地方经济立法与经济发展——粤、浙、赣、湘、川、甘6省的比较分析

经济立法在中国地方立法中居于重要地位,在各省及各阶段的发展呈现出不平衡性,其总体上对地方经济发展的影响较大,但各项具体立法指标的影响程度存在明显的差异。其中,地方经济立法的数量、自主率及更新率,对地方经济发展的影响较明显,而地方经济立法的比率和地方经济发展则存在微弱的负相关关系。地方经济立法只是地方经济发展所需法治环境的一个方面,在加强地方经济立法的同时,相应执法与司法机制的完善也非常重要。     

党代会常任制实施的困顿分析及对策建议

党代会常任制在经过较长时间的试点后陷入困顿存在五大原因:思想认识尚未统一,局部试点显露局限,传统体制阻力强大,基层推进动力弱小,成本较高效率较低。为此必须在思想上深入认识常任制的民主意义和政治意义,在制度上全面推进以党代会年会制和党代表常任制为核心制度而展开的系统的制度建设,在动力上增强常任制改革的上层动力和下层动力,在策略上变原来的试点策略为局部改革与整体改革相结合、基层改革与上层改革相结合、非强制性和强制性相结合的策略。     

Armed mobilisation and the nexus of territory,identity, and authority: the contested territorial aspirations of the Banyamulenge in eastern DR Congo

The closely intertwined notions of territory, identity, and authority are at the heart of conflict dynamics in the eastern DR Congo. Focusing on the territorial aspirations of the Banyamulenge community in South Kivu, this article looks at the ways in which the nexus of territory, identity, and authority shapes and is shaped by armed mobilisation. Excluded from a customary chiefdom in the colonial era, the Banyamulenge, a community framed as ‘migrants’, have been striving for a territory of their own for decades. These aspirations have fed into armed activity by both Banyamulenge and Mai-Mai groups linked to opposing communities, providing deeply resonating mobilising narratives that are employed to justify violent action. Yet, as this article demonstrates, the links between armed mobilisation and the nexus of territory, identity, and authority are both contingent and reciprocal, as violent conflict also impacts the meanings and boundaries of identities, authority structures and territory.     

Decentralized Governance under Centralized Party Rule in Ethiopia: The Tigray Experience

Abstract

In the mid-1990s Ethiopia adopted a federal constitution promising regional autonomy and the creation and strengthening of local government units below the regional level. Some observers attribute the various shortcomings of Ethiopian federalism that have emerged since then to the original institutional/constitutional design. This paper, however, argues that what is not in the constitution has come to influence the workings of decentralization more than what is codified in it. The dominant national party in power, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), either directly or through affiliates, controls political office at all levels of government, thereby limiting the room for local initiative and autonomy. The presence of a national dominant party limits the responsiveness and downward accountability of Wereda (district) authorities; it also undermines political competition, and by extension, good governance at the grassroots level. The paper is based on field research carried out in the Tigray regional state of Ethiopia. The conclusion is that when one party dominates the politics of the region and its institutions, extra-constitutional intra-party politics determine how things work, thereby subjugating localities’ autonomy and impeding their ability to deliver on promises of decentralization.     

Decentralization and Development in Contemporary Uganda

Abstract

There has long been an emphasis on the importance of decentralization in providing better quality public services in the developing world. In order to assess the effectiveness of decentralization I examine here the case study of Uganda, which has seen major decentralization of power over the last quarter-century. In particular the current government has introduced a five-tiered local government structure, decentralized both fiscal and political power to local governments and introduced regular local government elections. However, initial excitement about Uganda's decentralization programme has tapered off in recent years due to a number of problems outlined here. In particular, I show that decentralization in Uganda has suffered from a lack of independence from central government control, which has led to a lack of effectiveness in the provision of high quality public goods.     

提升地方巡视工作实效性的路径选择

巡视工作是中国共产党深化党风廉政建设和反腐败斗争的重要举措,十多年来巡视工作取得了积极的成效,积累了丰富的经验。但如何提高巡视工作的实效性,仍然是地方(省、自治区、直辖市)巡视机构面临的一个重要课题。具体说来,提高地方巡视机构巡视工作的实效性,可从以下三个方面入手:进一步优化体制机制,形成上下联动的战略态势;抓住核心环节,在信息收集、专题调查、结果运用上下工夫;大力提高巡视人员业务水平,增强发现问题、解决问题的能力。     

Outcome‐focussed planning in Australian local government: How council plans and cultural development plans measure up

Contemporary public policy increasingly emphasises a focus on outcomes, the difference that occurs in the lives of citizens from policy and activity of government. Other contemporary imperatives for effective planning include: recognition of the values of the community whom plans serve, direction towards goals and objectives, utilisation of evidence, articulation of theories of change that underpin planning and responsiveness to evaluation. This article reports a desk‐based research project to assess how local government planning documents meet these imperatives. Two documents are examined for 67 councils across Australia: the major strategic document, council plan or other‐named document and the cultural development plan (CDP) or other‐named document that directs staff and investment aimed at cultural enrichment of the LGA. Findings indicate that the majority of councils’ documents appeared only concordant with one or two of these planning imperatives. No plan addressed more than three. Overall, council plans and cultural development plans did not clearly indicate their responsiveness to values of their communities, nor include objectives that formed measurable steps towards goals or formally refer to the use of evidence in decision‐making. No plans included theories of change to underpin decision‐making. This analysis indicates clear areas of improvement for planning for local governance.     

Offender’s Personal Circumstances and Punishment: Toward a More Refined Model for the Explanation of Sentencing Disparities

Prior research suggests that offender sex, age, and race are often influential determinants of sentencing outcomes. According to focal concerns theory, they affect sentencing because—due to limited time and information—judges rely on stereotypical behavioral expectations when assessing offender blameworthiness and dangerousness. As such, extralegal offender characteristics may serve as proxies for more specific risk indicators. Whether more complete information on additional risk factors helps account for the effects of extralegal characteristics, however, remains an untested assumption. Therefore, this study analyzes the Dutch data on standardized pre-sentencing reports to examine the influence of personal circumstances of the offender, such as employment, family, and drug use factors, on the likelihood and length of incarceration. The results suggest that personal circumstances exert inconsistent influence over sentencing outcomes and that they fail to significantly mitigate the direct effects of sex and age, but do mitigate the effects of national origin.     

清末宪政改革中的地方自治——以《清末筹备立宪档案史料》为中心的考察

早在“百日维新”前夕,朝廷官员袁世凯就提出了异于康梁的、自地方变起的改革思路。1901年后,袁氏利用自己的影响力和权力资源,在天津推动地方自治改革,颇有成效。终于,以预备立宪为契机,地方自治改革得以在全国推行。本文试图以《清末筹备立宪档案史料》为基本依据,展现士大夫观念之先进(他们对立宪与地方自治之认知程度可能远远超过我们的想象),以及在中央权威弱化的背景下推行地方自治政策之困局。     

长三角一体化进程中地方政府行为选择——以江苏为例

随着我国对外开放政策的逐步深入,长江三角洲地区成为亚太地区最具活力的经济增长极和中国融入世界经济竞争的最具实力的中心区域。但是,沪、苏、浙等地方政府行为的选择与长三角区域经济一体化的战略目标是相矛盾的。文章基于区域经济发展的视角,分析了空间统筹布局、基础设施建设、跨区域的环境综合整治、土地资源协调和产业发展协调对地方政府积极融入长三角一体化协调发展进程的作用机制和影响,并在此基础上以江苏省为例提出了地方政府所应该选择的正确行为。