Search

Begin New Search Content Type Journal Article

3001. Prospects and Limits of a Global History of International Law: A Brief Rejoinder

Author:
Anne Peters and Bardo Fassbender
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
As we remarked in the Introduction to our Handbook, it is exciting but also risky to leave a well-worn path (at 2). It means meeting unforeseen obstacles. We were quite aware of the fact that if we wanted to shed light on historical developments in international law which so far had remained in darkness or obscurity, we had to be prepared to encounter the unexpected and not so readily understood – that is, accounts and narratives which call into question conventional wisdom and which, at least initially, pose additional problems rather than providing easy answers. We knew that new research on issues which had rarely been examined before would not be perfect or 'complete'. In other words, we expected, and in fact expressly invited, criticism of a work which tried to break new ground.
Topic:
International Law
Political Geography:
Europe

3002. Michael B. Gerrard and Gregory E. Wannier (eds). Threatened Island Nations. Legal Implications of Rising Seas and a Changing Climate

Author:
Susannah Wilcox
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
There is growing evidence that climate change-related impacts like rising sea levels, higher storm surges, and changing rainfall patterns are exacerbating existing vulnerabilities like poverty, isolation, and resource scarcity, and may eventually leave small island states uninhabitable, causing the displacement of entire populations. Among those particularly at risk are low-lying coral atoll states like Kiribati, Tuvalu, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and the Republic of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean.
Topic:
Poverty
Political Geography:
Europe, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and Maldives

3003. Michael Byers. International Law and the Arctic

Author:
Timo Kolvurova
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
Those who follow the newspapers and media in general are led to believe that the stakes are getting higher in the Arctic. Climate change is melting the sea ice and opening up new economic opportunities: oil, gas, moving fish stocks, and shorter navigational routes are among the benefits to be had by those who are bold enough to make a move. According to the media, China and other emerging economies are claiming their own piece of the Arctic. In the scramble among states for the riches of the Arctic, we sense a scenario that may even drive states to the point of military conflict. Yet, this scramble does not take place in a legal vacuum – there are plenty of legal rules that govern the behaviour of states and other actors in the region. Indeed, this is one of the salient points that Michael Byers makes in his book.
Topic:
Environment, International Law, and Oil
Political Geography:
China

3004. Morten Bergsmo (ed.). Quality Control in Fact-Finding

Author:
James G. Devaney
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
Quality Control in Fact-Finding is, above all else, a very welcome addition to the literature on international fact-finding. Whilst there has been a marked increase in the number of fact-finding inquiries established in the last couple of decades, this has not been matched by a similar increase in the number of scholarly studies of such inquiries. In light of both the number and high-profile nature of such inquiries, the absence of scholarship focusing squarely on the contemporary role of inquiries up to the present day seems like an oversight.

3005. Bhopal

Author:
Keith Ekiss
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
Narayan told me about the city in India where he once studied, a literary centre known for festivals and lively debates, crowds gathering to hear the poetry readings which, he bragged, went on forever. But when he spoke the name, my face must have shifted. Yes, he said, you've heard about the gas leak. In December, clouds covered the city and its lakes. Warnings sounded and he walked uphill to find a place above the clouds, passing many who didn't know better than to take deep breaths, because the toxins left them short of breath, drawing in the yellow poison. I didn't ask who he lost among the dead. He kept apologizing, embarrassed, repeating a story I'd heard before. All he wanted to tell me, he said, was that wherever you went today it seemed like no one read anymore.
Political Geography:
Bhopal

3006. Finding Bin Laden: Lessons for a New American Way of Intelligence

Author:
Erik J. Dahl
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Political Science Quarterly
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
ERIK J. DAHL describes the nearly decade-long search for Osama bin Laden and what it reveals about the capabilities and the limitations of the American intelligence community. He argues that this case suggests that we may be seeing the first signs of a “new American way of intelligence” with a reduced reliance on the expensive, high-technology systems of the Cold War and a greater emphasis on broad-based intelligence fusion and analysis.
Topic:
Cold War
Political Geography:
America

3007. Building National Armies after Civil War: Lessons from Bosnia, El Salvador, and Lebanon

Author:
Zoltan Barany
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Political Science Quarterly
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
THE RECENT LITERATURE ON CIVIL WARS IS WIDE and deep; a number of major studies compel us to rethink what we know about this important subject. One of the areas that has eluded concerted scholarly attention has been the question of how national armies can be developed that satisfy the imperatives of post-civil war reconciliation and democratic consolidation. This issue is at the center of this article.
Political Geography:
Bosnia, Lebanon, and El Salvador

3008. The Role of Political Science in China: Intellectuals and Authoritarian Resilience

Author:
Stephen Noakes
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Political Science Quarterly
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
Stephen Noakes discusses the relationship between political scientists and the state in China. He argues that political scientists do more to strengthen the rule of the Chinese Communist Party than they do to undermine it, and are therefore complicit in preserving the authoritarian status quo.
Political Geography:
China

3009. Papers Please: State-Level Anti-Immigrant Legislation in the Wake of Arizona's SB 1070

Author:
Sophia J. Wallace
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Political Science Quarterly
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
Sophia J. Wallace examines the factors that influence the introduction of SB 1070–type bills in state legislatures. She finds that Republican control of state legislatures and a rising unemployment rate greatly increase the likelihood of introducing this type of restrictive immigration bill. She asserts that Latino population changes and the percentage of Latino state legislators do not have an impact.
Political Geography:
Arizona

3010. Critical Junctures, Catalysts, and Democratic Consolidation in Turkey

Author:
Ramazan Kiling
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Political Science Quarterly
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
Ramazan Kilinç argues that at critical junctures, structural factors weaken and actors are enabled to gain strength for future political trajectories. He applies this argument to democratic consolidation in Turkey. He finds that the 1997 military intervention unintentionally led to the eventual outcome of democratic consolidation. In the absence of this catalyst, it might have taken several more years for structural factors to generate democratization.
Political Geography:
Turkey