Conceptualising Party-State Governance and Rule in Laos

ABSTRACT

This article develops a framework for conceptualising authoritarian governance and rule in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. After introducing the national and academic context, which go a significant way towards understanding the paucity of comparative political work on Laos, we propose an approach to studying post-socialist authoritarian and single-party rule that highlights the key political-institutional, cultural-historical and spatial-environmental sources of party-state power and authority. In adopting this approach, we seek to redirect attention to the centralising structures of rule under the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, illustrating how authoritarian institutions of the “party-state” operate in and through multiple scales, from the central to the local level. At a time when the country is garnering greater attention than at any time since the Vietnam War, we argue that this examination of critical transitions in Laos under conditions of resource-intensive development, intensifying regional and global integration, and durable one-party authoritarian rule, establishes a framework for future research on the party-state system in Laos, and for understanding and contextualising the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party regime in regional comparative perspective.     

The Disappearance of Political Cultures in Italy

Abstract

Following the collapse of the Italian party system in 1994, post-war Italian political cultures have all but exhausted themselves, if not disappeared completely. First, the Ulivo (Olive Tree) in 1996–1998, then, the Partito Democratico in 2007–2008, attempted without much conviction to formulate a new political culture combining several traditions and heritages. This article will explore how and why the PD failed in its attempts. It will also look at the status of other political cultures, especially the federalist and the liberal, supposedly relaunched by Berlusconi in 1994. It will conclude with some reflections on the appearance of personalist parties and leaders’ narratives and provide an assessment of the present situation with specific reference to the attempt by the PD leader, Matteo Renzi, to give birth to a so-called ‘Partito della Nazione’. Is there any future for new political cultures in the Italian political system? Will the Italian party system ever be revived?     

民主社会主义思潮与苏东剧变浅析

民主社会主义实质就是一种社会改良主义。它主张在不触动现存资本主义统治的条件下进行改良,渐进地、和平地过渡到社会主义。在民主社会主义思潮的影响下,马克思主义指导地位被削弱,阵地被缩小,以致完全丧失。由此可以看出,民主社会主义与我们的科学社会主义是完全对立的两种意识形态。     

浅析“三股势力”对新疆高校思想政治教育的影响及对策

新疆地处打击"三股势力"的前沿阵地.在与"三股势力"的斗争中,分裂分子采用的不仅仅是暴力恐怖手段,在意识形态领域,对高校的渗透也是他们散播分裂主义思想的重要途径.为维护祖国统一、反对民族分裂及维护社会安定团结,防范"三股势力"对高校思想政治教育的影响就具有非常重要的现实意义.高校必须不断加大思想政治工作的力度,有效抵御民族分裂主义和非法宗教活动的渗透.     

Maple Leaf Zeitgeist? Assessing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Policy Changes*

In the October 2015 elections, the charismatic Justin Trudeau led the Canadian Liberal Party to its first majority government in 15 years, overturning nearly a decade of conservative government. His premiership is generally considered to have begun well. This article examines Trudeau’s conduct of the election campaign, his choice of a young and diverse Cabinet, his courtship of the media and image making, and assesses changes in foreign and domestic policy. These have yet to prove substantive but Trudeau has signalled a reversal of Stephen Harper’s conservative policies and especially in regard to migration has tapped into images of ‘compassionate Canadians’. In foreign policy, this has been evidenced in relations with the United States and with a re-engagement with the Commonwealth especially in its soft power aspects. Trudeau’s green credentials and stance on Climate Change are a contrast to those of his predecessor but he has yet to confront the different environmental profiles and policies of the Canadian states. Canada’s Strategic Partnership with the European Community and the ratification of CETA are priorities and he has to come to terms with the implications of Brexit.     

Astuteness in Commitment: Rwanda and UN Peacekeeping 1994–2014

Abstract

This article traces Rwanda’s history under German and Belgian colonialism, through independence and genocide to international respectability and membership of the Commonwealth. It examines Rwanda’s impressive contributions to United Nations and African Union peacekeeping forces. There is no single explanation for the magnitude of Rwanda’s contribution. It owes something to Rwanda’s commitment to ‘African solutions for African problems’. Deployment is relatively cheap and allows Rwanda to use its participation for political leverage in international affairs, to attract donors and to benefit financially. Peacekeeping is a factor in the astute foreign policy of Paul Kagame’s government that enhances its authority and stability at home and its prestige abroad.     

The Contribution of Commonwealth Armed Forces in UN Peacekeeping: The Case of Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh is one of the top troop contributing countries to UN Peacekeeping Operations. This paper traces the antecedents and history of the Bangladesh Armed Forces and follows Bangladesh’s participation in various peacekeeping operations over the past 25 years including Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Democratic Republic of Congo.     

新民主主义革命时期党的职工教育研究

新民主主义革命时期党的职工教育是中国无产阶级教育史上的一页光辉篇章。这一阶段的职工教 育开办工人学校、推动工人教育立法、完善职工教育体系,以为党育人为根本宗旨,以马克思主义教育理论为实 践遵循,以服务职工为中心,开创和发展了我国职工教育理论和实践。新时代,职工教育要以培养“完整人”为目标, 以先进的思想引领职工,以优秀的文化培育职工;构建服务职工终身学习的教育体系,培养高素质的职工队伍。     

台湾政党再次轮替的深层原因

台湾在2008年出现第二次政党轮替的深层原因是民进党未能解决政治贫腐和经济衰退这两项选民最关心的议题.2005年"三合一"地方选举是民进党"由盛转衰"的分水岭.2008年1月的"立法院"选举,初次采取以小区单席为主、政党比例代表为辅的制度,放大了国民党和民进党的得票悬殊,在"立法院"形成"一大一小"的席次格局,为台湾政党的再次轮替埋下了重要伏笔.在2008年最高领导人选举中,民进党候选人既无法有效整合内部的派系结构.也无法摆脱扁案和激进"台独"路线的困扰,争取中间选民的支持,从而导致了台湾政党的再次轮替.     

The strategic determinants of legislative malapportionment in new democracies

When the number of seats to be elected in the districts of an electoral system is not proportional to their population, the cost of seats in raw votes tends to vary across districts. Malapportionment generates partisan bias when some parties do better (worse) in the districts where seats are cheaper (costlier) than in other districts. While existing research has focused on the exogenous determinants of malapportionment, in this article we argue that malapportionment also derives from the strategic decisions of ruling elites to maximize their legislative representation. The degree of malapportionment in newly democratized countries increases when ruling policymakers have reliable ex ante information about the geographical distribution of partisan support, and the authoritarian incumbent, at the moment of democratic transition, is strong. Our arguments are tested with original data from 60 third and fourth-wave democracies at national and district levels.