To revise or not to revise: the ‘peace constitution’, pro-revision movement,and Japan's national identity

Why do conservative nationalists in Japan continuously seek to revise the constitution despite the past failures, and what is the likelihood of successful revision and its impact on Japan's norm of pacifism and its use of force? The article offers an analytical framework for the issue based on national pride and national security, and argues that the ‘revisionists’ seek to create a new national identity, one that infuses a greater sense of national pride among the public and enables the exercise of collective self-defense, thereby removing Japan's postwar psychological and institutional limitations on nationalism and military activities. The LDP's 2012 draft is most explicit and ambitious in this regard, with the current revision attempt under Abe having the highest chance of success since the 1950s. Successful revision would significantly expand Japan's security activities, particularly within the framework of the US–Japan Security Alliance, and entail the end of Japan's unique postwar institutionalized pacifism, although the norm of pacifism will linger on as a constitutional principle. For a smoother return to the international military scene, the Japanese government must distance itself from historical revisionism and utilize its enhanced military role to promote regional public goods rather than merely protecting its narrow national interests.     

South Korean views on Japan's constitutional reform under the Abe government

In this Special Section, this article reviews South Korean views on Japan's ‘peace’ Constitution and the Abe government's attempts at constitutional reform. It identifies three different understandings among South Korean academics on why Japan is escalating attempts to revise the Constitution under the Abe government. An in-depth analysis demonstrates that all three perspectives pay specific attention to Japan's constitutional reform in relation to security policy changes. However, they differ in assessing the impact of Japan's constitutional reform on South Korea as well as how South Korea should deal with such a change. A minority opinion considers Japan's ‘remilitarisation’ through constitutional revision as conducive to South Korean security interests by increasing deterrence against North Korea, whereas the dominant opinion is that any attempt to revise the Constitution could be in and of itself a potential threat to South Korea's security due to a lack of trust attributed to unresolved historical conflicts between Korea and Japan. However, all three approaches pay hardly any attention to the positive role of Japan's peace Constitution while Japan's peace Constitution might provide a regional peace model in Northeast Asia.     

Challenges of Local Ownership: Understanding the Outcomes of the International Community’s ‘Light Footprint’ Approach to the Nepal Peace Process

This article investigates whether a ‘light footprint’ approach to peacekeeping and peacebuilding by the international community more effectively addresses local drivers of conflict than the dominant model of large, multidimensional peace operations. It considers international engagement in the Nepalese peace process through the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), and argues that the international community’s approach to local ownership became more focused on non-imposition and therefore less politically engaged over time as a result of both local and international factors. This facilitated local elite ownership of the process, which fundamentally undermined the international community’s capacity to support peace consolidation as elites moved away from key transformational pledges of the peace settlement.     

Bridge Over the River Qua: Using Simulations to Span the Divide Between Prelaw and Political Science Students

Undergraduate public law courses often attract students with competing expectations. Some students enroll in these courses to prepare for law school, while others enroll in the courses to gain a broader understanding of courts in the American system of government. These differing student constituencies can create a dilemma for instructors. A course designed to cater to students with a general interest in the judiciary may not afford prelaw students with an appreciation for the demands of the legal profession. Conversely, a course narrowly tailored toward prelaw students risks alienating the majority of students for whom this class may be their only look at the judiciary. As a means to promote pedagogical balance and to appeal to varied student constituencies, we profile five public law simulations in this article that engage students in active learning and promote a greater understanding of law and courts.     

程序正义及其局限性

程序正义是现代法的程序结构派生出的一种伦理形态 ,其本质为程序之中的伦理、非人格化的伦理、相对化和形式化的伦理、程序化的制度伦理。现实当中的程序正义是选举、司法以及立法、行政管理正当化的观念基础 ,宪政民主体制的伦理内涵。然而 ,程序正义之不幸在于其代表的乃是强者的正义 ,因而对弱者的权利保障是宪政民主体制不可缺少的组成部分。     

关于我国宪政意识缺位及建构问题的思考

由于商品经济的薄弱与自然经济的发达、我国传统文化对宪政核心价值的偏离以及宪法的实际运行情况等经济、文化和现实的原因,导致了我国宪政意识的缺位。为了培育公民的宪政意识,必须大力发展社会主义市场经济,加强社会主义民主政治建设,保证司法的独立性和公正性,保障宪法实施,建立健全我国的违宪审查机制,从而构建宪政意识的经济基础、政治基础、司法基础和制度基础。     

社会契约理论的历史回溯、思想评价及宪政意蕴

在世界政治法律思想史中,社会契约理论源远流长。自伊壁鸠鲁开始,从格劳修斯到霍布斯,从洛克到卢梭,再到康德,他们以自然状态、自然权利、自然法为逻辑起点,演绎出天赋人权、人民主权、分权制衡、宪法至上等理论。这些理论提倡主权在民,在公法领域还探寻了宪政问题,进而为西方资本主义国家创立宪政制度奠定了思想理论基础。对这些理论的深度发掘及有鉴别地吸收运用必将有助于促进我国的宪政建设。     

一个“强化民主”的司法审查理论——对《民主与不信任》的再解读

在《民主与不信任》一书中,伊利试图通过建构一个非但不与民主相冲突,而且还促进和强化民主的一个司法审查理论,来回应司法审查不民主的质疑。伊利主张:在政府失灵,即代议程序不值得信任之时,法院在司法审查中应当积极介入;疏通政治变革的渠道,以及纠正对少数人的某些歧视,是法院的应有职能;多数人决定与少数人保护,是民主原理的内在组成部分。伊利借助于代表理论,"尊重多数人"和"保护少数人"这两项要求有机地统一在一起。对掌权者不信任的逻辑,贯穿于伊利的司法审查理论。伊利通过程序论,建构了一个比较融贯的司法审查理论,不过,却不能使宪法裁判免于价值判断。     

安全抑或自由: 危机中的美国宪法简

危机时刻是验证法治国家体制适应性的真正时机，由于美国宪法没有紧急状态条款，在南北内战、一战二战、反恐战争等紧急时期美国总统往往行使“超宪法权限”侵犯公民基本权利。为保证危机中的宪法依然有效，处理好国会立法与总统紧急权力之间的重大分歧，作为制衡者的法院需要对宪法进行更加审慎的解释，但其所表现出来的实用主义政治立场变换和共和紧急法制观的转型，揭示了非常态下美国宪法解释的核心问题：要自由的宪法还是安全的宪法？这也正是当下危机频发背景下每个奉行法治和保障人权的国家面临的共同难题。     

翦论推动我国法治建设的策略

依法治国是我国的基本治国方略和为之奋斗的目标。要实现依法治国,必须加强公民宪法意识培养,发展社会主义和谐社会;健全宪法机制,制约行政权力;用宪法理顺党政关系;建立宪法诉讼制度;进一步健全我国宪法监督的程序,树立宪法权威。