The new international financial architecture and Caribbean ofcs: Confronting financial stability discourse

This article examines the role and force of international finance in contemporary capitalism and the norms being established by international financial governance structures. More than the matter of exclusion, the article argues that financial stability discourse girding issues related to the nature of capital market liberalisation, terrorist financing, money laundering and tax evasion attempts to suture over, erase and/or render illegitimate ideational resistance—particularly by offshore financial centres (ofcs) of the global South. The ongoing experience of the English-speaking Caribbean ofcs is discussed as local operatives have long been simultaneously framing as well as resisting Anglo-American insistence on a new configuration of market ethics, norms and sociality in the virtual world of ‘shores’ and high finance. This adds to the emerging body of work seeking to discursively unpack financialisation.     

Explaining lustration in Central Europe: a ‘post-communist politics’ approach

Lustration, the vetting of public officials in Central Europe for links to the communist-era security services, has been pursued most systematically in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. Prior attempts to explain the pursuit or avoidance of lustration focused on the differing experiences of communist rule or transition to democracy. A closer examination finds that although the three countries in question had very different histories, there were identical demands for lustration in the early 1990s. These demands were translated into legislation at different times and varied considerably in the range of offices affected and the sanctions imposed. This article offers an explanation of this variation by focusing on the dynamics of post-communist political competition. We find that the passage of a lustration bill depended on the ability of its most ardent advocates to persuade a heterogeneous plurality of legislators that the safeguarding of democracy required it.     

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.     

Amicus Curiae and the Public Interest: A Search for a Standard1

Despite the widespread and influential presence of an increasingly partisan amicus curiae brief, the role of the "friend of the court" brief remains controversial. Changing rules of access and diverging recommendations for its behavior are associated with two distinct views of jurisprudence. A traditional understanding of adversarial proceedings emphasizes the individual interests of the litigants, and correspondingly excludes consideration of non-parties and the general public. An alternative to the traditional, individual-based, liberal jurisprudence (and its skepticism toward public interest arguments) is a recognition of the need to integrate individual and public interests and to find a coherence between them.
The skeptical view of the public interest can be avoided by adopting a post-empiricist view, which recognizes a plurality of interpretations of the public interest. The amicus curiae role, if given wide access, can serve as a tool of inclusive pluralism, which recognizes a diversity of views regarding the public interest and the impact of legal decisions on the public.     

以科学发展观指导青少年犯罪防治工作

一段时期以来，我国青少年犯罪形势发生了新的变化，不仅青少年犯罪案发数有较大幅度的增长，而且青少年犯罪作案类型多样化、作案手段残忍性和作案后果严重化的特征尤为突出，有的专家学者预计，我国青少年犯罪新一轮高峰将会到来。确实，进入改革开放新时期后我国社会治安形势日趋严峻，犯罪诱发因素持续增多，例如，每年有数十万刑满释放和解除劳教的青少年将回归社会，有上百万大学生毕业后无法找到工作岗位，     

Networks in the Legislative Arena: How Group Dynamics Affect Cosponsorship

In this study, we explore the determinants of cosponsorship activity within state legislatures. Utilizing a social dynamic framework, we develop and test a model of the interplay of the activities of sponsorship and cosponsorship that includes both individual‐level and social network characteristics as determinants of agenda‐setting behavior; the latter demonstrating how collaboration and mutual interests shape the agenda‐setting process. We find several consistent factors that influence the frequency of cosponsorship activity: (1) ideological distance, (2) proximity of legislators' districts, (3) homophily (similar characteristics such as race, gender, and ethnicity), and (4) transitivity (the idea that friends of my friends are also my friends).