Arab national security in the 1980's. Threats and strategies

Scholars increasingly are accepting the empirical generalization that democracies almost never go to war with each other, and infrequently even engage in militarized disputes with each other. It has not been clear, however, whether the rarity of conflict between democracies is caused by some aspect of being democratic, or whether it is caused by some other variable or variables that may be correlated with democracy. Using data on all independent states for the period 1946–1986, we examine the effects of political system type, distance, wealth, economic growth, alliances, and political stability. The results suggest that, although most of the other variables do have an effect, as hypothesized, there still seems to be an independent effect of political system type: democracies engage in militarized disputes with each other less than would be expected by chance. The effect may be enhanced by political stability; that is, states which can be perceived as stable democracies are less likely to be involved in disputes with other democracies.     

Evaluating the influence of international norms and shaming on state respect for rights: an audit experiment with foreign embassies

ABSTRACT

How do international norms affect respect for human rights? We report the results of an audit experiment with foreign missions that investigates the extent to which state agents observe international norms and react to the potential of international shaming. Our experiment involved emailing 669 foreign diplomatic missions in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom with requests to contact domestic prisoners. According to the United Nations, prisoners have the right for individuals to contact them. We randomly varied (1) whether we reminded embassies about the existence of an international norm permitting prisoner contact and (2) whether the putative email sender is associated with a fictitious human rights organization and, thereby, has the capacity to shame missions through naming and shaming for violating this norm. We find strong evidence for the positive effect of international norms on state respect for human rights. Contra to our expectations, though, we find that the potential of international shaming does not increase the probability of state compliance. The positive effect of the norms cue disappears when it is coupled with the shaming cue, suggesting that shaming might have a ‘backfire’ effect.     

公司社会责任本土资源考察

公司社会责任包含着大量属于道德规范的内容。中国有着沿续几千年的道德传统和丰富的道德资源。从中国实际出发,挖掘“本土资源”,从影响乃至塑造我国道德传统的古代思想中探寻建构我国公司社会责任理论的基础点并寻求公司社会责任实现的“药方”,是深化公司社会责任研究的又一进路。中国传统文化与公司社会责任实现所需要的环境既有相容的一面,也有矛盾冲突的一面。我们应当在坚守法律底线和尊重公司营利性的基础上采取必要措施强化道德规范对公司行为的约束。大力营造与社会主义市场经济相适应的道德环境,提升公司社会责任的实现程度。     

透析《村民委员会组织法》中的两个问题

随着社会主义市场经济的发展,"三农"问题成为政府目前所要解决的最重要的问题之一,农村基层民主的发展和农民民主权利的保障,也是中国民主建设和社会主义法治建设的重要课题。本文以村民自治为基本出发点,从法律制度层面上对《村委会组织法》中的部分不足进行分析并提出建议。     

从公民参与看东亚民主转型

西方演进型民主的发展历史,昭示出自下而上的力量在通往民主的道路上扮演了不可或缺的角色。这种力量表现在民主运动中便是公民以不同形式对民主政治的参与。东亚国家和地区在民主转型过程中同样体现了这样一种趋势。民主参与不仅是一种政治活动,还是公民的基本权利,即参政权。转型社会的参与类型较为复杂,主要包括制度性参与、合法的非制度性参与和非法的参与。在权威政体松动、开始推行民主化之后,公民会逐渐远离非法的制度外参与。     

讯问笔录中特殊语言的记写规范探讨

写作是一门实践性极强的学科,因此在公安院校的写作教学中,除了写作理论的讲授外,重要的是训练学生掌握实际操作的能力。讯问笔录作为诉讼证据之一,或作为记载固定违法犯罪证据的手段之一,具有不可替代的作用。办案实践中,不少讯问笔录不符合写作和法律规范,存在这样那样的问题或质量不高。侦查人员要作好讯问笔录,事先应熟悉案情,作好讯问计划,同时应掌握一些特殊语言的记写方法。     

我国民主政治现代化的60年进程

新中国成立以来的60年是中国现代化的60年,也是中国民主政治现代化的60年。中国民主政治现代化在这60年里经历了四个阶段：一是1949年-1978年中国民主政治现代化的开创、奠基阶段;二是1978年-1992年中国民主政治现代化的再探索阶段;三是1992年-2002年中国民主政治现代化的全面推进阶段;四是2003年-2009年中国民主政治现代化的科学发展阶段。     

Context Matters: Reactive and Proactive Bystander Action to Prevent Sexual and Dating Violence in High Schools

ABSTRACT

Given high rates of relationship violence among adolescents, there is a need to understand variables that influence adolescents’ helping behaviors to reduce risk for dating and sexual violence (reactive) and promote prevention before violence happens or risk factors are evident (proactive). The current paper examined individual and school variables related to greater actionism in a large sample of high school students. Baseline, cross-sectional data used in the current analyses were gathered before intervention as part of a prevention program evaluation across 25 high schools in New England from students in grades 9–12 (N= 3,404). Students who self-reported a greater number of proactive actions taken were students who identified as sexual minorities, had a history of victimization, and were in schools with supportive peer norms. The current findings suggest a model for prevention that might include training individuals and attending to school level variables.     

No humanitarian intervention in Asian genocides: how possible and legitimate?

Abstract

This article addresses an important empirical puzzle: why has the United States, without exception, chosen not to intervene in the six humanitarian catastrophes in post-war Asia, namely in Indonesia, East Pakistan/Bangladesh, Cambodia, East Timor, Sri Lanka and Myanmar? We use an eclectic approach that blends arguments about the international normative structure and geostrategic interests to examine what has made the absence of humanitarian intervention in Asia by the US possible and legitimate. Specifically, we focus on the paradox between calls for humanitarian intervention and the historically and geographically contingent social construction of the norms of humanity, national sovereignty and United Nations-backed multilateralism in conjunction with US and Chinese concerns over their regional geostrategic interests. The normative narratives about race, ‘communists’, ‘terrorists’, international order and inclusive multilateral processes, and the geostrategic interests of the US and China, combine to make non-intervention possible and legitimate.     

Rethinking the epistemic case against epistocracy

ABSTRACT

In this article, I focus on arguments which suggest that disenfranchising persons on the grounds of incompetence is likely to produce epistemically sub-optimal decisions. I suggest three ways in which such arguments can be strengthened. First, I argue that they can be untethered from the controversial ‘best judge’ principle, according to which each person is the best judge of his or her own interests. Second, I suggest that epistemic arguments against epistocracy are currently insensitive to the nature of the groups that would be excluded on the grounds of incompetence. Such arguments would remain unchanged were epistocracy to disenfranchise privileged persons rather than already disadvantaged persons. I argue that a stronger critique of epistocracy ought to focus on distinctive epistemic obstacles faced by socially privileged persons. Third, I argue that current epistemic critics of epistocracy ignore how its basis for exclusion entails consequences that are relevant to our assessment of its justifiability. Their criticisms would, for instance, remain the same had this exclusion been brought about in a random manner. Instead, I emphasise the deliberative costs that follow from the exclusion of disadvantaged groups qua incompetent.