Civil Society after Democracy: The Evolution of Civic Activism in South Africa and Korea

The phase of democratic consolidation can significantly impact the motives, dynamics and objectives of civil society. Its internal roles, dynamics and power balances are significantly altered by the advent of democracy, due to shifting resources, political opportunities and a general reframing of goals and objectives. By adopting a definition of civil society as an ‘arena’ (which highlights the continuously evolving composition and leadership of civil society) and borrowing a number of theoretical dimensions from social movement theory (which underline the importance of resource mobilization, political opportunities and conceptual framing processes), the article shows that the advent of democracy has posed a number of challenges to civil society organizations in Korea and South Africa. Moreover, the consolidation of democracy has inevitably changed the nature of government–civil society relations. While in South Africa institutional politics reasserted itself in the first years of democracy, thereby sidelining organizations and movements concerned with public accountability and good governance (which have only recently resurfaced through the action of new social movements), in Korea corruption and lack of transparency immediately marred the dawn of democracy, providing civic movements with a fertile terrain to galvanize civic mobilizations vis-à-vis the lack of responsiveness of the political class.     

以民主法制规范社会主义市场经济(上)

社会主义市场经济是中国经济矛盾演变的必要阶段.作为经济体制,它是社会主义制度的具体化,因此必须坚持社会主义原则,其核心就是民主.民主原则的制度化,形成社会主义法制体系.实行社会主义市场经济是克服旧的统制经济体制缺陷的历史性变革,其关键就在于以民主法制规范经济生活的各个层面和环节,并以执法、立法机构予以保证,由此促进经济的健康有序发展.     

Women in contemporary Soviet society

What enables democracies to succeed has much in common with what enables other forms of modern rule to succeed: notably the capacity for effective military selfdefence and the reasonably efficient functioning of a domestic economy. When the factors favouring the success of any form of modern regime are broken down, most of them may readily be secured for a time under autocratic rule, and none is strucurally ensured by democratic rule. At present there is good reason to believe that the special advantages of democratic rule - above all the heuristic merits of open and competitive political deliberation - at least offset the inherent disadvantages long ago identified by its enemies. The distinctive preconditions for the success of democratic regimes are furnished, if at all, only by the workings of democracy itself. They are both instances and products of success in learning how to live freely as, and within, a large collectivity. That outcome can be menaced or precluded by the causal properties of ill-conceived institutions. But it can only be brought about by free and practically intelligent political action. This is a task for citizens and career politicians, not a potential gift from the social sciences.     

新型政党制度所蕴含的中国智慧

中国共产党领导的多党合作和政治协商制度是从中国土壤中生长出来的新型政党制度,充分汲取了中国传统民本智慧、和合智慧、包容智慧,展现出了无与伦比的内在优越性,实现了群众根本利益与群体特殊利益的有机统一、实现了政党关系的非对称性和谐、实现了通过政党协商进行科学民主决策、实现了集中力量办大事,从而克服了垄断型一党制和竞争型两党制、多党制的固有弊端。作为和谐型多党制的新型政党制度充分展现了中国智慧,为世界政党制度发展与进步提供了新方向和新选择。     

Is Britain Facing a Crisis of Democracy?

This article contributes to the debate in this journal about the state of British democracy. I criticise the tendency to use a ‘demand–supply’ dichotomy in interpreting the strong distrust experienced by institutions and politicians, and especially the idea that all the blame for current problems is to be attributed to the inadequateness of the British political tradition (BPT). By referring to international data on democracy and to recent British trends in both public attitudes and institutional innovations, a more nuanced picture on the state of democracy emerges. I argue that the BPT is not incompatible with incremental changes that have already introduced innovations in the way politics works in Britain today, and that the task of empowering citizens is one of the most delicate aspects in this process of innovation.     

从政党与公民社会的关系看当代西方政党的发展趋势

当代西方国家基本上完成了国家和社会的分离,形成了较为成熟的公民社会。①在此背景下,从政党和公民社会的关系的视角来研究当代西方政党的发展趋势。共分为三个部分,在第一部分,简要地阐述了西方政党与公民社会的历史关系;在第二部分,主要论述了当代西方政党和公民社会的关系;第三部分,对当代西方政党的发展趋势进行了简单的探讨。     

Opinion formation in foreign policy: the Swiss experience

Applying John Zaller's model of opinion formation to survey data covering 15 years (1981–95) of direct democracy in Switzerland, this paper provides a contribution to the debate about opinion formation in foreign policy. On the one hand, the Swiss experience contradicts the widespread view that citizens are poorly informed about and little interested in foreign affairs. On the other hand, direct democracy often translates into governmental defeats in this field. We address these mixed results and show that opinion formation in foreign policy is not a special case, and differs from that in domestic policy only with respect to the circumstances under which it occurs. In particular, we highlight the unusual type and level of conflict within the elite on foreign policy issues, which translates into distinct patterns of attitudes among the public.     

农村协商民主制度化发展的现实形态和优化路径

在党中央和国务院顶层设计的引领下,我国各地农村协商民主实践蓬勃发展起来,协商民主运行机制初步形成,协商民主制度框架初步建立。根据创新程度不同可以将我国各地农村协商民主实践模式分为制度原创型、制度改良型和制度嵌入型三种形态。虽然我国农村协商民主已经迈入制度化发展轨道,但大都处于起步阶段,制度化发展程度较低,"政绩式协商""低水平协商""随意性协商"等现象严重制约着农村协商民主实践的可持续发展。加强顶层设计,鼓励基层试点,提升农村干部和群众对协商民主的制度认同,持续推进协商民主制度创新,是进一步推动农村协商民主制度化发展的当务之急。     

试论村民自治

村民自治是在广大农村实行直接民主的一项基本政治制度,是有中国特色社会主义民主政治的主要形式之一.村民自治的核心内容是民主选举、民主决策、民主管理和民主监督,体现社会主义国家人民当家作主的民主本质,显示社会主义民主的广泛性和真实性特征.村民自治是我国农村经济体制改革的必然要求,为我国农村开辟了一条发展中国特色社会主义民主政治的道路,实行村民自治有着极其重要的战略意义.     

现实社会主义的生存与发展探析

苏东剧变后,全球社会主义运动遭遇重大挫折。中国改革开放20余年的辉煌成就向世界证实,能在现代生存和发展的现实社会主义只能是面向市场的、民主的、世界的社会主义。