Utopianism and the Bush foreign policy

Amidst a renewed debate over the existence of an American empire, serious questions have emerged about whether the Bush foreign policy can be described as ‘realist’ given the widespread opposition that it encounters from academic realists. This paper is an attempt to shed light on this vexing issue by interpreting the Bush foreign policy through the lens of the broader religious–political tradition of America. Specifically, it argues that the neoconservatives in the Bush administration draw on the utopian strand of this tradition when setting their foreign policy agenda and justifying their decisions to the public. With special reference to Iraq, it discusses how three key utopian themes—the perfection of human life on earth, the possibility of limiting evil through conversion and the prospect of arresting human development—are reflected in the neoconservative agenda. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of how these themes run counter to the tenets of classical realism and of the ethical and political hazards that emerge from an attempt at utopian empire.     

Topologies and topographies of Ireland's neoliberal crisis

In this paper, we explore successive waves of neoliberalization in Ireland. We contend that neoliberalization remained largely “invisible” during the Celtic Tiger because a property bubble permitted a period of debt-driven growth, but was revealed and politicized by the crisis. Mobilizing the ideas of topology and topography, we explore the relationships which unfolded between the “financialization” of the global economy and the two twin pillars of the Irish crisis narrative: property and debt. We conclude that there is a need for future studies to consider how neoliberalism, financialization and uneven development are being reshaped by geographically situated responses to the crisis.     

The Rights of Victims: Participation, Representation, Protection, Reparation

Victims have the right under Cambodian law to participate inthe Cambodian Extraordinary Chambers’ trials. The mannerin which they will exercise this right remains unsettled, butwill affect whether these trials are eventually fair, theirimpact on national reconciliation, and the establishment ofprecedents for future Cambodian litigation. The exercise ofvictims’ rights should be adapted to the context of trialsfor mass crimes, affecting victim participation, representation,protection and reparation.     

Neoliberalism,Transnational Education Norms,and Education Spending in the Developing World, 1983–2004

Using the case of education, we consider how global cultural and economic forces affect national education spending policies. Our analysis includes both an historical analysis of the construction and transformation of ideas about education at the global level and a statistical assessment of the implementation of conflicting approaches to state education funding within countries. In the historical analysis, we show how the idea of free education, although institutionalized in international law, was subject to powerful challenges from international financial institutions, which advocated user fees for public services, including education. Ultimately, the principle of free education prevailed despite the financial clout behind the opposing view. Using data from poor‐ and middle‐income countries from 1983 to 2004, we also show that the presence of international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) advocating child rights was linked to an increase in the levels of state funding for education. This suggests that embeddedness in global discourses, as evidenced by country‐specific linkages to INGOs, is critical in making governments more accountable for supporting institutionalized ideas concerning education.     

Pacemaker/defibrillator evaluation at Los Angeles County Department of Coroner*

Pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) are implanted medical devices for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. These devices are now commonly encountered in the postmortem situation. The Los Angeles County Department of the Coroner uses the services of a cardiac electrophysiology consultant to interrogate pacemakers and ICDs, producing a detailed picture of the cardiac events recorded by the device. We have used this method to evaluate 20 cases where the ICD or pacemaker provided significant information. We report four forensic cases to illustrate the different applications of pacemaker interrogation and its contribution in forensic investigation. This technique was used to establish identification of the decedent, to determine the cause and time of death, and to determine whether device malfunction could have played a role in the death. We conclude that detailed evaluation of the pacemaker or ICD in selected cases may provide essential information to the forensic pathologist.