The Condition of the Ottoman Mine Labour and Its Impact on the Republican Period

In the Ottoman state, mining was important for the conduct of war, mints, public works, crafts industry, and financing the centralized administration system. In the republican period, mines were also important in the state's industrialization project, and they were used to subsidize the developing industries through provision of low-cost raw materials. These policies of the Ottoman and Turkish states had serious consequences for mine labour. Analysis of the Ottoman mining industry in the classical and post-classical periods, and also during the Turkish Republican period, highlights a range of emerging patterns. These include the strict control of the production by the state, the common practice of subcontracting, the role of foreign capital in the history of mining, the village-based division of labour around the mines, the use of peasant cultivator miners, the exploitation of unfree labour, the lack of investment, and traditional labour-intensive working conditions. The concept of ‘development and persistence’ is invaluable in explaining the longevity and extent of these practices stemming from historical circumstances, and we can see the persistence of some of these practices during the Republican period, despite the changes in the political regime and economic development. Throughout, the miners have been in a vulnerable position in relation to the state, exacerbated by their ambiguous peasant-miner position as wage labourers.     

国家治理视域下制度现代化的理念塑造

自党的十九届四中全会以来,有关“中国之治”的探讨业已成为学术热点。作为一种新型国家治理体系,“中国之治”的本质就在于充分发挥中国特色社会主义制度优势并转化为治理效能,不断推进国家治理现代化。制度现代化是国家治理现代化的实质与路径依赖,推进国家治理现代化,必须加强制度现代化建设,核心是确立正确的制度现代化价值取向,树立和强化制度人民化、制度民主化、制度法治化、制度公正化、制度科学化、制度合理化、制度协同化、制度公开化、制度稳定化、制度可行化等十大理念。     

The Portuguese Cortes during the reign of Ferdinand I (1367–83): the context of the Hundred Years War (1337–1453)

This article focuses on the study of the Cortes that convened during the reign of King Ferdinand I (1367–83), which took place in the context of the wars experienced in Europe, in the Iberian peninsula and in Portugal. First, it is shown how the Hundred Years War impacted on the Iberian peninsula from the moment when Henry of Trastámara, with the support of France, opposed the rule of his half-brother, Peter of Castile. At the same time, the Portuguese King Ferdinand I presented himself as a candidate to the Castilian throne, with the support of England. The three Fernandine Wars that took place in 1369–71, 1372–73 and 1381–82 are then briefly described. Next, this article examines the eight Cortes that met during the reign of Ferdinand I, showing how they were all summoned because of the war. Finally, this article analyses the appeals made by the municipalities in the Cortes of Lisbon of 1371, the Cortes of Oporto of 1372 and the Cortes of Leiria of 1372, with special attention given to the many military, economic, social, administrative and fiscal appeals and requests arising from the ills of war. Hence, it is concluded that the Cortes were unable to solve many of these problems, even though they contributed to restraining certain abuses. They were mostly an opportunity for dialogue between the king and the commoners, as well as a mitigating factor of greater tension and social conflict in this internal and external state of war. Within the context of war, the strength of the Cortes as a representative institution was reinforced, as well as the power and representativeness of the procurators of the commoners within the Cortes.     

The Zaynabiyya awza in Damascus and its Role in Shī‘ite Religious Instruction

The purpose of the present article is to examine the system of Shī‘ite religious instruction in the Zaynabiyya awza in Damascus. As background we discuss the historical development which brought about the establishment of Shī‘ite awzas and the evolution of Shī‘ism in Syria. We analyze the reasons for the founding of the Zaynabiyya awza in Damascus, the causes of its great success, conditions for acceptance to the awza, the number of students, classrooms, teaching methods, the schedule, the language of instruction, official vacations and breaks, sources of financial support, stages of instruction and the curriculum of each stage, projects associated with the awza, the administrative building, the services it provides for its students, the awza's prospects for the future, its political role, and the Zaynabiyya awza's distinctive features in comparison to other Shī‘ite institutions of the same kind.     

