Exclusivity of citizens’ initiatives: Fuel for collective action?

ABSTRACT

Self-organized citizens’ initiatives are a form of collective action and contribute to society through the production of public goods and services. Traditional collective action theory predicts that such initiatives are near impossible because of the persistent problems of free-riding. Citizens’ initiatives however do exist and function properly, and their numbers seem to be increasing in countries such as the Netherlands. This article argues that free-riding problems can be overcome when some form of exclusivity is arranged in citizens’ initiatives. We assume that citizens’ initiatives use active and/or passive strategies to limit free-riding behaviour. Using three illustrative cases, our research shows that position rules, boundary rules, and authority rules are used in a subtle and often implicit way to differentiate the level of influence and authority between the more and the less committed members, enabling collective action. Such rules, though advantageous, may be paradoxical to the goals of the citizens’ initiatives and can undermine the virtues associated with them.     

刑事诉讼的制度变迁与理论发展——从《刑事诉讼的中国模式》切入

根据《刑事诉讼的中国模式》一书展示的两个理论命题（合作性司法模式和案卷笔录中心主义）,以一种制度变迁的大历史观和理性行动者视角,站在社会科学研究的立场,分别从刑民边界模糊还是清晰、两种司法正义观的冲突以及时空交错背景下的刑事诉讼制度变迁三个角度对刑事诉讼法学中的一些重要的学理问题进行了深入探讨。基于此,对于未来的刑事诉讼制度变革,＂拿来主义＂式的法律移植效果恐怕不佳。在司法实践层面,我们可能需要更多地方性的制度创新和试错;在理论研究层面,则需要更多扎实的实证研究和基于中国问题的理论创新。     

新闻自由的法律界碑——“哈里王子裸照风波”引发的思考

新闻自由不仅会与民事主体名誉、隐私权产生冲突,甚至与法官的独立审判权产生冲突。解决冲突的方式是运用价值位阶理论与利益衡量理论为新闻自由和其它权利（力）之间竖立法律界碑。媒体构成侵犯公众人物的隐私权,主观上须有“实际恶意”;新闻自由如构成对公共安全的“明显和现行危险”时政府有权限制或取消;司法审判以公开的司法程序为原则,封闭的司法程序为例外。     

Mining with a ‘Vuvuzela’: reconfiguring artisanal mining in Southern Zimbabwe and its implications to rural livelihoods

The rural landscape of Zimbabwe has dramatically changed in the last decade. Zimbabwe inherited a racially biased land ownership pattern at independence in 1980 and 20 years on efforts by the state to address the colonial land imbalances have been largely unsuccessful. In 2000 the Zimbabwe government embarked on a controversial rapid land redistribution exercise that saw vast tracts of land previously owned by white commercial farmers taken over and distributed to mostly black Zimbabweans. Some authors have argued that there is no single story of the Fast Track Land Reform and Resettlement programme because of the myths and realities spread by the media. It is important to note that what happened in one province might not be similar to the other. Rural dwellers in the countryside had for years depended on agrarian livelihoods and the fact that more land had been availed by the state meant better livelihoods. However, this article argues that in spite of a widened horizon to pursue agrarian activities many people have actually drifted away from on-farm to off-farm livelihoods. This is true in the case of southern Zimbabwe where a large number of rural dwellers have chosen artisanal gold mining as a pathway in realising a livelihood. This article therefore focuses on the expansion of artisanal gold mining in southern Zimbabwe; particularly in southern Matabeleland. Using fieldwork as a method of data gathering, the article unravels the development of artisanal mining in this region and how it has been reconfigured after the hosting of the Soccer World Cup in South Africa 2010. In particular it shows how the metal detector technology (the Vuvuzela) availed by the hosting of the Soccer World Cup has found its way to the region and changed the gold panning process. Conclusions drawn from a detailed PhD study revealed that a significant number of southern Zimbabwe gold panners have adopted the metal detector technology as a way of expanding their trade.     

