本研究主要是從現階段台日國會交流，探討台灣的國會外交。由於台灣外交受到中國全方位無理的打壓，國際社會的處境十分艱難。因此在許多無邦交國家，傳統外交工作及駐外單位與外國行政機關的接洽聯繫經常受到限制，然而經由國會交流管道，卻往往可以達到一定的成效。另外就邦交國而言，由於國會代表民意，國會議員間的互訪、交流、聯繫也更能加強雙邊互動。選定日本為研究個案的原因，主要是日本為內閣制國家，國會外交的影響較為直接，且近期台日交流有重大發展，如美日安保諮商「二加二會談」首度納入台海問題、日本支持台灣成為WHA觀察員、台灣觀光客赴日免簽證等；另外，台日雙方國會議員往來密切，且有運作成熟之跨黨派國會聯誼組織，進行有系統的交流，如台日交流聯誼會、日華議員懇談會等。 本研究係採用深度訪談法，選擇的訪談對象為參與外交事務的國會議員、立法院行政人員、外交部官員、日本國會議員，以及國際關係學者。經由訪談分析，所獲致的研究成果有：一、了解台灣目前國會外交現況、困境以及未來可能的發展策略。二、評估國會外交的功能，並探討其運作方式對台灣外交與其他方面之影響。三、借重台日國會交流經驗，提供政府國會外交政策建議，藉以協助台灣突破目前所面臨的外交困境。 / It is mainly to explore the implications of congressional diplomacy of Taiwan in this study, by reviewing the exchanges of the Congress between Taiwan and Japan at current stage. Undoubtedly, China is doing its best to keep Taiwan out of the diplomatic arena at all levels in the world, so as to worsen the situation of national identity of Taiwan in the international community. Under such circumstances, the restrictions are constantly imposed upon the routine works and contacts for the Taiwan Representative Offices abroad with government authorities or agencies in the undiplomatic countries. As for the congress represents the general public will in the democratic countries, it is surely helpful for the interactions of bilateral relations among congressmen of Taiwan and other countries through visits, exchanges and contacts. Furthermore, it is achieved in the goal of the promotion on the substantial relations with other countries. Japan is a cabinet-oriented country, its members of the Cabinet come from the Congress. It therefore produces direct influence on diplomacy of congress. Besides, there are some enormous breakthroughs on the exchanges between Taiwan and Japan at current stage, such as: the Taiwan issue has been put on the agenda of ”2 plus 2” US-Japan security consultation meeting for the first time, Japan supports Taiwan as an observer in the WHA, free visa entry treatment for Taiwanese tourists, and so on. Based on this, it is primary to take the exchanges of the Congresses between Taiwan and Japan as the subject of this study. Moreover, there are maturely operating and multiparty members’ amity groups conducted in both country’s congress, which are keeping close contacts, such as Taiwan-Japan Exchanges Amity Group, Sino-Japanese Diet Members Conference. It is going to be reviewed on this part in the study. The method of in-depth interview will be exercising in the research. The selected interviewees are ranging from those legislators who are actively participating in foreign affairs, senior administrators of the Legislative Yuan, officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japanese Congressmen and heavy-weighted scholars who are familiar with international relations. Through the analysis of interviews, it will be expected to produce some outcomes in this study, such as following: 1. To realize the situation, hardship and future possible development strategy of the congressional diplomacy of Taiwan at current stage. 2. To evaluate the achievement of the congressional diplomacy of Taiwan, and to explore what influence its operation will be on Taiwan’s diplomacy and other aspects. 3. To advise the Government about the feasible policy of the congressional diplomacy and assist in breaking through hardship of Taiwan’s diplomacy right at the moment by borrowing the experiences of the exchanges of the Congress between Taiwan and Japan.

As China’s economic and military power develops and expands, it has been focusing recent efforts on upgrading its soft power in order to quell concerns and apprehensions about its rise. As the two most powerful nations in the world, China and the United States have both attached great importance to Sino-U.S. relations, recognizing that the structure of the future global community will be largely dependent upon these two countries effectively collaborating in shaping the global structure and improving global issues. Facing an American public that views China as a threat and competitor, as well as Western media that consistently paints China in a negative light, the Chinese Communist Party has realized the need to reach out to the American populace and facilitate people-to-people ties, increasing its soft power in the country and thus facilitating a stronger bilateral relationship. This thesis reviews three areas of China’s soft power push in the United States: cultural diplomacy, which includes creating more educational opportunities, building Confucius Institutes, organizing cultural events, and increasing diplomatic outreach; media campaigning and propaganda through news, television, radio, and the internet; and congressional lobbying.

