bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mystical Texts
Authors: Faesen Rob
Published: April 2020

The study of mysticism and mystical theology implies the study of texts, and the general principles of scientific literary analysis are applied here. Nevertheless, mystical literature contains a number of elements that are worthy of specific enquiry. The first is that as a linguistic form, these texts have a unique ‘referent’—i.e. that the connection between the signifiant and the signifié is exceptional. Second, it is important to note that mystical literature consists of a wide variety of literary genres, which is partly related to the mystical authors’ motives for writing, the concrete circumstances in which these texts were written, and the intended readers. Third, these texts often function(ed) in difficult (historical and theological) contexts, which is a determining factor in terms of intertextuality and reception history.
Spiritual Itineraries
Authors: Coolman Boyd Taylor
Published: April 2020

This chapter argues that the overarching Christian conception of the human is that of ‘pilgrim’ or ‘wayfarer’. But this notion has a particular history. Over the first fifteen centuries of Christianity, spiritual or mystical itinerancy emerged at the nexus of certain Judaeo-Christian assumptions about the world and its original, current, and final relationship with God, on one hand, and of certain strands of Graeco-Roman culture and philosophy, on the other. The confluence of these two streams produced the basic notion of spiritual journey in the pre-modern eras of Christianity. This chapter argues that mystical itinerancy tends to have one of two aspects, pre- or post-conversion; one of two trajectories, vertical-mystical or horizontal-historical; and one of two dominant modes, personal or communal. These combine to form three basic models: (1) individual, vertical-mystical ascent to contemplation; (2) individual, horizontal-historical peregrination to conversion/sanctification; (3) communal pilgrimage to the kingdom/city of God.
Mystical Theology at the Heart of Theology
Authors: McIntosh Mark A.
Published: April 2020

Believing that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, Christians have found themselves engaging in theology, conceived as faith in search of understanding, in order to reflect upon and better respond to God’s initiative. This chapter offers a theological account of why mystical theology is at the heart of the Christian theological life. Understood in its ancient expansive sense, mystical theology is not a sub-discipline, attending to particular states of spiritual experience; rather it is the Christian theological mind itself whenever it seeks to recognize and understand more deeply the hidden (i.e. mystical) self-communication of God in all things, at work to achieve their reconciling, healing, and perfecting, their greatest possible participation in God. From among many possible theological rationales for the central role of mystical theology, the chapter offers one grounded in the theology of creation and another in soteriology.
Trinitarian Indwelling
Authors: Van Nieuwenhove Rik
Published: April 2020

This chapter discusses two models of the Trinity: the so-called social or interpersonal model, and the psychological or intrapersonal model. How we conceive of the indwelling of the Trinity will be determined by the extent to which we espouse one of these models. The chapter argues that the social model, although rather fashionable in current theology, may not be as suitable as the intrapersonal model to account for the indwelling in the soul of the divine Persons and the Son in particular. The intrapersonal model, on the other hand, can account for a genuine indwelling of both the Son and Holy Spirit.
Mystical Union
Authors: McGinn Bernard
Published: April 2020

This chapter follows the evolution of the three main models of Christian understanding of mystical union from the biblical foundations down to the crisis of mysticism at the end of the seventeenth century. Although the technical term ‘mystical union’ was rarely used for most of this period, many Christian thinkers spoke about becoming one with God through grace. Three main models emerged. The first is unitas spiritus (union of spirit), based on 1 Corinthians 6: 17, according to which God and the person unite in spirit by willing the same thing. This was often expressed in erotic terms. The second model is Trinitarian—a union in which a human comes to share in the inner life of the three Persons of the Trinity. The final model is the union of indistinction in which union is understood as a merging with God that leaves all distinction behind, at least on some level.
Mystical Theology and Human Experience
Authors: Howells Edward
Published: April 2020

Human experience is central to mystical theology but it cannot define it, because, according to mystical theology, the experience is not merely human but divine. After an orientation in the current debate on mystical experience, the puzzling quality of the experience, as both fully human and more than anything human, is elaborated through an exposition of three historical examples, Augustine, Meister Eckhart, and Teresa of Avila. The dual, expansive character of the experience elicits growth into an enlarged capacity for seeing God as both immediately present and wholly other. An increasing integration of key tensions—between divine presence and divine absence, inner and outer knowing, spirit and body, and contemplative and active—emerges in this transformative process. This perspective is finally reviewed with reference to the tradition of the ‘spiritual senses’.
Mysticism of the Social Life
Authors: Astell Ann W.
Published: April 2020

