The presidency and democratic consolidation in Lithuania

Abstract

Presidents can contribute to democratic consolidation by contributing to the decision-making capacity of the state. Lithuanian presidents have done precisely that by using their powers of veto and legislative initiative to full advantage. Further, they can engage in policy implementation. While Lithuania's split executive gives primary responsibility for this function to the government, the president's role in the selection of the Prime Minister permits him to indirectly influence the effectiveness of the government. Finally, presidents play a major role in system maintenance. The primary means at the president's disposal for doing so is his role as the “guardian” of the Constitution and symbol of the state.     

Flying into unexpected turbulence: The German EU presidency in the environmental field

Many observers expected that the new Red‐Green coalition government would have an easy ride in the Environmental Council during its European Union (EU) presidency in early 1999. However, this was not the case, mainly due to Chancellor Schröder's decision to block the adoption of the so‐called end‐of‐life vehicles directive. It is argued that inexperience and lack of political judgement on EU matters have dented Germany's pro‐integrationist image and perception as an environmental leader state. However, it is also shown that the German presidency was nevertheless highly successful in terms of the number of agreements achieved.     

自由:一个尚未结束的美国故事--读埃里克·方纳的《美国自由的故事》

自从独立时期帕特里克·亨利呼出"不自由,毋宁死"的口号,"自由"就成了美国的灵魂.纵观美国历史上的国会辩论、总统演说、法院判例、外交文件、各种社会运动和改革的主张、乃至当今反政府的白人民兵组织的网页,"自由"一词无处不在.即便在日常生活中,"自由"也与美国人形影不离:中小学生每日必宣誓效忠"自由",体育比赛前观众必高唱国歌赞颂"自由之疆",大小美元硬币上均刻有"自由"(liberty),以"自由"为名的地名遍布全国.①至少从表面上来看,美国人对"自由"的钟爱已经达到了一种近似于偏执的程度.然而,当"自由"一词无所不能、无所不为、无人不用的时候,它也就失去了公认的定义,变成了一个令人困惑的概念.在众多的自由语言中,到底什么是真正的美国自由,也因而成为一个极负挑战意味的问题.正因为如此,埃里克·方纳(Eric Foner)的近作《美国自由的故事》(以下简称《自由故事》)便具有了格外重要的意义.     

美国宪法的英国普通法传统

编写《美国宪政历程》时,常常感叹美国宪法的神奇,如此简短而又简洁(只有六七千字)的宪法,经过法律家,特别是最高法院大法官的演绎和诠释,居然会有如此丰富的内容,历时210多年而依然鲜活如初,充满活力.要知道,这200多年,从地理上讲,美国从大西洋沿岸的一个狭长地带的13州,扩张到从大西洋到太平洋横跨北美大陆的世界第4大国;从人口上讲,从人种相对单一(白人,加数量不多的黑人和没有统计在内的印地安人)的360万增加到今天几乎包含世界所有种族和族裔的2.8142亿;就社会性质而言,从一个农耕社会发展为以服务业为主的后工业社会;就国际地位来说,从一个不起眼的新生共和国成长为世界上独一无二的超级大国.一句话,过去的210多年中,美国国内面貌、社会结构、人口构成和国际地位发生了翻天覆地的变化.面对如此巨大的转变,又老又旧的美国宪法居然能够基本上在维持原貌的框架内,以不变应万变的姿态,从容应对,游刃有余,这不能不说是人类政治史上一个奇迹.     

The Asian scholar and the American crisis

Abstract

National development strategies in many Third-World countries in recent years have tended to emphasize a number of Japanese-pioneered patterns, among them management methods and export-oriented industrialization. Both have been seen as crucial to Japan's rise as an industrial power; and, during the past decade, export-oriented industrialization has been behind the rise of the Asian “Gang of Four”—South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore.     

New frontiers: an enriched perspective on extraction frontiers in Indonesia

Changes in the nature, scale, and speed of natural resource extraction, especially in the last two decades, have resulted in many new resource extraction areas emerging across the world. By zooming in on Indonesia, this article shows that the underlying causes and consequences of current trends are more complex than portrayed by the rancher-squatter model of frontiers that is still frequently used to explain these developments. We argue that a broadened frontier notion is necessary to address the multifaceted nature of the processes underway in contemporary Indonesian extraction areas, as well as beyond. We propose a perspective that pays explicit attention to four new developments that can be described by using the hybridization of space, time, actors, and rules, and are characterized by the fact that these processes create new perimeters in all four mentioned areas. In so doing, we challenge, broaden, and renew the meaning of frontiers.     

The CSU as an Ethno-regional Party

The Christlich Soziale Union in Bayern, despite its dominant position in the Bavarian party system, remains a relatively rare object of enquiry in political science both nationally and internationally. Alf Mintzel noted this research gap back in 1993. Though progress has been made since then, his basic conclusion that the CSU is the least studied German party remains true. This article will review some landmarks of CSU research before establishing the criteria held as essential for an ethno-regional party. It will then assess the CSU against these criteria: first on the supply side (generally based on existing research), then on the demand side (based on the author's own research as the CSU's electorate still remains understudied).     

The meaning of war: A heterodox perspective

This article raises serious methodological, conceptual, historical and empirical questions concerning the notion of China as the next world superpower. The most dynamic sector of growth is the private sector, but within that sector foreign capital is growing the fastest, especially in strategic export sectors and increasingly in finance and the domestic market. Historically China has passed from a semi-colony to a collectivist state to a state capitalist economy toward a neo-liberal economy which contains the seeds for the re-emergence of a foreign capitalist-dominated economy. Contradictions in the current neo-liberal economy are leading to increased class struggle especially in the countryside and increasing tension between the super-rich Chinese bourgeois allied to foreign capital and ‘national statist’ sectors of the governing class. The efforts by the new leadership to ameliorate the contradiction through increased social spending are too little and too late.