To understand the dynamics of legislative gridlock, as well as account for the mixed and often conflicting findings in the divided government literature, this paper posits that the previous unidimensional approach of using divided government as an explanatory variable of interest fails to accurately reflect the changing realities of American politics since WWII. Two new and interlocking conceptual approaches are introduced that expand the dimensionality of legislative gridlock: ideological polarization explained through the temporal shift of political parties from a party system of moderation and universalistic policy outputs, to one where particularistic goals became much more common. As studies of divided government center on temporally-bound concepts, they ignore most of the inter- and intra-party variation evident throughout the latter 20th century. / text

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xi, 295 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / The Satellite-Cable Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN) is the only television outlet in the U.S. providing Congressional coverage. Scholars have studied the network's public affairs content and unedited "gavel-to-gavel" style of production that distinguish it from other television channels. However, the network's ownership structure and funding, which are also unique, have not been systematically analyzed. This study fills a gap in C-SPAN scholarship by providing a structural analysis of the network. C-SPAN was founded and is sponsored by the U.S. cable industry. The industry insists its support for the network is based on public service. However, this study reveals that C-SPAN affords the cable industry a number of substantial political economic benefits: a political lever in Washington and with local franchise authorities, a risk-free testing ground for new products and services, and assistance in selling subscriptions for other fee-based services. This study argues that these material benefits are the motivation for the cable industry's support, not public service. It also is argued that C-SPAN can only be comprehensively understood through its relationship to the capitalist political economy of the U.S. To contextualize this relationship, the study provides a history of Congressional television, the cable industry, and satellite technology. These circumstances reveal that the network was less an act of individual cable executives' selfless altruism than a product of political pressures, economic realities, and technological breakthroughs. The study also discusses the implications of a private public affairs network. C-SPAN is a perfect case study of what has been labeled "neoliberalism," or the form of global capitalism based on privatizing social services and regulating industry using rules favorable to the needs of capital, not civil, society. At a social level, the network enables the accumulation of wealth for a select few, enabling these private interests to gain social power. The study concludes that C-SPAN may serve the public, but it is not a public service. / Committee in charge: Janet Wasko, Chairperson, Journalism and Communication; Carl Bybee, Member, Journalism and Communication; Gabriela Martinez, Member, Journalism and Communication; John Foster, Outside Member, Sociology

This thesis examines two organizational strategies employed for influencing American environmental policy with considerations to the "power elite" and "pluralist" models of policy control. Using a data set comprised of 379 organizations derived from US congressional hearings on climate change policy between 1976 and 2006, I find that industrial corporations conceal the public footprint of their involvement by financially encouraging "independent" research centers to provide favorable testimony. Meanwhile, nonprofit organizations are more likely to be co-represented by shared experts, a resource that is strategically shared for political gain. These findings provide some circumscribed support for both the power elite and pluralist models of organizational influence: the organization of power elites has a disproportionate amount of resources in a system that provides an arena for competing values and goals. Implications for understanding the organizational strategies towards congressional testimony as well as directions for future research are discussed based on these findings.

