Violence,fear, and development in Latin America: a critical overview

This introduction presents the core concepts that shape this special issue on the impact of violence and the processes of development in Central and South America. The understanding of development is considered in terms broader than the economic context alone, in order to assess wider social and political aspects. With a similarly expansive scope, forms of violence are addressed that range from direct physical harm and bodily attack to the often more subtle aggression of racialised abuse or the pressures on community-centred production from dominant market forces. In these contexts, violence, economic initiatives, and political allegiances form unintended and often dangerous networks of consequence for development matters. All the articles in this volume exemplify further the spatial environments of violence and diverse ‘landscapes of fear’ that shape our existence and help to define our actions, territories, and understanding of what happens around us.     

Social capital

In parallel with, and as a complement to, globalisation, ‘social capital’ has enjoyed a meteoric rise across the social sciences over the last two decades. Not surprisingly, it has been particularly prominent across development studies, not least through heavy promotion by the World Bank. As a concept, though, as has been argued persistently by a minority critical literature, social capital is fundamentally flawed. Although capable of addressing almost anything designated as social, it has tended to neglect the state, class, power, and conflict. As a buzzword, it has heavily constrained the currently progressive departure from the extremes of neo-liberalism and post-modernism at a time of extremely aggressive assault by economics imperialism. Social capital should not be ignored but contested – and rejected.     

浅议乡镇政权中党委与人大间关系的协调

监督权是宪法和地方组织法赋予乡镇人大的一项重要职权,乡镇人大在行使这项职权的过程中,离不开党的领导。在乡镇政权体系中,如何处理好党委和人大之间的相互关系,是一个在理论上、实践上都需要进一步深入认识和明确的重要问题。     

Citizenship: a perverse confluence

This article discusses the different meanings that citizenship has assumed in Latin America in the past few decades. Its main argument is that, in the perverse confluence between neo-liberal and democratic participatory projects, the common reference to citizenship, used by different political actors, projects an apparent homogeneity, obscuring differences and diluting the conflict between those projects.     

论环境与资源诉讼中的公益理念

环境权从某种意义上属“社会性”权利 ,无论在立法还是司法实践中 ,这一权利都带有明显的公益色彩。为保障公民环境权的实现 ,我国应借鉴西方国家经验 ,放宽对环境诉讼起诉资格的限制 ,对现行司法制度进行制度创新     

青少年社会工作专业化与职业化初探

青少年社会工作是社会工作学科按照服务对象的年龄特征划分的一个重要种类和实施领域,其职业化和专业化的进程是社会工作职业化和专业化的重要组成部分,也关系到青少年社会工作的发展前途。在充分认识其重要性和客观分析其不足的同时,相关部门和人员要切实行动起来,使青少年社会工作职业化和专业化进程迈出坚实的一步。     

科学发展观——我国公共政策评估的首要标准

公共政策评估标准是开展公共政策评估的前提。为了更有效、更科学地开展公共政策评估活动,应设立正确的首要标准。科学发展观标准应当成为我国公共政策评估的首要标准。科学发展观标准是对以往我国公共政策评估标准的纠正和完善,符合我国社会主义国家公共政策的本质要求,顺应公共政策的发展趋势。坚持科学发展观作为我国公共政策评估的首要标准能有效提升我国公共政策质量,推进我国社会主义和谐社会建设进程。     

对公安执法监督的几点思考

面对入世后的新形势,现有执法监督模式已不适应现实工作,必须进一步完善工作机制,提升各级公安机关和民警的执法水平。     

创设利益制度是社会和谐的法治基础——和谐社会利益关系问题的法学思考

利益矛盾和冲突不仅是社会转型期国家的显著特征,同时,也是形成不受以往制度约束的和谐环境的重要前提。本文以分析和谐社会利益制度的法律根源作为出发点,在此基础上从利益博弈的机理层面上探寻利益制度形成的逻辑起点和实体条件,以及政府如何在利益群体博弈过程中作出创新性的实验安排,进而为在我国社会转型过程中,形成社会和谐与经济发展的基础性力量,以及进一步提高政府执政合法性的问题提供必要的实践依据和理论支持。     

公务员体检中的体格归类与平等担任公职权

各地公务员录用体检办法和体检标准中因存在许多不合理的体格归类,而使相当多的具有一定生理缺陷的人被无情地挡在了公务员门槛之外,且难以获得公正的救济。以宪法平等权的精神来检验,这些归类或者不具有合法目的,或者违反了比例原则,都导致了立法歧视。为保护公民平等担任公职的权利,有必要对现行公务员录用体检制度进行改革。