Asymmetric bargaining between Myanmar and China in the Myitsone Dam controversy: social opposition akin to David's stone against Goliath

The Myitsone Dam suspension is an asymmetric negotiation between Naypyitaw and Beijing. The bilateral agreement of the hydropower project was concluded in 2009. However, Myanmar's civil society started to oppose the dam when political opportunities expanded in 2011. The quasi-civilian government in Myanmar was caught in an ‘audience cost dilemma': either to disappoint domestic constituents by fulfilling international obligations, or to compensate the Chinese dam developer for breaching the contract. In September 2011, Myanmar President Thein Sein declared the suspension of the dam throughout his tenure. Unexpectedly, China's state-owned dam company did not sue Naypyidaw. Moreover, Beijing even engaged with societal actors in Myanmar to seek their support for the project. How could Naypyitaw defy Beijing in this Myitsone Dam case? Drawing from 35 interviews with anti-dam campaigners and other stakeholders, as well as secondary data, this article argues that the rise of civil society successfully conditioned Naypyitaw's diplomatic options in the controversy. The change of Beijing's diplomatic strategy confirms that domestic constraint in Myanmar is not rhetorical. The Myitsone Dam case is an example that shows bilateral agreement without domestic endorsement can become China's business risk. Presumably, the dispute has wider implications for other Chinese overseas projects outside Myanmar.     

Coevolution and Sino-Japanese Tensions

Unlike those who blame the other side or structural forces beyond one's control for the current Sino-Japanese tensions, this paper offers a theoretical insight about the coevolution between China and Japan to explain why the two Asian great powers that had a better relationship in the past are now experiencing greater tensions when their much closer economic and people-to-people ties should facilitate greater cooperation. The two nations have coevolved over millennia with increasing intensity over time. They avoided serious tensions in the 1970s-1990s partly thanks to each being situated in a different niche. But that separation has diminished in a globalizing world and the two countries are becoming more integrated, which has triggered a backlash. The earlier generation of proponents of Sino-Japanese friendship succeeded in forging strong economic and social ties, but the current generation finds it difficult politically and psychologically to manage the new reality in their relations.     

越南闽籍侨僧拙公和尚出国的原因

越南与中国岭南地区壤土相接,水陆交通便利,自古以来两地政治、经济、文化交流十分频繁,关系颇为密切。17世纪中叶明清鼎革之际,福建(闽)籍高僧拙公和尚及其弟子明行禅师(江西籍)、广东元韶禅师、石濂大汕和尚等中国高僧相继赴越弘扬佛法,成为明末清初中国岭南禅史及     

童长荣烈士二三事

1984年4月18日《人民日报》发表了夏衍先生的一篇回忆文章,题目是《一位被遗忘了的先行者》。文中披露了一位左翼文化运动的先行者当年在上海的鲜为人知的事迹,表达了对这位革命先烈的深切怀念和惋惜之情。     

和谐社会视域中的政治参与机制研究

社会稳定是建设社会主义和谐社会的必要前提,政治稳定则是社会稳定的关键,只有有序且有效的政治参与才能维系政治稳定。因而深入研究政治参与与政治稳定的关系,改革、完善政治参与机制,创造稳定安宁的政治环境,对于构建社会主义和谐社会意义重大而深远。     

政府信任与公民信任良性互动思考

政府与公民之间信任互动是社会主义现代化建设过程中所面临的重要问题,研究政府与公民之间互动是构建和谐社会的需要,受到政府与公民信任现状的推动。政府与公民的信任互动是一个长期、复杂的过程;建立良好的政府与公民的信任互动,应以政府为主导,公民和非政府组织参与相结合,为社会发展提供更好的润滑,减少社会摩擦和内耗,增强社会的凝聚力,促进现代和谐社会和民主法制社会的建设。     

深化非公企业厂务公开民主管理的探索与实践

在推进非公企业厂务公开民主管理工作中,目前尚存在企业劳资双方认识不高、劳资双方地位不平等、缺乏有效工作载体、职工代表参与能力亟待提高、工作应进一步深化等问题。对此,天津市河西区总工会在领导力度、覆盖广度、质量深度上下功夫,明确职责,狠抓落实,积极贯彻主动、依法、科学相结合的维权观,在推动区域构建和谐稳定的劳动关系上做出了有益实践。     

“经济决定论”的历史指认——与赵庆元先生商榷

经济决定论是由于对马克思主义历史决定论理解的片面化、教条化而产生的一种错误思想和观点,它既是机械的经济主义,也是经济自发论。历史决定论、经济决定论、经济必然性和经济自发论等概念都具有自己特定的具体内容,这些内容又是在具体的历史环境中形成的。这就要求在理解经济决定论时,不能仅仅局限于抽象概念上的臆测和演绎,否则只会带来理论上和认识上的混乱。     

“十二五”桂林加快转变农业发展方式探析

桂林作为农业大市,加快推进农业发展方式转变具有重大的战略影响和深刻的现实意义。＂十二五＂期间,桂林必须立足本地实际,尊重经济、社会发展规律,按照农业现代化的要求,努力探索一条符合桂林市实际的现代农业发展道路,实现由农业大市向农业强市转变。