International Edition Volume 2 (2012)
Transnationalism – Migration – Integration
Migration and nation state in the modern world order through the prism of the concept of transnationalism
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Linda Jakubowicz
The rise in the diverse forms of cross-border migration is a topical and significant question against a backdrop of economic, social, cultural and political internationalisation. Alongside the predominant division of research interests into countries of origin and countries of destination, in recent years and even decades the transnational component of migration has emerged as a new area of research. This article looks at the theory of transnationalism as a sub-field of migration theory, which in turn has evolved as a field of international relations. Anyone dealing with transnationalism as a subject of research and as a sub-field of migration studies, will inevitably encounter topics such as "nation", "nation state", "citizenship" and, increasingly since the beginning of the millennium, the "security aspect" of migration movements (the latter has attracted greater attention as the concept of security has grown in scope). The foregoing raise questions about various and changing concepts of identity, diaspora politics and hybrid cultures and have implications for integration and assimilation models. Covering all of the above would be beyond the bounds of this article. Nevertheless, certain interactions between the topics will be discussed, without going into all the concepts in detail. The article will look first at where research into the subject stands and the theoretical concept of transnationalism. Based on this foundation, overlaps with other concepts and necessary implications for the understanding of the nation state and of the significance of identity for the population of the nation state will be explored. One of the focal points of interest is the EU, as the largest transnational area, and the question of the impact of such developments on the transformation of statehood. That train of thought leads inevitably to taking a critical look at and reflecting on the concept of methodological nationalism, i.e. the assumption that the nation state presents the logical and natural framework for social life and identities. Next, the attempt is made to move from a general to a more individual approach to the question of identity by looking more closely at the ways in which the concepts of transnationalism, circular migration, diaspora and hybrid culture intersect.
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The Police in International Peace Operations
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Mario Muigg
International peace operations are commonly associated with military deployments and the high-profile "blue helmets", the peacekeeping soldiers of the United Nations (and other organisations). Far less well known are the police and other civil units of such operations. Despite police components having played a role in the first peace operations of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, they have been paid little regard in comparison to the military components. The presence of police units in international peace operations is significantly underrepresented in research and registers extremely low or not at all on the public radar. While this may seem understandable to a certain extent, given that the police play a far lesser role than the military in numerical terms, the lack of recognition is particularly undeserved because police components are a very significant element of international peace missions. The role of the police has gained in importance in recent years, especially in operations following “internal” conflicts (in contrast to “traditional” peace operations following conflicts between states). After the end of the Cold War, the number and significance of police units involved in international peace operations grew considerably.
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Piracy – Criminality on the High Seas
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Nikolaus Rottenberger
Since the early 1990s, piracy has made its presence felt more strongly in varying forms. The world’s most piracy-infested regions are the South China Sea, the Strait of Malacca, the Gulf of Aden, the Nigerian coast and the Caribbean. Owing to the reliance on integrated supply chains and just-in-time production processes, the world economy is directly hit by delivery delays or failures. The costs of piracy range from 0.0 % to 0.2 % of total maritime trade, which is estimated at USD 8 billion annually. This article looks at the latest developments, the causes of piracy and the methods and tactics employed by pirate syndicates. International responses have resulted in joint naval operations and regional cooperation agreements, with varying success. The future of piracy will depend on a series of factors, such as the impact of failed states, the weapons trade and the influence of organised crime.
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Understanding Transnational Organised Crime
A constructivist approach towards a growing phenomenon
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Thomas Pankratz, Hanns Matiasek
Generally speaking, ends, ways and means of Organised Crime (OC) remain consistent: the main motive of OC has always been and will continue to be profit ("ends"). Trade with any goods ("ways"), even human beings, is still the most powerful lever to gain profit. And the central method ("means") is corruption. What is "newv in regard to OC is the increasingly transnational character of this phenomenon, in terms of an expansion in volume, geographical scope, and the complexity of the criminal process. Organised Crime is no longer an isolated issue of criminality in a single country, but a transnational problem affecting the global system and international relations. Transnational Organised Crime (TOC) today is much more about transactions and related processes than actual products; its real power and flexibility, therefore, lies in the network of nodes that connects initial production and final distribution of any good or service that it encompasses. From our point of view, it is not possible to define TOC through a positivist or normative approach that claims to describe the phenomenon definitively. As shown in this article, the idea of a single model that defines TOC as entity, unavoidably leads to misinterpretation because this man-made phenomenon appears in various fields of criminal activity and also acts through diverse types of organisational structures. Instead, we apply a constructivist view that incorporates these varied dimensions of TOC and enhances our explanatory power and flexibility. Through such an approach, TOC can be understood primarily as a set of interactions – and therefore its process-related character becomes much clearer.
