Can the descriptive-substantive link survive beyond democracy? The policy impact of women representatives

ABSTRACT

That women offer substantive representation in democratic systems is well established. However, can they do so in partial or non-democracies? As less than half of the women in the world live in democracies, analysing female representation outside of the democratic context is crucial. We hypothesize that even in non- and partial-democracies, women exercise substantive representation. Neutralizing the confounding effects of international constraints or a general positive approach towards gender equality, we create a framework that observes the relationship, proposing and testing several scenarios to identify substantive representation. We observe correlations over time between the share of women representatives and policies female representation typically influence: reproductive rights, health spending and education spending. Our evidence shows that substantive representation appears in non- and partial democracies, and not just in democracies.     

Visualising violence: legitimacy and authority in the ‘war on terror’

This paper explores the relationship between visual representation and claims to legitimacy in the current George W. Bush administration's ‘war on terror’. Drawing on discourse theoretical works that focus analytical attention on the power of visual representation in communicating authority and legitimacy, this paper argues that crucial to such communicative acts is the rendering of a receptive audience complicit in particular interpretations of the images in question. While various visual representations construct political subjectivity and agency in different ways, common to all interpretations is the centralisation of an authoritative narrative. It is argued that this authorial voice must be challenged in the formulation of a politics resistant to dominant discourses of security/counter-terrorism in the West.     

Merger—the name of the FE game

In the Australian legal environment today the overwhelming importance of laws made by Parliament is obvious, yet many first year law programmes pay insufficient attention to the coordinated teaching of statutory interpretation (SI). This project formed part of a collaborative initiative between an educational developer and the coordinator of legal research methods (LRM) to introduce statutory interpretation into a first year unit of study. Our study used a qualitative research framework – a questionnaire was administered to students at two intervals throughout the first semester. In Week 3, 160 students participated in the questionnaire and at Week 4, a keystone module on statutory interpretation using a building block approach was introduced in LRM. Since the nature of assessment in LRM is largely reflection, this unit lent itself well to investigating the language and literacy challenges of statutory interpretation, in particular, to students monitoring their own progress in this regard. The overall aim of the project was to establish a framework for students to build on their knowledge and understanding of statutory interpretation throughout their undergraduate studies, and in the interests of improved learning and teaching outcomes, for staff to be able to document the changes in student thinking. This paper focuses on the preliminary stage of our investigation into the language and literacy challenges involved in introducing statutory interpretation into a first year unit of study.

I know of only one authority which might justify the suggested method of construction. “When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean, neither more nor less.” “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.” “The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master – that’s all.”

(Alice Through the Looking Glass, c. vi.)

After all this long discussion, the question is whether the words “If a man has” can mean “If a man thinks he has.” I am of opinion that they cannot, and that the case should be decided accordingly.

(Lord Atkin in Liversidge v Anderson [1942] AC 206)     

习近平法治思想对法治基本价值理念的传承与发展

习近平法治思想对法治的基本价值、理念进行了本土化诠释、时代化丰富和理论性创新。其立足我国国情民意和新时代历史方位,对人民民主、宪法法律至上、公平正义、人权保障、权力监督、法律平等等法治基本价值话语作了深层思考与理论凝练,传承发展了我们党长期以来形成的法治价值理念,揭露了西方法治价值理论的缺陷和偏颇,体现了法治价值普遍性与特殊性的统一,为全面依法治国、建设法治中国提供了价值导向和遵循。深入研究习近平关于法治价值的重要论述意义重大,有利于全面深刻理解习近平法治思想的真谛,有利于提升习近平法治思想的感召力与实践力,有利于增强中国特色社会主义法治理论在国际社会的话语权。     