Famous for its contribution to ecclesiology, the 1943 encyclical of Pius XII, Mystici Corporis Christi also marks a landmark in mystical theology both by affirming spiritual developments in Catholic Action organizations, which fostered an ideal of holiness accessible to the laity, and by opposing the ‘false mysticism’ of the mass movements (Fascism, Communism, Nazism, nationalism, global capitalism) of the day. Taking up a favourite theme in the ‘French School’ of saints and mystics, the idea of the ‘Mystical Body of Christ’ inspired new communities and ecclesial movements (Focolare, Catholic Worker, Schoenstatt), whose founders anticipated, read, and responded to Mystici Corporis amidst wartime suffering, while taking an apophatic and resistant approach to dominant social formations.
Interreligious Dialogue
Authors: Barnes Michael
Published: April 2020

This chapter asks what the Church has to learn from, and what it can offer to, the contemplative turn in contemporary culture. It begins with one particular aspect of this phenomenon, namely the interreligious spirituality of persons who find themselves caught up ‘between’ the wisdom of established traditions and their pursuit of an authentic personal practice. Thomas Merton and Swami Abhishiktananda are presented as well-known interreligious mystics, two exemplary spiritual guides who seek to pass on their own deeply discerned wisdom about how to live a life of encounter with ‘the other’. In raising some of the theological questions that emerge as they seek to negotiate their interreligious experience, the second part of the chapter leads into a brief exercise or ‘case study’ in Comparative Theology: a dialogue between two well-known mystical texts, the Zen Buddhist Mumonkan and the Christian Cloud of Unknowing.
Eschatology
Authors: Feiss Hugh
Published: April 2020

Mystical experience is a foretaste of heaven and so eschatology and mysticism are related. Five examples of this relationship are Gregory the Great’s account of Benedict’s final vision of the world in the light of God, the twelfth-century Victorines’ explanation of how mystical union leads to configuration with Christ and so to compassionate care for others, Bernard of Clairvaux’s theory that the souls of the blessed do not have full union with God until they are reunited with their bodies and their fellow Christians at the final resurrection, Julian of Norwich’s struggle to understand how all can be well when there is sin, and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s vision of the divine presence in matter and of the responsibility of humanity to evolve toward the fullness of Christ. These intersections of mysticism and eschatology are elucidated by Jean-Yves Lacoste’s phenomenology of prayer.
Mystical Theology in Contemporary Perspective
Authors: Bingemer Maria Clara Lucchetti
Published: April 2020

The chapter examines the presence and visibility of spiritual and mystical experience in the secularized and plural contemporary world. Our historical moment puts into question the socio-political and cultural context of contemporary mystical life and thought. This allows us to trace the contours of present-day mystical experience in the southern hemisphere, where the experience of the Spirit is intertwined in distinctive ways with issues such as secular politics or interreligious dialogue and with the emergence of intra-ecclesial spiritualism. In doing so, we elaborate the new challenges that the experience of and reflection upon mysticism poses for Christian theology and its discourse about humanity.
Living the Word
Authors: Hughes Kevin L.
Published: April 2020

This chapter traces the pattern of reading and relating to the scriptural that was intimately woven into the fabric of mystical theology for more than a millennium of Christian practice. While the ‘spiritual interpretation of scripture’ is usually considered as a technical method of biblical exegesis, Henri de Lubac argued that it was less a literary technique than a spiritual itinerary. But already by the later Middle Ages, the ‘professionalization’ of scripture in the schools gradually drove a wedge between scriptural understanding and the transformational encounter of the soul with God. ‘Spiritual exegesis’ came to be understood narrowly as the work of doctrinal exposition. The ‘mystical’ came to refer not to the wisdom deep in scripture but to the subjective experience of the soul, while ‘allegory’ became more and more a mode of literary criticism. The conclusion sketches a possible path of retrieval.
Gender mainstreaming and the campaign for equality
Authors: Mitullah Winnie V.
Published: April 2020

Gender mainstreaming (GM) and equality vary across nations in terms of both official commitments or policies and everyday realities. This chapter examines the experience of GM in Kenya since the United Nations Third World Conference was held in Nairobi in 1985. The chapter highlights how Kenya is fully committed to GM and equality on paper—as demonstrated in the embedding of various provisions in the country’s Constitution, policies, regulations, and programs—but how serious deficits continue to plague gender relations. In so doing, the chapter highlights the practical and inherent shortcomings of GM and calls for greater attention to be given to issues of political inclusion and socio-cultural attitudes if the country is ever to approach gender equality.
Constitutions and constitutionalism
Authors: Ghai Yash
Published: April 2020

