A Semicolon,Not a Full Stop

正Ukraine’s new president faces big challenges in managing both domestic affairs and relations with Russia Ukrainian candy tycoon Petro Poroshenko’s presidential election victory was unsurpris-ing.What did come as a surprise,however,was that it happened in     

Beyond for or against? Multi-option alternatives to a corrective referendum

Referendums commonly offer a binary choice between supporting and rejecting proposed legislation. Binary designs benefit from simplicity and guarantee a majority result, but also provoke voting biases and interpretation challenges. Referendum designs offering multiple policy alternatives provide a different approach which could alleviate binary referendum challenges whilst maintaining the aggregative benefits. Offering more than two options, however, raises new challenges in designing the referendum process and obtaining majority results. This article uses survey data collected on a corrective referendum held in the Netherlands in 2018 to compare the challenges faced by binary and multi-option referendum designs respectively. The analysis demonstrates how the multi-option design empowers voters in expressing their preferences and delivers more detailed and constructive referendum results. Building on the survey data, the article subsequently discusses the challenges of extending choice and concludes that alternative voting methods can mitigate some of these challenges.     

Decolonisation and comparative land reform with a special focus on Africa

Abstract

One of the principles guiding the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963 was the need to eradicate colonialism and to ensure the total emancipation of African territories and its peoples. The African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights adopted in 1981 grants all peoples the right to self-determination, through which to freely determine their political status and pursue their social and economic development. The last two African countries to gain independence from apartheid and white minority rule, namely Namibia and South Africa, have taken different approaches to land and tenure reform. The year 2013 marked 100 years since the enactment of the Natives Land Act 27 of 1913 in South Africa that led to the indigenous majority population having access to only 13% of the land while the white minority had access to 87% of the land. The year 1913 is also the current cut-off point for recognising land claims. The South African government has recently taken initiatives aimed at improving the pace of land reform, which currently stand at 5% of the land being transferred to black South Africans against a target of delivering 30% by 2014. While the government has called for patience in this regard, some urgent intervention is required, lest South Africans lose patience and undertake land invasions on a sustained basis.     

Domestic violence and child participation: contemporary challenges for the 1980 hague child abduction convention

ABSTRACT

This article addresses two contemporary challenges for the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention: (i) domestic violence and (ii) child participation. It also outlines three components of a global socio-legal policy and research initiative undertaken to address these issues and, where relevant, their intersection. The published literature on these topics, including the children’s objections exception, is explored, as are the ways in which these challenges are addressed within some of the 101 Contracting States to the Convention and through the Guide to Good Practice on Article 13(1)(b) of the Convention. Regard is paid to the data provided by the statistical analysis of applications made under the Convention in 2015 by Lowe and Stephens, and the changes which will occur once the Recast of The European Brussels 11a Regulation comes into operation. The likely impact for 1980 Hague Convention abduction proceedings of the UK having left the European Union at 23.00 GMT on 31 January 2020 is contemplated. Other current international initiatives are discussed, including the development of a child-friendly version of the Convention through The International Association of Child Law Researchers. Training is a key to changing attitudes and upskilling family justice professionals to ensure the Convention operates in a fully child-centric way. This will maintain and strengthen the Convention by keeping it ‘fit for purpose’.     

Seas,Oceans and Fisheries: A Challenge for Good Governance

Abstract

Seas, oceans and fisheries are probably among the most challenging natural resource systems to govern. This contribution discusses why this is so by analysing the key issues and presenting a selection of approaches to tackle them. The main recommendations are for control of illegal and open access fisheries, reduction of perverse subsidies, establishment of more marine protected areas, and proper evaluation of the importance of fisheries to future generations. Only then can fisheries be managed sustainably. The paper uses fish and fisheries in the Commonwealth of Nations to illustrate the points being made.     

新形势下党的建设面临的十大挑战

新世纪新阶段,世情、国情、党情发生了深刻变化,对党的建设提出了十大挑战。经济全球化的深入发展要求党培养全球眼光,提高统筹国内国际两个大局的能力;腐败的跨国化,使反腐倡廉建设面临着新情况;新一轮的自由化思潮和歪曲党的历史的虚无主义之风对党的政治路线和执政地位提出了重大挑战;社会阶层的分化对党整合各阶层利益提出了更高要求;公民社会的发展,给党的执政方式带来了新挑战;网络化、信息化的快速发展要求党的建设开拓新思路;党员队伍的不断壮大,对提高党员质量提出了新要求;党员流动性的增加使党的组织建设和思想建设面临着新挑战;非公企业主党员积极参与政治活动给党的干部队伍建设提出了新课题;反腐败斗争呈现出一些新特点,面临着更加严峻的形势和挑战。对此,必须深入把握这些新变化新挑战,不断提高党的建设的科学化水平,使党永远立于不败之地。     

高校青年女教师职业发展的挑战及对策分析

处于传统文化和现代思潮夹缝中的高校青年女教师在职业发展中面临来自工作、家庭、健康、社会地位等方面的挑战。因此,需要从制度层面优化青年女教师发展的社会文化环境、增加高校决策结构中女性比例和强化男性决策者的社会性别意识、增加高校女教师工作与家庭的平衡技能、构建后勤配套服务系统等,来为青年女教师的成长提供政策性支持。     

重建影响力:新形势下英国工会面临的挑战与选择

在历史上有重大影响并极富工作经验的英国工会 ,进入 90年代以来随着国内经济结构的调整和在与欧盟相关法律的协调上 ,遇到了一系列重大挑战 ,工会影响力有所下降。重建影响力成为英国工会在新形势下的主要选择和努力方向     

中国国际关系理论研究的现实思考

世纪之交 ,中国国际关系理论研究愈来愈重要。就现状而言 ,中国国际关系理论研究仍处于草创和摸索阶段 ,尽管取得了重要的进展 ,但还存在一些不尽人意之处。冷战结束后 ,中国国际关系理论研究更是面临着新的课题、新的挑战。     

Education for Sustainable Development： The Path of Future Learning

正EDUCATION for Sustainable Development(ESD)is education catering for the future.Facing climate change,environmental deterioration,and other global issues,the education field is striving to integrate the science of sustainable development into teaching and study.The goal is to instill sustainable principles in students’habits and thinking,in order to help them better respond to future challenges.Because future challenges are complex and uncertain,students need to learn critical thinking,cooperation and