Injustice,Violence and Social Struggle. The Critical Potential of Axel Honneth's Theory of Recognition

Abstract

Honneth's fundamental claim that the normativity of social orders can be found nowhere but in the very experience of those who suffer injustice leads, I argue, to a radical theory and critique of society, with the potential to provide an innovative theory of social movements and a valid alternative to political liberalism.     

Terrorism,Counterterrorism, and the Rule of Law

While fighting insurgency, both state and non-state groups depend on the local population for valuable resources such as food, intelligence, and security. By using a repertoire of subsistence coping mechanisms available to households in the context of the local political economy as an indicator of grievances and mechanisms of interactions between local households and the state and insurgents, district level data from Nepal on Maoist conflict is used to test hypotheses regarding state and insurgent violence. The analysis confirms that the state was more likely to kill people in a district where the number of households that borrowed to cope with subsistence was high. The Maoists were more likely to kill in a district with a higher number of subsistence sufficient households.     

Arts and Culture Indicators in Community Building: Project Update

The author questions the arts support system in post-Communist Romania, examining whether the cultural policies during 1990-2006 have contributed to the development of the arts sector, the enhancement of artistic creativity, and the independence of artists. His analysis focuses on the institutional framework and the financing mechanisms that support artists. The author argues that the institutional configurations and the collective mentalities that dominate the cultural sector and public policy have strongly influenced cultural policy in Romania. Along with the economic difficulties, the weighty legacy of the centralized authoritarian state and the paternalistic attitude that dominated for so long in Romanian history have acted as constraints on the public support for the arts and artists. The post-Communist cultural policy remains dependent on historical patterns and, despite some attempts of reform in the late 1990s, it is only recently that a noninterventionist policy and a more effective arts support system emerged.     

德国地方政府公共服务体制改革与机制创新探微

在新公共管理改革浪潮中,德国属于温和型国家,其地方改革的原则策略选择与中国的渐进改革模式具有某些相似特征,即以法治为核心、以政府能力提升为目标、多价值平衡及公民间接参与为主直接参与为辅。在改革内容上,表现为公共服务的体制改革和机制创新。体制改革包括机构精简(含组织流程再造)和地方政府区划改革,机制创新包括公共服务提供系统的重新设计和公共物品生产方式的重大变化。体制改革的直接价值取向是提升公共服务的供给绩效和强化公共部门的服务能力;而机制创新的直接价值取向则是创设一种新的治理文化,最大限度地动员市场和第三部门参与地方性公共服务的生产,让地方政府"瘦身",实现公共服务生产与供给的可持续性。     

地方招商引资财政扶持政策的几点思考

财政扶持政策是当前地方在招商引资过程中比较常见的形式。地方政府对招商引资的企业进行财政支持虽然为企业提供了资金便利,也为其创造了良好的投资环境,但其带来的财政收支虚增等问题和危害也不容忽视。应对之策,是树立正确的政绩观,改进干部考核机制;完善监督机制,加强督查力度;转变政府职能,明确政府定位;明确招商责任,加强跟踪落实;改善投资环境,提高人员素质等。