Democratization and the secularization of religious parties: the case of Mexico

Under what conditions does democratization erode religious political engagement? The dramatic democratic transitions in the Catholic world during the last quarter of the twentieth century have been accompanied by the widespread decline of Catholic political parties, but the interaction between democratizing reforms and the development of religious parties in the Catholic world remains poorly understood. This article analyses the crucial case of Mexico to explore if, how, and under what conditions electoral participation encourages the differentiation of religious and partisan activism. Relying on archival research and an original data set describing the religious linkages of 302 historic and contemporary leading members of the PAN, Mexico's largest Catholic-inspired party, this article shows that democratization is only indirectly linked to the secularization of religious parties, and its effects are conditional on the resources and opportunities available to religious activists.     

Researching the use of force: the background to the international project

This article provides the background to an international project on use of force by the police that was carried out in seven countries. Force is often considered to be the defining characteristic of policing and much research has been conducted on the determinants, prevalence and control of the use of force, particularly in the United States. However, little work has looked at police officers’ own views on the use of force, in particular the way in which they justify it. Using a hypothetical encounter developed for this project, researchers in each country conducted focus groups with police officers in which they were encouraged to talk about the use of force. The results show interesting similarities and differences across countries and demonstrate the value of using this kind of research focus and methodology.

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The impact of gay friendly cultures on religious expression: a study of inclusive attitudes and behaviours among religious adolescent American male athletes

Abstract

This article investigates the way attitudes inclusive of homosexuality have proliferated among 11 high school athletes on 1 sporting team, despite those athletes representing various beliefs. Utilizing an in-depth, six-question interview schedule, as well as Huber’s centrality of religion scale (CRS-10), the respondents’ varied religious backgrounds, attitudes towards homosexuality and religiosity are discerned via semi-structured interviews. Results show that these young men reconcile their church’s stances with their own inclusive beliefs, reported ostensibly inclusive environments within their church communities, and articulated their belief in equality through secular discourse. As church communities in inclusive locales deemphasize anti-gay principles and posture inclusivity, young people may maintain religious identities as a function of secularization as declining religious authority. Finally, I discuss the relationship between inclusive masculinities, religiosity and secularization; in doing so, I explore mechanisms by which dominant cultural narratives (in this case, the acceptance of homosexuality) might transform religious expression and religious institutions.     

Neorealism,Security Cooperation,and Europe's Relative Gains Dilemma

Most neorealists argue that relative decline constitutes a systemic incentive for European security cooperation. Although this claim is broadly accepted, I argue that the relationship between relative decline and European security cooperation is complicated by a number of factors. First, European calculations about relative decline bear both a global and a regional (that is, intra-European) component. If a European country is to effectively mitigate relative decline, cooperation is not sufficient. It is just as important that cooperation develops in a way that underscores that country's comparative strengths and minimizes its weaknesses. In this regard, European countries are often in direct competition with each other. Secondly, when Europeans are thinking about their relative power position, some countries matter more than others: a given European country may accept to incur a relative loss vis-à-vis another country (European or otherwise) but not others. These calculations are further complicated by issue linkage. Some countries may accept relative losses on some issues (for example, security) in exchange for gains on others (economic). This article examines how intra-European considerations of relative gains affect the way in which Europe's main powers seek to cope with relative decline and assesses how those considerations affect security cooperation in a European Union (EU) framework. In doing so, it aims to unpack the otherwise vague notions of relative decline and European security cooperation.     

A Quantitative Assessment of Zygomatic Projection for Ancestry Estimation

Anterior zygomatic projection (ZP) is historically referenced as a useful trait in ancestry estimation, particularly when differentiating between Native Americans and U.S. Whites and Blacks. However, methods of assessing ZP vary, are susceptible to multiple interpretations, and have not been quantitatively validated. This study uses 228 3D surface scans of U.S. Whites, U.S. Blacks, and Native Americans to quantitatively test the ZP methods published by Rhine in 1990 (Skeletal attribution of race: methods for forensic anthropology, Albuquerque, NM, Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, 1990) and Bass in 1995 (Human osteology: a laboratory and field manual, Columbia, MO: Missouri Archaeological Society, 1995). Two ZP angles and two distances, representing method interpretations, were collected and analyzed via ANOVA and discriminant function analyses. Although significant ancestry differences were found across all variables, only the Bass inferior zygomatic distance successfully differentiated the pooled Native American group from pooled U.S. Whites/Blacks (73.7% correct). Arctic Native Americans, displaying the most projecting zygomas, are driving group differences. Significant overlap in measurement distributions were observed between groups in all variables, indicating limited forensic utility.     

Bribery and public procurement: an experimental study

A procurement contract is granted by a bureaucrat (the auctioneer) who is interested in a low price and a bribe from the provider. Procurement is thus a multi-dimensional bidding contest with one-dimensional type space (the privately known cost). The optimal price and bribe bid is derived based on an iid private cost assumption. In the experiment, bribes are negatively framed to capture that society is better off if bribes are rare or low. Although bid prices are lower than predicted, behavior is qualitatively in line with the linear equilibrium prediction. When bribes generate a negative externality, there is a significant increase in the variability of the data.     

秘鲁与中国关系的发展

首先,请允许我衷心感谢中国社会科学院拉丁美洲研究所的盛情邀请。其次,我衷心祝贺它们提出举办这个论坛的动议。这次会议不仅对在中国设有使馆的拉美国家,而且对所有希望更深刻了解拉丁美洲、了解拉美政治、经济和社会现实的人们而言,都是十分重要而有意义的。中国社会科学院、尤其是拉丁美洲研究所,享有高度的学术声望,并在推动中国社会科学的发展中发挥着突出作用,这对秘鲁而言非常重要。正是由于中国社会科学院的重要地位,我国的各界人士,包括总统、部长、政界要员、外交使节和学者多次与贵院交流经验、观点和思想,以便了解我们的现实。…     

Psychedelic fungus (Psilocybe sp.) authentication in a case of illegal drug traffic: sporological,molecular analysis and identification of the psychoactive substance

In nature, there are >200 species of fungi with hallucinogenic properties. These fungi are classified as Psilocybe, Gymnopilus, and Panaeolus which contain active principles with hallucinogenic properties such as ibotenic acid, psilocybin, psilocin, or baeocystin. In Chile, fungi seizures are mainly of mature specimens or spores. However, clandestine laboratories have been found that process fungus samples at the mycelium stage. In this transient stage of growth (mycelium), traditional taxonomic identification is not feasible, making it necessary to develop a new method of study.Currently, DNA analysis is the only reliable method that can be used as an identification tool for the purposes of supporting evidence, due to the high variability of DNA between species. One way to identify the species of a distinctive DNA fragment is to study PCR products analyzed by real time PCR and sequencing. One of the most popular sequencing methods of forensic interest at the generic and intra-generic levels in plants is internal transcribed spacer (ITS). With real time PCR it is possible to distinguish PCR products by differential analysis of their melting temperature (Tm) curves.This paper describes morphological, chemical, and genetic analysis of mycelia of psychedelic fungi collected from a clandestine laboratory. The fungus species were identified using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mass spectrometry, HRM analysis, and ITS sequencing. The sporological studies showed a generally smooth surface and oval shape, with maximum length 10.1?μm and width 6.4?μm. The alkaloid Psilocyn was identified by mass spectrometry, while HRM analysis and ITS sequencing identified the species as Psilocybe cubensis. A genetic match was confirmed between the HRM curves obtained from the mycelia (evidence) and biological tissue extracted from the fruiting bodies. Mycelia recovered from the evidence and fruiting bodies (control) were genetically indistinguishable.