The Perils and Promises of Democratization through United Nations Transitional Authority – Lessons from Cambodia and East Timor

This article compares democratization under the aegis of the United Nations in Cambodia and East Timor. The analysis points to the inherent contradictions and problems of democratization in post-conflict situations and discusses the difficult issue of timing. It draws four generalized conclusions about democratization through international interim governments in post-conflict societies. First, UN-led interim governments can provide a solution to the problems of civil strife, insecurity, and political instability in disrupted states. Second, democratization through international interim governments in civil-war countries can be successful if the transitional authority is able to maintain a stable ‘hurting balance of power’ and to guarantee the parties' compliance with democratic procedures. Third, international interim regimes like UNTAC are designed on the premise that reconciliation among the domestic parties is possible. If the premise turns out to be inaccurate, the very foundation of the peace process is challenged and it will be almost impossible successfully to adjust the interim government's institutional structure. Fourth, the cases of Cambodia and East Timor demonstrate that democratization must be embedded in a comprehensive agenda of political, social, and economic methods of peace-building. If interim governments end before the roots of democracy are deep enough and before democratic institutions are strong enough to stand alone, then the entire endeavour may fail.     

FIGHTING CORRUPTION WITH SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISMS' POTENTIAL TO REDUCE CORRUPTION IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Given the poor track record of traditional anti‐corruption initiatives, donors and governments are increasingly looking at how civil society can fight corruption in public administration. Social accountability mechanisms intend to perform this role by holding officials directly accountable through citizen engagement. However, this article argues that social accountability mechanisms are only capable of reducing corruption systemically if they activate horizontal accountability and sustain it through the sanctioning mechanisms of electoral accountability. A comparative case study analysis using the cases of the Ugandan Public Expenditure Tracking Survey and the Bangalore Citizen Report Card is applied to test this hypothesis. The Tanzanian Public Expenditure Tracking Survey and an example of citizen engagement in Mumbai are employed as shadow cases to provide additional evidence for the hypothesis. The results indicate that social accountability mechanisms must be inclusive, broad, with public effect and embedded in other accountability relationships to fight corruption effectively. Electoral accountability is key, and support to social accountability mechanisms should therefore always be well placed within a broader agenda aimed at strengthening democratic governance. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Reform of the Local Administration in Spain in Terms of Population

Spanish Local Corporations are playing an increasingly important role in the provision of public services without reducing their function of consolidation and structuring of the current sociopolitical system. This reality implies an increase in their need of financial funds without new compensation resources. Also, there is a certain tendency to loose population in many counties along with a greater organic and territorial dispersion that accelerates their financial weakening. This makes necessary to find management alternatives ensuring the appropriate provision of local public services and thus the Local Corporation reform becomes an alternative. In this context, the present paper approaches the analysis and the results based upon a territorial balance criterion on the population and its distribution, aiming ultimately to design an indicator able to measure the need of the Spanish local government structure according to its population and the size of its municipalities. This indicator might measure the regional impact to any variation both in the distribution of its population and in the number of municipalities.     

沿海船舶边防治安管理问题思考

沿海船舶边防治安管理是公安边防部门为维护沿海地区社会秩序,保护公民合法权益所实施的行政管理活动。目前,沿海船舶边防治安管理存在立法滞后、有法难依,政出多门、协作不力,理念陈旧、管而不理,技术落后、保障不力等问题。要不断完善立法,进一步厘清权责,创新管理理念和管理方法,提升综合保障能力,推动我国沿海船舶管理走上更加科学、规范、便民的道路,为国家"海洋强国"战略打牢坚实基础。     

对妨害出入境管理法律规范适用的评析

《中华人民共和国出入境管理法》将于2013年7月1日起施行,但由于我国出入境管理法律规范繁多,不可避免地出现了刑法与行政法之间的冲突,行政法规范相关条文之间的冲突等法律适用冲突的问题。本文通过对法律沿革并对现行法律的冲突之处进行分析研究,提出法律冲突解决原则、制定统一的法律和法律解释等意见建议,以期为解决出入境管理法律规范冲突问题提供借鉴。     

简论政府对劳动关系的协调作用

劳动关系是市场经济条件下重要的社会经济关系,劳动关系的和谐对于构建社会主义和谐社会具有基础性的地位。本文分析了新形势下我国劳动关系的特点和政府定位,建议加强政府的执法和监督力度,对劳动关系实施政府干预,支持组建强有力的工会组织并充分发挥其作用,以维护劳动者合法权益,促进各类企事业经济组织的健康发展。     

改革开放30年福建省社会治安综合治理的成效与经验

改革开放30年来，福建省社会治安综合治理工作在党委政府的高度重视下，全面落实综治责任制，深入开展治安重点整治、基层创安活动和“平安福建”建设，不断创新工作机制，形成齐抓共管的可喜局面。取得了基层基础工作扎实有效、长效机制全面建立并日臻完善、社会治安长期保持基本稳定等工作成效，积累了许多宝贵的经验，即必须始终坚持党政领导，必须形成齐抓共管的良好局面，必须充分发挥政法队伍的主力军作用，必须坚持专门机关与群众路线相结合，必须服从服务于经济社会建设等。     

大学管理理念中四对关系的把握

新形势下的大学管理,应当妥善处理各种矛盾,把握好性恶与性善、行政权力与学术权力、管与不管、科学与艺术四对范畴的关系,从而营造和谐的管理体系和环境,最终促进大学的健康发展。     

修改完善《监狱法》的法理思考

《中华人民共和国监狱法》（以下简称《监狱法》）的颁布施行,标志着我国刑事法律体系的初步形成,为监狱的行刑活动提供了重要的法律依据和法律保障,在我国法律发展史上具有里程碑的意义。但是随着社会的发展变化,《监狱法》中的一些规定已明显与司法实践的要求不相适应,甚至严重滞后。因此,修改完善《监狱法》已势在必行。     

论审前羁押司法审查制度

羁押关涉公民的人身自由权,世界各国都对逮捕之后的审前羁押予以严格规制,主要体现为设置了对审前羁押的司法审查制度。独立、公正的审前羁押主体、司法审查的正当程序性、犯罪嫌疑人享有基本的诉讼权利等是该制度的主要内涵。我国的审前羁押司法审查制度有待进一步完善。