Between Interest and Responsibility: Assessing China's Foreign Policy and Burgeoning Global Role

Abstract

This article is situated within the contemporary debates about the nature and purpose of China's growing power. It uses the concepts of “national interest” and “international responsibility” as a framework of analysis for Chinese foreign policy, and develops a three-dimensional typology to conceptualize their relationship (antagonistic; instrumental; mutually constitutive). This article adopts two main arguments. First, a stronger China is one gravitating toward greater notions of international responsibility, albeit instrumentally. Second, observable trends in China's evolving worldview indicate, however, that it is conceiving its national interests more broadly, embracing further socialization and greater normative commitments to international society. One may therefore view China's burgeoning global role as a great power with a degree of “cautious optimism.”     

The Ascendance of Political Islam: Hamas and consolidation in the Gaza Strip

This article outlines the means by which the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas has developed and implemented a consolidation of power strategy that is inexorably driving it to a state of increasingly authoritarian control in the Gaza Strip. It discusses the factors that have driven Hamas in terms of power seeking as primordial to all radical Islamist movements or as a result of or response to other factors outside its control. The article highlights the concurrent demise of the Fatah organisation in the Gaza Strip as the largest and most visible symbol of secularism. It then reflects on the role of external, including international, actors in accelerating consolidation tactics following the Hamas ‘takeover’ of power from the Fatah-dominated institutions of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in June 2007. The article aims to demonstrate that Hamas' control in Gaza is an important signpost in terms of developing Islamism in the Middle East region.     

Retracting suburbia: Smart growth and the future of housing

Abstract

Metropolitan areas throughout the United States increasingly experience sprawl development. States such as Oregon and Maryland have enacted land use legislation that curbs sprawl by promoting denser urban growth. Smart growth, a new method of metropolitan development leading to more compact regions, offers an alternative to sprawl. Given that housing comprises a major share of the built environment, policies that promote denser residential development form a key component of smart growth.

This article provides an analytic review of the ways housing can be used to support successful smart growth policies. It focuses on three areas: the market for higher density housing, land use issues associated with denser housing development, and methods for financing higher density and mixed‐use housing. The literature on the link between smart growth and housing remains underdeveloped. We offer this synthesis as a way to advance the state of knowledge on smart growth's housing dimension.     

Edgeless cities: Examining the Noncentered metropolis

Abstract

Edgeless Cities, a form of sprawling office development that never reaches the scale, density, or cohesiveness of Edge Cities, now account for the bulk of office space found outside of downtowns. The term draws on Garreau's Edge City, yet it is a new, albeit elusive, category. It captures the fact that most suburban office areas lack a physical edge. In contrast to Edge Cities, which combine large‐scale office development with major retail, Edgeless Cities feature mostly isolated office buildings spread across vast swaths of urban space.

This article looks at the evolving geography of office space in 13 of the nation's largest office markets, which together contain more than 2.6 billion square feet of office space and 26,000 buildings. The data provide an empirical framework for examining competing theories of metropolitan form. The article concludes with a discussion of the policy implications resulting from the emergence of Edgeless Cities.     

Punitive Justifications or Just Punishment? An Ethical Reading of Coercive Diplomacy

Can the use of military force in response to violations of human rights norms be meaningfully described as ‘punishment’? If so, does this form of punishment help to constitute a just and peaceful international order? This paper investigates these two questions by examining the use of strategic bombing in campaigns of coercive diplomacy as a means to punish states. The paper explores the concept of punishment and its relevance for international affairs as a theoretical basis. It then turns to two cases of punitive uses of force—US and UK strikes against Iraq in 1998 and NATO strikes against Serbia in 1999. These two military campaigns are assessed as punitive but not necessarily just in that they fail to fit within a clear, legal institutional order and confuse the agent that deserves punishment. The paper concludes by suggesting that while punishment may be necessary for a legitimate international order, current punitive actions do not support such an order.     

