Internal logic,external absurdity: Post modernism in political science∗

While calling for the de‐paradigming of political science and an end to blind confidence in science and reason, post‐modernists announce not the absence of paradigm, not an era of intellectual chaos, tolerance, and pluralism, but rather the advent of an entirely new paradigm dramatically at odds with all those paradigmatic fragments which, today, identify political science. The philosophical, epistemological and methodological elements of a post‐modem perspective are presented here as they were originally formulated in the humanities and it is argued that a mutually reinforcing, coherent, and integrated bundle of propositions emerges. The resulting totality when applied to political science constitutes an inescapable logic where assumptions follow, one from the other, and the unity of the whole is difficult to challenge without moving outside the entire framework.

If this novel approach constitutes a new paradigm rather than an end to all paradigms, as is argued here, then important consequences for the future follow. On the other hand, permanent confrontation and enduring conflict are likely to result if post‐modernist political scientists hold to a purity of conviction and decline all compromise with established modes of political inquiry. On the other hand, a willingness to compromise and seek accommodation could jeopardize the internal intellectual logic and rigour of post‐modern political science, opening it up to justifiable criticism.     

Legislating School Crisis Response: Good Policy or Just Good Politics?

Over the past decade, a growing number of schools have responded to students' safety and mental health needs following campus violence and other crises. More recently, policymakers have joined this trend, proposing legislation requiring schools to establish crisis response programs. This paper provides an overview of crisis response initiatives implemented by school districts following traumatic events, including school violence. It then examines recent state legislation and other policies, followed by a discussion of the advisability of such mandates, given the scant research and evaluation of school crisis response to date.     

Legal Neutrality,Public Benefit and Religious Charitable Purposes: Making Sense of Thornton v Howe

Thornton v Howe (1862) concerned a trust to promote the works of Joanna Southcott, a millenarian prophetess. Sir John Romilly's assertion of legal neutrality towards religion sits uneasily with the outcome of the case, but a contextual study shows that Romilly was sincere and that in its heyday Southcott's sect was a significant group with particular attraction for women. By the time of this litigation, however, her dwindling following was ill-equipped to administer the inadequate trust fund and prolonged litigation. Although Romilly's neutrality approach was correct at the time, it was overtaken by the impetus for greater scrutiny of religious charitable purposes through a requirement of public benefit.     

Problems of female patients in a secure psychiatric hospital

Abstract

The problems experienced by a sample of 30 female offender-patients in a secure psychiatric hospital were surveyed using the Behavioral Coding System (BCS). Common problems are emotional difficulties, antisocial behaviors, auditory hallucinations, and self-injury. Problem profiles derived from medical records, key workers' reports, and patients' self reports differed. The survey revealed the necessity of revising the BCS better to identify relevant concerns in this particular population.     

Understanding Education's Influence on Support for Democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa

Is education consequential for popular endorsement of democracy in developing societies and, if so, what are the mechanisms that account for this influence? We investigate the micro-foundations of the education–democracy nexus using a survey of 18 sub-Saharan African countries. We demonstrate that educational level is the strongest influence on support for democracy and rejection of non-democratic alternatives via its impact on comprehension of, and attention to, politics. This is consistent with a cognitive interpretation of the effects of education on democratic values rather than one which treats education as a marker of economic resource inequalities.     

Liberal intervention in the foreign policy thinking of Tony Blair and David Cameron

David Cameron was a critic of Tony Blair's doctrine of the ‘international community’, which was used to justify war in Kosovo and more controversially in Iraq, suggesting caution in projecting military force abroad while in opposition. However, and in spite of making severe cuts to the defence budget, the Cameron-led Coalition government signed Britain up to a military intervention in Libya within a year of coming into office. What does this say about the place liberal interventionism occupies in contemporary British foreign policy? To answer this question, this article studies the nature of what we describe as the ‘bounded liberal’ tradition that has informed British foreign policy thinking since 1945, suggesting that it puts a distinctly UK national twist on conventional conservative thought about international affairs. Its components are: scepticism of grand schemes to remake the world; instinctive Atlanticism; security through collective endeavour; and anti-appeasement. We then compare and contrast the conditions for intervention set out by Tony Blair and David Cameron. We explain the similarities but crucially the vital differences between the two leaders' thinking on intervention, with particular reference to Cameron's perception that Downing Street needed to loosen its control over foreign policymaking after Iraq. Our argument is that policy substance, policy style and party political dilemmas prompted the two leaders to reconnect British foreign policy with its ethical roots, ingraining a bounded liberal posture in British foreign policy after the moral bankruptcy of the John Major years. This return to a pragmatic and ethically informed foreign policy meant that military operations in Kosovo and Libya were undertaken in quite different circumstances, yet came to be justified by similar arguments from the two leaders.     

Mentally disordered offenders and the European Court of Human Rights

Mentally disordered offenders find themselves at the intersection of the healthcare system and the criminal justice system in most European countries. Decisions on their care often involve lengthy discussions in relation to care versus control in society. In this article, the focus is on one aspect of this debate — that of human rights. An analysis of cases, taken to the European Court of Human Rights by mentally disordered offenders, demonstrates the difficulties inherent in ensuring appropriate care to individuals and safeguards to the public at the same time. The issues raised include the problems raised by indeterminate sentences, the use of detention for preventive purposes, and debates about treatment.The countries represented in this selection of cases are Belgium, Norway, Poland, the Netherlands, Russia and the United Kingdom.     

Costs of Cooperation Rather than Competition in the Provision of Justice?

The civil law reforms starting in the USA and exemplified by Lord Woolf's reform package(1995; 1996) in the U.K. are considered in the context of diminishing legal aid and pressure on judges to become case managers responsible for the economic performance of their courts. The reforms are being sold in a package that promises a fairer system for all, greater access, cheaper and quicker justice, less stress and greater party control. This move from the welfare state to a civil society is analysed using Habermas's critical theory in an effort to uncover and debate its assumptions. Specific recent changes in civil procedure in Queensland are referred to in this context.