Do Russian research universities have a secret mission? a response to Forrat

This paper challenges the central claim of Natalia Forrat’s article that university support programs under Putin targeted the suppression of anti-regime student mobilization. Empirical evidence, both on the national-policy level and on the level of higher education institutions, suggests that the government introduced support programs in order to establish a research capacity at Russian flagship universities and to develop a more competitive national science system. The low level of students’ political engagement can rather be attributed to the outdated structures of student representation, inherited from the Soviet period.     

Animal liberation,American anti-terrorist culture and Denis Hennelly’s Bold Native

Since its birth in the last quarter of the twentieth century, the animal liberation movement has attempted to expose the transnational, global character of speciecism and institutionalised forms of exploitation. Within the American panorama, however, the “war against terror” following 9/11 had such a profound effect on (radical) activism at a legal and legislative level that the movement found itself in the position of having to reassess their focus, leading to theoretical and aesthetic responses to anti-terrorist rhetoric. The aim of this article is (1) to examine the manner by which anti-terrorist rhetoric affected the movement and how the movement appropriated such rhetoric to reinvent their own discourse, and (2) analyse the audiovisual semiotics employed by Denis Hennelly in his 2010 film, Bold Native, so as to address how issues central to the movement’s current struggle and assimilation of concepts such as “terrorism” and “patriotism” translate at an aesthetic level.     

Activism and Radicalism in Prison: Measurement and Correlates in a Large Sample of Inmates in Texas

There is considerable speculation that prison plays a role in radicalization. Many individuals involved in acts of political extremism have spent time in prison, adding credibility to such claims. Despite these assertions, there is little empirical evidence regarding the prison-radicalization link because access to prisons is challenging and there are few valid scales of extremism. Studies that do examine a potential link have small sample sizes or select on extremist case studies. The current study draws on interviews conducted with 802 male prison inmates in Texas the week before their release to the community. Inmates were administered the Activism and Radicalism Intention Scale, one of the few validated scales in the extremism literature. A series of structural equation models revealed several important findings. First, we found that the psychometric properties of the modified two factor model of activism and radicalism intentions were largely acceptable among prison inmates, including subgroupings of Latino, white, black, and gang and non-gang-involved inmates. Second, our findings revealed that there was more activism than radicalism intentions among prison inmates, although levels of both were comparable to non-institutional populations. Activism and radicalism intentions were positively related, although this correlation was weaker than in prior studies. Activism should not be substituted for radicalism. Third, our exploratory analysis of concurrent validity identified few multivariate correlates. Group identification—namely, racial and religious groups—was related to both scales, but in opposite directions. Age was negatively, while street-to-prison gang importation was positively, related to radicalism intention. We outline the implications of these findings for research, policy, and practice on activism, radicalization, and prison.     

Psychic investment in cruelty: three parables on race and imprisoning the mentally ill

Drawing on ethnographic and activist work in New York, I analyze three contemporary cases of mentally ill people charged violent crimes. State violence against them can be characterized as a differential and differentiated set of racial and gendered practices. The case studies offer something between a parable, a field report, and a cautionary tale of the dystopian tendencies already embedded within the criminal justice system in the United States. Based on these cases, I will argue that despite recent liberal reform, scant evidence suggests any deep shift in the web of agencies that pipe people, especially the mentally ill, into prison and jail, or a shift in the cruel and humiliating practices these agencies embody. For the society to achieve what Du Bois called an abolition democracy, the affective infrastructure and psychic investment in debasing subordinated others would have to be abolished.     

社会转型时期执政党对司法的独特作用——以当前我国的能动司法实践为分析依据

无论是中国的司法体制改革还是司法能动的运用都不能忽视执政党的独特作用,＂司法独立＂并不是绝对的,尤其是在社会的转型时期。司法能动中执政党的独特作用主要表现为：执政党最可能把握国家当下的社会现实与社会演变的基本趋势,执政党最可能指明能动司法的基本要求与最佳境界,执政党的政策本身对法律具有一定的补充价值,党对司法能动的指导具有必要性、可行性与低成本性,实现综合效益的最大化等方面。执政党对司法的独特作用给予我们诸多启示,其中之一就是中国法院的政治功能,是一个值得关注的时代课题。     

论司法能动的道德风险——道德权利语境下的比较性诠释

在维护道德权利上,司法克制主义与司法能动主义立场各有其理,但分歧并非不可调和,司法哲学上的主流与非主流之分以及两者互补关系的定位不容忽视。从司法主体、司法正义、守法道德义务和道德约束机制四个角度比较分析,两种立场所产生的道德风险也自不同,道德风险也有共性风险与个性风险之分。     

美国司法语境下法律解释的宪政困境及其消解

分权的政治逻辑要求法官在司法过程中保持克制与谦抑以维护多数主义的民主价值,然而解释学的本体论转向使法官解释的能动性成为既成事实,通过司法实现正义又成为美国宪政制度的法治追求。分权逻辑与解释学逻辑在话语上的对立构成民主与法治的张力,形成法律解释的宪政困境,这从根本上缘于西方宪政民主制度内在的结构矛盾。在美国司法语境下,对于法律解释的宪政困境存在着司法积极主义和司法消极主义两种司法哲学的对立,温和的司法积极主义对于法律解释宪政困境的缓解是可行的理论进路。     

生态责任、草根行动与低碳社区的能力建设——英美案例及其启示

对英美构建低碳社区两个基层组织行动成功案例的分析表明,社区是实现环境变化和社会低碳发展的基础空间;社区基层组织自下而上的草根行动,依赖有限的权力、资源和能力,通过促使个人能力与所在社区的组织能力、基础设施能力与文化能力间的互动与整合,既能够改变行动者自身的行为,也能够促进社区低碳发展总体能力的提升和社区社会结构的改变....     

基层公安机关犯罪治安预防与案件侦破协作机制探索

在我国犯罪防控的诸多措施与机制中,基层公安机关即基层派出所的犯罪治安预防以其最贴近社会面、最贴近社会底层而在犯罪防控体系中发挥着中流砥柱的作用。基层公安机关除了常规的警务日常管理工作与治安案件处置外,其针对犯罪而采取的治安预防工作不仅能使地区发案率下降,而且一旦发生恶性案件,日常良好的防控工作也会为案件的侦破提供快速反应的基础以及协作刑侦部门破案的高效率性。目前,基层公安派出所的工作机制与犯罪防控基本要求的不匹配现象仍然存在,怎样使基层公安机关在犯罪防控工作及在协助刑侦部门案件侦破工作上做到基础扎实、反应快速、协作高效,减少社会恶性案件的频繁发生,并提高配合刑侦部门的侦查工作的能力,是摆在基层公安机关尤其是公安派出所面前的难点与重点。     

能动司法哲学观的解读

司法能动主义首先是从美国兴起的一场司法运动。在历史上司法能动主义并没有一个统一的含义。在美国历史上就司法克制还是司法能动的争论非常激烈,而司法姿态也是在这两种审判哲学之间呈现出"来回摆动"的情形。随着我国法治建设的发展,这种争论也渗透到我国的司法界和理论界。目前我国提出能动司法的审判哲学,这与西方的司法能动主义存在交集,同时也有区别。对此,我们应该予以辩证地看待。