Hostile States Research Articles

ТЕРИТОРІАЛЬНА ОБОРОНА У ЛИТВІ В КІНЦІ 30-х РОКІВ ХХ СТОЛІТТЯ

In the interwar years, Lithuania faced a wide range of military threats, for two decades the nation did not maintain any diplomatic or economic relations with its neighbouring state Poland, which had occupied her historic capital Vilnius, while the relations with Germany remained tense over the Klaipėda Region. The security situation took a turn for the worse in 1939–1940 with the threat from the USSR coming to the front after the annihilation of Poland, however Lithuania was forced to sign the mutual assistance treaty and permit the entry of 20 thousand strong Red Army troops into its territory. Hence, a small state of Lithuania was locked in by the hostile states that surpassed her in strength by several or many orders of magnitude. The Lithuanian armed forces were compelled to seek unconventional solutions for the organisation of national defence.This research, aimed at the identification of measures undertaken by the Lithuanian armed forces for the purpose of the enhancement of its military capabilities and the increase of countermobility facilities as part of its territorial defence system, is based on the analysis of archival sources. The Lithuanian army prepared several operation plans in 1936–1940: No. 1 “V” (Germany), No. 2 “V+L” (Germany + Poland), No. 3 “L” (Poland) and, on the basis of the latter, “R” (The Reds / Russia / The East – the meaning of letter R is not definite). The documents constituting plan No. 1 “V” (Germany) have been selected for the purpose of the analysis of territorial defence since they have come down to us intact while the documents pertaining to plan “R” were destroyed in July 1940. The degree of detail of plan No. 1 “V” (kept at the Lithuanian Central State Archives under f. 929 and f. 561) allows for a highly accurate reconstruction of the development and functionality of territorial defence during the interwar period and of the connections between territorial and regular military units in the event of war.We can conclude that the Lithuanian army, on the strength of the system of territorial defence (integrated into the overall national armed defence plans) as revealed in our research, hoped to slow down the penetration of enemy forces into Lithuania using these countermobility measures and thereby to “buy” time for the mobilisation and consolidation of its regular forces, whilst the action of guerrilla territorial units in the areas taken up by enemy was supposed to restrict enemy actions and withdraw as many soldiers from the rear zone of the front for protection purposes. In the rear area, the Lithuanian territorial units had to release, to the extent possible, their regular troops from the functions of defence and the maintenance of order. It was expected that defeat would be avoided in the event of war with a more powerful enemy due to the synergy of action of territorial and regular forces. There was a clear understanding that the outcome of the war would be determined not by the Lithuanian armed forces but by the success of the Allies (the cases of Belgium and Serbia in the First World War were regarded as examples for Lithuania in the upcoming war). The objective was to persist and survive, i.e. to preserve the nucleus of military forces and the government and proceed with guerrilla warfare in the occupied territories so that in the wake of an all-out war there would be a basis for the reconstitution of the Lithuanian state within its ethnographic boundaries.

Differences in abortion service-delivery in clinics by state policy context in 2017

Introduction In addition to monitoring the number and location of abortion clinics nationwide, it is important to examine other aspects of service-delivery, such as cost, and number of days abortions are provided, because they influence the accessibility of abortion care. Moreover, state policies can affect the types of care that are provided. This study examines differences in abortion service-delivery in clinics by state policy climate in 2017. Method Data for this study are from the Guttmacher Institute’s 2017 Abortion Provider Census, which collected information from all known abortion-providing facilities in the United States. This analysis focuses on the 808 clinic facilities that provided 95% of abortions that year. Outcomes include the cost of abortion care, maximum gestation at which abortions were offered, number of days clinics provided abortions, and other types of non-abortion services offered. Weights were constructed to account for non-responding facilities. Measures were calculated nationally and according to whether the clinic was in a state with a policy context that we categorized as hostile, middle-ground or supportive of abortion rights. Results In 2017, patients paid an average of $549 for a surgical abortion at 10 weeks gestation; without adjusting for cost-of-living, the amount was highest in middle-ground states ($592) and lowest in hostile states ($534). 64% of clinics offered abortion up to 11 weeks gestation, 22% did so up to 20 weeks, and 13% offered abortion at gestations up to 22 weeks. A slightly higher proportion of clinics in supportive states than hostile offered abortions after 22 weeks. 87% of clinics offered family planning services beyond post-abortion contraception, and the proportion was higher in supportive (93%) than in hostile states (75%). Nationally, clinics provided abortions for a median of 3 days per week. Nearly half of clinics in supportive states provided abortions > =5 days per week (46%), compared to 29% in hostile and middle-ground states. Conclusions Clinics operating in states that are hostile to abortion rights provide abortion services on fewer days and offer fewer non-abortion services. People residing in these states may encounter barriers not just to abortion, but to the wider range of sexual and reproductive health care they need.

