Rethinking measures of democracy and welfare state universalism: Lessons from subnational research

ABSTRACT

Democracy and the welfare state are two of the most extensively studied concepts and themes in the field of comparative politics. Debate about how to best measure the two concepts has failed to contemplate the extent to which political and social rights are uniformly present across distinct regions of the national territory, despite the presence of substantial subnational research that underscores wide variation inside countries. We argue that this omission hampers our understanding of the two phenomena and we propose a new measure of democracy and healthcare universalism, which we call the Adjusted Measures of Democracy and Welfare Universalism. The new measures integrate territorial inequality into existing national-level indicators, providing a more accurate picture of country performance and opening the door to new, multi-level theory building.     

How is it Possible for Democracies to Effectively Tackle Long-Term Problems?

ABSTRACT

The aim of this essay is to examine if and how it is possible for the political system of democracy to effectively tackle long-term public problems that are wicked in nature, taking climate crisis as an example. It consists of four sections. The first section is devoted to a brief historical overview of the conflict between eco-authoritarianism and ecological democracy. The following section examines if and to what extent “environmental pessimism” – disillusionment with the ability of liberal/capitalist democracies to effectively tackle long-term environmental problems – which has made a remarkable comeback since late 1980s, is empirically grounded, on the basis of performance evaluation of the contracting parties to the Kyoto Protocol (adopted on 11 December 1997 and entered into force on 16 February 2005), and the Climate Change Performance Index that evaluates and ranks the climate mitigation performance of 58 countries responsible for over 90 per cent of global energy-related CO₂ emissions, released every year by Germanwatch and Climate Action Network Europe. The third section focuses on more theoretical/normative issues, critically examining the cogency of a claim, made by no small number of environmental pessimists, that democratic institutions, due to their myopic tendencies, usually work systematically to the disadvantage of future generations. The last section is devoted to the examination of measures thus far advocated and partly put into practice for correcting the myopic tendencies of democracy, emphasizing the vital need for non-representative measures, or self-restraint mechanisms built into democracy itself, whose primary function lies in preventing democracy from degenerating due to the influence of the myopic majority, thereby protecting ecological sustainability and the well-being of future generations.     

新时期海外侨情变化及侨务工作的发展与应对——评《世界侨情报告:2011—2012》

《世界侨情报告:2011—2012》是一部以反映当前海外侨情变化为主要内容的专题报告类出版物,力求及时研讨全球传统及最新华侨华人居住国侨情动态变化情况,并针对实际问题提出侨务政策建议。该报告具有涉及面广、时效性鲜明等特点,但也存在对个别国家和地区的侨情关注度不够等问题。     

村基层组织人员“以国家工作人员论”的司法认定

2000年4月29日,全国人大常委员会《关于<中华人民共和国刑法>第93条第2款的解释》确定了村基层组织人员"以国家工作人员论"的基调和范围,但至今村基层组织人员"以国家工作人员论"的认定仍然是司法实践的难点。村民委员会与村党支部属于村基层组织,村基层组织人员是指在村民委员会等村基层组织中管理集体公共事务的人员,不是泛指所有村民。村基层组织人员在具备法律性、公务性、协助性等实质条件时才能"以国家工作人员论"。村基层组织人员"以国家工作人员论"时只能构成贪污罪、挪用公款罪与受贿罪。     

附条件不起诉之进一步构建——基于我国《刑事诉讼法修正案》之思考

《中华人民共和国刑事诉讼法修正案》将附条件不起诉制度化是正确之选。但是相对于附条件不起诉所可能发挥的积极作用和空间相比,其规定却显得过于保守和谨慎。为此,应在现有的基础上从适用范围、考验期限和考验内容三个方面进一步加以构建。     

规范网络政治参与：现代民主政治发展的新思路

网络在中国的迅猛发展,深刻地影响着公民的政治参与程度和热情,推进了现代民主政治的发展进程。本文从网络政治参与的内涵和特点入手,客观地分析了网络政治参与给我国民主政治建设、政治稳定等方面带来的双重影响,并提出规范网络政治参与的对策。     

Quality of democracy in unrecognized states: lessons from Northern Cyprus

Scholars have recently debated whether non-recognition is a blessing or a curse for democracy. Some suggest that lack of recognition forces political elites to democratize and acquire internal legitimacy to compensate for the lack of external legitimacy. Others suggest that democratization is used as a strategy by which to acquire international recognition. Still others claim that non-recognition obliges unrecognized states to rely on a patron state which, in turn, hinders the quality of democracy. To contribute to this discussion, we have conducted an in-depth case study. Focusing on democratic quality in Northern Cyprus from 2010 to 2016, it is observed that reliance on a patron state leads to dynamics of tutelage, in turn hindering the quality of democracy.     

Majoritarian values and women’s rights: police and judicial behavior in Tajikistan and Azerbaijan

This paper analyzes judicial and police behavior in dealing with cases of family violence and divorce in Tajikistan and Azerbaijan. Police and judges deliberately violate existing legal provisions to prevent women from divorcing or filing charges against their husbands in cases of domestic violence. While the law does not recognize religious marriages in Tajikistan, judges often rule to protect women’s living space after the dissolution of such unions. Drawing on rich interview and archival data, this behavior is explained by showing that judicial and police behavior reflects their biases, which in turn are a reflection of majoritarian norms in these countries. Since current laws are derived from Soviet codes, which were never internalized by the population, police and judges bend them to fit their understanding of social justice.     

“东方主义”的另一种解读——艺术的东方主义

爱德华.W.萨义德(Edward.w.Said)于20世纪末阐发的东方主义理论作为后殖民主义文化批评理论之一引发了东西方学者的共鸣,因而风靡世界。在这一理论热潮的背景下,不免会出现套用或者误用的嫌疑,生搬硬套地阐释某一具体文本或作家的现象;或者出现以偏概全,完全被东方主义理论而障目,不见更丰富的文本含义等现象。为此,有必要阐明萨义德东方主义理论的缘起,从而明确"东方主义"理论具体的使用语境;通过对西方唯美主义思潮中表现出来的"日本风"等文学文化现象的解析,从另一个角度来阐释"东方主义"的丰富内涵;对唯美主义者追求的东方艺术与萨义德的东方主义理论进行比较研究,从而为同行们提供一个新的视角来理解唯美主义乃至东方主义。     

洪大容和“古杭三才”的友谊与东北亚文化

洪大容和"古杭三才"的儒家"益者三友"思想,是东北亚文化交流的组织基础;以追求真正学问之道为文化取向;他们的友谊和文化交流为东北亚文化的发展和东北亚精神家园建设在历史上产生了积极影响。洪大容作为朝鲜的实学家在北学中国,接受西方文化中,确立了"学问的多元化",追求着自主意识,他为东北亚文化在朝鲜的个性发展所作的贡献恰恰丰富了东北亚文化的精神家园,并在历史上起到了承前启后的作用,为东北亚各国各民族的自觉、自立、自信、自强一直产生着积极的影响。