Towards a Jurisprudence of Emergency: Colonialism and the Rule of Law

This article revisits an infamous incident in colonial India -- the Amritsar massacre of 1919 -- in order to explore larger questions of the place of martial law and emergency in jurisprudence. By focusing on modes of power in the colonial realm, and the productive role of the colonies in the conception of modern law, it tests the claims of a rule of law and declarations of emergency. The argument tries to show how these two terms are, in fact, relational in theories of colonial discourse and of legal positivism. As such, it reads H.L.A. Hart’s, The Concept of Law and instances from the colonial archive against one another. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The global importance of ‘illiberal moderates’, an exchange: partners in peace to precede a concert of democracies

The following is an exchange concerning the concept of ‘illiberal moderates’ and its implications for a new global architecture as well as for a worldview that sees the evolution of a global core of shared values which favour domestic and international security, in sharp contrast to the ‘clash of civilizations’ thesis. The original statement was published in the Cambridge Review of International Affairs (Etzioni 2006). A more extensive treatment can be found in Part III of Security first: for a muscular, moral foreign policy (Etzioni 2007b), which examines texts of four religious and two secular belief systems as well as review of relevant public opinion polls and ‘traveller notes’. Here follows a brief summary of the main thesis, followed by comments from prominent scholars and Etzioni's response to these comments.     

The Naga dream and the politics of peace

A section of Naga tribes-people in northeastern India are engaged in an insurrection against the government on the premise that they had been an independent people until the British brought the areas where they lived under its control after the signing of the Treaty of Yandaboo in 1826 with the Burmese. The Burmese were defeated by the British and this treaty brought the curtains down on the first Anglo-Burmese War. Even before the seeds of the Naga insurgency movement were sown in 1946, the Nagas had petitioned the British authorities, in the wake of the possibility of India gaining independence, saying they should not hand over the Naga areas to India when they leave after granting Delhi freedom. The Nagas wanted London to let them revert back to their way of life before the signing of the Treaty of Yandaboo. This was not to be and Naga areas became a part of India as they were in any case a part of British India before that. The Naga insurrection was shaped in 1946 and since then has undergone a massive transformation. Today, the Naga insurgency movement is faction-ridden, with four groups on the scene, pushing the dream of an independent Naga homeland. The dominant among these groups, the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland or the NSCN-IM has been engaged in peace talks with the Indian government ever since a ceasefire was reached between the two sides in 1997. A solution is nowhere in sight although dozens of rounds of parleys have been held. The problem is compounded by the emergence on the scene of other Naga rebel players, formed mostly by break-away groups from the NSCN-IM. Factional wars have become the order of the day, resulting in the authorities focusing their attention to ending the turf battles among the factions rather than pushing the peace process forward. The situation is hazy to say the least and the politics of peace has assumed different dimensions, posing newer challenges to peace-makers.     

Psychological health in midlife among women who have ever lived with a violent partner or spouse

This study examines the psychological health correlates of domestic violence in a large random sample of mid-aged Australian women (N = 11,310, age 47 to 52 years). Logistic regressions were used to investigate the associations between domestic violence and depression, anxiety, and psychological wellbeing, after adjusting for demographic variables (marital status, income management, area). Results indicate increased odds of having experienced domestic violence for those who had: ever experienced a diagnosis of depression, anxiety, or an "other" psychiatric disorder; recent symptoms of depression and anxiety; used psychoactive medication for depression or anxiety in the 4 weeks prior to the survey; and who reported current depression. Current psychological well-being had an inverse association with a history of domestic violence: As psychological well-being decreased, the odds of having ever experienced domestic violence increased. The results indicate that a history of domestic violence is associated with decreased psychological well-being in mid-aged Australian women.     

