From discourse to policy: US policy communities’ perceptions of and approaches to climate change and security

ABSTRACT

Increasingly, a diverse set of policy communities, including those with defence, development and environmental mandates, frame climate change as a security threat. Most often this discursive formation labels climate change as a ‘threat multiplier’. This framing, however, is vague, linear and leaves many questions unanswered regarding how institutions can develop and implement policy that addresses the joint challenges of climate change, conflict and security. Utilising a mixed-methods approach, and grounding data collection in US policy communities, this article examines how policy actors and institutions integrate climate-security discourses into policy processes. The objective of this research is to provide direct insight into how the discourses and technical understandings of climate-security transition into policy priorities and implementation realities. This research identified three common approaches to climate-security: (1) A challenge of adaptation and resilience; (2) A potent political argument; and (3) An issue of limited importance and feasibility. These approaches, however, are inconsistent across sectors and within organisations, suggesting a lack of cohesion and considerable challenges in identifying and responding to climate change as a ‘threat multiplier’.     

漓江旅游业可持续发展与水生态保护

漓江是桂林的母亲河,是桂林旅游业的精华和精品。要更好地治理漓江,经营漓江,促进漓江旅游业的可持续性发展,必须注重水生态的保护与修复。     

环境权:一种新兴的现代人权

人权是最基本的权利,环境权来自人权。生存权位于人权的核心,而环境权作为一项基本人权是不可剥夺、不可放弃和替代的权利。如果没有环境权,传统人权体系中的生存权就不可能得到完善的保障。环境权源于生存权,但超越了生存权,因此它是一种新兴的现代人权。     

共产党执政的实质是人民当家作主

政党的性质是由它所代表的阶级或者阶层的性质决定的。共产党执政的实质是人民当家作主,这是由党的性质、宗旨、任务决定的,共产党执政只有坚持党的性质,牢固树立宗旨意识,紧紧抓住发展这个执政兴国的第一要务,才能代表最广大人民的利益。所谓最广大人民的根本利益其实质就是人民当家作主,这也是对共产党执政的目的和要求的最充分的体现。     

环境税收制度的价值定位及改革方向

伴随着工业化进程所带来的严重的生态危机,人类不断探寻更为有效的保护环境的新举措。建立环境税收制度,将税收和环保结合起来,可以发挥税收在控制污染、调节资源配置方面的作用;应以可持续发展为核心,以生态利益为本位,以实现代际公平为主要目标;应改革传统排污收费制度、调整资源税和消费税、完善税收优惠政策和征管制度,从而构建我国新型的环境税收制度。     

The effect of board size and composition on European bank performance

Banks are “special” financial institutions generating distinct corporate governance challenges. The present paper examines the relationship between two of the most pertinent corporate governance factors—that is, the size of the Board of Directors and the proportion of non-executive directors—and firm performance on a sample of 58 large European banks over the period 2002–2004. The empirical analysis embraces a number of bank-specific variables. Our results reveal that bank profitability is negatively related to the size of the Board of Directors, while the impact of Board composition, although positive in all models, is, in most cases, insignificant. The results are robust after controlling for firm-specific variables.      

治理理论的兴起与行政法的变迁

行政法是关于行政的法,公共行政的改革与发展必然对行政法产生影响,为行政法学提供新的研究课题。20世纪下半叶,治理理论的兴起,受到世界各国的广泛关注,行政主体的多元化和行政行为的非强制性被认为是治理理论两个明显的特征。以传统统治理论为基础形成的行政法不能解释行政主体的多元化和行政行为的非强制性现象,在治理理论的背景下,行政法面临着发展变迁的挑战。     

An Analysis of the Joint Board or County Model as the Structural Basis for Effective Australian Local Governance

Australian policy‐makers continue to rely on municipal amalgamation as the main engine of structural reform in local government, despite strong evidence that it diminishes participation and representation without improving service efficiency. Several promising, but neglected alternative models of structural reform have been developed, including ad hoc resource sharing models, Regional Organisations of Councils, virtual local government, and agency models. In an encouraging response to the recent policy of enforced council amalgamations in NSW, the Shires Association of NSW (2004) has recently proposed a ‘Joint Board model’ of local governance and invited comment on this model. This article takes up this challenge and seeks to place the Joint Board model in conceptual context and evaluate its characteristics and simulated cost savings.     

加强党的建设 提高党的战斗力

新的历史时期,党所面临的形势和任务发生了根本性变化,对党的领导能力和领导水平提出了新的要求。加强和改善党的领导,要通过提高执政能力和执政水平来体现。提高党的执政能力是加强党的建设的重要内容,是实现党在新世纪各项任务的根本保证。