Thatcher's Legacy

At the time of Margaret Thatcher's fall, conventional wisdom held that Thatcherism was a leadership style that had departed with its author. In significant respects, Thatcher's economic reforms were incomplete, and she and her ideas had never enjoyed a popular majority. But subsequent events have made clear that 1979 was a new point of departure. Thatcher's legacy can be described as two revolutions. The first revolution was an assault on the size of the state sector, including the introduction of privatisation and lower taxes. The second was the centralisation of power in Whitehall; necessary for the achievement of the first, but ultimately in conflict with it. John Major and Tony Blair were strong proponents of both revolutions. Britain now requires a third revolution to decentralise, localise, and pluralise the state.     

Women Legal Academics – A New Research Agenda?

Women academics have been the subject of suprisingly little academic research; this is particularly true of women legal academics. This article argues that it is important that research into women legal academics is carried out, not just to gain empirical evidence about the working lives of these women, but because in exploring these members of the 'academic tribe' of lawyers, important insights may be gained into the university as an institution, the development of law as a discipline, and the nature of law itself.     

Judicial Decisions Involving Questions of Public International Law

Netherlands International Law Review -     

Globalisation,Transnational Political Mobilisation,and Networks of Violence

This article examines how globalisation processes provide new incentives and opportunities for non-state political entrepreneurs to build transnational political movements. Drawing on the literatures on non-violent social movements and transnational networks, the article examines terrorism and political violence as components of the ‘repertoires of contention’ used by radical transnational groups seeking political change. Examples from both the pre- and post-9/11 periods are provided, and the implications for traditional models of state security are discussed. The article concludes by contending that the combination of increased levels of globalisation and the emergence of new networks of violence is creating a fundamental shift in the international security environment, in which the distinction between internal and external security threats is increasingly blurred. While state security strategies are reflecting these changes, less attention has been paid to the political implications of these changes. New security responses need to also be matched by new sets of political strategies at the global level.