Anti-money laundering by international institutions: a preliminary assessment

This paper presents an evaluation of the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) program. It briefly discusses why this can be seen as the birth of a “regime for financial integrity”. We find that some areas of the AML/CFT framework are consistently weaker than others in the area of prevention measures. Specifically, we have two findings: the first, positive one, points to a substantial adequacy of the repressive measures; the second, negative one, points to a substantial failure of countries to adopt adequate preventive measures, and calls for renewed efforts to improve implementation of preventive measures across the board, with specific regard to the activity of financial sector regulatory and supervisory authorities. Also, Eurozone countries outperform all other groups in the sample. Finally, the limited availability of country information and the multiplicity of assessors and methodologies make it difficult to evaluate the performance of the program. Therefore, we suggest greater transparency and availability of detailed countries’ information, and follow up assessments of the weak areas of a country’s AML/CFT framework at higher frequency than the established 5 years.

关于推进吉林省事业单位分类改革的几点认识

中共中央、国务院《关于分类推进事业单位改革实施的指导意见》的发布,标志着间隔或中断15年的事业单位改革大幕重新开启。本文结合吉林省事业单位改革的经验与教训,对思想领域中如何看待改革问题进行探讨。本文认为,有了正确的思想认识,改革的组织者以及参与者就有了共同的思想基础,分类推进吉林省事业单位改革就有了重要的思想保障。     

关注老龄化,推进农村社会化养老服务——以烟台为例

当前农村养老问题是整个社会需要面对和解决的问题,需要切实从农村老年人的实际需要出发,推进农村社会化养老服务,为农村老年人提供全方位的养老服务。     

环境行政许可的八个立法原则

在现代社会,许可证制度是防范环境风险最主要的法律制度。目前,学界对行政许可的一般立法原则(法律保留原则、便民效率原则、信赖保护原则、公开公平原则等)探讨甚多,而对环境行政许可具有自身特色的立法原则探讨较少。环境行政许可具有风险品性、科技背景、利益权衡、代际平衡、国际关联等五个特征,因此,环境行政许可的立法,除了须遵循行政许可的一般立法原则外,还须遵循预防、谨慎行事、合理开发利用、污染者负担、科技促进、公众参与、协同合作、国家环境资源主权与不损害国外环境等八个立法原则。这八个原则对具体制度的建构均有明确的要求,并在特定情况下使许可举证责任发生转移。     

论“三个代表”重要思想与“全面建设小康社会”目标

全面建设小康社会是社会主义中国确立的21初期新的发展战略.它是在探求"两大基本问题"和"两大规律"的进程中产生的丰硕成果,是对"三个代表"重要思想的最好实践和检验.     

Institutionalized Knowledge Challenges in Pesticide Governance: The End of Knowledge and Beginning of Values in Governing Globalized Environmental Issues

This paper looks at the particular challenges that cross-level interdependence has for the use of knowledge in decision-making for environmental governance. Analytical questions surrounding knowledge generation, use, and flow and the role of institutions in shaping these arise in a multi-level context. By using results from a study on pesticide use in developing countries, some of the particular challenges in relying on scientific knowledge for governance of globalized environmental issues are illustrated. The case involves a situation with significant mismatches between access to and need for knowledge by decision-makers at the different governance levels. The exploration of various strategies to address such mismatches allow discussions not only on the role of knowledge and institutional design but also their limitations and how more inclusive values would serve a system of multilayered governance.     

Politics and the Price of Rice in Thailand: Public Choice,Institutional Change and Rural Subsidies

Despite the Thai state’s long record of rice market interventions, historically politicians failed to leverage rice subsidies in their pursuit of political support, notwithstanding the large number of farmers in the country. Since Thaksin Shinawatra’s election in 2001, though, each government has subsidised rice producers, although at varying degrees. What explains this change? This article traces the four-decade history of rice price support programmes. It is proposed that these policies be interpreted through the dual lens of institutionalism and public choice theory, demonstrating how political institutions have shaped incentives for politicians to cater to different constituencies. During the pre-1980 period, under authoritarian regimes, Thai leaders applied rice price policies to benefit urban consumers and the government. From 1979 through 2000, following implementation of the block-vote system, rice interventions were used to appeal to voting intermediaries like rice millers, as bargaining chips among competing parties and as stopgap measures to diffuse farmer protests. Since 2001, responding to the electoral system created by the 1997 constitution, politicians have appealed directly to the voting public, seeking broad-based support via subsidies. The analysis highlights the impact that shifting institutional incentives have on politicians’ actions and thus the emergent policies.     

Interrupted evolution: the Serbian medieval assembly (Sabor)

This article discusses the origins, evolution, composition and competence of the State Sabor – the assembly of medieval Serbia. Since there are no preserved written documents that prescribe its structure, competence or decision-making procedure, all research regarding the Sabor has to be based on the accounts of individual Sabors held throughout Serbian medieval history. This article also aims to show the power relations between the Sabor and the monarch and to determine the criteria according to which matters were taken before the Sabor. Finally, a short comparison is made of the Sabor to the assemblies of neighbouring countries – Bosnia, Byzantium and Hungary. The article concludes with some final remarks about the nature of the Sabor and its legacy after the conquest of Serbia by the Ottoman Empire.     

文学伦理学批评视野中的“文学观”追问

作为一种新批评样式而出现的文学伦理学批评,其理论建构必须围绕文学的本质、功能与价值而展开,这是文学批评学科建设自身逻辑展开的要求。伦理学批评的出现与后续发展既要考虑社会生活中伦理道德的现状,也要指明它们应该发展的方向,这也从另一个侧面回应了“文学既来源于生活又必须高于生活”的科学论断,而对于伦理道德状况的认识也最终将服务于我们自身生活的和谐追求。     

注意制度反腐中的一些倾向性问题

制度建设是反腐败的最根本途径,已经成为党内外的普遍共识。现实的悖论却是,在反腐倡廉制度建设领域不断拓宽、成效不断显现的情况下,腐败问题依然十分严重,有些领域反而还出现了加重和蔓延的迹象。＂制度反腐＂进程中的一些倾向性问题是解释这一悖论的关键。制度反腐中的一些倾向性问题既源于一些价值、理念的偏差,又与反腐败制度体系本身的设计及其执行和运作有关。这些所谓倾向性问题主要表现为＂制度虚置＂、＂制度短板＂、＂制度离散＂、＂制度冲突＂、＂制度盲区＂等五个方面。