Conceptualizing and evaluating (new) forms of citizenship between nationalism and cosmopolitanism

In an age of transnational flows and interdependencies, democratic citizenship can no longer be conceptualized exclusively within national boundaries. This paper presents a conceptual map that allows tracing emerging and proposed forms of citizenship within and beyond the nation state in a comprehensive and differentiated way. We disentangle two anchor points: membership in a political community as the fundament of citizenship and the arena of political decision-making as the focal point of citizenship rights, identities and practices. For the former we differentiate between a single national community, the universal community of humankind and multiple (national) communities. For the latter we distinguish the national, supra-national and transnational arena. Our typology thus consists of nine different forms of democratic citizenship. It is used to provide a brief overview over normative proposals and empirical findings leading to the following insights: while membership in a particular national community still dominates the reality in all three political arenas, in the normative discourse it is perceived as deficient. Membership in the universal community of humankind is widely endorsed in the normative discourse, but almost nonexistent. In contrast, membership in multiple communities is not only a growing reality but also normatively promising for democratizing a transnationalizing world.     

Sharp Force Injury Fatalities: A Retrospective Study (1982–2012) in Brescia (Italy)

A retrospective study was carried out on postmortem examination data of 131 sharp force‐related casualties recorded by the Brescia Institute of Forensic Medicine between 1982 and 2012. The objective was to identify relevant parameters that may be used to distinguish the manner of deaths between homicide, suicide, and accident. The following variables were considered: manner of death; demographic data; scene; type of sharp object; location and numbers of wounds; the presence of hesitation marks/defense wounds; toxicological findings; psychiatric history. There were 92 homicides, 28 suicides, and 11 accidents. Most victims were male, with an average age of 43. Injuries in isolation were present in 9.8% of homicides, in 35.7% of suicides, and in 54.5% of accidents. Most injuries involved the left anterior chest in homicides and the forearms in suicides. This study underlines the importance of a meticulous postmortem examination of injuries on the body and their relationship with other results from the death scene investigation.     

The Complexity of Marriage in Rural Ethiopia: Parental Transfers and Post-marital Residence Choices

This paper examines the relationship between parental transfers and post-marital residence of children in rural Ethiopia. We investigate whether asset transfers to children are an avenue which parents use to secure old age. We model post-marital residence and transfers simultaneously in a two-stage probit least squares estimation framework. We find a positive relationship between transfers and post-marital residence, a proxy for old age support. Children who receive more assets are more likely to stay at birth place after marriage and vice versa. In conditions of scarce or lacking social security mechanisms, parents make strategic transfers to ensure better old age.     

Clearing the muddy waters of shared watercourses governance: conceptualizing international River Basin Organizations

Institutions that have been set up by riparian states to internationally govern shared water resources—international River Basin Organizations (RBOs)—play a key role in river basin governance. Despite an increased attention paid to RBOs in international relations and water scholarship, there has been little focus on defining and conceptualizing RBOs and, subsequently, on comprehensively identifying the RBOs that exist around the world. This has challenged research around RBOs in both methodological and theoretical ways. This paper aims to meet this challenge by offering a theoretically grounded definition of an international RBO and crafting a comprehensive list of international RBOs. We do so deductively, building from the larger neo-institutionalist research and international water resources governance literature. Our definition identifies three broad categories of constitutive elements: internationalization, institutionalization and governance. We apply this definition to potential cases to better identify the extent of RBOs around the world today and outline which cases qualify as RBOs and which cases fail to meet our constitutive criteria. This allows us to compile a comprehensive list of all existing international RBOs, including the identification of RBOs with specific characteristics. The article concludes by crafting an agenda for future research around RBOs that builds on this more complete understanding of RBOs.     

Assessing police treatment in Ecuador: the view of satisfied and disaffected female serious offenders

This empirical study examines procedural justice perceptions among 51 female serious offenders in Ecuador, with the aim of identifying differences between those women who were satisfied with law enforcement and those who were not. The results demonstrate that when women were treated with courtesy and respect, and their rights were acknowledged, they felt satisfied with the police, in a way that they did not give importance to the irregularities they observed while arrested and in custody. On the other hand, the majority of women participants were dissatisfied with the police. Their dissatisfaction with, and lack of trust in, the authorities affected their desire to cooperate with police activities. The study also demonstrates that, although the Ecuadorian police force has made considerable efforts in promoting citizens’ trust during the last 7 years, corruption and illegal police conduct when dealing with offenders are far from uncommon.     

The New Offshore Frontiers of EU Energy Security in the Mediterranean: The Politics of Hydrocarbon Development in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas

Many EU Mediterranean countries are developing national plans for offshore hydrocarbon exploration and production. The transformation of the Mediterranean Sea into a new frontier for EU energy security has raised important concerns about the protection of the fragile marine ecosystem of this semi-enclosed sea. Additional issues have emerged where states’ boundaries at sea are not yet defined. This article analyses the emerging international and transnational politics of hydrocarbon development in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas by highlighting the main drivers and effects of the recent relaunch of offshore activities in this region.