习近平关于风险防范重要论述的基本内涵及时代特征

习近平关于风险防范的重要论述是习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的重要组成部分,是对当前国际国内风险动荡源和风险点日益增多的敏锐观察和理论创新。这一重要论述具有丰富的基本内涵,主要包括“居安思危”的风险意识观、“具有先手”的风险准备观、“守土尽责”的风险责任观、“驾驭风险”的风险本领观、“敢于斗争”的风险意志观、“健全机制”的风险实践观。这些基本内涵具有实事求是的理论品格、强烈的问题导向、辩证的底线思维、高瞻远瞩和统揽全局的战略思维等鲜明时代特征。新时代背景下,我们党要主动践行习近平关于风险防范重要论述的相关内容,把马克思主义作为看家本领,全面提升防范风险能力,汇聚广大民众磅礴之力,补齐风险防范“短板”,建立健全体制机制,发挥制度威力,为打赢重大风险防范攻坚战、全面建成小康社会,推进国家治理体系和治理能力现代化保驾护航。     

“一国两制”下的香港司法机关

香港特别行政区司法机关得到国际社会和香港本地社会的高度评价。本文阐述了香港司法制度的结构,包括法院的架构、规模以及双语法制;介绍了香港的法官制度,包括法官的任命和服务条件,法官的选拔、培训、考核和行为守则,对法官的投诉机制,法官的任期、薪酬待遇以及司法行政等;梳理总结了香港对司法独立和司法公义的制度保障。在“一国两制”的宪制安排下,香港司法也体现出特殊性。香港享有终审权,各级法院对基本法亦有解释权,但全国人大常委会颁布的基本法的解释,香港各级法院必须遵从。     

日本研究开发投资现状与存在问题及启示

本文研究发现，在“科技立国”政策背景下，日本研发投资居发达国家首位，但全要素生产率增长率有所下降。其根本的原因是日本研发投资成果没有得到有效利用，最终造成研发投资成果质量水平较低、专利市场的占有率有下降趋势、高科技产业附加价值收益、国际市场份额及贸易收支比下降等问题。应采取强化基础研究、充实对服务业的研究开发、发挥大学和政府的作用、推进企业、大学及政府协作、强化国际合作、确立和保护知识产权和强化知识管理等措施才有可能改变其被动局面。     

Rewriting the African diaspora: Beyond the Black Atlantic

This essay argues that despite the growing popularity of diasporastudies, our understanding of the African diaspora remains limitedby both the conceptual difficulties of defining what we meanby the diaspora in general, and the African diaspora in particular,and the analytical tendency to privilege the Atlantic, or ratherthe Anglophone, indeed the American branch of the African diaspora.It begins by trying to explore the various conceptions of theAfrican diaspora, foregrounded by a critique of Paul Gilroy'sinfluential text, The Black Atlantic. This is followed by discussionsof what the author considers to be the four dominant dimensionsof the global African diasporas, namely, the intra-Africa, IndianOcean, Mediterranean, and Atlantic diasporas. Finally, the essayexamines the emergence of the new global African diasporas.     

Progress and challenges of consolidating the African state: “consolidation indicators” and the African Charter on Democracy,Elections and Governance

Since independence, there have been some improvements in political development in African states in respect to the prevalence of democracy, recognition of the rule of law, reduction in unconstitutional changes of governments, regular, transparent, free and fair elections, and a conducive environment for doing business. This article proposes a range of “consolidating indicators” that can be used to measure the consolidation of the African State in light of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG). Consolidation indicators examined include the level of internal integration/disintegration of the state, the degree and nature of peace, the nature of democracy and elections and of governance systems, levels of capacity, the social fabric of the state as well as issues concerning women and youth. The use of consolidation indicators is a new effort to address issues of contingency and preventive planning, with the aim of having more peaceful and progressive African states. Characterising African states, based on various consolidation indicators, is an important and relevant endeavour, especially because the concept of the “consolidation of the African State” is under-researched, with a paucity of a clear assessment. The discussion highlights the importance of the ACDEG and notes the increasing recognition by African states of the importance of democratic values and practices to the continent. Understanding the progress and challenges of consolidating the African State will help policy makers to strengthen the implementation of ACDEG, in pushing African states towards realising the African Union (AU) Africa Agenda 2063. This article takes an Afrocentric approach by discussing the positive role of regional and continental institutions in promoting and strengthening democracy and governance in Africa.     

