Developing a rhetorical analysis of racist humour: examining anti-black jokes on the Internet

Racist humour is frequently the subject of media and public debate in relation to issues of offence and acceptability. Despite this, little has been done to analyse it or its relationship to other forms of racism. I argue that an analysis of racist humour needs to account for the rhetorical structures of humour – to consider humour as a rhetorical device similar to metaphor or metonym – that has a persuasive potential. Using jokes from four US websites, the rhetorical aspects of humour are unpacked through the use of rhetorical discourse analysis and semiotic theories of humour. I then identify an important effect of racist humour. Zygmunt Bauman's ideas on the problem of ambivalence for dichotomous discourse and category formation are employed to argue that racist humour expresses racist dichotomies and has the potential, among others, to “hide” the ambivalence to which such dichotomies are prone. The article then considers the meaning and ambivalence of less severe racist joking.     

Ideals of justice: goals vs. constraints

Amartya Sen describes John Rawls’s ‘justice as fairness’ as ‘transcendental institutionalism’ and develops his realization-focused approach in contrast. But Rawls is no transcendental institutionalist, and Sen’s construal of their opposition occludes a third, relation-based position and a valuable and practical form of ideal theory. What Sen calls transcendental institutionalism and realization-focused comparative theory each treat justice as something to bring about, a problem for experts. A third position treats justice in terms of how we relate to one another rather than of achievement. This position, called ‘justice as reciprocity,’ is consistent with Rawls’s ‘justice as fairness’ and Sen’s normative aspirations, and might form the basis of new and fruitful dialogue between them. By treating justice as a question of how we relate to one another, and treating relation-based ideals as the basis of respectful behavioral constraints (rather than of ends to pursue), ‘justice as reciprocity’ grounds an everyday form of just democratic citizenship.     

Will HIV become a major determinant of fertility in Sub‐Saharan Africa?

A widely used demographic model of fertility, based on the proximate determinants, is described. The model is fitted for three contrasting sub‐Saharan African countries, using data from the 1980s round of Demographic and Health surveys, to establish a baseline profile of fertility for the period immediately before any widespread behavioural changes in response to the spread of HIV can plausibly have taken place. Regional variations in the relative significance of the different proximate determinants are noted, and considered in a discussion of the mechanisms through which HIV could influence future fertility levels. It is tentatively suggested that severe HIV epidemics are most likely to exert a downward pressure on fertility. More empirical data are required to test this theory.     

The Economics of Communist Party Membership: The Curious Case of Rising Numbers and Wage Premium during China's Transition

Cities, Poverty, and Development: Urbanization in the Third World. By Alan Gilbert and Josef Gugler. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1982. Pp. ix + 246. £15 and £6.95. ISBN 0 19 874083 2 and 874084 0.

Urbanization in Contemporary Latin America: Critical Approaches to the Analysis of Urban Issues. Edited by Alan Gilbert in association with Jorge Hardoy and Ronaldo Ramirez. Chichester: Wiley, 1982. Pp. xv + 286. £26. ISBN 0 471 101834.

National Urbanization Policy in Developing Countries. By Bertrand Renaud. Oxford: Oxford University Press for the World Bank, 1981. Pp. x + 181. £12 and £5.95. ISBN 0 19 520264 3 and 520265 1.

Towards a Political Economy of Urbanization in Third World Countries. Edited by Helen Safa. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1983. Pp. xvi + 315. £4.95. ISBN 0 19 561307 4.

Survey of Slum and Squatter Settlements. By United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS/Habitat). Dublin: Tycooly International Publishing, 1982. Pp. ix + 197. £17.50 and £11.50. ISBN 0 907567 24 X and 25 8.     

No claim,no gain: law and litigation as a tool for reform

If it was the riots across English cities that defined the British summer of 2011, then the summer of 2012 – featuring a Royal Jubilee and the London Olympics – was meant to showcase a thoroughly more stable and law-abiding Britain. Yet by June it seemed as if the Great British Summer of 2012 would be remembered for a remarkable and seemingly unending series of cases that exposed the corruption rotting at the core of the British establishment.     

Policing protest,security and freedom: the 2014 G20 experience

This article examines the policing of a major international political event (the G20 Meetings in Brisbane, Australia in 2014) from the perspective of the police and representatives of demonstrator groups who participated in the event. The article locates the policing of the 2014 G20 meetings within the history of the policing of major international political meetings in other countries. It analyses the legal framework within which the policing of the Brisbane G20 meeting was undertaken, comparing and contrasting these with legal frameworks developed for similar meetings and associated demonstrations in other jurisdictions. In the case of the Australian G20 Act, the legislation prioritized security over human rights, including the freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly. The strategies and planning processes applied by police in the lead up to the G20 are discussed, including the efforts made to ensure policing responses were respectful of the democratic rights of protesters. Drawing on interview and other data, the article reveals a diversity of perspectives on the ‘human rights’ policing and dialogue models, and provides an assessment of ‘Operation Southern Cross’ based on the post-event review of the G20 legislation undertaken by the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission. The authors conclude that the policing of G20, based on extensive dialogue and minimization of coercive public order strategies, fostered a peaceful G20 event. The article concludes with observations about the perceived success of G20 policing in Australia, and indicates some lessons learned for best practice policing for future global events.     

Restraint in order to feed: justifying a lawful policy for the UK

In the UK, restraining medical patients in order to provide care is widely considered to be outmoded and difficult to justify. The prevailing clinical intuition that restraining patients is generally wrong (even when restraint is essential in order to provide artificial nutrition and hydration) has prompted us to develop a policy that is compatible with common law, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Human Rights Act 1998. The nature and scope of the problem are illustrated with clinical cases. These, in turn, serve to demonstrate the tension that arises between article 2, article 3 and article 8 rights, when incompetent patients are restrained in order to feed.