Book reviews

The New Geopolitics of Central Asia and its Borderlands Ali Banuazizi and Myron Weiner (editors) London: I. B. Tauris, 1994, 284 pp, £39.50

The Central Asian Republics. Fragments of Empire, Magnets of Wealth Charles Undeland and Nicholas Platt New York: The Asia Society, 1994, 143 pp

Does Russian Democracy Have a Future? Stephen J. Blank and Earl H. Tilford, Jr. (editors) Pennsylvania: US Army War College, 1994, 162 pp

Between Marx and Muhammad. The Changing Face of Central Asia Dilip Hiro London: Harper Collins, 1994, 402 pp

The Boundaries of Modern Iran Keith McLachlan (editor) University College London: 1994, 150 pp

Islam and Romantic Orientalism. Literary Encounters with the Orient Mohammed Sharafuddin London: I. B. Tauris, 1994, 296 pp, £34.50

Critical Terrains. French and British Orientalisms Lisa Lowe Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1991, 216 pp, $31.85

The Art and Architecture of Islam 1250–1800 Sheila S. Blair and Jonathan M. Bloom Yale University Press, New Haven and London: 1994, biblio, 280 pp, £45

Culinary Cultures of the Middle East Sami Zubaida and Richard Tapper (editors) London: I. B. Tauris, 302 pp, biblio, index, £34.50     

Doing Nothing is Sometimes Worse: Comparing Avoidant versus Approach Coping Strategies with Peer Victimization and Their Association to Depression and Suicide Ideation

ABSTRACT

Peer victimization is a major stressor adolescents often face in the school environment, and has been linked to depression and suicidal risk. This study analyzed the associations between three behavioral coping strategies (avoidance, seeking social support from adults/peers, and retaliation) and depression and suicidal ideation. Participants included 4,254 victimized students who were part of the Saving and Empowering Young Lives in Europe (SEYLE) study that compared three school-based prevention interventions and collected information on health risk behaviors in adolescents from 11 European countries. Results showed behavioral avoidance to be associated with an increase in levels of depression, as compared to the other coping strategies (adult social support, peer social support, retaliation). Seeking social support from adults was associated with lower depression and suicidal ideation rates. A more than 25% increase in suicidal ideation was associated with behavioral avoidance, compared to seeking social support from adults. By contrast, retaliation to peer victimization was not found to be associated with increased depression or suicidal ideation. The findings support the Coping Deficit model and may suggest that abstaining by doing nothing when victimized can be associated with certain adverse emotional outcomes.     

Performance Implications of Public Managers’ Goal Prioritization: An Empirical Test of the Link between Internal Management and Organizational Performance

Most studies on the goals-performance nexus focus on the implications of goal design. In public organizations with multiple goals, managerial goal prioritization can, however, in itself play a decisive role for performance. This study examines the effects of managerial goal prioritization and employee commitment on organizational performance. Analyses of parallel surveys of principals and teachers in higher secondary education and archival data on school performance show that principals’ goal prioritization is positively related to high school performance. The findings thus indicate that public managers should concentrate not only on how they design goals, but also on how they prioritize them.     

Corruption and identity politics in divided societies

Corruption is a major problem for populations in various parts of the world. This article argues that to understand the problems and dynamics of corruption, we need to understand how discourses and practices of corruption (and anti-corruption efforts) are intertwined with the construction and contestations of identity. Identity politics is a salient feature in peaceful political struggles, as well as in contemporary armed conflicts, which are often characterised by the politicisation of collective identity (ethnic, national, religious) for the violent pursuit of power. The article outlines and discusses four ways in which identity politics and corruption intersect. First, it points to the often blurred lines between private and collective benefit from corruption, revealing the implications of group identity for how corruption is conceptualised. Second, it shows how corruption may exacerbate grievances along identity lines. Third, it highlights how corruption can be used strategically in identity-based conflicts. Finally, it explores how corruption may encourage cross-ethnic solidarity and mobilisation that defy conflict divides.     

Assessment and aftercare for deliberate self-harm patients provided by a general hospital psychiatric service

We report on a sample of 135 deliberate self-harm (DSH) patients who were assessed by a general hospital DSH service, and on those who were offered aftercare by, or telephone open access to, the service. Patients' satisfaction with assessment and treatment, and their outcome were investigated at follow-up 12-20 months later. Four-fifths of patients reported the assessment following DSH to have been helpful and the assessor sympathetic. Thirty-three (24%) of the 135 patients assessed were offered treatment by the DSH service but 13 declined or failed to attend. Of the 20 who engaged in treatment, 17 (94%) were satisfied with their care. Open access to the DSH service by telephone was offered to 53 (39%) patients, nine (22%) of whom reported at follow-up that they had used this facility. A specialist DSH service can effectively assess and treat patients following DSH. It is important that the service is accessible and acceptable to patients.