疫情大考中党员干部能力的价值与提升路径研究

疫情大考,突出表现为对党员干部能力的大考。党员干部能力如何,直接影响到党组织的组织力、领导力、决策力、凝聚力、战斗力,直接关系到能否切实肩负起领导责任去打好、打赢这场疫情防控的人民战争、总体战、阻击战。疫情大考是对党员干部能力的综合性大考,从组织领导力、决策判断力、精神凝聚力、法治规范力、人文感染力等主要方面,充分显示党员干部能力的重大价值。必须正视党员干部能力存在的突出问题,如组织领导力失职问题,决策判断力失误问题,精神凝聚力失落问题,法治规范力失范问题,人文感染力失色问题。要在强化马克思主义权力观中提升党员干部能力,在学习型、服务型、创新型、法治型党组织建设中提升党员干部能力,在推进国家治理体系和治理能力现代化中提升党员干部能力,在构建智慧社会、智慧城市、智慧社区中提升党员干部能力,在加强文化软实力建设中提升党员干部能力。     

German influence on Italian jurists' perceptions of the British constitutional model in the late nineteenth century

In Great Britain, the Magna Carta of 1215 was regarded as the guarantor of parliamentary sovereignty for centuries. During the nineteenth century the Charter continued to be interpreted in law schools, particularly through William Blackstone's 1759 edition. By the mid-nineteenth century, both politicians and lawyers proceeded with a revision of the law, and provided the first Statute Laws Revision Act of 1856. Two further acts followed in 1861 and 1863, repealing hundreds of obsolete laws; subsequent legislation abrogated much of Magna Carta and, by the 1880s, even more chapters of the Charter were revoked. In the rest of Europe throughout the nineteenth century, eminent continental scholars were authoritative voices regarding the interpretation of the English juridical system. By examining historical, legal and political-theoretical aspects of the continental, particularly the German, reception of the English concept of law, the aim of this article is to contribute to a wider understanding of European constitutionalism of that time, since the nineteenth century can be considered a constitutional era. Various aspects of constitutional history both within and outside of continental Europe are examined from a comparative, juridical and historical perspective. In Italy, German studies on English constitutional and parliamentary history were translated and commented on. This article is a working hypothesis about the influence, or the rejection, of the legal system in place across the Channel. The essays by distinguished German jurists interpreting the English institutional inheritance were translated into Italian. These translations and, in particular, the comments thereon, reflect the road taken by Italian legal thought to reach a constitutional model and to gain an insight into what lessons Germans drew from the English legacy in order to form their own doctrinal opinion.     

India's Fractured Northeastern Frontier: An Overview

The paper tries to analyze the different layers of the conflict in the remote Indian northeast. It looks at the different facets of this conflict, and argues that the conflict in the Indian northeast exists at many different levels. In relation to the different facets of the conflict, the paper has a special focus on human rights abuses, poverty, corruption, poor governance, administrative failure, the role played by external actors, and draconian laws such as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. Most of the conflicts have been associated with strong separatist tendencies and the issue of migration. The levels of violence have differed from place to place within the region. While violence has been successfully dealt with by the Indian government in states like Mizoram, the situation in states like Assam, Manipur, and Nagaland seems to be a work in progress. Assam, Manipur, and Nagaland have witnessed very high levels of violence since 1947, when India became independent from British colonial rule, until the present day. Methodologically, the paper follows a bottom up approach, and, to get first-hand information about the conflict, a series of interviews was conducted recently with some of the local residents of the region. The paper suggests demilitarization and infrastructure development in the region as the way forward.     

lbn Rushd (Averroes) and the Egyptian Enlightenment Movement

Fully aware of the pressing need for change in the Arab-Muslim world, a group of Egyptian intellectuals have formed the Egyptian Enlightenment Society to promote the necessary reform for the challenges of the twenty-first century. They seek to restore a liberal-secularist trend by disseminating the ideas of rationality, freedom, equality, emancipation of women, and so on. They champion a civil society as against the religious society advocated by the Islamists. The advocates of enlightenment have mobilized the ideas and theories of Egyptian and Muslim liberal thinkers, in particular those of lbn Rushd (Averroes), the great commentator and interpreter of Aristotelian philosophy, regarded by many as one of the key figures in the development of the European Enlightenment. Averroes, a defender of the freedom of rational investigation, and a precursor of the modern scientific outlook, sought to reconcile philosophy and religion, and thus introduce philosophy into a Muslim society governed by the shari. The future of the Arab-Muslim world will depend on the outcome of the struggle between enlightenment and Islamic fundamentalism.     

