South Caucasus from 1918 to 1921: history and historical parallels with the contemporary era

The republics that make up the South Caucasus today gained brief independence after the fall of the Tsarist Empire, before the integration of the region into Bolshevik Russia. This period, even though short, gives interesting historical background to understand the present. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to study the South Caucasian republics from 1918 to 1921 at the regional and international levels, paying particular attention to the historical continuities with the contemporary era (since 1991). The results of the study show three main parallels between the early twentieth century (1918–1921) and the present. First, the region is still internally divided (e.g. the unresolved conflicts). Second, externally, it is torn between sometimes opposing powers (e.g. Russia and the Western powers). Finally, third, the partnerships with international or regional powers still remain asymmetrical; consequently, the need to cooperate with Russia exceeds the aspirations of the Western powers toward the South Caucasus. Based on archival research, this study contributes to the historiography of the region and gives a framework for understanding the South Caucasus in contemporary international relations.     

The European lavender vote: Sexuality,ideology and vote choice in Western Europe

In many European democracies, political punditry has highlighted the attempts of political parties on the left to court the ‘lavender vote’ of lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals. This article examines the presence of a gay vote in Western Europe with a focus on assessing the role of sexuality in shaping individuals’ political preferences and voting behaviour. Empirically, the effect of sexuality on both ideological identification as well as party vote choice is analysed. Using a cumulative dataset of eight rounds of the European Social Survey between 2002 and 2017, this article demonstrates that partnered lesbians and gay men are more likely than comparable heterosexuals to identify with the left, support leftist policy objectives and vote for left-of-centre political parties. The analysis represents the first empirical cross-national European study of the voting behaviour of homosexual individuals and sheds new light on the importance of sexuality as a predictor of political ideology and voting behaviour within the Western European context.     

Cross-pressures and the European lavender vote: Testing the conditionality of the sexuality gap

Emerging evidence points towards the existence of a “sexuality gap” in the political preferences and behaviour of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) voters and that of heterosexuals in Western Europe. Very little is known, however, about how this gap is moderated by socio-economic status. This paper tests the conditionality of the sexuality gap by analysing how the effect of LGB status is conditioned by income and education. Empirically, we rely on data from the European Social Survey (2002–2017) to analyse the marginal effect of sexuality in determining ideological placement, vote choice and support for economic redistribution across different income and education levels. The results demonstrate that the divergence between LGBs' and heterosexuals’ preferences only emerges amongst those with higher income and education. The findings also suggest that the sexuality gap may be the result of the asymmetric effect of these socio-economic variables for LGBs and heterosexuals.     

简论晚明“中西哲学对决”之主要格式

晚明"中西哲学对决"之主要格式有:以亚里士多德"四因说"驳道家之"无"与释家之"空";以西洋哲学"实体-属性"之说驳中国哲学之"太极"与"理";用西洋哲学中之"发生论"释读"理生天地万物"之"生";以西洋哲学固有之"白板说"反驳儒家之"性本善"及"复初"说;以西洋"三司"知识论释读儒家之"仁"与"义";以西洋"生死"说置换儒家之"生死"说;以西洋哲学之"成见"颠覆中国"仁者以天地万物为一体"之观念;以西洋哲学中之"材料"与"形质"释读中国哲学之"气";以"物之元质"释读"太极";以西洋"原罪"说释读中国哲学之"恶";以西洋"定性论"驳中国"随性论";以西洋哲学之"本体论"驳中国哲学;等等。     

Keeping the rascals in: Anti‐political‐establishment parties and their cost of governing in established democracies

Coalition governments in established democracies incur, on average, an electoral ‘cost of governing’. This cost varies across coalition partners, and is higher for anti‐political‐establishment parties. This is because, if such a party participates in a coalition, it loses the purity of its message by being seen to cooperate with the political establishment. In order to demonstrate that anti‐political‐establishment parties suffer an additional cost of governing, this article builds on the work by Van der Brug et al. and refines the standard cost of governing theory by ‘bringing the party back in’. The results of the analyses, based on 594 observations concerning 51 parties in seven Western European countries, cast doubt on the conventional concept of a cost of governing that pertains to all parties equally. The findings call for a major revision of the standard cost of governing literature, while adding a significant contribution to the debate on strategies against parties that may constitute a danger to democracy.     

