthy democracies generally provide more MP information, the majority of PWs are deficient in providing basic MP information to citizens and utilizing linkages to social media. By contrast, some non-democratic states and newly democratized countries, especially those with compulsory voting, display a relatively high level of MP transparency and social media connectivity.     

天眼与天平:中西司法者的图像和标志解读

中国与西方为其理想的司法者所造的形象各有不同。中国作为理想司法者标志的是铁面三眼的包公,而西方作为理想司法者标志的则是蒙眼持秤的女神。本文首先分析了司法的目的(追寻个案判决的妥当、同类案件判决的协和以及终极的社会理想),其次讨论了中西文化特质对于追寻此目的的方法所生的歧异(比较详细地阐述了中国为了追寻此目的,在理论、制度和实践方面的演变过程),然后谈到司法工作本质上的限制和司法者的功能,指出中西两种图像所表达的期望都有问题,应该加以修正。     

什么是法律现实主义——庞德、卢埃林、弗兰克之争

美国法律现实主义运动是上世纪初叶最引人瞩目的法律改革运动,其领军人物卢埃林和当时的法学鸿儒庞德之间的争论拉开了这一运动的序幕,作为庞德批判的主要对象弗兰克也加入了论战。论战的实际是关于如何适应社会发展进行法学研究的学者交流。通过论战,现实主义运动真正走到法学研究的前台,更清楚地展示了法律现实主义的真实面目,驱除法学界的曲解和误解。论战也展示了学者之间如何通过真诚的交流推动学术发展。     

The Courts,Intimate Partner Violence and Mental Illness: The Case of Dwight Lamon Jones

Through the lens of the high-profile spree killing perpetrated by Dwight Lamon Jones in 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona, this article examines the way the criminal and civil courts grappled with assessing the significance, extent, and outcome of the IPV and abuse directed at Dr. Connie Jones, Dwight Jones’s former wife. The case is unusual, not least because Dr. Jones had an upper middle-class income and numerous resources IPV victims do not normally enjoy. Nevertheless, she felt the courts let her family down. Journalists, victim advocates, and others also criticized the Arizona courts. The article outlines the spree killing and the criticisms of the courts, narrates Jones over a period of nine years including the IPV and mental illness, and, through the work of the Study Committee convened by Arizona Chief Justice Bales, explores the potential use of IPV risk assessments in the courts, particularly the family court, and related matters. It concludes with recommendations regarding possible preventive interventions in IPV cases, including those addressing mental illness.     

Arson for revenge: The role of environmental situation,age, sex,and race

Research on arson and its many motivations continues to be absent from the criminological literature. Although some authorities cite revenge or retaliation as the primary motive for arson in certain areas of our central cities, revenge arson has not been systematically addressed. The research presented here explores whether demographic variables (age, race, and sex) along with the environmental character of the offender's place of residence adequately determine the likelihood that offenders will commit arson for revenge. The analysis not only indicates that important age and racial differences affect the likelihood that individuals will use fire as a weapon of retaliation but also reveals that the environmental situation or character of the offender's place of residence appears to condition the relationship of both age and race with retaliation.     

Language, Culture, and Behavior in Prison: The Israeli Case

The current study describes the everyday life of Israeli prisoners and analyzes the actions they perform and the language they use as a reflection of their constraints, distresses, worldviews, beliefs, and attitudes. Data were subjected to a content analysis, and the salience of the values, norms and argot terms were assessed using two measures, attention and intensity. The inmates’ values and norms and the argot expressions were divided into categories with reference to different aspects of prison experience: prisoners’ adherence to the code, inmates’ interpersonal loyalty, sexual behavior in prison, drugs, violence and miscellaneous.

The Expressionless: Law, Ethics, and the Imagery of Suffering

The essay discusses law’s inability to address the phenomenon of human suffering and, at the same time, investigates a possible theoretical kinship between Walter Benjamin’s notion of ‘the expressionless’ and Emmanuel Levinas’s understanding of suffering as the foundation of an interhuman ethics. The kinship between Levinas and Benjamin is examined with reference to suffering in the visual arts and, more specifically, in Matthias Grünewald’s Isenheim Altarpiece and Francis Bacon’s crucifixion triptychs. The essay argues that in the crucifixion scenes of both Grünewald’s medieval altarpiece and Bacon’s triptychs, suffering is what constitutes ‘the expressionless’. After every detail of the image, every element of attribute, motif, composition and colour have been accurately depicted, a residue still remains, an ethical truth that cannot be appropriated into a meaningful unity but that nevertheless calls for a response. While law must always give suffering a utilitarian value in its attempts to assign responsibility for the injury occurred, the essay argues that the fragmentariness in all true art that Benjamin calls ‘the expressionless’ is akin to Levinas’s understanding of the constitutional uselessness of suffering, its essence as ‘for nothing’.

涉法涉诉信访之案件成因、制度困局与破解之道

外在的制度性诱因和内在的观念性诱因促成了当下持续攀升的涉法涉诉信访案件。此类信访不仅打破了司法救济的最终性,人治色彩浓厚,而且因处访机构众多、效率低下、处访程序失范、救济成本高昂等屡遭诟病。但在司法公信力低下、权利救济机制尚不健全的今天,相比终止信访的救济功能而言,结合我国实际情况,有针对性地改善现有信访制度,使其适应我国转型期的特殊需要,似乎来得更为妥当。