Maritime tensions in the South China Sea and the neighborhood: Some solutions

The Spratlys are a collection of islands which represent a nexus in the maritime interests of the South China Sea littoral states, and are symptomatic of a much wider and more complex range of maritime problems facing Asia, and Southeast Asia in particular. The diplomatic resolution of the dispute raised by these problems is important to the continuing stability of the region.     

Measuring the impact of law enforcement on organized crime

This article explores the possibility of measuring the impact of law enforcement on organized crime in a reliable and accountable manner, both in general terms and with a practical focus on the Canadian context. In considering measures to combat organized crime, a focus on process measurement has obscured the more substantial question of progress as regards the dependent variable itself: the bottom line of reducing the impact of organized criminal behaviour. While outcome measures are more challenging to identify than process measures, this fact alone does not minimize the need to demonstrate the connection between organized crime enforcement and its presumed outcomes to a greater degree of certainty. To date, this has not been realized to any significant degree, as revealed by a review of existing international approaches to measuring the impact of enforcement activity. The article argues that a multidisciplinary focus on community level indicators of crime, if initially less accessible than process measures of impact on organized crime groups, offers promise as a measurement of absolute and relative impact of state investment in enforcement.

The Double Standard in the English Divorce Laws, 1857–1923

The Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857 included a double standard in its provisions. While a wife's adultery was sufficient cause to end a marriage, a woman could divorce her husband only if his adultery had been compounded by another matrimonial offense. The Matrimonial Causes Act of 1923 granted a wife the right to divorce her husband for adultery alone and thus removed the double standard with respect to the grounds for divorce born English statutes. Although the 1923 act was contemporaneous with other reforms extending the legal rights of women, an analysis of the public debates regarding divorce reform indicates that the statute was not based solely on a desire to provide equitable matrimonial relief for husbands and wives. The belief that male adultery contributed to such sod problems as prostitution, illegitimacy, and the spread of venereal disease was as significant in the passage of the 1923 act as the demand for equal access to divorce for men and women.     

Hong Kong redux

There are surprises ahead for both Hong Kong and the China of which it will become a part. This article focuses on how the reversion of Hong Kong will affect the future of politics in both societies. Even though rule by Beijing will change Hong Kong's commercial and political life, China will also be changed by having to deal with the emerging elite of Hong Kong and those persons from the mainland who have been educated in the West. This will not produce democracy in either Hong Kong or China but it will reduce the likelihood that China will become a hegemonic power in East Asia.     

The effect of shock and regular probation upon recidivism: A comparative analysis

Previous studies of shock probation have reported mixed effects with regard to recidivism rates. This particular study compared the attributes of a sample of shock and regular probationers and discovered that type of probation was not significantly related to rearrest rates.     

Corruption and the crisis of the post-communist state

Corruption, or at least its reporting, appears to be increasing everywhere. But there is still too little comparative analysis of its nature and role in post-communist systems. This is understandable, given their newness. But it is now possible and desirable to compare corruption in such systems with corruption elsewhere. This article makes some initial comparative observations, and argues that the significance of post-communist corruption reaches far beyond the post-communist countries themselves. These states are compared briefly with other kinds of transitional states, and found to be different in a number of important ways. Finally, the author asks whether or not the apparent growth of corruption is leading to a seventh version of the crisis of the state. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Tax and Spending Limits in Colorado

In 1992, Colorado voters approved the Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR), which severely limits the growth of revenues and spending by state and local governments. TABOR was layered over two earlier revenue-restricting measures. Throughout the 1990s, the state enjoyed a robust economy and the effects of these restrictions were largely masked. However, government funding for several basic services in Colorado was rapidly slipping. When Colorado went into recession, the effects of these restrictions were fully felt for the first time, but neither the governor, legislature, nor policy nonprofits have been able to find a way out of the budget bind.