The San-Min Doctrine and the early legislation of the Nanjing government

Shortly after the Nanjing Nationalist government was established, Hu Hanmin and others rejected the existing legal system and proposed instead the San-Min Doctrine legislative principles, which they called society oriented. These principles were derived from Sun Yat-sen’s San-Min Doctrine. A direct manifestation of these legislative principles was the Guomindang’s one-party dictatorship under the system of political tutelage. As the legal system developed during the early period of the Nanjing government, a number of laws were designed to restrain capital and equalize landownership. In his legislative principles, Hu Hanmin understood “obligations centered” to mean “society centered.” When his society-centered principle was applied in laws, the resulting legislation appeared authoritarian in that the state, the nation, and society had the first priority. Therefore, the nature of the political tutelage based on this legislation was closer to feudalism than to modern capitalism.     

Propaganda by the Book: Contextualizing and Reading the Zhejiang GMD’s 1929 Textbook Essentials for Propaganda Workers

The Nationalist Party (GMD) had been writing and issuing documents of many types for some years before Nanjing was established as the capital of the Republic of China in 1927/1928. From its earliest days, doctrines were advanced via cause-oriented newspapers and journals. Even more important, the Soviet-sponsored reorganization of the GMD in the early 1920s had yielded a far-reaching party propaganda operation tied to Sun Yat-sen’s notion of political tutelage. But how was propaganda to work in practice? And at whom was it to be aimed? This article seeks to address aspects of these questions by assessing a textbook for propaganda workers that was issued in the name of the GMD’s Zhejiang Provincial Executive Committee’s Propaganda Department in October 1929, half a year after the GMD’s foundational right-wing Third Party Congress. Although Essentials for Propaganda Workers does not fully operationalize Sun’s version of political tutelage, it can nonetheless be seen to reflect the central party’s efforts to implement tutelage and supervision, not only of the Chinese masses suggested by Sun’s program, but also of party propaganda workers in Zhejiang. In that regard, it reveals the astonishingly rapid ideological realignment of the GMD into an anti-Communist party, not only at the national level, which is well known, but also on the provincial and lower levels. Drawing on material from the GMD Archives in Taipei, this article addresses issues of party organization, control, mobilization, inner party dynamics, and message content in the GMD’s propaganda activities in Zhejiang province in the late 1920s. “Propaganda by the Book” adds to our knowledge of the organizational practices of both the central GMD in Nanjing and the Zhejiang provincial GMD as well as to the social history of Republican China’s official print culture.     

The development of party rule in the judiciary: personnel changes and political transformation of the Nanjing government’s judicial center, 1927–1937

After the establishment of the Nanjing Nationalist government in 1927, the Guomindang (GMD) gradually founded a national regime and started to implement the principle of “governing the nation by the party.” But the party-rule was not implemented immediately and effectively. In the early years of the Nationalist government, its judicial branch mostly hired former Beiyang judicial officials, who generally pursued the ideals of judicial independence and politics transcending party lines, ideals established in the Beiyang period. In 1932, when Ju Zheng became the president of the Judicial Yuan, founding members of the GMD began to replace the Beiyang officials in the judicial center. This personnel change was completed around 1935. Meanwhile, due to national crisis and the GMD’s concern that the judicial status quo did not meet its political needs, the GMD began to emphasize the political nature of the judiciary and to advocate the party-ization of the judiciary. Consequently, eight years after the founding of the Nanjing Nationalist government, GMD party members began to obtain de facto control of the judicial center, symbolizing the completion of the shift from Beiyang judicial practices to GMD party-rule in the judiciary. Nevertheless, during the following years, the GMD failed to penetrate, dominate, and integrate the middle and lower levels of the judicial system, where the judicial ideals and personnel structures still strongly retained their Beiyang legacy.     

