Iron Houses in the Tropical Heat: Decentralization Reforms in Africa and their Consequences

Abstract

Decentralization reforms introduced to Africa have not always delivered the intended outcomes. Through interaction with the broader historical, political, social and economic context, reforms seem to have engendered political consequences beyond decentralization itself. Most of the literature on decentralization and development emphasizes questions of institutional design and policy, but here we expand the focus of analysis and incorporate the harder-to-pin-down political patterns marking the workings of decentralization in Africa. Through the case-studies of Ghana, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Ethiopia and Uganda we seek to connect the debates on development with the scholarly literatures on comparative federalism, comparative decentralization and local democracy. The conclusion that emerges is that no magic formula which can turn countries into peaceful, stable and prosperous democracies overnight exists. And, importing formal institutions without regard to the local historical, political, social and economic context risks leaving us with elegant but dysfunctional iron houses in the tropical heat.     

Morphing the Demos into the right shape. Normative principles for enfranchising resident aliens and expatriate citizens

In this article I criticize, first, democratic inclusion principles that are indeterminate with regard to democratic boundaries and indifferent towards the structural features of polities. I suggest that a democratic stakeholder principle passes these critical tests and can be applied to democratic polities of different kinds. Second, I compare birthright-based and residence-based membership regimes at state and local levels and consider how they can accommodate international migrants. Third, I argue that these two regimes are not freestanding alternatives between which democratic polities have to choose, but are combined in a multilevel architecture of democratic citizenship, in which the inclusion and exclusion dynamics of birthright and residence mutually constrain each other and every individual is included as a citizen in both types of polities.     

The political value of languages

A theory of linguistic justice needs to take into account the three distinct values of language as a medium for communication, as a source of individual identity and as an instrument for political self-government. Doing so would undermine Van Parijs’ claim that political borders and peoples should be downgraded to a purely instrumental role for purposes of social justice. But it would widen the scope of egalitarian global justice by including a universal right of individuals to membership self-governing polities and it could provide more solid theoretical foundations for his defence of coercive territorial language regimes.     

服务型政府建设的民主行政维度

服务型政府和民主行政之间有着内在逻辑的一致性。服务型政府建设重要的不在于预设的规范和特定的模式,而在于以公民和社会为本位,体现公共行政的民主价值。在本质上,为人民服务是我国服务型政府的民主行政实质。在实践中,服务型政府建设的民主行政维度主要体现在以追求公共利益为核心理念,实行服务行政、阳光行政、领导行政、法治行政、回应行政。     

网络舆情语境下提升民主党派基层组织参政议政能力的路径思考

当前,网络舆情在给我国民主党派基层组织参政议政带来机遇的同时,其突发性、偏差性、繁杂性等特性对民主党派基层组织的应急能力、政治智慧、实战水平等方面提出了严骏挑战,这就要求各民主党派基层组织应当勇于抓住网络舆情对参政议政带来的良好机遇,努力适应当前网络舆情发展的新形势,积极借助网络平台,时刻关注舆情讯息,充分汲取网络民意,深入开展网络调查与监督,着力提升参政议政能力。     

民主及其对现代政治的形塑

现代政治的基本形态是民主共和国,它在西方是由民主主义、共和主义、自由主义和代议制等要素相互融合的结果,而民主是其重要基础,对于塑造现代政治形态具有重要作用。民主的本义是人民直接治理国家,但是其所具有的强烈平民色彩使其长期被视为基于人数优势的平民暴政。近现代的资产阶级革命造就了资产阶级的共和国,工人阶级运动造就了民主的复兴,推动了民主要素在资产阶级共和体制中的扩展,民主本身也受到相应的制约,由此形成了民主共和国的基本形态。民主的巨大贡献在于不仅为弱势群体争得得了基本人权,而且为现代政体赢得了广泛的合法性。     

党推进文化建设的历史经验及启示——以民主革命时期为例

新民主主义革命时期,党充分认识到文化的地位和作用,将文化建设作为党领导的民主革命事业的重要组成部分,积极推动中国新文化发展的历史进程,积累了丰富的文化建设经验,主要包括：把推进文化建设作为党的一项重要历史使命：坚持以马克思主义为指导并加强党对文化建设的领导;牢牢把握中国先进文化的前进方向;制定和实行正确的文化发展方针政策;重视包括知识分子在内的文化人才队伍建设。这些历史经验为党领导社会主义文化建设奠定了坚实的基础,也给当今中国建设文化强国、促进社会主义文化大发展大繁荣以重要启示。     

The dilemmas of pursuing ‘throughput legitimacy’ through participatory mechanisms

Under pressure to open up the ‘black box’ of governance, technocratic bodies are increasingly seeking to include civil society participation in the policy process. This article draws on empirical cases from the European Commission and NHS England to assess the extent to which the participatory mechanisms pursued by these institutions have been successful in eliciting ‘throughput legitimacy’. It is shown that though these mechanisms have taken very different forms – the former a classic instance of ‘window dressing’ participation, the latter closer to ‘best practice’ in this field – they nevertheless share a number of ongoing vulnerabilities. The article outlines the shared organisational, operational and existential dilemmas that technocratic bodies face when eliciting civil society participation, and highlight their reliance on backstage negotiation to sustain stakeholder buy-in. It concludes by highlighting the prospect that the pursuit of throughput legitimacy for technocratic bodies entails inherent limitations and contradictions.     

产权制度改革与职工董事、监事制度

国有经济布局结构的调整和国有企业的战略性改组 ,必须依托已建立了现代企业制度的企业去完成。这不可避免地要涉及企业微观基础的再造。其核心内容是产权制度改革和劳动关系变化。工会作为劳动关系的产物 ,必将面临新的机遇和挑战 ,而推进和完善职工董事和监事制度 ,是新形势下工会工作必须加强的一项重要任务。作者重点分析了企业产权制度改革的内容和实质 ,提出 :工会 ,以及主要代表职工合法权益的职工董事、监事 ,要更好地发挥作用 ,必须转变观念 ,摆正位置 ,抓住重点 ,提高素质。     

让员工不再沉默——基于职工民主管理的视角

员工沉默使得信息被过滤和扭曲,影响组织决策质量、纠错及创新能力,引发员工工作倦怠和低工作满意度。而职工民主管理的理念和举措,缩小了组织权力差距、保护了少数派、增进了组织信任和员工满意度,能够有效地消减员工沉默行为。