A “Southern interference in the North's affairs”: the prospect of Fianna Fáil as an all-Ireland party, 1926–2011

This article demonstrates that Fianna Fáil's efforts in 2007 and thereafter to reconfigure as an all-Ireland party represented a volte-face in policy. From an historical perspective, since Fianna Fáil's establishment in 1926, consecutive leaders from Éamon de Valera to Albert Reynolds in the 1990s consistently refused to remodel the party on an all-Ireland basis. Rather than participating in Northern Ireland mainstream politics, Fianna Fáil was fixated with firstly securing, and then maintaining, a republican government in the south of Ireland. Accordingly, in the words of Lemass speaking in 1964, any “Southern interference in the North's affairs” was habitually ruled out by the Fianna Fáil leadership.     

A Difficult Dialogue: Statements of Compatibility and the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act

As a ‘third-wave’ Bill of Rights, the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act is premised on the twin goals of creating a ‘culture of rights’ within the bureaucracy and the emergence of a rights-based dialogue between Cabinet and the Parliament of Victoria through statements of compatibility. The first objective has been advanced through a revised policy process within the bureaucracy, but a dialogic engagement between Parliament and the Cabinet has yet to emerge in a substantive way. A number of factors account for this modest parliamentary dialogue: first, the functioning of a statutory Bill of Rights in a moderately sized Parliament with a strong partisan orientation; second, the general reluctance of the Cabinet to alter legislation once introduced into Parliament despite compatibility disagreements identified by the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee; and finally, the approach by both the Cabinet and backbenchers to statements of compatibility that limit their ability to facilitate rights-based parliamentary scrutiny. This article explores the contemporary difficulties of a parliamentary dialogue emerging in Victoria that are, in large part, the result of an unintended tension between pre-introduction scrutiny by the bureaucracy on behalf of the Cabinet, and secondly, the weakness of post-introduction scrutiny facilitated by Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee via statements of compatibility.     

Examining Implementation of the National Voter Registration Act by Nonprofit Organizations: An Institutional Explanation

The 1993 National Voter Registration Act authorizes nonprofit social service organizations to conduct nonpartisan voter registration drives, with the aim of making the process more accessible for low‐income citizens and segments of the population historically underrepresented in the political process. Although more than 15 years have elapsed since this important reform was enacted, very little is known about the extent to which nonprofits have embraced this practice, and what factors explain their decision to do so. Drawing upon institutional theory, this article examines the propensity of nonprofit social service organizations to carry out nonpartisan voter registration and voter mobilization campaigns in a national election year. A series of hypotheses are tested using data from a random sample of several hundred nonprofit service organizations in the United States that were surveyed prior to the 2008 election. Findings suggest that institutional factors, especially state laws, are highly influential in shaping the decision of local level nonprofits to register voters. The article concludes with a discussion of policy implications of this study.     

Identifying locals, migrants, and captives in the Wari Heartland: A bioarchaeological and biogeochemical study of human remains from Conchopata, Peru

The site of Conchopata in the central Peruvian Andes was the secondary center in the heartland of the Wari Empire (AD 600–1000), and in this study we examine whether this urban locale was populated by locals, voluntary migrants from distant regions, and/or captives who were forcibly brought to Conchopata. We examine radiogenic strontium isotope ratios from 72 dental enamel and bone samples representing 31 formal burials and 18 human trophy heads to distinguish between locals and non-locals, and we examine skeletal and archaeological data to establish whether non-local persons were voluntary migrants or captives. We also describe a new, straightforward technique in the evaluation of radiogenic strontium isotope ratios to assist in detecting non-locals when large datasets are available.Results show that natal Conchopata inhabitants should exhibit radiogenic strontium isotope ratios that range from ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.70548 to ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.70610. Thus, among the 31 burials, 29 exhibit local values, suggesting that Conchopata was not a cosmopolitan center to which numerous foreigners migrated; rather, it was populated by local peoples, likely the descendants of the preceding Huarpa culture. The two individuals with non-local radiogenic strontium isotope ratios are an infant and a 17–22 years old female. The archaeological context suggests that the female may have been taken captive for subsequent sacrifice, as she was interred in front of the ritual D-shaped structure in which decapitated human heads (trophy heads) and sacrificed camelids were deposited. Among the 18 trophy heads sampled, 14 have non-local values, confirming previous studies of smaller samples that suggested that Wari warriors travelled to other locales and took captives—both adults and children—for subsequent transformation into trophy heads. Additional analyses of bone-tooth pairs from a subsample (12 burials and six trophy heads) shows that the burial group was much more sedentary (homogenous radiogenic strontium isotope ratios in bones and teeth) and the trophy head individuals were much more mobile (heterogenous radiogenic strontium isotope ratios in bones and teeth). Overall, the multiple lines of evidence support the notion that the Wari Empire occasionally used militaristic means, combined with elaborate ritualism, to subjugate other populations, a tactic that may have helped Wari establish and maintain control in particular regions in the Andes.     

Metallurgical analysis of copper artifacts from Cahokia

Copper artifacts from Cahokia Mounds, Illinois were analyzed from a materials science perspective to shed light on techniques used by Mississippian copper workers to deform nuggets of native copper into thin sheets. Eight small copper pieces from a copper-working site at Cahokia’s Mound 34 were subjected to metallographic examination. Replication experiments thereafter recreated features of the artifacts under controlled conditions. It is concluded that copper sheets were thinned through repeated cycles of hammering and annealing performed at temperatures achievable in an open wood fire. The welding of sheets to create multilayered objects was not observed in any artifacts and could not be accomplished experimentally. Additionally, a possible cutting method used on some artifacts was identified.     

Rebuilding Indigenous nations through constitutional development: a case study of the Métis in Canada

For the Métis Nation in Canada, self‐government remains the ‘essence of the struggle’ for which their political leader, Louis Riel, sacrificed his life in 1885. As one of Canada's founding peoples, the Métis have sought to reclaim their Indigenous right to self‐government by establishing democratic governance bodies, enhancing their economic capacity and pursuing state recognition of their rights. In addition to these efforts, the Métis have been developing a national constitution, which is anticipated to form the basis of a government to government relationship between the Métis Nation and the Canadian state. Through a case study of the Métis, this article explores the role of contemporary constitution‐building in rebuilding Indigenous nations from within and reclaiming self‐government in settler societies. We conclude that the Métis Nation's pursuit of these goals through constitutionalism will depend on its ability to build legitimacy internally amongst its citizens and externally with state decision‐makers.