Kantei diplomacy? Japan's hybrid leadership in foreign and security policy

This article operationalizes Japanese leadership in foreign and security policy, specifically the Abe administrations’ consistent China balancing. It will do so to dispel instances of Premier-centered diplomacy and posit that Abe's diplomatic agenda has rested on a ‘hybrid’ policy-making authority, where the leverage enjoyed by the Prime Minister's office (the Kantei) rested on little-appreciated politicized personnel appointments and demotions within the bureaucratic apparatus, specifically the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Moreover, successful Japanese leadership has functioned especially when operating within the scope of the US strategic framework towards East Asia. While structural constraints, such as the ever-present influence of the USA and bureaucratic coordination, may constrain options, effective leadership in foreign policy-making can indeed make a difference within those boundaries.     

Escaping the merchant/missionary dilemma: an imperial policy for the Asia-Pacific

The Asia policy of the Bush administration follows from two principles: its preference for ‘hub-and-spoke relationships’ led from Washington, and the restored priority of security issues over the mixture of trade interests and human rights that was the hallmark of the Clinton presidency. The initial focus of the administration on the restoration of political and strategic ties with old allies such as Japan, and on strategic competition, has been mitigated by another realistic approach: the need to seek new allies and partnerships. This policy was already evident towards India before September 11, 2001, but has been magnified with the onset of a coalition against terrorism, and almost as importantly, against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The resumption of strategic and military ties with China, the priority of anti-terrorist cooperation over human rights issues with Southeast Asia, the increased support for India that is of more strategic value than America's tactical involvement with Pakistan, are developments that overshadow the US relationship with traditional allies such as Japan or the European Union. The major weakness of the Bush Asia policy, however, is its relative neglect of major economic and social issues in the region. Although support for some weakened ASEAN economies has increased, there is neither a more intense coordination of economic policies with Japan, in spite of initially declared intentions, nor a major economic and social strategy for Southeast and South Asia that would support the fight against terrorism.     

Innovation and growth in traditional agriculture of the lower Volta,Ghana

This article addresses the important question of whether foreign direct investment enhances economic growth and labour productivity in Mexico, both from a theoretical and empirical perspective. After briefly reviewing the Mexican experience with net FDI inflows during the 1990s, the article presents a simple endogenous growth model which explicitly incorporates any positive (negative) externalities generated by additions to the foreign capital stock. Using cointegration analysis, the article estimates a dynamic labour productivity function for the 1960-95 period that includes the impact of the growth rate in the stocks of both private and foreign capital (as opposed to the flows) and the economically active population (EAP) (rather than the rate of population growth). The error correction model (ECM) estimates suggest that increases in both private ad (lagged) foreign investment spending, as well as the rate of growth in exports, have a positive and economically significant effect on the rate of labour productivity growth. In addition, the results show that increases in the EAP have a negative and statistically significant effect on the rate of labour productivity growth, while changes in the government consumption variable have a negative but marginally significant impact. The error correction terms of the estimated models are negative and statistically significant, thus suggesting that deviations of actual labour productivity growth from its long-run value are corrected in subsequent periods. Finally the article generates historical simulations from the estimated ECM's and offers some policy recommendations to enhance the positive externalities associated with FDI inflows.     

An exploration of testamentary behaviour in twentieth-century Ireland

This article highlights trends in testamentary behaviour in modern Ireland derived from registers of probate cases. Primary findings show a consistently high level of intestacy in modern Ireland. It argues that such rates were more closely related to popular perceptions rather than an understanding of succession law. It also highlights that while real property was not normally divided pre-mortem transfer of non-fixed assets complicated efforts to understand how estates devolved. Testamentary behaviour also shifted significantly in favour of pious bequests in the period under review.     

国外非营利组织法人治理研究进展

非营利组织作为一种与企业法人类似的法人形式,从公司治理的角度研究非营利组织法人治理问题越来越引起学界的重视。本文主要对国外公司治理视角下非营利组织法人治理问题从静态的治理结构和动态的治理机制两方面的最新研究进展进行系统综述,探讨对研究我国非营利组织法人治理问题的借鉴和启示。     

“脱钩论”背景下的中美金融断裂——以《外国公司问责法案》为切入

《外国公司问责法案》经美国总统特朗普于2020年12月18日签署而正式生效。该法案直指在美上市的中资企业,将两国证券监管合作的矛盾和分歧上升到金融脱钩,使得在美上市的中资企业面临下市和被迫退出美国资本市场的风险。《外国公司问责法案》是近年来中美两国贸易摩擦向金融领域的延伸,也是美方提出的“脱钩论”在贸易和投资领域之外的纵向发展。中美贸易冲突不仅没有随着《中美经贸协定》(第一阶段)的签署而得到缓和,反而在新冠疫情之后继续加剧,并且向金融、科技和教育等领域蔓延,中美两国“脱钩论”甚嚣尘上。美国加紧在金融领域通过法律战的方式推进中美“脱钩”,对中资企业在美上市融资构成现实威胁。中国应该通过法律的方式,在技术层面应对中美监管合作,化解和弱化双方的监管合作矛盾。     

基于中医传承辅助系统分析王任之治疗中风后遗症用药经验

目的 应用中医传承辅助系统(V2.5)软件分析新安医家王任之治疗中风后遗症的用药经验。 方法 将收集整理的王任之治疗中风后遗症的处方,录入“中医传承辅助系统”,采用规则分析、改进互信息法等数据挖掘方法,分析其治疗中风的用药经验。 结果 王任之治疗中风后遗症常用的药物有黄芪、当归、干地龙、鸡血藤、红花、葛根、制豨莶草、炒怀牛膝等。常见的药物组合有：黄芪配伍当归、黄芪配伍干地龙、当归配伍干地龙、黄芪配伍当归和干地龙、鸡血藤配伍黄芪、红花配伍黄芪、红花配伍当归。 结论 王任之在鉴别诊断出血性中风和缺血性中风的基础上,首辨证候虚实,实证常用调气活血、熄风通络法,虚证则用益气活血和络法,多以益气活血、养血通络、补益肝肾药物组方。     

试论大院君时期朝鲜的对外政策——以丙寅洋扰、辛未洋扰及朝鲜的对应为中心

进入19世纪40年代以来,利用坚船利炮打开中国和日本国门的欧美列强将矛头指向东亚地区最后一块“未开垦地”——朝鲜。法国和美国分别在1866年和1871年对朝鲜发动武力征服,即“丙寅洋扰”和“辛未洋扰”。面对法、美舰队的入侵,大院君政府没有作出丝毫的妥协和让步,进行了英勇的抵抗,维护了国家主权。在两次“洋扰”期间,朝鲜政府继续维持着与中国的传统宗藩关系,欲凭借这种关系将中国作为代言本国立场的窗口和对外收集情报的窗口来利用,并且将中国作为抵挡西方冲击的防波堤,以阻挡或缓冲来自西方的冲击,维持朝鲜王朝的统治秩序。     

Silent witness: Australian intelligence and East Timor

The events in East Timor leading up to and immediately following the vote for independence from Indonesia in September 1999, and the attendant breach in Australian-Indonesian relations, posed the greatest challenge to the Australian intelligence agencies and the national security policymaking organization in more than a quarter of a century. On the whole, the intelligence agencies performed very well, producing timely, accurate and informative reports, with the important exception being the under-estimation of the scale of the killings and forced deportations in the fortnight after 4 September, 1999. However, there were serious deficiencies in the national security policy-making organization, and elements of the intelligence community succumbed to political pressures when the Government found some of the intelligence about Indonesian involvement in planning and directing the violence to be unpalatable.