Stability maintenance at the grassroots: China’s weiwen apparatus as a form of conflict resolution

This working paper explores the history and potential of “stability maintenance” (weiwen) as a form of conflict resolution in China. Its emphasis on conflict resolution is novel. Previous examinations of the weiwen apparatus have concentrated on its political function, namely to manage resistance within society and maintain the authority of the party-state. This avenue of investigation has proved fruitful as a means of characterising the political motivation and the higher-level strategies involved in stability maintenance. Nonetheless, there remain significant conceptual and empirical gaps relating to how stability maintenance offices and processes actually function, particularly out of larger cities and at local levels. The research described in this paper aims to consider the effectiveness of stability maintenance as a part of the “market” for conflict resolution in local China, and to test the hypothesis that conflict resolution as facilitated by weiwen is the most pragmatic and effective means of actually resolving conflicts in the current Chinese political context, notwithstanding the closeness of the stability maintenance discourse to state authority and its relative distance from rule of law-based methods of dispute resolution..

International Law of Nuclear Weapons Nonproliferation: Application to Non-State Actors

International legal responses to the threat of nuclear terrorism by non-state actors have been many but often inconsistent, inadequate, and legally unsound. This Article argues in favor of resorting to successfully-implemented methods of dealing with similar crimes. International law has already expanded from its original statist conceptions and scope to include individuals, such as in international human rights norms and international humanitarian laws. In the latter, in particular, the law has expanded in the context of both international and non-international armed conflict. This Article argues that the advancement of law in these areas can lend much to efforts to bring nuclear terrorism within the scope of International Criminal Court, from whose jurisdiction this crime is currently excluded. This Article also recommends purposefully elevating the prohibition against possession and use of nuclear weapons by non-state actors to jus cogens, making such acts international crimes of the type that do not necessarily require state consent for prosecution by an international tribunal

Land Use Planning for Solar Energy: Resource Guide

This document was created to help New York State localities develop and adopt solar friendly policies and plans. It begins by presenting the local government’s role in land use planning and regulation and introduces common characteristics of “solar friendly” communities. The resource then describes how municipalities should begin a solar energy initiative through an official policy statement that provides support for solar energy and that authorizes a task force to shepherd the process, appropriate studies, training programs for staff and board members, inter-municipal partnerships, and outside funding sources. Next, the document explains how municipalities should engage the entire community in the solar energy initiative process to ensure support for the initiative and its implementation. Finally, the resource presents local planning best practices that communities can incorporate into their comprehensive plans, subarea plans, or other plans. Throughout, this document provides helpful resources and examples that communities can use to develop effective solar energy policies and plans

Traditional Athabascan Law Ways and Their Relationship to Contemporary Problems of "Bush Justice": Some Preliminary Observations on Structure and Function.

This paper is directed toward helping achieve a better understanding of traditional law ways among Alaska's Athabascan Indians and of the present state of the administration of law in the "bush"-village Alaska. An outgrowth of the 1970 Bush Justice Conference sponsored by the Alaska Judicial Council, the paper's primary purpose is to help facilitate establishment of more appropriate delivery and administration of legal services for ethnically distinct populations of Alaska.Introduction / Traditional Athabascan Culture / Social Organization and Leadership / Values and Their Relationship to Law Ways / Athabascan Law Ways — The Philosophical Basis / The Pragmatic Structure and Operation of Athabascan Law Ways / Major Offenses and Their Resolution (Adultery, Theft, Murder) / Summary of Athabascan Law Ways / Law Ways and Culture Change / Past and Present Law Ways: Some Disjunctions / Reference