哈贝马斯宪法爱国主义探析

哈贝马斯提出宪法爱国主义,主要是为了破解民族的狭隘情结,为人们的共同生活造就一个开放包容的共同体。哈贝马斯宪法爱国主义的主要特征是开放性。但是,哈贝马斯的宪法爱国主义也存在四对内在矛盾,即功利动机与国家稳定、理性规则与认同的非理性依赖、普遍性与国家归属感、开放性与国家的特定性。哈贝马斯所引用的美国与瑞士的例子,也不足以证明他的宪法爱国主义的可行性。     

违宪审查司法化之民主逻辑

国内外学界一直存在着对违宪审查司法化是否符合民主这一宪政基本原则的质疑。从政治学、法理学、宪法学的角度来认识,本文提出了自己的看法。     

我国制度变迁中的政府权力宪政制约

在市场经济体制中,政府权力对经济运行的干预不能泛化,且政府权力不应介入市场功能的有效边界内。但在现实的制度变迁中,政府权力对市场主体与市场运行的干预始终边界不清,政府在许多本应由市场机制作用的领域＂积极干预＂,严重抑制了市场机制本应发挥的作用。有鉴于此,必须从宪政的高度监督与制约政府权力,规范政府权力的行使,以确保政府权力的良好运作。     

比较宪政工程概念的多维分析

＂比较宪政工程＂作为整体的概念是由萨托利提出的,萨托利在方法上并没有使用规范性的演绎,而是强调通过实证性的归纳,找出制度设计的规律。比较宪政工程概念的基础是制度的工具理性,它具有整体性、规律性和现实性三个特征。基于政治制度的整体性和制度设计的规律性,比较宪政工程不仅需要对特定政治制度的设计进行研究,而且需要对政治制度之间的关联性进行研究,同时它的理论模型又会被制度的现实性发展不断修正。     

Effects of preconceptions on deception detection and new answers to why lie-catchers often fail

Abstract

This study investigated the extent to which crediting and discrediting background information, given to observers before they watched three video-taped interviews with the same witness, affected their veracity judgments. Our analyses show that the observers' distribution of truth/lie-judgments were more affected by crediting than discrediting background information. We also mapped the subjective cues given to justify the truth/lie-judgments, and found that the most frequently used cue was whether or not the three statements were consistent over time. In addition, our analysis revealed two types of inter-observer disagreements. One type referred to how different cues were perceived (e.g., forty observers perceived the three statements as being inconsistent over time while an equal number perceived the same three statements as being consistent over time). The second type referred to how different cues were used (e.g., the fact that the witness was perceived as not being confident in his testimony worked against him equally as often as it worked for him).     

Moroccan adolescent suspect offenders in the Netherlands: ethnic differences in offender profiles

Ethnic minority youths are over-represented in the juvenile justice system in Western societies. However, research on the nature of crime committed by these youths is lacking. In the present study, offending patterns of incarcerated native Dutch adolescents and adolescents of Moroccan origin were compared. Criminal record data were used to examine the offence history of 291 incarcerated adolescents. Offender types were determined through latent class analysis. Adolescents of Moroccan origin were incarcerated more often, for more offences and at a younger age than native Dutch adolescents. A four-class model of offender types was found: property offenders, violent offenders, sexual offenders and arsonists. Property offenders were mainly Moroccan adolescents, the other offender types consisted predominantly of native Dutch adolescents. Moroccan adolescents in pre-trial arrest in the Netherlands can be characterized as early starting offenders who persist in being incarcerated for property-based crime.     

论我国宪法解释的特征与作用

宪法解释被认为是当代宪法理论和司法审查理论的核心.宪法解释具有不同于普通法律解释的政治性质、制度性质与规范特征,决定着其具有规范性、被动性、中立性和适应性.     

Social cohesion for the unfinished business of land reform in South Africa

Abstract

This article aims to discuss social cohesion as an alternative instrument to address the ever dragging land question in South Africa. Although there are various activities that have been undertaken and policy programmes that have been proposed, all those initiatives have not been able to completely translate land reform policy into practice as intended. Other than recognising the ‘willing seller-willing buyer’ policy which appears not to have been internalised by the stakeholders concerned, this article also presents a transformative approach for both white land owners and black emerging farmers to work together in a tolerant and amicable manner. The most critical step that is required for land reform in the whole country is a public consultation process for government to be able to engage with all parties and to put a list of informed alternatives on the table for discussion. Obviously, that includes the willing seller willing buyer policy. Based on the outcomes of such discussions, the government has to play a mediation role to heal the racial division caused by the Natives Land Act of 1913. In short, this discussion presents social cohesion to heal the past without land owners perceiving transformation policies as apartheid in reverse.     

Semi-presidentialism in lusophone countries: diffusion and operation

This article analyses the degree to which diffusion of Portugal's semi-presidential constitution occurred within lusophone countries following their move to multipartism in the 1990s. To do so, we first identify the main characteristics of the 1976 Portuguese constitution. Next, the constitutional choices made in Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, and East Timor are mapped. Using existing typologies, we classify these regimes and contrast them with their European and francophone African counterparts. Finally, we investigate the effective dynamics of lusophone semi-presidential systems by focusing on how heads of state deal with heads of government and parliamentary majorities. We claim there is a “family resemblance” among lusophone semi-presidential regimes. This finding is important because it accounts for constitutional choices in a group of recent democratizing countries, and shows how external influences interact with local factors to produce major political outcomes.     

Consociational settlements in deeply divided societies: the liberal-corporate distinction

Consociationalism is often proposed for societies deeply divided along ethnic lines, yet its recommendation remains contentious. Critics argue that it has a low rate of adoption, results in political immobilism, and entrenches the divisions it seeks to alleviate. Overlooked in much of the criticism, however, is the distinction between liberal and corporate forms of consociationalism, alternatively premised on the self-determination or predetermination of the ethnic groups involved in power-sharing. The article considers whether the critiques apply equally to both versions. Corporate consociation freezes a particular inter-group configuration in time, leading to drawn-out executive formation and, in some cases, to a cementing of divisions. However, liberal consociation runs into its own difficulties: consociational settlements are generally negotiated at the very point at which group identities are most politically salient and divisive. Under these conditions, groups are unlikely to settle for anything other than a guarantee of their share in power, thus making liberal consociationalism less likely to be adopted in negotiated settlements. The article also considers the factors enhancing the adoption of liberal consociational rules.