Giving a European Dimension to Civil Society Organizations

Abstract

This paper investigates the efforts by EU institutions, above all the Commission, to give a ‘European dimension’ to national and EU-level civil society organizations. The array of instruments and different paths available to induce associations of different kinds to ‘go European’ are highlighted: Funding programmes, campaigning, incentives to build transnational networks, and new consultation and involvement strategies. Empirical evidence regarding their effect on civil society organizations is taken from voluntary organizations working in the field of humanitarian aid, development, human rights, and social exclusion.     

Civil society: Bringing the family back in

This article explores the complex and contradictory positioning of the family within civil society literature. In some accounts, the family is seen as the cornerstone of civil society. In others, the family is positioned firmly outside – even antithetical to – civil society. This paradox arises from the ways in which civil society is variously defined through a series of binary oppositions – in relation to each of which the family sits uneasily. And while feminist critiques have tried to bring women back into view, they too tend to marginalize the family. In addition, the normative nature of these oppositions has meant that while civil society tends to be seen as the property of the political ‘left’, the family is often associated with the political ‘right’. The article argues that we need to move beyond oppositional definitions of civil society and assumptions about the family if we are to understand the multiple ways in which the family is implicated as not only the ‘reproducer’ of particular resources and dispositions but as a principal source and focus of civil society engagement and activism.     

基层政府公务员激励状况调研报告

建立合理完善的公务员激励机制是我国公务员制度改革的基本目标之一。县乡两级政府公务员的激励状况如何,直接决定着基层政府的工作成效,决定着广大社会公众对政府的认可度,决定着我党的执政能力。本文以黑龙江省海林市为研究个案,运用问卷调查与个别访谈相结合的研究方法,在集中探讨基层公务员对各项激励因素的理性认知以及这些因素实际供给情况的基础上,提出了若干对策性改革措施。     

Giving Coalitions a Good Name

Opponents of electoral reform believe that proportional representation (PR) will mean the end of stable and responsible government in Britain. Coalitions between political parties (the likely result of PR) are portrayed as essentially alien to our political culture, leading to unstable government and an abandonment of political principles by deals in 'smoke-filled rooms'. This article challenges such perceptions. The example of hung local government provides powerful support to those who argue electoral reform need not be a recipe for sordid and unstable government.     

The servant of two masters: Electoral incentives in the Scottish Parliament

Scholars have pointed out the potential impact of different electoral systems on the incentives for representatives to cultivate personal versus party reputations. The mixed-member proportional system (MMP) allows us to examine the effects of electoral systems on legislators’ incentives. Scholars have argued that MMP may be the ‘best of both worlds’; however, MMP may lead to competing demands on list representatives if they are also allowed to run as constituency candidates, as happens in the Scottish Parliament. I show that this leads to different levels of committee activity—which I use as a surrogate for party activity—from constituency Members of Scottish Parliament (MSPs), pure-list MSPs (who are elected via the party list and do not run in constituencies), and dual-candidate list MSPs (list MSPs who also run in constituencies), and that the proximity of elections also affects committee activity for those who run in constituencies.     

论职务分析在我国公务员制度建设中的意义

职务分析是实现人力资源管理五项职能的核心,公务员制度是现代社会的产物,科学的职务分析有助于完善公务员制度;体现公务员制度的价值取向:高效、公平;实现政府部门人力资源的最优化配置;有助于政府部门战略人力资源管理;抑制公务员队伍的膨胀和队伍建设中的腐败现象。从而更好的为我国社会、经济的发展服务。     

Civil Service Reform

Books reviewed:
Stephen E. Condrey and Robert Maranto (eds.), Radical Reform of the CivilService
James P. Pfiffner and Douglas A. Brook (eds.), The Future of Merit: Twenty Years after the Civil Service Reform Act
A.T. Rafiqur Rahman, Reforming the Civil Service for Government Performance: A Partnership Perspective     

Michael Oakeshott on Civility, Civil Society and Civil Association

Contemporary treatments of 'civil society' have struggled to formulate clear and explicit criteria for determining which associations ought to count as part of a truly 'civil' society and, conversely, which other kinds of groups a liberal democracy would best avoid. Michael Oakeshott's idealized distinction between 'civil' association and 'enterprise' association may prove extremely helpful in sharpening these contemporary discussions of civil society. Rather than a conservative value with exclusionary and anti-democratic overtones, as many have alleged, the virtue of civility entails immanent inclusivity, democratic equality and the active recognition of others. Understanding civility in this way argues for both its normative and conceptual value in distinguishing the good from the bad in associational life. On the other hand, the contemporary literature on civil society draws attention to ambiguities in Oakeshott's thought that make his understanding of the liberal state, for better or worse, an improbable means of encouraging a rebirth of associational life.