The Radical Milieu: Conceptualizing the Supportive Social Environment of Terrorist Groups

Terrorist groups are not completely isolated, socially “free-floating” entities, but emerge from and operate within a specific, immediate social environment—what we call the radical milieu—which shares their perspective and objectives, approves of certain forms of violence, and (at least to a certain extent) supports the violent group morally and logistically. In this article we introduce an approach to conceptualize and analyze this formative and supportive social environment of clandestine groups, addressing the questions of how the radical milieu emerges, what forms it takes, and what role it plays in shaping the development of violent groups. Our focus, thereby, rests on relationship-patterns between violent groups and radical milieus as well as on processes of interaction between radical milieus and their broader political and societal environment, which may entail dynamics of support and control but also isolation and radicalization.     

Sentencing Thresholds in German Criminal Law and Practice: Legal and Empirical Aspects

The position of the custody threshold and the proportion of cases passing it are crucial for any attempt to reduce imprisonment. The article focuses on the sentencing threshold(s) in Germany, a country that shows relatively low incarceration rates in international comparison. This is in part due to legislation that aims to replace short prison sentences, especially those below six months, by fines, and unsuspended prison sentences up to two years by suspended ones. These provisions are widely applied in practice, yet not always in accordance with the letter of the law. The article will give an overview of the legal and practical aspects of decision-making between fines and prison sentences and between suspended and unsuspended sentences in Germany. It will show that there is not only one sentencing threshold identifiable in practice, but two different ones: firstly, between fines and suspended sentences, and secondly, between suspended and unsuspended sentences. Problems of the German system are identified, among which are the convertability of day fines into suspended and unsuspended prison terms and the treatment of persistent recidivists. Finally, possible solutions are proposed.     

环境规制对企业有好处吗——对波特假说的一个检验

传统观点认为环境规制对受环境污染的企业有负面影响,但波特(假说)宣称受污染的企业能从环境政策中受益,因为设计良好的环境规制能通过提高生产率或增加产品价值来激励创新,实现个体利益,最终环境规制能使社会和被规制企业都受益。波特假说被政策制定者和通俗刊物所接受,但受到部分经济学家的严厉批评。在本文中,Ambec和Barla列举了这场争论中的主要观点,展示了波特假说的理论基础,进而对迄今为止经济学领域一些适用的经验性证据进行评价。     

Introduction: Procedural Justice, Law and Policy

Over the last few years, procedural justice has become one of the most debated fields in social science and law. Modern thinking about law, democracy and public policy inevitably leads to a consideration of appropriate procedures. Images of such procedures are culturally bound and also formed by individual cognition. The word "fair" seems to encompass the most desired features of procedures.     

欧洲现代史中的苏联史

苏联史就是现代史的同义语,只有把苏联包括在内才有可能书写20世纪的世界历史;苏联的存在对20世纪世界历史的事件序列和结构,对国际体系,对文化关系和微观环境(不只局限于苏联),对政治和社会话语,对有关政治、经济、社会理论的形成,都产生了决定性的作用;不能把苏联史错误地理解为苏联疆域内的历史,也不能理解为现代史部门内众多国别史中的一部,因为苏联史同时显示出欧洲和全球的维度,波及西欧和欧洲以外的社会乃至日常生活和生活环境。因此,本文在兼顾欧洲背景的情况下,试图突出苏联史的几个主要线索,如人口损失、暴政、非斯大林化、苏维埃社会国家、合法性基础的改变、社会的转变、帝国的形成等,并探讨了与苏联现代化和工业化有关的理论问题。