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During the 1990s the relations between Russia and China developed intensivly. At the highest level, between 1992 and 1998, six summits took place. Both countries declared a "strategic cooperative partnership", designed to contribute to a "multipolar world" and a "well-balanced international political order". Both Russia and China endaveour to use their alliance to raise the importance of their respective places compared against the USA, EU and Japan. Policy changes in Russia have been especially instrumental in solving former conflicts between the two countries, and in developing a new quality to the bilateral relationship. Both countries have shown a strong interest in political and territorial integrity, both expect much from the markets, they need each other as partners in developing new weapon systems and both expect many advantages by normalising the situation along their joint borderline. Though future prospects of a Russian-Chinese partnership are reasonably foreseeable, it is clear that differences will remain. A complete balance of interests may not be seen.
Considering the problems of retirement security systems leads one to look beyond the border in order to get a glimpse of the way things work in other societies. Contrary to formal public pension schemes in South American and East European industrial countries, the predominant pension system in Asia is of an informal nature, based upon the extended family structure. The rise of the city-state of Singapore has been accompanied by the development of a comprehensive social security system within the framework of the Central Provident Fund (CPF). The CPF is based on a symbiosis of Western social concepts and Eastern pragmatism. The article gives an insight into the development of this system, and the way it works underpresent political and economic conditions.
The border between Germany and Poland today is undisputed and definite, and thought to promote great co-operation and a culture of good-neighbourliness. Relations between the two governments are progressing nicely. But public opinion and behaviour are still lagging behind. The author describes how thought and emotions on the Polish side are still influenced by memories of the past, especially of the German occupation during the Second World War, and the slow pace of progress in overcoming that memory. He shows that the "shadows of history" have strongly influenced Polish politics in the context of German reunification. Special emphasis is given to the role of the Catholic Church in the controversial debate on the relations towards Germany in the 1950s and 1960s.
The end of the cold war division of the Baltic Sea in 1989, and the three Baltic states’ return to independence in 1991 created new opportunities for the decision-makers of the area, as well as new possibilities for fashioning security in the region. This article will examine the security debate affecting the Baltic Sea region in the post-cold war period, and in particular, the relevance of the European Union to that debate. The following section will examine various concepts of security relevant to the Baltic region; the third section looks at the EU and the Baltic area; and the last part deals with the implications that EU membership by the Baltic Sea states may have for the security of the Baltic Sea zone.
The article mobilises the concept of strategic culture in order to identify the impact of history upon contemporary security policy. The article will first look at the "wholesale construction" of a strategic culture after the Second World War in West Germany before exploring its impact upon security policy since the end of the Cold War in two areas: the Bundeswehr's out-of-area role and conscription. The central argument presented here is that the strategic culture of the former Federal Republic now writ large on to the new united Germany sets the context within which security policies are designed. This strategic culture, as will be argued, acts as both a facilitating and a restraining variable on behaviour, making certain policy options possible and others impossible.
The author shows the strong relation between political developments, frontiers and their graphical representation on maps. Human rights, economic globalisation and the European integration process do change national policy and erode classical border lines. Still today, maps with lines and colours as their main graphic elements represent the world of the 19th century with separate national states in atlases, schoolbooks and electronic media. The main argument of the article insists on stressing the political character of maps and showing the contradiction between the cartographic picture of the world and the recent international transformations. The author concludes with the question of whether maps can reproduce these new developments at all.
The fiscal reform of 1994 was introduced to strengthen the redistributive function of central government. In the aftermath of the reform it turned out, however, that the dominating cleavage is not necessarily the rivalry between "centre" and "regions", mainly because of the very complex relationships within the provinces. Though taxation itself is highly centralized there is a growing tendency of expensation of "extra-budget revenues". That is why the share of the central government concerning all revenues fell to 27%, falling considerably short of the purpose of the fiscal reform to increase the rate of central redistribution to 60% of the national fiscal ressources. Local communities have turned out to be rather successful in collecting non-tax revenues, concentrating on the non-state sectors of the economy. The problem is not so much the threat of fiscal decentralization but the definition of rules and procedures in the relationship between centre, provinces and local administrations.
In 1988, the Government of the People’s Republic of China established the island of Hainan as a province and made it a Special Economic Zone. While the hope for a spectecular economic take off was the main driving force behind this decision, it provided China with an area where far reaching trial-and-error politics could be. Hence the new provincial government was granted the privilege of setting its own legal framework for administering the special economic policies and establishing a governmental structure guided by the principle of "Small government, big society". Although some of the efforts to reduce the administration in terms of scope and resources, to develop and strengthen non-governmental organizations and provide economic actors with a minimum of freedom and reliability proved successful, the overall results are mixed: While well-being and opportunities for self-fulfillment clearly grew, political participation is still confined to areas defined by the Communist Party.
Auf der Suche nach einem neuen Ideal : zu Theorie, Norm und Praxis des Rechtsstaats in der VR China
(1998)
Besides establishing a legal system for the needs of economic construction, legal theory and legislation in China are extending their concern from an instrumental concept of law to a more value based notion, thus supplementing "rule by laws" by elements of the "Rechtsstaat" (rule of law). Whereas legal and constitutional theory take more and more bold views concerning integrating structures of checks and balances and division of powers into the legal system, urging for statutory control of the ruling party, for reforming the National People’s Congress into a responsible legislative body based on real representation of the people, providing for constitutionality of legal norms by a system of judicial review etc., legislation has started to deal with certain aspects of the Rechtsstaat in fields as administrative, criminal and criminal procedure law. In view of grave problems of implementation, this legislation may partly be regarded more to be an expression of intention to develop gradually a new ideal and a new legitimation for the political system than well established actual practice.