The notion of a constitutional order is broader than the text of a constitution and includes the norms of international and regional laws. In turn, constitutionalism refers to an adherence to that order and to a system in which power belongs to state offices, rather than to individuals. As such, constitutionalism is a source of power, but it also sets limits on power. This chapter analyses the struggle for constitutional reform and constitutionalism from the 1990s to the introduction of the 2010 Constitution. The chapter then turns to the Constitution’s promise of constitutionalism, to the challenges faced, and to the progress that has nevertheless been made, in large part, due to a clear timetable and more independent judiciary. The chapter concludes that without full implementation of the letter and spirit of the 2010 Constitution, the transformation of Kenya into a constitutional and democratic state is far from assured.
The rise and fall of the legislature
Authors: Opalo Ken Ochieng'
Published: April 2020

What explains the emergence of a relatively independent legislature in Kenya since the early 1990s? In this chapter, I situate the evolution and institutional development of the Kenyan legislature in historical context. In so doing, I show how legislative organizational development under both colonialism and the era of single-party rule provided the foundation for the emergence of a relatively strong legislature after 1992. The primary lesson that emerges from this chapter is that to understand contemporary legislative independence in Kenya requires an appreciation of the country’s history of contested executive–legislative relations, and the impact of this on legislative institutional development.
The role of traditional media
Authors: Galava Denis
Published: April 2020

This chapter examines how the Kenyan press has adapted to a constantly changing political landscape and media ecosystem, from the colonial period to Uhuru Kenyatta’s presidency. It interrogates the roles of key actors over this period—press owners, journalists, and successive political regimes—whose interests have helped to shape the moral and practical trajectories of reporting. Using the Daily Nation and The Standard newspapers as case studies, the chapter argues that despite the constantly waxing and waning relationship between the media and the government over time, the press in Kenya is part of ideological state apparatuses and other hegemonic structures that help to “manufacture consent” amid broader discourse over the place of democracy in Kenya’s elections. It concludes that the press was founded to secure and enhance the interests of its owners, not to expand the bounds of debate and expression.
The weaknesses of political parties
Authors: Oloo Adams
Published: April 2020

The chapter addresses the weaknesses of political parties in Kenya, which include structural constraints; institutional fragilities; legal hurdles; the nature of society; and, in the case of opposition parties, insubordination to the state machinery. Despite the foregoing challenges, the chapter demonstrates how the country has held regular and periodic elections since Independence under various party systems—something that stands as a testimony to a rich political party history. On this basis, the chapter concludes by asserting that, despite the numerous weaknesses of Kenyan parties, there exist several opportunities for political party development, especially under the 2010 Constitution. Such opportunities include an improved regulatory framework, the institutionalization of political parties, greater access to human and financial resources, and stronger party ownership by ordinary citizens and members.
Jomo Kenyatta and the creation of the Kenyan state (1963–1978)
Authors: Throup David W.
Published: April 2020

This chapter examines some key developments of Jomo Kenyatta’s presidency (1963–1978). This includes the collapse of the majimbo federal constitution, the conflict with Somalia, and decision of members of the Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU) to join the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU) in 1964. It also includes the debate over the merits of capitalism and socialism and the saga of the Lumumba Institute, which resulted in the decline of the Left and the marginalization of Vice-President Odinga, culminating in his departure from KANU and the formation of the Kenya People’s Union (KPU) in 1966. The chapter traces the obstruction and subsequent banning of KPU, the alienation of the Luo community and entrenchment of Kikuyu power following the 1969 and 1974 elections. The Kenyatta era ended with the murder of J. M. Kariuki, the “Change the Constitution” Movement of 1976–1977, and the resurgence and repression of the Left.
Gangs and vigilantism
Authors: Rasmussen Jacob
Published: April 2020

This chapter highlights how the terms “gangs” and “vigilantes” are used to refer to a wide range of violent actors who display significant variation in terms of their activities and organizational structures. To explain this complexity, the chapter examines the relationship between violence, crime, security provision, and politics, and highlights how “gangs” and “vigilante groups” are involved in politics, while politicians often call upon the same non-state actors to further their own ends. However, the analysis goes beyond a common idea of “gangs” as criminal groups that are sometimes formed and/or used by politicians, to provide a political economy analysis that traces the roots of such groups—not only to crime and politics, but to traditional age-group structures, urbanization, and socio-economic aspirations. The analysis underscores the generational temporalities of membership in, and social functions of, gangs; the transformational qualities of many gangs; and the dynamic relationship between gangs and politics.
The political economy of foreign aid to Kenya
Authors: Chege Michael
Published: April 2020

