Justice Without Transition: Truth Commissions in the Context of Repressive Rule

While the study of transitional justice, and especially truth commissions, has gained in popularity over the past two decades, the literature is overwhelmingly focused on activities in democratizing states. This introduces a selection bias that interferes with proper analysis of causes and consequences of transitional justice on a global scale. In this paper, I discuss conditions under which new repressive elites, and even old repressive elites who survive to rule and repress in nominally new systems, may choose to launch broad investigations of the past. I argue that such a decision is based on two primary considerations, the presence of internally or externally based incentives (e.g., foreign aid) and the level of political control enjoyed by old elites in the new system. I apply this argument to post-Soviet Central Asia, including a detailed case study of Uzbekistan’s 1999 truth commission based on domestic media analysis and local elite interviews.

New Thinking in Financial Market Regulation: Dismantling the “Split Share Structure” of Chinese Listed Companies

China’s distinctive set of stock market institutions was introduced in 1990. Among the characteristics of China’s stock markets was a strict separation between different categories of investors. Listed companies issued different categories of shares to state shareholders, domestic corporate investors, domestic individual investors, and foreign investors. By 2005, the barriers segmenting China’s stock market had been significantly relaxed. Domestic investors were allowed to purchase shares previously reserved for foreign investors, and approved foreign investors were allowed to purchase shares previously earmarked for domestic individuals. Nevertheless, a crucial barrier remained. An ongoing debate among Chinese academics, investors, and policy makers focused on how to resolve the “split share structure” (guquan fen zhi) in which a minority of shares were tradable while the majority of shares (namely those reserved for domestic corporate and state shareholders) were excluded from the market. The split share structure was blamed for distorting prices and inhibiting development of the stock market. This paper analyzes the policy adopted to address the split share structure. To what extent does this policy change reflect new thinking on the part of China’s market regulators? This paper argues that analysis of policy making in China’s capital markets can help to distinguish between two competing assessments of China’s political economy. One account sees China pursuing a gradualist strategy, slowly but steadily expanding the role of markets. Another account sees China trapped in a semi-marketized and increasingly corrupt development pattern. The implementation of the split share structure reform program provides evidence to support the gradualist account of incremental, but persistent, reform. Mary Comerford Cooper is an assistant professor in political science at the Ohio State University. Her recent research focuses on the politics of financial markets in China and Taiwan. Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the Comparative Politics Research Workshop/ Globalization, Institutions and Economic Security Workshop at Ohio State University in May 2007, and at the annual meeting of the Association for Chinese Political Studies in July 2007. I benefited greatly from the constructive and insightful comments of Bj?rn Alpermann, Melanie Barr, Jean-Marc Blanchard, Sarah Brooks, Joseph Fewsmith, Sujian Guo, Dane Imerman, Ryan Kennedy, Marcus Kurtz, Xiaoyu Pu, James Reilly, Alex Thompson, Daniel Verdier, Jianwei Wang, Alan Wiseman, Bin Yu, and an anonymous reviewer. I am also grateful for Lan Hu’s exceptional research assistance. All remaining flaws are purely my own.     

中小企业外部股权融资难的原因分析

目前,我国中小企业外部股权融资还面临着诸多困难。构建制度环境是缓解中小企业外部股权融资困境的主要途径。     

文化因素对顾客评价服务质量影响的实证研究

服务质量水平是由顾客对服务的期望和感知之间的差异决定的.具有不同文化价值取向的顾客对相同的服务产生不同的期望和感知,进而对服务质量水平评价不同.本文借鉴Hofstede的文化维度和SERVQUAL方法,构建文化服务质量指数(CSQI),对某代表性服务行业的顾客进行了实证调研,根据CSQI的统计和顾客对服务质量评价的结果,把服务行业的顾客分为四类.针对同样的服务,具有权力距离大与集体主义相结合的价值倾向的满足型顾客对服务质量水平评价最高,具有权力距离小与个人主义相结合的价值倾向的挑剔型顾客的评价最低,而权力居中与集体主义相结合的价值倾向的响应型顾客和权力居中与个人主义相结合的价值倾向的顾客(疑惑型)的评价水平一般,但后两类顾客占总数的比例很大,说明大部分顾客的文化价值取向都具有这些特点,他们对服务质量的评价具有代表性.     

论如何在英语教学中培养学生的语感

语言能力的核心是语感能力,英语教学中语感的的培养十分重要.英语教学应在如下方面培养学生的语感:在读中感悟,增加学生语言实践能量,积累语言材料,培养学生运用英语思维的习惯,了解中西文化差异.     

国际海上货物运输中的权利转让问题研究——以UNCITRAL《运输法公约(草案)》为视角

联合国贸易法委员会正在审议的《运输法公约(草案)》中专章规定了权利转让问题,本文通过对相关规定的解析明确权利转让的涵义、内容以及效力,并结合我国相关立法现状针对《海商法》的修改提出一些立法建议。     

我国事业单位制度变革的路向与策略——一个公共治理的分析框架

在公共治理框架下的我国事业单位变革的总体思路应该是统筹规划,全盘布局,分类改革,分立政策,分别引导,分层操作,通过深层次制度变革和配套政策引导,将现存的事业单位各自引导成长为不同的社会治理主体部分,从传统的一元治理模式(即政府管理社会事务)向多元治理模式(即政府、企业、第三部门共同治理社会事务)方向发展。其中公益性事业单位的改革是我国事业单位改革的重点和难点,要针对这类事业单位改革目标进行二次认定,区分为政立事业单位和社立事业单位,并设定各自的改革方向和变革路径。