Policy Adoption and Policy Intensity: Emergence of Climate Adaptation Planning in U.S. States

The United States is experiencing growing impacts of climate change but currently receives a limited policy response from its national leadership. Within this policy void, many state governments are stepping up and taking action on adaptation planning. Yet we know little about why some states adopt State Adaptation Plans (SAPs), while others do not. This article investigates factors that predict the emergence of SAPs, both in terms of policy adoption and policy intensity (goal ambitiousness). Applying the diffusion of innovation theory, I consider the relative influence of internal state characteristics, regional pressures, and test for conditional effects between government ideologies and severity of the problem. The results show interesting differences between predictors that influence policy adoption and ambitiousness. States are more motivated to adopt a policy when faced with greater climate vulnerability, have more liberal citizenry, and where governments have crossed policy hurdles by previously passing mitigation plans. The intensity of policies and goal setting, moreover, is more likely to be driven by interest group politics and diffuse through policy learning or sharing information among neighboring states in Environmental Protection Agency regions. These findings support an emerging scholarship that uses more complex dependent variables in policy analysis. These variables have the potential to differentiate symbolic from substantive policies and capture finer information about predictors of importance.     

Political Candidates and the Energy Issue: Nuclear Power Position and Electoral Success

Members of parliament are key actors for the implementation of energy transitions, such as phasing out nuclear power. Before legislators can cast their maybe decisive vote in parliament, they need to run for office and actively strive for election. This paper assesses what political candidates oppose renewable energy transitions and questions whether the energy issue matters in national elections, and thus has consequences for the implementation of new sustainable energy sources. We analyze these questions by first describing the specific characteristics of political candidates. The paper then evaluates the relevance of the energy issue for electoral success in three national elections in Switzerland (2007, 2012, and 2015). Based on candidate data from the voting advice application smartvote.ch, we find that female candidates support ETs more than men do; that especially the French‐speaking part of the country is more in favor of a nuclear phase‐out, and that younger candidates are also more open toward restructuring the energy system than older candidates are. Our models further show that the energy issue does not matter in elections, independently from its salience in the respective election campaigns. Candidates are thus relatively free to choose their position on the issue and do not have to fear consequences at the ballot. However, candidates of center parties, in contrast to the pole parties, are sensitive to the energy issue and reflect public mood in their positions.     

Applying Stone in a Western Landscape: Ranchers,Conservationists, and Causal Stories in the “American Serengeti”

As the emergence of nongovernmental conservation efforts generates conflict among various stakeholders, the causal story that each party articulates regarding conservation and the causes of land degradation reflects their unique interests. This study uses existing literature to evaluate causal stories surrounding a contemporary conservation effort: Montana's American Prairie Reserve. Through qualitative review of web‐based documents and newspaper articles, it generates a preliminary account of key stakeholders' causal stories. The case study suggests that parties who might be disadvantaged by ascribing responsibility for environmental harms in an adversarial fashion may instead elect to articulate causal stories that are more neutral than existing approaches might forecast. The study concludes by suggesting that further development of causal story literature may enable it to better address contemporary conservation efforts.     

A 21st Century Low‐Carbon Transition in U.S. Electric Power: Extent,Contributing Factors,and Implications

The U.S. electric power sector has experienced a substantial shift of the generation mix since the turn of the century, moving from heavy reliance on coal‐powered generation to one drawing more from natural gas and, more recently, renewables. This transition has been forged by a mix of macroeconomic factors (recession and recovery); technological breakthroughs (horizontal drilling coupled with hydraulic fracturing; improvements in natural gas plant efficiency); clean energy policies at federal, state, and local levels of government; and private sector demands for carbon‐free energy sources. These factors have combined to reduce carbon emissions from electric power generation substantially this century. In this article we examine the extent of this transition, its causes, as well as the distinct American institutional factors steering it, including energy and environmental federalism, electoral politics, and the political economy of clean energy policy enactment and resistance.     

