Linking context and strategy in donor support for decentralisation: a diagnostic framework

International donors, long‐standing supporters of decentralisation reforms in developing countries, often face the challenge of aligning programme assistance to the great variety of country governance settings in which many operate. This article presents a framework for assessing the implications of governance and institutional context for a range of programming challenges, with particular reference to the challenge of decentralised programming. The framework has three conceptual steps. Country governance and institutional change environments are first described in terms of how enabling governance capacities are for decentralised programming, and how rapid and predictable the rate of institutional change is. Second, these environmental considerations are associated with overall assistance modalities of donors, in areas such as the type of partners sought and interventions selected. Third, a range of options concerning the aims, scope and extent of decentralising programming are reviewed and linked to the diagnostic framework above. The framework is broadly derived from organisational contingency theory, which it is argued has been relatively neglected in the study of development administration due to a preponderance of analysis based on single‐case studies. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

论国际河流后开发国家的权利与义务

国际河流后开发国家特殊的地理位置使其对国际河流的开发会对先开发国家的既得利益产生重要影响.国家对位于其领土内的国际水资源享有主权是后开发国家对国际河流享有开发利用权最主要的法理基础,“先占主义”理论在国际实践中鲜获支持,国际仲裁、判例进一步确认了后开发国家开发利用国际水资源的权利和义务.故国际河流后开发国家享有开发利用国际河流的权利,同时也应承担相应的国际责任和义务.我国作为大部分国际河流的后开发国家也应受到启示,以实现国际水资源的可持续利用.     

Reemerging religiosity: the mainstreaming of new spirituality in Estonia

Due to historical-cultural factors, Estonians answer that religion occupies a low level of importance in response to European and global surveys. Nonetheless, new spiritualities, rather than scientific materialism, have become increasingly influential in Estonia. Based on material from quantitative and qualitative studies, this article identifies indicators of the changing understandings about spiritual-alternative ideas and practices in Estonia and analyzes the tactics spiritual practitioners use to legitimize their worldviews. The study argues that “fuzzy spirituality” is the dominant mode of religiosity in Estonia and challenges researchers to find new methods and theoretical approaches to study religions.     

东南亚旅华市场:九十年代回顾与未来对策

在中国海外旅游客源市场中，外国游客的比重和地位都在不断提高，而进入九十年代后一体化进程不断深入的东南亚旅华客源市场在外国旅华客源市场中一直处于第一层次的重要地位。东南亚旅华客源市场还存在着巨大的潜力，应该给予足够的重视。然而对这一市场的研究开发等还存在着许多问题。我们建议，加强东南亚旅华市场调查和研究，进一步开发和完善旅游产品与相关设施，提高促销的效果，组建针对性的市场因应机制，努力形成中国与东南亚旅游的双向良性互动。     

Stewardship and health systems strengthening: An overview

The World Health Organization (WHO) introduced the concept of stewardship to clarify the practical components of governance in the health sector. For the WHO, stewardship concentrated on how government actors take responsibility for the health system and the wellbeing of the population, fulfill health system functions, assure equity, and coordinate interaction with government and society. This article overviews the contents of this special issue, which offers examples of how health stewards in a variety of countries have addressed issues of health security, primary care expansion, family planning, and quality of care. The contributors' articles draw lessons for policy, programs, and management useful for practitioners and scholars. Our overview identifies several themes emerging from the articles: the foundational role of legal frameworks for effective stewardship, the importance of institutional arrangements as enablers, the influence of regional and global entities on national stewardship, the connection between credible decision‐making structures and stewardship, and pathways to sustainable financing and domestic resource mobilization. The discussion concludes with highlighting several gaps in knowledge and practice related to health stewardship.     

Crucial Factors in Implementing Radical Policy Change: A Comparative Longitudinal Study of Nordic Central Agency Relocation Programs

Abstract

Why do public policies succeed or fail? The aim of this article is to contribute to answering this enduring research question in policy research through a comparative study of the variable efforts by Nordic governments to relocate their central agencies from the capital regions over a period of several decades. This was a radical redistributive policy program premised on a policy instrument – coercion – which was very alien to political systems characterized as consensual democracies. Hence, it is no surprise that only two out of seven relocation programs of any substance were successful. The really intriguing research question here is how any relocation program was achievable at all in a policy context where this was very unlikely. A broadly based multi-theoretical analytical framework linking interest groups, institutions, human agency in the form of policy entrepreneurship/design and situational factors is employed to solve this research puzzle. Findings from this study offer important contributions to the following research fields: comparative public policy, radical policy change and most specifically the so-called third generation of public policy implementation research.     

论其他承担行政任务的组织

在现代西方国家,在传统的行政机关之外存在其他承担行政任务的组织,如公法人或公共机构甚至私法组织。在中国,有一些非行政机关或行政机构的事业单位和社会团体,由法律、法规授权或由行政机关委托,也承担一定的管理职能。对行政机关以外的其他承担行政任务的组织进行比较和分析,具有重要意义。     

Socio‐economic Considerations in Biosafety and Biotechnology Decision Making: The Cartagena Protocol and National Biosafety Frameworks

Article 26.1 of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety left open the possibility for member countries to include in their biosafety regulatory processes the assessment of socio‐economic considerations. Countries may also decide to include such assessments as part of their national legislation or regulations for the approval and deliberate release into the environment of genetically engineered technologies. Countries are debating if and how to implement assessment of socio‐economic considerations. This paper contributes to the ongoing policy dialogue by discussing issues related to socio‐economic assessment including scope, timing, inclusion modalities, methods, decision‐making rules and standards, and the integration of socio‐economic assessments in biosafety and/or biotechnology approval processes. This paper also discusses the implications of such inclusion for technology flows and public and private sector R&D. If inclusion is not done properly, it may negatively impact technology flows especially from the public sector and render an unworkable biosafety system.     

Korruption und Kleinstaat. Elemente einer Theorie

Abstract: Der Aufsatz beschäftigt sich vorwiegend aus einer theoretischen Perspektive mit Korruption als einer bestimmten Form von Devianz in Kleinstaaten, insbesondere Mikrostaaten: Weisen sie Besonderheiten im Hinblick auf Korruptionsanfälligkeit, das Kosten‐Nutzen‐Verhältnis von Korruption sowie die Korruptionsbekämpfung auf? Zunächst wird eine grobe Kosten‐Nutzen‐Analyse für Kleinstaaten im Hinblick auf Korruption skizziert. Es folgt ein Versuch, darüber hinausgehend strukturelle korruptionserhöhende oder korruptionsreduzierende Einflussfaktoren für das Korruptionsniveau in kleinen politischen Systemen zu benennen. Daraufhin wird anhand eines Stufenmodells diskutiert, wann und gegebenenfalls in welcher Weise Kleinstaaten aktiv Korruptionsbekämpfung betreiben. Einige der in den verschiedenen Abschnitten entwickelten Überlegungen werden am Beispiel Liechtensteins punktuell veranschaulicht. Der Beitrag versteht sich als theoretische Vorstudie für weiterführende empirische Analysen.