Special Tasks and Sacred Secrets on Soviet Atomic Espionage

This paper explores a largely ignored explanation to what was perceived as very extensive submarine intrusions in Swedish territorial waters during the 1980s. It is argued that the incident in 1981 when a Soviet Whiskey-class submarine ran aground close to a Swedish naval base damaged Soviet political ambitions in Europe. Although the Soviet Union could not credibly explain the incident, its significance could be diminished through a psychological operation. Several unsuccessful submarine hunts during the following years caused the public to doubt Swedish claims of repeated Soviet intrusions. The issue eventually developed an air of ridicule that undermined the political significance of the original event. Although available data are not sufficient to fully test this scenario, it is highly consistent with the course of events and deserves further attention.     

Another review of prison-based needle exchange programs published

In volume 8, issue 1 of the Review, we reported on the publication of a review of prison-based syringe-exchange programs (PSEPs) that concluded that such programs "are feasible and do provide benefit in the reduction of risk behaviour and the transmission of blood-borne infection without any unintended negative consequences." Another, more comprehensive review was recently published, confirming once again that PSEPs have been successful where they have been introduced.     

Avoiding another Brexit: the subsidiarity principle,the European Convention on Human Rights and the United Kingdom

ABSTRACT

Following a number of controversial judgments, the British government has been pushing for some time for a limitation of the supervisory powers of the Human Rights Court in Strasbourg. On a British proposal, the member states of the Council of Europe agreed in 2012 to include a reference to the subsidiarity principle into the Preamble of the European Convention on Human Rights. This paper describes these developments and explores the possible role of subsidiarity considerations in the context of international human rights protection.