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Many methods have been proposed for the stabilization of higher index differential-algebraic equations (DAEs). Such methods often involve constraint differentiation and problem stabilization, thus obtaining a stabilized index reduction. A popular method is Baumgarte stabilization, but the choice of parameters to make it robust is unclear in practice. Here we explain why the Baumgarte method may run into trouble. We then show how to improve it. We further develop a unifying theory for stabilization methods which includes many of the various techniques proposed in the literature. Our approach is to (i) consider stabilization of ODEs with invariants, (ii) discretize the stabilizing term in a simple way, generally different from the ODE discretization, and (iii) use orthogonal projections whenever possible. The best methods thus obtained are related to methods of coordinate projection. We discuss them and make concrete algorithmic suggestions.
Es gibt aus unserer Sicht eine Reihe von Gründen, sich in der gewerkschaftlichen Bildungsarbeit von der Dominanz des Lehrplans abzuwenden und sich an Stelle dessen dem Lernenden in einer Weise zuzuwenden, die seine Deutungen, seine Handlungsmotive und seine Lerninteressen in den Vordergrund stellt. Für den Bildungspraktiker ergeben sich Gründe vor allem aus der wiederholten Erfahrung von Diskrepanzen. Erstens die Diskrepanzen, die zwischen der Definition von Lehrzielen und ihrem Erreichen in der Erwachsenenbildung bestehen. Zweitens die Diskrepanzen, die zwischen dem tatsächlich erlernten Wissen und seiner Umsetzung und Anwendung in der Praxis sich auftun. (aus dem Inhalt)
Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird an Hand dreier Beispiele der Einsatz von optischer Sensorik zur Produktcharakterisierung dargestellt, nämlich Untersuchungen zum O2-Gehalt in Fruchtsäften, zur Isotopiesignatur von CO2 in Mineralwässern und zu Lichtstreueigenschaften eines Sonnenschutzmittels. Inhalt: Bestimmung von O2 mit Lumineszenzsonden Isotopenselektive Bestimmung von CO2 mit TDLAS Optische Charakterisierung stark streuender Materialien mit Photonendichtewellen
An approach to the development of fluorescent probes to follow polymerizations in situ using fluorinated cross-conjugated enediynes (Y-enynes) is reported. Different substitution patterns in the Y-enynes result in distinct solvatochromic behavior. β,β-Bis(phenylethynyl)pentafluorostyrene 7, which bears no donor substituents and only fluorine at the styrene moiety, shows no solvatochromism. Donor substituted β,β-bis(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenylethynyl) pentafluorostyrene 8 and β,β-bis(4-butyl-2,3,5,6-tetrafluorophenylethynyl)-3,4,5-trimethoxystyrene 9 exhibit solvatochromism upon change of solvent polarity. Y-enyne 8 showed the largest solvatochromic shift (94 nm bathochromic shift) upon changing solvent from cyclohexane to acetonitrile. A smaller solvatochromic response (44 nm bathochromic shift) was observed for 9. Lippert–Mataga treatment of 8 and 9 yields slopes of -10,800 and -6,400 cm -1, respectively. This corresponds to a change in dipole moment of 9.6 and 6.9 D, respectively. The solvatochromic behavior in 8 and 9 supports the formation of an intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) state. The low fluorescence quantum yields are caused by competitive double bond rotation. The fluorescence decay time of 9 decreases in methyltetrahydrofuran from 2.1 ns at 77 K to 0.11 ns at 200 K. Efficient single bond rotation in 9 was frozen at -50 °C in a configuration in which the trimethoxyphenyl ring is perpendicular to the fluorinated rings. 7–9 are photostable compounds. The X-ray structure of 7 shows it is not planar and that its conjugation is distorted. Y-enyne 7 stacks in the solid state showing coulombic, actetylene–arene, and fluorine–π interactions.
Investigations with frequency domain photon density waves allow elucidation of absorption and scattering properties of turbid media. The temporal and spatial propagation of intensity modulated light with frequencies up to more than 1 GHz can be described by the P1 approximation to the Boltzmann transport equation. In this study, we establish requirements for the appropriate choice of turbid model media and characterize mixtures of isosulfan blue as absorber and polystyrene beads as scatterer. For these model media, the independent determination of absorption and reduced scattering coefficients over large absorber and scatterer concentration ranges is demonstrated with a frequency domain photon density wave spectrometer employing intensity and phase measurements at various modulation frequencies.
Die Anwendung von optischen Parametern zur Stoffcharakterisierung wird diskutiert. Dabei ist der Schwerpunkt der Diskussion auf absorptions- und fluoreszenzspektroskopische Methoden gesetzt. Beide Methoden können schnell und zuverlässig – auch im on-line Betrieb – eingesetzt werden. Der Beitrag soll einen Überblick über die grundlegenden Möglichkeiten der Anwendung beider Methoden geben.
China ist auf dem Weg zu einer offeneren Gesellschaft mit zunehmender Partizipation, größerer rechtlicher Sicherheit und individueller Autonomie. Der Staat zog sich aus vielen Bereichen zurück, ökonomische Ziele bestimmen seine Prioritäten. Die Entwicklungserfolge brachten jedoch eine Legitimationskrise des Staates mit sich. Vier Dilemmata, die China heute konfrontieren, werden aufgezeigt und Hypothesen zur Charakterisierung des chinesischen party state diskutiert.
