Moral Suasion Research Articles

Zen Terror in Prewar Japan: Portrait of an Assassin by Brian Daizen Victoria

Reviewed by: Zen Terror in Prewar Japan: Portrait of an Assassin by Brian Daizen Victoria Melissa Anne-Marie Curley (bio) Brian Daizen Victoria. Zen Terror in Prewar Japan: Portrait of an Assassin. By Lexington Books, 2019. xxii, 352 pages. $34.00, cloth; $32.00, E-book. With Zen Terror in Prewar Japan: Portrait of an Assassin, Brian Victoria brings to a close his trilogy examining the ways that Japanese Zen Buddhist thought served, over the course of the twentieth century, to variously [End Page 157] motivate, enable, legitimate, and excuse state violence. The publisher's description for Zen Terror tells us that this third book "explodes the myth of Zen Buddhism as a peaceful religion." This perhaps does not do justice to the profound impact of the earlier books in the series, Zen at War (Weatherhill, 1997) and Zen War Stories (RoutledgeCurzon, 2003), on both Zen institutions and Buddhist studies. As Victoria notes in the preface to Zen Terror, his Zen at War was cited by Rinzai Zen and Sanbō-kyōdan leaders as "one of the catalysts" spurring those institutions to issue "formal apologies for their sect's wartime complicity" (p. xvi); his work has likewise been required reading for students of Japanese religion for the last two decades. Alongside those readers who will come to Zen Terror with a naive understanding of Zen Buddhism as a peaceful religion then, there will be others whose sense of that history, informed directly or indirectly by Victoria's influential earlier work, is already more complex. These latter readers may also have grappled with some of the other studies of Buddhism and violence that have appeared in the years since Zen at War was first published, including, for example, work by Juliane Schober, Jacob Dalton, the many scholars represented in Vladimir Tikhonov and Torkel Brekke's edited volume Buddhism and Violence: Militarism and Buddhism in Modern Asia, and of course the field-defining contributions of Michael K. Jerryson.1 Zen Terror does not, however, engage these more recent examinations of Buddhism and violence. This observation is intended not as a criticism but as an indication of the kind of book Victoria set out to write: not an academic volume but a book that might find a large popular audience, and in doing so be able to effectively continue the trilogy's work of moral suasion, prompting Zen Buddhists first "to honestly admit" that "elements/teachings that have been used to justify, even encourage, the use of violence" exist within the tradition and then to "address" them (p. 235). This process of self-critique and self-correction is absolutely required, Victoria writes, if we are ever to "save the blood-soaked boat called 'religion'" (p. 232). With such a project in mind, Victoria seeks in Zen Terror to "take readers inside the mind, inside the very 'skin,' of one terrorist leader" (p. 8): Inoue Nisshō (1887–1967), the head of a group dubbed the Blood Oath Corps (Ketsumeidan), [End Page 158] which in 1932 carried out a plot resulting in the assassinations of banker and politician Inoue Junnosuke (1869–1932) and business magnate Takuma Dan (1858–1932). This is not, Victoria writes, "an objective history" (p. 8); readers interested in such a thing are directed to "the many academic books and articles describing this period and the role Inoue and his terrorist band played in it" (p. 7) (although Victoria also calls into question "the degree of objectivity or simple accuracy" of such works, insofar as they identify Inoue as influenced primarily by Nichiren Buddhism rather than by Zen). In reviewing Zen Terror in this journal then, I am conscious that I am reading it at cross-purposes, focused on what Victoria's academic readers might discover in a text that is not primarily intended for them. The core of the book is a "life-history" of Inoue (p. 5), unfolding in ten chapters which take us from Inoue's "troubled youth" through his time as a mercenary, spy, and army interpreter in China, his experiments with religious practice upon his return to Japan, the Ketsumeidan Incident and its aftermath—which saw Inoue first imprisoned and then installed as an advisor to Prince...

