Dealing with non-Palestinian Refugees in the Middle East: Policies and Practices in an Uncertain Environment

Despite the relevance of the issue in Middle Eastern politics,the study of non-Palestinian refugees and their treatment inthe region is a subject that has received little attention inthe academic community. This paper attempts to fill this gapby examining the evolution of refugee policies in the MiddleEast between two of the major events that have characterizedthe region in the last decade, the 1990-1991 and 2002-2003 ‘GulfCrises’, and by critically analysing the factors thathave influenced these developments. In mapping the legal andadministrative provisions that Middle Eastern governments havedevised to address the issue, I observe that no substantialbreakthrough in formal policies has occurred. Overall, refugeepolicies in the region remain far from the standards of theinternational refugee regime. In turning to the ‘politics’of refugee policy in the region, however, I show that this areahas been more dynamic than the sole focus on formal aspectswould indicate. This is apparent if we look at the issue ofrefugees in the Middle East from the perspective of the relationsbetween local authorities and UNHCR, the main players involvedin this policy area. Despite the difficult environmental conditions,negotiations have been ongoing throughout the 1990s, and theyhave led to some limited improvement in the treatment of refugees.Yet, with the deterioration of the regional and internationalpolitical context, such promising developments have recentlycome to a standstill and this fact is reflected in the generalworsening of the condition of refugees in the area.     

Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: Making Trauma‐Informed Custody and Visitation Decisions

This article explores the risks for young children and the challenges for courts that emerge when parents who are victims or perpetrators of intimate partner violence seek court decisions on child visitation or custody matters. We focus particularly on children age five and younger, a group that is disproportionately represented in families affected by intimate partner violence, and especially vulnerable to its traumatic impact. We examine the literature on children's response to violence between their parents and the literature on parental alienation, a counter‐charge that may arise when one parent alleges violence as a reason to limit the other parent's access to the children. We look at challenges faced by both mental health professionals and courts involved in custody determinations and make policy recommendations to help courts make trauma‐informed decisions that best serve children.     

Friends,Enemies, or Strangers? On Relationships between Public and Private Sector Service Providers in Hybrid Forms of Governance

Hybrid forms of governance receive special attention in literature on regulatory reforms. It is often assumed that a combination of public and private sector involvement in a regulatory regime is superior to “pure public” or “pure private” regimes. By paying close attention to such hybrids, this article finds that hybrids have two key dimensions: first, the “amount” of public and private sector involvement in a hybrid, and second, the relationship between these sectors. Contrary to the former dimension, the latter hardly receives any attention in scholarship. This article addresses that knowledge gap. It introduces a typology of hybrids based on these two dimensions. A brief case study is introduced to discuss the value of the focus on relationships between public and private sector service providers.     

REGULATORY RED TAPE AND PRIVATE FIRM PERFORMANCE

Regulation may obstruct dynamic adaptation, innovative power, and entrepreneurial activity. On the other hand, regulation could be interpreted as a phenomenon which society just has to learn to live with, and which otherwise does no real economic harm. This article explores both of these hypotheses. We study the impact of three dimensions of regulatory red tape on the performance of private companies: regulation cost, regulation change, and regulation inconsistency. We analyse unique survey data from 530 Dutch private companies. The results show that regulation cost, inconsistency, and change limit sales turnover growth, and that regulation change hampers market competition performance.     

Juvenile Delinquency in Post-Mao China

The post-Mao de-politicization put an end to the continuous class struggle in China. After the post-Mao government had removed the radical elements from the party and united the society by its appealing modernization program, it directed its attention to street crime and juvenile and young offenders. Crime committed by juvenile and young offenders has become a serious social problem. It is estimated that among the total offenders apprehended by the police, 70% are under the age of 25, and 30% under the age of 18. Despite the party's tough policy, juvenile crime is increasing and becoming more organized and violent. The paralysis of the Maoist social control system is stressed in explaining the increase in crime. The disruption in the family structure, in school and work patterns, and in neighbourhood organizations, in conjunction with a sweeping crisis of belief among the populace in general, has created a vacuum of social control in post-Mao Chinese society. The seriousness of juvenile delinquency and the lack of community undertakings have forced the government to institutionalize and legalize its control over juvenile and young offenders.     

ADMINISTRATIVE LEADERSHIP THEORY: A REASSESSMENT AFTER 10 YEARS

A variety of assessments through 2001 discussed the striking neglect of theory related to leadership in public sector organizational settings. For example, Jerry Gabris, Bob Golembiewski, and Doug Ihrke called on the field to ‘improve on the emaciated condition of public leadership theory’. My assessment of administrative leadership soon thereafter, while trying to emphasize a recent uptick in volume, was nonetheless that ‘the needs are great and the research opportunities are manifold’. My relatively negative assessment has been widely cited and needs to be re‐evaluated a decade later since much progress has been made and the research needs have evolved substantially.     

BORROKA—The Legitimation of Street Violence in the Political Discourse of Radical Basque Nationalists

The present article analyzes the discourse employed by the left-wing nationalist movement in Spain's Basque Country to legitimize the use of street violence for political ends. I distinguish four “faces” of legitimation (“ex ante” vs. “ex post,” “for us” vs. “for others”) and argue that in a situation of radicalization of politically inspired (terrorist) violence, the discourse developed to justify violent action is principally meant for the organization's own following, and less to communicate with the outside world. Basque militants claimed that their strategy of political and military radicalization in the 1990s had been responsible for recent political successes of their movement.