From Alliance to Tutelage: A Historical Analysis of Manchu-Mongol Relations before the Qing Conquest

Before 1644, the Manchu rulers pursued a deliberate policy of alliances with the southern (later “Inner”) Mongol tribes. In the 1630s the system of treaties and alliances gave way to the creation of the League-Banner system, the jasaq system, and the Lifan Yuan. The new territorial and political organization meant that the southern Mongols, while retaining a degree of autonomy, became subjects of the Qing dynasty. This essay explores the historical circumstances of the transformation of the relationship between Manchus and Mongols from partnership to subordination. It also aims to explain the political principles deployed by the Manchus in the redefinition of their relationship with the Mongol elites. More specifically, the essay proposes that the new forms of administration of Inner Mongolia stemmed from a condition of “tutelage.” Tutelage was not simply imposed by the Manchus upon their erstwhile allies, but actively sought by Mongol aristocrats in the context of the intra-Mongol wars carried out by the Čaqar leader Ligdan Khan.     

抗战后期美洲洪门致公堂的政治参与——以“美洲《十报宣言》事件”为中心的考察

论文依据国民政府应对“美洲《十报宣言》事件”的往来函电,结合美国联邦调查局对该事件的调查报告,探讨抗战后期美洲洪门致公堂作为华侨社团的政治参与及国共两党的回应,说明以美洲洪门致公堂为代表的美洲华侨对中国共产党民主理念的认同。“美洲《十报宣言》事件”,是抗战胜利前夕美洲洪门致公堂办的报纸与中国共产党党员所实际负责的报纸联合发表宣言,号召中国国民党结束一党专政,成立民主政府的事件。该事件涉及抗战后期美洲华侨中的三股主要力量——中国共产党、中国国民党以及以美洲洪门致公堂为代表的美洲华侨主体,引起蒋介石与国民政府的高度关注和直接干预。在美洲洪门致公堂以社团形式还是政党形式存在的问题上,中国国民党与美洲洪门致公堂出现了无法调和的矛盾。相较于中国国民党不愿承认致公堂作为独立政治团体的身份,中国共产党联合政府口号则使致公堂看到回国参政的可能性,由此获得了致公堂的政治认同。     

民主党派与抗日战争时期的民主宪政运动

民主党派在抗日战争时期参与的民主宪政运动极大地推进了抗日战争时期中国政治民主化进程,深刻影响了未来中国政治发展的走向。追求民主政治的强烈意愿是民主党派参与民主宪政运动的根本动因;国民党的独裁专制统治是其参与民主宪政运动的直接原因;国内外要求民主的强烈呼声是其参与民主宪政运动的外在动力;共产党的引领和帮助是其参与民主宪政运动的重要条件。民主党派经过民主宪政运动的历练,日渐成为中国政治舞台上一支不容忽视的力量;民主党派经过民主宪政运动的实践,对民主的理解更为深刻,对国民党蒋介石的本质认识得更加清楚;民主宪政运动是共产党与民主党派合作共事的成功实践,为革命胜利后中国共产党领导的多党合作和政治协商制度莫定了基础。     

The Soviet government since Khrushchev

In 1965 Khrushchev's successors reversed most of his innovations in the structure of the Council of Ministers. Since then turnover in its membership has been very low, but has lately accelerated owing to age‐related deaths and retirements and other places have been created to head new agencies, so that it is again becoming an important arena for competition for high office. New government members are of two career types: “career specialists”, who have worked mainly in the field concerned, if not the particular ministry, and “party generalists”, who have risen mainly through the regional party machine. Some expansion of the latter at the expense of the former is identified, and the distribution of the two types in various policy areas is examined. The 1965 changes sharply reduced party tutelage over the government machine, but various internal and international factors have since led to a progressive reversal of this, and the channels through which this has been pursued are considered. Next, recent and possible future developments in the “inner cabinet” are discussed in relation to the structure of supreme power, and finally the significance of continued delays in long‐promised constitutional revision is noted.     

