Prosecuting war criminals: the case for decentralisation

Michelle Sieff is a Senior Research Associate on African Affairs at the Eurasia Group, a consulting company in New York City. Leslie Vinjamuri is a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for International Studies, London School of Economics and Political Science, and an Assistant Professor at Georgetown University, Washington, DC.¹     

Is thin a feminist issue?

Anorexia nervosa and similar disorders preponderate in women and therefore seem particularly suited to feminist models of understanding. Boskind-Lodahl (1976) and Orbach (1979, 1982) have put forward similar views on the subject, and their work is well known.This article explores the assumptions behind the Boskind-Lodahl/Orbach hypothesis, and argues that the most fundamental of these lies in a problematic distinction between the concepts of nature and culture. Some implications of the hypothesis are discussed with emphasis on the extent to which these authors normalize anorectic behaviour. The question is raised as to whether this normalizing approach may be read as legitimating symptoms. Feminist, anthropological, and other writing is used to examine the potential for alternative models of understanding anorexia nervosa which do not rely on a nature/culture split and which address the issue of the social function of anorectic symptoms. These models point towards a more general concern in feminist theory with the relationship between culture and psychological disorder.     

Pathways to aggression: A factorial survey of “Routine conflict”

Based on data collected in 1994 from a factorial survey of 2052 respondents, this paper examines how routine conflict may escalate into aggression taking into account social context and characteristics of the victim and offender. Following Luckenbill and Doyle's (1989) suggestion, we developed a series of scenarios to examine the influence of structural position on the emergence of disputes and the legitimation of aggression. The analysis reveals a direct relationship between the intensity of an attack with the emergence of a dispute and the legitimation of aggression. Results indicate that situational aspects of structural position do not extend beyond sex differences. This emphasizes the generalizing effect of male on male confrontation in the legitimation of aggression. The strengths and limitations of scenario-based research for understanding violence in society are discussed. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meetings of the American Society of Criminology, Miami, November 1994.     

Surprises and secrets: Lessons from the 1990 Nicaraguan election

This article analyzes one of the first surveys of Nicaraguan electoral opinion prior to the 1990 election in which Daniel Ortega was defeated by Violeta Chamorro. Although this survey, like many others, predicted an Ortega victory, the analysis reveals that the impending FSLN loss was in fact evident had this survey and others been scrutinized more carefully. Moreover, the nature of both FSLN and Chamorro support departs from the traditional division of political loyalties in Nicaragua and shows surprising similarities with electoral trends in more advanced, industrial democracies. The essay suggests that in tense political situations, such as preelectoral Nicaragua, particular survey problems may arise and special tactics may be necessary, including earlier rather than later opinion polls. Leslie Anderson is assistant professor of political science at the University of Colorado. Her interests include peasant studies, subordinate protest, motives to and forms of protest, and democratization. Recent publications include essays on the moral and noneconomic motivations to protest and revolution and a study of cooptation among popular organizations. A forthcoming book proposes a new theory of peasant political action—the political ecology of the peasant—that combines and moves beyond rational actor and moral economy arguments in explaining political action. Anderson’s more recent interests are reflected in several publications on democratic development in newly democratic societies. She is researching a book on the contribution of subordinate protest to the process of democratic development.     

Leisure Behavior Pattern Stability During the Transition from Adolescence to Young Adulthood

Leisure is an important context in which human development occurs. Changes in leisure behavior patterns may indicate changing developmental needs or reflect contextual changes that impact leisure behavior. The transition from adolescence to young adulthood provides an excellent opportunity for the study of the stability of leisure behavior as individuals' contexts are changed with the adoption of adult roles and the potential for disruption of leisure patterns exists. Previous studies investigating leisure and the transition from adolescence to young adulthood have tended to be cross-sectional and focus on specific leisure behaviors rather than identifying patterns of leisure behavior. The present study involved a longitudinal investigation of leisure behavior patterns over a three-year period during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood, and determined the nature of leisure pattern stability and instability during this period. In general, leisure pattern stability was the most common pathway into young adulthood. The patterns of leisure behavior and the nature of the changes that occurred with the transition from adolescence to young adulthood differed to some degree for males and females, although similarities in patterns and transitions were also found.     

The Attitudes Towards Dating Violence Scales: Development and Initial Validation

This study describes the development and validation of three Attitudes Towards Male Dating Violence (AMDV) Scales and three Attitudes Towards Female Dating Violence (AFDV) Scales. These scales measure attitudes toward use of psychological, physical, and sexual dating violence, respectively, by boys and by girls. Eight hundred twenty-three students from grades 7, 9, and 11 participated in the validation study. All six scales have good internal consistencies. As predicted, students were more accepting of girls' use of violence than of boys' use of violence, and boys were more accepting of violence than were girls. The six scales were positively correlated with traditional attitudes toward gender roles and with each other, providing evidence for their construct validity. Higher scores on the AMDV Scales were related to boys' past use of violence in dating relationships and to their having aggressive friends, supporting their criterion-related validity. Higher scores on the AFDV Scales were associated with girls' past use of dating violence but not with their having aggressive friends, providing partial support for their criterion-related validity. Singly or in combination, the Attitudes Towards Dating Violence Scales can be used to increase our understanding of the development and maintenance of violence-supportive attitudes in adolescents of all ages.