Fiscal Austerity and Rental Housing Policy in the United States and United Kingdom, 2010–2016

After the 2008 global financial crisis, both the United States and the United Kingdom introduced austerity policies targeted at particular elements of their national budgets. The purpose of this article is to compare the nature of this retrenchment; the similarities and differences in how it was implemented; and its initial impacts on one of the expenditure areas particularly affected: affordable rental housing programs and housing support for low-income households. Using a wide range of data sources, we find evidence of political and fiscal policy analogies in the timing and forms of the initial policy choices and how these were modified in the face of economic and political pressures. There are considerable similarities both in the instruments used to reduce housing expenditures and in the early impacts on support mechanisms and recipients. However, we find different histories and trajectories of support between the two countries that suggest that the longer term differences in outcomes may be more important.     

Intraparty Hostility: Social Identity,Subidentity, and the Hostile Media Effect in a Contested Primary

The hostile media effect (HME) has generally been tested in terms of in-groups and out-groups, with a “neutral” story in between. This ignores the nature of many social groups as comprising subgroups, often but not always sharing feelings of connectedness and purpose. In cases when bounded subgroups are at odds with one another, HME provides little guidance. A contested partisan primary provides such a case. This study takes identity centrality, candidate favorability, and perceived social network homogeneity as measures of partisanship and involvement, hypothesizing relationships between each and perceived bias against one’s candidate and party. Findings show that markers of candidate-focused social identity predict greater perceived bias against one’s candidate during the 2016 primary season, while party-focused identity fails to predict perceived bias against one’s party. This suggests that candidate support identity overrides plain partisanship during primaries, supporting concern that a heated primary might damage general election party unity. Subsequent postconvention findings suggest that the salience of candidate-focused identity fades, while homogeneity of one’s network regarding party support helps to make perceived hostility toward one’s party identity more salient. However, as campaigns become more candidate-centered, the contestation between nested candidate and party identities may grow fiercer.     

Mortgaging Security for Economic Gain: U.S. Arms Policy in an Insecure World

Similar to other consumer sectors of the global economy, the transfer of advanced conventional weapons and military technologies has entered the globalization process, a process that has qualitatively and quantitatively altered the composition and structure of U.S. national security policymaking. By injecting the decisionmaking process governing arms transfers into the global market place, U.S. policy makers must now reconcile maintaining economic competitiveness within the global system without jeopardizing U.S. national security interests. By subordinating national security interests to global economic imperatives, U.S. decisionmakers are at risk of mortgaging the political, societal, and security welfare of its citizenry for profit.     

Bush: The Sequel

This article examines the likely foreign policy initiatives of the U.S. under the leadership of George W. Bush. The new president has outlined a fairly thorough critique of America's international behavior in the 1990s. Because a leader's public statements arguably serve to persuade various audiences and to build support for policy change, the article takes Bush's words quite seriously—along with those spoken or written by his closest foreign affairs advisors. Bush intends to abandon the so-called Clinton Doctrine and deploy national missile defenses. He is critical of American policies toward China and Russia, but has not presented bold new initiatives toward those powers. Under the rubric of "compassionate conservatism," Bush may alter U.S. relations toward the Global South in some interesting ways. The president and his advisors often purport to be realists, but the article demonstrates that their own words belie this claim as they often justify policies based on ideals rather than the pursuit of power.     

Consolidating ZIP Codes for Small Area Fair Market Rents: A Method for Implementing the New Rule

Fair Market Rents (FMRs), calculated for an entire metropolitan region, are used to establish payment standards for the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. In response to recent criticism that FMRs do not represent rent disparity and restrict households from moving to high-opportunity areas, a new rule introducing Small Area Fair Market Rents (SAFMRs) has been issued. SAFMRs are based on ZIP codes to reflect local market rents and increase the number of payment standards used to administer the HCV program. The purpose of this research is to determine whether the number of payment standards can be reduced by consolidating ZIP codes, while adhering to the primary objectives of the SAFMR rule. The ZIP code grouping process conducted offers one method for reducing the number of payment standards needed to implement the new rule; however, the rent analysis reveals the over- and underestimation of SAFMRs for some ZIP codes.     

中美建交与两国在朝鲜半岛互动模式的转化

从国家互动理论的视角来考察中美与朝鲜半岛问题是一种有益的学术尝试。朝鲜战争使中美长期处于冲突型互动模式,直至中美建交,两国在朝鲜半岛的互动模式开始转化。中美建交虽然没有立即使两国在朝鲜半岛互动的性质发生转变,但建交给两国领导人带来的认知变化、直接政治互动的增多及两国朝鲜半岛政策的局部调整,为双方在朝鲜半岛进行的合作性互动提供了契机,由此,中美在朝鲜半岛的互动由建交前的冲突型互动逐渐向竞争型互动转化。     

美国强大的原因及发展趋势

美国强大的原因可以从势、道、制、术、器与士（即国际格局与国际力量对比、美国的意识形态与核心价值体系、政治经济与社会制度、科技与战略政策制定、经济与军事硬实力、人才培养与储备机制等方面）进行分析。由于新兴国家崛起,美国单极体系已经终结,美国霸权相对削弱,但是美国仍将在相当长的一段时间之内维持“一超”的地位。从劳动生产率、基础科研实力及研发投入、高等教育体系、外资投资环境、人口结构以及新兴产业等因素考察,美国经济长远来看仍具有较大的相对优势。未来美国霸权依然存在,美国二战后所确立的以“结构自由主义”为特征的国际秩序是美国霸权能够持久的最重要的基础,也是二战后西方国家之间的关系能够超越“零和”博弈格局的重要原因。美国对华战略并非遏制,而是“对冲/两面下注”。中美之间存在超越历史上传统大国“零和”博弈的可能,中国领导人提出建立中美新型大国关系的建议反映了这种战略远见。     

美国法典1404(a)与非方便法院原则辨析

由于美国法典28卷1404（a）条款的立法规定在功能与措辞上均非常类似普通法上的非方便法院原则,因此很多学者误以为该立法规定与非方便法院原则之间并不存在实质性的差异。然而,这一看法并不正确。事实上,1404（a）条款立法在法律效果、证明标准以及具体适用方面均与非方便法院原则存在显著的区别。     

美国的“网络自由”战略及其对策

为了操控国际互联网政治传播，关国政府制定和执行一整套“网络自由”战略。所谓的关式“网络自由”是美国国家利益的网络延伸，是美式民主、人权和美国霸权主义在虚拟世界的扩张和体现。美国的“网络自由”战略由理念输出、资金支持、技术研发和组织运作等几个方面构成。要深入揭示美式“网络自由”的虚伪和危害，加强应对美式“网络自由”的综合能力，不断提升对互联网和虚拟社会的管理水平。     

一个“强化民主”的司法审查理论——对《民主与不信任》的再解读

在《民主与不信任》一书中,伊利试图通过建构一个非但不与民主相冲突,而且还促进和强化民主的一个司法审查理论,来回应司法审查不民主的质疑。伊利主张:在政府失灵,即代议程序不值得信任之时,法院在司法审查中应当积极介入;疏通政治变革的渠道,以及纠正对少数人的某些歧视,是法院的应有职能;多数人决定与少数人保护,是民主原理的内在组成部分。伊利借助于代表理论,"尊重多数人"和"保护少数人"这两项要求有机地统一在一起。对掌权者不信任的逻辑,贯穿于伊利的司法审查理论。伊利通过程序论,建构了一个比较融贯的司法审查理论,不过,却不能使宪法裁判免于价值判断。