Who is in the ‘‘We’’? Interrogating the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and Youth Political Participation

Most analyses of the African Union (AU) have focused on the politics of the state and the presidents. There are very few analyses that have focused on aspects such as youth development. The point of departure for this article therefore, is youth development. I argue that although the youth were always part of important historical developments in Africa, they remain on the periphery. In recent times, particularly since the transformation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) into the AU in the 2000s, the youth development agenda has begun to receive the attention at policy level. In 2015 the AU, through Agenda 2063 went a step further by including youth development into mainstream continental policy frameworks. While we welcome all these developments it has emerged that the continent remains hesitant in the area of youth development. Where the AU and its member states have adopted the discourse of youth inclusion—in cases where youth political participation is often limited, such efforts are not met with fitting institutional and practical policy arrangements. The article posits that the African elite is in for a rude awakening as we have witnessed—since 2011—given the discovery by the African youth of new methods of political participation in post-colonial Africa. The article advocates for the adoption of the African community outlook to youth state policy, argues for the youth to be linked to the project of economic freedom, and implores the African elite to embark on the decolonial project to resolve the bearing coloniality of being, power and knowledge.     

Determinants of young people’s civic and political participation in Turkey

This special section provides a timely reflection on current debates that are of extreme relevance in order to gain a better understanding of the concepts of citizenship and active citizenship in Turkey, by looking at the determinants of civic and political participation, at the patterns of political and civic mobilization and at the orientations of political behaviour. Its originality stands on the specific focus on young people in comparison to other age groups. The different papers remark upon the importance that the reframing of the notions of citizenship and active citizenship have in the Turkish context along with the determinants that make this remark more relevant than ever.     

The political psychology of participation in Turkey: civic engagement,basic values,political sophistication and the young

This article aims to understand the recent heightened levels of mobilization and unconventional political participation in Turkey. We use a political psychology model that highlights the impact of civic engagement, political sophistication, and values on conventional and unconventional participation. We argue that these factors will be significant predictors of unconventional participation setting it apart from conventional political behaviour, which will be driven by simpler considerations. We expect these qualitative differences in the drivers of conventional and unconventional participation to go beyond age and gender differences and highlight the complexity of political decision-making in Turkey’s electoral authoritarian system. We use the 2012 World Value Survey to test our hypotheses, with a nationally representative sample of Turkish citizens. We find significant variations in the role of values, sophistication and levels of civic engagement for conventional and unconventional participation when controlling for age, gender and left–right ideological orientations. Our findings confirm the complex considerations that drive citizens’ engagement with politics and can be useful to explaining recent political developments in Turkey involving youth, public mobilization and protests, but also mainstream voting choices.     

公民参与和民主公共行政——以话语民主为研究视角厂廖晓愿

公民参与是否必定能够实现实质的民主？传统封闭的行政系统掌握着“话语”的垄断权,即使公民参与,也至多是一种“伪民主”。“话语理论”,特别是后现代“行政话语理论”,对于构建一种实质的民主,促进公共行政民主化提供了新的研究视角。     

新形势下群众参与公共决策的路径探析

在公共决策中，群众既是决策实施的直接受益者，又是决策过程的重要参与者。新形势下充分发挥群众在公共决策中的作用，是党执政理念的具体体现，是新时期做好群众工作的现实要求，是新形势下加强和创新社会管理的迫切需要。充分发挥群众在公共决策中的参与作用，关键是要满足群众的知情权，提高群众的话语权，保障群众的监督权。各级党委政府要注重总结推广经验，健全完善制度机制，全面加强组织引导，努力营造良好的社会氛固。     

自媒体时代公共参与的多元图景与路径选择--从地方危机信息管理的视角

基于互联网技术的自媒体不仅对公共管理产生了深刻影响，而且呈现出与公共参与互动式发展的态势。自媒体在一定意义上重构了信息生产与传播的格局，吸引着传统媒体环境下的边缘阶层更多地参与到公其生活中来，与变革迟缓的公共管理发生了碰撞，这一冲突迅速和直观地体现在地方危机信息管理中。面对信息技术革命带来的特定时代诉求，地方危机信息管理应当顺应社会转型与信息生产和传播规律，完善危机信息管理机制，提升公共治理水正.     

The human development puzzle in Kerala

Participatory approaches to development have been implemented increasingly. One form is the World Bank's community-driven development (CDD) programme. Participation has, also, become increasingly securitised since 2001. One instance of these trends was the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan (KALAHI) project in the Philippines. This paper examines the implementation of CDD and the problems of its securitisation, using the Philippines as a case study. A composite conceptual framework is advanced that draws upon the international analyses of development. Adapting the concepts of securitisation and de-politicisation, it argues that a new hegemonic-development framework has appeared: the Securitised-Washington consensus. The analysis assesses these trends through the examples of KALAHI and Philippine politics and economics. It suggests that securitised CDD projects result in token efforts at political reform and poverty alleviation that often are contradicted by counter-trends towards development decline and militarisation. Unless these deep-rooted problems are confronted, localised participation is likely to remain ineffectual.     

高等教育评估中的社会参与机制研究

高等教育的公益性与私益性决定了高等教育评估必然是政府与社会共同参与的行为。目前社会参与高等教育评估的机制出现梗阻现象,评估项目的形成是以行政力量主导,社会力量被排斥;评估机构的运行依附于政府,脱离于社会;评估指标的编制过于迎合行政管理需求而过滤了社会需求;对评估结果进行限制与隐匿,使社会丧失知情权。"全能政府"的管理理念、"官本位"文化的浸染以及社会评估机构自身的不足而引起的功能性缺位等因素是造成社会参与机制梗阻的重要原因。我们需要通过理顺社会力量的导入机制、创新社会评估机构的培育机制以及建立社会参与高校评估的筛选机制等方式来提升社会参与高校评估的效果。     

制约女性从政的因素探讨与对策建议

我国女性从政的现状与男性相比差别较大。其原因主要包括认识偏差、社会环境制约和自力障碍。我们应从政策导向、制度保障、目标定位等方面努力,以推动女性从政。