States

The Transformation of Quantity Into Quality: Critical Mass in the Formation of Customary International

by William Worster

The formation of customary international law has long been criticized for its lack of a clear methodology,... more The formation of customary international law has long been criticized for its lack of a clear methodology, characterized by an ambivalent relationship with state consent. Although customary international law seems to be entirely a creature of state consent, after all it is based on actual practice, in reality the fit with state consent is loose at best. Customary international law only awkwardly bridges the gap between a descriptive and prescriptive norm. Unable to move forward, the study of the formation of customary international law appears to have largely reached an impasse. Yet, states still appear to support and apply customary international law as a source of law, so we are faced with the situation of embracing a source of law that we do not understand well and where the applicable law is often vague.

This article is an attempt to bring into international law a perspective from the hard and soft sciences for discussing the formation of customary international law, specifically the study of critical mass in collective group behavior. This language is not entirely new to discussions on customary international law. Where it has been mentioned, the implications of critical mass theory have not been fully explored. Critical mass can be a loose concept to simply describe the accumulation of small actions that result in large shifts in collective behavior; however, it is also an empirically-based scientific study that attempts to assess how those changes come about. This article seeks to delve more deeply into critical mass and apply the insights from this study to the formation of customary international law.

Following a very brief introduction with background on customary international law, the paper will describe how the social sciences have embraced the critical mass theoretical perspective in the study of collective decision-making. Three primary elements of social change will be identified: (1) the importance of the content of the norm, (2) the role of influence through networks, and (3) the role of key individuals, “opinion leaders” and “opinion diffusors”.

Following this review of the science, the author will draw some implications for customary international law. In particular, the author will re-characterize three major discussions within customary international law into the three key factors of critical mass. The first discussion is that over the qualitative assessment of norms. The second is the growing influence of networks either as transnational governance or international organization rule-making. The final discussion is a proposal to understand the role of the “specially interested” state as a norm entrepreneur. The paper will conclude that study of critical mass can contribute to a better, and more formal, methodology for understanding customary international law.

Kinship and State: Arab States

by Diane E. King

King, Diane E. 2005 Kinship and State: Arab States. In Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures, vol. II: Family, Law, and Politics. Suad Joseph, ed. Pp. 347-349. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers.

Middle Eastern Belongings: Impositions, Ironies, Bodies, Lands

by Diane E. King

King, Diane E. 2008 Middle Eastern Belongings: Impositions, Ironies, Bodies, Lands. Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power 15(3):261-270.

(2011) American State Litter Scorecard: New Rankings for An Increasingly Environmentally Concerned Population

by Steve Spacek

Cited by THE BOSTON GLOBE and numerous Newspapers; TRAVEL+LEISURE; "Reducing Litter on Roadsides" Academic Journal of (U.S) National Transportations Academies.

By popular demand--a NEW, up-to-date State Litter "Scorecard" is now released for the 2011 ASPA Baltimore... more By popular demand--a NEW, up-to-date State Litter "Scorecard" is now released for the 2011 ASPA Baltimore Conference--measuring each state’s overall environmental quality through public property/spaces debris removal efforts. The “Scorecard” uses tried-and-true, hard-to-publicly obtain objective and subjective measures, leading to a total overall score for each measured jurisdiction. Readers can thus gain a realistic "picture" of "what's going on" within one or all of the 50 states. Littering/dumping remains harmful, serious American environmental crimes, creating dangers to public health and safety, and contributing to the deaths of over 800 Americans in debris-attributed motor vehicle accidents. The Scorecard has been a valuable tool in enabling improved debris/litter abatement practices in states and regions.

Washington was deemed the overall top BEST state, followed by California, Iowa, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, Oregon, New Hampshire, North Carolina and New York. Kentucky led the bottom –the ultimate WORST and poorest performer of the 50 United States, followed by Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Alabama, Indiana, Georgia, Illinois, Oklahoma, Montana, North Dakota and Texas.

Regretfully, some states still do not collect important comparative litter data measures, nor yet to have made REAL differences in improving environmental conditions to protect citizenry health and welfare. This paper is yet another call to action to help remedy these unattended-to issues—and, to save lives.

TOKEN STATES

by Guy Longworth

Hazar’a Kıyıdaş Türkî Cumhuriyetlerde Devletin Özgül Gelişimi

by Uluslararası İlişkiler

Mert Bilgin, "Hazar’a Kıyıdaş Türkî Cumhuriyetlerde Devletin Özgül Gelişimi", Uluslararası İlişkiler, Cilt 1, Sayı 4, (Kış), 2004.

Sovyetler Birliği’nin dağılmasıyla bağımsızlığını kazanan tüm ülkeler uluslararası aktörlerden gelen neoliberal... more Sovyetler Birliği’nin dağılmasıyla bağımsızlığını kazanan tüm ülkeler uluslararası aktörlerden gelen neoliberal baskılar sonucunda geçiş süreci yaşamış ya da yaşamaktadırlar. Bu süreçte devlet, gerek siyasi gerekse ekonomik liberalleşme önündeki en büyük engel görülerek yeniden yapılandırılmaya çalışılmıştır. Azerbaycan, Kazakistan ve Türkmenistan devletleri ortak Sovyet geçmişlerinin getirdiği güçlü devlet anlayışıyla diğer geçiş ekonomilerine benzeseler de, devletin Sovyet sonrası dönemde doğal kaynakları kullanarak kendini yeniden dönüştürmesi ve toplumdan giderek uzaklaşması anlamında farklıdırlar. Azerbaycan devleti doğal kaynakları sayesinde elde ettiği gelirlerle toplumdan bağımsızlaşmış; vergi birinci derecede gelir kaynağı olmaktan çıkmıştır. Kazakistan ekonomik liberalleşmede önemli atılımlar yapsa da siyasi olarak kemikleşmiş yapısını korumuştur. Türkmenistan ise otokratik bir anlayışla gaz ticaretinden elde ettiği gelirleri kullanarak varlığını topluma karşı güçlendirmiştir.

Comparing Processes: Media, 'Transitions,' and Historical Change

by Natalia Roudakova

The role of Aktionsart in deverbal nouns: state nominalizations across languages

by Antonio Fábregas

With Rafael Marín. Accepted in Journal of Linguistics.