Seeing reason or seeing costs? The United States, counterterrorism, and the human rights of foreigners

It is well known that in the wake of 9/11, the United States committed various extraterritorial human rights violations, that is, human rights violations against foreigners outside of its territory. What is less known is that the United States has gradually introduced safeguards that are, at least on paper, meant to prevent its counter-terrorism policies from causing harm to foreigners abroad or, at least, to mitigate such harm. Based on three case studies on the development of safeguards related to torture, targeted killing, and mass surveillance, we show that two mechanisms, coercion and strategic learning, deployed either on their own or in combination, can account for the development of such safeguards. By contrast, we found no evidence of a third mechanism, moral persuasion, having any direct effect. In other words, US policymakers opt to introduce such safeguards either when they face pressure from other states, courts, or civil society that makes immediate action necessary or when they anticipate that not introducing them will, at a later date, result in prohibitively high costs. We did not find evidence of US policymakers establishing safeguards because they deemed them morally appropriate. From this we conclude that, although the emerging norm that states have extraterritorial (and not just domestic) human rights obligations may not have been internalized by key US policymakers, it nevertheless has a regulative effect on them insofar as the fact that relevant others believe in the norm restricts their leeway and influences their cost–benefit calculations.

Is Modern Monetary Theory’s prescription to spend without reference to tax receipts an invitation to tyranny?

Abstract A set of policy prescriptions based on Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) have been developed that are independent of the monetary model, which are often presented together, in a context that does not require taxation: guaranteed income, job guarantee and full employment. These are enabled by the ability of a government to deficit spend as needed, as long as government controls its sovereign currency. Here I raise the concern that implementing MMT accounting could cause increases in political power inequality relative to citizens not seen since the medieval era or before. The assumption that spending and tax policy in an MMT system would occur as proponents expect is contradicted by the history of political choices regarding spending and taxation over the past half-century. The record of behaviour by politicians in the nations where foreign aid money “fell from the sky,” thus divorcing national income from the tax base, also contradicts this idea. With removal of the formal requirement for taxation, politicians operating in an MMT system will have little inherent reason in the short term to treat citizens well except moral suasion. This should provide a foundation for tyranny unparalleled in modern history. Incorporating progressive taxation into MMT’s corpus, for the express purpose of economic and political stability, is suggested in order to achieve the overall aims of the MMT policy advocates. However, this may not be sufficient. In addition, considering increasing the role of governors/leaders of states within the monetary unions may be useful, because those governments do need to follow the old rules of taxation to support spending, and this may provide a counterweight.

The state of climate change-related risk disclosures and the way forward

Research suggests that mandated emissions disclosure incentivises firms to reduce emissions by increasing anticipated regulatory and reputational threats, and enables firms to benchmark their own performance. Research also suggests that broader voluntary climate change-related disclosures are valued in capital markets, providing insights into physical and transition risk, which guide more efficient capital allocations. One course of action for regulators is to mandate a broad range of climate-related disclosures to better inform stakeholders. An alternative is for regulators to rely on moral suasion to pressure firms to report on their climate performance. The likelihood of adoption of these alternatives is discussed.

CƏLALƏDDİN RUMİ YARADICILIĞINDA TƏRBİYƏ PROSESİNİN VASİTƏ VƏ ÜSULLARINA BİR NƏZƏR

For the first time the essence, components, means and methods of upbringing - the main base of creativity of Mevlana Jalaladdin Rumi became the object of analysis and research in the article . It is noted that Mevlana skillfully used in educational work such methods as moral conversations, examples, recommendations, advice, praise, applause, instructions, persuasion and training, encouragement and punishment, which are widely used in educational work. He protudes from a unified position, considering it is necessary to adhere to unity in terms of eliminating the contradictions that appear in this process. It also emphasizes that the exemplary life path of the prophets, imams and Sufis had such a great influence on Mevlana's personal life that he became an example for his students and the Turkic peoples in general and had a great positive impact on their upbringing. It is an indisputable fact that Mevlana not only expressed his thoughts, instructing those who were around him (his sons Sultan Veled, Alaaddin, Amir Alim Chelebi and daughters Maliku, Kimya and others), but he also served as an example with his behavior and life style. Key words: Mevlana Jalaladdin Rumi; educational methods used in the works of Mevlana Jalaladdin Rumi; means and methods, Word and the power of the word; rules of etiquette.

Changing Hearts and Plates: The Effect of Animal-Advocacy Pamphlets on Meat Consumption.

