South Africa as an emerging power: from label to ‘status consistency’?

South Africa proudly wears the label ‘emerging power’, with its membership of the BRICS and G20 probably the most visible signs of this conferred status. This paper explores the concept of the emerging powers within the context of current global power shifts and locates South Africa within this group. It discusses the criteria for and characteristics of emerging powers, and then turns to some of the constraints and challenges faced by these states. Specific attention is paid to the ‘how’ of these states' recognition and inclusion in global institutions and the impact of domestic conditions and regional politics on their positions, focusing particularly on South Africa. It concludes that these factors will continue to challenge South Africa's ability to rise above the semblance of importance conferred by its inclusion in the category of emerging powers to a position in which it exercises this status to its own advantage, including its idealistic objectives of promoting greater global equality and recognition for Africa and the global South. Although other emerging powers face similar challenges, South Africa's domestic constraints and related lack of regional and global reach, politically and economically, threaten its ‘status consistency’ as an emerging power.     

Norms,Behavioral Compliance,and Status Attribution in International Politics

Extant work on status attribution has largely focused on major powers or state capabilities as key explanatory factors driving these social processes and suggests that status considerations increase conflicts between states. We argue for a more comprehensive approach to status attribution that considers international norms as another major factor that is weighed in the attribution process. We contend that states (policymakers) evaluate one another not only on the basis of economic and military capabilities but also on the extent to which there is behavioral conformance with normative expectations and reward one another dependent upon whether these expectations are met. However, this attribution of status is dependent upon the level of contestation pertaining to that norm. Using a data set that assesses consistency with six different norms (resource transference, multilateralism, economic liberalism, democratic governance, respect for human rights, and peaceful dispute resolution), we find that status attribution is associated with norm-consistent behavior but only when these norms are uncontested at the global level.     

Protection and Regulations to Status Property of Rich Second Generation

The status property of rich second generation is based on protection of status relations and private property rights, private property lateral expanse to the family property, and vertical expanse to inheritance property, but the current legal right of property has also shaped the power of the rich second generation. Policies for rich second generation should be based on the property nature of private right and sociality, the efficiency of property possession, the intergenerational equity to inheritance, and the abuse of property rights. Rich second generation have limited legitimacy to the property. It is necessary to improve the system of equity and trust to serve their property, and use the estate tax to achieve balance of interests between individual and society, but also need to overcome the fairness of procedure to constraint abuse of power.     

关于提高环卫职工社会地位的思考

提高环卫职工社会地位 ,必须加大社会舆论宣传 ;建立环卫行业多渠道融资机制 ;强化法制建设 ,切实维护环卫职工合法权益 ;提高环卫职工自身素质。     

中国地方人大制度的研究现状与展望

中国的地方人大制度近年来引起了国内外学术界的不断关注。国外研究的最大特点是较为注重实证分析和模式构建 ,具有较强的学术价值。但是由于价值准则的误用和分析层面的局限 ,这种研究难免存在着一些不足之处。与此相对 ,国内的研究则带有很强的规范研究和对策研究的成份。总体上可以将国内的研究概括为制度描述、制度完善、工作改进和行为统计这几种途径。国内研究的最大优势是一手材料的利用和价值准则的趋同 ,但是由于实证程度和模式构建力度的不足 ,同样也存在着需要完善的地方。要真正提升地方人大的研究层次 ,就有必要从中国地方人大的产生和运作过程中去寻找制度层面的内在动力。     

香港慈善组织的发展与启示

香港的慈善组织遍及社会生活的各个方面,在数百年来香港社会的进步中扮演了重要角色。市场、法治、政府、制度以及文化等因素在香港慈善组织的蓬勃发展中发挥了重要作用。我国内地非政府组织应该有效借鉴香港经验,重塑政府与非政府组织关系,改变思维,建立多元文化,从而使我国非政府组织事业逐步走向发展与成熟。     

试析我国公务员的地位

本文从地位的含义入手,根据《公务员法》所规定的“公务员是依法履行公职的人”的公务员的性质,从公务员与国家权力之间的关系,分析得出结论,公务员是人民的勤务员的结论。     

我国应当尽快确立电子商务证据的法律地位

随着电子商务的普及推广,电子商务证据与现行法律规定发生冲突,已在司法实践中显现出来。在我国,这种冲突主要体现在电子商务证据的种类、形式等方面,借鉴世界各国和国际社会的不同做法,我国应对其合法地位作出相应的法律规定,以适应电子商务发展的需要。     

浅论我国农民的市场主体地位

我国现阶段的农民,由于体制性原因,其身份意义重于职业意义,使其市场主体地位处于残缺状态,这在投资者、经营者、劳动者、消费者等主体制度中均有突出表现.为确立农民的完整市场主体地位,在立法和政策上,应当采取减少农民与富裕农民、市场机制和政府干预、反歧视与偏重保护、国家保护与团体维权、经济支持与社会保障、增加农民收入与提高农民素质并重的对策.     

防止政府脱离人民民主专政的国家本质--马克思主义国家学说的重要启示

代表最广大人民群众的根本利益,充分体现人民民主专政的国家本质,是当前我国政府体制改革的重大问题。确立人民群众在社会公共管理中的主体地位,促进政府与人民群众在公共领域的合作,是有效防止政府脱离人民民主专政国家本质的根本途径。马克思主义国家学说所揭示的这一基本原理,为防止政府脱离人民民主专政的国家本质提供了锐利武器。