Heidegger and post-colonial fascism

Alexander Dugin is considered a fringe figure in contemporary Russia. Yet, his writings exert considerable influence and develop a virulent nationalism that exploits the vocabulary of post-colonial resistance in an unaccustomed way. Dugin should not be ignored, and this article gives a brief account of Dugin’s peculiar brand of post-colonial thinking by reference to its central source: Martin Heidegger. Specifically, the article examines how Dugin adapts the anti-metaphysical thinking of Heidegger’s most radical work of the 1930s – a thinking that seeks to renew Western thought in an other beginning – to the context of modern Russia as it tries to free itself from Western (American) domination. Dugin aims at nothing less than the creation of a new Russian identity and destiny that will not only save Russia but also, in a nod to Heidegger, renew the Western tradition itself from the “outside.” If Dugin’s political project is ambitious, so is his interpretation of Heidegger which attempts to bring out the full radicality of Heidegger’s thinking, both as philosophy and as politics.     

Revenge pornography and manhood acts: a discourse analysis of perpetrators’ accounts

Revenge pornography (hereafter, revenge porn) is the online, sometimes offline, non-consensual distribution or sharing, of explicit images of someone else by ex-partners, partners, others or hackers seeking revenge or entertainment – also referred to as non-consensual pornography. The vast majority of revenge porn is committed by men on women ex-partners. In this paper, we discursively analyse men’s electronic texts accompanying their posting of explicit images on arguably the most popular revenge porn-specific website MyEx.com. Situating our analysis as a contemporary form of online gendered violence and abuse, we show the complex ways in which manhood acts are invoked by men to account for their practices. The impacts on victims/survivors and possible interventions are also discussed.     

The Personal is Work is Political is Theoretical: Continuities and Discontinuities in Women's Studies, (Pro)feminism, “Men” and My Selves

This essay reflects on some specific questions posed by the organizers of the Past, Present, Future conference held at Umeå University, Sweden, in June 2007 to the keynote speakers on their personal experiences of the influences, inspirations, challenges, and problems in and around Women's/Gender Studies over the last 30 years. It extends the notion of “the personal is political” to: the personal is work is political is theoretical. It also critically reflects on continuities and discontinuities in women's studies, (pro)feminism, “men” and my selves. Four kinds of (spheres of) activity and experience (the personal, work, the political, the theoretical) are considered in relation to four social spaces, social sites, or social institutional formations (in this context, primarily: selves, “men”, feminism/profeminism, women's/gender studies).     

New Millennium,New Public Management and the New Zealand Model

Recently the much‐discussed ‘New Zealand model’ of new public management (NPM) has become significantly revised. It now lacks the theoretical coherence and the market‐led focus that it relied on between 1987 and 1996. Labour‐led governments since 1999 have undertaken gradual and pragmatic – yet significant – changes in public management structures and principles, refining and sometimes reversing the model implemented in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This article does a ‘stock‐take’ of public management developments in New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and argues that New Zealand can no longer be viewed as a leading exponent of market‐led NPM. Some NPM principles have been refined, but others have been quietly abandoned. The new National‐led government appears unwilling to undertake radical reforms, and, while it may seek a greater role for the private sector, looks set to continue with the ‘gradual and pragmatic’ approach adopted since 1999.     

Book reviews

Bill Jordan, The New Politics of Welfare (Sage, London, 1998), 260 pp., ISBN 0–7619–6022–8 (pb)

Michael Cox (ed.), Rethinking the Soviet Collapse. Sovietology, the Death of Communism and the New Russia (Pinter, London, 1998), 294 pp., ISBN 1–85567–321–5 (hb), 1–85567–322–3 (pb)

Adrian Little, Post‐industrial Socialism: Towards a New Politics of Welfare (Routledge, London, 1998), 190 pp., ISBN 0–415–17193–8 (hb), 0–415–17194–6 (pb)

Perry Anderson, The Origins of Postmodernity (Verso, London and New York, 1998), 143 pp., ISBN 1–85984–222–4 (pb), 1–85984–864–8 (hb)