Russia's Cyber and Information Warfare

Russia's Cyber and Information Warfare Valeriy Akimenko (bio) and Keir Giles (bio) Russia's exercise of cyberpower forms an integral part of the far broader concept known as information warfare. The key principle of the Russian approach to information warfare, including cyber activities, is that information is the most important object of operations, independent of the channel through which it is transmitted. The aim is to control—or weaponize—information in whatever form it takes. Thus, "cyber" in particular is just a technical representation of information. In short, in Russia's comprehensive approach to the information domain, cyber is not a stand-alone discipline. This principle underpins all Russian efforts to extract, exfiltrate, manipulate, distort, or insert information. Alongside cyber activities, the channels available for doing this are as diverse as using fake or real news media to plant disinformation, trolling campaigns, issuing official government statements, giving speeches at rallies or demonstrations, posting defamatory online videos, and sending direct text messages. Russian information activities are not limited to cyberspace. Rather than using the term "cyberspace," Russian officials refer to "information space," which includes both computer and human information processing.1 This essay starts with an explanation of the terminological, doctrinal, and practical distinguishing features of Russian cyber activities as part of information warfare. It goes on to look at a number of Russia's agencies and capabilities involved in the prosecution of cyber activities, both offensive and defensive. In conclusion, the essay emphasizes the main implication of this distinctive approach: the need for nations to prepare a broad range of defenses against Russia's holistic approach to offensive cyber, information warfare, and other forms of hostile online activity. [End Page 67] Terminology, Strategy, and Doctrine Russia's approach to defining a doctrine for computer network operations is determined by the core concept of "information confrontation" (or "information war") and includes all hostile activities using information as a tool, target, or domain of operations. The concept implies computer network operations alongside disciplines such as psychological operations, strategic communications, influence, intelligence, maskirovka (military deception), disinformation, electronic warfare, debilitation of communications, degradation of navigation support, and destruction of enemy computer capabilities. The aim is "to influence the perception and behavior of the enemy, population, and international community."2 Russia sees superiority in this broad application of information warfare as a key enabler for victory in current and future conflicts: Wars will be resolved by a skillful combination of military, nonmilitary, and special nonviolent measures that will be put through by a variety of forms and methods and a blend of political, economic, informational, technological, and environmental measures, primarily by taking advantage of information superiority. Information warfare in the new conditions will be the starting point of every action now called the new type of warfare, or hybrid war, in which broad use will be made of the mass media and, where feasible, global computer networks (blogs, various social networks, and other resources).3 Russian cyber terminology "Cyber" as a separate function or domain is not a Russian concept.4 The delineation of activities in the cyber domain from other activities processing, attacking, disrupting, or stealing information is seen as artificial. The phrase "cyber warfare" in Russian writing is used to describe foreign concepts and activities. The closest that Russian thinking comes to separating out computer network operations from other activities is the division between the information-technological and information-psychological domains, the two main strands of information warfare.5 [End Page 68] Cyber activities, however, do not map directly to the information-technological domain: as an integral part of information warfare overall, they are also inherent in information-psychological operations. Importantly, moreover, information-psychological operations are undertaken "permanently"—regardless of the notional state of cooperation or hostility between the opposing sides. Multiple senior Russian officials have emphasized that open conflict need not have been declared for hostile activity in the information space to begin.6 Information security doctrine It follows that Russia does not have publicly released national strategies relating specifically to its cyber activities. The closest approximation is the Information Security Doctrine. The most recent iteration of this document, approved in December 2016, follows a line adopted in previous strategic documents...

Fighting or fuelling forced labour? The Modern Slavery Act 2015, irregular migrants and the vulnerabilising role of the UK’s hostile environment

Abolishing ‘modern slavery’ has now achieved international policy consensus. The most recent UK initiative – the 2015 Modern Slavery Act (MSA) – includes amongst other aspects tougher prison sentencing for perpetrators and the creation of an independent anti-slavery commissioner to oversee its implementation. However, drawing on research into forced labour among people seeking asylum in England, this article argues that when considered alongside the UK government’s deliberate creation of a ‘hostile environment’ towards migrants, not least in the Immigration Acts of 2014 and 2016, state action to outlaw modern slavery is flawed, counter-productive and disingenuous. We show how the MSA focuses only on the immediate act of coercion between ‘victim’ and ‘criminal’, ignoring how the hostile state vulnerabilises migrants in ways that compel their entry into and continued entrapment within severe labour exploitation.

The Impact of Infectious Diseases on Kenya’s Health Diplomacy; An Inter-State Phenomenon

The impact of infectious diseases is a real global phenomenon in the 21st century buoyed by the accelerated pace of globalization which seem to dissolve the distinctions between; many domestic and foreign issues, regions and multinational actors, and even friendly and hostile states. The impact of infectious diseases on Kenya’s health diplomacy calls for need to enhance public health partnerships to tackle such issues of international concern to effectively handle such diplomacy matters and timely. The study used qualitative study methodology by describing the context of Kenya’s health diplomacy and employing available documents analysis. The study concluded that controlling emerging and reemerging infectious diseases require extreme actions and coordination between many national and international actors which Kenya and her international network of states must do through diplomacy.

Getting Less Likes on Social Media: Mindfulness Ameliorates the Detrimental Effects of Feeling Left Out Online

Many people spend a lot of time on social media every day, but they may sometimes feel left out on these platforms (e.g., getting few likes or comments on their status updates). Researchers have shown that such experience often leads to psychological and behavioral maladjustment. However, relatively little is known about whether individual characteristics such as trait mindfulness may buffer these negative effects. In the current study, we tested the hypothesis that trait mindfulness weakens the effects of feeling left out on social media on different maladjustment outcomes. In this study, participants first completed a well-validated measure to assess their trait mindfulness. By random assignment, participants were then exposed to an experimental manipulation of a social media experience, during which they received either one or five likes from 11 online interaction partners. Finally, their states of psychological distress, negative emotion, hostility, and antisocial tendency were assessed. The results showed that trait mindfulness significantly moderated the effects of feeling left out on social media on these maladjustment outcomes. Compared with participants with low trait mindfulness, those with high mindfulness reported lower levels of psychological distress, negative emotion, hostility, and antisocial tendency after they had received little attention on social media. These findings highlight the important role of mindfulness in ameliorating the negative outcomes associated with feeling left out on social media.

Moral and Ethical Problems in the Concept of Memory of Paul Ricœur

The concept of memory is fundamental to the phenomenological hermeneutics of Paul Ricœur. The scientist formulates the concept of fair memory and sets two major tasks in for this philosophy: the epistemological one presupposing preservation of authentic ideas about the past, and the ethical one, which requires an adequate assessment of agents in history from the standpoint of moral norms. The moral duty of memory obliges humanity to convey to future generations the knowledge of achievements and atrocities committed in history, in order to objectively qualify historical events that have taken place and to show compassion for the victims of social cataclysms. The activity of memory is characterized by two interrelated trends: the art of memory and the art of oblivion. The art of memory involves the forcing of spontaneous memorization inherent in consciousness, based on the methods of mnemonics. The art of memory is not an absolute task. From the point of view of Ricœur, ethical values are the highest goal. Since no society can exist in a state of continuous hostility and hatred, in exceptional situations, in order to maintain peace and prevent violence, it has to resort to positive oblivion, which allows transferring evil memories to reserve areas and clearing the memory of anger. As an example of such positive oblivion, contributing to neutralization of conflicts and consolidation of society, the philosopher analyzes the practices of amnesty, involving abolition of legal prosecution of opposition activists and adoption of a moratorium on the exposure and condemnation of their past actions, subject to future loyalty and non-violence. Ricœur comes to the conclusion that the metaphysical horizon of memory is its ability to forgive. The paradox of spirituality consists in confidence in man, in admitting that striving for goodness is inherent in humans. This confidence of the possibility of a person’s spiritual rebirth enables conditional par a guilty person, without abolishing the need for a just censure of criminal acts or compassion for victims. Such ethically enlightened memory stores knowledge of inflicted evil for the sake of selfpurification and further rejection of hatred.

