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71. Separate but Equal Democratization? Participation, Politics, and Urban Segregation in Latin America

Author:
Dennis Rodgers
Publication Date:
03-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Many commentators have noted the existence of a historical correlation between cities and democratization. This image of the city as an inherently civic space is linked to the notion that the spatial concentration intrinsic to urban contexts promotes a democracy of proximity. Seen from this perspective, it is perhaps not surprising that the most urbanized region of the global south, Latin America, is also a heartland of vibrant and much applauded democratic innovation. Of particular note are the myriad local level 'radical democracy' initiatives that have proliferated throughout the region's cities during the past two decades. At the same time, however, it is a significant paradox that Latin American urban centres are also amongst the most segregated in the world, something that is widely considered to have a significantly fragmenting effect on public space, and is therefore undermining of democracy.
Topic:
Democratization, Social Stratification, Sociology, and Urbanization
Political Geography:
Latin America

72. W(h)ither Fragmentation? On the Literature and Sociology of International Investment Law

Author:
Stephan W. Schill
Publication Date:
08-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
Few international legal fields have seen an increase in literature over the past decade as steep as international investment law. This reflects the growing interest in practice and academia in what is probably not only the most dynamic area of international law but also one with significant impact on domestic law and policy-making. What is striking, apart from the sheer enormity of writing, however, is the changes the discourse on international investment law has undergone. Focus, topics, conceptual and methodological approaches, authorship, and audiences of the present literature differ significantly from that of the turn of the millennium. This reflects both an evolution in the law itself and changes in the professional, political, and institutional practices and communities involved. The literature on international investment law thus is a reflection of the sociological dimension of a discipline that until recently was the province of a small group of specialists and now is rapidly moving mainstream.
Topic:
International Law and Sociology

73. Media Codes of Ethics: The Difficulty of Defining Standards

Author:
Eugene L. Meyer
Publication Date:
11-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
National Endowment for Democracy
Abstract:
Codes of ethics for journalists have long been established and widespread in Western democracies. In such countries, they are universally voluntary, often issued and adopted by leading organizations of journalists. They incorporate best practices that may go beyond the laws of libel, defamation, and privacy.
Topic:
Corruption, Democratization, Government, Mass Media, and Sociology

74. Dowry and Division: Youth and State Building in South Sudan

Author:
Marc Sommers and Stephanie Schwartz
Publication Date:
11-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Most South Sudanese youth are undereducated and underemployed, and their priorities and perspectives are largely unknown. To address this critical knowledge gap, the authors conducted field research between April and May 2011 with youth, adults, and government and nongovernment officials in Juba and two South Sudanese states. The increasing inability of male youth to meet rising dowry (bride price) demands was the main research finding. Unable to meet these demands, many male youth enlist in militias, join cattle raids, or seek wives from different ethnic groups or countries. Skyrocketing dowry demands have negatively and alarmingly affected female youth. They are routinely viewed as property that can generate family wealth. Potent new postwar identities involving youth returning from Khartoum, refugee asylum countries, and those who never left South Sudan, are stimulating hostility and conflict. Excess demand on government jobs, widespread reports of nepotism in government hiring practices, cultural restrictions against many kinds of work, and a general lack of entrepreneurial vision are fueling an exceptionally challenging youth employment situation. Gang activities continue to thrive in some urban centers in South Sudan. They are reportedly dominated by youth with connections to government officials and by orphans. While most undereducated youth highlighted dowry and marriage as their primary concerns, members of the elite youth minority emphasized vocational training and scholarships for higher education. While South Sudanese youth view their government as the primary source of education, jobs, and hope, the government of South Sudan does not appear poised to provide substantial support to vital youth priorities related to dowry, employment, education, and training. The government of South Sudan and its international partners need to proactively address nonelite youth priorities. They must find ways to cap dowry demands, protect female youth, and support orphan youth, in addition to expanding quality education, job training, and English language training.
Topic:
Demographics, Development, Gender Issues, Political Economy, Sociology, and Youth Culture
Political Geography:
Africa and South Sudan

75. Mechanism-Based Thinking on Policy Diffusion. A Review of Current Approaches in Political Science

Author:
Torben Heinze
Publication Date:
12-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Kolleg-Forschergruppe (KFG)
Abstract:
Despite theoretical and methodological progress in what is now coined as the third generation of diffusion studies, explicitly dealing with the causal mechanisms underlying diffusion processes and comparatively analyzing them is only of recent date. As a matter of fact, diffusion research has ended up in a diverse and often unconnected array of theoretical assumptions relying both on rational as well as constructivist reasoning – a circumstance calling for more theoretical coherence and consistency. Against this backdrop, this paper reviews and streamlines diffusion literature in political science. Diffusion mechanisms largely cluster around two causal arguments determining the desires and preferences of actors for choosing alter¬native policies. First, existing diffusion mechanisms accounts can be grouped according to the rationality for policy adoption, this means that government behavior is based on the instrumental considerations of actors or on constructivist arguments like norms and rule-driven actors. Second, diffusion mechanisms can either directly impact on the beliefs of actors or they might influence the structural conditions for decision-making. Following this logic, four basic diffusion mechanisms can be identified in mechanism-based thinking on policy diffusion: emulation, socialization, learning, and externalities.
Topic:
Education, International Affairs, Political Theory, and Sociology

