Flying bananas: small producer tactics and the (un)making of Philippine banana export chains

Global production network (GPN) analysts argue that workers actively contribute to the shaping of GPNs through different forms of agency. In this contribution I extend this argument to the tactical agency of small producers. By focusing on the phenomenon of side-selling among Filipino banana contract farmers, I show that these tactics have contributed to the emergence of alternative trade networks that undermined traditional lead firm behaviour and inspired new struggles over chain governance. However, as a diverse and ambiguous group of growers engages in this tactical agency, predominantly as small capital, they also contribute to the continuation of broader dynamics of capital accumulation and labour exploitation.     

Corporate raiding and the role of the state in Russia

To what extent are Russian state agencies involved in predatory behavior, and what are the determinants of their activities? Analyzing a novel data-set comprising 312 cases of illegal corporate raiding (reyderstvo) between 1999 and 2010, this article identifies a shift both in the regional and sectoral distribution of raids over time, as well as an increasing participation of state agencies in criminal raiding attacks. Using panel regression analysis to look at the determinants of increasing state involvement, this article shows that election results for the ruling president and his party, as well as the degree to which elections are manipulated throughout Russia's regions, are significantly and positively correlated with the number of raids in a given region, while regions with governors that have stronger local ties are characterized by a smaller number of attacks. A potential interpretation of these findings is that the federal center may tolerate a certain degree of predatory activities by regional elites, as long as these elites are able to deliver a sufficiently high level of electoral support for the center, with the effect being weaker in regions where the governor is interested in the long-term development of the regional economy.     

Looking beyond the economy: Pussy Riot and the Kremlin's voting coalition

The arrest of the protest punk band Pussy Riot (PR) in March 2012 and the subsequent prosecution of three band members pose a significant puzzle for political science. Although PR's performances presented a coherent alternative to the Putin regime's image of Russian reality, it was unlikely that the discordant music and crude lyrics of their art protest would inspire Russian society to take to the streets. Yet, the regime mounted a very visible prosecution against the three young women. We argue that the trial marked a shift in the Kremlin's strategy to shape state–society relations. In the face of declining economic conditions and social unrest, the PR trial encapsulated the Kremlin's renewed focus on three related mechanisms to insure social support: coercion, alliance building, and symbolic politics. The PR trial afforded the Kremlin an important opportunity to simultaneously redefine its loyal constituency, secure the Church–state relationship, and stigmatize the opposition.     

The influence of foreign direct investment on contracting confidence in developing countries

This paper examines whether foreign direct investment (FDI) influences confidence in commercial contracts in developing countries. While the research on how host countries’ policy environments encourage FDI inflows has flourished, scholars have paid less attention to how the policy environment and local actors’ beliefs might, in turn, be affected by FDI. This is surprising because multinational enterprises are well‐recognized political and economic actors across the world. We expect that their increasing economic salience will influence the policy environments in which they function. By employing an innovative measure of property rights protection – contract‐intensive money – we examine how foreign direct investment influences host countries’ contract‐intensive money ratio in a large panel time series of both developed and developing countries from 1980 to 2002. Our analysis suggests that higher levels of FDI inflows are associated with greater confidence in commercial contracts and, by extension, the protection of property rights in developing countries.     

对我国经济转轨过程中产权体制改革的研究

产权制度是经济体制的“硬核”,国家经济转轨面临的根本任务在于如何尽快建起市场经济的体制“硬核”——多主体产权制度。市场经济体制的“硬核”——多主体产权制度建设的滞后带来的局部产权制度真空,造成的社会产权普遍残缺是我国产权制度的基本现状。这种产权普遍残缺对社会、经济带来了严重损害。我国应通过加快政治体制改革和健全完善法制来建立社会主义市场经济的多主体产权制度,顺利完成我国经济的转轨过程。     

浅谈科技传播与知识产权的关系

在知识经济和全球化的背景下,综合国力竞争已转变为软实力竞争。知识产权作为软实力的重要组成部分,与科技信息传播交流活动密不可分,两者都是知识经济时代促进科技发展的重要因素,相互促进、相互依赖。因此从科技传播与知识产权关系的角度来探讨科技传播应遵循的知识产权相关规则等问题,能够有效地规范传播行为、提高传播效能、扩大传播影响,并且促进知识产权制度的完善和发展。     

知识产权与国际经济新秩序

知识产权在国际关系与国际经济法中的作用日显突出。发达国家要求严格的知识产权制度 ,发展中国家对此要求则相对宽松。由于历史的原因 ,发达国家应当在经济、技术等多方面辅助发展中国家 ,提高其发展能力。为实现国际经济新秩序 ,发展中国家应在知识产权领域要求共同而有差别的待遇 ;在实践中 ,应当以TRIPS协定谈判和执行的历史为鉴 ,紧密团结 ,通力合作 ,争取更为公平合理的国际知识产权法制     

财产权制度的存在基础

民族性、目的性和当代性是民法制度设计的根基,财产权观念不仅是一种单纯的法律确认,同时也是一种伦理升华和哲学判断。财产权制度的产生与流变既是人类理性思维的结果,而且也有其赖以存在的充分的哲学依据,财产权制度的设计和改革必须以效益观念为指导。作者认为伦理基础是财产权制度民族性的体现,哲学基础决定了财产权制度设计的目的,而经济基础则是财产权制度时代性的必然要求。通过对财产权制度存在基础的综合分析,力图在前人已取得的丰硕成果上,重新观察财产和财产权这样一个开放的权利体系,对其做出正本清源的概括和梳理,以期对我国民法典和物权法的制定提供一种带有基础性的研究基点和研究思路。     

论扒窃案件侦查对策

扒窃案件是盗窃案件的一种特殊形式,属于多发案件。由于扒窃案件发案数多,破案率低,严重侵犯了广大人民群众的财产安全,破坏了社会治安秩序,影响了社会稳定。扒窃案件的侦查对策根据侦查模式的主动或被动程度不同,分为现行扒窃案件侦查和既遂扒窃案件侦查。对现行扒窃案件的侦查主要是通过识别、跟踪、控制和抓获等侦查过程来破获扒窃案件;对既遂扒窃案件的侦查对策主要有:询问受害人;对发案现场进行调查和搜索;查找犯罪情报资料;查看监控录像;使用特情;抓获现行作案扒窃分子;查找控制赃物;联合专案。     

电子商务中知识产权的法律保护

电子商务活动对社会的多个方面造成了很大的影响,也对传统的知识产权保护内容、保护方式、具体的原理及制度构建等方面提出了新的要求。在立法尚未完善的情况下,司法为拓宽电子商务领域知识产权保护做了一定的探讨。建立完善的电子商务自律机构和规则、逐渐完善相关的立法、加大对侵权行为的打击力度、协调国际上的知识产权保护,是发展电子商务并充分保护知识产权的有效途径。