Municipal corporations, economic calculation, and political pricing: exploring a theoretical antinomy

Most thinking about political economy treats states as unitary actors. In contrast, this paper treats states as ecologies of politically-based enterprises. Where a market is a congeries of business enterprises, a state is a congeries of political enterprises. Both sets of enterprises compete with one another in a setting where those who manage corporate capital are largely separate from those who supply it. Competition among political enterprises, however, cannot generate market prices because of the inalienability of property rights. In consequence, what arises is a system of pricing and calculation that exists parasitically upon the system of market prices.     

Psychopathy and Sexual Sadism

Psychopathic personality disorder and sexual sadism share several common characteristics, such as emotional detachment from the suffering of others or the preparedness to inflict pain or injuries. Based on a sample of 100 male forensic patients (all of them sex offenders, half of them sadistic), the concept of psychopathy and sexual sadism as a unified construct was tested empirically. Pooling indicator variables for psychopathic and sexually sadistic disorders showed that a two-factorial solution yielded a better fit than a single-factor model. The two factors identified psychopathy and sexual sadism as separate latent variables. More specifically, the data were compatible with a path model in which affective deficits and behavioral disinhibition of the psychopathy domain are precursors to sexually sadistic conduct.     

A Critical Assessment of Using Children to Participate Actively in Hostilities in Lubanga Child Soldiers and Direct Participation

The first judgment of the International Criminal Court, delivered on 9 March 2012, raises a pivotal and equally controversial issue of what constitutes ‘active participation in hostilities’ for the purpose of the child solider offences under the Rome Statute in the case against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo. The Majority (Judge Fulford and Judge Blattmann) adopted a broad definition of the notion of ‘active’ participation and the Minority (Judge Benito) an even more ample one. This was achieved by distinguishing between ‘active participation in hostilities’ and ‘direct participation in hostilities’ and by recourse to the travaux préparatoires of the Rome Statute and to human rights norms. The purpose of this contribution is to demonstrate that the meaning of ‘active participation in hostilities’ under Articles 8(2)(b)(xxvi) and 8(2)(e)(vii) of the Rome Statute is not ambiguous or obscure, but is the same as that of ‘direct participation in hostilities’ under international humanitarian law. Recourse to supplementary means of interpretation by the Trial Chamber, be it to the travaux préparatoires, or to human rights norms, was unnecessary and misguided. The contribution will also draw some conclusions on how criminal liability before the ICC may be excluded for Articles 8(2)(b)(xxvi) or 8(2)(e)(vii) of the Rome Statute on the basis of the broad definition adopted by the Trial Chamber of the notion of ‘active participation in hostilities’ and will discuss other consequences arising from the judgement at hand.     

Regime change and public administration in East Germany ‐ some findings from a research project in Brandenburg and Saxony

After the accession of the GDR to the Federal Republic, the transfer of institutions and personnel from the west to the east, especially the transformation of a ‘cadre‐administration’ into a modern western‐type public administration ranked very high on the political agenda. This article presents some findings from a research project on ‘Administrative Culture in East Germany’, conducted in the states of Brandenburg and Saxony. The questions to be addressed are whether one could speak of a total replacement of eastern and western élites during the process of unification. What are the results of élite transfer from the west? What is the composition of the new administrative elites in the east German Länder? Are there significantly different political perceptions by ‘easterners’ and ‘westerners’ of the problems confronting public administrators?     

Traditional Cleavages or a New World: Does Online Social Networking Bridge the Political Participation Divide?

There is a growing literature that examines the effects of the Internet on political participation. We seek to contribute to this literature by exploring how online social networking may stimulate online political participation. Using survey data from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, we confirm a strong positive relationship and show that this effect is driven by the level of political exchange within networks. Further, we explore the potential for the Internet to dissipate traditional cleavages in participation that tend to mirror the inequalities in the availability and use of technology. The findings suggest that while many of the “have-nots” do engage in online networking at higher rates than their counterparts, they are less likely to be exposed to political exchanges within their networks. As a result, the effect of online networking on participation is more pronounced for the “haves.” We discuss the implications of these findings.