Rediscovering Civil Society: The European Union and the White Paper on Governance

The concept of 'civil society' has been rediscovered in contemporary discourses concerning the relationship between democracy and governance. This paper analyses this rediscovery in the more specific context of the European Commission's 2001 White Paper on European Governance. However, processes of transnationalisation, governmentalisation and autonomisation may compromise much of the potential of 'European civil society' as an intermediating sphere of social action. By reinforcing these processes, the White Paper undermines the normative claims made for a civil society premised upon the voluntary nature of its associative forms and its distinctive open, communicative and deliberative rationality.     

Agamben and Marx: Sovereignty, Governmentality, Economy

This essay reconsiders Marx’ prehistory of capital through the lens of the work of Giorgio Agamben, who in the wake of Foucault has proposed a bio-political theory of sovereignty that breaks down the analytical separation between sovereignty and governmentality that Foucault in his work tries to maintain. Although Agamben mentions Marx only once in his study of sovereign power, I argue that his study nevertheless contributes to our understanding of the capitalist relation as not only a governmental but also a sovereign power relation. In the first part of this essay, I show through a philological commentary on Marx’ use of the adjective ‘vogelfrei’—translated as free, rightless, without protection, outlawed—to characterise the proletariat, that the Marxian proletariat is a figure of what Agamben in his study of sovereign power calls bare life. In the second part of the essay, I show that this sovereign dimension of the capitalist relation is also substantiated by Marx’ analysis of the logic of the capitalist relation as that of the exception. After Carl Schmitt, who wrote that ‘sovereign is who decides on the state of exception’, Agamben has argued that the logic of the exception is the logic of sovereign power. Reconsidered through the lens of Agamben’s argument, Marx’ account of the prehistory of capital reveals that there is a sovereign logic of the exception at work in the capitalist relation. In the final part of the essay, I start from Agamben’s single reference to Marx in his study of sovereign power to discuss the importance of my conclusions for Agamben’s political message.     

Civil Society,Environmental Security and Knowledge: Forest Governance in Thailand and the Philippines in the Context of ASEAN

In the domain of environmental security, it appears that a strong civil society, one with strong social ingenuity and social capital, is a necessary condition not only for environmental security, but also for regional security in general. This paper will argue that in the context of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), much can be learned from the empirical experiences of Thailand and the Philippines that have established records of accomplishment in civil society participation in forest governance. Also discussed is the possible role of epistemic communities both within these countries as well as across countries in the ASEAN in harnessing institutions of knowledge to influence domestic and regional governance of forest resources.     

算法行政:社会信用体系治理范式及其法治化

大数据下的信用评级机制生成独立于数据本体的数字人格。数字资本主义利用算法控制来推动金融信用的产生与发展,进而监控资本主义利用私有化数字人格实施黑箱管控。我国基于数据驱动的社会信用体系属于数字技术公共基础设施,在矫正监控资本主义逐利偏差的同时,生成与法律强制下行政管理方式相并行的算法行政。算法行政作为全新的权力工具导致数字社会治理机制的范式转化,这对法治国的传统法律原则提出挑战。福柯的规训理论可以解释基于数字人格的权力运作以及社会信用体系的正当性,也能解构算法行政生成的自我规制型问责制,由此生成全新的数字行政法学。这为我国社会信用系统的法律规制提供新形态的学科支撑,也为该制度输出提供西方话语体系中的说服工具。     

Enemies Everywhere: Terrorism, Moral Panic, and US Civil Society

Since the attacks of September 11th, 2001, terrorism has experienced a prominence in discourse across the U.S. The representations of terrorists and terrorism by the news media and politi have contributed to the edifice of terrorism as a moral panic. This treatise examines the social effects that have or may occur due to the social construction of a moral panic of terrorism. The thematic frame is situated within Cohens stages of a moral panic. We offer an analysis of the medias depiction and coverage of acts of terrorism, and legislative, political and legal responses in the form of social and cultural changes occurring from the creation of a moral panic. In addition, we offer an analysis of the states vested interest in the social construction of this panic, leading to increased levels of fear, targeted at the general publics consciousness. This article concludes that the presentation of terrorism and terrorists by the media and politi have contributed to unnecessary levels of panic and fear, misguided public consciousness, and the development of legislation creating negative social ramifications yet be seen.     

市民社会及其理念——市民法的基石

市民社会是个历时性的概念。它经历了等同于政治社会,与国家/政治社会相分野,区分于国家、经济的文化领域等几个时期。各时期有着不同的价值理念,即市民社会的理念。由市民社会—市民社会的理念—市民法的理念—市民法这一线索可看出,市民社会及其理念对市民法及理念起着基础作用。民法典的编纂过程中应吸纳西方市民法固有品格,进而推动市民法及其理念在中国的根植。     

法团主义、公民社会以及中国民主转型

在分析国家和社会关系的诸多路径中,公民社会以多元主义假设为基础,强调社会之于国家的独立性并以此作为对国家权力的制约;法团主义则关注国家对社会的控制以及二者之间制度化通道的建立。较之公民社会,法团主义的路径选择从民主发生学、制度基础以及体制改革等方面与中国民主转型更为契合,因此更具有现实意义。     

Civil Cases and Society: Process and Order in the Civil Justice System

It is not an exaggeration to say that we live in an era preoccupied with the problems and challenges of obtaining justice in civil cases. Concerns expressed about the civil justice system range from warnings that civil court dockets are clogged by disputants too litigious for their own good to complaints that the legal system is used too rarely in civil cases.
The authors approach their analysis with a sense that this subject area is in need of more and better theory. It is an unfortunate fact that discussions of civil justice—and suggestions for reform—have been marked by contradiction and confusion and have been engrossed with small matters that tend to obscure from view the system as a whole.
The first part of this essay focuses on what the civil justice system is and does. It presents a five-stage model of civil case processing and examines relationships between this model and the criminal justice system. The second part of the essay considers this model in a broader context. Here the authors examine two paradigms of civil case processing and their implications for the implementation of legal norms and the pursuit of justice in society.     