Reclaiming the Citizen: Christian and Shi‘i Engagements with the Pakistani State

At first glance, Christians and Shi‘is occupy starkly differing socio-economic and religious positions in Pakistani society. Yet, this article argues that both communities share some remarkable similarities in their engagement with the seemingly hostile Pakistani state. Both Christians and Shi‘is have not given up on claiming their stakes as full citizens of the nation despite repeated attempts by parts of the majority population to ostracise and exclude them. I show how they continue to re-read the early history of Pakistan, attempt to prove their unwavering loyalty to the state, try to build bridges with the majority community and, finally, portray themselves as being a spiritual elite that still guarantees the initial promise of Pakistan.

Abortion service delivery in clinics by state policy climate in 2017

ObjectiveThe objective was to examine service delivery in clinics that provided abortions in 2017, including differences by abortion policy climate. Study designUsing data from the Guttmacher Institute's 2017 Abortion Provider Census, we examine amount charged for abortion care, pregnancy gestation at which abortions were offered, number of days per week that clinics provided abortions and types of nonabortion services offered. Our analysis focuses on the 808 clinic facilities that provided 95% of abortions that year. Measures were calculated nationally and according to whether the clinic was in a state we categorized as hostile, middle ground or supportive of abortion rights. ResultsIn 2017, 64% of clinics offered abortion at 11 weeks pregnancy gestation, and 22% did so at 20 weeks gestation. Supportive states had a higher density of clinics that provide abortion for every measured gestation than hostile states. Clinics charged an average of $549 for a surgical abortion at 10 weeks and $551 for medication abortion. Some 46% of clinics in supportive states offered abortion care 5 or more days per week compared to 29% in hostile states. Most clinics offered standalone contraception and family planning (87%) and gynecological care (85%), but the proportion of clinics that provided these services was higher in supportive states (93% and 90%) than in hostile states (75% and 73%). ConclusionsA substantial proportion of abortion facilities provide a range of other health care services. Aspects of service delivery, such as number of days abortions are provided, may vary according to abortion policy climate. Implications statementOnerous policies in states hostile to abortion rights may inhibit some facilities from providing abortion more days per week, and if so, could further burden patients obtaining abortion care in these states.

«Усложняющий фактор»? Коалиционная дипломатия США в корейском вопросе

The negotiation of parameters for the settlement of an armed conflict is always a complex process in which the interests of all its immediate participants and other concerned parties collide. One of the most striking examples of such confrontations is the settlement process at the end of the Korean War of 1950–1953, which culminated in the Geneva Conference of 1954. The purpose of the article is to specify the role of the United States as the leader of the UN coalition in the negotiations, as a result of which, after three years of war involving about two dozen countries, the situation returned to its original state – the pre-war border between North and South Korea was restored, and the most active and influential members of the opposing alliances agreed to a truce. The archival documents that have become available in recent years allow us to significantly supplement the ideas formed in domestic and foreign historiography about the reasons for the incompleteness of the peace settlement process in Korea after the end of the war of 1950– 1953. The article examines the contribution of the US diplomacy to creating of the Korean agenda at the conference, and shows that the UN coalition had been functioning in the "double deterrence" mode by the start of the negotiations in Geneva. The role of the United States as the leader of the military-political alliance in the development of plans for the peninsula unification is clarified. The conclusion is justified that already in the second half of May 1954, the United States, when making decisions, primarily proceeded from the motives of propaganda and considered seriously the conclusion to negotiations. As a result, the chance to resolve the Korean issue was ignored and the Geneva Conference turned into a means of fundamentalizing the American strategy in the Northeast Pacific region. It is shown that the results of the conference were in line with the immediate expectations of Washington and its long-term strategy in the Asia-Pacific region. The results of the Korean phase of the Geneva Conference consolidated the division of Korea into two hostile states and for a long time closed the question of possible union of the country.