In August 1997 the Australian Government released the first White Paper ever issued on its foreign policy. As one important element, this essay tries to delineate the pro Asia-Pacific shift of Australia’s international economic and security orientations, particularly since the early 1970s - a foreign policy which could rest upon an certain bipartisan basis. The recently launched White Paper represents a new reflection upon Australia’s national interests and a soft relativisation of the strong emphasis on regional and multilateral foreign policy performances of former governments. According to a least the author’s judgement, the fundamental legacy of Australia’s international relations remain: a certain (a definite?) contradiction between the country’s predominant cultural and ethnic (!) heritage on the one hand and its geographical location on the other.
Since 1989 the German-Czech relationship has been burdened by the problem of a just assessment of World War II and the following forced transfer of the Sudeten Germans. Why are democrats on both sides who acknowledge the same values and principles unable to reach an agreement about crucial events in the past? The political and legal differences imply a moral dissent which is not being discussed systematically. The article tries to investigate the deficits of the moral arguments on both sides.
The economic reforms in the German Democratic Republic during the 60s, known as "New Economic System" (NES) or "Economic System of Socialism" (ESS) have been characterised by historians as truly technocratic. What is often not known is the fact, that during the first debate on economic reform in Eastern Germany in 1954-1958 the idea of democratic reform was prominent thanks to the role and writing of the outstanding GAR economist Fritz Behrens, who favoured a diminished role of the state in the economy and the self-rule of the workers in the factories. Behrens and his followers were denounced by party leader Walter Ulbricht as "revisionist". Together with his economic advisor, Wolfgang Berger, originally a scholar of Behrens’, he started the NES and ESS in the 60s. Behrens remained barred from the management of the reform, in which Berger plaid a prominent role. When Behrens began again to publish his demands for a democratic reform in 1967, thus intervening in the progress of the reform, he was forced to leave his academic job into retirement. In 1971, Erich Honekker succeeded Ulbricht. The economic reform was stopped. And Berger lost his job, too.
Nowadays the term "technocracy", which means the elimination of politics by the rule of scientific reasoning, is most often used with a quite negative overtone. Technocrats are described as experts without morals, able to function in any kind of political system. Nevertheless one should remember that the technocratic idea contained from the very beginning a strong ethic element: conventional political power as an instrument of repression should be replaced by the rule of sciences as an instrument to improve human life. Although the idea of eliminating politics by "science-based" decisions of an autocratic leadership has been widely used to legitimate totalitarian rule, it is obvious, that clear technocratic reasoning and decision making do not go conform with the functioning of a totalitarian system. On the contrary, technic and technologic innovation accelerated the breakdown of totalitarianism. The complex character of modern societies calls for regulation by markets and pluralistic political systems. The evolution of our technical civilization improved the conditions for democratic selforganisation.
After overcoming the divergence from the general features of Western and international urban development caused by Germany's division, Berlin is catching up with and imitating almost all features of post-modern city formation constituted and demonstrated in the last two decades. Berlin is trying to make good its backwardness and to keep abreast of the metropolis in Europe and the world through a strategy aimed at a cultural re-evaluation of urban structure and architecture. The so-called Prussian style based on the Classicist tradition of the beginning of the 19th century is the historical and asthetic horizon. A small administrative and architectural elite pushing the redefinition of the social, political and asthetic meaning of public space ignores consciously the architectural reality in the Eastern and Western parts of the city. Crucial objectives are the cultural, political and economic recapturing of the traditional centre of Berlin profoundly marked by its socialist past and the protection of middle class interests.
In the rapidly growing literature on globalization, many authors have emphasized the apparent disembedding of social relations from their local-territorial preconditions. Such arguments neglect the relatively fixed and immobile forms of territorial organization upon which the current round of globalization is premised, such as urban-regional agglomerations and territorial states. Drawing on the work of David Harvey and Henri Lefebvre, this article argues that processes of reterritorialization - the reconfiguration of forms of terrritorial organization such as cities and states - must be viewed as an intrinsic moment of the current round of globalization. Globalization is conceived here as a reterritorialization of both socio-economic and political-institutional spaces that unfolds simultaneously upon multiple, superimposed geographical scales. The ongoing restructuring of contemporary urban spaces and state institutional-territorial structures must be viewed at once as presupposition, a medium and an outcome of this highly contested dynamic of global spatial restructuring. New theories and representations of the scaling of spatial practices are needed to grasp the rapidly changing territorial organization of world capitalism in the late 20th century.
J. Kiaupiene, a severe critic of Kosman’s ideas, presents a different view on Lithuanian history. Kosman's description of Lithuania's past is neither exact nor new. Scholars in Russia, Poland and Belorussia have interpreted Lithuania's history in very different ways. The reason for this variety is the difference of national interests. Kosman's view reflects Polish messianism and cultural hybris. But even among Lithuanian scholars there are conflicting views on this nation's history and cultural identity.
Lithuania and Poland had cooperated for centuries and even created a political union. The pacts had been very useful for both sides and consequently, the peoples and especially the Lithuanian elite was ready to absorb parts of the Polish culture. Lithuania broke with this tradition dating back to the Middle Ages only after the first division of Poland. During 1944- 1990, the so-called "Soviet period in Lithuania", two different processes could be observed: Russification and Lithuanification. Although dependent on Moscow, the leading Lithuanian politicians never forgot Lithuanian interests and supported the national conscience. After Lithuania gained independence in 1990, a huge wave of national enthusiasm swapped over the country. In the meantime, politicians came back to reality: The independence of Lithuania seems consolidated and the old tradition to re-establish the Polish-Lithuanian cooperation seems to be on the run since Aleksander Kwasniewski had visited Lithuania in January 1996.
Germany gained its unity, but the restoration of virtual national cohesion presents itself as a lasting problem. The rebuilding of common national identity forms one complex aspect. Particular West and East German political, social and cultural features still exist. The East Germans brought elements of a peculiar identity into the unity; as a repercussion of some setbacks in their position and of some actual inter-German distinctions, their peculiarities are not yet in retreat. They prolong their role as conventional feelings, in temporary behaviours as an answer to their actual stance, and to a certain extent also with traits staged and suggested by entrenched media interpretations about the presently hampered inter-German evolution.
