Elections and landmark policies in Tanzania and Uganda

Much of the relevant literature on Africa downplays the salience of elections for policy-making and implementation. Instead, the importance of factors such as clientelism, ethnicity, organized interest groups, and donor influence, is emphasized. We argue that, in addition, elections now motivate political elites to focus on policies they perceive to be able to gain votes. This is based on analyses of six landmark decisions made during the last 15 years in the social, productive, and public finance sectors in Tanzania and Uganda. Such policies share a number of key characteristics: they are clearly identifiable with the party in power; citizens are targeted countrywide; and policy implementation aims at immediate, visible results.     

从时间观的差异探讨中国与西方传统思维方式的区别

在中外思想史上,一种自成体系的理论思维方式往往不可能脱离其文化背景而独立存在.先秦思想家阐释的中国传统思维方式,与从古希腊哲学家到黑格尔所阐释的西方古典思维方式,两者之间的主要特征存在着不可忽略的区别,这导致中西方古代思想史上对时间范畴及事物变化过程理解的差异,致使中西方古代科学家们采撷的智慧之果亦有所不同.如果摈弃思想史研究中的欧洲中心论,对中西方文化进行比较研究,将有助于发掘文化遗产;促进文化交流,并增进对世界文化多样性的认识.     

青少年保护立法要有新视角新载体

青少年成长过程必然触及社会关系的各个层次和方面,与社会方方面面发生联系,自然有愈来愈多的社会关系亟需法律来确认和调节,国家的法律在保护青少年健康成长中至关重要。我国立法机关面对经济和社会快速发展的形势,依据国家的有关方针、政策以及现实生活中的大量经验、做法,结合所签署的联合国文件精神,     

To our Readers

Contemporary International Relations, the English journal published by China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, is now 15 years old. Since its conception as the first Chinese journal in English covering the field of international relations, it has presented to our readers numerous articles written by the research fellows of our institutes on the subjects of international affairs, international relations, and international relations theories. We have received numerous letters of encouragement and positive comments. We have also gotten letters in which our readers have given their opinions on what they would like to see in this journal. Some readers pointed out to us the mistakes in the translation. Other readers noted the occasional delay in delivery or even missing issues. We are grateful to those who have always supported us. We also feel the need to improve for those who have not been totally satisfied with our journal.     

Land governance as grey zone: the political incentives of land reform implementation in Africa

Weak state capacity has often been in focus when explaining why land reform in sub-Saharan Africa is not implemented. However, an analysis of the deeper politics of land reform brings our attention to a set of incentives which allow rules governing land to be open to interpretation. This article demonstrates that in Uganda, the need to maintain the ruling coalition in a clientelist political settlement to build electoral support, and the desire to attract economic investors, constitute political incentives to maintain land governance as a grey zone, even if there is apparent political will to implement land reforms.     

Priming citizens to think about public participation initiatives: Does it impact their view of government?

Prior research has shown that public participation initiatives may have positive effects on how participating citizens view government. However, little is known about whether and how priming citizens to think about such initiatives influences the view of government among the larger public. Using a survey experiment, we find that the effect of priming citizens to think of a public participation initiative that includes a small group of citizens on their view of government is conditional on how proximate the service, which the initiative resolves around, is to citizens. Notably, across outcome measures we a find a negative priming effect among those for which the service is not proximate. These results are highly important, as they suggest that among the larger public, public participation initiatives—that involve few citizens—may have mixed results on the view of government, thus questioning the legitimacy of decisions reached by such initiatives.     

Communist Party of China and Human Rights Protection for Criminals

Protection of criminals'human rights is an important issue that has received full attention at home and abroad. The Communist Party of China (CPC) has always attached much importance to the protection of criminals'human rights. Since the founding of new China, the Party and the state have paid full attention to protecting the human rights of criminals.I.The CPC Has Set Great Store by the Protection of Criminals'Human Rights