Out with the Old and … In with the Old? A Critical Review of the Financial War on Terrorism on the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant

ABSTRACT

The aim of this article is to critically consider the effectiveness of the “Financial War on Terrorism” on the funding streams of the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL). The article begins by identifying that the origins of the “Financial War on Terrorism” can be found in the international efforts to tackle money laundering. It then moves on to consider if the “Financial War on Terrorism” is able to tackle the funding streams of ISIL. The article concludes that the “Financial War on Terrorism” is no longer fit for the purpose to tackle the funding streams of ISIL.     

'Moves on a Chess Board': A Spatial Model of British Prime Ministers' Powers over Cabinet Formation

We use an institutional rational choice approach to help us understand how prime ministers in the UK make cabinet appointments and the implications for prime ministerial power. Assuming that prime ministers attempt to form a cabinet so as to get an overall package of policies as close as possible to their ideal, we show why the trade-offs they face are so complex, why apparently common-sense rules for making appointments might not always work well and why apparently strange choices made by prime ministers might actually be rational. Acknowledging the power prime ministers derive from their ability to appoint, we argue that the literature commonly fails to distinguish between power and luck, where lucky prime ministers get their way because they happen to agree with colleagues.     

Effectiveness of Single‐Nucleotide Polymorphisms to Investigate Cattle Rustling

Short tandem repeats (STR)s have been the eligible markers for forensic animal genetics, despite single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP)s became acceptable. The technology, the type, and amount of markers could limit the investigation in degraded forensic samples. The performance of a 32‐SNP panel genotyped through OpenArrays^TM (real‐time PCR based) was evaluated to resolve cattle‐specific forensic cases. DNA from different biological sources was used, including samples from an alleged instance of cattle rustling. SNPs and STRs performance and repeatability were compared. SNP call rate was variable among sample type (average = 80.18%), while forensic samples showed the lowest value (70.94%). The repeatability obtained (98.7%) supports the used technology. SNPs had better call rates than STRs in 12 of 20 casework samples, while forensic index values were similar for both panels. In conclusion, the 32‐SNPs used are as informative as the standard bovine STR battery and hence are suitable to resolve cattle rustling investigations.     

Ministerial responsibility and the machinery of government

Abstract: This article examines the relationship between ministerial responsibility and the machinery of government. It discusses how constitutional government and the practical day‐to‐day functioning of a parliamentary democracy depend on ministerial responsibility as the bedrock principle for the organization and operation of the machinery of government across the range of government organizations. It concludes that ministerial responsibility remains the pivotal constitutional doctrine essential to the functioning of a parliamentary democracy; that notwithstanding the undue concentration of authority in the hands of first ministers, their machinery of government powers ought not to be reduced; and that first ministers in particular should pay closer attention to ministerial responsibility as the foundation of the machinery of government. Sommaire: Le présent article porte sur les relations entre la responsabilité ministéri‐elle et l'appareil gouvernemental. Il examine comment le gouvernement constitutionnel et le fonctionnement pratique quotidien d'une démocratie parlementaire reposent sur la responsabilité ministérielle comme principe de base de l'organisation et du fonctionnement de l'appareil gouvernemental dans tous les types d'organismes gouvernementaux. L'auteur conclut que la responsabilité ministérielle demeure la doctrine constitutionnelle cruciale et essentielle au fonctionnement d'une démocratie parlementaire; que malgré la concentration exagérée de pouvoir entre les mains des premiers ministres, les pouvoirs de l'appareil gouvernemental ne devraient pas être réduits; et que les premiers ministres en particulier devraient prêter une plus grande attention à la responsabilité ministérielle en tant que fondement de l'appareil gouvernemental.     

Constructing Southeast Asian security: the pitfalls of imagining a security community and the temptations of orthodoxy

At the ninth summit of the Association of South‐East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in October 2003, the organisation's leaders declared their intention of transforming ASEAN into a security community. In making the case that ASEAN has functioned as a realist security institution since its inception in 1967, this article argues that the theoretical literature underpinning the ASEAN security community idea is characterised by significant conceptual and empirical flaws. First, a number of problems surround the variables—either norms or identity—that are used to explain the emergence of a putative security community among the ASEAN states. Second, critical issues in the ASEAN security community literature include the tautological nature of the arguments and a failure to rule out alternative explanations. Third, from an empirical perspective, the nascent ASEAN security community has arguably never existed.