The self-awareness of the subject is always dependent on interaction with others. Thus, self-awareness and social awareness are two sides of the same coin. The Self is not only to be won through social ties with others, but at the same time through distance from them. So long as this does not lead to isolation, there is a possibility of working out common values and identities. The construction of common identities is a process of social definition and construction. Materials for this are space-time, social, cultural, economic, and administrative-legal attributes which are transformed into identity-building attributes. Ethnic movements are often portrayed as social dramas. The processes of institution-building and nation-building never stop. Their supporters relate identity management to the central nation-state and consensus, possible minorities count on a strategy of differentiation and conflict instead.
The attitude of the East Germans to the Polish is burdened with the heritage of the past. After 1945 the composition of the population on both sides of the new border along the Oder and Neisse rivers changed drastically. On the eastern side the Germans were expelled and Polish people were settled. On the western side many expelled Germans found a new home. Despite the fact that the GDR signed the Oder-Neisse border treaty, the ruling communist party (SED) did not encourage contacts between the people living on both sides of Oder and Neisse in the following years. The policy of the SED towards the Polish communists during the whole period between 1946-1989 was characterised by arrogance and suspicion, at times falling back on old anti-Polish stereotypes. Especially in the 1980s, the GDR tried to prevent the influence of Solidarnosc and dissident ideas from entering the country. Despite this policy, substantial personal contacts developed, particularly in the 1970s when the border was fully opened. The authors argue that current German-Polish relations should make use of these experiences.
Since the end of the year 1989 Liberia has been ravaged by a bloody civil war. It has almost completely destroyed the state structure of Liberian society which was manipulated by military ruler Samuel Doe and a small elite with the ends of amassing wealth and retaining power during the decade of 1980 to 1989. The state and almost all political institutions were stripped of credibility and legitimacy. During the war it was easy for the warlords of the various factions and their mostly young supporters to seize power and the remaining resources of the country. They established a radical free market system with the help of internationally operating companies and banks, protecting it by terror. Nearly two thirds of the population have left their homes and now live as refugees abroad, in the capital Monrovia or in Buchanan, where remnants of state structure and a weak civil society survive under the protection of a regional intervention army (Ecomog). By discussing different sociological explanations, the author traces the origins of the civil war and of its extreme brutality.
Gomułka’s harsh criticism of the Stalinist past and the introduction of liberal elements into the public life of Poland was not welcomed by the East German leadership. Ulbricht demanded full support for the sovereignty of the GDR and tried to prevent any independent Polish moves to come to terms with the Federal Republic. The Polish leadership strived towards a closer economic integration with the GDR and Czechoslovakia to foster industrial development in Poland and to bind the East German state more closely into the "socialist camp". These ideas were flatly rejected by the GDR. The level of economic interdependence between the two German states and the advantages of the GDR resulting from the "intra-German" status of trade and transfer of technologies provoked Gomułka’s distrust. Relations worsened even more when, towards the end of his time in power, Ulbricht moved towards a rapprochement with the FRG and showed some readiness to question the Görlitz treaty on the German-Polish border line.
The transition and transformation within the three countries dealt with are still in process. In her essay, the author analyses whether there is a need for Poland to re-define its relationship to Germany and Russia, whilst searching for a new identity and a new place within Europe. She argues that there is a set of historical and geopolitical reasons for doing so. But whilst the Polish aim is to normalise its relationship to its neighbours, the perception of Russians and Germans in Poland is rather different. On the one hand, in the Polish people opinion, Germany is the main promoter of their European institutional integration wishes. On the other, relatively aggressive attitude towards Russia can also be identified. The essay is a strong plea for mutual responsibility and co-operation in favour of peace and security in Europe. Additionally Russia is to be regarded as part of European history, and should thus be involved in the European political process.
The fatal "eye disease" that afflicts Realists and Neorealists, and even infects some self-styled Institutionalists and Constructivists, has several causes. In his polemical essay, the author defines these as historicism, the legalistic bias, the underestimation of non-state actors and the overestimation of the state as such. Discussing the linkage between loyality, ethnicy, and politics, he strongly argues for recognition of the fact that the world is groping for new political arrangements for which we simply do not have the appropriate ideas or words to describe. In the future, the range of political identities and loyalities in the global culture of "fragmegration" will extend beyond traditional multiculturalism.
The post cold war world order is popularly discussed in terms of what Samuel Huntington has called the "clash of civilizations". The authors hold that Huntington is just a prominent example of the trend which constructs geopolitical identities based on ethnic definitions of world regions, where ethnicitiy is understood to be a primordial, transhistorical and static understanding of cultural identities. In their paper, they extensively deconstruct this concept of ethnicity, drawing parallels with the history of nationalism and nation-building, and analyze its functions for legitimizing projects of building exclusive economic blocs in Europe, America and Pacific Asia. At present, ethnic concepts of world regions are competing with liberal, non-ethnic identities of the three world regions. Finally, the dangerous potentials of ethnic regionalization are discussed. From a peace research perspective, support for a common global identity of "mankind" is strongly advocated.
Observers of international politics have been conscious of the growing international involvement of non-central governments (NCGs), particularly in federal systems. These have been supplemented by the internationalisation of subnational actors in quasi-federal and even unitary states. One of the difficulties is that analysis has often been locked into the dominant paradigm debate in International Relations concerning who and who are not significant actors. Having briefly explored the nature of this changing environment, marked by a growing emphasis on access rather than control as a policy objective and the emergence of what is termed a 'catalytic diplomacy', the discussion focuses on the need for linkage between the levels of government in the pursuit of international as well as domestic policy goals. The nature of linkage mechanisms are discussed.
