The Coase Theorem, Private Information, and the Benefits of Not Assigning Property Rights

Using a simple bilateral trading example with discrete valuations and costs it is demonstrated that in the presence of private information the efficiency of Coasean bargaining may be strictly enhanced if initially no property rights are assigned.     

The German Enquete Commission on Sects: Political Conflicts and Compromises

This paper deals with the enquete commission on sects and cults established by the German Budestag (Federal Parliament) from 1996 to 1998. The author, who was appointed as an expert member of the commission, explains the public pressure leading to its establishment and the political considerations restricting its work. Although the majority of the commission was convinced of the harmful nature of cults, it was not possible to find any evidence of unlawful activites. Scientific research authorized by the commission modified the prevailing view of the dangerous influence of new religious movements. The final report of the commission is a political compromise denying any danger to the State and society posed by cults, but at the same time it demands new legislation to deal with them.     

对全球化的思考

全球化在加速各国融入世界体系进程的同时,也带来了生态环境、能源、人口等一系列全球性问题,这些问题可以通过多极化得以更好的解决。中国作为最大的发展中国家,应该并且能够在国际舞台上发挥更为重要的作用。     

A sudden death with lung embolism after inadvertent infusion of zinc oxide shake lotion

A 74-year old woman in postoperative treatment after a colonic surgery died immediately after perfusion of about 1.5 mL of a white emulsion which was believed to contain 1% propofol via cardiac catheter into the right atrium. It was strongly suspected that a syringe with a zinc oxide shake lotion (consisting of 20% ZnO, 20% talc, 25% glycerol and 35% water) which was intended for external treatment had been mistaken for the propofol syringe. During autopsy, an anatomic cause of death could not be found. In order to exclude an intoxication and to determine the significance of the perfusion fluid in this context, toxicological and histological investigations were performed. Propofol and other drugs applied to the patient were found in therapeutic or sub-therapeutic range. However, in comparison to a control case, the zinc concentrations determined by AAS were about 200 times higher in lung tissue, 10 times higher in heart blood and 3–4 times higher in kidney and liver tissue. No increase was seen in venous blood. Histology showed a strong embolism of the lung tissue with birefingent sharp-edged crystals, which were identified as the talcum, and an amorphous component (ZnO). The same embolism was seen to a medium extent also in the brain sections and to a low extent in heart, liver, pancreas and kidney. Pulmonary embolism by talcum and zinc oxide was established as the cause of death which occurred by syringe swap due to insufficient security precautions in the drug administration. The results are discussed in context of pulmonary microembolism cases frequently described for drug addicts after injection of crashed talcum containing tablets.     

Exporting Security: Success and Failure in the Securitization and Desecuritization of Foreign Military Interventions

Alongside humanitarian motives, the pursuit of security is the main justification given by states for their foreign military interventions. This is constructed as an ‘export of security’, part of a strategy to combat material and ideological threats abroad in order to enhance the sending state’s security. Such securitized justifications are highly ambiguous, with the military intervention itself often becoming a source of insecurity. Given the Janus-faced nature of military securitization, what are the conditions for a successful securitization move leading to foreign military intervention? In response to this question, the following article compares separate cases of security exports undertaken by the United States (US), Germany and Japan. It is argued that a stable commitment to a military intervention on the part of a sending state is only possible if the pre-intervention securitization process includes a successful desecuritization move once there are boots on the ground. This argument underlines the fundamental ambiguity of securitization moves, as well as the importance of and conditions for audience acceptance. Furthermore, this article proposes a template for exploring the links between securitization and desecuritization.