The STAR Community Rating System: An Analysis of the Communities Participating in the Program

This study is the first to explore the STAR Community Rating System® (STAR), a data-driven sustainability framework and certification program launched in October 2012, that allows local governments to measure their sustainability performance and progress relative to other communities. This research identifies and analyzes the major characteristics of the communities that are currently participating in the program. A discussion of the findings and policy recommendations should help increase the membership and effectiveness of the STAR system. More importantly, it reinforces the enormous potential that local governments have with respect to leveraging the synergies between economic, environmental, and societal priorities.     

热话题与冷思考(二十三)--关于时代发展与政党现代化的一些思考

早在1996年,您就在<政党的危机--国外政党运行机制研究>一书中提出:"政党政治进一步现代化的问题已经提上日程."现在越来越多的人关注"政党现代化"这个问题,但在那时人们对"政党现代化"这个词还相当陌生,所以您的提法应该说十分"前卫".那么,您当时是如何考虑这个问题的呢?     

也谈苏联解体的一个原因--兼评美国学者科兹的几个论点

苏共及其社会主义失败的一个重要原因,是在苏共内部产生了一个特权阶层.美国学者科兹看到是这个特权阶层搞跨了苏共和苏联,却不懂得它产生的真正原因,而是把它归之于改革,进而得出了反对市场化改革的错误结论.历史已经证明,并将继续证明,社会主义不改革、不正确地进行改革,只能是死路一条.     

从宪法性条约到条约性宪法--欧盟宪法的进步与局限

欧盟宪法与以前的欧洲一体化重要条约的区别在于,它已经超越了"宪法性条约"而成为"条约性宪法".欧盟宪法主要是欧洲的联邦主义者借欧盟扩大之机推进欧洲政治一体化的产物.欧盟宪法既有其巨大进步的一面,也有其难以克服的局限性一面.相比于现实意义,欧盟宪法的象征意义更大.欧盟宪法在批准过程中遇到的挫折是可以克服的,但是欧盟领导人不应当把一体化仅仅当作目的,而忽略其他对欧洲前途来说更重要的政治任务.     

Challenging the European Union: the rising powers and the USA in the Doha Round

In this article, the challenges posed to the European Union's (EU) role in trade policy and its implications for development policy during the World Trade Organization's Doha Development Agenda, also known as the Doha round, are highlighted. The authors argue that transformed power relations have created a situation characterized by role uncertainty, for the emerging powers but also for the EU. Priorities among multiple possible roles – in the existing trade regime, in relation to the global South and in the ongoing negotiations – become subject to redefinition. For the EU, heavily wedded to a multilateralist and reformist mission because of its own history, this process is particularly difficult. The EU's traditional role conceptions as a leader and a benign partner to developing countries have been challenged and partly replaced by a more realist approach.     

让昨天昭示今天--从世界社会主义运动的历史经验看"三个代表"

前苏东社会主义国家和我国社会主义革命建设过程中的历史经验教训证明,搞好社会主义不仅要有硬件,更要有软件.一方面要摆正社会主义建设过程中政治与经济的关系,另一方面要正确对待马克思主义、中国传统文化和西方文化的冲突与融合,解放思想,建设有中国特色社会主义."三个代表"的落脚点是实现、发展和维护广大人民群众的根本利益.     

On the Age Against the Poor

Abstract

This article focuses on Dominican migration to the United States (U.S.) after 1965. Dominicans left their homeland pressured by economic needs, the desire to improve their lives, and encouraged by a de facto immigration policy that facilitated their exodus. Once in the U.S., most Dominicans encounter an economy that increasingly demands skills and levels of schooling they do not possess. Rather than a prosperous life, in the new land, Dominicans face high unemployment levels and an alarming state of poverty. Paradoxically, while the needs of Dominicans continue to be unmet in the new society, the social policies and the conditions that push them out of their country remain in effect. On its part, the U.S. has responded by adopting a number of immigration laws to control the entrance of unwanted and unneeded job-seekers. As a result, the number of Dominicans coming to the U.S. has begun to decline as the number of Dominicans deported to the Dominican Republic has increased. In the end, poor Dominicans are pushed back and forth by both societies whose immigration policies mask their unwillingness to respond to the needs of the group. The article also discusses the impact on the Dominican community of 9/11 and the crashing of the AA flight 587, on November 12, 2001.     

对中国国民党六次重大历史转折的回顾与反思

中国国民党在百年的历史发展过程中 ,经历了六次重大历史转折。每一次转折都是对自身建设进行的一次深刻调整。研究它的历史演变 ,关注其现状与未来走向 ,对于研究政党政治具有重要的历史启示意义。