A Tale of Two Towns: Assessing the Role of Political Resources in a Community Electronic Network

In this study we examine responses to the recent expansion of information technology in two rural Minnesota towns. One of these towns took a cooperative approach to technology access, developing a community electronic network, while the other town relied on a more individualistic, entrepreneurial model. The present study examines citizens' attitudes concerning social, political, and technological issues in these two communities, with the goal of uncovering what kinds of attitudes and resources citizens need to have in order to help support and sustain a community electronic network. Structural equation modeling is used to specify the relationships among individuals' economic, political, and social resources, technology ownership and use, and awareness of and support for the community network. Drawing on a theory of social capital, we consider the relative importance of privately- oriented social engagement versus publicly- oriented political engagement in relation to collective outcomes. Our analysis shows that in the town with the broadly- based community electronic network, individuals' political as well as economic resources are linked to knowledge and use of computer resources, whereas in the comparison community, economic stratification alone drives computer access. The implications of these findings for issues of equity, access to technology, and the development of strong community ties are discussed.     

Parental Socialization and Rational Party Identification

This article constructs a rational choice model of the intergenerational transmission of party identification. At a given time, identification with a party is the estimate of average future benefits from candidates of that party. Experienced voters constantly update this expectation using political events since the last realignment to predict the future in accordance with Bayes Rule. New voters, however, have no experience of their own. In Bayesian terms, they need prior beliefs. It turns out that under certain specified conditions, these young voters should rationally choose to employ parental experience to help orient themselves to politics. The resulting model predicts several well–known features of political socialization, including the strong correlation between parents' and children's partisanship, the greater partisan independence of young voters, and the tendency of partisan alignments to decay.     

Sleaze or clear blue water?: the evolution of corporate and pressure group representation at the major UK party conferences

There has been growing academic and public interest in corporate political lobbying in both the UK and EU in recent years. In Britain, links between politicians and commercial interests have been one of the areas examined by the Committee on Standards in Public Life (‘the Nolan Committee’ and now ‘the Neill Committee’). A visible but under‐researched aspect of political lobbying by firms and other groups is the range of activities that take place at annual party conferences. An exhaustive study of these activities at the three main British party conferences between 1994–97 is reported, covering the period from Tony Blair's first appearance as party leader to the aftermath of the 1997 General Election. There is clear growth of visible lobbying, particularly at the Labour conferences, over the period leading up to the election, and a dropping off in 1997; particularly at the Conservative conference. The implications of the results for organisations, and particularly for public affairs practitioners, are considered. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications     

缅甸政治形势探析

粉碎一起由军事强人———奈温的亲属策划的家庭政变对许多人来说是好消息 ,但这对民主发展并没有什么帮助。奈温的亲属告诉审问者 ,他们策划政变是因为政府的经济政策导致他们损失了许多钱 ,而且他们不再享有特权。没有人会相信那些被逮捕的人竟然会策划一场“政变”。这起粉碎政变最有可能的目的便是军政府自身在为后奈温时代做准备。军政府旨在打垮奈温家庭势力的紧急行动非常明智。他们不希望出现另一股势力。     

自觉消除激进主义思潮--对统一战线内部激进主义思潮的反思

新世纪朗月风清的统战形势容易使人滋生激进主义思潮。本文在略陈现实与历史的激进主义思潮 ,剖析其成因的基础上 ,不揣浅陋地提出自觉消除激进主义思潮的一些新思考 ,以求正于方家。     

“两国论”的社会基础与台湾政情

“两国论”不但有特殊的背景,而且有相当的社会基础,值得忧虑和警惕。但是,台湾的安全与稳定,台湾民众的福祉皆系于坚持“一个中国”的基本原则:因此,虽有人妄言修宪定国,却未敢冒险付诸行动;各“总统”候选人在竞选白热化之际打“两岸关系”牌,恰恰说明了台湾民众对“两国论”没有信心。     

计算机网络与大学生思想政治工作

计算机网络是当今时代信息革命的重要标志,网络的发展给大学生思想政治工作创新带来了难得的发展机遇,也使传统的思想政治工作模式面临严峻挑战。借助计算机网络技术对大学生思想政治工作进行“嫁接”和改造,是新时期大学生思想政治工作新的途径和方法,网络思想政治工作也将成为新时期大学生思想政治工作的重要领域。符合大学生思想政治工作要求的信息网络建设和管理是网络思想政治工作的基础。一支高素质的思想政治工作队伍是网络思想政治工作的必然要求和组织保证。     

江泽民论军队思想政治建设

认真学习江泽民军队思想政治建设的有关论述,对于开创军队思想政治建设的新局面,具有重要的指导意义.按逻辑关系,这些论述大致可分为"摆在首位"的地位论,"占领阵地"的作用论,"两个武装"的总体任务论,"提高全体官兵素质"的关键论以及"四个教育"与探讨"特点和规律"的建设思路论.     

Zimbabwe’s transition overload: an interpretation

ABSTRACT

The article argues that to understand the troubled history of Zimbabwe we have to pay attention to the multiple and incomplete ‘transitions’ that the country underwent within three decades. Each of these transitions was probably inevitable and the trajectory they followed may be the right one for each of the transitions. However, the transitions in Zimbabwe were intertwined in a not always mutually supportive way. Indeed, we also argue that eventually, Zimbabwe suffered from a ‘transition overload’ as the many transitions undermined or confounded each other. The article is also a caution against the preoccupation of individuals in Zimbabwean history. Finally, there are some lessons for post-conflict countries that are often faced with wide-ranging agenda that often include externally imposed items.     

The five shades of grey: party systems and authoritarian institutions in post-Soviet Central Asian states

ABSTRACT

This article overviews and seeks to explain the processes of party system formation in the post-Soviet Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) by focusing on a crucial party-system property, fragmentation. The analysis reveals that to a much greater extent than in democracies, where party systems are largely shaped by societal factors, the level of party system fragmentation in autocracies is determined by the scope of presidential powers, as entrenched in the formal institutional order and reflected in the national constitution. The level of authoritarianism is largely inconsequential for party system fragmentation, while the role of electoral rules is secondary. Institutionally weak and institutionally strong autocratic presidents have a preference for fragmented party systems, while presidents with an intermediate range of powers seek and obtain low levels of party system fragmentation.