The Neglected Nation: The CSU and the Territorial Cleavage in Bavarian Party Politics

This article examines the continuing salience of the territorial cleavage in Bavarian party politics. It does so through an exploration of the Christian Social Union's (CSU) mobilisation of Bavarian identity as part of its political project, which has forced other parties in Bavaria to strengthen their territorial goals and identities. Parties have articulated different constructions of ‘Bavaria’ to rival the CSU's dominant nation-building project. However, they have been unable to portray themselves as ‘standing up for Bavarian interests’ due to the constraints of the state-wide parties to which they belong. As an exclusively Bavarian party, the CSU has no such constraints. Indeed, the CSU's core aim of strengthening Bavaria's position vis-à-vis the German federation may be viewed as akin to that of the Convergència i Unió in Catalonia, Spirit in Flanders or Plaid Cymru in Wales. Like these parties, the case of the CSU in Bavaria demonstrates that sub-state territorial mobilisation has as much to do with negotiating autonomy within the state as seceding from it. To that end, the CSU provides a valuable case of how a regionalist party operating within a multi-level political system has sought to influence the regional, state and European levels to obtain a comparative territorial advantage.     

The Management of Democratic Elections in Africa (MDEA) programme at the university of South Africa: Is this the right path towards African solutions?

There have been a number of initiatives in Africa to rid the Continent of political instability, conflict, poverty and disease. Many have argued that aid from the West has helped Africa in many ways—from stopping wars, to food relief and rescuing the African environment. Yet others have slated Western involvement which they contend, frequently leaves Africans dependant rather than capable of solving their own problems. In line with the pan-Africanist and the African Union (AU) ideals, there is now a realisation by Africans that there is a need to find African solutions to African challenges and problems. This review article explores the University of South Africa’s (Unisa’s) Management of Democratic Elections in Africa (MDEA) programme, by looking at its objectives and the reason why it must be labelled a Programme, its mandate, which is in line with the brief of the AU and pan-Africanist ideals. The article focuses on how Unisa’s programme responds to the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG); and how it has attempted to facilitate knowledge for peace in Africa, through empowering electoral officials from various African states. The article concludes by looking at the successes and limitations of the Programme over a five-year period, from its inception in 2011.     

公安机关组织结构扁平化与警力下沉分析——大庆公安机关警务机制改革的启示

警力下沉是全国公安基层所队正规化建设的重要内容,也是三年基层基础建设的重要目标。如何推进警力下沉,是各级公安机关必须高度重视并积极采取有效措施加以解决的重要课题。大庆市公安局相继推行的以组织机构扁平化为主要内容的警务机制改革为今后公安工作中科学配置警力提供了有价值的参考。     

论公民文化视野下少数民族地区民主政治建设

民主政治建设是少数民族地区现代化建设的重要内容,不仅包括制度建设内容,而且也包括政治文化建设的内容。然而,少数民族地区民主建设面临着各少数民族成员民主制度、机制缺乏,民主意识淡薄以及注重宗教信仰、法治意识缺失。要培育少数民族地区民主型政治文化的基础和条件,就不得不建立和完善现代民主制度和机制,充分开发利用各种政治社会化手段。     

民主宪政与社会主义和谐社会的实现

民主宪政是中国自清末立宪运动以来孜孜以求的梦想,也是我国建设“法治国家”的根本目标;而和谐社会作为全面建设小康社会的目标之一,一直是人类追求的美好理想,这两大目标紧密相连,两者相辅相成,缺一不可。只有实现了和谐社会,才能为我国的民主宪政的孕育发展奠定基础;只有实现民主宪政,才能保障和谐社会的实现和健康发展。民主宪政与和谐社会的实现须尊重和保障人权,树立宪法至上的权威和司法公正。     

论日本自民党派阀政治回归的必然性

日本自民党前任总裁小泉纯一郎在其当政期间采用了一系列标新立异的政治手法,使该党传统派阀政治一时间似乎面临消亡的境地。但是,小泉刚离任不久,曾经红极一时的"小泉政治"即迅速走向终结,派阀政治随之卷土重来。究其原因,小泉政治其实只是特定时期的特殊产物,而自民党的派阀则由于建立在日本社会、历史和文化基础之上,不可能轻易消亡。不过,对于自民党来说,不管是小泉政治还是派阀政治,从根本上说一切都是为了权力。     

台湾地区2020年“二合一”选举结果及其对政党政治的影响

论文分析2020年台湾地区“二合一”选举结果及其对政党政治的影响。根据2016年以来三次选举中不同政党得票情况的起伏变化,观察“蓝、绿”和南北政治光谱的周期性变化规律,评估政党内部因素和外部环境对岛内选举结果的短期效应和长期影响,进而展望台湾政党政治的未来发展趋势。     

Procedural justice,obligation to obey,and cooperation with police in a sample of Jamaican citizens

ABSTRACT

Procedural justice theory plays a central role in understanding police–citizen relationships. To test the universality of procedural justice theory, researchers have tended to assess the relative impacts of normative and instrumental models of policing in different geopolitical contexts. Building on Reisig and Lloyd’s study in Jamaica, we test in the current study the relative impacts of procedural justice (a normative factor) and police effectiveness and risk of sanctioning (instrumental factors) on Jamaicans’ obligation to obey the police and willingness to cooperate with police. We found that procedural justice predicted both obligation to obey and cooperation, although obligation did not predict cooperation. And while effectiveness predicted obligation, it was not significantly related to cooperation. Lastly, older citizens were more willing to cooperate with police. The study’s implications for policy and future research are discussed.     

The 2019 General Election in Northern Ireland: the Rise of the Centre Ground?

The experience of the 2019 general election in Northern Ireland took a very different course to that of the rest of the UK and, indeed, to the pattern of electoral politics typical of the region. Coming after almost three years with no functioning devolved government, combined with intense disagreement and uncertainty about Brexit, voters were ready to give a message to the two largest parties. Both Sinn Féin and the DUP suffered losses in the election, with the headline outcome being that unionism no longer holds the majority of seats for Northern Ireland in Westminster. More generally, there was a swing from both sides towards centre ground voting, which brought significant gains for the Alliance Party and the SDLP. This article summarises the reasons for this broad trend, focussing on the conditions and electoral pacts which brought it about. It also considers what it might mean for the prospects for Irish unification, noting that a referendum on unification will only be passed by attracting votes from those who tend to see themselves as neither unionist or nationalist.