Introduction: absorbing the four methodological disruptions in democratization research?

This article introduces the special issue on methodological trends in democratization research by taking stock of the overall development of methods practices and situating the findings of the individual article contributions within the broader developments. As has the broader discipline, democratization research has experienced four methodological "disruptions" over the past 60 years: the behavioural revolution of statistical methodology; the introduction of formal theory; the sophistication of qualitative, set-theoretic and multi-method research; and the increasing use of experimental methods. Surveying the methods practices in the past quarter century, we find that quantitative and multi-method research have been growth areas in recent years, but that the bulk of research is still done in comparative or single case studies. Formal theory as well as set-theoretic methods have gained a foothold in the field, but it is still a small one. In sum, democratization research is, methodologically speaking, still rather traditional. Moreover, the individual contributions to this special issue show that much of the empirical literature underutilizes the best available advice about how to develop and test theory, including standards on causal inference, case-selection, and generalization. We conclude with a plea for more transparency, humility, and collaboration within and across methodological traditions

Material and Discursive Militarisation in Democracies

Recent years have seen the expansion of the military's visibility and social role in many democracies. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic- democracies across the world had been deploying their militaries in an expanding range of operations. This has raised concerns about a return of the military as a political actor and the militarisation of democratic politics. Worries about the military becoming the "gravedigger of democracy" have resurfaced once again in recent years. Military coups in Africa, the expansion of military roles in law enforcement in Latin America, and an intensification of geostrategic conflicts in Asia have raised concerns about the militarisation of politics and its dangers for democratic processes, political rights, and civil liberties. However, across the world's democracies, there are few signs of a coherent trend towards the "material" militarisation of politics. Military coups and other forms of undue military influence on government formation are the exception in democratic countries, and the relative resource endowment of the military has actually declined over the last three decades. Nonetheless, there has been a worrying trend of democracies deploying their militaries for an increasing range of non-traditional missions in response to external or domestic security threats, including anti-terrorism activities, crime fighting, and the maintenance of law and order. To legitimate these non-traditional missions, democratic governments have engaged in a militarisation of the security discourse which portrays the use of military force as justified and "normal." Over the medium to long term, these militarised discourses may lead to material militarisation and the erosion of civilian control and democratic quality. Democracies deploy their militaries in a range of operations, which are often accompanied by a militarised security discourse to legitimise the use of military force as a socially acceptable or "normal" tool of civilian politics. Over time, these militarised discourses may lead to material militarisation and the erosion of civilian control and democratic quality. External actors should, therefore, focus not only on reining in military coups and other forms of undue military influence on democratic politics, but also support the demilitarisation of security discourses in recipient countries

The Ministry of National Defence in South Korea: Military dominance despite civilian supremacy?

South Korea's transition from military-controlled authoritarianism to consolidated civilian-dominated democracy is widely considered a success story. However, civilians' roles within the MND remain severely limited due to the institutional design of the MND. A decentralised structure emerged in the MND, delegating policy decision-making in critical areas to professional soldiers. Data analysis on 1,060 employees in 21 MND departments shows a clear cut between the military domain and the civilian domain within the MND, which enabled the military to thwart 30 years of civilian efforts to reform the military structure without challenging the principle of civilian supremacy

Unicameral Bone Cyst of the Pelvis in a 13-yearold Boy Treated with Cannulated Screw Decompression After Open Curettage and Grafting: A Case Report

Although studied for more than a century, the cause of unicameral bone cyst (UBC) remains uncertain. UBC of the pelvis in younger patients has been particularly problematic because its rarity often results in misdiagnosis and improper treatment. Surgical treatment has typically involved percutaneous or open curettage and bone grafting; however, some studies have described the use of a continuous decompression device to address high recurrence rates of the lesion. We present a 13-year-old male patient in whom, after two unsuccessful operations, open curettage and grafting and insertion of a cannulated screw led to resolution of pain caused by a large, recurrent UBC in the left ilium. Results of clinical examinations 1.5 years after the third operation indicated successful treatment. The use of a cannulated screw after open curettage and grafting may provide a clinically effective option for treating UBC

Mass Protests and the Military

In nonviolent mass protests against dictators, the military is the ultimate arbiter of regime survival. Drawing on a global survey of forty "dictator's endgames" from 1946 to 2014, this essay examines how dictators and their militaries respond to popular protests, and what the consequences are in terms of the survival of authoritarianism or the emergence of democracy. The authors argue that the type of the authoritarian regime and the military's legacy of human rights violations go a long way in explaining whether a military will employ violence against the protesters or defect from the ruling coalition

A Study of the Relationship Between Law School Coursework and Bar Exam Outcomes

The recent decline in bar exam passage rates has triggered speculation that the decline is being driven by law students taking more experiential courses and fewer bar-subject courses. These concerns arose in the absence of any empirical study linking certain coursework to bar exam failure.This article addresses speculation about the relationship between law school coursework and bar exam outcomes. It reports the results of a large-scale study of the courses of over 3800 graduates from two law schools and the relationship between their experiential and bar-subject coursework and bar exam outcomes over a ten-year period. At both schools, the number of experiential courses or credits taken by a student did not correlate with bar passage, positively or negatively. Enrollment in bar courses correlated positively with passage, but the correlation was modest and significant only for students whose class rank placed them at heightened risk of bar failure. Even for those students, the marginal benefit of additional bar-related courses was not statistically significant once the student had taken approximately the average number of bar courses at that school. The study results indicate that efforts to improve bar passage rates by capping experiential credits are not supported by empirical evidence and that requiring bar-subject courses for students at comparable law schools would appear justified, if at all, only when targeted at students whose class rank places them at enhanced risk of bar exam failure

Executive Personalisation in the Time of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic is revealing its severe implications not just for health systems worldwide. One striking political consequence has been renewed power concentration in the executive. There are signs of a global increase in this executive personalisation having occurred over the last 12 months. Personalisation of executive political power is a process in which the chief executive's discretionary power over political decisions increases at the expense of other political actors. Increased personalisation may undermine the provision of public goods including healthcare, increase corruption, and threaten regime stability. Even before the pandemic, there was a trend across world regions towards the expansion of executive political power, manifesting itself in the erosion of vertical and diagonal constraints on governmental power. These trends were particularly pronounced in Latin America, and in the Middle East and North Africa. In Brazil and Mexico, presidents have used their already extensive authority to centralise decision-making and thus imprint their views on the pandemic's handling. In Egypt's military-dominated electoral autocracy, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has fortified his personal grip on power during the course of COVID-19's spread. In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - under indictment for bribery and fraud - has managed to stay in power and to delay conviction partly due to the pandemic. Executive personalisation has taken new twists and turns under the COVID-19 pandemic that may have detrimental political effects in the medium- to long-term, with or without major regime transformation. European and German policymakers should update their existing monitoring instruments to react to these potential political effects of the pandemic

Missouri County Sales Tax Act : its impact on nonmetropolitan counties

In 1979, Missouri property taxpayers paid a total of $1.15 billion in property taxes to local governments. Legislation passed in the 1979 General Assembly may provide a means of substituting sales tax revenues for a portion of the property tax burden. This guide outlines the County Sales Tax Act and provides a means for evaluating the impact of this act on county residents and property taxes.Reviewed October 1993