立法院由立法委員所組成，依據憲法之規範，負責審議行政機關函送之議案，而行政機關為增進雙方互動，順暢相關法案、預算案之審議，設有國會聯絡人負責前揭事項之推動與協調，以期完成政策合法化之作業。因各部會業務迥異，國會動態變化莫測，導致國會聯絡工作困難度增加，故如何尋求良方，提升政策合法化之成效，並促進國會聯絡工作經驗之累積與傳承，實為本研究關注之焦點。 　　2000年Denhardt氏提出新公共服務之概念，適逢我國首次完成政黨輪替，在意識形態掛帥、政黨情勢緊繃、行政立法互動不佳之情況下，可否藉由新公共服務所倡導之信任合作、公共利益、服務、共享等核心價值，來改善行政立法之互動關係，及促進國會聯絡工作與推動策略之進行，實值得進行探討，故本研究乃以新公共服務之面向切入，期能建構出具體之國會聯絡工作推動策略。 　　本研究以深度訪談及參與觀察等質化研究方法，蒐集多位立法委員、資深國會助理、資深議事人員、資深國會聯絡主管及人員之寶貴意見，並經由內容分析法進行資料分析，發現新公共服務所倡導的信任合作、公共利益、服務、共享等理念，確能增進行政機關首長、國會聯絡人與立法委員、國會助理間之互信、互動，也能凝聚為民服務之共識，在維護公共利益之前提下，共同完成政策合法化的目標。 　　最後，本研究呼籲應建立新公共服務之國會聯絡工作、掌握化解法案及預算案之負面因素，並對機關首長、業務單位、國會聯絡人及議事運作等方面，提出順暢國會聯絡之具體建議；期能拋磚引玉，與行政機關國會聯絡先進相互討論，並提供新進人員之參考運用。 / The Legislative Yuan is composed of legislators, and according to the stipulations of constitution the legislature will deliberate the bills submitted to it by the executive branch. In order to facilitate mutual interaction, speed up review of relevant drafts, deliberation of appropriation bill, congressional liaison personnel is established at the executive branch and they will be responsible for the facilitation and coordination of the above-mentioned issues so as to complete the operation of policy legitimation. Since the business of every department varies and trends of development at the congress fluctuate, it has led to further difficulty for congressional liaison. Therefore, it is the crux of this study as what resolution can be achieved to enhance the efficiency of policy legitimation as well as facilitate the accumulation and pass-over of liaison work in the congress. 　　In year 2000, Robert Denhardt and Janet Denhardt put forth the concept of the new public service, and then it happened to be the time of the first rotation of political party in our country. Nonetheless, under the context of ideology that commands all, tensed relationship between parties, unfavorable interaction between the legislative and the executive branch it is wondered that if such core values as trust, cooperation, public interest, service, and sharing proposed by the new public service can be exploited to improve the interactive relationship between the legislative and executive as well as to facilitate congressional liaison work and impetus of strategy. It is, indeed, a task that deserves much investigation, and it is why this study has attempted to cut into the investigation from the aspect of the new public service, and hope to construe substantial impetus strategy for congressional liaison work. 　　This study would employ qualitative research methods as in-depth interview and participant-as-observation to collect precious opinions from several legislators, senior congress’ assistant, senior session staff, and senior congressional liaison head and personnel. Then, content analysis method is used to conduct information analysis, and it is found that ideas as trust, cooperation, public interest, service, and sharing proposed by the new public service can enhancing the interaction and mutual trust among heads of executive branch, congressional liaison personnel, legislator, congress’ assistant as well as coalesce the consensus to render service to the mass. Therefore, the objective to jointly furnish policy legitimation can be done under the pretext to maintain and preserve public interest. 　　At length, this study calls upon the establishment of congressional liaison work for the new public service so as to master and resolve those negative factors for legislation draft and budget bill, and put forth substantial suggestions that can help smoothen congressional liaison with regard to department head, business branch, congressional liaison personnel, and session operation. It would hope that it can turn itself as pioneer in this regard to solicit further opinions and advices so as conduct mutual discussions with those seniors, and the results of which can be cited as reference for novice of the congressional liaison.

Post-force congressional rally effects are presented as a new incentive behind presidential decisions to use diversionary behavior. Using all key roll call votes in the House and Senate where the president has taken a position for the years 1948 to 1993, presidents are found to receive sharp decreases in both presidential support and success in Congress shortly after employing aggressive policies abroad. Evidence does suggest that presidents are able to capitalize on higher levels of congressional support for their policy preferences on votes pertaining to foreign or defense matters after uses of force abroad. But, despite these findings, diversionary behavior is found to hinder rather than facilitate troubled presidents' abilities to influence congressional voting behavior.

