The Sacred Kingdom and the Royal Wedding of 2011

Despite secularisation and increased religious diversity the UK state and the monarchy are religiously legitimated institutions which have their origins in protestant/catholic divisions over three hundred years ago but which remain strong enough to survive in the current era. The Church of England acts not only as the established church of England but as a church for the UK with respect to events such as the coronation and the royal wedding of 2011. Ecumenical and interfaith initiatives have been attempted by the government and the monarchy and were evident in attendance at the wedding but it demonstrated the ritual supremacy of the state church and the inevitable difficulties of seeking to achieve formal representation for religious diversity in the state. Attempts at more formally inclusive religious involvement in state institutions conflict with other goals such as gender equity and suggest that secular state institutions might be fairer to all religions, denominations and those with no beliefs.     

YouTube: A Political Advertising Tool? A Case Study of the Use of YouTube in the Campaign for the European Parliament Elections 2009

Political campaigns are made to attract the attention from citizens. The beginning of its adaption is linked to the appearance of the social media and user-generated content. Since the number of users of social network sites in Europe constantly grows, 2009 was the first time that these websites were used in political marketing purposes for the European Parliament elections. This is an exploratory study of the nature and extent of video-based social media, studied through the content analysis of YouTube videos created for the electoral campaign for the 2009 European Parliament . ( 2009 ). European elections . Retrieved from http://www.europarl.europa.eu/elections2009/default.htm?language=en  [Google Scholar] European Parliament elections by 13 political parties from four EU states. Results have shown the specificities of political advertising on the YouTube, a raising interest in social media among citizens in Europe, and the development of this way of campaigning.     

The effect of generation and age on turnout to the European Parliament – How turnout will continue to decline in the future

Electoral turnout has been declining at national elections in almost all Western democracies. European Parliament (EP) elections have followed the same trend. We utilize a previously suggested method for separating the effect of generation, age and period and show that a major part of the decline can be attributed to the difference in turnout between pre- and post-baby-boomer generations though there are substantial differences across countries. Age has a curvilinear effect on turnout even when generation is taken into account, but the age composition has remained relatively stable over time. We utilize the estimated coefficients to predict future changes in turnout as a result of the expected shifts in the generational and age compositions over the next 30 years. The results point to a continued decline in turnout to EP elections – especially between the years of 2020 and 2040.     

Whitewashing Hitler: ‘Revisionist’ history‐distorters at work

In April 1983 Canadians were shocked to learn of a politically active school teacher in Alberta who taught his students an antisemitic view of history. The teacher was dismissed but he had expressed antisemitic views in the classroom for years.     

Repression and reaction: militant democracy and the radical right in Germany and France

The June 2004 elections offered the British National Party unique opportunities for growth. There were three different elections being held at once: for seats on local councils, for the London mayor and the London Assembly, and for members of the European parliament (MEPs). Following boundary changes, the local council election was being conducted on a three-candidates-per-seat basis. The London and European elections were being run according to the rules of proportional representation. Both systems favour minor parties. The BNP went into the elections buoyed up by almost four years of considerable success. However, the party failed to achieve the gains anticipated. After several years that witnessed increasing votes, this was the first instance of the BNP vote stagnating. Renton explains the BNP's failure in terms of a series of factors: poor leadership, tactical errors, the hardening of Conservative anti-BNP voters, the press publicity garnered by the UK Independence Party, and the successful intervention of anti-BNP campaigners.     

英国有关海上保险法的最新修改议案及对中国的借鉴

为通过法律平衡被保险人和保险人之间的利益,反映现代保险实务的需要以及保证保险合同双方明确各自的权利和义务,英国法律委员会与苏格兰法律委员会自2006年起将保险合同法的审查和修改提上日程。法律委员会通过发布咨询文件的形式提出修改涉及英国《1906年海上保险法》多个重要条款的保险合同法的方案。整个法律修改项目预计于2012年完成,届时英国海上保险法会有很大程度的改变。通过介绍英国海上保险法的修改,为中国海商法相关问题的修改提供参考和借鉴。     

英国公用事业的民营化改革及其经验教训

英国公用事业的民营化改革具有深刻的经济、政治原因,英国采取了多种民营化形式,并取得了一定的成效;英国民营化后建立了由政府管制立法、执法和社会监督组成的管制框架;英国民营化改革的经验教训是多方面的,其中包括:法律制度是公用事业民营化改革的准则,政企分离是公用事业民营化改革的关键,竞争是提高公用事业经济效率的根本途径,有效竞争是制定公用事业管制政策的目标导向,政府应按照经济原理制定公用事业的管制价格。     

英国的警察投诉机制

21世纪警务活动的突出特点是人权理论在警务工作中的应用,为适应形势发展变化的需要,英格兰和威尔士,苏格兰,以及北爱尔兰先后进行了警察投诉管理体制的重大改革.北爱尔兰首先于1998年成立独立于当地警察机关的具有类似于警察机关权力的"警察监察署",负责调查当地的警察投诉案件.英格兰和威尔士于2004年成立类似于北爱尔兰"警察监察署"的"独立警察投诉委员会".苏格兰目前仍然由首席警官负责处理对于其所辖警区内警察的投诉,但是一系列变革正在酝酿之中,预计2006年下半年有望出台相关草案.     

浅析西方议会的财政权及对完善我国人大监督制度的启示

西方各国议会的财政权是议会监督制约政府施政行为的有效手段之一，议会拥有这项权力有着，深厚的理论基础。其内容主要包括征税、预算权和决算权，我国人大及其常委会也拥有此项职权，但是还需进一步完善，使之成为人大监督政府的一把利剑。