Expressions of Sufi Culture in Tajikistan by Benjamin Gatling

Reviewed by: Expressions of Sufi Culture in Tajikistan by Benjamin Gatling Nicholas M. Seay (bio) Benjamin Gatling, Expressions of Sufi Culture in Tajikistan (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2018). 216 pp., ills. ISBN: 978-0-299-31680-8. Commenting on a 2013 article and radio segment on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Tajik service, a user uploaded a low-quality clip of capture footage of men writhing on the ground, while another "growled like a wounded animal." Others were seen in the background, dancing erratically. The footage was a response to a radio segment, "Does Tajikistan Have Any Sufi Pirs" (Tojikiston piri tariqat dorad?) (P. 1). The initial article and the video-upload response serve as the opening vignette for Benjamin Gatling's Expressions of Sufi Culture in Tajikistan. As responses to the video revealed, Sufis in contemporary Tajikistan are approached with skepticism and confusion. They are seen as potentially heretical by Muslim reformists, uncivil by secular Tajiks, and dangerous by the Tajik state. More sympathetic to Sufis in Tajikistan, Gatling's work seeks to understand how they use various forms of expressive culture to navigate the complexities of a politically and economically fraught environment. Eschewing an approach that looks at Sufi culture through the lens of "resistance," Gatling demonstrates how Sufis in Tajikistan employ "alternative temporalities" to draw connections to the Sufis of the past, allowing them to transcend the present and develop their own agency, even in the midst of an increasingly lurking and hostile state and security apparatus. Expressions of Sufi Culture in Tajikistan speaks to two main audiences: scholars of post-Soviet Central Asia and those engaged in folklore studies/ethnography. Gatling first addresses the former. In this regard, the book as a whole, speaks to the potential limitations of "post-Soviet" as an analytical framework, precisely because it restricts the type of questions one can explore. Somewhat related, Gatling also posits the book as a critique of conducting ethnography of Central Asian Muslims with an emphasis on historical continuities and discontinuities. To both expose the limits of the "post-Soviet" lens and move beyond the focus on continuities and discontinuities, Gatling explores how Sufis employ tradition (the "persistence of the Sufi past in the present") by inscribing both the sacred Persian past and the more recent Soviet past into the present, intentionally occupying an asynchronous present. The organization of the book is well-suited to this end, as each chapter looks at one of the various expressive forms (memories, stories, [End Page 387] artifacts, rituals, and embodied behaviors) employed by the Sufis featured in Gatling's ethnographic work. Chapter 1 ("Sufis in Tajikistan") introduces Tajikistani Sufis' engagement with the past in order to demonstrate how they evaluate and place value on religious authenticity. Chapter 2 ("Nostalgia and Muslimness"), as the title suggests, looks at nostalgic memories of Sufis in order to show how men like Firuz and Khurshed, two of the author's interlocutors, use nostalgia to craft a sense of Muslim identity and bridge the paradoxes in their lives. In a similar vein, chapter 3 ("Narrating the Past") explores how Tajikistani Sufis use historical narratives (stories) to connect with the sacred past and transform their understanding of the Sufi present. Chapters 4 ("Material Sainthood"), 5 ("Remembering God"), and 6 ("Learning to Be Sufi") look at the material and performative modes of expression employed by Sufis in Tajikistan. Chapter 4 explores how the books of Sufis bridged asynchronous time and, for some Sufis, even served as a materialized form of sainthood. Chapter 5 looks at ritual performances like zikr (a ritual that includes poetry, singing, and dancing meant to invoke "remembrance of the divine") provided a way for Sufis to connect with the sacred past. Finally, chapter 6 brings the earlier chapters together to demonstrate how the Tajikistani Sufis embodied the sacred past (through labor, anachronistic dress and manner, and self-devotion) as they learned how to be Sufi. Central Asian scholars will benefit from Gatling's creative use of these expressive forms to demonstrate how the centrality of alternative temporalities and asynchronies exposes the limits of "post-Sovietness" as a potential framework. In chapter 2, for example, Gatling focuses on the active use...

