The ‘Sarcee War’: Fragmented Citizenship and the City

In 1880, the Tsuu T'ina Nation (then the Sarcee band) staged a small, armed protest known as the ‘Sarcee War’, in Calgary, Alberta, to demand food and a separate reserve from the Siksika, with whom they had been assigned land. This paper argues that this protest reveals the material and political roots of Aboriginal citizenship: a fragmented and differentiated political body, unified through contingent agreements. The Tsuu T'ina actions, the choice of location and their specific demands reveal an assertion of rights that differ from the ‘standard’ idea of Canadian citizenship (then and now) and articulate a complex process of ‘othering’ and belonging.     

Literary feature review

The Gourmet and Other Stories of Modern China. Lu Wenfu. Translated from the Chinese by Judith Burrows, Beth McKillop el al. London: Readers International. 1987. 243pp. £4.95pb

Half of man is Woman. Zhang Xianliang. Translated from the Chinese by Martha Avery. London: Viking. 1988. 253pp. £11.95hb

As Long As Nothing Happens, Nothing Will. Zhang Jie. Translated from the Chinese by Gladys Yang, Deborah J Leonard and Zhang. Andong. London: Virago. 1988. 149pp. £4.50pb

Chinese Lives: an oral history of contemporary China. Zhang Xinxin and Sang Ye. Edited by W J F Jenner and Delia Davin. Translated by the editors and others. London: Macmillan. 1987. 367pp. £14.95hb     

Democratization in Mozambique: Trends and practices

This article explores the nature of party political competition four years after Mozambique's first democratic national elections, with particular attention being accorded to the democratization of local government. It commences with an overview of the nature of contemporary party politics in Mozambique. Secondly, the democratization of local government is reviewed. Thirdly, recent political developments are located within the context of major economic reconstruction and escalating corruption. It is concluded that whilst Mozambique does have a stable multi‐party system in the formal sense at least, the substance of genuine multi‐partyism remains elusive, given the near‐total lack of policy alternatives and the proliferation of corruption at the highest levels of political life.     

Co-option,coercion and compromise: challenges of restorative justice in Victoria,Australia

Restorative justice (RJ) encompasses a widely diverging set of practices whereby those most affected by crime are encouraged to meet, to discuss the effects of harms caused by one party to another, and to agree upon the best possible redress of harms when appropriate. In its inception in the late 1970s, RJ was conceptualized and developed as an alternative to formal criminal justice practices. Since this time, however, RJ has largely moved from being an alternative to criminal justice practices to an ‘alternative’ practice within criminal justice systems. This institutionalization has resulted in the significant growth of RJ practices, but has also resulted in RJ being used for criminal justice system goals that are at odds with the needs of victims or offenders. This paper examines the use of the Youth Justice Group Conferencing Program in Victoria, Australia. Drawing from interviews with conference conveners, our research highlights problems related to administrative ‘constraints’ and ‘co-options’ in conferencing in terms of referrals, preparation of conference participants, and victim participation. Following presentation of findings, we conclude with a discussion of implications for the use of RJ within a highly institutionalized setting.     

Can Reinforcement Induce Children to Falsely Incriminate Themselves?

This study examined whether reinforcement can induce children to falsely incriminate themselves. Ninety-nine children in kindergarten through third grade were questioned regarding the staged theft of a toy. Half received reinforcement for self-incriminating responses. Within 4 min reinforced children made 52% false admissions of guilty knowledge concerning the theft, and 30% false admissions of having witnessed it. Corresponding figures for controls were 36 and 10%. Twelve percent of children admitted to participating in the theft, but the effect of reinforcement was only marginally significant. The findings indicate that reinforcement can induce children to falsely implicate themselves in wrongdoing.     

The association between specific competence-related abilities and competence restoration treatment

Inpatient competence restoration treatment comes with enormous costs in terms of civil liberties, but also significant financial costs to the state/institution responsible for providing the treatment. The present investigation was designed to evaluate the utility of a commonly used competence assessment instrument, the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool – Criminal Adjudication (MacCAT-CA), in identifying individuals who may require more tailored, lengthier, and/or more intensive treatment. The sample included 93 men and women who were administered the MacCAT-CA during an inpatient hospitalization for competence restoration treatment in the United States. All of the patients were restored to competence within the study period, ranging from 3 to 32 months of inpatient hospitalization. Results suggest that performance on the MacCAT-CA was associated with hospitalization length, with total scores as the greatest predictor of response to treatment. Sensitivity and specificity estimates are discussed in terms of their utility in identifying patients most at-risk for extended hospitalization, with the authors arguing that instruments like the MacCAT-CA can be used in a practical manner of identifying patients who might require greater or more intensive treatment.     

Adverse Possession and Article 1 of the European Convention

In the post-human rights era the question has arisen on several occasions as to whether the automatic and arbitrary termination of the registered owner’s title through the common law and statutory principles governing adverse possession of land is contrary to the Article 1, Protocol 1 of the European Convention. The matter fell to be decided in J.A. Pye (Oxford) Ltd v United Kingdom ([2005] 3 EGLR 1) where the European Court of Human Rights held that the automatic termination of a registered owners title after 12 years possession was indeed a violation of Article 1, Protocol 1. More recently, the decision of the European Court has been overturned by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights where the Grand Chamber has held that a squatters’ right to another persons land are not disproportionate (J. A. Pye (Oxford) Ltd and Another v United Kingdom, The Times, October 1st 2007). This short article examines the decision of the Grand Chamber.

The politics of trade unions in transition: the case of the Congress of South African Trade Unions

This article explores changes in political allegiances within the South African labour movement, drawing on the findings of a nation-wide survey of members of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). Recent research shows that the Tripartite Alliance between the ANC, COSATU and the South African Communist Party remains overwhelmingly popular amongst COSATU members. This article shows that this appears to be both a product of South Africa's recent past and a reflection of a lack of credible alternatives.