How is it Possible for Democracies to Effectively Tackle Long-Term Problems?

ABSTRACT

The aim of this essay is to examine if and how it is possible for the political system of democracy to effectively tackle long-term public problems that are wicked in nature, taking climate crisis as an example. It consists of four sections. The first section is devoted to a brief historical overview of the conflict between eco-authoritarianism and ecological democracy. The following section examines if and to what extent “environmental pessimism” – disillusionment with the ability of liberal/capitalist democracies to effectively tackle long-term environmental problems – which has made a remarkable comeback since late 1980s, is empirically grounded, on the basis of performance evaluation of the contracting parties to the Kyoto Protocol (adopted on 11 December 1997 and entered into force on 16 February 2005), and the Climate Change Performance Index that evaluates and ranks the climate mitigation performance of 58 countries responsible for over 90 per cent of global energy-related CO₂ emissions, released every year by Germanwatch and Climate Action Network Europe. The third section focuses on more theoretical/normative issues, critically examining the cogency of a claim, made by no small number of environmental pessimists, that democratic institutions, due to their myopic tendencies, usually work systematically to the disadvantage of future generations. The last section is devoted to the examination of measures thus far advocated and partly put into practice for correcting the myopic tendencies of democracy, emphasizing the vital need for non-representative measures, or self-restraint mechanisms built into democracy itself, whose primary function lies in preventing democracy from degenerating due to the influence of the myopic majority, thereby protecting ecological sustainability and the well-being of future generations.     

America First? Trump,Crime, and Justice Internationally

ABSTRACT

“America First,” as presented by President Trump, argues for an international strategy that persistently places America’s interests above those of anyone or anything else. Consequently, Trump has reshaped the international perceptions of the United States and has created more difficulties for the U.S. in coordinating of global leaders in resolving complex issues in the world. This essay reflects on how Trump and the United States are viewed internationally, the impacts of Trump’s anti-immigrant and pro-White nationalist rhetoric, Trump’s responses to humanitarian crises around the globe, and the potential impact of Trump’s stance on global climate change. Given these considerations, it is questionable whether “America First” policy has made “America Great Again” in the eyes of the world.     

从项目嵌入到组织社会:村级集体经济发展的新趋势及其类型学研究

发展和壮大村级集体经济是乡村振兴战略的重要内容。既有研究在探讨村级集体经济问题时较多地聚焦于其功能和目的、历史与现实、发展原则和要求,而较少关注到村级集体经济的发展趋势及其在不同村庄所呈现出的异质性特征。基于"项目嵌入-公众参与"的二维分析框架和浙北J市S镇的田野调查发现:新时期村级集体经济发展出现了由依赖纵向国家项目嵌入向组织和激活横向社会网络转变的新趋势,其发展形式呈现出政社耦合型、社会嵌入型、政治嵌入型和双重脱嵌型四种理论类型。村级集体经济发展类型上的差异也导致了其在村庄治理实践中发挥的分配、互惠、悬浮、兜底保障等不同功能,以及国家治理机制上的分殊。此外,村级集体经济的发展在不同类型的村庄面临着不尽相同的内外限制性条件。     

Understanding rural resistance: contemporary mobilization in the Brazilian countryside

Contradictions between impressive levels of economic growth and the persistence of poverty and inequality are perhaps nowhere more evident than in rural Brazil. While Brazil might appear to be an example of the potential harmony between large-scale, export-oriented agribusiness and small-scale family farming, high levels of rural resistance contradict this vision. In this introductory paper, we synthesize the literature on agrarian resistance in Brazil and situate recent struggles in Brazil within the Latin American context more broadly. We highlight seven key characteristics of contemporary Latin American resistance, which include: the growth of international networks, the changing structure of state–society collaboration, the deepening of territorial claims, the importance of autonomy, the development of alternative economies, continued opposition to dispossession, and struggles over the meaning of nature. We argue that by analyzing rural mobilization in Brazil, this collection offers a range of insights relevant to rural contention globally. Each contribution in this collection increases our understanding of alternative agricultural production, large-scale development projects, education, race and political parties in the contemporary agrarian context.     

