Correlates of formal and informal social/crime control in China: An exploratory study

There are two major ways for a society to control its members, formal and informal. A major goal of both forms of control is to curb criminal behavior. Formal criminal justice control uses the law and official government agencies (e.g., police, courts, and corrections) to ensure compliance. Informal criminal justice control uses morals and social institutions (e.g., family, peers, and neighbors). China has a long history of using informal criminal justice controls. Nevertheless, there has been a movement during the past several decades towards use of formal criminal justice controls. This study examined the level of agreement with both forms of control and the correlates of each form using a survey of Chinese college students. Findings from multivariate analysis indicated that those who held a Confucian belief in law and punishment, those who had a higher distrust of strangers, and those who grew up in rural areas were more supportive of informal control, while those who were majoring in the area of law and male respondents were more supportive of formal control.     

Bogus Refugees? The Determinants of Asylum Migration to Western Europe

This article analyzes the determinants of asylum migration to Western Europe. Potential asylum seekers balance the costs of staying versus the costs of migrating. Estimation results confirm that economic hardship and economic discrimination against ethnic minorities lead to higher flows of asylum seekers. However, political oppression, human rights abuse, violent conflict, and state failure are also important determinants. Migration networks and geographical proximity are important facilitators of asylum flows as predicted by theory and colonial experience, religious similarity, and casual contact with the developed world (aid, trade, and tourism) are not. Natural disasters and famines are also not statistically significant determinants. These events are typically short term and unexpected, whereas asylum migration to Western Europe requires preparatory planning. If Western European countries want to tackle the root causes of asylum migration, then they need to undertake policy measures that promote economic development, democracy, respect for human rights, and peaceful conflict resolution in countries of origin.     

Does E‐Government Promote Accountability? A Comparative Analysis of Website Openness and Government Accountability

Under the global pressure of information technology, the adoption of web-based technologies in public administration has created a new government-and-citizen interface. However, whether e-government will unambiguously lead to a more transparent, interactive, open and hence, accountable, government remains a central question. Applying a framework of global pressure effects on bureaucratic change, this paper conducts an empirical study on website openness and accountability in fourteen countries. Even when overall accountability levels rise, the accountability gap between different national bureaucracies often remains intact as web-based technologies typically maintain or reinforce the existing practices. The question of whether e-government promotes accountability depends on what kind of bureaucracy one is referring to in the first place. In the current debate about global convergence and national divergence on the effect of globalization on public bureaucracies, the spread of e-government provides a case of convergence in practice rather than in results.