Peace Research Institute Frankfurt

Recently, calls for a ‘synthesis’ between rationalist and constructivist approaches have become louder. The question how the different ontological presuppositions of the two paradigms can be reconciled has been neglected. Starting from the ubiquity of ‘arguing’ and ‘bargaining’ in international negotiations, the article explores the various rationalist attempts to give an explanation for the use of these two types of speech acts by negotiatiors. It finds that eventually all these attempts seek resort to social explanations that deviate from the individualist ontology of rationalism. Efforts to specify the conditions under which negotiators follow alternatively a logic of consequentialism and appropriateness tend in fact to privilege either one or the other. Integration appears only possible if one assumes that the change between the two types of speech acts is guided by norms and rules that are shared among negotiators. This proposition suggests that the interest-based negotiation style follows a logic of appropriateness as much as a negotiation style aiming at communicative persuasion. This proposition, however, does not imply harmony or stasis. Rather, it accounts for conflicts of different understandings of appropriateness in intercultural, transnational and two-level discourses.

Abstract For many political observers the successful creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) came as a surprise, as major powers, in particular the United States, had opposed the plans for the ICC. Moreover, the institutional design of the ICC entails enormous sovereignty costs for states but only uncertain benefits. An analysis of the negotiations suggests that the court's successful creation can be attributed to persuasion and discourse within negotiations, that is, a shift in states' interests. The article develops a theoretical model of institutional change that defines the conditions under which persuasion and discourse can affect collective decision making. In particular, this study attempts to show that if (traditionally) weaker actors alter normative and institutional settings of negotiations they can further the chance of persuasion and discourse.

Contestation of international norms has become the new focus of IR norm research. The optimism of the 1990s that fundamental liberal norms would diffuse globally has remained unfulfilled in recent years—even human rights norms have witnessed strong contestation. Time and again, controversy has erupted regarding international norms such as the ban on torture or the Responsibility to Protect. Meanwhile, we know little about how such controversy affects the robustness of norms—whether it contributes to their weakening or to their strengthening. Existing research offers two competing hypotheses: One branch of norm research often conceptualizes contestation as a sign of norm weakening. By contrast, another branch assigns contestation a normative power of its own, which strengthens norms. It does not specify the limits of such normative power, however. In this article, we argue that contestation per se is a poor predictor of norm robustness. The type of contestation a norm faces matters. Contestation can either (1) address the dimension of application of a norm or (2) examine its validity by questioning the righteousness of the claims a norm makes. The article draws on two illustrative case studies of extensively contested norms, the Responsibility to Protect and the ban on commercial whaling. We argue that widespread contestation of the very validity of a norm is likely to lead to a loss of norm robustness. Applicatory contestation, by contrast, can—under specific circumstances—even strengthen it.

The introduction develops this special issue's main research question: under which conditions are challenges to norms likely to decrease their robustness? The issue presents current research on contestation and norm robustness and discusses its limitations. We conceptualize a norm's robustness by examining both the practical and discursive dimensions. Robustness is high when norm addressees express widespread discursive acceptance of a norm's claims (validity) that also generally guide addressees' actions (facticity). When normative claims are discursively rejected by most addressees and do not guide their actions, robustness is low. The contributions develop four broad indicators for measuring robustness (concordance, third-party reactions to norm violation, compliance, and implementation). The norms analyzed here were not easily eroded; despite direct challenges, they remained surprisingly robust. This indicates that norm robustness is not determined by the relative power of norm challengers, but rather types of contestation and structural factors. These include being embedded in larger normative structures, institutionalization, and legal character, although effects of these factors are more ambivalent than norm research has usually supposed.

This study explores how researchers' analytical choices affect the reliability of scientific findings. Most discussions of reliability problems in science focus on systematic biases. We broaden the lens to emphasize the idiosyncrasy of conscious and unconscious decisions that researchers make during data analysis. We coordinated 161 researchers in 73 research teams and observed their research decisions as they used the same data to independently test the same prominent social science hypothesis: that greater immigration reduces support for social policies among the public. In this typical case of social science research, research teams reported both widely diverging numerical findings and substantive conclusions despite identical start conditions. Researchers' expertise, prior beliefs, and expectations barely predict the wide variation in research outcomes. More than 95% of the total variance in numerical results remains unexplained even after qualitative coding of all identifiable decisions in each team's workflow. This reveals a universe of uncertainty that remains hidden when considering a single study in isolation. The idiosyncratic nature of how researchers' results and conclusions varied is a previously underappreciated explanation for why many scientific hypotheses remain contested. These results call for greater epistemic humility and clarity in reporting scientific findings.

