Trade,culture and the European Union cultural exception

ABSTRACT

The article examines how the European Union has addressed the ‘trade and culture debate’ in its international trade agreements. From a cultural exception approach based on an attempt to detach culture from trade provisions, the European Union economic agreements seem to evolve to a broader and more holistic position aiming to promote cultural exchanges through cooperation, while still safeguarding policy space in cultural matters through its traditional cultural exception. The article provides an overview of the European positions to defend the specificity of the audio-visual services sector at the multilateral (World Trade Organization Agreements), regional and bilateral levels. It also examines how the implementation of the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions has led the European Union to negotiate cultural cooperation provisions in parallel to some of its recent bilateral and regional trade agreements and the way this Convention may impact the understanding of the ‘trade and culture debate’.     

Improving the use of history by the international humanitarian sector

Abstract

This article challenges the often implicit assumption by historians working on humanitarian history that their work is being read and used by present-day humanitarian workers. Key characteristics of the modern-day humanitarian sector are highlighted, including the unpredictable and often inadequate levels of funding, stressful working conditions and high staff turnover. The article argues that, to a significant degree, the humanitarian sector is ahistorical and locked into a state of ‘perpetual present’. Two principal obstacles to the greater use of historical knowledge within the present-day humanitarian sector are identified as being the limited accessibility of the available literature on humanitarian history and the perceptions that the work of humanitarian historians is of limited relevance. The paper concludes by describing recent initiatives including the planned humanitarianhistory.org website which is intended to improve the accessibility of the available literature and facilitate engagement and co-production between historians and humanitarian workers.     

生命的畸形博弈:清代命案中的顶凶现象新考

与历代诸多代人受刑的案件相比,清代命案中的顶凶案件有其自身的特点。顶凶案发生的原因和情节错综复杂,成为一种危害深重的畸形社会现象。发生时间表现为乾隆以降,数量逐渐增多;发生区域以福建、广东地区的械斗顶凶案件最为典型;立法过程表现为例文与司法的相互调适并趋向宽纵。从一手史料出发,对顶凶案件背后的生成机制和司法实践进行探寻和考证,可以在一定程度上揭示清代社会民众的政治生态、文化心理和价值取向,透视出官方与民间的互动实态。     

国际关系的变化趋势与地缘关系理论的变革

国际关系的发展趋势将以经济为主题、以和平合作为主调。相应的地缘关系理论也应作如下调整:从"争夺霸权"向"寻求合作"的目标转换、从地缘政治向地缘经济的主题转换、从地理位置向科技人才的解释因子转换、从欧洲中心论向全球一体化的空间转换。     

国际法、女权保护与第一次世界大战期间的英德宣传战

宣称战争因某种道德理想而展开是一次大战的显特征,国际法、平民权益特别是妇女儿童权益保护就成了区分和衡量战争正义合法与否的标尺。英德关于非人道作战方式的合法性争执凸显出国际法存在的严重缺失及其在宣传战中作用的有限性,而侵害最易成为战争受难的妇女儿童权利便成了宣传战中最能调动舆论情绪、最易产生宣传效果的主题,这也是英国适时将宣传战主题从德国违反国际法切换到德军大规模强暴妇女儿童上来的主要原因。     

关于完善我国劳权法律保障制度的基本思路

劳权是劳动者合法权益的法律提炼,具有经济、社会、法律多位一体的复合特征.我国的劳权保障突出体现在就业权、报酬权、安全卫生权的保障.本文着重提出完善我国劳动合同制度和救济制度、改革劳动争议的构想.     

The Great Dog Massacre in Late Qing China: Debates,Perceptions, and Phobia in the Shanghai International Settlement

Modern assessments of a well-known sign in a Shanghai park that stated “Dogs and Chinese Not Admitted” have established that the dog aspect of it was not true, but the sign remains highly visible in the Chinese historiography of Western imperialism. Such reassessments do not seem to recognize that the sign might have meant something considerably different to Chinese and foreigners in late Qing Shanghai than it would have in later periods of modern Chinese history. Dog–human relations had changed through a mix of two processes: dog-keeping as a social practice and the challenges of rabies in the management of urban space. Under the rule of the Shanghai Municipal Council, animals, health, and imperialism converged in the Shanghai International Settlement to destabilize the traditional roles of dogs and introduce modernity through the disciplining of both animal and human bodies and the demarcation and management of new urban spaces.     

袁世凯与清末法制改革

在清末法制改革中,袁世凯是积极的推动者和参与者。他上书请求变革法律,积极推荐修法人才,并参与新法内容的讨论;他极力主张多渠道地造就和选用法律人才;他利用直隶总督的地位和权力,将法制改革的许多措施在直隶施行,对推动当时中国封建法制的近代化进程起到了积极的促进作用。     

The Enigma of Tantura B: Historical Documentation and the Lack of Circumstantial Documentary Evidence

Tantura B is by far the first early Islamic shipwreck to be discovered off the Palestinian coast. Scientific evidence indicates that this vessel sank some time between the mid-8th and the mid-9th centuries. Neither archaeological remains nor historical sources can ascertain its exact function and origin due to the lack of circumstantial documentary evidence. However, it has been argued that the vessel could be either a coaster, capable of entering rivers or estuaries, or a support vessel operating in the Arab fleet, i.e. , it may have had been used for either military or civil purposes, or both.
© 2005 The Nautical Archaeology Society     

依法治国基本方略实施考察

近年来,中共中央在确立了依法治国基本方略之后,采取了加强和完善立法工作、全面推进依法行政、着重提高领导干部的法律素质以及在全民中深入开展普法教育等有力举措,在以下几个方面取得了显著成效:以宪法为核心的中国特色社会主义法律体系已初步形成;法制队伍素质不断增强;法律服务工作发展迅速;广大干部群众的法律素质显著提高。当前,依法治国基本方略在实施过程中存在的问题主要有:立法质量有待于进一步提高;执法方式有待于进一步改进;司法体制有待于进一步改革;法律意识有待于进一步增强等。