Multidimensional Poverty in Crisis: Lessons from Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe experienced an acute social, political, and economic crisis from 2001 to 2008 and is now on a recovery path. This paper explores changes in poverty between 2001, 2007, and 2011–2012 using an Alkire–Foster multidimensional poverty index. Results indicate a large increase in poverty across multiple dimensions of household wellbeing between 2001 and 2007 (the start of the crisis peak), followed by a decrease in poverty between 2007 and 2011–2012, during the recovery period. Decomposition of the index shows significantly different trends in poverty dimensions over time with implications for short- and long-term social assistance policies.     

Utah legislation and systems change

Juvenile and family court judges know bureaucratic delays pose serious harm to child development and that extended stays in foster care can result in juvenile delinquency. Utah judges and legislators together searched successfully for new ways to improve court systems and to better serve the children and families of their state.     

Counterinsurgency and terror expertise: the integration of social scientists into the war effort

In this paper the authors draw upon the tradition of Power Structure Research to analyse the increased interpenetration of the military and the social sciences, particularly the recruitment of anthropologists and the adoption and adaptation of counterinsurgency strategies. It is argued that such actors should be understood not as disinterested ‘experts’ but as being organically embedded in a military–industrial–academic complex. The paper considers a number of contemporary examples as well as considering the historical roots of these trends. It is argued that this interpenetration violates the ethical norms of the academy and the moral and social responsibilities of intellectuals.     

Book reviews

Status of pinnipeds relevant to the European Union. By P.J. H. Reijnders, G. Verriopoulos and S. M.J. M. Brasseur (eds.). DLO Institute for Forestry and Nature Research (IBN‐DLO), Wageningen. 195 pp. 1997.

Metapopulatlons and Wildlife Conservation. By D. R. McCullough (ed.). Island Press, Washington, DC. $29.95. 429 pp. 1996.

Biodiversity in the Seas: Implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity In Marine and Coastal Habitats. By A. C de Fontaubert, D. R. Downes, and T. S. Agardy. IUCN, Cambridge. $17.50. 92 pp. 1996.

The Marine Mammal Commission Compendium of Selected Treaties, International Agreements, and Other Relevant Documents on Marine Resources, Wildlife, and the Environment: First Update. Compiled by R L. Wallace. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 1017 pp. 1997.

The Biology of Sea Turtles By Peter Lutz and John Musick (eds.). CRC Press. 432 pp. 1996.     

Vietnam: Approaching the Asian‐pacific century with confidence

It has been twenty years since the fall of Saigon to Northern Communist forces on 30 April 1975. From that time, Vietnam has slowly, but steadily clawed its way back into the international mainstream, a trend prompted by the revival of the Vietnamese economy which has gained strength from a movement away from Communist economic ideology. The author, who recently paid an extensive visit to Vietnam, examines the process of development and the opportunities and difficulties that arise from it.