Cosmopolitanism and National Tradition: The Case of Slovenia

This paper discusses the contradictions of maintaining national identity in the age of globalization. It investigates the central relevance of the concept of citizenship in light of the encroaching forces of economic and cultural globalization, on the one hand; and ethnic, nationalistic, and religious fundamentalism, on the other. The paper argues for the need to recognize not only the meaning of national identity, derived mainly from works of art and literature in a given tradition, but also its potential to head off forms of reductionism, be they economic or ethnic. In this regard, the paper calls for a theoretically subtle approach to the contemporary dilemmas of small nations, caught between the fundamentalist temptation (nationalism) and global corporate homogeneity. The case of Slovenia is used here to spell out the necessity to develop a cosmopolitan attitude, characterized as it is by both local cultural tradition and international codes of expression. Such an attitude may best be developed in a civic sphere that provides the mediating ground between the solipsistic pursuit of individual happiness and governmental political regimentation.     

社会公共组织及其成员的权利救济分析

加入 WTO后 ,社会事务管理的结构性缺陷 ,已严重阻碍着我国政府体制改革的步伐。本文在对社会公共组织进行定位的基础上 ,指出培育社会公共组织是我国政治体制改革的必然趋势 ;同时 ,只有将社会公共组织在行使公共职能时与其成员之间的纠纷纳入行政诉讼中来 ,才能最终在国家、社会、个人之间建立起政治生态平衡。     

Analytical Characterization of Erythritol Tetranitrate,an Improvised Explosive

Erythritol tetranitrate (ETN), an ester of nitric acid and erythritol, is a solid crystalline explosive with high explosive performance. Although it has never been used in any industrial or military application, it has become one of the most prepared and misused improvise explosives. In this study, several analytical techniques were explored to facilitate analysis in forensic laboratories. FTIR and Raman spectrometry measurements expand existing data and bring more detailed assignment of bands through the parallel study of erythritol [¹⁵N₄] tetranitrate. In the case of powder diffraction, recently published data were verified, and ¹H, ¹³C, and ¹⁵N NMR spectra are discussed in detail. The technique of electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry was successfully used for the analysis of ETN. Described methods allow fast, versatile, and reliable detection or analysis of samples containing erythritol tetranitrate in forensic laboratories.     

Macedonia after the 2001 conflict: towards social cohesion and reconciliation?

The paper aims to contribute to the on-going debate in the literature about reconciliation after an armed conflict through presentation of the Macedonian experience. It focuses upon the following questions: Is the Ohrid Framework Agreement (OFA), which put an end to the armed conflict in the country, supported by the process of reconciliation? Has the state found the right way to deal with the past? In order to answer the questions, the paper describes briefly the Agreement and the process of its implementation. In this context, it identifies the type of power-sharing system established by the OFA through analysis of the Agreement within the integrative and consociational theory. Then, the paper examines how the state dealt with the past. Further, it discusses the impact of the amnesty for grave crimes on reconciliation in the country using the existing literature. The paper argues that it is questionable whether the state chose the best approach to dealing with the past.     

The impact of within-party and between-party ideological dispersion on fiscal outcomes: evidence from Swiss cantonal parliaments

The impact of the fragmentation of executive and legislative bodies on the level and composition of government expenditure is a feature of politics that has attracted considerable attention from economists. However, previous authors have abstracted from two important concepts: ideology and intra-party politics. In this paper, we account for these two phenomena explicitly, and make two main contributions. First, we show that both intra- and inter-party ideological dispersion matter in explaining the level of sub-national public spending. Therefore, it is improper to consider parties as monolithic entities. We also show that ideological dispersion matters especially for current expenditures, and not so much for investment expenditures. To do so, we construct a panel database (2003–2010) comprising data from a survey that quantifies the policy preferences of party members who were candidates in Swiss elections.     

环境侵权救济之民事诉讼原告资格探究

环境侵权结果须借助自然环境这一中间介质方能发生,而环境的公共性、使用的非排他性等特征决定了受损权利具有公益与私益的双重特征,这也使得提起民事诉讼救济的原告主体有私益性原告与公益性原告的区分,其诉讼请求、诉讼标的、诉讼事由、诉讼利益归属等各有不同,而上述两类原告所提之诉同属民事救济的两种渠道、两个诉讼,可以合并或单独审理。     

台湾选民的政党认同——基于2004、2008、2012年三次“总统”选举的分析

经过2004年到2012年三次“总统”选举,台湾选民的政党认同逐渐结构化。新党、亲民党的认同者迅速下滑,“台联党”亦然,国民党认同的比例上升,民进党认同的比例则保持稳定,“中间选民”的比例逐步下降。在国民党和民进党认同者中,持强烈认同的比例不断上升,较弱认同的比例不断下降。从蓝绿两大政党看,年龄和受教育程度已非影响政党认同的显著因素,国家（族群）认同以及统“独”立场始终是影响政党认同的最重要因素,阶级地位具有显著影响,但是其影响力远不及国家（族群）认同以及统“独”立场。     

Hungary's “anti-capitalist” far-right: Jobbik and the Hungarian Guard

The study analyzed whether the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the establishment of succeeding mono-national states was the expression of “longing” of mass proportions on the part of the nationalities within respective federal units. Using the data from two pan-Yugoslav surveys from the period preceding the dissolution, results were obtained that indicated a very limited support for this hypothesis. More specifically, results indicated that support for emancipation was rather weak, among youth in 1986 and even among the adult population in 1990, although some significant mean differences between the federal units and between major nationalities within them were evident. Specifically, opinions favoring independence were detected among Kosovo Albanians and later among Slovenians in Slovenia. In addition, findings also indicated that those with higher socioeconomic status were not more inclined toward independence. Results thus pointed more towards the idea that the dissolution was indeed instigated by a small group of “political entrepreneurs” not captured by the survey data.     

Cooperating Estonians and “exiting” Lithuanians: trust in times of crisis

This article argues that substantial differences in political legitimacy can help explain why Estonia dealt with the recent economic crisis more successfully than Lithuania. In 2009, when the crisis hit hardest, Lithuania saw its budget deficit expand substantially, while Estonia managed to keep the deficit under 3% of GDP and consequently was invited to join the Eurozone, to which it acceded in 2011. The experience of these countries presents an interesting puzzle, as the divergent fiscal performance cannot be attributed to purely economic factors. Both countries have a similar economic structure, and both were similarly affected by the crisis. Furthermore, both pursued similar expenditure and tax policies during the crisis. Based on quantitative and qualitative evidence, it is argued that higher tax compliance and subsequently higher tax revenues can explain the difference. In turn, this compliance gap can be attributed to different levels of trust in political institutions in Estonia and Lithuania.