Aggressive behavior and measurement of psychopathy in female inmates of German prisons--a preliminary study

Studies concerning inmate psychopathy (as measured by Psychopathy-Checklist-Revised, PCL-R; Hare, 1991) have predominantly been concerned with male inmates. This study was the first to look into psychopathy using the PCL-R with the whole required procedure in German prisons with female inmates. The aims of the present study were to gain data about the prevalence of psychopathy in this sample and to examine potential relations between the types and motive of aggression, prosocial behavior and scores on the PCL-R. Sixty female inmates were examined. We obtained a prevalence rate of psychopathy of 17% (N=10, with a cut-off score of 25). Considering a wide range of subtypes of aggressive behaviors, we found that physical proactive, and relational reactive aggression as well as age predicted high scores of psychopathy. However, prosocial or helping behavior was not associated with psychopathy. Implications for diagnostic issues in forensics concerning female prisoners are discussed.     

Visible Counterterrorism Measures in Urban Spaces—Fear-Inducing or Not?

Many scholars working within the tradition of critical studies are sceptical of the presence of visible security measures in urban spaces, arguing that they cause fear and facilitate the political control of citizens. A study carried out in Denmark in 2011 sought to capture, describe, and rank factors impacting positively or negatively on the feelings of safety of Danish citizens, when being in a crowded place. Surprisingly, the response to security measures like fences, cameras, and uniformed guards was positive. More visible security apparently reinforced feelings of safety. This article discusses the findings and points to, amongst others, a high level of societal trust as one possible explanation.     

Political Participation and Civic Community of Ethnic Minorities in Four Cities in the Netherlands

In this article, the political participation of Turkish, Surinamese and Moroccan immigrants in four cities in the Netherlands is related to the civic community of these groups. The usefulness of Robert Putnam's civic community perspective is tested for the immigrant communities in Dutch cities in the Netherlands. The relationship between the networks in the migrant communities and political participation found in earlier research can partly explain the differences between the ethnic groups and between the cities, but some additional explanatory factors are suggested.     

Dispelling the Chimera of 'Self-Contained Regimes' International Law and the WTO

International lawyers have in recent years expressed much uneaseabout the perceived fragmentation of their legal system. Intruth, however, international law has always been fragmentedwithout losing its ability to operate. A threat, rather, arisesfrom the ongoing proliferation of special regimes endowed withstrong institutional frameworks and an ability to set new internationalnorms. This expansion begs an uncomfortable question: What ifsuch – seemingly independent – entities were toclaim autonomy and challenge the validity of general internationallaw? A salient feature of this debate is the preoccupation with‘self-contained regimes’ and their status underinternational law. In a recent report to the International LawCommission, for instance, Martti Koskenniemi concluded thatno such regime can be created outside the scope of general internationallaw. Drawing on a particularly controversial example, this articletherefore reviews the law and practice of the World Trade Organizationto determine how that body has positioned itself in the debate.While its judiciary has recognized that the rules on world tradedo not exist in isolation of general international law, a closerlook at actual case law unveils a far more ambivalent picture.The chimera of self-contained regimes, in other words, is noteasily dispelled.     

Institutionalizing ASEAN: celebrating Europe through network governance

This article provides a new piece for two of the puzzles of institutionalized cooperation in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). First, with regard to the organization's four decades of existence, there has always been a marked gap between ASEAN's rhetorical goals of cooperation and its actual achievements. What explains these systematic failures of implementation? Second, from the outset, ASEAN was criticized for its light institutionalization, which failed to deliver the substantial cooperation goals. Despite selected institutional reforms, ASEAN's autonomy has not increased remarkably and it has not made any major institutional innovations. Why does ASEAN design institutions it does not use? Why does this transformation gap occur? The author suggests a sociological institutional explanation and argues that major impulses for cooperation have come from outside Southeast Asia, most importantly from Europe. By mimicking the European integration process, ASEAN member states have effectively created an isomorphic organization. The Association's institutional development reflects a concern for international legitimacy and less an objective functional demand arising from the specific interactions of member states. This copying process has led to network governance within the organization.     

European Standards for the Rule of Law and Independent Courts

Independent adjudication as a cornerstone of the rule of law has attracted increasing attention at the European level over the past decades. Despite its general recognition in various international legal instruments there is, however, an ongoing search for its concrete meaning. Recent documents adopted under the auspices of the Council of Europe (CoE) have tried to specify standards for the organization of judicial administration. Unfortunately, however, some of these documents exhibit flaws and misconceptions in the conceptualization of judicial independence. This article identifies these imperfections and argues that future standardsetting on judicial independence in Europe should direct more attention to comparative constitutional analysis and to experience gained in the course of judicial reforms in the Council of Europe's member states. It advocates a less rigid approach to structural issues and concludes with recommendations for future Council of Europe initiatives.