The Ségolène Royal Phenomenon: Political Renewal in France?

This article analyses Ségolène Royal's rise during 2006 to become the first ever female mainstream French presidential candidate in the context of ongoing presidentialising tendencies within the French Fifth Republic. It considers the extent to which Royal's candidacy represented a turning point for the French Left, not only because of her gender, but also because of her challenge to the Left's traditional organisational and ideological norms of presidential electoral politics. Her participatory democratic campaign organisation, Désirs d'Avenir by-passed traditional party authority structures throughout 2006. However, in the face of declining poll ratings, Royal's candidacy reverted to a more orthodox relationship to the PS as 'presidential party'. Ideologically, her novel political language and down-to-earth style combine with a complex blend of egalitarianism and authoritarianism which treads novel ground. Yet the intriguing elements of her political vision have struggled to coalesce into a coherent and credible presidential programme.     

How catchall parties compete ideologically: Beyond party typologies

The catchall party remains a useful concept despite the lack of a widely agreed definition or list of parties. This article suggests defining catchall parties based on how they act strategically. Although catchall parties act strategically on both the organisational and ideological dimensions, this article concentrates on three key ideological features: catchall parties are ideologically centrist, dispersed and flexible over time. Relying on original surveys in the Republic of Ireland, which interviewed two-thirds of parliamentarians, it is confirmed that Ireland's ‘catchall’ and ‘programmatic’ parties clearly differ in terms of how they compete ideologically. Ireland's catchall parties employ all three identified strategies. Smaller, more programmatic parties are consistent over time, non-centrist and extremely ideologically coherent on core programmatic issues. The competition between catchall parties and ideological populist parties is a pressing issue, and the Irish case provides new theoretical insights and empirical evidence to understand these party types.     

The rhetoric of public diplomacy and propaganda wars: A view from self-presentation theory

Abstract.  Efforts by governments to affect foreign public opinion through direct communication – and in competition with rival governments – have been a stable and consistent feature of international diplomacy since the turn of the twentieth century. Yet public diplomacy and its use in propaganda wars has not been sufficiently theorized, a lacuna that this article seeks to address by means of the social-psychological theory of self-presentation and impression management. The discussion suggests that public diplomacy is a form of self-presentation for social empowerment, in which rhetorical strategies and associated tactics are means of addressing image predicaments in foreign public opinion. The analysis is illustrated by means of the recent Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its presentation in the official websites of the parties.     

宗教领域的人权问题

宗教和人权的冲突使人类陷入纠缠不清的道德困境,也因此成为重大的国际伦理问题.事实上,宗教只不过是人的创造物,宗教的普遍性价值形式正是人的普遍性价值形式.由于人权是人人应当享有的普遍性道德权利,因此人权就是宗教的价值基准:任何践踏人权的教义和宗教行为都是恶,任何尊重人权、保障人权的宗教行为都是善.这就是宗教领域的人权的基本要求,其底线伦理是:人人应当享有祛除苦难的权利.它具体展开为尊重平等的伦理精神,并把这种伦理精神一以贯之地融入商谈理解的基本程序之中,切实依靠以伦理责任为要义的法律制度,以有效保障其具体实践和应用.     

Uniquely Beijing

In today’s fast paced society,it is considered a luxury to stop and take in the sights,sounds and motion of our surroundings.If we care enough to stop momentarily in our tracks,we would appreciate the essence of culture in a country.     

How The Mideast Conflict Nourishes Anti‐Semitism

In 1990, right after the Berlin Wall fell, NPQ published our Spring edition, titled “The New World Disorder,” about the nationalistic chaos and up‐in‐theair sensibility of that fraught new historical moment. Nearly a quarter of a century later, the regime of globalization that had supplanted the Cold War world of blocs is itself coming apart at the seams. Even Henry Kissinger these days says “the world order is crumbling.” Will this New World Disorder 2.0 revert to a system of conflicting blocs, as during the Cold War, or will we be mature enough to save the interdependence of plural identities that is the foundation of a new global civilization? In this section our contributors offer their perspectives on what the future holds.