South African cinema after apartheid: A political-economic exploration

Abstract

When South Africa was emancipated from the oppressive apartheid regime in 1994, it was a severely divided society in need of an inclusive national identity to bind its citizens and maintain peace. Therefore, the state targeted the cultural industries, including film, as a means of promoting symbolic representations of national unity. The film industry was further identified as a priority sector for economic growth and as a potential platform for equitable redress. This article discusses existing and emerging finance, distribution and exhibition structures in the post-apartheid film industry. It considers government interventions in the form of film policies and development strategies with the purpose of examining the influence of globalising forces, in particular neoliberalism, on the apparent market-orientation of such interventions. The results presented indicate that the post-apartheid vision of equality, freedom and diversity does not always sit comfortably with the neoliberal, free-market principles promoted in the Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) programme of 1996. Moreover, it suggests that in this commercial environment, the voices of the historically oppressed black majority, rather than enjoying a sense of artistic and creative freedom, can in fact encounter commercial censorship through the commodification of films for an export-orientated market.     

Assessment of country‐risk on the euromarkets

Recent years have seen several studies and proposals from national parliaments (NPs) to deepen their direct involvement in European decision-making, most notably by strengthening the early warning mechanism (EWM – also known as yellow card procedure). The EWM is a technical-legalistic procedure that is restricted to subsidiarity. This ‘straightjacket’ is too limited as a monitoring tool for European policies more broadly and can hardly be seen as a response to current democratic concerns. Framing the EWM as a democratic solution to empower NPs thus risks becoming one of Europe’s empty mantras.     

The Kurdistan Referendum Movement: Political Opportunity Structures and National Identity

This article examines the lack of mass mobilization by Iraqi Kurds to establish an independent Kurdistan. It argues that while the outcome of an unofficial January 2005 referendum – in which 98 per cent of Kurds supported independence – was a clear expression of their will, the political opportunity structures within which the Kurdistan Referendum Movement operates are closed to the formation of a mass-based social movement. Utilizing data from a survey of Kurdish elites and activists, as well as follow-up interviews, this analysis provides insights into the future of democracy in Iraq and the value of political opportunity theory in understanding mass mobilization.     

坚定不移高举中国特色社会主义伟大旗帜

中国特色社会主义伟大旗帜具有完整而科学的内涵。旗帜是政治方向,道路是实现途径,理论体系是行动指南,制度是根本保障。     

网络有偿删帖发帖的入罪反思——以“立二拆四”非法经营案为切入点

非法经营罪自设立以来,司法解释对其进行过数次扩张,实践中绕过该罪条文及相关司法解释而直接以非法经营罪定罪的案例层出不穷,非法经营罪堵截条款的防线有被突破的嫌疑。近期,司法解释将有偿删帖发帖行为规定为非法经营罪,这一方面不符合非法经营罪的罪质特征,另一方面也违背了刑法体系解释的解释原理。通过不断扩充非法经营罪的司法解释来规制实践中花样翻新的违法经营行为,这使得非法经营罪的口袋化基因愈发明显,非法经营罪的口袋化趋势急需遏制。     

Public Attitudes to Gaelic and the Debate about Scottish Autonomy

Scotland seems to be a counter-example to general theories of the relationship between language and national identity or nationalism. These theories point to three components in the ideology of language and nation—that being able to speak the national language is necessary for full national membership, that the national language is a core part of the nation's culture, and that the future of national political autonomy and the future of the national language are connected with each other. In Scotland, it has appeared that language is not central to national membership or culture, and language campaigning has not been central to the political campaigns for autonomy. The article presents new evidence, from the 2012 Scottish Social Attitudes Survey, which questions these beliefs about the relationship between language and national identity or nationalism in Scotland.     

优秀传统文化介入罪犯教育改造分析

人们的思想意识、行为举止都在无意识中深受自己习得的文化的影响,都深深打上了相应的文化烙印。中国优秀传统文化蕴含着丰富人生哲理,对罪犯的人生观、价值观、思想道德观的重塑及提升大有裨益,对罪犯教育改造有很重要的运用价值。优秀传统文化介入罪犯教育改造不仅具备可行性,而且具有实务操作性。     

邓小平领导开创中国特色社会主义道路的认识路线和思想方法——兼论中国道路的精髓和真谛

邓小平的历史性贡献是多方面的,其中最伟大的贡献,莫过于领导党和人民在改革开放中创造性地开拓了中国特色社会主义道路。邓小平领导开创中国特色社会主义道路的认识路线和思想方法突出体现在:把实践作为逻辑起点,在坚持马克思主义基本原理同中国具体实际相结合中开创中国特色社会主义道路;把规律作为根本依据,在探索社会主义初级阶段改革与发展基本规律中开创中国特色社会主义道路;把人民作为主体力量,在实现人民群众利益需求和创造精神有机统一中开创中国特色社会主义道路。中国特色社会主义道路来之不易,必须深刻把握这条道路的精髓和真谛,坚定不移沿着这条道路开拓前进。     

中华优秀传统文化融入党的文化软实力建设的探讨

传承和弘扬中华优秀传统文化,是中国共产党的性质所定、使命所在、职责所属。把中华优秀传统文化融入党的文化软实力建设,这是坚持中国共产党对文化建设领导权的内在要求,是中国共产党在新的历史条件下把握执政规律,丰富执政文化资源,以自我净化、自我完善、自我提高的内在体现。这是推进党的建设新的伟大工程的重要载体,有助于培育和形成强大的执政党文化软实力,有利于提高党的领导水平和文化执政水平,加强党的对文化建设的领导权。     

中国农村传统“熟人社会”的治安作用探析

费孝通先生在《乡土中国》一书中提出了"熟人社会"的概念,从本质上来讲,当今中国农村仍然是熟人社会的写照。我国农村的熟人社会基于传统关系网络,以礼为行为准则形成了自身的秩序机制,为维护我国农村社会治安起到了引导、教育、惩罚、纠纷调节和共同防御的作用,在对农村进行治安管理时应当充分发挥农村的自治作用,尊重农村风俗习惯,合理引导农村的关系网络。