Bringing Chinese Law in Line with Western Standards? Problematizing “Chinese” and “Western” in the Late Qing Debate over the New Criminal Code of Great Qing

This article examines the intense debates over the New Criminal Code of Great Qing (Da-Qing xin xinglü) in the National Assembly (Zizheng yuan) during the Qing empire’s New Policy Reform (1901–11). The focus is on the conflict between those who drafted and supported the new code and those who expressed reservations, especially over reform of the laws on filial piety and fornication. The issue of reconfiguring the family and social order through law was closely related to the overarching agenda of twentieth century legal reform in China—making an empire that “ruled through the principle of filial piety” into a modern nation-state that had direct relationships with its citizens. More importantly, an analysis of the late Qing debate over family law enables this article to problematize such concepts as “Chinese” and “Western” during this crucial moment of China’s empire-to-nation transformation. It showcases the paradox of China’s modern-era reforms—a contradiction between imposing Western-inspired order with a largely indigenous logic and maintaining existing sociopolitical order in the name of preserving national identity.     

Australia’s relations with the European Community in a historical perspective: an elusive partnership

ABSTRACT

In 2015, Australia and the European Union successfully negotiated a Framework Agreement. This agreement is an essential step in establishing a stronger Australia–European Union partnership and achieving closer bilateral cooperation. For years, negotiating such an agreement had proved impossible. In the 1970s, successive Australian governments showed interest in enhanced collaboration with the European Community, but the political climate for closer relations was far from encouraging. This article explains why this was the case. In doing so, it also explores how the Whitlam and Fraser governments envisaged, framed and developed Australia’s ties with the European Community in the 1970s, and asks whether a more positive approach on their part could have led to a stronger relationship. Based on recently declassified government files, this article shows that although both Whitlam and Fraser fully grasped the importance of the European Community as an emerging international actor and were willing to deepen Australia’s ties with it, significant constraints existed against enhanced bilateral cooperation. With the Common Agricultural Policy still a considerable challenge to Australian economic interests and with the European Community focused mainly on the management of its internal market, broader political considerations were inevitably relegated to the margins of Australia–European Community consultations.     

ET SI C'ÉTAIT PAR LA FIN QUE TOUT COMMENÇAIT? PEN BEFORE PLOT,OR TRESCH ON POE'S REVERSALS

This brief comment offers some reflections on John Tresch's “Compositor's Reversal.” Contrasting his approach with Gaston Bachelard's, I situate Tresch in the tradition of reading Edgar A. Poe's Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym as a riddle to be decoded. I suggest that Tresch's analytical emphasis on material composition practices rather than Pym's content opens up insightful ways of reading both Pym itself in terms of its composition, style, and narrative voice, and also Poe's well‐known programmatic Philosophy of Composition. The key achievement of Tresch's article beyond its engagement with Poe scholarship is its contribution to the study of writing practices and media studies more broadly. By demonstrating the tight connection Poe forged between natural theology and the material practice of typography, Tresch inserts the typesetting process as an important step in the historiographical trajectory between pen and typewriter. He shows that the mid‐nineteenth‐century context of natural theology marks a decisive difference in connotation between Poe's compositional play with questions of authorship and plausibility, of truth and appearance both described in and performed by his narrative, and later concerns with the apparatus and its potential for the production of an écriture automatique.     

Sharpening Advocacy Coalitions

The concept of “advocacy coalitions” is the bedrock of the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), one of the most established and successful approaches for understanding policy processes across the globe. This article revisits and sharpens the conceptual definition of advocacy coalitions. We summarize the lessons from its theoretical emphases under the ACF and specify its five attributes (policy actors, shared beliefs, coordination, resources, and stability). Through this specification, we identify the ideal coalition type and several coalition subtypes. We then clarify and make a distinction between how we think about coalitions as a concept and how we approach coalitions empirically. This article sharpens the lens for describing and explaining coalitions toward better observations, theorizing, and measurements. It ends with next steps for further deepening and broadening knowledge about advocacy coalitions.     

20世纪30年代日本对我国南沙群岛政策的演变

20世纪30年代,日本对我国南沙群岛政策呈现出阶段性变化。1933年“九小岛事件”发生之际,日本在对外政策中坚持“协调外交”路线,与法国达成妥协,实现共存。1936年当“南进”政策成为日本的国策时,向我国南沙群岛的扩张成为日本实施向外南洋扩张计划中的一部分。随着日本军部逐渐主导国家对外决策及国际局势的新变化,日本外务省从极力反对海军省的行动演变为积极献策,一致主张驱逐法国势力,武力侵占我国南沙群岛。1939年3月末,日本将我国南沙群岛非法“编入”领土。20世纪30年代日本对我国南沙群岛政策演变是日本外务省、海军省基于国内政治与国际时局综合考量,也是他们分歧、折冲、平衡的结果。     

哈密国"三立三绝"与明朝对土鲁番的政策

明朝前期的哈密地区哈密国与哈密卫二制并存。由于土鲁番与哈密国国力强弱悬殊、明朝在哈密卫尚未驻军与当地无险可守、哈密国与哈密卫远离内地及在遇到紧急情况时难以救援、明朝对土鲁番政策有失误尤其土鲁番的一再入侵等,致使哈密国“三立三绝”与哈密卫徙址。土鲁番之所以敢于“三绝”哈密国,从根本上看,与明朝严加防御北元、对边疆其他各族推行“抚绥”的安边思想与政策有关。若究明朝对土鲁番政策实质,无疑在于“羁縻”了。     

Detour to Europe: Enlargement,Southeast Europe,and the EU's External Dynamic

An American geographer with extensive field and research experience in Southeast Europe examines the implications of "enlargement fatigue" for Southeast European states aspiring to EU accession. He argues that progress toward EU enlargement into Southeast Europe and further integration through the EU Constitution is no longer restricted to internal (intra-EU) dynamics of widening and deepening, but rather must be complemented by an "external dynamic" involving a coherent EU foreign policy. This "external dynamic" would focus on promoting peace and stability on EU borders and quelling the external factors contributing to popular dissent within EU against expansion and integration. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: F02, O15, O18, O19. 1 figure, 41 references.     

从"宽容"到"严格限制"的转变--战后初期英国对日经济政策(1945-1951)

战后初期,英国对日经济政策有一个变化的过程。初期,英国主张对日本应该采取宽容的政策,既要翦除日本对外侵略的威胁,又要复兴日本经济。后期,由于亚洲冷战战略的需要,美国改变对日政策,开始全面扶植日本;而日本则在美国的帮助下在东南亚寻找经济出路,这与英国的利益发生了冲突。这两方面的原因促使英国政府调整对日经济政策,强调限制日本的经济扩张以维护本国利益。