中国特色的开放之路——对外开放经验总结和新时代开放的战略思考

改革开放40多年来,我国坚持对外开放基本国策毫不动摇,坚持独立自主地扩大开放,坚持共产党人推动开放的担当和初心,坚持开放与改革的良性互动,坚持试点渐进的开放路径,坚持紧紧抓住经济全球化机遇,坚持与自身能力相匹配的国际参与,坚持辩证统一、中道和合的思想方法,成功走出了一条有中国特色的开放之路。新时代推动新一轮高水平对外开放征程中,我国应理性把握发展中国家的定位、市场经济的定位和中美关系的定位。未来30年,为建设民族复兴路上的开放强国,我们应重点推进经贸强国战略和跨国公司战略,深入把握聚焦中高端竞争的开放、创新力驱动的开放、比较优势升级的开放、汇聚全球人才的开放、中国带动世界的开放和经济人文互补共进的开放等六个全方位、高水平对外开放新特征。     

La rémunération des députés aux États généraux de France et son incidence institutionnelle

SUMMARY

In 1814, after the defeat of the Napoleonic Empire, the Allied states decided to unite the former Dutch Republic and the former Habsburg Netherlands (the later Belgium), as part of their attempt to elaborate a balanced system of European states. As the age of nationalism was arriving, the chances of this unification succeeding depended upon the gradual integration of the two parts into one Netherlandish nation. Stefaan Marteel argues that the eventual failure of this project, which abruptly came to an end with the Belgian Revolution of 1830, can to a large extent be ascribed to the differences in the political and intellectual history of the two countries, differences that found expression in the development of irreconcilable political languages during the constitutional debates of 1815 and thereafter. In the Northern Netherlands, despite the experiments with radical constitutionalism since the Patriot Revolution, the republican past proved a major obstacle to the construction of a functional constitutional monarchy. The paradoxical result was the enforcement of monarchical authority within a political model that was clearly designed to be constitutionalist. In the Southern Netherlands, on the contrary, the rupture that occurred in its political history owing to the annexation of France allowed, in 1814, for certain innovations in political thought. These innovations were further inspired by the idea that the new political order lacked historical legitimization. Consequently, when social issues arose, such as problems concerning education, religion and public freedom, the government and the political opposition in the Belgian provinces would persistently draw on different interpretations of the constitution. This, in turn, reinforced the impression of a fundamental national division, and created the conditions, should a popular revolt occur, for a rapid radicalization in a nationalist direction.     

Making History: the Australian history curriculum and national identity

History is a key site for the negotiation of national identity, with the ability to define the past shaping the national narrative on who “we” were, who “we” are, and, crucially, who “we” should be. As such, the teaching of history is a site of intense political debate. This paper examines the history module of the Australian Curriculum to understand the extent to which the history curriculum moves beyond Eurocentric, colonial imaginings of Australia's history towards a more inclusive, multi-cultural, globally-oriented, cosmopolitan vision of society. Both the curriculum and teaching resources were examined to ascertain the identities and orientations these materials could provide. The research finds that — despite improvements in presenting a diversity of representations, in particular a positive focus on the rights and contributions of Indigenous peoples in Australia and some orientation to diverse migrant histories, the environment, and Asia — the main thrust of the curriculum is a focus on the nation-state at the expense of global engagement. The funnel structure which deals with broader world history in earlier years, relegates the rest of the world to a temporal and spatial distance, leaving a somewhat myopic narrative that perpetuates traditional, Anglo-centric narratives, maintaining the perspectives of “Others” as peripheral.     

