The curious case of Ahmed Necmeddin Bey: a look into the sociopolitical climate in Aintab on the eve of 1915

Ahmed Necmeddin Bey was the kaimakam (district governor) of Aintab in late July 1908. One day, however, Ahmed Necmeddin Bey was beaten by a group of Turks and Armenians in Aintab; his clothes torn, he was dismissed from his post and finally expelled him from the city. But what was the reason for this incident? Within the first year of the declaration of the Constitution, it was the most important event that occurred in the city. This particular incident calls for careful examination, for this significant event reflects how the Second Constitutional era and the new regime were perceived by Muslims and Armenians in Aintab on a local level. Additionally, it offers us some useful clues regarding how the Union and Progress Party as a political organization and its policies were received on a local scale. By studying this case, it is also possible to see a clear example of how ordinary Ottoman citizens reacted towards the revival of the Constitution.     

Occupations,mediations, subjectifications: fabricating politics

The revolutions and protests that have spread across the globe since 2008 have been seen as a watershed moment. In this article we examine the relationships between urban space and politics that have emerged across these events. We draw upon the political philosophy of Jacques Rancière to provide a framework to understand some events of this period as political moments and, in addition, attempt to build upon Rancière's work to trace out the geographical dimensions of politics. The paper concludes with a consideration of the counter-revolutionary projects enacted by current social orders.     

Offenders as victims: post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorder among male prisoners

Background: Comorbid substance use disorder(s) and post-traumatic stress disorder (SUD-PTSD) is common among prisoners and linked to an increased risk of criminal recidivism; however, little is known about the characteristics of prisoners with this comorbidity. Aim: This study provides a preliminary examination of the clinical and criminal profile of male inmates with symptoms of SUD-PTSD, and examines whether this profile differs according to whether a person has experienced a trauma while in prison. Methods: Thirty male inmates from two correctional centres in Sydney, Australia, were recruited and assessed using a structured interview. Results: The sample reported extensive criminal, substance use and trauma histories. A history of substance dependence was almost universal (90%) and 56.7% met diagnostic criteria for PTSD with the remainder experiencing sub-threshold symptoms. Forty-three per cent reported a traumatic event while in prison. Those who had experienced trauma in prison, compared to those who had not, were more likely to nominate heroin as their main drug of concern and to be receiving drug treatment in prison. There was also a trend toward inmates who had experienced a trauma in prison being more likely than inmates who had no prison trauma to have experienced a physical assault. Conclusion: Male prisoners with SUD-PTSD are a high-needs group yet treatment responses are poor. Further research examining treatment options for this comorbidity may improve prisoner well-being and reduce recidivism.     

Do Municipal Mergers Improve Fiscal Outcomes?

Improved fiscal management is a frequent justification for promoting boundary consolidations. However, whether or not this is actually the case is rarely placed under rigorous empirical scrutiny. Hence, this article investigates if fiscal outcomes are improved when municipalities are merged. The basic argument is that the conceptualisation of fiscal management in political science is often too narrow as it focuses on the budget and pays hardly any attention to balances in the final accounts and debts – elements of management which are central to policy making. On this background, the causal relationship between municipal mergers and fiscal outcomes is analysed. Measured on the balance between revenues and expenses, liquid assets and debts, municipal mergers improve the fiscal outcomes of the municipalities in a five‐year perspective, although the pre‐reform effects tend to be negative. For liquidity and debt, however, the improvement only entails re‐establishing the levels prior to the reform. The testing ground is the recent mergers of Danish municipalities, which, it is argued, constitute a quasi‐experiment. This forms the basis of a Difference‐in‐Difference design, allowing the alleviation of endogeneity problems and enabling causal inference. The analysis is based on administrative data from the Danish municipalities in the period 2003–11.     

Size,Democracy, and the Economic Costs of Running the Political System

The search for the optimal size of political systems is one of the most enduring in political thought. Given the validity of arguments for and against small units, one might expect variation in rearrangements of unit sizes. However, the reform trend is uniform: units, often at the local level, are amalgamated to harvest scale effects. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the argument on economies of scale in the economic costs of running political systems. Our testing ground is a recent Danish reform. It allows us to avoid endogeneity problems often facing researchers of size reforms. The reform was directed by the central government and constitutes an exogenous shock to 239 municipalities, whereas 32 municipalities were left untouched. We thus have a quasi‐experiment with pre‐ and posttreatment observations for both an experiment and a control group. Our findings show that scale effects, measured as administrative costs per inhabitant, are considerable.     

Book Reviews

The Way the Modern World Works: World Hegemony to World Impasse. Peter J. Taylor, 1996. Chichester and London: John Wiley. 276 pp.; £18.99 paperback. ISBN 0 471 96586 3

Imagineering Atlanta: The Politics of Place in the City of Dreams. C. Rutheiser, 1996. London: Verso. 324 pp.; £14.00 paperback. ISBN 1 85984 800 1

Represénter la ville, coll.. A. Bailly, C. Baumont, J. Huriot and A. Sallez, 1995. Paris: Economica. 112 pp.; £7.00 paperback. ISBN 2 7178 2956 3

Continental Trading Blocs: The Growth of Regionalism in the World Economy. R. Gibb and W. Michalak (Eds), 1994. Chichester: John Wiley. 302 pp.; £45.00 hardback. ISBN: 4719 49 094

Mapping Desire. D. Bell and G C. Valentine (Eds), 1995. London: Routledge. 370 pp.; £15.99 paperback. ISBN 0 415 1164 1     

Prohibitive tariffs on used vehicles: Aid or obstacle to the development process?

One of the protective devices used by less developed nations to stimulate their automotive industries is a prohibitive tariff on used vehicles. The purpose of this note is to demonstrate that this restriction, via adjustments in the stock and age composition of vehicles, might reduce employment in the tariff levying nation's automotive industry, might increase that nation's demand for foreign exchange, and will violate stated (egalitarian) income distribution goals.

The behaviour of the individual vehicle consumer will be analyzed first and market consumption adjustments brought about by various vehicle tariffs will be determined. Supply characteristics of the automotive industry are then presented, and the employment effects of a prohibitive tariff on used vehicles will be examined. Balance of payments and income redistribution effects are briefly considered.     

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning and Death in a Large Enclosed Ventilated Area

A 55‐year‐old man with a medical history of tobacco use suddenly collapsed while power washing an empty indoor pool in a hotel. The decedent was transported to the local hospital where he was pronounced. A postmortem examination revealed atherosclerotic heart disease and bilateral pulmonary edema and congestion. A postmortem blood carbon monoxide (CO) level was 27% saturation, and a CO performed on hospital admission blood was 49% saturation. CO poisoning is a common cause of toxicological morbidity and mortality in the United States. The circumstances most often occur in an enclosed environment and may be intentional or unintentional. CO poisoning has been reported in open, well‐ventilated spaces, but rarely results in death. A warning label was present on the engine clearly stating the dangers of CO emission. However, there was a false sense of security due to the large size of the pool room and the presence of industrial blowers that were being used for ventilation.     

A life sentence really? The resettlement of ex-prisoners with convictions for sexual offences

About a year ago I was due to carry out in-depth research interviews with men who had committed sexual offences and who, having served their prison sentence, had been released into the community. When I spoke about this upcoming work with others the usual response was a version of ‘rather you than me’, or inquisitiveness about the arrangements for speaking with this group. As one friend said, ‘You'll be talking to them from behind some glass won't you?’.