The quality of (in)justice in London's magistrates' courts

Concerns about structural racism and policing have fuelled public demands in the US, UK and elsewhere to ‘defund’ and demilitarize the police. However, given the interlinked nature of the entire criminal justice system – the police, courts and prisons – further thought needs to be given to how the system should be reformed. This article summarizes research on the nature of injustice experienced in magistrates’ courts in London from the point of view of defendants from black, Asian and ethnic minority communities and ‘the precariat’.     

Human need in rural developing areas: perceptions of wildlife conservation experts

‘Sustainable use’ and ‘community‐based conservation’ are two contemporary concepts in wildlife conservation policy. Their rise represents a shift away from traditional conservation techniques, and a merging of narratives about conservation and development. While policy statements by major conservation organisations emphasise the necessity of the shift, evidence to date suggests that, in practice, implementation of these concepts has been limited. This paper considers the extent to which sustainable use and community‐based conservation have been accepted (or not) by a specific group of conservation experts, and what this level of acceptance implies for conservation in practice. Based on in‐depth interviews with experts in marine turtle biology and/or conservation policy, the paper considers the willingness and ability of such experts to incorporate human development needs and issues into conservation activities. The suitability of conservation organisations as promoters of rural development, and implications of their further involvement as such, are discussed. Les principes de ‘l'utilisation durable’ et de ‘la protection de l'environnement par la communauté’ sont deux concepts courants dans la politique de la defense de la flore et de la faune. La montée de ces concepts représente un écart par rapport aux techniques traditionnelles de la défense de l'environnement, ainsi qu'un lieu de convergence ou les récits sur la protection des ressources naturelles, et sur développement se fusionnent. Bien que les déclarations de principe faites par d'importants organismes de protection soulignent la nécessité de poursuivre cette nouvelle orientation, il y a de bonnes raisons de penser que la mise en pratique de ces concepts a été, jusqu'a présent, trés limitée. Cet article traitera de la mesure d'acceptation accordée à ces deux concepts, au sein d'un groupe spécifique de spécialistes en défense des ressources naturelles, ainsi que les répercussions de ce niveau d'acceptation pour la pratique de la protection. A partir d'entrevues en profondeur menées avec des experts en la biologie des tortues marines et/ou en la politique de leur protection, l'article examinera la volonté, ainsi que la capacité, de tels experts d'intégrer les exigences humaines aux activités de protection. Seront également considérées la question de l'aptitude de ces organismes de protection à promouvoir le développement rurale, et les consequences possibles de leur implication continue dans celui‐ci.     

Kennedy's international legacy,fifty years on

This article explores historical assessments of the foreign policy of President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated fifty years ago. It traces the evolution of JFK historiography from the uncritical so‐called ‘Camelot’ school to harsh revisionist critiques in the 1980s and 1990s, and on to the current ‘third wave’ of scholarship. The article focuses in particular on new work concerning JFK's handling of the Berlin and Cuba superpower crises, his role in expanding the United States’ involvement in Vietnam (and whether blame for this war can be assigned to him) and larger questions about his approach to the danger of nuclear holocaust and the possibility of defusing Cold War tensions. The conclusion to the article examines his various peace‐seeking initiatives in the months following the Cuban Missile Crisis, and suggests that Kennedy may have been turning towards a more critical view of American Cold War politics when he was killed in Dallas in November 1963.     

The Civil War Reminiscences of John Marshall Harlan

Towards the end of his life, John Marshall Harlan wrote a series of essays about various events of his life. Collected together, the documents form the closest thing to an autobiography Harlan was to write. Most of the documents concern Harlan's experiences in the Civil War, and some of them repeat the same stories. Cited often in biographies and articles about Harlan, they have never been published before. The three printed here were chosen not only for their individual interest, but also because, taken together, they form a nearly complete account of Harlan's wartime experiences.