Opposites Do Not Attract: The Impact of Domestic Institutions, Power, and Prior Commitments on Alignment Choices

States that choose to involve themselves in an ongoing dispute do so by choosing to align with or against one of the original disputants. What factors lead states to prefer to help one side over the other? We consider the effect of the disputants' power, political and economic institutional similarities between each disputant and the aligning state, and formal alliance commitments between each disputant and the aligning state on these alignment choices. We evaluate these expectations empirically by examining the alignment choices of states that joined with one side or another in a Militarized Interstate Dispute during the period of 1816 to 1986. The results indicate that regardless of regime type, institutional similarities matter to the aligning state's decision. We also find that power concerns matter only to autocracies; democracies do not seem to base their alignment choices on the power of the sides in the dispute. Finally, the evidence indicates that the alignment choices of democracies cannot be anticipated by their prior alliance commitments, although the alignment choices of autocracies can. These results suggest interesting implications for research on the democratic peace, the determinants of threat in the international system, and the impact of selection effects. The consistent empirical evidence that institutional similarity affects alignment decisions also increases our confidence that future investigations of institutional similarity generally, rather than an exclusive focus on joint democracy, will prove fruitful.     

Emotional Reactivity Toward Parents and Interpersonal Competence: Differences Across Gender and Type of Relationship

The goal of the present study was to explore the relationship between emotional reactivity toward parents and interpersonal competence. It was asserted that the types of present day interactions that are experienced with parents may be related to the level of comfort and competence experienced in interpersonal relationships outside the family. Interactions with parents were assessed with the Behavioral and Emotional Reactivity Index, a newly developed scale [S. E. Bartle and R. M. Sabatelli, (1995) The Behavioral and Emotional Reactivity Index: Preliminary Evidence for Construct Validity from Three Studies, Family Relations, Vol. 44, pp. 267–277]. In addition, much of the past research investigating these issues has failed to make a distinction between intimacy in same-sex vs. intimacy in opposite-sex relationships. In an effort to be sensitive to the possibility that family dynamics and gender may be differentially related to the development of the capacity for intimacy within these two types of relationships, interpersonal competence in both same-sex friend and dating partner relationships were explored. The results of a doubly repeated multivariate analysis of variance suggested that emotional reactivity toward parents was related to interpersonal competence in both same-sex friend and dating partner relationships regardless of gender. The results also demonstrated a gender by gender of partner interaction.     

Australia and the Struggle for Soviet Jewry: 1961–1972

The plight of Soviet Jewry emerged as a major issue for World Jewry after the Second World War. Both Israel and Jewish Diaspora communities campaigned to give Soviet Jews either freedom of religion or the right to emigrate. The 1960s saw the promotion of the latter, with the slogan “Let My People Go”. Whilst geographically isolated and only being a medium power, the Australian government played a key role, with Australian politicians at times acting against the advice of the public service. The politicians were swayed by idealism, whereas department officials pursued a pragmatic, realist approach, being only concerned with what they saw as Australia's core foreign policy interests.     

Politics of prisoner of war recovery: SOE and the Burma–Thailand Railway during world war II

This article considers why SOE were given a prominent role in POW recovery in the Far East during the last months of the war and immediately after VJ Day. This was a task normally allotted to the International Committee of the Red Cross. It examines both strategic and humanitarian motivations as possible explanations of this policy. It reviews the means used to execute this policy along the Burma–Thailand Railway, including close cooperation with the Thai resistance movement. The success of SOE's operations are assessed and the impact of their testimony in the Tokyo War Crimes Trials is also reviewed against the background of a growing appreciation of the role of secret service in providing evidence to international tribunals.     

Predictors of Positive Development in Emerging Adulthood

This article responds to recent calls for a focus on successful development in young people and examination of its developmental precursors, in order to identify potentially modifiable targets for interventions. The current study examined child and adolescent precursors of positive functioning in emerging adulthood, including individual characteristics, relationship factors, and connections to the community, using a multidimensional positive development measure at 19–20 years. The sample consisted of 511 males and 647 females who were participants in the Australian Temperament Project, a population based longitudinal study that has followed young people’s psychosocial adjustment from infancy to early adulthood. Higher levels of positive development in emerging adulthood were associated with stronger family and peer relationships, better adjustment to the school setting, higher family socioeconomic status, and better emotional control. Some significant gender differences were observed, with emotional control, family relationships, and community orientation all being stronger predictors of males’ than of females’ positive development. The findings provide possible targets for child and adolescent interventions to promote positive development in early adulthood.     

Spatial displacement and diffusion of benefits among geographically focused policing initiatives: a meta-analytical review

Objectives  

To undertake a systematic review of the extent to which geographically focused policing initiatives appear to displace crime (simply relocate it to other places) or diffuse benefits (lead to reductions elsewhere).     

Examining the relationship between childhood animal cruelty motives and recurrent adult violent crimes toward humans

Few researchers have studied the predictive ability of childhood animal cruelty motives as they are associated with later recurrent violence toward humans. Based on a sample of 180 inmates at one medium- and one maximum-security prison in a Southern state, the present study examines the relationship among several retrospectively identified motives (fun, out of anger, hate for the animal, and imitation) for childhood animal cruelty and the later commission of violent crimes (murder, rape, assault, and robbery) against humans. Almost two thirds of the inmates reported engaging in childhood animal cruelty for fun, whereas almost one fourth reported being motivated either out of anger or imitation. Only one fifth of the respondents reported they had committed acts of animal cruelty because they hated the animal. Regression analyses revealed that recurrent animal cruelty was the only statistically significant variable in the model. Respondents who had committed recurrent childhood animal cruelty were more likely to have had committed recurrent adult violence toward humans. None of the motives for committing childhood animal cruelty had any effect on later violence against humans.     

Associations between intimate partner violence and emotional distress among pregnant women in Durban, South Africa

Intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy has been associated with multiple negative health outcomes including emotional distress during pregnancy. However, little is known about IPV during pregnancy and its association with emotional distress among South African women. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of both emotional distress and IPV during pregnancy, to identify whether different exposures of violence were associated with emotional distress and to assess whether social support attenuated the relationship between IPV and emotional distress. Pregnant women enrolled in the South Africa HIV Antenatal and Posttest Support Study (SAHAPS) who completed the baseline survey were included in this cross sectional analysis. We used logistic regression models to explore bivariate and multivariate relationships between the proposed covariates and emotional distress. Nearly a quarter of women experienced some type of IPV during the current pregnancy, with psychological violence being the most prevalent. The odds of emotional distress was 1.41 times (95% CI: [1.26, 1.57]) higher for each additional episode of psychological violence and 2.01 times (95% CI: [1.16, 3.77]) higher for each additional episode of sexual violence during pregnancy, adjusting for other covariates. Physical violence was only marginally associated with increased odds of emotional distress. Finally, social support was marginally significant as a main effect but did not attenuate the relationship between IPV and emotional distress. The high prevalence of IPV among South African women and its association with emotional distress during pregnancy suggest that interventions that reduce violence during or prior to pregnancy are needed.