Soft budgets and elastic debt: farm liabilities in the agrarian political economy of post-Soviet Tajikistan

ABSTRACT

Since Tajikistan’s independence, market reforms and pressure from international donors have brought changes to the state’s role in the economy. The official narrative holds that the post-socialist state reduced its control over agriculture, but there are still various mechanisms through which it exerts control over farming. In this paper, I examine Tajikistan’s post-socialist agrarian change through the prism of farm debt. Farm debt used to be an accounting nuisance in Soviet agriculture as a result of so-called soft-budget constraints. In the political economy of post-socialist transformation, farm cotton debt has been transformed into indebted land. I classify this debt ‘elastic’ for its ambiguous nature. It ties farmers to land and makes farmers’ independence illusory. With an in-depth analysis based on original ethnographic insights, I aim to provide a theoretical contribution to the way in which debt is conceptualised and politicised in post-Soviet Tajikistan.     

How Public Officials Gain Policy Influence—Lessons from Local Government in Sweden

That public officials influence public policy is generally agreed upon, but the issue of how individual officials gain this influence is less developed in the literature. Here, the stories and experiences of 10 officials, active in local environmental governing in Sweden, are used to identify, describe, and discuss key strategies for gaining policy influence. The result shows the importance of accessing key politicians; avoiding isolation within the administration; developing long-term strategies; and being skilled in communication, networking, and generating external resources. The way these officials act and think challenges some well-established theoretical notions and adds empirical insights to the democratic dilemma of bureaucratic power.     

Earth Day and Its Precursors: Continuity and Change in the Evolution of Midtwentieth‐Century U.S. Environmental Policy

Earth Day 1970's legacy overshadows two earlier events resulting in popular misconceptions about U.S. environmental politics: that environmental policy began with Earth Day and that Congress and the president were not concerned with the environment until public opinion and interest groups pressured them. These misconceptions increase public opinion ambivalence and frustrate environmental leaders. This paper describes Earth Day 1970, the congressionally established Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission established in 1958, and President Kennedy's Natural Resources Tour of September 1963, arguing the latter two prepared for the convergence of multiple streams of policy change that resulted in the first Earth Day.     

印尼爪哇岛印度教神庙研究

印度教在东南亚的古代史中扮演了非常重要的角色,国内学术界对这个问题的研究主要集中在宏观层面,对微观的文化现象的研究一直不够深入.在实地考察的基础上,本文以爪哇岛的印度教神庙作为研究对象,通过对比中爪哇的普兰班南神庙和东爪哇的加维神庙在建筑风格上的异同点,阐述爪哇岛印度教神庙的建筑特点.     

气候变化与美国国家安全:美国官方的认知及其影响

气候变化的影响超越它本身所带来的直接环境后果,对美国国家安全提出新挑战。美国官方对这一问题的认知从形成到发展,大体经历了酝酿、萌芽和完善阶段。促成美国对该问题的战略认知与政策实践的原因复杂,涉及国际社会的政治议程、美国国内的科学议程以及国会的影响等因素。当前,美国的安全体系不仅正视气候变化对美国国家安全产生的威胁,而且已经开始制定战略性方针不断将气候变化因素纳入该体系的战略规划和日常实践。在国际层面,美国已经开始谋求与其他国家就气候变化影响国家安全与国际安全的问题达成共识甚至采取行动。本质上,这是美国在全球气候谈判博弈中增加筹码的一个重要抓手,希望以此来影响和主导全球减缓气候变化行动。预计未来美国应对气候变化安全后果的政策走势趋强,将对美国气候政策、对外关系乃至国际格局产生重要影响,同时将给中国特别是中国与发展中国家的合作关系带来挑战。     

气候变化背景下外国投资者与政府争端的解决——以我国双边投资协定为例

我国签订的双边投资协定中一般都规定了投资者与东道国政府间投资争端的解决方式,尤其是晚近我国所签订的双边投资协定多数允许投资者将争端提交国际仲裁。但是,在目前全球应对气候变化背景下,作为温室气体排放大国,我国有义务控制和减少温室气体的排放,采取相应的环境规制措施,这些环境规制措施可能会损害或影响到外国投资者在我国的利益。根据双边投资协定,外国投资者可能会将这些争端提交国际仲裁,我国有可能被国际仲裁庭裁定为此对外国投资者承担相应的赔偿责任。面对新形势,我国必须重新审视双边投资协定中投资者与东道国投资争端解决方式的相关规定。     

毛泽东的文化观与政治信仰

毛泽东的文化观与其政治信仰是密不可分的。"大众化"是毛泽东文化观的一个显著特征。毛泽东认为,无产阶级革命开辟了文化大众化的新时代,文化应该为人民大众服务,为社会主义服务。发展民族的、科学的、大众的文化,坚持"二为"方向和"双百"方针,通过自下而上的群众性的"文化革命"运动,克服党内的非无产阶级思想,提高人民群众的政治觉悟,从而坚持社会主义方向,巩固马克思主义的政治信仰。这是晚年毛泽东建设社会主义文化的一个主导思想。探讨毛泽东文化观与政治信仰之间的关系,对于我们今天发展中国特色的社会主义文化、坚持党的群众路线、推进马克思主义大众化工作都具有重大启发意义。     

虚拟社区的动漫迷文化实践模式研究——以《圣斗士星矢》动漫迷为个案的质化研究

本研究以主动受众理论为基本立场,采用质化研究路径,探索网络虚拟社区中动漫迷的日常文化行为。文章聚焦于《圣斗士星矢》的动漫迷——圣迷这一代表性的群体,综合运用观察法、深度访谈法、实物收集等方法,梳理出动漫迷六种文化实践模式,并对这些行为模式所呈现的四个文化特征进行了深入的阐释。本研究发现了极具特色的同人逆迷现象,并揭示了这一现象对迷作为主动消费者中的作用。     

唐君毅人文主义的自由人权观念

唐君毅推举人文主义理想,强调人的普遍理性可以作为自由主义的理论根据.他更推崇儒学的自由精神,亦即孔子为仁由己的人格自由,儒家自尊尊人的大平等精神、和融贯通而充实圆满的人文精神.此种人文精神显现出宽容的性格与可能开展的民主涵养.我们可以从人文主义的人权观念、文化价值的自由学说与以理性为主的人权哲学这三个方面,探寻及反思唐...     

People must change before institutions can: a model addressing the challenge from administering to managing the maltese public service

The Maltese public service is currently undergoing major organisational changes to enhance its efficiency and effectiveness in its service delivery. The great majority of these changes have focussed on re‐organising the macro‐level, namely strategy, processes and structures. This is not an easy feat as local external power forces leave their impact in the process. It is argued, however, that one way to circumvent these resisting forces is to empower the real agents of change: the administrators of the public service. For some reason, the micro‐level has been neglected and has been generally absent from the agenda of the major change programme with a few exceptions. This article throws light on this level by proposing an intrapersonal, psychological and pedagogical model for change that may complement and accompany the larger macro changes. The authors suggest that the model can be developed in a practical way to motivate change from within the person and not just push change around the person. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.