This chapter presents a general survey of the economic and political aspects of foreign aid to Kenya between the country’s Independence in 1963 and 2015. It divides that experience into three distinct political phases: one between Independence and 1980 that was characterized by declining aid dependence, rapid growth, and rising political intolerance, some of it related to aid-financed projects; the second phase (1980–1990s) was marked by increased aid, failed reforms, economic regression, and resistance to increasing political authoritarianism; while in the third era (2003–2015), foreign development assistance from more diverse sources rose phenomenally in a freer but politically conflicted environment. The chapter also identifies serious misunderstandings regarding the nature and role of foreign aid across this diverse period.
Kenya’s war in Somalia
Authors: Anderson David M.
Published: April 2020

This chapter reviews the first seven years of Kenya’s war in southern Somalia. The campaign will be examined in four parts through a chronological survey, looking first at the politics of the decision to invade, and then at the character of the military occupation, leading to a discussion of the Kenya Defence Force’s (KDF) exploitation of the economic opportunities presented to them in Kismayo. The fourth section describes the attrition the KDF has suffered since 2015, as it faces difficulties in holding territory against al-Shabaab attack. Finally, the conclusion considers the costs of the war, and the changing role of the military in public affairs.
RiftValley
Authors: Dyzenhaus Alex
Published: April 2020

The Rift Valley is Kenya’s largest and most populous province, whose diverse peoples and rich resources have led it to be central to Kenya’s politics and development. The province has also been the site of intense political competition and even electoral violence. This chapter analyses continuity and change in the Rift after the devolution of authority to county governments. First, it looks at how devolution has created the foundation for limited and ultimately unsuccessful local challenges to the broader political coalition representing the Rift Valley’s largest group, the Kalenjin. Second, it examines how devolution has led to electoral competition that has at times produced cross-ethnic cooperation, but at others has led to exclusion. Access to county funds and natural resources (like land, cattle, and oil) have also fuelled local competition. Despite the changes, the 2017 elections revealed the staying power of the status quo in Rift Valley politics.
Western
Authors: Wanyama Fredrick O.
Published: April 2020

Previously known as Western Province before the country was reorganized under the 2010 Constitution, Western Kenya now consists of Busia, Bungoma, Kakamega, and Vihiga counties. Though the majority of inhabitants are Luhya, their diverse political persuasions have always culminated in different political affiliations and voting patterns during elections. The persistence of the resultant political heterogeneity has not been adequately explained. This chapter attempts to explain this political phenomenon, and assesses devolution’s contribution towards negotiating electoral harmony in the politics of Western Kenya. It is argued that Luhya traditionally cherished decentralized governance centered on clan authority, which saw every sub-group jealously guard its autonomy. The presence of the Teso and Sabaot in the region, with their varying historical grievances, coupled with respect for individual opinion, has further amplified political heterogeneity among the Luhya. Though devolution has triggered negotiations for power-sharing through “negotiated democracy,” it has not harmonized the politics of the region.
The 2017 elections and electoral (in)justice (2015–2017)
Authors: Pommerolle Marie-Emmanuelle
Published: April 2020

The Kenyan general elections of 2017 will be remembered for the unprecedented nullification of the presidential election by the Supreme Court; for the opposition party NASA’s boycott of the subsequent election, which facilitated a win for the incumbent Jubilee party; and for the violent and oftentimes fatal stand-off between the opposition and government and their respective supporters. This chapter retraces the dynamics that led to these unforeseen events. It examines the role of ethnic politics and the associated imbalance of power and resources between the incumbent and the opposition. It also highlights the importance attached to law and electoral technology as a means to enhance electoral justice. Finally, the chapter reveals how the confrontation of a political culture and political economy built on constitutionalism and predation renders Kenyan elections both highly competitive and often violent.
Civil society and the state
Authors: Lugano Geoffrey
Published: April 2020

This chapter provides an overview of the relationship between civil society and the Kenyan state. It unveils two contradictory trends: civil society’s opposition to, and co-optation by/cooperation with, the state. The chapter argues that these tendencies are contingent on organizational positionality within the prevailing political settlement, which constitutes state authority. The trends further affirm the centrality of civil society in Kenya’s political settlements, and associated reflections of key societal divisions along ethnic and political lines that in turn help to shape organizational relations with the state and broader society. Overall, the checkered relationship between state and civil society supports both popular perceptions of the latter’s contributions to democratization, as well as concerns regarding its transformative potential.
The informal economy and its relationship with the state
Authors: Khayesi Jane N. O.
Published: April 2020

