Authoritarian Attitudes, Democracy, and Policy Preferences among Latin American Elites

This article examines the prevalence and consequences of authoritarian attitudes among elites in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela. We focus on the connection between antidemocratic elite attitudes and support for democracy; the causes and effects of authoritarian attitudes among elites and their implications for authoritarianism; and the impact of authoritarian attitudes beyond social policy preferences to other policy areas that have indirect implications for order. Contrary to some of the literature, we find that antidemocratic attitudes affect elites' support for democracy. Our analysis also speaks to the debate on the origins of authoritarianism. Much of the evidence supports Altemeyer's notion that perceived threat raises levels of authoritarianism, rather than Feldman's contention that threat strengthens the influence of authoritarian attitudes. Finally, we demonstrate that there is a broader influence of authoritarian attitudes on economic policy preferences, but only where those policies appear to have implications for social order.     

冷战后美国亚太联盟战略的调整

冷战后美国的亚太联盟体系经历了过渡与调整两个阶段。与冷战时期相比 ,延续大于变化。冷战后美国亚太联盟的深化与拓展主要体现在两个方面 :一是联盟内部的功能性调整 ;二是双边同盟之间的协调加强。今后美国亚太联盟的变革仍将以渐进方式进行 ,突出制度化建设 ,同时增加联盟合作的高技术含量。     

2008年以来民进党修补与美国互信关系的效果及前景分析

2008年民进党下台以来，持续透过访美、恢复驻美代表处、在两岸政策和对美政策上积极迎合美国等做法，修补与美国的互信关系，为其重返执政创造条件。民进党对美示好的做好虽得到美方善意回应，但因民进党拒绝放弃“台独”立场，无法提出令美放心的两岸政策新主张，因此双方互信提升程度有限，美始终对民进党重新执政充满疑虑。因受美国对台战略考虑、民进党两岸政策转型的复杂性等因素制约，未来双方关系的发展前景充满变数。     

中、美两国西部开发比较分析

美国西部开发首先是大量移民不断迁入,等到基本垦殖完毕,移民开始迁出,再去开拓新的西部地区。美国的“公共土地”政策是美国开发西部政策的基础和中心,它直接带动了相关行业的兴起和发展。其教训是严重破坏了生态环境。我国的西部开发也存在生态环境的破坏。西部地区的落后,主要表现在经济发展上的落后和思想观念上的落后。     

高校社团育人机制的跨文化研究——对中美高校社团的比较分析

中美高校都十分重视学生社团工作，但两国高校社团在与社会的联系程度、社团活动经费的筹集与充裕度、社团经费管理制度方面存在差异。因此，我们要完善政策体系，构建高校社团育人机制政策平台；加强组织领导，健全高校学生社团管理制度；加大资金投入，保证高校社团育人机制良好运行；增强相互交流，强化高校社团育人功能。     

论战后美对日关系中的绥靖主义

:二战后 ,美国从自己的私利出发对日本实行绥靖主义政策。这一政策推动日本逐步实现其政治大国和军事大国的目标 ,对亚太地区甚至整个国际政治的发展产生了诸多不利影响。而美国推行这一政策的结果与其初衷也可能会背道而驰     

Operationalising participatory research and farmer-to-farmer extension: the Kamayoq in Peru

While rural poverty is endemic in the Andean region, structural adjustment programmes have led to a dismemberment of agricultural research and extension services so that they are unable to serve the needs of smallholder farmers. The NGO Practical Action has been working in the Andes to address farmers' veterinary and agriculture needs. The work has included the training of farmer-to-farmer extension agents, known locally as Kamayoq. The Kamayoq have encouraged farmer participatory research, and local farmers pay them for their veterinary and crop advisory services in cash or in kind. The Kamayoq model is largely an unsubsidised approach to the provision of appropriate technical services and encouragement of farmer participation. The model also illustrates that, in the context of encouraging farmer participation and innovation, NGOs have advantages over research organisations because of their long-term presence, ability to establish trust with local farmers, and their emphasis on social and community processes.     

New forms of environmental governance? A case study of Costa Rican environmental NGOs

Increasingly development theorists and practitioners view NGOs as catalysts of sustainable development. NGOs have been regarded as champions of democratisation and promoters of new ways of engaging in politics, with considerable influence on the development of civil society and new partnerships in environmental and social advocacy. This article analyses the ways in which Costa Rican environmental NGOs (ENGOs) engage in politics, by focusing on their perceptions of their roles in environmental governance and in representation of civil society. The results of this study suggest that the ENGOs' ways of engaging in politics differ little from traditional forms of governance, while their conceptions of engaging in politics without being political are novel. While most ENGOs had no clear conception of the stakeholders whom they were supposed to be representing, the notion of representativeness is complex and should be revisited.     

Civil Service Reform in Latin America: External Referents Versus Own Capacities

In the context of state reform and democratisation in Latin America, reinforcing public institutions becomes critical to sustaining and consolidating realised gains. In this area, civil service reforms are critical. But civil service reform initiatives in Latin American countries were designed with different degrees of compatibility with countries’ administrative traditions and with the role played by the civil service within the political system. The results of different initiatives are described in a brief review of six key features of nine Latin American civil services. Discussion of these results allows us to draw conclusions about the capacity to generate learning dynamics. A new conception of the civil service and its role in the political system appears more evident, unless the required political consensus for implementing and consolidating the new reform strategy for most Latin American public administrations is not confirmed.     

Negotiating universalism in India and Latin America: Fiscal decentralization,subnational politics and social outcomes

ABSTRACT

This is the introductory paper for a special issue which focuses on an exploration of how vertical inter-governmental political and fiscal bargains and horizontal variation in political, social and economic conditions across regions contribute to or undermine the provision of inclusive and sustainable social policies at the subnational level in Latin America and India. The papers incorporate both federal, as well as decentralized unitary states, pointing to common political tensions across unitary and federal settings despite the typically greater institutionalization of regional autonomy in federal countries. Jointly, the papers examine the territorial dimension of universalism and explore, in greater and empirical detail, the causal links between fiscal transfers, social policies and outcomes, highlighting the political dynamics that shape fiscal decentralization reforms and the welfare state. This introductory essay reviews existing scholarship, and highlights the contribution of the special issue to understanding these issues beyond OECD contexts.