EU assistance for civil society in Kosovo: a step too far for democracy promotion?

EU assistance for Kosovo is the most ambitious external relations venture embarked upon by the Commission to date. Not surprisingly, much of the aid is framed in terms of ‘civil society’ and channelled through a handful of local non-governmental organizations (NGOs). But attempts by foreign donors to promote civil society exogenously across post-socialist Eurasia are deemed to have achieved little in terms of stimulating individual participation and civic engagement. In response the EU appears to have refined its approach by combining the usual support for larger NGOs with more basic assistance for grassroots networks and community-based initiatives. Whilst such a twin-track strategy is arguably appropriate in the context of Kosovo where civil society participation is particularly low, in terms of maximizing the critical development of transactional capacity the approach may fail to target resources most effectively. It is argued here that there is a danger that normative concerns about liberal pluralism, enriching civil society and ensuring that assistance is widely dispersed may ultimately detract from the imperative of deploying limited resources first and foremost to secure a core of sustainable NGOs with developed capacity to engage government, the international community and other non-state actors in the process of policy reform. Indeed, drawing on the experience of civil society assistance in new member states of Central and Eastern Europe, it would seem that although NGOs are often criticized for their detachment from community organizations and campaigns, they perform a critical ‘behind the scenes’ role in policy change and state transformation. They can, if donor funding is appropriately targeted, facilitate the emergence of civil society networks through which small community organizations are then linked with larger, established and capacity-endowed organizations.     

如何构建我国社会保障制度的新机制

当代西方福利国家的社会保障制度正从"黄金时期"转入"社会福利危机时期",对处于转型时期的我国来说,现行的社会保障制度也面临价值选择与制度重构的双重挑战。在统筹城乡发展与建设社会主义和谐社会的宏大背景下,社会保障的核心价值理念应从"反贫困、重效率"向"保障积极人权、追求社会公平正义"回归;社会保障的核心制度模式应当是发展型社会保障制度。建立发展型社会保障制度的关键是将国民的发展权置于首位,促进充分就业,使发展型社会保障与积极的就业政策之间呈现良性的互动。我国应依据上述原则和理念,构建社会保障制度的新机制。     

概念营销的操作模式分析

在市场经济条件下,商品竞争日趋激烈,企业要想扩大品牌的知名度和市场份额,就要紧紧抓住消费者对产品的注意力,从而培养消费者对产品的忠诚度,概念营销就是实施此目标的有效营销手段。     

当代大学生思想政治工作必须与时俱进

当代大学生思想政治工作必须与时俱进。“时”就是科学认识大学生思想政治工作的新形势、新情况、新特点;“进”就是积极探求大学生思想政治工作的新理念、新思路、新方法和新机制。与时俱进才能不断提高大学生思想政治工作的整体效益。     

清末及民国地方教育行政体制的历史审思:1906—1949

清末民国时期,我国地方教育行政体制相继经历了成立劝学所、设教育科、恢复劝学所、成立教育局、教育局改组与重建、裁局设科、恢复设局等阶段。彰显出规范化、民主化、独立化、专业化与开放化等特征。同时,也存在着机构紊乱、目标理想、内容西化、方式激进等问题。清末民国地方教育行政体制的变迁历史对于当下我国地方教育行政体制改革具有重要的启示与借鉴意义。     

Democracy promotion and ODA: a comparative analysis

Scholars of democracy promotion foreign aid often claim it has substantially increased, yet they shy away from explaining by how much, nor investigate comparative trends in giving. This paper attempts to fill this void by addressing the following: (1) Has democracy promotion aid increased since the end of the Cold War? (2) Has the ‘assumed’ trend of increasing aid persevered through the difficulties encountered in democratizing Iraq? (3) Did aid increase from states that supported the invasion of Iraq compared to states that did not? The author's analysis purports that the answer is yes to the first two, yet it is harder to draw conclusions regarding Iraq. Another finding, contrary to claims in the scholarly literature, in terms of percentage and overall spending, the USA gives more democracy promotion aid than the EU. The author hopes this work stimulates research into the role of democracy promotion in the Arab Spring to consider historical trends in giving.     

自我评估在大学英语写作评价体系的应用

学习评价是教学过程的一个重要环节。传统的评价方式是以教师出题考学生的方式进行,以教师的打分作为评价依据。随着"以学生为中心"的教学模式的开展,自我评估的模式受到许多专家学者的推崇,但是对于大学英语写作中指导学生进行自我评估的研究较少,试图通过实证研究分析自我评估对于大学英语写作的促进作用。     

提升党员干部的政德修养

党员干部的政德修养是事关党的威信、党的形象的大问题，是事关党风政风和社会风气的大问题，值得认真研究和探讨。文章对党员干部政德修养的的概念、内涵、地位、作用以及如何提高党员干部政德修养的问题作了初步探讨。     

微博与劳工文化的传播

劳动文化或劳工文化正在逐步浮出水面:各种底层工人的文化组织和团体与文化活动和创作方兴未艾.但是,由于传统媒体进入门槛太高,劳工的文化很难通过它们得到有效的传播.近年来微博的兴起为劳工文化的传播提供了一个最廉价、门槛最低、最快捷、最有效的平台和管道,希望能够引起更多劳动文化工作者和劳工本身高度重视和积极投入.     

Exploring USAID's democracy promotion in Bosnia and Afghanistan: a ‘cookie-cutter approach’?

US democracy promotion is integral to the pursuit of the grand project of the American Mission. By promoting democracy America makes its role one of international engagement as opposed to one of isolation. The first part of this paper examines the political and cultural aspects of US democracy promotion in the post-Cold War era through the bi-polar framework of the case-specific versus one-size-fits-all. To better understand USAID's democracy promotion policy, the second part takes this framework and applies it to its political reform strategy in Bosnia under the Clinton administration from 1995 to 2000 and Afghanistan under the Bush administration from 2001 to 2008. This paper confirms that America's democracy promotion simultaneously employed both the case-specific and one-size-fits-all approaches. USAID programmes and projects did at times respond to local conditions but nevertheless appear to employ a blueprint design.