Less Safe in the Ivory Tower: Campus Sexual Assault Policy in the Trump Administration

ABSTRACT

Since the late 20th century, the federal government has regulated colleges’ and universities’ handling of campus sexual and gender-based violence (CSGBV). Although the arc of history has bent toward establishing greater protections for victims of such violence, new proposed regulation by the U.S. Department of Education under the Trump administration focuses more heavily on ensuring due process rights for students accused of CSGBV. Most recently, in November 2018, U.S. Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos submitted a proposed rule change to the regulation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. This article provides the historical context for this most recent proposed federal regulation of CSGBV and discusses the criticism of this proposal that, if it is implemented, students would become less safe in the ivory tower.     

More Twists, Turns and Stumbles in the Jungle: A Further Exploration of Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry Decisions within the Kyoto Protocol

This article traces the history of decisions relating to land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, for the period from 2001 until the present. It follows from an earlier article written by the author. As times progress, matters relating to LULUCF become more convoluted and complex. The article explores such issues as the definition of a forest, what constitutes 'Kyoto land', modalities for afforestation and reforestation under the Clean Development Mechanism, greenhouse gas inventories, reporting and reviews, and possible actions to reduce emissions from deforestation. The article also looks at the role of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and its input into the science and policy-making process relating to LULUCF.     

The Potential of Path Dependence in Political Studies

This article explores the difficulties with both the theoretical content and application of the concept of 'path dependence' in political studies, but suggests that, by combining it with insights from morphogenetic social theory, we can provide a coherent framework for its use. After providing a brief survey of the literature on path dependence, it presents a summary of the most significant criticisms made of the approach. The article then moves on to examine morphogenetic social theory and its potential to meet these criticisms before concluding by characterising the elements of a path-dependent system incorporating insights from both new institutionalism and morphogenetic social theory.