The political commentary on May Fourth in 1950s Hong Kong and Taiwan

Abstract

“May Fourth” has long been considered a turning point for modern China, resulting in continuous heated discussion on the topic since the 1920s. These discussions not only reexamine culture but also have political intent. Many recent scholars have discussed the “ideologization” of May Fourth from the perspective of “memory politics.” They argue that “May Fourth discourse” was not only used to understand and recapture the past, but also to help one’s own cherished values occupy a core position in modern Chinese history, thus using historical interpretation to create a compass for China’s future that conforms to historical tides. From the four great philosophies of modern China, the Nationalists and Communists have incorporated May Fourth into the “Three People’s Principles” and “New Democracy,” respectively. Liberals held up democracy and science as a need for China’s future, and made efforts to propagate and practice democracy in Hong Kong and Taiwan after 1949. As for New Confucians who had continuously criticized May Fourth for being anti-tradition, they supported traditional values but also believed that democracy and science were a “priority and necessity for China's cultural development,” and hoped to use the spirit behind this ideal. They along with liberals criticized the Nationalist and Communist autocracy for departing from May Fourth ideals, and especially noted how May Fourth created fertile ground for the rise and expansion of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), “resulting in the growth of the Communist Party,” and the Nationalist government’s move to Taiwan. After 1949, Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and the Guomindang (GMD) Nationalist Party he led primarily assessed the May Fourth Movement by synthesizing the views of the liberals and New Confucians. They highlighted the slogans of saving the nation, ethics, democracy, and science to promote ethical education and “national spirit education” as top-priority cultural policies. The focus of this article is to examine how liberals and New Confucians used the topic of May Fourth to criticize the CCP and GMD in Hong Kong and Taiwanese political commentary magazines during the 1950s (approximately 1949–1960). It also explores how the GMD synthesized liberal and New Confucian views to lay out their own position. This discourse shows how May Fourth had diverse interpretations under the context of conflict between the liberals and the New Confucians as well as Nationalists and Communists. The criticism of the ideologization of May Fourth in recent years is actually an important turning point in the scholarly study of May Fourth.     

南京国民政府时期国民党中央与立法院关系的变迁

南京国民政府时期,国民党中央与立法院之间的关系较为复杂。在不同的历史阶段上,二者关系有所变化。训政前期,国民党中央通过立法原则等手段直接控制立法院;抗战期间,控制更为直接,立法院的立法权部分被替代。在这两个阶段上,立法院为维护立法权的行使,不断向国民党中央提出建议,表示异议,但未否决过国民党中央的决定,尚未表现出反控制的倾向。宪政准备期间,立法院出现了反控制倾向;至"行宪"后,国民党中央的控制力大为减弱,立法院独立性与反控制倾向显著增强。二者关系的变迁是在思想观念、法律制度、组织状况等因素的综合作用下发生的,其对立法权的运作及整个国民党政权都产生了重要影响。     

Defiant Retreat： The Relocation of Middle Schools to China＇s Interior, 1937-1945

This study focuses on the migration of middle school students to the interior of China after the Japanese invaded in 1937. It argues that the Guomindang （GMD） central government was generally successful in handling the 500,000 displaced students, making substantial efforts to monitor, register, educate, and provide training for them, as well as establishing government-run ＂national middle schools＂ during the war. Meanwhile, the GMD also exerted a strong influence on course curriculum, instructing educators how to implement the Three People＇s Principles and other party doctrines in classrooms. These processes expanded the state＇s hand in secondary education and allowed the GMD to include refugee students and schools in its wartime narrative of progress, praising the students＇ patriotic participation in defying the Japanese occupiers and their contribution to ＂national reconstruction＂ （jianguo）. However, there were still many challenges. Refugee students, teachers, and principals forcibly converted Buddhist temples into schools and clashed with local monks, farmers, villagers, and even the GMD military. With schools merging and moving inland, relocation also provided opportunities for unscrupulous administrators and teachers to exploit the situation for themselves, as government reports reveal many cases of corruption in the wartime schools.     

