Foreign policy in the Muslim world: A dialogue between state and society

In the wake of the demise of communism and the advent of the 1990–1991 Gulf War, there is concern among some Western elites about a possible Islamic challenge to the prevailing international order. This paper explores the validity of that concern by looking at patterns of interaction and the notion of foreign‐policy change in four countries in the Muslim world—Iran, Egypt, Algeria, and Indonesia, as well as some developments in the larger Muslim world. Juxtaposing social change on foreign policy, the article postulates that economic realism is the definitive force in the international relations of these states; “militant Islam” is more a tool of radical diplomacy than a manifestation of transnationalism; and ties between states in the Muslim world display a regional regime‐style orientation. Domestic Islamization is found to be a force, which, overall, is contributing to accountability and, therefore, rationalization in the foreign‐policy realm.     

The attribution of responsibility in cases of stalking

There is a general belief that stranger stalkers present the greatest threat to the personal safety of victims, despite national victimisation surveys and applied research demonstrating that ex-partner stalkers are generally more persistent and violent. The just-world hypothesis offers a possible explanation for this apparent contradiction. The current research used nine hypothetical scenarios, administered to 328 university students, to investigate the assumptions that underlie attributions of responsibility in cases of stalking. It explores whether these assumptions are consistent with the proposed mechanisms of the just-world hypothesis, and whether they vary according to the nature of the perpetrator–victim relationship and conduct severity. Thematic analysis revealed that the victim was perceived to be more responsible for the situation when the perpetrator was portrayed as an ex-partner rather than a stranger or acquaintance. Furthermore, victims were perceived to be more responsible when the perpetrator's behaviour was persistent and threatening. These findings are discussed in the context of the just-world hypothesis and related to the proposed mechanisms by which a person can reinterpret a situation so that the perceived injustice disappears.     

‘It lets out all my demons’: Female young offenders' perceptions about the impact of alcohol on their offending behaviour

The paper reports on findings from 55 qualitative face-to-face interviews with young offenders, and observations of 41 youth offender panel meetings over an 18-month period taking place in two Youth Offending Teams in the Southeast of England. It discusses the perception of correlation between drunkenness and offending asserted by a high number of the female offenders and compares this to perceptions of male offenders, both in this research and from previous research studies. The research brings into question whether current interventions are effective and puts forward suggestions for capitalizing on the apparent greater willingness of female offenders to acknowledge the significant negative impact of drunkenness on their behaviour.     

Notes on contributors

This analysis of Germany's management of the Agenda 2000 negotiations in the first half of 1999 has two aims. First, it seeks to highlight the critical role of the presidency in the management of large package deal negotiations in the Union. Second, it seeks to explore the contention of Council insiders that the ‘presidency costs’. This arises from the tension between national preferences and the need for the presidency, as an office of the Union, to foster agreement by producing compromises and by mediating between divergent interests. The paper highlights the complex relationship between the two questions and concludes that the presidency is the lynchpin or central node in any package deal negotiations because of the need for vertical and horizontal co‐ordination of dossiers that are handled in a number of different fora. The presidency is centrally placed to act as an architect of compromise. The ‘presidency costs’ also in that Germany had to abandon its preference for a significant cut in its net contribution in return for an agreement in Berlin.     

Fair trade slippages and Vietnam gaps: the ideological fantasies of fair trade coffee

Fair trade coffee sales have boomed since the late 1980s, making it one of the most recognised forms of ‘ethical consumerism’ in the world. Around the same time exports of lower quality coffee beans from Vietnam also boomed, launching Vietnam from an insignificant coffee exporter to the world’s second largest with historically unprecedented speed. These disparate projects have had significant impacts on thousands of farmers – with Vietnam’s new class of coffee producers representing three and a half times the number of coffee families certified by fair trade. Northern actors, however, have given far more public and positive attention to fair trade. This article will argue that this difference does not stem from a strictly objective appraisal of the relative merits and shortcomings of each project, but from the compatibility of fair trade with ‘free trade’ and its emotionally charged ideological fantasies. This includes unconscious beliefs and desires around individualism, voluntarism, democracy and the affirmation of the exaggerated power of Northern consumers – as opposed to the Southern agency and complicated collective action implied by Vietnamese coffee statecraft.     

Challenging the Ongoing Injustice of Imprisonment for Public Protection: James,Wells and Lee v The United Kingdom

The Government has recently abolished Imprisonment for Public Protection, a highly controversial form of indeterminate sentence. Yet, at the time of writing, nearly 6,000 inmates are still serving such sentences, all of whom will have to convince a Parole Board that detention is no longer necessary for the protection of the public. This paper evaluates recent European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence which considered the legality of post‐tariff detention in the absence of suitable rehabilitative provision. The Court held that there would be a violation of Article 5(1) if prisoners were held without access to such provision. Consideration is given to the implications of this ruling for those serving such sentences and, more broadly, to the impact it may have on risk‐based sentencing policies.     

Residential real estate brokerage services under attack in Canada

If Canada’s Competition Bureau gets its way, there will be greater competition in the residential real estate brokerage business, commission rates will fall and the public will have enhanced access to the Multiple Listing Service. To this end, the Bureau announced on 8 February 2010 that a notice of application would be filed with the Competition Tribunal challenging the way the Canadian Real Estate Association conducts business. The association filed its response six weeks later. Regardless of the ultimate outcome of this action, it is safe to say that the face of Canadian residential real estate brokerage services will never be the same. Commonwealth Law Bulletin editorial advisory board member Gavin Murphy explains.     

Breach of Confidence as a Privacy Remedy in the Human Rights Act Era

This article examines the impact of the Human Rights Act (HRA) on the current lack of a remedy for non-consensual publication of personal information by the media. It argues that the action for breach of confidence is now ripe for development into a privacy law in all but name and that the normative impetus for this enterprise can be found in the HRA which will require domestic courts to consider Convention jurisprudence. It will suggest that when Strasbourg decisions are examined in the context of more general Convention doctrines, they may be seen to suggest the need for an effective privacy remedy. Drawing upon approaches from other jurisdictions it seeks to demonstrate that principled solutions may be found to the thicket of legal problems associated with such development. It contends that the main objection to this enterprise, the perceived threat to media freedom, is largely misplaced, as analysis at the theoretical and doctrinal levels reveals that speech and privacy interests are in many respects mutually supportive and the areas of conflict small and readily susceptible to resolution.     

Socratism as a Vocation

This paper discusses the rhetorical problems teachers face in presenting Socratic activity to students, and it then argues that parallel problems arise in presenting liberal education to many academic colleagues. Given the nature of philosophy and the nature of expertise in today’s academy, most academics will not understand, and perhaps be hostile to, philosophy, and philosophers may sometimes seem to them both arrogant and ignorant. The contemporary academy, dominated by assumptions Weber articulates in “Science as a Vocation,” does not make room for philosophical activity and practitioners of philosophy in the classroom (in various departments) must adopt rhetorically appropriate postures in order to create safe spaces for Socratic activity.     

Guyana Gold: A Unique Resource Curse?

ABSTRACT

This article offers explanations for the underwhelming economic performance of Guyana, a country heavily dependent on the revenue generated from gold mining. Here, government intervention has spawned a gold mining sector which today is comprised exclusively of local small and medium-scale operators. But whilst this rather unique model appears to be the ideal blueprint for facilitating local development, the country seems to be experiencing many of the same setbacks that have beset scores of other resource-rich developing world economies. Unless these problems are anticipated, properly diagnosed and appropriately tackled, a resource curse-type outcome is inevitable, irrespective of the context.