To distort the market: The role of society in Chinese modernization

Market distortions are generally caused by the state or social institutions. This paper discusses the social distortions of the Chinese market through examining a “Chinese style” labor market-the community-based labor markets. Along with the now standard argument emphasizing the role of the state, this paper concludes that the “right kind” of societal distortions or control of the market have been crucial to the phenomenal success of the Chinese marketization and the seemingly puzzling political and social stability in that country. Besides contending for the general “necessity” of market distortions, this paper calls for further studies on the significant role of social institutions in contemporary China.     

Civil society and democratic progression in postcolonial Nigeria: The role of non-governmental organizations

Abstract

With the ever increasing demands of market forces via globalization on governments, the parallel requests from citizens to fill the gap often left open by states have become just as prevalent in the modern era. Governments have become ill-equipped to handle such citizen demands or simply unwilling, thus civil society agents in the form of Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) are attempting to fill those gaps. Ideally, civil society actors like NGOs collectively mobilize and advocate more political openness, in the form of civil liberties and civil rights. However, NGOs can stymie democracy-building as well. Demands for more democratization are increasing precipitously, and seem to be coinciding with the rising tide of globalization, even in nascent democracies such as Nigeria. However, the idealism of the 1990s, that NGOs would be the panacea for democratic limitations, are not revealing themselves as once anticipated for a plethora of reasons. This paper will investigate the impact of NGO efforts and democratization in the face of instability in postcolonial Nigeria.     

中国社会的现代化压力与执政党权威的强化

现代化理论认为,现代化是结构的变迁,会引起政治的不稳定。中国社会的现代化变迁所形成的结构性压力就要求执政党具有强大的政治权威。当前,中国社会的现代化正向纵深发展,这种超大社会现代化的复杂性和多维性,要求执政党必须强化其政治权威。     

The growth and decentralisation of the modern democratic state

Abstract. That modern democratic governments have grown is beyond dispute, as is the fact that this growth has promoted intense misgivings amongst a number of writers, not least amongst the followers of Hayek. But an examination of the growth in governmental activity reveals that it is the sub-national level of government which has absorbed a greater share of governmental growth than the centre. The author continues by exploring a number of reasons for this development and concludes that the most likely explanations lie in the continued urbanisation of most western countries; the associated need for more governmental services; and in the possibility that taxpayers' resistance to tax increases is lower at the sub-national than it is at national level.     

近代中国国家观念的形成与变化

传统中国并没有真正意义上的"国家"观念,占据主流意识的一直是君主专制制度下的"天下观"。正如李鸿章所说的"三千年未有之大变局",近代中国的发展是天朝上国旧梦破碎、国家被迫走上近代的过程。近代中国的国家观是形成于民族危机迫在眉睫的时刻,是近代先进的中国人在面对亡国灭种的危机时所形成的。辛亥革命成功推翻清王朝,使得孙中山的国家观脱颖而出,力压其他变革思潮,取代了传统的国家观。但是在经历袁世凯复辟后,共和走向灭亡。先进的中国人又开始求索新的国家观念与国家体制,在经历思想启蒙之后,中国开始用马克思主义理论指导革命,并且最终取得革命的胜利,选择了马克思主义国家观。     

The state and civil society in transition: the role of non-governmental organizations in South Korea

This paper presents a framework of the interdependence of various sectors of society and then investigates the development and current status of the civil society sector, specifically the growth of NGOs in South Korea. Recent years have witnessed an increase in public awareness where civil societies have begun challenging states in addressing public issues. The directive state intervention following the Korean War disallowed for a strong civil society, thus restraining the development of significant non-state actors. The 1987 Democratization Movement marked an increase in the activity of NGOs and also the provision of a pathway for citizens to begin engaging in social activity. The repressive apparatus of the state has weakened allowing Korean NGOs to mature in dealing with diverse social issues in the public domain. They have extended the scope of policy-related activities to ensure an environment conducive to the enlargement of public space and the expansion of citizens’ rights. The results of this study indicate that the growth of NGOs is both the result of the demise of authoritarian regimes and further stimulus to the transition solidifying democracy. The challenges for Korean NGOs will be to ply strategic roles as partners of the state in the transitional period.     

