‘Where the state feared to tread’: Britain,Britons, covert action and the Yemen Civil War, 1962–64

The Egyptian-inspired revolution that overthrew the Imamate in Yemen in September 1962 presented British policy makers with a series of acute dilemmas. While the defence of Aden was regarded by the Chiefs of Staff as central to the protection of British interests in the Middle East, the means by which this was to be achieved exposed deep cleavages among policy-makers chastened by the experience of Suez. While officials in Whitehall condoned a series of official covert operations along the Federation border with Yemen they remained strictly controlled and defensive in nature. By contrast, a group of influential Conservative MPs, having already engaged in what might be termed para-diplomacy that effectively stymied British recognition of the new regime in Sana'a , looked to extend British clandestine activity to include direct aid to, and training of, the Royalist Forces deep inside Yemen itself. With the initial support of key Middle Eastern potentates, a private mercenary organization emerged that, while enjoying the tacit encouragement of some in Whitehall, acted above and beyond the control of London in support of what they considered to be Britain's interest, an interest which, despite the huge political and diplomatic risks involved, came to enlist the help of Israel. At a time when much academic attention has been focused on the rise of the private military organization, the debates over their efficacy, both political and moral, as a tool of foreign policy can be traced to events in the mountains and deserts of the Yemen over four decades ago.     

Lessons of the 1982 English local elections

The 1982 local elections in Britain were the first elections fought on a nationwide basis by the Liberal/Social Democratic Party Alliance. Although there are methodological problems, the results in provincial England can be analysed to provide clues to the character of support for Britain's newest political formation. Although the Alliance achieved a substantially higher vote than the Liberals had in 1980, it proved difficult to achieve a breakthrough in terms of wards won—especially for the SDP who tended to contest poorer prospects than their Liberal partners. There is only weak evidence that the SDP could mobilize new sources of support. The even spread of the Alliance's vote was such as to cast doubt on their ability to win seats at the next general election unless a very high level of support is attained.     

Interdiction and Indoctrination: The Counter‐Terrorism and Security Act 2015

Lying behind the recent Counter‐Terrorism and Security Act 2015 is the phenomenon of foreign terrorist fighters which has sparked international and national attention. The 2015 Act deals with many facets of counter terrorism legislation, but its two principal measures are singled out for analysis and critique in this paper. Thus, Part I of the Act seeks to interdict foreign terrorist fighters by preventing suspects from travelling and dealing decisively with those already in the UK who pose a risk. Part V of the Act implements the second, broader aspect, of legislative policy, reflecting the UN emphasis on ‘Countering Violent Extremism’, through the statutory elaboration and enforcement of the ‘Prevent’ element of the long‐established Countering International Terrorism strategy, which aims to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting violent extremism. These measures are explained in their policy contexts and set against criteria of effectiveness, personal freedom, and accountability.     

Identifying trauma symptoms among adjudicated youth using the BASC-2 SRP and CROPS

This study examines the ability of the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Self Report of Personality-Adolescent, 2nd edition (BASC-2-SRP-A) to predict trauma symptomatology as measured by the Child Report of Post-traumatic Stress among a sample of 59 male and 59 female adjudicated youth. Logistic regression revealed that clinically significant CROPS scores were predicted by BASC-2-SRP Social Stress and Somatization scale scores. A second logistic regression indicated that among youth with significant CROPS scores, gender was predicted by Sensation Seeking and Depression scale scores. Further, 47.4% (n = 56) of juvenile offenders’ CROPS scores were clinically significant, with females scoring significantly higher than males. Results endorse the validity of the CROPS and suggest that with additional analysis the BASC-2-SRP may also have the potential to identify juvenile offenders with a history of trauma.     

States and the constitutionalization of international relations: A view from the mid‐Atlantic

Michael J. Baun, An Imperfect Union: The Maastricht Treaty and the New Politics of European Integration (Westview, Boulder, CO, 1996), xvi + 182 pp., ISBN 0–8133–2710–5 (hb), 0–8133–2711–3 (pb)

Michael Calingaert, European Integration. Progress, Prospects and US Interests (Westview, Boulder, CO, 1996), xiii +223 pp., ISBN 0–8133–2953–1 (hb), 0–8133–2954‐X (pb)

Brian Hocking and Michael Smith, Beyond Foreign Economic Policy. The United States, the Single European Market and the Changing World Economy (Pinter, London, 1997), 216 pp., ISBN 185567–269–3

John Peterson, Europe and America: The Prospects for Partnership (Routledge, London, 1996, 2nd edn), xii +240 pp., ISBN 0–415–14653–4 (hb), 0–415–13864–7 (pb)     

The importance of appropriate allocation to offending behavior programs

This study examined the impact on reconviction of appropriate allocation to three general offending behavior programs involving adult male offenders in the English and Welsh Probation Service. Appropriate allocation was defined by level of risk for reconviction. There were three allocation groups: too low, appropriate, and too high. Using a quasi-experimental design, the reconviction rates of offenders who were allocated to and completed a program, offenders allocated to a program who failed to start, and a comparison group were compared. It was found that the appropriateness of allocation affected reconviction independently of treatment group. Furthermore, in line with the risk principle, there was an interaction between treatment group and the appropriateness of allocation.