苏格兰独立问题的历史与未来

苏格兰自1707年并入英联合王国后,要求独立的呼声始终未断,2007年苏格兰民族党成为执政党后,独立呼声愈演愈烈。"苏格兰的未来将由苏格兰人民来决定",2014年9月18日苏格兰进行独立公投。从历史沿革、政治权势博弈两个方面入手可把握苏格兰独立问题的整体脉络。将英国政治制度中的务实传统与当前多重利益因素综合考虑,可诠释苏格兰独立问题的产生原因、英国政府同意公投的实用主义倾向。     

Almost the same stories: narrative patterns in EU treaty referendums

ABSTRACT

The article analyses narratives that favoured or opposed European integration in three referendum debates held during the constitutional process of the 2000s: in France and the Netherlands in 2005 (Constitutional Treaty) as well as the first vote in Ireland on the Lisbon Treaty in 2008. In all debates examined, speakers used similar narratives of European integration. While most narrative patterns have transnational character, however, they are also remarkably country-specific. They depend on the specific cultural context and the social positions of the speakers articulating them.     

Civil Society and the Northern Irish Peace Process

Alternative accounts of the Northern Irish peace process are analyzed. It is noted that neither Unionist nor Republican accounts accord a significant or positive role to civil society in the reaching of a political settlement. It is only in what might be called the metropolitan liberal perspective that influence is attributed to the role of civil society in achieving a settlement. Two junctures at which civil society, centered on the third sector, played a prominent role in the peace process are analyzed: the Opsahl Commission before the launch of the peace process in 1993 and the nonparty Yes campaign during the referendum on the Belfast Agreement in May 1998. The paper then goes on to discuss why the influence of civil society has declined since the referendum, and draws attention to the conflict between the top-down implications of the consociational nature of the Belfast Agreement and the bottom-up promotion of political accommodation through civil society.     

民主性公民投票制度的功能及其局限

民主性公民投票通常是指民主意义上的公民投票,可分为全国性公民投票和地方性公民投票,其议题范围很广,涉及宪法、大选、国际、道德等方面。民主性公民投票的制度功能主要有:增强制约力,保持稳定性,提升正当性,促进参与感。它也存在着制度方面的局限,主要表现在:易导致多数暴力,未必保障人权,未必符合正义,未必避免专制。为正确认识民主性公民投票的制度功能及其局限,要注意以下几点:应真正认清民主性公民投票制度的价值追求;民主性公民投票是非常态的民主表达方式;需要通过其他制度来弥补公民投票制度的不足;防止民主性公民投票制度的滥用。     

财政公决问题研究

财政公决作为全民公决的一种类型,是一国财政民主化运行的重要体现。它主要包括财政法律公决、财政政策公决、国际财政问题公决;对财政公决尽管有不少质疑声音,但它有自身的存在价值,并以瑞士模式和美国模式为代表。中国国情与美国和瑞士都存在较大差异,改革开放以来的增量民主经验表明,财政公决应遵循渐进原则,不可冒进,同时在经济特区试点更容易取得成功。建议在经济特区可先推行原则创制和任意性复决。     

From mood to movement: English nationalism,the European Union and taking back control†

This article considers whether the 2016 EU referendum can be perceived as an English nationalist movement. Specifically, attention is given to examining how memories of the former British Empire were nostalgically enveloped in anxieties regarding England’s location within the devolved UK state. The comments and work of Enoch Powell and George Orwell are used to help explore the link between nostalgia and anxiety in accounts of English nationalism. Despite their opposing political orientations, when considered together, it is argued that both men provide a unique cross-political perspective on Englishness, empire and nostalgia. By way of exploring these themes in relation to the EU referendum, Aughey’s assertion that English nationalism can be perceived as both a “mood” and “movement” is used to highlight how a sense of English anxiety regarding its lack of national sovereignty (mood), as well as a desire to reclaim this sovereignty by renegotiating trade relations with the “Anglo-sphere” (movement), were conjoined in the popular referendum slogan, “take back control”. In conclusion, it is argued that the contextualization of the referendum can be predicated upon an orientation to empire that steers away from glorifying pro-imperial images of England/Britain, towards a more positive and progressive appropriation of the EU referendum as a statement of national change and belonging.     

全民公决的词源与词义考

referendum（复决）、plebiscite（公决）和initiative（人民自决）是三个同义的英文单词。由于历史起源的不同,这三者所对应的全民公决制度在现代社会存在较大差异,因此实有厘清三者的必要性。在占有大量史学资料的基础上对三种全民公决制度分别追宗索义,可从制度演变中辨析全民公决的涵义。     

国外现代全民公决的类型研究

全民公决是指在某个国家或地区内,享有投票权的全体公民对本国或本地区具有重大影响的问题,以投男《的方式进行表决,在现代政治生活中占有重要地位。基于全民公决的对象、主体范围、必需与否、投票结果、法律依据等的不同,可以对全民公决现象做一简单明晰的归类,由此可分辨出不同的全民公决类型的成因、作用及对现代政治生活的价值。     

法国大革命时期全民公决的实践及其意义

现代全民公决制度肇始于法国大革命时期,研究这一时期全民公决的实践活动对于我们系统探讨全民公决制度是大有裨益的。尽管由于公民参与率低下、信息的匮乏及没有采取秘密投票方式等原因使法国大革命时期全民公决的意义大打折扣,但这一时期的实践活动却使全民公决制度在法国获得了合法性,从而为这一制度在全世界范围内的发展奠定了基础。     

法国大革命时期全民公决的特点

大革命时期全民公决的理论依据带有难以克服的模糊性,它只能作为代议制的补充,成为法国政治生活中一项非经常性的制度。然而,大革命时期就宪法所举行的三次全民公决又为这一制度奠定了合法性基础,全民公决观念从此在法国落地生根。全民公决虽不存在民意操纵问题,但却有政治派别斗争的成分掺杂其中。这一特点预设了全民公决制度化发展过程中的全部困境。