Problems in Australian Foreign Policy January-June 1970

Australia's external policy during the first half of 1970 was dominated by three concerns-defence planning and weapons acquisition, Vietnam/Cambodia, and defence commitments in Malaysia/Singapore. Discussion of Australia's approach to these policy concerns should, however, be set in somewhat broader perspective. First, it seems appropriate to indicate the domestic context in which policies were being formulated. Second, a review of the governing principles which provided the rationale for particular policy movements is called for.     

Reserved Seats in National Legislatures: A Research Note

As competitive democracy is crafted in ethnically plural and postconflict nation‐states, the question of whether or not to reserve legislative seats for communal groups—ethnic, national, or religious—is increasingly a topic of debate. This research note provides an overview of targeted electoral mechanisms designed to ensure the inclusion in national parliaments of representatives of ethnic, racial, national, or religious communities. The data show that the existence of reserved seats in national legislatures for such groups is much more widespread, and less idiosyncratic, than many scholars previously thought. This finding, along with current discussions in high‐profile cases of constitutional design, suggests that the occurrence and impact of reserved seats should be analyzed in greater detail.     

Child Abuse,Neglect, and Delinquency: The Neurological Link

Recent research has demonstrated a clear connection between physical, emotional, and sexual abuse and neglect during childhood, and negative changes in a child's neurological development. Abnormal growth and developmental patterns in a child's brain as a result of abuse and neglect can lead to life‐long problems with self‐control, memory, emotion, judgment, consequential thinking, and moral reasoning, resulting in an increased likelihood of substance abuse, juvenile delinquency, and adult criminal behaviors. This article provides information on the abused child, neurological implications, and recommendations.     

Escaping the Regulatory Net: Why Regulatory Reform Can Fail Consumers*

This paper considers the impact of recent reforms to the UK food safety régime and considers whether the reforms have been able to deliver their promised benefits and if not, why not. Empirically, the paper examines the UK Food Standards Agency's (FSA) reforms to the régime managing food allergen risks, and the extent to which those reforms have reflected the FSA's guiding principle of “putting consumers first”. The paper finds that the operationalization of that guiding principle was mitigated by a number of factors, including: interpretative flexibility in representing consumer interests; the institutional structure and character of the régime; the political and cultural environment in which the régime operated; and normative uncertainties about the allocation of rights and responsibilities in managing risks. The paper concludes that risk regulation reforms are likely to fail in prioritizing consumer interests unless such factors are taken into account.     

TRENDS IN VIOLENT CRIME AMONG EX-MENTAL PATIENTS

A central component of the public's conception of the mentally ill is that they are dangerous. This belief receives support from recent studies of the arrest rates of ex-mental patients which suggest that arrests for violent crimes have increased. In order to investigate this issue, samples were taken at two points in time. Analysis of arrest rates revealed that very few ex-mental patients were subsequently arrested for violent crimes, although these rates were higher and increasing faster than these of the general population. Mast significant were the findings that subsequent arrests were best explained by the number of prior arrests and that the percentage of patients with a history of criminal behavior has increased dramatically over time. The implications of these trends in violent crime among ex-mental patients for the perceived link between mental illness and violence and for the social control functions of society are discussed.