Comparative Politics and the Synthetic Control Method

In recent years, a widespread consensus has emerged about the necessity of establishing bridges between quantitative and qualitative approaches to empirical research in political science. In this article, we discuss the use of the synthetic control method as a way to bridge the quantitative/qualitative divide in comparative politics. The synthetic control method provides a systematic way to choose comparison units in comparative case studies. This systematization opens the door to precise quantitative inference in small‐sample comparative studies, without precluding the application of qualitative approaches. Borrowing the expression from Sidney Tarrow, the synthetic control method allows researchers to put “qualitative flesh on quantitative bones.” We illustrate the main ideas behind the synthetic control method by estimating the economic impact of the 1990 German reunification on West Germany.     

On Trojan Horses and revolving doors: Assessing the autonomy of national officials in the European Commission

National officials working in international bureaucracies regularly invoke the fear that member states strategically use such officials for influencing decision making and agenda‐setting to their advantage. This article theoretically analyses conditions under which the autonomy of national civil servants in international bureaucracies might become compromised. The ensuing predictions are then tested using a unique survey among seconded national experts (SNEs) in the European Commission (N ≈ 400). Finally, evaluating the characteristics linked to reduced autonomy among SNEs in the Commission, the article illustrates that these officials are, in practice, likely to be relatively independent from member state influence.     

晚年恩格斯哲学的历史语境与百年论争

晚年恩格斯在马克思逝世后对这位共同合作40年的挚友思想的权威解释形成了极具影响力的研究范式,他所构建的马克思主义哲学内在逻辑彰显了科学的唯物主义自然观和历史观的辩证统一,其中呈现的思维规律在很大程度上代表了马克思主义哲学的本质特征。这种思路后来遭到多种质疑,澄清这个问题,需要理解围绕晚年恩格斯展开的百年论争的实质,在历史语境中解读马克思和恩格斯的学术关系,进而在当代视域中理解晚年恩格斯哲学的广博性和大众化特征。这是促进马克思主义哲学中国化、时代化、大众化的应有之义。     

Disability,right to culture and copyright: which regulatory option?

Access to knowledge and participation in cultural life for persons with disabilities has always constituted a tough challenge. Recent studies show that only 5% of published works are available in accessible format, and the number plummets to 1% in developing countries. Coupled with the high costs of production and distribution, and the full reliance on public funds and intervention of public or non-profit organizations, copyright has traditionally represented an additional obstacle on the path for a broader availability of accessible works. Recently, the situation has worsened with the tilting in the balance between rights and exceptions caused by the legislative response to digital threats, when the unprecedented opportunities offered by new technologies to foster accessibility have been largely trumped by copyright law. Still, the last decades have witnessed the beginning of a paradigm shift, originating from the human rights arena, and moving towards a new definition of the interplay between authors’ rights and the right to take part in cultural life, both at a general level and with particular regards to persons with disabilities. This article offers a diachronic overview of the path that, from the rediscovery of Article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights through its General Comments to Article 30 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, has led to the adoption of the Marrakesh Treaty. It then analyses, with a focus on the European Union and its Member States, the national and regional responses to the new human rights obligations, looking at the relations between legislative exceptions and model or collective license agreements. The assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the two main regulatory options lays the groundwork for proposals of further areas of intervention, necessary to fully comply with the international human rights obligations and to achieve the fullest access to and participation in culture possible for persons with disabilities, by using the tools offered by international and national copyright law.     

Consent in escrow

Disasters such as flash flooding, mass shootings, and train and airplane accidents involving large numbers of victims produce significant opportunity for research in the biosciences. This opportunity exists in the extreme tails of life events, however, during which decisions about life and death, valuing and foregoing, speed and patience, trust and distrust, are tested simultaneously and abundantly. The press and urgency of these scenarios may also challenge the ability of researchers to comprehensively deliver information about the purposes of a study, risks, benefits, and alternatives. Under these circumstances, we argue that acquiring consent for the immediate use of data that are not time sensitive represents a gap in the protection of human study participants. In response, we offer a two-tiered model of consent that allows for data collected in real-time to be held in escrow until the acute post-disaster window has closed. Such a model not only respects the fundamental tenet of consent in research, but also enables such research to take place in an ethically defensible manner.     

This land is my land: the Ethio-Sudan boundary and the need to rectify arbitrary colonial boundaries

Ethiopia and Sudan share a common boundary of over 1600 km which was drawn through a series of treaties between Ethiopia and the colonial powers of Britain and Italy. To date, this boundary has not been clearly demarcated. In 2007, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, the current ruling government, entered into a secret agreement with the Sudan to make adjustments on the border. This paper identifies the major factors that have frustrated efforts to address the Ethio-Sudan boundary problem and also proposes solutions on how Ethiopia and Sudan could resolve their differences. The analysis reveals that political, social and cultural factors; the decision to adopt the western concept of the boundary; and the failure to recognise the historic and cultural constructs have contributed to the frustration of negotiations on the border. The paper proposes that Ethiopia and Sudan embrace the African Union Border Program, which encourages mutual cooperation, regional integration and the building of communities with strong economic and cultural ties.     

日本知识产权高等法院研究

知识产权高等法院的设立是日本“知识产权立国”政策最大的亮点,其主要目的是建立技术类知识产权案件二审的专门法院,并设立了大合议、法院调查员和专门委员制度。由于特许厅在专利的数量控制上占优势,故特许厅的审判前置在确保专门性这一点上仍具有独立的价值。另一方面,知识产权高等法院为实现多元集中化进行了各种尝试,然而该尝试时常受到大合议的干扰,因此需要避免大合议过早干预,同时须处理好知识产权高等法院与最高法院的关系,形成良好的运行机制。     

本质上政府的职能

在政府职能的外包中,关于什么职能可以外包,而什么职能应该由政府履行,一直争论不休。美国行政法上提出了"本质上政府的职能"作为外包的限制。本文梳理了美国法律和政策上关于"本质上政府的职能"的界定。不过,随着时间、思想观念等不同,该职能的界定也不相同,而是需要综合考虑语境才能决定。同时,政府职能的外包也意味着公法价值的在某种程度上的外包。     

科学把握从严治警的时代内涵

从严治警、治警必严,是公安队伍建设的优良传统和宝贵经验。在新形势下,科学把握从严治警的时代内涵,是保持公安队伍的先进性与纯洁性、增强公安队伍的凝聚力和战斗力的重要保证。     

民主社会主义思潮与苏东剧变浅析

民主社会主义实质就是一种社会改良主义。它主张在不触动现存资本主义统治的条件下进行改良,渐进地、和平地过渡到社会主义。在民主社会主义思潮的影响下,马克思主义指导地位被削弱,阵地被缩小,以致完全丧失。由此可以看出,民主社会主义与我们的科学社会主义是完全对立的两种意识形态。