Are we witnessing a decline of war, the spread of violence or both? The growing number of wars and genocids conveys the impression of uncontrolled violence. Is there any possibility to overcome belligerent conflicts between states? Do imply social, technological, cultural or even anthropological changes moments which could shift the ground of state’s rivalry towards non-belligerent relationships? Peace trough interdependence and democracy seems possible. The priorities of modern states cannot be thought on the basis of attributes like sovereignty and territoriality. The peaceful 'bourgeois islands' not only bring about prosperity but increasing social exclusion as well. New phenomenon of ethnicism and religiosity often originate from, around and in their midst. Threats arising from terrorism and racial or religious riots are the consequences. There are two options, the author considers as possible: an "embourgeoisement" of the "barbarians" or a "barbarisation of the bourgeois". Or is there a new political form emerging?
The failure of politics is closely connected with deeply rooted misconceptions about the term politics. The author argues that a re-reading of Immanuel Kant's work "The Perpetual Peace" written 200 years ago offers a challenging possibility for a new conceptualization of politics, morality and peace. Morality is seen by Kant as an essential dimension of politics and the implementation and acknowledgement of laws by moral demands is defined as a precondition for a community of free citizens. In its public discourse politics does require law and morality. Deriving future rights from existing laws is one of the most favored argumentation used by politicians in the public. If the needs of law and justice are interpretated by politicians in their own interest, i.e. above all guarantees for the realization of political selfdetermination, then a real chance will exist for improving peace in the future.
The article argues that the concept of statehood is not functioning any longer. It exists a crisis for the international legal order which is represented by the failure of state to maintain order within its borders. The problem of violence in international relations are connected to the implosion of a considerable number of the state entities in the contemporary international society. The federalist institutional approach in international law and international theory could not contribute in an appropriate way to the solution of the "problem of violence", because it supposes a willingness on the part of states to do so. Only the concept of "national interest", in a sociological sense, connected to the development of a discource of solidarity and mutual responsibility between the "West" and the "rest of the world" offers the possibility to create a common consciousness which could make it easier to overcome the contemporary crises for the international legal order.
The Chinese coastal cities play an increasing economic role in the Yellow Sea region. The inclusion of these cities into the intra Asian economic cooperation is accomplished not only in the conventional sphere of trade but also by a growing involvement in telecommunication networks, technological exchange and the circulation of human resources. That is why these cities emerge as autonomous actors in the East Asian integration process. In this context national states face deep structural change, especially in the field of sovereignty and territory. Concerning the internal situation of China, this change could also cause a turn over of the relationship between the central government and the regions.
There is sufficient evidence of integration processes in the Asia-Pacific rim. But these processes differ profoundly from the European case. On the other hand integration theory up to the present day has been based mainly on the European evidence. Does this mean, that conventional integration theory is irrelevant in the case of the Asia-Pacific development? This contributuion tries to re-examine the theoretical capacity of various approaches (institionalism, functionalism, regionalism, flying geese pattern, regime-theory) when applied to the realities of transnational interaction and international organization in the Asia-Pacific rim.
Based on the discussion on Germany´s new 'central location', the author tries to sketch Germany´s geopolitical position in view of the constellation of powers in Europe from a national point of view. This favourable position offers a great chance for the country to play an active role in Europe’s integration. However, German historical heritage as well as the delicate relationship of Germany´s political elite to the use of power are reasons for the country´s hesitation to fulfill her neighbours’ and her allies’ expectations. Anyhow, Summaries 192 rooted in the West-European and transatlantic integration is Germany the natural dooropener for its Eastern, South-Eastern and Baltic neighbours to become 'members of the club'. )</a> Jahresabo: 40,00 € (ermäßigt: 25,00 €)
Flight and expulsion are and will remain important international problems. The existence of refugees is a result of unsolved domestic tasks. Thus, effective solutions require comprehensive and long-term strategies. So far the efforts to reduce the causes of escape have not been sufficient. In the current refugee crises millions of people can survive only with the help of an efficient international system (for example the UNHCR) that guarantees humanitarian aid and protection. However, this system has turned out to be inadequate although the potential of preventive action is sufficient to reach a major progress in diminishing the refugee problem.
Although without providing a systematical comparison, it has become clear that the sects or party-factions of Japan’s New Left movement are by no means merely copies of their counterparts in the West. On the other hand their conduct may not be judged as to be a unique Japanese phenomenon. What they embody is, on the whole, a complex symbiosis of universal and particularly Japanese features, which can be observed in the fields of social behavior, organizational structure, and group dynamics. The particularity of the New Left factions is mostly revealed through the higher intensity of specific features rather than through pecularities found only in Japan.
Underlying the importance of revenue the author discusses the future of the international order from the perspective of political economy. The international system will not be a capitalist one. Political conflicts will not be removed by nonviolent market regulations. Weakness of labour force and a dominant role of revenue will further more result in political interventions by nation states. The struggle for revenue to maintain comparative advantages in high-tech-development strengthens state intervention in order to protect domestic market. The failure of the "development state" in the third world and the rising of fundamentalistic tendencies supported by a market-oriented middle class will increase conflicts in those regions.
There has never been a theory of transition from really existing Socialism to a democratic and market-oriented system. Different theoretical approaches are taken into consideration by the author. Experiences of other transitional processes are practicable on Eastern Europe in a limited way. The missing of socio-structural differentiation, the socio-cultural consequences of the really existing Socialism and the international conditions did not promote the transition. It seems that the transition in Eastern Europe is obviously not a change from one political system to another one, but for the time being an open process.
Taking the visit of Erich Honecker to China as an example, the author analyses the bilateral GDR-Chinese relations in the 1980s. Based on extensive original research, the objectives as well as disappointed hopes are presented. The author reveals that not Honecker played the "Chinese Card", but he himself became part of Chinese politics. At the same time, the contradictory reaction to that visit in Moscow are documented when, with the election of Gorbachev, first signs of a change in Soviet policy toward China were indicated. Jahresabo: 40,00 € (ermäßigt: 25,00 €)
The dramatic changes in international relations characterized by the terms "Complex Interdependence" and "Segmentary Globalization" call for new explanation. The author considers the post-modern approaches, a critical analysis of which he presents, to be one possibility to do that. In studies of international policy, these post-modern influences are gaining ground in disputes with realistic and neo-realistic approaches, and they can also clearly be felt in Latin America. Tomassini, based on the historic experiences of Latin America, forcefully calls for an active and constructive incorporation of the region into international developments. For that, Latin-American societies have to establish modern, and open political as well as economic systems which are able to meet those challenges.
