Is ‘competitive’ corporatism an adequate response to Globalisation? Evidence from the low countries

The Dutch practice of negotiated wage restraint and welfare state reform is often held up as a model for effective labour market adjustment. This article examines the distribution of adjustment costs under the Dutch model to determine whether it is stable in the long run ‐ both directly and by analogy with the situation in Belgium. The conclusion is that while the Dutch have succeeded in effecting a remarkable adjustment in the distribution of value‐added, the costs of this adjustment have been skewed against increasingly large sections of society. Should these groups outside the distributional coalition find representation at the national level, the Dutch model for negotiated wage restraint and welfare state reform is likely to revert to political alternation and tit‐for‐tat economic competition.     

Strategic Value of African Tribal Art: Auction Sales Trends as Cultural Intelligence

Military engagement of insurgents risks destruction of religious monuments and historic structures, and political and economic instability that follows armed conflict enables looting of antiquities. In combination, threats to cultural structures and movable cultural patrimony compromise cultural security. This article explores the potential of the art market for open-source intelligence assessments of cultural security. A comparison of the market value of artifacts of different ethnic origins provides a measure of the risk of looting of cultural patrimony by geographic region. Intelligence assessments of the relative desirability of cultural artifacts by region of origin can inform strategic planning to mitigate looting in conflict zones and to alert security services to emerging threats of trafficking in cultural patrimony.     

Regional and technological dualism: A dual‐dual development framework applied to Puerto Rico

A ‘dual‐dual’ framework is proposed which captures the prevailing regional dualism (between rural and urban areas) and technological dualism (between traditional and modern techniques). Six interdependent sectors are specified: 1) urban formal, 2) urban informal, 3) rural non‐farm formal, 4) rural non‐farm informal, 5) rural farm formal, and 6) rural farm informal. The framework is applied to the case of Puerto Rico and its experience with an ‘industrialisation‐first’ development strategy between 1950 and 1970. It is shown that this framework lends itself well to the analysis of such issues as the pattern of employment, migration, and income distribution among regions and sectors.     

The Collective Nature of Lone Wolf Terrorism: Anders Behring Breivik and the Anti-Islamic Social Movement

Anders Behring Breivik, a lone wolf terrorist, killed 77 people in two terrorist attacks in Norway in 2011. This study uses framing theory from social movement studies to compare his Manifesto with the rhetoric of the anti-Islamic movement that inspired him. The anti-Islamic movement has a dual, and sometimes inconsistent, collective action framing. On the one hand, they portray Islam as an existential threat to the West and a warlike enemy; on the other, they promote peaceful and democratic opposition. The potential for radicalization is thus immanent. This case study reveals the importance of seeing lone wolf terrorists as acting from rhetoric embedded in larger social movements. It further demonstrates, in detail, the subtle and complex ways in which political narratives rejecting terrorism and political violence still end up inspiring such acts.     

Affective Polarization in Multiparty Systems? Comparing Affective Polarization Towards Voters and Parties in Norway and the United States

A growing body of comparative studies on partisan hostility – a phenomenon known as affective polarization – is providing evidence that partisan affective polarization is generally no greater in the United States than it is in many European multiparty systems. This article takes the comparative literature on affective polarization one step further by presenting the first comparative study on affective polarization that simultaneously uses, compares and combines a direct measure of affective polarization towards voters (using the inter‐party marriage measure) and an indirect measure of affective polarization towards parties (using the like/dislike of party measure) while accounting for the fact that multiparty systems have numerous political parties. This is done by comparing the levels of affective polarization in the United States and Norway. The results show greater affective polarization in the United States relating to parties, but the differences between these two countries are indistinguishable from chance when focusing on the affect relating to voters. This provides empirical evidence that comparative evidence of negative affect towards parties cannot necessarily be generalized to suggest that there is comparative evidence of negative affect towards voters. Yet the results also suggest that negative feelings towards out‐parties move to some extent to the personal level in terms of negative feelings towards voters of these out‐parties.     

Psychiatric disorders and personality characteristics of prisoners at regular prison wards

BackgroundDutch correctional officers are trained to observe prisoners with severe mental disorder. This ‘behavioural’ approach is assumed to detect psychiatrically disordered prisoners with striking symptoms. On the basis of this screening procedure about 10% of the Dutch prison population is classified as needing special care or control. In the current study, what psychopathology can still be found among the remaining 90% prisoners residing at regular wards is investigated and which personality traits characterize them. When the prevalence of major mental illness would still turn out to be high in this group, the question arises whether the current, rather unstandardized, way of screening prisoners is sufficient.AimsTo assess the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among adult Dutch prisoners on regular wards, and to determine the concurrent and convergent validity of self-report measures and their screening characteristics in such a sample.Method191 randomly selected prisoners admitted to the general wards were administered a number of tests (SCL-90, NEO-PI-R, MINI) during the first weeks of their incarceration.ResultsIncluding substance abuse, 57% of the participants suffered from one or more Axis I disorders. About seven out of ten detainees with psychopathology as assessed with the MINI did not receive professional help. The concurrent and convergent validity of the SCL-90 and the NEO-PI-R turned out to be reasonable. The predictive validity of self-report measures in detecting prisoners with an Axis I disorders or suicide risks was moderate.ConclusionsThe Dutch ‘behavioural approach’ seems to be quite accurate in detecting prisoners with psychotic disorders. Most prisoners with other mental disorders on regular wards, however, did not receive professional help. The current study suggests that self report scales such as the SCL-90 and the NEO-PI-R may be helpful in screening detainees on important DSM-IV disorders.     

Measuring criminal thinking styles: The construct validity and utility of the PICTS in a Dutch prison sample

Purpose. Criminal thinking and thinking styles are important areas in the assessment and treatment of offenders. The Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS: Walters, 2005) is designed to assess such criminal thinking styles. In the current study, the associations between criminal thinking styles on the one hand, and criminal histories, personality traits, and mental disorders of Dutch prisoners on the other, were explored. The aim is to test the reliability and construct validity of the PICTS in a population of male Dutch detainees. Methods. A sample of 191 randomly selected male prisoners of a large Dutch correctional institution were assessed by means of the PICTS, NEO‐PI‐R, and the MINI psychiatric interview. Prison inmates with very severe psychiatric symptoms and severe disruptive behaviours were excluded. Results. The psychometric qualities of the PICTS were found to be fair‐to‐good. The construct validity of the PICTS was supported by various convergent results with the criminal antecedents of the offenders, as well as with the scores on the scales measuring personality traits and psychiatric disorders. Conclusions. The associations between criminal thinking styles on the one hand and personality traits, antisocial personality disorder, and mental disorders on the other were rather strong. The current results suggest that the PICTS may be a valid and useful tool for assessing criminal thinking styles.     

Gait analysis in forensic medicine*

Recordings from video surveillance systems are used as evidence from crime scenes. It would be useful to perform comparisons between disguised perpetrators and suspects based on their gait. We applied functional anatomical and biomechanical knowledge to analyze the gait of perpetrators, as recorded on surveillance video. Using a structured checklist, which addresses the single body segments during gait, we were able to give a statement concerning the gait patterns. Characteristic parameters were, e.g., varus instability in the knee at heel strike, and larger lateral flexion of the spinal column to one side than the other. Based on these characteristic features, we are able to state with reasonable certainty whether the suspect could be the perpetrator, but it is not possible to identify the perpetrator positively. Nevertheless, we have been involved in several cases where the court has found that this type of gait analysis was a valuable tool.