The charter that created the African Union came into effect in 2002. It is now 12 years in place but most Africans would not be sure whether they know the rationale and ultimate role of the AU in promoting good govern...The charter that created the African Union came into effect in 2002. It is now 12 years in place but most Africans would not be sure whether they know the rationale and ultimate role of the AU in promoting good governance, peace, security and progress on the continent. Annual summits take place in Addis Ababa, and several resolutions are taken, but it is though the respective heads of states just return to their colonially engineered states to resume business as usual. As a result, poverty, conflicts (both internal and regional), bad governance continue to plague the majority of the African countries with a few exceptions. Of late emerging economies such as China and India deal with Africa as if it were a one country--this could be the time for Africans to begin envisioning a new continental political architecture, with an African citizenship. The provisions of the African Union Charter are enshrined in the Constitutive Act, are summaries in Articles 3 and 4, that deal with objectives and principles. The objectives are (Desta, 2013, pp. 160-161): (1) Achieve greater unity and solidarity between the African countries and peoples of Africa; (2) Defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its member states; (3) Accelerate the political and social-economic integration of the continent; (4) Promote and defend African common positions on issues of interest to the continent and its peoples; (5) Encourage intemational cooperation, taking due account of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; (6) Promote, peace, security and stability of the continent; (7) Promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance; (8) Promote and protect human and people's rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and other relevant human rights instruments; (9) Establish the necessary conditions which enable the continent to play its rightful role in the global economy and in international negotiations; (10) Promote sustainable development at the economic. Social and cultural levels as well as the integration of African economies; (11) Promote co-operation in all fields of human activity to raise the living standards of African peoples; (12) Coordinate and harmonize the policies between the existing and future Regional Economic Communities for the gradual attainment of the objectives of the Union; (13) Advance the development of the continent by promoting research in all fields, in particular in science and technology; (14) Work with relevant international partners in the eradication of preventable diseases and the promotion of good health on the continent. The principles of the AU Constitutive Act are (Ibid. 162-163): (1) Sovereign equality and interdependence among Member Sates of the Union; (2) Respect for borders existing on achievement of independence; (3) Participation of the African peoples in the activities of the Union; (4) Establishment of a common defense policy for the African Continent; (5) Peaceful resolution of conflicts among Member States of the Union through such appropriate means as may be decided upon by the Assembly; (6) Prohibition of the use of force or threat to use force among Member States of the Union; (7) Non-interference by any Member State in the internal affairs of another; (8) The right of the Union to intervene in aMember State pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave circumstances, namely: war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity; (9) Peaceful co-existence of Member States and their right to live in peace and security; (10) The right of Member States to request intervention from the Union in order to restore peace and security; (11) Promotion of self-reliance within the framework of the Union; (12) Promotion of gender equality; m. Respect for democratic principles, human rights, rule of law and good governance; (13) Promotion of social justice to ensure balanced economic development; (14) Respect for the sanctity of human life, condemnation and rejection of impunity and political assassination, acts of terrorism and subversive activities; (15) Condemnation and rejection of unconstitutional changes of governments. While there is mention of participation of African peoples in the activities of the Union as principle (c) and objective (g), there is no explicit mention of civil society organizations (media, faith-based organizations, and NGOs) as principle actors in implementing the objectives of the Union. I want to argue that the failure of the respective African states to eradicate poverty, end armed conflicts, and address governance issues is caused by lack of a common regional integration model that takes an African Union citizenship seriously, but at the same time respecting the role of civil society and faith-based organizations, that predate the state in Africa. It is evident that Afi'ican Unity (AU) and sub-regional integration groups such as East African Community (EAC), Southern African Development Community (SADC), Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), as well the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), are designed and operationalized from a statist political philosophical framework. Moreover, since the African states are largely contested as a colonial creation, the AU cannot successfully implement the institution of an African citizenship without acknowledging the role of and giving space to non-state actors in AU and other regional integration models and initiatives. This paradigm shift will require rethinking the relationship between the state and non-state actors in Africa.展开更多
