Democracy and Gender Equality

This article examines the relationship between democracy and gender equality. In particular, it contrasts the impact of long-term stocks of democracy with the contemporary level of democracy and the participation of women in democracy. It contends that democracy should be thought of as a historical phenomenon with consequences that develop over many years and decades and that women’s participation should be included as an important component of democracy. The main argument is that long-term democracy together with women’s suffrage should provide new opportunities for women to promote their interests through mobilization and elections. A cross-national time-series statistical analysis finds that countries with greater stocks of democracy and longer experience of women’s suffrage have a higher proportion of the population that is female, a greater ratio of female life expectancy to male life expectancy, lower fertility rates, and higher rates of female labor force participation.

Legacies of State Socialism: A Comparative Study of Elite Attitudes towards EU Economic Competitiveness in Western and Central Eastern Europe

Abstract

The elites of Western Europe prefer social security for all citizens as the major aim of the EU, while the preference of Central and Eastern European elites is for a more globally competitive European economy. This disparity between elite preferences may be accounted for by the distinct electorates and elites’ responsive strategic calculations, or by the process of socialisation Central and Eastern European elites undergo during exposure to the EU. This article argues that the predominant reason for the difference in elite attitudes towards economic competition is the lasting effect of state socialism in Central and Eastern European countries.     

Global Capitalism and the Transformation of State Socialism

The article outlines the footprint of international economic interests under state socialism, and considers in more detail the economic integration of the postcommunist countries into the world system in the post-1989 period of the building of capitalism. The focus of the article is on the extent of economic globalization of countries and their economic corporations. It is contended that the globalization of capitalist companies and the direct role of global economic forces had little importance under state socialism. Since 1989, policy in the former state socialist countries has been geared to “joining” the world system, optimistically its core. Important differences have developed between the postsocialist states with respect to economic penetration and exposure to the world market. The outcomes have not fulfilled the expectations of early advocates of transformation and entry to the world economy. Although the new member states of the European Union have entered the world economy as formal members of the “core,” they are not economically equal to the dominant “old” members of the EU. In all the postcommunist countries, there is an absence of large scale global companies, of comparable levels of innovation, research and development. Russia is a resources rich country, a “hybrid” social formation containing elements of state economic control, national capitalism, and global capitalism. I conclude that the semi periphery is not a transient category in the world economy; it has potential for persistence and renewal.     

Policies of Gender Equality in Ethiopia: The Transformative Perspective

ABSTRACT

This article addresses the question of why does an African country that had more women queens and empresses throughout its history practically than any other African country have the oldest known women queens in Africa, and purports to be committed to gender equality end up undermining its own objectives. The article shows that the focus on integrationist paradigm, an approach which focuses on the participation of women in the existing development paradigm, undermined the transformative nature of gender policy because it does not conceptualize gender parity as an end by itself, but as an instrument for economic progress. Consequently, progress towards gender parity remains to be little-by-little despite the strong political commitment to gender equality. The article concludes that the transformative nature of gender policy has been endangered by emphasis on macroeconomic outcomes, macro-level conceptualization of gender issues, and the limited role of civil society in influencing policy decisions.     

Party,State, and Socialism in Guinea-Bissau

Suicide is generally regarded as an anti-social behavior. It is, perhaps, for this reason that sociologists and psychologists, among other experts, have been interested in studying the incidence of suicide in many societies. Most modern theories on suicide, however, do not emphasize the idea of “heroic suicide.” Epitomizing this “genre” of suicide are the high profile, politically motivated suicides in early colonial Ibadan examined here. This article suggests that the key to understanding these suicide cases is to be found not only in these people’s multilayered pasts — the general Yoruba past and Ibadan’s nineteenth-century military heritage — but also in their conception of honor and in their social norms. The ideals of honor thus carried over into the twentieth century were so strong that they survived the first three decades of colonial rule despite the intrigue-laced nature of Ibadan chieftaincy politics and the official interference of the colonial authorities. This article concludes that politically motivated suicide, though self destructive was actually meant to serve an honorable purpose such that those involved became heroes even in death. There is therefore the need for suicide theorists to highlight exceptions like these.     

Policy Making in Foreign Aid: Gender Equality and Danish Development Policy

Since the mid-1980s, gender equality has constituted a major priority in the provision of Danish foreign aid. Seeking to understand policy-making processes in the field of foreign aid, this article analyses three gender policies in relation to Denmark’s official foreign aid published respectively in 1987, 1993 and 2004, examining the degree to which they reflect domestic politics, organisational concerns within Danida and global gender norms. Challenging earlier research, the conclusion is that, while global norms, organisational concerns and the normative environment in Denmark all play important roles, Danish stakeholders have had a limited and decreasing influence over these policies.     

当代民主社会主义国家观探析

超阶级性和人性化是民主社会主义国家观的两个显著特征.民主社会主义对国家性质的分析,是以他们对现存资本主义国家的认识为基础的.在关于国家与资本主义市场经济的关系问题上,法国社会党力图突出它和英国工党的区别.民主社会主义国家观,表现在民主和专政问题上,就是把民主超阶级化,认为民主和专政是两个相互排斥的政治范畴,认为无产阶级专政妨碍了人性的自由发展.民主社会主义还认为,国家和公民社会应当开展合作,每一方都应当同时充当另一方的协作者和监督者.     

