Congressional Dominance and the International Trade Commission

This study examines the unfair trade decisions of the InternationalTrade Commission (ITC) and how they have been affected by Congress.It begins by identifying the means Congress can use to influenceITC decisions and then estimates both the extent to which thesemeans have been used and the extent to which they have shaped theITC's behavior. The study reaches two conclusions. First, Congresshas tried to shape the ITC's behavior, but it has not tried tomicromanage this behavior. Second, while the ITC's behavior hasbeen influenced by Congress, congressional influence is not asimportant as other factors, such as statutory criteria.     

Enabling global principle‐based regulation: The case of risk analysis in the Codex Alimentarius

This paper deals with the creation of global principle‐based standards. For such standards to be accepted and effective, particular conditions must be fulfilled. One such condition, little explored, is that standard‐makers and ‐takers share knowledge about the meaning of the principles, as well as the practices through which they are likely to be applied. The paper shows that this condition is fulfilled when transnational cultural systems exist, by means of which both types of actors engage in the explication and representation of their practices so that a common, standard understanding emerges of how principles may be interpreted on the ground and informs the negotiations. A transnational cultural system is a crucial governance infrastructure to set global standards, as shown by the long history of creating a risk analysis guideline by the Codex Alimentarius, the inter‐governmental body for food standards.     

The report of The International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur: The question of genocide

The crisis in Darfur (Sudan), which sparked in February 2003, only caught the United Nations’ attention in Spring 2004. Questions emerged as to whether the conflict between the rebels and the government was simply insurgency warfare or, in fact, concealed a genocide carried out by the Arab, Muslim-led government against the Animist and Christian-African population. The issue became so divisive that the Security Council requested the creation of an investigation team, the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur, which amongst other tasks had to examine whether genocide had taken place. This article analyzes the facts as well as the legal reasoning that guided the International Commission of Inquiry in drawing the conclusion that a governmental policy to commit genocide had not been formed.     

Taking on the World: The International Activities of American State Legislatures

State legislatures in the United States engage in a substantialamount of international activity. In the 2001-2002 legislativesessions, some 886 bills and resolutions with significant internationalimplications were introduced. Approximately 306 of these wereadopted. This level of international activity has increasedsubstantially since 1991, and the substantive focus has changedover time. In addition, about half of all state legislaturesreceived at least one foreign delegation and sent at least onedelegation of members abroad in the last session. As in mostareas of state policy, there is considerable interstate variationin legislatures' international activities. Some states had virtuallyno international legislative activity, whereas others were veryactive. The principal factors explaining this variation werethe degree of state involvement in the international economy,as measured by the level of state exports, and party controlof the legislature.     

The World on the Box: International Issues in News and Factual Programmes

A report on factual international programmes shown on UK TV in 2003 reveals that the total of hours broadcast is similar that of previous years. However, there has been a drop in the number of programmes on developing countries, and the definition of 'factual international' covers a misleadingly wide range - including game shows and travel programmes. The amount of developing country coverage on terrestrial TV is the lowest since the measurement began in 1989. Many serious programmes on developing countries are now shown exclusively on the new BBC digital channels. It appears that ITV is no longer fulfilling its public service remit to broadcast programmes covering 'matters of international significance and interest'. The proportion of foreign coverage in television news increased in 2003 across all bulletins, as a result of the Iraq war.     

Conflict in Trade Policy: The Role of the Congress and the Provinces in Negotiating and Implementing the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement

The provincial role in trade policy has until recently beenlimited, but the increasing impact of international trade negotiationson domestic policy issues has come into direct conflict withprovincial jurisdiction. At the same time, Congress has handedsome of its constitutional authority over trade matters to theexecutive branch through the granting of "fast track" negotiatingauthority. The paper argues that, as a result of these developments,the functional roles that Congress and the provinces playedin the negotiation of the FTA were not significantly differentin the two countries. However, in the implementation of thetrade agreement, roles again became clearly defined by constitutionaljurisdiction.     

Bureaucratic Professionalization and the Limits of the Political Control Thesis: The Case of the Federal Trade Commission

This article explores the political control thesis in light of the literature on bureaucratic politics and agency professionalization. It argues that existing studies of political control have been limited by a failure to analyze the impact of organizational factors on policy change. The article tests political-control and bureaucratic hypotheses through an analysis of changing enforcement priorities at the Federal Trade Commission, The results suggest that the growing role of economists in the agency, rather than congressional oversight or presidential appointments, is critical in explaining the changing antitrust priorities of the Federal Trade Commission.     

基于世界粮食危机的我国粮食安全问题的新思考

世界粮食安全面临着新挑战,而中国粮食安全中也存在着隐患,即粮食生产逐步恢复,但继续稳定增产的难度加大;粮食供需矛盾突出,粮食的供求将长期处于紧平衡状态;粮食宏观调控面临着新问题,粮食危机进一步加深。化解我国粮食危机应扩大粮食综合生产能力,提高粮食总体产量;增加粮食供给,缓和粮食供需矛盾;健全粮食宏观调控机制,保障国家粮食安全。     

和谐世界:中国崛起之后的国际战略理念

国际社会对中国的和平崛起以及崛起之后存有诸多疑虑和猜测,认为中国崛起之后存在许多不确定性。中国必须提出一个“崛起之后”的国际大战略。构建“和谐世界”就是一个关于中国崛起之后的国际战略理念和国家发展的终极目标。这个大理念的提出给中国的发展指明了一个奋斗的目标和行动的原则,也给国际社会带来了一个乐观的前景,说明中国要承担更多的国际责任,树立积极的、负责任的、建设性的大国形象。     

食品安全标准:从双重目标回归安全保障——以生乳新国标为例

作为对商品和斩控制规范,标准是政府广泛采用的工具.我国食品标准体系经历了从《食品卫生法》时代的卫生、质量双体系,到《食品安全法》下的统一食品安全标准体系的演进过程.标准的整合反映了立法对标准所服务的规制目标的调整.     

Compliance and Non-compliance with International Human Rights Standards: Overplaying the Cultural

This paper interrogates a ‘positive’ view of culture’s (potential) role in widening compliance with international human rights standards, which (1) concentrates on the ‘cultural’ bases of conflict over rights and, in consequence, (2) focuses primarily on cultural interpretation as a means of achieving greater respect for rights norms. The thrust of the paper is that the relationship between culture and human rights norms is much more complex than this positive perspective implies and, this being so, that some of its claims about the potential benefits of cultural interpretation for widening rights compliance are hard to sustain. I substantiate this argument by exploring five challenges to this approach.     

国际金融危机背景下的日本工会运动

随着国际金融危机的爆发,日本的实体经济受到了严重影响,主要体现在内需不振与外需低迷。此外,随着石油价格以及原材料价格一路下滑、日元持续升值,一些依赖以出口为主的产业也处于十分困难的境地。基于上述双重原因,从2008年年底直至2009年第一季度,日本企业的业绩跌至二战以来的低谷。