Valence beyond consensus: Party competence and policy dispersion from a comparative perspective

Part of the growing literature on valence politics interprets the electoral impact of party competence perceptions as resulting from consensus over ideological positions in contemporary societies. The relationship between valence politics and consensus, however, is usually based on either disputable theoretical assumptions or on single-country analyses. In this paper I empirically test the assumptions linking valence politics and policy consensus in a comparative perspective across 21 political systems. The results show no evidence that valence is associated with consensus, and some evidence that the electoral effect of valence is correlated with certain forms of policy dispersion, such as ideological party polarisation. The implication that perceptions of party competence are significantly informed by spatial-based considerations is discussed.     

Investigative studies into the recovery of DNA from improvised explosive device containers

Apprehending those who utilize improvised explosive devices (IEDs) is a national priority owing to their use both domestically and abroad. IEDs are often concealed in bags, boxes, or backpacks to prevent their detection. Given this, the goal of the research presented was to identify IED handlers through postblast DNA recovery from IED containers. Study participants were asked to use backpacks for 11 days, after which they served as containers for pipe bombs. Eleven postdeflagration backpack regions likely to be handled were swabbed and analyzed via mini-short tandem repeats (miniSTRs) and alleles were called blind. An experimental consensus method was examined in which profiles from all regions were considered, to help identify spurious drop-in/out. Results were correct for all loci, except one that remained ambiguous. The results show that recovering DNA from IED containers is a viable approach for aiding in the identification of those who may have been involved in an IED event.     

贵州省社会主义学院学员管理工作探析

全面提升党外代表人士的思想政治素质,对推动我国统一战线事业可持续发展和多党合作制度的巩固和完善具有十分重要的意义。党外代表人士作为社院的主要培训对象,其培训质量高低与学员培训管理工作息息相关。研究社院学员管理工作不仅具有重要的理论意义,而且具有重大的现实意义。     

浅议网络舆论对审判独立的僭越

随着微博等即时网络媒介的迅猛发展,其对社会各方面都产生了极其深刻的影响,司法领域亦不例外。虽然,网络舆论与司法制度最终的价值标准都是为了维护社会的公平正义,然而两者之间虽同归,但殊途的特质却也在现实中引发了一些问题。从"许霆案"到"药家鑫案",从"福建南平弑童案"到"浙江温岭虐童案",舆论审判越来越多的介入司法审判,并逐渐成为实现审判独立的一大掣肘。因此,为实现舆论监督与审判独立的合理共存,有必要从舆论监督与审判独立的关系及影响着手,寻找其合理的解决方案,以实现两者的互为助益,共同发展。     

谢长廷的两岸政治关系论述及其比较分析

谢长廷的两岸政治关系论述主要包括三个分论述，即“宪法一中”、“宪法共识”和“宪法各表”。谢长廷的“宪法一中”、“宪法共识”和“宪法各表”分别与国民党的“宪法一中”、“九二共识”和“一中各表”存有很大的差异。这三个分论述提出的主要面向和所要解决问题各有侧重。对于大陆方面而言，如何看待谢长廷的两岸政治关系论述，其实在更深层次意义上是如何看待“中华民国”及其“宪法”问题。研究谢长廷的两岸政治关系论述，有助于我们对其采取恰当的态度。     

The politics of consensus: al-Nahda and the stability of the Tunisian transition

Abstract

Tunisia&s transition away from authoritarianism has been shaped by a politics of consensus, which has brought together representatives of the former regime with their historic adversary, the Islamist movement al-Nahda. This article argues that consensus politics was a legacy of the authoritarian regime that was re-produced during a democratizing transition. The politics of consensus was encouraged and enabled by al-Nahda, which prioritized its inclusion within this elite settlement to provide political security for itself and the broader transition. However, this came at a cost, engineering a conservative transition, which did not pursue significant social or economic reform. The Tunisian case shows that historical legacies, such as consensus politics, can shape a transition as much as contingent, pragmatic decisions by political leaders.     

Agricultural trade within Northeast Asia： The prospects from Japan

The recent expansion of agricultural exports from China to Japan and Korea has marked one of the greatest changes in agricultural trade within Northeast Asia in the past few decades. Recently, China＇s influence in Northeast Asia as a major food consumer, not only as a food supplier, is spreading as well. In this paper, the issue of establishing collaborative relationships in agricultural trade among Northeast Asian countries is discussed from the following four viewpoints： factor analysis on agricultural export, the dynamic changes in the food system, the consensus building within the system of international trade, and the formation of a food industry cluster. It concludes that, it is necessary not only for agricultural economists to take the aspects of the region, the food chain, consensus building and industrial clusters into their research on international agricultural trade, but also for policymakers to have a similar perspective on the formation of a system for agricultural trade in order to obtain benefits from it.     

民法上“法益”概念的探源与本土化

《民法总则》第126条中的"利益",与我国民法学界持者甚众的狭义法益说中的"法益"含义大致相同,指的是权利之外应当受到法律保护的客体,是立法者为解决其预见性不足的弹性规范设计。上述界定与"法益"概念的原意不符,和刑法学界的惯常用法存在明显差别,属于概念移植过程中的本土化改造。"民事权利和利益"的二分法和狭义法益说在法理、逻辑上都不能成立,也不具备法益理论应当具备的分类、区分保护和评价功能,必然会造成立法表述与司法裁判说理中的冲突。"法益"概念的本土化界定,应当建立在共识的基础上,寻求统一的、适用于包括刑法、民法等在内的各个部门法的"法益"概念。"法益"是应当受到法保护的利益,此处的法既包括实然意义上的法律,也包括应然意义上的法。法益是权利的上位而非平行概念,《民法总则》第126条中的"利益"实质上是未被立法明文规定的未上升为权利的法益,未来修法时应将该条修改为"民事主体享有其他民事权利和未上升为权利的法益"。     

官方舆论与依法治国－晚清中央机关“清议”群体现象个案分析

管理国家要求德治和法治相互配合。官方舆论属于德治范畴。清流派清议代表了晚清官方舆论 ,它的伦理思想体系是儒家道德规范。清流派以实际行动在实践着他们一贯坚持的官方舆论 (德治 )与以大清律例为准绳办案 (法治 )二者并重的主张。其官方舆论披露了官吏营私这个吏治腐败的焦点问题 ,通过 5个重大案例又反映出官方舆论在依法办案、依法治国中的重要作用。