Candidate Selection in British Second Order Elections: A Comparison of Electoral System and Party Strategy Effects

Whilst most UK political parties have now accepted the need to increase the number of women representatives, the stark reality is that women remain under-represented. The under-representation of women in UK politics is not just evident in the national legislature but is a pattern repeated, to varying degrees, in second order elections at local, devolved and European levels. Recent developments in political recruitment processes allow us to explore the extent to which political parties take advantage of different electoral systems to promote women candidates in second order elections. Providing analysis of (s)election data from across second order elections, this article explores the interaction between systemic and institutional strategies, questioning which combination of electoral system and party strategy is most beneficial for increasing levels of women's representation.     

公共行政中的公民参与论析

公民参与公共行政是民主发展的要求,在政府层面和公民层面都具有重要意义,也必然对社会和谐产生积极影响。由于历史文化传统和政治民主建设的现状等原因,我国公民参与权还没有得到很好的保护和体现,公民参与公共行政的意识和能力还比较差。公民参与的实现是一个过程,它取决于公民与政府观念的转变和能力的提高、公共组织结构和功能的完善、基层组织自治的发展和公民社会的兴起等因素。     

民主不能作为战争的合法理由

美英发动对伊战争的一个理由 ,是伊拉克国内政权不民主。但这只是道德上的理由 ,而非法律上的理由。当代国际法不承认以民主为由使用武力的合法性 ,《联合国宪章》第 2条第 4款及其他相关条款 ,都能够充分证明这一点。民主作为战争的合法理由 ,也不应该成为国际法发展的方向 ,从根本上讲 ,这不符合各国的国家利益。战争不能也不应作为推行国家政策的工具。     

宪法裁判与民主的悖论

当今许多国家为了维护民主纷纷建立了宪法裁判制度,然而也有些国家却为了民主不被侵害而拒绝宪法裁判。宪法裁判与民主的紧张自始至今从未消除,其实它们之间无矛盾性又无必然性,宪法裁判有助于民主,同时它也存在一定的民主风险。为发挥宪法裁判对民主的优长,应该运用法院的司法功能去避免其对民主的危害,这需要在宪法裁判与民主之间进行调适,恰当界定宪法裁判机关与立法机关之间的适当领域。对存在民主缺憾的国家来说,宪法裁判不失为至关重要的选择。     

Constitutional democracy and the legitimacy of judicial review

It has long been argued that the institution of judicial review is incompatible with democratic institutions. This criticism usually relies on a procedural conception of democracy, according to which democracy is essentially a form of government defined by equal political rights and majority rule. I argue that if we see democracy not just as a form of government, but more basically as a form of sovereignty, then there is a way to conceive of judicial review as a legitimate democratic institution. The conception of democracy that stems from the social contract tradition of Locke, Rousseau, Kant and Rawls, is based in an ideal of the equality, independence, and original political jurisdiction of all citizens. Certain equal basic rights, in addition to equal political rights, are a part of democratic sovereignty. In exercising their constituent power at the level of constitutional choice, free and equal persons could choose judicial review as one of the constitutional mechanisms for protecting their equal basic rights. As such, judicial review can be seen as a kind of shared precommitment by sovereign citizens to maintaining their equal status in the exercise of their political rights in ordinary legislative procedures. I discuss the conditions under which judicial review is appropriate in a constitutional democracy. This argument is contrasted with Hamilton's traditional argument for judicial review, based in separation of powers and the nature of judicial authority. I conclude with some remarks on the consequences for constitutional interpretation.I am indebted to John Rawls and Burton Dreben for their helpful advice and their comments on an earlier draft of this paper.     

Representatives' Attitudes Toward Citizen Protests in Sweden: The Impact of Ideology,Parliamentary Position,and Experiences

What affects political representatives' attitudes toward citizen protests? We test the impact of political representatives' left‐right ideology, parliamentary position, and earlier experience of citizen protests. Using data from a pioneering survey covering all local political representatives in Sweden (n = 9,101, response rate 70%), we examine attitudes toward controversial noninstitutionalized forms of citizen protests. The results show that representatives to the right show considerably lower protest acceptance than those to the left. Representatives in office show significantly lower levels of acceptance than those of the opposition. Finally, the results show that representatives with more protest experience show higher protest acceptance.     

