Economic Sanctions,Poverty, and International Terrorism: An Empirical Analysis

This study examines the impact of economic sanctions on international terrorism. It is argued that sanctions intensify economic hardships on the poor within countries and this increases their level of grievance and makes them more likely to support or engage in international terrorism. Further, economic sanctions are conceptualized as creating an opportunity for rogue leaders to manipulate aggrieved poor people to terrorize foreign entities who are demonized as engaging in a foreign encroachment on the sanctioned nation's sovereignty. A cross-sectional, time-series data analysis of 152 countries for the past three decades provides evidence that ceteris paribus, economic sanctions are positively associated with international terrorism. This finding suggests that, although the main purpose of economic sanctions is to coerce rogue countries to conform to international norms and laws, they can unintentionally produce a negative ramification and become a cause of international terrorism.     

西方国家放宽经济制裁背景下的缅甸经济发展前景

西方国家对缅甸实施长期经济制裁,深刻影响了缅甸的经济发展。2011年3月,缅甸新政府执政以来,采取了一系列政治经济改革举措,得到国际社会普遍认可,也促使西方国家放宽对缅甸的经济制裁。在此背景下,缅甸未来经济发展潜力巨大,但也面临诸多问题和挑战。     

关于新形势下非正规就业问题的研究与思考

非正规就业是我国城镇普遍存在的现象。由于非正规就业的特殊性,我国的非正规就业存在很多问题,要解决这些问题必须切实转变观念,积极引导非正规就业,全面保障非正规就业人员的基本权益,实现体面劳动以及为他们提供智力支持等,并最终促进就业方式的转变。     

The Sanctions-Perceptions Link in a Model of School-based Deterrence

This paper reports a study examining associations between objective indicators of the level of discipline within schools and students’ perceptions of the strictness of discipline. Data were analyzed from the National Education Longitudinal Survey (NELS), a nationally representative panel study of eighth grade students attending public and private schools in 1988. We find evidence for an association between objective and perceived risk of discipline in models that examine the covariation of these two constructs at several cross sections, and in models of change in perceptions as a function of change in school sanctioning climate. Moreover, these associations were strongest in small and less disordered schools.

非正式制度的管理效能及其建设

包括价值信念、伦理道德、文化传统、风俗习惯、意识形态等在内的非正式制度是社会约束体系的重要构成,却又容易被忽视。非正式制度具有凝聚功能、激励功能和规范功能。要从更新管理理念、建设管理道德、塑造组织文化和促进制度均衡等方面进行非正式制度建设。     

非正式规则与法治:“中国难题”的挑战

主流观点认为,中国法治建设的最大动力和最大希望都来自对经济发展的追求,但是“中国难题”对此提出了挑战,其对非正式规则在中国经济发展中的正面意义的肯定,切断了法治发展的“社会基础论”的逻辑链条.非正式规则的流行及国家层面上的附和不仅弱化了自下而上推动法治变革的意愿,也同样阻碍了法治在“顶层设计”的突破.非正式规则虽然在一定时期内能够承担推动经济发展的功能,但是却可能造成多种法治缺陷,甚至可能使正式制度长期受到压抑,无法突破僵局.     

我国现行刑事政策反思及完善--以维护社会稳定为切入点

我国的刑事政策是党和国家长期历史经验的总结 ,在社会主义革命和建设时期都曾发挥过重要的作用 ,但是 ,我国的刑事政策自身也存在着许多问题 ,需要进一步完善。刑事政策的制定应以维护社会的稳定为出发点 ,并以此对犯罪和犯罪人进行分类。面对日益严峻的社会治安状况 ,我国在今后较长时期内应采取“轻轻重重”的刑事政策。     

Problems of Coordination in Field Administration in Bangladesh: Does Informal Communication Matter?

The main thrust of the article is to analyze the state of problems of inter-organizational coordination in the upazila (second tier of local government) in Bangladesh. It also explains to what extent informal communication matters for inter-organizational coordination. Based on empirical data collected in 2009, findings of the study suggest that a number of factors have facilitated non-existence of inter-organizational coordination at the upazila. These factors include lack of division of activities, dualism in control over officers, lack of proper functioning of the committees, and dual authority in disbursement of funds and its impact on timely disbursement. Findings also suggest that in the absence of coordination among different departments, informal communication has been observed to be one of the prominent mechanisms of ensuring coordination. However, existence of factors like lack of willingness to be engaged in informal communication and lack of cooperation has hindered the process of building informal communication among different departments. Despite having some problems this research has concluded that informal communication has helped the process of coordination among different departments while they are carrying out their responsibilities.     

The Italian Mediation Explosion: Lessons in Realpolitik

Between the time that the first modern Italian mediation statutes were issued in 1993 and March 2011, when mandatory mediation procedures under Italian Legislative Decree 28/2010 went into effect, an interesting paradox emerged in Italian mediation: mediation usage was virtually nonexistent despite the high success rates of mediated cases. Clearly, the mere availability of mediation was not sufficient to attract disputants away from the courts, even though the Italian court backlog skyrocketed to 5.4 million cases during this period. Decree 28/2010 was issued by the Italian government to address this paradox through a mandatory mediation requirement, but the law has faced significant opposition from some members of the Italian bar in the form of public strikes and legal challenges. Legislators have responded to this dissent with reactionary amendments to “cure” problems in the regulatory structure, even though there has also been significant positive attention paid to the Italian mediation model at the European level. As the opposition to Decree 28/2010 now appears to be diminishing and recent data indicate that mandatory mediation is achieving its objectives (to the tune of tens of thousands of mediated cases since March 2011), two lessons in realpolitik emerge for mediation proponents. First, nothing less than compulsion can rapidly increase mediation use. Second, the legislator who compels mediation without openly engaging the opposition is not mediation savvy, for even in compelling a policy choice, one should be respectful and mindful of the opponent's position, if for no other reason than to minimize his or her opposition to the final result.     

小额诉讼程序适用的改进逻辑

小额诉讼程序的适用比例至今偏低,致使程序的建构意图没能得到实现。从程序运行者、程序利用者和程序运行之监督者的视角剖析成因,有助于探寻到小额诉讼程序依法适用的促进策略。简案若不能有效识别,小额诉讼程序的强制适用将失去起码保障,未来识别简案当采取智能识别为主、人工识别为辅的方式。消解适用合意的稀缺性,可使小额诉讼程序的实际适用率因为合意适用条件的放宽而得到提高,获得适用合意的方法包括事先约定、法院引导达成和事后自行达成。为规制法人或非法人组织对小额诉讼程序的过多利用,援引诚实信用原则对其进行费用制裁更为现实可行。推动小额诉讼程序实现独立、提高首次送达成功率以减少程序转化和重视审级监督的驱动,是促进小额诉讼程序依法适用的重要策略。