Suchergebnisse

Critiques of decision making in international organizations are often framed in terms of the democratic deficit. Leveled against the United Nations Security Council, the charge has become more pointed in light of recent quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial acts—most notably the adoption of Resolutions 1373 and 1540 on the financing of terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction, respectively, and the Resolution 1267 sanctions regime, which targets individuals suspected of involvement in terrorism. With the first two resolutions, the Security Council imposed general obligations on all states for an indefinite period; with the third, it set up a sanctions committee that has courtlike powers to identify and freeze the assets of individuals, groups, and corporations. Despite broad sympathy among the UN membership for collective counterterrorist action in the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001, a degree of skepticism accompanied these initiatives from the start and grew with the diplomatic debacle surrounding the war in Iraq. Some critics asked whether an "imperial" Security Council had become an instrument for the imposition of "hegemonic international law." The Council has moved to address these concerns, but they remain serious enough that the regimes established under Resolutions 1267, 1373, and 1540 are at risk of collapsing.

To explain the distribution of civil wars, guerrilla warfare, and revolutionary outbreaks, the literature on modern political violence has shifted, broadly speaking, from a modernization perspective that emphasized the role of material conflict and of grievances to a more recent research program that stresses the geographical and organizational opportunities that insurgents may have to engage in violence. Drawing on those lines of inquiry equally, this article offers an integrated analytical model that considers both the motives and the opportunities of states and rebels. Civil wars, guerrillas, and revolutionary outbreaks are seen as a result of the nature and distribution of wealth in each country. Systematic and organized violent conflicts are most likely in economies where inequality is high and wealth is mostly immobile, that is, in societies where those worse off would benefit substantially from expropriating all assets. Violence is conditional on the mobilizational and organizational capacity of challengers and on the state capacity to control its territory. The theory is tested on data on civil wars from 1850 to 1999 for the whole world and on data on guerrilla warfare and revolutionary episodes spanning the years from 1919 to 1997 across all countries.

Hour after hour, box by box, and bag by bag, the team of students
transferred the thousands of food items warehoused in a second-floor
conference room at the Fletcher Library on Arizona State
University's West campus. Employing techniques they had developed
over the six weeks of a campus-wide food drive, they formed a chain,
tossing food back from the conference room to a waiting cart, then
down an elevator, to a 16-foot rental truck waiting at the library
loading dock. There, another student team, most sweating profusely
in the 95 degrees of a spring day in Phoenix, rolled the items into
the truck and stacked them. Ultimately, the truck would sag under
the weight of tens of thousands of food items beginning the first
leg of a journey to a community center that serves hot lunches to
children in some of the poorest shantytown neighborhoods of Nogales,
Mexico. The authors would like to
thank for their support and guidance in the project Barbara
Tinsley, Ila Abernathy, Esther Torres, Francisco Trujillo, Jessi
Pederson, Lisa Steenson, Emily Taylor, and Esmeralda Gonzalez;
and for their helpful comments the anonymous referees for this
journal.

AbstractSince the late 1990s the number of rural community development groups in Lithuania has grown exponentially. The article presents the results of one of the first representative surveys of rural NGOs (N = 326) in Lithuania designed to evaluate their structure and resources. Unlike civic organising during the perestroika period, which was characterised by charismatic personalities and organisational innovations, the most recent surge in rural activism follows a path‐dependent trajectory. The movement is lead by representatives of former collective farms, or kolkhoz intelligentsia (white‐collar professionals who served in collective farm social infrastructure during Soviet times) engaged in reconstituting volunteer groups based on a modified Soviet institution of the rural 'culture house' or Soviet civic centre (SCC). The prevalence of the SCC‐based rural organising model provided opportunities as well as imposed limitations on post‐socialist civic activism. Community development groups were relatively successful in the types of activities in which SCCs were effective as well (such as culture, leisure and sports), while their capacity to deliver social services were marginal. Although this survey reported relatively high levels of engagement by the community groups with local and county governments, their influence remains constrained by the paternalistic, client–patron type of power relationships that prevail in rural areas.

The issues raised in Professor Becker's paper bear directly on the claims that the Franco-Prussian War can make for its place as the most critical war of the mid-nineteenth century. These points must be debated, if not resolved, if this subject is to continue to exercise its hold on international historians—as well as, one may add, on non-historians, interested in the past, concerned to know whether the past can help the present, and bewildered by disputes among the experts. Yet there is only so much an expert—or someone vain enough to fancy himself as such—can do. Simply put, to treat this whole subject in a graceful and coherent form within the limits of a single article in a journal of this nature would surpass the capacity of this writer. He can only attempt, as a starter, to sketch out what he takes to be the main thrust and balance of Franco-Prussian relations in the weeks preceding the outbreak of the war of 1870, and to give at least a partial elucidation of the problem by commenting on several aspects of it, without attempting to bring all of these individual comments into one, comprehensive statement.

