发展社会主义民主政治建设社会主义政治文明

党的十六大报告,把发展社会主义民主政治,建设社会主义政治文明,确定为全面建设小康社会的一个重要目标。实现这一重要目标,必须深刻理解政治文明的深刻内涵和重大意义;必须坚定不移地走自己的政治发展战略,积极稳妥地推进政治体制改革;必须发挥我们的政治优势,把坚持党的领导、人民当家作主和依法治国有机的统一起来;必须坚持我国社会主义政治制度的自我完善和发展;必须改革和完善党的领导方式和执政方式,实现党的领导方式、执政方式的现代化和民主化;必须处理好改革、发展和稳定的关系,维护国家统一、民族团结和社会稳定;必须实现整个社会运行机制的制度化、规范化和程序化。     

Public‐private partnerships in international trade: a lobbying effort from passive to aggressive in the USA?

Public‐private initiatives have been the domain of many governments as they try to shape international trade for their countries. The research presented in this paper indicates that US international businesses are not satisfied with the passive role that has been assumed by the US government and current public‐private partnerships. The evidence suggests that US companies desire a more aggressive role for the federal government in the not too distant future. Public‐private partnerships will be less informational and play an active part in stimulating international trade throughout the world. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications     

Central-local state contestations and urban management in Zimbabwe

ABSTRACT

Most scholars agree that the character of the urban governance system in Zimbabwe is a reflection of the dominance of one political party, namely, Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). However, the increasingly prominent role of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in urban governance has heralded, since the early 2000s, a period marked by change, contestation and confusion. Simultaneously, the destabilising effect of contested urban governance politics on urban management in Zimbabwe has become entrenched. This article focuses on the interface between urban governance politics and urban management in Zimbabwe in the post-2000 era. It analyses how central government, through the local government ministry, local government statutes and appointed officials, structures, and even destabilises, the administration of urban affairs. The article concludes that urban governance is not merely a site of political contestation, as it has also profoundly influenced and altered the functioning of urban administration in Zimbabwe.     

Depoliticisation and ahistoricism of transparency and accountability via global norms: assessing the EITI in Ghana and Nigeria

ABSTRACT

While extant assessments of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) have focused on institutional and regulatory regimes, such evaluations have largely tended to depoliticise institutions. This article argues that a more robust understanding of EITI processes must give central attention to historically situated political structures and power relations that continue to shape the present institutional quality/capacity of extractive industries' transparency, and EITI reforms. Assessing the EITI in Africa through the lens of historical institutionalism clarifies how global governance regimes interface with specific institutional pathways, state-corporation-civil society configurations, and historical legacies to produce outcomes that may complement or undermine intended reforms.     

Institutional and symbolic aspects of illiberal politics: the case of North Macedonia (2006–2017)

ABSTRACT

The paper discusses the underlying characteristics of Macedonian illiberal politics during the 11-year rule of the centre-right party VMRO-DPMNE (2006–2017) focusing on two aspects: institutional and symbolic. We argue that the unfair political competition was enabled by the weakness of pre-existing institutions and the population’s clientelist preferences, which were systematically exploited and expanded by VMRO-DPMNE. We also argue that the multi-ethnic character of the country, the disputed Macedonian national identity and the lack of viable international prospects allowed VMRO-DPMNE to construct a strong nationalist narrative that appealed to voters and further isolated the opposition.     

Between Scylla and Charybdis: Social Media in Sri Lanka’s Constitutional Referendum

ABSTRACT

Social media use around those aged 18–34 will significantly impact the prospects for the public validation of a new constitution in Sri Lanka, especially the planning and conduct of a referendum. This paper examines key developments in the consumption of and perceptions around social media, and how a networked society within a context of democratic deficit and plunging faith in electoral processes can pose a greater risk for public faith in constitutional reform.     

"三个代表"重要思想与当代中国的民主政治建设

“三个代表”重要思想是新世纪统帅党和国家各项工作的纲领,也是发展社会主义民主政治的强大思想武器。坚持“三个代表”重要思想,才能确保党在中国社会主义民主政治建设中的领导地位,确保实现人民当家作主,切实推进依法治国。当代中国的民主政治建设以“三个代表”重要思想为指导,就要大力发展党内民主,以党内民主推进人民民主;大力增强执政为民意识,保障人民当家作主;大力提高全民族的民主素质和科学文化水平;大力加强民主政治制度建设。     

Politicians,Scandals, and Trust in Government

In this paper we examine the role that political scandals play in eroding regard for government and political institutions in general. We know that scandals can lower regard for individual politicians and government leaders. Yet, less is known about how scandal influences attitudes toward institutions and the political process. It has been widely assumed that such attitudes are influenced by factors that lie largely beyond the control of individual politicians. Using data from the U.S. and the U.K. we show that scandals involving legislators can have a negative influence on their constituent's attitudes toward institutions and the political process. One consequence of this finding is that, instead of looking for scapegoats in Hollywood or among the failings of voters themselves, politicians should first get their own House in order.     

Political research and practitioner approaches: a review of the research methods used in voting behaviour research

Quantitative research has been the dominant methodological approach used to study voting behaviour. There is an emerging recognition, however, that there are alternative ways of attempting to understand how voters decide. The academic preoccupation with measurement, reliability, validity and generalisability may obscure some of the findings that are uncovered by practitioners using qualitative research. Practitioners of politics, both in the USA and the UK, tend to utilise both methods when formulating policy and exploring voter attitudes towards these policies. This paper will review the arguments for each tradition and examine the apparent divergence of practitioner and academic political research. Finally, it will look at how both positivist and interpretivist methods can be utilised to complement each other when attempting to build a picture of voting behaviour. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications     

Children's acquisition of political opinions

This paper reports and discusses the results of a survey of English and Welsh schoolchildren aged 11–18, conducted in March–May 2003, covering their attitudes to and knowledge of politics, politicians and political issues. It concentrates in particular on the way these attitudes develop as pupils get older, and also discusses the sources of information on which young people depend, and which may be the key to developing this neglected political ‘market’. It finds that pupils are unenthused by politics, but not ‘apathetic’. Both knowledge and interest increase as pupils grow older; however, negative or cynical attitudes to politicians and to political parties seem to grow at the same time. Yet young people also hold positive attitudes to the electoral process in general, though many do not accept that they will have a ‘duty to vote’ when old enough. The media, though distrusted, is the principal source of information, though it is clear that the family is highly influential; schools seem less influential. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications