The Electoral Connection and Legislative Committees

This article examines whether the career needs of legislators – to be re-elected or to move on to another political post – allow us to explain the rules governing committee structures and the committee assignments individual legislators obtain. It uses the institutional variations provided by Argentina, Costa Rica, and Venezuela to test hypotheses about committee assignments and committee assignment mechanisms. It finds that incentives created by candidate selection procedures and electoral rules show some relationship to committee assignments, but with a good deal of variation across national cases and individual careers.     

Candidate Selection and a Crowded Parliament: The Israeli Knesset, 1988–2006

Candidate selection reform has its consequences. This article examines Israel as a case study in order to understand the changes in parliamentary activity (legislation, parliamentary questions and motions for the agenda) that resulted from the adoption of primaries as a candidate selection reform by the Labour Party in 1992 and later by three more parties: Likud, Meretz and Tzomet. The findings show that there has been a significant increase in parliamentary activity since the 13th Knesset (the first Knesset with Members of Knesset elected through primaries). The research hypothesises that posited reasons for the difference in parliamentary activities in the Knesset terms before and after the introduction of primaries were strongly supported.     

全球化背景下国际投资立法自由化趋势及发展中国家对策

自二战结束以来,南北双方在联合国内外对经济主权内涵与具体制度的设计曾展开针锋相对的斗争。尤其是在国际投资法方面,无论是理论上,还是实践中,发展中国家都表现出寸土不让的强硬立场。但是,20世纪80年代中期后,尤其是冷战结束以来,形势发生了变化,即国际投资立法实现从"管制"向"自由化"方向过渡。在这种自由化立法趋势下,发展中国家及中国的角色定位以及战略选择尤为重要。     

Race-Based Judgments, Race-Neutral Justifications: Experimental Examination of Peremptory Use and the Batson Challenge Procedure

Practically speaking, the peremptory challenge remained an inviolate jury selection tool in the United States until the Supreme Court's decision in Batson v. Kentucky. 476 U.S. 79 (1986). Batson's prohibition against race-based peremptories was based on two assumptions: (1) a prospective juror's race can bias jury selection judgments; (2) requiring attorneys to justify suspicious peremptories enables judges to determine whether a challenge is, indeed, race-neutral. The present investigation examines these assumptions through an experimental design using three participant populations: college students, advanced law students, and practicing attorneys. Results demonstrate that race does influence peremptory use, but these judgments are typically justified in race-neutral terms that effectively mask the biasing effects of race. The psychological processes underlying these tendencies are discussed, as are practical implications for the legal system.     

建设节约型政府的角色定位与路径选择

我国面对社会转型、市场化导向和行政管理体制深化改革的任务,必须尽可能节约行政成本,提高行政效率,才能建设精简高效的节约型政府。因此,我们需要依据科学发展观和可持续发展战略,重新审察政府行政成本,正确定位政府角色,确定节约型政府建设路径。     

Japan's Image Further Destroyed

正My daughter,who is now studying for her master’s degree at Japan’s Waseda University,always asks me:most people I meet in Japan are quite amiable,and Prime Minister Abe Shinzo is liked by the Japanese people,so why does China accuse Japan of deviating to the right?Shigeru Ishiba,Secretary General of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan,who used to be Japan’s defense minister,also posed a question to me during a China-Japan     

Strengthening the citizens' role in international organizations

Today's international organizations are characterized by a fundamental deficit in democracy. We therefore propose institutional measures to increase the direct participation possibilities of the citizens in international organizations. In order to reduce the number of citizens involved in decision-making to a manageable size, a representative sample of trustees is selected using a random mechanism. The trustees are given the right to launch initiatives and to vote in referendums on issues related to an international organization's constitution. They can also recall executives when they are dissatisfied with their behavior. No specific changes to the organization of these entities, especially their executive function, are proposed. Rather, the executives of international organizations must obey the constitutional changes adopted by the trustees. The proposal gives international organizations democratic legitimacy. Moreover, the executives are subjected to the control of the citizens of the member states, which induces better responsiveness to the preferences of the people, as well as higher organizational efficiency. JEL codes D72 · 019     

A Pragmatic Guide to Qualitative Historical Analysis in the Study of International Relations

Researchers using qualitative methods, including case studies and comparative case studies, are becoming more self–conscious in enhancing the rigor of their research designs so as to maximize their explanatory leverage with a small number of cases. One aspect of qualitative research that has not received as much attention is the use of primary and secondary source material as data or evidence. This essay explores the potential problems encountered by political scientists as they conduct archival research or rely on secondary source material produced by historians. The essay also suggests guidelines for researchers to minimize the main problems associated with qualitative historical research, namely, investigator bias and unwarranted selectivity in the use of historical source materials. These guidelines should enable advanced undergraduates and graduate students to enhance the quality of their historically minded political science scholarship.     

国内行政伦理学研究综述

关于行政伦理学研究的对象 ,国内学术界尚无定论 ,学者们一般是从行政伦理或是行政道德的界定出发 ,对行政伦理学的研究对象作出探讨 ;关于行政伦理学研究的核心内容 ,国内学术界已基本达成共识 ,大家普遍认同致力于行政伦理价值观的研究和探讨 ;关于行政伦理学研究的旨归 ,学者们一般都认为是行政伦理选择问题的探讨和解决。     

论英美法中本人身份不公开之代理

“本人身份不公开之代理制度”是英美代理法中特有的制度,集中体现了两大法系在代理制度上最为精髓的不同法律文化传统。对这一制度的深入研究,从理论上比较分析这一法律制度本质所在和法统所系,进而勘查优劣,对促进我国未来民法典中相关制度设计以及现实民商事交往的发展不无意义。