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542. Three Myths about Voter Turnout in the United States
- Author:
- John Samples
- Publication Date:
- 09-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Critics of American politics and elections often focus on low voter turnout in the United States. They argue that voter turnout is steadily declining largely because of voter cynicism caused by big money campaigns and negative political advertising. Voter turnout is lower than it was in the 1960s, but almost the entire decline happened between 1968 and 1974. Sophisticated and detailed studies of both public trust in government and the consequences of political advertising show that neither factor has a negative effect on voter turnout.
- Topic:
- Government, Human Rights, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- United States and America
543. Understanding Privacy—and the Real Threats to It
- Author:
- Jim Harper
- Publication Date:
- 08-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Properly defined, privacy is the subjective condition people experience when they have power to control information about themselves. Because privacy is subjective, government regulation in the name of privacy can only create confidentiality or secrecy rules based on politicians' and bureaucrats' guesses about what "privacy" should look like. The most important, but elusive, part of true privacy protection is consumers' exercise of power over information about themselves. Ultimately, privacy is a product of personal responsibility and autonomy.
- Topic:
- Government and Human Rights
544. Discourse of Silence in Alcanfor and "Te deix, amor, la mar com a penyora"
- Author:
- Kathleen M. Glenn
- Publication Date:
- 03-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute of European Studies (IES), UC Berkeley
- Abstract:
- Contemporary Spanish literature abounds in narratives where silence has an important function. In the fiction of Cristina Fernández Cubas it has epistemological implications. Mercè Rodoreda and Maria Barbal employ a rhetoric of silence to call attention to the situation of women who are obliged to remain silent and suffer without protest. Carme Riera and Dulce Chacón utilize silences, and acts of breaking silence, to emphasize the lack of voice of marginal beings and to highlight sexual, socioeconomic and political inequalities. In the present paper, I focus on the role of silence in a novel by Barbal and a story by Riera.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Gender Issues, and Human Rights
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Cuba
545. Women Writing on Physical Culture in Pre-Civil War Catalonia
- Author:
- P. Louise Johnson
- Publication Date:
- 03-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute of European Studies (IES), UC Berkeley
- Abstract:
- Anna Maria Martínez-Sagi is a largely forgotten but immensely evocative voice in the liberal-progressive press of nineteen-thirties' Spain. In particular, she is remarkable for being one of very few female writers of the time who were also active sportswomen, as well as being fiercely Catalanist and pro-women, in an inclusive sense. This article looks at her contribution to the debate on physical culture in Catalonia at the time, with reference to other writers concerned with the subject, and aims to capture in some small way the energy and humour which characterized her columns and reports.
- Topic:
- Education, Gender Issues, and Human Rights
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Spain, and Catalonia
546. Africa's Debt Iraq's Debt - Washington's Double Standard
- Publication Date:
- 04-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Africa Policy Information Center
- Abstract:
- This week when the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) hold their annual spring meetings in Washington, DC, Africa's debt crisis will hardly appear on their agenda.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Economics, Human Rights, Human Welfare, and Poverty
- Political Geography:
- Africa, United States, Iraq, Washington, Middle East, and Arabia
547. Africa Policy Outlook 2004
- Author:
- Salih Booker and Ann-Louise Colgan
- Publication Date:
- 01-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Africa Policy Information Center
- Abstract:
- The U.S.' Africa policy will continue to be characterized by a duplicity that has emerged as the principal hallmark of the Bush Administration approach to the continent. On the one hand, Africa's priorities are being marginalized and undermined by a U.S. foreign policy preoccupied with other parts of the world. On the other hand, the Bush White House is callously manipulating Africa, claiming to champion the continent's needs with its compassionate conservative agenda.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Economics, Human Rights, Human Welfare, Poverty, and War
- Political Geography:
- Africa and United States
548. Northern Uganda: Understanding and Solving the Conflict
- Publication Date:
- 04-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- For nearly eighteen years the insurgency of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), led by Joseph Kony, has produced great suffering in Northern Uganda, including some 1.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland recently termed the situation among the worst humanitarian disasters in the world. In February 2004, in one of the most horrific atrocities since the conflict began, the LRA massacred approximately 200 civilians, revealing serious deficiencies in the government's capacity to defend the population and defeat the insurgency. The conflict seriously blemishes the record of President Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Movement (NRM), which has otherwise brought relative stability to the country. The international community has leverage and at least strong humanitarian reasons to urge a more politically oriented strategy to resolve the conflict.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Civil War, and Human Rights
- Political Geography:
- Uganda and Africa
549. The Failure of Reform in Uzbekistan: Ways Forward for the International Community
- Publication Date:
- 03-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Uzbekistan occupies a key strategic position in Central Asia and has a strong security relationship with the U.S. but its political system is highly repressive and its economy is barely reformed since Soviet times. Economic decline and political sclerosis threaten internal stability and undermine regional security. The international community has long urged political and economic reform, but with little success. With no significant progress on either front in 2003, it is time for the U.S., the EU and international financial institutions to begin to shift policies: reducing lending and assistance to the central government, while increasing engagement with society and the private sector.
