The purpose of this article is to raise the question of how important decentralisation and local governments are for the successful transition and eventually for sustainable human development of a state. The paper foc...The purpose of this article is to raise the question of how important decentralisation and local governments are for the successful transition and eventually for sustainable human development of a state. The paper focuses on the gap between development or transition and decentralisation within academic and international policy discourse. In article, the author tries to answer such questions as how local government can contribute to SHD （sustainable human development）. And how should the international community contribute to and support the transition and development process of the developing countries？ Article shows that local self-government can be a school of democracy and responsibility for the wealth of the state and citizens. By sharing the Polish decentralisation experience, the author shows how important decentralisation might be for successful transition, democratization and sustainable development. The paper also includes a short introduction to the European Charter, recent African efforts like AMCOD or UCLGA and European Union development assistance policy. The purpose of this is to show how little attention is paid to local governments and decentralisation within international policy and how huge is the gap between Europe＇s （developed） states and Africa＇s （developing） states related to their decentralisation policy, law and practice.展开更多
The paper intends to contribute a framework of conceptualizing the emerging world order through interpreting the transformation of international political economy in an era of the rise of the BRICS and the ＂second wo...The paper intends to contribute a framework of conceptualizing the emerging world order through interpreting the transformation of international political economy in an era of the rise of the BRICS and the ＂second world.＂ It theorizes the dialectical nexus between the rise of the BRICs and the existing world order as an interdependent dynamic process of mutual challenge, mutual constraint, and mutual accommodation. One of the conceptual tools the paper applies is the notion of interdependent hegemony. The notion is seen as an important tool for conceptualizing and analyzing international relations and international political economy in the current era. The application of ＂interdependent hegemony＂ helps to explain that to what extent the BRICS can be identified as a unified alliance, a historical bloc, and to what extent they are generating functional or structural challenges to the existing international order. Likewise, it also helps to determine to what extent the hegemony of the existing order is still able to keep its resilient capacities and its structural powers and able to neutralize challenges from the emerging powers. The conclusion of the paper posits that the world is experiencing ＂interdependent hegemony＂ in the transition from the existing order to the emerging order.展开更多
Two prevailing ＂traditional＂ notions of human rights also cause the current skeptical mood concerning human rights. Either human rights are seen in a morally exaggerated way as ＂trump cards＂ in political negotiati...Two prevailing ＂traditional＂ notions of human rights also cause the current skeptical mood concerning human rights. Either human rights are seen in a morally exaggerated way as ＂trump cards＂ in political negotiations, or they are pruned back to a purely juridical level, absorbed into legal instances that accord them at most the rank of constitutional rights. In contrast to this, the author defends a political conception of human rights that overcomes the problems besetting both conceptions, but without having to sacrifice their critical, normative content or a realistic role for human rights in international politics. A political conception of human rights assumes, the author argues firstly, that human rights grow out of concrete experiences of injustice and are the product of political struggles. Human rights are, secondly, placeholders for the public thematization of oppression, humiliation, marginalization, and despotism. A third characteristic feature of a political conception of human rights is that human rights raise claims to a rule system that permits access to the freedoms and resources formulated by human rights. And finally, the obligations imposed by human rights are not duties of assistance but institutional duties to realize the conditions for exercising human rights. Human rights, the author concludes, can be ＂used＂ by any person to criticize existing ordering structures and can be activated for political purposes directed to the common good.展开更多
文摘The purpose of this article is to raise the question of how important decentralisation and local governments are for the successful transition and eventually for sustainable human development of a state. The paper focuses on the gap between development or transition and decentralisation within academic and international policy discourse. In article, the author tries to answer such questions as how local government can contribute to SHD （sustainable human development）. And how should the international community contribute to and support the transition and development process of the developing countries？ Article shows that local self-government can be a school of democracy and responsibility for the wealth of the state and citizens. By sharing the Polish decentralisation experience, the author shows how important decentralisation might be for successful transition, democratization and sustainable development. The paper also includes a short introduction to the European Charter, recent African efforts like AMCOD or UCLGA and European Union development assistance policy. The purpose of this is to show how little attention is paid to local governments and decentralisation within international policy and how huge is the gap between Europe＇s （developed） states and Africa＇s （developing） states related to their decentralisation policy, law and practice.
文摘The paper intends to contribute a framework of conceptualizing the emerging world order through interpreting the transformation of international political economy in an era of the rise of the BRICS and the ＂second world.＂ It theorizes the dialectical nexus between the rise of the BRICs and the existing world order as an interdependent dynamic process of mutual challenge, mutual constraint, and mutual accommodation. One of the conceptual tools the paper applies is the notion of interdependent hegemony. The notion is seen as an important tool for conceptualizing and analyzing international relations and international political economy in the current era. The application of ＂interdependent hegemony＂ helps to explain that to what extent the BRICS can be identified as a unified alliance, a historical bloc, and to what extent they are generating functional or structural challenges to the existing international order. Likewise, it also helps to determine to what extent the hegemony of the existing order is still able to keep its resilient capacities and its structural powers and able to neutralize challenges from the emerging powers. The conclusion of the paper posits that the world is experiencing ＂interdependent hegemony＂ in the transition from the existing order to the emerging order.
文摘Two prevailing ＂traditional＂ notions of human rights also cause the current skeptical mood concerning human rights. Either human rights are seen in a morally exaggerated way as ＂trump cards＂ in political negotiations, or they are pruned back to a purely juridical level, absorbed into legal instances that accord them at most the rank of constitutional rights. In contrast to this, the author defends a political conception of human rights that overcomes the problems besetting both conceptions, but without having to sacrifice their critical, normative content or a realistic role for human rights in international politics. A political conception of human rights assumes, the author argues firstly, that human rights grow out of concrete experiences of injustice and are the product of political struggles. Human rights are, secondly, placeholders for the public thematization of oppression, humiliation, marginalization, and despotism. A third characteristic feature of a political conception of human rights is that human rights raise claims to a rule system that permits access to the freedoms and resources formulated by human rights. And finally, the obligations imposed by human rights are not duties of assistance but institutional duties to realize the conditions for exercising human rights. Human rights, the author concludes, can be ＂used＂ by any person to criticize existing ordering structures and can be activated for political purposes directed to the common good.
