State Transitions from Rigidity to Fragility and Failure: The Case of Middle East and North Africa

ABSTRACT

The taxonomy of the state’s effective governance capacity present in the literature is evolving around state fragility. However, this article argues that a state moves along the state transition curve, resulting in governance capacity variations over time. It begins as a fragile state, consolidating to becoming a vibrant state, only to embark, eventually, on a downward trajectory through phases of rigidity, decaying, and fragility, before becoming a failed state. About one-third of MENA (Middle East and North Africa) countries are either fragile or failed states. Only technological change and knowledge accumulation and diffusion can shift this curve upward, thereby increasing a state’s effective governance capacity.     

A word of justice: Islam and state repression in the North-West Caucasus

How does state repression of non-militant Muslims contribute to violent Islamism in the North Caucasus? This article considers the case of the republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, where young residents' embrace of normative Islam post-perestroika roiled the Sovietized Muslim and secular establishments. Greatly aggravated by the brutal and indiscriminate response from law enforcement agencies, this confrontation culminated in the 2005 Nalchik uprising, the North Caucasus' largest insurgent offensive of the past decade. In the culturally comparable nearby republic of Adygeya, by contrast, analogous state repression in the wake of the uprising did not produce a violent outcome. Salient features of the mosque–state relationship in both republics are examined here, particularly the rationale of Kabardino-Balkaria's Muslim opposition leaders before and after their public endorsement of militant jihadism. The author then posits ways of marginalizing such leaders and thereby limiting the scope for conflict.     

Intolerant Policies and Discourses in Northern Italian Cities

In 2008, several local authorities in Italy implemented policies that aimed at limiting the socioeconomic and civil rights of migrants, especially in those regions administered by the North League party. This article analyzes these local policies and the discourses to support or oppose them. It shows that three main intolerant arguments are used by their supporters, which refer to security, welfare provisions, and national identity. In contrast with these dominant discourses, civil society actors construct a counterdiscourse based on respect for human rights.     

Art of the Power Deal: The Four Negotiation Roles of Donald J. Trump

In this article, I mine President Donald Trump’s considerable writing and speaking record to synthesize the key elements of his deal‐making approach to help make better sense of his rhetoric and actions on the world’s diplomatic stage. My argument is that Trump’s coercive negotiation style is best understood through the prism of his four public roles: observer, performer, controller, and disrupter. In this article, I analyze how these roles translate into his negotiating behavior. Spotting and exploiting vulnerability is his trade; leverage and bravado are his tools. After assessing the opposing side, Trump uses leverage to threaten his counterparts’ weaknesses, while using bravado to play up the advantages of reaching an agreement on his terms. This way, he presents a drastic structured choice to his opponents, leaving them the least maneuvering space. In the final section of the paper, I illustrate how the four‐role framework helps explain Trump’s decisions in the nuclear negotiations with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. I also consider opportunities for further research.     

东北振兴过程中的对外开放:中朝合作

中国实施的东北振兴战略和朝鲜的"经济管理改善措施"为中朝两国进一步巩固和发展传统的友好关系提供了良好的机遇和必要的条件。在东北振兴的历史背景下,应充分利用中朝经济互补优势,积极推动中朝"路港区一体化"项目的实施,组建中朝跨国边境经济合作区,扩大对朝边境贸易和直接投资,加强基础设施合作,拓展旅游合作,继续加强高层往来及各层次的交流,加强文化、教育、科技、体育等其他领域的交流与合作,不断丰富和充实中朝友好合作关系的内涵,进一步提升中朝合作的水平和层次。     

The psychiatric power of neo-liberal citizenship: the North Korean human rights crisis,North Korean settlers,and incompetent citizens

This essay discusses how North Korean settlers in South Korea are engaged in the rubric of neo-liberal citizenship to program the idea of an enterprise of free and autonomous selves. I call into question the psychiatric intervention in the North Korean population deprived of psychological capacities to be autonomous and responsible for their social life. My argument is that the psychiatric diagnosis of strange mental properties presents the criteria of successful assimilation as an antidote to the psychological oppression that North Korean settlers must have experienced, encouraging the South Korean public to tolerate the social deviance of these settlers.     

新阶段中朝经贸合作的新特点及新思路

冷战结束后,中朝关系经历一段磨合出现的新变化使中朝经贸合作呈现出新特点。本文通过对中朝经贸合作特点及朝鲜本国经济特点的分析,提出了深化中朝经贸务实合作的思路:依托中朝两国和国际社会持久的努力,以非市场机制手段有意识地对生产要素的流动进行调节,通过两国生产要素的优化组合,使生产要素充分发挥作用,优势互补,推动朝鲜的生产力和经济发展,从而促进中朝经贸务实合作。     

韩美同盟的现状:以战略同盟构想为中心

本文旨在以李明博政府的韩美战略同盟构想为中心,对韩美同盟的现状进行探讨。李明博政府正力图将现有韩美安保同盟发展为一揽子战略同盟,以此提升国力。由于面临着霸权的现实性局限,深感全球层面的同盟合作变得更加切合实际的美国奥巴马政府正在接受这一构想,但是对于具体的方案,两国的理解并不完全一致。而这一点正是本文的要旨之所在。     

Redefining development for national security: implications for civil society

The effects of counter-terrorism legislation on civil-society organisations (CSOs) based in the South have received little attention in the wider literature. This article reports on the findings of a series of international workshops to examine the effects of such legislation, held in Lebanon, the Kyrgyz Republic, India, the Netherlands, the UK, and the USA. The evidence presented at these workshops suggests that counter-terror legislation is undermining the work of civil society in complex and interrelated ways.     

北美刑事司法教育的发展及其启示

北美刑事司法教育是伴随着美国、加拿大警察专业化运动的产生与发展而兴起的。特 殊的历史渊源决定了美、加两国的刑事司法教育制度带有英国体制的烙印;在加拿大的局部地区,还带有 法国体制的明显痕迹。北美刑事司法教育的基本特点是:具有独立的行业发展理念和内部规范;专业要求 有高度的心智活动,并需要有较强的判断力;具有特殊的知识领域;通识教育与特殊的专业知识教育相结 合;根据职业要求不断进行相关培训;已经形成终身职业制度;以服务社会为最高目的;设有健全的专业 组织。从下述方面借鉴北美刑事司法教育体系具有现实意义:设置专门的学科专业,找准办学定位和培养 目标;学历教育与在职培训并重,形成较完整的体系;较好地处理教学、科研以及为实战服务三者的关 系;有规范化的行业内评估机制;教学方法多样化,内容设计要理论与实践相结合;形成高质量的专兼职 教师队伍。