Social movements have driven large shifts in public attitudes and values, from anti-slavery to marriage equality. A central component of these movements is moral persuasion. We conduct a randomized-controlled trial of pro-vegan animal-welfare pamphlets at a college campus. We observe the effect on meat consumption using an individual-level panel data set of approximately 200,000 meals. Our baseline regression results, spanning two academic years, indicate that the pamphlet had no statistically significant long-term aggregate effects. However, as we disaggregate by gender and time, we find small statistically significant effects within the semester of the intervention: a 2.4 percentage-point reduction in poultry and fish for men and a 1.6 percentage-point reduction in beef for women. The effects disappear after 2 months. We merge food purchase data with survey responses to examine mechanisms. Those participants who (i) self-identified as vegetarian, (ii) reported thinking more about the treatment of animals or (iii) expressed a willingness to make big lifestyle changes reduced meat consumption during the semester of the intervention. Though we find significant effects on some subsamples in the short term, we can reject all but small treatment effects in the aggregate.

Public support for ‘soft’ versus ‘hard’ public policies: Review of the evidence

This article reviews the literature on public support for ‘soft’ versus ‘hard’ policy instruments for behaviour change, and the factors that drive such preferences. Soft policies typically include ‘moral suasion’ and educational campaigns, and more recently behavioural public policy approaches like nudges. Hard policy instruments, such as laws and taxes, restrict choices and alter financial incentives. In contrast to the public support evidenced for hard policy instruments during COVID-19, prior academic literature pointed to support for softer policy instruments. We investigate and synthesise the evidence on when people prefer one type of policy instrument over another. Drawing on multi-disciplinary evidence, we identify perceived effectiveness, trust, personal experience and self-interest as important determinants of policy instrument preferences, along with broader factors including the choice and country context. We further identify various gaps in our understanding that informs and organise a future research agenda around three themes. Specifically, we propose new directions for research on what drives public support for hard versus soft behavioural public policies, highlighting the value of investigating the role of individual versus contextual factors (especially the role of behavioural biases); how preferences evolve over time; and whether and how preferences spillovers across different policy domains.

Surviving the perfect storm: The role of the lender of last resort☆

When banks are hit by a severe liquidity shock, central banks have a key role as lenders of last resort. Despite the well-established importance of this mechanism, it is challenging to analyze it empirically. We explore a unique setting in which banks suddenly lost access to market funding due to contagion fears at the onset of the euro area sovereign debt crisis. Using monthly data at the loan, bank, and firm level, we test the role of the central bank in a scenario of imminent collapse. We find that the liquidity obtained from the central bank played a key role in temporarily supporting the supply of credit to the real economy. However, the subdued loan demand, together with moral suasion and carry trade incentives, led to an increase in banks’ sovereign bond holdings using central bank funding.

Under the shadow of the giants: The ASEAN in search of a common strategy in a fluid and perilous Indo-Pacific region

This article examines how the ASEAN is managing the quintessential security challenges of the 21st century, particularly China’s emergence as a regional power, its expansive territorial claim in the South China Sea, and the US–China strategic rivalry in the Indo-Pacific region. As an organization tackling these security concerns, the ASEAN lacks the essential mechanism for conflict resolution, operates through informal diplomacy and moral suasion, and relies on consensus in making decisions. As a result, China has effectively divided the association during the talks on the peaceful settlement of the South China Sea dispute. China is currently formulating with the ASEAN a Code of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea. All the same, China has made sure that any future agreement with the ASEAN imposes no constraints on its expansionist moves in the contested waters, and contains provisions that benefit its interests in the long run. Meanwhile, US–China strategic competition has prompted the ASEAN to think of ways to deal with this potential security threat. However, the association has failed to come up with a common strategy. In conclusion, this article argues that China’s emergence as a regional power, its maritime expansion into the South China Sea, and the US–China geopolitical contest are testing both the capacity and the limits of the ASEAN in resolving these security issues.

