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The American public almost unanimously agrees that the nation's War on Drugs has been a huge failure. Now, South American leaders have a plan to form an alliance with key nations to initiate a new, non-violent approach to drug crime. This is a critical opportunity for the Biden administration to combat organized crime while regaining geopolitical credibility by promoting peace.

Since the United States' War on Drugs began more than five decades ago, the nation has spent over a trillion dollars enforcing drug policies domestically since 1971.

Meanwhile, the number of drug cartels in the Americas has only increased, as have the casualties.

The U.S. is not alone in these failed efforts. Both drug-related violent crime and drug trafficking itself are at record highs in a number of countries around the hemisphere. According to InSight Crime, cocaine trafficking is at historic highs, and the homicide rate in Andean countries is skyrocketing. Clearly, violent efforts to combat drug use and trafficking are ineffective. Fortunately, some South American politicians are suggesting a new solution.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro recently proposed the creation of an alliance between Latin American and Caribbean states looking for a different way to fight organized crime and drug trafficking. In his speech at the Latin American and Caribbean Conference on Drugs on September 9th, Petro argued that "it is time to rebuild hope and not repeat the bloody and ferocious wars, the ill-named 'war on drugs', viewing drugs as a military problem and not as a health problem for society." Petro likened the policy to "genocide" against the Colombian people, with more than 200,000 civilians dying in the country as a direct result of the civil conflict — including drug violence — since 1958.

Presidents Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico and Luis Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil have already supported this new approach, at least rhetorically. At the conference, representatives from 17 countries signed a statement agreeing to the need to "rethink the global war on drugs" and focus on "life, peace, and development."

Unfortunately, some countries in Latin America have taken the opposite perspective, embracing militarization and "mano dura" (hard hand) policies based on the record of autocrat Nayib Bukele of El Salvador. Many U.S. policymakers promote similar tactics, including a ludicrous U.S. invasion of Mexico. Ecuador and Honduras, in response to rising homicide rates, chose to militarize counternarcotics, leading to more death, instability, and democratic backsliding.

But these violent tactics have never worked. Not only did the U.S.-led War on Drugs fail miserably, but the nation also played a large role in inciting violence in Central America by supporting violent groups and governments in the hopes of tackling drug traffickers and left-wing guerrillas in the region. The security infrastructure in most Central American countries is a direct result of U.S. involvement during the Cold War.

By promoting a violent solution to the drug crisis and emboldening anti-drug militias, the U.S. has created more drug cartels. According to records from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Colombian paramilitaries have become the largest domestic drug producers and traffickers in Colombia. They were originally propped up, funded, and armed by the United States.

Under the Reagan administration, Latin American factions and dictators engaging in drug trafficking, including the Contras in Nicaragua, and Manuel Noriega in Panama, were also supported by the U.S. In Mexico, the U.S. and Mexican governments' policy of decapitation — removing top leaders from cartels — led to fractionalization and the creation of more cartels battling over resources and power, making Mexico a narco-state with hundreds of groups.

In light of the negative influence that Washington has had on the War on Drugs throughout the American regions, the Biden administration should extend an olive branch to Petro and support his new alliance. By inviting Petro and other sympathetic Latin American leaders to the White House, or to a Latin American city with a connection to the War on Drugs, Biden could discuss a regional, non-violent approach that would repair international ties with South and Central American countries and renew the nations' vision for reducing drug crime. Involving the U.S. publicly would give weight to the transition and bring international media attention to the drug problem.

The alliance's members and leading in-country experts could then come up with a list of policies to be implemented across the hemisphere in line with the new non-violent approach. Those policies should then pass the legislatures and become law in the respective countries.

The list could include harm-reduction programs to reduce consumption, scholarship programs for youths in high-risk areas, public education programs, housing subsidies, negotiation with drug-trafficking organizations, reintegration programs for former members, funding for public mental health counseling, and large-scale investment in public projects to boost employment in low-income communities.

Examples of the far-reaching success of these policies should be included to support their validity and implementation.
In addition, regimes that continue their hardline policies should be isolated and condemned by alliance members. El Salvador, Honduras, and Ecuador have suspended constitutional rights and liberties to bolster the rights of the security state. In doing so, they have sacrificed civilian life, institutional stability, democracy, and human rights in exchange for temporary security. The United States should put diplomatic pressure on political leaders like Nayib Bukele of El Salvador and Xiomara Castro for militarized drug policies that perpetuate this behavior.Unifying the Americas around this approach would help equalize the burden of the drug problem while sharing the benefits of the new approach's success. Leaders of the alliance should publicly call out problematic policies within these regimes. Petro has already done this with El Salvador.
Other countries wanting to adopt the "hard hand" approach to counternarcotics should beware of the political, diplomatic, and economic consequences of adopting illiberal and unsuccessful drug policies. Proposing an invasion of Mexico won't help tackle the drug problem, promote U.S. security interests, or restore U.S. influence around the region. Supporting a new South American alliance would do this and more.

The article analyzes the essence and perception of the global community of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, which was developed under the auspices of the UN and adopted by the member countries of this organization on December 10, 2018 in Marrakesh (Morocco). This was the first international compromise agreement between the donor and recipient countries. More than 160 states have signed the Compact, believing that it is long overdue for the international community to come to a more realistic understanding of global migration. Some countries refused to sign the Compact, including seven EU states and Ukraine. The content of the Compact is aimed at liberalizing the migration regime, which explains why it was rejected by many governments and political forces. Non -acceptance of the Compact by a number of countries that have accepted migrants reduces the potential effect of its application. However, it can be useful for improving the efficiency of legal migration, regulating the employment of skilled labor, which is of interest to the recipient countries. The crisis in the migration policy of some countries has shown that the low level of harmonization of national legislation on refugee shelter has signifi cantly contributed to the spread of the disaster and the increase in the number of asylum seekers that the countries had to accept on their territory. ; Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, Ukraine ; Vira Burdiak – Doctor of Political Science, Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Faculty of Law, Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University (Ukraine). ; vira.burdjak@gmail.com ; 49 ; 62 ; 1 ; Австрія відмовилася підписати міграційний пакт ООН(Avstia vidmovilasia pidpisati migracionnyi pakt OON). URL: https://www.dw. com/uk/%D1%97a-44734380. ; Bauböck R. Refugee Protection and Burden- Sharingin the European Union "Journal of CommonMarket Studies" 2018, vol. 56, no. 1. ; Войников В.В., Европейское пространство свободы, безопасности и правосудия и миграционный кризис (Voinicov V.V., Evropieiskoie prostranstvo cvobody, bezopasnostii, pravosudia i migracionnyi krizis), "Современная Европа" ("Sovriemiennaia Evropa") 2017, no. 2. ; Евростат (Evrostat). URL: https//ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-exsplained/indeks.php/ Main_Page. ; Країни ООН погодили перший в історії глобальний договір про міграцію (Kraini OON pogodili pierszyi v istorii globalnyi dogovor pro migraciu). URL: https://www.dw.com/uk/%a-44671486. ; Макрон и Меркель наводнят Европу миллионами мигрантов (Macron i Merkel navodniat Evropu milionami migrantov). URL: https://tsargrad.tv/articles/makron-i-merkelnavodnjat-evropu-millionami-migrantov_172310. ; Марин Ле Пен: «Франция должна отказаться от Договора ООН о миграции» (Marin Le Pen: "Francia dolzna otkazatsia ot Dogovora OON o migracji). URL: https://regnum.ru/news/2530135.html. ; Марин Ле Пен: Во имя Французов! Против мигрантов, 12 февраля 2017 г. / Русское Агенство Новостей (Marin Le Pen: Vo imia Francuzov! Protiv migrantov, 12 fievrala 2017 g.). URL: http://новости-мира. ru-an.info/марин-ле-пен-во-имя-французов-против-мигрантов. ; Миграция (Migracia). URL: https://www.un.org/ru/sections/issues-depth/migration/ index.html. ; Migration in Europe – Statistics and Facts. URL: https://www. Statista.com.topics/4046/migration-in-europe. ; «Ми самі вирішимо, як контролювати наші кордони». Що відомо про Всесвітній пакт ООН про міграцію("My sami viriszimo, jak kontrolovati naszi kordony". Sztso vidomo pro Vsesvityinakt OON pro migraciu).URL: https://tyzhden.ua/News/223713. ; Могеріні попереджає ЄС, що гроші нарегулювання міграції закінчуються (Mogerini poperedzaie EC, sztso groszi na reguliuvania migracji zakinczuiutsia), URL: https://www.ukrinform .uarubric-world/ 2740863-mogerini-poperedzae-es-so-grosi-na-reguluvanna-migracii-zakincuutsa.html. ; Niemann A., Zaun N. EU Refugee Policies and Politics in Times of Crisis: Th eoretical and Empirical Perspectives, "Journal of Common Market Studies" 2018, vol. 56, no. 1. ; Пакт ООН о миграции: дебаты в бундестаге. Информационный портал Germania онлайн (Pakt OON o migracji: debaty v Bundestagie. Informacionnyi portal Germania onlain). URL: https://germania-online.diplo.de/rudz-ru/politik/-/2161318. ; Польша отказалась подписывать пакт ООН о миграции (Polsza otkazalas podpisat pakt OON o migracii). URL: https://iz.ru/814506/2018-11-20/polsha-otkazalas-podpisyvatpakt-oon-o-migratcii. ; Carrera S., KarelLannoo K., MarcoStefan M., Vosyliūtė L. Some EU governments leaving the UN Global Compact on Migration: A contradiction interms? "CEPS Policy Insights" 2018, no. 15. ; Спільний коментар МЗС України і ДМС України у зв'язку із проведенням Конференції ООН для прийняття Глобальної угоди про безпечну, впорядковану та законну міграцію (10-11 грудня 2018 р., м. Марракеш, Марокко) (Spilnyi komentar MZS Ukrainy i DMS Ukrainy u związku iz proviedieniam Konfi erencii OON dla priniatia Globalnoi ugody pro biezpiecznu, vporiadkovanu ta zakonnu migraciu /10-11 grudnia 2018 g., m. Marrakesz, Marokko). URL: https://dmsu.gov.ua/news/dms/spilnij-komentar-mzs-a-dms.html. ; Суворова В.А., Миграционный кризис в Европе: проблемы вынужденной миграции (Suvorova V.A., Migracionnyi krizis v Evropie: problemy vynuzdiennoi migracji), "Власть" (Vlast), 2018, № 1. ; Угорщина виступила проти глобального договору ООН щодо міграції (Ugorszczina priiednalasia protiv globalnomu dogovoru OON szodo migracji). URL: https://www.dw.com/uk/%D1%83%/ a-44734380. ; Українане приєдналася до Глобального Договору про міграцію – спочатку треба вирішити проблеми власних ВПО (Ukraina nie priednalasia do Globalnogo Dogovoru pro migraciu – spoczatku trieba virisziti problemy vlasnych VPO). URL: https://islam.in.ua/ua/novyny-u-sviti/ukrayina-ne-pryyednalasya-do-globalnogo-dogovoru-pro-migraciyu-spochatku-treba. ; UN General Assembly. Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration: Final Draft , 11 July 2018. URL: https:// refugeesmigrants.un.org/sites/default/files/180711_final_draft _0.pdf. ; U.S. Ends Participationin the Global Compacton Migration. Press Statement. Rex W. Tillerson Secretary of State. Washington, DC, December 3, 2017. ; Франція та Італія закликають створити нову систему автоматичного перерозподілу мігрантів у країнах ЄС (Francia ta Italia zaklikaiut stvoriti novu sistiemu avtomaticznogo piererozpodivu migrantov u krainach EC). URL: https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric- 35world/2783918-italia-i-francia-zaavili-pro-neobhidnist-novoi-sistemi-rozpodilumigrantiv.html. ; Frontex new srelease. Migratory flows in October 2018. URL: https://frontex.europa.eu/media-centre/news-release/migratoryfl ows-in-october-down-by-a-third-spain-accounts-for-60-ofdetections-ppaQPH. ; 26

