Mayhem,Myths, and Martyrdom: The Shi'a Conception of Jihad

The article examines the perception of jihad in Shi'a Islam. It first provides an overview of the understanding of jihad in Islam at large, and then examines the reflections of four central Shi'a thinkers on jihad. More so than the traditional Sunni approach to this concept, the Shi'a understanding of jihad is heavily influenced by perceptions of historical suffering, placing an emphasis on injustice, tyrannical rule, indignity, humiliation, and resistance. In recent decades, Shi'a and Sunni notions of jihad have become more closely aligned, as Salafi-Jihadists, who increasingly monopolize the Sunni discourse on jihad, persistently frame jihad as a response to the oppression by Western “infidel” regimes and tyrannical “apostate” regimes in the Arab and Muslim world.     

中东发展中国家政党(政权)与军队关系透析

政党(政权)与军队关系对中东发展中国家的政局影响重大.两者关系可以归纳为5类:一党独大管控军队型、多党执政军队"中立"型、多党(派)武装并存型、君主及家族管控军队型、宗教领袖管控军队型.政党(政权)对军队通常采取从思想上、组织上管控,以及利用权威主义传统和给予较高待遇等方式进行管控.不同类型的两者关系对政局稳定性的影响也不尽相同,需要进行具体辩证分析.以历史和现实为依据,可以预见这些国家管控军队的主体、管控军队的方式、军队干政的可能性和军队性质将随着中东政治经济发展而随之发生变化.     

苏共丧失政权的体制性因素

苏共丧失执政地位,是苏联几十年来不断积累、潜伏着的社会矛盾恶性发展和总爆发的结果,而政治体制上的漏洞是关键性的因素。苏共未能正确处理好公民、政党、国家与社会的关系,在把所有权力都掌握在自己手中的同时,担负了无限的责任和沉重的包袱。在苏联体制中,由于立法权的范围缩减以及党务行政官僚作用的急剧加强,官僚制发展成为阻碍社会发展的障碍机制。在改革的过程中,许多苏联党政精英为侵吞国有资产背弃共产主义信仰,催生了新的资产阶级和资本主义制度,成为苏共真正的“掘墓人”。此外,苏共在缺乏有效制约的权力和金钱面前,逐渐丧失了警惕性和免疫力,没有找到一套行之有效的拒腐防变机制,在官僚主义的侵蚀和集权制的庇护下,一步步走向自我毁灭。     

印度地方政党及其政治影响

印度的地方政党总体上有种族民族主义政党、教派主义政党和种姓政党三大类型。它们的产生与独立以来社会阶级结构和种姓结构的变化有关,是国大党高度集权体制催生的地方主义兴起的产物。它打破了传统的权力平衡,改变了人民院的权力结构,也使得印度的政党政治走向地方化,改变未来联邦—邦的关系模式。     

Divergent Paths to Martyrdom and Significance Among Suicide Attackers

This research used open source information to investigate the motivational backgrounds of 219 suicide attackers from various regions of the world. We inquired as to whether the attackers exhibited evidence for significance quest as a motive for their actions, and whether the eradication of significance loss and/or the aspiration for significance gain systematically differed according to attackers’ demographics. It was found that the specific nature of the significance quest motive varied in accordance with attackers’ gender, age, and education. Whereas Arab-Palestinians, males, younger attackers, and more educated attackers seem to have been motivated primarily by the possibility of significance gain, women, older attackers, those with little education, and those hailing from other regions seem to have been motivated primarily by the eradication of significance loss. Analyses also suggested that the stronger an attacker’s significance quest motive, the greater the effectiveness of their attack, as measured by the number of casualties. Methodological limitations of the present study were discussed, and the possible directions for further research were indicated.     

日本走向政治大国的蹒跚之路--从日本对二战侵略罪行的反省态度说起

自上个世纪80年代以来,日本一直为谋求“正常国家”待遇、实现向政治大国的转变而努力。然而,日本要想真正成为“政治大国”,就必须注重软权力的巩固,尤其是国家形象的塑造。而要做到这一点,日本应该首先在二战侵略罪行上反省。     

缅甸蒲甘王朝政权与教权（上座部佛教）的关系

封建时代的缅甸如中世纪的西欧国家一样,政权与教权的关系也有一个消长变化的过程。恩格斯曾经指出:“历史上的伟大转折点有宗教变迁相伴随,只是就迄今存在的三种世界宗教———佛教、基督教和伊斯兰教而言。”①11世纪的缅甸,正处于这样一个转折点上。当时刚建立的蒲甘王朝是缅甸历史上的第一个封建王朝,他们的统治者急需一种强大的、统一的宗教来为自己的统治服务,这种需要与缅甸上座部佛教发展、壮大的需要正好一拍即合。于是蒲甘王朝前期形成了相互依恃、互相合作的政教关系。到了蒲甘王朝后期,由于寺院经济的膨胀,政教关系开始发生变化…     

Political Power and Civil Counterpower: The Complex Dynamics of the Catalan Independence Movement

Civil proindependence associations are playing an increasingly significant role in Catalonia's independence movement, putting pressure on the Catalan government to work decisively towards independence. This has led many Catalans to characterize the movement as a “bottom-up” phenomenon. This contribution analyzes the shifting power dynamics within mainstream Catalan nationalism over the last decade, challenging simplistic notions of “top-down” and “bottom-up” pressures for change. In fact, the movement is now inherently multidimensional—partly thanks to the pivotal role of the cultural elites and their grasp of the power of new media—and this in itself accounts in large part for its success.     

