The Democratic Peace is Not Democratic: On Behalf of Rawls' Decent Societies

In The Law of Peoples , John Rawls defends the claim that 'decent' societies (non-liberal, non-democratic constitutional republics) deserve full and good standing in the international community. His defense of decent societies consists of two main arguments. First, he argues that the basic human right to political participation does not imply a right to democratic political institutions. This argument has been thoroughly discussed by commentators. Second, he argues that decent societies, if admitted to the international community, would pose no special threat to the stability of that community. This argument has largely been ignored. My aim in this article is to analyze this second argument, which I call the 'peace argument'.     

Civil Wars and Economic Growth: Spatial Dispersion

This article quantifies the impact of civil wars on economic growth at home and in nearby countries. Three alternative measures of nearness—contiguity, length of contiguous borders, and distance of closest approach—are used to capture the spatial dispersion of civil war consequences. We present short-run panel estimates (at five-year intervals) and long-run (1961–95) panel estimates for the world. Generally, the distance measures, novel to this study, and not contiguity provides the most accurate measure of the diffusion of the negative economic consequences of civil wars on other countries. Unlike earlier studies, we also investigate the temporal influence of civil wars on growth at home and in nearby countries. Both the duration and the timing of civil wars have an economic impact.     

军营法律文化建设与当代革命军人核心价值观培育

军营法律文化是军营先进文化中的一种特殊文化,是培育当代革命军人核心价值观的现实需要。军营法律文化建设与革命军人核心价值观培育相互依存:军营法律文化建设与当代革命军人核心价值观培育的军事价值一致;当代革命军人核心价值观引领军营法律文化建设;军营法律文化建设保障当代革命军人核心价值培育。     

Cognitive Heterogeneity and Economic Voting: A Comparative Analysis of Four Democratic Electorates

This article examines the cognitive foundations of economic voting in four diverse democratic electorates: Canada, Hungary, Mexico, and Taiwan. We present a theory of heterogeneous attribution, where an individual's level of political sophistication conditions his or her ability to attribute responsibility for economic conditions to governmental actors. In contrast to previous literature, we argue that higher, not lower, levels of political sophistication prompt citizens to "vote their pocketbook." Using data from surveys done in conjunction with recent elections in all of these countries, we find that more politically sophisticated respondents are more likely to make use of pocketbook evaluations in their decisions to support or oppose the incumbent government. These findings both present a significant challenge to the conventional wisdom on political sophistication and economic voting and shed light on the necessary cognitive preconditions for democratic accountability.     

东亚地区民众宽容度比较分析

宽容作为一种“社会资本”在社会经济政治生活中具有重要的意义。本文对中（包括台湾）、日、韩三国民众的宽容状况及其变迁进行了实证分析。通过研究发现,除了日本在三个领域均处于最高水平外,中国大陆、韩国和台湾在文化宽容、社会宽容和政治宽容的分布上并不均衡。此外,本研究还对三种宽容的变迁作了分析,结果显示,各国的宽容变迁呈现不同的趋势。根据本研究的结果,笔者认为,中国的民主政治的健康发展,不能局限于制度层面的建设,民众的宽容意识对民主的良性发展和和谐社会的构建同样具有重要作用。     

民主行政视野下的公民参与浅析

民主行政作为后现代社会为适应迅速变化的环境而设计的公共行政模式,它以公民积极的参与行为为典型特征和重要的管理运行方式。但是从我国的具体行政环境来看,民主参与的实现还受到经济发展状况、公民参与热情、制度保障、既得利益集团等等因素的限制,认清障碍是发展的第一步,本文试从民主行政的本质入手分析这些显见的阻却因素,并为排除这些因素提供几点措施。     

Water Pollution Control In Democratic Societies: A Cross-National Analysis Of Sources Of Public Beliefs In In Japan And The United States

Postindustrial society seems to bring with it an inevitable heightening of official and public concern with environmental pollution. In light of this fact it becomes important to understand the dynamics by which public opinion is formulated in this area of public policy. What factors are associated with citizens placing concern for environmental pollution above other public policy concerns? What individual characteristics are associ- ated with the development of the view that government ought to take direct action to prevent or deal with environmental pollution? Are such factors common to postindustrial democratic societies generally? The study reported here identifies the similarities and differences in the patterns and correlates of pollution relevant beliefs and behavior in Japan (in the cities of Llishima, Fuji and Numazu in Shizuoka Prefecture] and the United States (Spokane City and County, Washington State). A comparative study of pollution policy can be especially instructive inasmuch as unique cultural, economic, historical and social patterns may generate distinctive citizen conceptions of desired policy outcomes and means to achieve them.     

新型治理:韩国民主进程中的市民组织

近些年来,在以发展型国家著称的韩国,公民参与政策过程的影响不断增强.本文分析了韩国民主巩固进程中市民组织的政治化问题.论文通过分析市民组织在政策过程中的三个政治活动案例,揭示了韩国市民组织的组织特征和政治功能,最后还对韩国市民组织的特征与日本市民组织的特征进行了比较,并对韩国政治中市民组织在新型治理中的作用及其前景进行了评价.     

The Citizen Candidate Model: An Experimental Analysis

Citizen candidate models represent a significant advance in the analysis of public choice. They provide added realism to models of endogenous policy formation, relate the number of candidates to the benefits and costs associated with electoral competition and support equilibria with differentiated candidate positions, even with a multidimensional policy space. In this paper, experimental methods are utilized to test two of the model’s equilibrium predictions. The results support the prediction that an increase in the net benefits to winning an election increases the number of citizens entering electoral contests. When the net benefits to winning an election are low, the results support the prediction that the only candidate has the median preference. Further, the results suggest that when net benefits are high, two members of the electorate with preferences close to and symmetric about the median enter the election, although convergence to this equilibrium takes time. Because entry is costly, having multiple candidates lowers group payoffs and may be seen as inefficient.     

Civil Service Development in China and America: A Comparative Perspective

How has reform changed Chinese and American civil service systems in light of China's landmark reform in 1993 by contrast to the aftermath of the U.S. Civil Service Act of 1883? While there are significant differences, remarkable administrative and political similarities also emerge. Particularly salient is the role of educational systems in the civil service development of both countries. Surprisingly, this comparative analysis finds a common struggle to balance professional expertise with political accountability and control. King Kwun Tsao of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and John Abbott Worthley of Seton Hall University argue that further comparative research is essential to hone an improved understanding of China specifically as well as civil service systems generally.