The Rescaling of the Chinese State and Sino-North Korean Relations: Beyond State-Centrism

While Beijing has repeatedly signed up to multilateral sanctions against North Korea, it is widely regarded as having failed to enforce them. Indeed, China’s deepening economic engagement with the country has led observers to debate the causes of this seemingly duplicitous approach. Constructivist and realist approaches have relied on state-centric frameworks that serve to reduce Sino-North Korean relations to the high politics of Beijing-Pyongyang diplomacy in the context of broader geopolitical dynamics. This article argues that such approaches pay insufficient attention to the profound rescaling of the Chinese state in recent years and the implications this process has for bilateral relations. This article sheds light on how Sino-North Korean relations are being driven by actors at multiple scales and by a multitude of objectives as a result of decentralisation and marketisation alongside increasing geographical unevenness within China and new challenges to continued capital accumulation. North Korea has come to play an increasingly important role in efforts to facilitate economic recovery in the northeastern border regions through serving as spatial fix for Chinese manufacturing capital. These new cross-border flows of capital and labour suggest an emerging pattern of Sino-North Korean relations that is by no means static but in considerable flux.     

Government Type and Public Spending in Africa

How does government composition affect government spending in Africa’s democracies? Many scholars have examined the political, institutional, and ideological determinants of government spending, finding that government attributes can affect government spending levels. However, many of these studies have focused on OECD countries, largely overlooking the link between government spending and government composition in African democracies. I examine support for two existing theories about the characteristics of governments that can lead to increases in spending levels: the number of parties in government and the number of ministers. I assess empirical evidence for these theories using original data on government composition in 19 African countries from 1990 to 2015 and data on government spending from the World Bank. I find that a coalition at the time the budget is passed is associated with increased spending, but the number of cabinet ministers does not appear to systematically affect levels of government spending.     

Terrorism Targeting Industrial Chemical Facilities: Strategic Motivations and the Implications for U.S. Security

Policy to reduce the threat of a terrorist attack against industrial chemical facilities—critical infrastructure with potential to cause mass casualties—is being driven by incomplete and, in some cases, incorrect assumptions. This article chronicles incidents by non-state actors directed at the chemical industry and explores the strategic considerations prompting groups to target the industry. By incorporating motivations for targeting infrastructure a more robust, comprehensive risk assessment is realized. Analysis challenging the “insider” threat paradigm and recommendations to ameliorate the potential effects are also presented. These are found to differ substantially from the leading policy measures currently advocated.     

Homonormative Collusions and the Subject of Rights: Reading <Emphasis Type="Italic">Terrorist Assemblages</Emphasis>

This essay provides an analytic review of Jasbir Puar’s book, Terrorist Assemblages (2007), situating her discussion and analysis of “homonationalism” within the context of recent developments in queer theory in the USA, and specifically, critiques of queer liberalism and gay imperialism; racial analyses of hetero- and homo-normative formations; and challenges to identity politics and representational frameworks that dominate LGBT studies. It takes up Puar’s interest in finding new methods and ‘reading’ practices to track certain shifts in LGBT politics and to account for alignments between (white) queerness and normative, nationalist and imperial interests. Engaging with and expanding on her analysis, this paper discusses the challenge that Terrorist Assemblage poses to the identity categories that undergird human rights campaigns, and addresses the racist and nationalist sentiments that she locates within them.     

Petechiae in hanging: a retrospective study of contributing variables

Petechiae, one of the classic signs of asphyxia, are thought to be more frequently observed in cases of hanging where part of the body is supporting the victim's weight, ie, cases of incomplete hanging. However, there is very little evidence-based medicine to support this claim. The present study is intended to evaluate the relationship between petechiae and the type of hanging (complete vs. incomplete). Furthermore, several other variables were analyzed to determine if they contribute significantly to the presence of petechiae. An 8.5-year retrospective study of 206 cases of death by hanging reviewed autopsy reports for the presence of petechiae. For each case, the following information was also compiled: gender and age, height and weight, body mass index, the type of hanging (complete or incomplete suspension), the type of ligature used (narrow or wide), and whether or not the victim had received cardiopulmonary resuscitation maneuvers. Statistical analysis revealed that the incidence was higher among incomplete hanging victims compared with cases of complete suspension and that the incidence of petechiae varied inversely with the height of the victims. The other factors were not shown to contribute significantly to the presence of petechiae.