Parliament on its Knees: MPs' Expenses and the Crisis of Transparency at Westminster

In May 2009, revelations made in The Daily Telegraph about the way that MPs had used and abused the House of Commons expenses and allowances regime threw the British political system into turmoil, forced the resignation of the Speaker of the Commons along with a number of implicated MPs, and ignited talk about a crisis in parliamentary democracy and a collapse of public trust in politics. This article explores the events that led to this situation, from the structure of MPs pay and allowance system, the Freedom of Information context that framed the disaster, and the crisis of transparency which the House of Commons has itself precipitated. It argues that, talk of parliamentary reform aside, MPs must radically rethink the way that they approach their representative role and the nature of their broader engagement with the public they claim to serve.     

On the Rights of Undocumented Children

Changes in immigration laws over the last three to four decades have given rise to unprecedented numbers of undocumented children. However, as others have argued, policies regarding the control of undocumented migration have had deleterious effects on undocumented children and their basic access to social rights. Undocumented youth in the United States can legally attend K-12 education, but cannot legally work, vote, receive financial aid, or drive in most states. Their situation calls for a reexamination of immigration laws and a recasting of the frame that has been used to promote their inclusion.

Relativism

Modern democracies increasingly confuse civic or political equality with a radical relativism that calls into question legitimate principles of hierarchy and the very idea of reasonable value judgments. This confusion reflects a “corruption,” in Montesquieu’s sense, of democracy rooted in a refusal to recognize distinctions that are integral to both human nature and social life. A moderate form of cultural relativism is a genuine intellectual achievement that helps combat ethnocentrism and allows one to better appreciate the full range of human experience. But criteria of meaning and truth are by no means entirely dependent upon cultural context. Our contemporary awareness of the “relativity” of cultures and historical experiences must be complemented by a robust appreciation of the universality of Reason and citizenship.

Resettling Refugees in Rural and Regional Australia: Learning from Recent Policy and Program Initiatives

Conscious policy and program support for the resettlement of refugees in regional and rural areas is a relatively recent trend in Australia. Resettlement is a complex process that hinges on the establishment of viable communities. This review suggests that its outcomes, especially for refugee communities, are potentially mixed. However, an appropriately resourced, well managed and well planned refugee resettlement program can potentially provide beneficial outcomes for refugees and host communities. This article draws on existing empirical data and contributions made at a VicHealth Roundtable in late 2007 to thematically explore the challenges facing rural and regional resettlement programs. Given that settlement is a dynamic process and the approaches to rural and regional settlement are evolving, this article provides 12 propositions for a more effective and integrated approach to policy and practice.     

英语文化渗透式教学的实践与探讨

语言与文化具有紧密的联系。英语教学不应以通过考试为目的,而应注重提高实际生活中运用语言能力和交际能力。本文强调教学过程中应加强文化的渗透,利用多种渠道使学生了解中西文化的差异,并对英语教学中应注意的问题进行分析和探讨。     

高校学生党员先进性教育途径的探索

作者针对学生党员的思想状况进行了系统分析,针对学生党员思想问题的多样化与复杂性,试图探索高等院校加强和改进学生党员先进性教育的途径,使得高校学生党员先进性得到充分展示,进而使之成为高等院校思想政治工作得一面旗帜。同时,促进思想政治教育工作切实有效的开展。     

浅谈体育游戏在中学体育与健康课教学中的运用

体育游戏对于促进学生智力的发展,促进学生身体的生长发育,培养运动兴趣具有重要意义,对于提高中学体育与健康课的教学质量,顺利完成教学任务,具有积极的作用,体育游戏是进行中学体育与健康课教学的手段之一,是体育与健康课教育的重要方法。根据游戏的特点和价值,结合中学教材内容,正确科学选择游戏并合理组织实施,既能充分调动学生的情趣,又能很好地辅助教学任务的完成。     

论村民委员会作为乡村社会维权性组织的可能与路径

“三农”问题的实质是农民权益问题,作为村民自治组织的村民委员会应成为维护乡村社会权益的组织依托;当前在我国乡村治理的实践中,乡村自治性组织的维权性功能存在着缺位、错位和异化的现象,这是由诸多原因造成的;在社会主义新农村建设中应着力构建以保障农民权益为根本的乡村治理新机制,推进乡村自治组织的社会性复归;通过政治环境的发展、制度机制的重构、文化观念的培育,挖掘和塑造村民自治性组织作为村民群众维权性组织的组织资源和实践能力。     

Building the Rule of International Criminal Law: The Role of Judges and Prosecutors in the Apprehension of War Criminals

International criminal tribunals are weak institutions, especially since they do not have their own police forces to execute arrest warrants. Understandably then, much of the existing literature has focused exclusively on pressure from major powers and on changing domestic politics to explain the apprehension of suspected war criminals. In contrast, this article turns attention back to the tribunals themselves. I propose three ways in which the activities of international criminal tribunals impact compliance with arrest warrants: through the selection of individuals to indict, demonstrated leniency on some suspects and outreach to domestic legal professionals. Using a duration model that accounts for sample selection and data collected on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, I test these theories alongside other existing explanations. I find that court activities can have an independent effect on the successful implementation of international criminal law.

Why Do States Commission the Truth? Political Considerations in the Establishment of African Truth and Reconciliation Commissions

Although the use of truth and reconciliation commissions (TRCs) has grown considerably over the last 3 decades, there is still much that we do not know concerning the choice and the structuring of TRCs. While the literature has focused primarily on the effects of TRCs, we examine the domestic and the international factors influencing the choice of a commission in sub-Saharan Africa from 1974 to 2003 using pooled cross-sectional time series. We find that states which adopted a TRC prior to South Africa were generally repressive centralized regimes which used the truth commission as political cover. However, since South Africa’s TRC, democratizing states have been more likely to adopt a truth commission as a form of transitional justice.