Italy says no: the 2016 constitutional referendum and its consequences

On 4 December 2016, Italians went to the polls to say yes or no in a popular referendum called by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on his package of constitutional reforms. Turnout was very high: 65.5 per cent. The No vote scored an impressive victory: 59.1 per cent rejected those reforms; 40.9 per cent supported them. This article puts those reforms in the context of previous attempts to modify several articles of the Italian constitution. The authors analyze and criticize the substance of those reforms and explain their possible impact on the functioning of the Italian political system. The Yes and No alignments were somewhat diversified, while the Yes vote got a lot of support from an often curious combination of domestic and foreign bedfellows interested in the political stability of Renzi’s government more than in any specific reform. Renzi’s defeat led to his resignation. A new government was immediately formed. It is unclear when and whether other, different constitutional reforms will be formulated. The Italian political and institutional transition continues while once again attention is focused on the electoral law and on how to restructure the parties and the party system.     

论清末东北宪政改革的特点

以实施宪政为中心的政治改革是清末东北政治现代化的重要特征。具体表现在 :一是通过官制改革调整了地方行政机构 ,加强了地方公署对边疆的控制 ,为东北实施宪政铺平了道路。二是把司法独立作为实施宪政的关键 ,完善了近代地方司法体系。三是以地方自治为实施宪政的基础 ,促进了东北近代民主运动的发展。四是以谘议局为实施宪政的后盾 ,扩大了谘议局参政的深度和广度 ,并充分利用谘议局与商会的特殊关系 ,使公署、谘议局、商会形成一个有机体 ,从而东北的宪政改革得以顺利进行。     

Constitutional change: an explanation

This paper first distinguishes the explicit changes that have been made in the text of the Italian constitution from others that have affected how constitutional balances work (e.g. new electoral laws), before considering both together. The turning point in both cases was 1989 and the transition from the first to the second Italian political party system. Down to that time the first system that originated in the Cold War fractures in Italian politics remained in force with only marginal and incremental changes. After 1989, however, both Italy's highly centralized structure and its system of proportional representation were called into question, resulting in the constitutional reform of 2001 that increased the powers of the regions and the electoral law reforms (which were not changes to the constitution). In both cases the consequences of these changes have proved to be contradictory, which is why reform of the Senate is now being contemplated to make the project for increasing the powers of regional and local government more coherent, as well as the form of government and the electoral laws in ways that will produce the majorities needed to make governments more cohesive and stable.     

Managerial Friction and Land-Use Policy Punctuations in the Fragmented Metropolis

Despite the portrayal of bureaucratic organizations as resistant to change, public managers have some ability to strategically move land-use processes out of incrementalism, even when bureaucratic lethargy acts as a drag. This article examines managerial influence in land-use policy by synthesizing theories of political markets and punctuated equilibrium. An information-processing logic is developed to explain why local government managers shift from “inward” to “outward” land-use management strategies in periods of environmental change. "Managerial friction” is defined as a strategic managerial adjustment producing punctuated land-use policy change in the face of environmental changing conditions. Hypotheses are tested using data on Florida local government comprehensive plan amendments and a Bayesian methodological approach. The evidence suggests managerial friction can be distinguished from the effects of environmental and political complexity as well as other forms of institutional friction, including management turnover, legislative institutions, and bureaucratic structure.     

Unstable properties: British Columbia,aboriginal title,and the “new relationship”

In the span of a few years, Premier Gordon Campbell transformed himself from a strong political critic of Aboriginal peoples in British Columbia to their apparent champion within a “new relationship.” The subsequent sudden collapse of Campbell's alliance with First Nations is a window into federal‐provincial relations, constitutional change, Aboriginal political organization, and the consequences of decisions made more than a century ago. Drawing on Nietzsche, we argue that Campbell's intentions, either to control or support Aboriginal peoples, were almost irrelevant; our focus should be on the “will to power” and efforts to stabilize power through territory. As a result of the collision of Aboriginal political mobilization, the expansion of natural resource development, and a series of court decisions, the unresolved nature of Canada's territorial claim to most of the land that is now British Columbia has finally reached a point where it can no longer be ignored, either politically or legally. However, the province lacks the legal authority to recognize or deny Aboriginal title, leaving the provincial government and indigenous peoples in British Columbia equally held hostage by the federal government.     

