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Uncertainty about military power is widely considered an important determinant of international conflict, but research in international relations provides relatively little guidance about the origins of uncertainty. What factors influence the validity of actors' assessments of military capabilities? When would one expect uncertainty about military capabilities to be particularly high, or especially low? We examine a series of factors capable of explaining the sources of uncertainty in international relations, positing that the uncertainty of assessments is a function of both characteristics of the state being assessed and the overall strategic environment. We test our theory using new measures of uncertainty that we derive from analyzing publicly available estimates of national military capabilities. Our findings offer a novel set of implications both for research that relies on uncertainty as a key cause of conflict and for policymakers faced with evaluating foreign military assessments.

A group of writers have taken up Nietzsche's hammer against the constructions of contemporary international theory. Postmodern approaches problematize the dominant understanding of international relations as a world of sovereign states which demarcate inside from outside, order from anarchy, identity from difference. More generally, they challenge the notion of sovereignty as an ahistorical, universal, transcendent concept, be it applied to the sovereign state, the sovereign individual or a sovereign truth. Sovereignty and the dichotomies regulated by its power are mechanisms of domination and closure which limit the play of political practice. It is the aim of these writers to hammer away at these limitations, opening space for plural and diverse practices in world politics.

Intended to serve as a readily-accessible reference tool for Indiana judges confronted with issues of public health law. Outlines state public health statutes and regulations and analyzes relevant state and federal caselaw in several topical areas. ; Jurisdiction of public health issues -- Health agencies and boards -- Searches, seizures and other government actions to ensure public health -- Proceedings regarding limitations on individual liberties -- Operation of the courts amid public health threats -- State of emergency -- Model orders -- Appendices -- Index. ; Mark A. Rothstein, Meghan K. Talbott, Amy R. Schofield, Linda L. Chezem. ; Includes index. ; ".A collaborating center of the Public Health Law Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."--pdf cover page. ; "This publication was supported by Cooperative Agreement Number U50/CCU423386 from the Public Health Law Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC." - p. ii ; Mode of access: World Wide Web as an Acrobat .pdf file (1.28 MB, 197 p.). ; Text ( pdf format: , 937 KB, 198 p.).

AbstractThe Swedish parliament has a strong position in the decision-making on the international use of force. Still, its role is affected by the rapid internationalization of the Swedish defence. More and quicker decisions have to be taken on Swedish contributions to international peace operations. The origin of the decisions of the Swedish parliament, moreover, can be traced to international decision-making bodies on which the Swedish parliament and sometimes even the Swedish government have no influence at all. Parliament is conscious of its important role and looks after its interests in the domestic decision-making context. Sometimes it challenges the government on specific issues relating to the operations, but in the end parliament always tend to agree and unanimously as well. This article studies the involvement of the Swedish parliament in the decision-making on the contribution of armed troops to international peace operations since the end of the Cold War. The article gives particular attention to the use – or not – of the law delegating the decision-making power over troop contributions entirely to the government. The issue of self-defence against armed attacks on the Realm is also taken up and the potential impact of an expanded notion of self-defence on the decision-making role of parliament. Concerns of democratic accountability form the background to the reasoning in its entirety.

Im Februar 1994 kam es im Senegal durch Initiative der fünf Oppositionsparteien zu einer mehrtägigen Protestbewegung. Als Folge wurden mehrere Parlamentarier und 150 Angehörige einer islamistischen Jugendbewegung festgenommen. Es besteht der dringende Verdacht, daß die Gefangenen gefoltert oder getötet werden. Schon 1992 und 1993 wurden immer wieder Fälle von Folterungen und "Verschwindenlassen" von Menschen bekannt. Amnesty International wandte sich deshalb in einem Memorandum an den Justizminister des Landes und forderte ihn auf, zu den Anschuldigungen Stellung zu nehmen. Es kam jedoch zu keiner Reaktion. In der Studie wird auf die Vorwürfe im Senegal eingegangen, es werden Aktionsvorschläge gemacht. Ferner ist das Memorandum abgedruckt. (DÜI-Mlr)

This paper explores how Buddhist groups in Sri Lanka attempt to suppress conversion to Christianity. Conversion to Christianity can dilute the power and legitimacy of Buddhist groups, which has caused them to promote a discourse of 'unethical' conversion. My argument is that such a discourse is self-Orientalising in nature, and is designed to enable the (re)production of Buddhist hegemony in Sri Lanka. By constructing Buddhists as vulnerable and in need of protection, the hegemonic actions of Buddhist groups are validated. These constructions serve to restrict the religious (and socio-cultural) mobility of Buddhists, and to legitimise the persecution of Christians through both legislative and violent means. Sensitivity to the effects of self-Orientalism reveals the need for more critical readings of the effects of religious protectionism on both the Christian other, and the national self as well.

This paper aims at assessing the pacifist claim that the military licence to kill cannot be derived from the right to self-defense. Two clear-cut theories of self-defense, the causal theory and the strong moral theory, fuel two radically opposed conclusions. Indeed, the causal theory supports the classical Just War Doctrine (Walzer),while the strong moral theory supports pacifism. They are two extreme options among a complex set of possible theories of self-defense. I, nonetheless, defend the view that the strong moral theory does remain the most promising one. Whence it follows that, from the point of view of self-defense, pacifism is better established than the classical Just War Doctrine. This Doctrine may only be saved by endorsing rather some form of moral collectivism.

Plus encore que les autres sciences sociales, les relations internationales sont caractérisées par un décalage assez net entre le monde de la théorie et celui de l'action. Partant de ce constat, Thierry de Montbrial fait le point sur l'état actuel de la réflexion théorique sur les relations internationales qui, sous l'impulsion des événements de ces vingt dernières années, s'est fortement développée. Loin de lui, cependant, l'idée de se limiter à un survol objectif des travaux de recherche réalisés : l'auteur procède à un examen critique susceptible d'animer le débat.