An Italian Foreign Policy of Religious Engagement: Challenges and Prospects

A new awareness of the role of religion in international relations has started to inform concrete policy discussions in several Western Ministries of Foreign Affairs under the heading of ‘religious engagement’ in foreign policy. Italy is no exception, but as the country which hosts the Holy See, it represents a special case. As the approach to religion found in the historical record of Italian foreign policy shows, Italy has a comparative advantage and could well develop a unique model of religious engagement by strengthening the central structures involved in religious matters and foreign policy, as well as by using the vast network of Rome-based religious non-state actors as a forum of consultation and policy advice.     

Social Darwinism as History and Reality: “Competition” and “The Weak” in Early Twentieth-Century Korea

ABSTRACT

By the time of Korea’s forced integration into the Japanese Empire in 1910, Social Darwinism was established as the main reference frame for the modernizing intellectual elite. The weak had only themselves to blame for their misfortune, and Korea, if it wished to succeed in collective survival in the modern world’s Darwinist jungles, had to strengthen itself. This mode of thinking was inherited by the right-wing nationalists in the 1920s–1930s; their programs of “national reconstruction” (minjok kaejo) aimed at remaking weak Korea into a “fitter” nation, thus preparing for the eventual independence from the Japanese. At the same time, in the 1920s and 1930s some nationalists appropriated the slogan of solidarity and protection of the weak, nationally and internationally, in the course of their competition against the Left. After liberation from Japanese colonialism in 1945, “competition” mostly referred to inter-state competition in South Korean right-wing discourse. However, the neo-liberal age after the 1997 Asian financial crisis witnessed a new discursive shift, competition-driven society being now the core of the mainstream agenda.     

Thabo Mbeki’s African developmental agenda through Pan-Africanism and the African renaissance

In 1996, the then South African deputy president thabo Mbeki opened parliament with his since then acclaimed ‘I am an African’ speech. Subsequently, Mbeki publicly persuaded Africans to embrace and advance the concept of an African renaissance for Africa’s development. While Mbeki’s African renaissance project was welcomed on the one hand; on the other, it was anticipated that it would be an elitist project. In this article, it is argued that to the contrary, the African renaissance as pursued by Mbeki has sought to benefit ordinary Africans in a practical sense. This article uses a historical narrative approach so as to give a historical context against which Mbeki’s African renaissance emerged, highlighting the successes, failures, constraints, setbacks and challenges that he had to confront. the argument is that African intellectuals and academics who correctly point out the absence of a mass-based African renaissance movement must not stand apart and merely point fingers, but must be actively engaged in the realisation of the African renaissance ideals.     

The Effect of IMF Programs on Women’s Economic and Political Rights

Though much research has been devoted to the socioeconomic and political consequences of International Monetary Fund (IMF) programs for recipient countries, little is known about the impacts of these programs on the level of respect for women’s rights. We postulate that IMF-induced policy reforms of privatization and public spending cuts, and the growing political repression and instability following the implementation of IMF programs, undermine the government’s ability and willingness to protect women’s economic and political rights. To substantiate the theoretical claims, we combine data on women’s political and economic rights with data on IMF programs for the years 1981–2004. Our findings suggest that IMF involvement is likely to deteriorate the level of respect for women’s economic rights while having no discernible effect on women’s political rights. The results further indicate that the effect of these programs is not conditioned by political regime type and economic wealth of recipient countries. One major policy implication of our findings is that the IMF should start to recognize that the conditions attached to lending programs might be implemented at the expense of women’s economic rights and that more explicit protections of women’s rights need to be included in program negotiations.     

Radicalization of Russians in Ukraine: from ‘accidental’ diaspora to rebel movement

Abstract

The article examines different types of macropolitical identities in Ukraine and their interaction in establishing political order in the country. The authors argue that political institutional design was unfavourable to the Russian diaspora in eastern and southern regions. It hindered stable development of post-Soviet identity between Russians in the country. But during the Euromaidan protests, the Russians reacted to unpleasant political situation by exploring who they were and what social and political goals they had. Having been incipient for decades, the identity of the diaspora evolved in a soaring way within three or four months. The violent actions of the newly established government in Kiev radicalized the Russian diaspora. Diasporants started establishing alternative authorities in regions where government had no monopoly on the use of force. The involvement of Russia and international volunteers complexifies the situation in Donbass and the identity formation process in unrecognized republics also known as DNR and LNR.     

