The Impact of Rural Votes in Foreign Policies: The FTA Policies under the DPJ Government in Japan

The recent trend of bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) has pressured the governments of many countries to make such arrangements with their trade partners. Since its foundation in 1998, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has advocated free trade policies, partly because the party was an urban-based party. Thus, many expected that, when the DPJ assumed power in 2009, it would implement free trade policies as it had promised in the past. However, the DPJ government failed to deliver on its promise after spending three and a half years in office. It contrasts sharply with the Korean government under the leadership of Lee Myung-bak, which managed to conclude FTAs with its major trade partners, including the United States and the European Union. Both governments' free trade policies faced strong opposition from the agricultural industry, as farmers in Japan and Korea lacked international competitiveness. What explains the reasons why the Japanese government has been struggling to implement its free trade policies, while its Korean counterpart succeeded in signing a number of FTAs? Focusing primarily on the case of Japan and using the Korean case as reference, this study tries to provide an explanation for this puzzle by analyzing the impact of rural votes in the policy-making process.     

Policies of Gender Equality in Ethiopia: The Transformative Perspective

ABSTRACT

This article addresses the question of why does an African country that had more women queens and empresses throughout its history practically than any other African country have the oldest known women queens in Africa, and purports to be committed to gender equality end up undermining its own objectives. The article shows that the focus on integrationist paradigm, an approach which focuses on the participation of women in the existing development paradigm, undermined the transformative nature of gender policy because it does not conceptualize gender parity as an end by itself, but as an instrument for economic progress. Consequently, progress towards gender parity remains to be little-by-little despite the strong political commitment to gender equality. The article concludes that the transformative nature of gender policy has been endangered by emphasis on macroeconomic outcomes, macro-level conceptualization of gender issues, and the limited role of civil society in influencing policy decisions.     

社会救助政策的转型与整合——北京经验

20世纪90年代以来的"城市新贫困现象",直接催生了我国以城乡居民最低生活保障为基础的新型社会救助制度.伴随着一系列社会救助政策的出台和覆盖面的不断扩大,社会救助政策的整合与配套问题也日益凸显出来.本文基于北京市的相关情况,研究我国社会救助政策的转型和制度衔接,整体效能发挥的问题,在分析当前社会救助存在的部门分割、制度分割、城乡分割问题的基础上,提出针对性的对策建议.     

法国社会党的领袖危机

法国社会党的改革和重建,其中一个重要的内容就是设计一个总统候选人的推选程序,使其最终的领袖具有合法性又具有权威性能赢得下次总统的胜利.社会党在迎接着一次严峻的考验,未来的总统选举一名社会党总统人选能否胜出正在考验着社会党的执政能力.     

The Europeanisation of International Development Policies: The Case of Central and Eastern European States

This article examines the EU's role in the emergence of international development policy in the 10 member states from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Development policy provides useful insights into policy making as it is a key way that states operationalise their foreign policy. Thus, development policy gives us insights into the foreign policy priorities of the new member states. This article reviews the emergence and elaboration of policy relating to international development in the new member states and explores how far we have witnessed the Europeanisation of development cooperation in CEE states.     

Efficacy of Think Tanks in Influencing Public Policies: The Case of Bangladesh

Abstract

This article analyzes contextual and organizational challenges and constraints faced by think tanks in Bangladesh. It argues that while think tanks have been visible in the policy discourse through fostering policy debates and advocating policy proposals, their direct impact on policy outcomes remains limited. Think tanks’ research findings are often interpreted through the prism of politics. A number of think tanks are institutionally weak and face challenges in funding, attracting researchers, and retaining research focus. Think tanks can potentially focus attention to the wider policy community, and emphasize intermediate influences, such as, building capacity, wider networking and interacting with a broader base of policy-makers, in order to be effective and relevant in the policy discussions.     

The Modernization of the French Civil Service: Crisis, Change and Continuity

This article examines the policy of Fifth Republic governments towards the modernization of the French civil service, with particular reference to the period since 1989. It has three main objectives. The first is to clarify the terms of the French debate about the crisis of the state, which is necessary to an understanding of the intellectual context of reform. The second is to describe and analyse the various strands of 'administrative modernization' policy. The third is to provide an interim assessment of the impact on the structure and culture of the civil service of what is an on-going programme of administrative reform. The origins and development of modernization policy are examined from a 'regulationist' perspective which emphasizes that modernization is intended to re-assert the legitimacy and effectiveness of state action, most notably by deconcentrating the manaement of public policies to the 'local' civil service.