Ideology and the University

Ideology underpins recent transformations of British universities; it forms an unquestioned backdrop to policy‐making. The ideology at issue is a market‐based neo‐liberalism—accompanied by a doctrinaire private‐sector managerialism. Universities employing this ideology envision it as common sense. The ideology is thus not proselytised, but rather structures the vernacular of university speech. In reality it is a highly politicised ideology masquerading as a managerial reality. Its effect on universities has been profoundly destructive. The dignified public good of higher education has now become a huckstering marketised mechanism. What is so perplexing is the quiescence of universities. The ideology is so hegemonic that it appears exempt from criticism. University administrators are now quite unapologetic ideological functionaries and we need to relearn how to criticise those who manage us. Ultimately no ideology lasts, this present one will be supplanted, the question is what level of damage to civil and intellectual life will it inflict?     

Electoral losers revisited – How citizens react to defeat at the ballot box

The paper seeks to reconcile insights from winner-loser gap research with mainstream understanding of election legitimacy. The paper acknowledges that winning and losing elections creates differential incentives for citizens to remain supportive of their political system, but it argues that losers nevertheless have enough reasons to remain supportive in absolute terms. Drawing on democratic theory, the paper develops a rationale for why citizens are willing to accept electoral defeat voluntarily, and suggest a new way to conceptualize citizen reactions to election outcomes. It presents findings from a sample of election studies in established democracies to show that winners typically become more supportive whereas losers at minimum retain their level of support from before the election. It concludes that elections, when reasonably well executed, as they most often are in established democracies, build system support rather than undermine it.     

Learning,political regimes and the liberalisation of trade

In this article, the probability of opening to trade is related to a country's propensity to learn from other countries in its region. It is argued that countries have different motivations to learn, depending upon the responsiveness and accountability of their political regimes. Whereas democracies cannot afford to be dogmatic, authoritarian regimes are less motivated to learn from the experience of others, even if they embrace policies that fail. Using data on trade liberalisation for 57 developing countries in the period 1970–1999, it is found that democracies confronting economic crises are more likely to liberalise trade as a result of learning; among democracies, presidential systems seem to learn more, whereas personalist dictatorial regimes are the most resistant to learning from the experience of others.     

亨廷顿的民主巩固理论探析

20世纪后期,随着大量新生的民主国家面临一系列的社会经济问题,民主陷入了不稳定甚至倒退的现实,民主化研究也从最初的转型开始向巩固转变。而亨廷顿的民主巩固理论,正好引导了20世纪90年代西方政治民主研究的潮流。他对民主巩固做了比较系统的阐述。简要地介绍了亨廷顿的民主、民主化、民主巩固等概念,着重介绍了他成功的民主巩固所需要的条件,最后试图对之进行初步的评价。     

关于民主集中制若干问题的分析

民主集中制在我国的政治生活中占有重要的地位,发挥着举足轻重的作用。胡锦涛《在庆祝中国共产党成立90周年大会上的讲话》中要求,在新的历史条件下必须"健全民主集中制"。本文认为,深刻理解和认真执行民主集中制,需要分析和解决有关民主集中制的六个重大问题:一是民主集中制是什么样制度的问题;二是民主集中制的实质是什么的问题;三是民主集中制中什么是"民主"的问题;四是民主集中制中什么是"集中"的问题;五是民主集中制的"民主"和"集中"是什么关系的问题;六是民主集中制实行得如何关键在于"一把手"的问题。如此才能有效地实现坚决克服违反民主集中制原则的个人独断专行和软弱涣散现象。     

Dual citizenship and theories of democracy

Dual/multiple citizenship has become a widespread phenomenon in many parts of the world. This acceptance or tolerance of overlapping memberships in political communities represents an important element in the ongoing readjustment of the relationship between citizens and political communities in democratic systems. This article has two goals and parts. First, it evaluates dual citizenship from the perspective of five normative theories of democracy. Liberal and republican as well as multicultural and deliberative understandings of democracy deliver a broad spectrum of arguments in favour of dual citizenship. Only communitarians fear that dual citizenship endangers national democracies. Nevertheless, empirical evidence and national policies largely contradict these fears. The second part of the article reverses the perspective and shows that most theories of democracy do not only legitimate and facilitate the acceptance of dual citizenship – the phenomenon of multiple citizenships induces innovation in democratic theory in turn. A second look at the relationship between dual citizenship and theories of democracy reveals that dual citizenship stimulates refinements, expansions and reconceptualisations of these theories for a transnationalising world.     

论宪政民主与基层民主的良性互动

改革开放以来,中国在探索社会主义民主政治发展的过程中,昭示了一条有中国特色的民主发展路径：即坚持基层民主与国家层面的完政民主相互协调,共同推动中国民主政治发展。宪政民主与基层民主是两种不同的民主形式,它们之间的区别是显而易见的,但二者又都统一于中国特色社会主义的伟大实践,成为并行不悖的两种基本的民主形式。     

论普选对香港特区政府的影响

即将实行的香港普选,既符合人民主权原则,也使特区政府面临中央和民众的"双重问责"。一方面,当行政决策的地方主体性被加强的同时,特区政府必须处理好与中央意志的平衡问题;另一方面,普选将推动政党、压力团体和民众的广泛政治参与,通过监督决策过程和效果,促使政务公开和透明,使特区政府更加民主和谨慎决策。     

中国共产党党内民主制度创新实践及启示

党内民主是党的生命。中国共产党90年的奋斗历程既是带领人民追求民主、自由和幸福的光辉历程,也是不断加强自身建设发展党内民主的光辉历程。中国共产党几代领导集体结合我们党在各个历史时期的任务在实践党内民主问题上积极探索,不断推进着党内民主制度的创新发展。这对于提高党的执政能力、永葆党的先进性有着重大意义。