The iron law of Erdogan: the decay from intra-party democracy to personalistic rule

Michels’ ‘iron law of oligarchy’ suggests that oligarchic party rule is inevitable, yet many parties have shown a strong commitment to intra-party democracy. However, Turkey’s akp is a typified case of Michels’ law, displaying an explicit commitment to intra-party democracy, only to later abandon it. I ask what factors have facilitated this transformation. Why does the iron law of oligarchy display itself in some parties but not in others? I argue that intra-party democracy owes its existence to three indicators – inclusiveness, decentralisation and institutionalisation. Conversely, it should be observed that a party shifting from democratic to oligarchic or personalistic intra-party rule will display decreasing levels of these three indicators in terms of policy formation and candidate selection. By tracing akp’s internal party operations since its founding in 2001, I demonstrate a gradual deterioration in these indicators, reflecting a gradual deterioration of democracy within the party to oligarchy and then to personalism.     

‘No-one in the world would ever wanna speak to me again’: an interpretative phenomenological analysis into convicted sexual offenders' accounts and experiences of maintaining and leaving denial

This paper is concerned with illuminating the experiences and perspectives of sexual offenders who had categorically denied their offences and, through their narratives, gain an insight into the processes behind and underlying both maintaining and coming out of, denial. The study is made up of interviews with 11 convicted sexual offenders who had each denied their offences but who are now admitting their guilt. The interviews were analysed qualitatively using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The analysis revealed three superordinate themes: ‘maintaining viable identities’; ‘being’ in denial’; and ‘wanting to change’. These themes are unpacked and their relevance to maintaining and leaving denial are discussed. Implications for treatment, including barriers to treatment for convicted sexual offenders who deny their offences are discussed.     

法与伦理的交织:婚生否认之诉中适格原告分析

婚生否认之诉是人事诉讼程序中的重要组成部分。与我国大陆社会伦理观念较为相近的台湾地区,其民法亲属编经过十余次修正,其亲属法日益与世界亲属法的潮流相融合。反观我国亲属法和民事诉讼法,仅就婚生否认之诉中适格原告问题仍无法达成一致。而适格原告是成功构建婚生否认之诉的前提。借鉴德国及我国台湾地区等成功立法经验和结合我国现状,论证我国婚生否认之诉的诉讼主体不仅限于夫、妻及子女,还应有条件的包括第三人。     

Combatting antisemitism in the school playground: an Australian case study

The aim of Gross and Rutland's paper is to analyse the problem of antisemitic bullying in contemporary Australian state schools by investigating the case of Jewish children in those schools. The study is interdisciplinary, drawing on historical data and educational methodology, and employs a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews conducted in Sydney and Melbourne with all the major actors: students (55), teachers (10), principals (4), parents (13) and Jewish communal leaders (10). Gross and Rutland argue that classical anti-Jewish stereotypes are perpetuated in the school playground, transmitted by children from one generation to the next. This finding provides an additional perspective to the general literature, which argues that racial prejudice and stereotypes are acquired primarily through home socialization, religious institutions and the media, and neglects the role of the school playground.     

公司人格与公司人格否认

公司人格独立原则实际运行过程中所引起的价值背离和利益失衡问题,导致了公司人格否认制度的产生。公司人格否认具有相对性,而且仅适用于实质上已经丧失独立人格的公司。公司人格否认制度不是对公司人格独立原则的否认,相反,是对公司人格独立原则的净化、补充和完善。     

论我国的法人人格否认制度

法人人格否认的本质是通过否定特定法律关系中的法人特性,追究法人人格滥用人的法律责任,以维护法律的公平正义。法人人格否认的适用条件:一要有滥用法人人格的行为存在,二要造成实际的民事损害,三是法人人格滥用行为与实际民事损害之间存在因果关系。至于法人人格滥用行为人的主观心理状态可以在所不问。法人人格否认的民事责任应具体情况具体分析。我国现阶段尚未确立完整的法人人格否认制度,对于我国现行法律法规中有规定的,可以直接援用;对于我国现行法律法规没有规定而又需要否认法人人格的,可以直接援用诚实信用原则。     

