Cry,the imagined country: Legitimacy and the fate of Macedonia

Whether or not the future Europe will be characterized as one of constant security dilemmas or a place of integrating security identities may well be linked to the fate of Macedonia. Indeed, Macedonia's survival will depend on ‘external’ forces.1 Yet, to date, the limited responses and commitments on the part of external parties have not been entirely promising. Unlike many other analyses that have focused on the Balkans, and former Yugoslavia in particular, and argued that the causes for conflict and disintegration are markedly similar, we suggest that Macedonia's problems are unique. It remains a too common and crucial mistake to assume that the root causes for disintegration that have plagued Serbia, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia‐Herzegovina and Macedonia since 1991 are all linked to a few centrally identifiable factors. And, with the exception of attempting to lessen the disparate economic geographies that continue to spell promise or peril for the entire region, the root solutions for Southeast Europe will prove problematic, and at times seem overwhelming, but will not prove ultimately impossible. However small, a window of opportunity still exists in Southeast Europe.     

Risk Attitudes and the Incumbency Advantage

Explanations for the incumbency advantage in American elections have typically pointed to the institutional advantages that incumbents enjoy over challengers but overlook the role of individual traits that reinforce this bias. The institutional advantages enjoyed by incumbents give voters more certainty about who incumbents are and what they might do when (and if) they assume office. We argue that these institutional advantages make incumbents particularly attractive to risk-averse individuals, who shy away from uncertainty and embrace choices that provide more certainty. Using data from 2008 and 2010 Cooperative Congressional Election Study, we show that citizens who are more risk averse are more likely to support incumbent candidates, while citizens who are more risk accepting are more likely to vote for challengers. The foundations of the incumbency advantage, we find, lie not only in the institutional perks of office but also in the individual minds of voters.     

How to Maintain Emotional Health When Working with Trauma

Vicarious traumatization, compassion fatigue, or secondary traumatization refers to the cumulative effect of working with survivors of traumatic life events as part of everyday work. Although this issue has been acknowledged and addressed among professionals such as police officers and medical professionals, it has been discussed less among juvenile and family court judges who also experience secondary traumatic stress. In fact, in one recent study, a majority of judges reported one or more symptoms of secondary traumatization. This article describes the common signs and symptoms of secondary trauma, job‐related factors that contribute to secondary trauma among judges, and the potential negative impact on organizational performance. The authors conclude with specific recommendations tailored for juvenile and family court judges.     

Courting the Women’s Vote: The Emotional,Cognitive, and Persuasive Effects of Gender-Based Appeals in Campaign Advertisements

Political Behavior - In this paper, we examine the ways in which citizens emotionally react to and cognitively process campaign advertisements that contain group-based appeals. Specifically, we...     

Interpersonal violence as social construction: the potentially undermining role of claims making and advocacy statistics

The relationship between empirical research inquiry and advocacy efforts is complex and seldom addressed in the interpersonal violence literature. In this article, we first examine how social conditions come to be seen as social problems, using a social constructionist perspective. Next, we focus specifically on the problem of interpersonal violence as viewed through a social constructionist lens, highlighting the many ways in which advocacy has influenced public perceptions of interpersonal violence as a social problem. Finally, this article considers some of the consequences that may result from exaggerated or misleading claims, especially when they are made by social scientists who are presumably engaged in an objective discussion of a problem. These consequences include generating skepticism toward the social sciences, feeding a backlash movement, and diverting attention away from the most severe forms of interpersonal violence. Contrary to the goals of many advocates, some of these consequences may be detrimental to the very social problems they hope to alleviate.     

International Policy Formation: The Development Of Restorative Justice Policy Within The United Nations

Restorative justice and its related terms moved from the background of ancillary sessions to the floor of the United Nations Congress. This article documents and discusses the transfer of local policy to the international arena using the UN forum and restorative justice as a case study. First, a historical timeline traces the three influential forces, (1) the United Nations forum, (2) the non-governmental organization (NGO) activities, and (3) the individual Member States’ activities, behind the restorative justice movement onto the UN agenda. An integrated modification of Blumer’s process of collective problem definition is used as a framework to analyze the policy formation. Finally, the context of how future researchers may make use of the process is analyzed by comparing the traditional research development framework to Blumer’s policy framework. A need for wide spread implementation and outcome evaluations are needed as the policy is implemented is among the key findings.