Administrative reform assistance and democracy promotion: exploring the democratic substance of the EU’s public administration reform principles for the neighbourhood countries

International donors, particularly the European Union (EU), vehemently endorse institution-building and public administration reform (PAR) in their work on democracy support. Still, the linkages between externally sponsored reform and advancement of democratic governance in beneficiary countries constitute a blind spot in our understanding of democratization. This article contributes to examining this relationship by exploring the democratic substance of the EU’s PAR portfolio for the neighbourhood countries. The aim of the article is to focus attention on the PA–democracy interface in the study of democracy promotion by elaborating a conceptual framework for exploring the nature of externally supported administrative reforms and the substantive content of democracy being advanced. By using the OECD/SIGMA’s (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development/Support for Improvement in Governance and Management) PAR framework for the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) countries as a case study, this article demonstrates how the EU’s approach to programming PAR accommodates elements from several formats of democratic governance while the conceptualization of the democratic effects of the PAR principles remains vague. The article concludes by highlighting the need for closer examination of the potentials and limits of external PAR strategies in democracy support, and for attuning the EU’s PAR design to its democratic implications.     

What autocracies say (and what citizens hear): proposing four mechanisms of autocratic legitimation

ABSTRACT

Autocratic governments make claims about why they are entitled to rule. Some autocracies are more talkative than others, but all regimes say something about why they deserve power. This article takes seriously these efforts by introducing and interrogating the concept of autocratic legitimation. After engaging in a definitional discussion, it traces the development of autocratic legitimation in modern political science by identifying major turning points, key concepts, and patterns of inquiry over time. Ultimately, this introductory article aims to not only argue that studying autocratic legitimation is important, but also to propose contexts, concepts, and distinctions for doing so productively. To this end, the article proposes four mechanisms of autocratic legitimation that can facilitate comparative analysis: indoctrination, passivity, performance, and democratic-procedural. Finally, the essay briefly introduces the five original articles that comprise the remainder of this special issue on autocratic legitimation. The article identifies avenues for further research and identifies how each article in the issue advances down productive pathways of inquiry.     

Understanding the foreign policy of autocratic actors: ideology or pragmatism? Russia and the Tymoshenko trial as a case study

While the literature on the autocratic regimes has been rapidly growing in the last years, there still exists a research gap in this field: which impact do autocratic regimes have on the regime transition in the neighbouring countries? The literature on autocracies has demonstrated that autocratic political leaders tend to support each other. This article argues that the external influence of an autocracy may be more complex. The article analyses the case of Russia's international standing in relation to the trial of Yulia Tymoshenko. Using detailed process tracing, it has been shown that in terms of the Russian position, pragmatic goals may undermine ideological goals. Thus, while the main objective of Russia is to ensure the stability of gas contracts, the unintended consequences of its actions undermine the consolidation of autocratic regime in Ukraine. The article builds on the literature on regime transition, autocracy, and international relations.     

论消除就业歧视的法律保障

就业是民生之本和安国之策,在一个法治社会,以健全的法制表达民生立场,是必需的选择;消除就业歧视是促进就业的应有含义,通过法律制度消除就业歧视是促进就业的必经之路。本文旨在通过比较、借鉴发达国家先进的立法经验,完善我国相关法律制度,从而促进和保障就业工作的顺利进行。     

政府公务人员工作生活质量与行政效能之关系研究

随着对企业人力资源管理研究的深入,学者们对公共部门人力资源管理的研究也步入了正轨。公共部门人力资源管理重要目的之一是要使公务人员有良好的绩效表现及较高的服务品质,即具有较高的行政效能。难免要涉及到公务人员的工作生活质量问题。现代公共人力资源管理已经抛弃了传统的人事管理那种重控制、重监督、重处罚的消极管理,进入了创造良好的工作生活质量,并以此激发公务人员的活力的时代。     

高校图书馆女性馆员岗位成才探析

从高校图书馆女性馆员岗位成才的必要性入手,分析了阻碍女性馆员岗位成才的因素,并对女性馆员岗位成才的途径进行了探讨。借以引起高校有关部门对女性馆员岗位成才的足够重视,帮助女性馆员在工作岗位中发挥出最大的作用,为图书馆的创新发展做出应有的贡献。     

节约型社会科技法律促进机制研究

科技法律是节约型社会的重要促进因素。节约型社会科技法律促进机制可以分为政府主导型、市场诱导型、综合协调型三种类型。在中国现阶段,可以采取综合协调型节约型社会科技法律促进机制,但又重点依赖政府主导型节约型社会科技法律促进机制来推动节约科技进步与节约型社会建设。根据节约型社会科技法律促进机制类型选择,我们发现中国节约型社会科技法律促进机制目前在科技立法、科技执法、科技司法、科技法律实施监督等方面存在诸多现实困境,必须采取以下措施进一步完善:第一,与时俱进地推进与完善科技立法;第二,循序渐进地改革与强化科技执法;第三,因势利导地改革与完善科技司法;第四,因地制宜地实施与推进法律监督;第五,竭尽所能地强化科技法制宣教。     

论司法权威的权利文化基础

司法权威与权利文化是互动关系。司法权威植根于特定的文化基础中,权利文化的内核决定了司法权威的价值取向,并给司法权威成长提供了观念性动力,因之,扩张和保障权利构成了司法审查权威的文化基石,而司法权威的树立也促进了主流法律文化的形成。     

《物权法》对依法行政的影响及推进

《物权法》不仅是保护人民群众财产权利的民事法律，也是规范行政机关行使公权力的一部重要法律。建设法治政府，提高依法行政水平，必须从保障权利、维护秩序、促进竞争的角度增强物权意识，提高保护物权的能力。《物权法》的实施对政府行政行为产生诸多影响，基于这些影响，本文认为，《物权法》的颁布与施行，既是实现“以人为本”重要思想的需要，也是深入推进依法行政的重要法律依据。     

市委书记个人特征与GDP增长关系的实证分析——基于GDP百强市10年1000份市委书记样本的数据分析

当前,经济发展面临较大的下行压力,各地GDP发展动能成为各方关注的焦点。GDP百强市何以傲视群雄,实现GDP高质高量的发展?除了传统的经济发展影响因素外,地方领导与地方经济发展是否存在一定关系?通过对2017年GDP百强市2008-2017年间1000份市委书记个人特征和GDP增长的平衡面板数据进行实证分析发现:市委书记晋升途径和GDP增长呈显著相关关系;市委书记年龄和任职市数量均与GDP增长呈“倒U型”变动关系,其中最佳任职年龄是54.68岁,最佳任职市数量是2.787个;市委书记的性别、学位、本科学校性质、基层工作经历与GDP增幅没有表现出显著相关关系。结合实证结果,提出了领导者选拔任用的政策取向。