完善公共政策制定中的公民参与机制——基于SWOT分析的路径选择

公民参与公共政策制定是民主政治发展的必然趋势,是确保社会价值公平分配的重要途径。随着我国社会主义市场经济体制的完善和民主法制建设进程的推进,公民作为公共政策制定主体的重要组成部分,其参与的意识和要求也随之增强。因此,构建完善的公民参与机制已成为政府迫切需要解决的问题。本文采用SWOT分析法对公共政策制定中公民参与的优势、劣势、机会及威胁等四个方面进行分析,并在此基础上提出其完善的路径。     

浅谈我国对吸毒行为刑事政策的应有调整

我国对吸毒人员一贯采取治病救人、教育改造的刑事政策,惩罚色彩很弱。至今为止,我国法律对吸毒行为的最严厉措施仅限于劳动教养。然而,走私、贩卖毒品等犯罪的愈演愈烈与对吸毒行为的控制不力是有密切关系的。鉴于吸毒行为本身的社会危害性以及现有保安措施的缺陷,《刑法》应对某些严重的吸毒行为增设吸毒罪予以刑罚规制。与此同时,其他法律法规中对吸毒人员所制定的保安处分措施也应加以完善。只有打防并举、多管齐下,才能遏制日益严重的毒品违法犯罪。     

我国外资准入制度的现状、问题及其重构

我国对外资不区分行业一律进行普遍的多元行政审批,不仅导致审批效率的低下与行政资源的浪费,而且不利于实现合理利用、引导外资为我国经济结构调整及产业升级服务的政策目标。外资准入制度的改革是一项需多方协调配合的系统工程。实体性行业政策的科学制定是外资准入制度重构的前提与基础。审批程序的改革则需区分具体行业,从鼓励类、允许类等对我国国民经济冲击较小的行业开始,分层次、分步骤地逐步简化外资准入的审批层级,合理限定审批内容。另外,在优化审批程序的同时,应构筑多重风险防范体系,通过国家安全审查、反垄断审查等立体化制度安排,防范外资对我国尚处于发展中的国民经济体系造成过度冲击。     

公共政策、经济发展与政治稳定——中国农村基层民主发展逻辑

村民自治是贯穿我国农村基层民主发展过程中的基本逻辑。首先,公共政策制定是村民自治的运行基础,村民自治为公共政策执行树立了正确的价值导向。其次,农村经济发展与基层民主运行互为因果,经济发展促进了社会结构变迁并有助于民主价值观的形成。再次,公共政策执行与政治参与的适应程度是决定农村政治稳定的关键诱因,其不仅推动了民主的发育成长,而且维持了整个基层农村经济的繁荣,为民主的发育提供充分的空间,保障了基层政府的稳定。     

大学生“村官”政策实施中的若干问题及对策

大学生＂村官＂政策作为一项贯彻落实科学发展观、统筹城乡发展、构建和谐社会的长远战略,具有重大意义。在其实施过程中,出现了大学生＂村官＂自身能力不足、相关法律法规与配套机制不完善、社会环境及农村具体工作环境复杂等问题。各部门应加强对大学生＂村官＂的思想政治教育,完善相关法律法规及管理体制,整合多方资源,积极探索更适合大学生＂村官＂政策的发展思路,促进大学生＂村官＂的科学化管理。     

刑事政策走向下我国缓刑制度的完善

在不断坚持宽严相济刑事政策的司法语境下,完善我国的缓刑制度是极为必要的。目前,我国缓刑制度还存在适用形式单一、适用条件难以操作、执行流于形式,监管处于失控状态等不足。完善我国的缓刑制度,应当从缓刑的适用形式、实质条件、适用程序、考察制度、撤销制度等方面入手。     

Scrutiny in English Local Government and the Role of Councillors

Overview and Scrutiny Committees were introduced in England and Wales in the Local Government Act 2000 that ended the role the full council and its committees as the locus of decision‐making for most local authorities. Overview and scrutiny committees composed of councillors not on small decision‐making executives were tasked with holding these to account. The performance of scrutiny committees is variable. Generally they work best where they concentrate on reviews of policy and practice, with recommendations following from well‐researched reports. The paper reviews the difficulties which arise when scrutiny committees endeavour to hold powerful executives to account, and suggests that to strengthen this new legislation is required, in particular to institutionalise scrutiny committees as agencies of the full council, the representative body for the area, comparable to the way in which the select committees at Westminster are the agencies of the Parliament.     

Public opinion, party messages, and responsibility for the financial crisis in Britain

The political consequences of the crisis in world financial markets are only beginning to be understood. In this article, we take up one of these many repercussions by examining public beliefs of who’s to blame for a complex and unparalleled set of events. Analyses of survey data from Britain find that while most assign responsibility for the crisis to market actors, the likelihood of blaming governments, as opposed to blaming banks and investors, is greater among low sophisticates and Conservative Party identifiers. We further show how elite messages from competing political elites evolved over-time and were reflected in mass beliefs about the crisis. Results highlight the centrality of partisan cues and, in particular, of political sophistication in understanding the dynamics of responsibility attributions. Lastly, we estimate the consequences of blaming the government for the crisis for voter choice.     

Accounting for Future Generations: Intergenerational Equity in Australia1

Australian governments have published three intergenerational reports since 2002. In line with a general international trend these reports pointed to a problem said to arise from an ageing population which exposes Australia to the risk of a future major fiscal crisis. In this article we argue that by failing to use a generational accounting framework, the reports privilege the elderly at the expense of young people. Added to this, they fail to engage any discussion of intergenerational equity defined as distributive fairness and justice. In this article we explore the value of various approaches to intergenerational justice, focusing on the Principle of Intergenerational Neutrality derived from Rawls' theory of justice. We argue that this does not work as well from a policy point of view as Sen's freedom‐as‐capabilities approach. We conclude that linking Sen's approach to justice to a generational accounting will enable governments to address future issues of equity.     

Delivering Science into Public Policy: An Analysis of Murray‐Darling Basin Sustainable Yields Assessment as a Model for Impact

The desire to base policy at least in part upon scientific information is a clear trend in Australian governance. The growing literature on how to facilitate this intent highlights a few important principles complemented by examples from the application of social sciences. An example from a very large research project based on physical sciences responding to a national crisis is presented in the context of how it approached delivery to policy‐makers. The Murray‐Darling Basin Sustainable Yields Assessment, widely considered an outstanding success in both scientific terms and for its impact, is reviewed with respect to how the scientific challenge of assessing the future security of water resources in Australia's most important and politically contentious catchment translated into the policy domain. The lessons learned offer a potential template for science with policy intent.