Discussion of the Draft Strategy for State Ethnic Policy of the Russian Federation

A group of eminent specialists on ethnic politics in Russia discuss the draft Strategy for State Ethnic Policy of the Russian Federation. They approve of the use of commonly used terminology to discuss ethnic issues. Their concerns include the lack of a program for action that could be implemented to improve ethnic relations in Russia.     

Strategy for State Ethnic Policy of the Russian Federation for the Period up to 2025

The document describes the strategy of the Russian government for working with its minority and majority ethnic groups.     

中國少數民族區域自治制度的基本框架

民族區域自治是中國的一項處理多民族關系的基本制度安排。這一基本制度安排經過了近六十年的實施和變化，已經初步具備了自己的特色。它以憲法、法律和政策爲基本規範和指導，以區域和民族相結合爲特色，以民族間的和諧和發展爲目的。在這個框架之下，民族自治區域主要享有廣泛的行政方面的自治及有限度的立法方面的自治。     

Ethnic origin of the victim as an aggravating factor in sentencing sexual offenders

This article examines R v Jamal Muhammed Raheem Ul Nasir, a Court of Appeal case where leave to appeal against a seven-year custodial sentence for sexual offences against children was refused. The appellant argued that his sentence length was excessive because the judge viewed the female victims’ ethnic and religious origin as an aggravating factor. In light of a number of charities’ condemning the judgment, this article evaluates whether the Court of Appeal made the correct decision, particularly in the wider context of sentencing principles. It also considers whether causing shame to a victim and her family can be regarded as an aggravating factor when sentencing sexual offences, and discusses the circumstances where the victim’s ethnic origin should be taken into account.     

Inmate suicide: Ethnic adaptations to the prisonization experience

This research note examines ethnic differences in inmate suicidal behavior for a five year reporting period in the Florida prison system. Ethnic variations in the frequency of suicide reflect the same underlying patterns operating in the outside community. Disproportionate numbers of white inmates fall prey to self-inflicted fatalities. These data support an importation explanation of the inmate subculture.     

Ethnic Law and Minority Rights in China: Progress and Constraints

Western discourse on human rights in China typically assumes that China's minority rights law must be a sham because China is an authoritarian state. In the 1980s and 1990s, however, China has articulated an "ethnic law" that elaborates rights and preferences that minorities value. At the same time, People's Republic of China ethnic law is inadequate to grant the idealized range of minority rights claimed by the Chinese state, and some rights are being eroded by the marketization of China's political economy. The most notable weaknesses in the ethnic law system include the failure to enlarge the scope of ethnic regional autonomy, a lack of preferential policies sufficient to offset the growth of the economic gap between Han and minority areas, and an inadequate program for overcoming antiminority bias. While an emerging minority elite is a stabilizing factor in minority‐state relations, additional measures to expand minority rights are required, some of which are suggested by the policies of other Asian states.     

Church,State, and Society in the East

This issue of Russian Politics and Law concludes our series reviewing the role of religion in state-society relations in the former Soviet Union. This issue examines the role of the Church in Belarus and provides several analytical perspectives on the series' findings. The analytical findings highlight the distinction between the extent of popular identification with Orthodoxy and levels of active practice and belief among the population.     

Crisis in the Regions

This article examines the nature of the current economic crisis and the way it affects the Russian regions, as well as the relations between the regions and the Center. It highlights that the crisis preceded the western sanctions and was caused by the exhaustion of the model of economic development based on resource rents. This crisis is manmade, creeping, and probably prolonged. It will strike all regions, but the damage inflicted will vary: its chief victim will be Russia's biggest cities.     