Civil society in an age of globalization: A neo-Gramscian perspective

Abstract

Since the 1970s, the world has seen an intensification of the globalization processes of social relations, an intensification that has direct implications for the study of contemporary world politics. One important aspect of such implications concerns the emergence of new actors in world politics, not just in national terms, but also at the local, regional and global levels—in other words, approaching the global political economy as a whole. In some sense, it is possible to say that dominant and dominated social groups are being influenced and are influencing such globalization processes, so at present it would be possible to note the rising of a transnational fraction of the capitalist class and the rise of a globalized resistance within the ambit of a civil society influenced by globalization processes. Therefore, the objective of the current article is to analyze the transformation process of social forces in an age of the intensification of globalization of social relations. Put another way, the article assesses the transformations of civil society in an age of globalization that present new dilemmas and possibilities to the collective political agency in the twenty-first century.     

Parties,the state and society in Greece: Continuity within change

The new Greek party system which emerged after the restoration of democracy in 1974 is characterised by a combination of features indicative of both continuity and change in comparison with the party system that existed before the military coup of 1967. This article concludes that in the present phase the contribution of parties to institutional consolidation and the stability of party identification, though not negligible, remains uncertain. It is likely to be influenced by variables both internal and external to the political system, relating to party interaction and to the relationship of parties with state and society.     

社会现代化的关键:人的现代化

人是现代化的主体,同时人的现代化又是现代化的基本内容之一.研究现代化首先必须研究人的现代化,人的现代化是社会现代化的关键所在.现代人的素质涉及到人的观念、知识、能力、思维等各个方面,因此,必须通过多种渠道来提高现代中国人的素质,从而促进中国社会现代化的实现.     

市民社会、善治与政府机构改革

继中央和省级政府机构改革完成之后,我国的市县乡机构改革工作又正式开始了.为了使我国的机构改革不至于再度陷入"精简--膨胀--再精简--再膨胀"的恶性循环,本文致力于追踪世界学术前沿动态,提出了"壮大市民社会、丰富治理结构、改革政府机构"这一根本性的解决方案.全文紧密结合政府机构改革的目标任务,重点论述了市民社会和善治的缘起、含义、价值以及在中国的可行性等问题.     

论现代社会治理活动中的仁爱

自古以来 ,人们都期望统治者能够拥有仁爱的德性。但是 ,在以往的社会治理活动中 ,由于社会治理活动主要是统治和管理活动 ,社会治理的性质决定了社会治理者无法在社会治理活动中做到仁爱。 2 0世纪后期 ,随着一种新型的社会治理模式的出现 ,对社会治理者提出了道德要求 ,即要求他们在社会治理活动中把原先伦理学规定的社会治理者的德性作为责任和义务承担起来。虽然仁爱作为道德责任义务 ,来源于现代社会治理者的自觉 ,是他自觉了的责任义务 ,但当这种责任义务发生在现代社会治理活动之中的时候 ,则是一种必要的承当 ,而不是取决于现代社会治理者的主观意愿 ,他必须承当这种责任义务 ,如果他逃避承当这种责任义务 ,他就会失去了作为现代社会治理者的资格     

Civil society participation in global governance: Insights from climate politics

A rather unique feature of global climate negotiations is that most governments allow representatives of civil society organisations to be part of their national delegation. It remains unclear, however, why states grant such access in the first place. While there are likely to be benefits from formally including civil society, there are also substantial costs stemming from constraints on sovereignty. In light of this tradeoff, this article argues for a ‘contagion’ effect that explains this phenomenon besides domestic determinants. In particular, states, which are more central to the broader network of global governance, are more likely to be informed of and influenced by other states' actions and policies toward civil society. In turn, more central governments are likely to include civil society actors if other governments do so as well. This argument is tested with data on the participation of civil society organisations in national delegations to global climate negotiations between 1995 and 2005. To further uncover the underlying mechanisms, the article also provides an analysis of survey data collected at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations in Durban in 2011.     