Improvement of a fluorescence immunoassay with a compact diode-pumped solid state laser at 315 nm
(2006)
We demonstrate the improvement of fluorescence immunoassay (FIA) diagnostics in deploying a newly developed compact diode-pumped solid state (DPSS) laser with emission at 315 nm. The laser is based on the quasi-three-level transition in Nd:YAG at 946 nm. The pulsed operation is either realized by an active Q-switch using an electro-optical device or by introduction of a Cr<SUP>4+</SUP>:YAG saturable absorber as passive Q-switch element. By extra-cavity second harmonic generation in different nonlinear crystal media we obtained blue light at 473 nm. Subsequent mixing of the fundamental and the second harmonic in a β-barium-borate crystal provided pulsed emission at 315 nm with up to 20 μJ maximum pulse energy and 17 ns pulse duration. Substitution of a nitrogen laser in a FIA diagnostics system by the DPSS laser succeeded in considerable improvement of the detection limit. Despite significantly lower pulse energies (7 μJ DPSS laser versus 150 μJ nitrogen laser), in preliminary investigations the limit of detection was reduced by a factor of three for a typical FIA.
Two examples of our biophotonic research utilizing nanoparticles are presented, namely laser-based fluoroimmuno analysis and in-vivo optical oxygen monitoring. Results of the work include significantly enhanced sensitivity of a homogeneous fluorescence immunoassay and markedly improved spatial resolution of oxygen gradients in root nodules of a legume species.
Mit diesem Heft wird die Diskussion über eine neue deutsche Ostpolitik fortgesetzt und abgeschlossen. Diese hatte im Heft Nr. 49 mit Thesen von Jochen Franzke begonnen, im nächsten Heft wurden erste Beiträge publiziert. Insgesamt haben sich Wissenschaftler und Politiker aus Deutschland, Österreich, Polen, Finnland und Tschechien beteiligt. Die Debatte schließt mit Schlussbemerkungen des Initiators. Ulrich Best, Katrin Böttger, Vladimir Handl, Heinz Timmermann, Christian Wipperfürth, Sabina Wölkner, Gesine Schwan, Dieter Segert, Beata Wilga, Markus Löning und Ole Diehl, Angelica Schwall-Düren, Wolfgang Gehrcke und Jochen Franzke
Politische Loyalität und Sprachwahl : eine Fallstudie aus dem Flandern des frühen 19. Jahrhunderts
(2005)
"Small wars" will play an increasing role in the conflict scenarios of the 21st century, at the expense of inter-state wars. One of the key features of future war is the difficult differentiation between civilian and military targets, between combatants and noncombatants. It is argued that the parallel (and competing) structures of both states and non-state actors using force openly and equally will be a permanent feature of international security policy in the 21st century. This development is tantamount to the dissolution of the monopoly on the legitimate use of force by the states. The state-centered system of international relations has been a distinctive hallmark of the modern period. It is bound to give way, however, to the parallel and competing structures of state actors and non-state actors which was a central attribute of the Middle Ages. Jahresabo: 40,00 € (ermäßigt: 25,00 €)
In den theoretischen Grundlagen moderner Verfassungsstaaten wird Angst als zentrale politische Größe ausgewiesen. In der Hobbesschen Ursprungsmythologie moderner Staatlichkeit spielt sie eine entscheidende Rolle für die Staatskonstituierung. Aufgrund ihrer Staatszentriertheit bietet die Vertragstheorie allerdings kein hinreichendes Erklärungspotential für die transnationale terroristische Strategie der Angst. Der Angstpolitik des Terrorismus steht aber auch eine Nutzbarmachung der Angst durch Regierungen bedrohter Staaten gegenüber.
Geheimdienste in Demokratien
(2006)
Geheimdienste sind für den modernen Staat zur Gewährleistung seiner inneren und äußeren Sicherheit wesentlich und stehen ständig vor neuen Herausforderungen. Die Dienste der Bundesrepublik sind aus der Frontstaatlage im Kalten Krieg gewachsen, und ihr Wert als geheimes Regierungsinstrument ist durch eine Vielzahl systemischer Probleme erheblich eingeschränkt. Zudem gibt es weder eine klare Standortbestimmung der Dienste im politischen System, noch eine moralische Grenzziehung ihrer Aktivitäten.
In the spring issue of WeltTrends, Gunther Hellmann (Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe- Universität Frankfurt a. M.) sparked a debate on Germany's foreign policy. He argued that Germany’s international behaviour is dominated by a Realpolitik policy generally referred to as "normalization". For Hellmann this transformation indicates "the deepest crisis of German foreign policy" ever. Hellmann proposes a rehabilitation of the tradition of the Bonner Republik and an active Idealpolitik. This summer issue of WeltTrends features eleven articles written in response to Hellmann by International Relations scholars. The debate focuses on analytical as well as normative aspects of current German foreign policy. The authors discuss the context of the European Common Foreign and Security Policy, the international system and the United Nations, historical aspects of German foreign policy and the German foreign policy discourse. While some contributors share Hellmann's idealist position, most challenge his plea from a more realist perspective. In the upcoming fall issue, this debate will be continued with contributions by German foreign policy makers. A final reply by Hellmann will complete the debate in the winter issue of WeltTrends. Contributions by: Franz Ansprenger, Stephan Böckenförde, Wilfried von Bredow, Sabine Busse, Edwina S. Campbell, Hartmut Elsenhans, Hans J. Gießmann, Werner Link, Carlo Masala, Hanns W. Maull, and Siegfried Schwarz.
