Unexpected Persistence Amidst Enlargement Stasis: Usages of Europe in Turkey’s Nuclear Energy Debate

Recent studies on European Union (EU) Enlargement have emphasised the importance of usages of ‘Europe’ by domestic actors as a necessary condition for the EU to have an impact on domestic politics. We study the usages of Europe in the critical case of Turkey’s nuclear energy policy. We analyse the narratives and actions of domestic actors in Turkey to identify if they use ‘Europe’ (the EU and the idea of Europe). We reach the counter-intuitive finding of usages by both state and non-state actors, which illustrates that usages of Europe can persist despite enlargement stasis in candidate states.     

Ritual Demonstrations versus Reactive Protests: Participation Across Mobilizing Contexts in Mexico City

Using an innovative survey of protest participants and nonparticipants from five major street demonstrations in Mexico City in 2011 and 2012, this study tests the assumption that influences on protest participation vary across different types of events; namely, ritual demonstrations and reactive protests. The comparison is based on two assumptions: that these are two of the dominant forms of protest in contemporary Latin America, and that specifying the context for different types of social movement participation provides a better understanding of the individual mobilization process for groups seeking to defend their rights or gain new benefits. The comparative analyses reveal some crucial differences. Political interest and previous political experience are more influential in the decision to take part in reactive demonstrations. For ritual demonstrations, the decision to participate tends to be driven more by personal and organizational connections.     

Reproduktion als Praxis

The interdependency of ?production“ and ?reproduction“ has increasingly attracted the attention of the scientific community and the media. Biological and social reproductions are topics of family and gender studies: In family research reproduction is analysed as a basic function of the family; in gender research reproduction is mainly studied as a factor that effects social inequality. While sociological research was for a long-time concentrated on the ?conciliation“ of ?work“ and ?(family) life“, nowadays a change of perspective is necessary: How can employees maintain their psychological and physical strength when the work sphere becomes more and more flexible? How can they safeguard their social relationships? The article connects the categories ?work-strength –life-strength “ as a perspective that considers the structural and contradictory relationship of ?work“ and ?life“. With the concept of ?doing reproduction“, individual efforts are brought in the centre of research. Hereby is shown that the functionality of reproduction as a social sphere is fundamentally based on reproduction as an individual practice.     

Rechtsextremistische Wahlabsicht und regionaler Kontext: Mehrebenenanalysen zur Rolle sozialer Milieus und regionaler Gruppenkonflikte in Deutschland

In this article, we test individual and contextual level hypotheses about right-wing extremist voting in Germany derived from cleavage theory and the theory of realistic group conflicts. The data base is exceptional insofar as it allows multilevel analyses of right-wing extremism that include the level of the German districts between the respondent and the federal state level. Our findings demonstrate — to our knowledge for the first time — that the contextual influence of the religious/catholic milieu as well as of the regional tradition of trade union membership reduce the likelihood of a right-wing extremist party preference. Cleavage theory is thus clearly supported. With respect to the theory of realistic group conflicts we find support for some of its implications.     

The Politics of Foreign Direct Investment into Developing Countries: Increasing FDI through International Trade Agreements?

The flow of foreign direct investment into developing countries varies greatly across countries and over time. The political factors that affect these flows are not well understood. Focusing on the relationship between trade and investment, we argue that international trade agreements—GATT/WTO and preferential trade agreements (PTAs)—provide mechanisms for making commitments to foreign investors about the treatment of their assets, thus reassuring investors and increasing investment. These international commitments are more credible than domestic policy choices, because reneging on them is more costly. Statistical analyses for 122 developing countries from 1970 to 2000 support this argument. Developing countries that belong to the WTO and participate in more PTAs experience greater FDI inflows than otherwise, controlling for many factors including domestic policy preferences and taking into account possible endogeneity. Joining international trade agreements allows developing countries to attract more FDI and thus increase economic growth.     

Five years after the Arab Spring: a critical evaluation

A new political geography has emerged in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) after the Arab Spring. The transformative impact of the popular upheavals appeared to put an end to long-term authoritarian regimes. Today, the region is far from stable since authoritarian resilience violently pushed back popular demands for good governance and is pushing to restore former state structures. However, the collective consciousness of the popular revolts endures, and a transformative prospect may emerge on the horizon. The chaotic situation is the result of an ongoing struggle between those who seek change and transformation and others in favour of the status quo ante. A critical evaluation of the Arab Spring after five years indicates a continuous process of recalculation and recalibration of policies and strategies. There are alternative routes for an eventual settlement in the MENA region, which are in competition against both regional and transregional quests for a favourable order.     