This dissertation presents a theoretical framework about which voters parties distribute to and with which policies. To develop this full framework of distributive policies, the dissertation proceeds in two stages. First, it analyses which voters parties have more incentives to target distributive policies. Second, it also develops the conditions under which political parties can focus exclusively on these voters or need to combine this strategy with appeals to a broader electorate. The first part of the argument analyses which voters parties have at the centre of their distributive strategies, or, in the words of Cox and McCubbins (1986) to whom parties will give an available extra dollar for distribution. The argument is that core voters provide more efficient conditions for distribution, contradicting Stokes’ (2005) claim that a dollar spent on core voters is a wasted dollar. The explanation is twofold. First, core supporters might not vote for another party, but they can get demobilised. Once we include the effects on turnout, core voters are more responsive. Their party identification makes them especially attentive and reactive to economic benefits provided by their party. Secondly, incumbents cannot individually select who receives a distributive policy, and not all voters are equally reachable with distributive policies. When a party provides a policy, it cannot control if some of those resources go to voters the party is not interested in. Core supporters are more homogenous groups with more definable traits, whereas swing voters are a residual category composed by heterogeneous voters with no shared interests. This makes it easier for incumbents to shape distributive benefits that target core voters more exclusively. These mechanisms define the general distribution hypothesis: parties will focus on core voters, by targeting their distributive strategies to them. The second part of the dissertation develops the conditions under which politicians stick to this distributive strategy or, instead, would provide more universalistic spending to a more undefined set of recipients. The conventional argument explaining this choice relies on the electoral system, arguing that proportional systems give more incentives to provide universalistic policies than majoritarian systems. This dissertation challenges this argument and provides two other contextual conditions that define when parties have a stronger interest in their core supporters or in a more general electorate. First, the geographic distribution of core supporters across districts is a crucial piece of information to know the best distributive strategy. When parties’ core supporters are geographically concentrated, they cannot simply rely on them, as the party will always fall short of districts to win the election. Therefore, parties will have greater incentives to expand their electorate by buying off other voters. This should reduce the predicted differences between electoral systems in the provision of universalistic programmes. Secondly, the policy positions of candidates are a result of strategic considerations that respond to other candidates’ positions. Thus, I argue that parties adapt their distributive strategies to the number of competing parties, independently of the electoral system. In a two-party scenario, parties need broader coalitions of electoral support. In equilibrium, any vote can change the electoral outcome. As more parties compete, the breadth of parties’ electorates is reduced and parties will find narrow distributive policies more profitable. In summary, the main contribution of this dissertation one is to provide a new framework to study distributive politics. This framework makes innovations both on the characterisation of swing and core electoral groups, and the rationale of parties’ distributive strategies, contributing to advance previous theoretical and empirical research.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:25:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MARCOS PEDROSO MATEUS.pdf: 1278179 bytes, checksum: 311d0115e82aeef854ba8924121521c4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-11-30 / The aim of this dissertation is to identify and study, in te context of the Brazilian juridical system, the most relevant aspects of the entity called Congressional Investigation Committee in order to understand which are the existing applicable juridical norms as well as the interpretation of these norms provided by the Federal Supreme Court. The first step is to identify the origins and sources of the power of these committees. This is done through the analysis of some of the fundamental principles of the Democratic State of Right instituted by the 1988 Federal Constitution. The following step is to know which are the tools that the Congressional Investigation Committees can use in order to accomplish their mission, and which are the limits of their action, given that there are no unlimited powers under the. The Parliament is the locus of the Congressional Investigation Committees. They constitute a fundamental tool for the exercise of the investigation of the public administration. This investigation function is part of the ordinary competence of oversight which is constitutionally and exclusively conferred to the Legislative Power / O presente trabalho tem como objeto a identificação e o estudo dos aspectos considerados mais relevantes do instituto das comissões parlamentares de inquérito no contexto do ordenamento jurídico brasileiro, permitindo compreender quais são as normas jurídicas vigentes aplicáveis bem como, em alguns casos, a interpretação dessas normas pelo Supremo Tribunal Federal. De início, procura-se identificar as origens e as fontes do poder que as comissões parlamentares de inquérito exercem mediante a análise de alguns dos princípios fundamentais no Estado Democrático de Direito instituído pela Constituição Federal de 1988. Identificada as origens e as fontes desse poder, procura-se conhecer quais são os instrumentos colocados à disposição das comissões parlamentares de inquérito para o cumprimento de sua missão, assim como os limites que são impostos à sua atuação, tendo em vista que não há poderes ilimitados no Estado Democrático de Direito. Encravadas no Parlamento, entende-se aqui que as comissões parlamentares de inquérito constituem instrumento fundamental para o exercício da função investigativa das ações patrocinadas pela Administração Pública, função esta inserida na competência típica de fiscalização atribuída com exclusividade constitucional ao Poder Legislativo