The Capacity-building Paradox: using friendship to build capacity in the South

This article proposes a theoretical framework, the Capacity-building Paradox, which defines individual relationship work as the basis for capacity building. It explains why capacity building has hitherto been largely unsuccessful. ‘Relationship work’ is central to the functions of practitioners. It consists of both ‘dependent work’ and ‘friendship work’, the latter synonymous with capacity building. To do relationship work, practitioners require power, in order to overcome environmental obstacles. Financial resources emerge as the predominant environmental influence, often prompting practitioners to use dependent work rather than friendship work. This results in a reduction in capacity and does not contribute to sustainable development. Most of the current literature provides organisational and institutional tools for capacity building. While there is an increasing recognition of the centrality of personal relationships in this work, there is as yet no theoretical framework within which to locate it. The article presents original research into people's experiences of capacity-building work in a development context and proposes a conceptual model that may have important implications for capacity-building practice.     

跨境破产法统一化方式的多元化

跨境破产法的统一历来是法律统一化的难点。以往的研究成果多从统一化的内容方面进行研究和论述,而忽视了法律统一化的方式。实际上,对于跨境破产这种利益冲突集中的领域,“形式”与“内容”均会对法律统一化的效果产生重要的影响。回顾跨境破产法统一化的历程,条约、示范法、超国家的法逐一登上历史舞台,在不同的历史阶段、不同的情境下发挥各自的作用,表现出明显的法律统一化方式多元化的特征。这种多元化的统一方式正在形成一种“合力”,共同推动着跨境破产法律统一化的进程。     

Thinking about change for development practice: a case study from Oxfam GB

Development practice is informed by theories of change, but individuals and organisations may not make them explicit. Practitioners may be unaware of the extent to which strategic choices and debates are informed by disparate thinking about how history happens and the role of purposeful intervention for progressive social change. In the past few years, some Oxfam GB staff have been creating processes to debate their theories of change as part of an effort to improve practice. In this context, the authors introduce four sets of ideas about change, with a discussion of how they have been explored in two instances, and some of the challenges emerging from this process. Through explicitly debating theories of change, organisational decision-making processes can be better informed and strategic choices made more transparent.     

我国公务员激励机制中存在的问题及对策分析

我国公务员激励机制中存在着精神激励流于形式、物质激励手段单一且结构不合理、职务升降与任免制度缺乏科学性等问题。产生这些问题的原因在于我国政治体制不完善、人力资源管理理念仍较薄弱、竞争意识扭曲。因此，应该将物质奖励和精神奖励有机结合，将人力资源管理理念引入公务员管理．加快相关法律法规的完善，建立科学的公务员考核制度。     

The rise and fall of donor funding for advocacy NGOs: understanding the impact

NGOs in Asian countries often experience fluctuations in funding because of the constantly shifting priorities of their international donors. Without domestic sources, Asian NGOs are forced to re-align their priorities with donor interests in order to compete for funding. In the case of advocacy NGOs, the resulting asymmetry in donor–grantee relations often leads to a crisis of legitimacy and deteriorating effectiveness for the NGO. Because of the political nature of advocacy work, these NGOs must maintain a reputation for independence and legitimacy if they are to be influential in the political process. This article analyses the impact of fluctuating international donor assistance to advocacy NGOs in Cambodia, the Philippines, and Thailand, and offers recommendations for donors. While donors have spent significant resources on building the capacity of advocacy NGOs in South-East Asia, funding trends usually undermine the effectiveness of their grantees long before funding is ended.     

The Judgement Criteria for Authentic Property Right in Civil Code

The Property Right Chapter of Civil Code has established three criteria for judging “authentic property right”, namely, publicity criterion, de facto criterion and criterion of consensus. Based on the nature of absolute right, a property right displayed via publicity mechanism is usually recognized as the authentic property right, which is called publicity criterion. This criterion is not unique. Under special legal stipulations, objective facts that directly trigger property right alteration such as expropriation will have impact on the judgment, which is called the de facto criterion. Publicity inconsistent with objective facts constitutes error, and that publicized right shall not be deemed as an authentic property right. Moreover, where permitted by law, the consensus of the parties in contracts such as in land contracting contracts can be applied as the criterion of consensus. When there is no third party involved, the authentic property right should be judged in accordance with the criterion of consensus rather than the publicity criterion.     

“民有私约如律令”考

传统法学理论认为中国古代法律是“诸法合体、民刑不分、以刑为主”,进而否认中国古代民法的存在。从“民有私约如律令”这一合同习语出发,广罗相关历史资料和学术研究资料,系统考察了“民有私约如律令”的语词渊源和作为其主要载体的中国古代“地券”的概念内涵、外延、法律属性及其与土地买卖契约的关系后发现:在中国古代,民间私契在当事人之间的效力等同于官府律令的效力之理念,由来已久;民间长期存在着与官府律令相对应的,以意思自治为主要内容的民事习惯法;中国古代民法对民事法律关系的调整有其独到之处,即通过对公权力的界定来给出私权活动的范围,以正律仅仅作为一种民事活动底线的最基本的要求,而在实定性的私法体系外设想和构筑民事法律秩序。     

The ‘Knowledge Exchange Train’: a model for capacity building for participatory governance in the south-western Amazon

National frontiers with ecosystems experiencing rapid changes pose difficult challenges for scientific contributions to democratic processes for environmental governance. We describe an innovative outreach model, the ‘Knowledge Exchange Train’, which combines educational outreach with capacity-building mechanisms to broaden public participation in planning for sustainable development. This involved an international team of scientists and practitioners from conservation and development organisations who travelled across a tri-national frontier area of the south-western Amazon to share recent findings with local leaders and stakeholder constituencies of several municipalities. The Knowledge Exchange Train quickly increased public awareness in many places and provided a means of broadening participation in planning and governance. This model supports planning for sustainable development and can be adapted to other geographic contexts and topics.     

公共行政中的公民参与论析

公民参与公共行政是民主发展的要求,在政府层面和公民层面都具有重要意义,也必然对社会和谐产生积极影响。由于历史文化传统和政治民主建设的现状等原因,我国公民参与权还没有得到很好的保护和体现,公民参与公共行政的意识和能力还比较差。公民参与的实现是一个过程,它取决于公民与政府观念的转变和能力的提高、公共组织结构和功能的完善、基层组织自治的发展和公民社会的兴起等因素。