A test of the escape from the persistence of backwardness

A model was constructed and estimated for the Japanese economy from 1872 to 1937. Although the model is limited in scope due to limited data availability, it is capable of testing the escape from the trap hypothesis of which Japan is a popular candidate. An examination of the basic difference equation in all periods indicated that Japan did escape the trap during the period 1873–74. Care should be taken in evaluating the evidence. Clearly, the trap is not verified within the range of the data. Consequently, what appears to be evidence of an escape from the trap is suspicious. An economy could tend to move away from an unstable equilibrium level of per capita income without moving toward a low level stable equilibrium level of per capita income when the rate of change in per capita income is negative. But the evidence does support a turning point in Japan's efforts to develop. After 1873–74 Japan was able to achieve a sustained rise in per capita income. The results of this study identify an escape from a persistence of backwardness in terms of per capita income regardless of whether or not that escape was one from a low level equilibrium trap.     

Kindergarten killers: Morality,murder and the child soldier problem

The argument advanced refers to the problem of children serving as soldiers in various military or quasi-military groups around the world. It looks to international law for guidelines on how this situation might be brought to an end, examining legislation currently in force, and also why enforcement has proved to be problematical. Given the apparent inadequacies of legal instruments to prevent this type of issue occurring, this article takes a closer examination of the conditions that create underage combatants, together with analysis of the effects this has on the young people involved. In support of these observations, the text offers a real world look at the problem in Sierra Leone, a country that has suffered years of divisive internecine warfare featuring the extensive use of children in combat roles. In a postwar situation, the study includes analysis of the difficulties of rehabilitating Sierra Leonian children traumatised by combat experiences, which reflects on the larger dilemma of national reconciliation and peace building.     

Stepping out of terrorism

Terrorist organizations, groups, cells or just ‘bunches of guys’ are systematically compared with other types of criminal or deviant organizations: organized crime such as the mafia, street gangs and religious sects. Of course there are many differences between them, especially where motivation is concerned, but they share the common factor that it is almost impossible or very difficult for individual members to step out. However, de-radicalization may follow analogous paths: aging out, accepting exit programs in prison or disengaging ideologically. The article discusses the obstacles that a government strategy that encourages desistance from terrorism by stepping out may encounter. It may be sufficient and more realistic to discourage radicals from using violence than to try to de-radicalize them by using counternarrative techniques.