European citizenship and political identity

A common European identity is necessary to support European citizenship. National identity does not represent a suitable model for European identity because it relies on elements of kinship, like ancestry, culture, language and traditions, which are not shared by all European citizens at the same time. Only a model of collective identity based on political association could bring together all the different European cultural and national identities. However, if we reject the national, culturally homogeneous model of identity in favour of an entirely political one, we are faced with the task of defining the substance of European political identity. The main purpose of this paper is to outline the essential elements of a European political identity, by looking at Europe's political and constitutional history and at the practice of citizenship in the European Union. European political identity and citizenship will be confronted with two major issues affecting the fields of identity and citizenship: pluralism and exclusion.     

Medicolegal aspects of an unusual uterine perforation with multiload-Cu 375R

Perforation of the uterus is one of the most serious complications associated with insertion of intrauterine contraceptive devices (IUD). According to recent studies, this lesion occurs in 0.87 per 1000 cases, but statistics generally fluctuate between 0.05 and 13 per 1000 insertions. "Primary" perforations occur at the time of IUD insertion, and "secondary," or delayed, perforations are usually assumed to be caused by reactive uterine contractions. We report an unusual case of uterine perforation, which occurred 9 days after the insertion of a Multiload-Cu 375 IUD. The criteria for differential diagnosis between primary and secondary complications are discussed, particularly from the perspective of medical malpractice cases.     

Schwimmende Politeia? Demokratische Mikroinseln im Südpazifik und in der Karibik

Microislands are not a hot spot of comparative government studies. Without good reasons. Surely, from a political perspective Microislands are not of great importance. But such an argument should not prevent researchers from taking a closer look at Microislands. Because they are perfectly designed to broaden our knowledge of the circumstances under which democracies occur and survive. In this paper three assumptions, taken from the rare literature on Microislands, are tested: territorial space, homogeneity and insularity. It can be shown that the geographical as well as the geopolitical position of Caribbean and south pacific microislands posses a high explanatory power for the question why those states are stable democracies.     

“It's not Fair!” Adolescents' Constructions of Appropriateness of Parental Reactions

Research suggests that perceived appropriateness of parental discipline plays a role in whether adolescents accept or reject parental messages, but little is known about how adolescents conceptualize or construct their ideas of appropriateness. One hundred twenty-two adolescents (M age = 16.87) answered questions about past situations (both antisocial and prosocial), how parents responded to these situations, the adolescent's perceived appropriateness of the parent's reaction, how the parent's reaction made the adolescent feel, and what the adolescent thought the parent's intentions were. Appropriateness ratings were related to the type of parental discipline used, with yelling associated with lower ratings of appropriateness and talking associated with higher ratings. Ratings were also related to adolescents' emotions, with negative emotions associated with lower ratings of appropriateness and positive emotions associated with higher ratings. Lastly, ratings were related to adolescents' perceptions of parental intent, with inhibiting and controlling intentions associated with lower ratings of appropriateness and caring and helping intentions associated with higher ratings.     

Reconciling legal positivism and human rights: Hans Kelsen's argument from relativism

This article examines the conceptual relationship between legal positivism and human rights, challenging the common idea that the two are in tension or that there exists, at most, a contingent relationship between them, whereby legal positivists can only recognize the normative validity of human rights if they happen to be inscribed in positive law. To do this, I focus on the thought and writings of one of the “founding fathers” of modern legal positivism: the Austrian legal theorist and political philosopher Hans Kelsen. In the first part, I show that Kelsen's conception of legal positivism is inextricably tied to — and, indeed, logically stems from — his moral relativism. In the second, I show that this form of relativism is also the philosophical foundation for Kelsen's commitment to democracy and human rights. Finally, in the third part, I examine the specific conception of human rights that results from this relativistic foundation, contrasting it with the “natural law” version that legal positivism excludes.     

Sexual violence in armed conflicts: research progress and remaining gaps

Research on conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) has grown rapidly over the last decade. This article consolidates existing social science research on CSRV according to two lines of inquiry: its causes and its consequences. Overall, research has considerably advanced our knowledge of the causes of CRSV, particularly in four aspects: purpose, context, individual motives and intra-group dynamics. However, there is a need to better understand the societal consequences of CRSV, in particular how it affects relations in families, and within and between communities. Overall there remains a shortage of empirical, in particular mixed-method, designs to produce research which is relevant for policymakers and practitioners.