Popular Presidents Can Affect Congressional Attention,for a Little While

Does the president have the ability to set the congressional agenda? Agenda setting is a prerequisite for influence, so this is an important element in understanding presidential–legislative relations. We focus on the State of the Union address and show that popular presidents can, indeed, cause Congress to shift attention to those topics most emphasized. The impact is tempered by divided government and time, however. No matter the state of divided government, however, popular presidents can direct congressional attention, at least for a little while. Unpopular presidents, by contrast, are irrelevant.     

Discussion Of The Volume Priroda I Obshchestvo [Nature and Society]

In March 1969, a group of geographers at the Geographical Society USSR in Leningrad convened a meeting to discuss the volume Priroda i obshchestvo (Moscow, 1968), a collection of articles concerned with the role of geography in investigating the man-nature relationship. Selected articles appeared in Soviet Geography, May 1969. Some of the discussants were critical of certain authors on the ground that they argued in favor of a unified geography to deal with the man-nature relationship as a whole and did not differentiate between socioeconomic systems (capitalism, socialism) in appraising society's attitude toward nature. The official report of the meeting, in which five principal discussants participated, follows.     

Transnational Constructors of Parliamentary Democracy in Swedish and Finnish Constitutional Controversies, 1917–1919

During the First World War, the legitimacy of established polities was challenged everywhere in Europe. Not only the combatant great powers but also smaller states witnessed a resurgence of constitutional disputes and competing ideological conceptualizations of revolution and reform, the will of the people, democracy, and parliamentarism. While these controversies primarily focused on the future of the national polities concerned, historical experiences and discourses accelerated by the war and the Russian Revolution were transnationally interconnected and contributed to discursive transfers between political cultures. Swedish and Finnish socialists were linked by their internationals, liberals were connected by transnational debates for and against ‘Western’ democracy and parliamentarism, and conservative politicians and academics were involved in ideologically oriented networks. This article reconstructs transnational links and discourses in order to understand the exceptionally confrontational dynamics (which, in Finland, partly led to a civil war) and the outcomes of the Swedish and Finnish constitutional debates in 1917–1919. It examines the nature of the transnational connections of eight Swedish and Finnish conservatives, liberals, revisionist socialists, and far-Left socialists, analysing their argumentation on constitutional questions in published works and parliamentary speeches as illustrative examples of the political groups they represented.     

政治民主是东西方学者的共同话题--南京"各国议会制度研究国际学术讨论会"综述

“各国议会制度研究国际学术讨论会”有三个论题。第一个论题为当代西方国家的议会民主制．来自西方的学和中国学提交了一批报告,论及19世纪以来欧洲国家议会制度的发展以及当代西方议会民主制的某些局限性,第二个论题是当代中国的乡村村民自治改革．中国学提交了一批论,讨论了中国宪法中关于村民自治的条款以及村民自治个案研究的结果,第三个论题是西方民主制的起源问题。中国学提交了一批报告,涉及西方城市自治传统、中世纪议会制对近代民主制的作用等。与会中外代表一致认为,民主是中西方学共同努力的目标和中西方学、政治家共同关心的课题。     

浅议抗战时期民主进程中的几个问题

抗日战争是中国民主发展史上一个极为独特又极为重要的时期。在战争的硝烟中,互相对立的集权和民主趋势都各自获得新的发展动力。国民党的集权达到了前所未有的程度,而民主运动的发展也达到了前所未有的规模。最终,固守一党专政体制的国民党逐渐失去了社会的支持。具有在野党与区域执政党双重身份的中国共产党,紧紧抓住了民主的旗帜,既竭力向国民党要求西式民主,又在自己的统治区域探索试行新的民主制度,并发展出新的民主政治理论——新民主主义论。对战争后期的民主运动发生影响的国际因素也不可忽视,美国对国民政府经历了一个从期望到失望的过程,而中国人民对美国也同样经历了一个从期望到失望的过程。从长远来看,抗战时期国共双方在民主问题上的一失一得,已在某种程度上决定了未来中国的走向。     

Parliamentary politics as an integration mechanism: The Slavic-speaking inhabitants of interwar (1922–1940) Western Greek Macedonia

ABSTRACT

This article is a case study on how Parliamentary politics could operate in favour of the integration of ethnic minorities into the nation-state. The incorporation of the largest part of the region of Macedonia into the Greek State after the Balkan Wars (1912–1913) led to radical changes in the lives of the Slavic-speaking villagers of Greece (‘Slavic-speakers’ is a term used in this paper so as to describe the inhabitants of Macedonia who had a Slavic language as their mother tongue. Often, in the Greek newspapers of the time the language was referred to as Macedonian or local Macedonian. It was similar to the Bulgarian language but could also be understood in Serbia). Up to 1936, local politicians’ approach of peaceful integration through prosperity and fair administration prevailed but in 1936, parliamentary democracy was abolished and ceased to function as a mechanism for integrating Slavic-speaking villagers into Greek society.     

