Making sense of communitarianism: the Bolivian experience

In Bolivia, the state and society is undergoing radical transformations. The indigenous movements have revitalised traditions such as communitarianism, and ‘communitarian development’ has come to the forefront of Bolivian politics. The aim of this article is to identify what communitarian development means in the Bolivian context; how it is conceived and how it is practiced. I examine how communitarian development is conceptualised in the Aymara indigenous movement and in policy documents, and analyse what communitarianism might mean to people who uphold such values. I identify and discuss five different but intertwined significations; communitarian economy, communitarian work, communitarian management, communitarian law and communitarian values. I show that Bolivian communitarianism contains conceptualisations of cultural phenomena, which emerge at the nexus of experiences and expectations for the future, and argue that, despite tensions and pitfalls, communitarian development has the potential to increase indigenous wellbeing and agency and to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of what communitarianism is, or could be.     

Making sense of North Korea: “National Stalinism” in comparative-historical perspective

This paper examines the striking institutional parallels between the seemingly inexplicable DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and Ceausescu's Romania. It argues that in both cases, the role of strong anti-liberal ideology that combined both far left and far right nationalist elements was highly significant in sustaining the regime and therefore should not be underestimated. While developments elsewhere in the Soviet bloc deprived the Ceausescu regime of potential nationalist cards it could play and thus precipitated regime change, the DPRK regime was able to hold on to power by using imagined and real external threats to justify its ongoing domestic repression and reinforce its nationalist claims.     

Trade creation,trade diversion and effective protection in the central American common market

Aggregate analyses suggest that the formation of the Central American Common Market (CACM) has resulted in little or no trade diversion, but different conclusions apply when the import data are appropriately disaggregated. Increases in the effective rates of protection for consumer goods have led to increased demand for extra‐regional imports of intermediate inputs and decreased demand for extra‐regional imports of final goods. On balance, the CACM is a trade‐diverting customs union for non‐durable consumer goods: trade‐creating effects are present in Honduras and Costa Rica, but trade‐diverting effects dominate in Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua.     

Tax harmonization in the european community: lessons for free trade areas and common markets

Economic cooperation in the context of free trade areas and common markets requires tax harmonization. On its way to a single internal market, the European Community (EC) has acquired substantial experience in the design of tax systems that leave member states as much tax sovereignty as is compatible with free trade and free competition. This experience indicates that tax harmonization and tax reform must go hand in hand.     

洛杉矶——世人眼中的"天堂电影院"

如果用风景、历史来作比较,洛杉矶大概只能被淹没在浩瀚的世界里.不过因为有了电影,有了好莱坞,这里便一下子放射出无比耀眼的光芒,并吸引了无数做明星梦的人们争相来这里碰运气,即便大多数人只能接到三流导演的邀请,也会感到无比荣光.     

东亚经济一体化当以合力谋共赢

当前,尽管世界局势局部动荡,但总体保持缓和,和平与发展依然是时代主题.经济全球化、世界多极化、国际关系民主化和发展模式多样化的世界大潮汹涌澎湃.东亚区域合作也顺应潮流而不断发生发展.但复杂的非经济因素仍然比较严重地阻碍着东亚区域合作进程.     

求同存异,共同发展——不断发展中的亚洲政党国际会议

2006年9月7-10日,第四届亚洲政党国际会议在韩国首都首尔召开.来自亚洲及其周边36个国家的92个政党和政治组织的300多名代表,以及来自世界各地区的11个政治组织观察员齐聚一堂,共话亚洲的发展前景,探讨"政党"这一独特的组织形态如何在国家和地区的发展进程中发挥更为重要的影响和作用.会后,全体与会代表通过了《首尔宣言--亚洲的和平与繁荣》及其附件《亚洲政党国际会议章程》.至此,代表亚洲政党求同存异、平等交流、扩大共识的亚洲政党国际会议在机制化的道路上更进一步,为亚洲地区政党增强理解互信、促进多边合作提供了更为稳定、更为广阔的大舞台.