The erosion of rights by past breach

Legal rights may erode as a result of past, uncontested, breach.In light of ongoing violations, the rightholder's lacklusterenforcement may result in the loss of the entitlement. The doctrinesof course of performance in contract law and adverse possessionin property law are prominent examples of this widespread erosionphenomenon. In analyzing the effects of such laws, the articleconfronts two conflicting intuitions. On the one hand, the 'licence'to continue breach prospectively encourages opportunism. Onthe other hand, the risk of erosion may reinforce the rightholder'smotivation to take antierosion measures, bolstering the credibilityof the threat to enforce, thus better preserving the entitlement.The article proves that these two effects of erosion rules alwaysbalance out. The same amount of value will be extracted fromthe rightholder, irrespective of the law's erosion doctrine.The article also demonstrates the limits of this 'irrelevance'claim and the factors that may lead to its collapse. It appliesthe analysis to offer new perspectives on various prominentlegal rules.     

The Subjugation of Pacifism in UK Parliamentary Discourse: Analysing the 2015 Debate on Bombing Syria

ABSTRACT

This article shows how pacifism is discursively constituted within politics. Employing Critical Discourse Analysis, it demonstrates how official narratives worked to depoliticise pacifism during the 2015 House of Commons debate on taking military action against ISIS in Syria. It argues that the current rejection of pacifism within politics rests upon a flawed narrative and considers the interests that are served by this. Overall, this article calls for pacifism to be de-subjugated and considers the profound political implication this would have.     

‘New politics’ in Finland: The greens and the left wing in the 1990s

This article examines the development of two Finnish political parties (the Green Association and the Left‐Wing Alliance) from a ‘New Politics’ perspective, focusing on changes in their electoral, programmatic and organisational profiles, with emphasis on the composition and value‐related features of their electorates in 1991, 1995 and 1999. The results confirm the position of the Greens as the prime representative of New Politics; but the party has moved away from its anti‐establishment role and its supporters increasingly share the social and attitudinal characteristics of the average electorate. The UNA, on the other hand, has moved towards a New Politics profile and a gradual dealignment of its old male‐dominated working class electorate; but its central characteristics and its supporters are still firmly entrenched in an old leftist format.