Beslan and the study of violence

“Placing blame: Making sense of Beslan” by Gerard Toal (in this issue) is an insightful analysis of the terrorist attack on Beslan's School Number 1, demonstrating how the various actors involved in, and affected by, the attack made sense of it. Toal documents that many of the frames used to justify or interpret the attack employ “indiscriminate blaming.” This commentary raises three points. First, it places the lecture within the recent trend of disaggregating the study of civil war and ethnic conflict. Second, it comments on the lecture's assumption that there is a causal link between indiscriminate blaming and violence. Third, it inquires about the sources of indiscriminate blaming.     

"More than seven sons": Ruth as example of the good son

The Book of Ruth is a beautiful story about faithfulness, love, and the blessing of Yahweh, but it also consists of hints and clues that might seem unmotivated or loose. The name of the book, the connection to the days when the judges ruled, the storytellers discreet commentaries through the story, are some examples of such hints and clues. They give the text an atmosphere that disturbs the idyllic, naïve impression usually associated with Ruth . If we focus on the expression "more then seven sons" at the end of the story, and understand Ruth in the role as Naomi's son, many of these hints and clues fall into place. This article goes through the Book of Ruth focusing on this interpretation. With Ruth as the example of the good son, other sons, within or surrounding Ruth , fall short.     

Feature Review

Abstract

Konig, David Thomas, ed. Devising Liberty: Preserving and Creating Freedom in the New American Republic Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press 383 pages, $45.00. ISBN 0-8047-2536-5 Publication Date: October 1995

Campbell, Colin and Bert A. Rockman, eds. The Clinton Presidency: First Appraisals Chatham, NJ: Chatham House 408 pp., $30.00 cloth, $22.95 paper ISBN 1-56643-013-5 cloth ISBN 1-56643-014-3 paper Publication Date: 1995

Drew, Elizabeth Showdown: The Struggle Between the Gingrich Congress and the Clinton White House New York: Simon &; Schuster 398 pp., $25.00, ISBN 0-684-81518-4 Publication Date: April 1996

Walden, Gregory S. On Best Behavior: The Clinton Administration and Ethics in Government Indianapolis: Hudson Institute 637 pp., $19.95 paper ISBN 1-55813-056-X paper Publication Date: January 1996

Campagna, Anthony S. Economic Policy in the Carter Administration Westport, CT: Greenwood 216 pp., $59.95, ISBN 0-313-?.9568-9 Publication Date: October 1995

Tarr, G. Alan, ed. Constitutional Politics in the States: Contemporary Controversies and Historical Patterns Westport, CT: Greenwood 223 pp., $59.95, ISBN 0-313-28523-3 Publication Date: April 1996

Pinello, Daniel R. The Impact of Judicial-Selection Method on State Supreme Court Policy: Innovation, Reaction, and Atrophy Westport, CT: Greenwood 248 pp., $59.95. ISBN 0-313-29243-4 Publication Date: October 1995

Franklin, John Hope and Genna Rae McNeil, eds. African Americans and the Living Constitution Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press 364 pp., $45.00 cloth, $14.95 paper ISBN 1-56098-472-4 cloth ISBN 1-56098-471-6 paper Publication Date: June 1995

Schwartz, Bernard The Unpublished Opinions of the Rehnquist Court New York: Oxford University Press 492 pp., $45.00, ISBN 0-19-509332-1 Publication Date: 1996

Greenawalt, Kent Fighting Words: Individuals, Communities, and Liberties of Speech Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press 189 pp., $24.95, ISBN 0-691-03638-1 Publication Date: May 1995

Kramnick, Isaac and R. Laurence Moore The Godless Constitution: The Case against Religious Correctness New York: W.W. Norton 191 pp., $22.00, ISBN 0-393-03961-7 Publication Date: January 1996

Rozell, Mark J. and Clyde Wilcox Second Coming: The New Christian Right in Virginia Politics Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press 285 pp., $32.95, ISBN 0-8018-5297-8 Publication Date: April 1996

Gove, Samuel K. and James D. Nowlan Illinois Politics and Government: The Expanding Metropolitan Frontier Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press 290 pp. $45.00 cloth. $20.00 paper ISBN 0-8032-2120-7 cloth ISBN 0-8032-7014-3 paper Publication Date: June 1996

Finegold, Kenneth Experts and Politicians: Reform Challenges to Machine Politics in New York, Cleveland, and Chicago Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press 264 pp., $39.50. ISBN 0-691-03734-5 Publication Date: March 1995

Shafer, Byron E. and William J. M. Claggett The Two Majorities: The Issue Context of Modern American Politics Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press 227 pp., $45.00 cloth, $14.95 paper ISBN 0-8018-5018-5 cloth ISBN 0-8018-5019-3 paper Publication date: August 1995

