Bringing Policy Communities Back In: The Case of Fire Service Cover

It is argued that the concept of a policy community has an enduring value in the analysis of public policy, especially if an emphasis is placed on the way in which ideas are excluded from debates. Historical analysis based on the National Archives using a political science conceptual framework can offer fresh perspectives. The concept is developed through a specification of the conditions that encourage policy community formation and survival. Policy inertia led to a policy that produced a higher rate of deaths from fire in the UK than in other developed countries, especially among the socially excluded. The policy community concept can be of value in the policy analysis tool-kit, especially if policy frames that have become embedded to the exclusion of alternatives are identified.     

市场经济、民主体制和种族仇视 --读《燃烧的世界》

西方主流政治学理论认为经济市场化和政治民主化是共生共存的。在过去 4 0年里 ,这一观点一直占据了理论界的主导地位。美国耶鲁大学华裔法学教授蔡美儿 (AmyChua)刚刚出版的著作《燃烧的世界 :自由市场民主的输出滋养了种族仇视和全球动荡》却从种族研究的视角 ,对主流政治学的发展理论提出了挑战。① 该书一经出版 ,立即引起了学界的重视 ,并且引发了不小的争论。一　利普塞特命题 :市场经济和民主政体相辅相成1 95 9年 ,美国学者利普塞特在政治学权威杂志《美国政治学评论》上发表了《民主的社会条件 :经济发展和政治合法化》的著名论文…     

粤泰经贸关系:前景与挑战

文章从广东与泰国经贸关系的基础出发,重点分析粤泰经贸的现状和前景,并介绍了在泰国政治危机和全球金融危机双重条件下粤泰经贸关系进一步发展所面临的挑战.     

Hope and reality in Vietnam and Myanmar

When IIPS Senior Research Fellow Hisahiro Kanayama embarked on this project, he found that information on Vietnam and Myanmar was often biased or insufficient. This article is based on a month‐long factfinding trip to Southeast Asia, where he interviewed analysts in government, international organizations, research institutes, and diplomatic circles. Kanayama notes that Vietnam and Myanmar may become—as part of an enlarged ASEAN—a force ranking fourth in regional political clout after the US, Japan and China. Neither excessive expectations nor indifference to neighbors is an appropriate response from Japan, he states. His research was conducted prior to Myanmar's release of Aung San Suu Kyi. The article has since been updated.     

Imperialism and Democracy: Convergence and Divergence

This article explores two models of non-state education provision in Myanmar (Burma), in order to draw conclusions regarding templates for ethnic education regimes in this fast-changing country. Ethnic Armed Groups in Myanmar have developed education systems in the context of long-running armed conflicts. This paper examines two such regimes. Karen communities struggle with few resources to educate their children. Despite great difficulties, the Karen National Union has developed a curriculum based upon one Karen dialect, which is employed in about 1,000 schools. Graduates of this education regime are mostly unable to speak fluent Burmese, or to integrate with the Myanmar tertiary education system; they are orientated towards a Karen national identity, rather than Myanmar citizenship. However, with the beginnings of a substantial peace process, Karen educators will need to re-think their implicitly separatist agenda. A comparative case study is offered by the Mon ethnic minority. The New Mon State Party has had a fragile ceasefire since 1995. Some 270 Mon National Schools provide Mon language instruction at elementary levels, shifting to Burmese at middle school. As the Mon Schools follow the government curriculum, with extra classes in Mon language and history-culture, graduates are able to matriculate and enter the nationwide tertiary education system. We argue that the Mon experience can be a useful model for education reform in a transitional Myanmar, as political and civil society leaders negotiate a more decentralised state.     

广东“东盟战略”及其与新马的经贸合作

广东在中国与东盟的贸易中占有1/3左右的份额,而对这一领域的最新研究还较少,所以有必要从广东"东盟战略"的角度研究其与东盟的两大贸易合作伙伴新加坡和马来西亚的经贸合作.本文首先分析了近年广东与东盟的经贸关系,并在此基础上探讨了如何解读和践行广东的"东盟战略".接着重点分析了广东与新马经贸合作的表现与原因,探讨这种合作对广东与新马合作的意义.最后,在结论部分提出若干促进广东"东盟战略"和推进其与新马经贸合作的建议.     

两岸经贸关系的发展与趋势

经过 2 0多年的发展 ,海峡两岸的经贸往来在各方面都取得了令人瞩目的成就 ,但由于台湾当局的限制 ,两岸经贸关系存在着明显的间接性、单向性和不平衡性。加入 WTO后 ,两岸在开放市场、减少限制上都做出了相应的努力 ,使两岸经贸关系呈现出范围扩大、程度加深和规模增加的趋势 ,同时也出现了诸如贸易争端浮现、人才争夺加剧等问题 ,并面临经济区域化加速的挑战。为了趋利避害 ,促使两岸经贸健康持续地发展 ,两岸有必要建立经济合作机制 ,实现由“功能性合作”向“机制性合作”的转变。