Government Transparency in Historical Perspective: From the Ancient Regime to Open Data in The Netherlands

This article presents an analysis of the history of government transparency over the past 250 years. While this analysis is to a certain extent specific to The Netherlands, the analysis will also identify more general patterns that are arguably relevant to the development of transparency in other Western countries. The overview highlights how, when, and why transparency was conceived as a cornerstone of representative democracy to allow the people to monitor their representatives and evolved into a fundament of participatory democracy that allows people to participate in the public domain.     

Local governance and spatial distribution of resources: The need to harness traditional leadership for service delivery in South Africa

Abstract

Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methods, the aim of the study forming the basis of the article was to examine how traditional leadership can be harnessed for the purposes of service delivery at the local level in South Africa. Specifically, the study sought to examine the juxtaposition of traditional and modern forms of governance in South Africa (institutional duality) and the role traditional leaders play in the provision and delivery of social and economic services to the sections of the population within their jurisdictions. The results of the study confirmed the existence of this institutional duality with regard to the Southern African institutional culture. In other words, even though traditional leaders no longer wield the considerable administrative, legislative and judicial powers they used to exercise over the chiefdoms, they are still very much part of the institutional culture of South Africa and the sub-region.     

Explaining institutional change in international patent politics

This article seeks to explain institutional change in international patent politics since the conclusion of the 1995 Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (trips). I argue that the distribution of interests in this issue area adheres to a sharp North–South distinction, and that the pursuit of largely incompatible and conflicting patent agendas by industrialised and developing countries, respectively, has led to the gradual emergence of an international patent regime complex. Focusing on trips-plus measures under various Free Trade Agreements, patent enforcement clubs and a range of UN organisations which have recently gained relevance for international patent politics, I show how the distribution of interests in this area has led to the development of two parallel and partially inconsistent international governance structures. I conclude that the distribution of interests explains the propensity of regime complexes towards stability and change, with institutional change being particularly pronounced when overlapping interests among revisionist actors enhance the prospects of collective action.     

Germany: a good model for Labour Party renewal?

The policy debate within the British Labour Party after its traumatic electoral defeat in 2010 has been marked by a concern with Germany's system of economic governance as a potential model for renewal. The desirability of emulating key aspects of its institutions of economic democracy (codetermination) has been a particular subject of debate. This article analyses the source of Germany's attraction for many would-be reformers in the Labour movement. It then examines whether emulating German codetermination is either a feasible or appropriate strategy for Labour reformers whose goal is to rebalance power between capital and labour. Codetermination is deeply embedded in a wider set of governance institutions that have been subject to substantial reform in recent years. It concludes that effective institutional borrowing from Germany would require a far broader and more radical set of economic governance reforms than Labour reformers appear to recognise.     

Reforming the Spanish Senate: Mission Impossible?

Attempts in recent years to reform the Spanish Senate have proven futile. Using an institutionalist approach, this article highlights some of the weaknesses of the Spanish Senate in terms of its constitutional design and institutional development. The article explains how attempts at reforming political institutions are influenced by the historical context in which the institution was originally designed and the political context in which it has subsequently developed. The debate over Senate reform is analysed by examining the Senate's institutional setting and its relationships to broader political settings such as the legacy of the transition to democracy, political party discourse, and a competitive culture in Spain's system of intergovernmental relations.     

构建科学发展制度机制的路径思考

党的十八大报告指出"科学发展观是中国特色社会主义理论体系最新成果,是中国共产党集体智慧的结晶,是指导党和国家全部工作的强大思想武器。科学发展观同马克思列宁主义、毛泽东思想、邓小平理论、‘三个代表’重要思想一道,是党必须长期坚持的指导思想。"坚持科学发展观,就要把科学发展思想转化为刚性的政治经济文化等制度,提出构建与科学发展观相配套的制度机制,以确保经济社会实现又好又快发展。     

“美丽中国”愿景与生态文明制度建设

“美丽中国、民生幸福”是中华儿女世世代代的不懈追求,内涵着实现生态价值导向的人与社会的现代化和中华民族的永续发展的愿景目标。要实现美好愿景,最根本的是加强生态文明制度建设,包括正式制度和非正式制度。我国的生态保护规制体系已经形成,人民大众的生态意识日益觉醒,已经汇成了推动生态文明建设的强大社会力量。进一步的制度建设,应针对存在的问题,抓好顶层设计,注重系统集成,实行分类指导,填补制度空白,优化制度衔接与匹配,完善、细化、系统化制度体系,增强执行力,从根本上解决守法成本高、违犯成本低的问题。同时着力提升全民生态意识,培育全民生态责任,构筑政府、企业、社区、家庭、个人齐心协力进行生态文明建设的大格局。     

简论信访制度功能的改进路径——以信访制度纠纷解决功能为讨论中心

信访制度在我国的社会生活中发挥着难以替代的作用,其所承载的公民政治参与、意见表达与权利救济功能不能截然分开,中央和省(市)级信访工作应以公民意见表达为中心,基层信访工作应以纠纷解决(公民权利救济)为中心。信访制度纠纷解决功能的实现机制而非这一功能本身,是造成目前信访困境的根本原因;为保障人们的合法权益,化解目前的信访困境,对信访制度纠纷解决功能的实现机制进行法治化改造或许是改良信访制度的可能路径。