Adrian Guelke, South Africa in Transition. The Misunderstood Miracle (I. B. Tauris, London, 1999), 224 pp., ISBN 1–86064–343–4 (hb)

Ryan Bishop and Lillian S. Robinson, Night Markets: Sexual Cultures and the Thai Economic Miracle (Routledge, London and New York, 1998), 278 pp., ISBN 0–415–91429–9 (pb)

Frank Field, Stakeholder Welfare (Institute of Economic Affairs, London, 1996), 114 pp., ISBN 0–255 36390–7 (pb)

David G. Green, Reinventing Civil Society; the Rediscovery of Welfare without Politics (Institute of Economic Affairs, London, 1993), 166 pp., ISBN 0–255 36279‐X (pb)

David G. Green, Benefit Dependency; how Welfare Undermines Independence (Institute of Economic Affairs, London, 1998), 49 pp., ISBN 0–255 36433–4 (pb)

Will Hutton, Stakeholding and its Critics (Institute of Economic Affairs, London, 1997), 102 pp., ISBN 0–255 36396–6 (pb)

Lawrence M. Mead, From Welfare to Work; Lessons from America (Institute of Economic Affairs, London, 1997), 155 pp., ISBN 0–255 36399–0 (pb)     

Did Ibn Saud’s militants cause 400,000 casualties? Myths and evidence about the Wahhabi conquests, 1902–1925

ABSTRACT

No fewer than 15 recent books repeat the claim that Ibn Saud’s militants killed or wounded 400,000–800,000 people during the Wahhabi conquest of the Arabian Peninsula between 1902 and 1925. In this paper, I uncover the origins of this disturbing statistic and challenge its validity. On the basis of primary-source data—especially the reports of British agents and observers working in the Arabian Peninsula at the time—I argue that the number of people killed and wounded during the Wahhabi conquests, while still great, has been wildly exaggerated, and I propose a more realistic casualty estimate.     

The Use of Hemastix® and the Subsequent Lack of DNA Recovery Using the Promega DNA IQTM System

Abstract:  Following implementation of our automated process incorporating the Promega DNA IQ^TM system as a DNA extraction method, a large number of blood-containing exhibits failed to produce DNA. These exhibits had been tested with the Hemastix^® reagent strip, commonly used by police investigators and forensic laboratories as a screening test for blood. Some exhibits were even tainted green following transfer of the presumptive test reagents onto the samples. A series of experiments were carried out to examine the effect of the Hemastix^® chemistries on the DNA IQ^TM system. Our results indicate that one or more chemicals imbedded in the Hemastix^® reagent strip severely reduce the ability to recover DNA from any suspected stain using the DNA IQ^TM magnetic bead technology. The 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) used as the reporting dye appears to interact with the magnetic beads to prevent DNA recovery. Hydrogen peroxide does not seem to be involved. The Hemastix^® chemistries do not interfere in any way with DNA extraction performed using phenol-chloroform. The incompatibility of the Hemastix^® chemistries on the DNA IQ^TM system forced us to adopt an indirect approach using filter paper to carry out the presumptive test.     

Aggression,science, and law: The origins framework

Human societies have formalized instincts for compliance with reciprocal altruism in laws that sanction some aggression and not other aggression. Neuroscience makes steady advances toward measurements of various aspects of brain function pertinent to the aggressive behaviors that laws are designed to regulate. Consciousness, free will, rationality, intent, reality testing, empathy, moral reasoning, and capacity for self-control are somewhat subject to empirical assessment. The question becomes: how should law accommodate the wealth of information regarding these elements of mind that the science of aggression increasingly makes available? This essay discusses the evolutionary purpose of aggression, the evolutionary purpose of law, the problematic assumptions of the mens rea doctrine, and the prospects for applying the neuroscience of aggression toward the goal of equal justice for unequal minds. Nine other essays are introduced, demonstrating how each of them fits into the framework of the permanent debate about neuroscience and justice. It is concluded that advances in the science of human aggression will have vital, but biologically limited, impact on the provision of justice.