The Rebirth of Water as a Weapon: IS in Syria and Iraq

The so-called Islamic State (IS) has increasingly used water as a weapon in order to further its political and military aims in Syria and Iraq. In this water-scarce region, IS has retained water and cut off crucial supplies, flooded large areas as well as contaminated resources. The capture of large dams in the Euphrates and Tigris basin has made it possible to deploy the water weapon even more effectively and in a frequent, systematic, consistent and flexible manner. Measures to counter this weaponisation effectively have been limited to military means. However, several internal constraints create a dilemma for IS as its state-building ambitions conflict with the consequences of the weaponisation of water. The rebirth of using the water weapon in Syria and Iraq raises questions about protecting water infrastructures in conflict and post-conflict settings.     

The Microfoundations of Diversionary Conflict

Diversionary conflict theorists assert that leaders can become more popular at home by pursuing conflict abroad. At first glance this claim appears counterintuitive in light of the hardship conflict often imposes on ordinary citizens. Relying on social identity theory (SIT), I deduce two hypotheses to help explain why conflict can increase popular support for leaders. First, conflict with an outgroup can make people identify more strongly with their ingroup. Second, stronger ingroup identification can lead to increased support for leaders inside the group. The second part of the article applies these two hypotheses to Russia's seizure of Crimea in early 2014. Attitude surveys show that the Crimea conflict increased national pride among Russians while support for President Vladimir Putin rose dramatically, and they suggest that the two processes were causally linked. These findings support the article's two hypotheses.     

The German “Wutbürger”: How Justice Sensitivity Accounts for Individual Differences in Political Engagement

Perceived injustice can trigger strong emotional reactions and motivate political protest. Although there is vast empirical evidence for this chain of reactions, we know little about individual differences in how perceived injustice can motivate people to engage in political actions. In a survey study with 1,005 German participants, we investigated how justice sensitivity as a personality disposition accounts for individual differences in political engagement. Regression analyses revealed that justice sensitivity from an observer perspective promotes political engagement, whereas justice sensitivity from a victim perspective is not related to political engagement . In the concrete case of a political decision regarding the public transport project “Stuttgart 21” in Germany, our data indicated that perceived procedural injustice of the decision process and moral outrage mediated the relation of justice sensitivity from an observer perspective and political protest. The present findings are in line with research on the behavioral outcomes of justice sensitivity and contribute to the understanding of individual differences in political engagement and its underlying motivational processes.     

Habitatschutz in der Raumordnung

Zusammenfassung  Die raumordnerische Planung hat in den letzten Jahren an Bedeutung gewonnen. Vor allem gro?e oder politisch umstrittene Infrastrukturvorhaben erfahren immer h?ufiger eine Vorbereitung durch die Regional- oder Landesentwicklungsplanung. Aber auch die Ansiedlung gro?fl?chigen Einzelhandels sowie die Errichtung von Windenergieparks werden zunehmend raumordnungsrechtlich gesteuert. In dem Ma?e, wie dabei die Zielfestlegungen der raumordnerischen Pl?ne sachlich und r?umlich konkreter werden, geraten notwendig auch Belange des Habitatschutzes in den Blick. Die Bedeutung der habitatschutzrechtlichen Regelungen auf der Ebene der Raumordnung ist aber noch nicht hinreichend gekl?rt. Der vorliegende Aufsatz versucht, Anhaltspunkte für den Stellenwert und die Prüfdichte des Habitatschutzes in der Raumordnung zu entwickeln.     

Can Terrorism Abroad Influence Migration Attitudes at Home?

This article demonstrates that public opinion on migration “at home” is systematically driven by terrorism in other countries. Although there is little substantive evidence linking refugees or migrants to most recent terror attacks in Europe, news about terrorist attacks can trigger more negative views of immigrants. However, the spatial dynamics of this process are neglected in existing research. We argue that feelings of imminent danger and a more salient perception of migration threats do not stop at national borders. The empirical results based on spatial econometrics and data on all terrorist attacks in Europe for the post-9/11 period support these claims. The effect of terrorism on migration concern is strongly present within a country but also diffuses across states in Europe. This finding improves our understanding of public opinion on migration, as well as the spillover effects of terrorism, and it highlights crucial lessons for scholars interested in the security implications of population movements.     

Justice as solidarity: A study of the political socialization of adolescents from East and West Germany within the theoretical framework of Durkheim's sociology of morality

The contemporary transformations in western societies confront us with a problem already stated by Durkheim a century ago: What enables members of society to practice social solidarity while becoming increasingly more individualistic? This question is analyzed in view of the political socialization of adolescents and its developmental implications. In line with the Durkheimian tradition in developmental psychology established by Piaget and elaborated by Kohlberg, it is claimed that the development of moral autonomy gives rise to a justice-related sense of responsibility that may foster bonds of solidarity within society. This developmental model was tested against the impact of socialization variables in a sample of East and West Germany adolescents, aged 15 and 18 (N=348). Analyses of the data revealed a substantial relationship between the development of moral autonomy and the readiness to take responsibility for others in response to justice concerns. The impact of the development of moral autonomy on the formation of a justice-related sense of responsibility depended only minimally on background indicators of political socialization in adolescence (e.g., East or West German origin, the socioeconomic status of parents). In the context of current social conditions a developmental approach to political socialization appears crucial to explain the emergence of justice concerns giving rise to solidarity.     

Analyzing the Psychological and Social Contents of Evidence—Experimental Comparison between Guessing,Naturalistic Observation,and Systematic Analysis

To improve inferences about psychological and social evidence contained in pictures and texts, a five‐step algorithm—Systematic Analysis (SA)—was devised. It combines basic principles of interpretation in forensic science, providing a comprehensive record of signs of evidence. Criminal justice professionals evaluated the usefulness of SA. Effects of applying SA were tested experimentally with 41 subjects, compared to 39 subjects observing naturally (naturalistic observation) and 47 subjects guessing intuitively intuitive guessing group. After being trained in SA, prosecutors and police detectives (N = 217) attributed it a good usefulness for criminal investigation. Subjects (graduate students) using SA found significantly more details about four test cases than those observing naturally (Cohen's d = 0.58). Subjects who learned SA well abducted significantly better hypotheses than those who observed naturally or who guessed intuitively. Internal validity of SA was α = 0.74. Applying SA improved observation significantly and reduced confirmation bias.