Law’s Vulnerability,and Vulnerability in Law

Vulnerability acts as a touchstone in this issue as we find our contributors reflecting on its intersection with gender and sexuality in different ways. Saeidzadeh draws out the significance of misrecognition in her consideration of responses to transsexuality in Iran, while Doonan highlights the potential pitfalls of relying on situational vulnerability in her critique of anti-trafficking legal discourse in the US. Lindsey considers the legal potential of situational vulnerability as a tool to address the ‘persistent failure to take action against abuse’ in the UK. Durojaye and Oluduro contribute to the recent revitalisation in asking ‘the woman question’ by drawing on African law and literature to flesh out the development of a gender-sensitive, substantive equality approach from the jurisprudence of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights as it addresses vulnerability to violence. The reviewers continue this international conversation as they address recent contributions on sexuality, family formation and social security.     

On Being Uncomfortable

Since the last issue of Feminist Legal Studies, we editorial board members have had lots of conversations about comfort, displacement and alienation. As we developed the programme for #FLaK2016 we thought about it as a kind of pulling ourselves out of our comfort zone (Fletcher et al. in Fem Leg Stud 24:1–6, 2016), if academic events and journals ever have a comfort zone. Drawing on a mix of feminist live performance methods and a science and technology studies-type curiosity for objects of experimentation, we tried out a kitchen table method of hosting a live research conversation with activists, artists and academics over two days (Fletcher in Fem Leg Stud 23:241–252, 2015). But we had not fully anticipated the way that the Brexit result would contribute to and complicate discomfort. A fuller analysis of FLaK awaits a later moment, but here we pick out this one aspect of our gathering—feelings of discomfort – as they animate the contributions to this issue in interesting ways.     

Passions and interests revisited: the psychological foundations of economics and politics

Homo Politicus, Homo Oeconomicus. Can these two abstract human types meaningfully be distinguished? Is there a characteristic set of motivations that drive human beings in so far as they are political actors and a different set that drive their economic lives? What are the psychological foundations of economics and politics? The answers to these questions have significant implications both for the study and the practice of economics and politics. If homo politicus is essentially identical to homo oeconomicus, it is safe to generalize from the study of economic behavior to political phenomena. If not, such a procedure will distort our understanding of politics. Similarly, if we design political institutions and public policies assuming that people will behave as they do when they confront economic choices, we may find our intentions thwarted if we have neglected the distinctive motivations characteristic of political action.     

Creating Chaos at the Borders

The morbidity and mortality issues likely to arise for geriatric superstars are not unlike those already realized for so-called miracle babies. The therapeutic imperative and other social pressures, the technological imperative, financial interests, and media hyping have driven the overzealous medical-science pursuits of very old individuals and very young fetal infants. This article discusses lessons learned and lessons expected.

Change is the Only Constant: The Evolving Role of Women in the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)

In the past, women in the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) were known to serve as homemakers (i.e., wives, mothers). However, in recent times there has been a shift in their roles, as more women are starting to emerge on the front lines as suicide bombers, recruiters, or a part of ISIS's official women police brigade. This article investigates this phenomenon by performing a thematic analysis on open-source material, namely research reports, media reports, and propaganda material produced by ISIS. In doing so, it presents the evolution of the roles of women in ISIS from past to present and highlights key reasons that motivate women to join ISIS, which include ideology, alienation, romance, peer influence, and a sense of security. Implications for research on women in terrorism have also been identified.     

Constructing an “Iron” Unity: The Statue of Unity and India’s Nationalist Historiography

In October 2018, the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi inaugurated a pet project, the “Statue of Unity”, in Gujarat, India. The world’s tallest statue, the Statue of Unity cost USD416.67 million to construct, and depicts India’s first deputy prime minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as the “Iron Man of India”, staring resolutely out over the controversial Sardar Sarovar Dam. This article examines the meanings of the statue as a political project of memorialisation. We argue that the statue is an attempt to reimagine India’s nationalist historiography around Patel, taking the emphasis off the secular, socialist first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. In doing so, the statue constructs a hyper-masculine idea of India centred on an assimilatory idea of “unity”. The statue’s construction materially enforced this symbolism by pushing aside the site’s previous Adivasi owners, and presents an ordered, majoritarian, business-led vision of public space in Modi’s India. Within this space, the statue materialises Patel as the image of Indian identity. He is made from the stuff of progress, concrete and reinforced steel, and coated in bronze, which links his image with India’s long history of religious statue-making. The project then circulates these ideas through tourist marketing and visitor experience.     

