On the optimal retaliation against terrorists: The paid-rider option

We examine whether nations, faced with the threat of terrorism, will be motivated to engage in the efficient amount of retaliation against terrorists. We demonstrate that the problem confronting the efforts of nations to achieve an optimal retaliation against terrorists is understated by the traditional free-rider analysis. In particular, nations have the option of actually selling or reducing the public good of retaliation, provided through the efforts of others, by offering safe havens to terrorists in return for the terrorists' pledge to attack elsewhere. This paid-rider behavior is also shown to apply to other public good scenarios.The authors gratefully acknowledge the helpful comments of Gordon Tullock on an earlier draft. Sole responsibility for the paper's content rests with the authors. Todd Sandler's research was supported by a Science and Humanities Research Institute Summer Grant at Iowa State University.     

Dangerous dynamics: activists,militants and terrorists in Southeast Asia

This article critiques the view that Southeast Asia has emerged as a key theatre for terrorist activity. While accepting that al-Qaeda and the indigenous Southeast Asian group Jemaah Islamiyah have emerged as a potent threat to regional security, it interrogates the view that this renders Southeast Asia more dangerous than many other parts of the world. The article suggests that this exaggerated sense of threat rests largely on a failure to account for nuanced differences in the nature of Islamist politics in the region. As a small step towards redressing this problem the article outlines a typology of Islamist organizations. It also suggests that a person’s location within this typology is more than a function of religiosity but reflects instead relative degrees of social and political alienation.     

论宪政维度下新闻传媒与政府的关系

当代的新闻传媒已经真正地进入了大众传媒时代,以传者为中心的新闻传播也真正进入了传者与受众互动的新时代.传者和受众作为传播活动中两个独立的主体,围绕着新闻传播活动构筑了与国家相对的社会信息平台和公共舆论空间,对国家政治和政府行政形成一种政治权力控制机制和意见表达机制.以新闻传媒与政府的基本关系为基础,在宪政视野下探讨新闻传媒对政府行政监督关系的基本法理,分析新闻传媒监督政府行政的核心内容和难点,有利于从通过新闻立法将新闻传媒对政府行政的监督关系法制化、法治化的角度廓清理路.     

The game of manifestos!

This paper investigates, leveraging a simple two‐stage game with incomplete information, the motivation behind announcing unreasonable commitments in the manifesto by candidates and political parties. I analyse the expected communication pattern in an environment where legal costs are not imposed for broken promises and psychological costs related to lying are not incurred by candidates. I demonstrate that there is an absence of separation between a high‐type candidate and a low‐type candidate regarding the degree to which they indulge in “cheap talk.” This paper also analyses the introduction of a penalty for broken promises and establishes that an imposition of penalty has the potential to improve the behaviour of political parties by inducing separation.     

媒体的职业特征与政府的舆论引导

传媒既是政府行政的重要工具,也是公共管理的重要对象.传媒事业是社会需要的产物,是在社会发展中分离出来的一个行业.传媒作为一个行业,它在社会生活中承担一定的社会角色,履行好这些角色是传媒的社会责任.传媒作为一种职业,它有自己的职业规范和运作规律.政府在对公共舆论进行引导时,必须要尊重媒体的职业特征,规范自身的管理权限,在把握媒体运作规律的基础上,营造良好的舆论环境.     

The political role of the Japanese media

This article examines the political role of the mass media in contemporary Japan. Journalists, especially newspaper reporters, have long enjoyed privileged access to politicians through a system of kisha (reporters') clubs, a system which allows for a cosy rapport between reporters and their sources, but often works against the public interest. In recent years, however, some television journalists have adopted a more rigorous approach to political stories. Critical programming by television stations such as TV Asahi may have contributed to the end of 38 years of Liberal Democrat Party rule in 1993. Nevertheless, there is insufficient evidence to argue that the Japanese media is now acting as an effective political watchdog. Like the mass media in many other Asian countries, the Japanese media continues to enjoy an ambiguous relationship with holders of political power.     

The Emperor Has No Clothes! Power and Resources within the Greek Core Executive

International attention has focused recently on the reform “failures” of Greece in the context of its European Union membership. Systemic constraints are increasingly recognized. The present article argues that attention ought also to be given to the inner workings of government at the center and their undermining of reform capacity. It explores the nature of the Greek core executive across five premierships and argues the supposed supremacy of the prime minister is something of a fallacy. In reality, the structure is one of a “solitary centre” amid a “segmented government.” As such, the closest parallels are with Central, rather than Southern, Europe. In developing its empirical analysis, the article makes a methodological contribution to the examination of core executive relations and resources.     

论加强社会舆论监督与我国政治文明建设的关系

本文从分析社会舆论监督与政治文明的关系出发,指出我国社会主义政治文明建设中面临着一个有效地发挥社会舆论监督作用的问题。随着我国政治文明建设的不断深入,舆论监督作为一种社会正义力量,将在国家走向民主、富强、文明和社会和谐中发挥作用。内容主要分为三个部分:1、我国社会舆论监督权力的理论依据;2、我国当代政治文明建设离不开社会舆论监督;3、加强社会舆论监督的对策思考。     

新媒体环境下的大学生公民道德教育

新媒体是以现代信息技术为支撑,以信息网络、无线通信网、卫星等介质为依托,以有线或无线等方式进行信息传送的一种媒体形态.正确应对以互联网为代表的新媒体给大学生公民道德教育带来的优势与挑战,挖掘新媒体的公民道德教育功能,是我们面临的一项紧迫课题.要把握新媒体环境,摸清大学生公民道德教育顺利实施的大背景;要抓住新媒体特点,搭建大学生公民道德教育创新发展的新平台;要应对新媒体带来的挑战,开辟大学生公民道德教育深入开展的新视野.     

The impact of online media on stakeholder engagement and the governance of corporations

Online tools such as social media provide new opportunities for citizens and stakeholder groups to be informed, identify common interests, express and share opinions and demands, organize, and coordinate interventions. Therefore, the Internet could be expected to increase stakeholder engagement in corporate affairs and facilitate good governance. In order to provide an overview of current findings on the impact of online media on governance and stakeholder engagement, we conduct a systematic literature review. Our analysis reveals five topical categories of inquiry. We analyze studies from the field of business participation and find a strong bias towards consumer engagement and marketing issues. Only few studies are found to critically explore the effect of online media on power and value distribution between corporations and stakeholders. We then turn to the more established field of political and civic participation in order to further analyze antecedents, forms, and outcomes of online engagement in civic affairs, and derive a framework for future research. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

浅谈命案现场外来血迹的发现与识别

现代DNA分析技术已经成为刑事技术领域比对认定犯罪嫌疑人的重要手段．在此条件下,及时发现与识别命案现场血迹,特别是外来血迹,就成为侦破案件过程中及时查缉嫌疑人的关键环节之一。勘验工作中对现场反常血迹、作案工具或防卫工具上附着血迹,以及对现场血迹形态与分布进行分析筛选,有利于对犯罪行为过程的重现。     

O,The Roast Beef of Old England! Brexit and Gastronationalism

‘Gastronationalism’ is the idea that there are distinctive and authentic national food cultures that are threatened by the forces of globalisation. It is a myth: there are no unique or authentically distinctive national culinary cultures. But the idea of gastronationalism is a powerful one that can have important political effects, as Brexit shows. In this article, I chart the rise of British food with regard to Britain’s historical relationship with Europe and the EU. I consider how different understandings of British food culture—one more nativist, one more cosmopolitan—have played a symbolic role in the debate on Brexit, before considering the broader relationship between contemporary populist nationalism and gastronationalism.