Deliberative participatory budgeting: A case study of Zeguo Town in China

The search for a better practice instrument of civic engagement has led to participatory budgeting and deliberative polling in recent years. Participatory budgeting stresses empowerment and citizens' struggle against the establishment and unequal social structures, whereas deliberative polling works within the system and focuses on improving democratic decision‐making processes by applying credible social science methods. Often, these two processes are presented as being in conflict with each other, which is to the detriment of the search for best practice in deliberative governance. This paper develops a theoretical analysis of deliberative participatory budgeting which is distinguished from unrepresentative and non‐deliberative but self‐selected participatory budgeting; that is, it considers how the quality of participatory budgeting can be improved through deliberative polling. This theoretical analysis is backed by an empirical study of deliberative participatory budgeting in Zeguo Township, Zhejiang Province, China. It explores whether, how, and under what conditions it is possible to combine deliberative polling and participatory budgeting. It details four experiments and assesses the successes, failures, limitations, and problems of the experiments. The case of Zeguo offers scholars, activists, and officials lessons about how to pursue best deliberative practice in both authoritarian states and democratic societies.     

Alternative South–South development collaboration? The role of China in the Coega Special Economic Zone in South Africa

Aid, in the form of financial aid and investment, has become increasingly prevalent in both bilateral and multilateral partnerships in the BRICS. In Africa, the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation provides the official framings for forms of development assistance to the continent, with financial forms of aid available through the New Development Bank and the China–Africa Development Bank (CADFund). This article explores how Chinese international development assistance has influenced South Africa's economic growth and development strategies and is reshaping South Africa as “gateway” to Africa and continental leader. Special economic zones (SEZs) have become a prioritised form of BRICS development collaboration particularly in terms of Chinese trade and investment expansionism into Africa through South Africa. Chinese international development assistance and foreign direct investment in South Africa in particular are very notable and have been strengthened during the Chinese official state visit prior to the Johannesburg BRICS Summit in 2018. The article critically analyses the development policy discourse on BRICS spearheading an alternative model of South–South international cooperation by examining the Coega SEZ in South Africa, hailed as the most SEZ in Africa. The article critically examines the development alternative potential of the Coega SEZ.     

化解群体性事件的法律思考

近年来,群体性事件日益增多,规模也有扩大趋势,在一定程度上影响了社会稳定。诱发群体性事件的主要因素是,公民认为自己的合法权益受到侵害时缺乏有效的救济渠道。为了维护公民的合法权益,创建一个更加和谐的社会,化解群体性事件应从以下几方面入手：一是扩大公民政治参与,让其充分表达自身的利益诉求;二是政府要依法行政,实现社会公平正义;三是确保司法公正,强化司法权威;四是公民应依法行事,理性对待群体性事件。     

国外妇女参政政策及对我国的启示

妇女参政是衡量一个国家文明程度和民主建设进程的重要尺度,目前,国外的妇女参政,无论从数量和比例上还是从任职结构和质量上来说,都取得了令人瞩目的成就。总结梳理世界各国近年的政策和实践经验,以期对提高我国妇女参政水平以启示。     

从动员参与到合作治理:社会治理共同体的实现路径

社会治理共同体是新时期我国社会治理的重要主体,也是国家治理和基层治理现代化建设的重要研究对象。基于对S省Z市“民生微实事”项目的案例分析,提出“能力建设-惯习积累-信任强化”的分析框架,揭示了多元主体成长为社会治理共同体的机理,丰富了“主体关系”和“行动方式”的研究视角。研究发现,多元主体基于资源优势互补与主体责任再塑加强了能力建设,能力的提升使其有意愿并且能够建立合作关系;政府通过规则调适以及持续的参与激励来培养多元主体的合作惯习,有助于促进合作行动;共同议题下的利益相容和由参与效能感形成的良性循环会强化信任,进一步增强多元主体间的合作关系和合作行动,进而形成稳定、可持续的合作治理常态,使社会治理共同体得以实现。     

Accountability of Public Servants under Dominant Political Settlements of China: Effects,Challenges, and Issues

Some scholars think that accountability is attainable only under the electoral political system. However, it is argued that China could achieve some weak accountability even without general election system. How could this be achieved in China? The paper attempts to analyze this question with the following steps: first, it describes the specific accountability system by categorizing different approaches based on four dimensions, then focuses on the impacts that these approaches would have, which are based on finance, fairness and efficiency. It is concluded that under a dominant political settlement, only weak accountability exists in China, not real or strong accountability.     

A critique of bourgeois theories of economic development

Festival expenditures amount to over 15 per cent of a household's annual expenditures in rural India. Yet they have never been studied by economists. This article uses both qualitative and quantitative data from a case study of three South Indian villages to show that festivals are important public goods in the village, but neither a pure entertainment motive nor an altruistic desire to contribute to a public event seems to explain their size. Households which spend money on festivals, everything else held equal, are able, however, to generate tangible rewards - lower prices on food, higher social status and more invitations to meals from other families. This indicates that active participation in festivals generates private economic and social returns which help resolve a potential free-rider problem. The evidence is consistent with the notion that festivals serve as mechanisms by which communities build social networks.     

高校党外知识分子政治参与的双重性及其对策

高校党外知识分子是党外知识分子重要组成部分。当前,高校党外知识分子呈数量多、年轻化、素质高等特点,引导他们政治参与,发挥参政议政作用具有重要意义。本文分析高校党外知识分子政治参与的双重性及其成因,提出从政治上引导、生活上关心、渠道上拓宽等对策。     

Partisan Media and Engagement: A Field Experiment in a Newly Liberalized System

How does media exposure affect political engagement in newly liberalized systems? Some celebrate newly vibrant and diverse media, believing that they mobilize citizens. Others worry that these outlets, which are often partisan, dampen engagement. We theorize that exposure to political programming engenders interest in politics irrespective of program bias, but that interest does not necessarily beget action. Partisan media affect participation only when altering attitude strength, and thus motivations. To evaluate media effects on interest and participation, we conducted a field experiment in Ghana, in which subjects in tro-tros (commuter vans) were randomly exposed to different types of live talk radio. We find that partisan and nonpartisan media increased political interest, but not participation. Instead, exposure to alternate perspectives on cross-cutting media (i.e., those biased against subjects’ partisan preferences) heightened ambivalence and dampened participation, measured as signing a petition to parties. Partisan media simultaneously increased interest and decreased participation.     

复境权内涵之辨

早自上个世纪30年代,便有学人开始向国人介绍复境权的概念,然此后对该制度的认识竟至几无进展。国内法学界对复境权的认知,长久地停留在这样的层面:罗马士兵被俘以后一旦返回便得恢复先前的身份及权利。实际上,复境权制度的适用并非向来就只限于士兵及其返回的情况。它起源于和平态势下的人口迁徙,只是在共和末期以后,随着罗马政治军事力量的变化,其适用的范围才逐渐限缩。