Is Britain Facing a Crisis of Democracy?

This article contributes to the debate in this journal about the state of British democracy. I criticise the tendency to use a ‘demand–supply’ dichotomy in interpreting the strong distrust experienced by institutions and politicians, and especially the idea that all the blame for current problems is to be attributed to the inadequateness of the British political tradition (BPT). By referring to international data on democracy and to recent British trends in both public attitudes and institutional innovations, a more nuanced picture on the state of democracy emerges. I argue that the BPT is not incompatible with incremental changes that have already introduced innovations in the way politics works in Britain today, and that the task of empowering citizens is one of the most delicate aspects in this process of innovation.     

From ‘Tiger’ to ‘PIIGS’: Ireland and the use of heuristics in comparative political economy

This article analyses the consequences of the narrative construction of the group of countries that has been grouped as ‘PIIGS’ (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain) for their sovereign debt risk rating. Acronyms for groups of countries can provide a useful shorthand to capture emergent similarities in economic profile and prospects. But they can also lead to misleading narratives, since the grounds for use of these terms as heuristic devices are usually not well elaborated. This article examines the process whereby the ‘PIIGS’ group came into being, traces how Ireland became a member of this grouping, and assesses the merits of classifying these countries together. The contention is that the repetition of the acronym in public debate did indeed shape the behaviour of market actors toward these countries. It is argued that this involved a co‐constituting process: similarities in market treatment drives PIIGS usage, which in turn promotes further similarities in market treatment. Evidence is found of Granger causality, such that increased media usage of the term ‘PIIGS’ is followed by increased changes in Irish bond yields. This demonstrates the constitutive role of perceptions and discourse in interpreting the significance of economic fundamentals. The use of acronyms as heuristics has potentially far‐reaching consequences in the financial markets.     

Russia–EU relations at a crossroads: preventing a new Cold War in a polycentric world

In the past year, the Ukrainian crisis has generated an international discussion about a ‘new Cold War’. This article looks into the likelihood of such a scenario and makes suggestions of how it may be precluded. The course of events depends on whether the current model of globalization can be reversed. This would mean not only a change in the current structure of the global economy, but its dismantling. However, it is obvious that for most European and other states, the risks associated with such a policy outweigh potential geopolitical and economic benefits. The international order is in a state of flux. High risks are unacceptable when governments or nations pursue their interests in a stable environment. But when the balance of power shifts substantially, as it has now, the perception of risk threshold also begins to change. European history has shown that large-scale transformations in international relations in most cases triggered tension and violence, caused by rising demands of ascending powers and by resistance of those who were challenged. In the twenty-first century, the polycentric structure of the world provides an opportunity to achieve a new lasting global settlement, and to put an end to the current period of increasing tension.     

After the Ukrainian crisis: Is there a place for Russia?

Revolutionary protests in Ukraine in winter 2014 resulted in the annexation of Crimea by Russia, and an anti-terrorist operation launched by Kiev in eastern Ukraine. What was a totally internal manifestation of displeasure with governmental policy transformed into an international security crisis. While Kiev considers it a Russian–Ukrainian conflict, Moscow perceives it as a Russian–West confrontation, claiming that the crisis was provoked by NATO’s desire to enlarge into the region where Russia’s vital interests lie. The article analyses the sources of the current Ukrainian–Russian conflict and looks into Russia’s place in post-crisis Ukraine. As history has shown, even those states which used to fight each other for centuries managed not only to find peace but to establish constructive relationships. Still, with the shift from material to ideological confrontation, there are fewer and fewer options for compromise.     

Class war-on-terror: counterterrorism,accumulation, crisis

This article discusses US counterterrorism from a class perspective. It sees counterterrorism as a state policy with differential effects on different social classes. In doing so, the article starts to address a lacuna in critical studies of counterterrorism, which tend to be rather structural and formal, thus ignoring the pertinence of counterterrorism to the field of social dynamics. To partly rectify this blind spot by addressing some class implications of counterterrorism, the article examines the effects of counterterrorism policy on capital accumulation and its social conditions. It notes that counterterrorism has different implications along class-lines: for dominant capital, it signifies appropriation of public money and direct participation in political decisions; for everyone else, it means material dispossession and political exclusion. Given that counterterrorism was developed between two crises of neoliberalism, the article distinguishes between economic crises, which tend to benefit capitalism, and political crises, which can be destructive, and suggests that counterterrorism is partly a restructuring of the neoliberal state so that it can manage recurring economic crises, while preventing their evolution into political ones.     

论夫妻债务的法律规制

夫妻债务的法律规制,不仅关系到夫妻双方的财产权益,而且关系到第三人债权安全保障的问题,因此,在法律理论上明确夫妻共同债务、夫妻个人债务的各自范围、清偿责任,以及二者在法律上易混淆时的处理依据极为必要。     

处理夫妻离婚时债务应保护债权人利益

随着社会主义市场经济的不断发展 ,人与人之间的交往日益频繁 ,债权债务关系也不断扩大。然而 ,以离婚逃避债务则屡见不鲜。人民法院在处理离婚债务清偿问题时应注意征询债权人的意见 ;在判决由夫妻一方对债务承担清偿责任时 ,应判决另一方负连带清偿责任 ;当债权人向法院起诉主张债权时 ,法院应将离婚双方列为共同被告。     

浅谈校园暴力治理与社区警务之契合——校园安全危机问题研究

校园安全危机已成为我国社会普遍关注的问题之一。应对校园安全危机除了采取社会、学校、家庭和学生自身参与的综合治理措施外,公安机关是应对校园安全危机的重要角色和力量。校园社区警务模式的推行对解决校园安全危机应大有作为。     

台湾的认同危机和台独势力的发展

过去30年来,台湾民众的民族认同和台湾政府的国家认同危机的发展、台独势力的扩张以及民主的进程,虽促进了台湾社会的发展,同时也加剧了海峡两岸的矛盾和对立,并可能把台湾推向战争的灾难。台湾民众和台湾政府对面临的现实和可能要作出选择,最终解决台湾的认同危机。     

我国危机处置法的立法模式探讨

我国危机处置法存在重特别的危机立法、轻统一的危机立法,重实体、轻程序,重分散型的应急机制、轻整合型的应急机制,重封闭性的应急机制、轻开放性的应急机制等缺陷。危机处置法的目标模式应兼顾效率和保障公民权利。法体模式应是统一立法与单行立法相结合。制度模式应以危机的发生与发展过程和应对危机的机制为设计主线,主要包括危机状态的决定和宣布制度,实施制度,变更、撤销和终止制度,以及危机状态的信息预警制度,应急储备制度,协调制度和社会支持制度等。