Governing Unconventional Oil and Gas Extraction: The Case of Pennsylvania

Over the past decade, directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing enabled an unconventional oil and gas extraction (UOGE) boom in many regions of the United States, including parts of Pennsylvania. This revolution has created serious concerns about the capability of existing institutions to govern important societal outcomes associated with UOGE. We present a conceptual framework for assessing key societal outcomes influenced by UOGE governance. In applying this framework to Pennsylvania, we discern certain institutional strengths that have allowed the Commonwealth to reap appreciable short‐term economic growth from rich resource endowments. We also find, however, that several institutional weaknesses have allowed costs externalized to the environment, public health, and community integrity to offset some proportion of those economic benefits. Likewise, we find that governance of UOGE in Pennsylvania has contributed to a bifurcated sociopolitical landscape wherein adversarial coalitions dispute the legitimacy of the industry and its governance.     

Specification Issues in Proximity Models of Candidate Evaluation (with Issue Importance)

Bryce E. Corrigan Department of Political Science, University of Michigan, 5700 Haven Hall, 505 S. State Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1045 e-mail: becorrig{at}umich.edu e-mail: grynaviski{at}uchicago.edu (corresponding author) The use of the proximity model to represent the relationshipbetween citizens' policy attitudes and the positions of candidateson the issues of the day has considerable appeal because itoffers a bridge between theoretical models of political behaviorand empirical work. However, there is little consensus amongapplied researchers about the appropriate representation ofvoter behavior with respect to the measurement of issue distance,candidate location, or whether to allow heterogeneity in theweight that each individual places on particular issues. Eachof these choices suggests a different, and reasonably complicated,nonlinear relationship between voter utility and candidate andvoter issue positions which may have a meaningful influenceon the substantive conclusions drawn by the researcher. Yet,little attention has been given to the best way to representthe proximity model in applied work. The purpose of this paperis to identify which forms of the proximity model work best,with particular consideration given to the identification offunctional forms that are invariant to the choice of scale forthe independent variables.     

Protecting the planet: a proposal for a law of ecocide

A wide range of actions imperil the planet and threaten the future of humanity and other species. This essay notes some examples of crimes and harms damaging to the environment and human and non-human species as well as various forms of response that have called for more effective and appropriate models of justice and law than currently prevail. This leads to a discussion of several suggestions regarding the development and expression of an earth jurisprudence and to the history of a proposal that “ecocide” be recognised internationally as a crime. Analysis of documentary sources traces this idea from debates about the concept of genocide to consideration by United Nations officials as to how crimes against the environment might be defined, and shows how near such a proposal has previously come to acceptance and enactment. The article concludes with an argument for supporting a law of ecocide as the 5th Crime against Peace.     

Political Police Archives in Ukraine and Georgia: A Research Note

Abstract

After the deluge of archival declassification that took place following the collapse of the Soviet Union, historians of Soviet society, and of the political police in particular, are still denied access to the FSB archives in Russia. However, a combination of political turmoil and military conflict has led to the opening of the entire archives of other Soviet-era political police services. This article will discuss why research into the Soviet political police remains critically important, examine the opening of the archives in Georgia and Ukraine, and explain what these archives contain and how to use them. Finally, possibilities for new areas of research are explored.     

Behind the burka

After the horrendous events of 11 September 2001, when the World Trade Center in New York was destroyed by terrorists, a war against terrorism was declared by the American President, George W. Bush, who is building an international coalition to focus on this issue. In particular, the key man thought to be the mastermind behind the terrorist attacks, Osama bin Laden, is believed to be hiding somewhere in Afghanistan. Attempts are being made to bring him to justice. This article, which first appeared in The Guardian on 28 February 2001, considers the plight of the Afghan women who, it is argued, are oppressed by the ruling Taliban regime and by the opposition grouping the Northern Alliance, which may become American's ally and form a new government. It is suggested that it is imperative for a human rights contract to be drawn up, which the Alliance leaders should sign, which would include equality for women.