Social Movements within Organisations: Occupy Parties in Italy and Turkey

This paper analyses a little-studied phenomenon: movements within parties. While parties and movements are often assumed to be separate entities, the borders between the two have proved to be more fluent. Parties frequently play a pivotal role in movement politics, and movements influence parties through the dual militancy of many of their members. The article presents two cases of Occupy movements taking place within major left-of-centre parties – the Italian PD and the Turkish CHP – and analyses the causes of discontent within the party and the choice of activists to voice this discontent rather than exit the party. It is argued that, beyond country specificities, shared factors include the perceived betrayal of social-democratic values, a lack of internal democracy, and electoral defeats. In both cases, activists’ choice to refer to Occupy in their opposition inside the party can be explained by the normative resonance of anti-austerity protest claims and forms within the party, as well as the instrumental exploitation of mass media attention to Occupy as a logo.     

How to make perpetrators in denial disclose more information about their crimes

This study examined interview techniques for eliciting admissions from perpetrators of a crime. Two techniques derived from the Strategic Use of Evidence (SUE) framework (SUE-Confrontation and SUE-Confrontation/Explain) were compared to an Early Disclosure of Evidence technique. Participants (N?=?75) performed a mock criminal task divided into three phases before being interviewed. In the SUE conditions, statement-evidence inconsistencies were obtained by strategic interviewing for Phases 1 and 2. For both SUE conditions, the interviewer confronted the suspects with these inconsistencies, emphasising that withholding information undermined their credibility. For the SUE-Confrontation/Explain condition, the suspects were asked to explain each inconsistency. To restore their credibility, the suspects in the SUE conditions were expected to become more forthcoming in Phase 3 (the phase which lacked information). The suspects in the SUE-Confrontation condition (vs. the suspects in the Early Disclosure condition) disclosed more admissions about Phase 3. As predicted, the suspects in the SUE conditions perceived the interviewer to have had comparatively more information about Phase 3. The suspects in the SUE-Confrontation/Explain condition strived to maintain their credibility either by fitting their story to the evidence or by sticking to the initial story. The study shows that the SUE technique is effective for eliciting admissions.     

“土耳其模式”的新变化及其影响

凯末尔时代的"土耳其模式"是世俗权威政治的产物,其基本内涵是以现代化为目标的激进世俗主义、民族主义和西方化。土耳其历史的发展重塑并改变着土耳其模式的内涵,并形成了埃尔多安时代的新版"土耳其模式",即奉行消极世俗主义、民主化、市场经济和对外自主性,强调尊重宗教传统价值观。新版"土耳其模式"是土耳其教俗力量较量的产物,具有一定的民主政治属性,显示出土耳其伊斯兰主义温和化以及伊斯兰与民主可以相容的特点。新版"土耳其模式"为政治转型中的阿拉伯诸国提供了借鉴,并产生了示范效应。但是,"土耳其模式"乃独特历史发展的产物,是难以被复制的,它本身尚未定型,有其局限性和过渡性特征。     

Substance abuse and its risks leading to a crime： An empirical research based on investigations in university students in Istanbul

The main aim of this paper is to reveal the relationships between substance abuse and criminal conducts through examining the current situation of substance abuse among youth, their knowledge level of substance and their experiences involving in crimes. Data were collected from 312 university students in Istanbul by questionnaires which consist of three parts, 35 questions concerning alcohol use, drug use, cigarette use, and crime-involving experiences under the influence of alcohol or other substances. Results indicate that the university students use cigarette and alcohol mostly. They do not consider the risk of being a victim or an offender in a crime when they are under the influence of alcohol. In fact, the actual proportion of young people who indicated that they had ever been involved in a crime, while they were drunk, is quite small.