19世纪末西方在华传教士的朝鲜观——以《教务杂志》为中心的考察

19世纪中叶以前的朝鲜，从未进入西方世俗世界的视野中。这种状况在19世纪60年代以后逐步改变。实际上，在整个19世纪后半叶，西方列强和崛起的日本都将侵略的矛头对准了朝鲜。伴随着列强侵略的进程，“隐士之国”朝鲜被揭开了神秘面纱。在向世人揭开朝鲜面纱时，西方传教士在中国创办的《教务杂志》（TheChineseRecorder）发挥了重要作用。由于西方传教士长久生活于朝鲜社会中，更少有功利性，因而反映的朝鲜面目更具有真实性和全面性。     

Age,period and cohort analysis in a comparative context: Political generations and political participation repertoires in Western Europe

This paper presents a method for studying age-period-cohort effects in a comparative context where repeated cross-sectional data are available covering a suitably long period of time. The method consists in the application of multi-level models with country as the higher level of analysis and random coefficients to model variables which vary at the country-level. Additionally, the application of generalized additive models (GAMs) and generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs) provides robust empirical tests of cohort categorizations applied in this and previous studies to estimate otherwise collinear effects. To illustrate the method, I derive and test the theory that generations will be differentiated in their patterns of participation based on the ascendancy of certain repertoires in the era of their political socialization.     

论中世纪西欧犹太妇女在犹太会堂中的地位和作用——以法、德为个案

尽管犹太妇女在犹太会堂中的地位依然受到传统的犹太律法及习俗的束缚,但是在中世纪的西欧,尤其是在12-13世纪的法国和德国,犹太妇女在犹太会堂中的地位仍然有了很大的改善.她们不仅拥有自己的会堂或者祈祷室,而且有自己的领唱员(cantor),犹太妇女不仅在安息日而且在平时也去会堂进行公共祈祷.除此之外,犹太妇女还积极地参加会堂的慈善活动.这不仅丰富了犹太妇女的精神生活,提高了犹太妇女的宗教和社会地位,而且极大地改善了犹太妇女的社会形象.     

The Uniform Civil Code: The Politics of the Universal in Postcolonial India

This article speaks of a debate in contemporary India: that surrounding the validity of enacting a civil code that applies uniformly to all communities and religions in the state. In certain feminist arguments, such a code is seen as possibly providing a sphere of rights to Indian women that is alternative to the rights – or wrongs – given to them by the plural religious laws, which form the basis of the civil law in India. India, however, is a heterogeneous polity, encompassing a diversity of cultures and religions, some dominant and others forming minorities. Given these differences, some critics see the feminist call for a Uniform Civil Code as an essentialist move that prioritises gender over other agendas and politics. They argue that the site of the ‚universal’ in this feminist move is a liberal site that inherently excludes marginalised Others and benefits the dominant subjects in India. In my article, I contest this critique and question whether the site of the universal and its authorial subject in postcolonial India is, in fact, an exclusionary liberal ruse of power. I draw insights from the history of the formation of the postcolonial nation-state in India to posit an experience of the state and the universal within it, which is alternative to the Western liberal model. The aim of this article is, therefore, not so much to debate the in/validity of a Uniform Civil Code, as to address certain contemporary post-structuralist critiques of the site of the universal in postcolonial India and posit a departure from them, based on perspectives drawn from history.     

西部名城旅游开发ASEB—SWOT矩阵分析法的应用

西部历史文化名城以其资源优势已成为旅游者向往的重要旅游目的地,对区域经济发展和产业结构调整起到重要作用.但许多西部名城的旅游开发长期处于低层次的发展状态中,难以有效的跨越式大发展.本文在旅游体验理论的指导下,通过ASEB-SWOT矩阵分析方法,针对性的对西部名城旅游目的地TDCS系统进行深入分析判断,找出面临的优势、机遇和劣势、威胁,逐步改善和加强TDCS自身的活动、环境、体验和利益,促进西部地区历史文化名城旅游业的快速发展.