皮埃尔·诺拉的“记忆之场”与国族认知——兼论《普鲁斯特之<追忆似水年华>》

20世纪80年代后,学界的“记忆”研究逐渐兴起。法国当代史学名家皮耶?诺哈主编的多卷本《记忆之场》引领了这一潮流,将之聚焦于富有象征意味的“记忆之场”上。诺哈区分了“记忆”与“历史”,指出了“记忆”的“场所”具有的物质性、功能性与象征性,并以庞大的篇幅建构了法国国族自我认知的社会史。其中,孔帕尼翁的《普鲁斯特之<追忆似水年华>》将普鲁斯特及其作品视为一种“记忆之场”,探讨了“泛普鲁斯特学”、成为“法国伟大作家”的普鲁斯特及其成功的社会基础,将“普鲁斯特”这类“建构之象征物”纳入到“法国之所以成为法国”的研究中,表明其保证了一种集体性的、文化与身份认同的再生产;该文也代表了作品研究的另一种进入方式。     

政治信任、情绪感染与政策执行

政策执行力是现阶段高质量发展的研究焦点及难点问题。依托计划行为理论和情绪感染理论,提出了考虑情绪感染调节作用的政治信任与政策执行关系假设,并基于162份有效样本数据,对其进行了实证验证。结果显示：(1)政策受众者对政府、政策、官员的信任程度,直接影响其对政策执行效果(尤其是经济绩效)的认知。(2)政策受众者的情绪感染力,会不同方向地干扰政治信任程度与政策执行效果认知之间的关系。具体而言,情绪感染对政治信任与行政绩效关系发挥了部分显著的正向调节作用,对政治信任与经济绩效关系发挥了部分显著的负向调节作用。     

少年司法国家责任论纲

由于国家责任的缺失,限制了我国少年司法制度的宏观规划、整体布局与协同进步,以致法律体系不完善、地域差别较大、部门协作壁垒等问题一直存在。国家责任更具“宣誓”意义和政策指引价值,其与政府责任、司法机关责任存在主体不同、责任内容不同、责任实现方式不同等区别。从国家责任角度出发,应加速制定“儿童福利法”,完善儿童福利制度,理顺刑事诉讼法内部规则,细化收容教养制度,协调刑法、刑事诉讼法与其他部门法的衔接;少年司法所需经费可实行国家财政统一拨付,国家应统筹发展少年司法模式,并大力发展中西部少年司法社工组织及少年司法社工;明确司法机关、政府相关部门的责任分配,强化家庭、学校作用的发挥,积极推动公安、司法机关、政府部门与少年司法社工组织的协同发展。     

我国公共政策失灵问题研究综述

政策失灵是世界各国共有的现象。我国学界主要从理论和实践两个方面分析了政策失灵的内涵、类型、成因、对策等,不断加深对政策失灵问题的认识。但目前政策失灵研究还存在基本概念界定不清、理论创新不足、视角较为狭窄、研究深度不够等问题。深化政策失灵研究,需要在学理上对其内涵进行清晰界定,构建政策失灵的分析模型;将政策失灵与政策过程相结合,将思辨分析与实证分析相结合,分析政策失灵的具体表现、内在机理、应对思路,增强政策失灵分析的中国特色和理论创新。     

基本公共服务均等化治理:从“缩小地区间财力差距”到“提升人民群众获得感”

我国基本公共服务均等化已经开始从"缩小地区间财力差距"迈向"提升人民群众获得感"的治理新时代。本文围绕充分性和均衡性重新审视了我国基本公共服务均等化面临的新问题,并围绕"政府调节→基本公共服务均等化→人民群众获得感提升"主线,从理论上探讨了基本公共服务均等化治理框架及需要突破的难点。研究指出:(1)我国基本公共服务均等化治理,指向人民群众获得感最大化的目标嬗变是前提,追求获得感提升带来行政效能的制度保障是关键,理清"投入-产出-感知"链条并形成内外联动的3E绩效体系是重点;(2)技术上需要突破两点:一是以"基本"范畴和"均等"程度为起点,分别构建满足充分性和均衡性的绩效指标体系,二是获得反映人民群众获得感的基本公共服务大数据信息。     

21世纪初日本对外目标及外交战略探析

21世纪初期,日本在坚持“普通国家化”既定战略目标的基础上,从国家战略原则、战略重点及国家利益出发,围绕日美同盟、联合国外交、亚洲外交、应对全球气候变化等战略重点,力求以“全方位外交”实现日本国家对外目标及外交战略意图。