Pogrebinskii: After Today,a Coalition Is No Longer Needed in the Rada

Today the Constitutional Court of Ukraine (CCU) repealed the "quadruple two"—the scandalous constitutional reform that was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada in the "Orange winter" of 2004. Today, in the fall of 2010, six years later, the hands of the Ukraine's political clock have been turned back.

Ukraine has returned to the old edition of the constitution, and has again become a presidential-parliamentary republic. The director of the Kyiv Center for Political Research and Conflict Studies, Mikhail Pogrebinskii, gave his assessment of the event, which many have called a coup d'état, in an exclusive mini-interview with ForUm.

Mikhail Borisovich, the CCU today declared that the constitutional reform of 2004 was unconstitutional, with the clarification that this decision is final, not subject to appeal, and mandatory for implementation. However, some experts have already expressed the assumption that it will "get hung up" in the parliament. What do you say?     

The Inner Logic of Exclusivism (and Inclusivism): Shapiro's Shadowing

Scott Shapiro, a prominent defender of exclusive legal positivism—exclusivism—has intriguingly (re)introduced a logical principle, the endorsement and rejection of which he (I take it) supposes can helpfully distinguish exclusivism from its contrary, inclusive legal positivism—inclusivism. It is an intriguing thought that principles pitched at such a high level of abstraction as this could distinguish between the two versions of positivism. My aim will be to test whether this principle—and associated principles—can do such distinguishing work.     

Realism about the Nature of Law

Legal realism comes in two main versions, namely American legal realism and Scandinavian legal realism. In this article, I shall be concerned with the Scandinavian realists, who were naturalists and non‐cognitivists, and who maintained that conceptual analysis (in a fairly broad sense) is a central task of legal philosophers, and that such analysis must proceed in a naturalist, anti‐metaphysical spirit. Specifically, I want to consider the commitment to ontological naturalism and non‐cognitivism on the part of the Scandinavians and its implications for their view of the nature of law. I argue (i) that the Scandinavians differ from legal positivists in that they reject the idea that there are legal relations, that is, legal entities and properties, and to varying degrees defend the view that law is a matter of human behavior rather than legal norms, and (ii) that they do not and cannot accept the idea that there is a ‘world of the ought’ in Kelsen's sense. I also argue, more specifically, (iii) that the objection to non‐naturalist theories raised by the Scandinavians—that there is and can be no connection between the higher realm of norms and values (the ‘world of the ought’) and the world of time and space—is convincing, and (iv) that Kelsen's introduction of a so‐called modally indifferent substrate does nothing to undermine this objection. In addition, I argue (v) that the Scandinavians can account for the existence of legal relations that do not presuppose the existence of morally binding legal norms by embracing conventionalism about the existence of the sources of law, while pointing out that in doing so they would also be abandoning their legal realism for legal positivism. Finally, I argue (vi) that the implications for legal scholarship of the realist emphasis on human behavior instead of legal norms is not well explained by the realists and appear to amount to little more than a preference for teleological interpretation of legal norms.     

Climate Change and Global Citizenship

The international climate change regime has failed. Even the most optimistic assessment of action to limit greenhouse pollution in the coming few decades will not prevent calamitous changes in Earth's climate. Arguments for international—that is, interstate—justice that have permeated international negotiations on climate change have been insufficient in fostering robust action by states. Indeed, by diverting all responsibility to states, focusing on international justice has not addressed consumption and pollution by hundreds of millions of affluent people around the world, including many millions living within developing states that have no treaty obligations to limit nationwide pollution. Increasingly, however, it is these individuals that matter: more and more of them who are not now subject to any climate‐related legal obligations are able to afford lifestyles that lead to greenhouse gas emissions and more climate change. This is especially true given the very rapid increase in the numbers of affluent people in the developing world. Bearing this in mind, this article goes beyond the still important questions of international climate justice to explore cosmopolitan or global climate justice. Global justice demands that affluent individuals in both affluent and poor states do much more to limit their pollution of the atmosphere. By being good global citizens, capable persons can help states start the world on a path to reducing the severity of climate change.     