直接选举:市民社会和政治国家的互动渠道

我国的市民社会在不断成长、壮大 ,对政治国家的影响和诉求也日益增多 ,但是我国的市民社会和政治国家之间一直缺乏有效的互动渠道 ,本文认为 ,应该在更广的范围内推行直接选举 ,把直接选举作为我国市民社会和政治国家间的互动渠道。     

Civil society organizations and deliberative policy making: interpreting environmental controversies in the deliberative system

This paper argues that while research on deliberative democracy is burgeoning, there is relatively little attention paid to the contributions of civil society. Based on an interpretive conceptualization of deliberative democracy, this paper draws attention to the ways in which civil society organizations employ “storylines” about environmental issues and deliberative processes to shape deliberative policy making. It asks, how do civil society organizations promote storylines in the deliberative system to change policy? How do storylines constitute policy and policy-making processes in the deliberative system? I answer these questions through an empirical analysis of two environmental controversies in the USA: environmental justice in New Mexico and coalbed methane development in Wyoming. Findings indicate that civil society organizations used storylines in both cases to shift the dynamics of the deliberative system and to advance their own interpretations of environmental problems and policy-making processes. Specifically, they used storylines (1) to set the agenda on environmental hazards, (2) to construct the form of public deliberation, changing the rules of the game, (3) to construct the content of public deliberation, shaping meanings related to environmental policy, and (4) to couple/align forums, arenas and courts across the system. These findings suggest that promoting storylines through accommodation and selection processes can be an important mechanism for shaping policy meanings and for improving deliberative quality, although these effects are tempered by discursive and material forms of power, and the competition among alternative storylines.     

"以人为本"与当代中国社会的走向

“以人为本”是中国共产党全新的执政理念,其理论源头是文艺复兴以来的人本主义思潮,理论根据是马克思主义关于人的自由而全面发展的学说。以这一理念的提出为标志,当代中国社会已经并将进一步展现出新的走向,即从政府权力中心走向公民权利中心,从经济增长主导走向社会发展主导,从社会价值本位走向个体价值本位。     

论当代中国国家与社会关系模式的选择：法团主义视角

法团主义作为一种利益代表和利益调节形式,是对国家和社会间常规性互动体系的概括,是一种独特的国家与社会关系模式。本文试图从理论与实践的结合上,通过对中国当前“国家与社会”关系的现状进行分析,阐述法团主义较之“国家中心”论和“社会中心”论的合理性和对于建构中国特色的“国家与社会”关系的借鉴意义,并对中国“国家与社会”关系模式的选择作了些尝试性的分析预测。     

Second thoughts on civil society: The state,civic associations and the antinomies of the public sphere in Africa

ABSTRACT

This article offers a conceptual framework to identify and analyse the contemporary behaviour of the paradoxical government-organized, non-governmental organization (GONGO). We discuss how GONGOs’ activities fit within mainstream civil society theories and traditions. Furthermore, we compare and analyse GONGOs and NGOs in terms of their sources of power, main activities and functions, and dilemmas. Finally, we theorize the effects, and implications, the growth of GONGOs has on state and society relations globally.     

Weak civil society in a hard state: Lessons from Africa

Abstract

This paper investigates the role of civil society in Botswana within the broader context of the state–civil society dynamic in Africa. It is argued that, like other countries in Africa, civil society in Botswana is rather weak. Conversely, unlike other countries in Africa, a weak civil society is accompanied by a hard state. Thanks to wise leadership, Botswana has experienced remarkable economic growth rates and significant improvements in human development over a period of about four decades. Botswana is also considered a ‘shining liberal democracy’, with elections held every five years, an independent judiciary system, and low levels of corruption. Yet it has been a democratic system with a weak civil society. Four main reasons are provided: first, the political culture makes it difficult to question authority; second, it is arduous to mobilize citizens because of the culture of dependency created by the clientelistic state; third, the Government has for a long time denied—and still does—the role of civil society as a legitimate player in the development process; fourth, civil society is not a cohesive group and lacks funds, especially the advocacy groups.