Symptom Patterns among Youth Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence

Children and adolescents exposed to intimate partner violence display a broad range of symptoms. We sought to differentiate symptom patterns and predictors of these patterns using a person-oriented approach. Previous cluster analysis research of exposed youth was extended to include youth PTSD symptoms and trauma history. Participants were 74 mothers who had received a police call for domestic violence, and who had a child between 2 and 17 years old. Cluster analysis was used to identify four symptom patterns among exposed youth: Typical, Asymptomatic, General Distress, and Acute PTSD. These patterns were replicated in separate cluster analyses with younger and older participants. Symptom patterns were differentiated by maternal distress, maternal aggression, and youth trauma history, but not by male partner aggression. Implications for assessment and treatment of youth exposed to intimate partner violence, and suggestions for further research, are discussed.     

我国水权流转主、客体范围的厘定

水是基础性的自然资源和战略性的经济资源.水权流转制度是在当前全球淡水资源匮乏,水污染严重,供需严重不对称的情势下应运而生的.我国水权流转制度理论及相关的制度建设比实践起步较晚,而且发展缓慢,因此,水权流转实践面临着不少的法律困境.本文试图以水权流转主、客体范围的厘定为突破口,展望我国水权流转制度的发展愿景.     

道德基础与经济发展

本文探讨了在经济发展中道德的价值,同时也力图探求在市场经济条件下应该构建和如何构建一个适应当前形势发展的道德体系--道德基础.     

Die Beurteilung von Geruchsimmissionen aus Tierhaltungsanlagen nach GIRL 2008 – Ein Fortschritt für die Landwirtschaft?

Zusammenfassung  Seit dem 29. Februar 2008 liegt die Entwurfsfassung für die zweite erg?nzte und aktualisierte Fassung der Geruchsimmissions- Richtlinie (im Folgenden kurz: GIRL 2008) vor. Die ?nderung bzw. überarbeitung des Regelwerks war mit Blick auf die zunehmende Kritik vornehmlich aus den Reihen der Landwirtschaft erforderlich geworden. Neben der unzureichenden Berücksichtigung der Dorfgebiete wurden vor allem die viel zu niedrigen Immissionsrichtwerte (Ziffer 3.1 GIRL 2004) bem?ngelt. Insbesondere die sich in der Rechtsprechung abzeichnende Tendenz, landwirtschaftlichen Betrieben ein deutlich h?heres Ma? an Immissionen zuzugestehen, lie?en die Immissionsrichtwerte der GIRL 2004 immer weniger plausibel erscheinen. Hinzu kam, dass seit dem Jahr 2006 neue Erkenntnisse aus dem Forschungsprojekt “Geruchsbeurteilung in der Landwirtschaft” vorliegen, die es zu berücksichtigen galt. Koordiniert worden war dieses Verbundprojekt der L?nder Niedersachsen, Sachsen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern und Nordrhein-Westfalen vom Landesumweltamt Nordrhein-Westfalen. Ziel des Projektes war es, die Grundlage für ein verallgemeinerungsf?higes Bewertungsverfahren für Tierhaltungsgerüche zu schaffen. Zu diesem Zweck wurden in insgesamt elf Untersuchungsgebieten die Tierarten Schwein, Rind und Geflügel auf Geruchsbelastungen und -bel?stigungen hin untersucht. Die Ergebnisse sind im Materialienband 73 “Geruchsbeurteilung in der Landwirtschaft. Bericht zu Expositions-, Wirkungsbeziehungen, Geruchsh?ufigkeit, Intensit?t, Hedonik und Polarit?tenprofil” (im Folgenden kurz: Materialienband 73) nachzulesen. In die GIRL 2008 fanden die Forschungsergebnisse vor allem in Form einer erweiterten Gebietsdifferenzierung sowie von tierartspezifischen Gewichtungsfaktoren Eingang. Welche praktischen Konsequenzen mit dieser ?nderung verbunden sind, insbesondere ob diese ausnahmslos zugunsten der Landwirtschaft wirken, soll im Folgenden etwas N?her beleuchtet werden.