Space Engagement with Russia and Ukraine: Preventing Conflicts and Proliferation

The collapse of the Soviet Union brought about a number of serious concerns that space and missile technologies—including weapons-related technologies—might be exported by Russia and Ukraine to states that might use them for hostile purposes. In fact, inadvertent contribution to ballistic missile programs through space collaboration and technology sharing is considered one of the major “routes” of missile technology proliferation. Incidentally, in the case of Russia and Ukraine, out of all the potential risks associated with technology transfers, proliferation of ballistic missile technologies has been the major concern for the Western nations, and engaging these two countries in joint space projects has been viewed as a powerful incentive to comply with missile nonproliferation norms and ideals.     

Unlikely Democrats: Economic Elite Uncertainty under Dictatorship and Support for Democratization

Influential recent scholarship assumes that authoritarian rulers act as perfect agents of economic elites, foreclosing the possibility that economic elites may at times prefer democracy absent a popular threat from below. Motivated by a puzzling set of democratic transitions, we relax this assumption and examine how elite uncertainty about dictatorship—a novel and generalizable causal mechanism impacting democratization—can induce elite support for democracy. We construct a noisy signaling model in which a potential autocrat attempts to convince economic elites that he will be a faithful partner should elites install him in power. The model generates clear predictions about how two major types of elite uncertainty—uncertainty in a potential autocratic successor's policies produced by variance in the pool of would‐be dictator types, and uncertainty in the truthfulness of policy promises made by potential autocratic successors—impact the likelihood of elite‐driven democratization. We demonstrate the model's plausibility in a series of cases of democratic transition.     

Armed conflict and the increasing use of child soldiers in the Central African Republic,Democratic Republic of Congo,and South Sudan: Implications for regional security

The use of child soldiers has been increasing in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic. To understand the implications of this on regional security, the study employed a strict textual analysis of the relevant literature on the use of child soldiers in these countries. The study found that the limited protection of refugee camps, poverty, and kidnappings are the major factors contributing to the recruitment of child soldiers. Moreover, the conflict over resources and that of religious differences has torn families apart and increase population displacement in these countries. The study concluded that the conflicts in these countries have not received the attention they deserve and although the United Nations has intervened, the lack of attention by the African Union and state governments means the problem will only escalate, threatening the livelihoods of children and regional security altogether.     

Conflict and violence in Africa in the 21st century: Where is the African Union? A case of Libya,South Sudan,Democratic Republic of the Congo,and Central African Republic

The inability of the African Union (AU) to deal with increasing outbreaks of violence and conflict has cast a lot of doubt regarding the organization's ability to lead Africa in a 21st century characterized by massive geopolitical dynamics. To answer the critical question of whether the AU is still relevant today, the study employed a strict textual analysis of the relevant literature on the role of the AU in conflict prevention, eradication, and by extension its contribution towards peacebuilding. The study found that the AU has failed to eradicate conflicts in Africa single‐handedly; rather, the UN and together with foreign states have intervened to help quell the violence in Libya, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Central African Republic and beyond. The failure of the AU has increased global and continental perceptions that the AU is useless and cannot solve Africa's problems today. Therefore, this gives or permits an increase to foreign intervention in the internal affairs of African states. The study concluded that reforms and reaffirming commitment from member states are important elements needed to ensure that the AU can become effective and contribute effectively towards solving Africa's complex problems in a somewhat complex and unpredictable international system.     

Politicization,Bureaucratic Legalism,and Innovative Attitudes in the Public Sector

Previous studies have identified institutional, organizational, and individual factors that promote innovation in public organizations. Yet they have overlooked how the type of public administration—and the type of administrators—is associated with innovative attitudes. Using two large, unique comparative data sets on public bureaucracies and public managers, this article examines how bureaucratic politicization and legalistic features are associated with senior public managers’ attitudes toward innovation in 19 European countries. Results of multilevel analysis indicate that the bureaucratic politicization of an administration and the law background of public managers matter. Public managers working in politicized administrations and those whose education includes a law degree exhibit lower pro-innovation attitudes (i.e., receptiveness to new ideas and creative solutions and change orientation).     

Crimes and Security

This essay considers the role that the value of security might play in criminalisation. While endorsing security as a legitimate rationale for the creation of a criminal offence, it examines some existing offences that are created or structured in a particular way for security reasons. This is done through a two‐stage analysis. Stage one considers the consequences of adopting an offence or offence definition if it was interpreted ideally and complied with perfectly. Stage two considers how we can expect the offences to operate in the real world given imperfect compliance and non‐ideal interpretation.     

Conceptualizing “Ethnicity” and “ethnic conflict”: A controversy revisited

The literature on “ethnicity” and “ethnic conflict” still fails to yield either definitional precision or usable empirical referents for the study of either phenomenon. This article offers a critique of the key literature on these subjects and a propositional inventory summarizing points of scholarly agreement, a discussion of the empirical problems that face scholars in this field, and, finally a general model for the analysis of particular ethnic conflicts, including consideration of the correlative tangents of resolution intervention.     

The New Political Economy of Natural Resources in Latin America

Anthony Bebbington and Jeffrey Bury, eds., Subterranean Struggles: New Dynamics of Mining, Oil, and Gas in Latin America. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2013. Photographs, maps, figures, tables, abbreviations, bibliography, index, 361 pp.; hardcover $60, paperback $30. Noel Maurer, The Empire Trap: The Rise and Fall of U.S. Intervention to Protect American Property Overseas, 1893–2013. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013. Illustrations, map, tables, figures, notes, bibliography, index, 568 pp.; hardcover $39.50; ebook available. Michael L. Ross, The Oil Curse: How Petroleum Wealth Shapes the Development of Nations. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012. Illustrations, tables, abbreviations, appendixes, bibliography, index, 312 pp.; paperback $22.95, ebook available. Elana Shever, Resources for Reform: Oil and Neoliberalism in Argentina. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2012. Map, figures, notes, bibliography, index, 231 pp.; hardcover $70, paperback $22.95, ebook $22.95.     

Palestine’s Membership in the Commonwealth as a Contribution to a Lasting Peace in the Middle East

With the re-election of Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu for another four-year term as prime minister of Israel there is a real danger that the peace process has reached an irrevocable impasse. It is argued that bold moves must be considered by the international community to breathe life back into the peace process. To coax Netanyahu into negotiations real pressure must be brought to bear on his government to respect the international consensus on Palestinian statehood and to halt settlement activity in occupied territory. To coax the Palestinian leadership back into a negotiation process with Israel, membership in the Commonwealth should be considered as a stepping stone to membership in the United Nations, to be followed by Israel’s membership in the Commonwealth—but on condition that Israel agrees to abide by international law, and respect the international consensus on the two-state solution, completely freeze settlement activity, including in East Jerusalem, and on condition that Palestine agrees to enter into final status negotiations with Israel to conclude a peace treaty to resolve all remaining disputes.