Reading Downs: New Labour and An Economic Theory of Democracy

In Downs' median voter theorem parties can only increase their vote by changing their policies and moving towards the electoral centre ground. This theorem has been used to sustain a particular and, I will argue, one-sided interpretation of New Labour's actions and political trajectory. There is more to An Economic Theory of Democracy than the median voter theorem. Downs argues that voters and parties operate in conditions of uncertainty and that this gives parties the opportunity to persuade voters to revise their beliefs. Parties can win elections not only by changing their policies but by changing voters' minds. Downs' arguments about persuasion can be used to generate an alternative and very different interpretation of New Labour.     

当代美国“民主援助”解析

美国的民主援助肇始于卡特政府的人权外交。里根政府建立全国民主基金会,对外民主援助在美国趋于制度化。九一一事件之后,推动世界的民主化更成为美国对外援助的首要目标。美国政府的对外民主援助不但包括对受援国进行直接的资金、物资和人力资源等方面的援助,同时还将对外经济援助与受援国的政治改革和民主化挂钩。民主援助不仅体现了美国政治家对于美国政治意识形态和文化价值观念的笃信,而且在新的国际形势下,民主援助也是美国政府运用其软实力实现国家利益的重要手段。     

Economic Models in Politics: An Introduction

The constitutional future of the European Union (EU) has attracted many scholars in economics and political science to apply their knowledge on political institutions and propose concrete suggestions. We highlight that economists and political scientists proceed quite differently in this endeavour and suggest that, due to this, they also are exposed to different pitfalls. We illustrate this by critically assessing specific proposals made in the context of the proposed constitution for the EU.     

Sources and Transitions of Chinese Foreign Policy: An Introduction

Chinese foreign policy has multiple sources, and the incentives that are driving its behaviour have grown from the domestic/international, as well as from regional, economic, normative, multilateral, and cultural levels. Foreign policy-making in China is becoming increasingly complex and sophisticated. This special issue is drawn from some edited papers presented in the joint workshop between Fudan and Durham Universities on Chinese foreign policy on 29–30 March 2010. By assessing the economic, domestic, regional, global and cultural sources of Chinese foreign policy, we aim to illustrate the various sources and to locate possible ways to consolidate the transitional process, and to spur future endeavour facing China’s foreign policy.     

印度尼西亚的创世神话

按照东部印度尼西亚和西部印度尼西亚的划分,印度尼西亚的创世神话呈现出一些不同的神话特质,也透露出不少值得关注的文化信息.这都是地理、民族、外来影响等因素共同作用的结果.     

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.     

"亚洲式民主":功能及其限度

"亚洲式民主"是90年代以来引起广泛争议的重大国际学术问题.本文认为,"亚洲式民主"在东亚国家实现经济现代化的过程中发挥了双重功能,即既维持了政治稳定,又促进了经济发展.但另一方面,随着环境和条件的改变,"亚洲式民主"也日益暴露出局限性.文章最后指出,"亚洲式民主"可能是通向自由式民主的一种过渡形态.     

西方女权主义国际政治理论述评

20世纪80年代末,西方女权主义者将社会性别分析与国际政治研究结合起来,开创了女权主义国际政治这一学科.本文主要介绍了西方女权主义国际政治理论产生的历史背景;学科发展的历程,包括三个主要发展阶段及其阶段的主要研究成果;以及西方国际政治理论的三个主要流派.文章在最后对西方女权主义国际政治理论进行了评价.     

Deliberative Capacity in the Political and Civic Sphere

In an evolving deliberative system, a crucial question is how deliberation of ordinary citizens differs from that of professional politicians. This study compares the deliberative capacity of citizens and political elites on exactly the same issue, namely a direct democratic initiative in Switzerland on the expulsion of criminal immigrants. In concrete, I perform a quantitative content analysis of the quality of citizen deliberation in an online poll and compare this to the quality of deliberation in representative politics, namely in the non‐public committee and public floor debates in the Swiss parliament. The findings show that political elites reach much higher levels of justification rationality than ordinary citizens, but achieve lower levels in terms of respect. I conclude that citizen deliberation, while useful as an advisory tool, cannot replace serious deliberative scrutiny in representative politics.     

从“自由民主”到“可控民主”:俄罗斯政治体制改革的经济学解析与启示

从"自由民主"到"可控民主"俄罗斯的民主政治改革引起了广泛关注.本文在梳理俄罗斯政治体制改革曲折历程的基础上,力图运用放宽了假定条件的"新比较经济学"分析框架,解读俄罗斯政治体制改革与经济绩效之间的因果关系.文章认为,关于俄罗斯实行"可控民主"制度原因的诸多分析中,历史传统回归论是正确的,所以"可控民主"在俄罗斯将具有持久的生命力.     

Bin Ali's Tunisia: Democracy by Non-Democratic Means

The article tackles one principal question: Can the current dicing with democracy in Tunisia serve as a harbinger for good governance when it is founded on exclusionary political practices. It argues that Bin Ali's reforms represent yet another phase in the reproduction of hegemonic political practice which is about control not democratic power sharing. The article's analytical agenda is two-fold. Firstly, it will critically assess the nature of Bin Ali's 'electoral democracy'. In so doing, it looks at the tension between political rhetoric and practice. What becomes clear is that 11 years of 'electoralization' and 'parliamentarization' have not put an end to unlawful exclusion, muzzling of free expression, repression and disenfranchizement. Secondly, it will show that Bin Ali's obsession with hegemonic control may already be corroding his regime's legitimacy at home and denting its credibility abroad, especially in France. In this respect, the analysis will attempt to draw general conclusions from three recent crises. Specifically, can they be read as the first cracks in the monolith of singular rule in Tunisia? The article concludes on a negative and a positive note. On the negative side, Bin Ali, as this author believes, is not likely to give up power constitutionally. On the positive side, the April-May 2000 crises have placed his regime in the spotlight at home and abroad and may possibly galvanize civil society into pressuring the regime to reverse its return to a closed society.     

The Military: A Threat to Democracy?

The military is by its very nature a potential threat to democracy, but in well-established democracies civilian supremacy has generally been maintained, though there are dangers of excessive military influence. S. E. Finer's seminal 1962 study of civil-military relations distinguished between the modes and effectiveness of civilian control in mature, developed and low or minimal political cultures. These categories are distinguished in particular by varying degrees of political legitimacy. Finer's conclusion about the prospects for political stability and democracy in most developing countries was pessimistic. But Finer's conclusions can now be challenged, primarily because the nature of civil-military relations has changed. In mature political cultures like the USA, the threat from the military-industrial complex has receded. Japan, Germany or France — key examples in Finer's second category — have now become mature political cultures; and Russia (newly in this category) is not, despite its many problems, threatened by direct military intervention. Many countries previously classified within low political culture have moved into the second category, and despite some notable exceptions the military have become more cautious about taking responsibility for government.