Proper assessment of the JFK assassination bullet lead evidence from metallurgical and statistical perspectives

The bullet evidence in the JFK assassination investigation was reexamined from metallurgical and statistical standpoints. The questioned specimens are comprised of soft lead, possibly from full-metal-jacketed Mannlicher-Carcano (MC), 6.5-mm ammunition. During lead refining, contaminant elements are removed to specified levels for a desired alloy or composition. Microsegregation of trace and minor elements during lead casting and processing can account for the experimental variabilities measured in various evidentiary and comparison samples by laboratory analysts. Thus, elevated concentrations of antimony and copper at crystallographic grain boundaries, the widely varying sizes of grains in MC bullet lead, and the 5-60 mg bullet samples analyzed for assassination intelligence effectively resulted in operational sampling error for the analyses. This deficiency was not considered in the original data interpretation and resulted in an invalid conclusion in favor of the single-bullet theory of the assassination. Alternate statistical calculations, based on the historic analytical data, incorporating weighted averaging and propagation of experimental uncertainties also considerably weaken support for the single-bullet theory. In effect, this assessment of the material composition of the lead specimens from the assassination concludes that the extant evidence is consistent with any number between two and five rounds fired in Dealey Plaza during the shooting.     

Corporate Pluralism in Danish Law-Making*

This article investigates the pattern of corporate political representation in Danish law-making. The most important finding is a large intra-system variation in scope, level, and structure of outside involvement. There is no evidence of an emerging 'total' system of corporate political representation. The dominant pattern is still one of a diversified use of several channels of access by a large variety of groups, organizations, and institutions. While the importance of organized interests is well documented, it is questionable to what extent this indicates a pattern of societal corporatism in the political system. Interest organizations play an important role in pluralist societies as well, and Philippe Schmitter's main point about representational monopoly does not gain support. Generally, the analysis tends to support a model of pluralist corporate representation.     

Redistricting, Candidate Entry, and the Politics of Nineteenth-Century U.S. House Elections

The effects of redistricting on candidate entry patterns in contemporary House races has received growing attention in the scholarly literature, yet virtually no consideration has been given to this question in the context of historical elections. This is unfortunate as the wider variation in congressional redistricting during the nineteenth century gives us increased leverage in terms of understanding strategic candidate behavior. Utilizing a new dataset of candidate quality for nineteenth-century House races, we examine whether candidates with prior electoral experience are more likely to run in districts that are altered during the redistricting process, and provide an account of how differences in the prevalence of redistricting may affect strategic entry decisions of politicians. Our results suggest that entry decisions and electoral outcomes are affected by redistricting in this era. Moreover, our analysis provides an opportunity to use history to test contemporary theories of congressional elections in a broader context .     

Injured but Not Yet Dead: A Bottom-Up Perspective on the Swedish Governmental Commissions

This article analyzes the recurrent “erosion thesis” in the governance literature, arguing that bureaucratic or procedural public-sector institutions have come to play a less significant role in public-policy formation. Evidence from the Swedish policy-making institutions referred to as “governmental commissions” and adoption of the perspective of interest organizations support the claim. Using various theories of institutional change, I show that increased government control has reduced the influence of governmental commissions on policy, but not eliminated the belief held by interest organizations that the commissions are legitimate institutions.     

The bureaucratic characteristics of late 19th century railroad organization

The principal purpose of the research reported here was to assess the extent to which the organizations created by 19th I century railroad managers possessed the structural, procedural, and personnel characteristics of bureaucracy. Historical evidence I indicates that the structural and procedural characteristics were quite prominent, but biographical data about the managers suggests that the personnel characteristics were less so, particularly with respect to the key factor of managerial career development. The managers who created these bureaucratic organizations did not have organizational models or principles available to them, but rather employed a contmgency approach to their organizing decisions. The biographical data suggests that few of them had relevant experiences on foreign railroads or in the Civil War army to guide their organizing decisions. Finally, the biographical data suggests that late 19th century railroad managers were not only a clearly defined occupational group, but were also distinct with respect to selected social characteristics, forming he vanguard of the emerging managerial class.     

Identity,Solidarity, and Islam in Europe

Populists argue that Islamic immigrants are fundamentally different from Europeans. As evidence, they point to notions of religious and cultural identity. Such arguments have popular resonance. As more mainstream politicians pick up on these themes, they begin to take on an air of common sense. Nevertheless, they are mistaken. Europe has a long track record of reconciling competing identities. This has happened by focusing on patterns of interaction (solidarity) rather than obvious indicators of distinctiveness. Using the examples of the Netherlands and Turkey, this article illustrates the wide spectrum of European approaches to the challenge of getting different groups to share the same geographic space.     

“How to Fight Savage Tribes”: The Global War on Terror in Historical Perspective

The Bush administration's “Global War on Terror” has, by both defenders and critics, been characterized as unique. However, as this article shows, there is a long tradition, both in the United States and in Europe, of fighting wars against “savage tribes”—against enemies who fail to make a distinction between soldiers and civilians, and who use terror as a weapon. The problem of how to fight such groups was much discussed in the legal literature of the nineteenth century. This is a discussion from which it is possible to learn contemporary lessons.     

Identity and redistribution

This paper models the interaction between individuals’ identity choices and redistribution. Both redistributive policies and identity choices are endogenous, and there might be multiple equilibria. The model is applied to ethnicity and social class. In an equilibrium with high taxes, the poor identify as poor and favor high taxes. In an equilibrium with low taxes, at least some of the poor identify with their ethnic group and favor low taxes. The model predicts that redistribution is highest when society is ethnically homogeneous, but the effect of ethnic diversity on redistribution is not necessarily monotonic.