Journeys to the limits of first-hand knowledge: politicians’ on-site visits in zones of conflict and intervention

ABSTRACT

This article explores the practice and political significance of politicians’ journeys to conflict zones. It focuses on the German example, looking at field trips to theatres of international intervention as a way of first-hand knowledge in policymaking. Paying tribute to Lisa Smirl and her work on humanitarian spaces, objects and imaginaries and on liminality in aid worker biographies, two connected arguments are developed. First, through the exploration of the routinized practices of politicians’ field trips the article shows how these journeys not only remain confined to the ‘auxiliary space’ of aid/intervention, but that it is furthermore a staged reality of this auxiliary space that most politicians experience on their journeys. The question is then asked, second, what politicians actually experience on their journeys and how their experiences relate to their policy knowledge about conflict and intervention. It is shown that political field trips enable sensory/affectual, liminoid and liminal experiences, which have functions such as authority accumulation, agenda setting, community building, and civilizing domestic politics, while at the same time reinforcing, in most cases, pre-existing conflict and intervention imaginaries.     

Resurgent authoritarianism: the case of Russia's new NGO legislation

Following the protest demonstrations of the 2011–2012 electoral cycle, tensions between the limited modernization efforts of Medvedev and the resurgent authoritarianism of Putin have become increasingly manifest. These are seen not only in the relationship between society and the state, but also in the “para-constitutional” institutions of the dual state. This article argues that whereas Medvedev created an arena for liberalization within these para-constitutional structures, Putin has firmly rejected these policies, among other things by revising the 1995 law on NGOs amended in 2006. Using the perspective of the dual state, the article argues that with the introduction of the Law on Foreign Agents (2012), the original law draft On Public Control (2014), a key element in Medvedev's modernization program, was delayed and substantially altered. Together, these amendments create precarious conditions for NGOs, pressuring their independence by threats of dissolution and reducing the quality of civil control over state organs.     

No,prime minister: explaining the House of Commons’ vote on intervention in Syria

On 29 August 2013, the UK House of Commons inflicted the first defeat on a Prime Minister over a matter of war and peace since 1782. Recalled to debate and vote on UK intervention in Syria, the Commons humbled the government and crucially impacted the development of UK foreign policy. This article places that vote, and the developments leading to it, in the context of the role of parliaments in security policy and explores the relationships between parliamentary influence, leadership, intra-party and intra-coalition politics, and public opinion. From an in-depth analysis of leaders’ statements and parliamentary debate, we find a combination of intra-party politics and party leadership were most significant. An additional factor – the role of historical precedent – was also important. Our analysis explores the fluidity and interconnectedness of the various factors for parliamentary influence in foreign policy and offers directions for future theoretical development and empirical research.     

Security development and the Palestinian Authority: an examination of the ‘Canadian factor’

The Palestinian Authority has become a major recipient of development assistance with a primary area of focus on the development of security capacities. As a case study in the securitisation of aid, this article demonstrates how Canadian development aid has been almost exclusively aimed towards areas of security enhancements. Detailing what Canadian security development actors call ‘the Canadian factor’, the article argues that the securitisation of aid is a mobilisation of security expertise to advance the strategic interests of major donors. In detailing the donors as beneficiaries of aid, the article describes how the ‘success story’ of development aid in Palestine is a reflection of how security aid functions to advance the interests of donors as opposed to populations under the recipient authorities.     

国际投资法中的“国家安全”问题探究——以“Ralls诉美国外国投资委员会案”为视角

国际投资协定通过条约义务设定,促使投资东道国保护其境内的外国投资。"国家安全例外"条款则以保护东道国利益为宗旨,并为国际投资协定和国际投资争端解决实践认可。"国家安全例外"在平衡国际投资者与投资东道国利益中扮演重要角色,但该条款会为以保护东道国国家利益为名行投资歧视之实的行为提供"条约保护伞",对国际投资造成不合理限制。在国际投资协定由"重投资保护轻东道国保护"向"投资者与东道国兼顾"的转型中,我国拟在《外国投资法》中设置国家安全审查机制的做法正逢其时,并与"投资者—东道国纠纷解决机制"退出国际投资条约的呼声相呼应,将为投资东道国利益提供条约上的保护。但在国际投资协定尚未完成转型的时期,通过国家安全审查国际投资时应兼顾考察所涉及的投资协定,以免国家承担可能发生的条约不履行的国际责任。     

国外非营利组织法人治理研究进展

非营利组织作为一种与企业法人类似的法人形式,从公司治理的角度研究非营利组织法人治理问题越来越引起学界的重视。本文主要对国外公司治理视角下非营利组织法人治理问题从静态的治理结构和动态的治理机制两方面的最新研究进展进行系统综述,探讨对研究我国非营利组织法人治理问题的借鉴和启示。     

"08雪灾"民间救助的法律思考

"08雪灾",灾情严重,但民心稳定,体现出民众对政府的信任。"08雪灾"启示危机管理中政府与社会合作互助的法制建设亟待加强。"08雪灾"的民间救助呼唤加快慈善立法。     

国际卫生法的新使命:全球公共健康治理

世界卫生组织在20世纪通过两个国际规章来控制疾病的跨国传播,本世纪通过了《国际卫生法规（2005）》与《烟草控制条约》。目前面临的最大挑战是能否处理好世界上最贫穷国家、地区和人民的公共健康问题,满足其基本生存需要。建议其与国际组织、国家、企业、基金、民间组织合作,达成全球公共健康框架公约,有效改善穷国的卫生条件,帮助他们进行能力和机构建设,这是世界卫生组织和国际卫生法在新的条件下必须承担的新使命和发展的新契机。     

China in Pacific Regional Politics

Abstract

Foreign aid from China to the island countries of the Pacific has grown rapidly over the last few decades and an expanding body of literature has examined various aspects of what this means for politics in the region generally. This article focuses on China’s impact on Pacific regional politics partly from the perspective of identity politics. It suggests that China has substantially increased its engagement with the Pacific island states by making use of its own identity as a South–South development partner in contrast to traditional (mainly Western) donors in the region. Unlike most traditional donors, however, China’s diplomacy and engagement are based largely on bilateralism, and this is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. This approach could continue to limit its impact on Pacific regionalism, regardless of how it projects its image.     

外资并购国有企业的法律思考

外资并购我国国有企业是当前企业并购中的热点。随着我国入世步伐的加快 ,妥善处理这一问题显得日益重要。本文通过分析外资并购国有企业存在的问题 ,提出了完善外资并购国有企业法律制度的设想。