This open access book deals with contestations from below of legal policies and implementation practices in asylum and deportation.

The main difference between the two cooperative studies on therapy of childhood acute myelogenous leukemia AML-BFM-78 and AML-BFM-83 was the addition of an 8-day ADE (cytosine arabinoside, daunorubicin, etoposide) induction treatment in the second study. Due to this intensification, the relapse rate, but not the rate of induction failures, was reduced. The probability of a 6-year event-free survival increased from 38%, SD 4%, in study AML-BFM-78 to 49%, SD 4%, in study AML-BFM-83, P = .08. The improvement of the 6-year event-free interval (EFI) was significant in the second study (61%, SD 4%, versus 47%, SD 5%, P less than .05); it was restricted to the FAB types M1 through M4 (EFI: 67%, SD 5%, versus 45%, SD 5%, P less than .01). The difference in EFI seen in FAB M5 was not statistically significant (EFI: 40%, SD 10%, versus 63%, SD 11%, NS). According to the results of the second study, two different risk groups (low and high) could be identified by combinations of predominantly pretherapeutic parameters. The low risk group, comprising 37% of the patients who achieved complete remission, included the FAB types with granulocytic differentiation and specific additional features: FAB M1 with Auer rods, FAB M2 with white blood cell count of less than 20,000/microL, FAB M3 all patients, and FAB M4 with eosinophilia. The 6-year Kaplan-Meier estimation of EFI is 91%, SD 4%, compared with 42%, SD 6% in the high risk group. In future studies based on the AML-BFM-83 treatment, bone marrow transplantation in first remission should be mandatory only for children of the high risk group.

<p>This research note argues that the ‘lone wolf’ typology should be fundamentally reconsidered. Based on a three-year empirical research project, two key points are made to support this argument. First, the authors found that ties to online and offline radical milieus are critical to lone actors’ adoption and maintenance of both the motive and capability to commits acts of terrorism. Secondly, in terms of pre-attack behaviors, the majority of lone actors are not the stealthy and highly capable terrorists the ‘lone wolf’ moniker alludes to. These findings not only urge a reconsideration of the utility of the lone-wolf concept, they are also particularly relevant for counterterrorism professional, whose conceptions of this threat may have closed off avenues for detection and interdiction that do, in fact, exist.<br></p>

Vascularization of the vertebrate brain takes place during embryonic development from a preformed perineural vascular plexus. As a consequence of the intimate contact with neuroectodermal cells the vessels, which are entering the brain exclusively via sprouting angiogenesis, acquire and maintain unique barrier properties known as the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The endothelial BBB depends upon the close association of endothelial cells with pericytes, astrocytes, neurons and microglia, which are summarized in the term neuro-vascular unit. Although it is known since decades that the CNS tissue provides the cues for BBB induction and differentiation in endothelial cells, the molecular mechanism remained obscure.Only recently, the canonical Wnt/beta-catenin pathway and the Wnt7a/7b growth factors have been implicated in brain angiogenesis on the one hand and in BBB induction on the other. This breakthrough in understanding the differentiation of the brain vasculature prompted us to review these findings embedded in the emerging concepts of Wnt signaling in the vasculature. In particular, interactions with other pathways that are crucial for vascular development such as VEGF, Notch, angiopoietins and Sonic hedgehog are discussed. Finally, we considered the potential role of the Wnt pathway in vascular brain pathologies in which BBB function is hampered, as for example in glioma, stroke and Alzheimer's disease.

Abstract This study examines the effects of contestation on individual norms that are embedded in larger norm clusters. We define norm clusters as collections of aligned, but distinct norms or principles at the center of a regime. Norm clusters include multiple norms that can be insulated from contestatory challenges by degrees of cohesion, institutionalisation, and legalisation. While some constructivists argue that the most important dynamic to study is ‘robustness’ of individual norms, we contend that ‘resiliency’ of norm clusters offers a richer assessment of prospects for international cooperation and long-term impact on state behaviours. Thus, this study distinguishes conceptually between different structural layers that can generate various effects in conjunction with norm contestation. We add a third, or intervening layer of explanation with norm clusters, between the intersection of norms (lowest layer) and normative structures (broadest layer). To explore this argument, comparative case studies examine the resiliency of two prohibitionary norms – the nuclear disarmament norm within the non-proliferation regime and the norm banning assassination of foreign adversaries, which is not embedded in a regime structure. While the robustness of individual norms may be challenged, our results suggest a role for resilient structures in promoting overall longevity of norm clusters.

