On the potential of incorporating administrative register data into randomized experiments

Journal of Experimental Criminology - Administrative register data offer an opportunity to increase the range and nature of experimental evaluations. In addition to providing a range of offending...     

The Rise of the Islamic State and Changing Patterns of Cooperation in the Middle East

Interstate relations are highly interdependent: a change in relations between a pair of states can impact the relationship each of those states has with third parties, as well as relations among those third party states. This is particularly salient in cases where emerging security threats have the potential to destabilize existing patterns of interstate behavior. While the interdependent nature of states’ strategic responses to varied security challenges is often discussed and theorized in the international relations (IR) literature, it is less frequently modeled empirically. We present an approach for analyzing state relations that takes into account higher-order dependencies in the position of states within a network. We apply the approach to a unique context: diplomatic relations between Middle East and North African (MENA) states during a period in which the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) becomes a significant destabilizing force in the region. We find that the emergence of ISIL dramatically reshaped the region’s politics, improving relations among the region’s major powers while worsening relations for the states facing territorial threats from the group.     

Citizen police academies: Community policing or community politics?

Citizen police academies (CPAs) have become common in the United States. These programs have a great deal of potential to enhance community-policing efforts in two ways. First, they provide a setting where citizens can learn more about the operations of their local law enforcement agencies. Second, they allow participants to enter into an open and ongoing dialogue with agency representatives. This paper reports findings from a national survey of CPA coordinators. It questions the current status of CPAs as an element of community policing, as opposed to public or political relations. A draft of this paper was presented at the 1999 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Toronto, Ontario. Data collection for this project was supported by a Florida State University Dissertation Research Grant.