福蒂斯丘与英法封建君主制比较

福蒂斯丘爵士是15世纪英国的法学家和政治理论家,他最早研究了中世纪末英国的君主制类型及其与其他君主制的区别。他的特殊经历使其首次提出英国实行的是"政治且王室的统治",以区别于法国的"王室的统治"。上述两种类型的封建君主制在形成过程和统治方式上大相径庭,统治结果也截然分明,两者的优劣判若两途。福蒂斯丘有关"政治且王室的统治"的理论不仅揭示了中世纪末英国封建君主制的类型,对宪政理论的发展也具有奠基意义。     

福蒂斯丘与英法封建君主制比较

福蒂斯丘爵士是15世纪英国的法学家和政治理论家,他最早研究了中世纪末英国的君主制类型及其与其他君主制的区别。他的特殊经历使其首次提出英国实行的是"政治且王室的统治",以区别于法国的"王室的统治"。上述两种类型的封建君主制在形成过程和统治方式上大相径庭,统治结果也截然分明,两者的优劣判若两途。福蒂斯丘有关"政治且王室的统治"的理论不仅揭示了中世纪末英国封建君主制的类型,对宪政理论的发展也具有奠基意义。     

沙特阿拉伯宪政历程的源头--自由亲王运动

"自由亲王"是沙特阿拉伯现代化发展初期的第三种政治力量,是沙特阿拉伯经历从传统君主制到"发展的独裁模式"之历史性变革的重要推手。自由亲王运动根源于石油时代沙特阿拉伯经济社会秩序的变动,在沙特阿拉伯首次提出宪政民主等现代政治理念并尝试付诸实践,由此成为沙特阿拉伯宪政历程的源头,对沙特阿拉伯政治现代化的发展具有启蒙意义,预示着沙特阿拉伯政治现代化进程的发展方向。     

杜亚泉与哈耶克有限政府论理论基础之比较

宪政是现代政治文明的基本特征,而宪政的精髓乃在于限制国家和政府的权力以保障个人的基本权利,同时又实现国家的富强。正是基于此,作为20世纪初的中国启蒙思想家杜亚泉和作为20世纪影响最大的自由主义思想家之一的哈耶克,都极力主张政府权力及职能的有限性。他们的有限政府论有相同或相似的理论前提,但是更有作为其理论基础的伦理哲学和认识哲学上的极为深刻的差异。杜亚泉的宪政主张最终被其国家主义所代替,虽然有着深刻的时代背景,但更主要的在于其理论基础上的缺陷。宪政和有限政府的主张与实践如果缺乏其相应的理论基础尤其是相应的伦理基础的支撑,便不可避免地会带有动摇性和不彻底性。     

Reviving China: Urban Reconstruction in Nanchang and the Guomindang National Revival Movement, 1932–37

This paper, the first examination of the urban reconstruction of Nanchang, headquarters of the New Life Movement during a period of “National Revival” from 1932–37, presents a fresh understanding of the Guomindang (GMD) New Life Movement. By framing the Nanchang urban reconstruction as an integral program of the New Life Movement, it challenges the established wisdom of the Movement’s mere focus on disciplining Chinese population without any agenda to materially transform Chinese life. By examining GMD engineering efforts to construct public infrastructure, this essay testifies to the Movement’s concrete impact on urban residents. In doing so, it offers a new conceptualization of the New Life Movement as a distinctive moment of Chinese modernity during a process of constructing new urban space in China’s interior cities. This paper also brings to light the ignored connection between the New Life Movement and the historical and ideological context of the GMD National Revival Movement. As the GMD leaders believed, a “new Nanchang” would regenerate a stable national culture and identity as a critique of capitalist modernization. By calling attention to the logic of overcoming modernity, the paper resituates the New Life Movement into cultural revival movements worldwide.