Ties that bind? The rise and decline of ethno-regional partisanship in Malawi, 1994–2009

In the first three elections following Malawi's return to democracy in 1993, voting patterns displayed a clear ethno-regional pattern. Then in 2009 the regional pattern broke down in dramatic fashion, with the incumbent President, Bingu wa Mutharika, attracting majority support across all three regions. This article first examines whether ethnic identities were at the root of Malawi's ethno-regional electoral pattern. Our tests show that while ethnic identities were associated with partisan attachments in some areas, regional patterns were more consistently related to other factors, particularly views of the government's performance and the inclusiveness of the ruling party. We then examine the breakdown of the regional pattern, drawing on trend analysis of public opinion data from 1999 to 2008. We show that by 2009 the majority of Malawians in all three regions had come to hold positive views of Mutharika's performance and had come to see his government as inclusive. We conclude, therefore, that shifts in patterns of partisanship had more to do with political factors – Mutharika's symbolic and substantive policies during this first term – than ethnic identities. Malawi reminds us that incumbents, when faced with incentives to construct multi-ethnic support bases, can use the power of the state to reach out across ethnic political boundaries and re-order supposedly entrenched patterns of partisanship.     

Mortgaging the future

STUDENT WORKBOOK AS LAW: SOURCES OF LAW AND LAW MAKING By Chris Turner and Leon Riley [Philip Allan, 2006, 52 pp., £3.50 (paperback)]

A LEVEL LAW REVIEW [Philip Allan, Vol. 1, Nos. 1–3, 2005–6, £19.95 for 3 issues]

THE ENGLISH LEGAL SYSTEM By Jacqueline Martin [Key Facts series, Hodder Arnold, 2005, 2nd edn., 132 pp., £5.99 (paperback)]

TORT By Chris Turner [Key Facts series, Hodder Arnold, 2005, 2nd edn., 140 pp., £5.99 (paperback)]

CONTRACT LAW By Chris Turner [Key Facts series, Hodder Arnold, 2005, 2nd edn., 131 pp., £5.99 (paperback)]

CONTRACT LAW By Robert Duxbury [Nutshells, Sweet &; Maxwell, 2006, 7th edn., 162 pp., £7.00 (paperback)]

AS LAW By Catherine Elliott and Frances Quinn [Pearson, 2006, 3rd edn., xxviii + 642 pp., £21.99 (paperback)]

CHILDREN: THE MODERN LAW By Andrew Bainham [Jordan Publishing Ltd, 2005, 3rd edn., 811 pp., £30.00 (paperback)]

HUMAN RIGHTS LAW By Merris Amos [Hart Publishing, 2006, 1st edn., 503 pp., £22.00 (paperback)]

CRIME AND JUSTICE: 1750–1950 By Barry Godfrey and Paul Lawrence [Willan Publishing, 2005, xi + 208 pp., £40.00 (hardback) £17.99 (paperback)]

CRIMINAL JUSTICE: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IN ENGLAND AND WALES By M. Davies, H Croall and J. Tyrer [Pearson Education Ltd, 2005, 3rd edn., 477 pp., £25.99 (paperback)]

A FAIR HEARING? ETHNIC MINORITIES IN THE CRIMINAL COURTS By Stephen Shute, Roger Hood and Florence Seemungal (eds.) [Willan Publishing, 2005, 160 pp., £35.00 (hardback)]

PRISON READINGS: A CRITICAL INTRODUCTION TO PRISONS AND IMPRISONMENT By Yvonne Jewkes and Helen Johnston [Willan Publishing, 2006, xi + 305 pp., £50 (hardback); £24 (paperback)]

CAPTURED BY THE MEDIA: PRISON DISCOURSE IN POPULAR CULTURE EDITED By Paul Mason [Willan Publishing, 2006, 240 pp., £40.00 (hardback) £18.99 (paperback)]

TRANSFORMING INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE, RETRIBUTIVE AND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE IN THE TRIAL PROCESS By Mark Findlay and Ralph Henham [Willan Publishing, 2005, 391 pp., £40.00 (hardback)]

WARRANTIES IN MARINE INSURANCE By Baris Soyer [Cavendish Publishing Limited, 2nd edn., 2005, 312 pp., £90.00 (hardback)]

A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO CIVIL LITIGATION By Robert Hill, Helen Wood and Suzanne Fine [Jordans, 2005, 2nd edn., 591 pp., £45 (paperback)]

TRUSTS AND EQUITY By Gary Watt [Oxford University Press, 2006, 2nd edn., 559 pp., £27.99 (paperback)]

TRUSTS TEXTBOOK By Gary Watt [Oxford University Press, 2006, 2nd edn., 459 pp., £26.99 (paperback)]

PRINCIPLES OF CORPORATE INSOLVENCY LAW By Roy Goode [Sweet &; Maxwell, 2005, 3rd edn., 673 pp., £40.00 (paperback)]

LAND LAW By Diane Chappelle [Pearson Longman, 2006, 7th edn., 505 pp., £30.99 (paperback)]

MODERN LAND LAW By Martin Dixon [Cavendish Publishing, 2005, 5th edn., 456 pp., £27.95 (paperback)]

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW By S. Bell &; D. McGillivray [Oxford University Press, 2006, 6th edn., 978 pp., £27.99 (paperback)]

SPORTS LAW By Simon Gardiner et al. [Cavendish Publishing, 2006, 3rd edn., 724 pp., £39.00 (paperback)]     

Sibling Proactive and Reactive Aggression in Adolescence

We describe sibling proactive and reactive aggression in middle and late adolescence. Participants were 8th (n?=?303, M _age?=?13.74 years, SD?=?.59) and 12th (n?=?300, M _age?=?17.73 years, SD?=?.56) grade adolescents who completed an in-school survey. Findings revealed that these adolescents were significantly more likely to engage in reactive than proactive aggression with their closest-aged sibling. However, 8th grade adolescents reported greater aggression toward their closest-aged sibling than did 12th grade adolescents. In addition, sex composition of the sibling dyad moderated the association between sibling relationship quality (i.e., warmth and rivalry) and both proactive and reactive aggression indicating unique links for brother-brother and older sister-younger brother pairs.     