THE POLITICAL SYSTEM IN IRAQI KURDISTAN: PARTY RIVALRIES AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) possesses many of the traditional hallmarks of political authority and society, such as state institutions (an Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary), political parties, civil society, elections, and local government. Nevertheless, for the past twenty-five years, it has failed to create a unified political system that adheres to a mutually accepted form of government. Political division, in particular, a rivalry between the main parties, has proved to be a real impediment to the political development and stability of the Region.

This article argues that there is a relationship between the nature and structure of the political parties, which reflects interests' political views of party leaders, and the political systems that have been proposed as solutions to a lack of political stability in Iraqi Kurdistan. Specifically, it argues that the individual character of the main parties, the PUK and the KDP above all, explains why they favour one system of government over the one advanced by their rival and is the core political dispute in Iraqi Kurdistan currently. Finally, the article concludes by identifying prospective systems of government available the KRI and the potential consequences of each.     

Education and development; females’ education and fertility reduction in Africa: The case of Tigray,Ethiopia

The livelihood of the population in general, and females in particular, is affected by different socio-economic, demographic, environmental, cultural and other factors. the three main demographic variables: fertility, mortality and migration, which are also functions of some other variables, determine the quality of women’s lives. Some of the variables that are expected to determine the levels of fertility, mortality and migration may include literacy status, educational level, occupation, income, place of residence, marital status and other factors. Fertility is the most important variable in the population dynamics. A study was made in tigray, ethiopia, that included 2290 individuals. Of these, 1371 (60%) were females. the method of enumeration was used in order to collect the necessary information from the target population. the age structure, household composition, place of residence, educational level and other background variables were analysed. Results show that the literacy status and educational level were important variables that determined the age at first marriage, the use of family planning services, and antenatal and postnatal care. thus, it was concluded that female education is a key variable that enhances the participation of women in the development process by improving their status through the reduction of fertility.     

区域治理视域下的东盟环境问题

环境问题是区域治理的重要组成部分.20世纪80年代以来,环境问题已成为影响东盟社会经济可持续发展的重要因素之一,平衡经济增长与环境的可持续性成为东盟必须认真考虑解决的问题.为应对日益恶化的环境问题,东盟建立了不少合作机制,签署了若干宣言、倡议和协定,并积极与域外国家和环境组织开展合作,然而治理成效还是有限.从东盟存在的环境问题、合作机制和面临的挑战来看,制约东盟环境治理成效的因素,既有东盟层面的,也有东盟成员国层面的.东盟的环境治理尚未摆脱以国家为核心的传统治理模式,区域间缺乏有效的协调与合作,导致治理成效不佳.其中,"东盟方式"是最大的障碍,如何突破"不干涉成员国内政"这一原则的限制,将是东盟环境合作能否取得成效的关键.东盟治理能力的缺陷和缺乏有效的危机应急管理机制、区域意识淡薄、区域合作治理意志与决心不强、集体行动迟缓,说明东盟仍只是一个松散的国家集团.因此,如何协调政治—安全、经济、社会一文化三大支柱之间的关系,实现经济与环境的可持续发展,东盟还有很长的路要走.     

Understanding the survival of post-Communist corruption in contemporary Russia: the influence of historical legacies

Corruption is widespread throughout the former Communist states, and it is particularly severe and entrenched in Russia. Despite the fact that Russia's contemporary corruption has recently become a subject of analysis, there is, however, no study that has addressed the role of the Communist legacy in the development of various aspects of corruption. This paper contributes to the debates through, first, disentangling the complex phenomenon that is corruption, and focusing on its three aspects: supply, demand, and the attitude of the population. Second, the paper also contributes to the literature on modern corruption by explicitly focusing on the role of the historical legacy in these different aspects of corruption. The study is based on several rich data-sets on corruption and on an original data-set compiled to measure the percentage share of Communists in various regions of Russia in the last decades of the USSR (1970s–1980s). The analysis presented in the paper uncovers different roles of the Communist legacies across the development of various aspects of corruption. By doing so, the paper contributes to the literature on historical legacies in general, on Communist legacies in particular, as well as to the broader literature on the causes of corruption in transitional societies.