Understanding food policy change in Ghana

Evidence-based policy-making has become a critical aspect of development strategy in developing countries. Yet the assumption that policymakers will automatically use available evidence may not be valid in all contexts. To influence positive policy change requires an understanding of the unique policy process and drivers of policy change in the context of a particular country and sector. Strengthening the capacity of key agricultural policy stakeholders can facilitate evidence-informed policy-making. This article documents an approach to strengthening the capacity of parliamentarians in Ghana. It attempts to measure to what extent such investments could lead to informed policy-making to promote poverty reduction. Lessons are drawn from a group of Ghanaian parliamentarians following an exposure and learning visit to India.     

The Political Economy of Noncompliance in China: the case of industrial energy policy

One of the greatest challenges facing China today is the central government's ability to ensure that policies are implemented effectively at the local level, particularly policies that seek to make China's economic growth model more sustainable. These policies face resistance from local authorities and enterprises that benefit from the status quo. This raises a key research question: why do some provinces more fully implement these central policies? We argue the extent of local implementation is best conceptualized as a rational balance between economic and political incentives: localities with regulatory autonomy, low regulatory capacity and alternative interests will not fully implement policies that are at odds with local economic imperatives. By examining a critical case of central policy implementation—industrial energy intensity reduction in the eleventh five-year plan—this article demonstrates that, regardless of industrial makeup or economic development, provinces that have greater regulatory autonomy for noncompliance coupled with alternative economic interests do not, on average, perform as well. Using a nested analysis approach this study illustrates this argument with both quantitative analysis and original case study evidence from fieldwork interviews.     

The Tibet Problem in the Milieu of a Rising China: findings from a survey on Americans' attitudes toward China

The Lhasa riots in 2008 re-captured the world's attention on the Tibet problem. As China continues to grow as a rising power, it raises a concern over whether the perception of a rising China will affect how American people think about the Tibet problem. In this article, the authors apply public opinion data to evaluate this question. The results show that the perception of China's hard power or soft power has little influence on Americans' view of the Tibet problem, while factors of political values and China's policy stance matter greatly. Our findings suggest that the huge difference in political values between the PRC and the US makes it tough for both sides to agree on a resolution to the Tibet problem. In the long term, China needs to improve its human rights record and present itself as a responsible great power to win over the hearts of foreign publics rather than conduct a public relations campaign according to its own imagination.     

How Do Rural Elites Reproduce Privileges in Post-1978 China? Local corporatism,informal bargaining and opportunistic parasitism

Many scholars have shown that cadre status is associated with cadre earnings advantages in rural China. What is less clear from the published research is how political power is used by rural elites to generate personal gains. We narrow this knowledge gap by studying three main mechanisms whereby cadre privileges are reproduced in rural China. Using ethnographic data from three rural townships in Guangdong province, we show that local economies have been differentiated in the post-1978 era, leading to three different mechanisms with which village leaders in each of the three townships have maintained their earnings advantages respectively, i.e. local corporatism, informal bargaining and opportunistic parasitism. We predict that local corporatism will be the dominant model of the reproduction of cadre privileges in rural China.     

Grand Mediation and Legitimacy Enhancement in Contemporary China—the Guang'an model

China has seen numerous instances of collective resistance in recent years. Suppression cannot stop popular resistance. It is also hard to solve all problems through the existing judicial system, administrative method or by social means. Based on a case study in Sichuan, this article studies the Grand Mediation (GM) mechanism in Guang'an as one of the ways in which the Chinese government chooses to build institutions and channel social grievances. GM is successful in containing social conflicts and helping the state to garner legitimacy by reducing people's hostility towards local government, which could enhance the CCP's legitimacy, whose paramount goal is to maintain political stability and social harmony.     

K?nig/Roeser/Stock: Baunutzungsverordnung

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

中国人肱骨的性别鉴定

目的 建立中国人肱骨性别判定的方程。方法 测量了来自全国9省区的已知生前确切性别的103个个体的左右侧肱骨的12项测量指标,使用SPSS软件,对所获得的测量数据,进行男女性别间测量数据的t检验。剔除性别检验差异不显著的测量项目,使用Fisher判别分析方法,建立肱骨性别判定方程。结果 单一测量指标的性别判定方程20组,性别判别率为75.9％～89.3％;肱骨上端的性别判定方程2组,性别判别率为83.6％～85.7％;肱骨中段的性别判定方程2组,性别判别率为81.3％～83.9％;肱骨下端的性别判定方程2组,性别判别率为82％。完整肱骨的性别判别率,左侧87％,右侧90.9％,双侧肱骨的性别判别率为96.3％。结论 建立的肱骨性别判别方程,适用于中国人肱骨的性别判定。     

德国海盗党的兴起及其影响

社会环境的变化对于政治生活有着明显的影响.在当今社会,互动沟通工具的增多使得人们的交往方式发生了某种改变.在德国,新媒体的发展促使了政治生活的变化,德国海盗党的发展和壮大就是其表现之一.自2006年9月成立以来,德国海盗党已经深刻地影响到了德国的政党政治和政治生活,对德国的政治生态的发展产生了一种明显的推动作用.如何认...     

The need for international search and rescue (SAR) teams during an earthquake: Nepal case study

On 25 April 2015, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal, causing huge damage. Many countries and international organisations such as the United Nations started monitoring the situation and offered support to the Nepali government. This article raises points that must be examined by decision-makers before implementing delegations; these include cost effectiveness, whether it improves morale and resilience, international relations, and experience, and promotes good relationships between the two countries, and assisting their own citizens who were affected by the disaster.     

Partisan Dealignment in Germany: A Rejoinder to Russell Dalton

The work of Russell Dalton has played a seminal role in the study of the relation between political sophistication and partisan dealignment. It has to be acknowledged furthermore that there is a consensus on the occurrence of a decline of partisanship in Germany. Using panel data as well as pooled cross-sectional observations, however, it is clear that generational replacement is not the sole driving force of partisan dealignment, but that period effects should also be taken into account. While on an aggregate level rising levels of political sophistication have occurred simultaneously with decreasing partisanship, individual-level analysis suggests clearly that the least sophisticated are most likely to feel alienated from the party system. The article closes with some very specific suggestions on how to address the democratic consequences of declining levels of partisanship.