The German Federal Election of 2017: How the Wedge Issue of Refugees and Migration Took the Shine off Chancellor Merkel and Transformed the Party System

The 2017 German federal election delivered dramatic electoral decline of the two traditional main parties, the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD), who had governed Germany in a ‘grand coalition’ government since 2013. The main reason for this outcome was the decision by Chancellor Angela Merkel to open Germany's borders for refugees and migrants, an unprecedented policy that abandoned border controls and remained in place between September 2015 and March 2016. This article focuses on how the refugee and migration problem subsequently turned into a wedge issue, splitting most German political parties and handing a major election victory to the main critics of Merkel's decision, namely the rightist Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the right‐wing liberals of the Free Democratic Party (FDP). Rather than explaining these developments in isolation, the article highlights how past welfare state retrenchment and fear over future economic prosperity make significant groups of the electorate, including former supporters of left‐of‐centre parties, lose confidence in the ability of the political system to deliver stability and social integration.     

How “godparents” are made for “unaccompanied refugee minors”: an ethnographic view into the training of future youth mentors

There are many qualitative studies on interactions and activities within mentoring, including on organizational processes. This article concentrates on one pivotal aspect regarding the “doings” of mentorship—the training of future voluntary mentors (known as "godparents") for separated young refugees in a pilot program. The underlying study looks at knowledge production in mentoring. The explorative research done in Austria started during the so-called refugee crisis in Europe in 2015. Using data from participant observation, the “triangle of godparenthood” is reconstructed as a core structure underlying the overall pilot program. Thus the ideal-type figures of the “family-like,” the “professional,” and the “committed contractual” godparent become visible. The interpretation discusses youth mentoring as a form of social problems work. Accordingly, the study shows how social protection is organized based on particular social problematizations and on the construction of voluntary mentors from civil society. The training “teaches” future mentors what kind of young people their counterparts are. It offers a problematization according to which particular “needs” are defined. This allows mentors to legitimize, rationalize, and moralize what is, in the end, a pedagogical approach. By relating the problematization to a personal level, the training provides future mentors with a particular idea and moral obligation regarding what they personally can be for those young people who are categorized as “unaccompanied refugee minors.”     

Putin's popularity since 2010: why did support for the Kremlin plunge,then stabilize?

This paper seeks to explain the surprising decline in Russian President Vladimir Putin's approval rating in 2011. During the previous 10 years, Putin's rating had correlated closely with Russians' perceptions of the state of the economy. Yet the fall in his approval – from 79% in December 2010 to 63% a year later – occurred despite roughly stable economic perceptions. Comparing Levada Center polls from late 2010 and 2011, the paper explores both who (what types of respondents) grew disenchanted with Putin, and why (what issues or grievances prompted this switch). It finds that (a) the fall in support for the Kremlin – although faster among members of the “creative class,” women, the rich, and residents of provincial cities – was broad-based, occurring among all social groups examined; (b) attitudes toward immigration, the West, and Russia's international status, as well as assessments of public service quality, changed little during 2011; (c) Putin's declining popularity most likely reflected stronger – not weaker – economic concerns; although the proportion judging economic performance to be poor did not increase, those who saw economic weakness became much less supportive of the Kremlin. Russians appear to have increasingly blamed their political leaders for unsatisfactory economic and political outcomes.     

Researching Refugee Youth in the Middle East: Reflections on the Importance of Comparative Research

This paper reflects on the value of comparative anthropologicalresearch with refugee youth. It examines a participatory researchprogramme in eight field sites in the Middle East and NorthAfrica. While recognizing the importance of the specific socio-politicaland cultural context of the different field sites, it has beenpossible to uncover similarities among refugee youth that wouldhave been missed were it not for the exercise in comparison.What emerges from these findings, within research contexts whichwere viewed, by some, as unique and thus not comparable, arethematic similarities. Characteristic of many young people livingin situations of prolonged forced migration are issues of multipleand conflicting identities and ambivalence to transgressed places;activism; and engagement in activities independent of existinghumanitarian aid structures. Thus it can be seen that comparativestudies can draw out the features and qualities which transcendborders, local cultures and the humanitarian aid regime to displaythe traits in common among refugee youth.     

农民工市民化行为的文化逻辑——一项来自城市农民工安全经济学的分析尝试

在农民工市民化研究中,结构解释与文化解释构成了农民工行为分析的主要逻辑。农民工在市民化进程中,遵照"安全第一"与理性选择原则,建构起了一种生存层面安全、经济技术层面安全以及社会文化价值层面安全三者统一的安全经济学。这为地方政府制度建构与制度过密化防范提供了切入点。     

完善我国农村社会保障制度研究——基于农村土地流转的前提与基础角度

我国农村社会保障制度不健全,绝大部分农民游离于现代社会保障制度之外,严重影响着农村土地流转。农村土地承担了农民的基本生活保障、养老、就业等社会保障功能,从农村土地流转的前提角度来看,完善我国农村社会保障制度是发展农村土地规模经营,推进土地流转顺利进行的有力保障。     

市场经济理论的新发展

市场经济作为一种基本的资源配置方式,始终处在不断发展变化的过程中,人们对市场经济制度的认识也在不断发展、深化,随着现代市场经济的发展,特别是随着过去的计划经济体制向市场经济的转变,人们也在重新发现市场和追一步考量市场经济,而市场经济研究中出现的一些具有重大影响的新成果,值得我们关注和了解。     

西部民族地区城镇化建设中税收优惠的法律经济学研究

本文在分析现阶段西部民族地区的税收优惠政策及其局限性的基础上,从法律经济学效益最大化的思想出发,指出在西部民族地区城镇化建设的税收优惠中必须依法治税,应当赋予部分西部民族地区政府地方税收立法权,还要落实西部民族地区自治机关的税收管理自治权。     

The Syrian Refugee Crisis and the International Community

This article analyzes the problematics of the international community's response to the Syrian refugee crisis: patterns of displacement, including the lack of attention to basic needs, the limited economic opportunities in host countries, the conditions facing Syrian refugee children, the risk involved in migration, and the challenge of adapting to host societies. The article then elucidates the series of failures of the international community to address the causes of this displacement, despite efforts by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and international institutions to alleviate suffering. It traces the humanitarian mismanagement to political divisions in the international community, including the failure of Arab states, the Iranian intervention, and the role of the United Nations, Russia and the United States in aggravating the displacement. The article provides policy recommendations for international actors in order to honor their commitments to hosting refugees and addresses the political requirements for a lasting solution.     

科斯定理的法和经济学拓展

科斯第一定理只讨论了交易费用为零和合作行为存在时的产权配置,科斯第二定理只强调了交易费用存在时,法律制度对资源有效率配置的重要作用,法和经济学则给出了交易费用下产权配置的“法律模拟市场”,以及产权保护的规则选择,但科斯定理的法和经济学的拓展也存在着严重的缺陷。