European Elections in Germany: Legitimacy for the European Union?

Turning out for elections can be treated as an indication of long-term support for a political system, if citizens perceive that system as legitimate. Applied to the level of the European Union this would suggest that levels of participation in elections to the European Parliament are crucial to the legitimacy of the EU's political system. Due to the multi-level character of these elections, however, causes for relatively low levels of turnout may be located at the national as well as the European level. We will use individual-level survey data to analyse the reasons for voter participation at European elections in Germany. Based on system-theoretic arguments we develop a model of voter participation including both European and national factors. The results of our binominal logistic regression models suggest that participation at European elections depends on individual characteristics like political interest on the one hand and perceptions of the performance of both the EU and the national government on the other.     

Overcoming poverty and inequality: Rwanda's progress towards the MDGs

Despite the 1994 genocide there has been annual growth in Rwanda every year since 2000. Poverty has decreased; while the MDG target of 23.8% is unlikely to be met by 2015, the future looks hopeful. The goal of reducing hunger is measured by underweight children – already down to target – and extreme poverty – likely to hit the target. Key to success is reducing dependency on the land, but a majority of the population still depend on their farm or plot. However, hitting targets for reducing poverty is not the same thing as abolishing it, and achieving targets does not necessarily solve problems.     

A Household Full of Bodies: Neoliberalism,Care and “the Political”

This article explores “the political” of political economy through an analysis of neoliberalised care. Borrowing Glyn Daly's metaphor of the political economy as a disorganised household, where the “political” disrupts the neat order of the oikonomia, we argue that in neoliberalism care is a central site of the political. Through Foucauldian biopolitics we define commodification as a central logic in the governance of care, and situate it in the wider context of neoliberal governmentality. Conceptualising care as a corporeal relation, and following Annemarie Mol's logic of care, we show how, despite the constant attempts to domesticate it, the hegemonic discourse fails to fully subsume care within the “order of the household”. Examining the ruptures produced when care resists its governance, the article demonstrates how the corporeal relatedness of care continues to open up spaces for the political, hence ensuring that the economy remains political.     

核因子-кB及其在创伤性脑损伤后的作用

核因子-кB是一种具有多向性调节作用的核转录因子。机体受到创伤后,NF-кB被激活,调节多种炎性介质基因转录,引起局部及全身的炎症反应。对NF-кB的有关研究可望用于法医学家对损伤时间的推测。     

基于性别公平基础上的就业

社会正义的实质性内涵认为,性别平等并不是意味着任何政策都是绝对的等同,而是在承认差别的基础上,确保机会的均等,并对弱势者作出相对的补偿.本文从社会性别平等的涵义出发,结合社会各种现实情况,对照我国各种现行政策,提出改革和完善我国就业政策体系的政策建议,主要包括男女在入学、教育、培训等方面的平等政策,就业女性特殊时期的补偿优待政策,男女平等的职业终结政策和职业发展的全过程中的"反性别歧视"政策等.     

在古典与浪漫的形式中展现此在的终结——歌德《浮士德》“山谷”之诠释

歌德《浮士德·第二部》最后一场“山谷”是古希腊悲剧形式和德意志浪漫精神的完美结合.尽管浮士德全场缺席,然而他却无处不在,其中诸男性形象均为浮士德的本质性变形.他在向往神性的过程中走完此在的最后瞬间,不断向上意味着原先的无神论人本主义者浮士德的神性皈依,承认并敬仰在人之上的更高存在,最终成为崇拜圣母玛丽亚的博士.     

Extreme poverty alleviation through community-based entrepreneurship: PRODECO in Paraguay

Community-based entrepreneurship projects have been advocated as a potential approach to alleviate extreme poverty as they provide opportunities for income generation and capacity enhancement. This practical note provides an overview of the PRODECO project undertaken jointly by the Paraguayan government and the World Bank (1999–2008) in three southern departments of Paraguay (Itapúa, Misiones, and Ñeembucú). It describes and analyses the context, scope, operations, and results of this project, and identifies five main lessons related to frequent challenges faced by this approach; on size, access to skills, distance from government agencies, pace, and technology.     

Small state or minor power? New Zealand’s Five Eyes membership,intelligence reforms,and Wellington’s response to China’s growing Pacific role

ABSTRACT

This article uses the lens of small state theory to assess New Zealand’s role in the Five Eyes Alliance and Wellington’s implementation of intelligence reforms in the last seven years that are intended to help the country deal with a transformed security environment. In this context, New Zealand decision-makers have become increasingly concerned about growing Chinese influence in the South Pacific region and in New Zealand itself. It is clear that the New Zealand’s response to these developments resembles that of a minor power rather than a classical small state.     

Acknowledging the Suffering Caused by State-Mandated Sexual Violence and Crimes: An Assessment of the Iraqi High Tribunal

The Iraqi High Tribunal (IHT), as a mechanism of transitional justice, took upon it a pioneering role within the Middle Eastern Region by prosecuting and convicting several high-ranking members of the former suppressive regime in Iraq. As part of this work, the IHT confronted the widespread impunity for and disregard of gender-based crimes, such as rape and other sexual violence, and took steps towards reforming the sector through its progressive statute and the specific acknowledgment of gender crimes within its judgments. It will be the aim of the following article to extend academic writings on Iraq, the IHT and gender, by providing insights into how the tribunal dealt with the issues of rape and sexual violence, the surrounding circumstances and how successful the IHT's recognition of these crimes proved for transitional justice in Iraq.