In timber–concrete composite structures (TCCSs), a timber member is connected to a concrete slab so that the timber primarily resists tensile forces and the concrete resists compressive forces generated from flexure. In Europe, renovating historical timber floors to TCCS has become the most prevalent market for the usage of this technology. The addition of a concrete slab to a timber floor makes the system performance competitive to reinforced concrete floors. The horizontal timber–concrete interface is the challenge of the TCCS. Various connectors are on the market with a wide range of stiffnesses and load capacities which are crucial design parameters for TCCSs and empirically determined by tests. The results of push-out tests with five different connectors are presented. A lightweight concrete (LC) with a density of 1.6 kN/m3 (100 lb/ft3) was used as the concrete floor in the samples. The application of LC provides an interesting variation in TCCS technology to minimize the dead load on the timber floors. Results show that the combination of stiffness and capacity are crucial in choosing an economical connector.

The Role of Business in Global Governance offers an empirically rich analysis of the new political role of corporations in the co-performance of governance functions beyond the state. Within comparati

Abstract This article sets out to probe the peculiar nexus between democracy and the military use of unmanned systems. To this end, it draws on a critical, ‘antinomic’ reading of democratic peace theory. Tying into the theoretical scope of research conducted within the democratic distinctiveness programme that emerged out of the democratic peace debate, this entails fathoming out the ways in which democracies are distinct from other regime types. It includes acknowledging that democracies deal with conflicts aggressively too, rather than naïvely taking their supposed general peacefulness at face value. We demonstrate that the same distinctly democratic set of interests and norms that is conventionally taken to be pivotal for democratic peacefulness yields both peaceful and belligerent behavior. That same democracy-specific set of interests and norms is also constitutive of the special appeal unmanned systems hold for democracies. While armed and eventually autonomous systems may thus seem like a ‘silver bullet’ for democratic decisionmakers today, we argue that, by relying on these systems in an attempt to satisfy the said interests and norms, democracies may end up thwarting them in the long run and render themselves only more war-prone.

Abstract The environment has now become firmly established as an item on the agenda of peace research. However, perceptions of the interrelationship between peace and environmental issues differ widely. In order to prepare the way for systematic analysis of this interrelationship, four linkages are identified here: causal, instrumental, definitional and normative. Since environmental issues are not only to be treated as non-military threats to the security of societies, but can also work to promote cooperation and peace-building, the causal, instrumental and definitional linkages are sub-categorized as having positive and negative aspects. Environmental security is identified as a normative linkage designed to cope with the negative aspects of the other linkages. Whether this will lead to a militarization of environmental politics, or rather help to demilitarize security thinking remains an open question. The answer will depend very much on the positive aspects of the causal and instrumental linkages. Up to now, ecological cooperation has to be seen as a dependent variable reflecting the state of overall international relations. However, there are some indications that environmental cooperation may develop an Eigendynamik of its own and become an independent variable with influence of its own on world politics.

Platelet aggregometry is an important technique which is frequently used by hemostaseologists and researchers. Gustav Born introduced the principle more than 40 years ago. Many different ways to perform aggregometry have been published. The results of aggregometry may become more comparable if some rules would be generally accepted. (1) The pre-analytical procedures are probably the most important factors which influence aggregometry results. Besides correct blood sampling important factors are the preparation of platelet-rich plasma (PRP), incubation of the PRP at room temperature and awareness of time-dependent changes of aggregometry results. (2) A major point concerns the agonists. Agonists of different sources have to be compared to verify that they lead to the expected results. Even different salts of ADP lead to different results and different collagen preparations lead to a large variation of aggregation response (3). The frequently used procedure of adjusting the platelet number in the PRP is cumbersome, affects platelet activation and is not necessary. (4) Aggregometers should comply with some simple rules. The changes in optical density should be linearized so that--if this is required--percentages can be given. The recorder speed should be standardized and all recorders should provide 1?cm/min. Calibration of the aggregometer sensitivity should be possible. (5) If aggregometry is used to define the response to antiaggregating agents agreement on the inducer concentrations is essential. If some rules are applied aggregometry is a relatively simple and reliable method, and well suited for clinical studies and for experimental research.

