State as resource,mediator and performer: understanding the local and global politics of gold mining in Kyrgyzstan

The inability of the state to maintain security and the rule of law for the purposes of foreign direct investment and industrial production is often taken as a sign of its weakness. However, such judgments say little about the actual functions of the state for global extraction industries and local political forces which demand their share of the pie. Whilst coercive state power may have decreased since Kyrgyzstan became independent, more important is the fact that the state itself has been transformed under the ruptures of, on the one hand, economic and political liberalization and, on the other, the effects of so-called ‘revolutions' of 2005 and 2010 which led to the wholesale restructuring of national structures of clientelism. Based on ethnographic research conducted in Talas province, documentary sources and interviews with gold mining companies and state officials, the paper investigates the state's shifting roles with respect to Kyrgyzstan's gold mining sector. Firstly, it explores the state as a source of rents for officials who grant and rescind licences in exchange for formal and informal payments from foreign investors, often via offshore vehicles. Secondly, it considers the role of the state as mediator between foreign investors and their access to sites. Finally, it identifies the state as performer of its status as sovereign power despite its inability to prevent uprisings and actually guarantee the promised access to its territory.     

Global Astana: nation branding as a legitimization tool for authoritarian regimes

This paper examines how, in post-Soviet Kazakhstan, both channels of elite and banal nationalism (such as sports and higher education) serve as instruments to promote the country. Through these channels, Kazakhstan is portrayed as an open, dynamic and successful country, an image which is in serious disjuncture with the authoritarian nature of the regime. Taking advantage of massive oil revenues, the government organized a significant OSCE general conference in 2010, while chairing the institution. In addition, it created the Astana professional cycling team, which rapidly became a world leader in the sport. Last but not least, Nazarbayev University, attracting prominent Western scholars, is now designed to make the country compete in the international arena of academic rankings. Domestic and international performances are thus treated as instruments to promote the legitimacy of the state at national and global levels. But this would not be possible without the help of individual actors who actively participate in this process. A close investigation shows that their social capital is based on global connections in various spheres (sports, finance and academia). This paper draws on evidence gathered through qualitative methods of enquiry (participant observation and semi-structured interviews). Finally, Astana is treated as a Latourian actor-network that has its own life and agency, thanks to the global association of various human actors and material objects.     

文化全球化语境下社会主义意识形态安全的维护

面对文化全球化对社会主义意识形态安全产生的冲击,我们必须准确把握当代世界在意识形态方面的总趋势,倡导一种科学对待意识形态的态度,不断创新意识形态工作,使其适应文化全球化的发展,真正走一条社会主义意识形态的自强之路。     

比较法、因特网与法律趋同化

比较法具有无穷的魅力,可以促进法律和人类的进步。有学者认为比较法的目的是创建共同法,但这种观点过于理想化。将比较法的目的定位在促进法律趋同化是较为合理的。法律趋同化具有历史必然性,而比较法可以促进法律趋同化走势的加强。因特网为比较法研究提供了丰富的法律资料,使比较法得到了蓬勃发展,从而使法律趋同化走势达到了前所未有的高度。同时,因特网本身促进了各国文化的趋同,这从另一方面推动了法律的趋同化。     

全球治理视阈下我国外交的应对方略

全球治理是应对全球化的一种反应,它的出现是对传统国际关系的挑战。全球治理已是不可逆转的历史趋势,它给中国的内政外交带来了难以估量的冲击和影响。我国外交必须制定出应对方略:坚持发展中国家的属性与定位,统筹协调好大国关系,打牢同发展中国家互信合作的基础,推进周边区域治理,开展好公共外交,善用并倚重各种全球治理平台,参与全球化,推进全球治理。     

全球化视阈下中国文化建设的制度思考

该文在对全球化、文化基本内容阐述的基础上,分析了全球化在文化视野、文化的多样性、文化产业化、文化的大众化等方面的文化效应,并据此提出制定中国文化发展战略、加强文化产业与文化资本创新、构建国家文化安全体制、深化文化体制机制改革以及推动建立国际文化新秩序等中国文化制度建设的具体措施。     

全球化与中国现代农业建设的重大进展

全球化是当代农业和农村经济社会发展的重要背景。全球化将中国农业带入到一个与其＂封闭性＂原状完全不同的开放经济的市场环境中,实现了中国农业生产方式和发展方式的重大变革和发展,突出表现在：农业机械装备总量和农业机械化水平不断提高,为现代农业发展奠定了坚实的物质基础;现代新型农产品流通组织不断涌现,现代农产品流通网络不断完善;农业组织体系不断健全,农户与各农业组织化主体之间的利益联结机制不断完善;农产品质量安全状况不断改善,优质品牌农产品市场占有率稳步提高;逐步建立起有利于强化农业基础的合理有效的农业支持保护制度。     

国家与社会间的关系研究

长久以来,国家与社会的关系一直是人类社会面对的终级话题之一。千百年来人们所进行的政治活动,大多数都是围绕着国家与社会间的权力关系展开的。本文通过对国家与社会关系的理论和实践演变的探讨,对全球化背景下国家与社会关系的发展趋势提出了自己的观点。     

经济全球化背景下的中国工会改革

中国融入经济全球化,在促进经济繁荣发展的同时也加剧了劳动问题,而中国劳动问题的实质就是劳动关系中劳动者的权益保障问题。作为维护工人利益的群众组织,中国工会改革应从结构体制和功能机制的更新入手,通过发挥产业工会的作用和加快推进基层工会的建设,促进工会体制改革,增强工会的表达和维护能力,以实现新形势下的工会转型。     

国际法视野下的全球治理

全球治理的产生基于全球化、全球问题以及国际社会新兴力量的崛起。全球治理的概念一直都没有统一和明确,不同专业和领域的机构、学者都从不同的角度来研究这一问题。从某种意义上讲,国际法与全球治理的目标是一致的,其本身应当是实现全球治理的一种重要方法或是途径。全球治理和国际法的共同基础是国家主权,二者的发展都与解决国际问题包括全球化问题密切相关,全球治理的主体、对象和范围、实现方式和途径等基本问题都可以从国际法的发展中得到更多的启示与借鉴。