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Introduction to Bloodstain Pattern Analysis
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Silke Brodbeck
Bloodstain pattern analysis is a forensic discipline that deals with the physics of the blood and assesses bloodstains left at crime scenes using visual pattern recognition. It is used to shed light on various forensic matters including reconstruction of events, differential diagnosis of homicide/suicide/accident and identifying areas with high likelihood of offender movements for taking DNA samples. There are documented descriptions of bloodstain shapes at crime scenes that date back to past centuries. However, it was the Samuel Sheppard case in the USA that prompted advances in this field. Bloodstain pattern analysis is employed worldwide by scientists, police officials and medics in an interdisciplinary manner. Both the blood itself and the surfaces on which the bloodstains are found are important in the assessment of bloodstains. The umbrella organisation for bloodstain pattern analysts is the International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts (IABPA), which offers various forms of membership. The name of the method (bloodstain pattern analysis) is often abbreviated to BPA.
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Serial Arson
Study of a phenomenon
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Frank D. Stolt
Particular care and thoroughness are needed when investigating cases of serial arson. The frequency of the offences and the danger to the public always awaken fear and great concern in the urban and rural areas affected. The German media is quick to speak about "fire devil" arsonists. The subjective feeling of safety in large sections of the population immediately affected decreases considerably when an arsonist is on the loose. Unfortunately, a fully usable definition of serial arson cannot be found in the specialist literature on psychology, sociology and criminalistics in the German-speaking world. On the other hand, there are many findings concerning a possible "offender profile". Serial arsonists tend to be male and act alone. They show a general preference for the same or similar targets, most of which are unlit, such as litter bins, waste containers, motor vehicles, unlocked buildings, wooded areas etc. It is only in rare cases that a serial arsonist changes their preferred targets during a prolonged arson series. Any inhibitions that the offender may have at the time of their first fire are shed very quickly after their first successful arson attack. Serial arsonists rarely use accelerants such as petrol, diesel etc. Serial arsonists who are active in the evening hours before or after the onset of darkness are frequently youths (aged between 14 and 18, by German law). Young adults (aged between 18 and 21, by German law) tend to act in the darkness of early evening, while adults typically only carry out attacks in the late night or early morning hours. Serial arsonists are mainly local offenders.
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Youth Violence in Germany
Key results and findings
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Daniela Pollich, Andreas Daniel
The present article surveys recent German research into adolescent violent delinquency. Significant correlates of violent delinquency are shown to include gender, ethnicity, peer group, social milieu and media consumption. Research efforts address both the possible causes and changes in youth delinquency over time. Studies differ regarding the data set considered (official and unofficial data) and the design (panel studies, trend studies). In addition to providing a general overview of German longitudinal research in the fields of criminal sociology and criminology, the article also describes in detail the Crime in the Modern City (CRIMOC) panel study supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG). Finally, some predictors identified from violence research are tested for their association with violence prevalence and violence incidence using two multivariate analyses of the data from the CRIMOC study. The findings broadly substantiate those reported in the literature on the subject.
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The Effort to Combat the Traffic in Women in Austria before the First World War
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Jürgen Nautz
The first wave of globalisation and migration, a product of industrialisation from the second half of the 19th century onwards, brought with it the phenomenon of the "white slave trade". The traffickers preyed in particular on women and girls in the poorest areas of the Habsburg Monarchy, which, within the Austrian part of the realm (Cisleithania), meant Galicia first and foremost. The primary destination until 1914 was Buenos Aires. The issue was soon high on the daily political agenda, chiefly thanks to the efforts of civil society initiatives. The strategies adopted against the traffic in women involved forward looking governance structures, which enjoyed successes in Austria and elsewhere. This article illustrates cooperation in Austria between the state and civil sectors through the example of the "Austrian League for the Protection of Young Women and Children".
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Last update: 22 October 2024