Abstract In studying the global spread and implementation of liberal norms, scholars have moved from linear notions of norm diffusion and promotion to an emphasis on norm contestation. Contestation by the supposed beneficiaries and addressees has taken centre stage in both research on the norms that underpin global governance and in studies on democracy promotion and liberal peacebuilding. While the impetus of this scholarship is normative – to overcome the taken-for-granted nature of liberal norms – the concept of contestation itself is mainly used with an analytical interest. Yet, as we show in this article, contestation also comes with – oftentimes implicit – normative connotations. Focusing on the seminal work of Milja Kurki, Oliver Richmond, Antje Wiener, and Amitav Acharya, we reconstruct these normative connotations. It turns out that the normative take on contestation is fairly conventional in all four approaches. Contestation is largely seen as a means to enable dialogue, as illustrated by Acharya’s metaphor of the Banyan tree. Fundamental conflicts over liberal norms (‘battle scenes’) are either not considered or seen as normatively undesirable. As a way forward, we propose a typology that enables scholars to empirically analyse contestation in its different expressions and suggest two strategies to normatively assess practices of contestation.

Critics have suggested communitarizing the European Union's common foreign and security policy in order to increase its effectiveness. Drawing on rationalist theories of regimes and institutional choice, this paper argues that the delegation of competencies to the EU's supranational institutions is unlikely to make European crisis management more effective. Crisis management policy is best understood as a fast co-ordination game in which member states react to international crises under tight time pressure. From this perspective, agreements are selfenforcing and strong institutions are not required. In particular, none of the functions that a delegation of competencies is expected to perform -i.e. formal agenda-setting, monitoring and sanctioning, executing as well as locking-in agreements -plays a pivotal role in crisis management. In contrast, the extension and application of qualified majority voting can speed up decision-making which is the key to a more effective common foreign and security policy.

A wide range of organophosphorus nerve agents, including Soman, Sarin, and Tabun is efficiently hydrolyzed by the phosphotriesterase enzyme diisopropyl fluorophosphatase (DFPase) from Loligo vulgaris. To date, the lack of available inhibitors of DFPase has limited studies on its mechanism. The de novo design, synthesis, and characterization of substrate analogues acting as competitive inhibitors of DFPase are reported. The 1.73 A crystal structure of O,O-dicyclopentylphosphoroamidate (DcPPA) bound to DFPase shows a direct coordination of the phosphoryl oxygen by the catalytic calcium ion. The binding mode of this substrate analogue suggests a crucial role for electrostatics in the orientation of the ligand in the active site. This interpretation is further supported by the crystal structures of double mutants D229N/N120D and D229N/N175D, designed to reorient the electrostatic environment around the catalytic calcium. The structures show no differences in their calcium coordinating environment, although they are enzymatically inactive. Additional double mutants E21Q/N120D and E21Q/N175D are also inactive. On the basis of these crystal structures and kinetic and mutagenesis data as well as isotope labeling we propose a new mechanism for DFPase activity. Calcium coordinating residue D229, in concert with direct substrate activation by the metal ion, renders the phosphorus atom of the substrate susceptible for attack of water, through generation of a phosphoenzyme intermediate. Our proposed mechanism may be applicable to the structurally related enzyme paraoxonase (PON), a component of high-density lipoprotein (HDL).

The political debate about the role of business in armed conflicts has increasingly raised expectations as to governance contributions by private corporations in the fields of conflict prevention, peace-keeping and post-conflict peace-building. This political agenda seems far ahead of the research agenda, in which the negative image of business in conflicts, seen as fuelling, prolonging and taking commercial advantage of violent conflicts, still prevails. So far the scientific community has been reluctant to extend the scope of research on `corporate social responsibility' to the area of security in general and to intra-state armed conflicts in particular. As a consequence, there is no basis from which systematic knowledge can be generated about the conditions and the extent to which private corporations can fulfil the role expected of them in the political discourse. The research on positive contributions of private corporations to security amounts to unconnected in-depth case studies of specific corporations in specific conflict settings. Given this state of research, we develop a framework for a comparative research agenda to address the question: Under which circumstances and to what extent can private corporations be expected to contribute to public security?

Parliamentary approval can be of crucial importance to ensure the democratic legitimacy of military operations as it can establish public consent to the executive's use of force. But involving parliament in decisions to deploy military forces may have negative repercussions on the efficiency of operations, e.g. by slowing down decision-making. As the military activity of democracies has been on the rise since the end of the Cold War, democracies around the world have been increasingly pressed to deal with this trade-off between legitimacy and efficiency in sending troops abroad. This paper surveys the deployment provisions of 49 contemporary democracies to establish whether and how parliaments are actually involved in deployment decisions. It demonstrates that the rules for parliamentary participation mark a continuum that ranges from complete exclusion to a comprehensive veto position of parliament over all potential deployments. In between these two extremes, democracies have found a wide variety of solutions to cope with the legitimacy-efficiency problem. Despite the growing prevalence of military deployments, there is no discernible trend towards parliamentarisation, however. Rather the trend towards internationalisation of security policies contributed to a weakening of parliamentary powers in some countries.