Social constraints in the political arena: A theoretical inquiry into their form and manner

In the past three different paradigms or, more loosely, frames of reference, have been used by students of politics to interpret various dimensions of mass political participation. Each of these, which are referred to as the political socialization, the group interests and beliefs, and the political party/organization paradigms, has received empirical support for its scheme of interpretation; yet recent political events also suggest that these frames of reference may be inadequate, and may need to be complemented, if not replaced, by other schemes. The present paper outlines one such scheme, drawing upon recent writings on social networks and social influences on political participation. It relies on the metaphor of a political arena, and proposes two simple propositions to account both for conventional and unconventional participation in this arena.An earlier version of this paper was delivered at the Annual Meetings of the Society for the Study of Social Problems, New York, NY, August 1976.     

Tribes and Tribulations: Bedouin Losses in the Saudi and Iraqi Struggles Over Kuwait's Frontiers, 1921–1943

In the years following World War One the pastoral populations of northern Arabia were subjected to political pressures and economic hardships arising from the creation of French and British spheres of influence in the territories that would become the states of Jordan, Syria and Iraq, and by the aggressive expansion of the domains of the ruler of Najd, ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman Al Saud. Year by year the nascent states in the region asserted more control over the vast stretches of desert and steppe that had heretofore been the domains of powerful bedouin tribes and confederations. New borders often cut across tribal territories creating complications and conflict in such matters as sovereignty, citizenship, migration, raiding and political refuge. The establishment of new customs regimes and economic policies meant that age-old patterns of trade between the settled and nomadic populations were altered, curtailed or criminalized as ‘smuggling’.

This article examines two sets of policies that Iraqi and Saudi forces employed to express political domination in the desert and steppes of Kuwait and beyond in the guise of controlling trade: the Saudi blockade of overland trade with Kuwait; and Iraq's aggressive ‘anti-smuggling’ measures that often victimized innocent bedouin. In both cases, members of bedouin tribes were harassed, attacked, pillaged and forced to alter their normal patterns of trade and migration. The eventual rise and dominance of state power resulted in the historic defeat of bedouin control in the deserts and steppes and a gradual loss of their traditional economic options. This article provides detailed evidence showing how part of this large transformation in bedouin society took place.     

1H NMR analysis of GHB and GBL: further findings on the interconversion and a preliminary report on the analysis of GHB in serum and urine

A 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) method for the determination of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) and gamma-hydroxybutyrolactone (GBL) in human serum and urine using spiked samples has been developed. The method gives linear responses (correlation coefficients of 0.99 or greater) over the concentration range 0.01 mg/mL to 4.0 mg/mL in urine and 0.3 mg/mL to 2.0 mg/mL in serum. No sample pretreatment is required. Studies of the chemical interconversion of GBL and GHB showed hydrolysis of GBL to be rapid at pH 11.54, slower and less complete (30% hydrolysis) at pH 2.54 and slowest at pH 7.0, reaching 30% hydrolysis in about 40 days. No esterification of GHB was observed at any pH.     

Is child saving dead? Attitudes toward juvenile rehabilitation in Illinois

In recent times, juvenile rehabilitation has been attacked both by liberals seeking to insert greater due process rights and protections into the juvenile justice system and by conservatives calling for more stringent handling of serious youthful offenders. The apparent pervasiveness of this attack raises the question, Is the philosophy of child saving dead? Data drawn from a survey conducted in Illinois suggest, however, that juvenile rehabilitation continues to receive support both from the public and from various groups associated with criminal justice practice and policy making. At the same time, there is also support for the notion that young criminals are responsible for their actions and are currently being treated too leniently by our courts. Finally, child saving is embraced most firmly by judges, lawyers, correctional administrators, and prison inmates and least strongly by legislators, prison guards, and the general public.