The 2019 General Election in Northern Ireland: the Rise of the Centre Ground?

The experience of the 2019 general election in Northern Ireland took a very different course to that of the rest of the UK and, indeed, to the pattern of electoral politics typical of the region. Coming after almost three years with no functioning devolved government, combined with intense disagreement and uncertainty about Brexit, voters were ready to give a message to the two largest parties. Both Sinn Féin and the DUP suffered losses in the election, with the headline outcome being that unionism no longer holds the majority of seats for Northern Ireland in Westminster. More generally, there was a swing from both sides towards centre ground voting, which brought significant gains for the Alliance Party and the SDLP. This article summarises the reasons for this broad trend, focussing on the conditions and electoral pacts which brought it about. It also considers what it might mean for the prospects for Irish unification, noting that a referendum on unification will only be passed by attracting votes from those who tend to see themselves as neither unionist or nationalist.     

泰国民主政治的怪圈

泰国实行宪政以来经历了多次军人政权和民选政权的交替,形成了政治循环的怪圈,而且每个周期的更替多伴随着暴力冲突和政治动乱.近两年来,泰国政治进入了新一轮循环周期,政治动荡更是此起彼伏.本文重点回顾了2008年的政治危机,分析了危机的根源,并对泰国政治制度发展前景作出预测.     

Democratization through education? Theory and practice of the Czech post-revolution education system and its reforms

The transformation process from an authoritarian/totalitarian system entails many institutional changes, however, the individual citizen is often being overlooked in this chaotic, fast-paced process and his or her “transformation” into a democrat is taken for granted. The changing socio-political system and its exigencies may lead to nostalgia and social frustrations, which in turn cause democratic backsliding. In order to cultivate a democratic society and avoid future backsliding, the post-communist states quickly set out to reform their educational systems, both in form and substance. By reviewing the reform process of the Czech educational system and discussing the prevailing legacies left by the communist regime, the article will show that through the “destruction” of the former system and its de-monopolization, decentralization and de-ideologization, the state deliberately lost significant means and power to transform Czechs from “homo sovieticus” to “homo democraticus” and is now left with a dependence on the highly autonomous schools and their propensity to foster democratic generations that will uphold the democratic state in the future. This paradox is reminiscent of the so-called Böckenförde dilemma, claiming that the liberal democratic state “lives by prerequisites which it cannot guarantee itself”.     

肝胆相照 同心同行

90年来,中国共产党团结各民主党派和无党派人士,使多党合作事业不断创新,焕发生机与活力.70年前,民盟的创建者和早期领导人同共产党和衷共济,为新中国的诞生作出了重大贡献.改革开放以来,民盟充分发挥界别优势,集中全盟智慧,将参政议政活动推向一个较高的层次.     

从理想主义到现实主义——论日本民主党上台后对华外交政策的转变

自2009年鸠山政权执政以来,日本开启了民主党执政的新时代。鸠山内阁大幅调整日本对外政策,奉行＂友爱＂外交理念,推动中日关系一度回暖。但是其继任者菅直人首相上任后,由于国际国内各方面的因素,中日关系急转直下,尤其是在中日钓鱼岛撞船风波以后,日本现实主义的外交政策导致中日关系跌到历史低点。日本对华外交态度的转变不仅对中日两国,更对整个东北亚安全局势造成了不可估量的负面影响。     

民主党派树立践行社会主义核心价值体系问题研究

民主党派树立践行社会主义核心价值体系,是关系到多党合作事业发展的基础工程、灵魂工程。民主党派树立践行社会主义核心价值体系是不断巩固多党合作共同思想政治基础、进一步履行参政党使命、继续做好政治交接的必然要求。民主党派要牢固树立和自觉践行社会主义核心价值体系,必须着力解决自身发展和履行职能中的重要问题。民主党派在树立践行社会主义核心价值体系工作中应创新形式,突出特色。     

宪政民主还是民主宪政?——试论美国最高法院与民主

宪政和民主是现代政治体制中相辅相成的两个部分,如果说民主是河,宪政则是堤。为了限制民主的冲动性与盲目性,美国人制定了成文宪法,在代表制基础上实现了宪政民主。与国会、总统一样,美国最高法院也是民意代表,只不过更为间接和持久。通过解释宪法,美国最高法院不断修补宪政之堤,在尊重民意的基础上引导民意,将宪政民主转向民主宪政,维护了自身的地位与权威。     

非公企业民主管理的实践与思考

非公企业如何开展民主管理是当前工会工作面临的重大课题。本文结合相关的工作实践,对非公企业的民主管理的制约因素进行了认真的分析,并提出了相应的对策建议。     

The rise of illiberal politics in Southeast Europe

ABSTRACT

Democracy is backsliding throughout Southeast Europe but there are no signs of full democratic breakdown. Instead, political parties and their leaders incrementally undermine challenges to governmental authority while keeping electoral contest largely intact. This article introduces a special issue that aims to examine and explain democratic decline by looking at the prevalence of illiberal politics across countries and issues. In order to overcome the limitations of fixed regime classification we adopt a procedural lens and look into governing practices that gradually tilt the electoral playing field. Utilizing the concept of Illiberal politics allows us to examine sets of policies enacted by political parties in government with the aim to remain in power indefinitely. By tracing democratic decline in Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Albania, and Croatia we observe different patterns of weakness, but also common causes arising from weak institutions and inherited governance practices that preserve executive dominance, patronage, and informality.     

实行厂务公开 推进企业民主管理

实行厂务公开,推进企业民主管理,是贯彻落实党的“十六大”精神,发展社会主义民主的需要。