This chapter examines the function of the informal economy in Kenya and the shifting government responses to it through a review of key policies and documents from 1971 to 2017. As in many African states, the Kenyan informal economy is a critical source of employment and economic activity, providing 80 percent of new jobs in an average year. The key finding of this chapter is that the Kenyan government has undertaken a number of initiatives to support the informal sector but the impact of these initiatives remains controversial; some have been actively resisted by informal workers and businesses that believe their impact would be damaging. Thus, although a policy and institutional framework has been put in place with the official aim of encouraging the growth of the informal economy, tensions with the government remain, and there is a pressing need for the full implementation of a number of measures, most notably licensing.
The 2013 elections and the peace narrative (2013–2015)
Authors: Odote Collins
Published: April 2020

While disputes have always accompanied Kenya’s electoral processes, the 2007 general elections shook the country’s foundations. The ensuing debate pitted those who wanted to focus on truth and justice against those who prioritized peace, with two competing narratives dominating discussions around the subsequent elections in 2013. First, that Kenya needed to do everything possible to avoid a repeat of the 2007/8 post-election violence; and second, that justice and credible elections were required for sustainable peace. This chapter focuses on the 2013 elections and the emergence and impact of a powerful “peace narrative.” It argues that while this narrative helped to minimize violence, it obfuscated an objective assessment of the 2013 elections and post-election reforms, helped to ensure that peace was prioritized over justice, and set the context for a more hotly disputed and violent election in 2017.
The Role of Money in Politics
Authors: Mutch Robert E.
Published: April 2020

Money in some form has always been needed to finance politics, even in the eighteenth century, before there were any political parties or election campaigns in the modern sense. The ways of raising and spending that money have changed many times since then, as have opinions about how it should be raised and spent. As long as that money was raised and spent inside the parties, and as long as it came from politicians themselves and from rank-and-file party members, regulation of campaign funds was minimal. That began to change toward the end of the nineteenth century, when political money began to come from rich donors outside the parties. Government regulation began when opinions about how campaign funds should be raised and spent became legitimate questions of public policy. This chapter reviews how campaign finance practices and the laws regulating them have changed over the course of American history.
Religion and American Politics
Authors: Williams Daniel K.
Published: April 2020

This article surveys the intersection of religion and politics in America from the colonial era to the present, with a particular focus on the controversies surrounding religiously inspired political causes during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The article argues that religion (and, in particular, Protestantism and Catholic Christianity) has always played a central role in American politics, and that religious ideologies have inspired both liberal and conservative political movements. In the colonial era and the early American republic, controversies over religion focused primarily on disputes about church establishment and religious liberty, but in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, controversies over religion and politics increasingly centered on debates over religiously inspired moral regulation. Whether the issue was the abolition of slavery in the nineteenth century or regulation of abortion in recent decades, America’s culture wars were usually political contests between competing sets of religiously inspired arguments.
The Three Regimes of American Transportation Policy
Authors: Schneider Gregory L.
Published: April 2020

American transportation has developed from the intersection of private interest and the public good. The states and the federal government played extensive roles in the development of roads, canals, railroads, airways, and highways. The federal government shaped the regulatory structure against transportation in such a manner to favor certain transportation alternatives over others. American railroads, among the largest and most powerful corporations at the turn of the twentieth century, saw their influence tremendously weakened by government regulation, necessitating a new regime by the 1980s that stressed deregulation of transportation pricing and service, while still having government regulate safety and environmental concerns. The result has been favorable for all forms of transportation in the country in providing lower prices for shipment of freight and passengers.
Civil Rights Policy
Authors: Rush Mark
Published: April 2020

This article discusses the evolution of U.S. civil rights and civil liberties through the lens of Supreme Court decisions. It traces the evolution of negative rights against the state and positive liberties from nineteenth-century property rights decisions through early-twenty-first century decisions regarding same-sex marriage. It also traces the shift in the Court’s approach to rights cases from one in which the state is regarded as a threat to individual rights to one in which the state plays a complex role of balancing rights claims. As well, the article demonstrates that rights claims and cases have become more complex as notions of the “public interest” become more contested when the pursuit of general interests has a disproportionate effect on the interests of particular social groups.
The Early Republic, 1789–1815
Authors: Brooke John L.
Published: April 2020

The twenty-five-year political history of the early American republic, covering the period from the first federal election through the War of 1812, critically shaped the terms and path of American politics over the ensuing two centuries. During this time the United States emerged from the volatility of revolutionary politics to establish the bipolar party structure that has dominated the American political landscape ever since. The central ideological debate over the power of the national government was shaped by classical understandings of politics and by powerfully contested interests. This essay begins with a short chronological summary of the politics of the period, and then turns to the five broad frameworks that historians of the politics of the early republic have addressed over the past half-century: party structure, republican ideology, political culture, slavery, and state-formation.
Democrats and Whigs
Authors: Watson Harry L.
Published: April 2020

