Appeasement in the Late Third Republic

This article considers whether a specifically French ‘appeasement’ developed among policymakers of the inter-war years and, if so, how various appeasement strategies changed over time. It does so firstly, by attempting to define this French version of appeasement partly by reference to the historiography of French inter-war foreign policy and strategic planning. The article then considers the various impersonal forces that led to changes of course in foreign policy. These include domestic social and political pressures, economic conditions, and the changing strategic balance of power in Europe. The article suggests that French appeasement was neither a constant feature of France's international strategy in the 1930s nor simply a mirror image of its British counterpart. The foundations of French diplomacy, military thinking and strategic outlook were altogether different. By the late 1930s the limitations of actual allies, the recalcitrance of some potential friends, the elusiveness of others, had all provided a powerful fillip to proponents of appeasement, although substantial minorities continued to oppose it. Ultimately, France without a great power ally was a nation compelled to appease.     

Practitioner perspectives on rapport building during child investigative interviews

The inclusion of a rapport phase with children in investigative interviews is considered best practice as research shows that this can improve the quality of information provided. However, the phenomenon of ‘psychological rapport’, as demonstrated in a person's behaviour, is less understood. Specifically, how do practitioners build rapport with children in the rapport phase? The aim of this paper is to provide information on the methods used by practitioners for building rapport with children, with an explanation of how they may influence communication. Nineteen Scottish practitioners (police officers and social workers) were interviewed about their experiences and approach to rapport building with children in investigative interviews. These interviews were qualitatively analysed using a grounded theory approach and produced a model for the relationship between psychological rapport and children's communication. According to this group of practitioners, rapport building acts as a ‘communication tool’ and is approached using three main strategies. These strategies involve using rapport to assess the child, adjust interview approach based on the assessment, and produce a change in the child's psychological state that facilitates communication. These findings have established practitioner understanding of rapport building and highlighted a number of areas that require further research.     

Old and very old adults as witnesses: event memory and metamemory

Older people constitute an important category of eyewitnesses. Episodic memory performance in older persons is poorer than in younger adults, but little research has been made on older persons’ metacognitive judgments. Since more persons of advanced age will likely be called upon as witnesses in coming years, it is critical to characterize this population’s metacognitive abilities. We compared event memory metacognition in old adults (66-year-old, n = 74) to very old adults (87 or 90 years old, n = 55). Participants were tested on their memory of a film, using questions with two answer alternatives and the confidence in their answer. As expected, the very old group had a lower accuracy rate than the old group (d = 0.59). The very old group, however, monitored this impairment, since their over-/underconfidence and calibration did not differ from the old group but they displayed a poorer ability to separate correct from incorrect answers (discrimination ability). Possibly, the very old group was able to monitor the level of their over-/underconfidence because they applied general self-knowledge about their memory skills. In contrast, the discrimination of correct from incorrect answers may be more dependent on ability to attend to the features of each retrieved memory.     

Confronting Progressive Retreatism and Minimalism: The Role of a New Left Realist Approach

Left realists continue to offer progressive ways of studying and solving various types of crime in the streets, in the “suites,” and in intimate relationships. This article briefly describes the central themes, assumptions, and concepts of left realism and charts new directions in research, theory, and policy. Special attention is devoted to using new electronic technologies and to responding to the rabid corporatization of institutions of higher learning.     

The crisis of European socialism: Searching for a (really) big idea

After the Fall: The Failure of Communism and the Future of Socialism. Edited by Robin Blackburn. London: Verso, 1991. Pp. xvi + 327. £39.95 (hardback); £11.95 (paperback). ISBN 0–360 320–1 and 540–9. (Henceforth, Fall).

Social Democracy in Transition: Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe. Edited by L. Karvonen and J. Sundberg. Aldershot: Dartmouth, 1991. Pp. ix + 321. £35 (hardback) ISBN 1–85521–1114. (Henceforth, Transition).

The Left Unraveled: Social Democracy and the New Left Challenge in Britain and West Germany. By Thomas A. Koelble. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 1991. Pp. xii + 162. $34.95 (hardback) ISBN 0–8223–1108–9. (Henceforth, Unraveled).

The Crisis of Socialism in Europe. Edited by Christiane Lemke and Gary Marks. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 1992. Pp. x + 253. £37.95 (hardback); £12.50 (paperback) ISBN 0–8223–1180–1 and 1197–6. (Henceforth, Crisis).

Socialist Parties in Europe. By José Maravall et al. Barcelona: ICPS (Institut de Ciències Politiques i Socials), 1991. Pp. 222. NP, ISBN 84–7794–172–6.(Henceforth, Parties).

A History of Social Democracy in Postwar Europe. By Stephen Padgett and William E. Paterson. London and New York: Longman, 1991. Pp. xii 4 + 290. £24 (hardback); £9.99 (paperback) ISBN 0–582–49173–8 and 49174–6. (Henceforth, History).

Is Socialism Doomed? The Meaning of Mitterrand. By Daniel Singer. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Pp. 295. £19.50 (hardback). ISBN 0–195–04925 x. (Henceforth, Doomed).

Moscow and the Global Left in the Gorbachev Era. Edited by Joan Barth URBAN. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1992. Pp. xii + 204. $32.95 (hardback); $14.25 (paperback). ISBN 0–8014–2726–6 and 8008–6. (Henceforth, Moscow).