Suchergebnisse

Abstract
This essay employs the land register of a late nineteenth-century Hindi census conducted in the princely state of Marwar (Rajasthan) to examine the durability of the tax-free (sasan) land grant regime over the course of three centuries. It evaluates the privilege sasan grants inured on their holders until the mid-twentieth century, when a series of a structural land reforms all but overnight changed the ways in which grant holders and their kin interacted with land and state authorities. The essay reads processes of land grant donation and maintenance across a wide social, economic, and ecological spectrum. In so doing, it challenges historiographical assumptions of religion as a fundamental grant donation motive in the region, as well as the idea that land relations were primarily defined by revenue extraction in early modern and colonial north India.

Gerrymandering is a political tool that snuck its way into Virginia politics long ago. It has become problematic over time, threatening true democracy in the Commonwealth. This article outlines what those problems are, how other states reacted to similar issues, and what Virginia politicians have done to respond to gerrymandering. It offers proposed solutions to the issues, and calls upon the Virginia General Assembly and elected governor to take action.

"This book is a collection of essays showcasing cutting-edge research and innovative approaches that a new generation of scholars is bringing to the study of immigration in the American West. Often overlooked in general studies of immigration, the western United States has been and is an important destination for immigrants. The unique combination of ethnicities and races in the West, combined with political and economic peculiarities, has given the region an immigration narrative that departs significantly from that of the East and Midwest. This volume explores facets of this narrative with case studies that reveal how immigration in the American West has influenced the region's development culturally, economically, socially, and politically. Contributors offer historical narrative and theory to illuminate factors that have galvanized immigration and the ways that agency, cultural resources, institutions, and societal attitudes have shaped immigrant experiences. With chapters written by scholars from multiple fields, the book's interdisciplinary framework will make it of interest to readers from a variety of backgrounds"--

Municipal governments' efforts in preparing for possible terrorist events are critical to effective homeland security. Using data gathered from a nationwide sample of municipal officials, the authors identify determinants of homeland security preparedness in U.S. cities, across several attitudinal and behavioral indicators. The authors find that perceptions of terror threat vulnerability and response capacity are tied to factors such as city size and budgetary constraints. Perhaps more important, the authors show that administrative capacity demonstrates consistent explanatory power for both perceived policy commitment and specific preparedness actions. From these analyses, the authors outline several key policy implications for homeland security policy making.