76. A systematic review of parenting interventions to prevent child abuse tested with Randomised Control Trial (RCT) designs in high income countries

Author:
Laura McCloskey
Publication Date:
12-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Sexual Violence Research Initiative
Abstract:
Child abuse is not a stand-alone family problem, and is associated with multiple risk factors. Some demographic risk factors which correlate with child abuse are low family income; bearing a child before age 18; mother unmarried and low educational attainment. Psychosocial risks include drug or alcohol dependency, depression and parenting stress. Finally, parents who are coercive, lack knowledge about childrearing, and tend to blame infants and children for age appropriate behaviors are at risk for abusing their children. Many parenting interventions reviewed in this paper target more than one risk factor.
Topic:
Demographics, Gender Issues, Human Rights, Poverty, and Sociology

77. Modifying Gender Role Stereotypes in Children

Author:
Laura McCloskey
Publication Date:
12-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Sexual Violence Research Initiative
Abstract:
Gender stereotypes exist in all cultures, conveyed through media messages, television, music, religious and cultural institutions, and even toys. Parents convey expectations of gender role conformity starting in infancy' with one study finding that parents hold gender-typed expectations of their sons and daughters in the first 24 hours following birth. Another found that children show an awareness of their parents' communication about gender roles from two to two-and-a-half years of age' with the early provision of gender differentiated toy selection typically reflecting parental stereotypes. These gender stereotypes persist throughout childhood, with parents choosing, and rewarding' certain stereotypical activities for their children, from playing with dolls for girls to sports activities for boys. Additionally, childhood peers and teachers play a significant role as children enter school. While both mothers and fathers contribute to the gender stereotyping of their children, fathers have been found to reinforce gender stereotypes more often than mothers.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Political Theory, Social Stratification, and Sociology

78. Discovering Diverse Mechanisms of Migration: The Mexico-U.S. Stream from 1970 to 2000

Author:
Filiz Garip
Publication Date:
12-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
Migrants to the United States are a diverse population. This diversity, captured in various migration theories, is overlooked in empirical applications that describe a typical narrative for an average migrant. Using the Mexican Migration Project data from about 17,000 first-time migrants between 1970 and 2000, this study employs cluster analysis to identify four types of migrants with distinct configurations of characteristics. Each migrant type corresponds to a specific theoretical account, and becomes prevalent in a specific period, depending on the economic, social and political conditions. Strikingly, each migrant type also becomes prevalent around the period in which its corresponding theory is developed.
Topic:
Migration, Labor Issues, and Sociology
Political Geography:
United States and Mexico

79. The Effects of Socialization on Gender Discrimination and Violence: A Case Study from Lebanon

Author:
Dr. Christine Sylva Hamieh and Dr. Jinan Usta
Publication Date:
03-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Violence Against Women (VAW) is a major public-health and social problem which jeopardises women's development and abuses many of their basic human rights. Recent interventions to combat the problem have focused on including men – not as holders or perpetuators of privileges, but rather as potential and actual contributors to gender equality. These initiatives to include men in programmes to end VAW have achieved some success so far. Several studies in the Arab world have highlighted the importance of addressing VAW. However, of all gender-related issues it still receives the least recognition and acknowledgement from Arab states and policy makers. Instead, the struggle continues to be led by women's organisations fighting to remove all forms of discrimination against women.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Human Rights, and Sociology
Political Geography:
Middle East, Arabia, and Lebanon

80. Turkey: The Elephant in the Room of Europe

Author:
Hüseyin Selçuk Dönmez
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:
Turkey's accession process to the European Union (EU) has been a rather challenging issue for more than two decades now. Turkey applied for membership in 1987, "that is, three years before Cyprus and Malta and between seven and nine years before applications were lodged by ten Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs)." By the year 2011, Turkey has been waiting for 24 years to become a member of the EU. No other country in history of the EU enlargement has waited this long to become a member and not managed to become one after a quarter of a century. It would not be wrong to consider Turkey's bid to join the EU as a unique case in comparison to the former applicant countries, especially CEECs. As a result of this, there has been a continuous debate about Turkey's application and whether it has been treated differently or not. The aim of this paper is to shed a brighter light on this debate by presenting examples of different treatment towards the Turkish application. Before exploring the reasons of why and how Turkey has been treated differently, there are some key facts worth mentioning while defining Turkey's difference from other applicant countries. What makes these facts important is that they have formed the foundations of hurdles and their justifications for Turkey's possible membership in the EU. These facts will be touched upon prior to a deeper analysis.
Topic:
Economics, Sociology, and Culture
Political Geography:
Europe and Turkey