Institutionalizing ASEAN: celebrating Europe through network governance

This article provides a new piece for two of the puzzles of institutionalized cooperation in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). First, with regard to the organization's four decades of existence, there has always been a marked gap between ASEAN's rhetorical goals of cooperation and its actual achievements. What explains these systematic failures of implementation? Second, from the outset, ASEAN was criticized for its light institutionalization, which failed to deliver the substantial cooperation goals. Despite selected institutional reforms, ASEAN's autonomy has not increased remarkably and it has not made any major institutional innovations. Why does ASEAN design institutions it does not use? Why does this transformation gap occur? The author suggests a sociological institutional explanation and argues that major impulses for cooperation have come from outside Southeast Asia, most importantly from Europe. By mimicking the European integration process, ASEAN member states have effectively created an isomorphic organization. The Association's institutional development reflects a concern for international legitimacy and less an objective functional demand arising from the specific interactions of member states. This copying process has led to network governance within the organization.     

European Standards for the Rule of Law and Independent Courts

Independent adjudication as a cornerstone of the rule of law has attracted increasing attention at the European level over the past decades. Despite its general recognition in various international legal instruments there is, however, an ongoing search for its concrete meaning. Recent documents adopted under the auspices of the Council of Europe (CoE) have tried to specify standards for the organization of judicial administration. Unfortunately, however, some of these documents exhibit flaws and misconceptions in the conceptualization of judicial independence. This article identifies these imperfections and argues that future standardsetting on judicial independence in Europe should direct more attention to comparative constitutional analysis and to experience gained in the course of judicial reforms in the Council of Europe's member states. It advocates a less rigid approach to structural issues and concludes with recommendations for future Council of Europe initiatives.     

朝贡体系下古代东亚秩序形成与维系的内在逻辑——批判地借鉴英国学派的分析方法

古代东亚秩序的形成与维系,同历史悠久的朝贡体系有着直接的关系。因此,要有效揭示古代东亚秩序的内在逻辑,应当批判地借鉴以历史主义见长的英国学派的分析方法,探讨朝贡体系的运行机制和内在本质。在古代,中国与朝鲜长时段的朝贡体系实质上是一种由中国主导并以其特有文化为基础、周边诸政权普遍认可和积极参与的特殊国际制度。就中国而言,完全独立的政治体制、自给自足的经济结构、等级制的世界观,使其对外部的需求仅限于其他政权对其至高无上地位的承认及其对相关制度安排的服从。而对周边诸政权来说,只有与实力超强的中国建立朝贡关系,它们才能获得合法性和安全保障,并取得与中国贸易的机会,从而实现生存与发展两大目标。由此可以得出如下结论:在缺乏文化共识的前提下,由地区强国主导,可以促成某种功能性的国际制度,使地区秩序得以维护,并在交往过程中反向促成文化认同。这一结论修正了英国学派关于共有文化与国际制度的关系的观点。     

美韩同盟再定义与韩国的战略选择:进程与争论

本文系统总结了自2002年底以来美韩同盟再定义的磋商过程,以及双方在驻韩美军基地调整、同盟内部军事安全角色分工、同盟的未来战略构想等三大焦点问题上所取得的实质性进展,认为通过区域扩展和内涵扩展的路径选择,美韩同盟再定义已基本实现利益平衡与威胁平衡的双重目标。通过对美韩全球性战略同盟关系的定位与确认,韩国也由此结束了数年来激烈的外交方向辩论,再度确立了中近期亲美的结盟外交路线,然而有关韩国对外战略的争论不会就此终结。     

平衡、融合与引导——试析新世界秩序构建中的中国作用

频繁的世界危机凸显出全球化时代下国际问题不可阻挡的跨国溢出与无序的世界治理秩序之间的深刻矛盾。从能源到气候变化问题,从大规模杀伤性武器的扩散到传染性疾病的防治,从国际金融系统的稳定到跨国宏观经济协调,政治、经济、安全问题复杂交织,世界越来越陷入动荡不安之中。当前处于世界新秩序重构的重要转型时期,中国不断增加的国家实力、声望和影响力赋予其在世界新秩序的构建中举足轻重的地位。本文旨在阐述中国在新秩序构建中的力量平衡、制度融合与理念引导作用。     

Mentally ill offenders in prison: the Belgian case

According to the EUPRIS-study on mental health in prisons (2007), available data on mental disorders in prison are scarce. Therefore, this study aims at summarizing and discussing the available knowledge on incarcerated mentally ill offenders concerning: (1) the screening and assessment for detecting mental health; (2) the psychiatric expertise in order to evaluate the mental status; and (3) the development and provision of forensic psychiatric treatment and care. These findings will be applied to the current situation in Belgium, which is a particularly interesting case. Belgium is currently facing difficulties concerning a large population of interned mentally ill offenders residing in correctional establishments.Implications with regard to the penal code, general or mental health legislation, screening, assessment, and treatment could deliver interesting viewpoints on how this problem could be tackled more effectively. Therefore, the findings will be discussed with reference to the international scientific and policy debate, focusing on ethical implications.     

Microscopical discrimination of human head hairs sharing a mitochondrial haplogroup

In forensic analyses, determining the level of consensus among examiners for hair comparison conclusions and ancestry identifications is important for assessing the scientific validity of microscopical hair examinations. Here, we present data from an interlaboratory study on the accuracy of microscopical hair comparisons among a subset of experienced hair examiners currently analyzing hair in forensic laboratories across the United States. We examined how well microscopical analysis of hair can reliably be used to differentiate hair samples, many of which were macroscopically similar. Using cut hair samples, many sharing similar macroscopic and microscopic features, collected from individuals who share the same mitochondrial haplogroup as an indication of genetic relatedness, we tested multiple aspects that could impact hair comparisons. This research tested the extent to which morphological features related to ancestry and hair length influence conclusions. Microscopical hair examinations yielded accurate assessments of inclusion/exclusion relative to the reference samples among 85% of the pairwise comparisons. We found shorter hairs had reduced levels of accuracy and hairs from populations examiners were not familiar with may have impacted their ability to resolve features. The reliability of ancestry determinations is not yet clear, but we found indications that the existing categories are only somewhat related to current ethnic and genetic variation. Our results provide support for the continued utility of microscopical comparison of hairs within forensic laboratories and to advocate for a combined analytical approach using both microscopical analysis and mtDNA data on all forensic analyses of hair.