Борьба с «немецким засильем» и создание норм «ликвидационного права» в Российской империи в годы Первой мировой войны

The article sets out the goal of analyzing Russian legislation from the period of 1914 –1917. The relevance of the work is caused by the fact that in modern historiography there is no single view on the formation and composition of the legal framework of the so-called «liquidation legislation». This is due to the fact that researchers study typically three different groups of regulations: firstly, it is a struggle against foreign land tenure and land use in Russia; secondly, the struggle against foreign share capital, and thirdly, the struggle against the right to own and manage enterprises that then functioned in Russia and belonged to «enemy subjects» and «immigrants from hostile states» by the ownership right. The object of the study in the article was the measures of the emergency legislation of Russia in the framework of which a liquidation company was carried out against foreign enterprises during the First World War. The subject of the study is the activities of the Russian government, expressed in a number of Decrees of the Council of Ministers 1914–1917 which aimed at restricting the subjects` rights of the states warring with Russia. Along with general scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, deduction, induction, etc.), the work uses the problem-chronological method, which made it possible not only to describe the dynamics of the adoption of the norms of «liquidation law», but also to identify the impact on its development of the political situation, the decision-making algorithm of the Russian government in the time period studied. The author concludes that from March 16, 1915 to February 7, 1917, the activities of the Russian government in relation to subjects of the countries hostile to Russia were unskilled and did not comply with the practice of international law. This had a negative impact on the economic activities of the Russian state, which was in difficult conditions of military confrontation with the «Central Powers» bloc during the First World War.

LEGAL STATUS OF THE PERSONS DURING THE WARS THAT WERE FOUGHT BY THE STATES OF THE ANCIENT EAST

The article gives a historical and legal review of the problems of the legal status of individuals, both combatants and non-combatants, during the wars that were fought between the states of the East in antiquity. The general and specific approaches in relation to various ancient Eastern peoples to the civilian population and prisoners are analyzed. It turned out that already at that time the foundations were laid for the formation of the basic principles of international humanitarian law in the future. Attention is drawn to the fact that, without knowing the rights of the human person, the ancient peoples could not know the rights of war in the sense that we understand it now. The war then was an unlimited use of force and the defeated, if sometimes they could hope for the magnanimity of the victor, except in the sense that they sometimes survived. It is noted that in practice there was no difference between the status of the warring and civilian population at that time. Every resident of a hostile state, without regard to gender and age, could be killed, enslaved, subjected to various bullying and torture. Also it was noted that a wide variety of violence was used against enemies - both combatants and non-combatants. Against the enemy in ancient times it was allowed to use any weapon, any means, even treacherous ones, which were capable of harming him. None of the adversaries, either wounded or sick, or surrendered, could not avoid being deprived of liberty at best and turned into a living commodity or free labor, and in the worst, die the death of martyrs. Nowhere in the Ancient East, with the exception of India, do we find examples of a humane attitude to the human person, the desire to introduce at least some humanitarian restrictions into the military sphere. But nevertheless, already in the ancient era, sprouts of processes of laying the foundations for the formation of further basic principles of international humanitarian law, based on moral principles - humanism, compassion and mercy, which were interpreted taking into account the conditions of the war, arose.

