The challenges of measuring food security and sovereignty in the Yucatán Peninsula

In a study of food security and sovereignty (FSS) in 22 indigenous Mayan communities in Yucatán State, Mexico, a participatory action research (PAR) methodology was combined with an analytical framework comprised of 10 FSS indicators to measure food security in the study area and identify strengths and weaknesses of the analytical framework. While some of the FSS indicators were approaching satisfactory, the majority were only partially satisfied, and food self-sufficiency was for the most part unsatisfactory. It was also found that food security indicators are relatively easier to measure, while sovereignty indicators present challenges in terms of defining progress.     

Beratung zum Tode. Eine neuears moriendi?

Dieser Artikel präsentiert Ergebnisse einer qualitativen Untersuchung deutschsprachiger Ratgeberliteratur zu Sterben, Tod und Trauer. Vor dem Hintergrund eines allgemeinen Beratungsbooms widmet sich der Aufsatz der Frage, welche Funktion Beratung, speziell die Beratung zum Tode, in der modernen Gesellschaft haben kann. Beratung wird alsKommunikative Gattung definiert, die in erster Linie auf das Problem der ?fragilen Anschlussfähigkeit“ — insbesondere bei schriftlichen Ratgebern — verweist. Eine Auswertung der Ratgeberliteratur zum Thema Tod zeigt, dass man anhand der Textedrei typische Problemhorizonte unterscheiden kann, in denen der Tod platziert wird. Die Bedeutung des Todes lässt sich somit nur im Hinblick auf die Erwartungsstrukturen erschließen, die in den Texten typischerweise konstruiert werden. Tod kann dann verstanden werden erstens als Abschied vom Leben, zweitens als bedeutungsloser Zwischenfall oder drittens als gleiches Schicksal für alle. Dieser Typologie entsprechen drei unterschiedliche Kontexturen. Damit bestätigt sich die Vermutung, dass die moderne Gesellschaft keinears moriendi mehr kennt. Stattdessen finden sich kommunikative ?Räume“, innerhalb derer das Unsagbare sagbar gemacht werden kann.     

Einzige Ausführung der Nichtigkeitsbeschwerde

§ 285 Abs 1 StPO l?sst ausdrücklich nur eine (einzige) Ausführung der Nichtigkeitsbeschwerde zu. Wird im Fall der neuen Ausl?sung der Ausführungsfrist infolge neuerlicher Urteilszustellung nach Protokollberichtigung (§ 271 Abs 7 letzter Satz StPO) oder Urteilsangleichung innerhalb dieser Frist eine (neue) Ausführung der Nichtigkeitsbeschwerde eingebracht, ist letztere die einzig wirksame. Die frühere (vor Urteilsneuzustellung eingebrachte) Ausführung wird durch die Neueinbringung gegenstandslos und damit unbeachtlich. Nur wenn der Nichtigkeitswerber die Einbringung einer neuen Ausführung unterl?sst oder sich mit der – nicht einer eigenst?ndigen Ausführung gleichkommenden – Erkl?rung begnügt, die bereits eingebrachte Ausführung aufrechtzuerhalten bzw blo? auf diese zu verweisen, beh?lt die frühere (sodann weiterhin einzige) Ausführung Wirksamkeit. In der Ausführung der Nichtigkeitsbeschwerde enthaltene Verweise auf andere Rechtsmittelschriften sind unbeachtlich.     

The right of withdrawal in the treaty of Lisbon: a game theoretic reflection on different decision processes in the EU

The ways of decision-making within the EU have significantly changed in the last decades: The rule of unanimity has been more and more substituted by majority voting in order to speed up decision-making processes in a Union of 27 heterogeneous member states. A third possibility is now offered by the Lisbon Treaty including a constitutional right of withdrawal. A member state encountering a loss in its benefits caused by a decision made by majority voting may now demand compensating transfers by using the right of withdrawal. It might threaten to leave the EU if the compensation is denied. Hence, does this mean that member states now have regained a negotiation power comparable to the right to veto? Using a game theoretic approach we investigate the amount of compensating transfers to be offered under majority decisions with exit option compared to decisions requiring unanimity.     

A randomized controlled trial of different policing strategies at hot spots of violent crime

Focusing police efforts on “hot spots” has gained acceptance among researchers and practitioners. However, little rigorous evidence exists on the comparative effectiveness of different hot spots strategies. To address this gap, we randomly assigned 83 hot spots of violence in Jacksonville, Florida, to receive either a problem-oriented policing (POP) strategy, directed-saturation patrol, or a control condition for 90 days. We then examined crime in these areas during the intervention period and a 90-day post-intervention period. In sum, the use of POP was associated with a 33% reduction in “street violence” during the 90 days following the intervention. While not statistically significant, we also observed that POP was associated with other non-trivial reductions in violence and property crime during the post-intervention period. In contrast, we did not detect statistically significant crime reductions for the directed-saturation patrol group, though there were non-significant declines in crime in these areas during the intervention period. Tests for displacement or a diffusion of benefits provided indications that violence was displaced to areas near the POP locations, though some patterns in the data suggest this may have been due to the effects of POP on crime reporting by citizens in nearby areas. We conclude by discussing the study’s limitations and the implications of the findings for efforts to refine hot spots policing.     

Order and commerce in turbulent areas: 19th century lessons, 21st century practice

The recent collapse of some states, the proliferation of internal wars and of localized political authorities, so‐called ‘warlords’, challenges the homogeneity of the international system of states at its margins. These new fragmented authorities often rely upon commercial deals with outsiders to consolidate their power. This threatens officials in strong states who depend upon organized states everywhere to control their realms and control their citizens' transactions, including with terrorists and criminals. Widespread direct rule by western powers, as in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, and Bosnia, is too expensive and politically risky to apply to all disorderly parts of the globe. Instead, officials in powerful states use techniques of indirect control that utilize commercial networks to pacify disorderly areas. This strategy resembles techniques developed in 19th century European relations with stateless areas. Similar problems develop as well. This led in the 19th century to direct rule, while contemporary officials are forced to experiment with more intensive use of commercial relations to pacify unruly areas.     

The Politics of Debt and Development in the New Millennium: an introduction

This article serves as an introduction to this special issue of twq on ‘Debt and Development in the New Millennium’. It highlights the gaps in our knowledge about debt that the following contributions seek to fill and why this is important, both analytically and politically. In doing so, it discusses two core objectives of the special issue: first, to examine the role(s) that debt plays in mediating the underlying tensions of neoliberal-led development and its emphasis on market-led growth and poverty reduction schemes; and, second, to interrupt, contest and deconstruct the dominant economic representations and meanings of debt. Although the contributions draw on different theoretical frames to explore different features of debt across a variety of social spaces, a core hypothesis running through each article is that that there are additional complex and paradoxical dimensions to debt beyond what is represented by its common-sense economic meaning as an amount of money borrowed, voluntarily, by one party from another. This introductory article concludes by providing the reader with an overview of each contribution comprising the special issue.