法治及其社会资源——兼评苏力“本土资源”说

鉴于中国法治建设和法律实施中存在的问题,有必要重新检视苏力的“本土资源”说。中国法治建设之所以不很成功,以及现代法律制度之所以在中国社会“水土不服”,最重要的原因,不是“本土资源”被重视不够,而是“社会资源”(即社会成员之间的相互信任)供给不足。归根到底,是由于中国社会目前面临严重的信任危机。     

Values,trust and democracy in Germany: Still in search of ‘inner unity’?

Twenty years after German reunification, surveys have persistently uncovered differences in political trust between the eastern and western parts of the country. Studies have offered disintegrated and inconclusive assessments of the cross‐regional variation. This variation is traced to a tenacious, retrospective sympathy for socialism steeped in political socialisation and experiential learning. Empirical analyses confirm the presence of two key effects. First, retrospective evaluations of socialism not only fuel popular distrust of political institutions, but are more strongly correlated with trust in the east. Second, East–West evaluations of socialism are sufficiently different to contribute towards explaining the contrasting levels of trust between the two regions. That socialist values constitute a core axis upon which East German attitudes pivot presents a challenge for nurturing trust in democratic institutions and renews attention to processes through which supportive attitudes to democracy are acquired in transitional countries.     

中国私人银行服务需求的经济社会学解释——基于信任机制视角

金融服务消费者进行效用最大化选择时的“经济理性”具有丰富的经济社会学内涵,私人银行与客户之间的委托代理关系由正式契约和信任机制等隐性契约共同构建.中国私人银行面临着规模扩张与盈利不佳的问题,如何满足高净值客户的“个性化”需求是难题破解的关键.分析表明,家族主义、社会网络、“人治”传统、制度缺失等中国社会所特有的信任机制,促成了中国高净值人群对于私人银行服务的家业传承需求、社会关系寻求、融资需求、投机偏好和安全感寻求.对于中国私人银行的未来发展,信任观念的培育和制度建设无疑是值得思考的重要问题,但加强风险管理,谨防声誉风险应为当务之急.     

专家对第三人侵权责任的理论与立法思考

专家责任中的专家对第三人责任是侵权责任法中一个重要的方面,而我国现行的《侵权责任法》中并未对其作出明确的规定。在比较法上,专家对第三人责任的规范模式有合同责任和侵权责任两种。我国应采侵权责任模式,在此模式下,我国《侵权责任法》对专家对第三人责任应予细化规定。     

Do Citizens Trust the Civil Service Differently? Comparing the Determinants of Confidence in Political-Administrative Institutions

This paper asks whether citizens judge public administration to be trustworthy using different criteria from other political institutions. Using survey data, we estimate ordered logistic and multivariate regressions to compare the determinants of trust in six different political-administrative institutions. Findings show that social trust, political interest, as well as other individual characteristics, have very similar effects on trust regardless of the institution. The evidence shows that people who are older and more educated, interested in politics, and employed in the public sector, are only slightly more likely to make some sort of distinction. Implications for non-discriminant judgement mechanisms are discussed.     

Metaphors of Governance in Central and Eastern Europe: Multi-level,Asymmetrical or Variable Geometry?

Theories of multi-level and network governance have been applied to changes derived from processes of Europeanisation. These theories reflect vertical and horizontal interdependencies which may erode the power of the central state vis-à-vis supra-national and regional layers of governance. This paper suggests that through the enlargement process institutional adaptation has been uneven and led to the creation of a democratic deficit. It suggests that metaphors of asymmetry or variable geometry better reflect the reality of fluidity and dynamism in the distribution of powers at differing territorial levels in accession states.     

African Liberation Movement Governments and Democracy

Using polyarchy as an analytical frame of reference in combination with other democracy performance evaluation methods, this article offers a longitudinal analysis interrogating the democratic credentials of African decolonization and second liberation movement governments. Characteristically, upon victory and rise to power, some liberation movement governments failed to implement the democratic values that kindled their struggle. One subsequent result of this anomaly is the emergence of ‘movement governments' caught between internal and external pressures to democratize and the movements' desire to maintain their grip on power and the control of the personnel and resources of government at any cost. The article attempts to explain these tendencies against the backdrop of structural factors both internal and external to the African state, culminating in democratic deficits in both decolonization and second liberation movement governments.     

The difficulty of measuring support for democracy in a changing society: evidence from Russia

Measuring support for democracy in societies where democratic institutions do not exist or do not function well is a challenge faced by many researchers around the world. In societies moving either toward or away from democracy, the very meaning of ‘democracy’ is often in question and institutions and practices that go by the label of ‘democratic’ may vary widely from accepted norms. As a result, respondents are likely to interpret survey questions on democratic concepts in unpredictable ways. This article examines some of the ways respondents in non-democratic or imperfectly democratic countries may misinterpret the meaning of survey questions and consequently how their answers may mislead researchers. Previous research has focused on problems with abstract concepts like ‘democracy’. Evidence presented here – from interviews with Russians – shows that the problem is broader and covers more kinds of questions than previously thought. A strong potential for miscommunication also exists with more concrete questions about institutions and values, forced choices that encourage respondents to change the meaning of questions, and questions about trust in institutions.     

The King of Farum—A Danish Corruption Tale

With the background knowledge that Denmark is one of the least corrupt nations in the world, this article explores the case of a mayor who for eight years worked ‘miracles’ for ‘his’ municipality but was later revealed to have built this community on circumvention of control mechanisms and laws. For this (and for his overwhelming consumption of expensive wines at the taxpayers’ expense) he was later sentenced to four years of imprisonment. He was not driven by personal economic gain, but more likely by a mixture between creating a municipality of his dreams and the almost absolute power that he ended up with just before the scandal hit the headlines. The case was revealed by two journalists from a yellow newspaper, but very soon police and other authorities as well as his fellow politicians followed up on the revelations, and his former political friends turned their back on him. It is not the story of a mayor who was bribed – but of a mayor who turned out to be ‘corrupt’ in a wider sense of the word.     

渔业公共信托原则在美国的发展及其对中国的借鉴

渔业资源的法律属性引起了西方渔业法学界的热烈讨论。渔业资源的公共财产的本质属性导致竞争性捕捞,催生了渔业公地悲剧。美国承继了英国普通法上的公共信托制度并通过本土的判例法,将公共信托原则适用于渔业资源的养护与管理领域。渔业公共信托原则在美国的发展具有渐进性和扩张性。我国1986年《渔业法》固守以捕捞许可为基本手段的行政管理模式。没有引入基于市场的管理方法,缺乏一定的灵活性。本文建议我国修订《渔业法》时,对美国渔业公共信托原则进行本土化改造,使之成为保障我国渔业资源可持续发展的理论基础。