Ansolabehere, Stephen and Shanto Iyengar Going Negative: How Political Advertisements Shrink and Polarize the Electorate New York: Free Press 243 pp., $24.00, ISBN 0-684-82284-9 Publication Date: January 1996

Stein, Robert M. and Kenneth N. Bickers Perpetuating the Pork Barrel: Policy Subsystems and American Democracy New York: Cambridge University Press 232 pp., $49.95. ISBN 0-521-48298-4 Publication Date: December 1995

Mucciaroni, Gary Reversals of Fortune: Public Policy and Private Interests Washington, DC: Brookings Institution 225 pp., $34.95 cloth. $14.95 paper ISBN 0-8157-5876-6 cloth ISBN 0-8157-5875-8 paper Publication Date: January 1995

Ottosen, Gary K. and Douglas N. Thompson Reducing Unemployment: A Case for Government Deregulation Westport, CT: Praeger 171 pp., $49.95, ISBN 0-275-95360-2 Publication Date: January 1996

Handler, Joel F. Down from Bureaucracy: The Ambiguity of Privatization and Empowerment Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press 269 pp., $29.95, ISBN 0-691-04461-9 Publication Date: May 1996

Yandle, Bruce, ed. Land Rights: The 1990s' Property Rights Rebellion Lanham, MD: Rowman &; Littlefield 333 pp., $57.50 cloth, $22.95 paper ISBN 0-8476-8028-2 cloth ISBN 0-8476-8029-0 paper Publication Date: June 1995

Jacobsohn, Gary Jeffrey and Susan Dunn, eds. Diversity and Citizenship: Rediscovering American Nationhood Lanham, MD: Rowman &; Littlefield 156 pp., $49.50 cloth, $18.95 paper ISBN 0-8476-8091-6 cloth ISBN 0-8476-8092-4 paper Publication Date: February 1996

Bennett, Vivienne The Politics of Water: Urban Protest, Gender, and Power in Monterrey, Mexico Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press 232 pp., ISBN 0-8229-3908-8 Publication Date: December 1995

Morris, Stephen D. Political Reformism in Mexico: An Overview of Contemporary Mexican Politics Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner 261 pp., $49.95 cloth, $19.95 paper ISBN 1-55587-572-6 cloth ISBN 1-55587-594-7 paper Publication Date: October 1995

Roy, Olivier Afghanistan: From Holy War to Civil War Princeton, NJ: The Darwin Press 141 pp., $24.95, ISBN-0-87850-076-6 Publication Date: December 1995

Waltz, Susan E. Human Rights and Reform: Changing the Face of North African Politics Berkeley, CA: University of California Press 281 pp., $45.00 cloth, $16.00 paper ISBN 0-520-20003-9 cloth ISBN 0-520-20254-6 paper Publication Date: October 1995

Cordesman, Anthony H. and Abraham R. Wagner The Lessons of Modern War, Vol. 4: The Gulf War Boulder, CO: Westview 1022 pp., $98.00 cloth. $23.95 paper ISBN 0-8133-8601-2 cloth ISBN 0-8133-8602-0 paper Publication Date: April 1996

Righter, Rosemary Utopia Lost: The United Nations and World Order New York: Twentieth Century Fund 420 pp. $29.95, ISBN 0-87078-358-0 Publication Date: December 1995

Winslow, Anne, ed. Women, Politics, and the United Nations Westport, CT: Greenwood 213 pp., $59.95, ISBN 0-313-29522-0 Publication Date: 1995

Weiss, Thomas G. and Leon Gordenker, eds. NGOs, the UN, and Global Governance Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner 250 pp., $45.00 cloth, $18.95 paper ISBN 1-55587-613-7 cloth ISBN 1-55587-626-9 paper Publication Date: January 1996

Kolodziej, Edward A. and Roger E. Kanet, eds. Coping with Conflict after the Cold War Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press 407 pp., $49.95. ISBN 0-8018-5106-8 Publication Date: April 1996

Sanderson, Stephen K., ed. Civilizations and World Systems: Studying World-Historical Change Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press 324 pp., $46.00 cloth, $24.95 paper ISBN 0-7619-91042 cloth ISBN 0-7619-91050 paper Publication Date: October 1995

Held, David Democracy and the Global Order: From the Modern State to Cosmopolitan Governance Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press 324 pp., $49.50 cloth, $16.95 paper ISBN 0-8047-2686-8 cloth ISBN 0-8047-2687-6 cloth Publication Date: March 1996

Schneider, Barry R. and Lawrence E. Grinter Battlefield of the Future: Twenty-First Century Warfare Issues Maxwell Air Force Base, AL: Air War College 279 pp., CIP 95-36229 paper Publication Date: 1995