Accurate estimation of evapotranspiration(ET),especially at the regional scale,is an extensively investigated topic in the field of water science. The ability to obtain a continuous time series of highly precise ET va...Accurate estimation of evapotranspiration(ET),especially at the regional scale,is an extensively investigated topic in the field of water science. The ability to obtain a continuous time series of highly precise ET values is necessary for improving our knowledge of fundamental hydrological processes and for addressing various problems regarding the use of water. This objective can be achieved by means of ET data assimilation based on hydrological modeling. In this paper,a comprehensive review of ET data assimilation based on hydrological modeling is provided. The difficulties and bottlenecks of using ET,being a non-state variable,to construct data assimilation relationships are elaborated upon,with a discussion and analysis of the feasibility of assimilating ET into various hydrological models. Based on this,a new easy-to-operate ET assimilation scheme that includes a water circulation physical mechanism is proposed. The scheme was developed with an improved data assimilation system that uses a distributed time-variant gain model(DTVGM),and the ET-soil humidity nonlinear time response relationship of this model. Moreover,the ET mechanism in the DTVGM was improved to perfect the ET data assimilation system. The new scheme may provide the best spatial and temporal characteristics for hydrological states,and may be referenced for accurate estimation of regional evapotranspiration.展开更多
A new general way for researching the Hawking effect in the spheri-cally symmetric or the plane-symmetric non-static space-times is proposed.The theoreticalfoundation of this way is laid.The Klein-Gordon equation must...A new general way for researching the Hawking effect in the spheri-cally symmetric or the plane-symmetric non-static space-times is proposed.The theoreticalfoundation of this way is laid.The Klein-Gordon equation must be reduced to the stand-ard form of wave equation near an event horizon when a generalized tortoise coordinateis adopted.Then,both the Hawking radiation temperature and the equation determining thelocation of the event horizon are obtained automatically.When the radiation is weak,thefirst approximation of our result is the same as the approximate result obtained with theradiation back-reaction method.展开更多
Since the beginning of international relations as a formal academic discipline in 1919, the realist paradigm has dominated academic debate, and consequently, major foreign policy decisions. This paradigm focuses on "...Since the beginning of international relations as a formal academic discipline in 1919, the realist paradigm has dominated academic debate, and consequently, major foreign policy decisions. This paradigm focuses on "politics" as the actions of so-called "high politics"; that is to say, primacy is given to actions between states over the actions that occur within states. This article will aim to demonstrate that the "low politics" of domestic policy should be considered to a further extent than it currently is in the field of international relations theory. In doing so, this article will focus on sub-unit level factors that have considerable impact on international relations; namely, political parties, terrorist organizations, and lobbying groups. However, it is recognised that proponents of neo-liberal theory, such as Keohane and Nye, and academics studying interest group theory, such as Kabashima and Sato, have done much work to further the idea of international relations theory as more than state-centric analysis. This article will act as an attempt to further this idea both through normative and conceptual analysis. The article uses Putnam's concept of two-level games as a basic model of international-domestic relations, hoping to expand on the concept whilst retaining its integrity.展开更多
The availability of increased Arctic shipping as a consequence of sea ice decline is a regional issue that is closely linked with international climate governance and global governance of the maritime industry. Sea ic...The availability of increased Arctic shipping as a consequence of sea ice decline is a regional issue that is closely linked with international climate governance and global governance of the maritime industry. Sea ice decline creates favorable circumstances for the development of merchant shipping, but is accompanied by increases in greenhouse gas emissions. Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the shipping industry is of utmost importance to prevent the destruction of the fragile Arctic ecosystem. This paper focuses on the core content of the Paris Agreement and suggests that the International Maritime Organization could guide the shipping industry to reach a fair agreement with states that includes market-based measures, capacity building, and voluntary actions of shipping companies as non-state actors.展开更多
This paper endeavours to elucidate the intricacies of Palestinian Paradiplomacy,focusing in the political impetus pioneered by its principle actors,namely the Palestine Liberation Organisation(PLO)and subsequently,the...This paper endeavours to elucidate the intricacies of Palestinian Paradiplomacy,focusing in the political impetus pioneered by its principle actors,namely the Palestine Liberation Organisation(PLO)and subsequently,the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority(PNA).Additionally,attention will be directed towards the creation of the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs(PMOFA)and its subsidiary,the Palestinian International Cooperation Agency(PICA),albeit briefly discussed.Drawing inspiration from Alexander S.Kuznetsov’s seminal work“Theory and Practice of Paradiplomacy:Subnational Governments in International Affairs”(2015),this paper tries to scrutinize the trajectory of Palestinian paradiplomacy and its evolutionary course over time.When it comes to activity and growth,Palestinian paradiplomacy has a unique profile.The way in which topics pertaining to nations are not yet recognized has a great deal of bearing on current discussions and academic research about urgent political concerns like the right to self-determination and human rights.The analysis of de facto states via the prism of paradiplomacy naturally arises from the dominant state recognition procedures in international politics.展开更多
