新加坡人民行动党改善民生的实践及启示

素有"政坛常青树"之称的新加坡人民行动党,自1959年执政以来,始终把关系人民切身利益的就业、住房、教育、医疗、养老和社会福利等民生事业,当作头等大事来抓.在近50年的执政实践中,改善民生的政策导向始终如一.让人民享受到看得见的利益和实惠,生活过得更美好,是人民行动党始终不渝的奋斗目标.更难能可贵的是,这些改善民生的理念和措施,不仅体现到执政党的政策和纲领上,而且党在意识形态、干部教育、决策机制和政策输出等方面的工作,都凸显出改善民生的主题.这既是夯实其执政基础的"看家法宝",也是新加坡人民行动党带给他国执政党的启示.     

新加坡人民行动党的执政模式及其借鉴意义

在以往的40多年里,新加坡人民行动党实施"半竞争性的政党制度",强化政府的行政功能,严格掌控新闻媒体,视人民群众为执政的基础和合法性根源,有效地加强和巩固了自身的执政党地位.人民行动党的执政经验对中国共产党的执政能力建设具有启发和借鉴意义.     

"新加坡之谜"的新解读--《新加坡人民行动党执政形态研究》述评

新加坡以其经济发达、社会稳定、政治开明闻名于世,国内外对新加坡的关注引发了解读新加坡成功之谜的浪潮,各种角度的解读方式都有,唯独从新加坡执政党--人民行动党执政模式的角度解读尚缺,而孙景峰教授的<新加坡人民行动党执政形态研究>一书在一定程度上弥补了这一缺憾."新加坡的发展离不开新加坡人民行动党",孙景峰教授系统地阐释了人民行动党的执政模式如何运作,又是如何带领新加坡走向成功的.     

中国共产党始终赢得人民衷心拥护的深层逻辑、现实挑战和路径遵循

始终赢得人民衷心拥护,是党的建设的永恒课题。在过去百余年的奋斗中,党始终秉持全心全意为人民服务的根本宗旨,坚持群众观点和群众路线,以自我革命精神加强党的建设,重视和加强党的作风建设,赢得了人民群众的衷心拥护和坚定支持。在全面建设社会主义现代化国家新征程上,党要继续赢得人民衷心拥护,将面临一系列新的难题与挑战。解决这些问题,必须立足于解决大党独有难题,并从更新群众工作理念、牢牢站稳人民立场、深化党的自我革命、提高群众工作本领、增强舆论引导能力等方面着手,把党锻造成始终赢得人民衷心拥护的马克思主义执政党。     

全过程人民民主赋能国家治理现代化：内在机理与实践机制

发展全过程人民民主是国家治理现代化的内在要求和逻辑必然,国家治理现代化的进程也在一定意义上反映着民主政治建设的程度。无论是发展全过程人民民主还是推进国家治理现代化,都服务于全面建设社会主义现代化国家与全面推进中华民族伟大复兴,具有价值契合、功能适配与路径耦合的相融相通性。全过程人民民主赋能国家治理现代化,需要坚持处理好党的领导与人民主体的辩证统一、依法治国与以德治国的辩证统一、保持定力与改革创新的辩证统一、中央总揽全局与地方谋划一域的辩证统一、发扬民主与科学集中的辩证统一这五大关系。将作为价值层次的民主转化为具体的程序和机制,必须在坚持党的领导这一根本政治前提下,发挥人民主体作用,扩大人民群众有序政治参与,推进全过程人民民主制度化、规范化、程序化,切实发挥中国之治的显著制度优势,不断提升民主质量和国家治理效能。     

中国特色国家治理模式及其适应性效率探析

国家治理模式是国家基本治理制度的整体浓缩与外在表征。中国的国家治理模式不同于西方,是具有中国特色的国家治理模式。它植根于历史悠久的国家治理文明,吸收马克思主义理论精髓,历经新民主主义革命和社会主义建设实践的锤炼,具有"利益超越型执政党""追求民意最大公约数的人民民主""基于信任的有为政府"和"一元为主、多元合作的治理架...     

联系选民是做好代表工作的根基

<正>近几年来,汉寿县人大常委会切实加强代表工作,在引导、指导和督导各级人大代表密切联系选民群众和选举单位方面进行了一些有益的探索,取得了明显成效。引导代表联系选民-畅通联系渠道该县人大常委会坚持从制度建设人手,着力推进人大代表联系选民工作的常态化。建立联系制度。为使人大代表联系选民群众工作走上正轨,该县相继建立了县人大常委会组成人员及委办联系     