大国北极博弈与中国北极能源安全——兼论“冰上丝绸之路”推进路径

在“海权论”“无主”“共有”等国际视阈下,北极地区的归属特别是能源资源权益的划分一直悬而未决——特别是在近年来北极环境变迁逐步加快、各国极地活动能力不断增强、全球能源竞争日趋激烈的背景下,各国拓宽能源获取渠道的需求已经变得越来越强烈。无论是以俄罗斯为代表的北极地区国家,还是以中国为代表的“非北极国家”,都对北极有着较强的能源权益声索以及能源安全维护需求。围绕着北极地区的公共与私有属性界定、开放与排他政策选择、法制与权力标准划分等诸多问题,各国之间展开了全方位的多轮博弈。目前,在各国北极政策“理念一致、目标冲突”的背景下,在北极开展合作特别是能源开发合作也越发困难重重。而对于提倡构建“冰上丝绸之路”的中国来说,要想维护本国在北极的能源安全,就必须借助在北极有重要影响力的国家的力量,通过分享理念、设置议题、促成合作等多种方式,实现对北极事务的有效介入。这将有助于规避因恶性竞争而带来的战略透支,为增强中国的北极能源开发话语权奠定基础。     

论《庄子·人间世》寓言主体的政治身份

《逍遥游》《齐物论》论述的政治身份是圣人,而《人间世》寓言主体的政治身份是君子百官。君子百官是庄子“古之道术”政治图式的重要一环。在这一政治理想图式中,圣人无名;君子百官各司其职,因时而用,这是《人间世》思想的重要背景。该篇通过颜回、叶公子高、颜阖三个寓言故事的描写和有关才之有用无用的讨论展开论述,其落脚点在于君子百官这一政治身份,不宜扩大到普遍的人世间。     

De-Europeanisation and Equal Citizenship in Turkey: The Case of Circassians

ABSTRACT

The Europeanisation process in Turkey that extended roughly from 1999 to 2006 boosted the political and cultural rights of diverse ethnic groups in Turkey, including Circassians, and strengthened their claims for equal citizenship. With the loss or weakening of the EU as an anchor for democratic reform in the post-2007 period, however, the de-Europeanisation process has resulted in the disappearance of the main legal and institutional basis for the democratic integration of ethnocultural minorities. Nevertheless, analysis of the activities of four large Circassian communities in Turkey shows that the same process has enhanced the cultural reification of these groups as their survival strategy.     

土著话语与非洲民族国家建构——以科特迪瓦危机为例

科特迪瓦危机的关键在于公民身份问题。博瓦尼执政时期刻意淡化公民身份问题以吸纳外来移民,从而使得科特迪瓦长期保持经济增长与社会稳定。然而到20世纪90年代,随着经济的衰退、多党制的实行,执政者为巩固自身统治提出了"科特迪瓦性"概念,其基本含义是"科特迪瓦人的科特迪瓦",而实际目标是排斥北方人。"科特迪瓦性"自诞生之日起就对科特迪瓦社会各领域发展产生了深远影响,因而成为科特迪瓦政治中的核心问题,并最终导致2002年内战全面爆发、南北分裂局面的形成。类似的土著话语也出现在其他非洲国家,折射出非洲民族国家建构进程的复杂性和艰巨性。     

16～17世纪老挝世俗文学及其特点

16～17世纪是老挝世俗文学的蓬勃发展时期,出现了长篇叙事诗、寓言、诗体小说、纪事体散文等文学体裁,并涌现出大量的优秀文学作品。这些作品在内容和形式上与印度文学和佛教文学相互渗透融合,呈现出佛教化、民族化、同质化等特点。作品既充盈着浓厚的佛教色彩,又贯穿着老挝本土的伦理文化和道德文明。     

人民币汇率变动对中美贸易结构收支的影响——基于SITC分类标准的实证分析

人民币汇率变动能否解决中美双边贸易失衡问题一直是国内外学者研究与争论的焦点。实证分析表明,人民币汇率的水平变动无法起到调节中美两国贸易收支的作用,但适度增加汇率波动弹性有助于缓解贸易失衡。因此,只有消除对人民币升值的预期、进行经济结构调整以及改善外商直接投资的流向,才能从根本上恢复中美之间的贸易平衡。