Dialogues of the War on Drugs: towards restorative reentry initiatives

The injustices of mass incarceration and the ‘War on Drugs’ are a much debated topic in the United States. My project engages this thematic field by examining how formerly incarcerated people discuss the War on Drugs and mass incarceration. I analyze the narratives of 17 formerly incarcerated men who volunteered to participate in: (1) life story interviews, (2) focus groups and (3) semi-structured interviews. Both restorative justice and reentry have been criticized for failing to consider the social, structural, and historical inequalities for marginalized groups. I contend that my subjects’ engagement with historical and autobiographical narratives contributes to an innovative practice borrowing from restorative justice in the context of reentry. The preliminary results confirm that for those who were on the frontline of the War on Drugs, narrating their life story was a cathartic experience and discussing collective memories of slavery and Jim Crow in a group setting became an educational moment and reaffirmed the need to rethink this history. I found the older generation believes the past should be remembered and racism still exists, while the younger generation subscribes to a colorblind view of society and wants to move on.     

INTENDED AND UNINTENDED EFFECTS OF THE WAR ON POVERTY: WHAT RESEARCH TELLS US AND IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY

During the mid‐1960s, the United States adopted a series of cash and in‐kind transfer programs, as well as human capital investment strategies, as part of the War on Poverty. A number of other programs were first proposed as part of this “war” but were not implemented until the mid‐1970s. These programs had noble goals: to increase incomes at the bottom of the income distribution, reduce poverty, and improve nutrition, heath, and human capital. However, various features of the programs also had the potential to produce unintended consequences: for example, means‐tested programs can discourage work. In this paper, we comprehensively evaluate the main War on Poverty programs that were aimed at the low‐income nonelderly population along with several follow‐on programs. We focus on both intended and unintended consequences, drawing on the most compelling causal evidence. We conclude with a series of lessons learned and questions that are outstanding.     

Measuring Sexual Violence on Campus: Climate Surveys and Vulnerable Groups

ABSTRACT

Since the 2014 Not Alone report on campus sexual assault, the use of climate surveys to measure sexual violence on campuses across the United States has increased considerably. The current study utilizes a quasi meta-analysis approach to examine the utility of general campus climate surveys, which include a measure of sexual violence, in comparison to sexual assault specific climate surveys, in measuring student sexual assault experiences. Past research has highlighted the need to not only understand campus sexual assault prevalence rates for the general student population, but also the specific risk posed to more vulnerable populations such as the lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning/queer community (LGBQ) and Native American students. Results indicate that general campus climate surveys may be underestimating both the sexual victimization of the general student body as well as that of LGBQ and Native American students. Research and policy recommendations that focus on improved measurement of campus sexual assault experiences are discussed.     

Devolution and party change: Candidate selection for the 1999 Scottish parliament and Welsh assembly elections

The article analyses the candidate selection procedures of each of the major parties in the run‐up to the 1999 Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly elections, assessing the extent to which they reveal developments in party democratisation and decentralisation on the one hand, and evidence of countervailing central control on the other. Procedural innovations achieved greater openness in candidate nomination and gender balance in candidatures but developments in democratisation were contested and evidence of decentralisation was mixed. Surveys of candidates reveal a perception in the Labour Party that there was too much central influence, although its implications differed in Scotland and Wales. There were perceptions of unfairness and lack of internal democracy in the other parties as well, suggesting in particular a contradiction between central influence in all of the parties’ approaches to list selection and candidates’ expectations of such influence diminishing. Devolution, therefore, released tensions in all parties.     

The Stories Nations Tell,in Three Voices

Abstract

An examination of the role of history in the South China Sea is dangerous ground. Contemporary discussions about sovereignty and jurisdictions in the Sea have become so politicized as to obscure historical insights. This essay considers the role of history in the South China Sea through the lens of three recent works on maritime Asia. While the Robert Kaplan’s 2014 book offers an abstract account of rising states and ancient rivalries, the two other works by Bill Hayton and Bernard Cole offer more compelling explanations of the role of human agency in shaping the region’s claims. The comparison of these works yields a commentary on the South China Sea disputes, and on the methodologies employed by those who study this consequential sub-region and its maritime past.     

Estimates of Repeat Victimization Using the National Crime Victimization Survey

Many crime victims experience multiple victimizations over time. Estimating the rate of repeat victimization from a longitudinal survey, however, is difficult because individuals often have missing data for some of the interviews. We use data from the 1996–98 U.S. National Crime Victimization Survey to explore potential effects of missing data on estimated rates of repeat violent victimizations in individuals. We introduce two algorithms for estimating repeat victimization rates, using logistic models to impute values for individuals who have partial data. These models are applied to estimate rates of repeat victimization for all violent crimes, and separately for crimes of domestic violence. Estimates show substantial sensitivity to the form of the model used.     

Arms control: Focus on denial and deception

Conclusion Arms control continues to be a key element of U.S. national security policy. Yet, to be a constructive part of our national strategy, stringent arms control verification is required. Of late, the government has moved from agreements incorporating effective monitoring methods to multilateral, feel-good agreements that are very difficult, if not impossible, to monitor. Since the United States is not going to violate agreements, we could be placed at a long-term strategic disadvantage.