During the 5th century BC in Athens flourished a political system in which essential state decisions were made through the participation of citizens. It had an enormous historical impact, so that it can be seen as a true precursor to current democratic systems. Public participation requires necessarily a degree of freedom of expression. That is why this ancient system, despite lacking a concept of civil rights, is an excellent laboratory to understand the problem, of the right to free speech: in such a small society and delimitated time arise many of its current controversialquestions. However, we lack studies about this period drawing relevant conclusions for our current times. Regarding political discussions in the assembly, a distinction was made between the power to speak that is common to all citizens (isegoria) and the requirements of the public speeches known as parrhesia. Beyond the interdiction to present proposals opposing to the basic principles of the democratic system, the control of public speech is done by social pressure rather than by the law. Speeches are to be presented without being too direct and scandalizing the public, who may silent the speaker. At the same time, the boom of the theater and its enormous impact on society functioned akin to a real mass media. In the field of theater, in an initial phase there were hardly any legal restrictions to what was said in a play. If anything, just to protect the reputation against falsehoods. Progressively, the fear of the political impact of theater leads to enact more restrictive rules such as those prohibiting to mention real names of citizens. Threats of sanctions managed to erase almost any critical component in the plays. This reaction to free speech coincides with an authoritarian drift that will soon lead to the end of the democratic regime. It brings also a subtle extension of the rules about impiety from the field of religion to that of public speech. Strong sanctions were applied to those disseminating ideas or doctrines contrary to the basic political principles of the city. While these sanctions were presented as a defense of democracy against aristocratic threats, history shows that instead they were its prelude. The study of the period shows that, regarding free speech, the distance between formal recognizance of equality and its real exercise is always relevant, in any system. Furthermore, the Athenian experience shows the risks of mechanisms of absolute militant democracy imposed without instruments of flexibility that allow social change. Above all, the classical Greek experience highlights the need for a normative concept of free speech as a right in order to permanently ensure a space of expression immune to any public interference.Summary:I. Rights and freedom of expression in Athens in the 5th century BC. II. Free speech in the assembly. 1-Parrhesia and isegoria. 2-The free speech as a political right. 3-Limits to the expression at the assembly. III-Free speech in theater. 1-Without prior censorship. 2-Limits to the theatric expression. IV-Impiety as a limit for dissidents. V-Five Athenian lessons. ; Durante el siglo V a. C. floreció en Atenas un sistema político en el que las decisiones estatales esenciales se adoptaban mediante la participación de la ciudadanía. Tuvo un enorme impacto histórico, de modo que puede considerarse como auténtico precursor de los sistemas democráticos actuales. La participación pública exige necesariamente un grado de libertad de expresión. Por eso este sistema de la Grecia clásica, pese a carecer de un sistema de derechos fundamentales, fue un laboratorio excelente para entender la problemática del derecho a expresarse: en una sociedad y un espacio temporal reducido, se plantean muchos de los problemas actuales. Sin embargo, no existen en nuestro contexto estudios centrados en este período capaces de sacar conclusiones para la actualidad. En el ámbito de la discusión política en la asamblea se distingue entre la facultad de tomar a la palabra (isegoria) que es común a todos los ciudadanos y los requisitos de contenido del discurso público, agrupados en lo que se llamó parresia: más allá de la prohibición de presentar propuestas contrarias a la esencia del sistema democrático, los discursos públicos no están controlados por normas jurídicas sino por la presión social. Se exige una etiqueta determinada que pasa por no escandalizar demasiado ni ser muy directo en la exposición de las ideas propias.Al mismo tiempo, el auge del teatro y su enorme repercusión en la sociedad nos ofrece algo parecido a un primer medio de comunicación demasas. En el ámbito del teatro hay una fase inicial en la que apenas rigen restricciones jurídicas a lo que se dice en una obra teatral. Si acaso algunas derivadas de la protección de la reputación ajena frente a falsedades. Progresivamente, el temor al impacto político del teatro lleva a dictar normas restrictivas como las que prohíben usar nombres propios. Las amenazas de sanciones, llevan a la desaparición del componente crítico en las obras teatrales.Esa reacción frente a la libertad de expresión coincide con una deriva progresivamente autoritaria que llevará pronto al final del régimen democrático. Se muestra también en una sutil extensión de las normas sobre impiedad desde el ámbito de la religión al del discurso público. Se aplican durísimas sanciones a quienes exponen en público ideas o doctrinas contrarias al régimen vigente. Esas sanciones se presentan como una manera de defender la democracia frente a amenazas aristocráticas pero la historia demuestra que en realidad fueron la antesala de ésta.El estudio pone de manifiesto que la diferencia entre igualdad formal y material en el ejercicio de la libertad de expresión es connatural a todo sistema. Más allá, la experiencia ateniense saca a la luz los riesgos de los mecanismos absolutos de democracia militante que no cuenten con instrumentos de flexibilización que permitan el cambio ideológico y social.Por encima de todo, la experiencia clásica griega pone de manifiesto la necesidad de un concepto normativo de libertad de expresión como derecho fundamental capaz de asegurar permanentemente un espacio de expresión inmune a cualquier injerencia estatal.

The purpose of the article is to identify the formation of a set of conceptual principles during the period of the "Cold War", global confrontation in the world and the collapse of the world colonial system, of relevant military and political structures and specific strategies, forms and methods of military and special activities, which formed the basis of doctrines and arsenal of modern asymmetric ("hybrid", unconventional) conflict. The methodological basis of the work is based on the methods of classification, typology, structural-system, historical and comparative, historical and typological, historical and genetic methods, methods of military and special science, security science, political conflictology. The scientific novelty of the study consists in the authors' attempt to study systematically, on the historical material of the period of the "Cold War", the formation of doctrinal preconditions and strategy, a set of special structures and methods of destructive activity, which found their structured embodiment in "hybrid" conflicts at the beginning of the XXIst century. The Conclusions. During "World War III" or "Cold War" (1946 – 1990) paradigms, forms and methods of hybrid confrontation, its doctrinal and conceptual principles, and the relevant theoretical and methodological, scientific, practical and technological principles achieved unprecedented development. Special services and affiliated with them "non-governmental" and paramilitary (irregular) structures, specialized analytical, forecasting and research centers, media structures became able to influence purposefully the change of political reality in the national, interstate and transnational dimensions. There was a qualitative improvement of Special Forces which became an important (sometimes decisive) factor in local wars and armed conflicts, participation in complex special operations, the deployment of controlled irregular armed formations. A new qualitative stage in the organization of "elite troops" began – their reorganization into special operations forces as autonomous component of the armed forces. As part of SOF, units (structures) of information and psychological struggle and work with civilian population were further developed. During the period of inter-bloc confrontation in the post war world, the core of which was the psychological war, significant and growing importance acquired the methods (mechanisms) of influence on the sphere of controlling collective activity of people, reformatting the mass consciousness and worldview by manipulating human consciousness and creating virtual reality by means of modern information and socio-cultural technologies. On the basis of the powerful legacy of the planetary confrontation of social systems and the inter-bloc confrontation of 1946 – 1990 numerous strategic, tactical and technological, and information-cognitive preconditions for the formation of a new qualitative type of conflict developed – "hybrid", in the sense of synthesizing various new forms and methods of destructive activity, and their complex and coordinated application. Such essential features of "hybrid" confrontation developed as lack of registration in accordance with international law of war, use of anti-government organizations and movements, illegal armed formations, separatist movements, extremist groups, destructive communities, etc., a priority role of special services, special operations forces, use of other methods of non-military pressure on the victim state, including diplomatic, financial and economic, humanitarian and the others. The main driving forces of the asymmetric strategy were non-governmental organizations, insurgent and "opposition" movements, special operations forces, means and forces of psychological operations, and the focus in the strategy shifted in favor of special operations and low intensity conflicts. ; Мета статті полягає у виявленні формування в період "холодної війни", глобального протистояння у світі та розпаду світової колоніальної системи комплексу концептуальних засад, відповідних воєнно-політичних структур, а також специфічної стратегії, форм і методів військової та спеціальної діяльності, що лягли в основу доктрин й арсеналу сучасної асиметричної ("гібридної", неконвенційної) конфліктності. Методологічну основу праці становлять методи класифікації, типології, структурно-системний, історико-порівняльний, історико-типологічний, історико-генетичний, методи військово-спеціальної науки, безпекознавства, політичної конфліктології. Наукова новизна полягає у спробі авторів впорядковано дослідити на історичному матеріалі часів "холодної війни" формування доктринальних передумов й стратегії, комплексу спеціальних структур та методів деструктивної діяльності, котрі знайшли своє структуроване втілення у "гібридних" конфліктах початку ХХІ ст. Висновки. У період "ІІІ світової", або "холодної війни" (1946–1990) нечуваного розвитку сягнули парадигми, форми і методи гібридного протиборства, його доктринальні й концептуальні засади, відповідні теоретико-методологічні, науково-практичні та технологічні засади. Спеціальні служби, афільовані з ними "неурядові організації" та парамілітарні (іррегулярні) структури, профільні аналітико-прогностичні та науково-дослідні центри, медіа-структури стали здатні цілеспрямовано впливати на зміну політичної реальності в національному, міждержавному і транснаціональному вимірах. Відбулося якісне удосконалення військ спеціального призначення, котрі перетворилися на важливий (інколи – вирішальний) фактор ведення локальних війн і збройних конфліктів, участі у комплексних спеціальних операціях, розгортання керованих іррегулярних збройних формувань. Розпочинається новий якісний етап в організації "елітних військ" – їх реорганізація в сили спеціальних операцій як автономний компонент збройних сил. У складі ССО подальшого серйозного розвитку набули підрозділи (структури) інформаційно-психологічної боротьби та роботи із цивільним населенням. У період міжблокового протистояння у повоєнному світі, стрижнем якого виступала саме війна психологічна, суттєвого й зростаючого значення набули методи (механізми) впливу на сферу управління колективною діяльністю людей, переформатування масової свідомості та світогляду за рахунок маніпулювання свідомістю людини і створення віртуальної реальності через застосування сучасних інформаційних та соціально-культурних технологій. На основі потужної спадщини планетарного протистояння суспільних систем та міжблокової конфронтації 1946–1990 рр. склалися численні стратегічні, тактико-технологічні й інформаційно-когнітивні передумови для формування нового якісного типу конфліктності – "гібридної", у розумінні синтезування різноманітних новітніх форм і методів деструктивної діяльності та їх комплексного, скоординованого застосування. Набули розвитку такі сутнісні ознаки "гібридного" протистояння, як відсутність оформлення відповідно до міжнародного права війни, використання антиурядових організацій та рухів, незаконних збройних формувань, течій сепаратистського характеру, екстремістських угруповань, деструктивних спільнот тощо, пріоритетна роль спеціальних служб, сил спецоперацій, застосування інших методів невійськового тиску на державу-жертву, включаючи дипломатичні, фінансово-економічні, гуманітарні та інші. Основними рушійними силами асиметричної стратегії ставали неурядові організації, повстанські й "опозиційні" рухи, сили спецоперацій, сили і засоби психологічних операцій, а наголос у стратегії змішувався на користь спецоперацій та конфліктів малої інтенсивності.

