THE PLACE OF CONTEXT: A THEORY AND STRATEGY FOR CRIMINOLOGY'S HARD PROBLEMS

I present a theoretical framework and analytic strategy for the study of place as a fundamental context in criminology, with a focus on neighborhood effects. My approach builds on the past 15 years of research from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods and from a recent book unifying the results. I argue that “ecometrics” can be applied at multiple scales, and I elaborate core principles and guiding hypotheses for five problems: 1) legacies of inequality and developmental neighborhood effects; 2) race, crime, and the new diversity; 3) cognition and context, above all the social meaning of disorder; 4) the measurement and sources of collective efficacy in a cosmopolitan world; and 5) higher order structures beyond the neighborhood that arise in complex urban systems. Although conceptually distinct, these hard problems are interdependent and ultimately linked to a frontier in criminology: contextual causality.     

Sanctioning Traditional Crimes with Fines: A Comparative Analysis

Rising crime rates within traditional sanctioning patterns have resulted in a search for alternatives to incarceration in order to control both the economic and the social (humanitarian) costs of punishment. The paper explores this response in four countries: England, Germany, Sweden, and the United States—all modern, industrial democracies. The paper focuses upon the response in terms of the role accorded monetary penalties as an alternative to incarceration. This role is analyzed in terms of the actual use of fines relative to incarceration, as a sentencing disposition for traditional crimes. The major finding is that among the four countries the United States accords fines a very minor role. The reasons for this difference are explored and it is concluded that the use of fines in the United States—when compared to European experience—appears to be far below the level that would minimize the economic and social cost of punishment.     

Looking for the Pattern: Al Qaeda in Southeast Asia--The Genealogy of a Terror Network

The aim of this study is to analyze the process by which Al Qaeda has sought to co-opt essentially localized struggles in Southeast Asia into an evolving network of worldwide jihad. The article illustrates how, long before it was appropriate to speak of an entity called Al Qaeda, Islamists have been thinking transnationally since the 1980s. The argument attempts to piece together available evidence to reveal a plausible explanation of the origins, growth and direction of the main Islamist grouping in Southeast Asia, Jemaah Islamiyah, and its deepening relationship with Al Qaeda. The article suggests that the roots of a Southeast Asian terror network can be traced to two geographically separate ethno-religious struggles in the Philippines and Indonesia. The analysis demonstrates that these guerrilla groups orchestrating their distinct struggles were eventually combined through the auspices of Al Qaeda and the globalized franchising opportunities it exploited from the early 1990s.‐     

Electoral Institutions,the Personal Vote,and Legislative Organization

What is the relationship between electoral institutions and the internal organization of legislatures? Existing research on the U.S. Congress suggests that electoral incentives shaped by the candidate‐centered nature of congressional elections explain the emergence of strong committees in that legislature. Exploring the issue from a comparative perspective, it is argued that the impact of ballot structure on committee system structure is dependent on how legislators cultivate personal votes. Committees will be stronger when legislators supply fiscal legislative particularism (pork), but weaker when legislators cultivate support by delivering extra‐legislative constituency service. Statistical analysis, combining original data on committee design in 39 democratic legislatures with measures of ballot structure and mechanism to cultivate a personal vote (MCPV), confirms the expectation.     

Social Disorganization on Bimini: Impact of the Drug Trade

The study reported here focuses on the impact of the drug trade on the island of Bimini, an island in the Bahamas about fifty miles from Miami, Florida. An anthropological model introduced by Beals (1953) and elaborated by Pelto (1973) was adapted to explain the findings. This model indicates that the introduction of new technology produces a shift in work patterns which can cause shifts in the economic system and social disorganization. The model was modified to include new factors other than technology which influence the economic structure and a mediating factor of change in the authority or power structure in the community. On Bimini, the drug trade was a non-technological new element which increased the economic resources available to the community. These new resources were controlled by members of the community who had had relatively low status. There was a shift in power or a reduction in the authority of the community leaders. The result has been an increased amount of social disorganization. Potential alternative explanations are examined.     

A Special Report (II) The Federal Border Guard in Bonn The Protection of Endangered Objects in West Germany's Capital

[Editor's Note] Mr. Robert Harnischmacher is a West German free-lance writer and lecturer in the legal sciences and police affairs, with a background in the German military and the Japanese martial arts. The author has been involved in developing unarmed combat skills for various German police forces and a number of foreign countries. His articles on self-defense, criminology and police history and administration have been published in police publications in Germany, Austria, Australia, Canada, the United States, Ireland, New Zealand, Swiss and Britian. Mr. Harnischmacher has also written some judicial books regarding the police in West Germany. He has traveled widely and delivered many speeches and lectures including highly selective and sensitive topics to highly selected audiences. He is currently an Honorary Deputy Sheriff of San Diego County in California as well as an Honorary member of the San Diego Crime Commission. The Editor takes this opportunity to thank Mr. Harnischmacher for his contributions to the journal and anticipate his further cooperation in disseminating his experiences and expertise through the journal. [Editor]