One voter, two first-order elections?

Conventional wisdom has it that elections other than national ones are “second-order elections,” driven by political conditions in the “first-order” national arena. It has not yet been shown that a sub- or supra-national election can exhibit qualities similar to those of first-order elections. This paper uses the 2003 Ontario Election Study, from a provincial election in extremely decentralized federation, to demonstrate that a sub-national election can be a first-order election. Aggregate evidence shows voters' interest and turnout is comparable to national elections. Individual-level evidence shows vote choice is determined by arena-specific factors. And dynamic evidence shows that this sub-national campaign had its own homegrown events that influenced voters, just as campaign events influence national elections.     

The contested terrain of food sovereignty construction: toward a historical,relational and interactive approach

This contribution puts forward a historical, relational and interactive (HRI) approach to food sovereignty research. A historical lens allows us to understand the social structures and institutions that condition the politics of food over time and the ways in which the agency of relevant state and societal actors has been, and continues to be, enhanced and exercised, or not, in the political contestation over the food system. A relational lens allows us to capture the process-oriented nature of food sovereignty – the ways in which the very meanings and attempted practices of food sovereignty are being dynamically and contentiously shaped and reshaped over time. An interactive lens allows us to analyze how actors within the state and in society are dialectically linked, molding the construction of food sovereignty through their interactions. Rather than an enquiry into food sovereignty per se, this piece is about efforts toward food sovereignty, partly to address a tendency in the literature and political debates to conflate the two. This is thus an investigation into food sovereignty construction, meaning how food sovereignty is being articulated and attempted, as well as contested – including resisted, refracted or reversed – in a given setting. The case of Venezuela is examined as one of a growing number of countries where food sovereignty has been adopted into state policy and among the longest-running experiments in its attempted construction. Concluding reflections are shared on the extent to which the HRI framework can help us understand the current conjunctural crisis facing Venezuela’s food system, and implications for food sovereignty research and activism more broadly.     

Struggling for food sovereignty in the World March of Women

This contribution focuses on how food sovereignty is being re-signified as a feminist issue by a non-peasant transnational feminist network, the World March of Women. First, we review the feminist literature on women, gender and food sovereignty and make suggestions regarding how to conceptualize the latter to better analyze women’s and feminist struggles on this terrain. Second, we highlight the variety of discourses and practices through which food sovereignty is appropriated in the different spaces and scales of the March. Third, we identify the political dynamics that underlie the uneven deployment of the project of food sovereignty among the national coordinating bodies of the March. Our conclusion stresses the role of discursive articulations and of internal and external alliances as processes through which food sovereignty is both diffused and transformed, and draws some implications for the larger scholarship on food sovereignty.     

Brexit: The EU Policy‐Making State Hits the Populist Buffers

There seems to be an emerging conventional wisdom that the Brexit vote resulted from specific domestic factors in Britain, such as divisions within the ruling Conservative party, the rise of UKIP, strong reaction to increased immigration, all set against the backdrop of globalisation and its adverse effects. The end result was a populist revolt. The argument presented here is somewhat different. Whilst accepting that the above factors were certainly very important, it is argued that it is important to examine the key role of the EU itself in the creation of the current crisis within the EU. The construction of an EU policy‐making state has run far ahead of what voters at the national level want, leading to a central paradox within the EU, namely that the European elite which runs the EU has introduced some very beneficial public policies, yet that elite has become increasingly out of touch with its peoples.     

Whose Mandate is it Anyway? Brexit,the Constitution and the Contestation of Authority

Over the past year, a seemingly relentless barrage of Brexit‐related challenges has besieged the British constitution, which together have called into question the legitimacy of the political system. Yet, although it is tempting to regard the decision to hold a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union as precipitating an acute constitutional crisis, this article argues that political and democratic dilemmas arising from Brexit are symptomatic of a wider constitutional malaise, the roots of which extend far beyond 23 June 2016. Flowing out of this, the article contends that the current crisis is one of ‘constitutional myopia’, fuelled by decades of incoherent reforms and a failure to address adequately democratic disengagement; and that the EU referendum and its aftermath have merely exposed the extent to which the foundations of the constitution have been eviscerated.     

International Recognition and Religion: A Quantitative Analysis of Kosovo’s Contested Status

Recognition from other recognized states is the key to becoming a fully fledged member state of the international system. Although many new states are quickly and universally recognized, the recognition of other aspiring states remains highly contested. In these cases of contested sovereignty, some countries but not others extend recognition. However, research on what shapes a country’s decision to recognize a claim to sovereign statehood remains relatively sparse. This article focuses on how religion shapes the incentives of states to extend or withhold recognition to aspiring states in cases of contested sovereignty. It posits two mechanisms, one at the domestic level through religious institutions and one at the international level through transnational religious affinities. The article uses new data on all state decisions regarding the international recognition of Kosovo to test these propositions. The results provide strong support for these two pathways through which religion shapes state decisions regarding international recognition.     

论国家主权在国际私法领域中的新发展

主权是国家的根本属性,国家主权原则在现代国际关系中起着举足轻重的作用。国际私法中的国家主权有其独特之处。本文对国家主权进行对比分析后,将其在国际私法中的体现予以介绍,并指出在当代国际私法领域中国家主权必须摆脱“主权优位”理论的束缚,树立“平位协调”前提下的主权合作观念。     

地方政府参与区域合作的国际制度分析——以云南、广西为例

传统上,地方政府并不是地区主义及国际制度研究中的主要关注对象,但在经济区域化日益加深的今天,它们在地区合作及国际制度中有着独特的意义。本文在简要讨论地区主义、国际制度及地方政府的概念及相互关系的基础上,选择云南、广西这两个具有典型意义的例子来讨论地方政府参与区域合作的制度建设、主要特征、效用及前景等问题。作者认为,制度化程度低、存在着主权——非主权以及国家——市场的双重“裂口”是地方政府参与区域合作国际制度的根本特征。     

民族文化自治历史命运的转折与引进设想（二）

在当代各国为解决民族、种族、文化集团问题提出的思路与建立的机制中,与联邦制、民族区域自治、多元文化主义等政治思路与机制相对应的,是文化思路与机制,即"民族文化自治"的思路与机制.但该思路与机制自提出之日起,就遭到种种质疑和抵制.直到20世纪90年代以后,其历史命运才出现了转机.文章对此种转机出现的历史背景、民族文化自治的价值蕴含等进行了详尽的分析和论述.此外,对中国是否能以及怎样引进民族文化自治提出作者个人的初步设想.     

死刑不引渡原则中的人权与主权

死刑不引渡原则比引渡的其它原则形成要晚，但它的发展速度、影响及在引渡制度中的地位却是其它原则无法比拟的。它是国际社会致力于废除死刑的必然结果，是人权保护的题中应有之意。死刑不引渡原则，不仅涉及国家对待死刑的态度，同时由于它涉及到国家主权与人权保障的问题，所以在最近几年，较之引渡的其他原则更备受瞩目。