Pursuing the allure of combat: an ethnography of violence amongst Iraqi Shi’I combatants fighting ISIS

The social sciences speak of violence through its meaning, performances, manifestations and representations; however, the inner workings of violence are less explored. In order to suggest a different mode of seeing violence, I explore the inner workings of violence through the pleasures of and fun among Shi’i volunteer combatants. I apply Walter Benjamin’s motion of pure means to explain how violence becomes self-referential and non-representational via combat-zone ethnography amongst Iraqi Shi’i militants who fought against ISIS in Iraq. I address the fine line between pleasure and fun in order to highlight the inner workings of violence during combat and to encourage a fresh bottom-up anthropological perspective in assessing the parameters of the persistence and resilience of volunteer combatants. My approach advocates moving beyond recruitment and ideological interpolation by questioning the allure of combat through an ontological framework that includes combatants’ perspectives and narratives.     

Bushwhacking the Democratic Peace

The invasion of Iraq has been justified, ex post , as for the purpose of promoting the democratic peace. It does not, however, appear to have been a principal goal ex ante . Most democratic peace theorists, moreover, do not endorse democratic regime change by great-power external military intervention. Success is difficult to achieve (usually at high cost), and the conditions in Iraq were not promising even had the occupation been carried out more competently. Greater success in democratization has been achieved by UN peacekeeping operations, and by various regional international organizations using a variety of peaceful measures to ensure free elections, constrain authoritarian leaders, and empower democratic forces. International organizations, notably those whose membership is largely composed of democracies, are especially likely to succeed in promoting democracy.     

浅析美欧政治文化与伊拉克战争

政治文化是某个国家或民族文化与历史传统长期积淀而成的政治观念方面的综合体系,表现出一个政治系统的基本政治倾向。美欧的政治文化既表现在双方对国内政治和国际政治的认知上,也贯穿于各自的历史进程中。美欧在伊拉克战争问题上表现出来的针锋相对的态势,显示出双方迥然不同的政治文化传统。美国的霸权倾向与欧洲的制衡传统产生剧烈的摩擦和碰撞。伊拉克战争既为双方政治文化冲突提供了导火索,也为两者弘扬各自外交理念提供了平台。     

刑事强制医疗客观要件的反思与重构

强制医疗的客观要件包括行为条件和侵害法益条件两方面。通过对司法实践的考察发现:强制医疗的客观要件不仅存在放任精神病人继续实施危害社会行为的风险,而且还存在不规范适用的情况。出现上述问题的根源在于强制医疗的客观要件自身具有不合理性,只有改革强制医疗的客观要件,才能够化解风险、规范司法适用。不限制危害行为和侵害法益是国外强制医疗客观要件的普遍模式。我国应当将"实施的行为的社会危害性已经达到犯罪程度"作为强制医疗的客观要件,同时有必要丰富强制医疗的执行方式,在住院治疗之外,增加门诊治疗。     

满铁在中国东北设立的科研机构

日俄战后,南满洲铁道株式会社(简称"满铁")成为日本"经营满洲"的先锋和主体。满铁作为日本在东北建立的殖民侵略机构,下设具有文化侵略性质和殖民主义性质的研究机构,在武装侵略中国东北及殖民统治过程中,客观上起到了日本军国主义邪恶帮凶的作用。     

From clouds of chemical warfare to blue skies of peace: the Tehran Peace Museum,Iran

Despite the limited number of peace museums around the world, there exists an essential role for existing peace museums to promote a culture of peace and peace education. The purpose of this article was to introduce the origins, rationale, scope and work of the Tehran Peace Museum in Iran. The concept of the museum is to facilitate peace education and develop peaceful environments drawn from the personal experiences of war survivors. The museum encompasses exhibitions about the horrors of chemical and nuclear warfare and is balanced with awareness programmes, bridge-building dialogues, connections with other peace museums and a comprehensive peace education programme catering for younger and older members of society. It offers the space and opportunity for a community of learning within the museum and welcomes fresh ideas and initiatives from visitors and volunteers. The Tehran Peace Museum is unique in its body of volunteers, men and women who have been directly affected by chemical weapons. They are involved in the Veterans Voices of Peace Oral History Project and actively voice the need for creating peaceful societies in today’s world.     

直肠癌浸润、转移、病理分期与中医辨证的相关性

目的 探讨直肠癌浸润、转移、病理分期与中医辨证的相关性。方法 采用前瞻性研究方法，基于TNM病理分期系统，对72例直肠癌患者的术前证型、肿瘤浸润程度、淋巴转移、远处转移、病理分期的关系进行统计分析。结果 实证与虚证的肿瘤浸润程度比较，差异无统计学意义（P>0.05）；湿热内蕴证的T1+T2期构成比明显多于其他证型（P<0.05，或P<0.01），T3+T4期构成比明显少于其他证型（P<0.05，或P<0.01）。虚证与实证的病理分期比较，差异具有统计学意义（P<0.01）。结论 中医辨证与肿瘤浸润程度、远处转移、病理分期显著相关。     

The fate of the Assyrian minority in early independent Iraq: a test case of political violence based on rational primordialism

Analyzing ethno-national conflicts is usually not easy in that not all quantitative scientific tools are useful to the student of a conflict based on primordial elements. The burden of studying the outcome of a conflict is all the more complex given that the two conflicting groups might be at two different stages of their political development at any given time during the course of the conflict. In the case of the fate of the [Eastern Christian] Assyrian community in early independent Iraq, the political rationale for decisions taken by each party was drawn from different sociological, historical and political realms. Decisions in times of conflict and their political and historical ramifications are not always rational, since they draw upon primordial/communal considerations rather than the accurate reading of the overall true strategic scene.

The violence was an outcome of a combination of primordial differences and rational choice. The Iraqis sought to establish a new sovereign state with minimal disturbances from its Christian minority that they perceived as not belonging to the new nation. As for the Assyrians, they chose violence believing that at least some superpowers would support them. Historically, this rational decision based upon a primordial dispute turned out to be a mistake primarily because of lack of external support, weak internal cohesion of the group, and feeble leadership.     

不可量物侵害制度比较研究

不可量物侵害制度是现代民法中的一种新型的物权法律制度,它是伴随着人类在现代科技条件下的工业生产和日常生活中所产生的诸如噪音、粉尘、电磁波等采用传统计量手段和方法无法加以精确计算的物质的侵入而出现的。现代社会人口激增,土地日趋紧张,完善我国不可量物侵害制度对于维持社会秩序的安定、促进社会秩序的和谐,都有重大的意义。     

“国策会社”日清公司论析（1907-1939）

日清公司(日清汽船株式会社)是二战前日本在华航运企业的重要代表.在其32年的企业经营中,一直受到日本政府的"补助金"资助,是日本航运界担负着其政府"国策使命"的"国策会社".通过对日清公司的兴办及运营状况及其对长江流域社会经济产生深刻影响的考察和分析,可以揭示其侵略本质,反映日本战前对华航运业的投资不单纯是一种经济行为,而是日本对华侵略的重要决策之一.因此,日清公司实质上就是日本对华经济侵略的一个重要工具.