Explaining Explanations: How Legislators Explain their Policy Positions and How Citizens React

Legislators claim that how they explain their votes matters as much as or more than the roll calls themselves. However, few studies have systematically examined legislators’ explanations and citizen attitudes in response to these explanations. We theorize that legislators strategically tailor explanations to constituents in order to compensate for policy choices that are incongruent with constituent preferences, and to reinforce policy choices that are congruent. We conduct a within‐subjects field experiment using U.S. senators as subjects to test this hypothesis. We then conduct a between‐subjects survey experiment of ordinary people to see how they react to the explanatory strategies used by senators in the field experiment. We find that most senators tailor their explanations to their audiences, and that these tailored explanations are effective at currying support—especially among people who disagree with the legislators’ roll‐call positions.     

Zambia: The First Fifty Years

As Zambia completes 50 years of independence from British rule, an assessment of the present state of the country is topical. This article argues that, for all the setbacks that Zambia has suffered over the past half century, substantial progress has been made in a number of areas and that the Zambian people have maximised the opportunities that this progress has generated.     

Congressional Activism in the Foreign Policy Arena: A Case Study of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide

This article analyzes congressional activism during an international crisis. Using the 1994 Rwandan genocide as a case, this study explores executive–congressional relations during a time when immediate policy responses are needed. A content analysis of policy statements made during committees, on the House floor, and on the Senate floor is used to investigate the specific policy ideas proposed by members of Congress. The models presented pay particular attention to the actions of Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) members, in relation to other more common predictors of congressional activism. In addition to the results for CBC members, other conclusions indicate that foreign policy leaders in Congress are international affairs policy experts without serious concerns of being defeated in their next election.     

It Takes a Coalition: The Community Impacts of Collaboration

Members of Congress frequently collaborate on policy initiatives, reaching out to colleagues in both parties to find common ground on solutions for the problems faced by their constituents. Using a novel dataset of over 30,000 “Dear Colleague” letters sent by members of the 111th Congress, I use the collaborative relationships that exist in the earliest stages of the policy process to measure the social influence of legislators. I demonstrate that districts represented by members of Congress who are better connected to their colleagues receive a greater share of federal grant money. I argue that this is because collaborative legislators are well‐positioned to be influential allies to strategic bureaucrats who want to maintain a broad base of support for their programs in Congress. Thus, devoting resources to building relationships with their colleagues is one way members of Congress can more effectively support the communities they represent.     

关于职工代表记名投票表决方式的思考

职工代表作为职代会的主体,是否充分履职,是否确切表达民意,对职代会作用的发挥至关重要,而记名投票表决方式是对职工代表履职行为的一种有效监督形式.本文从对一院职工代表表决方式现状分析人手,重点论述职工代表记名投票表决方式的必要性和重要意义,提出与职工代表记名投票表决方式相匹配的对策建议.     

浅谈借鉴谏官制度加强人大对环保工作的监督

谏官制度是我国古代一项重要的自下而上监督最高统治者的权力监督体制,古时著名的盛世时期往往伴随着政坛言谏活动蔚然成风。通过探讨唐、宋、明三个朝代的谏官言官制度对政坛权力制约的可行之处,联系当今环保法治中出现的现象,提出自己的思考。     

我国基于横切分裂的多元协商民主模式——以十八大代表结构为例

近年,国内学界对协商民主模式颇为关注,众多学者对这一模式的起源、定义、发展趋向等方面进行了大量研究,但很少注意到：协商民主模式的有效运作必须以一国内部不同群体之间的横切分裂为基础;这一模式内部包含多元参与;其有效运作必须以一国内部经济、宗教、语言、民族、意识形态等方面的非两极化为前提。协商民主模式的发展必须注意多元参与和运作前提等等。对中国共产党÷八大代表结构变化的分析可以判断出：我国正在完善多元协商模式,而且,这一模式将有效维护我国政治、经济和社会的稳定。     

高举中国特色社会主义旗帜不动摇

党的十八大报告科学回答了党在改革发展关键阶段举什么旗帜、走什么道路、保持什么样的精神状态、朝着什么目标继续前进等重大理论和实践问题,为我们继续推动党和国家事业发展指明了前进方向,报告的主题,概括地说就是高举中国特色社会主义伟大旗帜不动摇,坚持和发展中国特色社会主义。这一鲜明的主题,是改革开放以来伟大实践的基本结论和基本经验,体现了当代中国共产党人的政治自觉和政治自信,指明了当代中国发展进步的根本方向和根本目标。     

扣紧理论创新与实践路径的双重逻辑：论党的十八大对思想政治教育的创新与发展

党的十八大报告是新的历史起点上继续发展中国特色社会主义的政治宣言和行动纲领,更是指导我国新时期思想政治教育工作的重要文献.它的理论意义在于深化了思想政治教育学科的指导思想与时代内涵,而它的实践意义则在于拓展了思想政治教育的载体和创新了思想政治教育工作的实践路径.     

论十六大的主旨与宪政的发展

十六大所确立的主题和基本内容 ,为建设以民主政治为核心的宪政国家指引了方向。十六大报告的主旨将在六个方面对宪政的发展产生影响 :小康社会初步奠定宪政的社会基础 ;扩大基层民主是宪政建设的立足点 ;完善财产制是对宪政经济基础的巩固 ;对权力的制约和监督以及推进司法体制改革是宪政必备的两个要素 ;解决“三农”问题和深化分配制度改革是宪政实施的社会环境保障。