In the spring issue of WeltTrends, Gunther Hellmann (Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe- Universität Frankfurt a. M.) sparked a debate on Germany’s foreign policy. He argued that Germany’s international behaviour is dominated by a Realpolitik policy generally referred to as "normalization". For Hellmann this transformation indicates "the deepest crisis of German foreign policy" ever. Hellmann proposes a rehabilitation of the tradition of the Bonner Republik and an active Idealpolitik. This summer issue of WeltTrends features eleven articles written in response to Hellmann by International Relations scholars. The debate focuses on analytical as well as normative aspects of current German foreign policy. The authors discuss the context of the European Common Foreign and Security Policy, the international system and the United Nations, historical aspects of German foreign policy and the German foreign policy discourse. While some contributors share Hellmann's idealist position, most challenge his plea from a more realist perspective. In the upcoming fall issue, this debate will be continued with contributions by German foreign policy makers. A final reply by Hellmann will complete the debate in the winter issue of WeltTrends. Contributions by: Franz Ansprenger, Stephan Böckenförde, Wilfried von Bredow, Sabine Busse, Edwina S. Campbell, Hartmut Elsenhans, Hans J. Gießmann, Werner Link, Carlo Masala, Hanns W. Maull, and Siegfried Schwarz.
Indonesia’s arduous path to democracy is threatened by several domestic conflicts. Although the civil war in Aceh – a region in the north of Sumatra – has claimed thousands of victims, the incidents have not yet been adequately dealt with – neither in the public domain nor within the scientific community. In May 2003, the Indonesian president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, imposed material law on the Aceh region in order to crack down on the separatist movement Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (GAM). This step does not seem to be in line with serious concepts of democracy and is threatening the consolidation of the transformation process. The author seeks to shed light on the roots of the conflict, the motivation of leading politicians in Jakarta to deploy military means instead of continuing negotiations, and its consequences for the Indonesian process of democratisation.
In this issue, we continue and complete the debate on the future of the transatlantic relationship and of world order after the Iraq war. The debate was initiated by an article by Thomas Risse (Freie Universität Berlin) in WeltTrends 39, which has provoked a remarkable reaction within the German academic community, as documented in WeltTrends 40. This issue features additional comments and the rebuttal by Thomas Risse. Most authors believe that the transatlantic partnership is in a serious crisis, but claim that it remains without an alternative for both sides of the Atlantic.
In this issue, we continue and complete the debate on the future of the transatlantic relationship and of world order after the Iraq war. The debate was initiated by an article by Thomas Risse (Freie Universität Berlin) in WeltTrends 39, which has provoked a remarkable reaction within the German academic community, as documented in WeltTrends 40. This issue features additional comments and the rebuttal by Thomas Risse. Most authors believe that the transatlantic partnership is in a serious crisis, but claim that it remains without an alternative for both sides of the Atlantic.
In this article, Immanuel Wallerstein tries to anticipate the evolution of world conflicts and structures over the next decades. In his analysis, he identifies three main cleavages which structure future global conflicts: the triadic cleavage between the United States, Europe and Japan, who compete economically; the North-South cleavage between core zones and the periphery of the world economy; and, finally, the cleavage between what he calls the "Spirit of Davos" and the "Spirit of Porto Alegre" as a conflict between alternative images of the future world order. The structure and the dynamics of each cleavage are analysed and their evolution over the next decades is anticipated.
This issue of WeltTrends features the debate about the future of the transatlantic relationship and world order after the Iraq war. It was started by Thomas Risse with his article in the previous edition. Thomas Risse elaborated on three main points of contention between the United States and Europe: the role of international law and multilateralism, democracy and human rights, and the strategy towards new security threats. Most of the scholars, contributing to the debate in this issue agree with Risse in that there is no alternative to the transatlantic partnership and offer possible paths towards its renewal. The debate will be continued with additional comments and a rebuttal by Thomas Risse in the next Winter issue.
Do the transatlantic relations have a future after the Iraq crisis and what will they look like? This question will be discussed in this and the next issue of WeltTrends. For this debate, Thomas Risse, Chair of International Relation at the Freie Universität Berlin, provides the initial input. Risse focuses on controversial issues inside of Europe, the outcome of which will be decisive for the future of the transatlantic relationship. Will the European consensus once constituted by the commitment to international law and multilateralism persist? What is the European position regarding democracy and human rights in the Middle East? Will Europe develop a strategy to cope with the new kind of threats posed by weapons of mass destruction in the hands of dictators or terrorists? Risse´s article has provoked a debate inside the German academic community, whose contributions will be published in the next issue of WeltTrends.
At the beginning of the 21st century the welfare state is under pressure from two sides. On the one hand, there is "globalisation", on the other hand seems to be some sort of normative crisis of the welfare state’s moral foundations. The welfare state is said to curtail individual freedom and autonomy. This article rejects this assumption by exploring the philosophical and moral foundations of the welfare state, thereby demonstrating that it is essentially necessary for individual freedom and autonomy. Furthermore, it is shown that individual freedom is also the core principle of liberal democracy and that the welfare state is therefore an indispensable prerequisite for democracy itself.
Völkerrecht und Ethnizität
(2003)
Both universal and regional international instruments seek to maintain and to strengthen peace and security through the development of friendly and co-operative relations between equally sovereign states respecting human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. History shows that failure to respect minority rights can undermine stability within states and negatively affect relations between states, thus endangering international peace. While minority situations vary greatly and the ordinary democratic process may be adequate to respond to the needs and aspirations of minorities, experience also shows that special measures are often required to facilitate the effective participation of minorities in public life. The article analyzes the contribution of international law to this field.
The central focus of this essay is the "politicisation" of ethnicity in contemporary German immigration policy and its underlying ethnic ideology. Emphasis is put on the relevance of ethnicity and how it is viewed within the framework of German immigration policy. The author discusses German citizenship policy and its ideology, which creates ethnic boundaries in order to serve as a mechanism to defend limited access to German citizenship. The effects of the elevation of so-called ethnic groups through privileged immigration are explained with the example of ethnic German emigrants living in the former Soviet Union – the "Auslandsdeutschen" – and the process of their ethnic formation.