论量刑中的罪刑法定边界

量刑活动是否符合罪刑法定原则在司法上并非一个空洞的命题,其有着可操作的评价标准。这个标准既圈定了量刑与罪刑法定原则相契合的范围,也划定了量刑中的罪刑法定边界。基于罪刑法定的价值追求,在量刑中,罪刑法定的上限应止于具体法定刑幅度的最高刑;其下限则取决于由量刑情节所决定的实现罪刑相适应的需要。量刑中这样的罪刑法定边界,既是实现量刑合理与量刑合法有机统一的保障,也是规范量刑裁量权行使的藩篱与向导。     

知识产权的边界——和谐竞争的法治要求

知识产权是一种合法垄断,但对其不适当保护也有负面影响,尤其是知识产权权利扩张的异化和国际化趋势,阻碍了经济竞争和社会发展。因此,知识产权应有一定的权利边界,应构建知识产权利益平衡制度,并结合相关的反垄断制度和反不正当竞争制度等一系列政策、法规,促进和谐竞争和经济发展。     

论海洋边界争端与国际海洋法的发展——兼谈中日东海油气争端的解决

现代国际海洋法通过瑞典-挪威北海大陆架案奠定了海洋边界划分的一系列基本原则和制度。中日东海油气争端从根本上说源于中日东海边界争端,只有明确钓鱼岛等岛屿的划界效力问题和冲绳海槽在东海大陆架划界中的地位与作用,才能使中日东海边界争端和中日东海油气争端在公平原则的基础上,以和平方式创造性的解决。     

The politics of international redistribution: Explaining public support for fiscal transfers in the EU

As a consequence of the Eurozone crisis and the creation of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the prospect of a transfer union has become a particularly contested aspect of European integration. How should one understand the public backlash against fiscal transfers? And, what explains voter preferences for international transfers more generally? Using data from the 2014 European Elections Study (EES), this article describes the first cross-national analysis of voters’ preferences on international transfers. The analysis reveals a strong association between voters’ non-economic cultural orientations (i.e., their cosmopolitanism) and their position on transfers. At the same time, it is found that voters’ economic left-right orientations are crucial for a fuller understanding of the public conflict over transfers. This counters previous research that finds economic left-right orientations to be of little explanatory value. This study demonstrates that the association between economic left-right orientations and preferences for international transfers is conditional on a person's social class. Among citizens in a high-income class an economically left-leaning position is associated with support for transfers, whereas it is associated with opposition to transfers among citizens in a low-income class.     

Is democracy about redistribution?

Some scholars champion broad conceptualizations of democracy where distribution of economic resources is an integral part, whereas several prominent arguments drawing on narrower conceptualizations of democracy still assume that progressive redistribution is central to democratic politics. We empirically analyse individual opinions on whether progressive taxation and redistribution are among democracy's central characteristics. While many citizens around the world associate democracy with redistribution, we find that surprisingly few consider redistribution among the most central characteristics of democracy. We further analyse what factors affect individuals’ propensity to consider redistribution among democracy's most important features. Running multi-level models, we find that having lived under a communist regime and ? although less robust – currently living under democracy make individuals less likely to hold this notion. However, individuals with more to gain from progressive redistribution (that is, little education and belonging to lower classes) are more likely to hold it. We discuss how our findings help shed light on two puzzles in comparative politics; (I) why do democracies not promote more redistributive policies than autocracies, and (II) why is there no net relationship between income inequality and democratization?     

Postmortem Concentration and Redistribution of Diazepam,Methadone, and Morphine with Subclavian and Femoral Vein Dissection/Clamping

Postmortem redistribution (PMR) concerns blood drug concentration variations after death, depending on many factors such as sampling site and technique. In our study, we focused on sampling method. 30 cases were sampled, each at cardiac, subclavian, femoral, and popliteal sites. Targeted substances were diazepam, methadone, and morphine. Blind stick and dissection/clamping techniques were concomitantly performed at subclavian and femoral sites. Subclavian and femoral concentrations were compared according to technique used. To assess the influence of sampling technique on PMR, central/peripheral ratios were calculated depending on sampling method. Results show that drug concentrations tend to be lower when drawn from a clamped subclavian or femoral vein whereas ratios including subclavian and/or femoral blood concentration are influenced according to the technique used. In conclusion, clamping a subclavian or femoral vessel before sampling tends to result in lower drug concentrations and may influence ratios, suggesting the importance of isolating vessels from thoraco‐abdominal viscera.