Programa de Doctorado en Migraciones Internacionales y Cooperación al Desarrollo ; Desde que ISIS declaró su califato de forma unilateral el 29 de junio de 2014, ha atraído a al menos 7,700 combatientes extranjeros de países occidentales y a otros 35,000 extremistas de otros 120 países. Esta migración de combatientes extranjeros, y la reciente ansiedad que supone su vuelta a los países de origen, se ha convertido en una de las principales preocupaciones en materia de seguridad en Occidente. Esta tesis doctoral se basa en los conocimientos en el ámbito de la trata de personas para proporcionar una alternativa a la securitización de la participación y la desvinculación de grupos políticamente violentos, como lSlS. Más concretamente, la estrategia de las 4P's utilizada en la lucha contra la trata de personas (prevención, protección, persecución y partenariados) ofrece un enfoque holístico apropiado para la prevención, la rehabilitación y la reintegración de extremistas violentos y combatientes extranjeros retornados, especialmente en el caso de las mujeres. Con el fin de confirmar la utilidad del ámbito la trata de personas como alternativa para los expertos en la lucha antiterrorista, este trabajo examina los paralelismos existentes entre los mecanismos de reclutamiento empleados por las redes yihadistas y aquellos empleados por las redes de trata. Una revisión bibliográfica preliminar revela que no hay estudios previos que destaquen estas similitudes y que, por tanto, no han explorado la aplicabilidad de la estrategia de las 4P's en el ámbito de la lucha contra el extremismo violento. Un análisis del discurso documenta que los medios de comunicación dominan la narrativa en tomo a ISIS. Esta realidad afecta tanto la investigación académica como la elaboración de políticas. A continuación, un estudio de caso sobre ISIS revela que los mecanismos de reclutamiento son muy similares a aquellos empleados por las redes de trata de personas, incluyendo la importancia dada a ideas como la 'mejora de los medios de vida' o la •idea de una utopía.' El 30% de los combatientes extranjeros que respondieron a la llamada a la migración (hijrah) han regresado a sus países de origen. Aunque la persecución siga siendo una opción, muchos de los combatientes extranjeros serán liberados. En el caso de las mujeres que no estuvieron involucradas en la lucha armada, lo más probable es que no se impongan penas de cárcel. El ámbito de trata de personas ofrece una serie de mecanismos de rehabilitacion y reintegracion que pueden ser adaptadas a las necesidades de aquellos que en su momento apoyaron el extremismo violento pero que nunca estuvieron directamente involucrados. Existen varias historias de éxito que reflejan que la cooperación entre las fuerzas de seguridad, activistas y antiguos extremistas pueden tener un efecto positivo en lo que respecta a la prevención y la reversión del proceso de radicalización. La estrategia de las 4P's pone de manifiesto que la solución ha de ir más allá de la represión. Los procesos de reintegración y rehabilitación efectivos suponen un elemento fundamental a la hora de abordar los principales elementos subyacentes del extremismo violento. Esta tesis doctoral plantea que no hemos de reinventar la rueda, y que mucho de lo que se ha aprendido a nivel internacional en la Guerra contra la Trata puede contribuir de forma positiva a la Guerra Contra el Terror. ; Since ISIS unilaterally declared it so-called Caliphate on June 29, 2014, it has attracted at least 7,700 Western foreign fighters plus another 35,000 extremists from another 120 countries. This flight offoreign fighters, and now anxiety associated with their potential return to their countries of origin, has become one ofthe main security concems in Westem countries This doctoral dissertation draws from what is known in the field of human trafficking to provide an altemative understanding to the securitization of engagement and disengagement from politically violent groups such as TSTS. The 4P strategy utilized to combat human trafficking (prevention, protection, prosecution and partnersbips) in particular offers a holistic approach that may prove appropriate for the prevention, rehabilitation and reintegration of violent extremist offenders and retuming foreign fighters, particularly women. In order to confirm the utility of human trafficking as an altemative for counter-terrorism experts and those countering violent extremism, the parallels between the recruitment mechanisms employed by jihadist groups and those employed by human trafficking networks are explored. A preliminary literature review reveals that no prior studies have bighlighted these similarities and have therefore not examined the applicability of the 4P strategy when it comes to countering violent extremism. A discourse analysis then documents that media dominates the discourse surrounding ISIS. Tbis reality affects both academic research and policymaking. Thereafter, an in-depth case study of ISIS recruitment reveals that its mechanisms are very similar to those employed by human traffickers, including the importance given to ideas such as 'livelihood improvement,' or 'selling utopía.• Thirty percent of the foreign fighters that answered ISIS' call for hijra (migration) have now returned to their countries of origin. Although prosecution must be incorporated, most of these foreign :fighters will be released and, in the cases of women who have not taken up arms, there willlikely be no incarceration. The :field ofhuman tra:fficking offers a series of reintegration and rehabilitation mechanisms that could be tailored to meet the needs ofthose who once supported violent extremism but were never directly engaged in it Several success stories show how partnerships between law enforcement, activists and former extremists can have a positive impact regarding prevention and reversing the radicalization process. As the 4P's model makes apparent, ultimate solutions must be more than merely punitive. Effective rehabilitation and reintegration will prove a crucial component of addressing the core issues violent extremism protrudes from. Tbis dissertation hypothesizes and concludes that we need not rebuild the wheel, and that much of what has been learned internationally from the War on Trafficking can make a positive contribution to the War on Terror.

59 páginas : gráficos, tablas. ; Es innegable que cada uno de los derechos humanos y fundamentales que se han consignado en normas internacionales y nacionales ha sido el resultado de triunfos de movimientos sociales que en determinado momento de la historia surgieron para solucionar problemáticas de la época. Como el caso de los Derechos del Hombre y el Ciudadano fruto de la Revolución Francesa, o también, los derechos sociales que emergen como solución a las controversias laborales que existían entre los trabajadores y los empresarios durante la revolución industrial. En suma, cada uno de estos son ejemplos que evidencian su importancia como elementos estructurales de toda sociedad, marcándose con posterioridad esta característica a través del paradigma que trae consigo tanto la Constitucionalización como la Convencionalización del derecho sellando su aplicación absoluta. Sin embargo, se presentan cuestionamientos teóricos sobre esta cualidad en algunos derechos humanos que en ciertas circunstancias no están abarcados bajo el rótulo de fundamentales, como es el caso de la propiedad privada la cual en siglos anteriores y con otras formas de Estados su omnipotencia era incuestionable, no obstante, se planteó recientemente su relatividad ante la presencia de intereses generales como la función social de la misma que se materializa mediante la expropiación. Esta figura jurídica denominada expropiación tiene grandes implicaciones en el ordenamiento jurídico toda vez que afecta directamente derechos humanos entre los cuales está la propiedad privada, impactos que son mitigados por el mismo ordenamiento mediante su promulgación como excepción. A pesar de ello es indiscutible los efectos perjudiciales que su aplicación ya sea general o excepcional produce sobre los derechos de las personas; en este orden de ideas se hace necesario cuestionar tales eventos con el objeto de establecer cuál es la responsabilidad que se le puede atribuir al Estado en las circunstancias donde se practica la expropiación administrativa de predios sin la mediación de una indemnización integral, debido a que este fenómeno jurídico riñe con los derechos humanos. Con el objeto de desarrollar este trabajo sobre la expropiación administrativa y las consecuencias jurídicas que trae consigo su aplicación principalmente sobre la responsabilidad del Estado se dividirá esta presentación en tres ejes temáticos comenzando por, i) un análisis teórico de la figura de la expropiación, seguido, ii) por una descripción doctrinaria de los fenómenos de la responsabilidad patrimonial del Estado y la indemnización, dejando en un último lugar la presentación legal y jurisprudencial de la responsabilidad del estado a causa de la expropiación como daño especial ante la omisión de su indemnización integral en el caso colombiano. Para lo anterior, se sigue una metodología con un enfoque analítico crítico, puesto que se estudia el fenómeno jurídico de la expropiación administrativa por medio de las teorías en tormo al derecho a la propiedad privada, la normatividad legal vigente, jurisprudencia y estudios realizados por entes gubernamentales interesados en este tema. De esta manera, se vislumbra la existencia de presupuestos que conllevan a la declaración de la responsabilidad del Estado en materia de expropiación administrativa cuando no media una indemnización integral previa sustentado en desarrollo jurisprudenciales y legales. ; No one can deny that each of the fundamental and human rights that has been included in national and international standards have been triumphs of social movements that arose to solve problems of the time this implementation at a moment of history. As the case of the rights of man and the citizen because of the French Revolution, or also, the social rights that emerge as a solution to labor disputes that exist between employers and workers during the industrial revolution. In sum, each of these examples that demonstrate its importance as structural elements of society, tagging after this feature through the paradigm that brings with it both the constitutionalizing and the Conventionalization of the right sealing their absolute application. However, are presented theoretical questions about this quality in some human rights that, in certain circumstances, are not covered under the heading of fundamental, as in the case of private property which in earlier centuries and with other forms of States his omnipotence was unquestioned, however, he was recently raised its relativity in the presence of general interests as the social function which is materialized by means of the expropriation. This legal figure called expropriation has big implications in a legal order since, as mentioned above it directly affects human rights, among which is private property, impacts that are mitigated by the same system through its enactment as an exception. Despite this is indisputable the harmful effects of their application as either general or exceptional generates on the rights of persons; in this order of ideas, it is essential to question such events to establish what is the liability that can be attributed to the State in circumstances where the administrative expropriation of land without the mediation of a comprehensive compensation practice since this legal phenomenon contravenes human rights. With the object of develop this work on administrative expropriation and the legal consequences that brings its application mainly on the responsibility of the State, this presentation will divide in three thematic axes starting from, I) a theoretical analysis of the figure of the expropriation, followed, ii) by a doctrinal description of the phenomena of the liability of the State and compensation leaving the legal and jurisprudential presentation of the responsibility of the State because of the expropriation as special damage before the omission of its integral compensation in the case of Colombia in a last place. For this, a methodology is followed with a critical, analytical approach to post that explores the legal phenomenon of administrative expropriation by the theories in torso to the right to private property, legal regulations, jurisprudence and studies carried out by government bodies interested in this subject. This way, looms the existence of budgets that lead to the Declaration of the responsibility of the State in the field of administrative expropriation does not mean a sustained prior comprehensive compensation in case law and legal development.

