A CROSS‐NATIONAL TEST OF BONGER'S THEORY OF CRIMINALITY AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS*

Using international data for 100 countries, we test two hypotheses derived from Bonger's Marxian theory of crime. The analyses support the hypothesis that the degree of capitalism significantly predicts homicide rates, but they fail to confirm that the de‐moralization of the population (loss of moral feelings for others) mediates the relationship between capitalism and homicide. Although capitalism is not the best predictor among those considered, overall, the results underline the importance of Bonger's ideas because both capitalism and corruption (our indicator of de‐moralization) show reasonably strong relationships with homicide rates and compete with other variables commonly used as predictors of international homicide rates. The results confirm the usefulness of attempting to subject Marxian ideas to positivist, quantitative tests, with an eye to integrating Marxian theories with other mainstream theories, such as institutional anomie theory.     

NGOs and Ethnic Conflict: Lessons from the Work of the Project on Ethnic Relations in the Balkans

This article examines the impact of nongovernmental organization-sponsored contact and communication on fostering peaceful solutions to ethnic conflict via case studies of the activities of the Project on Ethnic Relations (PER) in Romania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo, and Serbia. It explores five operational principles that guide PER activity: creating credible, neutral forums for dialogue; maintaining momentum; working within political realities; encouraging indigenous solutions from within existing processes; and acting with the backing of powerful states. These principles explain PER's success as a "weak mediator" of ethnic conflicts. According to this analysis, PER also exhibits organizational characteristics that contribute to success, including nonpartisanship, area expertise and extensive networks of local contacts, and an ability to secure the trust of local actors.
A significant indicator of the success of PER activities is the establishment by conflicting parties of institutionalized mechanisms for addressing their differences. Contrary to the view that electoral competition contributes to conflict, this study finds that the possibility of achieving an electoral advantage by participating cooperatively in conflict resolution activities creates incentives for local actors to recognize opportunities offered by PER activities and leads local actors to heed PER's advice. Finally, the article offers a cautionary observation. While PER's perceived influence with major international actors may contribute to its local successes, once a state actor with the power to impose a solution has committed itself to ending a conflict, its preferences outweigh any local interests in determining the outcome and renders the efforts of a "weak mediator" such as PER irrelevant.     

欧洲银行监管委员会《外包标准》(建议稿)介评 ——兼论我国金融外包监管法之完善

金融外包给金融风险监管提出了新的要求.有鉴于此,欧洲银行监管委员会先后出台了两份建议稿试图为银行业务外包风险监管在欧盟的框架内提供统一的指导原则.名为<外包标准>的建议稿是在<外包高级原则>(建议稿)的基础上于2006年4月出台的,二者在名称及具体内容上都有较大的不同.<外包标准>建议稿在保留第1份建议稿特色的基础上,强调了对客户金融隐私的保护,修正了金融监管部门对外包的监管权,使外包业务的分类更加明确.但是,现行建议稿在监管标准的制订上未充分考虑不同种类的外包商可能对外包风险造成的影响,要求所有的外包都必须有服务水平协议也较为绝对化.参考欧洲银行监管委员会在金融外包监管方面的立法经验,考虑我国金融外包的实践,我国应当制定普遍的金融外包监管法,同时对<电子银行业务管理办法>中电子银行业务外包部分进行完善.     

WHERE IS THE VILLAGE GOING? MAINTAINING AND INCLUDING CULTURAL STRENGTHS TO PROTECT CHILDREN ORPHANED IN KENYA

This article is the result of a master's thesis about children and their universal right to be included in a family environment. This is not only protected under international law, but also intuitive to human beings. HIV‐AIDS continues to threaten lives of children, particularly in sub‐Saharan Africa in the form of orphaning. Looking at a case study from Kenya, it is revealed that, while legal protection is yet to be fully realized in the state, strong cultural norms of value are alive. Currently, the extended family system is the greatest protection to children orphaned or at risk of being orphaned. However, this system was made invisible in the domestic laws of Kenya under the Children Act 2001. This neglect calls for questions not only regarding the protection cultural norms may offer, according to the best interests of children, but also as to the cultural environment being created with the new law.     

PREDICTING WHO REOFFENDS: THE NEGLECTED ROLE OF NEIGHBORHOOD CONTEXT IN RECIDIVISM STUDIES*

Prior studies of recidivism have focused almost exclusively on individual‐level characteristics of offenders and their offenses to explore the correlates of reoffending. Notably absent from these studies are measures reflecting the neighborhood contexts in which individuals live. The current research addresses this shortcoming. Using data on a sample of ex‐offenders in Multnomah County, Oregon (Portland and surrounding area) in conjunction with 2000 census data, we answer two questions. First, which individual‐level factors influence rates of recidivism? Second, to what extent does neighborhood socioeconomic status account for variation in the reoffending behavior of ex‐prisoners that is not explained by their individual‐level characteristics? We find that those who return to disadvantaged neighborhoods recidivate at a greater rate while those who return to resource rich or affluent communities recidivate at a lesser rate, controlling for individual‐level factors.     

The Frontiers of Legal Analysis: Reframing the Transition in Northern Ireland

British constitutional legal discourse is structurally limited in its capacity to capture the complexity of the Good Friday Agreement. Rather than assessing the Agreement in narrow devolutionary terms, it should be seen as a hybrid domestic and international law instrument, making an important contribution to accepted international law norms in relation to self-determination. The Agreement transforms and partly transcends the Northern Ireland conflict by substituting political contestation for violent conflict, and by defining the modalities of conducting that contestation. This analysis complements classical international law perspectives, and opens up the application of legal discourses associated with 'transitional justice' to the legal and political transformation in Northern Ireland. These discourses focus on the problem of reconciling the demands of peace with the imperatives of justice. The Agreement sits squarely in this terrain with its provisions on 'dealing with the past' and 'institutional legacies'. The insights gained here challenge orthodox thinking about conflict-management and the ongoing political process.     

文化对话:全球化时代的生存智慧

从文化角度看,全球化是一个矛盾体系,是整合与碎裂、一体化与分离化、世界化与本土化的张力场。全球化时代文化多元化是必要的,但推到极端刻意强调文化本土化、文化民族主义及发展为文化沙文主义、文化原教旨主义,将导致文化的矛盾、对立与冲突,影响人类社会的和平与发展,甚至将脆弱的地球村推向崩溃的边缘。因此,在全球化时代,展开不同文化间的沟通与对话,消除偏见与冲突.是21世纪地球村公民生存发展的智慧选择。     

寻求法治精神——由“长春老人免费乘车案”引起的法律思考

本文试从分析“长春七旬老人免费乘车案”所带来的尴尬困境入手,围绕本案所涉及到的我国在立法、司法方面的法治精神问题进行阐述,进而立足于实质法治精神,寻求解决这一困境的有效途径,以期实现真正的法制统一与司法公正。     

试论青年文化的高层次提升

对青年文化进行高层次提升,是应对全球化挑战的必然选择,是全面建设小康社会的迫切要求。只有对作为亚文化的青年文化进行高层次的提升,使其成为具有人文精神底蕴和现代人生存价值的新文化形态,才能发挥其作为先进文化最重要的组成部分在应对全球化挑战和我国全面建设小康社会进程中的基础性作用。