经验与借鉴：欧盟环境信息公开与中国相关立法的完善

在全球政府信息公开及环境保护立法快速发展的大背景下,我国已在政府环境信息公开领域开展了立法和实践,尤其是2008年5月实行的《环境信息公开办法（试行）》,更是这一领域的专门性立法。但是,通过与欧盟政府环境信息公开立法体系比较发现,我国政府环境信息公开立法存在着诸多问题：如环境信息公开的主体范围过为狭窄;环境信息公开的客体范围狭小及环境信息公开救济途径缺乏。本文在借鉴欧盟环境信息公开制度下,提出了完善我国环境信息公开的几点建议。     

中国—东盟自由贸易区建成对云南省烟草业发展的影响

中国—东盟自由贸易区的建成给云南省烟草业带来机遇和挑战。本文对自由贸易区建成后云南省烟草业所面临的机遇和挑战进行分析,并提出应对建议。     

欧盟学习型城市的发展与特色分析对台湾之启示

学习型城市的建构,自1990年代中期即持续受到欧盟的高度重视,并先后展开了一系列学习型城市的推动策略,俾以促使欧洲成为学习社会。然而台湾学习型城市的实务发展,迄今则仍乏积极的政策行动,有鉴于学习型城市的理论与实务探究,在台湾仍亟待加以进行。本研究旨在探究欧盟学习型城市的发展及其对台湾的启示,希冀透过欧盟学习型城市的发展分析与探究,深入了解欧盟学习型城市的发展内涵与特色,进而对台湾今后学习型城市的发展,提出具体可行之建议,以发挥他山之石,可以攻错之效。     

中国第一所女子大学概览——记华北协和女子大学

通过对华北协和女子大学的建校背景、学校前身、学校校长、建校时间、学校名称、规模概况、课程设置、学生运动及学校最终走向等方面的叙述，可以勾勒出中国第一所女子大学的基本面貌。该校填补了中国女子高等教育的空白，为培养中国近代第一批知识女性做出了贡献，在中国女子教育史上有着不可忽略的历史作用。另外，通过对史料的考证，可以发现燕...     

International Organisations and the Evolution of Humanitarianism: Cross-perspectives on the Commonwealth and the European Union

Abstract

As international relations actors in the post-Second World War world, international organisations have played a significant role in the standardisation of global policy concepts during the 20th century, and humanitarian assistance has been no exception. While the study of the role of international organisations in shaping a dominant model of humanitarian aid has recently gathered pace, few historians have focused on different, less successful models and interpretations developed by other international organisations. Recently declassified Commonwealth Secretariat records show that discussions within the Secretariat and among member states regarding the potential objectives and scope of Commonwealth humanitarian assistance programmes took place as early as the 1960s, and continued throughout the following decades. This article provides an overview of the origin and evolution of the Commonwealth’s approach to humanitarian assistance since the 1960s. Its objective is to document this hitherto little known aspect of Commonwealth assistance policies, and, based on an initial literature and archival survey, to contribute to the identification of further research questions and gaps in this aspect of Commonwealth history. Although they are very different in nature and scope, the Commonwealth and the European Union share at least one common feature in so far as humanitarian assistance is concerned, namely their difficulty in reaching a consensual definition of it. By exploring the links and discrepancies between, as well as within, each organisation’s approach to humanitarian assistance, and by examining the initiatives of some of their member states, this paper seeks to highlight the plasticity of the definition of humanitarian assistance.     

The role of African Union law in integrating Africa

This article traces how the development of regional law is linked to the state of regional integration in Africa. Given the prominent role European Union law plays in the functioning of the European Union, the question is posed whether there is similar scope for the development of ‘African Union law’, a term not established hitherto. Initially devoid from the necessary supranational elements required to adopt law that would automatically bind member states, the African Union is leaning towards a functionalist approach paving the way for transfer of sovereign powers to African Union institutions. It is argued that law-making capacity, be it through the activities of the Pan-African Parliament, the Peace and Security Council or the African court system, is a necessary requirement to accelerate the process of regional integration. African Union law will hold member states accountable to comply with international and continentally agreed standards on, inter alia, democracy, good governance and human rights.     

Τhe energy parameters of the Russian–Ukrainian–EU impasse: dependencies,sanctions and the rise of ‘Turkish Stream’

The overwhelming dependency of Ukraine on Russian energy and the lack of any short-to-medium term diversification of European Union (EU) oil and gas supplies away from Moscow dictate a cooperative approach vis-à-vis Russia in dealing with the Ukrainian crisis. The EU is unable to impose any more severe sanctions on Russia’s energy industry without provoking a major negative impact on its own troubled economy. The continuation of the current confrontational friction in EU–Russian energy relations will most likely consolidate Russia’s decision to seek the elimination of its gas transit dependence on Ukraine after 2020. Such a target will be very difficult to attain by the end of this decade, even if Russia will be able to partly replace the now abandoned South Stream project with Turkish Stream.     

The limits of autocracy promotion: The case of Russia in the ‘near abroad’

In recent years, observers have raised concerns about threats to democracy posed by external support for authoritarianism coming from regional powers such as Russia, China and Venezuela. This article assesses the efficacy of autocracy promotion through a close examination of Russian efforts to shape regime outcomes in the former Soviet Union. It finds that while Russian actions have periodically promoted instability and secessionist conflict, there is little evidence that such intervention has made post‐Soviet countries less democratic than they would have been otherwise. First, the Russian government has been inconsistent in its support for autocracy – supporting opposition and greater pluralism in countries where anti‐Russian governments are in power, and incumbent autocrats in cases where pro‐Russian politicians dominate. At the same time, the Russian government's narrow concentration on its own economic and geopolitical interests has significantly limited the country's influence, fostering a strong counter‐reaction in countries with strong anti‐Russian national identities. Finally, Russia's impact on democracy in the region has been restricted by the fact that post‐Soviet countries already have weak democratic prerequisites. This analysis suggests that, despite increasingly aggressive foreign policies by autocratic regional powers, autocracy promotion does not present a particularly serious threat to democracy in the world today.     

Financial industry mobilisation and securities markets regulation in Europe

The 2007–2009 financial crisis has led to considerable debate about the role of financial industry actors in global regulatory processes. This article seeks to contribute to this debate by assessing when and why financial industry actors mobilise in order to influence securities markets regulations. Do these mobilisation patterns suggest undue influence by a small set of powerful industry actors, or do they reflect the engagement of a more diverse set of actors representing broader public interests? It is argued that variation in mobilisation patterns is a function of: (1) institutional opportunity (the openness and accessibility of regulatory politics); and (2) demonstration effects (how crises increase the salience of regulatory issues). Empirical analyses suggest that the financial crisis diminished the diversity of mobilising actors. This trend, however, is reversed when the news media disseminate information about the costs of weak financial regulation and thereby increase the salience of regulatory issues.