Popular Internet services are fundamentally shaping and reshaping traditional ways of people communication, thus having a major impact on their social life. Two of the very popular Internet services with this characteristic are Online Social Networks (OSNs) and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) systems. OSNs provide a virtual environment where people can share their information and interests as well as being in contact with other people. On the other hand, P2P systems, which are still one of the popular services with a large proportion of the whole Internet traffic, provide a golden opportunity for their customers to share different type of content including copyrighted content. Apart from the huge popularity of OSNs and P2P systems among regular users, they are being intensively used by professional players (big companies, politician, athletes, celebrities in case of OSNs and professional content publishers in case of P2P) in order to interact with people for different purposes (marketing campaigns, customer feedback, public reputation improvement, etc.). In this thesis, we characterize the behavior of regular and professional users in the two mentioned popular services (OSNs and P2P systems) in terms of publishing strategies, content consumption and behavioral analysis. To this end, five of our conducted studies are presented in this manuscript as follows: - "The evolution of multimedia contents", which presents a thorough analysis on the evolution of multimedia content available in BitTorrent by focusing on four relevant metrics across different content categories: content availability, content popularity, content size and user's feedback. - "The reaction of professional users to antipiracy actions", by examining the impact of two major antipiracy actions, the closure of Megaupload and the implementation of the French antipiracy law (HADOPI), on professional publishers behavior in the largest BitTorrent portal who are major providers of online copyrighted content. - "The amount of disclosed information on Facebook", by investigating the public exposure of Facebook users' profile attributes in a large dataset including half million regular users. - "Professional users Cross Posting Activity", by analyzing the publishing pattern of professional users which includes same information over three major OSNs namely Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. - "Professional Users' Strategies in OSNs", where we investigate the global strategy of professional users by sector (e.g., Cars companies, Clothing companies, Politician, etc.) over Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. The outcomes of this thesis provide an overall vision to understand some important behavioral aspects of different types of users on popular Internet services and these contributions can be used in various domains (e.g. marketing analysis and advertising campaign, etc.) and different parties can benefit from the results and the implemented methodologies such as ISPs and owners of the Services for their future planning or expansion of the current services as well as professional players to increase their success on social media ; Les services Internet populaires modèlent et remodèlent fondamentalement les moyens traditionnels de communication des personnes, ayant ainsi un impact majeur sur leur vie sociale. Deux des services Internet très populaires avec cette caractéristique sont les Réseaux sociaux en ligne (OSN) et les systèmes Peer-to-Peer (P2P). Les ONS fournissent un environnement virtuel où les gens peuvent partager leurs informations et leurs intérêts tout en étant en contact avec d'autres personnes. D'autre part, les systèmes P2P, qui sont toujours l'un des services populaires avec une grande proportion de l'ensemble du trafic Internet, offrent une occasion en or pour leurs clients de partager un type de contenu différent, y compris le contenu protégé. En dehors de l'énorme popularité des ONS et des systèmes de P2P parmi les utilisateurs réguliers, ils sont intensivement utilisés par les professionnels (grandes entreprises, politiciens, athlètes, célébrités en cas d'ONS et éditeurs de contenu professionnels en cas de P2P) afin d'interagir avec les gens à des fins différentes (campagnes marketing, les commentaires des clients, amélioration de la réputation publique, etc.) Dans cette thèse, nous caractérisons le comportement des utilisateurs réguliers et professionnels dans les deux services mentionnés populaires (ONS et P2P) en termes de stratégies de publication, de consommation de contenu et d'analyse comportementale. À cette fin, cinq de nos études menées sont présentées dans ce manuscrit comme suit: - "L'évolution des contenus multimédias", qui présente une analyse approfondie sur l'évolution du contenu multimédia disponible en BitTorrent en se concentrant sur quatre mesures pertinentes à travers différentes catégories de contenu : la disponibilité du contenu, la popularité du contenu, la taille de contenu et les commentaires de l'utilisateur - "La réaction des utilisateurs professionnels face aux actions de lutte contre le piratage", en examinant l'impact de deux grandes actions de lutte contre le piratage - la fermeture de Megaupload et la mise en œuvre de la loi anti-piratage française (HADOPI) - sur le comportement des publicateurs professionnels dans le plus grand portail de BitTorrent qui sont les principaux fournisseurs de contenu en ligne protégé. - "La quantité d'informations divulguées sur Facebook", en enquêtant sur l'exposition publique des profils utilisateurs, une grande base de données comprenant un demi-million d'utilisateurs réguliers. - "Les utilisateurs professionnels Cross Posting Activity», en analysant le modèle de publication des utilisateurs professionnels de mêmes informations sur trois grands ONS à savoir Facebook, Google+ et Twitter. - "Les stratégies des utilisateurs professionnels dans les ONS", où nous étudions la stratégie globale d'utilisateurs professionnels par secteur (par exemple, les entreprises de voitures, l'habillement, politiques, etc.) sur Facebook, Google+ et Twitter. Les résultats de cette thèse fournissent une vision d'ensemble pour comprendre certains aspects comportementaux importants de différents types d'utilisateurs des services Internet populaires et ces contributions peuvent être utilisées dans divers domaines (par exemple analyse de campagne marketing et publicité, etc.) et les différentes parties peuvent bénéficier des résultats et des méthodologies mises en œuvre telles que les FAI et les propriétaires des services pour leur planification ou l'expansion des services actuels à venir, ainsi que les professionnels pour accroître leur succès sur les médias sociaux

Die vorliegende Doktorarbeit befasst sich mit dem dynamisch-strategischen Aufbau europäisch- japanischer Diplomatie nach dem Ende der Ära des Kalten Kriegs im Zeitraum der Jahre 1991 bis 2006. Erforscht wurden die ersten fünfzehn Jahre sicherheitspolitischer Interaktion der aufstrebenden Partner Europäische Union (EU) und Japan mit Hilfe herausgearbeiteter "drei Dimensionen". Die erste Dimension deckt seit 1991 den rein bilateralen Auf- und Ausbau institutioneller Strukturen mittels aktiver Gipfeldiplomatie auf höchster, nämlich der Ebene der Staats- und Regierungschefs ("Institutionelle Dimension") ab. In der zweiten Dimension wird die sich seit 1996 herauskristallisierende europäisch-ostasiatische interregionale Sicherheitskooperation ("Regionale Dimension") dargestellt, in deren Kontext wechselseitigem multilateralen Krisen- und Aufbauengagements Nippon sich als einer der größten Geber auf dem Westbalkan (Europas damals "brennender Hinterhof"), und im Gegenzug die EU sich als nicht minder gewichtiger Stabilitätsakteur in Nordkorea und Ost Timor (inklusive Aceh/Indonesien, Japans zu jener Zeit "bedrohlicher Krisenbogen") im Rahmen des "Cross Regional Support" bewährte. Die dritte Dimension etablierte sich seit der Millenniumswende im globalen multilateralen Kontext ("Globale Dimension"). Im Zuge des "Managing Global Order" wurde diesbezüglich u.a. in den geostrategisch wichtigen Krisenherden Sri Lanka und Afghanistan (Friedens- und Wiederaufbaudiplomatie) sowie sektoralen Zukuftsfeldern wie (vorlaufend) bei der Bewältigung der Asienfinanzkrise (globale Finanzstabilitätsdiplomatie), der Etablierung des Kernfusionsversuchsreaktors "ITER" (Diplomatie für künftige Energiesicherheit), der Umsetzung des Kyoto Protokolls (Weltklimadiplomatie) und des Internationalen Strafgerichtshofs (Diplomatie für Weltstrafgerichtsbarkeit und Menschenrechte) maßgeblich kooperiert, wenn nötig sogar ohne den beiderseitigen trilateralen Sicherheitsgaranten USA. Die Arbeit ist überdies eingebettet in einen historischen Kontext (1543-1945/90) europäisch- japanischem Werte- und Kulturaustauschs, dessen Fortsetzung im Ausblick der Arbeit mit Blick auf mögliche Varianten fortgeführter, mittel- bis langfristig ausgerichteter sicherheitsstrategischer Fundamentalkooperation (Stichwort "Vista-Verschiebung von Europa nach Ostasien" - Aufbauend auf Nippons direkter, maßgeblicher und nachhaltiger Föderung europäischer regionaler Integration im Zeiraum 1991 bis 2006 durch "Fittrimmen" des Balkans -wie auch anderer im Jahr 2004 beigetretener Staaten des einstigen Warschauer Pakts und des Baltikums- für einen künftigen EU-Beitritt: Welche Rollen für Japan und die EU bei der Schaffung einer Ostasiatischen Gemeinschaft ab 2006/11 im wirtschaftlich boomenden, sicherheitspolitisch jedoch stets auch fragilen Fernost?) anskizziert wurde. ; European Union - Japan. The strategic build-up of political relations in three dimensions : Studia Diplomatica 1991-2006: A review with outlook in a historical context The given German language PhD-thesis, supervised by Prof. Dr. Ludger Kuehnhardt (Head of the Center for European Integration Studies "ZEI", University of Bonn), co-supervised by Prof. Dr. Michael Reiterer (Head of the European Union Delegation to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, University of Innsbruck) and sponsored by the Canon Foundation in Europe (Amstelveen, the Netherlands), was thoroughly being dealt with from mid 2006 onward, officially submitted end of 2009 and -after successful oral examinations in mid 2010- published online end of 2010. The research covers European Union (EU) - Japan security diplomacy between 1991 and 2006, i.e. the era in international relations following suit the "cold war". Whilst focusing these initial 15 years on "forward, upward, onward together" striving for political interaction between Brussels and Tokyo, with help of "three dimensions" discovered, verifiable evidence was to finally be delivered that the given process had been a deliberate product of a mutually pursued systematic and strategic approach. Whereas the first dimension, focusing the uppermost top level of summit meetings of the heads of state and government, scrutinized the establishment and expansion of purely bilateral institutional structures ("Institutional Dimension") since 1991, within the second dimension a special focus had been placed on multilateral European-East Asian interregional cooperation ("Regional Dimension") shaping out since 1996 the interplay of crisis prevention- and development commitment by Japan as the world`s third biggest peace building donor in the Western Balkans (Europe`s these days burning backyard) and -in return- of the EU as a by no means less counting stability actor in North Korea and particularly in East Timor (including also successful peace diplomacy for Aceh/Indonesia: East Asia`s then most destabilizing crisis spots) within the frame of "Cross Regional Support". With the millennium turn and also propelled by the September 2001 terrorist attacks in the USA, the third dimension was born offering the stage for the meanwhile grown up security actors Brussels and Tokyo to proactively strive for roles of wider global stability and peace. In five researched upon significant fields of multilateral global cooperation ("Global Dimension"), both new strategic partners closely cooperated and remarkably succeeded inter alia in delicate areas and subjects of crisis within the framework of "Managing Global Order". Often, but not always (!) in accordance with both side`s trilateral security guarantor Washington, these were taking place in Sri Lanka and Afghanistan (geopolitical peace diplomacy) and also covered concerted and massive efforts to master security challenges such as tackling the Asian Financial Crisis 1997/98 (world financial stability diplomacy), establishing the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor "ITER" in France (future energy security diplomacy) and the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands (global criminal jurisdiction diplomacy), and finally pushed crucially for implementing the Kyoto-Protocol to help save the world´s climate (counter-global warming diplomacy). Framed in a historical context dating back some 400 to 450 years (1543-1945/90) linked with an outlook covering options for continued exchange of stability values between "East and West" (such as parliamentary democracy, balance of powers, rule of law, human and civil rights, market economy, free media and citizens` principles) in the future (shifting the security focus from Europe towards East-Asia, and centering from the year 2011 onward around the potential mid to long term build-up of an East-Asian Community with debatable roles of Tokyo and -community building experienced- Brussels as a lively and expected response to Nippon`s proactive Western Balkan peace building activities 1991-2006, which for its part had aimed to essentially and strongly help the "black sheep" of Europe to get -meanwhile each by each- mentally prepared and physically fit to join successfully the rules -and interests- based peace project and actor EU one day, like Nippon`s beforehand offered generous and strategic economic aid mainly to the former Warsaw Pact -and to some extent also Baltic- states promoting their final EU-accession in 2004), the PhD-thesis further attempted to answer the following key questions: 1) Who was the holder of ownership, the "driving force" behind the strategic build-up of political relations?, 2) have political dialogue and cooperation up to the year 2006 made the EU and Japan (starting out 1991 and labeled "nobody") finally arrive as credible political-security actors (individually as well as in partnership) on the stage of international relations?, 3) what was the proper share of the USA?, and 4) what were the results delivered by the continuous interplay of mutual perceptions displaying the grand lines of European-East Asian intercultural divides and conflict?