Layers of Disunity: The presidential politics of Finnish business, 1981–1982

This article examines the political activity of business in late Cold War Finland, the main focus being on the presidential election campaign of 1981–1982, which was a major watershed in Finnish politics. The purpose is to investigate the divisions cutting through business circles. Different layers of disunity can be found: a turf battle between business associations and their leaders, divergent attitudes towards the Social Democrats and disagreements concerning Finland’s foreign relations and trade, particularly with the Soviet Union. These divisions were long-lasting: they emerged by the mid-1970s and remained in effect until at least the late 1980s.     

论民主集中制中民主与集中的关系

民主集中制是党和国家的根本制度,认清民主和集中的辩证关系至关重要。民主集中制中的民主的功能和目的包含集思广益和利益协调两个方面。民主集中制中的集中则主要表现为人民群众个人对多数人意见的服从,对整体意志的服从,对统一的决定的服从,对纪律的服从,对代表共同利益的权威性指挥中心的服从。从作为一个政党的组织制度和领导制度来讲,民主集中制实际上是一个有机统一的和谐整体。集中是民主基础上的集中,民主是集中指导下的民主。民主是集中的前提和基础,集中是民主的归宿和方向。     

A Christian democratization of politics? The new influence of Catholicism on Italian politics since the demise of the Democrazia Cristiana

A paradox exists in relation to contemporary European Christian democracy. Its ideological influence has increased as Christian democratic parties have declined. This is particularly evident in Italy since the demise of the Democrazia Cristiana (DC). By investigating the ideological development of Italian parties and some key policy reforms that they introduced after the fall of the DC, this article explains this ‘Christian democratization of politics’, a process by which Catholic ideals and symbols acquire a decisive impact on the Italian party system. Three types of Christian democratization are individuated and analyzed: the gradual replacement of liberal values with Catholic political ideas in the positions taken by liberal-oriented parties; the novel synthesis between social Catholicism and social democracy by moderate left-wing coalitions; and the Lega Nord’s use of Catholic values to stress populist positions and identity issues.     

制度设计与实践的背离——北洋政府时期文官考试初探

北洋政府在南京临时政府颁布的<文官考试令>基础上,几经修改,建立了较为完备的文官考试制度.以往的研究多注重于北洋政府文官考试法规与制度,甚少关注其实践过程.就文官考试内容而言,近代自然科学与社会科学取代了八股经文,故参加考试的考生多为饱蘸新学之人.但因近代学堂对新式人才的批量生产,加之学而优则仕的传统,导致文官考试竞争异常激烈.录取后的考生虽大多能得到实习安排,但期满后却难被委以实职,这反映了北洋政府时期文官考试制度设计与实际运行之间的严重背离.     

Reluctant liars? Public debates on propaganda and democracy in twentieth-century Britain (ca. 1914–1950)

The place of propaganda in a democratic society has been discussed long before the age of fake news, as the heated debate on this issue that took place in the UK and other democracies from around 1914 to 1950 clearly shows. Drawing upon a variety of published and archival sources, the article examines the changing views of British political elites, intellectuals, publicity experts and the public on the proper role of government in the public sphere, while discussing their influence on government policies and exploring the light they shed on British—and, more broadly, liberal democratic—culture and identity.     

善治视野下的党政关系

善治作为一种新的治理,给政府管理改革带来了机遇,也给中国共产党的执政带来了新的要求。善治要求调整党政机构的设置,实现党政关系运转的有效性;要求理顺党政职能的定位,提高党政关系信息公开的透明性;要求规范党政运作的方式,实现党政关系规范的法制性。     

Outsourcing local democracy? Evidence for and implications of the commercialisation of community engagement in Australian local government

ABSTRACT

Participatory governance practices are enjoying popularity, not least in local government. This is driven by legislation that requires councils to undertake some of these processes; also by communities and practitioners – parties that derive income from participatory governance. An industry is emerging: one characterised by demand and supply, with frameworks, strategies and processes, training and conferences. This industry warrants investigation so that its impacts upon local democracy can be understood. Following a theorisation of local democracy and community engagement, the paper describes the community engagement industry, presenting evidence about council activities, providers and professional associations to establish that the commercialisation of engagement is a significant phenomenon in Australian local government. Possible risks to local governance and local democracy are explored.     

德国承认伪满问题与国民政府的外交方针

1932年伪满洲国成立后,国民政府一直希望各友好国家不予承认,对有着重要政治、军事及经济联系的德国,更是抱有期待,甚至不惜作"依德和日反苏"之试探。但德国在纳粹上台并逐步集权后,日益将对日外交置于对华外交之上,终在1938年2月宣布承认伪满。正处于对日抗战重要关头的国民政府为继续争取德国军援,对此一再忍让,但稍后德国又禁运军火、强制撤退在华军事顾问。处此外交重压之下,这时力求在对德、对苏外交中保持相对平衡的国民政府一度表示了更为坚定的联苏决心。