BLIND SPOTS OF INFORMATION OPERATIONS: OF MICRO PROPAGANDA, ALGORITHM GAMING & HOW TO PROFIT FROM IT

Techniques designed to manipulate public opinion and undermine information ecosystems are rapidly evolving while research lags behind technological innovation and strategic expertise. As a more sophisticated generation of information operations is fast to mature, the papers in this panel shed light on some of the blind spots of scholarly inquiry making visible new thematic strategies, technical infrastructures and both political and economic incentives.
 The first two papers examine the progression from general political propaganda geared towards influencing elections to highly issue-specific micro-propaganda. The first paper presents an analysis of anti-Semitic disinformation campaigns and harassment during the 2018 US midterms on Twitter and offers rich evidence from interviews with Jewish American opinion leaders about their impact. Drawing on data from Twitter’s Election Integrity Initiative, the second paper examines the gender dimensions of foreign influence operations and how hostile state actors frame and discuss gender identity & politics. The third paper presents an analysis of search engine optimization strategies that extremist YouTubers use in an attempt to game the algorithm and increase their visibility in the network. The fourth paper investigates the relationship between partisan bias associated with Google Search results and the success of political candidates associated with the search queries during elections and finds that partisan search media is a predictor for election outcomes. The fifth paper examines the emergence of a global political economy for manipulation and offers a grounded typology of the vendors, marketplaces, services, and products that are designed to turn a profit from swaying public opinion.

Demand for Self-Managed Medication Abortion Through an Online Telemedicine Service in the United States.

Objectives. To examine demand for abortion medications through an online telemedicine service in the United States.Methods. We examined requests from US residents to the online telemedicine abortion service Women on Web (WoW) between October 15, 2017, and August 15, 2018. We calculated the population-adjusted rate of requests by state and examined the demographics, clinical characteristics, and motivations of those seeking services, comparing those in states with hostile versus supportive abortion policy climates.Results. Over 10 months, WoW received 6022 requests from US residents; 76% from hostile states. Mississippi had the highest rate of requests (24.9 per 100 000 women of reproductive age). In both hostile and supportive states, a majority (60%) reported a combination of barriers to clinic access and preferences for self-management. Cost was the most common barrier (71% in hostile states; 63% in supportive states; P < .001). Privacy was the most common preference (49% in both hostile and supportive states; P = .66).Conclusions. Demand for self-managed medication abortion through online telemedicine is prevalent in the United States. There is a public health justification to make these abortions as safe, effective, and supported as possible.

Class Action Nuisance Suits: Evidence from Frequent Filer Shareholder Plaintiffs

This chapter explores class action nuisance suits by examining the plaintiffs that bring them. It focuses on merger litigation—claims brought by shareholders in the wake of corporate mergers and acquisitions transactions—and uses as evidence the litigation history of seven “frequent filer” shareholder plaintiffs. Over a five year period, from 2014 through 2018, these plaintiffs filed 281 shareholder suits nationwide. Compiling data on these filings and their outcomes, this chapter reveals a transformation in merger-related nuisance suits. Plaintiffs went from challenging mergers in fiduciary duty suits under state law to challenging merger disclosures in federal court under the federal securities laws. Just as state fiduciary duty suits were typically settled for supplemental disclosures, federal securities claims are typically resolved by mooting the claims through corrective disclosures. The common denominator between these two types of claims is that both entitle plaintiffs’ counsel to collect fees from the corporation on the basis of supplemental disclosures. The data also reveal two further nuisance suit developments: (1) the filing of disclosure-related claims under the federal securities laws not related to merger activity, and (2) the filing of individual rather than class complaints. The chapter argues that these litigation patterns have evolved in response to efforts to contain nuisance suits. Claims moved from state to federal court to evade hostile state law precedent. Once in federal court, claims changed from settlement to mootness resolutions to avoid further judicial scrutiny and to avoid possible application of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “PSLRA”). Further innovations in nuisance filings seem specifically designed to evade the PSLRA. Consistent application of the PSLRA to merger litigation would reverse the flow of claims back to state court if not eliminate them altogether. However, any hope of this depends upon a more coordinated judiciary. Courts must coordinate their approach to merger litigation generally and to the PSLRA in particular. Fortunately, coordination mechanisms do exist. Courts should use them to halt the inundation of merger-related nuisance suits.