AbstractI describe here a nascent 'Islamic feminist' movement in India, dedicated to the goal of achieving gender equity under Muslim Personal Law. In justifying their demands, these women activists refer neither to the Indian Constitution nor to the universalistic human rights principles that guide secular feminists campaigning for passage of a gender-neutral uniform civil code of personal law, but rather to the authority of the Qur'an—which, they claim, grants Muslim women numerous rights that in practice are routinely denied them. They accuse the male 'ulamaof foisting 'patriarchal' interpretations of the Qur'an on the unlettered Muslim masses and assert their right to read the Qur'an for themselves and interpret it in a woman-friendly way. Their activities reflect an increasing 'fragmentation of religious authority' in the globalizing Muslim world, associated with the spread of mass education, new forms of media and transport and a mobile labour force, in which clerical claims to exclusive authoritative knowledge are being questioned by a wide variety of new voices, women's among them. Whether it can ultimately succeed is an open question but the movement is clearly having an impact, even on the clerical establishment itself, insofar as the legal issues it considers most pressing for women are concerned.

According to the common vision, the public sector is strongly change-resistant. Is this justified? In this research, we adopt the Northian distinction between institutions and organizations by focusing on the latter and their capability for change. We try to identify the strategically most effective lever to operate an organizational change in the public sector. We first review the literature on change strategies and their setting in the context of public organizations. Then, we synthesize the conclusions of four case studies around a question: `Is building public organizations capable of co-evolution with their environment feasible?' We will present some strategies of evolution for public organizations, in response to a state of crisis, constituting a vector of organizational change. We conclude on the interest of considering crisis as a vector of organizational change in public organizations. Points for practitioners The public sector is commonly said to be change-resistant. Through case studies we prove this opinion to be false and that change aptitudes are identical to other organizations. We emphasize crises that provide particular opportunities that allow us to offset the absence of performance evaluation and the lack of feedback from the market, and we underline possible change strategies.

With its sustained emphasis on creating, implementing, and maintaining positive impacts on issues of local, national, and global importance, applied anthropology continues to be a crucial and relevant field of study. Its practitioners demonstrate their engagement in multifarious ways both in and outside the academy, showcasing their commitment not only to the tenets of academic rigor, but also to challenges shaped by real‐world situations. This unique volume of 14 articles by 16 academics and practitioners provides specific advice to students on both the tangible benefits and potential disadvantages of careers in applied anthropology in the national and international arenas. Contributors offer practical, step‐by‐step advice on practicing anthropology with an M.A. degree, careers in national and international consultancy, small consulting business development, executive leadership, combining careers in applied anthropology and the academy, field school training, collaborative research and public engagement, applied anthropology in nonanthropological settings, among others. Although most draw on their personal life histories and careers as illustrations, their focus is on reflection, analysis, and recommendations that result from their experiences. The contributors to this volume stress the contemporary relevance of anthropology, the advantages of obtaining training in anthropology, and the plethora of opportunities to put anthropology to use in the real world with exceptional results.

Population growth and size have remained the focus of debate
for centuries but the recent demographic transition in developing
countries has made social scientists take note of the changing age
structure of the population as well. As a result of declining population
growth and consequent changes in age structure, the proportion of
working-age population is increasing in most developing countries. An
associated decline in the dependent age population offers a window of
opportunity, referred to as the 'demographic dividend'. Pakistan is also
going through the demographic transition, and is experiencing a
once-in-a-lifetime demographic dividend as the working-age population
bulges and the dependency ratio declines. This paper looks into the
demographic dividend being offered to Pakistan and its implications for
the country, mainly through three mechanisms: labour supply, savings,
and human capital. For economic benefits to materialise, there is a need
for policies dealing with education, public health, and those that
promote labour market flexibility and provide incentives for investment
and savings. On the contrary, if appropriate policies are not
formulated, the demographic dividend might, in fact, be a cost, leading
to unemployment and an unbearable strain on education, health, and old
age security.

Western Canada is experiencing an unprecedented outbreak of the mountain pine beetle (MPB). The MPB has the potential to impact some of Canada's national parks by affecting park ecosystems and the visitor experience. Controls have been initiated in some parks to lessen the impacts and to prevent the beetle from spreading beyond park boundaries. We examine the perception of ecological risk associated with MPB in two of Canada's national parks, the factors affecting perceptions of risk, and the influence of risk judgments on support for controlling MPB outbreaks in national parks. Data were collected using two studies of park visitors: a mail survey in 2003 and an onsite survey in 2005. The MPB was rated as posing a greater risk to the health and productivity of park ecosystems than anthropogenic hazards and other natural disturbance agents. Visitors who were familiar with MPB rated the ecological and visitor experience impacts as negative, unacceptable, and eliciting negative emotion. Knowledge and residency were the most consistent predictors of risk judgments. Of knowledge, risk, and demographic variables, only sex and risk to ecosystem domains influenced support for controlling the MPB in national parks. Implications for managing MPB in national parks, visitor education, and ecological integrity are discussed.