IntroductionWhen teaching social welfare policy, it is important to determine the ideological influences upon our policy choices and ability to rationalize those choices. We are able to do this by examining the history of a particular policy, comparing policies in different nations and by incorporating discourse and/or narrative analysis. This article is particularly useful in demonstrating the nature of discourse and the impact of ideology upon welfare reform in the United States. It may be incorporated in classes on discourse, however I have included an example of an abbreviated syllabi for a class in social welfare policy.Author RecommendsCassiman, Shawn A. 2006. 'Of Witches, Welfare Queens and the Disaster Named Poverty: The Search for a Counter‐Narrative.'Journal of Poverty 10: 51–66.This article critiques the explanatory frameworks associated with welfare receipt and draws attention to the gendered nature of the construction of welfare queens by drawing upon historical similarities in the treatment of witches. The conclusion argues that rather than evidence of individual fault, responsibility rests with society, as poverty is a "man" made disaster.Kissane, Rebecca Joyce and Richard Krebs 2007. 'Assessing Welfare Reform Over a Decade Later.'Sociology Compass 1/2: 789–813. DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-9020.2007.00029.xComparing the declines in welfare caseloads across states, or what is often articulated as welfare reform success, the authors draw attention to both improvements and challenges in the lives of welfare recipients and offer some policy recommendations.Lubiano, Wahneema 1992. 'Black Ladies, Welfare Queens and State Minstrels: Ideological Warfare by Narrative Means.' Pp. 323–63 in Raceing Justice, En‐Gendering Power: Essays on Anita Hill, Clarence Thomas, and the Construction of Social Reality, edited by Toni Morrison. New York, NY: Pantheon Books.This chapter draws attention to the gendered and racialized nature of the construct of welfare queens. The author argues that contemporary narratives are informed by the historical narratives associated with black women in the United States, with the 'welfare queen' the latest tale.McCormack, Karen 2004. 'Resisting the Welfare Mother: The Power of Welfare Discourse and Tactics of Resistance.'Critical Sociology 30: 355–83.McCormack draws attention to the discursive construction of the welfare mother while also identifying some of their tactics to resist negative constructions. She discovers that some women both resist and participate in the discourse, distancing themselves from 'others' in an effort to legitimate their need and demonstrate their deserving status.Schram, Sanford F. 2006. Welfare Discipline: Discourse, Governance, and Globalization. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.This text draws our attention to the global nature of the welfare discourse while offering a critique of globalization as the explanation for welfare state retrenchment. The author incorporates gender and race in his powerful critique of the trends in welfare states. He concludes by offering an alternative to the globalization argument in the form of compassionate liberalism.Online Materials:Sociology Eye, http://sociologycompass.wordpress.com/Institute for Research On Poverty, Current News: http://www.irp.wisc.edu/initiatives/outreach/dispatch/2009/03/dispatch03162009.htm Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign: http://www.economichumanrights.org/index.shtml Ten‐Year Anniversary of Welfare Reform: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=‐2235473050770963875&ei=xb‐‐SavrGo_‐qwK9_rT7Cw&q=welfare+reform&hl=en Discussion by Sharon Hays, author of Flat Broke With Children: Women in the Age of Welfare Reform (2003): http://www.researchchannel.org/prog/displayevent.aspx?fID=573&rID=3587 Sample Syllabus: Topics for Lecture & Discussion Weeks I & II: Introduction & Overview The History of Social Welfare Policy: From the English Poor Laws to the birth of the welfare state. Reading: Trattnor, Walter I. 1994. From Poor Law to Welfare State: A History of Social Welfare in the United States (5th ed.). New York, NY: Free Press. Weeks III & IV: Social Security and Housing Policies Weeks V–VII: Talking About Welfare Reform Readings: Week V‐Welfare reform arguments: Fraser, Nancy and Gordon, Linda 1994. 'A genealogy of dependency: Tracing a keyword of the welfare state.' Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 19: 309–336.And, Excerpts from:Ellwood, David T. 1989. Poor support: Poverty in the American family. New York, NY: Basic Books.Murray, Charles 1984. Losing Ground: American Social Policy from 1950–1980. New York, NY: Basic Books. Week VI: Life as a Single Mother on Welfare or in Low‐Wage Work Chapters 1, 2, 3, & 4 in Edin, Kathryn & Lein, Laura 1997. Making Ends Meet: How Single Mothers Survive Welfare and Low‐Wage Work. Thousand Oaks, CA: Russell Sage Foundation. Week VII: After Welfare Reform Cassiman, Shawn 2008. 'Resisting the Neo‐liberal Poverty Discourse: On Constructing Deadbeat Dads and Welfare Queens.'Sociology Compass 2/5: 1690–1700, DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-9020.2008.00159.xKissane, Rebecca Joyce and Richard Krebs 2007. 'Assessing Welfare Reform Over a Decade Later.'Sociology Compass 1/2: 789–813. DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-9020.2007.00029.xExcerpts from:Hays, Sharon 2003. Flat Broke With Children: Women in the Age of Welfare Reform. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Focus Questions
Some possible discussion questions:

How does ideology shape social welfare policy?
How does social welfare policy reflect ideological influences?
How do gender and race impact social welfare policy?
What is discourse?
How do we, as individuals, students, and scholars, contribute to the social welfare policy discourse?


Seminar/Project Idea:
Group Project: Counter‐narratives: on contributing to the discourse Drawing upon class readings, notes and current media, each group will critique an assumption (as represented discursively) about recipients of a social welfare policy; welfare, health care, housing, education, or unemployment. They will ground their work in the literature, paying particular attention to historical shifts in the discourse. Students will then identify how extreme economic 'events' contribute to (or provide opportunity for) shifts in discourse and/or policies of their choice. Finally, they will offer their own contribution to the discourse, based upon their critique and presented to the class through a PowerPoint presentation.Note
* Correspondence address: Shawn A. Cassiman, Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work, St. Joseph's Hall, Rm. 403, University of Dayton, 300 College Park, Dayton, OH 45469‐1442, USA. Email: cassima@notes.udayton.edu

Background of INCASI Project H2020-MSCA-RISE-2015 GA 691004. WP1: Compilation ; En la actualidad no existen estudios comparativos que midan de forma global la política social como input de los gobiernos. Una alternativa es la inclusión de diversos indicadores relevantes para la política social en un solo índice, que permita realizar un análisis estadístico y comparativo de diferentes países. El objetivo de este estudio es conocer la factibilidad de medir la política social basándonos en sus input y aplicando el Social Policy Index (SPI) en tres países de diferente régimen de bienestar social, estableciendo una comparación retrospectiva de la situación de las políticas sociales entre cada uno, considerando los años 2001 a 2010. Los resultados arrojan una coherencia entre el valor obtenido por el SPI y el contexto socioeconómico y político de cada país, y su clasificación en diferentes regímenes de bienestar, por lo cual es un índice que puede ser utilizado como herramienta de medición y comparación de políticas sociales. Introducción Desde 1990, la investigación en la política social comparada se ha enfocado en las formas en que los estados de bienestar nacionales se han visto afectados y cómo han respondido a la internacionalización económica e integración política, especialmente en los países Europeos (Clasen, 2007). Si deseamos evaluar la política social podemos dirigir las interrogantes a los outcomes o los inputs. En los primeros, nos centraríamos en el impacto que tienen las políticas y si estas cumplen con sus objetivos, respuestas que pueden ser encontradas a través de la implementación de programas sociales (por dar un ejemplo). En el segundo caso, cabe preguntarse ¿cuál es el esfuerzo que el/los Estados invierten en materia de políticas sociales? Y con ello apuntamos a conocer el esfuerzo basado en los inputs. Con este planteamiento surge la siguiente interrogante ¿podemos medir este esfuerzo? Las ciencias sociales carecen de un instrumento que permita cuantificar el esfuerzo por parte del Estado en la implementación de políticas sociales. Una alternativa sería la elaboración de un índice que comprendiera algunos aspectos relevantes para la política social y permitiera la categorización y posterior comparación entre diferentes países. Las razones para construir un índice, provienen de la necesidad de reunir en un solo indicador diversas variables que por sí solas no son capaces de ofrecer un retrato de la situación de las políticas sociales en cada país y por ende no son capaces de reflejar el esfuerzo (inputs) del Estado frente a la atención de diversos riesgos sociales. Una primera aproximación a la creación de un índice con estas características, la realiza Naren Prasad de United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (en adelante UNRISD), con la propuesta del Social Policy Index en 2006. Aún cuando no hay publicaciones científicas al respecto, la propuesta de este índice se configura como un primer paso para que tanto investigadores como organizaciones interesadas en continuar con esta propuesta, puedan utilizar la metodología sugerida. Por su parte, Garcés et. al realizan una primera aplicación del SPI el fin de evaluar si este cumplía con el objetivo propuesto por sus creadores. Para garantizar la disponibilidad de los datos, seleccionaron un país perteneciente a la OECD, Chile, y lo analizaron en tres diferentes períodos de tiempo con el fin de comprobar la efectividad del mismo. Los resultados mostraron una coherencia entre el desarrollo económico y social del país y las fluctuaciones del SPI, lo que llevó a concluir, que el índice puede llegar a ser una herramienta capaz de reflejar la situación de un país en materia de políticas sociales. Objetivos Sobre esta base y tras la primera aproximación a la aplicación del SPI, el objetivo de este estudio es conocer la factibilidad de medir la política social basándonos en el esfuerzo por parte del Gobierno aplicando el SPI en tres países de diferente régimen de bienestar social (España, Finlandia y México), estableciendo una comparación retrospectiva de la situación de las políticas sociales entre cada uno, considerando el período de tiempo que abarca 2001 a 2010. Objetivo General Realizar un análisis comparativo de la política social, basado en los inputs, en Finlandia, España y México, entre 2001 a 2010. Objetivo específico 1: Seleccionar indicadores socioeconómicos y de política social, en ámbitos como vivienda, salud, educación y seguridad social, y comparar la situación entre los tres países estudiados (análisis contextual). Objetivo específico 2: Aplicar el Social Policy Index (SPI), instrumento de medición y comparación de los input de la política social, a los tres países objeto de estudio, creando categorías que permitan clasificar el esfuerzo de gobierno en materia de políticas sociales. Para ello se requiere: - Determinar los valores mínimos y máximos en el universo de cuarenta países, por cada año considerado en el estudio en el período establecido, ponderar y agregar al SPI. - Establecer categorías que permitan la clasificación de los países de acuerdo al esfuerzo en materia de políticas sociales y comparar los resultados entre los tres países. - Contrastar la información obtenida por el Social Policy Index con otra sobre la política social y sus regímenes de bienestar elaborada en la descripción contextual de cada país. Preguntas de Investigación Pregunta de Investigación Nº1: ¿La descripción contextual de las políticas sociales en Finlandia, España y México, basadas en indicadores orientados en los inputs, reflejan las diferencias entre sus regímenes de bienestar? Pregunta de Investigación Nº2: ¿La aplicación del Social Policy Index en un período de tiempo que abarca diez años, refleja la situación de las políticas sociales en los tres países objeto de análisis? Instrumento El Social Policy Index SPI se centra en los inputs de la política social y no en los outcomes de la misma. Prasad (2005) sugiere utilizar elementos de la política fiscal, el régimen de seguridad social y la gobernanza (calidad institucional) junto con el gasto social, argumentando que el gasto actual en servicios como los mencionados, podría indicar las prioridades del gobierno en dichas áreas. A estas dimensiones se añade una quinta, el PIB per cápita utilizado por Garcés et al. (2012) que suele ser utilizado para estimar la riqueza económica de un país y por ello está estrechamente relacionado con la calidad de vida de la población. Los resultados de estas dimensiones son normalizados (min-max), luego se ponderan (pesos equiproporcionales 1/5) y se agregan a la fórmula del SPI: SPIit = β1Hit + β2Eit + β3HSit + β4SPW it + β5PPCit Tabla Nº 4: Dimensiones consideradas en el SPI Dimensión Variables Fórmula (si aplica) Gasto social Gasto social como % del PIB en educación, vivienda, salud y protección social. *SSIit =β1Hit +β2Eit +β3HSit +β4SPWit Tax policy Impuestos directos y total de impuestos como % del PIB. TaxI= DirectTaxation TotalTaxation Seguridad Social Puntuación relativa a la cobertura de la seguridad social según UNRISD y % del PIB en seguridad social. Media aritmética entre ambas variables. Gobernanza (calidad institucional) - Voice and accountability - Political stability - Government Efectiveness - Regulatory Quality - Rule of Law - Control of Corruption Media aritmética de las variables consideradas por el Worlwide Governance Indicators (WGI) PIB per cápita PIB per cápita en US dollars Logaritmo del PIB per cápita en US dollars *H= Health, E= Education, HS= Housing and Sanitation, SPW= Social Protection and Welfare. Fuente: Elaboración propia (2014) Debido a que en el estudio sólo se analizan tres países, no se persigue establecer un ranking - que sería más adecuado si la muestra de países fuese más amplia- sino ofrecer una categorización de los resultados. La puntuación va de 0 a 1 y las categorías son las siguientes: SPI muy bajo: 0 - 0,299, SPI bajo: 0,25 - 0,499, SPI medio: 0,5 - 0,749, SPI alto: 0,75 - 1 Resultados Finlandia durante todo el período se mantiene sobre los 0,775 puntos, España 0,611, y México no supera los 0,327. Estos resultados demuestran las diferencias existentes entre los tres países estudiados considerando el esfuerzo por parte del gobierno en la implementación de políticas sociales. Existe una coherencia entre el valor obtenido por el SPI y el contexto socioeconómico y político de cada país, y su clasificación en diferentes regímenes de bienestar, por lo cual es un índice que puede ser utilizado como herramienta de medición y comparación de políticas sociales. Conclusiones Algunas de las limitaciones del estudio se deben a la elección de los períodos, que tuvieron que adaptarse a la disponibilidad de los datos y a las fuentes que los contienen, impidiendo realizar una aplicación del SPI a periodos temporales mayores o a un mayor número de países. Otro punto a considerar sería el peso dado a cada uno de las dimensiones, si variamos este peso podríamos ajustar mejor el SPI. Para ello sería necesario realizar estudios comparativos con un mayor número de países. No obstante, consideramos que el estudio presentado contribuye al desarrollo de la investigación comparada entre países del continente europeo y Latinoamérica, al ser este un campo poco explorado debido a la falta de una identidad definida para la política social en muchos países en desarrollo y (según la mayoría de los casos), su subordinación a la política económica, lo que ha inhibido la expansión de la investigación de la comparación a un nivel cross-national (Kennett & Oakley, 2001) al menos entre ambos contextos.