On the occasion of his farewell lecture, Manfred Mols looks back to his academic work of the last four decades, and discusses the essential meaning of area studies. He tries to clarify the important denotation of institutes for regional researchers. Area studies should help us to understand changing processes in international policies and they do. He underlines his critical point of view with the position and treatment of area studies among certain universities in Germany.
This introduction provides an overview of feminist approaches to International Relations. The authors compare the Anglo-American debate with the Germanspeaking discussion in order to reveal similarities and differences. They identify three particular areas of research that characterize the German-speaking feminist debate in International Relations: (1) works evolving out of peace studies; (2) research on globalization and international economic institutions; (3) studies focusing on women’s movements together with most current works centering around international norms. They argue that feminist approaches to norms constitute a particularly promising research area which provides new "tools" to account for international, regional or domestic policy-change. Gender-sensitive research on norms also allows to address ethical questions that are vital for feminist understandings of science. Moreover, this new focus on norms enables bridge-building between feminism and the mainstream.
This article is a reply to a statement by Elke Schwinger in WeltTrends 31. The author tries to strike the balance between "coming to terms with the past" and the role of criminal law in this process in Germany. The principle of prohibition of retroactive laws, fixed in the 1990 German Unification Treaty and in the Constitution, had been broken in the trials against the "Mauerschützen" (border guards) in German criminal courts since 1990. There is an artificially constructed past which does not correspond to the reality of the border regime before 1989. The author underlines that today the criminal law is misused for political aims within the German unification process.
The aftermath of September 11th is again subject of discussion in the forum of this Winter edition of WeltTrends. Besides scholars from Poland and Germany, wellknown politicians from all parties represented in the Bundestag deal with questions that arise from the brutal attacks of Islamic terrorism in the Western world. There is a wide consensus that conflicts in regions of crises such as the Middle East have to be solved first before peace can be established. More or less constructive suggestions were made concerning the role of Euro-Atlantic institutions. International efforts under the jurisdiction of the UN will have to be strengthened in order to install democratic structures in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Most of the opinions, ideas and impressions represented here have in common that they give an outlook of what will keep the daily political life busy for the next few years.
With the new government, coming to power in 1998, a new emphasis on development cooperation as part of a global strategy for structural change was launched. Since then the federal minister for development cooperation – Heidemarie Wieczorek- Zeul – presented some interesting strategic papers under the label "aid as a global policy to overcome structural blockades to social progress and development". Special emphasis was put on the Program of Action for Poverty Reduction and on the strategy paper of a new Africa policy, but neither are concrete results yet in sight nor is an answer to the burning question of what to do with half of all African countries not having a long-term perspective for development at all (the "failing states" etc.). The article shows the great discrepancy between the impressive political rhetoric and the meager budget to cope with the many challenges of the poor developing countries in Africa. The new concept of the enlarged security intends to stabilize the structural conditions for social and economic development. In order to realize this aim, the article proposes a link between public expenditures on military measures for security and such on civil measures for structural security. Finally the article asks how development cooperation can influence the political attitudes of state and society in Africa in the direction of good governance and structural reforms.
Two years after the end of the "hot war" in Kosovo, the situation on the Balkans remains extremely tense. The West embraced the illusion to provide the Kosovo-Albanians with conditions for a substantial autonomy under the umbrella of an international protectorate. The Kosovo-Albanians considered the substantial autonomy as a milestone on their way to independence, while a new Yugoslav-Serbian administration counted on regaining sovereign rights in Kosovo. The escalation of the crisis provided a fresh impetus for new expectations regarding the national question. The claim to separate Kosovo from Yugoslavia had been strengthened. The Albanian role in this process remained ambiguous. Albania has to be considered as an actor and an object, and it perceives its national geopolitical and security interests as affected by the process in Kosovo. Tirana's political orientation is strongly moving towards the Euro-Atlantic community, yet hegemonic interests vis-à-vis Kosovo might play an important role besides Tirana's own limited political influence over the developments in Kosovo.
The "Forum" of WeltTrends No. 32 assembles sixteen analyses of the aftermath of the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, written by distinguished scholars from Germany, Britain, France, the U.S., the Czech Republic, Russia and China. The contributions deal with topics such as international and domestic security, the social and political causes of terrorism, international law, asylum policy, the classification of the attacks as crimes or acts of war, implications for international bodies such as NATO and the UN, and the effect of the attacks on the relationship between the U.S., Europe, Russia, and Asia, in particular Japan and China. The authors counsel strongly against scare mongering and short-term symbolic politics. Any attempt to deal with the complex problem of terrorism has to include long-term political and social policies aimed at the reduction of conflict and sources of political extremism in the Middle Eastern region. There is no reason for panic according to the authors but international politics after September 11th cannot go on like before.
Since 1990, ten Central and Eastern European (CEE) candidate countries have become contractually linked to the EU by Europe Agreements in the context of a prudently managed political process of pre-accession preparation and accession negotiations. This article discusses the implementation of EU law in these countries, observing changing attitudes to law, legal behaviour and judicial law control. The author argues that the approximation of legislation in the CEE countries will be achieved much faster than the incorporation of these laws into social practice. Thus, a gap between the formal fulfilment of accession requirements and the application of new EC laws will emerge. The consequences for the enlarged European Community could either be a considerably delayed "pulling up" or a dangerous "pulling down" scenario.
"Copernican" is the term the author is calling the turn in present Islamism. After a mostly failed fundamentalist reaction to a high-speed westernisation, there are current debates among Islamists to find an own identity - based on Islam and connected with Western values. Aim of these efforts is to link Islam with the contemporary realities in the Arabian world.
