Conflict Stalemate in Morocco and Western Sahara: Natural Resources,Legitimacy and Political Recognition

This article addresses the role of natural resources in the protracted conflict between Morocco and Western Sahara. Drawing from literatures of political ecology and political science, the article argues that natural resources have been deeply implicated in the conflict over time, with resource-related developments lending legitimacy to each party in different ways. The complex political economy of resource exploitation and the associated geopolitical enjeux have led to the de facto recognition of Morocco's occupation, and the symbolic aspects of natural resources have lent the Sahrawi cause legitimacy and an important node around which allies can be mobilised. That sovereignty is contested has facilitated a discourse in a different, more powerful way than when it is not in question, particularly in the Sahrawi's capacity to invoke international law to support their case. Drawing on the cases of South Sudan and Indonesia, the article ends with a brief discussion of the potential of the region's high-value resources for peace-making activities.     

Voting ‘against all’ in postcommunist Russia

Since the early 1990s voters in Russia (and most of the other post-Soviet republics) have been offered the opportunity to vote ‘against all’ parties and candidates. Increasing numbers have done so. The evidence of two post-election surveys indicates that ‘against all’ voters are younger than other voters, more urban and more highly educated. They do not reject liberal democracy, but are critical of the contemporary practice of Russian politics and find no parties that adequately reflect their views. With the ending of the ‘against all’ facility in 2006 and other changes in the Russian electoral system under the Putin presidency, levels of turnout are likely to fall further and the protest vote will seek other outlets within or outside the parliamentary system.     

The Tragic Plight of HIV-Infected Haitian Refugees at Guantanamo Bay

Last June marked the 14th anniversary of the closing of the world’s first, and only, HIV camp at Guantanamo Bay. This article revisits the infamous legacy of the Guantanamo Bay camp and the plight of the HIV-infected Haitian political refugees during the early 1990’s. Part I summarises the development of the United States’ immigration policy and the government’s history for excluding immigrants for health related reasons. Part II details the factual and historical background leading to the mass exodus of the Haitians and the sequence of tragic events which resulted in their confinement at Guantanamo Bay. Part III focuses on the seminal case of Haitian Centers Council, Inc. v. Sale (II) (Haitian Centers Council, Inc. v. Sale, 823 F. Supp. 1028, 1049 (E.D.N.Y. 1993)) which was responsible for bringing about the closure of the HIV camp and granting parole to all HIV-infected refugees to enter the United States. The anticipated revolutionary reform of the HIV-exclusion policy emanating from this legal triumph never materialized. The United States government successfully sought to have the case vacated from the Court’s books. Consequently, the landmark precedent does not technically exist today. What does remain is the notorious HIV-exclusion policy which was distorted by the United States government to justify their detainment. Although the epic legal and emotional struggles of the Haitians are forgotten by many, the legacy of Guantanamo Bay continues to haunt the lives of those who were prisoners of the HIV camp.     

Unfounding Sexual Assault: Examining the Decision to Unfound and Identifying False Reports

One of the most controversial—and least understood—issues in the area of sexual violence is the prevalence of false reports of rape. Estimates of the rate of false reports vary widely, which reflects differences in way false reports are defined and in the methods that researchers use to identify them. We address this issue using a mixed methods approach that incorporates quantitative and qualitative data on sexual assault cases that were reported to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) in 2008 and qualitative data from interviews with LAPD detectives assigned to investigate reports of sexual assault. We found that the LAPD was clearing cases as unfounded appropriately most, but not all, of the time and we estimated that the rate of false reports among cases reported to the LAPD was 4.5 percent. We also found that although complainant recantation was the strongest predictor of the unfounding decision, other factors indicative of the seriousness of the incident and the credibility of the victim also played a role. We interpret these findings using an integrated theoretical perspective that incorporates both Black's sociological theory of law and Steffensmeier, Ulmer, and Kramer's focal concerns perspective.     

Examining the effects of the TASER on cognitive functioning: findings from a pilot study with police recruits

Objectives

Despite its widespread adoption by more than two-thirds of police departments in the US, there has not been a single study examining the effects of the TASER on cognitive functioning. This inquiry is important for two reasons. First, research has consistently documented cognitive deficits following exposure to electricity (the TASER is an electrical device). Second, questions have emerged regarding whether TASER exposure impairs suspects’ ability to understand and waive their Miranda rights.

Methods

To explore this issue, the authors carried out a pilot study with 21 police recruits who received a TASER exposure as part of their training at the San Bernardino County (CA) Training Center. Each recruit was given a battery of cognitive tests 3–4 h before TASER exposure, within 5 min after exposure, and again 24 h after exposure.

Results

Recruits experienced statistically significant reductions in several measures of cognitive functioning following TASER exposure. However, all recruits had returned to their baseline levels of functioning within 24 h. Learning effects were documented in several of the cognitive tests.

Conclusions

The questions driving this study involve serious issues including constitutionally protected rights of the accused, use of force by police, and previously unexamined effects of the TASER on the human body. The pilot study represents a critical first step in exploring the effects of the TASER on cognitive functioning. Moreover, the results provided the authors with important information that will guide their larger study, a randomized controlled trial where healthy human volunteers will be randomly assigned to four groups, two of which receive a TASER exposure.     

Temporal,Spatial and Functional Governance of China's Reform Stability

Governance is a hot topic in China, as well as among political scientists. Ways of thinking about it can be improved. This essay offers a ‘neo-functionalist’ method to test for successful or unsuccessful governance of reform stability in China. It takes account of the need for participation in effective governance. Steering a state (or any part of a state) requires attention to multiple sizes of polity—especially several medial sizes in a country as large as China. Governance has varied over time during the ‘reform’ era, when anti-reform conservatives have remained important in many nested political networks. The paper shows variation of governance over time, over sizes of polity and over four sample governance functions: managing the economy, maintaining orderly stability, linking ‘social’ parts of the polity to the government, and choosing cadres. It shows how these categories exhaust a logical field that is at least implicit in any analysis of governance roles, and it suggests the value of a ‘circulation of elites’ paradigm when thinking about governance success or failure.