The One-System View and Dworkin’s Anti-Archimedean Eliminativism

Many of Dworkin’s interlocutors saw his ‘one-system view’, according to which law is a branch of morality, as a radical shift. I argue that it is better seen as a different way of expressing his longstanding view that legal theory is an inherently normative endeavor. Dworkin emphasizes that fact and value are separate domains, and one cannot ground claims of one sort in the other domain. On this view, legal philosophy can only answer questions from within either domain. We cannot ask metaphysical questions about which domain law ‘properly’ belongs in; these would be archimedean, and Dworkin has long argued against archimedeanism. The one-system view, then, is best understood as an invitation to join Dworkin in asking moral questions from within the domain of value. Finally, I argue that Dworkin’s view can be understood as a version of ‘eliminativism’, a growing trend in legal philosophy.

     

Predicting Substance Use and Deviant Behavior from Prosociality and Sociability in Adolescents

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Social competence is commonly considered an important factor that impedes maladaptive development because individuals who lack adequate competence to direct or...     

Constructing Cooperation: A New Approach to Confidence Building between India and Pakistan

ABSTRACT

India and Pakistan have tempered their rivalry over the years by negotiating many bilateral confidence-building measures (CBMs), but the current patchwork of agreements cannot prevent an act of cross-border terrorism from triggering a major militarised crisis. To help mitigate this shortfall, this article advocates a new conceptual approach towards confidence building that identifies two categories of agreements – negative and positive. Negative CBMs oblige inaction; they can be defined as promises to eschew provocative behaviour, so as to prevent miscalculation and accidental war. Most prominent Indo-Pakistani CBMs fall under this category – examples include agreements on non-attack of nuclear facilities and non-violation of airspace. Positive CBMs, by contrast, oblige action; they entail tangible engagement and cooperation in the military, diplomatic, or economic domains. Examples might include counter-piracy cooperation and the expansion of people-to-people contacts. This article argues that positive CBMs invite reciprocity and are a plausible tool for promoting bilateral goodwill, reducing mistrust, and insulating Indo-Pakistani relations from shocks.     

Post-Release Substance Abuse Treatment for Criminal Offenders: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

This study conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis of Delaware's CREST Outreach Center, a work release therapeutic community (TC) and aftercare program for criminal offenders. Treatment effectiveness was assessed using the number of days reincarcerated during an 18-month, post-release follow-up period. The 6-month CREST program cost $1937 for the average participant, and led to 30 fewer days incarcerated (29% less) than the average participant in a standard work release program. This implies that the CREST program reduced incarceration for criminal offenders at an average cost of $65 per day. The additional investment of $935 per client to provide aftercare services led to 49 fewer days incarcerated (43% less) than CREST work release-only participants. This suggests that by adding an aftercare component to the CREST work release program, a day of incarceration is avoided at an average cost of $19 per day. These findings have implications for future investments in post-release substance abuse treatment for criminal offenders. However, the results must be interpreted with caution given potential selection bias in the groups that participated in the CREST work release and aftercare programs. Selection bias and the policy implications of this research are noted and discussed.     

Support for Harsh Criminal Sanctions and Criminal Justice Beliefs: A Social Dominance Perspective

Much of the criminal justice literature indicates that people’s support for harsh criminal sanctions such as the death penalty is strongly related to their beliefs about deterrence and their beliefs about retribution. In this paper, using social dominance theory as our organizing framework, we expand upon this literature by showing that social dominance orientation (SDO) is also related to support for harsh criminal sanctions, as well as to deterrence and retribution beliefs. In addition, we show that the relationships between SDO, on the one hand, and support for various forms of severe criminal sanctions, on the other, are mediated by deterrence and retribution beliefs.