The Challenge of Religious Governance in the Modern Nation-State

This article explores the tensions of Islamic governance in contemporary Iran by examining the convergence of Islamic law with modern practices of governance. One key contention with contemporary statehood this political project is trying to reconcile is how to re-embed religious norms in the secularized political sphere. I assert that the political and legal practices for re-embedding these norms indicate an epistemic shift in the modes of legitimation within Muslim political and legal tradition possibly leading to the formation of a new Islamic political orthodoxy. This exploration is based on information from ethnographic interviews conducted with the former President of the Islamic Republic of Iran (1989–1997), the late Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, and former Minister of Radio and Television (1981–1994) and the current member of the Expediency Council, Muhammad Rafsanjani. The article bases its argument by analyzing two variant forms of political practice. First, scrutinizing the fatwas of Ayatollah Khomeini that played a crucial role in influencing policy in the first decade of the Islamic Republic. Second, examining the adjudications of a conciliar governmental body (Majma-e Tashkhis-e Maslahat) formed a decade after the revolution to resolve the tensions associated with the implementation of Islamic law in this modern nation-state.

The Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons under the Kampala Convention: An Institutional Approach

The Kampala Convention has emerged as a significant regional framework for the protection and assistance of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Africa. Over the last decade, the importance of this framework has been reflected at various levels of governance. However, one gap in the literature relates to the institutional arrangements surrounding the Kampala Convention, even as it moves beyond the first decade and has been ratified by nearly two-thirds of the current Member States of the African Union. This issue is the thrust of this article. In particular, it examines how the institutions of the wider African Union system can shape the implementation of the Kampala Convention and better ensure protection and assistance for IDPs in this region.

Sustainability of the Funded Ratio and Asset Allocation Choice of State Public Pension Plans

The paper examines State Public Pension Plans in the United States and the sustainability of their funded ratios. The authors apply a panel logit with random effects regression model of asset allocation choice and average returns during fiscal years 2001 to 2015. There are three key factors which adequately fund State Public Pension Plans: (i) current member contributions, (ii) members’ employer contributions, and (iii) investment returns on those contributions. Returns on those contributions depend heavily on allocation choice of those funds in traditional and alternative investments. Alternatives are generally assumed to provide higher average returns with higher risk. This paper shows that in the long-term, investment in traditional assets such as bonds, equities and short-term cash have a higher likelihood of funding State Public Pension Plan’s payment obligations to beneficiaries.

Economic effects estimation for the Eurasian Economic Union: Application of regional linear regression

This paper aims to provide a coherent analysis of the economic impact accession to the Eurasian Economic Union has had on the economies of current member states and what affect membership would have on the economy of Azerbaijan. By applying a Linear Regression Model we find that membership to this regional bloc has yielded minimal financial benefits for the existing members. However, for most states, accession has increased the trade deficit with Russia and that a membership would likely produce a similar negative outcome for Azerbaijan in addition to undermining national economic and energy policy making.

The Literati-Official Victimization Narrative

This article describes the Confucian cycle of apotheosis in which deceased sages and worthies served as a model for the living who in turn aspired to become paragons for future generations, thereby achieving a form of immortality. It explores the way in which victimhood was strategically employed to perpetuate power relations beneficial to local landowners through a case study of support over a hundred and fifty year period by a major familial lineage in the Yangzi delta region for one of the most prominent victims of factional violence in the late Ming dynasty (1368–1644): Donglin current member Zhou Shunchang (1584–1626). Influential patriarchs in the Peng familial lineage of Suzhou cultivated indignation in local society about the injustices suffered by righteous literati-officials such as Zhou Shunchang. The driving motivation of the Pengs’ memorialization of Zhou was to decry physical harm of literati-officials by state agents and to perpetuate the Donglin current program of governance centered on the counsel of literati-officials. In continuing Zhou’s memory through textual and ritual interventions, the Pengs put forward a vision of local autonomy while simultaneously aligning their own interests with those of the Manchu Qing (1644-1911) rulers.

The Lisbon Treaty and the Accession of Turkey to the European Union

On December 13, 2007, the Member States of the European Union (EU) signed in Lisbon a treaty amending the founding Treaties of the EU. After a troubled ratification process, due to the adverse outcome of a national referendum in Ireland, the Lisbon Treaty finally entered into force on December 1, 2009, defining a new trajectory for the EU integration process. The present article addresses the possible implications of the recent EU treaty reform to the accession of Turkey to the EU. To that end, I propose an analysis of the modifications introduced in the institutional framework of the Union and I inquire whether the legal change at this level is capable of influencing the attitude of the current Member States concerning the accession of Turkey to the EU.

Scetion 116 of the Australian Constitution and Dress Restrictions

This article considers constitutional arguments that would arise if a government at either federal or state level decided to ban dress often identified as having religious connotations. This is not a far-fetched scenario, with at least one current Member of Parliament calling for such a ban, and bans operating in some overseas jurisdictions. It concludes that there would be serious constitutional doubt about such a law.

"LEADERS" AND "LAGGARDS" OR THE POST-COMMUNIST ROADS TO DEMOCRACY

Summary: The purpose of this article is to examine the different progress of the post-communist world in consolidating democracy, in order to determine the suitability of a collective or group-based examination. The article argues that the post-communist countries should not be analyzed as a single unit, but separately into groups according to the progress in consolidating democracy. Conceptually, the article utilizes Linz and Stepan's five arenas of consolidated democracy. The article employs comparative methodology using empirical data from the Freedom House Nations in Transit reports and specific country reports comparing the particular problems each of the separate groups face. The article highlights the differences in the progress in consolidating democracy between three groups of post-communist countries: the current member of the European Union (EU), the countries of Southeastern Europe, and the non-Baltic former Soviet countries.