Bases That Leave: Consequences of US Base Closures and Realignments in South Korea

ABSTRACT

Contrary to ample attention on American military base closures at home, the consequences of base closures abroad remain under-examined even as the American military continues to adjust its global force posture. South Korea, the third biggest host of US military bases overseas, is an under-investigated case despite offering useful insights applicable to other US base hosts. This article examines short-term local-level consequences of US base departures in South Korea, with a focus on environmental and redevelopment challenges that shape the political and economic fate of former base sites. Detailed analyses and interviews on the oft-overlooked fate of multiple post-military sites draw a rather unsettling picture: Most sites remain empty, temporarily deserted and heavily contaminated spaces plagued by redevelopment difficulties. When overseas American bases are closed, they leave problems behind and those problems persist long after base sites return to host communities.     

Vergabewettbewerb als Instrument. Zur Renaissance politischer Instrumentalisierung des Vergaberechts

Die Rede von "vergabefremden" Kriterien oder "Sekundärzwecken" der Vergabe stößt in der wissenschaftlichen Auseinandersetzung in aller Regel auf Skepsis und Mahnungen zur Vorsicht. Denn einer verstärkten Ausrichtung des Vergaberechts an "außerökonomischen" politischen Zielsetzungen wird das Potential zugemessen, die Funktionalität des Vergabewettbewerbs zu beeinträchtigen und damit dem vergaberechtlichen Ordnungsanliegen insgesamt zuwider zu laufen. Nichts desto trotz ist das Vergaberecht seit jeher und bis heute in einem signifikanten Ausmaß durch Ansätze einer politischen Instrumentalisierung geprägt. Bemerkenswerter Weise wird aktuell vor allem auf europäischer Ebene der Ruf nach einer ganzheitlichen, strategischen Beschaffungspolitik der Mitgliedstaaten, die bei der Auftragsvergabe auch politische Ziele und insoweit Interessen abseits der Sicherung der betriebswirtschaftlichen Effizienz der Beschaffung in den Blick nimmt, immer lauter. Der Beitrag will die Kernbedingungen der Nutzung des Vergabewettbewerbs als Instrument aufzeigen und Grenzen seiner Leistungsfähigkeit ausloten.     

Alcohol intoxicated eyewitnesses' memory of intimate partner violence

Alcohol affects memory in many, and mostly negative, ways. This is a problem in legal contexts as many witnesses are alcohol intoxicated when taking part of the critical event. However, research is sparse regarding how, and under what circumstances, the reports of alcohol intoxicated witnesses differ from those of sober witnesses. This study investigated whether alcohol intoxicated and sober eyewitnesses differ regarding completeness, accuracy, and type of information reported, as well as whether gender influenced these variables. Eighty-seven healthy men (n = 44) and women (n = 43) received either an alcoholic beverage (0.7 g/kg) or a control (juice) in a laboratory setting before viewing a film picturing intimate partner violence. Ten minutes after viewing the film, they were interviewed. Reports by alcohol intoxicated women were less complete, but as accurate, as sober women's. In contrast, intoxicated and sober men did not differ regarding completeness or accuracy. Furthermore, compared with sober women, intoxicated women reported fewer actions but no difference was found between the groups regarding reported objects. At this moderate dose, alcohol affected women's reports more than men's, which may be because alcohol affects attention and memory consolidation more clearly at a lower dose for women than for men.     

The European Union and Mercosur: A case of inter-regionalism

The article reviews the relation between two regional integration arrangements, the European Union and Mercosur, under three aspects: trade and investment, international negotiations and the institutional dimension. Tracing the agenda and issues dealt with between the two, leading to a project of a transatlantic free trade area, reveals that trade issues, one of two 'pillars' of reference, are important. However, the most influential results have stemmed so far from the other 'pillar', the political one. These results may be seen in the EU's role as a 'road map' for Mercosur's institutional trajectory, and second, as a signal for the private sector in furthering industrial networks within the ongoing world economic restructuring. The objective, thus, is to highlight how the relationship may interact with two encompassing processes: the shaping of regionalism/s, in particular the Mercosur case, and the so-called globalisation process.