Urban Regeneration Policy from the Integrated Urban Development Model in the European Union: an Analytical Approach Based on the Study of Spanish Cities

For several years, local governments have been tackling new challenges related to the regeneration of their cities within the physical sphere, as well as in their economic and social aspects. This task is developed in accordance with what has been called the Integrated Urban Development Model, understanding the integrated nature of this approach not only in terms of the spheres of public policy involved, but also in relation to their management. In this paper, this management is analysed in terms of the development of mechanisms for New Local Governance and New Public Management (NPM). Using Spanish municipalities as a case study, this paper develops an analytical tool for the analysis of this model of urban intervention within the European context, paying close attention to the development of mechanisms for New Local Governance from a multilevel perspective, as well as the development of mechanisms for NPM.     

A Perfect Counterinsurgency? Making Sense of Moscow’s Policy of Chechenisation

This article assesses the successes and setbacks of Moscow’s policy of counterinsurgency and beyond. It challenges the general consensus in scholarship positing that military successes associated with Chechenisation have been obtained against the backdrop of Chechnya’s increasingly autonomous status within Russia, considered by some as a case of ‘systemic separatism’. The article tracks how four key mechanisms (Chechnya’s institutional design, internal opposition to the Kadyrov clan, the tradition of blood feud among kadyrovtsy—initially Chechen paramilitary forces named after both Kadyrovs, gradually transformed into seemingly regular Ministry of Interior (MVD) units—and Chechnya’s economic dependency on Moscow) have enabled Moscow to maintain control over Chechnya while simultaneously allowing its elites to consolidate power within the republic.     

Whole Plastome Sequences of Two Drug-Type Cannabis: Insights Into the Use of Plastid in Forensic Analyses

DNA is one of the fastest growing tools in forensic sciences, increasing reliability in forensic reports and judgments. The use of DNA has increased in different areas of the forensic sciences, such as investigation of plant species, where plastid DNA has been used to elucidate and generate evidence in cases of traceability of genetically modified and controlled plants. Even with several advances and the practice of using DNA in forensic investigations, there are just few studies related to the identification of genetic tools for the characterization of drug and nondrug-types of Cannabis. Herein, the whole plastomes of two drug-type Cannabis are presented and have their structures compared with other Cannabis plastomes deposited in the GenBank, focusing in the forensic use of plastome sequences. The plastomes of Cannabis sativa “Brazuka” and of the hybrid Cannabis AK Royal Automatic presented general structure that does not differs from the reported for other C. sativa cultivars. A phylogenomic analyses grouped C. sativa “Brazuka” with the nondrug C. sativa cultivars, while the hybrid Cannabis AK Royal Automatic placed isolated, basal to this group. This suggests that the analysis of plastomes is useful toward genetic identification of hybrids in relation to C. sativa.     

Chemical Imaging of Human Fingermark by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS)

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is a widely used technique to characterize the surface chemistry of materials. It plays a crucial role in accessing qualitative and quantitative information and in detecting the presence of chemical functional groups on the surface of any material. The forensic methods available to detect and identify elements and organic/inorganic compounds are often destructive, so evidence cannot be re-analyzed. However, XPS allows rapid analysis of samples without damaging them. Recently, an increasing number of forensic researchers have begun to study certain chemical information on fingermarks. In this study, the authors aimed to present the applicability and power of XPS imaging in fingermark analysis which can also provide specific information about the fingermark chemical composition. Herein, monochromated X-ray (Al Kα) spot size was fixed at 50 μm. XPS mapping resulted in the acquisition of spectra at each pixel, in an array of 41 × 30 pixels with a step size of 50 μm. Then, a simple discussion has been made about how the scanned surface spectrum and basic snapshot spectra are used to identify different components at a fingertip of a scanned surface area (~3 mm²). Hence, a fingermark pattern contaminated with caffeine, TiO₂, and Pb/PbO deposited on the silicon wafer can be chemically mapped and visualized by XPS using principal component analysis (PCA). Thus, the present study showed the possible applicability of XPS for the identification of illicit drugs of abuse, gunshot residue, and skin care products on latent fingermark by mimicking a crime scene evidence.