Some reflections on the victimology of terrorism

Abstract

Literature on terrorists and terrorism is abundant, but very little is written on the victim. Whether the studies are published by psychologists or political scientists, by psychiatrists or sociologists, data on the victim are conspicuous by their absence. There is hardly any mention of how victims of terrorism are chosen, their characteristics, the role they play, if any, in preparing or triggering the terrorist acts, their behavior during the ordeal, and their postvictimization condition.¹ The dearth of the empirical data renders the systematic study of the victims of terrorism particularly difficult. This paper presents a series of reflections on some victimological aspects of terrorism and offers a number of suggestions for future research.     

Spirit and being: interdisciplinary reflections on drugs across history and politics

Abstract

Few commodities are as global as drugs. Cannabis, opium, heroin, amphetamines, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), khat, psychedelic cacti and mushrooms as well as an interminable list of other natural or synthesised substances travel and are consumed around the globe for all possible reasons. Human migration, trade, cultural trends, medical practice, political repression: together they constitute the drug phenomenon today – and indeed in much of human history. In this, drugs are spirit-like commodities, their value resting upon a fundamental ambiguity made up of individual, psychological, social, cultural, economic and medical circumstances. Defining a drug is an attempt at defining a spirit on the edge, which metamorphoses in time and space. At the same time, drugs remain a fundamentally political object. They are substances controlled by states, through mechanisms of policing, legitimated by judicial and medical evaluation, condemned often on moral grounds. Situated between a fluid social existence and a static legal dimension, drugs can become inspiring hermeneutic objects of study.     

Towards a new past: Some reflections on nationalism in post-socialist Slovakia

By analysing two commemorative events organized shortly before and after the 2010 parliamentary elections in Slovakia, this article demonstrates how the Prime Minister Robert Fico and his collaborators exploited these ceremonies to promote a more inclusive definition of political community than their right-wing counterparts. Although commentators have interpreted the continuous political success of the political party Smer-SD in terms of negatively connotated nationalism and national populism, Fico's discursive framework allows him to address those who have been stigmatized by post-1989 neoliberalism, especially former communists and people unable or unwilling to adapt to the rapid changes brought about by post-socialist social, economic, political as well as cultural transition(s). Instead of backwardness, Fico's anti-elitist and anti-capitalist rhetoric opened a new symbolic universe to these groups. The history narratives that formed an important part of this universe were not used to exclude the Other, but rather to create a meaningful future for those who have been ignored by (neo-)liberal ideals. This paper argues for an interpretation of post-socialist populist parties that would take into account culturally relevant symbolic structures advanced by these parties.     

Past imperfect: The construction of history in the school curriculum and mass media in post-communist Russia and Ukraine

This introduction to the special section on the history education in contemporary Russia and Ukraine discusses selected articles in the context of comparative scholarship. It isolates important implications for the burgeoning field of political socialization in the post-communist societies.     

Russia and the Caucasus

Russia began moving toward the Caucasus at the end of the 16th Century. In the early 19th Century, the Tsars consolidated control over Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, but had to fight a 35‐year war against the North Caucasian mountaineers to secure control of the entire area The three Transcaucasian republics declared their independence before the collapse of the Soviet Union, but have been hard pressed to consolidate it because of Russian interference. In the North Caucasus, the Chechens declared their independence as well. Erratic Russian policies and freebooting by elements of the Russian military have resulted in disruptive intervention in all three of the Transcaucasian countries. In December 1994, Russia launched a military offensive to subdue the Chechens. The Chechens have fought back furiously, and Russia's war against them has become a domestic Afghanistan. Russia has yet to define its national interests in the Caucasus and adopt coherent policies toward the region. Until it does the area will continue to be unstable.     

俄罗斯联邦共产党新党纲述评

2008年11月29—30日,俄罗斯联邦共产党召开了“十三大”,正式通过了新修订的党的纲领。此前的俄共党纲还是1995年“三大”通过的,十多年来国内国际形势和党内党外的情况已发生了很大变化,尤其是普京上台后俄共失去了原有的政治地位,从举足轻重的第一大党沦落为很难在体制内发挥作用的反对党,影响力大大减弱,所以此次俄共的行动纲领有了较大的调整。     

俄罗斯预算制度改革的政治影响分析

作为财政政策工具,政府通过预算分配稀缺资源,实现社会资源在公共部门和私人部门间的配置,向公众提供诸如国防、法律、教育和其他各种形式的公共产品和公共服务;将公共资源在相互竞争的公共需求间进行分配,并根据公共目标的重要性程度确定资源分配的优先顺序;通过预算对不同人群间的利益进行合理分配,促进社会公平的实现;通过预算政策的综合使用,实现经济适度增长、高就业、低通货膨胀率的社会目标。预算就此成为反映政府战略重点和政策优先方向的最重要的施政工具。