Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Terrorist Attacks by ETA 1970 to 2007

Rational choice perspectives maintain that seemingly irrational behavior on the part of terrorist organizations may nevertheless reflect strategic planning. In this paper we examine spatial and temporal patterns of terrorist attacks by the Spanish group ETA between 1970 and 2007. Our analysis is guided by a public announcement by ETA in 1978 that the group would shift from emphasizing attacks in the Basque territory to instead launch attacks more widely in the hopes of exhausting the Spanish government and forcing it to abandon the Basque territory. This announcement suggests that prior to the end of 1978 ETA attacks were based mostly on controlling territory in the Basque region that they hoped to rule; and after 1978 the organization decided to instead undertake a prolonged war of attrition. Accordingly, we argue that before the end of 1978 ETA was mostly perpetrating control attacks (attacking only within the Basque territories) and that the diffusion of attacks between provinces was mostly contagious (spreading contiguously). After the 1978 proclamation, we argue that the attack strategy shifted toward attrition (attacking in areas outside of the Basque territories) and that the attacks were more likely to diffuse hierarchically (spreading to more distant locations). As predicted, we find that after ETA moved toward a more attrition based attack strategy, subsequent attacks were significantly more likely to occur outside the Basque region and to target non-adjacent regions (consistent with hierarchical diffusion). We also find that hierarchical diffusion was more common when a longer time elapsed between attacks (a likely consequence of the fact that more distant attacks require more resources and planning) and that attacks against Madrid were unlikely to be followed immediately by more attacks on Madrid or surrounding provinces. After ETA announced a shift in policy, they maintained a highly dispersed attack strategy even during their period of decline. Using information about where and when prior attacks occurred could provide useful information for policy makers countering groups like ETA.     

‘Our normal is different’: autistic adults’ experiences of the family courts

ABSTRACT

This article reports the findings of a small-scale qualitative study exploring the experiences of autistic adults who have had experience of the family justice system. While participants related some positive elements to their experiences, in particular with regard to the willingness of professionals to try to learn more about their clients’ needs, the overall picture showed significant concerns. The reports given showed significant misunderstandings about autism, and a system which struggled to make appropriate adjustments which would allow autistic court users to have access to justice on an equivalent basis to non-autistic litigants. This situation stands in contrast to the position regarding other disabilities in the Family Justice System, but also to the relatively greater level of provision for autistic people within the Criminal Justice System. Based on participants’ experiences and existing good practice in other areas, we make recommendations that could be adopted by the Family Court and practitioners.     

Criminalizing human trafficking in Latvia: the evolution and implications of human trafficking policies

This article explores the development and evolution of human trafficking policies in Latvia and the measurable outcomes of these policies. An analysis of policy development revealed that Latvia has three different types of human trafficking policy: criminalization statutes, national action programs, and victim service provisions. These policies have produced outcomes such as criminal cases against traffickers, rehabilitation services for victims, and the formation of anti-trafficking institutions. The results revealed direct causal links between human trafficking policies and anti-trafficking institutions are evident with the National Coordinator and social services for victims. Indirect causation is also present with specialized police and prosecutor units and anti-trafficking institutional policy development by the anti-trafficking working group.     

Legislative Intentions and Counterfactu-als: Or,What One Can Still Learn from Dworkin's Critique of Legal Positivism

Riggs v. Palmer has become famous since Dworkin used it to show that legal positivism is defective. The debate over the merits of Dworkin's claims is still very lively. Yet not enough attention has been paid to the fact that the content of the statute at issue in Riggs was given by the counterfactual intention of the legislature. According to arguments from legislative intent, a judicial decision is justified if it is based on the lawmaker's intention. But can legislative intentions be determined counterfactually? More generally, what are the discursive commitments undertaken by a lawyer or a judge, in an exchange of legal reasons, when using this interpretive methodology? This paper addresses these issues considering, in particular, David Lewis's “resemblance” condition and “relevant similarity” between possible worlds in the evaluation of counterfactual statements. The analysis sheds some new light on the debate on theoretical disagreements and shows that Dworkin's conception of law as an argumentative practice is not necessarily at odds with legal positivism. It rather allows us to look at it under a better light.     

Is Public Management Neglecting the State?

Public management is a domain of research that is now roughly three decades old. Researchers in this area have made important advances in understanding about the performance of public organizations. But questions have been raised about the scope and methods of public management research (PMR). Does it neglect important questions about the development of major institutions of the modern state? Has it focused unduly on problems of the advanced democracies? Has it made itself irrelevant to public debates about the role and design of government, and the capacity of public institutions to deal with emerging challenges? This set of eight short essays were prepared for a roundtable held at the research conference of the PMR Association at the University of Aarhus in June 2016. Contributors were asked to consider the question: Is PMR neglecting the state?     

Participatory constitution-making and why it matters: A review of the Egyptian experience

This article considers the making of Egypt's post-Mubarak constitution after considering the fact that participatory constitution-making is accepted as a democratic norm allowing citizens to be involved in the creation of their constitution and their future. The author argues that the process by which a constitution is made is crucial for the framing and legitimising of that constitution. Therefore, political elites and state institutions should not wholly control the process. The views of two schools of thought – idealism and realism – are considered. These views, together with the influence of the state and the concept of participation of the citizenry in the constitution-making process, are measured against international law requirements and further applied in a critical evaluation of Egypt's constitution-making process from 2011 to 2014.     

Unwanted Online Attentions Among an Italian Students Sample

The use of the Internet and new technologies now seems to permeate the entire society, affecting every aspect of daily life. Although this change is characterized by undeniable positive aspects, it simultaneously bears a number of risks which are higher especially with respect to the growing number of younger users. In fact, young people, as the most involved in cyber space, are an age group most exposed to the dangers of improper and not aware use of electronic tools. The specific aim of this research was to study unwanted online attentions (UOA) among a sample of Italian students (N?=?585, mean age?=?14.5), identifying UOA as all those behaviors carried out through the Internet and technology to annoy, disturb, offend, humiliate, intimidate, threat, harass, harm or attack others. The online questionnaire investigated the online habits of the students, the presence of UOA and the characteristics of victims and perpetrators, the perception and emotional impact of such conducts, and the victims' possible reactions. The findings offer an estimate of the prevalence of these behaviors in the population of this age group in the area considered. More importantly, the results reveal a very high involvement in technology by the students accompanied by a lack of awareness regarding the risks connected to technology use as well as a low perception of UOA. These results give evidence of the needs in terms of prevention and education instruments in order to improve the system of responses to cybervictimization among young people.     

Determinants of the university technology transfer policy-mix: a cross-national analysis of gap-funding instruments

University–industry technology transfer (TT) has become increasingly institutionalized and is supported by numerous reforms and initiatives at the national, regional and university levels. Most countries have implemented a policy mix involving a range of instruments to support the commercialization of research. Still, there is no systematic evidence indicating why the mix of policy instruments differs between countries. This study offers a novel cross-national investigation of the policy mix emphasizing the level of centralization and decentralization of policy instruments. We map and analyze two specific types of public instruments aimed at addressing the so-called funding gap in TT: proof of concept programs (POCs) and university-oriented seed funds (USFs). Based on a survey across 21 European countries, we find that such instruments are widely used but are organized differently depending on the level of implementation of TT practices in the country and the specific type of instrument considered. More precisely, we find a U-shaped relationship between the use of centralized gap-funding instruments and the country’s implementation of TT practices. Moreover, the type of gap-funding instrument (POC or USF) moderates this relationship. We discuss the implications of our findings and suggest that the policy mix of gap-funding instruments evolve with the maturity of the national TT infrastructure.