Re-reading Weber,re-conceptualizing state-building: from neo-Weberian to post-Weberian approaches to state,legitimacy and state-building

This article analyzes how different interpretations of Max Weber’s work on the state and legitimacy have materialized in contemporary research on—and practice of—international state-building. We argue that the currently prevailing neo-Weberian institutionalism in state-building theory and practice is based on a selective interpretation of the passionate and polemicist ‘politician’ Max Weber, whilst omitting almost entirely the wealth of thought on interpretivist method and the anti-foundationalist approach to social sciences that he has developed in his scholarly work. The neo-Weberian institutionalist approach thus focuses almost exclusively on state capacity and institutions. In contrast to this restricted approach, we will show how Weber’s work on the historical and cultural dimensions of legitimacy is instructive in understanding the emergence and consolidation of social orders. Research agendas embracing such perspectives offer a viable way forward from the securitized approach to state-building and international intervention, in the process moving beyond the neo-Weberian orthodoxy.     

Understanding the Relationship between Attachment,Caregiving, and Same Sex Intimate Partner Violence

Despite the well documented prevalence of same sex intimate partner violence (SSIPV), its dynamics remain relatively poorly understood. Building on the established value of attachment theory’s contribution to understanding heterosexual intimate partner violence, we provide a detailed examination of the relationship between the attachment system and SSIPV, while broadening our scope to include the caregiving system. A total of 310 American and Canadian individuals involved in same sex romantic relationships participated in an online survey. Hierarchical regressions revealed that attachment and caregiving variables shared significant amounts of variance with SSIPV, with avoidance of intimacy and proximity making independent contributions. Based on significant overlap between the attachment and caregiving dimensions, subsequent analyses were conducted to provide composite variables used to predict SSIPV.     

Influence of acculturation strategies on the judgement and punishment of an offender of North African descent

Very few studies have examined the influence of the acculturation strategies of an offender of foreign descent on the way a third party judges the personality and action of that offender. The aim of our study was thus to measure the effect of three variables (Seriousness of the harm suffered by the victim; Type of acculturation strategy of the offender; Level of Social Dominance Orientation [SDO]) of the person making the judgement) on the judgements and decisions made by a sample of students faced with a situation of physical aggression committed by a man of North African descent living in France. After reading a scenario describing a criminal act committed by a man of North African descent, who had or had not adopted French culture, 168 French students completed a judgement scale concerning the criminal act and the offender and an SDO scale. The results show that the crime was perceived as less serious when the perpetrator had adopted French culture than when he had not. The perpetrator was also judged less severely. Participants with higher levels of SDO advocated harsher punishment and attributed the crime to the offender’s personality. We discuss these results and identify new avenues for research.     

The Impact of Drinking Water Quality and Sanitation on Child Health: Evidence from Rural Ethiopia

This paper examines the association between stored drinking water quality and sanitation on diarrhoea incidence among under-five children in Ethiopia. Using primary household survey data and microbiological water quality testing for Escherichia coli, our results show that uncontaminated stored drinking water and safe child stool disposal are associated with decreased child diarrhoea incidences of 18 and 20 percentage points, respectively. In contrast, neighbourhood concentration of pit latrine shows an increased incidence of child diarrhoea of 16 percentage points. To protect rural children from the risk of contracting diarrhoea, improving household drinking water quality and changing people’s behaviour towards safe sanitation practices is needed.     

Subjektives Recht von Landtagsabgeordneten auf (ungestörte) Benutzung bestimmter Büroräumlichkeiten?

Zwei rezente Entscheidungen des UVS NÖ bzw des VfGH geben Anlass zur Diskussion, ob und inwieweit niederösterreichischen Landtagsabgeordneten ein grundsätzlich (für die Dauer einer Legislaturperiode) uneingeschränktes subjektives Recht auf Benutzung bestimmter Büroräumlichkeiten – bzw korrespondierend zu ihrer rechtlichen Stellung: ein entsprechendes, im nö Landesrecht verankertes Nutzungsrecht sui generis – zukommt. Die Erörterung dieser Frage hat – bedingt durch den jeweiligen Entscheidungsgegenstand – primär nach Maßgabe des niederösterreichischen Landes (verfassungs)rechts unter Einschluss bundes(verfassungs) rechtlicher Erwägungen zu erfolgen. Dennoch ist die nachfolgende Abhandlung auch über das niederösterreichische Landesrecht hinaus von Interesse: Zum einen gilt es, aus Sicht des allgemeinen Verwaltungsrechts zu erörtern, welches Landesorgan für die Verwaltung (Zuweisung, Entziehung) der Büroräumlichkeiten, die Landtagsabgeordneten zur Benutzung eingeräumt sind, zuständig ist. Dann ist zu klären, ob Landtagsabgeordneten aus der Zuweisung eines Büroraumes ein grundsätzlich uneingeschränktes Nutzungsrecht (anders: ein von der Rechtsordnung anerkanntes subjektives Recht) für die Dauer einer Gesetzgebungsperiode zukommt. Abschließend ist zu hinterfragen, ob die Beschränkung bzw Entziehung der Büroräumlichkeit (Beeinträchtigung des Nutzungsrechts), wie der VfGH meint, tatsächlich einen (bekämpfbaren) Akt der Hoheitsverwaltung darstellt. In die Überlegungen fließen zusätzlich die vom VfGH in der zuvor angesprochenen Entscheidung B 914/07-11 entwickelten Leitgedanken ein. Zuvor ist jedoch kurz auf den Sachverhalt einzugehen, der für die in Rede stehenden Entscheidungen maßgebend war.     

Unusual suicide with a chainsaw

Described here is a case of suicide with the use of a chainsaw. A female suffering from schizophrenia committed suicide by an ingenious use of a chainsaw that resulted in the transection of her cervical spine and spinal cord. The findings of the resulting investigation are described and the mechanism of suicides with the use of a chainsaw is reviewed. A dry bone study was realized to determine the bone sections, the correlation between anatomic lesions and characteristics of chainsaw. The damage of organs and soft tissues is compared according to the kinds of chainsaw used.