Globalization and legal change: The “Americanization” of European law?

Intensified global economic competition, economic liberalization, and the rise of EU governance have led some observers to argue that there has been a trend toward the “Americanization” of the European “way of law.” This article addresses that contention, focusing on legal change in European member states. It first describes ways in which the American legal tradition has differed most sharply from the national legal systems of Western Europe (including Great Britain) and the political and economic factors that account for this “American legal distinctiveness.” Similar political and economic factors currently are at work in Europe, the article acknowledges, creating incentives for legal convergence. But it also argues that European legal culture and the political organization of European national states generate path‐dependent forces that impede European movement toward American ways of law, and it discusses six important differences between European and American law that remain entrenched and are unlikely to disappear.     

和谐社会建构与和谐人培育——基于文化的视角

构建和谐社会,培育和谐人,始终是人类孜孜以求的一个社会理想,也是中国共产党不懈追求的一个价值目标.和谐社会就是要把符合客观规律同反映人性发展要求结合起来,把物的尺度与人的尺度、科学尺度与价值尺度结合起来,把社会发展与人的发展结合起来.和谐社会的落脚点是培育理性人、经济人、政治人、文化人、能力人和伦理人相统一的＂和谐人＂.     

Ghana's foreign policy and transnational security challenges in West Africa

This article focuses on Ghana's security culture as reflected in its foreign policy, and how it has influenced the way the country addresses transnational security challenges in the Economic Community of West African State subregion. In this sense, the article explores some of the linkages between national and subregional security cultures in West Africa and how effectively they have complemented each other in providing a holistic response to the transnational security challenges facing Ghana. The article argues that despite the existence of different subregional conventions and protocols made possible by an emerging subregional security culture, Ghana's strategies for addressing transnational security threats have not gone much beyond the rhetoric of addressing the problems. In reality, transnational criminal activities have not only intensified but have become more challenging. Several factors contribute to this including corrupt leadership and institutional practices, security lapses and lack of interagency coordination, and inadequate resources for addressing the problem. The article calls for adequately equipping the law enforcement agencies and the implementation of relevant laws to facilitate effective responses to transnational security challenges for Ghana and other countries in West Africa.     

Security culture,transnational challenges and the Economic Community of West African States

This special issue explores how one particular regional organisation, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has defined certain transnational issues as security threats and how it has addressed them. In this introductory article, we begin by providing an overview and analysis of some of the most important transnational security challenges facing West Africa. Specifically, we discuss some of the problems raised by cross-border insurgencies, health challenges, organised criminal activities, terrorism and environmental degradation. We then examine the different levels at which actors have responded to these challenges. The section ‘Security culture: shaping the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) response?’ sets out our approach to thinking about the concept of security culture and asks whether it might be relevant to understanding how and why ECOWAS has focused on responding to certain transnational security challenges and not to others. The final section provides an overview of the other articles in this issue.     

Scents of identity: Fragrance as heritage in Zanzibar

In 2000, UNESCO declared Zanzibar Stone Town a World Heritage Site. Since this time the Tanzanian government and international NGOs (based in Zanzibar) have participated in the rehabilitation of the town's buildings and other physical infrastructure. However, little attention has been paid to the rich intangible heritage of the islands and the fusion of cultural expressions in this part of the world. This paper considers the important role of fragrances in the identity construction processes of Zanzibar islanders. The author offers a brief history, theoretical discussion and detailed ethnography of fragrance in Zanzibar. She discusses its role in the varied constitution of identity, belief and in life cycle rituals. The author further argues that fragrance and other seemingly ‘mundane’ heritages attract little attention in the preservation process and yet these indicate important cultural continuities in the Indian Ocean region and form a vital part of heritage and the harmonisation of cultures on the islands.     

晋商传统文化的法律理念探析

法律文化是支配人类法律实践活动的价值基础。晋商传统文化是直接在传统法律文化的框架下形成和运作的。晋商形成和发展过程中，逐渐形成了诚实信用、严格管理、任人唯贤、官商结合等体现中国传统法律文化特征的原则。从晋商传统法律文化的特点中，我们可以总结出其所体现的法律文化精神和法律理念，对于我国当前法治社会的构建有着重要的学习和借鉴意义。     

民族文化创新是文化全球化的必然诉求

文化全球化的现状以及未来发展趋势要求民族文化创新。民族文化创新是历史发展差异性的供给源，是文化全球化历史发展的动力。民族文化创新既符合辩证法的内在要求，又体现了各民族对历史发展的高度责任感。因此，要实现文化全球化进程中的民族文化创新，应正确处理好趋利与避害的关系、借鉴与独创的关系、民族化和全球化的关系、主导性和多样性的关系。     

论民族民间传统文化的法律保护

民族民间传统文化保护立法中存在争论的法律名称、立法目的、法律方法和司法救济等问题,不能以非物质文化遗产保护法代替民族民间传统文化保护法,应当简化立法目的,创新法律方法,建立符合传统文化保护规律的特别制度,并在具体法律缺位的情况下,鼓励司法救济。     

贵州少数民族文化资源开发的思考

本文通过对贵州民族文化资源现状及旅游开发中存在的问题的阐述,提出了贵州旅游开发应更多地注入民族文化的内涵,同时在开发中强调对整个文化生态环境的保护。     

暴力文化对青少年的危害及其治理对策

随着社会的进一步发展,文化中的"异质"——暴力文化,在商业性舆论导向以及整个社会对之炒作的情势下,似有愈演愈烈之势。这对处于文化需求高峰期、经验不足、辨别是非和抵制消极影响能力差的青少年产生了极为不良的影响,受暴力文化影响而发生的悲剧屡见不鲜。这就需要全社会通力合作,形成预防暴力文化侵蚀青少年的安全网,从多个渠道、多个方面对此问题予以解决。