State Sovereignty in the Federal System: Constitutional Protections Under the Tenth and Eleventh Amendments

The U.S. Supreme Court has held that state sovereignty is protectedby principles of common law rather than explicit constitutionalguarantees under the Tenth and Eleventh Amendments. The Courthas also cautioned that congressional actions, even under delegatedpowers, may not threaten the integrity of states as sovereignentities in the federal system. The National League of Citiesdecision in 1976 appeared to reverse this doctrine by implyingthe existence of Tenth Amendment protections of state actionsin traditional functional areas. However, the federal courtsdiscounted the NLC ruling as a compelling precedent in subsequentfederalism cases because of its vagueness and its fundamentalinconsistency with established doctrine. In 1985, the SupremeCourt overturned the ruling in Garcia v. San Antonio, reaffirmingthe common law nature of state sovereignty and arguing thatconstitutional protection of state interests lies primarilyin the representative structure of the federal system ratherthan in specific constitutional guarantees.     

To loosen and bind: Khomeini,Rafsanjani, and supplementary governance in the Islamic Republic

ABSTRACT

Despite attention to Khomeini’s Guardianship of the Jurist (1970) and to Sunni iterations of ma?la?a, there is a dearth of Western scholarship on what Iranian scholars and journalists recognize as indispensable to governance in the Islamic Republic. With a comparative approach to modern perceptions of ma?la?a from inside and outside Iran, this article reveals a new perspective on how the outcome of debates in the earliest years of the Islamic Republic between the parliament and the Guardian Council went against the grain of traditional discussions on reconciling new laws with the shari‘a’s principles. Using academic literature, Sunni and Shi‘i jurisprudence, and, most significantly, one of Ayatullah Hashemi Rafsanjani’s (d. 2017) final interviews, this article shows that in these debates, Rafsanjani invoked the welfare of the state and national interest using the traditionally legal and limited concept of ma?la?a to justify new laws. Khomeini, on the other hand, re-imagined ma?la?a as necessary for Islamic Republic’s existence. Curiously, Khomeini’s re-imagining bears unexpected parallels with Jacques Derrida’s ‘supplement’, which, unlike ma?la?a, maintained human existence while the latter maintained political existence. Both ma?la?a and the supplement, however, provide a means and explanation for the defence of political and human existence during a real or perceived crisis.     

Education as an equalizer and challenges to the American Republic

This paper compares the educational system in the United States with those in two other countries. One is Sweden, a developed country that enjoys peace and social tranquility; the other is Iraq, a developing country that is torn by wars and tyrannical political systems. Based on such comparison and while acknowledging historic differences between the three countries, this paper will identify ＂cost of education＂ as a major causal agent in producing two social groups. The first group is a small, elitist cluster emerging as the leading force in all aspects of society and governance; the second group is a larger under-educated cluster, suffering from insufficient resources and forced into marginalization as voiceless, non-productive, non-competitive and expendable segment in society while plagued by poverty, or under unemployment, crime and economic hardship. In recognizing the limitation of access to education by the second group as the primary causal element in such disparity, this paper recommends ＂free access to quality education＂ as a fundamental right for all Americans and as an equalizer in correcting the American regime values in order to remain competitive in challenging.     

Approaching peace in Patani,Southern Thailand—some anthropological considerations

This article analyzes ways of approaching peace building and peace negotiations in Patani. Choosing an anthropological approach, the article argues that participant observation helps identify indigenous, local peace instruments. Hence, the design of local sovereignty is the most important step to durable peace in internal conflicts. The Surayud government has identified the recommendations of the National Reconciliation Commission as guide-posts and has praised the peace agreement in Aceh as model to emulate. There is an opening for peace talks, in which the solution to historical and cultural grievances will be a key to peace.     

A behavioral model for Ukrainian organized crime groups

Ukrainian organized crime operates like any social group existing in relation to other institutions in society. The specifics of criminal group behavior in Ukraine are governed by strict norms and standards which have developed over many decades. The 'thieves idea,' promoting brotherhood and superiority among members of criminal groups, was cultivated by convicts and peasants as far back as pre-Soviet Ukraine. The infrastructure of these groups, their organization and leadership, and methods for criminal activities are all determined by customs and rules unique to Ukraine. Using statistical analysis, a case study of one organized criminal group, and collective interviews with various law enforcement officials, this study attempts to determine the prevalence of traditions and the nature of group dynamics in organized crime.     

State Duma of the Russian Federation of the 7th Convocation: Between “Sleeping Potential” and Party Discipline

In the run-up to the elections of 18 September 2016, suggestions were made that a change in the rules for electing the State Duma (a return to a mixed majority-proportional system) would affect the qualitative composition of the deputy corps.^11. See for example Kynev, Lyubarev, Maximov 2015; Mintusov (ed.) 2016; Mixed districts 2016. Today, a year since the Duma campaign, we already have sufficient information to move from hypothetical arguments to a specific study not only of the composition, but also the style of work of the new parliament.

Existing data allow us to say that two different tendencies exist in the Duma. One of them is connected with the change in the composition of the deputy corps, caused by the addition of a majority component, which has influenced the principles of selecting candidates, and by a number of other causes—from the assumption of a low turn-out to the emergence of new bans and restrictions in legislation. Another involves the change in style of work of the lower chamber of the Federal Assembly. Besides efforts directly toward reducing scandalous behavior and overcoming the reputation of a “maniacal printer,” this concerns attempts by the leadership of the Duma in general and individual parliamentary groups to regulate and centralize the lawmaking process as much as possible. If the first tendency involves increasing political independence of deputies (as a consequence of the increase of the importance of their personal qualities at elections), the second means an even greater reduction of their influence on decisions taken by the Duma. This article provides a detailed analysis of these tendencies.     

Offence characteristics and cognitive functioning in juveniles adjudicated for illegal sexual behaviour

Intelligence differences exist between sex offenders and non-sex offenders in adult populations, but comparable intelligence differences are not consistently found among juveniles. However, juveniles may differ on measures of intelligence across offence-related variables used to subclassify adults. The purpose of the present study was to determine if between- and within-group differences exist in a sample of 925 juveniles adjudicated for illegal sexual and non-sexual behaviours across offence-related variables. The results suggest that juveniles adjudicated for illegal sexual behaviour outperformed juveniles adjudicated for non-sexual offences on Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI) performance, though full-scale intelligence quotients scores for both groups were lower than would be expected in the general population. Unlike adult offenders, juveniles adjudicated for illegal sexual behaviour do not tend to differ on WASI performance across offence-related variables. These results provide additional evidence that these juveniles adjudicated for illegal sexual behaviour are categorically distinct from adults who sexually offend.     

A Meta-Analytic Review of Pretrial Research: Risk Assessment,Bond Type,and Interventions

This study makes an attempt to aggregate what we currently know about pretrial decision making and jurisdictions’ responses to the pretrial population. This meta-analysis began with an exhaustive search for pretrial research which may have revealed the most prominent finding—that being a distinct lack of research that utilizes any amount of methodological rigor. The findings of this meta-analysis hold several policy implications for the field of pretrial research and practice. First, future research studies in the field of pretrial need to focus on methodological quality and rigor. Second, it appears that some conditions of release may be related to a defendant’s likelihood of failure to appear. Third, it appears that none of the conditions of release reviewed in this study are related to a defendant’s likelihood of re-arrest while on pretrial release. Finally, it is recommended that the field of pretrial develop a sound research agenda and execute that plan with rigor, transparency, and an approach that favors the continued cumulation of knowledge. Strong conclusions about the impact of pretrial release conditions cannot be made as the quality of the pretrial research, overall, is weak at best.