Inventing places: disrupting the ‘divided city’

ABSTRACT

This article looks at everyday encounters in Mostar to investigate how boundaries are enacted and displaced by its dwellers. Drawing on participant observation in two cafes, it considers boundaries not only in their spatial capacity, but in a confluence of space and time. It reflects on how owners and customers mobilize the idea of the pre-war city as a space of interethnic tolerance to criticize the contemporary city. It discusses how the creation of temporal boundaries complicate the narrative of the divided city and sheds light on attempts to restore places of co-existence in sharp contrast to the prevalent social order.     

On cosmopolitan humility and the arrogance of states

ABSTRACT

One of the potentially most significant objections to a cosmopolitan moral approach charges an essential arrogance: cosmopolitanism disdains particularist moral insights even while – in what is said to be its most coherent form – it seeks to bind all persons within global political institutions. It is argued here that adopting a form of institutional cosmopolitanism actually helps to meet this sort of objection. An appropriately configured such approach will have a conception of equal global citizenship at its core. It will seek to place individuals in relations of political humility, understood not as plain deference to competing moral claims, but as concrete recognition of the equal moral status of others. It will seek to progressively empower as actual citizen equals those whose interests are often ‘arrogantly’ neglected in the current system, and to multiply mechanisms of input and challenge for them over time.     

Permissibility of Targeted Killing

Targeted killing has become an increasingly prevalent tactic employed by states in their efforts to counter terrorism. Despite its widespread use, the criteria for targeted killing permissibility have remained vague. This article identifies and evaluates the circumstances under which targeted killings can be considered permissible and looks at on-the-ground implementation by Israel and the United States. While both Israel and the United States may have largely adhered to the laws of armed conflict, in practice, discrepancies in implementation exist. This is primarily due to the ambiguity of the “distinction” and “proportionality” principles, two key legal and moral criteria that need further clarification.     

From prominence to decline: Russian studies of international negotiations

The essay analyzes progress in the field of international negotiations. In the author’s assessment, Russian research on negotiations, once a prominent discipline, is currently in decline. Despite the persistent need to study international negotiations, most scholars who had formerly been active in the field have moved to other areas. The rise of new issues demanding urgent attention, the principally changed form of international negotiations’ problematique, as well as serious financial difficulties have all contributed to the discipline’s decline. The author ends on a positive note and expresses the conviction that international negotiations will be revived as an academic field in Russia. She bases that conviction on the country’s practical needs, as well as its growing integration into Western IR studies.     

The legacy of lethargy: How elections to the European Parliament depress turnout

Why has turnout in European Parliament (EP) elections remained so low, despite attempts to expand the Parliament’s powers? One possible answer is that because little is at stake in these second-order elections only those with an established habit of voting, acquired in previous national elections, can be counted on to vote. Others argue that low turnout is an indication of apathy or even scepticism towards Europe. This article conducts a critical test of the “little at stake” hypothesis by focusing on a testable implication: that turnout at these elections will be particularly low on the part of voters not yet socialized into habitual voting. This proposition is examined using both time-series cross-section analyses and a regression discontinuity design. Our findings show that EP elections depress turnout as they inculcate habits of non-voting, with long-term implications for political participation in EU member states.     

Cyber-squatting: Legal implications and judicial approaches – An Indian perspective

The present legal framework in India fails to keep in pace with the inexorable advancement of the online world. Technological advancement is inevitably faster in comparison to the response of the legal framework, but the latter needs to continuously review and adapt itself in order to provide a suitable regulatory regime. In India, the Information Technology Act 2000 is the product of such review and seeks to provide a modernized regulatory framework for e-commerce with necessary safeguards. However, there are certain loose ends that have not been adequately dealt with by the Act. The contention is that, in the present era of information and communications technology, domain names have become valuable business assets and a Trade mark in the internet world. Despite the amendment to the Information Technology Act 2000, these changes have been silent on the issue of cyber-squatting. The Judiciary has been trying to tackle this issue in the light of the Trade marks Act 1999 but this approach fails to address certain issues. This paper will highlight the issues that need attention at this time and the further legislative action that is required.     

霸权、挑战与应对——现实主义如何应对建构主义的挑战

现实主义是国际关系学科的霸权理论,但是国际关系学科的＂无政府状态＂在现实主义的＂霸权之治＂下,并没有实现期待的稳定,而是各种挑战不断。诸多挑战中建构主义（批评理论）的挑战在本体论、认识论和理论动机上都具有前所未有性。针对这样的挑战,现实主义表现出了三种不同的应对策略：冷落、征用和合成。     

发达国家与发展中国家在气候变化问题上的交锋——以哥本哈根气候大会为例

迄今为止,《联合国气候变化框架公约》缔约方大会已举办了15次,但是发达国家与发展中国家在许多议题上都存在着根本性分歧,这在2009年的哥本哈根气候大会上表现得尤为明显。从人类应对气候变化的整体进程来看,哥本哈根会议为未来的国际气候谈判指明了方向,但会上充斥的各种明争暗斗也预示着未来的谈判之路依然艰辛。总之,在未来的全球气候谈判中,各种力量将在竞争中磨合,共同塑造新的气候政治格局。     

试论情报文化对情报工作的影响

情报文化是一个国家或民族的思想在情报工作中的反映,它是一个国家或一个民族对情报工作的态度。一方面,情报文化对情报工作具有潜在性和长期性影响,包括思想文化、对国家安全环境的认知、国家行政体制以及情报实践传统四方面对情报工作的影响。另一方面,情报文化对情报工作具有突变性、逆转性影响,其中国家对外战略取向的变化、重大事件的发生和强势决策者的情报观念这三个因素可以导致情报文化转型。