UN involvement and civil war peace agreement implementation

Many studies argue that third-party guarantees, such as those of the United Nations, increase the chances that belligerents will sign peace agreements, but it is unclear how third-party involvement affects the implementation of such agreements. We unpack the relationship between UN involvement and peace agreement success by focusing on the risk of defections during the peace accord implementation phase. We argue that two types of commitment problems, namely involuntary and voluntary defections, emerge from the characteristics of the peace process itself as well as from new opportunities available to rebel groups. We expect that shifts in relative power and polarized voting lead to lower implementation scores overall, but that the deployment of UN troops has a mitigating effect, thereby increasing the prospects of sustainable peace agreements. Using data from the Peace Accords Matrix Implementation Dataset from 1989 to 2010 and personnel commitments to UN peacekeeping operations, we find evidence that large UN missions are better placed to support the implementation and longevity of the peace process.

     

对澳门特区立法会议员质询的分析:1999—2008

本文描述了质询制度在澳门特别行政区的确立和变迁,重点对1999—2008年9个立法会会期内的质询材料进行了统计分析。文章发现,尽管特区立法会曾采取了减少书面质询、增加口头质询的措施,但却出现了书面质询大幅增加、口头质询并不活跃的状况。作者认为,澳门特区的选举制度及议员所代表的利益对议员的书面质询有较大的影响,口头质询则由于程序设计原因数量有限,为此,政府应对书面质询作出积极回应,立法会可通过定期召开质询会议、建立顺畅的口头质询与辩论的衔接机制等措施完善口头质询制度。     

New Phase of Energy Cooperation

The "loan-for-oil" agreement and other energy cooperation help shield China and Russia from the global economy’s ups and downs     

政府失灵的又一种救治途径——一种不同于公共选择理论的分析

公共选择理论认为政治市场与经济市场一样,官员也是追求自身利益最大化的"经济人",这与官员作为公共利益的代表存在持久的冲突,并导致政府失灵,进而得出结论是:市场失灵并不是政府干预的充分条件,政府应尽量减少干预,最大限度地约束政府的权力范围。但是笔者以为,对于市场经济已经非常成熟而且官僚制业已达到极致的西方发达国家是适用的而且实践证明是成功的。但对于我国而言,减少干预只是解决问题的一个很小的方面,因为"后发外生型"国家要实现跨越式发展,没有政府的大量干预和推动是不可能实现的。解决问题的关键在于在政府利益与公共利益之间建立起一整套激励共容机制,这样政府利益不仅不会损害公共利益,反而更能促进公共利益。     

债权实现中的利益平衡——以汶川震后银行贷款处理为中心

汶川地震使得银行的巨额债权难以实现,舆论认为应当进行债务豁免,商业银行则更希望其债权能得到保护,冲突解决的关键在于如何平衡债权人的合法权利与债务人的生存权,但现行法律及司法解释对此的规定或者不够精细,或者其风险分配值得商榷。债权人与债务人的风险分担应该满足公平原则与效率原则,其核心就是使个体所承担的风险最小化。短期看,可以通过比较债务豁免、债务延期、强制执行等策略的优劣来选择最为实用的措施,政府应当明确其能与不能的边界;长期看,需要个人破产、巨灾保险等制度的建立与完善。     

简论数字鸿沟对民主的负向作用

信息技术的运用及发展在国与国之间和国家内部是不均衡的,主要的问题便是数字鸿沟问题。数字鸿沟是当代信息社会中一个普遍的、愈演愈烈的世界性问题,给社会带了来诸多问题,对于民主的负向作用更是不容忽视。要解决数字鸿沟问题,正确看待数字鸿沟是首先要面对的问题。     

An Analysis of the Right to Social Security for Disabled Persons

Social security for the disabled has made headway in both academic studies and institution building as the survivaand development of disabled persons has gained increasing attention from the government and society.However,a close examination reveals an evident shortcoming in the academic community,in that more emphasis is put on problems and solutions while basic theories are usually neglected.Particularly,institution building ofsocial security for the disabled,e.g.,security system reconstruction,modeloptions,and solutions for     

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Depression in Battered Women: The Mediating Role of Learned Helplessness

Learned helplessness (LH) may mediate the link between violence exposure and mental disorders in battered women. This study evaluated the contribution of LH to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and major depression (MDD) in women with prolonged exposure to partner violence in 101 residents of shelters for battered women in Israel. DSM-IV axis-I disorders were assessed by a structured clinical interview. Self-report questionnaires evaluated exposure to violence, symptoms of PTSD and depression, LH, history of child abuse, SES and the extent of male-dominance and prejudice against women in the participants prior socialization background. LH significantly mediated the effect of violence on PTSD and depression symptoms. Male-dominated background contributed to LH. Thus, LH may increase the risk of mental disorders in battered women and should be addressed in interventions designed to reduce the burden of mental illness in this population.     

310例缢死分析

作者分析了310例缢死案例资料。在本组案例中,自缢占98.4%,男性占69.2%,多于女性;其原因男性以社会因素为多,女性以家庭纠纷为主,青少年则以恋爱婚姻为主;自缢的场所多在室内,占66.7%,其中女性缢死于室内者占92%,且不完全型缢死多于男性。分析表明:缢沟部位、缢索性质、缢吊姿势与眼结膜下出血点、紫绀无明显关系,而与颈部血管受压程度有直接关系;缢沟部位、缢索性质与舌尖挺出有一定关系,多见于正前上位缢型和软索缢死者。