The Abraham Accords and Religious Tolerance: Three Tales of Faith-Based Foreign-Policy Agenda Setting

How do religious tolerance and religious freedom affect foreign policy? How are they institutionalized across the signatories of the Abraham Accords? This article examines foreign policy agenda setting of religious tolerance in the United States, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates. In the first section, the article analyzes discursive representations of the common roots of the three monotheistic religions and identifies recurrent tropes that highlight idealistic undertones in the Abraham Accords Declaration. In the following section, it critically examines the nexus between domestic and international politics and assesses the compatibility between social and public policy and foreign-policy agenda setting centered on interfaith diplomacy and dialogue. While this article acknowledges Donald Trump's and previous US presidents’ contributions to the advancement of international religious freedom, it argues that Trump's conflicting standards and selective approaches to foreign policy and human rights preceding the agreement have failed to promote constructive relations for furthering faith-based diplomacy. This article suggests that while the United States and the UAE laid the groundwork for promoting religious freedom and tolerance leading up to the Abraham Accords, projecting a coherent foreign-policy narrative across these contexts is hampered by institutional, legal, and political considerations.     

DNA Typing for the Identification of Old Skeletal Remains from Korean War Victims*

Abstract: The identification of missing casualties of the Korean War (1950–1953) has been performed using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) profiles, but recent advances in DNA extraction techniques and approaches using smaller amplicons have significantly increased the possibility of obtaining DNA profiles from highly degraded skeletal remains. Therefore, 21 skeletal remains of Korean War victims and 24 samples from biological relatives of the supposed victims were selected based on circumstantial evidence and/or mtDNA‐matching results and were analyzed to confirm the alleged relationship. Cumulative likelihood ratios were obtained from autosomal short tandem repeat, Y‐chromosomal STR, and mtDNA‐genotyping results, and mainly confirmed the alleged relationship with values over 10⁵. The present analysis emphasizes the value of mini‐ and Y‐STR systems as well as an efficient DNA extraction method in DNA testing for the identification of old skeletal remains.     

Simple and highly effective DNA extraction methods from old skeletal remains using silica columns

The recovery of DNA data from old skeletal remains is often difficult due to degraded and very low yield of extracted DNA and the presence of PCR inhibitors. Herein, we compared several silica-based DNA extraction methods from artificially degraded DNA, DNA with PCR inhibitors and DNA from old skeletal remains using quantitative real-time PCR. We present a modified large-scale silica-based extraction combined with complete demineralization, that enables maximum DNA recovery and efficient elimination of PCR inhibitors. This is performed with high concentration of EDTA solution for demineralization of bone powder followed by QIAamp^® spin columns and buffers from the QIAquick^® PCR purification kit. We have successfully used this modified technique to perform STR analysis for 55-year-old skeletal remains. The results of this study will contribute to solve the forensic cases dealing with skeletal remains.     

Analysis of the impurities in the methamphetamine synthesized by three different methods from ephedrine and pseudoephedrine

Organic impurities of methamphetamine may show different patterns by synthesis. In the present study, we tried to find the impurities reflecting the conditions of synthesis by comparing impurity patterns of the methamphetamine samples synthesized by different methods. Sixteen methamphetamine samples were synthesized from ephedrine and pseudoephedrine by the three different manufacturing methods of Emde, Nagai and Moscow. The synthesized samples were extracted with ethyl acetate containing four internal standards, and the patterns of the organic impurities were investigated by GC-MS and GC-FID . Through the investigation, we found 10 peaks appearing in the latter part of GC chromatograms are characteristic to synthesis. The areas of the selected peaks were converted to the variables suitable for the statistical calculation, and the synthesized samples could be classified into four groups through the resultant cluster analysis.     

Effects of Service Characteristics on Interlocal Cooperation in U.S. Cities: A Pooled Regression Analysis

Drawing on the theoretical framework of transaction cost theory and social exchange theory, this study empirically examines factors affecting the likelihood and the level of interlocal expenditure for 11 service types in a panel of 695 American cities, with populations over 20,000, during the time period of 1990–2000. The findings indicate that elements of transaction costs risks (asset specificity and measurement difficulty) affect both the likelihood and the level of interlocal cooperation. It also shows that the level of trust does the same. However, it suggests that the perceived transaction risks may vary depending on factors affecting local managers' perception of transaction risks. This will further affect the likelihood and the level of interlocal cooperation.     

Cracks in the Opposition: Immigration as a Wedge Issue for the Reagan Coalition

The absence of a core means that a majority coalition can never choose a policy that will keep it safe from minority appeals to its pivotal members. In two dimensions, strategic minorities will always be able to offer pivotal voters attractive policy concessions. We argue that this instability of multidimensional politics explains why minorities raise wedge issues and how wedge issues result in partisan realignment in legislative politics. Applying agenda‐constrained ideal point estimation techniques to immigration debates, we show that the Reagan coalition—pro‐business and social conservatives—has been vulnerable on the wedge issue of immigration and that parties have switched their positions on immigration over the last three decades. We use the uncovered set as the best‐fit theoretical solution concept in this legislative environment, to capture the limits of majority rule coalitional possibilities and policy change in the two‐dimensional absence of a core.