Suchergebnisse

Two logical problems appear to have impeded the development of an integrative understanding of international and foreign policy phenomena. The first has to do with the potential for foreign policy substitutability: through time and across space, similar factors could plausibly be expected to trigger different foreign policy acts. The second concerns the potential existence of "sometimes true," domain-specific laws. It is the logical opposite of the substitution problem, suggesting that different processes could plausibly be expected to lead to similar results. Neither problem appears to be well understood in the current literature; if anything, both are ignored. Nevertheless, they are potentially important. Together, they suggest that scholars who are interested in developing a cumulative base of integrative knowledge about foreign policy and international relations phenomena need to rethink both their focus on middle-range theory and their application of the standard approaches. We recommend reconsideration of some of the "grand" theoretical approaches found in the "traditional" literature. A new synthesis of tradition and science and of grand, middle, and narrow approaches appears to be needed. Finally, in contrast to the arguments of proponents of a systems-level approach, we argue that the most fruitful avenues for theorizing and research are at the microlevel in which the focus is on decision making, expected utility calculations, and foreign policy interaction processes.

Jim Ray has set out a challenge to students of international conflict: how can we improve our research to do better in the cumulation of knowledge and understanding of international phenomena? While most of the commentary in this special issue revolves about more technical statistical issues, the questions that Ray raises must also be addressed not just on statistical/methods grounds, but within the context of broader theoretical concerns and theoretical specification. That is the aim of this article. Drawing on the concept of the "research triad" of logic, theory, and methodology presented by Most & Starr (1989), this article will stress the relationship of theory to the development of research designs that will permit both the additive and integrative cumulation of knowledge. This article will discuss how statistical model specification can be informed by broader principles of research design, demonstrating how Ray's basic points are supported by earlier, complementary, and converging lines of argument.

Considers statutory provisions and differences of state rape shield laws, designed to limit the extent to which defendants in rape trials can introduce evidence related to the victim's sexual history. Analyses indicates that political and socioeconomic attributes help to explain differences in statutory shield provisions. (Abstract amended)

Investigated is whether strong vs weak statutory rape shield provisions can be explained by established factors in state policy output. Strong shield provisions are those in which state policy explicitly prohibits the use of victim sexual history evidence, while weak shield provisions carry no explicit restrictions on such evidence. These distinctions are examined against five types of predictors: (1) extent of crime in the state; (2) state ideological orientations; (3) perspectives on women: (4) socioeconomic characteristics; & (5) judicial environment. Discriminant function analysis applied to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reports & secondary sources reveals that strong shield provisions are found in states with large Baptist populations, sparsely populated states, & states with more partisan judicial selection systems. Explanation for the findings, particularly their ideological ambiguity, & implications for special interest groups seeking reform of rape shield laws are discussed. 2 Tables, 23 References. Adapted from the source document.

In December 2000 the European Council Summit in Nice fulfilled the promise for European Union enlargement made at the Helsinki Summit the year before. The leaders of the EU Member States reaffirmed their commitment to the accession of the applicant countries, making possible the broad re-unification of the continent under democratic rule of law and free market economies. This Article focuses specifically on the accession of the island of Cyprus, Europe's remaining divided state, poised strategically between East and West. The island's armed stand-off presents the clearest example of legal conflict between two ethnic communities in a discrete geographical territory, magnifying the multilayered cultural and religious divisions of the region. The Article traces the centuries of conflict on the island, then explores the dramatic breakthroughs of the 1999 Helsinki Summit and the recent rapprochement of Cyprus' patron states of Greece and Turkey, culminating with the advance of the 2000 Nice Summit. The Article argues that EU leaders should seize this opportunity to use EU enlargement to lead the two communities into a functional plan for a bicommunal structure and process of cooperation that can build toward an evolving, long-term resolution of this ancient conflict.

If the 20th Century was the century of physics, the 21st Century is the century of cybernetics, biology and ecology. Technological advance has both crossed new frontiers and discovered old limits.Nobel laureate Ilya Prigogine broke new ground with his understanding that nature, including its human component, seeks to establish order out of chaos by "self‐organizing," not only according to pre‐determined laws, but through random creative choices as well that are responsible for the endless novelty and potentiality of being.The technologically‐armed purposive role of humans in the Anthropocentric Age thus takes on a new significance: "What we do today depends on our image of the future rather than the future depending on what we do today" as Prigogine puts it. "The equations of the future are written in our actions as well as in nature. Time becomes construction."Nowhere is this truer than in the new science of genomics, which touches the soul, and in the effort to preserve the ecological balance that has enabled humanity to flourish within the narrow band of earth's livable climate.In this section we bring together leading thinkers, scientists and technologists of our age to address these issues of mankind's fate.

The premises of the emerging field of feminist jurisprudence are examined, & some basic works in this field are critically reviewed. While feminist legal scholars agree that law, both as an institution & as an academic enterprise, contains an inherent male bias, they differ in their explanations of its origins & effects. Several of these scholars emphasize gender differences, rather than male domination, in their critiques of law. Here, analysis of "difference jurisprudence" concludes that it has no adequate theory of gender difference, & that the existing scholarship rests on premises dangerous to sexual equality. 71 References. Adapted from the source document.

A Cato Institute policy brief found that while licensed occupations see a nice bump in pay, licensing requirements lower wages for other similar occupations.

"Opportunity and Willingness: From "Ordering Concepts" to an Analytical Perspective for the Study of Politics" published on by Oxford University Press.

Sodomy has now been legalized in approximately half of the American states. States preserving laws against sodomy and providing for longer maximum prison terms tend to have large Baptist populations, conservative political parties and electorates, and lower levels of education and income. Indicates that an underlying ideological-cultural conservatism largely accounts for state decisions regarding sodomy. (Abstract amended)

Sodomy has now been legalized in approximately 50% of US states. States preserving laws against sodomy & providing for longer maximum prison terms tend to have large Baptist populations, conservative political parties & electorates, & lower levels of education & income. Multivariate analysis indicates that an underlying ideological-cultural conservatism, whether indicated by Democratic Party ideology or the relative size of the Baptist population, largely accounts for state decisions regarding sodomy. 3 Tables, 31 References. HAa

For a period of some 200 years, Sparta was acknowledged throughout the Greek world as the home of the finest soldiers. Xenophon called them 'the only true craftsmen in matters of war'. Nic Fields explains the reasons for this superiority, how their reputation for invincibility was earned (and deliberately manipulated) and how it was ultimately shattered. The Spartan Way examines how Spartan society, through its rigid laws and brutal educational system, was thoroughly militarized and devoted to producing warriors suited to the intense demands of hoplite warfare - professional killers inculcated

'EU Citizenship Law' analyses the legal framework and legal development of EU Citizenship and its relationship to other rights protected by EU law. By examining the complex legal status of Union citizenship, this book reflects on the wider economic, political, social, and emotional contexts that both complicate and inform EU membership.