Democratic Political Competence: Clearing the Underbrush and a Controversial Proposal

Though the link between democracy and an appropriately trained citizen is obvious, the theoretical and empirical nature of this association is murky despite mountains of scholarship addressing this topic. Part of this problem is that the term democratic competence has been stretched almost to the point of uselessness. This constant adding of desired traits—many of which are ideologically driven—misdirects effort away from such complex problems as the relationship between individual attributes and collective capacities. Moreover, recent research has often been guilty of using data of uncertain relevance to demonstrate a competence that seems largely an analytical artifact. We conclude by offering an approach that stresses old- fashioned traits such as patriotism that seem necessary to the existing, and quite democratic, status quo.     

浅议邓小平的民主法治思想与人本发展观

崇尚法治,反对人治是邓小平法治思想的基础和核心,民主法治思想与人本发展观的完善是邓小平理论的结晶,它的立法、执法、守法等基本思路对维护社会主义市场经济的新秩序,具有广泛深远的意义。     

The Politics of Universalisation: Establishing National Health Services in Southern Europe

Italy, Portugal, Greece and Spain have enacted reform laws during the last 20 years with the intention of turning their health insurance systems into national health services. Universalisation of access to public health care was at the centre of the political debates which led to the passing of the reform laws. This article analyses the policy-making processes that allowed for such institutional change, as well as achievements and shortcomings of the implementation processes that followed. The analysis draws on the insights of the actor-centred neo-institutionalist approach in the policy sciences.     

论司法权运行的民主性——以自组织理论为分析工具

自组织理论作为研究自然界复杂性现象和事物的方法和工具,也应该适用于广义自然界下的人类社会这一复杂系统。比较可以发现,作为人类社会子系统的司法权运行系统,存在开放性、两造的非平衡性结构、证据裁判及非线性攻防特征,这与自组织的四个基本条件是吻合的,或者说司法权运行系统具有自组织性。同时,司法权运行中所必备的整体性视野、非决定论思想和不可逆理念也与自组织理论的哲学特性契合。司法民主是司法权运行系统的自组织性体现。以自组织理论分析司法权的运行,可以避免比较法、逻辑理性等法学视域的狭隘,为司法民主寻找更为客观的社会学和自然科学意义上的根据。     

What Makes Terrorism Salient? Terrorist Strategies,Political Competition,and Public Opinion

This article analyzes the determinants of terrorism saliency in public opinion. It is usually assumed that after a terrorist attack, terrorism becomes automatically salient. However, this assumption is only true in those countries where terrorist attacks are exceptional events. In democracies that have suffered domestic terrorism for decades, the evolution of terrorism saliency does not only depend on the frequency or intensity of terrorist attacks. In this article it is claimed that the tactics carried out by terrorist groups (the type of victim, especially) and the dynamics of political competition (especially the ideology of the incumbent) are also factors that explain the evolution of terrorism saliency. The article also analyzes how these two factors interact with citizens’ predispositions to explain variation in their reactions to terrorist threat. The empirical test relies on a novel database from monthly public opinion surveys in Spain from 1993 to 2012.     

新时期我国社会主义民主政治建设的新思考——现行《宪法》实施30年来我国社会主义民主政治建设的回顾与展望

人民民主是我国社会主义国家政权的本质,发展社会主义民主,实现人民当家做主是我国宪法、宪政的核心使命。秉承这一使命,我国现行《宪法》实施30年来,极大地促进了我国社会主义民主政治的发展。然而,在当前我国社会主义建设的新时期,社会主义民主政治也面临着不少问题与挑战。因此,有必要结合既有成就,正视新时期的挑战,通过进一步推进我国现行《宪法》的实施,探索社会主义民主政治发展的新路向。而培育社会主义民主文化,关注公民身份、提升公民的民主行动能力,走社会主义民主渐进发展之路,促进我国社会主义民主制度的完善与创新则是最为重要的环节。     

司法审查正当性的证成路径及其评析

对于美国宪政结构中司法审查与民主的悖论问题,西方学界致力于改造传统多数主义的民主观念并提出相应的宪法解释技术来论证司法审查的正当性,这表现为伊利的程序性民主与司法监督、德沃金的合宪性民主与道德解读、波斯纳的精英式民主与实用主义审判、哈贝马斯的协商式民主与程序主义司法等诸多具有代表性的理论范式。事实上,司法审查的正当性证成不能仅仅依靠重构民主观念的外部论证来实现,还需要依靠法官精湛的判决论证技术的内部路径来提升。这说明司法审查与民主的悖论是宪政结构中构成性的内在矛盾,而司法审查与民主的互动则是宪政具有生命力的内在源泉。     

国际法基本属性之思辨

以法学基本理论为依据,采用比较研究的方法,辨析了国际法的基本属性.国际法具有法的一般性质--规范性和强制性.国际法比国内法具有更显著的平等性和民主性.无论作为法的一个部门,还是作为一个法律体系,国际法都是独立的.     

中国公司法之构造缺陷及克服

作者认为 ,中国公司法在实践中存在以下缺陷 :有限公司与股份公司的组织机构之间区别模糊、国有独资公司定位不当、股份公司之董事会缺少有效约束、监事会的监督职能虚拟化以及对关联公司以及公司集团的约束不力。为更好地发挥公司在市场经济中的作用 ,实有改革有限公司制度以及重新塑造股份公司之董事会与监事会关系的必要。此外 ,还应当增加对关联公司与公司集团的法律规定。     

司法审查正当性论争之辨析

司法审查的正当性论争所造成的司法审查正当性困窘,堪称司法审查乃＂知难行易＂。辩解和诘难司法审查的两种立场,无不从民主、分权、人权与司法审查之关联以证立或驳斥司法审查,其中又内在地勾连着宪法的性质、立法与司法的关系、宪法解释的方法。此种理论上的分异乃至对立,端在于司法审查的正当性问题已非一般意义的司法的正当性问题,而是因司法审查内含修宪,遂转成为政治正当性问题。民主、分权、人权正是关联着司法审查权的依据、方式和目标三个方面,从而成为证立或驳斥司法审查所必然涉及者。而对民主、分权、人权的理解和判定,又往往人言人殊,由此造成理论上的各执一词、分庭抗礼。然而,在证立与驳斥司法审查之间,逻辑上的要求是不对等的。此所以司法审查在理论上困难重重,在实践上却大行其道。此亦所谓＂知行分离＂。