Loyalty,Justice, and Rights: Royce and Police Ethics in Twenty-First-Century America

The killings of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and others have instigated widespread debate concerning the ethics and politics of police behavior toward young black men in America. In this article, I show how Josiah Royce’s philosophy of loyalty provides a useful theoretical framework for diagnosing and working to overcome strained relations between police and black citizens in the United States. I begin by establishing the relevance of Royce’s thought to the realm of police ethics. Then, I argue that Royce’s notion of loyalty to loyalty is a useful and powerful lens through which we can examine the practice of police discretion, particularly as it comes to bear on racial profiling and use of force. I conclude by offering what I regard as Roycean recommendations aimed at ameliorating the fractured relationship between police and blacks in America today.     

Probation/Parole Officer Psychological Well-Being: the Impact of Supervising Persons with Mental Health Needs

Although supervising persons with mental illness can pose special challenges for community parole/probation officers (PPOs), few studies have investigated whether the number of supervisees on an officer’s caseload increases risk for poor mental health for PPOs and whether this link is due to emotional exhaustion. Using statewide survey data from 798 PPOs, we examine whether the number of supervisees on an officer’s caseload with mental health problems is associated with depressive symptoms reported the PPOs and whether this relationship is mediated by emotional exhaustion. In addition, we evaluate the potential mitigating role of both mental health services received by supervisees and officer training in mental health in the relationship between the number of supervisees on an officer’s caseload with mental health problems and emotional exhaustion experienced by PPOs. Findings reveal that PPOs with more supervisees on their caseload report significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms and that this relationship is completely explained away by emotional exhaustion. Neither mental health services received by supervisees nor officer training in mental health mitigated the link between the number of supervisees on an officer’s caseload with mental health problems and officer emotional exhaustion. This study underscores the importance of the psychological well-being of those on parole/probation for the emotional and mental health of the officers who supervise them.     

White Paper Prepared for The Secretary of Defense Task Force on DoD Nuclear Weapons Management: Tradeoffs and Paradoxes: Terrorism,Deterrence and Nuclear Weapons

This article was written at the request of the Secretary of Defense Task Force on DoD Nuclear Weapons Management. While this analysis suggests that certain types of terrorists can be deterred from certain types of attacks, it is less optimistic about the use of nuclear weapons in a terrorist deterrent strategy. A broad approach to deterrence may be effective against certain types of terrorist groups and attacks, making it crucially important to disaggregate the terrorist threat when setting policy. The article goes on to address two types of terrorist groups with a “global reach” that pose a serious threat to the United States: non-state actors driven by doctrines permitting catastrophic attacks and state-sponsored groups capable of carrying out catastrophic attacks. The analysis reveals a number of previously unappreciated tradeoffs and paradoxes associated with the deterrence of terrorists.     

Chinese influence,U.S. linkages,or neither? Comparing regime changes in Myanmar and Thailand

This study examines the potential influence of foreign linkages on regime outcomes by comparing Myanmar and Thailand. Linkages with the West are supposed to facilitate democratization, whereas those with autocracies usually promote regime survival. This study focuses on Myanmar and Thailand’s linkages with the U.S. and China, which at first sight seem to demonstrate the hypothesized effects. Myanmar gradually liberalized while strengthening its Western linkages, whereas Thailand experienced democratic breakdown amid a shift in alignment from the U.S. to China. However, in-depth analysis suggests that the influence of foreign linkages on domestic political change was minimal and that the relationship may very well be endogenous. The findings of this study call for a more careful theorization and handling of the external factors in studies of regime change and highlight the importance of simultaneously analyzing democratic and autocratic linkages.     

New Zealand and the Asia–Europe Meeting

This article considers New Zealand’s accession to the Asia–Europe Meeting, considering both its formal path to membership and the evolving calculus by which its views of the process were structured, focusing on elements such as the enabling context provided by a change of national government in 2008, the impact of the global financial crisis and the position of Australia. Drawing on a set of interviews undertaken within the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, it goes on to examine perceived benefits of the Asia–Europe Meeting for New Zealand, and the extent to which these have been achieved. Finally, it addresses the issue of a New Zealand ASEM strategy, outlining potential areas for future engagement.     

Modes of legitimation by female Pentecostal-Charismatic preachers in East Africa: a comparative study in Kenya and Tanzania

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the rise of female Pentecostal-Charismatic (PC) church leaders and how they legitimize themselves in a male dominated religious field in Kenya and Tanzania. It explores, in a qualitative way, four women leaders’ modes of attaining legitimacy in African PC milieus and contributes empirically based knowledge from four cases which include Eleonorah Wambui of Prosperity Gospel Ministries and Jesca Njuguna of Prophetic Word Ministry in Kenya, as well as Neema Mwambembela of Holy Ghost Power Assemblies and Irene John of Miracle Prayer Ministry in Tanzania. We make reference to Boulding’s delineation of sources of legitimacy ([1967] ‘The Legitimacy of Economics.’ Economic Inquiry 5 (4): 299–307). We found that the four East African female preachers that we examined share certain common practices, but that differences are manifest among them owing to differences in their personal preferences and to the contextual flavour of each ministry.     

The Italians in Europe

Given Italy's reputation for fiscal profligacy, the zeal with which Italians strove to meet the strict budgetary and other criteria to qualify for full participation in European Monetary Union might be in need of explanation. On a wider front, Italy has displayed an enthusiasm for European integration which has been largely free of the reservations occasionally shown by member-states of comparable size and importance. This paper considers explanations which have been advanced for Italians' pro-European attitude, such as Catholic universalism and Roman imperial traditions, but rejects them as insufficient, in order to argue that the modern experience of the nation-state in Italy has failed to produce a strong sense of allegiance to a national identity, encouraging Italians to look to the European level of supranational institutions. Furthermore, it is argued that this lack of strong national allegiance in Italy is not simply a negative characteristic, but has allowed for the preservation of traditions of localism, federalism and social partnership in Italy which are potentially valuable contributions to a future configuration of the European Union.     

Democratic Legitimacy, Public Justification and Environmental Direct Action

This article addresses the question of whether environmental direct action against policies or institutions that are recognised as democratically legitimate can be justified. Arguments that seek to tie environmental outcomes to stipulated requirements of either the democratic process or distributive theories of justice are found wanting in this regard. However, one of the central justifications for the losers in a democratic settlement accepting defeat is policy reversibility. The non-reversible element in significant areas of environmental change entails that environmentalists are forced to play a 'one-shot' political strategy. This fact lends support to the justification of environmental direct action in such cases, although it may also apply beyond the sphere of environmental politics.     

Applying the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) to studies of mental health provision for juvenile offenders: a research note

The degree of reporting transparency in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) is an important factor when the validity of any results is being considered. The use of the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) guidelines has improved the reporting standards of RCTs in many healthcare journals, but these guidelines have yet to be adopted universally. In this study, we applied the CONSORT Statement to RCTs identified from a systematic review of mental health provisions for juvenile offenders. We assessed the number of CONSORT items reported in each trial and investigated the extent of endorsement by journal editors. The findings showed that some items were fully endorsed (e.g., the aim of the study) whereas other items, such as sample size estimations, were not presented in any of the trials. A minority of journals supported the use of the CONSORT Statement in their journals’ instructions for authors. The overall reporting standard for this sample of trials was, therefore, mixed. Comparisons with trials conducted in other disciplines are discussed, and suggestions for improving reporting standards are presented.