Wahhabism as a Militant Form of Islam on Europe's Doorstep

This article examines the impact of the spreading of Wahhabism (as one of the most militant religious teachings) on the escalation of international terrorism on European soil. It tries to point out potential hazards and propose possible measures to protect Western Europe from further penetration of this conservative Islamic movement through the Balkans. In order to elaborate the stated interdependency, this article includes our analysis of the phenomenon and spreading of Wahhabism throughout the Balkans, more concretely—on the territories of the Republic of Serbia, Montenegro, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is precisely the region where Wahhabism has made its first step to “conquer” Europe.     

Homicide Trends in Finland and Estonia in 1880–1940: Consequences of the Demographic,Social and Political Effects of Industrialization

While in western Europe and Scandinavia homicide rates reached their all time low during the period of industrialization, in Finland and Estonia they increased considerably. The rapid growth of criminal violence during the late 1800s and first half of the 1900s in these two countries seems to have been the result of interaction of several factors, partly non-simultaneous and unrelated. They do not seem to have been identical either, although the underlying equation was the same: the quick social and economic change following industrialization, and the modernisation of agriculture, the pressures it put especially on the youth in the form of uncertain prospects for the future and a new competition-oriented set of values, connected with the authoritarian political system of Russian Empire, which prevented necessary political reforms and left behind a legacy of social thinking idealizing violence as a political and social instrument. A legacy, which affected large parts of Finnish and Estonian population still for years after the czarist system itself already passed into history. The criminal violence arisen from the equation, however, had quite a different face on the northern coast of the Gulf of Finland from that on the southern one. In Finland the violence was centered in the new forest industrial communities, in Estonia again among the landless population of the countryside.     

The gru

Viktor Suvorov, Soviet Military Intelligence (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1984). Pp.xiii + 193; £9.95.

Viktor Suvorov, Aquarium: the Career and Defection of a Soviet Military Spy. (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1985). Pp.249; £10.95.

Ismail Akhmedov, In and Out of Stalin's GRU: A Tatar's Escape from Red Army Intelligence (London: Arms and Armour Press, 1984). Pp.xv + 222; £12.95.     

Rule of law and democracy in the Western Balkans: addressing the gap between policies and practice

ABSTRACT

Three decades since the beginning of democratization processes, the Western Balkan countries have built a democratic façade by holding elections, by promulgating legal acts guaranteeing freedom of expression, or by constitutionally declaring a strict system of checks and balances. In reality, however, political elites rely on informal structures, clientelism, and control of the media to undermine democracy. Given that formal democratic freedoms are effective only to the extent that political elites are bound by the effective rule of law, the core argument of this study is that the structural weaknesses of democratic institutions are purposefully exploited by domestic regimes, which are able to misuse these fragile institutions to their advantage.     

When Children are the Least Vulnerable to False Memories: A True Report or a Case of Autosuggestion?

In this case report, a legal case revolving around the reliability of statements given by a 6‐year‐old girl is described. She claimed to have witnessed her mother being murdered by her father. Two psychological experts provided diametrically opposed opinions about the reliability of her statements. One expert, a clinician, opined that the girl's statements were based on autosuggestion whereas the other expert, a memory researcher, stated that autosuggestion was unlikely to have played a role. This case and the analysis of the experts' opinions illustrate what may happen when experts in court are unaware of the recent literature on (false) memory. That is, recent studies show that autosuggestion is less likely to occur in young children than in older children and adults. The current case stresses the importance and implications of relying on memory experts in cases concerning the reliability of eyewitness statements.     

Further data on interrogative suggestibility and compliance scores following instructed malingering

Purpose. This study examined whether people can successfully feign high levels of interrogative suggestibility and compliance as measured by the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scales (GSS) and the Gudjonsson Compliance Scale (GCS) when given instructions to malinger. Methods. Participants (N = 90) were randomly allocated to one of three groups that received: (1) instructions to give into leading questions in order to look vulnerable to suggestions, (2) instructions to be compliant with the examiner, or (3) the standard GSS/GCS instructions. Results. One of the two malingering instructions led to modestly elevated scores of total suggestibility, while subscales remained unaffected. In contrast, both malingering groups obtained highly elevated compliance scores. Conclusions. These findings suggest that heightened suggestibility is rather difficult to malinger, thereby confirming the reliability of the GSS. On the other hand, it might be easier to malingering compliance as measured with the self‐report GCS.     

I Shield Myself From Thee: Selective Avoidance on Social Media During Political Protests

This study examines the phenomenon of politically motivated selective avoidance on Facebook in the context of the Hong Kong Umbrella Movement protests in 2014. We conceptualize selective avoidance as individual choices that users make to shield themselves from undesirable dissonant views by removing unwanted information and breaking social ties that transmit such information. Given the political turmoil and high level of polarization during the protests, we argue that selective avoidance was related to the socio-psychological factor of perceived out-group threat. We present an analysis of a survey of 769 students from Hong Kong conducted at the height of the street protests. We find that 15.6% of the respondents removed content and/or unfriended a Facebook friend during the protests. The use of Facebook for protest-related information and expression was associated with higher likelihood of selective avoidance, which in turn predicted actual participation in the street protests. The level of perceived out-group threat strengthened the positive relationship between Facebook use and selective avoidance. We thus argue that group conflict in a time of political turmoil may catalyze selective avoidance, transforming a heterogeneous socio-informational environment into a more insulated gated community. Such acts may promote protest participation but also lead to a more fragmented and polarized citizenry.     

Leviathans, federal transfers, and the cartelization hypothesis

Federal fiscal arrangements are argued to give rise to tacit collusion among competing Leviathans (Brennan and Buchanan, The Power to Tax, CUP, 1980). Though frequently encountered in academic and policy discussions, the cartelization hypothesis has rarely been scrutinized formally. This paper explores the effect of federal equalizing transfers on Leviathans engaged in tax competition. Contrary to the hypothesis, equalization is found to potentially complement tax competition in taming the Leviathan by implicitly taxing tax revenues extracted by the Leviathan. Thus, transfers might be an appropriate constitutional provision against fiscal expropriation.