文摘The charter that created the African Union came into effect in 2002. It is now 12 years in place but most Africans would not be sure whether they know the rationale and ultimate role of the AU in promoting good governance, peace, security and progress on the continent. Annual summits take place in Addis Ababa, and several resolutions are taken, but it is though the respective heads of states just return to their colonially engineered states to resume business as usual. As a result, poverty, conflicts (both internal and regional), bad governance continue to plague the majority of the African countries with a few exceptions. Of late emerging economies such as China and India deal with Africa as if it were a one country--this could be the time for Africans to begin envisioning a new continental political architecture, with an African citizenship. The provisions of the African Union Charter are enshrined in the Constitutive Act, are summaries in Articles 3 and 4, that deal with objectives and principles. The objectives are (Desta, 2013, pp. 160-161): (1) Achieve greater unity and solidarity between the African countries and peoples of Africa; (2) Defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its member states; (3) Accelerate the political and social-economic integration of the continent; (4) Promote and defend African common positions on issues of interest to the continent and its peoples; (5) Encourage intemational cooperation, taking due account of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; (6) Promote, peace, security and stability of the continent; (7) Promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance; (8) Promote and protect human and people's rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and other relevant human rights instruments; (9) Establish the necessary conditions which enable the continent to play its rightful role in the global economy and in international negotiations; (10) Promote sustainable development at the economic. Social and cultural levels as well as the integration of African economies; (11) Promote co-operation in all fields of human activity to raise the living standards of African peoples; (12) Coordinate and harmonize the policies between the existing and future Regional Economic Communities for the gradual attainment of the objectives of the Union; (13) Advance the development of the continent by promoting research in all fields, in particular in science and technology; (14) Work with relevant international partners in the eradication of preventable diseases and the promotion of good health on the continent. The principles of the AU Constitutive Act are (Ibid. 162-163): (1) Sovereign equality and interdependence among Member Sates of the Union; (2) Respect for borders existing on achievement of independence; (3) Participation of the African peoples in the activities of the Union; (4) Establishment of a common defense policy for the African Continent; (5) Peaceful resolution of conflicts among Member States of the Union through such appropriate means as may be decided upon by the Assembly; (6) Prohibition of the use of force or threat to use force among Member States of the Union; (7) Non-interference by any Member State in the internal affairs of another; (8) The right of the Union to intervene in aMember State pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave circumstances, namely: war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity; (9) Peaceful co-existence of Member States and their right to live in peace and security; (10) The right of Member States to request intervention from the Union in order to restore peace and security; (11) Promotion of self-reliance within the framework of the Union; (12) Promotion of gender equality; m. Respect for democratic principles, human rights, rule of law and good governance; (13) Promotion of social justice to ensure balanced economic development; (14) Respect for the sanctity of human life, condemnation and rejection of impunity and political assassination, acts of terrorism and subversive activities; (15) Condemnation and rejection of unconstitutional changes of governments. While there is mention of participation of African peoples in the activities of the Union as principle (c) and objective (g), there is no explicit mention of civil society organizations (media, faith-based organizations, and NGOs) as principle actors in implementing the objectives of the Union. I want to argue that the failure of the respective African states to eradicate poverty, end armed conflicts, and address governance issues is caused by lack of a common regional integration model that takes an African Union citizenship seriously, but at the same time respecting the role of civil society and faith-based organizations, that predate the state in Africa. It is evident that Afi'ican Unity (AU) and sub-regional integration groups such as East African Community (EAC), Southern African Development Community (SADC), Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), as well the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), are designed and operationalized from a statist political philosophical framework. Moreover, since the African states are largely contested as a colonial creation, the AU cannot successfully implement the institution of an African citizenship without acknowledging the role of and giving space to non-state actors in AU and other regional integration models and initiatives. This paradigm shift will require rethinking the relationship between the state and non-state actors in Africa.