Identifying reliable ions for the statistical differentiation of structurally similar fentanyl analogs

Definitive identification of fentanyl analogs based on mass spectral comparison is challenging given the high degree of structural and, hence, spectral similarity. To address this, a statistical method was previously developed in which two electron-ionization (EI) mass spectra are compared using the unequal variance t-test. Normalized intensities of corresponding ions are compared, testing the null hypothesis (H₀) that the difference in intensity is equal to zero. If H₀ is accepted at all m/z values, the two spectra are statistically equivalent at the specified confidence level. If H₀ is not accepted at any m/z value, then there is a significant difference in intensity at that m/z value between the two spectra. In this work, the statistical comparison method is applied to distinguish EI spectra of valeryl fentanyl, isovaleryl fentanyl, and pivaloyl fentanyl. Spectra of the three analogs were collected over a 9-month period and at different concentrations. At the 99.9% confidence level, the spectra of corresponding isomers were statistically associated. Spectra of different isomers were statistically distinct, and ions responsible for discrimination were identified in each comparison. To account for inherent instrument variations, discriminating ions for each pairwise comparison were ranked based on the magnitude of the calculated t-statistic (t_calc) value. For a given comparison, ions with higher t_calc values are those with the greatest difference in intensity between the two spectra and, therefore, are considered more reliable for discrimination. Using these methods, objective discrimination among the spectra was achieved and ions considered most reliable for discrimination of these isomers were identified.     

The Prohibition against Torture: Why the UK Government is Falling Short and the Risks that Remain

While the UK's official position is that it neither uses nor condones torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment (CIDT), it is now a matter of public and parliamentary record that UK security services and military personnel colluded in rendition, torture, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, both as part of the CIA's Rendition, Detention and Interrogation (RDI) programme, at military detention facilities in Afghanistan and Iraq, and through involvement in the detention and interrogation of prisoners by allied security forces. This paper will explain why the government is falling short of its obligations under international law, and why considerable risks remain that UK intelligence and security services will continue to collude in torture and CIDT .     

The effect of household corrosive substances on latent fingermark development in the context of deliberate corrosive substance attacks

Corrosive substance attacks (CSA) are a prevalent issue in the UK with 525 offenses involving a corrosive substance reported to the police in the year ending March 2022. Easy availability, low cost, and concealability in public are common reasons for choosing a corrosive substance as a weapon. The Metropolitan Police revealed that 68% of 1849 CSA cases resulted in no suspect identified or evidential difficulties. There is limited research into the effect of corrosive substances on latent fingermarks. This study aimed to determine the potential for fingermarks to be recovered from surfaces exposed to a household corrosive substance within the context of a deliberate CSA. Natural and sebaceous-loaded fingermarks were exposed to Domestos bleach, Harpic limescale remover (hydrochloric acid-based) and lemon juice. Harpic limescale remover had the most detrimental effect, with only 7.1% of fingermarks (n = 378) exposed being identifiable (defined as sufficient clear ridge detail for identification) after enhancement, followed by bleach with only 10.3% of fingermarks (n = 378) identifiable. Lemon juice had the least detrimental effect on fingermarks, with 40.5% fingermarks (n = 378) identifiable compared to 53.4% for the controls (not exposed to any substance; n = 378). Throughout the study, fewer natural fingermarks were identifiable after exposure to corrosive substances compared to sebaceous fingermarks which was as expected. Overall, this study demonstrated that there is potential to recover latent fingermarks, depending on their composition, following exposure to a household corrosive substance. This area warrants further research to establish best practice to maximize the potential to recover identifiable fingermarks.     

Predictors of eyewitness identification decisions from video lineups in England: A field study

Eyewitness identification decisions from 1,039 real lineups in England were analysed. Identification procedures have undergone dramatic change in the United Kingdom over recent years. Video lineups are now standard procedure, in which each lineup member is seen sequentially. The whole lineup is seen twice before the witness can make a decision, and the witness can request additional viewings of the lineup. A key aim of this paper was to investigate the association between repeated viewing and eyewitness decisions. Repeated viewing was strongly associated with increased filler identification rates, suggesting that witnesses who requested additional viewings were more willing to guess. In addition, several other factors were associated with lineup outcomes, including the age difference between the suspect and the witness, the type of crime committed, and delay. Overall, the suspect identification rate was 39%, the filler identification rate was 26% and the lineup rejection rate was 35%. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).