Federalism,regionalism, nationalism: A century of Catalan political thought and its implications for Scotland in Europe

Although on Spain's periphery, Catalonia has often held a central position in Spanish politics. In dealing with the Catalan question, politicians in Madrid and Barcelona have had to grapple with different models of state structures. Some have even attempted to consider the issue in terms of greater European solutions. At the end of the 20th century, Europe's regions are having to consider their role not just within the traditional states, but also within the new European framework. The Scottish movement has now found itself in a position to affect British politics. The long tradition of Catalan thought on statecraft, and the influence Catalonia has had on the Spanish state, can serve as useful examples for the traditionally more marginalised Scots. Both Scots and Catalans face the question of defining their own identity, the identity of the state and the identity of Europe. In two decades of British politics, the SNP has also shifted to define itself within a greater European context.     

Intellectual Orthodoxy,the Economy of Knowledge and the Debate Over Zhang Jingsheng’s Sex Histories*

Abstract

Since the Guomindang (GMD) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) adopted it as the basis of the marriage system in the early twentieth century, yifu yiqi zhi — which literally means a system of one husband, one wife—has been translated as monogamy. Yet the conflation of the Chinese characters yifu yiqi zhi with the English word monogamy resulted from contests over meaning that can be traced to Republican discussions on marriage and sex in general and on concubinage in particular, which attached the new notion of conjugal fidelity to yifu yiqi zhi. The criminalization of concubinage as adultery under GMD law and as bigamy under CCP law signaled the different meanings yifu yiqi zhi held in the early twentieth century, meanings that continue to influence contemporary usages of the term.     

A Legal Semiotics Framework for Exploring the Origins of Hermagorean Stasis

Stasis is a process of classical rhetoric that identifies the core issue in a trial or a similar debate. Hermagoras of Temnos included the first comprehensive analysis of stasis in his second-century BCE treatise on rhetoric, now lost. Modern scholars tend to echo George Kennedy, who maintains that Hermagoras’ inspiration for the hierarchical structure of stasis is indeterminate. This article, however, employs scholarship in legal semiotics, including the work of Miklós K?ncz?l and Bernard S. Jackson, to argue that Hermagoras based stasiastic structure on Aristotle’s first-figure syllogism. Ideally, knowledge of that structure can enhance modern applications of stasis.     

Fiscal decentralization and natural hazard risks

At least to some extent due to pressure from international donors, many countries have become more fiscally decentralized the underlying premise being that greater decentralization might improve the provision of local public goods and services. We test this proposition by determining whether relatively more decentralized countries fare better when natural disasters strike in terms of its effects on the population. Overall, we find evidence supporting our maintained hypothesis, though the effect appears much more robust in developing countries.