Framing Leave for Fathers in Norway and Poland: Just a Matter of Gender Equality?

How has leave for fathers been framed during periods of intensive public debates in Norway and Poland? Recognizing that childcare policy is one of the key aspects of social citizenship, the article examines justifications for adopting paternity and parental leave schemes by mapping master and minor frames in various policy documents and newspaper articles. In Norway, periods of leave earmarked for fathers have been in operation for more than 20 years and comprise 10 weeks with full wage compensation in 2016. In Poland a two-week period of paid leave for fathers with full compensation was introduced in 2010. In both countries, fathers are also entitled to share parental leave with mothers. Our argument is that despite the different political, financial, and social context in the two countries, the discussions in Norway and Poland reveal certain similarities with regard to framing fathers’ leave as a degenderizing policy tool. In both countries, leave periods for fathers have been promoted as a means for changing masculinity and fatherhood, as well as a measure for advancing gender equality in the labour market. However, the analysis also shows that there are differences. While in Norway fathers’ schemes are increasingly seen as a tool to close the gendered pay gap, their potential for responding to demographic challenges has been central in Polish debates.     

Minimal democratic audit of Islamic and other identitarian regimes

Empirical evidence overwhelmingly shows that democracy in Muslim societies is poorly institutionalized. Many scholars of democratization studies critique that the methodology of Western institutions that audit democracy and freedoms worldwide employs normative metrics which are insensitive to cultural particularisms and thus biased. This paper presents a minimal framework for democratic audit of electoral Islamic regimes that while being normative, answers to this criticism. It is also shown to be in the self-interest of modernizing elites in such regimes. This framework is premised on the transference of the burden of legitimacy from ‘majority consent’ to ‘minority concern’ by basing itself on the substantive ‘political equality’ proviso of Dahl. This is achieved without constraining the democratic capacity of the majority. Structured as a guarantee of rights and two guarantees of justice in a system of fairness, the framework can be used for democratic audit of a much larger set of electoral regimes.     

Uneven paths: women and welfare in Italy and Spain

Taking the Spanish case as a departure point, this paper explores a variety of causes for the slowdown in female employment growth in Italy over recent years. The paper analyses the peculiarities of the Italian labour market, with a higher propensity to inactivity than in other countries, as well as the generally low educational levels among the Italian population and the pervasive presence of the black economy. It goes on to examine institutional and political features, such as the organisation of social policies, the political weakness of feminism, the role of the Catholic Church, family networks and the North–South duality (which is particularly extreme with regard to gender equality). The features studied relate to each other in a logic which could account for the divergent paths of the social position of women in Italy and Spain. The article is based in Labour Force and Multiscopo surveys, as well as on interviews with Italian social policy experts.     

How do gender quotas affect public support for women as political leaders?

Gender quotas have shown themselves to be an effective means of getting more women into political office. Less clear is the broader effect of gender quotas on egalitarian attitudes. This article uses a cross-national dataset of 48 countries worldwide to examine the role of gender quotas in the generation of individual-level attitudes to women as political leaders. Firstly, gender quotas appear to improve perceptions of women’s ability as political leaders in countries where they are present, having controlled for a range of individual-level and contextual influences. Second, this effect differs by sex. For women, the presence of gender quotas alone increases their support for women’s political leadership, something theorised as a ‘vote of confidence’ effect. Thirdly, this effect is not dependent on the type of quota implemented and holds for quotas adopted voluntarily by political parties and those that are brought about via a broader legal change.     

中国传统契约中的“契约自由”与“主体平等”——以清水江文书为视角

中国法律传统虽以"公法"为主要特征,强调以身份关系为纽带的"公权力",但在"私法"领域,却并非不重视以自由和平等为基础的"私权利"。在中国传统契约与清水江文书中,均普遍存有关于"契约自由"与"主体平等"这样一种"契约型社会"的私法观念。在契约自由方面,主要通过"二主和同"、"两和立契"等契约语言来体现契约是双方协商一致,达成合意的结果;在主体平等方面,则通过"两共平章"、"平中立约"等用语来表明立约双方具有平等的人格与主体地位。而这样一种注重合意、平等立约的私法观念,以及尊重契约、敬畏契约,通过契约保护自身合法权利的精神,是当今我国法治化建设过程中重要的本土资源与宝贵财富。在提倡尊重契约精神、保护私权利等法治观念的今天,亦能够为我国法治的现代化进程提供历史的和本土的基因。     

析社会主义市场经济背景下的社会平等问题——兼析罗默的平等观

中国社会主义市场经济的建立是中国特色社会主义理论的一个重要创新,也是科学社会主义发展史上的一件大事。中国的市场经济取得了巨大的成就,也出现了一些不平等现象,必须用马克思主义的观点正确认识社会主义初级阶段的不平等现象,充分发挥社会主义的优越性。     

社会弱势群体保护的权利视角及其理论基础——以平等理论透视

对于社会弱势群体的以“权利”为立足点的关怀和保护是人类特有的道德法则 ,也是实践中制度理性之重要表现。本文通过对于什么是“社会弱势群体”、社会弱势群体保护的权利视角和社会弱势群体权利保护理论的基础等三个问题的分析 ,认为对于社会弱势群体应该通过权利的方式进行保护 ,其基础就是实质平等理论。这种理论昭示着人权范围的扩大及国家义务的扩大 ,从而给予了社会弱势群体有效的保护。     

农民平等权的宪政思考

建设社会主义新农村的关键是解决不平等对待农民的问题,不平等对待农民主要不是法律适用上的不平等,而是法律内容上的不平等。有关农民不平等的规定有碍农民权利的实现,是社会主义新农村建设的绊脚石,与法治精神、宪政原则相悖。要从宪政角度保护农民的平等权,建设社会主义新农村,当务之急是对现有有关农民权利的不平等规定进行清理,然后重新构建农民平等权法律保护体系,并逐渐建立宪政审查制度。     

环境公平应成为农村环境保护法的基本理念

环境公平已成为我国城乡协调发展中一个严肃而不可回避的问题。本文从环境公平的定义出发,针对城乡环境不公的严峻现实,提出环境公平应成为农村环境保护法的基本理念。