由环境群体性事件看我国参与式民主建设

环境群体性事件是我国公众基于维护生态利益而采取的环保自力救济行为的典型表现,实际上环保自力救济行为也为我国参与式民主政治建设提供了新的视角,解决生态问题内在地包含于以生态为导向的社会主义政治文明建设的理论逻辑与实践进程之中。有序的社会参与是建设社会主义政治文明和社会主义生态文明的双向要求和逻辑结合点,因此,在环境管理中引入社会参与机制,既是参与式民主理念在环境事务中的应用和深化,也是建设中国特色社会主义民主政治的现实选择。     

Campaigns and the prediction of election outcomes: Can historical and campaign-period prediction models be combined?

There are two approaches to predicting election outcomes: (1) a historical approach, which uses past election results alongside macroeconomic and political variables to forecast election results up to a year in advance, and (2) a campaign-oriented approach, which uses current campaign trends to forecast vote shares at the end of the campaign. They are in some way at odds—one approach says the campaign doesn't matter, the other focuses entirely on the campaign. This article considers whether the two approaches might be usefully combined; it considers whether the prediction errors in historical models may be related to trends during the campaign. That possibility is tested here using 17 elections in the US, UK and Canada, combining historical predictions and automated content analyses of campaign-period media content. Results suggest that campaigns do not account for errors in the historical predictions; but there may be other ways in which campaigns matter in conjunction with historical models.     

网络话语权的公共领域特征与话语民主的实现

网络作为公共舆论的重要平台,使得公民的话语权在网络空间得到全新的实现。网络公共领域的话语表达所表现出的匿名性、开放性、互动性等特点,使得网络话语权的行使具有传统媒体无可比拟的优势,成为公民问责和实践话语民主的重要形式。     

The Unruly Past: History and Historiography of the 1932 Thai Revolution

ABSTRACT

The monarchy and the country’s military dominate discussions of Thai political history. The country’s democratic history meanwhile is much less well known. To many people, historiography – the history of the writing of history – is a dull affair that only concerns academics. But the changing representations of the origins of democracy in the 1932 revolution that ended the absolute monarchy show the politics of history as a continuous problem that still shapes Thai society. The interpretations have been bound to the bitter partisanship that has accompanied a history of political instability. This article examines the changing interpretations of 1932 in their historical contexts and demonstrates the central antagonism towards the ideal of popular sovereignty, despite its long history in the country, that is still held by the military and monarchic elite.     

Post‐conventional Political Cultures via Processes of Direct Democracy: Theoretical Considerations Based on Jürgen Habermas and Lawrence Kohlberg

In this article, it is proposed to differentiate political cultures in two dimensions. First, inspired by Habermas' distinction of the contents of discourse, a distinction is suggested between moral, ethical‐political and pragmatic elements of political culture as well as of an element of culture of balancing interests. Second, inspired by Kohlberg's stage models for the development of the individual moral consciousness and for moral culture, a distinction is similarly suggested between two pre‐conventional, two conventional and two post‐conventional collective stages of political culture. It can be shown that from a normative point of view, only deliberations made in a post‐conventional political culture can produce reasonable or at least fair results. Conceptual considerations indicate processes of direct democracy as the method for promoting post‐conventional political cultures. The more liberty that the citizens have to formulate and trigger processes of direct democracy, the more one can expect from them to generate post‐conventional political cultures.     

The file on operation “Priboi”: A re-assessment of the mass deportations of 1949

Abstract

Using information from documents found in the Russian State Military Archives, this article discusses the organization and execution of the Soviet mass deportations from the Baltic States in March 1949 — code-named Operation “Priboi” by the USSR MVD. These findings are presented for the first time in English, in the context both of established historiographical interpretations and recent literature on the deportations. The aim is to encourage a scholarly reassessment of Operation “Priboi” as a crime against humanity perpetrated by the Soviet occupation regime, but supported by indigenous collaborators to a far greater degree than previously assumed.     

Text Matters: Some Reflections on the Forging of a New Constitutional Jurisprudence in South Africa

The South African Constitution establishes a constitutional democracy with a strong form of constitutional review. The Constitutional Court is required to declare invalid any legislation or conduct of the President which is inconsistent with the Constitution. The author, a former judge of the Constitutional Court, argues that the text of the Constitution has been an important determinant of the Court's jurisprudence, both in relation to the Court's jurisprudence concerning the institutional structures established by the Constitution and its Bill of Rights jurisprudence.     

Rethinking about Construction of China＇s Socialist Democratic Politics in the New Era--Review and Expectation of China＇s Socialist Democratic Politics Construction with 30 -years＇ Implementation of China Constitution

人民民主是我国社会主义国家政权的本质,发展社会主义民主,实现人民当家做主是我国宪法、宪政的核心使命。秉承这一使命,我国现行《宪法》实施30年来,极大地促进了我国社会主义民主政治的发展。然而,在当前我国社会主义建设的新时期,社会主义民主政治也面临着不少问题与挑战。因此,有必要结合既有成就,正视新时期的挑战,通过进一步推进我国现行《宪法》的实施,探索社会主义民主政治发展的新路向。而培育社会主义民主文化,关注公民身份、提升公民的民主行动能力,走社会主义民主渐进发展之路,促进我国社会主义民主制度的完善与创新则是最为重要的环节。     

新时期我国社会主义民主政治建设的新思考——现行《宪法》实施30年来我国社会主义民主政治建设的回顾与展望

人民民主是我国社会主义国家政权的本质,发展社会主义民主,实现人民当家做主是我国宪法、宪政的核心使命。秉承这一使命,我国现行《宪法》实施30年来,极大地促进了我国社会主义民主政治的发展。然而,在当前我国社会主义建设的新时期,社会主义民主政治也面临着不少问题与挑战。因此,有必要结合既有成就,正视新时期的挑战,通过进一步推进我国现行《宪法》的实施,探索社会主义民主政治发展的新路向。而培育社会主义民主文化,关注公民身份、提升公民的民主行动能力,走社会主义民主渐进发展之路,促进我国社会主义民主制度的完善与创新则是最为重要的环节。     

司法审查正当性论争之辨析

司法审查的正当性论争所造成的司法审查正当性困窘,堪称司法审查乃＂知难行易＂。辩解和诘难司法审查的两种立场,无不从民主、分权、人权与司法审查之关联以证立或驳斥司法审查,其中又内在地勾连着宪法的性质、立法与司法的关系、宪法解释的方法。此种理论上的分异乃至对立,端在于司法审查的正当性问题已非一般意义的司法的正当性问题,而是因司法审查内含修宪,遂转成为政治正当性问题。民主、分权、人权正是关联着司法审查权的依据、方式和目标三个方面,从而成为证立或驳斥司法审查所必然涉及者。而对民主、分权、人权的理解和判定,又往往人言人殊,由此造成理论上的各执一词、分庭抗礼。然而,在证立与驳斥司法审查之间,逻辑上的要求是不对等的。此所以司法审查在理论上困难重重,在实践上却大行其道。此亦所谓＂知行分离＂。