Roepke, Wilhelm The Moral Foundations of Civil Society New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction 235 pp., $21.95 paper ISBN 1-56000-852-0 paper Publication Date: 1995

Hekman, Susan J. Moral Voices, Moral Selves: Carol Gilligan and Feminist Moral Theory University Park, PA: Penn State Press 188 pp., $40.00 cloth. $16.95 paper ISBN 0-271-01483-0 cloth ISBN 0-271-01484-9 paper Publication Date: July 1995

Anderson, Walter Truett, ed. The Truth About the Truth: De-confusing and Re-constructing the Postmodern World New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons 260 pp., $13.95 paper ISBN 0-87477-801-8 paper Publication Date: September 1995

Carver, Terrell and Paul Thomas, eds. Rational Choice Marxism University Park, PA: Penn State Press 338 pp., $45.00 cloth $16.95 paper ISBN 0-271-01463-6 cloth ISBN 0-271-01464-4 paper Publication Date: October 1995

Lodge, Milton and Kathleen M. McGraw, eds. Political Judgment: Structure and Process Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press 313 pp., $39.50, ISBN 0-472-10541-8 Publication Date: June 1995

Simon, Thomas W. Democracy and Social Injustice: Law, Politics, and Philosophy Lanham, MD: Rowman &; Littlefield 341 pp., $69.50 cloth, $24.95 paper ISBN 0-8476-7937-3 cloth ISBN 0-8476-7938-1 paper Publication Date: 1995

Miller, William L., ed. Alternatives to Freedom: Arguments and Opinions New York: Longman 230 pp., ISBN 0-582-25130-3 Publication Date: December 1995

Fowler, Michael Ross and Julie Marie Bunck Law, Power, and the Sovereign State: The Evolution and Application of the Concept of Sovereignty University Park, PA: Penn State Press 200 pp., $28.50 cloth. $13.95 paper ISBN 0-271-01470-9 cloth ISBN 0-271-01471-7 paper Publication Date: December 1995

Graham, John D. and Jonathan Baert Wiener, eds. Risk vs. Risk: Tradeoffs in Protecting Health and the Environment Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press 337 pp., $39.95. ISBN 0-674-77304-7 Publication Date: November 1995

Wise, M. Norton, ed. The Values of Precision Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press 372 pp., $49.50, ISBN 0-691-03759-0 Publication Date: April 1995

Ball, Terence Reappraising Political Theory: Revisionist Studies in the History of Political Thought New York: Oxford University Press 310 pp., ISBN 0-19-827995-7 paper Publication Date: 1995

Levine, David R Wealth and Freedom: An Introduction to Political Economy New York: Cambridge University Press 191 pp., $49.95 cloth, $15.95 paper ISBN 0-521-44314-8 cloth ISBN 0-521-44791-7 paper Publication Date: August 1995

Grasso, Kenneth L., Gerard V. Bradley, and Robert P. Hunt, eds. Catholicism, Liberalism, and Communitarianism: The Catholic Intellectual Tradition and the Moral Foundations of Democracy Lanham, MD: Rowman &; Littlefield 271 pp., $64.50 cloth, $26.95 paper ISBN 0-8476-7995-0 cloth ISBN 0-8476-7994-2 paper Publication Date: September 1995

Ryan, Alan John Dewey and the High Tide of American Liberalism New York: Norton 414 pp., $30.00. ISBN 0-393-03773-8 Publication Date: July 1995

Meier, Heinrich; trans. J. Harvey Lomax Carl Schmitt and Leo Strauss: The Hidden Dialogue Chicago: University of Chicago Press 136 pp. $19.95, ISBN 0-226-51889-2 Publication Date: November 1995

McAllister, Ted V. Revolt against Modernity: Leo Strauss, Eric Voegelin, and the Search for a Postliberal Order Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas 323 pp., $29.95, ISBN 0-7006-0740-4 Publication Date: January 1996

Sorenson, Leonard R. Madison on the “General Welfare” of America: His Consistent Constitutional Vision Lanham, MD: Rowman &; Littlefield 198 pp., $58.50 cloth, $22.95 paper ISBN 0-8476-8065-7 cloth ISBN 0-8476-8064-9 paper Publication Date: August 1995

Katz, Ellis and G. Alan Tarr, eds. Federalism and Rights Lanham, MD: Rowman &; Littlefield 208 pp., $57.50 cloth, $29.95 paper ISBN 0-8476-8089-4 cloth ISBN 0-8476-8090-8 paper Publication Date: February 1996

Duerst-Lahti, Georgia and Rita Mae Kelly, eds. Gender Power, Leadership, and Governance Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press 305 pp., $47.50 cloth, $17.95 paper ISBN 0-472-09610 cloth ISBN 0-472-06610 paper Publication Date: February 1996