欧洲民法典草案债务人补救权研究

合同各方当事人均应严格按合同及法律之规定履行各自义务。一旦债务人未能按合同及法律规定履行义务的,债权人有权追究债务人之违约责任。然而基于诚实信用原则、鼓励交易与合同维持精神等,欧洲民法典草案赋予债务人在履行不符时补救其履行之权利。但基于债务人与债权人利益之平衡,欧洲民法典草案同时为债务人之补救权设定了一定条件。欧洲民法典草案的这些规定对于我国民法典债务人补救权制度的起草具有重要借鉴意义。     

转型中国的城市化治理与发展法体系

在转型中国的时代背景下,城市化法律治理研究应当跨越价值分析与规范分析的鸿沟,在理论与实证的基础上更新理念框架。城市化治理的历史进程为我们反思“法律与发展”研究的成败得失,提供了丰富的启迪和资源。聚焦城市化法律治理的现实症结,“发展法”的新分析框架得以成型,并导向一种新的整体性法治发展战略。“为了发展的法”是城市化和法治化有机一体的理念构造,“发展中的法”为“作为发展的法”奠定历史传统基底,“通过发展的法”确保城市化中法律权能的宏观均衡配置,“有关发展的法”将启动新的“法律与发展”的互动。     

习近平法治思想要义解析

习近平法治思想是一个系统完备、逻辑严密、内在统一的法治理论体系,主要包括法治基本理论、法治推进方略、法治重大关系等三大理论板块。在基本理论板块,明确提出了全面依法治国战略、法治中国命题、中国特色社会主义法治道路、中国特色社会主义法治体系、中国特色社会主义法治理论、在法治轨道上推进国家治理现代化等一系列基本理论。在推进方略板块,明确提出了坚持党的领导、人民当家作主、依法治国有机统一,坚持依宪治国、依宪执政,坚持统筹推进依规治党和依法治国,坚持依法治国和以德治国相结合,坚持依法治国、依法执政、依法行政共同推进和法治国家、法治政府、法治社会一体建设,坚持全面推进科学立法、严格执法、公正司法、全民守法,坚持统筹推进国内法治和涉外法治,坚持专业力量和群众力量相融合,坚持抓关键少数和抓绝大多数相结合。在重大关系板块,明确提出了正确处理政治与法治、改革与法治、政策与法律、发展与安全、活力与秩序、维权与维稳等一系列关系的方法。     

关注民生 优化税收制度

党的十七大特别关注民生问题,在报告中明确提出了我们党关于民生问题的努力方向——"使全体人民学有所教、劳有所得、病有所医、老有所养、住有所居,推动建设和谐社会。"关注民生,优化税制,建立科学、公平、效率的税收制度,是以人为本,坚持科学发展观的具体体现,是新时期税收的一项重大任务,税收必须为全面建设小康社会,构建和谐社会做贡献。关注民生,应改革个人所得税、消费税,建立完善的城乡社会保障体系。     

联合国全民教育和教育可持续发展目标视角下拉美教育性别平等

由于贫困、社会偏见和传统教育体制的局限性,拉美教育存在较为严重的性别不平等,未达到联合国“2000—2015年全民教育”性别均等和平等目标的要求,主要表现为中学阶段男性失学现象严重,女性面临学习环境不包容、学业中存在障碍和就业竞争力弱等问题。要解决这些问题,需要运用新的思路打开局面。联合国“2015—2030年教育可持续发展目标”的17项具体目标均提及性别平等。该目标强调包容公平和终身学习两个要点,把全民教育关于教育普及和机会均等的各个分散目标整合到上述两个主题之下,这为解决拉美教育性别不平等问题提供了一个综合的解决思路和行为框架。按照该目标的思路,拉美国家应继续实施有条件现金转移支付等公共政策,促进教育机会公平,减少男性失学现象;应努力消除校园暴力和性别歧视,实现优质包容的教育;应重视职业技术教育,为所有男性和女性在学习和工作多个阶段提供灵活的、个性化的、以就业为导向的职业教育,帮助其实现终身学习和可持续发展,促进教育质量的性别平等。