小泉执政后向“政治大国”全面推进的轨迹

自2 0世纪80年代日本大国主义意识抬头以来,“政治大国”已成为日本的国家战略目标,为历代内阁所追求。2 0 0 1年4月2 6日,高喊“无禁区改革”的日本新生代政治家代表小泉纯一郎当选首相后,日本向“政治大国”迈进的步伐大大加快。2 0 0 3年11月结束的4 3届众议院选举中,执政三党①获得多数席位,确保继续执政地位。这预示着日本将继续在国内、地区、全球三个层次上追求政治大国化。一、摆脱特殊国家所受的束缚状态日本走政治大国道路的第一步必是先力图摆脱战败国的特殊性。作为战后受教育和成长起来的政治家,与其前辈相比,小泉在推进日本政…     

叶利钦:执政行为与政治思维

叶利钦的执政生涯经历两次转变 :第一次是脱离夺权时期奉行的平民主义路线和“分权”思维 ,转向加强权力的总统制 ;第二次是转向与“金融寡头”密切结合的“寡头政治”。同时 ,他先后抛弃了为稳定其政权做出过重要贡献的切尔诺梅尔金和普里马科夫。从叶利钦的执政行为中可以看到其政治思维有 7个基本点 ,即 :1 .反共主义 ,2 .西方式制度原则 ,3 .激进经济变革 ,4.培育私有者阶层 ,5.亲西方 ,6.大权独揽 ,7.路线和权力的继承性。叶利钦政治思维的根本问题 ,是新制度法统建设与民族发展和居民生活利益之间发生了矛盾。他以新制度法统建设为目的 ,这导致目标错位 ,变成了为法统建设而建设 ,从而背离了民族发展和居民生活利益的终极目标。     

Memory for Positive and Negative Political TV Ads: The Role of Partisanship and Gamma Power

Despite generating widespread contempt, political TV ads play an important informational role in the lives of citizens. This study examines effects of Ad Type (Positive, Negative, and Comparison) on recognition memory for candidate issue positions. Potential moderators (Ad Sponsor Partisanship X Viewer Partisanship, Ad Type X Viewer Ideology, Ad Type X Viewer Partisanship) of political ad memory are explored, and electroencephalography (EEG) recordings are used to examine whether semantic processing (indexed as brain activity in the gamma band frequency range) mediates main or moderated effects of Ad Type on Memory. Results reveal a significant interaction between Ad Type and Partisanship, with Republicans remembering more from positive relative to negative ads (significant), and Democrats remembering more from negative ads (marginally significant). A direct effect of Gamma on Memory highlights the considerable potential that EEG (in general) and the gamma frequency band (in particular) may hold for the study of message processing.     

安倍上台后的日本政局和中日关系

安倍晋三顺利当选日本自民党总裁并出任内阁总理大臣。从日本国内“派系平衡”政治和经济结构性矛盾来看,安倍内阁的国内政策同其前任不会有根本性差别。在外交上,小泉内阁轻视亚洲的政策导致日本外交关系严重失衡,安倍内阁将会奉行何种外交政策,对中日关系将会产生何种影响,还要拭目以待。     

世界政治趋势

2006年,国际格局调整加快,世界热点问题升温,大国协调进一步展开,中国外交硕果累累。2007年,世界将进入深度调整,国际形势总体趋向缓和,但局部紧张可能加剧,尤其是伊朗核问题有可能升级,中国外交则在面对新机遇的同时有可能遭遇更复杂的挑战。鉴此,《现代国际关系》编辑部于2007年1月6日举办“2007年国际大势前瞻”研讨会,特别邀请30多位京内外专家学者在总结、回顾2006年国际形势的基础上,着重对2007年国际形势及中国外交的变化趋势进行前瞻性分析。现将研讨会主要观点辑录如下,以期有助于读者更准确把握国际形势走向。     

A China Divided since the Turnover of Political Power in Taiwan

Since March 2000 the turnover of political power in Taiwan to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and President Chen Shui-bian has been associated with a bitter clash between two visions for Taiwan's future: a vision of Taiwanese nationalism promoted by President Chen and the DPP versus one of engagement with mainland China that aims to create a special relationship while engaging the Western world, as promoted by the KMT and some of its allies. These conflicting visions will continue to interact and influence political life in significant ways.     

法共政治力量及其社会影响现状一瞥

苏东剧变后,法国共产党遭到了沉重打击,但作为欧洲最大的共产党,法共的发展一直受到各方关注.西方报纸认为,法共目前面临严重危机.实际情况是法共在政治实践中依然活跃,是社会党离不开的合作伙伴.它在理论上颇有建树,倍受各国共产党关注.     

日本政坛的“新国家主义”——一股迈向政治大国的暗流

冷战结束后,日本政坛泛起一股“新国家主义”思潮,其目的是谋求日本在国际政治中的大国地位。在这股暗流的涌动下日本鹰派政治家们采取了一系列步骤,其主要表现为:加强以军事同盟为主的日美关系、修改和平宪法进一步强调集体自卫权、美化甚至否定日本侵略亚洲国家的历史、向青少年灌输极端民族主义色彩浓厚的皇国史观、大规模扩充军事力量并鼓吹拥有核武器等,令人堪忧。这股暗流必将对亚太地区的政治局势的走向以及我国的国家安全产生不确定因素,颇值关注。     

The Psychology of Political Extremism

Any attempt to analyse the phenomenon of political extremism must seek to explain why choices are sometimes made to articulate such views through violence. It is proposed that such a choice may have little to do with the specific ideology through which extremism is expressed but instead may reflect deeper psychological considerations. Investigations of persons who grew up in totalitarian systems suggest that the state may invade the psyche, interfering with the normal interplay of ego, superego and id. An explanation depending on the construction of a tripartite model of personal, non-personal and impersonal self was developed to explain the consequences of this process. It is proposed that such models may have a wider relevance and can be applied to the phenomenon of violence arising from contemporary political extremism. The advantage of such models is that they can be subjected to empirical investigation.