Global Societies Are Social Things: A Conceptual Reassessment

This article reassesses the concept of a global society in light of recent historical analyses of the concepts of the social and society in the literature of International Relations. It is argued that the distinction between the social and society makes many theories of a global society indistinguishable from a global social system. However, it is also argued that those conceptions of a global society that emphasise its societal qualities are vulnerable to charges of Eurocentricity and methodological nationalism. To point the way forward, this article argues that, analytically, the features of the concept of a global society need to be conceived more diversely and the feature of a meaningful collective-self-narrative, or weness feeling, needs to be reconceived as relationally contested, rather than consistently consensual. With this conceptual revision, it is suggested that, empirically, the contents of a relationally contested collective-self-narrative at the transnational “level” are still elusive, and a topic for further research, but would likely attain a “post-Western” and ecological character if they were to emerge in practice.     

A Conceptual Framework for Modeling Automated Negotiations in Multiagent Systems

In fully automated e‐negotiation all involved parties are software agents, so negotiation takes place in a multiagent system between software agents that have been developed as a computer system for automating tasks in a specific application domain. A multiagent system is a group of agents that interact and cooperate with each other to fulfill their objectives or to improve their performance. How do these agents negotiate with each other to manage their task interdependencies? What negotiation mechanisms are needed? These are important questions. In this article, we present a conceptual framework for modeling and developing automated negotiation systems. This framework represents and specifies all the necessary concepts and entities for developing a negotiation system as well as the relationships among these concepts. This framework can also be used to model human negotiations scenarios for analyzing these types of negotiations and simulating them with multiagent systems. The work reported in this article is the first unified framework that represents all the needed elements for modeling and developing automated negotiation systems and existing relationships between them.     

The Security Dilemma: A Conceptual Analysis

Critically building upon the work of Herbert Butterfield, John Herz, and Robert Jervis, this article advances a more rigorous definition of the security dilemma. It demonstrates critical implications of the rigorously redefined concept. It examines several influential extensions and expansions of the original concept, showing that most have been inaccurate and misleading, and proposes remedies for correcting the mistakes. Finally, it identifies several areas of future research that may yield important new insights into the dynamics of the security dilemma.     

A Conceptual Framework for Addressing Psychological Process in the Development of the Terrorist

A conceptual framework is presented for addressing psychological issues in the development of the terrorist. In particular, the authors suggest that viewing terrorism as a process may lead not only to better conceptual development in analyses of the terrorist, but may also lead to the development of more practical and efficient counterterrorism initiatives. Additionally, viewing terrorism in this way may finally lead to the formation of a clear and unambiguous position for psychology within an interdisciplinary approach to analyses of both terrorism and the terrorist.     

世人关注的"世界社会论坛"

2002年1月31日～2月5日,作为中国国际交流协会(以下简称中国交协)理事,笔者同交协研究人员杜燕凌和朱玲玲应邀参加在巴西阿雷格里港市召开的第2届"世界社会论坛"大会.中国代表首次与会,受到东道主的重视."世界社会论坛"虽然不发表正式文件,但它讨论了涉及全世界基层劳动者及整个人类的诸多问题,引起广泛关注.     

"和谐世界":国际秩序的新构想和新范式

“和谐世界”国际秩序观的提出是国际秩序理论发展中的一次重要理论创新。它由安全、发展、和谐三个关键概念所组成,关注三个层次不断递进的目标,即通过共同安全实现持久和平稳定,创设国际秩序有序运行的基本条件;通过共同发展和共同繁荣既满足世界各国的发展利益需求,又促进全球安全威胁根源的消除,为国际秩序的有序运行提供保障;通过开放包容实现不同文明和谐相处,共同进步,实现国际秩序的公正与合理。“和谐世界”所提出的目标和新观念,以及解决国际秩序建设中安全困境问题、国际秩序的持久和平稳定问题以及国际秩序的公正与合理问题等三大难题的思路,已经使它超越了西方国际秩序理论,成为一种崭新的国际秩序构想和范式。     

Place and Afghan Refugees: A Contribution to Turton

This article contributes to the discussion on place/space/identityrecently re-opened by David Turton, who introduces the notionof ‘place-making project’ to describe the relationbetween a group of Ethiopian agro-pastoralists and place. Thisarticle aims to expand Turton's framework to situations otherthan the one he depicts, as well as to develop some of the conceptspresented therein. With reference to Afghans in Pakistan, thefollowing arguments are made. First, a vast array of overlappingplace-making projects simultaneously encompass territory andindividuals, attributing a different significance to them onthe basis of peculiar logics. Second, the interaction betweensuch projects has material effects on spatial and institutionalpractices of migration and assistance. Third, these materialeffects have different significance for refugees, since eachof them is differently encompassed by such projects. The articleconcludes by highlighting how such a framework can be used toassess power relations and challenge de-politicized narrativesof refugee protection and assistance.     

中国与越南财务会计概念框架比较

中国和越南的会计改革都在走与国际会计趋同的道路,财务会计概念框架的制定,虽然都借鉴了国际会计准则概念框架的内容,但都与本国的经济和法律环境保持一致。因此,两国财务会计概念框架在会计目标、会计信息质量要求、会计要素的确认与计量等方面都反映了本国的要求,但是也存在一些差异。找出差异,再进行分析与协调,将是中国与越南及东盟国家会计趋同的路径。     

Refugees in Russia: the Law on Refugees and its Implementation

Since the adoption of a new Russian Law on Refugees in 1997,the number of recognized refugees has dropped drastically. TheLaw has a definition of the term ‘refugee’ almostidentical to that of the 1951 Convention. But many provisionsof the Law are contradictory to Russia's international obligations.After a short look at the background to the issue, the Law onRefugees is examined. Then the implementation of the Law iscompared with the situation before its entry into force. Thedifficult life conditions of refugees and asylum seekers areconsidered to be partly a result of the legal provisions andtheir realization. The factors that contribute to the presentsituation are discussed. While certain provisions of the existingLaw need to be amended, it has to be implemented in order toprovide international protection to asylum seekers.