21世纪初国际能源格局及今后的中长期变化 ——兼论日本能源安全的出路与困境

为了应对全球气候变化，需对能源安全概念进行“范式转换”，即能源安全不仅要包括能源供需矛盾、能源供需网络的脆弱性和潜在风险，而且要与环境安全、水安全相结合，形成“广义的能源安全”概念。当前，一系列新因素正在使国际能源格局和能源范式发生重大变化：福岛核电站特大事故严重影响了全球公众对核安全的信心，今后世界各国发展核电会更加谨慎；可再生能源日益发展与普及；气候变暖正在改变能源资源与环境资源相加的自然资源“总格局”；非常规油气资源日益开发、天然气地位上升以及美洲能源供给新轴心崛起；“可燃冰革命”及海洋能源进一步开发。在福岛核事故后，日本能源安全既面临风险，又面临机遇。今后日本能源安全战略的动向主要是：坚持发展核电，但会更加谨慎稳健；积极开展能源外交，实现能源来源多元化；在一次能源结构中增大天然气的比重；大力发展可再生能源和节能；大力开发可燃冰等海洋能源资源。此外，当前日本政府错误的周边外交政策将成为日本能源安全最大的潜在风险，可望长期执政的自民党政权采取的鹰派民族主义政策，终将给日本惹祸，首当其冲的祸害对象就是日本的能源安全。     

Unheard Voices: Why Former Child Welfare Workers Left Their Positions

This mixed methods study used a snowball sample (n = 54) to capture retrospective insight from former public child welfare workers about job satisfaction and reasons they left their positions. Responses to open-ended questions suggested a theme of lack of organizational support as the primary reason they left. Former workers also reported that they wanted a voice and someone to hear their concerns, greater recognition, and opportunity to practice self-care. Quantitatively, workers in their positions 8 years or longer were the most satisfied on a 19-item global scale examining job satisfaction. Respondents were unhappy with their workloads and emotional impact of their positions.     

The gender agenda: NGOs and capitalist relations in highland Cambodia

Cambodia’s mountainous northeastern province of Ratanakiri, which only twenty years ago was home to mainly indigenous minority groups largely focused on subsistence production, has undergone rapid ecological, social, and economic transformation. Deforestation and land alienation in the context of large-scale plantation agriculture, land speculation, and smallholder cash cropping have led to concerns that indigenous communities are being alienated from their land and not benefitting from economic changes. This has resulted in a significant number of NGO and government programs that attempt to protect and “empower” indigenous people, particularly women. This article examines a one-year research project which explored the relationship between indigenous women and land change in two indigenous villages. It discusses how indigenous women as well as Khmer and landless Cham immigrants have dealt with the commoditization of land and labor. It focuses on the differentiated way capitalist relations have pushed men, women, landless laborers, and increasingly wealthy landowners on increasingly divergent life trajectories. Compelled by donors to focus on gender and indigenous women as an object of governance, the NGO that directed this project struggled to keep up with the realities of capitalist relations on the ground.     

江苏省辖市区环境空气质量变化趋势及对策

对江苏省省辖市市区环境空气质量变化进行趋势分析并提出改善对策     

Understanding food security and international security links in the context of climate change

Food production has been changing significantly in recent years as a result of climate change and of growing demand for food. This article aims to understand the link between food security and international security in the context of climate change, applying a systematic and qualitative analysis of the literature using the bibliometric method. This research observes that climate change tends to affect agricultural productivity, exposing societies to risk and the need for migration. However, good governance, together with international cooperation, can reduce the hazards of food insecurity, strengthening ties between countries and stimulating a fairer and more inclusive form of international trade.     

Reshaping State Structure and Strategy: The Reform of Railway Policy in Germany and Italy

For almost four decades, the reform of the state has been a recurrent and relevant topic for social sciences. Has the s.c. positive state been replaced by a regulatory state, or have hybrid configurations emerged? Based on a comparative analysis of German and Italian railway policies, this article aims to contribute to the literature on regulation, considering the possibility of policy mixes in which elements of the positive and the regulatory state are interrelated. Such hybridization is the result of multiple-actor policy arenas, where regulatory tools are used to restructure state’s direct intervention rather than to bring about its retreat.