This article lays groundwork for a more systematic history of the Ottoman gendarmerie (jandarma), here with special emphasis on the men in the corps and their working conditions. The gendarmerie, which before 1879 reform the Ottomans calledasakir-i zabtiye, was a provincial paramilitary police organization established by bureaucrats of the Tanzimat state during the 1840s on an ad hoc basis. This force later acquired a more uniform and centralized character, becoming the empire's principal internal security organization. Through this paramilitary police institution, 19th-century Ottoman bureaucrats aimed to extend their authority into the provinces, which at that time could be described as only marginally under Ottoman sovereignty according to contemporary definitions of the term. From the late 18th century on, extending state sovereignty to recognized territorial boundaries emerged as a vital need for most European states as well as the Ottoman Empire. Along with other modern military and civil institutions and modern administrative practices, introducing various types of paramilitary provincial police forces enabled governments in Europe to enhance and extend their authority over territories in which it had been limited. The gendarmerie thus emerged in both Europe and in the Ottoman Empire as integral to modern state formation and its technologies of government. Although acknowledging the Pan-European context of the gendarmerie's emergence and its theoretical ramifications, the present article is concerned more with the Ottoman context within which this police corps was established, evolved, and took on a uniquely Ottoman form.

AbstractDespite widespread aims to strengthen the Health Information System (HIS) as a tool for decentralised health care, there is a strong tendency in most developing countries that the HIS continues to reflect the central level's needs and requirements. The traditional design approach with little or no end user involvement results in a centralised HIS with an extensive, somewhat inappropriate, but also inflexible set of standards. Consequently, the HIS is not very useful for the wished‐for decentralisation of health services, and there is an urgent need to redesign the existing HIS in order to make it locally relevant and appropriately decentralised. Based on a comparative case analysis of the HIS in Tanzania and Ethiopia, we offer practical recommendations on the way to achieve this redesign. A central design goal should be to achieve a balance between centralised control and local autonomy. Some degree of control over a decentralised HIS, including budgets and the use of resources, should be delegated to the district administration. In order to achieve the aim of a locally relevant, well‐working HIS, it is necessary that appropriate authority, capacity and decentralised allocation of resources for HIS will be developed at the district and sub‐district levels. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

It is frequently claimed that a chief miracle that characterized the politics of the pre-Israeli Zionist community and the Israeli one was the setting up of a Zionist–Socialist political elite which headed it for decades. Yet another great miracle – less discussed among scholars – is the fact that the extremist territorialist ostracized ``Revisionist camp" – the socialist's major rival – succeeded with time to become the Israeli new governing elite. It established most of the Israeli governments in the years 1977-2006. The current research shows that though the Revisionists and their successors (mostly the parties of Herut / Gahal / Likud) were considered extremely radical, from their earliest days, they understood that in order to move ahead they must show pragmatism alongside their radicalism. Thus, pragmatism was manifested on all fronts: ideology, identity, organization, recruiting of members and the character of their elite – an ``open elite". It was true before the creation of Israel and afterwards, and it has been the case since 1977. Nevertheless, when certain elements in this formula are abandoned, the party loses support, becomes damaged and banished to the ranks of the opposition. What is more, once all of those elements of success disappear, as was the case in 2006, the party collapses.

Abstract. Earthfill dams are man-made geostructures which may be especially damaged by seismic loadings, because the soil skeleton they are made of suffers remarkable modifications in its mechanical properties, as well as changes of pore water pressure and flow of this water inside their pores, when subjected to vibrations. The most extreme situation is the dam failure due to soil liquefaction. Coupled finite element numerical codes are a useful tool to assess the safety of these dams. In this paper the application of a fully coupled numerical model, previously developed and validated by the authors, to a set of theoretical cross sections of earthfill dams with impervious core, is presented. All these dams are same height and have the same volume of impervious material at the core. The influence of the core location inside the dam on its response against seismic loading is numerically explored. The dams are designed as strictly stable under static loads. As a result of this research, a design recommendation on the location of the impervious core is obtained for this type of earth dams, on the basis of the criteria of minor liquefaction risk, minor soil degradation during the earthquake and minor crest settlement.

AbstractWe consider a supply chain in which a retailer faces a stochastic demand, incurs backorder and inventory holding costs and uses a periodic review system to place orders from a manufacturer. The manufacturer must fill the entire order. The manufacturer incurs costs of overtime and undertime if the order deviates from the planned production capacity. We determine the optimal capacity for the manufacturer in case there is no coordination with the retailer as well as in case there is full coordination with the retailer. When there is no coordination the optimal capacity for the manufacturer is found by solving a newsvendor problem. When there is coordination, we present a dynamic programming formulation and establish that the optimal ordering policy for the retailer is characterized by two parameters. The optimal coordinated capacity for the manufacturer can then be obtained by solving a nonlinear programming problem. We present an efficient exact algorithm and a heuristic algorithm for computing the manufacturer's capacity. We discuss the impact of coordination on the supply chain cost as well as on the manufacturer's capacity. We also identify the situations in which coordination is most beneficial. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2008