The Grey Threat: Presence of Jihadist Terrorism and Failings in the Portuguese National Security System

This article starts by establishing a link between the nature of the threats created by jihadist terrorism and global organized crime and the investigation model used by Portuguese intelligence and police entities to detect and eliminate them. The visible manifestations of jihad terrorism and related organized crime recorded in Portugal since 2001 are also documented. The article goes on to analyze most recent theories produced on the importance of intelligence work and criminal investigation in combating these threats. On this basis, the article raises the hypothesis that Portugal's capacity to confront these threats has been dangerously weakened by the investigation powers constraints and conflicts of jurisdiction in the national security system, the lack of effective coordination in the whole system, and delays in the necessary reforms for over a decade.     

The Cortes of Castile and Philip II's fiscal policy

Summary

This article analyses the evolution of the fiscal policy of the Crown of Castile in the reign of Philip II in relation to the salient characteristics of the tax system and of the political and constitutional structure of the kingdom. The character of the Kingdoms of Castile as an aggregate of autonomous communities coordinated by the superior authority of the monarch was reflected in a fiscal system based upon the delegation to local authorities of the management of the most important royal taxes (alcabalas and servicios) and thus upon principles of autonomy and decentralization which made negotiation with the Kingdom in the Cortes, both with regard to the total sum and to the conditions of its collection, unavoidable. The financial needs of Philip II led him to try to overcome the rigidities of this system by extending the fiscal powers of the Crown by means of the creation of new taxes or the increase of those already in existence, as well as by redefining the constitutional processes of negotiation with the Cortes and the cities. Nevertheless, Philip II neither succeeded in getting acceptance for all his demands nor did the pressure to which he subjected the Kingdom generate any significant change in the nature of the Castilian fiscal system nor in the politico‐constitutional bases which sustained it.     

Triangulation of Salient Studies to Date on Trust-Building in Mediation

Many studies have empirically demonstrated the importance of trust-building between mediators and parties to a dispute. We wrote this article in response to a call by Stephen Goldberg and Margaret Shaw for studies conducted in North America to be triangulated in other countries where mediation is taking off as an alternative tool in the resolution of disputes. Our objective was to test theories on the factors that increase trust-building in mediation. With this in mind, the study conducted by Jean Poitras in Montreal (Canada) was triangulated in the Balearic Islands (Spain) and an analysis was made of the similarities and differences between both studies using different methods.     

Civic Duty and Voter Turnout

We argue that two different sets of considerations shape the decision to vote or abstain in an election–ethical and non-ethical. First the citizen may vote out of a sense of duty. Failing that, she may vote because she has strong preferences about the outcome of the election. Abstention occurs when neither duty nor a sufficiently strong preference is present. The implication is that while duty and preference each have strong positive effects on turnout, they also have a negative interaction effect, since the impact of preference is much weaker among those with a sense of duty. We present a wide array of empirical evidence that systematically supports our claim that the turnout decision is importantly shaped by this causal heterogeneity. Thus a turnout model misses something fundamental if it does not take into account the effect of civic duty.

     

Why Federalism Does Not Always Take Shape: the Cases of Italy and Nepal

Federalism has been discussed as a potential system of governance in many countries, but in some it has failed to take shape. This has been the case in Nepal and, to a certain extent, in Italy. In fact, in Italy the federal option was rejected at the time of Risorgimento, and constitutional reforms in the 2000s never transformed the country into a federation as desired by political actors such as the Northern League despite some decentralization. In Nepal, the 2007 interim constitution specified that the country would be federal, but the first Constituent Assembly elected to write a new constitution was unable to produce a federal map acceptable to the major political parties and the second is wrestling with the same issue. In both cases, federal structuring was attacked by political actors who argued that it could promote disunity, undermine solidarity, and possibly lead to disintegration. This article argues that the idea of federalism held by prominent political actors as promoting division and conflict played strongly against its implementation.     

Factors associated with escalation and problematic approaches toward public figures

Detailed comparison of factors associated with abnormal approach to the prominent and with escalation from communication to approach has not hitherto been undertaken. This partially reflects the failure of individual studies to adopt compatible terminologies. This study involves a careful dissection of six public figure studies, three involving U.S. politicians, two Hollywood celebrities, and one the British Royal Family. Common findings were unearthed across six headings. Approachers were significantly more likely to exhibit serious mental illness, engage in multiple means of communication, involve multiple contacts/targets, and to incorporate into their communication requests for help. They were significantly less likely to use threatening or antagonistic language in their communications, except in those cases involving security breaches. These results emphasize the importance of integrating mental health findings and preventive measures into risk management. Approach should not be regarded as a single behavioral category and has multiple motivations. Future studies should adopt standard terminology, preferably taken from the general stalking research.     

Nonmetric sex determination from the distal and posterior humerus in black and white South Africans

The successful identification of human skeletal remains relies on proven diagnostic techniques for sex determination. This research utilized 608 individuals from South Africa (420 men, 188 women) to conduct a blind nonmetric determination of sex from three features of the distal humerus: olecranon fossa shape, angle of the medial epicondyle, and trochlear extension. A scoring system between males and females was implemented, and the aggregate score of the three features determined the estimated sex of the skeletal element in question. With all features combined, black and white South Africans were categorized successfully as either male or female 75.5% (77% accuracy rate for females, 74% accuracy rate for males). This classification rate is lower than what was found in previous studies, but suggests that characteristics of the distal humerus are still quite valuable when estimating skeletal sex. More research is needed to assess reasons for the differential expression of these traits in different populations and to determine whether the method is nonpopulation specific.     

Radiological, forensic, and anthropological studies of a concrete block containing bones

Multidisciplinary forensic, anthropological, and radiological studies of bone fragments encased in a concrete block were carried out to determine whether or not the bones were human. Multislice computed tomography (MSCT) investigation was performed before the bones were removed from the concrete. MSCT study pinpointed the location of the bone fragments within the concrete block, which was helpful for their extraction and recovery, and identified most of their types and nature. Osteological study on dry bones provided more accurate identification of the bones and of their side. According to both methods, the human skeletal remains were compatible with those of a child, aged 8-13 years old, with a minimum height of 128 cm. Neither investigation identified sex or racial phenotype. Both studies identified the skeletal remains as consisting of two animal and five human bones. Furthermore, both methods revealed that the concrete completely encased bones, suggesting a secondary burial.