From AKP’s ‘Conservative Democracy’ to ‘Advanced Democracy’: Shifts and Challenges in the Debate on ‘Europe’

Abstract

Following the AKP’s victory in the 2002 general elections, ‘conservative democracy’ has emerged as a trademark in Turkish politics, focusing on cosmopolitanism and European integration. In the late 2000s, the party’s favourite notion was ‘advanced democracy’, this time underlining Turkey’s leadership claim in the region and displaying a more critical approach to ‘Europe’. In this paper, I aim to show how different narratives on ‘Europe’ emerged within the context of these empty signifiers. The paper claims that the difference in the two narratives on ‘Europe’ in two different periods does not point to a complete and fully fledged de-Europeanisation trend.     

Connecting to regional markets? Transport,logistics services and international transit challenges for Central Asian food-processing firms

Central Asian food processors face a number of constraints when they attempt to export to the region and beyond. The Central Asian economies in focus here are landlocked, and thus lack easy access to sea transport. In addition, the region's transport network was built to reinforce the interdependence of the then Soviet republics, while conflicting economic interests make cross-border cooperation difficult. Based on extensive fieldwork on infrastructure systems and firm export strategies, this paper identifies contemporary infrastructure and transportation issues within the Central Asian region, and makes a novel attempt to examine how these factors lead to challenges for local food processing producers trying to sell their products in the region and beyond.     

Communicating South Africa’s soft power: Agents,instruments and recipients

New scholarly literature that focuses on the currency of soft power is emerging in the analysis of South Africa’s foreign policy. This nascent strand of discourse seeks to capture the nexus between the ideational value of soft power and Pretoria’s foreign policy. Despite pockets of literature in this regard, there has been little analysis of the communicative settings and adaptations of soft power in the South African context. Within this analytical context, this article aims to contribute to existing discourse on South Africa’s soft power by probing the agents, sources and subjects involved in its cultivation and unpacking the links between these communicative environments. These issues are critical, given the recent emphasis on the role and utility of soft power for achieving South Africa’s foreign policy ambitions. The article stresses that, in the long term, the deepening of South Africa’s soft power capability and influence will depend largely on the extent of the strategic calibration between the communicative realms of actors, instruments and recipients.     

Expressed attachment to Russia and social integration: the case of young Russian speakers in Latvia, 2004–2010

The aim of this article is to establish if expressed attachment to Russia, amongst surveyed Russian-speaking youths in 2004 and 2010 in Latvia, demonstrates any noteworthy correlations with factors promoting integration and feelings of belonging to Latvia. The correlation analysis shows that a sense of belonging to Russia and a sense of belonging to Latvia are not mutually exclusive. However, those Russian speakers in Latvia expressing a closer sense of belonging to Russia are also more likely to prefer an all-Russian environment, are skeptical of their rights and influence in Latvia, and are more likely to perceive discrimination in terms of citizenship status and ethnicity. These preferences suggest either a lack of integration or an “external homeland” influence.     

贪污贿赂案件侦查地域管辖制度的构建

侦查地域管辖是指在侦查职能管辖的基础上,由何地的侦查机关行使管辖权的职权划分。侦查地域管辖既不同于审判地域管辖。也不同于以该地域为基础的侦查级别管辖。我国刑事诉讼法没有对侦查地域管辖作出明确规定。实践中套用审判地域管辖或由侦查机关将“犯罪地”与“职能管辖”相结合来确定侦查地域管辖权的做法。既不科学也不合理。建议以公正、效率为原则。为贪污贿赂犯罪案件建立侦查管辖决定权与实际侦查权分离,侦查管辖决定权上移的侦查地域管辖制度。     

论东亚社会发展合作

在东亚地区,社会发展合作对于推进东亚一体化具有重大意义,它能够消除东亚一体化进程中所面临的社会障碍,为东亚共同体的建设打下坚实的社会基础。目前东亚社会发展合作已有一定基础,但仍存在一些问题,东亚国家还须为深化社会发展合作做进一步努力。     

找回“弱关系”:解决农村纯女户融合难的现实路径——来自江西Y村的思考

在以往的社会网络研究中,多注重社会网络中强关系部分,而对弱关系研究强调不够。良好的弱关系是个体与社会发生联系的重要环境,在男性偏好依然存在的农村地区,邻里的接纳与支持对于纯女户顺利融入社区具有重要意义。本文在分析了纯女户日常交往中获得弱支持资料的基础上,认为正向弱关系的缺乏造成了纯女户人际交往上的疏离,这是一种隐性的歧视方式,更应引起警觉。     

广西北部湾经济区开展政府营销探讨

开展政府营销对于弥补市场失灵、促进区域经济发展具有现实意义,符合国际惯例。广西北部湾经济区各市都开展过一些政府营销工作,并取得一定成效,但是也存在一些问题。广西北部湾经济区要做好政府营销工作,必须加强学习政府营销知识、树立政府营销观念、培养政府营销人才、整合政府营销资源、借鉴发达地区的成功经验、创新政府营销方法、练好内功、突出政府营销重点等。     

中国共产党社会整合模式创新脉络考察

中国共产党的社会整合模式随着社会经济、政治、文化等的发展而不断创新：在新民主主义革命局部执政时期逐步构建了政党主导型社会整合模式;在社会主义改造时期逐步构建了政府主导型社会整合模式;在改革开放时期积极构建多元契约性社会整合模式。细致梳理党的社会整合模式创新脉络,归纳其时代启示,对构建社会主义和谐社会有着积极的促进作用。     

新型农村合作医疗制度发展取向研究

新型农村合作医疗制度是我国2003年开始在农村地区实行的一种医疗互助共济制度。然而,随着我国医疗体制的改革,农村经济条件的变化、农村人口流动的加快、城市化的挑战以及农村人口老龄化等因素使得新农合制度逐渐发生变化。本文认为,必须围绕我国医疗保障体制改革的目标,研究新农合制度的发展取向,不断优化现行的新农合制度。