Principles,Passions, and the Paradox of Modern Law: A Comment on Bybee

In All Judges Are Political—Except When They Are Not: Acceptable Hypocrisies and the Rule of Law ( 2010 ), Keith Bybee considers the hypocrisy of modern law—that is, the widespread view that judges are both principled and partisan—by drawing an analogy with courtesy. Both law and courtesy contain and manage the diverse and potentially divisive interests that would, were they not contained, disrupt social life. In this essay I extend this argument by considering whether the relationship between law and courtesy is more than merely analogical. I suggest that both systems are aspects of larger historical developments out of which emerged the modern subject and the modern state, creating a social world made up of apparently bounded individuals and institutions. As such, law and courtesy do more than conceal and contain interests and subjectivity; they produce the unruly, partisan subjects they are designed to manage.     

Cultural Policies and Local Planning Strategies: What Is the Role of Culture in Local Sustainable Development?

The authors draw a strategic framework for cultural planning at the local level. The concepts of industrial district and cluster have strengthened the role of space—in terms of external economies of localization and agglomeration—in economic development. The recent debate concerning contemporary development processes has underlined the increasing role of the cultural dimension for local development and has focused on different paths of clustering around cultural investment. The authors review the latest literature on cultural districts and illustrate some key cases around the postindustrialized world in which culture played a critical role by acting as a catalyst for major economic and social renewal. The authors present a strategic model of a progressive cultural district based on an asset-action matrix that intersects cultural policy drivers with capital resources. The authors define a new model of cultural district—the system-wide cultural district—as an emergent, self-organized model of cultural supply that displays significant strategic complementaries with other production chains with a typical, postindustrial characterization.     

Law's Allure and the Power of Path-Dependent Legal Ideas

Gordon Silverstein's Law's Allure (2009) advances a two-part thesis on the power of legal ideas. The first is that legal precedents establish the ideological baselines on which legislative and bureaucratic policies are developed. Silverstein amply demonstrates the validity of this thesis. The second is that by establishing ideological baselines, legal precedents contribute to a version of path dependency (or the idea that early choices determine long-term developments) that is significantly more constraining than other forms of institutional entrenchment. Put simply, law shackles creativity in politics. This thesis I do not find persuasive, in part because Silverstein offers little evidence for it and in part because a growing body of literature suggests the contrary: the cross-fertilization of ideas from one field to another—law to politics, for instance—contributes to, rather than retards, creative change. Nonetheless, while its broader ambitions are not satisfied, Law's Allure's narrow thesis—that precedent profoundly shapes policy development—is important and worthy of a major book in itself.     

Globalization through the Lens of Palace Wars: What Elite Lawyers' Careers Can and Cannot Tell Us about Globalization of Law

Yves Dezalay and Bryant Garth's three studies—Dealing in Virtue (1996), The Internationalization of Palace Wars (2002), Asian Legal Revivals (2010)—trace the globalization of law through “palace wars” among elites for positions in the “fields of state power.” They conclude that globalization occurs through links among elites engaged in their domestic palace wars, which independently establish the symbolic power of law in each state. The article argues that while Dezalay and Garth provide an invaluable new starting point for further research, they do not adequately consider an emerging field of research documenting alternative pathways of legal development pursued by local activists inside and outside the new states of the Global South.     

The Inevitability and Indeterminacy of Game‐Theoretic Accounts of Legal Order

How is legal order possible? Why do people comply with law when it prevents them from doing what they think best? Two important books show how these questions can—and from some methodological perspectives must—be answered in the form of game‐theoretic accounts that show how legal compliance can be compatible with the broad self‐interest of officials and citizens. Unfortunately, however, these books also serve to demonstrate that game‐theoretic accounts along these lines lack the resources to explain how real‐world legal systems emerge and evolve or the various institutional shapes these systems take. The fundamental limitation of game theory, in this context and more generally, is its inability to predict or explain the size and shape of cooperative equilibria.     