In October this year, Science published a journalistic investigation into quality of peer review in open access journals [1]. The results were sobering. Around 60% of all journals accepted to publish a research paper with most obvious and basic mistakes - in fact the whole paper, its data, authors and their affiliations were entirely made up by the journalist, John Bohannon, to expose poor peer review. The article has provoked a lot of media attention as well as a backlash from open-access publishers and supporters, who called it unethical, unsound and even accused the journalist of being racist (for making up authors with African names). But regardless of the criticisms, the paper's surprising findings stand and should be a cause of grave concern for science and science publishing: it shows that many - if not most - open access journals do not have a strict enough editorial and peer review process to catch poor research and flawed papers. The article intrigued me especially, as I commissioned a similar feature article for the website where I edit new and feature, SciDev.Net, which we published earlier this year [2]. I also had the idea of sending out fake and flawed papers to catch 'bad journals' who accept it, but the time and money needed to do this meant we ended up skipping the investigative part, and we based our article only on reporting interviews with people affected. The key findings were that this is a global problem with some journals prey on researchers going for their money but not providing proper peer review, and that pressure to publish draws scientists, especially in developing countries, to publish in such journals. Experts suggested investigation and regulation is needed to ensure proper peer review, but there was little indication that this regulation will happen any time soon. Another key reason for not sending out fake papers were concerns over how to do this ethically and legally - in fact, the prospects of being sued by journals or their publishers for even talking about this issue meant that we had to be extra careful and run the article by media lawyers, as well as amend some sections and still accept some risk of being sued. Bohannon, in his recent interview with The Scholarly Kitchen blog, says his investigation, too, was initially held back by an editor who feared a lawsuit [3]. And here's the thing: there is a huge number of journals and publishers out there doing a poor job indeed, publishing suspect science and some charging scientists money for it, and yet this is not illegal - and there is no national or international body that can order such journals to shut down. What they do is bad for science, good for publishers who make money off it and even good for some scientists who choose to publish there simply not to perish - rather than having any significant findings to communicate, and yet it is not against any law to do so. Yet journalists wanting to report on this issue fear being sued and are being held back from even investigating the issue. This is why I think Science's article is so important: it was brave enough to investigate this issue and expose bad practice even though the prospect of a lawsuit was very real along the way [3]. This is what real journalism is about: telling stories that someone somewhere does not want you to tell; and seeing it done in science, where we rarely have investigative stories is especially satisfying. And even after this expose there may be no consequences for most of the journals and publishers. Indeed, apart form InTech's (Rijeka-based publisher) International Journal of Integrative Medicine, which closed down as I reported at Retraction Watch blog [4], Bohannon says he is not aware of any other closures [3]. In the legal void in which anyone can set up a 'scientific journal' online and start charging scientists for 'publishing' there it is up to national and international grant giving bodies and funders to act to exclude journals with poor peer review from being accepted in scientists grant, job and promotion applications. Science's investigation included most - or all, as Bohannon claims - of open access publishers that publish in English and in sciences (such as biology, medicine, chemistry), targeting 304 journals many of which were listed in Directory of Open Access Journals, and some, tellingly, in Beall's List of predatory publishers. This left out thousands of journals that publish in local languages, including many in our region of South-East Europe. Croatia alone, has 343 academic journals listed on the central portal of Croatian scientific journals - Hrčak [5]. Most of these are open access and funded by the government, yet scientists often criticise many of them for being a waste of public money and dumps for bad science that cannot be published in better international journals [6]. Quality of peer review, especially in domestic language is also brought into question [6]. Similarly, in Serbia, SCIndeks lists 411 academic journals [7]. Yet, Centre for Evaluation in Education and Science, which runs the index together with National Library of Serbia, found recently that up to 11% of all articles published there contained some sort of plagiarism [8]. The centre itself admitted later that "after about one-year time we have to admit that the expected response by journal editors is still missing" and itself it only excluded two of the biggest culprits out of SCIndeks [9]. Similarly, my own journalistic investigation into what how, if at all, plagiarised papers are then retracted from journals in Serbia [10] and Croatia [11] shows a lack of standard practices and wide variation in retraction practices - often not following internationally accepted guidance, such as those set by COPE. If journals fail to detect plagiarism, which is a routine procedure these days, one wonders what the state of peer review and detection of other forms of misconduct may be. Indeed, a more recent study by the same centre found what is calls"a citation cartel created for manipulative purposes by two predatory journals" published by a publisher based in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but where many Serbian researchers regularly publish, in what the study called a cartel (i.e. scientists know they are doing a bad thing, paying public money to publish in their friends' journals, and citing other studies in those journals to artificially boost their impact factors) [12]. What these examples highlight is that by no means has the publishing misconduct - or at least suspect practices - bypassed our region. In fact, small scientific communities, peer review in local languages, and lack of publishing and scientific expertise are all likely to exacerbate the problems in conducting proper peer review in small and local journals. Indeed, out of five journals in the former Yugoslavia, which Bohannon targeted, only one - the journal you are reading - has recognized the problems with the fake paper and decided to reject it. The other four: International Journal of Integrative Medicine (In Tech, Croatia), Journal of Plant Biology Research (International Network for Applied Sciences and Technology, BH), Acta Facultatis Medicae Naisensis (Medical Faculty of University of Niš, Serbia), and Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences (Institute of Immunobiology and Human Genetics in Skopje, Macedonia) all accepted it and if this was not a journalistic investigation they could have all be by now had published similar fake papers. When asked about this case, the editorial offices of the Journal of Plant Biology Research and Acta Facultatis Medicae Naisensis did not reply to my e-mails, which is discouraging. It shows how little transparency some journals are prepared to have in their work, and to what extent they can simply ignore such exposes by even the venerable Sciencemagazine. The answers I received from the other three journals' editorial offices shine some light on the issues in the region [13]. Editor of the Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences, Professor Mirko Spiroski, PhD, MD, told me his editorial team and peer reviewers did not have expertise in the field the fake article was in, and after seeking ten peer reviews and only receiving one back (a single line review), they decided to accept the paper nevertheless. InTech basically said they gave their appointed scientific editors, who were not part of the firm, full freedom in peer review and then blamed the mistake on them. This shows a lack of in-house expertise in some journals and a worrying degree of relying on outside editors or peer reviewers with little oversight to make the decisions on whether to publish a paper or not. In contrast, the editors of this journal, Professor Bakir Mehić, PhD, MD and AminaValjevac, PhD, MD highlighted the value of in-house pre-review check of papers, before sending them out to peer reviewers. As the world continues to debate the merits of, and potentially better ways of doing, peer review (e.g. post-publication peer review, Peerage of Science's or LIBRE's community peer review before it reaches journals), we should take care to ensure proper peer review in our journal now. It is not rocket science and it has worked for centuries now. And national bodies and funders should recognize good practice and reward hard-working and ethical editorial offices to stimulate excellence and better peer review, while at the same time punishing the misconduct and being quicker and more proactive in striking off known offenders off citation indices and lists of journals accepted for official grants and job promotions.