- Topic:
- Government, Human Rights, and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- United States, Central Asia, and Uzbekistan
550. Hostages for Prisoners: A Way to Peace in Colombia?
- Publication Date:
- 03-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- In February 2004, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the major insurgent group, announced creation of a three-member negotiation commission and a "diplomatic offensive" aimed at obtaining the release of hundreds of its imprisoned members in exchange for about 60 military and political hostages it holds. This has raised hope among the relatives of hostages and kidnap victims that a "humanitarian exchange" could happen in the not too distant future.
- Topic:
- Security, Human Rights, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Colombia, South America, and Latin America
551. Darfur Rising: Sudan's New Crisis
- Publication Date:
- 03-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Sudan, where prospects for peace had looked so promising for much of 2003, has become a potential horror story in 2004. The rapid onset of war in its western region of Darfur has created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises -- thousands dead and some 830,000 uprooted from homes. Meanwhile, the IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority for Development) peace talks in Naivasha, Kenya between the government and the insurgent Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLA) threaten to deadlock. It is urgent that these talks succeed and that, simultaneously, a parallel process begins to address both the humanitarian and political crises in Darfur.
- Topic:
- Civil War, Human Rights, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- Kenya, Africa, and Sudan
552. Law Watch - Detainees: Supreme Court Guantanamo Decision
- Author:
- Steven C. Welsh
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- With a decision notably brief for the mountain of argument leading up to it, the U.S. Supreme Court in Rasul v. Bush held on June 28, 2004, that foreign nationals imprisoned without charge at the Guantanamo Bay interrogation camps were entitled to bring legal action challenging their captivity in U.S. federal civilian courts.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Human Rights, International Law, and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- United States
553. What Constitutions Can Do (But Courts Sometimes Don't):Property, Speech, and The Influence of Constitutional Norms on Private Law
- Author:
- Oliver Gerstenberg
- Publication Date:
- 05-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- Against the background of the ECtHR's recent decision in Appleby v UK (a European “counterpart” to the well-known US Supreme Court decision in Marsh v Alabama) the paper addresses, first, the issue of the influence, often perceived as dilemmatic, of human rights norms and constitutional norms on private law. In a second step, then, the paper discusses the promise—and a possible dilemma—of “comparative constitutionalism” as an engine of a more denationalized “constitutional patriotism”: the dilemma that we trade the “closure” of domestic exceptionalism against the new, systemic “closure” of “too much” judicial comity and professionalism, the closure of a new Juristenrecht.
- Topic:
- Human Rights and International Law
- Political Geography:
- United States, United Kingdom, and Europe
554. The Age of Welfare: Patronage, Citizenship, and Generational Justice in Social Policy
- Author:
- Julia Lynch
- Publication Date:
- 04-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- Welfare states' redistribution of resources across classes, occupations, and genders is the subject of intensive scholarly analysis. Yet we know very little about how and why welfare states treat different age groups differently. This article demonstrates that seniors' demand for welfare does not determine age-orientation. Rather, the “age of welfare” is a largely unintended consequence of the interaction between the structure of social policies and the way that politicians use these programs to compete for votes. An implication for the policy feedback literature is that constituency demand may be less important than the unintended consequences of welfare state institutions.
- Topic:
- Human Rights, Human Welfare, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- United States
555. Report on an Analysis of the Representativeness of the Second Audit Sample, and the Correlation between Petition Signers and the Yes Vote in the Aug. 15, 2004 Presidential Recall Referendum in Venezuela
- Publication Date:
- 08-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Carter Center
- Abstract:
- This study was conducted by The Carter Center and confirmed by the OAS in response to a written request from Sumate presented to The Carter Center Sept. 7, 2004. Sumate asked that The Carter Center evaluate a study performed by Professors Ricardo Hausmann and Roberto Rigobon.