The Complications of Colocation: What the Federal Communication’s Rule Making May Mean for Your Community

Abstract

You did it. You successfully worked with a wireless service provider to find the ideal spot for its new wireless tower. The tower is positioned perfectly—in the heart of downtown, yet safe, hidden, completely undisruptive. The provider is happy. The community is content. It’s a win‐win. Fast forward a month. The provider is back with a new idea: To support the latest technology and to enhance its revenues, it will add not one, but four 20‐foot extensions for new antennas. The extensions would make the otherwise hidden facility visible. They would reach across and over the sidewalk and street, presenting safety risks. And the provider would also add four new equipment cabinets and an equipment shelter. Your answer is easy: Absolutely not. We can find a better solution. But this time the provider is not asking, it’s demanding. It says that because it is not proposing an initial facility but a colocation, you must approve its requests. Whether the provider is correct may turn on how the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) resolves a pending rule making. This article describes the proceeding, key issues it raises, and what the proceeding may mean to you and your community. As a planner, you can influence the proceeding by meeting with the FCC to discuss the proposed rules and by responding to industry claims that local requirements are delaying deployment.     

The Banco Ambrosiano case: An investigation into the underestimation of the relations between organized and economic crime

Moving from theAmbrosiano case, the paper aims to analyse the links existing between organized crime and economic crime, showing the patterns of relations and highlighting the weaknesses and strengths of both forms of crime as they interact with each other. The paper also underline the peculiarity of such relations in the Italian criminal situation, which is characterised by deep, strong and long-standing connections between organized crime and economic crime. This relation, which has been ignored or at least underestimated for years, has recently started to be partially uncovered and recognised in the investigations concerning the collapse of theAmbrosiano and the death of its president, Roberto Calvi. Further proof has also been provided in other cases, such as the inquiries of the Parliamentary Committee on the Masonic LodgeP2 and the investigations carried out by Sicilian judges on some Mafia families, thanks to the information provided by witnesses belonging to Cosa Nostra.As for Sindona the same people-still just as gready for money-act on my behalf: friends if you pay; enemies if you don't ... (Roberto Calvi).     

论伯林的自由观——从两种自由概念谈起

伯林提出了“积极自由”与“消极自由”的著名区分。在深刻剖析了三种不同类型的积极自由观和二十世纪极权主义的逻辑联系的基础上,伯林认为消极自由观是“机会”、“能够”、“可能性”取向的自由观,以区别于“必须”、“应该”取向的积极自由观。但伯林的剔除了自主概念的消极自由观也蕴含了内在的危机。     

Illusions and Realities of the "New Era"

"Last week the world suffered a shock that will inevitably make us divide the time into two parts—before the terrorist acts in the United States and after them. Because a new world and a new world order are being born in the ruins of the World Trade Center" (S. Strokan', "The Dawn of a New Era" [Zarevo novoi ery], Kommersant-Vlast', 2001, no. 37 [18 September], p. 35). Not only the Russian political weeklies thought this. The tragic events that the United States suffered on 11 September not only sent many countries into shock but also sparked the idea that humanity suddenly found itself in an incomprehensible world, a new space-time—that life would be different from then on, that we would think differently and structure international relations differently. Even some of the supporters of Francis Fukuyama, who proclaimed the "end of history" more than ten years ago, hurriedly declared that the "oracle" was wrong, since on 11 September events of historic scale and significance had taken place in the United States. One critic of the American "prophet" noted, not without sarcasm, that "Black Tuesday" signified "the end of the end of history." That did not, however, shake the convictions of Fukuyama himself. In an article eloquently titled "History Is Still Going Our Way," published in The Wall Street Journal Europe on 8 October, he continued to assert that "we remain in the final stage of history" (F. Fukuyama, "History Is Still Going Our Way," The Wall Street Journal Europe, 8 October 2001).     

Improving National Relations in the USSR

The problem of nationalities occupied a substantial place among the wide range of social problems raised at the Twenty-seventh CPSU Congress. The Soviet Union has been a pioneer in addressing the national question which, as V. I. Lenin wrote, is a worldwide phenomenon. It is one of the most acute questions in the history of mankind: the engendering of class antagonisms that inevitably entail national oppression, the lack of equality of nationalities before the law, and their inequality. Our country has convincingly demonstrated to the entire world that with the victory of socialism antagonisms in the sphere of national relations are being overcome. As noted in the new edition of the CPSU Program, "the Soviet Union has successfully resolved the national question that was left over from the past." In the course of socialist construction, the formerly backward national hinterlands have long ago vanished; socialist nations have joined to form an international community—the Soviet people—that is new in its social parameters; there have formed common cultural traits that are characteristic of Soviet people of all nationalities; national discord is a thing of the past; and the fraternal friendship of the peoples, forged in their common creative labor and tested in the most difficult of wars, has become the standard of life.     

