Volunteering in the Arab World: Bringing Back People into Politics?

This article analyzes the concept of volunteering in the Arab world. The main argument is that the nature of the Arab world in addition to the historical development of civil society directly affected the philosophy of volunteering in the region. Since civic services were not framed nor included in the national agendas of the state, this had a direct negative effect on the development of the act. However, due to social, economic, and political factors, this trend is changing: As of 2000, organizations and societies started to understand the importance of volunteering and its link to the social and economic revival of societies; Arab states started to encourage the act by providing the right legal and political environment. However, these different policies are not building democratic societies nor encouraging civic engagement. The article concludes with recommendations for how to bring people back into civic and political society as well as suggestions for future research.     

邓小平关于建立党的第三代中央领导集体的三大决策

建立党的第三代中央领导集体,顺利实现第二代中央领导集体向第三代中央领导集体的过渡,是邓小平始终关注的重大战略问题。为了建立党的第三代中央领导集体,他果断提出并实施了三大决策：大力选拔培养接班人;实行干部退休制度,废除干部领导职务包括党的领袖职务终身制;严格选拔第三代中央领导集体的成员,确立第三代中央领导集体的良好形象。     

The political obstacles to economic reform in North Korea: The ultra cautious strategy in comparative perspective

As a result of the financial crisis, some commentators see the reform process in the East Asian states as an outcome of the disciplining behaviour of financial markets that will lead to the emergence of a neoliberal form of capitalism. The Malaysian experience suggests, however, that progress to neoliberal forms of economic organization will not be inevitable, despite governments having to increasingly accommodate global markets. In Malaysia, the degree to which a neoliberal adjustment response could be embraced was limited by domestic political factors. First, the government needed to maintain the ethnic based distributive policy that favours ethnic Malays with material entitlements for reasons of state and regime security. Second, the state was not wholly insulated from a key social group that emerged as a result of the ethnic-based distributive policy, namely an elite Malay corporate group. A third reason was economic nationalism, a major component of Prime Minister Mahathir's vision for the country that stressed the building up of Malaysian corporations and conglomerates. Access to domestic sources of funds for adjustment and the centralization of power in the government, particularly in the office of the Prime Minister, facilitated this process of defending national economic arrangements, at least during the period in question. The limited liberalization of the ethnic based distributive policy did not, however, imply a shift in the ideological and policy agenda towards complete embrace of neoliberal norms and practices. The imposition of capital controls, although announced as a temporary measure to allow space for the government to pursue its preferred course of adjustment, further indicates that the commitment to free markets in Malaysia is instrumental. The Malaysian case suggests that movement towards neoliberal forms of economic organization as a result of the financial crisis may be limited and is not inevitable.     

东南亚各国的粮食新政及其与中国的合作分析

2008年以来,全球粮食产量增长缓慢,需求不断增长,粮食危机席卷全球,如何保证粮食供应安全已成为东南亚国家面临的突出问题。为此,东南亚各国纷纷实施粮食新政,采取多种措施发展农业生产,确保粮食供给与粮食安全。世界范围内的粮食危机促进中国与东盟强化在粮食领域的合作。     

中国—东盟反恐合作策略探析——兼论“军事反恐”与“刑事反恐”的差异

从本质上看,中国与东盟存在反恐合作的共同利益,双方应当选择正确的合作策略。中国与东盟应当坚持刑事治理的反恐合作模式,遵守联合国反恐国际刑事政策,制定反恐与打击其他跨国有组织犯罪并举的刑事政策。     

东盟国家官方语言及其相关政策的启示

东盟国家都采用两种或两种以上的官方语言,英语和华语在这些国家的语言中占有重要地位。本文探讨东盟国家官方语言及其相关政策。