改革开放30年来的中国民族法制建设

＂民族＂一词常在两种不同的含义上使用。一种用法是把＂民族＂与一个具有内部凝聚力的民族国家的人民概念等同，如中华民族等用法；另一种用法是指一个国家内部的不同族群。本文所谓的＂民族法制＂是在后一种含义上使用民族概念的，是指在中国这个多民族国家中处理内部各民族关系的法律制度及其动态的运作体制。综观改革开放30年，中国的民族法制建设取得了巨大的成就。这些成就是基于中国的实际创造的，因而符合中国的国情，具有鲜明的中国特色。这些成就为进一步构建和完善中国民族法制体系奠定了坚实的基础。     

National Identity as a Means of Reducing Ethnic Negativism

This article discusses how national identity in Russia is understood by the public and among experts who study ethnic issues. The author separates the notion of national identity into categorical identity and associative identity (i.e., the consolidating type of identity which is based on a strong feeling of connection with other citizens). The latter type of identity is present only among a third of people who identify themselves as Russian. The author further analyses the connection of this type of identity with inter-ethnic negativism. She finds that national identity does not remove bias toward abstract “others.” However, it affects direct inter-ethnic communication in the labor and family spheres. The positive impact of national identity on inter-ethnic attitudes is more apparent in the Astrakhan region, which has longer experience of inter-ethnic communication. It is argued that one obstacle to national identity having a positive impact on inter-ethnic attitudes is the lack of a clear and consistent understanding of national identity among education experts, social scientists, and journalists. The study utilizes data from Wave 24 of the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey conducted by the Institute of Sociology (“The dynamics of social transformation of modern Russia in the socioeconomic, political, sociocultural, and ethno-confessional contexts,” Wave 4) and several separate regional polls conducted by the Department of Ethno-sociology of the Institute of Sociology, Russian Academy of Science between 2014 and 2016.     

Practical Reason and Legislation

Abstract
The author's starting point is Bobbio's theoretical approach to the problems of the relations between law and reason. He then appraises the meanings of reason and the concept of theoretical and practical rationality in the application of law. He examines the complex problem of the rationality of legislation and distinguishes five levels of rationality.     

Ethnic Profiling: A Rising Challenge for European Human Rights Law

Ethnic profiling, defined as the use of racial, ethnic or religious background as a determining criterion for the adoption of law enforcement decisions, has been rising significantly in Europe, in particular in the wake of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. This article examines whether European human rights law is well equipped to deal with this challenge, and if not, how it should be reformed. Against the widely held assumption that personal data protection legislation is insufficiently protective of 'sensitive' data relating to race or ethnicity, it explains instead why combating ethnic profiling has been made more difficult, rather than less, by an overly protective reading of the requirements of data protection laws. It then discusses the additional measures that European states could take to address more effectively the human rights concerns prompted by the development of ethnic profiling.     

Eurasian Economic Union: present and future perspectives

This paper analyzes the economic and political situation in the Eurasian Economic Union. The basic question is why it was created after the failure of all previous integration projects in the Commonwealth of Independent States and Central Asian region? The paper examines the effects and opportunities for the regional economy of economic sanctions imposed on Russia and of Russian counter-sanctions. It also analyzes relations between the Eurasian Economic Union and the European Union and draws perspectives and policy implications for their future relations.     

Is the Process the Only Punishment?: Racial–Ethnic Disparities in Lower-Level Courts

Although misdemeanors make up the bulk of criminal cases in the United States, the majority of research on court decision-making examines felony sentencing. In contrast to felony courts, lower-level courts are characterized by higher case volumes and increased reliance on informal sanctions, which may contribute to greater racial–ethnic disparities. To assess this possibility, we examine pretrial detention and case processing outcomes for misdemeanants in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Utilizing temporal (detention time) and monetary (bond amount) measures of pretrial detention, we assess whether and to what extent there are racial–ethnic disparities in formal and informal sanctions facing misdemeanants. Results indicate that black defendants, especially black Latinx defendants, face greater informal sanctions (longer detention and higher bond amounts), are more likely to be convicted, and experience more severe formal sanctions than do white non-Latinx defendants. These findings complicate Feeley's (1979) argument about lower-level cases, revealing that black defendants are punished by both the court process and formal sanctions. In this way, “the process is the punishment” for lower-level white and nonwhite defendants, while the punishment is also the punishment for black defendants.     

An Answer to the "Polish Question"

The author assesses the improvement in Russian-Polish relations since the Tusk government took office in Poland. He also argues that Russia should aim to Finlandize neighboring states.     

