Mothers,Maidens and the Myth of Origins in the Irish Constitution

This article examines the ``hidden' ideological appeal which the 1937 Irish Constitution attempted to make by the invocation of the rural ideal, a hybrid of Irish nationalism, Catholicism and, most importantly, Gaelic romanticism. In this move, the historical legitimacy of the new state could be defined through the constitution by an appropriation of diverse symbols from an imagined past, a golden age of Gaelic unity and moral certainties. Particular attention will be paid to the image of woman as a representation of the nation in the 1937 Constitution, and to the context of Irish nationalist discourse generally, where she repeatedly appears in the archetypal forms of either mother or virgin. The predominance of the image of woman as mother in the Constitution, in contrast to her appearance in pre-independence nationalist discourse (where she regularly figured as a combination of mother, helpless maiden, seductress and destroyer) will be examined in terms of the Lacanian themes of Lack and jouissance (or enjoyment). This cultural (and legal) shift will be examined in terms of the renunciation of enjoyment inherent in this new national imagery, and in relation to the redemptive potential of the image of woman as mother; themes which appear significant in relation to post-colonial political formations generally, and to post-independence Irish political discourse in particular.     

党内民主60年的发展及经验启示

中国共产党一贯重视发展党内民主,建国60年来,发展党内民主成效斐然,突出表现在思想认识、制度建设、党员民主权利保障、以及党内民主理论创新等方面。这些宝贵的成果启示我们:今后一个时期,我们要继续稳步发展党内民主,必须加大解放思想力度;继续加快党内各项民主制度的程序化建设;必须更加注重培养党内民主文化。     

The role of architecture in the Republic of Georgia’s European aspirations

Alignment with Europe has been a popular foreign policy objective among post-socialist nations. In the Republic of Georgia, discourse surrounding the country’s Euro-Atlantic orientation surged in the decade after the 2003 Rose Revolution. While such discourse has been examined in the context of political reforms and national security goals, this article foregrounds how it was incorporated into alterations of the built environment. Focusing on the urban transformations of the city of Batumi after the rise to power of the United National Movement government, it demonstrates how architecture served as a tool for selectively rewriting Georgia’s contemporary European identity. This article concentrates on two parallel initiatives to transform Batumi into a contemporary European city: the reconstruction of portions of the Old City and the new development along the seaside boulevard. Using evidence collected through qualitative methods, it further highlights the contradictions that emerged during this process of redevelopment and rebranding, as the state balanced initiatives for new development with other post-revolutionary state-building objectives, such as political reform and tourism-market production. Accordingly, it unpacks the various national and international politico-economic forces at play in the process of developing Batumi into the image of a contemporary European city.     

‘Local is lekker’: Nation,narration and the sABC's Afrikaans programmes

Abstract

This article provides an exploration of the role of the SABC's Afrikaans language programmes in contemporary South African constructions of national identity. It examines the programmes’ engagement with the construction of (a) national identity by addressing the SABC's mandated obligation towards nation building, and exploring how the broadcaster's Afrikaans programmes are positioned in this regard. The article suggests that the SABC's task to ‘narrate the nation’ is complicated not only by the theoretical dilemmas faced by the terms ‘nation’ and ‘nation building’, but also by the broadcaster's historical ties to the apartheid government. This matter is further complicated for the Afrikaans-language programmes on SABC, given the language's binary position as both ‘unifier’ and ‘oppressor’.     

Global norms in domestic politics: environmental norm contestation in Cambodia's hydropower sector

Policymakers in many developing Asian countries have commonly relied on investment incentives as a major policy instrument to attract foreign investment. Using comparative case studies of Asian transnational corporations (TNCs) in Southeast Asia, this paper argues that investment incentives per se are ineffective in attracting foreign investment. The paper first examines the role of government incentives in the inflow of foreign investment, with particular reference to the Southeast Asian region. It then provides a comparative study of Hong Kong and Taiwanese investments. Hong Kong TNCs are shown to have invested in Southeast Asia because of market or market‐related reasons, not investment incentives per se. To these firms from Hong Kong, investment incentives are more a kind of post hoc rationalization of their decision making. For the Taiwanese investors in Malaysia, government incentives are less important than the existence of market access and the friendly host country environment. The paper also suggests some implications and specific policy recommendations for policymakers in host country governments. Instead of over‐reliance on investment incentives, host country governments should be more concerned with: 1) a commitment to internationalization through the promotion and marketing of international images; 2) the upgrading of domestic resources through continuous training and development; 3) a more efficient allocation of resources; 4) supra‐national coordination and promotion.     

中国特色社会主义是中华民族伟大复兴的必由之路

中国三次“伟大革命”理论，是胡锦涛同志在庆祝改革开放30周年纪念大会的报告中提出的。第一次伟大革命是辛亥革命；第二次伟大革命是指新民主主义革命和社会主义革命；第三次伟大革命是以改革开放为特征的新的“伟大革命”。以往，我国学界注重讨论的跨越“卡夫丁峡谷”理论，是为中国特色社会主义探寻唯物史观的理论根据。现在，我们上溯到鸦片战争时期，从历史的宏阔视野，继续探讨跨越“卡夫丁峡谷”理论，对我们坚持中国特色社会主义道路、促进中华民族伟大复兴具有重要的现实意义。     

国际税收争议问题的法律思考

国家之间的相互协商程序是解决国际税收争议的传统方法。但近年来,更多国家开始寻求通过仲裁方法来解决此问题。文章通过对国家间税收争议解决的两种方法的分析和评价,提出了完善国际税收争议解决机制的相关建议。     

旧韩末韩国的民族主义教育——以西北学会的活动为中心

以1905年11月17日签订的《日韩保护协约》为契机，韩国成为日本的保护国。面对亡国危机，韩国民众通过义兵运动与教育救国运动展开了轰轰烈烈的恢复国权运动。所谓教育救国运动就是通过和平的大众运动的形式实现民族独立的目标，其根本目的是通过普及教育，对民族思想进行弘扬，对一般群众进行启蒙教育，为此，创立学会就成为教育救国运动的重要组成部分。本文以这些学会中的西北人（黄海道、平安道、成镜道出生的人）的文化，以及为了普及教育而创立的具有代表性的学会——西北学会为例，试图考察从西北学会的创立到日韩合并的数年间，这些学会究竟为韩国民族意识的提高发挥了怎样的作用。     

论依法治国方略的基本架构及其要素

依法治国是历史发展的必然趋势，也是邓小平建设有中国特色社会主义理论的重要组成部分，更是建设有中国特色社会主义的基本方针。因此，研究依法治国方略的基本框架及其条件，具有重要的现实意义。     

尊重并兼顾多种利益群体培育和弘扬中华民族精神——纪念避暑山庄肇建300周年

肇建已 3 0 0周年的避暑山庄是清朝的第二个政治中心 ,在它和它周围寺庙建筑中保存的康、乾两帝所撰大量碑铭、匾额、题咏 ,突出表现了多民族联合、宇内大一统的思想 ,详细记载了清王朝统一中国北方和强化对西藏的行政管理和历史功绩。其中所反映的清朝初期统治者对以蒙古、维吾尔、藏等民族上层为代表的各个利益群体施以在尊重其信仰和习俗基础上的恩泽 ,从而自觉不自觉地在全国各民族当中培育和弘扬中华民族精神的史实可以做为我们当前在统一战线工作特别是民族宗教工作中通过对多种利益群体的尊重和兼顾 ,在一个相当广泛的人群中培育和弘扬中华民族精神的借鉴。