Tax Britannica: Nineteenth Century Tariffs and British National Income

The literature on British economic history presumes thatBritain was a free trader after the repeal of the Corn Lawsand that her tariff levels were thus below those which wereoptimal for maximizing utility. Presumably, if the optimalBritish tariffs had been positive and greater than the levelsestablished by mid-century, a reduction to zero of all tariffsthat remained would have lowered British welfare even further.In this paper, we use a simple computable general equilibriummodel to simulate a drop in all British tariffs to zero. Theresulting substantial net increase in British welfaresuggests that British tariffs were much higher than would beconsistent with an optimum tariff policy. More important, thesize of British losses from her high tariff levels suggeststhat British policy was not consistent with the stance of anideological free trader.     

The Islamic Realism of Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi (1926–) and Sayyid Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah (1935–2010)

The article sheds light on the core realist assumptions—regarding international anarchy, the centrality of power to international relations and human nature—that underpin the international relations perspectives of two leading contemporary Islamist thinkers, Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi (1926–) and the late Sayyid Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah (1935–2010). It further asserts that the law of mutual restraining—which Qaradawi and Fadlallah derive from the Qur’an—bears a major affinity to realism’s balance of power principle. It argues that Qaradawi and Fadlallah articulate a non-western variant of realism that this article refers to as Islamic realism. After defining Islamic realism, the article compares it to four strands of realism: structural, neoclassical, classical and Christian realism. The conclusion suggests that realism should not be viewed as exclusively a product of European experiences and western ‘secular’ thought, but as a mode of theorizing about international relations that transcends cultural boundaries. In addition, it underscores the links between religion and realism, calling for research into the likely sources of realism in the three Abrahamic religions.     

Correction to: Do exchange rate changes have threshold effects on the trade balance? Evidence from Tunisia

Economic Change and Restructuring - In the original publication of the article, abstract section contains errors.     

Do exchange rate changes have threshold effects on the trade balance? Evidence from Tunisia

Economic Change and Restructuring - The main objective of this paper is to shed new light on the nonlinear relationship between exchange rate changes and trade balance. Different from...     

Factionalism and political discourse in the Islamic Republic of Iran:The Case of the Hujjatiyeh Society

The revolutionary Islamic government of Iran is dominated by clerical forces organised for the most part in the Islamic Republic Party. After defeating and banishing its secular opponents, notably the first President of the Republic, Bani-Sadr, the clerical party and regime developed factional struggles within their ranks. The issue of these struggles is what we consider to be the central dilemma of the revolutionary regime: the radical, populist slogans and policies of the revolution vs. routinised government maintaining order and protecting property. Khomeini's doctrine of Wilayat-i-Faqih which required the politicisation of religion and the sacralisation of politics has become closely associated with revolutionary populism. The radical forces, self proclaimed Maktabis, have insistently defended the original principles and policies of the revolution in the name of Khomeini and his ‘Imam line’ against the forces which they claimed to be infiltrating the regime to subvert the revolution and restore capitalist-imperialist control. The Maktabis with the vocal support of the Tudeh (communist) party, identified subversive forces with the Hujjatiyeh, a shadowy society, apparently with close connections to the clerical establishment

We examine the attacks upon and the defences of the ‘Hujjatiyeh’ to distinguish the styles, discourses and directions of factional struggles in relation to the central conflict between populism and order     

Frequency of laryngeal and hyoid bone trauma in nonhomicidal cases who died after a fall from a height

A retrospective study was carried out on 93 autopsy cases who died after a fall from a height. For each case, following parameters were reported: age, sex, manner of death, estimated height of fall, ground type, estimated site of primary impact, type of laryngeal and hyoid bone trauma, presence of associated local trauma in the neck and cephalic region. Mean age of the studied population was about 33 years. Sex ratio (men/women) was 1.8. Mean height of fall was about 15 m. Manner of death was, respectively, suicide and accident in 70 and 23 cases. The type of ground was concrete in 94% of the cases. The site of primary impact was, respectively, head, front of the body, back of the body, feet/lower limbs, and lateral body in 31, 26, 19, 12, and 5 cases. Cervical soft tissue bruising without laryngohyoid fractures was found in 5 cases. Laryngohyoid fractures were found in 5 cases. These fractures could be explained by direct impact of the neck structures against the ground. The mechanism of these fractures could also be indirect fractures due to high muscle strains on the hyoid bone or thyroid cartilage due to cervical hyperflexion or hyperextension or secondary to mandible or cervical vertebral column fractures.     

The city and its ‘other’ in Islamic political ideas and movements

Historically, the city has been the natural habitat for innovations in political and religious ideas and the locus of politico-religious organization and associations. But the proximity to the centers of military power and of religious orthodoxy have rendered the social movements based on these ideas ineffective. The movements which led to political transformations come from marginal settlements and tribal organizations. Ideas and actions relating to location and habitat are examined briefly. Moving on to the modern period it isnoted that almost without exception Islamic political ideas related implicitly to an urban setting. In particular, we examine some of the political ideas of Sayyid Qutb which have been influential among more recent radical Islamic groups in Egypt. These relate to theformation of an Islamic vanguard, separating itself from the prevalent jahiliyya (state of error and ignorance) and, following the example of the early Muslims, fortified with faith, wage a jihad (holy war) to conquer this jahiliyya. Some implications of these ideas for urban social relations and for location and space are examined.     

Shared History Project: A PRIME Example of Peace-Building Under Fire

Minimal peace building during a violent conflict is suggested as a strategy for future post-conflict peace processes. This paper describes a process of five workshops in which Palestinian and Jewish-Israeli teachers developed a joint school textbook of two narratives (an Israeli and a Palestinian) in regard to three dates in their mutual conflict: the Balfour Declaration, the 1948 war and the 1987 Intifada. The teachers developed these two narratives to be taught in their classrooms. All these activities took place under severe conditions of asymmetry of power relations of occupation (of the Palestinians) and of suicide bombers (against Israelis) throughout the project. The Two-State solution requires in our view textbooks of two narratives, so students learn to respect the narrative of the Other.