Queering State Crime Theory: The State,Civil Society and Marginalization

This article argues that criminology desperately needs to look at the ways in which states marginalize and persecute lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans* and queer (LGBTQ) identities. It critically examines the ways in which states reproduce hegemonic dictates that privilege those who adhere to gendered heterosexual norms over all others. This article further considers how the application of state crime theories, in particular Michalowski’s (State crime in the global age, pp. 13–30, Devon, Willan, 2010) tripartite framework, might further foreground the responsibility of the state in protecting LGBTQ identities. Examples of how this framework could be applied are given, with the case study of criminalization of same sex relations being focused on in depth. The article concludes by positing four key points to be considered in any analysis that attempts to critique the role of the state in the perpetuation of heterosexual hegemony.     

网络社会法律治理与技术治理的二元共治

互联网通过虚拟技术使人们实现了一种独特的在线生存的基本样态。它扩大了人们的社会互动范围,改变了人们的交往形式,形成了网络社会独特的时空观、权力观和人际观。中国当下坚持的集权主义、行为主义和国家主权的网络治理逻辑,正在受到技术的严峻挑战。网络技术逐步生成了一种网络自主空间,并形成了一套以技术编码和自治伦理为主的技术治理方式。技术治理方式区别于以国家为核心的法律治理方式,甚至在某些场合对法律治理方式产生制约。人们需要运用法律蕴含的价值和法律治理的有关手段,对技术治理进行有效归化。技术治理水平的提升,又为法律治理手段、边界和治理结构的调整提供动力和可持续的约束力。正确处理法律治理与技术治理之间的关系,形成二元共治结构,是提升中国网络治理水平和能力的前提。     

The Semiotics of Civil Rights in Consumer Society: Race,Law, and Food

Cooking and constitutionalism. Food and racial equity. I intend the juxtaposition to be jarring, even humorous. I would like to view it as a subtle indication of a historical trend in which central aspects of legal memory have been repressed from contemporary civic practice and important intellectual questions, concerning semiotics in consumer society, have been neglected in mainstream legal scholarship. As I will explain, the story of Ollie's barbecue suggests not only that cooking and constitutionalism are intricately linked, but also that the expansion of postwar economic life formed a material basis for this hidden bond. Considering the history of Ollie's thus can both illuminate the deep historical meaning of the Civil Rights Act, and also point the way toward a more general field of research, the development of what might be called a legal semiotics of consumption.     

Membership and its Privileges: the WTO, Civil Society, and the Amicus Brief Controversy

Abstract: In a series of rulings, beginning with the notorious Shrimp/Turtle dispute, the high court of the WTO, the so‐called Appellate Body, has ruled that it, as well as the panels of first instance, may, on a discretionary basis, accept and consider amicus curiae briefs from, inter alia, non‐governmental organisations and private individuals. This has been highly controversial and subject to wide and intense criticism by trade diplomats who are the political representatives of WTO Member states in Geneva; the officials have reacted with anger and hostility to the notion that governments are not exclusive gatekeepers of access to the WTO dispute settlement tribunals. This article shows that the decision that amicus briefs are admissible at the discretion of the adjudicator has a sound basis in the legal framework for WTO dispute settlement, as well as conforming to trends in the practice of international courts and tribunals more generally. The article examines various ‘due process’ issues concerning the modalities for acceptance and consideration of amicus briefs and how they have been so far dealt with by the Appellate Body, as well as how they are handled in certain proposals for reform of the legal framework of WTO dispute settlement, the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU).     

结社自由与市民社会

本文的主题 ,市民社会中的结社自由 ,是一个非常难以把握的问题。为了充分讨论这一问题 ,我们必须对这一基本自由在欧洲理事会成员国的国内法中的地位进行全面比较研究 ,并对它的社会功能进行阐述。在这里 (第 2部分 ) ,笔者只对国内法 ,主要是宪法规定 ,进行考察并对社团的功能及其在国内私法中的地位进行一般性的思考。在此之后我们将对有关的国际法 ,主要是《欧洲人权公约》及其判例法进行分析 (第 3部分 )。通过对第 2部分和第 3部分的结论的对比 ,笔者将提出在《欧洲人权公约》机构的实践中进一步发展这一自由的可行的和令人满意的方法…     

论市民社会理论与中国的法治理路--兼评马长山教授新著《国家、市民社会与法治》

法治的生成自有其内在的历史逻辑与现实根基 ,“乡土中国”构成了中国法治建构的当然前提。市民社会理论在一定程度上具有超越文化疆界的普世性的一面 ,但它对于中国法治进程具体场景的解释力又是有限度的。可能的中国法治理路将彰显于历史进程的非线性思路之中。