The Argument of Rightness as an Element of the Discretionary Power of the Administrative Judge

The article concerns the situation of the judicial application of the law where the entity applying the law refers in a decision-making process to moral principles. The decision should be based on the directives of interpretation, which indicate the need for such a determination of the meaning of the applicable norms so that it remains in harmony with commonly accepted moral rules of the society. The equity (understood as rightness) has one more purpose; namely, it allows for the process of decision-making—and not just for the process of unifying the decisions—since the mere rule does not specify the algorithm of undertaking them. This rule thus assumes that it will be further specified by phronesis judge who in a given situation will determine—for the purposes of a particular decision—a hierarchy between the criteria of substantive justice “embedded” in this rule. The reference to equity (rightness) stands for the concretization of an unspecified general rule. We deal here with an indefinite general rule, the application of which is facilitated by a reference to rightness.

     

THE EVOLUTION OF THE GOVERNMENT-BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP IN THE UNITED STATES: COLONIAL TIMES TO PRESENT

Everything has a history. At least part of the answer to any question about the contemporary world can come from studying the circumstances that led up to it⃜The more you understand about these past influences, the more you will know about the present subject to which they are related.¹     

Mediators of the Relation Between Beliefs in a Just World and Emotional Responses to Negative Outcomes

Research shows that strong believers in a just world respond with less negative and more positive emotion to their own negative outcomes than do weak believers. The present study investigated mediators of this relation. We proposed that strong believers in a just world (versus weak believers) would make stronger internal and weaker external attributions for their negative outcomes, leading to reduced perceived unfairness, which, in turn, was expected to lead to less negative and more positive emotion. We assessed the just world beliefs of a sample of undergraduates as well as measuring their cognitive and emotional responses to an exam grade. Mediational analyses showed that our data were consistent with the processes proposed above. Various cognitive and motivational interpretations of the present findings are discussed     

Entering the Circle: The Praxis of Arts in Corrections

Abstract

When exiles create for themselves a new world in which to live and then construct that world in language, a poet, a writer, or intellectual may emerge. When the imagined world takes physical form and comes to exist in two, three, or four dimensions, it may be represented as the work of a performer or as that of a visual artist. This work creates a demilitarized zone, a place of safety, which defies old-world colonialization and presents a distillation of all the complexities within which one lives. Or, it may present a world beyond complexity that has imagined itself into synthesis. (Becker 1996, 113)     

Congressional Vote Options

Numerous accounts reveal that congressional leaders often secure “hip‐pocket votes” or “if you need me” pledges from rank‐and‐file legislators. These are essentially options on votes. Leaders exercise sufficient options—pay legislators to convert to favorable votes—when those options will yield victory. Otherwise, they release the options. A model shows that this optimal strategy for leaders produces many small victories, few small losses, and losses that are, on average, larger than victories. We find precisely these patterns, hence strong evidence for vote options, in Congressional Quarterly key votes from 1975 through 2001 and in non‐key votes from the 106th Congress (1999–2000).     

Mass Violence and the Continuum of Destruction: A study of C. P. Taylor’s Good

There are important studies that have directly focused on how, in times of conflict, it is possible for previously law abiding people to commit the most atrocious acts of cruelty and violence. The work of Erich Fromm (Escape from Freedom), Hannah Arendt (Eichmann in Jerusalem), Zygmunt Bauman (Modernity and the Holocaust) and Ernest Becker (Escape from Evil) have all contemplated the driving force of aggression and mass violence to further our understanding of how people are capable of engaging in extreme forms of cruelty and violence. This paper specifically addresses these issues by focusing on C. P. Taylor’s play Good. This provocative play examines how a seemingly ‘good’ and intelligent university professor can gradually become caught up in the workings of the Third Reich. Taylor highlights the importance of appreciating how people can be steadily incorporated into an ideologically destructive system. I argue that the theatre is a powerful medium to explore these complex issues. The audience of Good find themselves confronted with the following question—‘What would you have done?’