Coordination outside formal organization: consensus-based decision-making and occupation in the Occupy Wall Street movement

Previous work has shown that a vital component for successful collective action is formal organization, in particular because it facilitates internal coordination. But how is coordination achieved in the absence of formal organization? To answer this question, this article presents findings drawn from an ethnographic study on Occupy Wall Street (OWS) in New York City. It first introduces the concept of ‘autonomy’ to discuss the particular challenge faced within the decentralized structure of OWS of developing coordination. It then shows how the practice of holding mass assemblies and the occupation of Zuccotti Park itself each served, in incidental and unintentional ways, as mechanisms of coordination. These findings confirm previous work on the importance of coordination and build upon it by demonstrating that not only is coordination possible outside formal organization, but that it is also in some cases achieved without conscious intention. This suggests the utility of moving beyond an overly rational understanding of social action by acknowledging the inevitability of unforeseen outcomes.     

安乐死与相关法律问题之链接

近年来,关于安乐死立法的建议越来越多,但这些建议大多缺乏体系性思考。从法律体系和法律效力来讲,安乐死立法更适合用法律形式,而不是法规形式,同时,在具体立法过程中,还要考虑与宪法、刑法、民法、行政法等相关法律的衔接问题。     

共识的国际战略效应:一项理论性探讨

共识是国际关系研究和实践中的一个重要概念,既有国际合作理论和战略理论研究等均将共识作为合作的基本条件或潜在假定之一,而在国际关系实践中将追求、落实和巩固共识作为一项基本的外交目标和合作实践。在共识的主体间认知分析基础上,国际共识的类型可以细化为真实共识与部分/虚假共识、消极共识与积极共识等范畴。基于共识的层次分析,塑造共识既成为国际合作的重要基础和条件,也是国际冲突消解的一种重要方式和途径,而部分共识或虚假共识具有重要的国际合作促进作用,同样在特定条件下它也能引发、激化和升级国际冲突。部分共识或虚假共识的国际合作与冲突辩证效应以及消极共识的冲突效应均成为共识的国际战略效应理论分析的核心内容。基于多层次的共识类型分析,共识的国际战略心理学研究包括合作与冲突的效应讨论。共识的国际战略效应分析能够重构共识与国际合作、共识与国际冲突的理论逻辑,对于分析和辨析国际关系中的共识实践具有重要的政策启示。     

我国成文法体制下判例嵌入司法场域的机理

判例经由法律职业共同体的具体运用实践,正在全面且深刻地嵌入我国司法场域。这种嵌入过程或现象具有与域外判例实践所不同的独特机理。恰当把握这一机理需要突破域外以判例"效力"为核心的理论认识,转变为以判例"效用"为导向。这一机理包括嵌入形态、嵌入动力与嵌入主线三个方面。嵌入形态体现为判例智识性信息泛在形态向选择形态的转化;嵌入动力体现为判例自发性运用与建构性运用的耦合;嵌入主线体现为判例运用的组织意图对个体意图的吸纳。揭示这一机理不仅有助于加深对我国判例运用现象的认识,把握判例运用现象的特征和规律,从而有助于理性地建构和完善中国特色判例制度,同时也有利于促成判例运用成为一种惯常化的司法习性。     

The Chinese Dream and the World

正FOR over 2,000 years in its history,China maintained great power.But its influence didn’t stem from territorial expansion or the occupation of foreign countries.China is rather an introversive country,focusing on developing its culture rather than its military might.Chinese civilization has never displayed force or made bellicose policies;instead it emphasizes"harmony is of the utmost value."China hopes to share its dream with the rest of the world,as it is the time-honored consensus among its1.3 billion people that"the interests to be considered     

S&ED Promotes Stable and Cooperative Sino-U.S. Ties

正THE Sixth U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue(SED)convenes in Beijing this July.President Obama’s Special Representative and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew visited China ahead of the event,from May 11 to13,to meet with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Vice Premier Wang Yang.The two sides reached consensus on the basic content of the coming SED.     

Switzerland and the EU: the puzzling effects of Europeanisation without institutionalisation

Switzerland is not a member of the EU and in 1992 refused to join the European Economic Area (EEA) treaty in a popular vote. A conservative majority preferred to keep utmost national autonomy, and consequently, relations between the EU and Switzerland are regulated by a series of bilateral treaties. This process of Europeanisation without institutionalisation has led to profound changes of Swiss politics over the last two decades. While many effects of economic liberalisation and internationalisation are similar to those found in EU countries, some specific problems like the acceleration of immigration present rising social conflict. Social cleavages between urban and rural regions, and between capital and labour are deepening. The continuous rise of the conservative nationalist Swiss People's Party and the growing polarisation between the political Right and Left have put the traditional political culture of accommodation and power sharing at risk. Twenty years after the No-vote on the EEA-treaty, Switzerland is a divided country. Why do Swiss politicians still practice consensus democracy, and what does the divide mean for the future relations between the EU and Switzerland?     

Después del consenso: el liberalismo en México (1990-2012)

This article explores the renewal of liberalism in Mexico over the last two decades. It argues that after the long period of one-party hegemonic rule, intellectuals have embraced many of liberalism’s tenets in public debates, such as economic and institutional reform, the defense of individual rights and freedom of expression, etc. It argues that the end of authoritarian rule made this renewal possible and attempts to account for key factors that unite intellectuals from very different ideological backgrounds.     

Reproductive Health: Morals,Margins and Rights

Reproductive interventions and technologies have the capacity to generate profound societal unease and to provoke hostile reactions underpinned by various moral concerns. This paper shows that this position currently goes relatively unchecked by the European Court of Human Rights, which allows the margin of appreciation and consensus doctrines significantly to limit the scope of reproductive rights under the right to respect for private and family life under Article 8. This occurs both in relation to the interest in avoiding reproduction at stake in abortion, and that in achieving it at stake in medically assisted reproduction. The paper demonstrates significant flaws in the Court's framing and deployment of these doctrines in its reproductive jurisprudence. It argues that, as regards existing and upcoming reproductive interventions and technologies, the Court should attend to the concept of reproductive health, long recognised in international conventions and policy materials.     

The Difficulties of Common Security: On the Need for Value Consensus as a Basis for International Security

The essence of international security is common security, which relies heavily on basic consensus on security concepts and strategies among nations. However, since the beginning of the 20 th century, such a consensus or value basis has become very “thin” as a result of the following four factors: the inception of the global international system along with its cultural diversity; the great changes in political, economic and military arenas; the rise of nationalism and popular politics; and the emergence of superpowers and their antagonistic ideologies. Within strategic culture, there is juxtaposition between confrontational culture and cooperative culture. In security concepts, people have different preferences for national, international or global security. In terms of security strategies, there exist several competing models such as hegemonic stability, balance of power and institutional cooperation. The primary aims of international security remain: avoiding major wars, maintaining the stability of the international system and safeguarding the integrity of the nations. There are two new challenges: promoting global economic justice to avoid any domestic or international conflicts caused by an imbalanced international economic order; and meeting the challenges of various non-conventional security issues affecting human life on a global scale. In an era of security interdependence, the international community must make joint efforts to rebuild the consensus on security in light of the fundamental values of common security and cooperative security, and to practice a truly “international” security strategy so as to break away from the security dilemmas inflicted by each nation’s reliance on its own self-help and competing “national” security strategy.