Forensic anthropology and the most probable cause of death in cases of violations against international humanitarian law: an example from Bosnia and Herzegovina

This study presents the results of the analysis of at least 298 predominantly male individuals, between 15 and 75 years, who were recovered from an open cast mine in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Particular attention is paid to identifying the mechanisms of injury and determination of the most probable cause of death based on the assessment of lethal or lethal-if-untreated injuries recorded in the skeleton. It was calculated that at least 38.9% (155/398) of individuals sustained gunshot wounds (GSWs) (plus one shrapnel wound) and may have died as consequence of these injuries. Among individuals who died from GSWs, there were 142 males (91.60%), eight females (5.1%) and five cases that were (3.2%) undetermined. One male individual sustained shrapnel injuries. This study presents an example of the multidisciplinary approach to the effective forensic investigation of violation against International Humanitarian Law, as well as an example of how it is possible to obtain meaningful results to assist the needs of the prosecution in these kind of cases despite the large number of cases and technological constraints.     

Employment Effects of FDI in Mexico's Non-Maquiladora Manufacturing

This paper analyses whether foreign direct investment (FDI) has contributed to employment generation in Mexico's non-maquiladora manufacturing sector. Drawing on highly disaggregated FDI and employment data, we estimate dynamic labour demand functions for blue and white collar workers, including FDI as well as its interaction with major industry characteristics. FDI has a significantly positive, though quantitatively modest impact on manufacturing employment in Mexico. This applies to both white collar and blue collar employment. The employment enhancing effects of FDI are larger in export oriented industries. In more capital-intensive industries, the employment effect of FDI remains positive for blue collar workers but not white collar ones.     

Overlapping games and cross‐cutting coalitions in the European Union

Despite hopes of theoretical convergence between the disciplines of comparative politics and international relations, the integration of explanations of the European policy‐making process and of the process of European integration is yet to be accomplished. This article looks at how decision‐making crises could be the focal points with which to explore the no‐man's land where comparative politics and international relations could meet each other. The article will highlight the structural ambivalence of the EU policy process and the collision of functional areas and territorial politics over multidimensional decisions. It will also show that the interplay of overlapping policy games, cross‐cutting coalitions and poor coordination mechanisms at all levels can go a long way to explaining the oscillations between path‐dependency and policy instability.     

Temporary Restraining Orders in the Netherlands: A Qualitative Examination of Perpetrator and Victim Views

In 2009, the Netherlands introduced a 10-day temporary restraining order (TRO) intended for adult perpetrators of domestic violence to defuse dangerous situations and to reduce recidivism by combining a legal action with social services. For this study, 18 victims and 10 perpetrators were interviewed about their experiences with the TRO, related professional help, and the influence the TRO had had on their lives. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and subsequently qualitatively analyzed. Most of the victims were positive about the TRO period. Perpetrators were less positive. The vast majority of respondents accepted help during the TRO and were positive about the professionals’ attitudes, but not necessarily about the type of help. Most respondents reported an increase in their wellbeing, new insights, and no or less serious re-assaults by the perpetrator. The results suggest that, in the short term, TROs have a mainly positive effect on both victims and perpetrators.     

Are Voters More Likely to Contribute to Other Public Goods? Evidence from a Large‐Scale Randomized Policy Experiment

Voting has been described as a contribution to a public good. Are people who vote frequently therefore more likely to contribute to other public goods? Does partisanship affect how likely a person is to engage in these cooperative behaviors? Although surveys suggest that the answer to these questions is “Yes,” few empirical studies examine these questions using observed behaviors. We examine them in the context of a large‐scale, randomized controlled trial to induce voluntary action in a common‐pool resource dilemma. During a drought in the southeastern United States, pro‐social messages that encouraged water conservation were randomly assigned to 35,000 out of 106,000 households. Frequent voters in primary and general elections (1990–2008) were substantially more responsive to the messages, but there was no detectable difference in the responses of Republican and Democrat households. Our results suggest that internalized pro‐social preferences promote action for the public good across behavioral contexts.     

Reproducing crises: Understanding the role of law in the COVID-19 global pandemic

Governmental responses to the COVID-19 global pandemic have generated numerous constitutionals, policy, legal, and political-economic debates. Scholarly engagements with the sociolegal and policy consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic have been dominated by discussion on the role of emergency powers, the suspension of individual civil liberties, the suspension of economic rules in order to guarantee economic survival, and social regulation of public spaces and of workplaces. This paper aims to explore how a critical sociolegal scholarship can contribute to a more sophisticated understanding of the role of law in creating the unequal conditions that propitiated the COVID-19 pandemic and that might enable further crises. This introduction offers a roadmap for theorizing the limits of law, the operationalization of emergency powers and the different policies implemented by global south and north countries in response to the pandemic. This introduction is structured as follow: (1) provides a general overview of the law and society tradition and its engagement with the COVID-19 pandemic; (2) engages with three key consequences of the pandemic, labor, and the lockdown; colonial implications; and the limits of law; (3) introduces the papers in this special issue; (4) sketches a proposal for the critical sociolegal scholarship of law and crises.