Looking in the mirror: Comparing INGO networks across issue areas

International Relations scholarship has begun to focus a great deal of attention on social networks and their influence on political outcomes. In this paper, we contribute to this effort by examining the network relationships of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) across four issues areas: the environment, health, human rights, and development. Using originally coded data on over 4000 INGOs, we find that the characteristics of network relations across the four areas are in fact quite different. Further, we find that these differences are driven in part by the characteristics of the INGOs, including whether they are located in the global North or South and their ties to intergovernmental organizations. Finally, we highlight the crucial “bridge” role of organizations that focus on a “hybrid” of multiple issue-areas within the overall network.     

Male Peer Support,Hunting, and Separation/Divorce Sexual Assault in Rural Ohio

Male peer support is one of the most powerful determinants of woman abuse across the globe. Still, key gaps remain in rural male peer support literature, such as overlooking the importance of hunting as a public male-bonding ritual that serves to reinforce abusive behaviors against women in private settings. The main objective of this article is to present findings from an exploratory, qualitative, back-talk study of twelve women’s experiences of separation/divorce sexual assault in rural Ohio. The results reveal a relationship between rural hunting subculture dynamics and core elements of male peer support (i.e. frequent drinking with male friends, informational support, attachment to abusive peers, and patriarchal masculine identity). Male peer support in hunting subcultures coupled with the availability and access to ‘legitimate’ weapons creates a fertile breeding ground for woman abuse in some rural communities.     

Contemporary Challenges in Local Government: Evolving Roles and Responsibilities,Structures, and Processes

Editor's Note: The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) celebrates the 100th anniversary of its founding in 2014. This article is the first of several that will appear during the next year about the council‐manager plan to commemorate ICMA's 100th anniversary. Three contemporary leadership challenges face local governments today. The first encourages department heads to more actively work the intersection between political and administrative arenas. The second promotes collaborative work, synchronizing city and county boundaries with problems that have no jurisdictional homes. The third argues that citizen engagement is no longer optional—it is imperative—and that connecting engagement initiatives to traditional political values and governing processes is an important mark of successful community building. These three leadership challenges stem from a widening gap between the arenas of politics and administration—that is, between what is politically acceptable in public policy making and what is administratively sustainable. The gap is fueled by conflicting trends experienced locally and common internationally. Failure to bridge this gap between political acceptability and administrative sustainability results in decreasing legitimacy for governing institutions and increasing challenges.