Data protection legislation: What is at stake for our society and democracy?

The author starts by questioning the main privacy challenges raised by our present and future information society viewed as a “global village”. Apart from a comparison with the traditional village of our parents, he identifies the two complementary and not dissociable facets of our privacy: the right to seclusion and the right to participate fully in our society. According to the first German Constitutional Court recognizing the right to informational self-determination as a new constitutional right, he underlines the need to analyse the data protection as a tool for ensuring both the citizens' dignity and our democracy.     

Youth, Police Legitimacy and Informal Contact

This paper explores the under-researched topic of young people’s attitudes towards police in two studies using structural equation modelling. The first study examines the influence of police legitimacy on the willingness of young people to assist police. The second study examines the impact of informal contact with police during a community policing project on young people’s willingness to assist police. Findings show that young people who view police as legitimate are more willing to assist police. Participation in the community policing project had a significant and positive influence on young people’s willingness to assist police independent of young people’s attitudes about police legitimacy.

排污权及存在的正当性

排污权作为一种新型权利,是社会发展带来的权利结构变迁的结果。排污权的确定开拓了用市场机制来解决日益严重的环境污染问题的新思路,有利于协调环境保护与经济发展的关系,促进人与自然的和谐。     

权威合法化与现代国家的正当统治

权力的实现要以形成权威为归宿和保证,即权力必须转化为权威方能获得长期统治,一个缺乏足够的合法性资源支撑的权力终究会丧失让人服从的权威性。任何社会形态都需要通过某种形式将权威合法化,合法的权威是保证国家忠诚、维护国家稳定的重要元素。文章分析了权力、合法性和权威的内在关联,结合西方宪政主义权威理论,立足中国特殊的国情,探讨国家建立其正当统治的路径,以期有助于推进当代中国法治与政治文明的建设。     

版权扩张:一种合法性的反思

通过对美国外交版权政策、中国法律文化传统、版权文化功能、国外有关学者对版权扩张的态度的梳理 ,笔者认为中国在满足有关国际公约的最低要求的前提下 ,无须跟随这种潮流。     

商的正当性与儒的新出路：余英时对韦伯论题的回应

揭示现代理性资本主义精神的宗教起源和追索现代理性资本主义所承载的伦理精神,乃韦伯论题的一体两面,而重塑现代资本主义的伦理精神则是潜藏在韦伯竭力避免“价值判断和信仰判断”的科学话语之下的一个意图。余英时对“韦伯论题”的承接,一方面纠正了韦伯在一定程度上对于中国宗教特别是对于近世儒家工作伦理的误读;另一方面他试图得出“恰好与韦伯相反”的结论,即中国近世的宗教伦理,尤其是儒家伦理,能够“为中国资本主义的出现提供精神的基础”的努力,则并不完全成功。而余英时对“韦伯论题”论述方向的转换,则通过对明清儒学、儒士之“转向”的考察分析,表达了一个与韦伯不一样的关怀,那就是,在新的政治社会生态下,何处是儒学、儒士,特别是作为儒士后代传人的现代知识人新的出路、新的安身立命之所。     

合法性视域中的弱势群体问题研究

社会弱势群体的大量出现已经成为一个非常突出和不容忽视的社会问题。这一问题的凸现,直接影响到我国改革开放的深入发展和社会主义市场经济的进程,并对党的执政合法性提出了严峻的挑战。     

Exploring officer views of community policing in counterterrorism

Abstract

Recently there has been increased emphasis on actionable intelligence in counterterrorism. Building from the process-based model of regulation, police chiefs and scholars generally agree that community policing has promise in this regard. Yet, it is not clear the extent to which police officers concur. Since officers are in a position to implement community policing practices, it is important to understand variants in officer-level support. Using data collected from 741 officers in three departments, this project explores officer-level views of community policing’s utility to address terrorism and more common crimes. Overall, officers view community policing as appropriate to address both common crimes and terrorism. Results suggest that department-level policy itself is not the key driver of support. Rather, an officer’s own experience with community policing and support for the practice in general determine views on community policing in counterterrorism. Results also highlight the importance of comparative research across departments.     

A mission-driven research program on solar geoengineering could promote justice and legitimacy

ABSTRACT

Over the past decade or so, several commentators have called for mission-driven research programs on solar geoengineering, also known as solar radiation management (SRM) or climate engineering. Building on the largely epistemic reasons offered by earlier commentators, this paper argues that a well-designed mission-driven research program that aims to evaluate solar geoengineering could promote justice and legitimacy, among other valuable ends. Specifically, an international, mission-driven research program that aims to produce knowledge to enable well-informed decision-making about solar geoengineering could (1) provide a more effective way to identify and answer the questions that policymakers would need to answer; and (2) provide a venue for more efficient, effective, just, and legitimate governance of solar geoengineering research; while (3) reducing the tendency for solar geoengineering research to exacerbate international domination. Thus, despite some risks and limitations, a well-designed mission-driven research program offers one way to improve the governance of solar geoengineering research relative to the ‘investigator-driven’ status quo.     

Normative transformations in EU external relations: the phenomenon of ‘soft’ international agreements

Abstract

The European Union increasingly uses ‘soft’ international arrangements rather than formal international agreements in establishing relations with non-EU states. This contribution aims to raise the question of to what extent a move from hard to soft law in relations between the EU and its partners can be seen as allowing the Union to ‘step outside’ the legal framework (if that indeed is what is happening) and disregard the rules and principles that define the way in which EU external relations are to take shape. Possible consequences include the risk that these instruments are not subject to appropriate safeguards, that parliamentary influence (by the European Parliament as well as by national parliaments) is by-passed and that transparency is affected. There are various reasons for the EU not to use formal procedures, but a turn to informality does come at a price.