U.S. National Identity,Political Elites,and a Patriotic Press Following September 11

In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2001, U.S. government and military leaders often articulated distinctly pro-American themes in their public communications. We argue that this national identity discourse was at the heart of the U.S. government's attempt to unite the American public and to mobilize support for the ensuing "war on terrorism." With this perspective, we content analyzed Time and Newsweek newsmagazines for the five weeks following September 11 to identify potential communication strategies employed by government and military leaders to promote a sense of U.S. national identity. Findings suggest (a) that government and military officials consistently emphasized American core values and themes of U.S. strength and power while simultaneously demonizing the "enemy," and (b) that journalists closely paralleled these nationalist themes in their language.     

Press Secretaries,Journalists, and Editors: Shaping Local Congressional News Coverage

The news media plays a key role in American democracy, often serving as the primary means by which voters learn about their elected representatives. However, the news media varies in its coverage of representatives, presenting voters with more frequent and favorable information about some House members than others, which may in turn influence voters' decisions at the polls. Although many scholars have examined the determinants of congressional news coverage, few have focused on the role of the actors who perhaps exert the most direct effect on such coverage: congressional press secretaries, journalists, and editors. In this study, I explore the influence of these actors on the tone and frequency of local congressional news coverage. I rely on data from two sources: (a) a content analysis of newspaper coverage of 100 representatives during the month prior to the 2006 election and (b) in-depth interviews with 51 congressional press secretaries and 22 journalists. These sets of data illustrate the important roles of both newspaper staff and congressional press secretaries in shaping the coverage House members receive. I conclude by discussing the implications of the findings for U.S. representatives and their constituents.     

Making Things More Public: On the Political Responsibility of the Media Intellectual

Rosen, Jay. (1994). Making Things More Public: On the Political Responsibility of the Media Intellectual. Critical Studies in Mass Communication, 11(4), 363–388.     

A Genealogy of Radical Islam

A genealogy of the radical ideas that underline al-Qaeda"s justification for violence shows that the development of jihadi thought over the past several decades is characterized by the erosion of critical constraints used to limit warfare and violence in classical Islam. This erosion is illustrated by the evolution of jihadi arguments related to apostasy and waging jihad at home, global jihad, civilian targeting, and suicide bombings.     

Contributors

Abstract

Socioeconomic data supplied by the FBI on the backgrounds of 280 known right‐ and left‐wing terrorists active in the United States during the late 1960s and early 1970s was tabulated. Isolating for right‐left affiliation, membership status, and gender, seven variables were examined and used to confirm prevailing assumptions regarding the socioeconomic status of right‐ versus left‐wing terrorists active during this period. Findings support clear socioeconomic differences between right‐wing and left‐wing terrorists and emphasize the dominant position of women within left‐wing organizations. Surprising evidence revealed that considerable class differences exist within right‐wing groups between rank‐and‐file members and the leadership core.     

Chinese influence,U.S. linkages,or neither? Comparing regime changes in Myanmar and Thailand

This study examines the potential influence of foreign linkages on regime outcomes by comparing Myanmar and Thailand. Linkages with the West are supposed to facilitate democratization, whereas those with autocracies usually promote regime survival. This study focuses on Myanmar and Thailand’s linkages with the U.S. and China, which at first sight seem to demonstrate the hypothesized effects. Myanmar gradually liberalized while strengthening its Western linkages, whereas Thailand experienced democratic breakdown amid a shift in alignment from the U.S. to China. However, in-depth analysis suggests that the influence of foreign linkages on domestic political change was minimal and that the relationship may very well be endogenous. The findings of this study call for a more careful theorization and handling of the external factors in studies of regime change and highlight the importance of simultaneously analyzing democratic and autocratic linkages.     

美国各州监听立法研究

美国有联邦监听法律法规,但各州也根据自己的立法权制定了一些本州的监听法。宪法虽然为美国人权、隐私权提供了有效的保护伞,但自9.11以后,《美国爱国者法案》赋予了美国总统特权,监听扩权问题甚嚣尘上。但联邦层面上对监听问题的监督相对完善,对此的介绍也频见报端,但对各州监听立法的研究却鲜有所见。文章比较详尽地介绍了美国各州的监听立法情况,披露了各州监听立法的内容、执法程序、监督机制等等都不尽如人意,权力监督不力、滥用情况比较普遍,以资我国监听立法借鉴。     

对一惩治贪污罪案例的解读与思考

贪污罪在西方和发达国家的刑法中不是必设罪名,有的国家把它写在财产罪里,作为侵占罪或者盗窃罪加以规定,有的国家把它作为侵占、贿赂等犯罪的概括性罪名。由于美国的法律渊源复杂,尤其判例法制度决定了法官拥有较大的审判自由裁量权,加之美国其他刑罚和刑事诉讼制度的特点,使该案法官得以作出非常规判决。该判决凸显代表当代刑罚改革潮流的诸多刑罚观念和司法理念,对完善我国惩治贪污罪的刑罚制度具有一定的启示与借鉴意义。     

美国《2018年出口管制法》评析与启示

美国《2018年出口管制法》在术语定义和政策声明、出口管制的权限和管理、许可证、确定和控制"新兴和基础技术"出口的要求、涉及与美国全面禁运的国家有关的审查、惩罚和强制执行等方面作出了许多新规定。该法使美国出口管制体系走向法典化、系统化和多边化,建立跨部门许可审查机制,确立"合规协助"条款,扩大了"新兴和基础技术"这一出口管制范围,并扩张出口管制域外管辖权,同时加强了惩罚和执行力度。我国应注重"新兴与基础技术"的管制,完善出口管制系列清单,扩大出口管制管理机构的执法权限,为出口经营者出口合规提供具体指导,严格执行阻断法,推进双边与多边出口管制标准的设立以应对该法的实施。     

First Steps Towards Hearts and Minds? USAID's Countering Violent Extremism Policies in Africa

The United States government has adopted new approaches to counter violent extremist organizations around the world. “Soft security” and development programs include focused educational training for groups vulnerable to terrorist recruitment, norm messaging through local radio programming, and job creation in rural communities. This article evaluates the effectiveness of one set of these multi-vectored, community-level programs through data from 200 respondents in two similar, neighboring towns in northern Mali, Africa. The data show that residents in Timbuktu who were exposed to the programming for up to five years displayed measurably altered civic behavior and listening patterns in comparison with their counterparts in the control town of Diré, which had no programming (controlling for potential covariates including age, ethnicity, and political and socioeconomic conditions). However, there was little measurable difference between the groups in terms of their cultural identities and attitudes towards the West. While this study is unable to definitively prove a causal connection between programming and behavioral outcomes, it nonetheless strongly suggests that the process of “winning hearts and minds” can be effective at certain levels but may require extended time and dedicated resources to generate higher-level results.