Fixers as Shadow “Public Servants”: A Case Study of Israel

Fixers can thrive in any level of political, bureaucratic, or institutional development. Paradoxically the academic research of the phenomenon of fixers is in its infancy. There exists no accepted definition of fixers; the boundaries between fixers and lobbyists remain murky, in terms of comparative administration only limited knowledge about the forces that breed different types of fixers in different political settings is available; and no deductive theory was articulated that might determine when and how fixing might become dysfunctional and corruptive. In an attempt to better understand the phenomenon of fixers more theoretically; this study analyzes fixers in view of three theories of bureaucratic corruption, and in view of the emerging theory of alternative politics. Using Israel as a case in point, the study shows that within certain national and local branches of government fixers not only create a shadow copy of official institutions, but also foster institutional corruption.     

Kyrgyzstan between democratization and ethnic intolerance

The international community has expressed great concern about the treatment of the Uzbek minority in the south of Kyrgyzstan and has called on the majority community to make major efforts to improve the situation. The article compares the treatment of minorities in Kyrgyzstan with analogous situations in the Balkans and contends that, given the European-style ethno-national state model and democratic political system that have been adopted by independent Kyrgyzstan, such calls are unrealistic.     

Presidential Leadership on Foreign Policy,Opinion Polling,and the Possible Limits of “Crafted Talk”

The strategy of “crafted talk” (or framing) suggests that a politician uses public opinion to anticipate the most alluring, language to convince the public to follow a politician's own preferred policy (Jacobs & Shapiro, 2000 Jacobs, L. R. and Shaprio, R. Y. 2000. Politicians don't pander: Political manipulation and the loss of democratic responsiveness, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.  [Google Scholar]). This manipulatory behavior by presidents has important consequences in the realm of constructing foreign policy, especially if the policy involves military service personnel, international prestige, or foreign conflict. However, no scholar has investigated White House archival data to examine the theoretical nuances of presidential “crafting” talk when constructing arguments for foreign policy. This article examines three case studies using internal polling memoranda and focus group results concerning the Vietnam War under President Johnson, the signing of the INF Treaty with the Soviet Union under President Reagan, and the Gulf War under President Bush. In each of the three cases, public opinion places serious constraints on presidential framing of foreign policy. Implications for the effectiveness of political framing and the limits of presidential persuasion are discussed.     

Observatory's linguistic landscape: semiotic appropriation and the reinvention of space

Using a longitudinal ethnographic study of the linguistic landscape (LL) in Observatory's business corridor of Lower Main Road, the paper explores changes brought about by the influx of immigrant Africans, their artefacts and language practices. The paper uses the changes in the LL over time and the development of an “African Corner” within Lower Main Road, to illustrate the appropriation of space and the unpredictability, which comes along with highly mobile, technological and multicultural citizens. It is argued that changes in the LL are part of the act of claiming and appropriating space wherein space becomes summarily recontexualized and hence reinvented and “owned” by new actors. It is also argued that space ownership can be concealed through what we have called “brand anonymity” strategies in which the identity of the owner is deliberately concealed behind global brands. We conclude that space is pliable and mobile, and that, it is the people within space who carve out new social practices in their appropriated space.     

我国台湾地区“人民观审制度”初探

我国台湾正在试行的“人民观审制度”在总体上符合人民参与审判的世界性趋势,其积极作用不可忽视。“人民观审制度”在设计上不应当自我局限于特定的“原型”,所有的制度设计都应当与“观审制度”设立的目的相契合。与其“透明”、“了解”与“信赖”的“立法”目的相比较,“人民观审制度”尚存在一定的完善空间。     

“三个代表”是每一个共产党人个性修养的指南

中国共产党要体现“三个代表”,要求每一个共产党人在个性的自我完善中做到 :在个性的意识倾向形成过程中体现“三个代表”;不断地提高自己的各种能力 ,为实现“三个代表”练就必须的本领 ;在性格的自我培养上 ,反映“三个代表”的思想 ,形成符合“三个代表”要求的性格特征 ;在个人气质的培养过程中 ,体现“三个代表”的思想内容     

“有权不可任性”的政治意蕴初探--兼谈学习《政府工作报告》

“大道至简,有权不可任性”是李克强总理在作《政府工作报告》时的幽默表述,这不仅是一句流行的话语,更是建设现代政府的宣言,有着深刻的政治意蕴。从宏观上讲,“有权不可任性”要求优化政府职能,实行简政放权;从中观上讲,“有权不可任性”就是建立健全科学合理的政绩考核体系;从微观上讲,“有权不可任性”要求党员干部树立并践行正确的权力观。     

工会“两个普遍”方针对促进我国经济增长方式转变的重要影响

全总提出的“两个普遍”方针,其目标要求是,2011年至2013年,全国企业法人建会率达到90%以上,普遍实现企业法人建会;从2011年起用3年时间,到2013年底80%以上已建工会组织的企业建立工资集体协商制度,基本实现已建工会企业普遍开展工资集体协商.“两个普遍方针”深刻反映了工会工作面临的新形势,这一方针的贯彻实行,对于维护广大劳动者的合法权益、促进我国经济增长方式转变、实现经济发展的持续增长,都具有重大意义.     

论在“五位一体”总体布局中工会的定位、面临的挑战及作用

五位一体是党中央对中国特色社会主义事业作出的新的全局性规划,体现了党对社会主义建设规律的全新把握。工会是联系党和职工群众桥梁和纽带,代表和维护职工合法权益,同时也承担着动员和组织职工积极参加改革和建设,努力推动我国经济、政治、文化、社会、生态文明各项事业不断向前发展的重要任务。新时期党和国家高度重视、相关法律法规不断出台、职工素质普遍提升及对工会的认同,都给工会发挥作用创造了机遇。但同时又面临着劳动关系日趋多样化和复杂化、劳动者利益诉求多元、思想状况日益复杂、价值取向多元和利益表达渠道不畅通等方面的挑战和压力。面对党、政府和职工对工会寄予的深切厚望,工会组织应从自身实际出发,从加强组织建设、提高工会干部整体素质、创新工会工作方式等方面找准定位,充分发挥自身优势,努力在新时期经济建设、政治建设、文化建设、社会建设以及生态文明建中争取更大的作为。     

Reducing Homicide through a “Lever‐Pulling” Strategy

The decade of the 1990s witnessed unexpected but welcome large declines in homicide and serious firearms violence. Yet, despite these declines, rates of firearms crime in the United States remain high compared to other western democracies and impose significant costs to society generally and to specific communities particularly. One promising approach to gun crime emerged in Boston during the mid‐1990s. This approach combined face‐to‐face communication of a deterrence message to youth gang members with social service outreach and crackdowns on several gangs. Boston then experienced very significant declines in youth gun crime. This approach was later repeated in Minneapolis with similar promising results. This paper presents the results of a study of a similar gun‐crime‐reduction effort in Indianapolis. Time‐series analyses suggest a significant decline in homicide similar to those observed in Boston and Minneapolis. Comparisons to six similar Midwestern cities revealed that Indianapolis was the only city to experience a significant decline in homicide. The results are discussed in the context of deterrence research and suggest the need to move beyond single‐city evaluations of promising interventions.