Beyond Consensus: Law, Disagreement and Democracy

Nowadays democratic liberal societies face a rising challenge in terms of fragmentation and erosion of shared values and ethical pluralism. Democracy is not anymore grounded in the possibility of a common understanding and interpretation of the same values. Neverthless, legal and political philosophy continue to focus on how to reach consensus, especially through monist, objectualist, contractualist, discursive and deliberative approaches, rather than openly affording the issue of disagreement. Far from being just a disruptive force, disagreement and conflict are matters of fact that no reflection on democracy can underevaluate. They are the major issues through which to look at the intersection of law, politics and morals. The inclusion of dissent is a powerful tool for moral recognition of different understandings of justice. That is where legal procedures become crucial. Law is a fundamental element in the building of a democracy. But it is also particularly exposed to disagreement. Language indeterminacy, dogmatic concepts and value pluralism constitute the main elements that lead to alternative and conflicting interpretations of law in a democratic framework. Major legal progress in the past has come from different understandings of the same legal materials. In this article I argue that respect for disagreement should be a moral principle in democracy and that the role of legal disagreement is essential to understand the evolution and the future directions of democracy as the government of a political community. To do so, a link between respect for disagreement and legal interpretation and argumentation must be established in order to make room for reason and avoid extreme skepticism on the contribution of law to the enforcement of democracy.     

论我国宪政模式的走向

自由民主宪政是自由原则与民主原则的复合结构 ,根源于自由宪政与民主宪政两种不同的宪政传统。巴黎公社创建了以生产资料公有制为基础的社会主义民主宪政理论模型和实践传统 ,认为宪政的实质是保障民主。迈向自由民主的社会主义中国宪政既是对传统马克思主义宪政理论的继承 ,也是这一宪政传统在新的社会形势下继续完善与发展。该宪政模式在价值上兼顾自由、民主与平等 ,反映在制度上 ,就是除继续健全人民代表大会制度以外 ,尚需加强中立机构的建设 ,并注重公民社会权利的保障 ,以实现社会主义平等价值。     

试论举报答复行为的行政法属性

将举报答复行为纳入行政法制监督体系,对于保障公民的举报权十分必要。但前提是必须从理论上明确举报答复行为的法律属性。通过对行政法律行为相关理论的考察并结合我国台湾地区的研究,可见举报答复行为是行政法律行为,而非事实行为。这就意味着,举报人对举报答复行为不服可以通过行政复议和行政诉讼等获得救济。     

选举权上的差别对待和农民的“国民待遇”——兼论《选举法》再次修改的必要性

农业人口选举权是城市居民的1/4,这是他们的人均收入不足城市居民的1/4、政府对基层农村卫生经费投入人均不到城市的1/4,以及农民在其他方面长期没有享受到“国民待遇”的重要原因之一。而要给农民以“国民待遇”,必须重视选举权对改变农民弱势地位的重要作用,同时相信中国农民的民主能力。在将来再次修订《选举法》时,凡是对农业人口有歧视规定的条文,都在必要修改之列。     

立法民主:概念与根据

立法民主的核心含义是指在立法决策、立法活动中,依据民主原则,贯彻民主原则,法文件的内容则不能作为立法民主的内涵要素.现代立法的要求之一是贯彻立法民主原则,其根据在于,现代法乃是人们享受良好人世生活的一种制度安排,从理性上说,公民有保留立法权力的要求;现代国家社会成员地位的平等,要求立法活动遵行民主原则.     

法治视野下的网络反腐

网络反腐法治化建设的宪政意义在于它是电子民主时代公民参政权的重要展现。参政权作为宪法及法律规定的现代社会公民享有的基本权利,在于确认和保障公民参与国家管理及社会事务的管理,监督和抑制权力滥用及其腐败。电子民主时代,网络参政拓宽了公民民主参与的渠道,公民参政权的实现变得切实可行。网络反腐法治化有利于公民参政权的落实,进而有力地推进民主监督制度的发展。网络反腐法治化的基本理念包括公众参与、规范统一、网民保护、信息公开,而建立健全网络反腐的法律制度,保护并激励网络举报人是其法治化的路径选择。     

Citizen Participation and Congressional Responsiveness: New Evidence that Participation Matters

This article examines the influence of citizen participation, specifically voter turnout, on congressional policy responsiveness. We argue that higher levels of citizen participation signal to representatives greater surveillance of their actions by their constituents and, thus, a higher probability of sanction. Representatives respond to these signals by deploying resources in ways that provide better intelligence of district needs and preferences. As a consequence, higher citizen participation is rewarded with enhanced policy responsiveness.     