Renewal Acute Toxicity of Broad-Spectrum Herbicide,Paraquat Dichloride in Channa punctatus (Bloch)

Abstract

Paraquat dichloride (PD) is a major contaminant in aquatic environment and is a cause of concern to different organisms, especially to fishes, as it causes different changes in behavioral and morphological to aquatic creatures. Hence, the objectives of the study are to examine the acute toxicity, behavioral and morphological alterations in air-breathing teleost fish, Channa punctatus (CP) (Bloch). Renewal acute toxicity was performed to calculate the lethal concentration (LC₅₀) by Finney’s probit analysis to CP by exposure to wide range of PD concentrations (30, 60, 90, 120, 150?mg/L) for 24, 48, 72 and 96?h. The LC₅₀ values determined are 93.36, 82.22, 67.93 and 65.87?mg/L for 24, 48, 72 and 96?h, respectively. Maximum allowable toxicant concentrations (MATC) defined by LC₅₀ value is found to be 0.6587?mg/L. The upper and lower 95 percent confidence limit (Fiducial limit) are in narrow range for 24, 48, 72 and 96?h, respectively, and thus results of the experiments are considered good. Fiducial limit calculated helps us to state that the LC50 falls within the specified limit and helps in constructing of toxicity curve. LC50 value gradually decreases with increase in time. Mortality rate was dose-time dependent and increased with increase in concentration. The behavioral changes provide biologically relevant endpoints in evaluating toxicity testing. Deviation from baseline behavior was noticed. Morphological deformities were also seen. The present study provides a clear indication of the toxicity of PD, and is highly toxic even at low level. Hence, it is recommended that appropriate eco-toxicological risk assessment should be made and indiscriminate use of PD by farmers should be discouraged particularly in areas close to aquatic environment.     

Sustainable development challenges in a war‐torn country: Perceived danger and psychological well‐being

The laborer's physical and mental health, well‐being, and happiness are among the major indicators for measuring each nation's sustainable development. A conflictive and hostile external environment (war zone) poses considerable difficulty and psychological distress to workers and nonworkers. Therefore, working in such a physically dangerous business environment may hurt worker's well‐being and happiness that in turn may reduce the workers' productivity at the workplace. A high level of laborers' productivity in public and private sectors is essential for achieving sustainable development in the long term. Therefore, this paper examines the effects of perceived danger on employees' psychological well‐being in war‐torn Afghanistan, an issue being addressed for the first time. We tested the moderating role of social support from coworkers on this effect in order to have a broader vision of which individuals are healthier and happier in a physically dangerous working environment. Two survey data sets were collected from 190 employees working in various small private and public businesses in Herat, Afghanistan. Our results reveal the negative impact of perceived danger on employees' psychological well‐being and that employees who receive little or no social support from their peers feel the negative effects of a physically dangerous working condition even more acutely.     

Wither the ‘development contract’? Historical conjunctures in Naomi Hossain’s The Aid Lab: Understanding Bangladesh’s Unexpected Success

This paper examines methodological avenues for a historical sociology of development through a close reading of Naomi Hossain’s recent book, The Aid Lab: Understanding Bangladesh’s Unexpected Success (2017). Hossain’s conjunctural perspective, the formative moment of Bangladesh in environmental catastrophe, war and famine in the 1970s, establishes a novel account of the country’s development trajectory. Contingencies of the moment and consequent political uncertainties committed an emergent national elite to a largely informal but substantive social compact against future crises of subsistence. The result was a specific, transnational power configuration rendering Bangladesh a test case for developmental interventions and the production of knowledge regarding them. Debates in critical development studies have often posited that such ‘elite commitment’ is a consequence and not so much a precondition for social improvement, brought about through struggles from ‘below.’ How might these positions be reconciled by shifting the temporal frames of reference? By rendering historical processes legible as conflicting and complementary interactions between different social forces and actors? How can such actors be envisaged without presuming their identities and interests as fixed or given, but rather, as shaping and being shaped by such processes? These questions motivate the immanent critique and reappraisal of Hossain’s timely work, highlighting its significance for dynamic analyses of historical capitalism today through the ‘universal particularities’ of the national case.     

The Effects of Youth Mentoring Programs: A Meta-analysis of Outcome Studies

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Mentoring programs, which pair youth with caring, non-parental adults with the goal of promoting positive youth development, are an increasingly popular strategy...