Victimisation and Attitudes Towards Former Political Prisoners in Northern Ireland

The release of ex-combatants and the mechanisms for their re-integration within society has become an increasingly controversial issue in peace settlements. Yet to date, the view of victims concerning such arrangements in post-conflict societies remains unexplored. Mindful of this omission and using Northern Ireland as a case study, this article investigates the relationship between victimisation and attitudes towards the treatment of former political prisoners. Based on the 2011 Northern Ireland Social and Political Attitudes Survey, the results suggest that individual victims—those who directly and/or indirectly experienced violent incidents—are notably less supportive of a punitive approach towards the treatment of former political prisoners than non-victims. Moreover, this is particularly the case when victims from within the Catholic community are considered. The Northern Ireland evidence suggests that victims can act as a positive and inclusive force in terms of the rehabilitation and re-integration of former combatants in societies emerging from conflict.     

Ethnic Elites and Rituals of Provocation: Politicians,Pastors, and Paramilitaries in Northern Ireland

ABSTRACT

Prominent theories of ethnic conflict argue that instrumental ethnic elites incite violence in order to promote their own power. Yet this approach focuses primarily on political leaders and ignores other ethnic elites, meaning that we know little about how other influential actors think about provocation. In this paper, I present novel data from Northern Ireland on diverse elite attitudes toward polarising Protestant parades with a long history of sparking ethnic violence. Using original surveys of Protestant elected officials and clergy as well as interviews with ex-paramilitaries, this paper demonstrates that these elite groups have different, often competing, interests and opinions regarding contested parades: while politicians tend to support provocative parades, the others do not. By addressing elite actors that are often ignored, I present a more nuanced picture of elite-mass relations and ethnic mobilisation in conflict.     

Crossing the limen: terrorist prisoners and the politically liminal process of imprisonment

Being processed through prison, for the politically violent, can be understood to be a liminal occurrence. Drawing upon the experiences of imprisoned Republicans in Northern Ireland, this study contrasts internment and imprisonment and situates these militants within the conditions of liminality – the role of comradeship; the liminal as dangerous and polluting; their being hidden and stripped. The study explores how imprisonment seeks to refashion militants by undermining the frames for their militancy. Liminality is suggested as an alternative conceptual tool for critically reflecting upon counter-terrorism.     

《九朝律考》“北优于南”说献疑

程树德先生在法史学的定鼎之作--<九朝律考>中反复表达了这样一个观点:在南北朝分裂之际,中原律学,衰于南而盛于北.此观点影响久远,目前通行的法史教材中基本上都在复述这一观点.在阅读<九朝律考>的基础上,献上三点心得:北魏律之优未能一以贯之;南朝诸律并非无所建树;北周律并非无善可陈.     

试论魏晋南北朝再婚问题

魏晋南北朝时期寡居女性有的受传统封建礼教的束缚和熏陶而不愿再婚,有的受先秦两汉以来寡妇再婚以及北朝少数民族婚姻开放风气的影响而再婚.由于受门阀等级内婚制约,再婚双方都较为重视对方门第.男姓再婚虽然在礼法方面有许多限制,但在实际生活中礼法限制则形同虚设,但也有受传统礼教观念影响较深的男子终身不再娶.     

Northern Irish legal education after Brexit

ABSTRACT

In this article we argue that the impact of Brexit on the law schools in Northern Ireland is tied to the “unique circumstances” of legal education in this part of the world. Legal education in Northern Ireland is likely to develop to become even more distinctive than that in other parts of the UK. Although there are two distinct jurisdictions on the island, they are deeply entangled by shared history and geographical proximity that make cross-border practice a daily reality. These circumstances seem likely to drive the trajectory of the development of legal education in Northern Ireland. Indeed, EU law is likely to remain a component of the Northern Irish qualifying law degree. The potential for the development of law specific to Northern Ireland under backstop arrangements is another significant driver for the future orientation of legal education in this jurisdiction. Legal education in Northern Ireland is, therefore, likely to become noticeably more “European” than that in other parts of the UK.     

Holding parties responsible at election time: Multi-level,multi-party government and electoral accountability

This paper highlights the crucial role played by party-specific responsibility attributions in performance-based voting. Three models of electoral accountability, which make distinct assumptions regarding citizens' ability to attribute responsibility to distinct governing parties, are tested in the challenging Northern Ireland context – an exemplar case of multi-level multi-party government in which expectations of performance based voting are low. The paper demonstrates the operation of party-attribution based electoral accountability, using data from the 2011 Northern Ireland Assembly Election Study. However, the findings are asymmetric: accountability operates in the Protestant/unionist bloc but not in the Catholic/nationalist bloc. This asymmetry may be explained by the absence of clear ethno-national ideological distinctions between the unionist parties (hence providing political space for performance based accountability to operate) but the continued relevance in the nationalist bloc of ethno-national difference (which limits the scope for performance politics). The implications of the findings for our understanding of the role of party-specific responsibility attribution in performance based models of voting, and for our evaluation of the quality of democracy in post-conflict consociational polities, are discussed.     

陕北时期张闻天的重要历史贡献

张闻天是中国共产党相当重要历史时期的一位重要领导人，在陕北时期主持和参与中央工作。为中国共产党制定和确立抗日民族统一战线策略路线，处置突发重大事件，确定和贯彻人民军队抗日战略方针。抵制王明右倾错误、坚持独立自主原则作出了重要历史贡献，是中共历史上一位推动战略转变的伟人。     

Victims of Irish Republican Paramilitary Violence—The Case of “The Disappeared”

Throughout the history of Northern Ireland's (NI) “Troubles,” over 3,800 individuals were killed, with between 40,000 to 100,000 individuals injured, leaving many families and communities struggling with the aftermath. In recent times a particular category of victims and survivors has been politically active and thus featured prominently in the media: “The Disappeared.” This label has come to represent the victims of paramilitary groups whose remains were secretly disposed of. Through a long public and political battle the families of the Disappeared have achieved a measure of political success resulting in the establishment of the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains (ICLVR). Achieving political voice is not the only or perhaps the most significant difficulty encountered by these families. Their experiences in fact epitomise the complexity of the conflict and divisions in NI society and reflect the dominant issues of loyalty, identity, and importantly—silence. Throughout The Troubles, this silence and related notions of loyalty permeated all levels of society: at a community level which included the response of the church; at a statutory level including the response from social services and police; and, at a political level including local political processes but also departments within the British and Irish governments. This article examines the experiences of the families of the Disappeared through a multilevel analysis of their public campaign seeking the return of the remains of their family members. Using data collected from the families, members of the ICLVR, and support workers, the experience of the families of the Disappeared are analysed through accessing the social dynamics of silence (and loyalty), in-group affiliations, notions of sacrifice, and the attribution of blame; political successes both national and international will also serve to frame the analysis.     

中韩第三方市场合作:进展、阻力与对策

第三方市场合作是中韩两国参与国际分工协作的新型合作模式,也是两国发展战略对接与比较优势互补的重要经济实践。中韩第三方市场合作在产品服务、工程建设、投资合作、产融结合和战略合作五个领域打造了一系列重要工程,不仅加深中韩两国的合作基础,还为第三方市场的经济发展注入新动力。但其中存在诸多挑战,产业结构的竞争、复杂的营商环境、域外大国因素的介入以及中韩经济波动等都对中韩第三方市场合作造成了阻力。因此,开拓战略新兴产业、打造示范工程、创新金融合作和完善协调机制,是实现中韩第三方市场合作可持续发展的重要保障。