Ephemeral ‘communities’: spatiality and politics in rangeland interventions in Mongolia

In recent years, the number of community-based natural resource management projects for rangeland conservation and development has grown rapidly in Mongolia. Such projects seek to develop social capital through the formation of herder groups and pasture user groups, in order to enable the coordination of complex, collective tasks needed for sustainability. Through analysis of social networks, interviews and ethnographic data from two places where such projects have been implemented, Bayanjargalan, Dundgovi, and Tariat, Arkhangai, the paper demonstrates that the spatiality of pastoral social relations is much more extensive than assumed by these projects. Furthermore, rather than being neutral technical interventions, such projects are embedded in and proliferate politics. They often bolster the informal power of wealthy herders who gain more access to pasture, while at the same time leading to tensions between different levels of government and becoming objects of struggle between Mongolia’s two dominant political parties. For all of these reasons, these efforts have tended not to build trust, and the ‘communities’ they create, in the form of herder groups and pasture user groups, have tended to be ephemeral.     

印尼国有企业发展与改革问题研究

印尼的国营经济比重在东南亚国家中是最高的，这对于其维护经济独立、推动工业化起了重要作用。但印尼的国有企业经营效率低、服务质量差、长期亏损，这不仅加重了政府的财政负担，也不利于行业发展和参与国际竞争。为此，政府不得不对国有企业进行改革与调整。印尼国企改革整顿已取得一定成效，但仍存在许多问题。印尼国企改革最终效果如何值得重视和研究。     

论中世纪自然法学的神学正义观

中世纪时期的自然法学家们构建了一个以上帝为核心的基督教神学正义观。这种神学正义观的基本理论框架是:从逻辑渊源上看,正义的逻辑渊源是上帝(神的理性);从现实表达来看,正义是一种正当习惯(自然法);从诉求路径来看,正义强调对上帝权威的信仰。中世纪自然法学正义观把古希腊文明中的法律理念以信仰上帝权威的方式推进到近代,为西方法律信仰的形成奠定了深刻的理念之基。     

论国际法上的民族自决与国家主权

如何正确认识民族自决原则与国家主权原则之间的关系 ,是现代国际法中的一项重要课题。民族自决与国家主权之间既是一种相互并存的关系 ,同时又是一种彼此制约的关系。在未来的国家实践中 ,我们既要坚持国家主权原则 ,又要客观、慎重地对待民族自决原则。     

西部自然资源开发利用管理制度及其创新

自然资源的开发利用和管理在西部大开发中占重要地位,是保障大开发战略正常进行并实现预期效果的关键。我国现有相关自然资源管理制度不能完全满足西部大开发的现实需要,制度创新是必然选择。应在坚持完善现有制度的前提下建立资源存量和使用量公示制度、西部资源评估预警制度、自然资源产权制度、使用者资质审查制度、资源区域监督管理目标制度、资源管理行政首长负责制度,建立以区域或者流域为对象的监督管理机制、环境资源使用信息公示制度、环境灾难群众自救制度等。     

读罗尔斯的《政治哲学讲义》——立足于人性看《利维坦》中的社会契约

罗尔斯在他的《政治哲学讲义》中对霍布斯的利维坦给予了高度评价,并主要在世俗系统内对《利维坦》进行了全面的解读。罗尔斯对社会契约的形成过程的分析不是基于神学知识的考虑,而是通过对人性的认知,并以人性为核心,来看待自然状态如何转变为战争状态,以及如何由自然状态下形成订立契约的合意,最终导致自然状态向市民社会的转变。     

人本法律观的几点澄清

人本法律观是以人为本位去认识、体验法律,视法律为人所建构出来的人造物,主张法律是人追求美好生活的工具。法是死的,人是活的,有生命的人妥善操作法律,法律才能够发挥其促成人类共生乐活的功能。以人本的立场研究探讨法学,为避免不必要的误解与混淆,可从五个层面释明澄清之:首先是区辨人本与人文、人道的意义;其次从自然法的发展史考察人本自然法是自然法的最新型式,也是第五种自然法;再次强调法律之建构与变迁乃是应人之生活需求,人有如何的想法,就会产生如何的法律;复次说明法治并非人治,是秉人本精神依法治理,法治思维有工具性、社会性、过程性、抽象性、规范性和知识性等六个构成因素;最后,检视人本的法学方法论,循人性以论,一方面是理性与经验之融贯,另一方面则是视之为一种法律实用主义的方法论,采相对价值的伦理观,有其和谐致善的伦理向度,最终极的任务无他,运用法律使人类互惠共生,同享安乐。     

Food distribution's socio-economic relationships and public policy: Mexico City's municipal public markets

Traditional food supply systems, like municipal public markets (MPM), are in crisis. Nevertheless, MPMs continue to demonstrate importance in the lives of the cities. In this article we discuss the case of Mexico City and the importance of the public markets for its neighbourhoods. We present the results of two research projects, completed in Mexico City at two different historical times and interpreted longitudinally. The results demonstrate the importance of socio-economic relationships for MPM's survival and potential. The article concludes with public policy recommendations to permit conservation, given the MPM's importance for the city's social cohesion.     

Farmer-to-farmer extension: opportunities for enhancing performance of volunteer farmer trainers in Kenya

Farmer-to-farmer extension (FFE) is playing a complementary role to formal extension services in facilitating the spread of agricultural technologies and improving farmers’ capacities. The effectiveness and sustainability of such programmes depend on volunteer farmer trainers (VFTs) having technical skills and overcoming process-related challenges that hinder them from achieving the desired outcomes. This article uses quantitative and qualitative data collected from seven sites to explore the challenges experienced by VFTs as they share their knowledge on livestock feed innovations in a dairy development project in Kenya. Sustainable opportunities for enhancing VFTs’ performance are discussed.     

Rural development from the ground up: agro-food initiatives in Tasmania

Concerns about the decline of rural agricultural communities have recently refocused on new economic opportunities available in regional food production. This article analyses three on-the-ground case studies of rural development projects in Tasmania, Australia that aimed to develop new regional food opportunities. It analyses these projects to identify how local food producers can create viable economic alternatives in rural settings. The projects illustrate that the existence of regional food assets alone is not enough to guarantee economic development success: rural producers need connections into relevant knowledge networks if they are to identify and respond to new agro-food market opportunities.