The Economic Policy Agenda in Australia, 1962–2012

This paper surveys Australian economic policy over the last half century, identifying patterns and punctuations in the management of both macroeconomic and more structural challenges. It highlights the extent to which the economic policy agenda has been dictated by economic forces, while acknowledging the ideological preferences governments bring to their task. In retrospect, this half century in Australia has been dominated by macroeconomic turmoil and structural adjustment in the middle decades. Australian governments had to deal simultaneously with the macroeconomic problems of inflation and recession from the mid‐1970s to the early 1990s while also facing the need to dismantle the development framework that had been in place since Federation or even earlier.     

A harmonized Southeast Asia? Explanatory typologies of ASEAN countries’ strategies to the rise of China

Abstract

In the face of a rising China, some scholars have argued that ASEAN countries will choose to either bandwagon with or balance against China, while others believe they will respond with a more moderate policy known as ‘hedging’. In considering these options, ASEAN countries must take into account their individual interests within the economic and security structure of this region. In this research, we argue that each ASEAN country confronts divergent sets of security and economic relations with China, which play a major role in shaping their policy responses. We can characterize their responses into four quadrants. Each cell can be categorized in terms of a high or low degree of threat perception (HT or LT) from China, as well as a positive or negative economic expectation (PE or NE) with China. We thus hypothesize that ASEAN countries in the HT–NE situation will balance against China; those in the LT–PE situation will bandwagon with China; those in the HT–PE or LT–NE situations will hedge against China. Hypotheses are supported by three case studies, Vietnam–China (HT–NE), Cambodia–China (LT–PE) and Singapore–China (HT–PE) relations.     

The great Caliban: the struggle against the rebel body – part two

“The prospects for red‐green politics in Britain can appear bleak. The fourth successive Conservative general election victory in April, 1992 has caused disarray and demoralization among the opposition parties. Nevertheless, the shock of defeat leaves a fluid situation in which there is a growing space on the left. There is at least a possibility that this could be filled by an eco‐socialist political force.     

Inclusionary housing in California and New Jersey: A comparative analysis

Abstract

Many people have argued that inclusionary housing (IH) is a desirable land use strategy to address lower‐income housing needs and to further the geographic dispersal of the lower‐income population. In an attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of IH, this article examines the experiences of New Jersey and California, two states where IH has been applied frequently over an extended period.

While the concept of regional “fair share” is central to both states’ experiences, the origins of the programs, their applications, and their evolutions are quite dissimilar. IH originated in New Jersey from the famous Mount Laurel cases and in California from housing affordability crises and a legislatively mandated housing element. The experiences of both states indicate that IH can and should be part of an overall affordable housing strategy but that it is unlikely to become the core of such a strategy.     

A New Definition of Intelligence

Intelligence is widely misunderstood. Too much is made of secrecy, and of covert operations and counter-intelligence (action domains informed by intelligence rather than integral to it). Intelligence is often focused on threats, missing opportunities for advantage. A standard definition is proposed for better understanding of intelligence by the academy, media and public. Intelligence is a corporate capability to forecast change in time to do something about it. The capability involves foresight and insight, and is intended to identify impending change which may be positive, representing opportunity, or negative, representing threat. Definitions which converge with this proposal are found in several intelligence settings.     

Influence of Industry on Legislative Behavior toward NASA

This article explores economic factors that help to explain Congressional support for NASA Authorization Acts and issues of U.S. federal space funding. Three economic factors related to political opportunism are identified and discussed in detail. Across the board, NASA Centers are a significant factor in shaping voting preferences, suggesting that the NASA presence itself plays an important role in influencing legislators. Meanwhile, other forms of economic opportunism based on the relative importance of the space and aircraft manufacturing industries in a given state and the amounts of NASA procurements are factors, but only in a more limited sense. This supports the concept that economic opportunism does influence legislative voting behavior on NASA Authorization Acts, though the bulk of the impact appears to be indirectly via NASA centers.     

Weapons in Space: The Need to Protect Space Assets

Space assets represent the most critical undefended resource of the United States. Though the government has clearly been aware of this weakness for over a generation, little appears to have been done about it. Every day these assets become more critical, and the threats against them are growing in kind. The United States must address these threats in order to prevent potential future issues in regard to military command and control, as well as the American way of life. This article not only outlines threats to space assets but proposes means by which U.S. space assets could be protected. Such protection comes not only from technology, which has been capable for years of doing the job, but from policy choice as well. In regard to policy, increasing research and development for space-based weapons, reevaluating existing treaties, and increasing interagency cooperation are all needed to better protect U.S. space assets.     

中国省级土地利用年度计划管理制度创新研究——以A市为例

土地利用年度计划管理已经成为土地参与宏观调控的重要措施。现阶段土地利用年度计划是统分结合的指令性无偿分配管理模式,该模式存在土地利用计划指标供不应求和土地指标被低效使用甚至闲置的根本性矛盾。针对矛盾形成的原因,本文提出了完善的对策建议,即实现土地利用年度计划从部门计划向政府计划的彻底转变。     

多元协作性治理:以草原为例的博弈模型构建和实证研究

多元协作性治理是解决集体行动困境问题的重要方法,但目前主流学术界还缺乏对这一问题的较深入的理论和实证研究。本文以草原治理为例,构建了一个可清晰描述多元协作性治理的简单博弈模型,讨论了多元主体的选择、多元共时模型、差序模型和混合模型的不同以及多元主体策略选择多样化等问题;同时以中国内蒙古自治区的草原治理为例,探讨了多元协作性治理在中国的实际应用及其所面临的问题。本文的探索为进一步推动多元协作性治理理论的发展和实证研究奠定了基础。     

公民网络政治参与与政治稳定

公民网络政治参与就是公民以网络为途径和手段介入政治生活领域。由于网络具有与传统媒体类似的传播、放大效应,现实中的群体性事件会转化为网络突发群体事件,更进一步则有可能催生现实中的公共危机。所以,网络政治参与与政治稳定息息相关,关系到国家的政治安全和政权安全。本文认为,建立网络预警、分级响应和应急联动机制,是网络治理的重要中枢。