基层治理共同体发展的内在逻辑与实现路径:一个网络化治理视角

缓解基层治理矛盾冲突以及促进基层治理共同体高质量发展成为研究的显要论题。既有的单一行政型治理范式难以适应网络信息时代新的基层社会治理共同体发展要求,网络化治理作为一种治理创新范式,聚焦各类治理主体之间的信任合作机制、价值认同机制、整合共享机制、风险共担机制等多重机制的互补共融,以实现治理主体、治理工具和治理要素之间的融合嵌入。网络化治理视角下的基层治理共同体发展涉及制度政策、关系链与合作链、组织载体、要素资源等四维融通过程,并在载体建构层面以多层次政策组合、多主体协商共治、多维利益需求整合、多重文化心理认同等路径实现共融创新,并最终形成适应基层治理共同体发展情境的“政策—主体—要素—场域”逻辑框架。探索基层治理共同体创新发展需要在制度政策层面形成多层次政策组合的共同体,在多元主体层面构建协商共治的民主共同体,在组织载体层面实现需求整合的利益共同体,在情感理念层面培育文化认同的价值共同体等多维融通整合。     

新加坡人民行动党执政模式分析

新加坡政党政治最为显著的特征是人民行动党一党长期执政.新加坡政党政治的特征和政治文明的成就,使得新加坡人民行动党成为便于借鉴和值得借鉴的执政模式.新加坡人民行动党的执政模式主要表现为:(1)一党独大、多党竞争的政党关系模式;(2)代表全国利益、反映各方意见的政党立场模式;(3)以权制权、以法治权的权力制衡模式;(4)主动"猎人"、科学选人的人才选用模式;(5)老一代主动退位让贤、新一代"自行决定"领袖的权力交接模式.     

鸠山内阁时期“政治主导”改革失败原因探析——以委托代理理论为视角

2009年9月,鸠山由纪夫成为日本首相,组建鸠山内阁,实施了诸多政治主导改革措施,意图实现消除政府执政党二元体制、重塑政官关系的目的。基于委托代理理论,从选民-政治家和政治家-官僚双重委托代理关系出发,对鸠山内阁时期民主党政权的“政治主导”改革进行了全面分析。鸠山内阁时期的政治主导改革损害了选民、政治家、官僚三方利益,产生了委托人信任危机、加剧了委托代理关系中的代理懈怠,增加了代理损耗。从选民-政治家委托关系来看,由于选民对鸠山内阁产生信任危机,鸠山内阁支持率急速下降,间接导致民主党2012年众议院选举失利。从政治家-官僚委托代理关系来看,政治家一味抵触省厅官僚,导致官僚的消极怠工与暗中抵抗,加速了鸠山内阁总辞职步伐。因此,可以认为鸠山内阁时期“政治主导”改革虽然取得了一定成效,但从结果来看仍以失败告终。     

华人政治地位与马来西亚的政治分层

本文通过分析马来西亚华马两族执政党的不同地位、政府公共职位的族群分配比例以及选区划分的族群利益倾向,探讨马来西亚族群政治分层以及族群在政治领域存在的结构性差异.结果表明,华人明显处于政治弱势,在族群权益博弈中的地位由此大为削弱.     

From Positive Neutrality to Partisanship: How and Why the Armenian Political Parties Took Sides in Lebanese Politics in the Post-Taif Period (1989–Present)

This article examines the policy of the Armenian political parties in Lebanon in light of the Taif agreement in 1989 that ended the Lebanese civil war and granted the Armenian community more political rights. The Armenian parties (Dashnak, Hunchak and Ramgavar) in the post-Taif period were obliged to abandon the policy of positive neutrality that they adopted from 1975 to 1989, and took sides with various Lebanese parties to protect the communal interests that the consociational structure of the state had allowed them. However, the Armenian parties were not united over the goal of maintaining the Armenian bloc inside parliament. As they chose different policies to pursue communal interests they took sides with the ruling majority and the anti-government opposition. The Armenians were criticized by some Christian politicians for their partisanship and were expected to maintain their traditional neutrality in Lebanese politics. It is very likely that the Armenians will return to their neutral policy and support the President and the government once their group rights are protected.     

Laissez-faire versus Strict Control of Political Finance: Hegemonic Parties and Developmental States in Malaysia and Singapore

ABSTRACT

This article compares the financing of political parties and candidates in two Southeast Asian countries. In Malaysia, some political finance regulations exist only on paper, and political financing is for the most part not restrained at all. In contrast, the financing of candidates and parties has always been tightly circumscribed in Singapore. These different strategies, “laissez-faire” versus “strict control,” are the consequence of various factors. In Malaysia, the New Economic Policy has effected a close, often economically unproductive linkage between the state, the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, and business. The rise of businesspeople has resulted in the commercialization of competition within (the United Malays National Organisation. Additionally, increasing competition between the ruling coalition and the opposition has resulted in growing expenditures for electioneering in the form of advertisements and electoral patronage. The laissez-faire style of regulation has been compounded by the difficult-to-control practices in East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak), where vote buying, electoral patronage based on the largesse of oligarchs, and obvious nonobservance of the rules have been typical. In contrast to Malaysia as a whole, the costs for parties and candidates are still relatively low in Singapore. As a cadre party, the PAP (People's Action Party) is relatively autonomous from private business interests, and intraparty competition is not commercialized; the developmentalist state is highly productive, and the ties between the state, the PAP, and business are not characterized by cronyism. Moreover, electioneering is not very commercialized because the opposition is still relatively weak.     

