The 2017 election in Kenya: reimagining the past or introducing the future?

The new 2010 Kenya Constitution introduced a devolved system of government that has radically transformed the Kenyan polity. The political elite which operated primarily at the national level now encounters a new competitive political arena with the introduction of county governments under devolution. In particular, a new post of County Governor has surpassed in power calculations both the traditional MP and the new position of senator. In the 2013 elections, the focus was on the national arena; in 2017, all this will change.     

Communicating authoritarian elite cohesion

In this paper, we develop a theoretical framework to analyse the communicative imperatives authoritarian regimes face as a consequence of their self-inflicted opacities. The most important facts about the actors and factors that sustain authoritarian rule are unobservable. To demonstrate their power, authoritarian rulers have to render them visible. They have to dramatize their power and present on the front stage what they want people to know about the backstage of authoritarian politics. We conceptualize the communicative strategies of authoritarian rulers with a focus on the primary existential threats they face: the lateral threats that emanate from within the authoritarian elite. We illustrate dictators’ communicative repertoire with empirical material from communist Cuba from 2006 to 2011, during the critical juncture of leadership transition from Fidel Castro to his brother Raúl.     

Explaining China’s popularity in the Middle East and Africa

Abstract

China enjoys considerable popularity in the Middle East and Africa, not only among elites but also at street level. This article draws on international relations theories to explain this general pattern, as well as intra- and interregional variation. Every approach has something to contribute, but international political economy more so than realism. Constructivist theories are particularly useful in explaining China’s popularity in the Middle East and Africa.     

Understanding the Role of Participation in Public Service Delivery: Evidences from Rural West Bengal,India

The present study, using household level data of East Midnapore district of West Bengal, India, examines the role of people’s participation in public service delivery. It considers four dimensions of participation namely attending meetings, raising voice, lodging complaints, and making contributions. The study confirms the role of participation in public service delivery. Apart from participation, households’ socioeconomic and political positions also exert significant impacts. There is, however, likelihood of “elite capture” and “clientelism” in the delivery of public services. Effective service delivery presupposes that while attending meetings, people must raise their voice and make contributions.     

试论农村精英与农村社会发展——以吉林省为例

随着农村社会的变迁和农民阶层的日益分化,农村精英群体不断涌现;他们依靠自身拥有的经济和社会资源优势,对于农村社会的发展起到了积极的带动作用,是实现农村社会发展的内生动力.本文基于吉林省农村的实际,阐释了农村精英在农村经济发展和社会建设中的重要作用,并从农村精英的自我完善、组织培养、身份认同、政府支持体系建构等角度探讨了有效发挥农村精英带动作用的对策.     

When governments ignore public opinion in foreign policy: Poland and the Iraq invasion

This article asks why the Government of Poland participated in the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 when a large majority of the Polish public was opposed to national involvement in Iraq. The aim is to further an understanding of the circumstances under which democratic governments ignore public opinion in their foreign policy decision-making. The article argues that a combination of three circumstances increased the willingness of the government to ignore the public. First, the Iraq issue had relatively low salience among the Polish voters, which decreased the domestic political risks of pursuing the policy. Second, the government's Iraq policy was supported by a considerable consensus among the political elite. Third, the political elites were unified in their perceptions that participating in the invasion would yield essential international gains for Poland.     

Namibia: Consensus institutions and majoritarian politics

This article assesses the utility of Arend Lijphart's classification scheme of democracies by means of a case study of Namibia. In particular, the article examines whether Namibia represents a case of consensus democracy, based on institutional criteria within the power-sharing and power-division dimensions, as developed in Lijphart's Patterns of Democracy (1999). The application of the ten criteria results in a mixed outcome, with an overall modal value of ‘moderately consensus’, a modal value of strongly majoritarian for the executive-parties dimension, and moderately consensus for the federal-executive dimension. The highly varied scores for each of the criteria, particularly within the first of Lijphart's two dimensions, present several problems. It is argued that the statistical modal value represents a distorted image of Namibian politics. Namibia scores consistently on the majoritarian side for criteria which conceptually concern the essence of the consensus modal. Moreover, apparent consensus features such as tripartite institutions, bicameralism, and a rigid constitution do not ‘behave’ as such due to one-party dominance, and neither does proportional representation produce consensus politics. Lijphart's criteria are too formal, and should not receive equal weight. The article concludes that power-sharing is better investigated by focusing on just two criteria, namely the party system and the strongly related criterion of government coalitions. Moreover, it is essential to examine political behaviour, in particular of governing elites, to look for the presence of cooperation and compromise, paradoxically issues which were more prominent in Lijphart's earlier work.     

主体多元、权力交织与乡村适应性治理

多主体的共同在场使村治空间中交织着行政权力、村庄治权、经济权力和道德权威四种主要的权力类型。不同的权力来源决定了它们之间的异质性和各自有限的作用范围。从适应性治理的角度来看,过于规整的行政权力在乡村治理中欠缺及时的回应能力,而精英个人的经济权力和道德权威又兼具实用性和风险性。相比之下,灵活的村庄治权最具治理优势,但其自身正在内外因素的制约下不断弱化。为此,应从政策引领和机制监督两方面来促成有效的乡村多元治理,减少基层行政干预、强化村庄治权、规范私人权力并鼓励精英回归。     

Regulation and its discontents: the Indian judiciary and higher education

The role of the judiciary in strengthening regulatory regimes is well regarded. In developing countries where regulatory bodies are captive to powerful interest groups, the judiciary is regarded for its activist role in providing participatory access to groups excluded from the policy process. In contrast, this paper draws attention to the limits of the judiciary as a gatekeeper of regulatory governance. Using the case of regulation in India’s tertiary education sector, it shows how the judiciary’s track record of enabling elite actors to influence policy, often at the cost of legislative mandates, can undermine regulation.     

关于国家精英教育发展战略的若干思考——基于国际金融危机中“政府失灵”现象的反思与批判

世界金融危机的深层次原因是政府失灵,政府失灵的实质是"精英泡沫"和"次级精英危机"。因此,教育培养卓越的国家精英是世界各国未来发展的关键,是未来国际竞争的重要战略要点。而培养卓越的国家精英需要卓越的精英教育,卓越的国家精英教育需要领导型学者。但精英教育教学改革要警惕杜威的实用教育哲学与新老"愚官教育"。培养世界精英是人类21世纪发展的战略制高点。