The 2019 General Election in Northern Ireland: the Rise of the Centre Ground?

The experience of the 2019 general election in Northern Ireland took a very different course to that of the rest of the UK and, indeed, to the pattern of electoral politics typical of the region. Coming after almost three years with no functioning devolved government, combined with intense disagreement and uncertainty about Brexit, voters were ready to give a message to the two largest parties. Both Sinn Féin and the DUP suffered losses in the election, with the headline outcome being that unionism no longer holds the majority of seats for Northern Ireland in Westminster. More generally, there was a swing from both sides towards centre ground voting, which brought significant gains for the Alliance Party and the SDLP. This article summarises the reasons for this broad trend, focussing on the conditions and electoral pacts which brought it about. It also considers what it might mean for the prospects for Irish unification, noting that a referendum on unification will only be passed by attracting votes from those who tend to see themselves as neither unionist or nationalist.     

民主治理与民主巩固——东南亚国家的政治发展困境

东南亚国家独立初期"民主试验"的失败及现阶段民主制度的"危机"和民主制度本身并没有本质的、必然的联系,民主制的发展困境是由于与民主制度相适应的民主治理方式未能有效建立,治理方式不能与民主体制相适应造成的。从"统治"到"治理"不仅是一种范式的变迁,也是国家治理方式的转换。未来东南亚国家的民主巩固进程将是一个艰巨的"双重民主化"进程即实现政治体制和管理方式的双重转型。     

论江泽民新安全观的辩证思维及实践问题

江泽民提出的新安全观 ,从背景看是对冷战思维的否定 ,从内容看是对传统安全观的发展 ,从结构看是辩证统一的有机整体 ,从实践看它不仅符合中国国家安全利益 ,也符合世界各国国家安全利益 ,反映了冷战后世界发展的大趋势。特别是在霸权主义有新的表现、恐怖主义危害上升、影响和平与发展的不确定因素在增加的情况下 ,江泽民新安全观越来越受到大多数国家的赞赏和欢迎。     

《道路交通控制》实践教学研究

教学是一个特殊的认识过程,在这个过程中,实践活动不仅能使学生获得大量的直接经验,促进理论知识的消化,而且是达到认知、情感、技能等教学目标的必不可少的有效途径。针对《道路交通控制》课程具有较强可操作性的特点,应在课程教学中进行实战实践教学,从三方面入手:1.孤立交叉口控制实战教学;2.干线控制的实战教学;3.区域控制的实战教学。     

刑侦实践性教学探析

刑侦实践性教学应树立要素完善化、方法科学化、要求综合化理念;按认识案情、制定侦查方案和实施侦查方案三大模块进行;形式主要有参观、案例研讨和模拟操作等;对学生的指导通常从巩固已学知识、促成学生互教和讲评等三个方面进行;要切实解决条件、师资和课时等深层次问题。     

关于公安工作创新的理论与实践

要做好新形势下的公安工作,无论在公安工作的理论方面还是实践方面,都应有所创新、有所突破,如关于如何解放思想推动公安理论创新,关于如何从总体上把握公安工作客观规律,关于正确把握公安机关的性质、职能以及公安工作的标准,关于公安机关的体制、编制和机制创新以及公安政治工作创新。     

新民主主义革命时期党群沟通机制有效运行的原因及启示

新民主主义革命时期中国共产党准确地把握社会形势,成功地宣传了党的方针政策,唤醒了民众的革命觉悟,有效地整合了各种社会资源,推动了新民主主义革命的胜利。研究新民主主义革命时期党群沟通的有效运行机制,对新时期进一步改善党群关系,加强党的建设具有重要的指导意义。     

Negotiating normative premises in democracy promotion: Venezuela and the Inter-American Democratic Charter

ABSTRACT

This article analyses negotiations on democracy promotion by looking at the case of the Inter-American Democratic Charter. It argues that Venezuela contested the concept of representative democracy during the Charter negotiations, advancing the notion of “participatory and protagonist democracy” and that, even if it was unsuccessful in its demands, the country contributed to deepening the debate on the concept of democracy, on which there is far from worldwide consensus. The article suggests that the main drivers of the negotiation process and the final agreement were domestic political changes in Venezuela, specific features of the negotiations, and the structural position of Venezuela in the field of democracy promotion in the global and regional contexts, which were, at the time, favourable to a compromising attitude to conclusion of the Charter, even if not to the concept of democracy.     

The Neglected Nation: The CSU and the Territorial Cleavage in Bavarian Party Politics

This article examines the continuing salience of the territorial cleavage in Bavarian party politics. It does so through an exploration of the Christian Social Union's (CSU) mobilisation of Bavarian identity as part of its political project, which has forced other parties in Bavaria to strengthen their territorial goals and identities. Parties have articulated different constructions of ‘Bavaria’ to rival the CSU's dominant nation-building project. However, they have been unable to portray themselves as ‘standing up for Bavarian interests’ due to the constraints of the state-wide parties to which they belong. As an exclusively Bavarian party, the CSU has no such constraints. Indeed, the CSU's core aim of strengthening Bavaria's position vis-à-vis the German federation may be viewed as akin to that of the Convergència i Unió in Catalonia, Spirit in Flanders or Plaid Cymru in Wales. Like these parties, the case of the CSU in Bavaria demonstrates that sub-state territorial mobilisation has as much to do with negotiating autonomy within the state as seceding from it. To that end, the CSU provides a valuable case of how a regionalist party operating within a multi-level political system has sought to influence the regional, state and European levels to obtain a comparative territorial advantage.     

The Management of Democratic Elections in Africa (MDEA) programme at the university of South Africa: Is this the right path towards African solutions?

There have been a number of initiatives in Africa to rid the Continent of political instability, conflict, poverty and disease. Many have argued that aid from the West has helped Africa in many ways—from stopping wars, to food relief and rescuing the African environment. Yet others have slated Western involvement which they contend, frequently leaves Africans dependant rather than capable of solving their own problems. In line with the pan-Africanist and the African Union (AU) ideals, there is now a realisation by Africans that there is a need to find African solutions to African challenges and problems. This review article explores the University of South Africa’s (Unisa’s) Management of Democratic Elections in Africa (MDEA) programme, by looking at its objectives and the reason why it must be labelled a Programme, its mandate, which is in line with the brief of the AU and pan-Africanist ideals. The article focuses on how Unisa’s programme responds to the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG); and how it has attempted to facilitate knowledge for peace in Africa, through empowering electoral officials from various African states. The article concludes by looking at the successes and limitations of the Programme over a five-year period, from its inception in 2011.