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.     

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。     

克林顿总统时期美国对华政策形成的特点--以总统、国会在对华贸易最惠国待遇问题上的争论为例

通过对克林顿时期总统与国会围绕是否给予中国贸易最惠国待遇问题的争论的历史考察,可以发现在这一时期美国对华政策形成具有如下特点第一,从行政与立法机构之间关系的角度来看,关键时刻总统和国会两院在事关国家利益的重大问题上最终总能达成共识;第二,从行政和国会与两党之间及两党相互之间关系的角度来看,对经济问题的考虑是它们的共同点,也是美国对华政策的重点,美国对华政策中的政治利益往往通过经济手段来实现;第三,从政策实现的途径来分析,总统靠游说国会和呼吁公众支持来实现自己的政策,国会则靠立法来体现其主张,而且国会在大多时候采取主动出击的方式,而总统则在多数时候保持反应式的决策模式。     

南京国民政府初期十年边疆民族事务管理机制与政策

国民政府初期是国民政府边疆民族事务管理机制与政策的形成期,期间基本形成一套事权分散的边疆民族事务管理体系,实施了一些内容庞杂、缺少系统性的政策,受到政府执政能力、行政效率和政权性质等多方面因素的影响,这些政策的实际执行都还相当有限。但是,这些管理机制的运行与政策的实施在国家实现政治整合和维护领土完整方面仍然有着相当重要的历史意义。     

The Great Game in Antarctica: Britain and the 1959 Antarctic Treaty

This article is concerned with Britain's political and territorial interests in the Antarctic in the first half of the twentieth century, culminating in the signing of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty. Using in part the diaries of a Foreign Office advisor, Dr Brian Roberts, attention is given as to how successive British governments and their officials sustained a presence in the remote polar continent. Rival claimants in the form of Argentina and Chile made the task all the more difficult. Mapping and surveying were essential in maintaining British sovereignty even if the end results were at times disappointing. The article concludes by suggesting that the Antarctic Treaty, while important in promoting international scientific collaboration, did not manage to resolve the political and territorial disputes surrounding the Antarctic. Arguably, the 1982 Falklands War and its aftermath provided a vivid reminder that Britain's most southerly possessions still remain deeply contested.     

Building economies from the bottom up: (mis)representations of poverty in the rural American Northwest

This paper examines interconnected processes of economic restructuring and representations of poor subjects that rely on imaginaries of race, ethnicity, class and rural space. We argue that poverty and privilege are mutually produced and so we focus on the representational practices of White leaders in persistently poor counties across the American Northwest. We draw from case study research to understand region-wide material and discursive processes that are contributing to economic distress and social marginalization. We interrogate the range of representational practices that White leaders employ to explain, deny and/or racialize poverty in their communities. We also draw attention to how poverty emerges from the intersection of political, economic and cultural processes operating across a range of scales and sites. We further analyze how representations of the poor and poverty rest on a host of imaginary landscapes about who belongs, who is an outsider and who has a right to a place and its services. We argue that these representations serve to invigorate neoliberal policies and silence a more critical debate about poverty in the USA.