Addressing Restrictive Zoning for Affordable Housing: Experiences in Four States

Affordable housing development in suburban locales is often constrained by zoning and other municipal land-use restrictions. This article explores experiences in four states that have been recognized for exemplary interventions that address “exclusionary zoning.” Using quantitative and qualitative methods, the article examines overall production levels resulting from the specific program, the extent to which such production is occurring in locales with more White residents and more higher-income residents, and the levels of compliance with state-specified goals, where such goals exist. When possible, cross-state comparisons are provided. Although there are clear signs of progress, with municipalities increasing their affordable housing stocks and with some of this production occurring in locales that probably would not have developed such housing without such state (or county) intervention, the pace has been slow. A number of recommendations are offered for these and other states contemplating strategies to address exclusionary land-use practices.     

Towards a Kantian Moral Psychology or the Practical Effects of Self-Predicating Judgements of Sublimity

Abstract

This essay develops an account of the link between Kant's aesthetics and his ethics. It does so by articulating a Kantian account of moral psychology by way of aesthetic reflective judgements of sublimity. Since judgements of sublimity enrich the picture of a Kantian subject by forcefully revealing the unbounded power of the faculty of reason, I investigate the possibility that judgements of this kind could serve as a basis for moral motivation. The paper first shows how judgements of sublimity help a subject recognize reason's unbounded nature, and proceeds to analyse the practical effects of a subject judging itself sublime. When judgements of sublimity have as their object the unbounded and unsythesizable power of reason, they may thereby serve as the basis for both the recognition of our moral vocation, and the grounds for determining the will to act from respect for it. Since a judgement of sublimity produces for Kant the experience of an enlivening emotion and an outflowing of vital forces, the paper then develops Kant's concept of “life” motivated by a recognition of its practical orientation. In this way sublimity rather than beauty can be interpreted as symbolic hypotyposis of morality. The paper then takes up less favourable interpretations of the practical effects of self-predicated judgements of sublimity, and constructs critical responses to such positions. I conclude, following Adorno, by stressing the historical and social dimension of the capacities for both making sublime judgements, and being morally enlivened by them.     

The Brazilian Association of Regulatory Agencies: Integrating levels,consolidating identities in the regulatory state in the south

This article discusses a unique organization in the regulatory world, the Brazilian Association of Regulatory Agencies (ABAR), which brings together federal, state, and municipal regulatory agencies across different policy sectors. The paper argues that as a regulatory policy network, ABAR has been crucial to the professional socialization, capacity building, and institutionalization of regulators in Brazil. Moreover, it has promoted their identity as professionals and differentiated them from politicians, regulatees, and societal actors. Thus, while ABAR raises the shield of expertise to secure independence from political and social interference, it has itself become a relevant actor in the country's regulatory political dynamics, contributing as such to the strengthening of the Brazilian regulatory state.     

Fragile States: A Donor-serving Concept? Issues with Interpretations of Fragile Statehood in Afghanistan

Abstract

The paradox of attempting to (re)construct state institutions without considering the socio-political cohesion of societies recurs throughout the world, most notably today in the Middle East, Africa and the Balkans. This essay tries to shed some light on the debate around the concepts of state and nation-building. Drawing on a sociological understanding of the modern nation-state, it contends that it is impossible to conceive of statebuilding as a process separate from nation-building. This essay identifies two different schools of thought in the discussion concerning the statebuilding process, each of which reflects different sociological understandings of the state. The first one, an ‘institutional approach’ closely related to the Weberian conception of the state, focuses on the importance of institutional reconstruction and postulates that statebuilding activities do not necessarily require a concomitant nation-building effort. The second, a ‘legitimacy approach’ influenced by Durkheimian sociology, recognizes the need to consolidate central state institutions, but puts more emphasis on the importance of socio-political cohesion in the process. Building on this second approach and demonstrating its relevance in contemporary statebuilding, this article concludes with a discussion of recent statebuilding attempts and the ways external actors can effectively contribute to statebuilding processes.     