The rivalry between the Whig and Democratic Parties, often called the “Second American Party System,” first emerged in Andrew Jackson’s administration (1829–1837). Democrats organized to secure Jackson’s 1828 election, then united behind his program of Indian removal, no federal funding of internal improvements, opposition to the Bank of the United States, defense of slavery, and the “spoils system” that used patronage for party building. Whigs supported Henry Clay’s pro-development American System, sympathized with evangelical reform, and reluctantly accepted Democratic techniques for popular mobilization and party organization. The mature parties competed closely in most states and briefly eased sectional conflict, before splitting in the 1850s over slavery in the territories. Whigs made no presidential nomination in 1856, and the Second Party System disintegrated. As it did, Northern Whigs and antislavery Democrats merged in the Republican Party, southern Whiggery steeply declined, and Democrats survived as the only national party.
Party Politics and National Policy, Post–World War II
Authors: DiSalvo Daniel
Published: April 2020

This chapter explores the emergence of political and policy polarization in the post–World War II period. In the early Cold War years, a bipartisan foreign policy was evident in the Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy administrations. In domestic policy, Democrats and Republicans argued over the extent of the New Deal welfare and regulatory state, but there was little sentiment for returning to a laissez-faire weak state. Both parties were divided along regional lines, with Democrats composed of northeastern and southern regional factions, while Republicans divided generally along Northeast and Midwest factional lines. The 1960s, however, marked a turning point in general realignment, as Sunbelt states deserted the Democratic Party and turned largely Republican. Voter and party leadership became increasingly polarized beginning in the 1980s and would grow in intensity.
Immigration Policy
Authors: Tichenor Daniel J. , Miller Kathryn
Published: April 2020

Although the United States is a nation shaped by vast waves of immigration over time, Americans have been fighting over policies governing immigrant admissions and rights since the earliest days of the republic. Rival nativist and pro-immigration movements and traditions have yielded marked shifts across U.S. history among national policies designed to stimulate or discourage immigration. The federal government only gradually took control of regulating immigrant flows over the course of the nineteenth century. Since then, national policy has assumed both restrictive and expansive forms. Whereas the creation of an “Asiatic Barred Zone” and national origins quotas in the 1920s imposed draconian barriers to immigration, immigration reforms after 1965 helped fuel the nation’s fourth major wave of immigration dominated by unprecedented numbers of Latin American and Asian newcomers. As underscored by recent battles over family separation and efforts to build a southern border wall, the politics of immigration reform today, as in the past, remain deeply polarizing, as border hawks on the Right and immigrant rights advocates on the Left clash over unauthorized immigration and the future of millions of undocumented immigrants living in the country. The United States’ immigration policy will continue to reflect these competing interests and ideals.
Defense and Foreign Policy
Authors: Lynch Timothy J.
Published: April 2020

The history of American foreign and defense policy is framed by an enduring debate over the appropriate role of federal power in national politics. From the very beginning, parties formed around the role of the armed forces and how America should conduct its diplomacy. Competition between the branches of government, and the parties therein, over who should direct foreign and defense policy is central to their history. This chapter charts the contours of that competition, most notably between the president and Congress, and then considers the ideas that have driven these often overlapping public policies. It concludes by arguing that whilst this competition is basic to the history of the subject, continuity in foreign and defense policy is also an important part of the story.
Gender and Political Citizenship
Authors: McDonagh Eileen , Thomsen Danielle M.
Published: April 2020

The trajectory of women’s citizenship over the past two centuries reflects the changing political and cultural landscape at various moments in American history as well as a more constant liberal tradition. Women have made clear gains since the nation’s founding, though the rights granted to women came later than those granted to other groups and women continue to face barriers to political inclusion. Two key factors are women’s social construction as maternalists who are associated with the family, which liberal precepts define as separate and different from the state; and the incompatibility of women’s social construction as maternalists with the liberal American heritage that presumes individuals are equal. To promote their political citizenship, women had to transform the identity of the American state to be an institution similar to, not opposite to, the family, and they had to transform the identity of women so that the public and political elites viewed women not only as maternalists but also legally and constitutionally as individuals who were equal to men. To understand the trajectory of women’s political citizenship requires understanding how it is integrated with their social and civil citizenship as well as how that trajectory intersects with partisan disparities in women’s representation through the policies and platforms parties adopt over the course of American political development.
Voting Rights
Authors: Kousser J. Morgan
Published: April 2020

