司法调解与治理变革--以陕甘宁边区基层司法档案为中心的考察

司法调解是多元化纠纷解决机制的重要组成部分之一,而以陕甘宁边区为代表的革命根据地调解制度,则是当代中国司法调解的主要渊源。革命根据地的调解,不止是一项司法制度或者新型司法制度中的一个环节,它实质上更是一种治理模式,辅助革命政策的推行。通过荣誉、身份等象征资本重塑调解人,不断将革命伦理、法制融入新型调解规则体系之中,中国共产党借助司法调解,较好地实现了革命根据地社会治理模式的变革,有效消解了革命法制与社会旧俗之间的紧张关系,增进了普通民众对共产党政权的认同度。革命时期的调解尽管存在制度缺漏、行政导向等缺陷,但它对社会文化、习俗的娴熟运用,对社会组织、地方权威人物的组织吸纳,以及注重消弭社会冲突、维护邻里和睦的价值取向,实际上是中国共产党领导的治理变革在法治中的生动体现,也成为当下司法与社会治理可资取鉴的历史资源。     

文化引领城市公共空间治理研究北大核心SSCI

当今世界文化传播呈现多元化特征。在多元文化的冲击下,保持一个城市公共空间的自有文化,在城市治理体系中充分发挥文化治理的作用,将文化的思维贯穿于公共空间治理政策的方方面面,用文化促进城市发展转型中经济、生态、科学技术、人文历史等多方面资源的整合,在城市公共空间的文化治理中形成“区域—城市—城区—社区”四个层面之间的整体与局部的协调,最终通过治理的顶层设计,对城市自身文化的挖掘、引导、运用和创新,促进城市完善自身核心定位,从而打造具有竞争力的城市形象,优化城市居住环境,提升市民归属感和幸福感,是文化引领我国城市公共空间治理的有效路径。     

新时代我国基层政权建设的实践难题及路径选择

基层政权作为国家政权极为重要的组成部分,在整个国家政权体系中发挥着基础性作用,是党和政府联系群众的桥梁和纽带,是国家各项工作的重要落脚点。当前,我国基层政权建设存在的实践难题主要表现在四个层面:基层政权的财权与事权不对等、基层政权公共性与自利性的冲突、基层政权与群众自治组织关系有待理顺、基层政权与人民群众关系发生变化。而要科学解决基层政权建设中存在的这些问题,就需要在坚持党的领导下,理顺基层政权的财权与事权关系,重构基层政权的公共性,构建多元化的基层社会治理格局,构建新型和谐政民关系。     

Regulation and its discontents: the Indian judiciary and higher education

The role of the judiciary in strengthening regulatory regimes is well regarded. In developing countries where regulatory bodies are captive to powerful interest groups, the judiciary is regarded for its activist role in providing participatory access to groups excluded from the policy process. In contrast, this paper draws attention to the limits of the judiciary as a gatekeeper of regulatory governance. Using the case of regulation in India’s tertiary education sector, it shows how the judiciary’s track record of enabling elite actors to influence policy, often at the cost of legislative mandates, can undermine regulation.     

The learning organisation as a model for rural development

This article presents evidence from Uganda's National Agricultural Advisory Service to argue that the concept of ‘the learning organisation’ is a valuable complement to participatory development which may facilitate a shift towards more democratic development institutions in which target beneficiaries have a stronger voice in planning and managing development. The concept of ‘the learning organisation’ as developed within the literature of management studies cannot, however, be readily translated into anything as specific as a clear set of practical guidelines. Rather it acts as a seed that grows to take on characteristics specific to the rural development context.     

Walking together: the journey of the Non-Aligned Movement and the women's movement

The story of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and the way in which women engaged with it, gaining from its overall liberatory calls, as well as its political independence from the UN and other multilateral agencies, is relatively unknown in the world of development and women; and yet it is an important example of multilateral space. This article argues that the NAM, and its engagement with women, has the historical and strategic potential to be the platform from which to launch an inclusive growth paradigm.     

Diary of a participatory advocacy film project: transforming communication initiatives into living campaigns

In August 2007, the government of Tanzania made a commitment to doubling the number of training places for skilled midwives, following a five-year campaign by the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood in Tanzania (WRATZ), which culminated in the first television screening of a participatory film, ‘Play Your Part’. With contributions from a range of health professionals, communities, a pop singer, and the Minister of Health, the message was that everyone at every level has a part to play in saving mothers' lives. WRATZ was successful because it was able to promote its message in a way that provides a model for advocacy, combining the reactive creativity of journalism and the methodological rigour of participatory video to bring about a tangible impact.     

Privatisation of urban water and sewerage services in Turkey: some trends

This article describes the experience of privatised urban water-supply and sewerage services in Turkey, focusing on the cases of three cities that have opted for such privatisation. The article opens with an examination of the management of urban water and sewerage services in Turkey and explores the development of water services and water policies in local government institutions. The second section introduces case studies of cities that have transferred the management, operation, and maintenance of urban water services to private operators.     

Lessons from selected development policies and practices

This article identifies lessons learned from field research and related analysis, to address three fundamental aspects of development that are often overlooked: culture and governance, inclusive development, and market-based approaches. All three cases address issues of poverty and inequality. In addition, the critical role of institutions in governance and development is also highlighted. Finally, by bridging the gap between culture, economy, and society through these approaches, better and more effective development policies and programmes can be formulated and implemented.     

Facilitators of development or Kapos for capital: the primrose path to GATS

This article arose from work undertaken on behalf of a UK-based NGO developing a policy response to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). It looks at GATS as a key to locating development NGOs (NGDOs) within the broader field of development aims and practices, examining the long-term implications of GATS with respect to the idea of a ‘fourth position’ for such NGOs. It is argued that this theoretical position fails to take into account changing imbalances of power between NGDOs and their Southern counterparts that began under structural adjustment, as a consequence of which many NGDOs now occupy a position from which effective mediation between civil society, the state, and the market would be difficult if not impossible. In addition, GATS represents a step-change along the evolutionary path towards a market-oriented ideology whose verticalist worldview represents a profound contradiction to the avowedly progressive aims of most NGDOs.