Agenda Setting in Emergent R&D Policy Subsystems: Examining Discourse Effects of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act

The literature on government responsiveness to societal issues is extensive but provides a mixed assessment of effectiveness. We examine this issue in the case of policy addressing effective and safe management of research and development in the emerging field of nanotechnology. Specifically, we examine the agenda setting effects of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act (the Act), a piece of legislation designed to be implemented by a network of actors in the nanotechnology research and development policy subsystem. We adopt a public values lens in our examination of discourse related to societal concerns. Policy documents from Congress, an agency, and federal funding recipients are examined. Findings suggest a narrowing of public values discourse around more specific societal concerns in the documents crafted after the Act was passed.     

Policy Information and Democratic Governance: Federal Social Policy Analysis, 1965–1997

This article considers the development of social policy analysis in the American central government in order both to present the highlights of that three-plus-decade history and to spell out the implications for the United States and other advanced industrial democracies. The argument is that (1) sound policy data and analyses have never been so needed in the face of increasing political polarization and overwhelming amounts of difficult-to-validate policy information produced in the electronic revolution; and (2) the American experience may be particularly useful to other advanced nations because what works in the United States should work better in these countries, in that they have less complex parliamentary structures without America's independent legislature to challenge the chief executive.     

Combating Climate Change in the UK: Challenges and Obstacles1

There is a curious disjunction between the Labour Government's international actions and its domestic policy. Although Tony Blair did much to promote the climate change agenda on the international stage, domestically, with carbon emissions rising again, the Government will fail to meet its target of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 20% below 1990 levels by 2010. This article examines the weaknesses in the Labour Government's domestic record and assesses the significance of the recent transformation of climate change politics. Several obstacles to the design and delivery of more effective policies are identified, which can be categorised as either problems of ‘environmental politics’ or ‘environmental governance’. It is argued that the recent politicisation of climate change has overcome some of these obstacles ‐ albeit temporarily ‐ but whether the pressure for further policy measures can be sustained, with a long‐term impact on environmental governance, remains uncertain.     

坚持科学执政、民主执政、依法执政——兼论我国社会主义民主政治建设问题

坚持科学执政、民主执政、依法执政,是发展社会主义民主政治的必然要求和必要条件,也是推进国家治理体系和治理能力现代化的关键所在。为此,要把党的领导方式和执政方式嵌入到社会主义民主和法治的制度框架之中,把科学执政、民主执政、依法执政有机统一起来,把“为人民执政”和“靠人民执政”有机统一起来。其前提是澄清我国民主政治建设的一些重大理论和实践问题,在知行合一的前提下不失时机地推进社会主义民主政治建设。     

The Role of Experts in the European Union's Research Policy

This research analyzes the role of experts in the European Union's policy‐making process. Focusing on the field of research policy, this study seeks to probe how expert participation in the Open Method of Coordination informs policy decisions. The paper reports on an analysis of the expert group in the European Internationalization Strategy in Science and Technology. Our analysis reveals the dynamics of expert participation at the micro level, as it identifies who these experts are, how they are appointed, and in what ways expert knowledge gets used in policy making.     

Talking the Talk: Immigration Policy Since 1962

Immigration policy has repeatedly failed to fulfil the ambitions of its advocates. Successive governments have neither willed the means nor been open about the obstacles in their way to restricting immigration. Disappointing results have contributed to disillusionment with the political system and help to create the ground on which UKIP has prospered.     

Stability through control? The influence of coalition agreements on the stability of coalition cabinets

Why do some coalition cabinets terminate early and others run until the end of the legislative term? This article analyses whether coalition agreements lower the risk of early government termination. The main argument is that coalition agreements can increase the stability of coalition cabinets as they lower the probability of intra-cabinet conflict. The theoretical expectations are empirically evaluated on the basis of a newly compiled comprehensive dataset on cabinet duration and control mechanisms in coalition governments. Drawing on event history analysis, the effect of coalition agreements on cabinet duration is tested for 420 coalition cabinets from 1945 until 2015 in 23 Western and Eastern European countries. The results show that the existence and duration of a coalition agreement lower the risk of early government termination. These findings have important implications for our understanding of the interaction between coalition governance and coalition termination.     

治民·治政·治党--中国政治发展战略解析

中国经济发展的成就举世瞩目,但政治发展却鲜为世人所乐道。这一方面是因为政治改革还在探索之中,政治发展思路还需要有一个逐步清晰和明确的过程;另一方面也是因为对于政治发展的理解和评价历来有所不同。在一般的政治研究中,建立在西方经验模式的基础上,民主化被认为是判断政治发展的主要标准。本文认为,仅仅用“民主”指标来衡量中国政治发展有失公允,而“治理”理论却可能为解释中国政治发展提供一种新的视角;在“治理”概念下,“治民”、“治政”和“治党”可以用来说明一种日渐清晰的中国政治发展战略思路。     

The logic of China country ＂tax-for-fee reform＂ in politics and governance perspective

This article exercises theoretical analysis tax-for-fee reform in politics and governance perspective method and attempts to understand the logic of country in China. The article considers that it presents two kinds of very differences phenomena in politics and governance angle of view on China country ＂tax-for-fee reform＂. The reform has basically improved state-peasant tension relationship and enhanced political validity in political angle of view. But absenting on method and shrinking on resources of governance, town-village organization reduced supplies on public service and public goods, new governance crisis formed. If politics and governance deviate for a long time, political validity has the possibility to glide away because of new governance crisis.     

“腐败”的政治哲学分析与廉洁政治的路径探索

腐败的发生需要具备主观条件、客观条件和腐败机会三个要素:主观条件在于人性的不完美,客观条件在于(民众)权利向(国家)权力让渡的必要性,腐败机会使腐败由潜在可能变为现实。对于腐败的防治也需从这三个方面着手:主观因素上,构建以"责任伦理"为核心的个人伦理,并通过"职业责任伦理"将对自我与他者两种责任伦理连接起来;客观因素上,从权力伦理与权力结构两方面对公权力进行规制,通过"权力为权利服务"理念表明权力的工具性地位;机会因素上,杜绝权力介入利益关系的机会,通过"零容忍"和"严惩处"加大腐败成本,设计具有追溯机制和预防机制的良性制度,创造廉洁的社会氛围。