On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Warsaw treaty’s signing, Egon Bahr, the intellectual father of the German Ostpolitik, describes his courageous efforts at that time. The aim of this politics was to gain space for strengthening own peace and security in Europe. Irrefutable principles of the policy of that time were non-aggression and the recognition of the borders. Going back to these principles, Egon Bahr redefines Germany’s future foreign policy too. Jahresabo: 40,00 € (ermäßigt: 25,00 €)
German foreign policy is in the midst of a far-reaching transformation. Contrary to disciplinary expectations, this process is neither properly captured by descriptions in the liberal tradition („Europeanisation“, „Civilian Power“) nor by Realist expectations that Germany is doomed to „remilitarise“ and/or „renationalise“. However, the key term of foreign policy discourse, „normalisation“, is an unmistakable code, signalling a rediscovery of traditional Realpolitik practices which fit Germany’s current environment. The paper argues that rather than merely playing the role of an obedient disciple of Realpolitik socialisers, Germany ought to rehabilitate the foreign policy tradition of the Bonn Republic in support of an active Idealpolitik transformation of its environment. The article serves as a starting point for a debate on German foreign policy in the upcoming issues of WeltTrends.
This article investigates the fictional narratives written by „Sub-commandante Marcos“ of the Zapatista movement EZLN. It is shown that Marcos uses three distinct frames of reference in his fictional account of the Zapatista guerrilla: an ethnic, a national and a post-national one. Contrary to other studies that emphasize the harmony between the three levels, it can be argued that there exists a fundamental tension between them. There is a tension between the ethnic discourse and the Mexican nationalist discourse which envisions a nation rather than a nation dominated by a single ethno-cultural group. Finally, it can be deduced from these tensions that the EZLN guerrilla is subject to divergent pressures.
Hegemonialmächte im Vorderen und Mittleren Orient : die Dritte Partei in internationalen Konflikten
(1997)
During the last five decades hegemons played an important role in de-escalating international conflicts in the subregion defined as the core of Oriens Islamicus. Statistical analysis of large datasets shows that half of all conflicts remained without any interference from the hegemonial powers at all - both on global scale and in the subregion. In all other cases however, hegemons (especially super-powers in the role of patrons) tended more often to act as (power-) mediators when their client-state was engaged in conflict with a client of the opposing superpower in Oriens Islamicus than they did on global scale. They did this in their own interest in order to avoid direct involvement, i.e. possible danger of a nuclear escalation. In contrast to conventional mediation theory they were more effective in conflict de-escalation than other mediators, especially in conflicts between Israel and its Arab neighbours. The end of bipolarity in the international system also brought this mechanism of de-escalation to an end. It leaves the hegemon(s) as a potentially powerful third party on the one hand, but on the other their inclination to become involved in regional conflict remains rather diminished as long as the basic national interests in the area are not at stake.
Mittelständische Industrieunternehmen setzen für ihre betrieblichen Abläufe Planungs- und Ausführungssysteme ein. Aufgrund der Turbulenzen auf Absatz- und Beschaffungsmärkten kann die Wirtschaftlichkeit und Wettbewerbsfähigkeit dieser Unternehmen nur durch permanente Anpassungen der Organisationsstrukturen und -abläufe erfolgen. In der Praxis zeigt sich eine unzureichende technologische Anpassungsfähigkeit der heute eingesetzten Standardsoftwaresysteme. Diese lassen zwar während der Einführungsphase vielfältige Konfigurationsmöglichkeiten zu, Veränderungen im laufenden Betrieb sind aber meist nur mit großem Aufwand möglich. Hier sind die Softwarehersteller in Zukunft zunehmend gefordert, wandlungsfähige Auftragsabwicklungssysteme zu entwickeln. Über die Entwicklungsphase (Build-Time) hinaus muss auch parallel zur Betriebsphase (Run-Time) der technische Fortschritt aufgrund von geänderten Anforderungen durch entsprechende Softwarereleases synchronisiert werden.
In this paper, we consider families of time Markov fields (or reciprocal classes) which have the same bridges as a Brownian diffusion. We characterize each class as the set of solutions of an integration by parts formula on the space of continuous paths C[0; 1]; R-d) Our techniques provide a characterization of gradient diffusions by a duality formula and, in case of reversibility, a generalization of a result of Kolmogorov.
We develop a cluster expansion in space-time for an infinite-dimensional system of interacting diffusions where the drift term of each diffusion depends on the whole past of the trajectory; these interacting diffusions arise when considering the Langevin dynamics of a ferromagnetic system submitted to a disordered external magnetic field.
The authors analyse different Gibbsian properties of interactive Brownian diffusions X indexed by the d-dimensional lattice. In the first part of the paper, these processes are characterized as Gibbs states on path spaces. In the second part of the paper, they study the Gibbsian character on R^{Z^d} of the law at time t of the infinite-dimensional diffusion X(t), when the initial law is Gibbsian. AMS Classifications: 60G15 , 60G60 , 60H10 , 60J60
We prove in this paper an existence result for infinite-dimensional stationary interactive Brownian diffusions. The interaction is supposed to be small in the norm ||.||∞ but otherwise is very general, being possibly non-regular and non-Markovian. Our method consists in using the characterization of such diffusions as space-time Gibbs fields so that we construct them by space-time cluster expansions in the small coupling parameter.
Die Individualbeschwerde nach dem Fakultativprotokoll zum Zivilpakt : ein Handbuch für die Praxis
(2004)
Das vorliegende Handbuch bietet vertiefende Informationen zur Individualbeschwerde nach dem Fakultativprotokoll zum Internationalen Pakt über bürgerliche und politische Rechte. Das Handbuch richtet sich in erster Linie an Praktiker/innen, die in ihrer Arbeit mit Menschenrechtsverletzungen konfrontiert sind, insbesondere Rechtsanwälte und Rechtsanwältinnen sowie Menschenrechtsorganisationen. In umfassender, aber komprimierter Form gibt es zuverlässige Hilfestellung bei der Einlegung einer Beschwerde. Darüber hinaus ist das Handbuch auch für Mitarbeitende in Ministerien, Universitäten und sonstigen Einrichtungen geeignet, die sich mit der Materie vertraut machen wollen. (Autorenreferat)