Effect and mechanism of monetary incentives and moral suasion on residential peak-hour electricity usage

One of the most important economic principles is that people respond to incentives. Economics is essentially the study of incentives. However, whether these incentives can replace attitudes and norms that deserve our protection is still unclear especially in the field of environment. And to answer this question, residents’ demand response (DR) for energy conservation and emission reduction trials have been taken. Large-scale, hybrid frequency historical data for electricity usage and microcosmic behavior data have been integrated and analyzed. Empirical results show that monetary incentives have a significant effect on residents’ electricity saving behavior, which saved 0.116 kgwatt-hours (kWh), accounting for 12% of the total demand in peak-hour consumption. Moral suasion has a significant effect only for residents from high-income communities with a reduction in usage by 8.9%. Through matching survey data analysis, we found that families participating in DR save electricity through adjusting other major and small appliances rather than reducing the usage of air conditioners. Families with large number of major and small appliances response 0.51 kWh and 0.38 kWh more, respectively. Monetary incentive is indispensable in China's current stage of encouraging families’ reducing peak-hour electricity usage.

Child protection versus teacher protection: a legal review of the settlement of school corporal punishment in Indonesia

The education sphere nowadays faces the issue of corporal punishment, which is considered a detrimental school discipline that has negative impacts on a child’s development and growth. Teachers are advised to always opt for moral persuasion rather than corporal punishment in disciplining their misbehaving students. In Indonesia, the teacher stays in a dilemma as many cases of the administration of light corporal punishment have gone to criminal litigation and ended up with sentencing of the teacher. Concurrently, often the teacher becomes a victim of a student’s disruptive behavior when they only adopt soft measures such as reprimands. Legal protection for teachers has been guaranteed by the Teacher and Lecturer Law Year 2005 and several other relevant regulations. Unfortunately, the existence of the Law on Child Protection Year 2014, which broadly governs the prohibition of violence, has made criminalisation of teachers easy and their protection questionable. This paper elaborates the extent of legal protection provided to teachers in the term of facing criminal litigation due to corporal punishment. It also explores the legal effort that can be undertaken by the Indonesian Government to embody fair protection for teachers and children.

Mitigating Bycatch: Novel Insights to Multidisciplinary Approaches

Fisheries bycatch conservation and management can be analyzed and implemented through the biodiversity mitigation hierarchy using one of four basic approaches: (1) private solutions, including voluntary, moral suasion, and intrinsic motivation; (2) direct or “command-and-control” regulation starting from the fishery management authority down to the vessel; (3) incentive- or market-based to alter producer and consumer behavior and decision-making; and (4) hybrid of direct and incentive-based regulation through liability laws. Lessons can be learned from terrestrial and energy conservation, water management, forestry, and atmospheric pollution measures, such as the use of offsets, tradeable rights to externalities, and liability considerations. General bycatch conservation and management principles emerge based on a multidisciplinary approach and a wide array of private and public measures for incentivizing bycatch mitigation.

Houses of Moral Suasion: Between Rehabilitation and Punishment

Abstract This article traces the conceptual, legal, and institutional development of Korean “houses of moral suasion” by exploring the example of the first such institution, the Yŏnghŭng School, founded in 1923. The appearance of houses of moral suasion in this era showcases the institutionalization of children deemed problematic and thus undesirable. The idea of rescuing and disciplining children became interconnected and conflated as these children were conceived of as both victims and threats, a process of othering that defined them as simultaneously needy and problematic. In dealing with children, social work aimed to be both disciplinary and protective, and the discourse surrounding the institutionalization of vulnerable children demonstrated the methods through which Korean society criminalized, disciplined, and corrected marginalized children. The link between vagrant or orphaned children and delinquency can be read as a fundamental reordering of the relationship between modern disciplinary power and marginalized children. This in turn reinforced the regulatory approach to undesirable children more generally in colonial Korea.

The Deafness of the State on Sovereignty, Secular Aesthetics and the Untranslatability of the Qur’an

ABSTRACT Can the secular State respond to a moral protest? Is it physically and politically capable of hearing moral suasion? Beginning with a heretical reading of Hobbes’ anatomy of the State in the Leviathan, this essay answers these questions by examining the State as a deaf body. As a result of this reading, the essay conceptualizes the limit of the State in terms of vocal gestures by examining the reality of the Qur'an as a vocal writing. It therefore suggests that one might rethink its untranslatability as the untranslatibility, not simply of a language, but of a vocal gesture. Eventually, the essay deploys an analysis of recent movements of protest as vocal acts.