Sentencing and State‐Level Racial and Ethnic Contexts

Sentencing studies have incorporated social context in studying sentencing decisions, but to date the bulk of prior work has focused almost exclusively on county context. An unresolved question is whether there also may be state‐level effects on sentencing. Drawing from the minority threat perspective, we examine (1) whether state‐level racial and ethnic contexts affect sentencing, (2) whether this effect amplifies the effect of county‐level racial and ethnic contexts on sentencing, and (3) whether the interaction of county‐level and state‐level contextual effects is greater for minorities than for whites. Analysis of State Court Processing Statistics and other data indicates that state‐level racial and ethnic contexts are associated with sentencing outcomes and that this effect may differ by outcome (e.g., incarceration versus sentence length) and by type of context (e.g., racial or ethnic). The study's findings and their implications are discussed.     

Resolving Problems among Neighbors in Post‐Soviet Russia: Uncovering the Norms of the Pod”ezd

The article presents findings from a qualitative study of how Russians deal with neighbors who have leaked water onto them. In the Russian context, this is neither an uncommon nor a small problem. Building on US‐based studies of neighborhood relations, the article lays out three alternative strategies: avoidance, self‐help, and third‐party intervention. The Russian participants lived in close proximity to one another and had little opportunity for exit. The study documents a strong preference for self‐help, confirming the potency of the relational distance hypothesis for Russia. In contrast to their US counterparts, the Russian participants' lack of exit did not give rise to more intense and prolonged disputes. The findings suggest that there is a strong informal norm in favor of neighbors resolving disputes among themselves and that the residents who share common entryways (pod”ezdy) work out the parameters of acceptable behavior over time. These informal norms shape Russians' legal consciousness.     

Ethnicity and Violent Crime: The Ethnic Structure of Networks of Youths Suspected of Violent Offences in Stockholm

This study employs network analysis in order to study patterns of co-offending among youths suspected of violent offences in Stockholm. The study's objective is to examine the ethnic structure of relations among persons suspected of committing violent offences together. The Swedish media have presented information suggesting that violent conflicts between Swedish youths and youths with an immigrant background, based on ethnic conflicts between these groups, are common. The study also discusses the relevance of this image. The study's findings show that violent offences committed by youths in Stockholm are of an ethnically heterogeneous character. At the same time there is a tendency for marginalized and segregated ethnic groups to join together to some extent. The findings may be interpreted as indicating that youth violence in Stockholm today is characterized by ethnic diversity, but that increased ethnic segregation may lead to an increase in the level of ethnically related violent crime. Apparently there is a perception that ethnic conflicts do occur, which persists despite the fact that such conflicts are not common. It is of concern that the occurrence of such perceptions, not least in the Swedish media, may lead to an increase in the level of conflicts of this kind.1 ¹The author would like to thank David Shannon for his translation of the text.      

Latina Fortitude in the Face of Disadvantage: Exploring the Conditioning Effects of Ethnic Identity and Gendered Ethnic Identity on Latina Offending

Recent literature has investigated if socialization and identity protect against the criminogenic effects of strainful experiences for African Americans. Here Latinas are brought to the forefront. This study not only investigates if a positive ethnic identity increases fortitude against strainful events, but if its effects are further influenced by gender socialization. Results reveal ethnic identity increases resilience against the criminogenic effects of vicarious victimization and acculturation and gendered ethnic identity protects against direct victimization. This study reinforces the need for further investigation into cultural explanations for within group differences in criminogenic outcomes.     

Kinship in rural Hungary during the eighteenth century: The findings of a case study

This article examines the kinship system of Hungarian villages in the eighteenth century. Besides describing the basic characteristics of coresident relatives, the study also suggests that investigations of kinship should not be limited to coresident kin because there are important differences in the types and composition of coresident and non-coresident groups. Many relatives, even though they lived in the same community and maintained relations with each other, inhabited different households. Moreover, there were noticeable differences in the structure and composition of kin groups in villages of different ethnic makeup. Although the present evidence is insufficient to detect the operation of corporate kinship groups, it does suggest the need for more detailed kin groupings of all kinds.