The effect of alliance membership on national defense burdens, 1953–88: A test of Mancur Olson's theory of collective action

Olson and Zeckhauser (1966) offered the first theoretical explanation for variation in the defense burdens of allies. Since then, the theory of collective action (Olson, 1971 [1965]) has been extensively tested using the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Warsaw Pact (WTO). While most studies indicate that allied defense burdens (the ratio of military expenditures to gross domestic product) are correlated with economic size, this relationship has rarely been assessed for non‐allied states. Here we examine the association between national defense burdens and economic size, 1953–1988, for NATO, the WTO, the Rio Pact, and the Arab Collective Security Pact in a nested test using most of the non‐allied nations of the world as a control group. Our results generally support the theory. NATO and the Warsaw Pact consistently conform to theoretical expectations, and evidence regarding the Rio Pact, on balance, is positive. Defense burdens are not correlated with economic size within the Arab Pact, however. In addition, nations’ defense burdens are affected by the external threat, as indicated by arms races and war; but the effect of involvement in war is surprisingly small.     

应对数字艺术公共安全隐患的立法策略研究

当下数字艺术的产生和迅速崛起从根本上改变了原子艺术长期以来建构起来的艺术生态和艺术秩序,引发了某些引起人们重大关切的公共安全问题,其中突出的有网瘾问题、网络文化低俗化问题、数字谣言问题以及数字艺术知识产权保护问题等。这些问题不同于原子艺术公共安全隐患发生学上的外生性、随机性和个别性,而是呈现为内生性、公共性、流行性和危害性特征。一条比较可行的防控策略是在对数字艺术实施事前立法规范的同时,对数字艺术公共安全机制同步实施事后追溯监管。此外,加强数字艺术公共安全性及其应对机制的科研攻关和科普宣传,尽快提高全社会对数字艺术特殊规律及其公共安全性的认识和了解也是当务之急。     

Books received

Since the early 2000s, the governments in ASEAN (the Association of South East Asian Nations) countries have developed ‘good agricultural practices’ (GAP) as public approaches to field-level quality assurance. Besides the primary goals of consumer food safety and quality assurance, these public GAP programs aim to support small-scale farmer inclusion in mainstream markets. This goal represents the antithesis of the prevailing trend that private GAP approaches have tightened integration with resourceful, large-scale producers in global value chains. This paper examines the compatibility of the goals of safety assurance and social justice in a public GAP approach through comparative analysis of Thailand's Q-GAP between two local contexts of fruit production and marketing. The research findings suggest that while the public GAP scheme could draw the participation of a broad cohort of local small-scale producers and serve to certify their production, its impact on changing producers' on-field practices and catalyzing their access to the global market through food safety assurance is limited. The binding factors include the lack of producers' understanding of the principles of the programme, limited additional economic merits for them, and the influence of extra-local market forces that stress economies of size and food quality rather than food safety.     

新形势下公安院校基层教工党组织建设探索

为了增强基层教工党组织的创造力、凝聚力、战斗力,充分发挥基层教工党组织推动发展、服务教工、促进和谐的作用,详细分析了基层教工党组织存在的问题,并结合实际,积极探索并提炼出基层教工党组织建设好办法、好措施,以推动公安院校基层教工党组织建设深入发展。     

The dilemmas of pursuing ‘throughput legitimacy’ through participatory mechanisms

Under pressure to open up the ‘black box’ of governance, technocratic bodies are increasingly seeking to include civil society participation in the policy process. This article draws on empirical cases from the European Commission and NHS England to assess the extent to which the participatory mechanisms pursued by these institutions have been successful in eliciting ‘throughput legitimacy’. It is shown that though these mechanisms have taken very different forms – the former a classic instance of ‘window dressing’ participation, the latter closer to ‘best practice’ in this field – they nevertheless share a number of ongoing vulnerabilities. The article outlines the shared organisational, operational and existential dilemmas that technocratic bodies face when eliciting civil society participation, and highlight their reliance on backstage negotiation to sustain stakeholder buy-in. It concludes by highlighting the prospect that the pursuit of throughput legitimacy for technocratic bodies entails inherent limitations and contradictions.     

Unheard Voices: Why Former Child Welfare Workers Left Their Positions

This mixed methods study used a snowball sample (n = 54) to capture retrospective insight from former public child welfare workers about job satisfaction and reasons they left their positions. Responses to open-ended questions suggested a theme of lack of organizational support as the primary reason they left. Former workers also reported that they wanted a voice and someone to hear their concerns, greater recognition, and opportunity to practice self-care. Quantitatively, workers in their positions 8 years or longer were the most satisfied on a 19-item global scale examining job satisfaction. Respondents were unhappy with their workloads and emotional impact of their positions.     

网络民主热的冷思考

网络民主热潮的背后,折射出了现实政治的诸多困境.它的“一枝独秀”很大程度上缘于现实参与渠道的不畅通、多元民主力量的缺失以及代议机构功能不足等,它的有效治理取决于现实政治的容纳和对接,有赖于多元民主力量的壮大,以及各种民主形式之间的优势互补.     

论港澳台地区公共秩序保留制度的适用及其对我国大陆的启示

通过对我国港澳台地区公共秩序保留制度立法现状和司法适用进行梳理，认为港澳台地区公共秩序保留制度各具特色兼有不足。大陆地区已于2011年4月1日起正式实施《法律适用法》，但公共秩序保留制度的立法仍不完善。可以借鉴港澳台地区公共秩序保留制度的经验，将名称统一为公共秩序，明确公共秩序的内涵和限制其适用范围，区分国际公共秩序和区际公共秩序，选择“客观说”作为公共秩序保留制度的适用标准，在排除外国法或外域法适用后首选与纠纷有最密切联系地的法律，然后再考虑我国大陆地区的本地法。     

论公共安全管理专业服务社会能力的提升简

专业建设是高等学校各项建设的核心,是提高人才培养质量的保证.加强公共安全管理专业建设,提升服务社会能力是国家“十二五”规划“关于加强公共安全体系”的需求,也是专业持续健康发展的需要.公共安全管理专业应通过推进“校、局、企”对接,创新人才培养模式,推进实践教学改革,提升教师实践教学水平,推进评价模式改革等手段,提升服务社会能力.     

非全封闭线路治安问题防控探析

铁路非全封闭线路的治安防控由于物防建设不足,显现出情况复杂易反弹、路外伤亡事故比重高的特点,成为当前铁路公安机关线路治安防控工作的重点与难点。以徐州铁路公安处为视点,可以剖析非全封闭线路的分布特点、治安现状以及问题多发的原因,对此可采取以下措施进行改进:以转变观念为先导,增强工作信心;以道口监管为重点,压降问题发生;以夯实基础为抓手,加强治安防范;以改进勤务为方向,提升防控效能;以责任落实为保障,完善联防网络等防控对策。