Rethinking the Tunisian miracle: a party politics view

Five years on from the Tunisian revolution, Tunisia stands as the sole success story of the Arab Spring. The country since then has managed to adopt a pluralist and democratic constitution, and held three free and fair elections. Accordingly, in the eyes of several observers, Tunisia is now in the process of consolidating its new democracy. However, the reality on the ground seems much gloomier, as most recent opinion surveys suggest that there is a significant degree of dissatisfaction, not only with political parties and Parliament but also with the very institution of democracy. Nevertheless, what accounts for this change? After the collapse of the long-lasting and oppressive Ben Ali regime, how, just in five years, has Tunisians’ confidence in the democratic process changed? This article accounts for this state of affairs from a party politics view, arguing that political parties, which are the main protagonists of the consolidation process, fail to fulfill their role of acquiring legitimacy for the new regime. While party–state relations seem to be stabilized due to the inclusiveness of the constitution-making process, both inter-party relationships and the relationship between parties and society suffer from numerous flaws which, in turn, hamper the democratic consolidation process.     

Progressivism in British Politics: Some Revisionist Themes

This article argues that a return to the history of progressive political thought can help us to think afresh about what a renewed centre‐left politics might look like today. The article identifies some significant aspects of this history that attracted little attention in earlier debates over the British progressive tradition—in particular, debates about social ownership, nationalism and distributism. This revisionist history of British progressivism points the way towards some common ideological ground that could provide a starting point for a new dialogue between different ‘progressive’ political parties and interests.     

Demonisation and electoral support for populist radical right parties: A temporary effect

Since the 1980s, Western Europe has experienced the surge of populist radical right parties. In an attempt to ward off these electoral newcomers, established parties have pursued strategies of disengagement, such as exclusion and de-legitimisation. This study examines the electoral effects of an excessive form of de-legitimisation, which we label ‘demonisation’. We estimate the effects of demonisation on electoral support for the Dutch Freedom Party (PVV) and its predecessor Groep Wilders. Time series analyses show that demonisation has a negative effect on electoral support, but only for Groep Wilders. Once the populist radical right party has made a successful entry into the party system, demonisation does not have its intended consequences.     

Foreign threat and political party change: Russia and changes in party manifestos

How do political parties react to foreign security threats? There has been very little attention paid in the literature generally to how parties react to international events, particularly how parties react to foreign policy threats. Using data from the Comparative Manifesto Project, we examine how political parties in countries in Europe have reacted to Russian actions in terms of their emphasis on security issues. Based upon our analysis of the manifestoes from 331 parties in 36 countries we find that, generally, interstate threats have no significant effect on the military position adopted by political parties, although these effects vary by party type and by the type of threat. Russian based threats appear to be associated with the Far Left becoming more dovish (which is consistent with what would be expected by the literature) and the Far Right becoming significantly less hawkish.     

Direct democracy and subjective regime legitimacy in Europe

While much research focuses on the causes and consequences of direct democracy and regime legitimacy, little attention has been paid to the potential relationship between them. In an attempt to fill this void, this paper focuses on the legal provisions for direct democracy and its use. The key argument is that possibilities for the public’s direct involvement reflect high importance given to citizens, openness of the regime towards different modes of decision-making, and ways to avoid unpopular institutions. Consequently, citizens are likely to accept and support the regime, improving or maintaining its legitimacy. The cross-national analysis includes 38 European countries ranging from transition countries to established democracies. It uses bivariate statistical analysis and country-level data collected from legislation, secondary sources, and aggregate surveys.     

大陆学界台湾史研究的宏观检讨

台湾史是一门兼具学术与政治意义的新兴特色学科。中国大陆的台湾史研究,从学科建设的角度来说,属于中国历史学的分支学科。从研究史的角度,对于60多年来大陆学界台湾史研究成果做一宏观性的检讨,具体分析各个不同时期台湾史研究的特点,剖析唯物史观与“台独”史观论争的典型事例,提出新的研究问题,展现新的研究趋向,将有助于推动台湾史研究的深入拓展。     

氧化还原机制在中医体质研究中的应用

[摘要]氧化还原平衡体现了阴阳平衡思想,氧化还原机制与体质学基本原理及体质三级预防理念有着相似之处,氧化还原机制的多样性研究为体质分类研究提供了切入点。对不同体质的人群进行氧化还原状态检测,一方面可诠释体质理论的科学内涵,另一方面可为“治未病”提供可供参考的指标体系。     

整体性基层党建何以可能:空间治理的工作路径

城市基层党建存在社会参与不足、合作治理乏力的现实困境.基层党组织如何通过空间治理路径促进整体性党建发展,实现共建共治共享社会治理格局是当前基层党建创新的重要议题.通过构建"结构—过程—绩效"分析框架,从上海市J街道党建空间治理实践入手,探究空间治理实现整体性党建的实现机制.从而发现,党组织、政府组织和社会主体的多元行动...     

德国刑事政策的任务、原则及司法实践

德国是刑事政策理论的发祥地 ,也是刑事政策思想学说最为深刻、系统的国家。它将刑事政策的任务定位于 :基于不同时期的社会状况和犯罪态势指导包括刑法、刑事诉讼法和刑罚执行法律在内的刑事法律的制定、执行及变革 ,指出与犯罪作斗争的有效途径和方法。人道、法治和公正三大原则贯穿于刑事政策的始终 ,使得现代德国刑事政策的进程表现出整体上犯罪网趋宽、刑罚网疏缓 ,而对特定犯罪轻中有重、重势增强的特征