Training on a Battlefield: Iraq as a Training Ground for Global Jihadis

This article aims to describe and analyze the training that foreign jihadis in Iraq have received, how this may impact on the future of the insurgency in Iraq, and the potential spillover effect from the Iraqi jihad scene. The nature of the training in Iraq has been influenced by the difficult conditions the jihadis were operating under, and much has consisted of on-the-job training inside safe houses. The foreign jihadis were dependent on the support of the local Iraqis in order to conduct training, but the increasing use of suicide attacks has turned their erstwhile allies against them.     

Interpreting “Cumulative Extremism”: Six Proposals for Enhancing Conceptual Clarity

The concept of “cumulative extremism”—described in 2006 by Roger Eatwell as “the way in which one form of extremism can feed off and magnify other forms [of extremism],” has recently gained considerable traction in academic, policy, and practitioner discourses about extremism. Yet in spite of the growing usage of the term, particularly in analyses of the dynamic between extreme Islamist and extreme Right-Wing or anti-Muslim protest groups, there has to date been scant interrogation of the concept itself or of its application. In this article, we make a series of six proposals as to how we might enhance the conceptual clarity of these conversations about “cumulative extremism.” Our aim in doing so is to increase the likelihood that the concept might become a useful addition to the debates on extremism rather than becoming, to borrow a term from John Horgan—something of an “explanatory fiction”—an idea that appears to enable us to explain a great deal, but whose explanatory value is largely lost because there is insufficient scrutiny of the claims that it is used to make and whose liberal application becomes increasingly conducive to poor science.     

Neo‐revisionism or the emperor's new clothes: Some reflections on Niall Ferguson on the origins of the first world war

Niall Ferguson, The Pity of War (London: Allen Lane/The Penguin Press, 1998). xlv + 623 pp., £18.99 (hb), ISBN 0–713–99246–8.

Niall Ferguson (ed.), Virtual History: Alternatives and Counterfactuals (London: Picador, 1997). 548 pp., £20 (hb), ISBN 0–330–35132‐X.     

One perspective on “democracy vs. efficiency”: Testing mutuality via the laboratory approach

Much social commentary has fixated on the theme of “democracy vs. efficiency,” but observers have directed attention at modes of decision-making alternative to the usual bipolar foci. Gaenslen takes the latter tack in suggesting a third mode, and this note at once shares in his intent while seeing problems with his approach. Specifically, this note outlines a fourth mode for decision-making, based on the “laboratory approach to organization development”; it sketches some of its underlying theory and practice; and the narrative details a number of ways in which the demands of economic efficiency and political democracy can be met with substantial mutuality by learning designs consistent with the laboratory approach.     

Diversity and structure: exploring a neglected but critical interface

Most public organizations can anticipate serious structurallyrelated impediments to efforts to “value” or “manage” diversity. Many public organizations maintain bureaucratic structures which provide, at best, awkward foundations for responding to changing workforce demographics. This article details management practices and techniques that may accommodate the needs of diverse employees.     

Curbing Corruption in India: An Impossible Dream?

This article analyses the serious problem of corruption in India by examining its causes and the various anti-corruption measures employed by the government from the formation in 1941 of the first anti-corruption agency, the Delhi Special Police Establishment, which was expanded to form the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in April 1963. India's ineffective anti-corruption strategy can be attributed to the lack of political will of its leaders and its unfavourable policy context, which has hindered the enforcement of the anti-corruption laws. The lack of political will in fighting corruption is manifested in the lowest per capita expenditure and least favourable staff-population ratio of the CBI when compared to those of its counterparts in Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and Thailand. To enhance the CBI's effectiveness, it should be removed from the jurisdiction of the police and be established as an independent agency dedicated solely to curbing corruption. The Constitution of India should also be amended to empower the CBI to investigate corruption cases at the state level without obtaining the consent of the chief minister of the state. In view of the lack of political will, this article concludes that curbing corruption in India remains an impossible dream in the foreseeable future.     

Od interventions in urban settings. II: Public-sector success with planned change

The realization that a multitude of case studies indicate a set of unique public-sector constraints that do, generally speaking, work against OD interventions need not defeat continued efforts in urban governments and agencies. A first indication that these constraints are not all-powerful is the growing number and range of OD applications in the public sector. Further, the success ratio takes on significance when the difficulty of task and hard - to - achieve goals are considered. Approximately 90 percent of the 44 case reports studied here show atleast a definite balance of positive effects. Despite this cause for some optimism, OD intervenors must anticipate numerous and real constraints, e.g., the relatively shorttime-frame and political nature of efforts in the public sector. Certainly, these constraints often redefine the intervenor's role and measures of success, and advise against direct and unreflective adaptation of private - sector intervention design stopublic agencies.     

Talking to "Terrorists": Towards an Independent Analytical Framework for the Study of Violent Substate Activism

"Terrorism Studies" as a specific discipline is a comparatively recent addition to the social sciences and is still grappling with questions relating to a proper or appropriate methodology. This article argues that research within the field is often based neither on primary sources nor set within an independent analytical framework. Rather, it is characterized by an "aligned" position dependent on a research hermeneutic of crisis management, which perpetuates the "received view." Talking to "terrorists" and the use of social identity theory, applied in a context of cultural difference, are here proposed as a methodology enabling independent analysis.     

Challenges of Evaluating Democracy Assistance: Perspectives from the Donor Side

A large number of multilateral and bilateral donors have become engaged in the area of democracy and governance (DG) assistance over the last 15 years, stimulated by a series of trends and events. Despite the maturation of DG assistance as an important development area and the high profile of democracy promotion as a key foreign policy goal, research on the impact of this assistance and the effectiveness of different types of programming has been limited. Donors are constantly in need of feedback on the effectiveness and impact of their programming in order to revise programme designs, re-strategize aid portfolios, or address new DG issues. Moreover, legislatures increasingly require government aid agencies to be able to measure the results of their programmes, thereby demonstrating a ‘return on investment’ that would guide future assistance. Quality research is hampered by a daunting political, logistical, and methodological context, however. In 2005 a donor-sponsored workshop was organized to discuss challenges facing the evaluation and assessment of DG programming and assistance. The purpose of this article is to share insights from the workshop with a wider audience of scholars, practitioners and other policy-makers in the hope that this will stimulate additional research and thinking in this area.