A view from the policy community: a new strategic narrative for Europe?

ABSTRACT

Reflecting on the results presented in articles in this special issue, European leaders should take greater account of external perceptions in crafting the European Union's strategic narrative and guiding its actions. Failure to do so has impaired external policies like the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, the European Neighbourhood Policy and Eastern Partnership. Leaders emerging from the Arab uprisings perceived the EU as complicit with their countries’ former anciens régimes and Russian leaders see EU support for democracy and the market economy in former Soviet states as duplicitous and instrusive. Awareness of such perceptions should be filtered into EU decision-making, without validating views that European officials and diplomats consider misleading.     

Beyond royal politics: state transformation and foreign policy in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Saudi politics is commonly portrayed as reflecting a system of centralised personal rule in which decision-making power trickles down from the tightly knit power circles within the House of Saud. In contrast, this paper draws attention to the empowerment of quasi-autonomous state organisations in Saudi Arabia as a result of state transformation and regional integration. At its most extreme, state transformation in Saudi Arabia has created institutional and regulatory enclaves with vested interests and areas of competence that cross Saudi borders. This paper illustrates the foreign policy ramifications of transformed statehood in Saudi attempts to further Gulf regional integration in the context of the Gulf Monetary Union project.     

Simple Rhetoric and Complex Punitiveness: Federal Criminal Justice Responses to White-Collar Criminality

Abstract

Though criminological literature shows that the manifestation of punitiveness in the criminal justice system is complex, it rarely differentiates between responses to different kinds of crimes. This constitutes a significant gap in knowledge, as it is widely believed that white-collar crimes are treated leniently. In light of the “heating up” of political rhetoric, the expansion of federal criminal law, and the increased maximum punishments on conviction, the article aims to explore whether prosecutorial and judicial responses to white-collar crimes have become more punitive, employing rarely used datasets from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) between 1996 and 2014. It is demonstrated that these responses are more complex and less consistently punitive than the rhetoric and policies advanced by politicians. It endeavors to capture the complexity of punitiveness in practice by measuring numerous variables and multiple points in the criminal justice process, studying punitiveness from multiple angles, using prosecution and sentencing data.     

From discourse to policy: US policy communities’ perceptions of and approaches to climate change and security

ABSTRACT

Increasingly, a diverse set of policy communities, including those with defence, development and environmental mandates, frame climate change as a security threat. Most often this discursive formation labels climate change as a ‘threat multiplier’. This framing, however, is vague, linear and leaves many questions unanswered regarding how institutions can develop and implement policy that addresses the joint challenges of climate change, conflict and security. Utilising a mixed-methods approach, and grounding data collection in US policy communities, this article examines how policy actors and institutions integrate climate-security discourses into policy processes. The objective of this research is to provide direct insight into how the discourses and technical understandings of climate-security transition into policy priorities and implementation realities. This research identified three common approaches to climate-security: (1) A challenge of adaptation and resilience; (2) A potent political argument; and (3) An issue of limited importance and feasibility. These approaches, however, are inconsistent across sectors and within organisations, suggesting a lack of cohesion and considerable challenges in identifying and responding to climate change as a ‘threat multiplier’.     

WTO背景下的政府政策体制分析

加入WTO将对我国政府的政策体制带来深刻的影响。目前政府政策体制存在着突出问题,我国政府应遵循政策体制改革与创新的原则,构建适应WTO要求的政策体制。     

婚约法律问题研究

婚约是婚姻关系建立前的习惯性程序,经历了从罗马法、寺院法到近现代法的不同发展时期,产生的法律效力也各有不同。婚约在我国是一种重要的民事习惯,历代封建统治者都十分重视对婚约关系的调整。婚约的成立应以当事人自愿自行订立、具有完全民事行为能力、未婚及无禁止结婚的血亲关系为条件,依法成立的婚约对双方当事人及第三人均产生一定的法律效力。婚约存续期间双方互赠的财物,在婚约解除时应按不当得利予以返还。一方擅自解除婚约或因他方过错而解除婚约的,无过错方可请求损害赔偿。将婚约视为纯粹的道德问题,不仅人为地缩小了民法的调整范围,也不利于财产纠纷的解决,应通过民法典的制定予以规范。     

试论竞争政策与贸易政策的关系

竞争政策与贸易政策都是基本的经济政策,并且在主要方面都体现为相应的经济法律制度.在现代社会,竞争政策与自由贸易政策在追求的目标和面临的现实条件方面具有一致性,在功能上具有相互促进和补充的作用,但是两者在作用的领域、价值观念和取向以及具体处理和作用的方式等方面存在内在的差异性和潜在的冲突.     

论警察的法律意识

公安工作提供的是一种公共产品 ,它不具有竞争性和排他性。警察的法律意识和法律素质问题 ,已成为制约公安工作的重要因素 ,也是人民群众反映强烈的主要问题。我们可以运用社会学、心理学和法学的相关知识 ,对警务人员的法律意识进行重点分析 ,以引起相关部门的注意 ,使公安工作更趋合理和完善     

浅论政府对投资风险产业的政策取向

由于风险投资产业在经济发展中所起的作用日益突出,政府有必要在政策上对他们予以扶持。本文从创造有效竞争的制度环境,建立高效率的价格管理体制,注意产业的整体规划和协调发展等几方面论述了政府应起的作用。     

防范打击计算机犯罪的法律思考

计算机犯罪愈演愈烈,危害越来越严重,应予高度重视。目前打击防范计算机犯罪存在许多薄弱环节,建立完善的计算机安全法律体系刻不容缓。一是根据新情况、新问题的出现制定新法以增强法律的调整力和强制力;二是及时修改、完善旧法以适应、调整和规范网络行为。充分利用法律的手段,有效防范和打击计算机犯罪,趋利避害,使计算机更好地为人类服务。