[eng] International relations can be reviewed from different perspectives. One of them is through culture. In general, a lecture and an analysis of it from this specific point of view has been neglected, attracting much less attention comparing to other issues, like the political science, the international law, or the economics. The cultural perspective offers a mirror of the reality and can contribute to a better understanding of the external relations and on what is happening at other levels, usually considered as more relevant in the foreign policies and the traditional diplomacy, like politics, trade and commerce, or military issues. At the same time, this cultural perspective needs a transversal focus to offer a real insight and overview of the actual scope, due to the multifaceted feature of culture considered in its broad approach. The international presence and the role of culture within the bilateral relations is conditioned by the definition of the external cultural policies and the priorities and strategies in its bilateral relations with third countries. Sometimes the external cultural policies can have a close link with the internal cultural policies as well, being a projection of the internal priorities in the international context. The institutional structure and the competences of the different institutions can also influence in the role of culture in the bilateral relations of a specific country. Aside of that, there are other relevant factors that can be determinant in the bilateral relations, like the historical background or the bilateral political and commercial relations, among others. Culture in the context of the international relations and cooperation between Europe and Egypt includes from the institutional level, the bilateral and multilateral relations of the European Union, and its 28 Member States at an individual level as well. Otherwise, some of these European countries have had a long presence during the colonialist period, maintain historical ties, or have economic interests in Egypt. Within this framework, the different cultural policies are embedded in the external actions of the bilateral cultural relations and cooperation, where the cultural projection is a component of the public diplomacy as a form of soft power. The present research has as primary objective to get a deep inside of the bilateral relations, and the identification of some quantitative indicators and qualitative aspects of the European bilateral relations from the public sector, and makes a detailed analysis of which is the present situation of culture in the context of the international relations with a strategic country of the Arab world like Egypt. Getting an insight into the different facts, parameters and indicators allows to identify the different exogenous and endogenous factors which can have a determinant role, jointly with the explicit and implicit objectives, and other elements to consider, including priorities, strategies, instruments and activities. Actions taken into consideration are those from the European Union, and some of its Member States, which are reviewed and compared in a systematic way. This research takes as case study five of the European countries, the most populated of the European Union, and several specific fields. It starts checking the way how each individual country is presenting its external cultural policy in the official web, and followed by the cultural bilateral relations with Egypt. Then it is verified the role of the national cultural institutes, the archaeological cooperation, the higher education, the research and scientific cooperation, the presence of culture in the cooperation to development and the media. Finally it is revised the European Union's cultural presence through actions and initiatives in Egypt, and checked how the individual cultural bilateral relations of the selected countries fit together with them. The result offers a broad and comprehensive perspective of the presence of culture in international relations and cooperation in the particular case of Egypt. The analysis carried out allows concluding an insufficiently structured place of culture in the European external relations and cooperation with Egypt, the missed coordination among the different actors involved, the individual interests, and some incoherencies as well. ; [cat] Les relacions internacionals poden ser examinades des de diferents perspectives. Una d'elles es des de la cultura. En general, una lectura i un anàlisi d'aquest punt de vista específic ha estat oblidat, i ha atret molta menys atenció comparat amb altres temes com són els temes polítics, el dret internacional o els econòmics. La perspectiva cultural ofereix un mirall on es reflexa la realitat, que pot contribuir a un millor enteniment de les relacions exteriors i sobre el que succeeix a altres nivells, normalment considerats com a més rellevants dins de la política exterior i la diplomàcia tradicional, com són els temes polítics, comercials o militars. Al mateix temps, aquesta perspectiva cultural necessita una mirada transversal per poder oferir una mirada profunda i al mateix temps global de la actual abast del tema, ja que abraça diferents àmbits de la cultura, que en aquest cas és considerada en la seva aproximació més amplia. La presència internacional i el rol de la cultura a les relacions bilaterals està condicionada per la definició de les polítiques culturals exteriors i de les prioritats i estratègies en les seves relacions bilaterals amb països tercers. De vegades les polítiques culturals externes poden tenir un vincle estret amb les polítiques culturals internes, sent una projecció de les prioritats internes en el context internacional. L'estructura institucional i les competències de les diferents institucions poden també tenir una influència en el rol de la cultura en les relacions bilaterals d'un país concret. A part d'això, hi ha altres factors rellevants que poden ser determinants de les relacions bilaterals, com són els antecedents històrics o les relacions bilaterals polítiques i comercials, entre d'altres. La cultura en el context de les relacions internacionals i la cooperació entre Europa i Egipte inclou des del punt institucional les relacions bilaterals i multilaterals de la Unió Europea, així com les dels seus 28 estats membres a nivell individual. Per altre banda, alguns d'aquests països europeus han tingut una llarga presència durant el període colonial, mantenen vincles històrics, o tenen interessos econòmics a Egipte. En aquest marc, les diferents polítiques culturals estan encaixades en les accions exteriors de les relacions culturals bilaterals i de la cooperació, on la projecció cultural és un component de la diplomàcia pública com a forma de soft power. La recerca té com a principal objectiu aprofundir sobre les relacions bilaterals, i la identificació d'alguns dels indicadors quantitatius i aspectes qualitatius de les relacions bilaterals des del sector públic, i fer un anàlisis detallat sobre quina és la situació present de la cultura en el context de les relacions internacional amb un país estratègic del món àrab com és Egipte. Aquest aprofundiment en els diferents factors, paràmetres i indicadors permet identificar els diferents factors exògens i endògens que poden ser determinants, juntament amb els objectius explícits i implícits, i altres aspectes que s'han de considerar, com les prioritats, estratègies, instruments, i activitats. Les accions que es prenen en consideració són les de la Unió Europea, i d'alguns dels seus estats membres, que són revisades i comparades d'una manera sistemàtica. Aquest treball agafa com a estudi de cas a Egipte, i també analitza a cinc països europeus, els cinc més poblats de la Unió Europea, i alguns dels camps culturals específics. Com a marc general es comença per veure la manera com cada un d'aquests països individuals presenta la seva política cultural exterior a les pàgines webs oficials, i es continua amb les relacions culturals bilaterals amb Egipte. Després es verifica el rol dels instituts nacionals de cultura, la cooperació arqueològica, l'educació universitària, la investigació i la cooperació científica, la presencia de la cultura a la cooperació al desenvolupament, i els media. Finalment es revisa la presencia cultural de la Unió Europea mitjançant les accions i les iniciatives a Egipte, i com les relacions culturals bilaterals individuals dels països seleccionats hi encaixen. El resultat ofereix una perspectiva àmplia i comprensiva de la presencia de la cultura a les relacions internacionals i la cooperació en aquest cas particular d'Egipte. L'anàlisi que s'ha portat a terme permet concloure que la cultura té un lloc insuficientment estructurat a les relacions exteriors europees amb Egipte, l'absència de coordinació entre els diferents actors involucrats, els interessos individuals, així com algunes incoherències. ; [spa] Las relaciones internacionales pueden ser examinadas desde diferentes perspectivas, una de ellas es desde la cultura. En general una lectura y un análisis desde este específico punto de vista ha sido dejado de lado, atrayendo mucha menos atención en comparación con otros temas, como las ciencias políticas, el derecho internacional, o la economía. La perspectiva cultural ofrece un espejo donde se refleja la realidad, y que puede contribuir a una mejor compresión de las relaciones exteriores y sobre lo que sucede a otros niveles normalmente considerados como más relevantes en las relaciones exteriores y la diplomacia tradicional, como son los temas políticos, de comercio internacional o los temas militares. Al mismo tiempo esta perspectiva cultural necesita un enfoque transversal para ofrecer una visión detallada y al mismo tiempo global para conocer su alcance real, debido al carácter multidisciplinar de la cultura, considerada en su amplia aproximación. La presencia internacional y el rol de la cultura en las relaciones bilaterales están condicionados por la definición de las políticas culturales exteriores, además de las prioridades y estrategias en las relaciones bilaterales con países terceros. Por otro lado, frecuentemente las políticas culturales exteriores pueden tener vínculos estrechos con las políticas culturales a nivel nacional, siendo una proyección de las prioridades internas en el contexto internacional. La estructura institucional y las competencias de las diferentes instituciones públicas también pueden influenciar en el rol de la cultura en las relaciones bilaterales de un determinado país. Además de ello, también hay otros factores relevantes que pueden determinar las relaciones bilaterales, como los antecedentes históricos o las relaciones bilaterales políticas y comerciales, entre otras. La cultura en el contexto de las relaciones internacionales y la cooperación entre Europa y Egipto incluye, a nivel institucional, las relaciones bilaterales y multilaterales de la Unión Europea, así como sus 28 estados miembros a nivel individual. Además de ello, algunos de estos países europeos han tenido un larga presencia durante el periodo colonial, mantienen lazos históricos, o tienen intereses económicos en Egipto. Dentro de este marco las diferentes políticas culturales se encuentran incluidas en las acciones exteriores de las relaciones culturales bilaterales y la cooperación, donde la proyección cultural es uno de los componentes de la diplomacia pública como una forma de soft power. La presente investigación tiene como principal objetivo profundizar en las relaciones bilaterales y la identificación de indicadores centrados en diversos aspectos cuantitativos y cualitativos de las relaciones bilaterales europeas desde el sector público, y analiza en detalle sobre cuál es la situación presente de la cultural en el contexto de las relaciones internacionales con un país estratégico del mundo árabe como es Egipto. Esta profundización de los diferentes factores, parámetros y indicadores permite identificar los diferentes factores exógenos y endógenos que tienen un rol determinante, juntamente con los objetivos explícito se implícitos, y otros elementos que se deben considerar como son las prioridades, las estrategias, instrumentos y actividades culturales. Las acciones consideradas son las de la Unión Europea y las de algunos de sus estados miembros, la cuales son revisadas y comparadas de forma sistemática. Esta investigación se centra en el estudio de case de cinco países europeos, los cinco estados miembros de la Unión Europea más poblados, y en diferentes campos específicos. Se inicia supervisando la forma como cada país individualmente presenta su política cultural exterior en sus páginas web oficiales, seguido por una revisión de las relaciones culturales bilaterales con Egipto. Luego en diferentes capítulos se verifica el rol de los centros culturales nacionales, la cooperación arqueológica, la educación universitaria, la investigación y la cooperación científica, la presencia de la cultura en la cooperación al desarrollo, y los media. Finalmente se analiza la presencia cultural de la Unión Europea en Egipto a través de diferentes acciones e iniciativas, y como las relaciones culturales bilaterales de los países europeos seleccionados encajan con ellas. El resultado obtenido ofrece una amplia y comprensiva perspectiva sobre cuál es la presencia de la cultura en las relaciones internacionales y la cooperación en el caso particular de Egipto. El análisis llevado a cabo permite concluir un lugar insuficientemente estructurado de la cultura en las relaciones exteriores europeas con Egipto, la falta de coordinación entre los diferentes actores involucrados, los intereses individuales, así como algunas incoherencias.

