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In this dissertation, I argue for a Rousseauvian vision of an ideal society: one in which the people constitute a group agent, unified under a collective will, willing action that constitutes the common good. Most have tended to believe that the contrasts between an individual agent and an entire people are stark, and so accounts of the commonwealth that appeal to group agency at all usually emphasize the differences between them. I will argue, however, that members of a society collectively constitute an agent that resembles an individual agent more closely than is normally supposed. Specifically, I will argue that a society is under normative pressure to engage in projects and activities that are good or worthwhile, that it may permissibly impose burdens on some members as it attempts to realize the common good, and that when properly constituted it possesses a collective will that has authority over its members. I begin in Chapter 1 by giving an account of what it means for a group to engage in action. Then, in Chapter 2, I argue that the people of a region naturally constitute a rational group agent, and that state institutions that function properly help to facilitate collective action that is generally worthwhile or good. In Chapter 3, I argue that an individual has duties to herself similar to those that a commonwealth has to its members. For this reason, I suggest that investigating individual agency has the potential to shed light on what the commonwealth may or may not permissibly do. In Chapter 4, I draw a parallel between an individual agent pursuing her own good while trying to avoid wronging herself, and an entire commonwealth pursuing its overall good while trying to avoid wronging its members. There I conclude that by realizing the common good, the commonwealth compensates members who are burdened in its pursuit. In Chapter 5, I consider how a commonwealth, understood as a group agent, can choose its action, arguing that democratic institutions possess authority over the commonwealth, and thus constitute the society’s General Will. Finally in Chapter 6, I consider whether philosophers in the liberal-republican tradition have given sufficient reason for us to reject the Rousseauvian view that I argue for in the first five chapters. / Philosophy

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Hong Kong was watched by the world when it was reverted to the People Republic of China (PRC) on 1st July 1997. Hong Kong was a British colony that was an important world trading, financial, and transportation center. Under British rule, Hong Kong was capitalist in contrast to the PRC, a socialist country ruled by the Communist Party. In the 1980s, when the PRC decided to resume sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, the Chinese leaders created a new policy toward Hong Kong, called "one country, two systems". The policy meant that Hong Kong's system would remain unchanged for fifty years while the PRC would continue to be socialist after 1997. This thesis seeks to explore the PRC's development and application of united front work in the take over of Hong Kong. Chapter one examines the twin concepts of united front and "one country two systems" (chapter 1). Chapters 2 and 3 will examine how the Chinese used the united front in their successful handling of the Sino-British negotiations (chapter 2) and the drafting of the Hong Kong Basic Law (chapter 3). Chapter 4 analyses the implementation by the PRC of its Hong Kong policy through its agencies in Hong Kong after reaching the Sino-British agreement of 1984 (chapter 4), and how this process affected developments of politics (chapter 5), economics (chapter 6), and Hong Kong society as a whole (chapter 7). Chapter 8 (Conclusions) will assess the overall success of the PRC's use of united front work in its reunification policy.

This thesis aims to demonstrate that economic security is also a significant pillar of safeguarding national security. Aside from military security measures, adopting peaceful economic engagement and economic measures can be an alternative security policy choice through which a state may achieve its national security agenda. To facilitate an understanding of economic security, this thesis submits a working definition of economic security, which has been delineated as 'the protection of a core value from all forms of potential or actualised threat by using economic measures and policies'. The core value refers to national interests and security Objectives. With this framework, the current thesis takes Taiwan as a case study to assess Taiwan's effort of implementing economic security strategy to accomplish its national security agenda within the context of the complex and hostile cross-Strait relations yet growing economic integration. This research intends to answer three categories of questions. Firstly, how large is the cost to Taiwan of pursuing economic security vis-a-vis China, and what is Taiwan's capability to afford such cost? Secondly, what factors would contribute to or undermine Taiwan's efforts in practising economic security, and to what extent? Thirdly, do cross-Strait economic ties strengthen or weaken Taiwan's economic security with respect to its economic performance, and to what extent? From three perspectives, this study analyses the above questions. Firstly, it analyses how Taiwan has employed economic power to construct its national security within the international system. Secondly, it examines how Taiwan has utilised economic measures to resist China's political and economic influence. Thirdly, from an economic perspective, it examines whether Taiwan's economic security objectives, in the context of its capability of sustaining economic prosperity, have been enhanced when it has engaged in economic exchange with China.

In recent years, much has been made in popular media of the purported conflict between religion and science. The goal of this study is to examine the relationship between multiple measures of religion and attitudes toward federal expenditures on science. This study uses data from the 2008 wave of the General Social Survey, a national probability sample of American adults. Using multinomial analysis, this study finds that biblical literalists are generally less likely to wish for the expansion of federal spending on science than others. This opposition to the expansion of federal spending on science was uninfluenced by more general attitudes toward science or distrust of either the government or social institutes. Denominational affiliation and frequency of church attendance were unrelated to views on federal scientific expenditures. Contrary to previous depictions, the relationship between religious belief and attitudes toward science is not inherently adversarial. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed. / text

The United States Constitution divides the authority over U S. foreign affairs between the President and Congress. Both institutions, the executive and legislative, share in the making of foreign policy and each plays important roles that are different but often overlap. The United States Congress (House of Representatives and Senate), regarded as the tribune of the people, has often been a sounding board for popular discontent and malaise over some controversial foreign policies such as the Vietnam War, Iran Contra and South Africa. Since the 1960s the U. S. Congress has often dra strength from its discontent with the executive branch to assert a stronger role in American foreign policy. This dissatisfaction with the executive branch often come as a result of arrogation of certain powers in the American foreign affairs by the President. This study examines one

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Social Sciences