Singapore Beyond Ethnicity: Rethinking the Group Representative Constituency Scheme

Abstract

The resounding victory of the People’s Action Party (PAP) in the 2015 Singapore general elections surprised many observers. Several observers had considered the previous election, held in 2011, to be the new normal in Singapore politics, with the Workers’ Party being the first opposition party to win a Group Representative Constituency (GRC). Instead of its popular vote sliding from 60% in 2011, the PAP secured almost a 10% increase in its fortunes. Analysts have spoken about PAP’s hard work and the opposition’s failures when commenting on the ruling party’s success; this article, however, points out how Singapore’s electoral system, especially the GRC, continues to favour the ruling party and why it should be rethought. Introduced in 1988, the scheme ensures minority candidates (non-Chinese) are voted into parliament. Candidates contesting in a GRC form a team of Members of Parliament (MPs) with at least one minority candidate in each team. This article argues that the 2015 election results proves that Singaporeans no longer vote along ethnic lines, and non-Chinese MPs have comfortably led the GRCs and won in Single Member Constituencies. To be sure, the GRC scheme does new PAP candidates a disfavour: it weakens their legitimacy with voters, since they remain under the shadows of senior PAP candidates and cannot win elections on their own accord.     

2008年大选后马来西亚政党政治的走势

2008年大选后,马来西亚执政党近四十年来在国会中的绝对优势被打破,一党独大制正在受到日益增大的转型压力.国民阵线面临着如何重塑执政合法性的问题,而反对党则会在加强联合的基础上进一步向执政党发起挑战.但在新的形势下执政党仍然具有较强的制度韧性,凭借其结构性优势还能继续执政,真正意义上的两线制或两党制短期内难以确立.     

Radical Change at the Ballot Box: Causes and Consequences of Electoral Behavior in Venezuela's 2000 Elections

This study aims to explain the victory of Hugo Chávez and his party in the 2000 Venezuelan elections, to analyze the factors that made this victory possible, and to examine the consequences for future developments in the Venezuelan political system. The decay of traditional party loyalties without the emergence of new parties deeply rooted in society (dealignment without realignment); underdevelopment; and an institutional setting dominated by a president elected by a plurality electoral system have opened the door to personality-centered politics and weak parties, which are the main features of the current political situation. Compared to the 1993 and 1998 elections, the 2000 elections once again confirm an increase in personality politics and the decay of parties as instruments for articulating interests, representation, and governance. As a consequence, this article argues, instability is likely to remain a feature of Venezuela's party system for some time.     

Singapore’s 2015 General Election: Explaining PAP’s Resounding Win

Abstract

While Singapore’s 15th general election came about as expected, the ensuing results did not. In view of the opposition’s performance in the 2011 general election and the general sense that the ruling party had done well despite its performance being anything but sterling, the results were somewhat shocking. Even the leaders of the ruling party were caught by surprise at the party’s ability to garner 70% of the valid votes, 10% more than in the previous election. While many factors played a role, it was the opposition parties that lost the election rather than the ruling party that won it. Most of the opposition parties were rejected by the voters on grounds of not being worthy of support. The leading opposition party, the Workers’ Party, also suffered as many voters feared that it might perform too well to the detriment of the ruling party. In the end, the 2015 general elections strengthened the one-party-dominant state in Singapore and the quest for greater political representation was placed on the back burner.     

Explaining Policy Outcomes in Federal Contexts: The Politics of Reproductive Rights in Argentina and Mexico

This article explains the political and institutional factors that affect reproductive rights policies in Argentina and Mexico. Consistent with the comparative literature on gender, politics and institutions, the article reveals that federal arrangements define the arenas in which advocates can challenge governments. The comparative analysis suggests that the content and variations of policy outcomes are not only determined by the legal distribution of such rights. Women's positions towards abortion and contraception was greatly shaped by partisanship and ideology, and this was critical to legislative outcomes, while the number of women legislators was only important to introduce the issues. Important for further research are the effects of institutional and party instability on women's organising in legislatures, and the relevance of links between women's groups outside legislature and political parties for the success of gender equality policies.     

Electoral rules and manufacturing legislative supermajority: evidence from Singapore

Electoral authoritarian regimes usually preserve the dominance of the ruling party through electoral fraud, violence and intimidation. This paper focuses on the subtler forms of manipulation that undermine the electoral integrity and democratic outcomes. Specifically, we examine how an unusual electoral rule, involving multimember districts elected through plurality bloc voting for party slates, exaggerates the legislative seat shares of the People’s Action Party (PAP) in Singapore. This rule, used also by other electoral authoritarian regimes, facilitates the manipulation of district magnitude and gerrymandering, especially the ‘stacking’ form, to produce a large disproportionality which distorts the seats–votes linkage. It operates in an undemocratic fashion by precluding the opposition from gaining anything but token seats as long as the PAP remains the plurality-winning party. The importance of this electoral rule and its manipulation has been overlooked in current work that emphasises redistributive strategies or coercion to repress electoral competition.