The Liberal Left Opts for Terror

For a century, intellectual debate on political violence has been dominated by efforts to romanticize the extremist and to invest him with the aura of the altruistic “freedom fighter.” It is astonishing that in the post-9/11 era, the terrorist's image continues to remain habitually mystified and ennobled, while terror attacks are justified as self-defense. “Terrorist discourse” is indicative of the universality of the intellectual position of the Left with regard to terror, national discrepancies notwithstanding. The present article evaluates leftist liberals' attitudes towards terrorism in the 20th-century Russian Empire, Europe, the U.S., and especially Israel—one of the epicenters of terrorism today. The article proposes to examine psychological responses to terrorism in conjunction with a range of contemporary reactions to threats, acknowledged or displaced with an assortment of mental constructs and rationalizations.     

In the name of king,country, and people on the Westminster model and Bhutan's constitutional transition

In 2008 Bhutan inaugurated a written constitution thereby instituting the state as a constitutional monarchy. The constitution is almost unanimously described as democratic by international media and academics. The ease with which this apparent consensus on its democratic character has been achieved, however, raises the important question of how best to approach the theory of constitutional democratization. In approaching the issue of democratization as a move towards popular control, this article discusses the ambivalence of the Bhutanese constitution towards this principle in a cultural context where social order is seen as constituted within the unity of king, country, and people. Curiously, this language is not as unique to Bhutan as one might expect, but influenced by the Westminster legacy in its emphasis on the principle of “Crown in Parliament”, its ritualization, and ideas of political inequality. It raises the question whether this model is suitable as a blueprint model for countries with different historic and cultural trajectories from the European ones? The article advocates a novel approach to the analysis of constitutional transition that transgresses the dichotomy between an institutional and linguistic approach, thus opening up interesting new insights on the waxing and waning of processes of expanding popular control.     

Inxeba (The Wound): Sexual,Gender, Cultural and Religious Traumata on the African Screen

Abstract

This article is divided into two distinct parts. The first part contextualises John Trengove’s internationally renowned, award-winning, feature-length isiXhosa film, Inxeba. The second part of the article is an interview with Batana Vundla, conducted by Mark Kirby-Hirst (Film Theory and Visual Discourse Subject Manager at The Open Window), held in mid-2018, shortly after the High Court’s decision was made public regarding the final classification of Inxeba. The interview ranges from Batana Vundla’s history in the South African film and television industries, to the production processes behind the scenes of the film and concludes with a focus on the nuanced manner through which the film often broaches a wide variety of physical and psychic traumata.     

The Tian Anmen massacre

The aftermath of the 2008 general election saw a series of upheavals occur in the Malaysian political landscape, not least of which was the emergence of a so-called “new politics.” Driven primarily by concerns over issues of public governance, this politics contained a set of interrelated questions involving changing notions of legitimate political authority. Although much has already been written about whether or not the post-2008 changes to Malaysia's socio-political terrain are genuine and enduring, I argue that many such analyses are too narrow in scope and fail to adequately recognise the complexity involved in such social realities. By distinguishing between the images and practices of the Malaysian state, this article aims to highlight the dynamic, contingent and contested nature of processes of legitimation. A detailed investigation of the consensus/dissensus surrounding Prime Minister Najib Razak's concept of 1Malaysia as the basis of a collective national identity reveals a more fundamental contestation occurring within contemporary Malaysian politics and society over the source(s) of political and moral legitimacy. While the opposition's challenge to Najib's administration remains formidable, of more pressing concern to Najib might be the objections arising from within his own party over the direction in which he is taking them. To define the present horizon of socio-political possibilities in Malaysia it is not enough, therefore, to simply explain how legitimation occurs; we must also be able to account for the way(s) in which it can occur.     

Privatizing Urban Services Through Homeowners Associations: The Potential and Practice in Phoenix

Homeowners associations (HOAs) are private nonprofit corporations that regulate, “tax,” and provide urban services to growing numbers of U.S. residents. As such, HOAs may affect cities' public service delivery. Interviews with department heads in Phoenix, Arizona reveal how enclaves of private services influence the city's planning and provision of public services. The findings suggest that HOAs do not substitute private for public services in Phoenix. Instead, qualitative differences in the services themselves (particularly concerning their purpose and scale) and in the legal powers of their providers create a more nuanced pattern of public-private service delivery.     

