From the Spanish Inquisition to Nazi Germany to the United States today, ordinary people have often chosen to turn in their neighbors to the authorities. What motivates citizens to inform on the people next door? In Judge Thy Neighbor, Patrick Bergemann provides a theoretical framework for understanding the motives for denunciations in terms of institutional structures and incentives. In case studies of societies in which denunciations were widespread, Bergemann merges historical and quantitative analysis to explore individual reasons for participation. He sheds light on Jewish converts’ shifting motives during the Spanish Inquisition; when and why seventeenth-century Romanov subjects fulfilled their obligation to report insults to the tsar’s honor; and the widespread petty and false complaints filed by German citizens under the Third Reich, as well as present-day plea bargains, whistleblowing, and crime reporting. Bergemann finds that when authorities use coercion or positive incentives to elicit information, individuals denounce out of self-preservation or to gain rewards. However, in the absence of these incentives, denunciations are often motivated by personal resentments and grudges. In both cases, denunciations facilitate social control not because of citizen loyalty or moral outrage but through the local interests of ordinary participants. Offering an empirically and theoretically rich account of the dynamics of denunciation as well as vivid descriptions of the denounced, Judge Thy Neighbor is a timely and compelling analysis of the reasons people turn in their acquaintances, with relevance beyond conventionally repressive regimes.

An up-close account of the devastating conflict in Bosnia, 1992-3

"Understanding Your Neighbor's Faith: What Christians and Jews Should Know About Each Other was the brainchild of Rabbi Philip Lazowski of Hartford, Connecticut. The idea was born several years back after he invited a group of non-Jewish clergymen to visit the Holy Land with him. Priests, ministers and some members of their congregations who wanted a better understanding of Israel and Judaism enthusiastically accepted his gesture of good will. Rabbi Lazowski's unique perspective as a Holocaust survivor made him ideally poised to teach others about the historical and philosophical context of Judaism as well as its rich tradition of practice. Rabbi Lazowski also learned much from his colleagues of other faith traditions. This unprecedented volume gives Rabbi Lazowski and the other clergy the opportunity to explicate their religion, using their own language and concepts in responding to the questions of people of goodwill outside their faith. Difficult, even uncomfortable, questions are asked--and answered. No question is too simple or too complex. Every chapter, each by an author belonging to a different Christian faith tradition, will prove as informative to the co-religionist as to the outsider. The concise, straightforward question-and-answer style allows the book to be studied in full, read casually, or consulted for reference.

The domestic phase of Washington's war on drugs has received considerable criticism over the years from a variety of individuals. Until recently, however, most critics have not stressed the damage that the international phase of the drug war has done to our Latin American neighbors. That lack of attention has begun to change and Ted Carpenter chronicles our disenchantment with the hemispheric drug war. Some prominent Latin American political leaders have finally dared to criticize Washington while at the same time, the U.S. government seems determined to perpetuate, if not intensify, the antidrug crusade. Spending on federal antidrug measures also continues to increase, and the tactics employed by drug war bureaucracy, both here and abroad, bring the inflammatory "drug war" metaphor closer to reality. Ending the prohibitionist system would produce numerous benefits for both Latin American societies and the United States. In a book deriving from his work at the CATO Institute, Ted Carpenter paints a picture of this ongoing fiasco.