Not a Curse at All: Why Middle Eastern Oil States Fail and How it can be Prevented

Western scholarship has often noted that oil states in the Middle East are affected by the ‘resource curse’. Thus, such states are to eventually fail due to their plundering of resources and their neglect of the social contract with their citizens. However, this is not the case, as oil states are neither failed states, nor fully democratic. They hover in a middle ground in which they assure security through coercion, but lack representation and legitimacy. Due to the events of the Arab Spring, a pragmatic, insightful and comprehensive review of oil states in the region is necessary. Although oil states in the region thus far have remained stable, change can be expected in the future. How will oil states deal with the pressures of a more demanding society and an ever-challenging economic atmosphere? Furthermore, what can history teach us so that state failure can be averted?     

主权财富基金性质相关问题研究

近年来,主权财富基金一直是公众关注的焦点。中外学者对于主权财富基金的研究多从公司治理入手,鲜有学者对主权财富基金的性质属性进行论述。主权财富基金的性质关系到其发展方向以及治理模式,具有重大的现实意义。本文以主权财富基金的性质为出发点。重点阐述其“新型国家资本主义属性”与“理性经济人”属性,在此基础上指出二者存在的逻辑悖论。文章通过分析认为主权财富基金应当坚持“理性经济人属性”优先原则,采用“去主权化治理模式”,推动主权财富基金海外投资的商业化,避免附带过多的政治主权色彩。     

中国特色社会主义理论体系的特性分析

中国特色社会主义理论作为马克思主义中国化第二次飞跃所产生的一项重要理论成果,是指导我国社会主义现代化建设的行动指南。十一届三中全会到十八大的胜利召开,中国特色社会主义理论体系经历了一个不断发展和创新的过程。具有中国特色的社会主义理论体系本身的特性主要有:鲜明的阶级民族性、紧密的历史连续性、严密的结构整体性、鲜活的现实时代性和灵活的发展创新性。这个体系是坚持中国特色社会主义制度,走中国特色社会主义道路,最终实现中国特色社会主义的行动指南。     

试析中国特色社会主义文化的先进性和人民性

文化有先进与落后之分,必须通过生产力、社会进步、人的发展等标准加以评判。同时,处于一定社会阶段的文化是特定阶级或阶层根本利益的观念反映,具有一定的阶级属性。中国特色社会主义文化既推动着我国社会主义初级阶段经济社会的全面进步,是当代中国的先进文化,又是从群众来、到群众中去、推劫人的全面发展的人民大众的文化,是先进性与人民性的统一。     

道路自信、理论自信、制度自信的基本内涵浅析

党的十八大报告提出,全党面对党和人民90多年奋斗、创造、积累的根本成就时,要坚定“道路自信”、“理论自信”、“制度自信”。只有在坚定“三个自信”的同时,脚踏实地、扎扎实实地干好自己的事业,我们的道路自信才不是固步自封,我们的理论自信才不是夜郎自大,我们的制度自信才不是骄傲自满。有了这样的底气和精神状态,我们就一定能完成党确定的宏伟目标。     

论政治与宗教的两难抉择——《利维坦》的思想脉络与乌托邦困境

《利维坦》的出发点是人性,归宿是国家。人性自私自利,加之人的愚昧无知、恐惧、激情和权力欲作怪,使得宗教有了存在并神圣化的理由。霍布斯试图从自然状态下的人出发,完成宗教的去政治化和宗教的去神圣化论述,凸显世俗政权（国家）至上,重建世俗世界的政治秩序。但在不知不觉中,霍布斯陷入另一个乌托邦困境：权威政治毕竟是俗世的、刚性的,无法完成思想统治,仅有政治权力统治无法化解政治世界内部的公共领域与私人领域、国家与个人的冲突,利维坦难以长存。