性别选择性堕胎行为的刑法学思考

针对我国新生儿性别比例失调问题日益突出的现象，出现了将性别选择性堕胎行为犯罪化的呼吁，这种观点是值得商榷的。并非所有危害社会的行为都是犯罪。我们除了需要严格的证明行为与结果之间实证上的因果关系、充分的考虑到刑法的谦抑性要求以及寻觅其他的解决方案之外．还必须从理论的困境出发，寻找有说服力的论证，来支持或反对针对某种行为的犯罪化。     

The Influence of Established Ideas in Emerging Development Organisations: Gender Equality and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

This article explores how ideas and practices may find their way into and entail significant changes in organisations as these enter into new fields and are increasingly confronted with dominant normative frameworks. Drawing on sociological institutional perspectives, I conceptualise three analytical processes occurring as ideas find their way into development organisations: i) emergence; ii) international negotiation and consensus production; and iii) external negotiation and appropriation. I then empirically explore these processes through a case study of how ideas and practices on gender equality and women’s empowerment have entered into and been made workable in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.     

论民主社会主义与科学社会主义的区别

民主社会主义是二战后西方社会中最重要的政治思潮之一。作为一种改良主义的政治思想体系,民主社会主义与科学社会主义是对立的,两者间在指导思想、追求的目标、依靠的社会力量、实现社会主义的道路和方法、党的性质和作用等方面都有原则性的区别。当然,意识形态上的对手并不一定成为政治上的敌人,两者可以在坚持各自主张下和平竞争,甚至可以超越意识形态的分歧开展交流和互利合作。     

Environmental politics in Chile: Legacies of dictatorship and democracy

Standing at the forefront of Latin America's political and economic liberalisation, Chile is held up as a model for the developing world. First in the region to embrace a boldly neoliberal development strategy, Chile's military dictatorship also peacefully gave way to stable, civilian rule and comparative economic success. However, the lens of environmental politics reveals a disturbing underside to the Chilean miracle. Environmental policy, institutions and participation are shaped and constrained by ominous legacies of history, dictatorship, and an economic orthodoxy inimical to sustainability. Democratic rule has opened political space, yet new environmental institutions and procedures exhibit inherited elitist and exclusionary features. Chile's environmental movement likewise demonstrates promise and innovation, but remains grounded in a civil society weakened and atomised by dictatorship and incomplete transition. Still, as the environmental costs of Chile's resource-extractive, export-led development mount, environmental politics may yet present a vital opportunity for social change.     

Inequality and Growth: Uncovering the Main Conclusions from the Empirics

Abstract

This paper is a critical survey of the empirical literature on the effects of inequality on economic growth. We conclude that it is most likely that the disparities found in the results are due to differences in the type of countries and time periods included in the samples, the variable used to measure inequality, the structure of the data, and the estimation techniques. These findings suggest that the mechanisms that link inequality to growth are likely to operate differently in different circumstances, an element that may offer important guidelines for both policy makers and researchers.     

理论创新与社会主义的复兴

21世纪社会主义复兴的突破口是社会主义的理论创新.苏东剧变成为社会主义进行理论反思的契机.科技革命、全球化和资本主义的新发展等不仅使传统社会主义的依存态势发生变化,而且使社会主义从价值载体、实现形式、活动方式到理论的构建基础和未来发展支点都遭遇了深刻的挑战.社会主义理论创新事关社会主义的前途命运,十多年来,各派力量对社会主义的深刻反思,各种观点流派的交融合作,使社会主义在解决人类共同面临的新问题中开始实现社会主义价值目标的重塑.     

Communist Legacies, Postcommunist Transformations, and the Fate of Organized Labor in Russia and China

This study aims to generate fresh hypotheses concerning emergent variations in labor politics across postcomunist settings. Although labor may be weak throughout the postcommunist world, a historical comparison of labor politics in Russia and China reveals consequential differences in the extent and sources of union weakness. Taking these differences seriously, the study asks why organized labor in Russia—in spite of a steeper decline in union membership, greater fragmentation, and a conspicuously low level of militancy—wasrelatively more effective in advancing working-class interests during economic liberalization than the growing, organizationally unified trade union apparatus in China. The comparisons suggest that some constraints on organized labor are more malleable than others, allowing for openins where labor can affect outcomes in ways that surprise, if not scare, state and business. Specifically, key differences in historical legacies and in the pace and ynamics of institutional transformation have conferred upon Russian unions key organizational, material, and symbolic resources that Chinese unions do not possess to the same degree. These differences reflect mechanisms capable of generating increasingly divergent prospects for organized labor mobilization over long-time horizons. Calvin Chen is Luce Assistant Professor of Politics at Mount Holyoke College. His research interests include the industrialization of the Chinese countryside, the political economy of East Asia, and labor politics in postsocialist countries. He is presently working on a book on the role of social ties and networks of trust in China’s township and village enterprises. Rudra Sil is associate professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania. His research interests include the political economy of development, comparative labor relations, postcommunist transitions, Russian and Asian studies, and the history and philosophy of social science. He is author ofManaging “Modernity”: Work, Community, and Authority in Late-Industrializing Japan and Russia (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2002) and coeditor ofThe Politics of Labor in a Global Age (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001). He is presently working on a book comparing the evolution of labor politics across postcommunist countries. We gratefully acknowledge helpful comments and suggestions offered by Hilary Appel, Harley Balzer, Ruth Collier, Eileen Doherty, Todor Enev, Tulia Falleti, David Ost, Lü Xiaobo, and three anonymous reviewers on drafts of this article.