The development of the voting rights of three American groups—white males, women, and African Americans—is described in this essay in order to account for differences in the patterns of enfranchisement, disfranchisement, and, in the case of African Americans, reenfranchisement. Despite property qualifications, white male suffrage was much broader during the colonial and early national period than is often realized. Black suffrage has always been inextricably intertwined with partisan advantage. Women’s suffrage took so long to attain and the movement had to narrow its goals so much to win that female votes made little impact on politics until many years after 1920. The Voting Rights Act, which reenfranchised many African Americans after 1965, has always depended for its impact on Supreme Court decisions, which have passed through repeated cycles of support and restriction and have recently severely undermined protections, leaving minority voting rights at the mercy of “voter suppression” laws passed by their partisan enemies.
NAD(P)-Driven Redox Status Contributes to Desiccation Tolerance in Acer seeds
Authors: Alipour Shirin , Wojciechowska Natalia , Stolarska Ewelina , Bilska Karolina , Kalemba Ewa Marzena
Published: April 2020

Desiccation tolerance is a developmental program enabling seed survival in a dry state and is common in seeds categorized as orthodox. We focused on NAD and its phosphorylated form (NADP) because their continual switching between reduced (NAD(P)H) and oxidized (NAD(P)+) forms is involved in the modulation of redox signaling and the determination of the reducing power and further antioxidant responses. Norway maple and sycamore seeds representing the orthodox and recalcitrant categories, respectively, were used as models in a comparison of responses to water loss. The process of desiccation up to 10% water content (WC) was monitored in Norway maple seeds, while dehydration up to 30% WC was monitored in desiccation-sensitive sycamore seeds. Norway maple and sycamore seeds, particularly their embryonic axes, exhibited a distinct redox status during dehydration and desiccation. High NADPH levels, NAD+ accumulation, low and stable NAD(P)H/NAD(P)+ ratios expressed as reducing power and high NADPH-dependent enzyme activity were reported in Norway maple seeds and were considered attributes of orthodox-type seeds. The contrasting results of sycamore seeds contributed to their low antioxidant capacity and high sensitivity to desiccation. NADPH deficiency, low NADPH-dependent enzyme activity and lack of NAD+ accumulation were primary features of sycamore seeds, with implications for their NAD(P)H/NAD(P)+ ratios and reducing power and with effects on many seed traits. Thus, we propose that the distinct levels of pyridine nucleotides and their redox status contribute to orthodox and recalcitrant phenotype differentiation in seeds by affecting cellular redox signaling, metabolism and the antioxidant system.
Touch and social support influence interpersonal synchrony and pain
Authors: Reddan Marianne C , Young Hannah , Falkner Julia , López-Solà Marina , Wager Tor D
Published: April 2020

Interpersonal touch and social support can influence physical health, mental well-being and pain. However, the mechanisms by which supportive touch promotes analgesia are not well understood. In Study 1, we tested how three kinds of social support from a romantic partner (passive presence, gentle stroking and handholding) affect pain ratings and skin conductance responses (SCRs). Overall, support reduced pain ratings in women, but not men, relative to baseline. Support decreased pain-related SCRs in both women and men. Though there were no significant differences across the three support conditions, effects were largest during handholding. Handholding also reduced SCRs in the supportive partner. Additionally, synchronicity in couples’ SCR was correlated with reductions in self-reported pain, and individual differences in synchrony were correlated with the partner’s trait empathy. In Study 2, we re-analyzed an existing dataset to explore fMRI activity related to individual differences in handholding analgesia effects in women. Increased activity in a distributed set of brain regions, including valuation-encoding frontostriatal areas, was correlated with lower pain ratings. These results may suggest that social support can reduce pain by changing the value of nociceptive signals. This reduction may be moderated by interpersonal synchrony and relationship dynamics.
Role of persistent and worsening sleep disturbance in depression remission and suicidal ideation among older primary care patients: the PROSPECT study
Authors: Gallo Joseph J , Hwang Seungyoung , Truong Christine , Reynolds Charles F , Spira Adam P
Published: April 2020

Study Objectives

We analyzed data from a practice-based randomized controlled trial within 20 primary care practices located in greater New York City, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh to determine whether persistent or worsening sleep disturbance plays a role in the outcomes of depression and suicidal ideation at 1 year in older adults with depression.

Methods

The study sample consisted of 599 adults aged 60 years and older meeting criteria for major depression or clinically significant minor depression. Longitudinal analysis via growth curve mixture modeling was carried out to classify patients as having worsening, persistent, or improving sleep over 1 year.

Results

At 1-year follow-up, compared with patients with improving sleep, those with worsening sleep were more likely to have a diagnosis of major depression (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 28.60, 95% confidence interval (CI) 12.15 to 67.34), a diagnosis of clinically significant minor depression (aOR = 11.88, 95% CI 5.67 to 24.89), and suicidal ideation (aOR = 1.10, 1.005 to 1.199), and were half as likely to achieve remission (aOR = 0.52, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.57). Patients with persistent sleep disturbance showed similar but attenuated results.