The module was administered as a post-election interview. The resulting data are provided along with voting, demographic, district and macro variables in a single dataset. CSES Variable List The list of variables is being provided on the CSES Website to help in understanding what content is available from CSES, and to compare the content available in each module. Themes: MICRO-LEVEL DATA: Identification and study administration variables: weighting factors; election type; date of election 1st and 2nd round; study timing (post-election study, pre-election and post-election study, between rounds of majoritarian election); mode of interview; gender of interviewer; date questionnaire administered; primary electoral district of respondent; number of days the interview was conducted after the election; language of questionnaire. Demography: year and month of birth; gender; education; marital status; union membership; union membership of others in household; business association membership, farmers´ association membership; professional association membership; current employment status; main occupation; socio economic status; employment type - public or private; industrial sector; current employment status, occupation, socio economic status, employment type - public or private, and industrial sector of spouse; household income; number of persons in household; number of children in household under the age of 18; number of children in household under the age of 6; attendance at religious services; religiosity; religious denomination; language usually spoken at home; region of residence; race; ethnicity; rural or urban residence; primary electoral district; country of birth; year arrived in current country. Survey variables: perception of public expenditure on health, education, unemployment benefits, defense, old-age pensions, business and industry, police and law enforcement, welfare benefits; perception of improving individual standard of living, state of economy, government's action on income inequality; respondent cast a ballot at the current and the previous election; vote choice (presidential, lower house and upper house elections) at the current and the previous election; respondent cast candidate preference vote at the current and the previous election; difference who is in power and who people vote for; sympathy scale for selected parties and political leaders; assessment of parties on the left-right-scale and/or an alternative scale; self-assessment on a left-right-scale and an optional scale; satisfaction with democracy; party identification; intensity of party identification, institutional and personal contact in the electoral campaigning, in person, by mail, phone, text message, email or social networks, institutional contact by whom; political information questions; expected development of household income in the next twelve month; ownership of residence, business or property or farm or livestock, stocks or bonds, savings; likelihood to find another job within the next twelve month; spouse likelihood to find another job within the next twelve month. DISTRICT-LEVEL DATA: number of seats contested in electoral district; number of candidates; number of party lists; percent vote of different parties; official voter turnout in electoral district. MACRO-LEVEL DATA: election outcomes by parties in current (lower house/upper house) legislative election; percent of seats in lower house received by parties in current lower house/upper house election; percent of seats in upper house received by parties in current lower house/upper house election; percent of votes received by presidential candidate of parties in current elections; electoral turnout; party of the president and the prime minister before and after the election; number of portfolios held by each party in cabinet, prior to and after the most recent election; size of the cabinet after the most recent election; number of parties participating in election; ideological families of parties; left-right position of parties assigned by experts and alternative dimensions; most salient factors in the election; fairness of the election; formal complaints against national level results; election irregularities reported; scheduled and held date of election; irregularities of election date; extent of election violence and post-election violence; geographic concentration of violence; post-election protest; electoral alliances permitted during the election campaign; existing electoral alliances; requirements for joint party lists; possibility of apparentement and types of apparentement agreements; multi-party endorsements on ballot; votes cast; voting procedure; voting rounds; party lists close, open, or flexible; transferable votes; cumulated votes if more than one can be cast; compulsory voting; party threshold; unit for the threshold; freedom house rating; democracy-autocracy polity IV rating; age of the current regime; regime: type of executive; number of months since last lower house and last presidential election; electoral formula for presidential elections; electoral formula in all electoral tiers (majoritarian, proportional or mixed); for lower and upper houses was coded: number of electoral segments; linked electoral segments; dependent formulae in mixed systems; subtypes of mixed electoral systems; district magnitude (number of members elected from each district); number of secondary and tertiary electoral districts; fused vote; size of the lower house; GDP growth (annual percent); GDP per capita; inflation, GDP Deflator (annual percent); Human development index; total population; total unemployment; TI corruption perception index; international migrant stock and net migration rate; general government final consumption expenditure; public spending on education; health expenditure; military expenditure; central government debt; Gini index; internet users per 100 inhabitants; mobile phone subscriptions per 100 inhabitants; fixed telephone lines per 100 inhabitants; daily newspapers; constitutional federal structure; number of legislative chambers; electoral results data available; effective number of electoral and parliamentary parties.

Si existe una actividad especialmente crítica a la hora de hablar de siniestralidad laboral, ésta es la del sector de la construcción. Condicionantes como la deficiente formación en prevención de riesgos de muchos de los agentes que intervienen en el proceso constructivo, la subcontratación en cadena de servicios y obras, o la inestabilidad y la temporalidad del trabajo inciden fatídicamente en unos índices que, pese a haber descendido en los últimos años, siguen estando muy por encima de la media de otros sectores económicos. Una adecuada regulación normativa, sencilla de entender y de una aplicación práctica y eficaz, acompañada de compromisos formales entre empresarios, Administración y representantes de los trabajadores y la aplicación definitiva de procesos de integración de la prevención de riesgos en la propia cultura de las organizaciones empresariales, permitiría reducir significativamente estos niveles de siniestralidad, inadmisibles en una sociedad moderna. Con el presente trabajo se intenta aportar una visión general sobre la normativa aplicable en el sector de la construcción, incidiendo particularmente en tres puntos esenciales: 1-Por un lado, en el análisis jurídico de lo que se ha venido en llamar los "agentes de la edificación" a través del análisis de sus responsabilidades, conceptos, competencias y perfiles profesionales. Sujetos como el promotor, el coordinador, los contratistas, los directores de obra o los autónomos son analizados a la luz de las opiniones doctrinales más relevantes y de la nutrida jurisprudencia existente al respecto. 2-En segundo lugar se analiza, por su relevante impacto en este sector productivo, la problemática de la subcontratación como manifestación de un proceso de descentralización productiva que se da cada vez con más frecuencia en el sector, con los consiguientes problemas que ello implica en cuanto al desplazamiento de los riesgos desde las empresas más fuertes hacia las empresas situadas al final de "la cadena". Concretamente se tratan sistemáticamente las siguientes cuestiones: el necesario control del cumplimiento de las obligaciones en materia de prevención por parte de las distintas empresas subcontratadas; los distintos niveles de subcontratación; las cuestiones que afectan a la necesaria formación de las empresas intervinientes; el papel de la negociación colectiva y el reforzamiento de los mecanismos de participación de los trabajadores. 3-En tercer lugar, y en atención a su gran trascendencia jurídica, es objeto de tratamiento la obligada coordinación de actividades empresariales. Dicha coordinación se hace especialmente necesaria en un entorno en el que, precisamente por el uso sistemático de la subcontratación, es habitual la confluencia de distintos sujetos y actividades dependientes de distintas empresas en un mismo centro de trabajo y una actuación incorrecta o negligente de alguno de los sujetos participantes, o la falta de planificación de su empresa puede causar daños al resto de los trabajadores implicados en la actividad. 4. Finalmente se analiza, por su relevancia y máximo interés, la figura de las Administraciones Públicas en su papel de promotores de la obra pública. Dado que dichas Administraciones no se limitan a ser los receptores de las obras licitadas y ejecutadas por empresas privadas, sino que asumen también el papel de promotores, se examinan las consecuencias legales que ello conlleva en estas circunstancias especialmente complejas, pues en este doble papel, no sólo están obligados a fundamentar sus decisiones y actuaciones al amparo de la normativa contractual que le es de aplicación, sino también de todo el conjunto normativo de naturaleza civil y laboral aplicable a cualquier promotor privado. Para cumplir con estos objetivos se ha optado por realizar un trabajo eminentemente teórico sobre la base de una tarea de investigación comenzando con lo más general y descendiendo a lo más particular y concreto; a partir de un esquema o índice inicial, basado en los contenidos de otros manuales relacionados con la materia, se ha ido desarrollando su contenido con el apoyo de artículos procedentes de diversas fuentes como son las Universidades, revistas especializadas, manuales, libros, bases de datos existentes en la red y, sobre todo, la jurisprudencia tanto de la jurisdicción social como administrativa. En particular, en numerosas ocasiones, la localización de algún artículo o apartado especialmente interesante y que entraba de lleno en la materia tratada, nos ha permitido seguir esa línea de investigación, aprovechando las referencias existentes de otros autores, sentencias o comentarios y consiguiendo así una visión más completa y reforzada de la cuestión en concreto; ello ha supuesto conseguir, en nuestra opinión, un trabajo de estudio completo, fundamentado y contrastado con las opiniones más solventes. Finalmente, esta línea de actuación o metodología nos ha permitido llegar a unas conclusiones válidas que abren para el fututo nuevas opciones de estudio e investigación empezando por la necesaria simplificación y racionalización del conjunto de normas existentes en esta materia de la prevención de riesgos laborales, normas que en atención a su diversa procedencia o complejidad a veces se convierten más en un problema que en una solución. Por otro lado, la necesaria formación profesional de los diferentes agentes que intervienen en el proceso de la edificación, profundizar en la coordinación de actividades en el mismo centro de trabajo, así como reforzar los mecanismos de control de la subcontratación y de la participación de las Administraciones públicas en su condición de promotores de la obra pública, son algunas de las conclusiones que se derivan del presente trabajo. If there is a particularly critical area which is worth mentioning when discussing workplace accidents, it certainly is the construction sector. Determining factors such as a poor risk-prevention training affecting many of the actors involved in the building process, systematic outsourcing of specific tasks and services, or the endemic short-term nature and labour instability affecting the sector have a fateful bearing on accident rates which, despite having declined in recent years, still remain well above the average of other economic sectors. Reducing this unacceptable indexes would involve the implementation of a proper legal regulation, easy to understand, practical and feasible, along with formal commitments between Government, employers and workers representatives, but above all, it would require a definitive integration of occupational risk-prevention principles in the business organization culture. This paper attempts to offer an overview on the applicable regulations concerning the construction industry, focusing particularly on three key issues: 1- Firstly, on the legal analysis of what has been called the "building process agents": developers, coordinators, contractors, self-employed workers… We discuss the different concepts as well as their individual responsibilities, skills and professional profiles, but focusing mainly on their legal status, specifically in the light of the most relevant doctrinal opinions and abundant case law on the matter. 2-Secondly, outsourcing is analyzed. Its relevance is hardly disputable in a scenario in which more and more often big, strong companies divert responsibilities to small firms "at the end of the chain". Specifically, the following issues are discussed: the need to monitor compliance with prevention legislation by the various subcontractors; the different levels of outsourcing; the necessary training of the companies involved; the role of collective bargaining; and the need to strengthen workers participation mechanisms. 3-And thirdly, considering its major legal importance, we analyze the question of coordination between the different agents relevant to the building process. Such coordination is especially necessary in an environment in which, precisely because of the systematic use of subcontracting, it is not unusual the confluence in the same workplace of different subjects from different companies, an environment in which incorrect or negligent actions from any of the participants, or poor planning from any of the different managements involved might cause damage to the rest of the workers. 4.- Finally, we discuss Public Administrations, their role as promoters of public work. Since these authorities are not only the recipients of works executed by external, private companies, but also take on the role of promoters, we consider the legal consequences that this double capacity entails. A particularly complex task, since they are forced to take into account both public work contracting normative and civil common law, as well as labour regulation. In order to achieve these objectives, an eminently theoretical research has been chosen starting with the most general and getting to the most specific and concrete. Stemming from an initial scheme based on other subject-related manuals, its contents have been developed with the support of articles from different sources such as universities, specialized magazines, manuals, books, databases and, above all, both social and administrative jurisprudence. Some particularly interesting articles on the issue have let us carried on with this line of research taking advantage of other authors' references, sentences or comments leading us to a more complete and reinforced sight of the question. In our opinion, we have been able to make a serious survey, well-founded and verified by trustworthy opinions. Finally, this methodology let us get to some valid conclusions which open future new options of study and investigation starting from the necessary simplification and rationalization of the existing rules concerning occupational hazard prevention. These rules sometimes become part of the problem because of their different origins and complexity. Some of the conclusions derived from the present work are the necessary professional training of the different agents involved in the building process, to deepen in the coordination of activities at the workplace itself as well as the reinforcement of the mechanisms which control outsourcing and the participation of Public Administrations as promoters of public work.