The Alliance System of the Abu Sayyaf, 1993–2000

Unsettled conditions on Jolo and Basilan islands in the southwestern Philippines have seriously hampered efforts to obtain information about the Abu Sayyaf. The result has been a continuing ignorance over the most fundamental features of the group. In the attempt to broaden our understanding of its structure, this article examines data drawn from an array of sources in light of the authoritative work of Thomas Kiefer on the traditional Tausug alliance system on Jolo. It argues that the Abu Sayyaf consists of a system of alliance groups of the kind customarily found in Muslim Filipino societies.     

An Anthropological Contribution to Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies

This article takes its stance in the fruitful perspectives with which anthropology may contribute to peace and conflict resolution studies, a field seemingly dominated by political science. Not only the relativity of ‘peace’ and ‘war’ is at stake when anthropologists intervene with their epistemologies applied to human interaction in violent contexts. Challenging the methodology of registering such interaction and asking for gender perspectives are pivotal parts of the anthropological endeavour within peace studies. Trying to emphasize the opposite of ‘normal’—which is concentrating on war—anthropologists have a longstanding tradition of focusing on peaceful societies as well as documenting the resocialization of peoples suffering from atrocities.     

What Can Pro-Democracy Activists in Arab Countries Expect from the European Union? Lessons from the Union's Relations with Israel

In this article, we analyze the European Union's (EU) approach to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, showing that there is a wide gap between its normative opposition to the occupation, Israel's expanding settlement project, and the EU's foreign trade policy. Our argument is not only that there is no evidence of norm diffusion from the EU to Israel, but that within the EU itself there is no diffusion from the normative political stance to the EU's economic interests. The Israeli case suggests that the pro-democracy activists of Tunisia, Egypt, and Syria should be aware that the trade interests of the EU Member States will ultimately trump the EU's political declarations.     

论保险人免责与受益权丧失的立法冲突——对我国《保险法》第28条、第65条之立法分析

保险人免责和受益权丧失作为保险法中的两个重要条款,直接影响到保险合同的有效性以及保险赔付义务的切实履行。但我国《保险法》第28条第二款在列举保险人免除赔付责任的情况时,过分强调保险人的利益,扩大了保险人免责的权限,而《保险法》第65条第一款、第65条第二款对受益权丧失的规定又含混不清、相互矛盾。在受益人唯一和多人的情况下,投保人或受益人制造保险事故后有关保险人免责、受益人丧失受益权以及保险金给付的处理方法及相应的修改意见。     

演化中的利益协调机制:挑战与前景

伴随市场转型而出现的社会结构与利益关系的分化,使当下中国进入了一个“矛盾凸显期”.两种基本的矛盾形式——官民矛盾与劳资冲突对既有的利益协调机制提出了巨大的挑战,这不但造成局部领域的失序状态,而且也使“维稳”的经济和社会成本越来越高.作为对这种挑战的回应,各级政府从公共政策领域和政府过程优化两个维度做出回应,力图建构一种...     

Political stability,transition and conflict: Tajikistan compared with Georgia

Tajikistan and Georgia, in Central Asia and the South Caucasus respectively, are both small Soviet successor states with a recent history of political volatility and instability until the mid-2000s. Nevertheless, these independent countries have eventually developed diverging policies, notably with regard to their political alliances and world orientations. The Tajikistani Civil War resembles in many ways that of the Chechen conflict and also helps us understand the Syrian conflict. Similar to Georgia, Tajikistan had experienced the collapse of state institutions more intensely than other Soviet republics. Although contingent and actor-driven factors may have influenced the outcome, the influence of structural factors has been far greater than those agency-driven factors. This review article discusses, and tries to offer understanding and explanations for, political stability, transition and conflict in these two countries.     

群体性事件中的身份利益群体研究

改革开放进入新时期以来,中国群体性事件的主体正在由事项利益群体转向身份利益群体。身份意识在结构上可细分为身份认同意识、身份利益意识、身份排斥意识和身份抗争意识,它们会对身份利益群体在群体性事件中的行为方式产生重要影响,并对冲突管理提出新的挑战。管理身份利益型冲突的目标、原则、策略和方式有别于事项利益型冲突,其管理目标应当定位于利益相关的各种身份群体间关系,促进各身份群体间的利益平衡;政府的角色应当居于中立地位,不偏不倚;管理机制和策略是设计公平和公开的身份群体间协商程序,并使协商过程和解决方案保持一定的透明度,以便形成能够在各身份群体间达致广泛共识的冲突解决方案。     

邻避冲突对国家安全的影响及对策

邻避冲突是指由邻避设施所引发的,居民有组织地通过正式或者非正式的手段向党政机关或者运营商表达意愿、提出要求,对国家和社会造成一定影响的行为或者活动。目前,我国邻避冲突呈现出发生频繁化、对象广泛化、过程组织化以及目的政治化等特点。邻避冲突不仅影响了社会稳定和国家经济安全,更对国家意识形态安全和政权安全造成了危害,必须从建立健全协商机制、完善风险消减机制、加强舆情回应和监控机制、依法治理邻避冲突事件等方面入手提出对策。     

Backsliding and Reversal: The J Curve Revisited

In this article we argue that democratic transitions can reverse, oscillate, or simply stall. These transitions are exemplified in the different types of states we categorize. We construct a model of stability vs openness using three dimensions of stateness, namely authority, legitimacy, and capacity. With the additional application of a six-fold typology of states, we offer a robust analytical framework with which to identify and explain changes in state status. Our construct of stability and openness leads to a novel development of a global conflict damage index, which is built upon conflict risk, but considers a state’s capacity to deal with conflict. The paper concludes with implications for policy and the application of the model to conflict prediction when states under go transition.     

关于公安机关应对"无直接利益冲突"的思考

"无直接利益冲突"作为一种新近出现的冲突形式,对公安管理工作带来了新的挑战,主要表现为:其隐蔽性、突发性使得公安机关难以进行有效的预防;参与者的盲从性、无组织性使得公安机关难以进行有效的处置;参与者行为的偏激性、心态的对立性使得公安机关难以进行有效的控制和化解;参与者的高度异质性使得公安机关难以进行有效的统合.为此,公...