The Curious Incident of Mr Cameron and the United Kingdom Defence Budget: A New Legacy?

During 2015 Prime Minister Cameron found himself under intense domestic and international pressure over his apparent reluctance to maintain United Kingdom defence spending at the NATO target level of 2 per cent of GDP. Most commentators attributed this reluctance to the inevitability of defence cuts if the government wished to meet its deficit reduction targets. However, the aftermath of the general election saw a sudden decision to maintain UK defence spending at the NATO target level. This u‐turn is one of the more curious episodes in recent British defence policy. In this article we explore the reasons why, at a time of continuing cuts and austerity measures and against all the political signals, a decision was made to meet the 2 per cent target, and what this means for the UK's defence policy. In doing so, we analyse why most commentators assumed that defence cuts were inevitable, the domestic and international factors that explain the government's apparent u‐turn and what this revised defence budget settlement meant for the new 2015 National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review.     

Book Review: Divorced From Reality: Rethinking Family Dispute Resolution by Jane C. Murphy and Jana B. Singer

This essay summarizes key points from the book and observes the very different players and processes involved when families in poverty enter the family court system.     

行政复议法的定位及完善建议

我国《行政复议法》自1999年颁布以来,发挥了很大的作用,随着行政法治进程的不断推进,《行政复议法》的修改共识大于争议。通过以行政复议功能定位、分析实施现状和存在的问题为切入点,对复议体制、范围、程序、决定等方面提出完善建议,将有效地促进我国依法行政的进程。力图构建一个真正和谐、公正、高效的救济机制。     

文莱:2013年发展回顾与 2014 年展望

2013年,文莱政治社会继续保持稳定,经济保持增长;外交上,作为东盟轮值主席国,主持举办了年度一系列东盟会议及东亚峰会等国际会议。展望2014年,文莱经济社会的发展还将继续保持2013年的格局。     

大湄公河次区域合作国内外研究：回顾与分析

1992年,大湄公河次区域合作（驻亚洲开发银行的倡导下正式启动。同时,国内外关于大湄公河次区域合作的研究也逐渐兴起。目前大湄公河次区域合作的国内研究以经济路径为主,涵盖诸多议题。国外研究则主要围绕大湄公河次区域的水资源安全、生态环境保护、区域治理3个议题开展。大湄公河次区域合作的国内研究需要“取长补短,拓展视野”,在研究路径和议题选择上有所突破和推进。     

论大学自治权与学生权利的平衡——从台湾地区司法实践切入

大学自治权不仅涉及与外部国家公权力的关系,也涉及与内部学生权利的关系。从外部视角而言,台湾地区大学自治权获得了宪法性保障地位,不仅可以对抗行政权的不法干涉,也可以对抗立法权的不当规范;从内部视角来看,校园传统的特别权力关系理论被彻底破除,大学生获得了全面的诉讼权。在此背景下,如何在尊重大学自治权与有效救济学生权利之间寻求恰当的途径成为司法实践的关键。台湾地区司法机关在经历一系列的实务尝试后,放弃了合法性审查模式,确立正当性审查模式。这种司法经验值得大陆借鉴。     

比例原则的中国宪法依据新释

比例原则已被全球法治实践反复证明属于人权保障的利剑,必将成为中国合宪性审查的基本标准。为了更好地推进合宪性审查,并消除对比例原则适用范围与功能的误解,有必要探寻比例原则在中国的宪法依据。通过解释我国《宪法》中“权利义务一致性”“基本权利”“人格尊严”“法治国”“征收征用”等条款的尝试,均不能很好或完全地推导出比例原则。比例原则的本质在于调整权力与权利、权利与权利之间的关系,其功能在于合理确定国家权力与公民权利的界限。比例原则内置于权利和权力之中。通过解释我国《宪法》第51条的“权利的限度”条款和第33条第3款的“国家尊重和保障人权”条款,可以得出比例原则在中国具有宪法依据,属于宪法基本原则。     

Book reviews

Global Transformations: Politics, Economics and Culture. By David Held, Anthony McGrew, David Goldblatt and Jonathan Perraton. Cambridge: Polity, 1999. Pp.xxiii + 515. £59.50 and £16.99. ISBN 0 7456 1498 1 and 1499 X

Housing and Finance in Developing Countries. Edited by Kavita Datta and Gareth A. Jones. London and New York: Routledge, 1999. Pp.xxiii + 270. £50. ISBN 0 415 17242 X

Comprehending and Mastering African Conflicts: The Search for Sustainable Peace and Good Governance. Edited by Adebayo Adedeji. London and New York: Zed Books, in association with African Centre for Development and Strategic Studies (Ijebu‐Ode, Nigeria), 1999. Pp.xxii + 384. £50 and £16.95. ISBN 1 85649 762 3 and 763 1

Income Poverty and Beyond: Human Development in India. Edited by Raja J. Chelliah and R. Sudarshan. New Delhi: Social Science Press, 1999. Pp.xxvi + 221. Rs 395. ISBN 81 87358 00 9

Fiscal Decentralisation in Developing Countries. Edited by Richard M. Bird and Francois Vaillancourt. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. Pp.xiv + 304. £37.50 (US$59.95). ISBN 0 521 64143 8

The Future of Development Assistance: Common Pools and International Public Goods. By Ravi Kanbur and Todd Sandier with Kevin M. Morrison. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Press, 1999. ODC Policy Essay No.25. Pp.x + 106. $34.95/£10.50. ISBN 1 56517 026 1

The Global Crisis in Foreign Aid. Edited by Richard Grant and Jan Nijman. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1998. Pp.xxiv + 224. $34.95. ISBN 0 8156 2771 8

Economic Development. By Michael P. Todaro. Harlow: Addison Wesley Longman, 2000. Seventh Edition. Pp.xxvi + 783. £24.99 (paperback). ISBN 0 201 64858 X

Growth and Development: With Special Reference to Developing Economies. By A.P. Thirlwall. Basingstoke: Macmillan Press, 1999. Sixth Edition. Pp.xvii + 521. £62.50 and £21.99. ISBN 0 333 74678 3 and 74679 1

Economics of Development. By Malcolm Gillis, Dwight H. Perkins, Michael Roemer and Donald R. Snodgrass. London: W.W. Norton, 1996. Fourth Edition. Pp.xvi + 604. £23.95 (paperback). ISBN 0 393 96957 6

A Finger in the Wound: Body Politics in Quincentennial Guatemala. By Diane M. Nelson. Berkeley CA: University of California Press, 1999. $55.00 and $22.00. Pp.xvii + 450. ISBN 0 520 21284 3 and 21285 1     

东南亚2011～2012年形势回顾与展望———专家访谈录

本刊编辑部邀请部分东南亚研究专家、学者对2011～2012年东南亚形势作简要的回顾与展望。