WHAT IS THE MULTITUDE?

Nicholas Brown and Imre Szeman continue their conversation with Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri. (See ‘The Global Coliseum: On Empire’ in Cultural Studies, 16.2, (March 2002), p. 177–192). In this new interview they press the authors of Empire and Multitude on questions that have arisen both out of their own involvement with the theoretical issues generated by Empire and from new areas opened up by Multitude. Why is the multitude not a class? How can the unity of a political project be maintained in the multiplicity of the multitude? Is democracy still a project for the future? Can a political subject constitute itself outside the structure of sovereignty? In other words, what is the multitude?     

论白璧德人文主义视阈中的“二元人性观”

白璧德的人文主义主张人内在具有两种法则,即"物之法则"和"人之法则",以"人之法则"来诊治西方自18世纪以来的"物之法则"的肆掠和僭越,即人内在的"更高意志"对"较低意志"进行控制以达到适度。这种"内在控制"以"生命辩证法"体现出来,这种辩证法不是以"冲突"为特征的主客二分思辨为目的,而是以"调和"为特征的生命实践。在西方人信仰缺失和国际交往日益密切的背景下,白璧德试图内转西方"依他的"、外扩的文化,以矫正外扩的文明方向。     

法社会学视野下的农村人民调解解读与重构

法社会学的外部分析视角、对活法的关注以及对法律的功能分析对于农村人民调解有良好的借鉴价值。农村人民调解充分考虑到法律及影响法律的其他外部因素,考虑到农村的传统习惯与活法对社会冲突的作用,而且农村人民调解有利于农村社会有机体的自我调整和自我完善。农村人民调解应在受理范围上进一步扩大与明确,在队伍建设和组织机构上应进一步提高与完善,在与法院诉讼和行政调解的关系上应做好良好的分工与衔接。     

Divorce and Coparenting: A Qualitative Study on Family Mediation in Italy

This qualitative study intended to assess how intergenerational transformative family mediation is a resource in promoting and supporting coparenting during the transition of divorce. There were 2 goals: to assess parents’ perceptions of key topics of family mediation and to compare their perceptions concerning different moments of the intervention. Fifteen Italian parents were interviewed using an ad hoc semistructured interview. Data were analyzed using the textual analysis software T-LAB. Findings showed mediator, pragmatic aspects, and family relationships as the most salient aspects of mediation. Significant differences emerged among the beginning, the middle phase, and the end of this intervention.     

THE MYTH OF THE GRINGO CHIEF: AMAZONIAN MESSIAHS AND THE POWER OF IMMEDIACY

In this article, I investigate the sociocultural grounding and sociopolitical position of Randy Borman, the “gringo chief” of the indigenous Cofán people of Amazonian Ecuador. Born to North American missionary-linguists, Borman grew up in Cofán communities, attended school in urban Ecuador and the United States, and developed into the most important Cofán activist on the global stage. I consider him alongside other ethnically ambiguous leaders of Amazonian political movements, whom anthropologists have described as “messianic” figures. The historians and ethnographers who write about Amazonian messianism debate the relationship between myth and reason in indigenous political action. Using their discussion as a starting point, I propose the concept of “mythical politics,” a type of transformative action that concentrates enabling forms of socio-temporal mediation in the shape of individual actors and instantaneous events. I develop my approach through a discussion of the work of Georges Sorel, Georg Lukács, and Antonio Gramsci, three theorists who debate the role of myth in political mobilization. By applying their insights to the case of Borman, I explore the relationship between myth, mediation, and rationality in Cofán politics and political movements more generally.     

全球化背景下调解制度法律文化研究

以和谐为特征的调解方式在中国长期运用,从法理角度不乏弊端,但却日益为西方所接受和发展。调解制度与诉讼在性质、程序和文化等方面存在着重大区别,但调解的社会和法律效果已得到证实,除法律制度因素以外,调解中的文化因素影响不容忽视,个人主义文化与集体主义文化,外向型文化与内生型文化,单一型文化与多重型文化,高权力距离指数文化与低权力距离指数文化都会对调解的效果产生重要影响。对跨国文化的了解、沟通和认同都是有效调解的因素。全球化背景下,以调解制度为代表的多元纠纷解决机制将会复兴。     

Elder Mediation in Theory and Practice: Study Results From a National Caregiver Mediation Demonstration Project

Mediation is a process through which a third party facilitates discussion among disputing parties to help them identify interests and ideally reach an amicable solution. Elder mediation is a growing subspecialty to address conflicts involving older adults, primarily involving caregiving or finances. Mediation is theorized to empower participants but critics argue that it can exacerbate power imbalances among parties and coerce consensus. These contested claims are examined through study of a national caregiver mediation demonstration project. Study implications underscore the importance of gerontological social work expertise to ensure the empowerment of vulnerable older adults in mediation sessions.     

调解程序中的律师：功能定位及障碍消减

律师职业伦理以利他性为中心。调解程序中律师的使命则应致力于向当事人提供法律信息,以利于当事人而不是代替当事人作出正确的决定,促进当事人自治的实现。但律师自身的利益诉求和职业惯性有可能成为承担这一使命的障碍。因此,应该建立律师参与调解的激励与约束机制,包括将法律援助引入调解程序、改革律师收费制度、建立相关费用的分散化机制等,以保障当事人接近律师的权利。此外,律师还可以通过直接担任调解员和参与律师的和解制度等方式促进合意的纠纷解决。     

法院调解：当事人“理性对话”的权利场域

法院调解是我国法院民事审判中一种占主导性地位的运作方式。随着民事诉讼改革的深入,法院调解制度面临一些新的问题。为应对这些新问题,首先要对法院调解进行合理的定位。法院调解应该不仅仅体现法官的;职权,更应当为当事人进行“理性对话”提供一个平台。     

论调解制度的法治价值

被誉为"东方经验"的调解制度在中国具有源远流长的历史传统,作为现代法治的有机组成部分,体现着现代法治基本人文价值。本文在调解概念界定及其特征分析的基础上,将调解制度置身现代社会变革的大背景下进行思考,从多角度阐述了调解制度的复兴原因及其价值体现,认为随着社会转型的完成、社会理性的成熟、法律与社会的磨合、社会自治的提高,社会自我消解纠纷机制将逐步形成,其解决纠纷的有效性也将不断提升,社会对调解制度的价值,对其功能的评价与期待,也会慢慢发生转变。