基金National Key Basic Research Program of China(973 Program),No.2015CB452701National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.41271003+1 种基金No.41371043No.41401042
文摘Accurate estimation of evapotranspiration(ET),especially at the regional scale,is an extensively investigated topic in the field of water science. The ability to obtain a continuous time series of highly precise ET values is necessary for improving our knowledge of fundamental hydrological processes and for addressing various problems regarding the use of water. This objective can be achieved by means of ET data assimilation based on hydrological modeling. In this paper,a comprehensive review of ET data assimilation based on hydrological modeling is provided. The difficulties and bottlenecks of using ET,being a non-state variable,to construct data assimilation relationships are elaborated upon,with a discussion and analysis of the feasibility of assimilating ET into various hydrological models. Based on this,a new easy-to-operate ET assimilation scheme that includes a water circulation physical mechanism is proposed. The scheme was developed with an improved data assimilation system that uses a distributed time-variant gain model(DTVGM),and the ET-soil humidity nonlinear time response relationship of this model. Moreover,the ET mechanism in the DTVGM was improved to perfect the ET data assimilation system. The new scheme may provide the best spatial and temporal characteristics for hydrological states,and may be referenced for accurate estimation of regional evapotranspiration.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
文摘A new general way for researching the Hawking effect in the spheri-cally symmetric or the plane-symmetric non-static space-times is proposed.The theoreticalfoundation of this way is laid.The Klein-Gordon equation must be reduced to the stand-ard form of wave equation near an event horizon when a generalized tortoise coordinateis adopted.Then,both the Hawking radiation temperature and the equation determining thelocation of the event horizon are obtained automatically.When the radiation is weak,thefirst approximation of our result is the same as the approximate result obtained with theradiation back-reaction method.
文摘Since the beginning of international relations as a formal academic discipline in 1919, the realist paradigm has dominated academic debate, and consequently, major foreign policy decisions. This paradigm focuses on "politics" as the actions of so-called "high politics"; that is to say, primacy is given to actions between states over the actions that occur within states. This article will aim to demonstrate that the "low politics" of domestic policy should be considered to a further extent than it currently is in the field of international relations theory. In doing so, this article will focus on sub-unit level factors that have considerable impact on international relations; namely, political parties, terrorist organizations, and lobbying groups. However, it is recognised that proponents of neo-liberal theory, such as Keohane and Nye, and academics studying interest group theory, such as Kabashima and Sato, have done much work to further the idea of international relations theory as more than state-centric analysis. This article will act as an attempt to further this idea both through normative and conceptual analysis. The article uses Putnam's concept of two-level games as a basic model of international-domestic relations, hoping to expand on the concept whilst retaining its integrity.
基金supported by the National Science Foundation of China (Grant no. 16BFX188, Research on the Construction of a Cooperative Legal Regime for China’s Participation in Arctic Governance)the Polar Research Institute of China Project (Grant no. 2018001, Research on China’s Standpoints about the Development of the Northern Sea Route)
文摘The availability of increased Arctic shipping as a consequence of sea ice decline is a regional issue that is closely linked with international climate governance and global governance of the maritime industry. Sea ice decline creates favorable circumstances for the development of merchant shipping, but is accompanied by increases in greenhouse gas emissions. Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the shipping industry is of utmost importance to prevent the destruction of the fragile Arctic ecosystem. This paper focuses on the core content of the Paris Agreement and suggests that the International Maritime Organization could guide the shipping industry to reach a fair agreement with states that includes market-based measures, capacity building, and voluntary actions of shipping companies as non-state actors.
文摘This paper endeavours to elucidate the intricacies of Palestinian Paradiplomacy,focusing in the political impetus pioneered by its principle actors,namely the Palestine Liberation Organisation(PLO)and subsequently,the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority(PNA).Additionally,attention will be directed towards the creation of the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs(PMOFA)and its subsidiary,the Palestinian International Cooperation Agency(PICA),albeit briefly discussed.Drawing inspiration from Alexander S.Kuznetsov’s seminal work“Theory and Practice of Paradiplomacy:Subnational Governments in International Affairs”(2015),this paper tries to scrutinize the trajectory of Palestinian paradiplomacy and its evolutionary course over time.When it comes to activity and growth,Palestinian paradiplomacy has a unique profile.The way in which topics pertaining to nations are not yet recognized has a great deal of bearing on current discussions and academic research about urgent political concerns like the right to self-determination and human rights.The analysis of de facto states via the prism of paradiplomacy naturally arises from the dominant state recognition procedures in international politics.