The Complexities of Land Reparations

The question whether unjust dispossessions of land perpetrated on whole peoples in the past should be corrected by restitution in kind, that is, granting reparations in the form of returning land to the dispossessed former owners or their present‐day successors, is substantially more complex than the questions posed by other forms of reparations. I argue that the complexities involved in all the situations where claims for land reparations are made to correct historic injustices give us good reasons to be hesitant about granting such claims. At the same time, we should not dismiss such claims out of hand. Reparations that take a form other than restitution of dispossessed land may be both necessary and sufficient to establish a public marker of acknowledgment.     

Studentische Hilfskräfte im deutschen Bildungswesen

The article takes a critical look at the situation of graduate assistants at German universities. For this purpose the paper is based on two sociological perspectives. On the one hand, being employed as a student assistant can be regarded as an important individual strategy to gather privileges in the German higher educational system. On the other hand, working as a student assistant is a paradigmatic example of labor conditions in modern society due to the fact that higher qualified persons need to be profoundly flexible and have to work under precarious employment conditions. The analysis highlights that the problematic working conditions of student assistants are caused by the specific structures of the German education system. It is the difference between individual prospects and objective possibilities which makes these precarious labor conditions possible.     

Zur Passivlegitimation des Betreibers bzw Hausverwalters eines Einkaufszentrums für die Negatorienklage

Da ein unter Umst?nden langwieriges Verfahren abzuführen ist, um die Einflu?nahme der Mehrheit der Wohnungseigentümer auf die St?rungshandlungen Dritter verwirklichen zu k?nnen, ist eine direkte M?glichkeit des Mehrheitseigentümers, die klagsgegenst?ndliche St?rung rechtlich und faktisch alleine verhindern zu k?nnen, zu verneinen. Damit liegt aber der für die Bejahung der Passivlegitimation des Mehrheitseigentümers für die Negatorienklage erforderliche unmittelbare Zusammenhang zwischen Sachherrschaft und St?rung nicht vor. Von der rechtlichen M?glichkeit des Hausverwalters zur Verhinderung der St?rungshandlungen Dritter als Voraussetzung für die Passivlegitimation für die Negatorienklage kann nur die Rede sein, soweit es sich um Ma?nahmen handelt, die der ordentlichen Verwaltung zuzuordnen sind.     

A Pact with the Devil? Elite Alliances as Bases of Violent Religious Conflicts

This article aims at explaining religious conflicts on the basis of an elite-centered theoretical model. Violent movements can only pertain on the long run if political elites organize and coordinate them centrally. The same holds true for the religious dimension of many conflicts. Religious elites have to persuade the believers of the religious nature of their struggle. Hence, in many cases religious conflicts can be traced back to alliances of religious and political elites. The first try to protect their religious communities and hope to expand their religious influence. The latter try to use religion as a resource for mobilization.     

An age of uncertainty: Building a post-cold war U.S. security strategy for east and Southeast Asia

The contours of the future U.S. security policy in the Asia-Pacific is a vexed question both in research literature and among American elites. There is no conformity either in threat perceptions or concrete methods of security policy. However, the region is recognized by all competitive groups as a critical area for U.S. national interests presently and in the foreseeable future. This article explores the major security challenges that America faces in the region; including China-Taiwan and other local conflicts, conventional arms race and nuclear proliferation, generational transition and nontraditional threats. The article reviews Clinton administration policy in the region and explains the nature of the U.S. domestic debate on the Asia-Pacific.