Spain: from the indignados rebellion to regime crisis (2011-2016)

Since 15 May 2011 Spain has progressively entered a political and regime crisis in which the main institutional pillars of the political system constructed in 1977-1978 during the transition from the Franco dictatorship to parliamentary democracy suffered from serious wear. This can be analysed following Gramsci's notion of hegemony crisis whose main features fit well with the current situation in Spain. The regime crisis has passed through different stages – the last being the emergence and rise in the polls of Podemos, which emerged in a context marked by the deepening of the crisis and the difficulty of securing significant social victories. To understand the meaning of this current regime crises it is useful to read history, following Walter Benjamin as an open process full of bifurcations with no linear trajectory. Spanish regime crisis opens for the first time since the seventies the possibility of a social and political change whose final sense is still uncertain.     

The Distributional Impact of Austerity and the Recession in Southern Europe

Southern European welfare states are under stress. On the one hand, the recession has been causing unemployment to rise and incomes to fall. On the other hand, austerity has affected the capacity of welfare states to protect those affected. This paper assesses the distributional implications of the crisis in Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal from 2009 to 2013. Using a microsimulation model, we disentangle the first-order effects of tax–benefit policies from the broader effects of the crisis, and estimate how its burden has been shared across income groups. We conclude by discussing the methodological pitfalls and policy implications of our research.     

South European Healthcare Systems under Harsh Austerity: A Progress–Regression Mix?

This article addresses the question of whether the economic crisis provides a politically opportune time to drastically curtail public healthcare in South Europe or whether, instead, there are signs of longer-term reform strategies for potentially balancing fiscal targets with the quest for enhanced value and health outcomes, when eventually growth resumes. After a brief examination of the profile of healthcare systems in Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain prior to the crisis, we comparatively assess the mix of retrenchment, restructuring and recalibration strategies. The effects of the austerity-driven reforms on current (and expected) health outcomes are also briefly analysed. We conclude with reflections on the future of public healthcare in South Europe.     

风险社会语境下的农业产业危机与政府干预——以海南“香蕉危机”为个案

在风险社会语境下,中国农业除要面对自然和市场的双重风险,还要面对科学技术和政策变递等带来的振荡。对农业风险的预防和治理需要政府发挥主导作用,而政府干预不当却可能诱发或加剧农业风险。海南爆发的“香蕉危机”作为中国现代农业产业危机的缩影再次暴露出在农业生产经营和农业风险管理方面政府干预存在的严重问题,文章试图通过对海南“香蕉危机”事件的分析,剖析政府干预在农业产业危机的形成与治理中的作用,并进而提出政府适度干预以应对农业产业危机的对策与建议。     

从泰国军人干政看发展中国家政治制度危机

军事政变不仅是一种军事行动,更是一种政治行动.本文试图通过对泰国军事政变的分析,探讨在发展中国家军人干政的原理.本文认为,政变的发生取决于一个国家的社会结构因素和政治制度因素,其中政治参与的无序化与领导人退出机制的不完善是引发军事政变的最重要原因.虽然军人干政在历史上曾经起过积极作用,但在现代社会,军人干政已经不适应甚至危害民主政治的发展.为解决这个问题,发展中国家应该从调整社会结构、扩大政治参与和提升政治制度化水平等三个方面持续地付出努力.     

Reproducing remoteness? States,internationals and the co-constitution of aid ‘bunkerization’ in the East African periphery

ABSTRACT

The physical and social retreat of international interveners behind the walls of ‘bunkered’ aid compounds in (putatively) more remote and dangerous regions of the South has been the focus of growing critical attention in recent years. An increasingly remote and fearful culture of risk aversion and differentiation among Western states and organizations has been largely identified as the driving force behind this set of practices. This article presents a different perspective on the bunkerization phenomenon through focusing on the agency of Southern states in the process. Exploring bunkerization across eastern/central Africa—and in Ethiopia’s eastern Somali region in particular—the study emphasizes not only how African states have been key promoters of modern bunkerization, but also how bunkerization behaviour and mentalities have historically characterized how many African borderlands—and contemporary sites of international intervention—have been incorporated into the global state system.     

政府应对公共危机的“危机”——以北京“病猪肉”谣言短信事件为例

谣言短信危机是信息社会中一种新型的公共危机。其显著特点是新传媒参与公共事件，这对于新时期政府能力和公信力提出了挑战。“病猪肉”谣言短信事件作为典型案例。暴露出政府危机管理中信息获取能力和危机公关意识薄弱、公共信息发布机制缺失以及政府公信力走低。因此，建立“公众本位”的信息收集发布机制、信息发布的法律规范体系和现代服务型政府的危机应对模式是政府应对此类危机的重要议题。     

经济法与民法视野中的干预——对民法与经济法关系及经济法体系的研究

干预是外力对某种关系或机制的一种介入。在法律中 ,并非只有经济法才体现公权的干预 ,民法也体现了公权的干预 ,只是两种干预在对象、功能、手段、广度、深度及有效干预的前提等方面有着差异 ,这些差异构成了民法与经济法的区别。文章主要探究了这两种公权干预的质的规定性 ,并在此基础上对经济法体系中几个有争议问题作了一点探讨。     

论公共危机管理中的政府能力建设

进入新世纪以来,公共危机事件频繁发生,对世界各国政府能力提出了考验。就目前实际情况来看,我国政府的危机处理能力较弱。具体体现在:公共危机管理制度缺失、机制混乱、危机管理的主体不明、政策僵化、决策迟缓以及危机管理的社会保障体系滞后等方面。因此,我国政府应加快突发公共危机应急立法步伐,建立有效的公共危机应对机制,健全公共危机管理的保障系统,以提高我国政府公共危机管理能力。     

Are Public-Led Arts Incubating Programs a Double-Edged Sword? A Case Study of the Arts Council Korea’s Performing Arts Grant Program

A nation’s cultural policy is derived from its political and governance history, and its past practices. Taking the genealogical traits of South Korean cultural policies into account, the authors examine the contributions and risks of a public-led arts incubator program. One of the Arts Council Korea’s grant programs in the arts-incubating structure was involved with a public funding scandal of political intervention during the grant review process. Consequently, questions were raised about the current bureaucratic system for cultural policy. This article discusses the legitimacy of state intervention in the arts, and analyzes the case with relevant collected documents and interviews.