Declining partisan representation at the sub-national level: assessing and explaining the strengthening of local lists in Italian municipalities (1995–2014)

In Western democracies political representation at the national level is still dominated by (old and new) political parties. This article shows that, instead, the representative role of parties may have declined at the local level. In Italy, for instance, the average share of municipal seats held by non-partisan councillors has almost tripled in the last 20 years. By using an original data set, this article classifies different types of Italian local lists, assesses their relationship with traditional parties and explains territorial variation in their success. The results suggest that local lists have become substantially stronger in small municipalities, in regions characterised by weak or declining political subcultures and where regionalist parties are absent or irrelevant. Finally, contrary to the expectation that declining partisanship is linked to modernisation processes and direct civic engagement, local lists have achieved their best results in the less developed areas of the country.     

Fiscal policy responsiveness, persistence, and discretion

This paper analyzes the different characteristics of fiscal policy using a two-step estimation procedure. First, we decompose both government spending and government revenue into three components: responsiveness, persistence and discretion. Second, we assess the determinants of these characteristics. Using data from 132 countries, our results show that fiscal policy is more persistent than responsive to economic conditions, which implies that the authorities may have less leeway in the short-run notably to curb spending behavior. In addition, countries characterized by greater fiscal persistence have less discretion and responsiveness. Finally, macroeconomic, institutional and geographic variables explain cross-country variation in fiscal characteristics.     

Assessing network patterns in illegal firearm markets

This study presents the results from a qualitative survey of 20 incarcerated and nonincarcerated illicit firearm market consumers in Quebec. Its general aim is to identify key acquisition patterns for illegal firearms. The interview sessions confirmed several general patterns emerging from past research. Illegal firearm acquisitions generally took place through informal channels. Opportunistic transactions were prevalent across all respondents’ experiences. The presence of key point sources were discussed across the interviews, but to a much lesser extent than the high volume of friends, family members, and close contacts who were more likely to supply firearms. Point sources, and particularly those operating off Native reserves near Montreal, were also more difficult to access for inexperienced acquirers. That such reputed suppliers were not as prevalent across respondents’ experiences was not simply due to the difficulties to access them, but largely because respondents were already well exposed to a variety of channels for acquiring firearms. An analysis of respondents’ personal networks revealed that only a few respondents had closed networks that were limited in suppliers and that most were able to acquire illegal firearms through open or brokered networks that put them into contact with a multitude of suppliers (in open networks) or a reliable set of intermediaries (in brokered networks). This was the case for both free and incarcerated respondents in the sample. That open and brokered networks were more prominent suggests that even if key point sources are removed from the market by law-enforcement efforts, consumers will be able to adjust rather quickly by turning to any of the channels that are accessible to them.     

Structuring Mr. Nice: Entrepreneurial opportunities and brokerage positioning in the cannabis trade

A case study of the career of international cannabistrade smuggler, Howard Marks (a.k.a. DonaldNice), is conducted to investigate the crucial, yetoft-overlooked network mechanisms inherent in drugdistribution chains. Using Marks' recent andsubstantially detailed autobiography of his 20-yearparticipation within and around importation links inthe cannabis trade, a series of analyses are conductedwith specific convergence on the makings of hispersonal working network as well as on how thisrelational structure served in embedding the variousentrepreneurial opportunities that triggered 14importation ventures and 41 consignments therein.Marks' career demonstrates that the capacity to brokerand seize information benefits needed and sought afterby others allows some participants to achieve morecontrol of entrepreneurial opportunities in illegaltrades as well as explaining variations in successfrom one phase of the career to the next. Thisrelational argument offers an alternative to moreconventional instrumental violence explanationsconcerning the attainment of competitive advantage inillegal business settings.     

A case of beta-carboline alkaloid intoxication following ingestion of Peganum harmala seed extract

Beta-carboline alkaloids harmine, harmaline, and tetrahydroharmine can stimulate the central nervous system by inhibiting the metabolism of amine neurotransmitters, or by direct interaction with specific receptors; they are found in numerous plants, including Peganum harmala, Passiflora incarnata and Banisteriopsis caapi, and in the entheogen preparation Ayahuasca, which is traditionally brewed using B. caapi to enhance the activity of amine hallucinogenic drugs. The ingestion of plant preparations containing beta-carboline alkaloids may result in toxic effects, namely visual and auditory hallucinations, locomotor ataxia, nausea, vomiting, confusion and agitation. We report a case of intoxication following intentional ingestion of P. harmala seed infusion; P. harmala seeds were bought over the Internet. The harmala alkaloids were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in the seed extract and the patient's urine. This is, to our knowledge, the first case of P. harmala intoxication corroborated by toxicological findings.     

Criminal network vulnerabilities and adaptations

The current paper aimed to investigate the effectiveness of five law enforcement interventions in disrupting and dismantling criminal networks. We tested three law enforcement interventions that targeted social capital in criminal networks (betweenness, degree and cut-set) and two interventions that targeted human capital (actors who possess money and those who possess precursor chemicals). These five interventions are compared with each other and with random (opportunistic) removal of actors in two settings: (i) with network adaptation incorporated into the simulations and (ii) without network adaptation. Results illustrate that the removal of actors based on betweenness centrality was the most efficient strategy, leading to network disruption in the least number of steps and was relatively consistent across replications. Targeting actors who possessed money was the second most effective overall and was also relatively consistent in its disruptive effect.     

Assessment of the Effects Exerted by Acid and Alkaline Solutions on Bone: Is Chemistry the Answer?

The treatment of corpses with extremely acid or basic liquids is sometimes performed in criminal contexts. A thorough characterization by chemical analysis may provide further help to macroscopic and microscopic analysis; 63 porcine bone samples were treated with solutions at different pH (1–14) for immersion periods up to 70 days, as well as in extremely acidic sulfuric acid solutions (9 M/18 M) and extremely basic sodium hydroxide. Inductively coupled optical emission spectrometry (ICP‐OES)/plasma mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), energy dispersive X‐ray analysis (EDX), X‐ray powder diffraction (XRPD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that only the sulfuric acid solution 18 M was able to completely dissolve the sample. In addition, chemical analysis allowed to recognize the contact between bone and substances. Hydrated calcium sulfate arose from extreme pH. The possibility of detecting the presence of human material within the residual solution was demonstrated, especially with FT‐IR, ICP‐OES, and EDX.