Breaking the Constitutional Silence: the Public Services Industry and Government

Analysis of constitutional arrangements has been too narrow in the past, confined to examination of explicitly governmental arrangements. But corporate enterprises perform such important public functions, especially in the age of outsourcing, that they need to be incorporated into the constitution. The article develops this argument and proposes a framework for such incorporation.     

Analysis about Sun Yat- sen＇s Ideal of Rule of Law and the Factual Predicament

作为中华民国的缔造者,建立真正主权在民的民主共和国,实现约束和限制公权力以保障人民的权利和自由的法治理想,贯穿于孙中山先生整个革命生涯中。在革命处于低潮时期,孙中山就开始思考通过约法以预防军政府对人民权利的侵夺;辛亥革命后又寄希望于《临时约法》的责任内阁制来防止袁世凯的复辟;北洋军阀混战时期的孙中山,又设计一个训政阶段以训练民众学会使用“四权”,以此实现普遍的守法和良法之治。然而这些法治理想在与现实相遇后,却表现出一种无力感,甚至引导现实走向了理想的反面。孙中山先生所面临的世纪难题,也应引起当代人的警醒与反思。     

“Good and Evil” narratives in Islamic State media and Western government statements

This article uses a critical discourse and documentary analysis to explore “Good and Evil” narratives in Islamic State (IS) media and in the official policy statements of the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. The analysis initially considers how IS and Western governments define the other as “Evil” drawing from premodern Manichean and Abrahamic religious conventions. It then interprets how these entities subscribe to a post-Enlightenment ethic that associates the triumph of “Good” over “Evil” with science, reason and technological innovation. Distinct from similar analyses that emphasise the persuasive power of religion, this article reflects on how IS and Western governments use conflicting religious and philosophical imperatives to articulate their strategic political agendas. It further interprets how these agendas become ideologically convincing, through reflexive communication.     

Promises of an impossible compromise: conceded constitutions in Europe, 1814–1906

The enactment of a constitution through the method of ‘concession’, as it was used in Europe between the Napoleonic wars and World War I, indicates that a hitherto absolute ruler understood the need for a higher level of institutionalization and collective exercise of state power, but mistrusted institutionalized and collective processes, which would define the level needed. In other word, a ‘concession’ comprehended an imminent contradiction. Drafting an enduring constitution is a complex and difficult task, which requires consensus- building on a wide scale through collective procedures. However, a ruler who ‘concedes’ implicitly denies any kind of collective constitution-making, which could get out of the ruler’s control. Instead rulers preferred a non-inclusive approach, using court advisors and/or ministers appointed by the ruler, to draft the constitutional text. The European experience analyzed in this article shows that popular involvement through representative procedures (such as the election of a constituent assembly) in the making of a constitution can improve its chances for endurance through time and create a political environment more favourable for the constitution to achieve normative quality, instead of remaining essentially a false promise.     

中国画空间感的转换与近代中国的道德主题——以宗白华的中国美学研究为个案

中国画的空间感在近代发生了一次意义深远的转换。宗白华堪称这次转换在理论方面的集大成者。在他的中国美学研究中,空间意识或空间感始终是一个重要的中介,将他的生命哲学与艺术意境理论连接起来。空间感固有的“动”与“静”“实”与“虚”的整体结构关系的重心,在宗白华的中国美学研究中发生了一次由静到动、由虚到实的转移。这一转移首先是西方现代生命哲学与中国传统思想对话的产物。中西对话又被特定的文化氛围所提出的主题所形塑。这个主题即是近代中国“道德革命”以来逐步形成的由概念到个性的道德主题。从这个角度出发,中国画空间感转换的深意在逻辑和历史两个层面上就能够得到更深入的理解。