All you can eat or all you can waste? Effects of alternate serving styles and inducements on food waste in buffet restaurants

ABSTRACT Consumer plate waste is a pressing environmental concern. Scholars hypothesize that moral and financial inducements have the potential to reduce food waste at the end of the meal. This study addresses this hypothesis for buffet restaurants, a popular dining option in Asia. ‘All-you-can-eat' consumption leads to higher volumes of food waste at the end of the meal, as the leftovers may not be taken away. This study is the first attempt to examine the effect of the combination of serving styles (self-service buffet bar vs. rolling cart) and inducements (both moral and financial) on food waste, employing a field experiment method. Bulk food waste was recorded for a total of 630 participants. The results provide evidence that there is a significant interaction between serving styles and inducements on food waste volume (Study 1 and Study 2). Specifically, the results indicate that buffet self-service combined with moral persuasion and a discount produces the least food waste (Study 3). Restaurants can employ a variety of methods to address the problem of plate waste by their customers, including serving styles, moral persuasion, and financial inducements in the form of discounts as a reward for eating all that one takes at the buffet bar.

Al-Magrizi Inflation Theory Of Islamic Monetary Policy Implementation In Indonesia

During the time of Imam al-Magrizi (766-845 H), inflation had occurred in Egypt. Al-Magrizi shows about the theory of inflation. Inflation becomes a discourse that studied heavily in the subject of the economy. Al-Magrizi is an Islamic economic thought who did a particular study of money and inflation. The paper focused on al-Magrizi inflation theory caused by two factors, namely natural factors and human error factors. To solve these factors, a nation could apply Islamic monetary policy to Umar Chapra's thought, namely a credit-oriented (financing) location as a solution of natural factor theory. Also, moral suasion or moral appeals as a solution to the human factor inflation theory.

Al-Magrizi Inflation Theory of Islamic Monetary Policy ‎Implementation in Indonesia

During the time of Imam al-Magrizi (766-845 H), inflation had occurred in Egypt. Al-Magrizi shows about the theory of inflation. Inflation becomes a discourse that studied heavily in the subject of the economy. Al-Magrizi is an Islamic economic thought who did a particular study of money and inflation. The paper focused on al-Magrizi inflation theory caused by two factors, namely natural factors and human error factors. To solve these factors, a nation could apply Islamic monetary policy to Umar Chapra's thought, namely a credit-oriented (financing) location as a solution of natural factor theory. Also, moral suasion or moral appeals as a solution to the human factor inflation theory.

An appeal to shared values: framing and moral persuasion in the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ press releases

ABSTRACT This study explores the confluence of moral reasoning and strategic framing in public relations tactics to address cultural variations in national policy debates. While much scholarly attention has been paid to the ways in which news media both represent and misrepresent U.S. Muslims through the ways stories are framed, much less work has been devoted to Muslim self-framing in public discourse, and its implications for public relations theory. To address this gap in understanding the ways some Muslim Americans use public relations as a tool of self-representation, this study examines more than 700 press releases issued by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) during the first year of the Donald Trump presidency. Using Moral Foundations Theory to operationalize the moral evaluations present in the frames, this study found four strategic frames: Islamophobia reactions, legal responses, public sphere engagement, and interfaith solidarity. It also examines the calls to action employed in the press releases. The findings show that the press release as a public relations tactic served as a critical venue for emphasizing individual rights and participation in public life through the deployment of moral language.

