Anti-perfectionism and Rawlsian Liberalism

This article examines the justifications of anti-perfectionism given by John Rawls in his recent work Political Liberalism. Rawls, I argue, gives one major argument in defence of anti-perfectionism (what I shall call the 'reasonableness among free and equal persons' argument) and two subsidiary arguments (what I shall call the 'social unity' argument and the 'stability' argument). None of these arguments, I claim, are persuasive. Rawls's most recent justification of anti-perfectionism is therefore unsuccessful.     

Region, Local Context, and Voting at the 1997 General Election in England

There has been considerable debate in recent work on voting patterns in Great Britain regarding the importance of regional effects: are these “real” or are they simply statistical artifacts of decision‐making processes at smaller spatial scales which are aggregated up to the regional scale if not incorporated directly into any modeling? Using a multilevel model design, this article reports on analyses of survey data for the 1997 general election in England which allows tests of whether regional variations are no more than aggregation effects. Individual voters are nested within households, neighborhoods, constituencies, and regions and when all of the smaller‐scale spatial levels are included in the model, the observed regional effects are statistically insignificant. At the 1997 general election, at least, regional variations within England in support for the three main parties—basically, a north‐south divide—are aggregation effects.     

Abraham Kuyper: Calvinist Anti‐Revolutionary Politician and Political Thinker

The figure of Abraham Kuyper looms large over the political and social landscape of nineteenth and twentieth century Holland. He held significant posts in government, education, and the church. His social theory impacted Dutch society for much of the twentieth century. His influence on both continental and American Christian political thought is substantial. And yet, Kuyper's legacy is largely understated, and his political thought unknown in many corners of the scholarly world, including Australia. This article seeks to address this by surveying some of the major aspects of Kuyper's political thought while placing him in his historical setting. By doing so, I will show that Abraham Kuyper is a transitory figure in political history, occupying an important place in the development of the relationship between religion and the modern state.     

Repression as a Double‐edged Sword: Resilient Monarchs,Repression and Revolution in the Arab World

The Arab world shows a puzzling variation of political violence. The region's monarchies often remain quiet, while other autocracies witness major upheaval. Institutional explanations of this variation suggest that monarchical rule solves the ruler's credible commitment problems and prevents elite splits. This article argues that institutional explanations neglect the role of repression: increasing the scope of repression raises the costs of rebellion and deters rebels. However, the deterrence effect disappears if repression is used indiscriminately. If remaining peaceful offers no benefits, repression creates new rebels instead of deterring them. A time‐series‐cross‐section analysis of repression and political violence in the Middle East and North Africa corroborates our argument and shows the u‐curve relation between repression and violence. Once we control for repression, monarchies have no special effect anymore. Thus, our article addresses the discussion about monarchical exceptionalism, and offers an explanation why repression deters as well as incites political violence.     

The Effect of pH on Electrolyte Detection of Fingermarks on Cartridge Cases and Subsequent Microscopic Examination

Cartridge cases may contain deposited fingermarks when the firearm was loaded ( http://www.nij.gov/pubs-sum/225320.htm , J Forensic Sci, 53 , 2008 and 812). Cartridge cases can be individualized with microscopic examination. However, heat and friction degrades the deposited fingermark on the fired cartridge cases, if any on the surface. Also, unfired and fired cartridge cases are made of metal, which is a nonporous surface that does not retain fingermarks well ( http://www.nij.gov/pubs-sum/225320.htm ). This study tests the effects of pH level on fingermark clarity on brass fired and unfired cartridge cases and microscopic striation examination (MSE). Two trials were performed to determine the optimal pH in fingermark clarity for both types of cartridges. This was performed through immersion in six pH range solutions from dilutions of sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide for 24 h for the purpose of enhancing the fingermarks on the metal. The use of the optimal neutral pH level is suggested because immersion of the cartridge cases in pH 1–3 and 3–5 affects MSE.