协商民主的理论及其实践：对人权保障的贡献——以协商民主的权力制约功能为分析视角

作为当代西方民主理论和实践的最新发展，协商民主强调公民通过自由而平等的理性对话、辩论、推理和审议等方式来参与公共生活，赋予立法和决策以合法性，从而保证公民自治和真实民主的实现，推动民主政治的发展。协商民主的价值理念契合了当代宪政国家人权保障的核心追求，其宪政功能突出表现在通过制约和监督国家权力以整合多元社会共识，赋予立法和决策以正当合法性，凸显宪政国家人权保障的终极目标。当前各国的乡村社会和地方城市产生了许多新的协商制度形式，为人权保障事业作出了独特贡献。     

Shaping Citizen Perceptions of Police Legitimacy: A Randomized Field Trial of Procedural Justice

Exploring the relationship between procedural justice and citizen perceptions of police is a well‐trodden pathway. Studies show that when citizens perceive the police acting in a procedurally just manner—by treating people with dignity and respect, and by being fair and neutral in their actions—they view the police as legitimate and are more likely to comply with directives and cooperate with police. Our article examines both the direct and the indirect outcomes of procedural justice policing, tested under randomized field trial conditions. We assess whether police can enhance perceptions of legitimacy during a short, police‐initiated and procedurally just traffic encounter and how this single encounter shapes general views of police. Our results show significant differences between the control and experimental conditions: Procedurally just traffic encounters with police (experimental condition) shape citizen views about the actual encounter directly and general orientations toward the police relative to business‐as‐usual traffic stops in the control group. The theorized model is supported by our research, demonstrating that the police have much to gain from acting fairly during even short encounters with citizens.     

Are the Policy Preferences of Relatively Poor Citizens Under-represented in the Swiss Parliament?

The principle of equal political representation can be undermined by differences in economic resources among citizens. Poor citizens are likely to hold policy preferences that differ from those of richer citizens. At the same time, their lack of resources can have as a consequence that these preferences are not taken into consideration by their representatives. Focusing on the case of the Swiss Parliament and using survey data on the opinions of citizens and MPs in the 2007–11 legislature, this study investigates whether the income of citizens systematically affects the proximity of their policy preferences with the stances of their representatives. It demonstrates that on economic issues MPs hold preferences that are generally less in favour of the state's intervention in the economy than the median citizen and that relatively poor citizens are less well represented as compared with citizens with high incomes. This remains true when taking into account only the opinions of the most knowledgeable citizens among these groups as well as when the focus is only on those who turned out to vote.     

Of citizens and plebeians: Postnational political figures in Jürgen Habermas and Jacques Rancière

This paper focuses on Habermas's notion of cosmopolitan democracy. Reconfiguring the basic ideas of democracy in postnational terms is inevitable if social and political integration is to succeed on a supranational level. In exploring Habermas's ideas, we draw on Rancière, whose thought stands in a complex relationship to Habermas. On the one hand, Rancière largely shares Habermas's diagnosis of the present. Both bemoan the erosion of the political caused by post‐democracy and censure the rise of right‐wing extremism in Western societies. On the other hand, and in contrast to Habermas, Rancière holds that these problems should be addressed not primarily by strengthening political institutions and reaching a consensus between conflicting parties, but by rethinking conflict and resistance. We show that Habermas's and Rancière's propositions can be productively brought in dialogue by focusing on the paradigmatic types of political subjectivity involved in their accounts: the citizen (Habermas) and the plebeian (Rancière).     

论陶行知生活化民主教育管理思想

"生活化"是陶行知民主教育管理思想的重要特征,其包含"为了生活的民主教育管理"和"作为生活的民主教育管理"两个方面的内容.前一方面侧重于"目标",即教育管理本身作为一种教育方式,要通过自身的民主来引导和促进社会生活的民主;后一方面侧重于"方式",即教育管理的民主不应停留于组织结构和制度设置的层面,而应成为一种生活方式,在共同的、整个的、自觉的、解放的、创造的生活中学习民主.     

How to Define Legislative Turnover? The Incidence of Measures of Renewal and Levels of Analysis

This article analyses different standard measures of legislative turnover. Two main concerns are discussed: (1) the very definition of turnover: incoming MPs versus first-term MPs; and (2) the level of analysis: the whole chamber versus political groups. To illustrate this discussion, turnover in the French lower chamber, the Assemblée Nationale, is studied. It is shown that the choice of a particular measure is not trivial since empirical results are affected by the definition adopted. If the distinction between incoming and first-term MPs does not greatly modify results, the choice of the level of analysis leads to contradictory results. It is shown that the very logic of electoral contests leads to renewal mostly among those who lost previous elections, while incumbent majorities that lose elections hardly experience renewal. As both these phenomena coexist for every single election, aggregate measures of turnover do not account for these contradictory tendencies and tend to concentrate on alternation rather than turnover.