Walt Whitman and the Washingtonian Temperance Movement

Walt Whitman and the Washingtonian Temperance Movement Maire Mullins (bio) "But stop—thought I to myself, my eyes being caught by the sight of my own soiled and tattered garments—am I a fit person for the company of well-dressed and cleanly people? What excuse should I make?" -Franklin Evans "I know about such men." -Louisa Van Velsor Whitman In November 1842, Whitman published Franklin Evans, or The Inebriate: A Tale of the Times as a newspaper supplement of the New World.1 Whitman was twenty-three years old when the novel appeared. Forty-five years later, he told his literary biographer, Horace Traubel, "'in three days of constant work I finished the book. Finished the book? Finished myself. It was damned rot—rot of the worst sort—not insincere, perhaps, but rot, nevertheless; it was not the business for me to be up to. I stopped right there: I never cut a chip off that kind of timber again.'"2 Critics have interpreted this remark in various ways, but mostly they agree with Whitman that Franklin Evans is not his best work: "While Franklin Evans is hardly as formulaic or predictably moralistic as most critics have asserted, it is without doubt a 'wobbly' text," Christopher Castiglia and Glenn Hendler note. Betsy Erkkila and Michael Moon see the temperance movement's strong influence on Whitman's conception of his reading public; Michael Warner notes that Whitman's temperance-informed newspaper readers shaped his writing.3 While Erkkila, Moon, Warner, and others have offered insightful readings of Franklin Evans, the importance [End Page 477] of the Washingtonian Temperance Movement as a formative influence on Franklin Evans merits expanded scrutiny. Most notably, Franklin Evans includes several episodes that feature the Washingtonian Temperance Movement's approach to alcoholism, especially its emphasis on confession, compassion, and moral suasion rather than evangelical conversion. The Washingtonian meetings assembled a receptive audience familiar with the plight of alcoholism and ready to hear sufferers' autobiographical speeches. The gatherings' atmosphere of support and nonjudgmental listening provided a platform for communal and individual healing. While Whitman incorporated this emphasis on confession in his novel, he also reshaped it. In several fractured, vexed scenes, the confessional moment's initial promise is followed by its failure. Evans recounts the loss of his job and his first marriage, but in both cases, he cannot articulate fully how his behavior implicates him in these catastrophes. His thoughts about the listeners' responses corrode his ability to confess fully, distracting him from discerning his culpability. Later (in chapter ten), Evans remembers a friend who develops the habit of drinking every day. The ensuing harsh reaction of family members, Evans reveals, is partly responsible for his friend's despairing death. This scene serves as a contrast to the receptiveness that a Washingtonian audience would have offered. While temperance was the motivating factor for Whitman's novel, it was the attitude of the Washingtonians toward the alcoholic that influenced many scenes in the narrative. Whitman's interest in temperance was part of American society's overarching concern with healthy daily habits. In the 1820s and 1830s, temperance societies allowed moderate drinking, but the Washingtonians rejected this approach. Whitman examines these differing views toward alcohol as he portrays the fates of two farmers: one in Franklin Evans who starts out as a moderate drinker, [End Page 478] and the other in the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass who abstains completely. Whitman shows how habit can lead to a life of dissipation or a life of fulfillment. Franklin Evans serves as a prototypical young urban male uprooted from his rural community, whose loneliness drives him to seek companionship in beer halls. Over time, Evans succumbs to drinking culture's negative influence, as Whitman underscores the Washingtonian emphasis on abstinence. Overall, the novel stresses the importance of cultivating beneficial habits, a theme Whitman explores a decade later in two longer prose pieces, "Life and Adventures of Jack Engle: An Auto-Biography" (1852) and "Manly Health and Training, With Off-hand Hints Toward Their Conditions" (1858).4 One of the distinguishing characteristics of the Washingtonian temperance movement was its focus on the working-class alcoholic. This emphasis especially appealed to...

Cash and the Hidden Economy: Laboratory and Artefactual Field Experimental Evidence on Fighting Tax Evasion in Small Business Transactions

Increasing the tax compliance of self-employed business owners (particularly of trade- specific service providers) remains an ongoing challenge for tax authorities. From a compliance point of view, cash transactions are particularly problematic when services are paid for on the spot, as such exchanges are difficult to audit. As a novelty we present experimental evidence testing 11 different policy strategies in a setting that allows for cash transactions. Our sample includes both students and non-students active in service industries characterised by the opportunity to engage in cash transactions. While our results offer a positive outlook for the interventions reporting a significant effect, they particularly speak to the potential of moral suasion to increase compliance, as it may be implemented at relatively low cost. However, a carrot (offering support in tax declarations) as well as a stick (increasing the threat of audits) approach may be promising for increased compliance, especially where there is an evasion opportunity in cash-for-service payments between small businesses and individual customers who may share a common benefit from tax evasion. A stick approach is particularly efficient for those inclined to use cash transactions.