Why some countries are immune from the resource curse: The role of economic norms

The political resource curse – the detrimental effect of natural resource dependence on democracy – is a well-established correlate of authoritarianism. A long-standing puzzle, however, is why some countries seem to be immune from it. We address this issue systematically by distinguishing two kinds of economies: contract-intensive, where individuals normally obtain their incomes in the marketplace; and clientelist, where individuals normally obtain their incomes in groups that compete over state rents. We theorize that the institutionalized patronage opportunities in clientelist economies are an important precondition for the resource curse, and that nations with contract-intensive economies are immune from it. Analysis of 150 countries from 1973 to 2000 yields robust support for this view. By introducing clientelist economy as a prerequisite for the resource curse, this study offers an important advance in understanding how nations democratize.     

Co-operation,Contestation and Complexity in Post-Conflict Security Sector Reform

ABSTRACT

Security Sector Reform (SSR) remains a key feature of peacebuilding interventions and is usually undertaken by a state alongside national and international partners. External actors engaged in SSR tend to follow a normative agenda that often has little regard for the context in post-conflict societies. Despite recurrent criticism, SSR practices of international organisations and bilateral donors often remain focused on state institutions, and often do not sufficiently attend to alternative providers of security or existing normative frameworks of security. This article provides a critical overview of existing research and introduces the special issue on ‘Co-operation, Contestation and Complexity in Post-Conflict Security Sector Reform’. We explore three aspects that add an important piece to the puzzle of what constitutes effective SSR. First, the variation of norm adoption, norm contestation and norm imposition in post-conflict countries that might explain the mixed results in terms of peacebuilding. Second, the multitude of different security actors within and beyond the state which often leads to multiple patterns of co-operation and contestation within reform programmes. And third, how both the multiplicity of and tension between norms and actors further complicate efforts to build peace or, as complexity theory would posit, influence the complex and non-linear social system that is the conflict-affected environment.     

刑法规范的明确性与模糊性——诠释学视野下的刑法解释应用

语言世界是个十分模糊的世界。从哲学角度来看，语义的模糊性是绝对的，而明确性是相对的，由此决定了建立在成文法基础上的刑法规范也同时具有明确性与模糊性的特征。刑法规范追求明确具体，但从立法技术的角度考察，却并不是越明确越具体越好。实际上，明确与模糊都是相对而言的，限度之内的模糊能够扩充刑法规范的涵摄力，进而为刑法解释提供能动的空间，这也符合诠释学视野下的刑法解释论说。     

论确立行政给付界限的宪法劳动义务规范

宪法劳动义务规范传统上作为“不劳动者不得食”的体现已经失去其存在的意义,但其作为宪法的成文规范,简单地予以废除意味着法解释学的失败.实际上,宪法劳动义务规范完全可以成为行政给付界限的宪法依据.义务不仅意味着国家的强制,也意味着国家责任的豁免.宪法劳动义务就是在宪法上确立了公民自食其力、自力更生的基本义务以及国家在这一范围内物质帮助义务的豁免.这一规范构成了行政给付中国家责任范围的重要依据,并且已经在我国最低生活保障制度中有明确体现.     

利益平衡、规范协调与社会纠纷的解决——以一起城乡居民之间的冲突事件为例

城乡居民之间发生纠纷的深层原因多是风俗习惯与法律之间的规范冲突,以及人们之间以不同社会规范为依据的利益冲突。这是我国社会发展中规范多元、利益多元及城乡发展不平衡的特殊现实,也是人们分析社会问题、解决社会纠纷的基本立足点。因此,在由城市所主导的市场化、信息化向乡村强势推进的过程中,对农村居民仍在延续的、具有现实意义的生活方式及利益诉求,社会应当给予必要的尊重与宽容,而不是简单的否定与排斥。     

刑法学中事实概念与规范概念之嬗变——基于刑法信条学上犯罪构造理论的考察

犯罪构造理论在刑法学历史上占据举足轻重的地位。它标志着现代刑法的诞生,自此犯罪被牢牢地与刑法法规连在一起,罪刑法定原则亦从宣言走向实践。可以说,作为刑法学支柱的犯罪构造理论,其重要性体现在对刑法学知识体系的正当性建基。回顾刑法学的发展沿革,从古典犯罪论体系到新古典犯罪论体系、目的主义犯罪论体系再到目的理性主义犯罪体系,犯罪构造理论走出了一条从纯粹的事实到不断融入规范因素的轨迹,而对于犯罪构造理论中事实概念与规范概念的廓清在当下刑法学界显得尤为必要。     

宪法作为行政法直接渊源论析

宪法作为行政法直接渊源是在技术层面所作的分析,对于宪法的实施与实现以及解决宪法与行政法的关系有深层次意义。它具有体现宪法规制力、弥补行政法不足、将宪法权利类型化、构造一国法治体系的价值。当然,鉴于宪法与行政法的质的区别,宪法原则、宪法中的政治性条款、宪法中的非行政性规则不能作为行政法的直接渊源。     

制度安排的伦理考量

任何制度都是一种规则或规范的安排 ,一种人类的理性选择。这种安排和选择决定于生产力的性质和发展水平 ,同时 ,也是制度的进化和变革的过程。一部社会制度的变迁史 ,就是不断引入新的规则与规范、新的合作与竞争、新的利益关系和利益选择的创新发展史。这其中伴随着人们对正义、平等等价值的追求 ,以及制度安排的伦理考量     

Depoliticisation and ahistoricism of transparency and accountability via global norms: assessing the EITI in Ghana and Nigeria

ABSTRACT

While extant assessments of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) have focused on institutional and regulatory regimes, such evaluations have largely tended to depoliticise institutions. This article argues that a more robust understanding of EITI processes must give central attention to historically situated political structures and power relations that continue to shape the present institutional quality/capacity of extractive industries' transparency, and EITI reforms. Assessing the EITI in Africa through the lens of historical institutionalism clarifies how global governance regimes interface with specific institutional pathways, state-corporation-civil society configurations, and historical legacies to produce outcomes that may complement or undermine intended reforms.