- Topic:
- Government, Human Rights, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- South America and Venezuela
556. Audit of the Results of the Presidential Recall Referendum in Venezuela
- Publication Date:
- 08-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Carter Center
- Abstract:
- The following questions are expected to be answered by this audit of the manual recount of voting receipts (comprobantes de votación) in the ballot boxes:Does the electronic result transmitted by the voting machines (shown on the respective tally sheets) coincide with the manual recount of the receipts deposited in the respective ballot boxes, or not? Is there a discernable bias in the discrepancies found in favor of either the “Yes” votes or the “No” votes?
- Topic:
- Government, Human Rights, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- South America and Venezuela
557. U.S. Military Assistance to 1460 Report Countries: 1990-2005
- Author:
- Victoria Garcia
- Publication Date:
- 04-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- On Jan. 30, 2003, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted resolution 1460, which reaffirms the council's previous resolutions (1261, 1314, and 1379) on children and armed conflict and calls on all parties to armed conflict to stop using child soldiers. Resolution 1460 also requests that the UN secretary general list the progress made by the 23 parties to conflict on the Security Council's agenda (S/2002/1299), including governmental armed groups that continue to use or recruit child soldiers. In response to Resolution 1460, and in advance of the Security Council's fourth open debate on children in armed conflict, the Coalition to stop the Use of Child Soldiers published a report that lists 17 countries where child soldiers were being used from January 2003 through September 2003. While the report does not cover every situation where children are being deployed, it specifically includes all of the countries covered on the Security Council's agenda, as well as other situations deemed critical by the coalition.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Human Rights, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- United States
558. CERI: The United States and Europe and the conflict in Colombia
- Author:
- Frédéric Massé
- Publication Date:
- 06-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales
- Abstract:
- The conflict in Colombia has, in the space of a few years, become a real headache for the United States as well as for Europe. Countless human rights violations, forced population displacement, drug trafficking and terrorism make Colombia a textbook case for examining the entire range of security problems today. With the launching of Plan Colombia in 1999, the United States considerably increased its aid to the country. Today, the American administration actively supports Alvaro Uribe's government in its fight against guerilla movements, labeled "narcoterrorists," and rumors of armed intervention regularly resurface. Having long remained on the sidelines of the "Colombian tragedy," Europe seems to be relegated to playing second fiddle. The military option represented by Plan Colombia had opened up a political spaced that the Europeans began to occupy. But with the break-off of peace negotiations, this space has shrunk and has maybe even disappeared for good. In the face of American efforts to monopolize management of the Colombian conflict, it is in fact hard to see how the European Union can return to the forefront in this area of the world that remains the United States' preserve. All the more so since virtually no voices can be heard asking the Europeans to counterbalance the United States.The situation in Colombia is a new illustration of the state of U.S.-European relations today, between competition, a search for complementarity and a mutual lack of understanding.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution and Human Rights
- Political Geography:
- United States, America, Europe, Colombia, and South America
559. The United States, the European Union, and International Human Rights Issues
- Author:
- Esther Brimmer
- Publication Date:
- 05-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Transatlantic Relations
- Abstract:
- As pillars of the transatlantic community, the United States and the European Union often talk about their shared values derived from their common heritage in the western liberal democratic tradition. Both claim to base their domestic and external policies on their values; and both play a role in international affairs. Their common values suggest that they would support similar policies on international human rights issues. Yet on the international stage they have surprisingly different approaches. This paper will analyze areas of commonality and divergence in United States and European Union policies on international human rights and examine the implications of these differences for human rights and for transatlantic relations.
- Topic:
- Human Rights, Human Welfare, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- United States and Europe
560. Kosovo: Orders of Magnitude
- Author:
- Adam Jones
- Publication Date:
- 02-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas
- Abstract:
- The issue of the number of civilian causalities in the Kosovo war of 1999, especially of "battle-age" men, attracted considerable controversy both during the war and in its aftermath. This article considers the pattern of Serb atrocities in the province, and the pace and character of the forensic investigations conducted since the war by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). It argues that the lowest casualty estimates are highly unlikely, given the evidence of widespread mass executions gleaned from refugee testimony and forensic investigations. The article concludes with some thoughts on the implications of the casualty figures in the policy of human-rights arenas.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Genocide, Human Rights, and Human Welfare
- Political Geography:
- Kosovo and Yugoslavia