Suchergebnisse

Discusses state laws prohibiting the death penalty for mentally retarded criminals, from Georgia's 1988 law to 2002 US Supreme Court ruling in Atkins v. Virginia.

Argues that American economic and military power is decreasing, despite its continued position as the sole world superpower; focus on the European Union as a rival; since 1970s, chiefly.

Argues that Operation Iraqi Freedom & the ouster of Saddam Hussein have altered the geostrategic situation in the Middle East. Regional reactions to the end of Saddam's regime ranged from relief over the loss of a threatening neighbor to fear of being next on the Bush administration's list. It is contended that two theories dominate the thinking of Middle East analysts. The first implies that Iraq was simply the first US target while the second theory emphasizes the critical importance of Israel's role. Consideration is given to the possibility of the US using force against Syria & Iran, which has continued to develop its nuclear capability. Points of agreement/tension between the US & Saudi Arabia are addressed, along with the current status US efforts to seek a just & lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a "Road Map" aimed at creating an independent Palestinian state by 2005. The need for broader support for the Road Map & future prospects for a more stable, economically prosperous Middle East are discussed. J. Lindroth

Identity politics has dominated contemporary analyses of protest movements. Although multiple identities are commonplace, progress in delineating their empirical relationships has been slow. This article examines the relationships among ethnic & religious identities & feminist orientations among Arab American women, a group that bridges multiple cultural identities. The primary research question is whether ethnic & religious identities undermine feminism in this population or whether multiple identities are mutually supportive. Method. Using data from a national mail survey of Arab American women, regression analyses examine the separate effects of various dimensions of ethnic & religious identity on women's feminist orientations. Results. Arab political identity is positively associated with feminism while religious & feminist identities are inversely related. The effects of ethnic cultural identity & Muslim affiliation are negligible. Conclusion. This study finds a complex pattern of relationships among identities & underscores the underlying political dynamic linking group identities. 3 Tables, 54 References. Adapted from the source document.

This paper introduces alternative measures of net budget allocation & legislative representation. They are neutral to the size of total expenditure & tax collection as well as to changes in the population & the size of the legislature, which makes them suitable for panel data exercises & international comparative studies. Regression analyses of 50 US states & 47 Japanese prefectures using these indices highlight similarities & differences in public resource allocation between respective democracies that reflect their political & electoral systems. 4 Tables, 2 Figures, 2 Appendixes, 17 References. Adapted from the source document.

Relations between the US & the USSR in the period between the Russian Civil War & the outbreak of WWII are analyzed in terms of the role of philanthropy, most notably that of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) & its counterparts in Europe. Focus is on the financial & diplomatic role of the JDC in the colonization of agricultural settlements in the southern Ukraine & Crimea, to which many Jews had begun relocation beginning in 1923. The major role of the JDC in the agrotechnical development of the Soviet state & in securing the civil rights of Russian Jews is described. Analysis of archival data also prompts a reconsideration of traditional historiographies of American-Jewish politics & the Zionist movement during this period. 1 Table. K. Hyatt Stewart

Presents an interview with Samuel Farber on the current political & social conditions in Cuba. The pretense of democratic elections, suppression of unions & political parties, & government reaction to dissent are discussed. The suppression of press freedoms is explored with attention to the potential acquisition of subversive tools for independent media production & mobilization of dissident groups. Farber's perspectives on US policy toward Cuba are given including the issues of the blockade, alternative pressures on the Cuban government, & immigration policy. The partial liberalization of certain aspects of political & economic life in Cuba is contrasted with the recent crackdown on James Cason & others. An end to the US blockade on Cuba & normalized diplomatic & economic relations are advocated. L. Collins

The shape of the new world order between Europe & the US will primarily be determined by the future role of international law & multilateralism, the meaning of democracy & human rights, & the management of new security threats. Security may be the determining paradigm in a future world order, & non- & counter-proliferation may play the central role. In such a case, the implementation of democracy & human rights, the fight against terrorism, & the legitimization of preemptive actions are likely to be sources of conflict. The economic & military strength of the US, its use of soft power, & the practice of confrontational internationalism by the current US administration exert influence over the international agenda & limit potential influence by Europe. However, even the current US administration contains elements that favor greater cooperation, & Europe may increase transatlantic harmony & define European interests by pursuing a course of cooperative multipolarity. European policy cannot realistically be oriented against the US, but must be built on available convergent interests & similarity of values if it hopes to prevent crises, win political influence, & avoid raising the US to the level of an imperial power. L. Kehl

In the late 1960s, it was revealed that ever since 1952 the CIA had financed & was still financing, by way of a whole series of 'screen' foundations, the overwhelming majority of youth & student organizations, not only in the US, but throughout the free world. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) as respectable as the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY), Pax Romana, & the World Assembly of Youth (WAY) had benefited, at various times in their history, from the generosity & 'liberalism' of the CIA. The key to understanding this paradoxical American involvement in leftist organizations lies in the Soviet Union's policy of systematically infiltrating Western civil society & international organizations. Its constant aim, relentlessly pursued & never openly avowed, was to control Western opinion & further the goals of Soviet foreign policy. By 1950 the communists had succeeded in effectively controlling all the international mass organizations. This study deals with the crucial Berlin Youth Festival of 1951 & the East-West struggle for dominance in the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) & the International Union of Students (IUS). Adapted from the source document.