Conclusions

Older primary care patients with depression who exhibit worsening or persistent sleep disturbance were at increased risk for persistent depression and suicidal ideation 1 year later. The pattern of sleep disturbance over time may be an important signal for exploration by primary care physicians of depression and suicidal ideation among older adults with depression.

Clinical Trial Registration

NCT00279682.
Increased oscillatory frequency of sleep spindles in combat-exposed veteran men with post-traumatic stress disorder
Authors: Wang Chao , Laxminarayan Srinivas , Ramakrishnan Sridhar , Dovzhenok Andrey , Cashmere J David , Germain Anne , Reifman Jaques
Published: April 2020

Study Objectives

Sleep disturbances are core symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but reliable sleep markers of PTSD have yet to be identified. Sleep spindles are important brain waves associated with sleep protection and sleep-dependent memory consolidation. The present study tested whether sleep spindles are altered in individuals with PTSD and whether the findings are reproducible across nights and subsamples of the study.

Methods

Seventy-eight combat-exposed veteran men with (n = 31) and without (n = 47) PTSD completed two consecutive nights of high-density EEG recordings in a laboratory. We identified slow (10–13 Hz) and fast (13–16 Hz) sleep spindles during N2 and N3 sleep stages and performed topographical analyses of spindle parameters (amplitude, duration, oscillatory frequency, and density) on both nights. To assess reproducibility, we used the first 47 consecutive participants (18 with PTSD) for initial discovery and the remaining 31 participants (13 with PTSD) for replication assessment.

Results

In the discovery analysis, compared to non-PTSD participants, PTSD participants exhibited (1) higher slow-spindle oscillatory frequency over the antero-frontal regions on both nights and (2) higher fast-spindle oscillatory frequency over the centro-parietal regions on the second night. The first finding was preserved in the replication analysis. We found no significant group differences in the amplitude, duration, or density of slow or fast spindles.

Conclusions

The elevated spindle oscillatory frequency in PTSD may indicate a deficient sensory-gating mechanism responsible for preserving sleep continuity. Our findings, if independently validated, may assist in the development of sleep-focused PTSD diagnostics and interventions.
Joint Phylogenetic Estimation of Geographic Movements and Biome Shifts during the Global Diversification ofViburnum
Authors: Landis Michael J , Eaton Deren A R , Clement Wendy L , Park Brian , Spriggs Elizabeth L , Sweeney Patrick W , Edwards Erika J , Donoghue Michael J
Published: April 2020

Phylogeny, molecular sequences, fossils, biogeography, and biome occupancy are all lines of evidence that reflect the singular evolutionary history of a clade, but they are most often studied separately, by first inferring a fossil-dated molecular phylogeny, then mapping on ancestral ranges and biomes inferred from extant species. Here we jointly model the evolution of biogeographic ranges, biome affinities, and molecular sequences, while incorporating fossils to estimate a dated phylogeny for all of the 163 extant species of the woody plant clade Viburnum (Adoxaceae) that we currently recognize in our ongoing worldwide monographic treatment of the group. Our analyses indicate that while the major Viburnum lineages evolved in the Eocene, the majority of extant species originated since the Miocene. Viburnum radiated first in Asia, in warm, broad-leaved evergreen (lucidophyllous) forests. Within Asia, we infer several early shifts into more tropical forests, and multiple shifts into forests that experience prolonged freezing. From Asia, we infer two early movements into the New World. These two lineages probably first occupied warm temperate forests and adapted later to spreading cold climates. One of these lineages (Porphyrotinus) occupied cloud forests and moved south through the mountains of the Neotropics. Several other movements into North America took place more recently, facilitated by prior adaptations to freezing in the Old World. We also infer four disjunctions between Asia and Europe: the Tinus lineage is the oldest and probably occupied warm forests when it spread, whereas the other three were more recent and in cold-adapted lineages. These results variously contradict published accounts, especially the view that Viburnum radiated initially in cold forests and, accordingly, maintained vessel elements with scalariform perforations. We explored how the location and biome assignments of fossils affected our inference of ancestral areas and biome states. Our results are sensitive to, but not entirely dependent upon, the inclusion of fossil biome data. It will be critical to take advantage of all available lines of evidence to decipher events in the distant past. The joint estimation approach developed here provides cautious hope even when fossil evidence is limited. [Biogeography; biome; combined evidence; fossil pollen; phylogeny; Viburnum.]