Moving towards EU membership and away from liberal democracy

ABSTRACT

The article concludes the Special Issue, Illiberal Politics in Southeast Europe, on the retreat of liberal democracy in the region. It focuses on the central themes that link all the papers together: free and fair elections, media freedom, judicial independence, privileged access to public resources and the role of civil society. It seeks to disentangle the causes and consequences of illiberal politics in the region and explores the similarities in the illiberal practices and strategies incumbents use with the aim of staying in power indefinitely. The main argument is that democratic backsliding in Southeast Europe is deeply rooted in the unfinished transitions of the 1990s, which gave rise to new political and economic elites and that blending those two into one resulted in the dominance of the executive over the judiciary and legislature. These new elites became entrenched during the wars and conflicts that affected the region. The enabling factors were of societal origin – clientelist practices, corruption, nepotism and mistrust in politics accompanied by external factors – as well as international pull and push factors (from the EU and Russia) along with a domino effect of democratic backsliding in the region.     

Ambivalence About Equality in the United States or, Did Tocqueville Get it Wrong and Why Does that Matter?

Alexis de Tocqueville believed that “democratic peoples’... passion for equality is ardent, insatiable, eternal, and invincible.” This article examines whether and under what conditions residents of the United States demonstrate such a commitment to equality. I show that at many points in history, Americans have indeed chosen to move toward greater justice and less oppression; however, there are clear limits to their passion for equality. White Americans endorse less social, political, and economic equality than do African Americans, but even the latter often resist equality for groups that they perceive to be threats, or for behaviors that threaten strong social or moral norms. The article discusses implications for political activists of these patterns of support for and resistance to greater equality, and suggests strategies for overcoming oppression and promoting justice.     

谨慎地看待法律职业化

法律职业化是国家法治化的内在要求。从历史考察和理性分析的视角来看 ,现代社会中的法律职业阶层首先是一个利益集团 ,其次才是一种“职业” ,是一个知识、思维方式和信仰共享的共同体。因此 ,在我们积极主张和推动法律职业化发展的同时 ,也应当看到职业集团与生具有的利己本能 ,在法律职业阶层同样根深蒂固。如果没有社会不同分工的普遍职业化以及法律职业本身对集团利益的超越 ,我们就有理由对法律职业化持一种谨慎的态度。     

Women and Asylum: A Particular Social Group

This note examines the judgement of the House of Lords in the cases of Islam andShah, particularly with regard to their conclusion that women in Pakistan who were victims of domestic violence and not protected by their state could qualify as members of a particular social group under the Geneva Convention, and therefore attain refugee status. The note considers the Refugee Women's Legal Group's Gender Guidelines for the Determination of Asylum Claims in the U.K. and discusses the problems faced by women who claim refugee status. Finally, the conceptualisation of domestic violence as a political issue and therefore a matter falling within the scope of the Convention issue is analysed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

试论日据时期的台籍日本兵——皇民化运动负面影响之再探讨

皇民化运动时期,一部分台湾人作为台籍日本兵被强征进入日本军队,这些人既有被迫及无奈而参加的,也有小部分是志愿加入的,但此中志愿包含殖民统治高压下心灵扭曲的背景。至于极少数受殖民主义、军国主义毒害者,则应予以揭露。台籍日本兵的历史告诉人们,皇民化运动确曾给台湾社会带来了一定的负面影响,但同时也不必过高估计这种影响。     

辽代契丹民族的人口及特点

契丹族是辽代中国北方最强大的民族之一,其族源由古代鲜卑的一支演变而来。辽国政权建立后,随着经济发展、政治稳定和民族融和等因素的影响,契丹族人口经历了由少到多的过程,形成了其人口构成、密度、素质、增长速度、分布状况等方面的特点,他们对中国北部边疆的开拓做出了不可磨灭的贡献。     

论中共中央政治局集体学习制度

中共中央政治局集体学习制度是一项重大的制度创新.本文剖析了新一届中央政治局从首次集体学习到最近一次集体学习以来23次学习的主要内容,论述了中央政治局集体学习制度的特点和伟大意义.     

应对突发性群体事件的政府治理创新

积极预防和妥善处置人民内部矛盾引发的突发性群体事件,维护群众利益和社会稳定是社会转型期政府治理的必然要求。各级政府作为治理突发性群体事件的主体,首先必须树立现代治理理念,通过搭建制度沟通平台和建立预警评估体系,防止突发性群体事件的爆发,并以社会自组织为中介尽量减少突发性群体事件,最终建立高效完整的治理模式,提高社会管理和公共服务水平。     

论民事诉讼法与民事实体法的关系——以消费者权益保护诉讼为考察对象

在现代社会中,民事诉讼法与民事实体法应该是和谐统一的有机整体,它们为着共同的目标——保护当事人的合法权益,在诉讼中互相影响、互相衔接、互相作用。正是基于这种理念,本文以消费者权益保护诉讼为具体考察对象,试图对消费者权益保护诉讼程序的具体构建提出相关立法建议。     

公安机关处置群体性事件指挥程序研究

在群体性事件的处置研究中,贴近实战、定位于现场公安指挥员指挥程序的研究尚不多见。基于处置指挥程序在群体性事件处置实践和理论中极其重大的应用价值,群体性事件的一般处置指挥程序包括信息搜集研判与处置指令生成。