Between antagonism and eros: the feud as couple form and Netflix’s GLOW

A feud is an antagonism that is continuous and extended; “a state of prolonged mutual hostility” (OED). Historically, feuds take place between families or communities, or result from failed couples. Considered as a couple form in its own right, however, the feud is associated with aesthetic forms often coded as camp, queer, or feminized. In such popular, serialized forms, the feud must be open ended and of unforeseen futurity, for resolution brings an end to the feud as such and dissolves the couple. Thus, feuds reject normative modes of coupling (such as the nuclear family) that center harmonious or happy feelings. The article begins with the political economy of the feud through an examination of the pre-modern form of the blood feud and continues with its late-modern presence in popular culture. We rehearse the idea of the feud as it emerges from anthropology and philosophy, especially as it impacts notions of debt and alternative economies, before thinking through the contemporary “coupling” of the feud in popular culture, fandom, and, via the performance form of professional wrestling and Netflix’s GLOW.

Seeking No War, Achieving No Peace: The Conflict over the Siachen Glacier

ABSTRACT This paper models ‘no war, no peace’ situations in a game theoretical framework where two countries are engaged in a standoff over a military sector. The first main objective is to identify rational grounds for such situations and, more precisely, for the explicit equilibria that lead to such situations. It is demonstrated that both countries gain the same payoff from being in this continuous state of perpetual hostility and, moreover, that ‘no war, no peace’ situations can be explained only if the countries perceive an equal measure of military advantage from controlling the area. Given this insight, the second objective of the paper is to provide insights about how ‘no war, no peace’ situations can be resolved. Two different pathways are suggested. The first is idealistic and based on mutual trust, whereas the second is based on deterrence, involving both countries imposing a threat of using armed force against the other country in their respective military doctrines.

Internet Governance in Russia – Sovereign Basics for Independent Runet

Nationalization of Internet governance, or, in other words, the assertion of sovereignty over “national segments” of the Internet is a real trend nowadays and it happens predominantly in authoritarian countries. To academically study the assertion of sovereignty and the extent of such an assertion, I use the theoretical framework of cyberspace alignment to national borders introduced by Mueller (2017). He argues that instead of technical fragmentation of the Internet, there are attempts to align the control of cyberspace with national borders while preserving the benefits of using the global network. He suggested three main methods to implement such an alignment: national securitization, territorialization of information flows, and efforts to structure control of critical Internet resources along national lines. This theoretical and methodological frame is useful to study Internet governance in Russia and explain what is happening with RUnet and how close it is now to become a truly “sovereign network.” The first part of this study describes national securitization in detail: (1) emergence of cybersecurity as a national security issue in the Russian doctrinal documents; (2) centralization of threat intelligence in a form of GOSSOPKA program and creation of the National Coordination Center for Computer Incidents; (3) reliance on nationally produced technologies; (4) establishment or reassertion of legal authority for network kill switch. Notably, the fourth component stands out because the Russian discourse differs from Mueller’s understanding of domestic Internet shutdowns. The Russian focus was (and still is) on an external kill switch for the RUnet by hostile states because it is conceived as a threat to Internet security and resilience in Russia. The study shows that each of the four components takes place in the Russian policy with varying levels of completeness and success. The second part deals with external content filtering, data localization laws, and geo-blocking. Russia has a comprehensive mix of all components; however, it doesn’t look similar to the Chinese Golden Shield. On the contrary, there is a gradual process of territorializing data and information, elaboration of laws regulating the blocking of websites with unlawful content and filtering of search engine results, while pressing foreign companies to comply with national law. The third part devoted to the alignment of critical Internet resources to national borders is the most interesting because of its implications for Internet fragmentation. The case of RUnet offers an opportunity to track the development of legislation that deals with critical Internet infrastructure and attempts to create a system that allows RUnet to work independently from the Internet in case of emergency or external shutdown. In summary, the case study provides the evidence for the Mueller’s theory, but the most important aspect that threatens the Internet with fragmentation is unpacking now in a form of recent legislation about the new logic of routing policies and attempts to make RUnet independent from procedures that ICANN use to maintain the global network. If eventually there will be a technical solution to make it, Russia will create a dangerous precedent for Internet fragmentation.

An Outline of a Clausewitzian Theory of Intelligence

As the academic discipline Intelligence Studies expands, and the scope pertaining to intelligence becomes ever more diversified due to threats facing modern society, ranging from hostile states to ...