The Free Economy and the Schizophrenic State: Ideology and the Conservatives

This article focuses on Michael Howard's ideas to illustrate ideological developments within the Conservative party. It recognises that the ideas of a democratic organisation cannot be represented by the thoughts of a single individual, but Howard provides useful insights. He won the leadership unopposed in November 2003 partly because he seemed likely to perform well in debates with Tony Blair, but also because he offered the prospect of policy reform on a range of issues without a radical departure from the Thatcher legacy.
Soon after becoming leader Howard issued an unusually detailed statement of his beliefs. This showed him to be a convinced economic liberal, whose thinking has been heavily influenced by America. The main departure from Thatcherism is that he is even more antipathetic towards the state. This is difficult to reconcile with his support for UK 'sovereignty' within the EU, his hard line on law and order issues, and his insistence that there are no plans to privatise the NHS. It is unlikely to provide a platform for a significant Tory recovery.     

Money Matters: The Financing of the Conservative Party

The article examines the financing of the Conservative Party in the aftermath of the 2001 general election. An examination of the party's income and expenditure shows that pre-2001 patterns remain - the Conservatives are the poorer of the two main parties but continue to be the principal recipient of corporate and in-kind donations. However, the article also demonstrates that income rose sharply in the aftermath of the change of leadership in 2003, suggesting that this change may have stimulated donations. Also, as for other parties, questions of probity continue to arise following larger donations but, like Labour, the Conservatives oppose any caps on political giving.     

Déjà vu? Conservative Problems in Historical Perspective

Since 2001, the Conservative party has found itself in turbulent times. Yet the party has survived similarly difficult periods in the past, eventually recovering its strength and returning to power. Can it do so again? The problems for today's party exist along four key dimensions: leadership, policy, organisation and political circumstances. How grave are contemporary difficulties in each of these areas in comparison to past experience? To what extent is the party now in uncharted waters? Where are there valid historical parallels? The article offers a brief sketch of the lessons that the party needs to learn to recover its election winning formula ‐ an appetite for power and an impressive ability to adapt to changed circumstances. Today's problems are not insurmountable, but the party still has a huge mountain to climb if it is to return to government.     

唤醒沉睡的马中关系（1970—1974年）：马中建交前马来西亚华人在社会与文化互动中的角色

本文借助多种资料与文献,分析了1970年到1974年间以李引桐和曾永森为代表的几位马来西亚华人以及一些马来西亚华人团体和个人的活动,试图探讨马来西亚华人怎样通过社会文化互动来促成马中建交。因此可见民间渠道或跨国社会文化互动与官方渠道是相辅相成的。社会和文化互动不仅唤醒了沉睡已久的马中关系,最后还迎来了两国政府和人民的双赢局面。     

The Two Sides of Recognition: Gender Justice and the Pluralization of Social Esteem

Abstract

This article seeks to sketch the contours of a good society, distinguished by its gender justice and the plural recognition of egalitarian difference. I begin by reconstructing Nancy Fraser's arguments highlighting the link between distributive justice and relations of recognition, in particular as it applies to gender justice. In a second step, I show that the debate on the politics of recognition has confirmed what empirical analyses already indicated, namely that Fraser's status model takes too reductive a stance towards the identity-constituting effects of relations of recognition. The simple demand that identities be recognized, however, glosses over the paradox of recognition, which arises out of the ambiguity between the demand for equal respect and the demand for the recognition of difference. This paradox cannot be resolved unless one takes into consideration the compensatory effect of value pluralism, that is, the inherent pluralism of recognition, well captured in the notion of "egalitarian difference".     

The elusiveness of regional order: Leifer,the English school and Southeast Asia

Abstract

‘Regional order’ was Michael Leifer's yardstick of choice to assess the international relations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Leifer's recurrent theme was how elusive, and at times how illusory, regional order was for Southeast Asia. The elusiveness of regional order is attributed to ASEAN's lack of a set of genuinely shared assumptions about their interrelationships with each other and external states. This article challenges Leifer's portrait of a Southeast Asia devoid of regional order. I argue that Leifer's notion of order is theoretically underdeveloped and methodologically imprecise, allowing the analyst to see disorder in every minor perturbation in the region. I propose replacing ‘regional order’ with ‘peace and stability’, the preferred terms of the discourse by ASEAN's policy elites. By the latter criteria, ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific, contrary to the skeptics, have made impressive progress in the last forty years.     

试论巴赫金有关理论对妇女研究的启发与借鉴

米哈伊尔@巴赫金被认为是20世纪最伟大的思想家之一,他在哲学、美学、诗学、语言学、符号学、历史文化学以及人类学等学科领域均有重大建树.西方女性主义者已注意到巴赫金对话、狂欢化、复调理论对性别研究的指导意义并运用到实践中.相比而言,国内有关巴赫金的研究还主要局限在文艺学、诗学、美学等领域,希望女性研究界能够在哲学、社会学层面上发现其理论中有关平等、对话等思想对女权主义、性别研究的启发与借鉴意义,从而丰富国内妇女研究的视野.     

Three prejudices against terrorism

This article criticises three assumptions regarding terrorism and the agents who carry it out: (1) terrorists are always indiscriminate in their targeting; (2) terrorism is never effective in combating oppression; and (3) terrorists never participate in fair negotiations, as they merely wish to switch places with their oppressors. By criticising these three prejudices against terrorism, the article does not attempt to justify or excuse terrorism generally nor in the specific case of Sri Lanka which is examined. Instead, it creates the necessary room for such justifications or excuses to be critically appraised by dismantling some popular myths surrounding terrorism.     

Meritocracy,Elitism and Inequality

The appeal of meritocracy is plain to see, because it appears to promote equality of opportunity. However, in this paper we argue that meritocracy is also a deeply elitist project. Firstly, we place Michael Young in context to show how his critique of meritocracy should be understood as a socialist vision to ameliorate class divides. Secondly, we show how economic inequality in the UK has not generated systematic resistance: in fact, inequality and belief in meritocracy have gone hand in hand. Thirdly, we argue that people see their own lives as meritocratic rather than ascribed, and that such values are deeply embedded in popular life. We offer two explanations for how such views have come about, and show how they have helped construct a more unequal society.     

After Michael Banton: some reflections on his contributions to the study of race

ABSTRACT

A year after the death of Michael Banton, Solomos focuses on his contributions to the study of race and ethnic relations. Over a period that began in the 1950s and continued until his death on 22 May 2018, Banton continued to make important contributions to a number of scholarly areas, including the study of race relations in urban communities, the history of racial thought, policing and community relations, and the understanding of race equality policies. His work in all of these areas has helped to shape a field of scholarship and research, and is likely to remain a point of reference for future generations of researchers. In reflecting on Banton’s varied contributions Solomos argues that there is much to be gained from engaging with his work. He concludes by exploring some of the critiques of his key contributions.