财政立宪主义与“土地财政”治理

我国地方政府的"土地财政"引发了不少问题。财政立宪主义视野下,该现象是由央地财权划分不够合理,以及地方政府权力与当地居民权利不够平衡造成的。如果能够做到以宪法绝对统摄各类财税法律法规,则"土地财政"问题就可得到治理。     

公共政策绩效损失的实证分析--以G省农业水价综合改革政策为例

绩效管理的核心目的是改进绩效,而绩效损失这一分析视角业已成为审视绩效生产与绩效提升的一个重要维度。以G省农业水价综合改革政策为例,对“治理缺陷型”和“价值偏离型”两类绩效损失的生成机理与影响因素进行分析。研究发现:两类绩效损失是在公共政策组织管理系统和公共价值建构系统中交互形成的,其公共价值因素与组织管理因素相互影响,共同作用于整体绩效损失的生成;其中,社会价值建构缺失构成了整体绩效损失生成的逻辑起点。此外,在绩效损失的生成过程中,经济发展水平和自然区位要素与其他影响因素耦合互动,并对绩效损失产生“放大效应”。未来应进一步开展相关的定量研究以探索绩效损失形成的关键区域,并提出具有针对性与可行性的矫正策略和治理路径。     

立法后评估中的公众参与“虚置”及治理路径

作为检验立法实效、提升立法质量、促进法律体系完善的立法后评估制度已逐渐在全国范围内展开实践。然而,在这种多方主体的博弈中,公众当前只是一种被动型或者功能型的“虚置”参与,无法发挥其积极性、主体性的作用。公众参与立法后评估的实践困境具体表现为:参与主体的构成失衡、参与内容的模糊、参与方式的“指令化”及参与效果的抑制。要突破这一困境,须正确认识公众参与评估的价值,从意识、制度、参与的指向及参与效果等方面构建参与路径,实现立法后评估中公众参与的有效性和制度化。     

中国与“一带一路”沿线国家跨国科学研究合作何以可能?——一项定性比较分析

【问题】中国与“一带一路”沿线国家之间的跨国科学研究合作是承载“一带一路”建设科技交流与创新发展使命的重要议题,然而由于许多“一带一路”沿线国家的制度和法律环境尚不健全,甚至部分国家还存在较强的政治风险和文化冲突,这种合作并非易事。在此背景下,中国与“一带一路”沿线国家之间的跨国科学研究合作何以成为可能?【方法】本研究从宏观分析视角提出了中国与“一带一路”沿线国家之间跨国科学研究合作影响因素的分析框架,并采用模糊集定性比较分析方法识别了36个沿线国家案例中的跨国科学研究合作影响因素及其条件组合。【发现】资源投入与制度环境是影响跨国科学研究合作的重要因素,两者相互耦合共同构成跨国科学研究合作的实现路径。进一步地,本研究依据资源投入与制度环境不同耦合程度,识别出强强联合型、资源主导型、经贸带动型与政治兜底型四种跨国科学研究合作类型。【贡献】论文提出的分析框架弥补了以往研究聚焦于中观和微观层面跨国科学研究合作影响因素分析的局限性,区分了不同伙伴国家与中国开展跨国科学研究合作的各种途径,可以更为准确地解释全球治理背景下的跨国科学研究合作机制,对于中国进一步深入推进与沿线国家之间的跨国科学研究合作、提升合作效果具有积极意义。     

西原借款与曹汝霖、陆宗舆、章宗祥“卖国贼”身份再考

在近代日本推行大陆政策的过程中,"二十一条"是日本"北守南进"侵华图谋的重要实践。大隈内阁的武力侵华失败之后,寺内内阁转换策略,以西原借款为中心极力推行经济侵华,网罗了大量"二十一条"都不曾获得的新利权,在此过程中,曹汝霖、陆宗舆、章宗祥三人与有力焉。五四前后,反日派指证曹、陆、章"卖国"的证据既有符合事实者,亦有以讹传讹者,而曹、陆、章自辩"无回扣""收回山东利权"之言辞,既经不住事实的检验,亦经不起逻辑的推敲。故而,西原借款既是坐实曹、陆、章"卖国贼"身份的主要证据,也是上承"二十一条"、下启五四运动的关键环节。