Implications for DNA identification arising from an analysis of Australian forensic databases

Previous analyses of Australian samples have suggested that populations of the same broad racial group (Caucasian, Asian, Aboriginal) tend to be genetically similar across states. This suggests that a single national Australian database for each such group may be feasible, which would greatly facilitate casework. We have investigated samples drawn from each of these groups in different Australian states, and have quantified the genetic homogeneity across states within each racial group in terms of the "coancestry coefficient" F(ST). In accord with earlier results, we find that F(ST) values, as estimated from these data, are very small for Caucasians and Asians, usually <0.5%. We find that "declared" Aborigines (which includes many with partly Aboriginal genetic heritage) are also genetically similar across states, although they display some differentiation from a "pure" Aboriginal population (almost entirely of Aboriginal genetic heritage).     

Trust, Distrust and Betrayal: A Social Housing Case Study

This paper discusses the importance of trust, distrust and betrayal in the context of relational contracts in the modern welfare state. We use a specific case study of the allocation of social housing. That context is one in which the local authority has statutory obligations towards households in housing need but limited ability to fulfil those obligations without reliance on other social housing providers, specifically registered social landlords. Relationships between providers are, in theory, negotiated through nominations agreements. In this paper, we draw on data from a research project concerned with 'problematic nominations' to illustrate the production of trust, distrust and betrayal. Our analysis is structured by reference to three frameworks for the production of trust: characteristic-based, process-based and institutional based trust.     

A calculation of the theoretical significance of matched bullets

Abstract:  The comparison and identification of bullets from the striations that appear on their surfaces, after they have been fired from a gun, have been practiced since the 1920s. Although the significance of the correspondences of these impression marks has been empirically justified, there is a conspicuous absence of any theoretical foundation for the likelihood. What is presented here is the derivation of the formulae for calculating the probability for the correspondence of the impression marks on a subject bullet to a random distribution of a similar number of impression marks on a suspect bullet of the same type. The approach to the calculation entails subdividing the impression marks into a series of individual lines having widths equal to the separation distance at which a misalignment of striations between the two bullets cannot be distinguished. This distance depends upon the resolution limit imposed by the microscope as well as by the visual acuity of the examiner. A calculation of the probabilities for finding pairs and triplets of consecutively matching lines on nonmatching bullets, by an examiner with normal perception using a microscope at 40× magnification, produces values that agree well with the empirical probabilities determined by Biasotti in the 1950s and when determined for larger consecutive sequences suggest that they are extremely unlikely to occur. The formulae can be used to determine the probabilities for the random occurrence of any sequence of striae and provide a straightforward way to quantitatively justify the significance of a specific match between any two bullets.     

Charities and Political Campaigning: The Impact of Risk-Based Regulation

This article examines the effects of the Charity Commission’s implementation of risk-based regulation on the political campaigning activities of charities. In doing so, it draws on the findings of a recent empirical study which explored charity representatives’ awareness of relevant law and regulation and their perceptions of the obstacles they faced in their campaigning work. The article begins with a brief exploration of the emergence of risk-based approaches to regulation, followed by consideration of the legal and regulatory requirements for risk management by charities. Moving to its main focus of political campaigning, the article notes the unique legal issues faced by charities in campaigning work. It provides a comparative evaluation of the 2004 and 2008 versions of Charity Commission guidance CC9 on campaigning and political activity by charities (CC9) in terms of their approach to legal compliance, their formulation of the specific risks of campaigning and their approach to the process of risk management itself. In addition, the article considers the relevance to campaigning activity of the Commission’s current plans for an ‘enhanced approach’ to risk in its compliance work. The article concludes by considering the potential impacts on charitable campaigning of both the Commission’s overall approach to campaigning and its perceived risks, and of further entrenchment of risk principles in charity regulation.

STATUS OF COURT-CONNECTED PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN WHOSE PARENTS ARE SEPARATING OR DIVORCING

This article reports on programs for children whose parents are divorcing or separating. Data were obtained from 67 courts and 81 program providers across the United States. Most court systems with children's programs used community providers and encouraged rather than required children's attendance. The average program consisted of one or two sessions, with a length of 4 to 5 1/2 hours. A partial list of commercially available curricula is provided in the appendix.     

Sovereign risk: Gulf sovereign wealth funds as engines of growth and political resource

ABSTRACT

The economic reform agenda moving across the Gulf Cooperation Council states precipitated by the end of a decade-long run of high oil prices, high population growth rates, and costly demands on the provision of generous state services and subsidies has had some unexpected consequences. The reformulation of state-society relations, especially with regard to ideas of how to create economic growth and how to model a future social contract, challenges the accepted literature and construct of rentierism. This essay focuses on one distinctive site of these shifting relations between rentier states and their citizens: the sovereign wealth fund (SWF). SWFs are based upon the shared rents from oil production, but as they have evolved they are also becoming transformative in new national development strategies. Some SWFs now veer from traditional practices of safeguarding wealth to more experimental and high-risk strategies that claim to be able to diversify national economies from oil dependency, while also promising high returns. The current moment of late rentierism heightens questions of ownership and of the state’s role as guardian or steward of society’s wealth. Using SWFs to examine state-society relations and rentierism across the Gulf, this article focuses on the Saudi case.