Wintz, Cary D., ed. African American Political Thought, 1890-1930: Washington, Du Bois, Garvey, and Randolph Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe 344 pp., $59.95 cloth, $22.95 paper ISBN 1-56324-178-1 cloth ISBN 1-56324-179-X paper Publication Date: February 1996

Cossolotto, Matthew The Almanac of European Politics 1995 Washington, DC: CQ Press 321 pp., $49.95 cloth, $29.95 paper ISBN 0-87187-914-X cloth ISBN 0-87187-913-1 paper Publication Date: June 1995

Parrish, Thomas The Cold War Encyclopedia New York: Henry Holt 490 pp., $60.00, ISBN 0-8050-2778-5 Publication Date: January 1996

Comfort, Nicholas, ed. Brewer's Politics: A Phrase and Fable Dictionary. Revised ed. London: Cassell 693 pp., $29.95, ISBN 0-304-34659-4 Publication Date: April 1996

Merry, Robert W. Taking on the World: Joseph and Stewart Alsop, Guardians of the American Century New York: Viking 644 pp., $34.95. ISBN 0-670-83868-3 Publication Date: February 1996     

Cultural diplomacy in Qatar: between ‘virtual enlargement’, national identity construction and elite legitimation

Abstract

This paper analyses how the government of Qatar has over the last years used practices of cultural diplomacy to enhance its standing abroad, and consolidate its legitimacy at home. Looking in particular at key initiatives of international collaboration of the Qatar Foundation and Qatar Museums, I argue that the Qatari government strategically uses cultural diplomacy to first produce and then disseminate an elite identity narrative of Qatar being a cohesive, future-oriented and rightfully engaged player in international affairs both inside and outside the state. To develop this argument, the analysis builds on observation during fieldwork in Doha between 2015 and 2016, and is enriched by a textual analysis of primary and secondary sources. As a timely contribution, the paper moreover shows that even in the light of considerable economic downturn, where budgets are cut and state-projects downsized, official narratives about Qatar’s global cultural ambitions have so far remained largely unchanged.     

Policy Entrepreneurs,Legislators, and Agenda Setting: Information and Influence

Policy entrepreneurs are thought to be instrumental in agenda change, yet we lack knowledge of how legislators perceive their role in the agenda formation process. Using data from a national survey of state legislators, we examine whether entrepreneurs shape the legislative agenda on disaster preparedness and relief, which types of entrepreneurs are most influential, and what strategies they use in their interactions with legislators. The results indicate that legislators who report contact with policy entrepreneurs are more likely to have introduced related legislation, evidence of the important link between entrepreneurs and policy change. While entrepreneurs utilize a variety of different strategies, the analysis reveals policymakers are particularly receptive to entrepreneurs who provide new and reliable information. This finding suggests the influence of entrepreneurs lies not only in their ability to define problems and build coalitions, but also in their distinctive ability to provide information to elected officials, an important role that has largely been overlooked by existing literature.     

New World Paleoethnobotany in the New Millennium (2000–2013)

This article evaluates the current state of paleoethnobotany since Hastorf’s 1999 review published in this journal. We discuss advances in methods, ancient subsistence reconstructions, the origins and intensification of agriculture, and how plants inform on issues of political economy and identity. Significant methodological developments in the extraction, identification, and analysis of starch grains and phytoliths have led to advancements in our knowledge of early plant domestication and the transition to food production. Paleoethnobotanists increasingly are using more complex quantitative techniques to characterize their data, which have resulted in more nuanced interpretations of plants that fall within the purview of social archaeology and allow us to address issues related to gender, identity, and ritual practice.     

The vigorous and doux soldier: David Hume’s military defence of commerce

ABSTRACT

If war is an inevitable condition of human nature, as David Hume suggests, then what type of societies can best protect us from defeat and conquest? For David Hume, commerce decreases the relative cost of war and promotes technological military advances as well as martial spirit. Commerce therefore makes a country militarily stronger and better equipped to protect itself against attacks than any other kind of society. Hume does not assume commerce would yield a peaceful world nor that commercial societies would be militarily weak, as many contemporary scholars have argued. On the contrary, for him, military might is a beneficial consequence of commerce.     

Conceptualizing the Survival Sector in Madagascar

Abstract: This article calls for the recognition of a subsector of the informal economy, which is conceptualized as the “survival sector”. Based on empirical evidence from Antananarivo, Madagascar it is suggested that beggars, street children and other marginalized people constitute a separate, non‐productive subsector of the economy, which is also distinguishable from formal and informal economies because of other aspects, such as the character of its social and economic networks, survival strategies, patterns of social and physical mobility, and the social and public spaces occupied. Given the vast number of marginalized people in the world, it seems useful to consider a survival sector of its own that is, despite interlinkages, fundamentally different from other components of the informal economy.