Chinas Wandel und die Welt
(2006)
Wie stellt sich das Verhältnis zwischen China und der Welt im 21. Jahrhundert dar? Die Autorin, Politikwissenschaftlerin aus Peking, verweist auf die aktuelle Debatte in China, in der das Primat der Innenpolitik, regionaler Multilateralismus und harmonische Weltordnung intensiv diskutiert werden. China habe nicht vor, das internationale System herauszufordern oder zu zerstören. Vielmehr sei es um stärkere Einbindung bemüht.
First studies of electron transfer in [N]phenylenes were performed in bimolecular quenching reactions of angular [3]- and triangular [4]phenylene with various electron acceptors. The relation between the quenching rate constants kq and the free energy change of the electron transfer (ΔG0CS ) could be described by the Rehm-Weller equation. From the experimental results, a reorganization energy λ of 0.7 eV was derived. Intramolecular electron transfer reactions were studied in an [N]phenylene bichomophore and a corresponding reference compound. Fluorescence lifetime and quantum yield of the bichromophor display a characteristic dependence on the solvent polarity, whereas the corresponding values of the reference compound remain constant. From the results, a nearly isoenergonic ΔG0CS can be determined. As the triplet quantum yield is nearly independent of the polarity, charge recombination leads to the population of the triplet state.
According to the author, chairman of the Foreign Policy Committee in the German parliament (Bundestag), German foreign policy is based on a strong parliamentary consensus: continuing as a Western European country, co-operating with our partners in the European Union and the NATO, acting as a responsible member of UN and OSCE. Germany firmly stands up to these basic decisions, also today in a changed world, concentrating on reaching two major goals: building up a new security architecture for Europe as a whole and reuniting Europe by enlarging the European Union. Moderate and co-operate in style, Germany will continue to be a reliable partner, willing and ready to accept even more responsibilities in Europe and beyond Europe.
The ten-years presidency of Alberto Fujimori in Peru is a classic example of the sort of hybrid democracy that emerged in various Latin American countries in the 1990s, combining a mixture of democratic and clearly non-democratic elements. Fujimori was one of the more autocratic Latin American leaders of the 1990s, he is being the only regime formally to break with pre-existing constitutional rules. Closely tied to the military and intelligence apparatus, his government involved a concentration of political power that reduced the scope and autonomy of other branches of the state. But, unlike previous Latin American military dictatorships, Fujimori’s government enjoyed a considerable popularity, born out of disaffection for representative institutions. The article argues, however, that these characteristics of apparent strength carried within them the seeds of their own destruction. Far from establishing lasting political stability, the regime was weakly based. Within six weeks of his inauguration for a third term in July 2000, Fujimori was obliged to announce his intention to withdraw from politics. Two months later, he was ousted altogether.
After the democratic euphoria of the early 1990s, today the "third wave of democratization" seems to be less a triumph of political liberalism and much more a success story of a "defective" form of democracy. The authors argue that none of the strategies which can be found in contemporary democratization studies is satisfactory. They offer an alternative two-step-strategy of (1) specifying the root concept of democracy and (2) building subtypes of democracy which are based on this specified root concept. In doing so, the authors conceptualize the model of embedded democracy, from which they generate the concept of "defective democracy" and present a typology of these "defective democracies".
While at the time of Goethe, Turkey and other parts of the world seemed to be far away. Today’s Germany is confronted with the pressure of globalization. With regard to environmental issues or the threat of terrorism, international co-operation and combined efforts are strongly demanded. Unfortunately, the German higher education system is not prepared to face these challenges. The article calls for the education of an elite at German universities, which is fit to work in national as well in international institutions. The author presents the Master’s of International Relations coursework at the Technical University of Dresden.
Confronted with new dimensions of international problems, Germany needs a new foreign policy elite that is able to deal with the pending challenges in world politics. Therefore, the author points out, it is necessary to reorganize the German way to recruit personal for international tasks and the manner of its education at German universities. Furthermore, the German society should revise its general hostile attitude towards the elite and recognize it as an important driving force in politics.
The author detects some of the causes for the less than satisfactory representation of the German foreign policy elite on the international level within the German university structure. The article also reflects upon the issue of the 'content' of a possible and desirable German 'Weltpolitik' which is seen in Global Public Policy - an example of which is provided and reasons given for the ability of the German elite to be proactively engaged in the promotion and management of Global Public Policy Networks.
The security policy of Pakistan is aimed at a reduction of nuclear threats in the South Asian region. It is only natural, that a state, whose national security is endangered by a mighty neighbor, will have to strengthen its defense capacities. Unfortunately, the effective collective measures to prevent and to remove threats to peace and international security as laid down in the Charter of the United Nations prove to be an unreliable promise. Ever since India carried out its first nuclear tests in 1974, Pakistan has been forced into a race to catch up with the capabilities if its neighbor. Nevertheless, Pakistan chose a minimalist approach and refrained from converting its nuclear capabilities into weapon systems. Pakistan is against an arms race in the South Asian region, and opposes the concept of first use of nuclear weapons. To ensure lasting peace, a common vision on disarmament is necessary.
The comprehensive transformation after the breakdown of communist rule was also reflected in a profound change in national policies. The dominating approach in the days of the old regime were grounded in the concept of a single nation state. The years since 1989 witnessed a rise of new democratic attitudes towards national and ethnic minorities. National minorities make up 3 to 4% of the population. Their total number is estimated to be approximately 1.0 to 1.3 Million people. Contemporary national policy rejects the principle of assimilation (polonization) of national and ethnic minorities while supporting their integration.
The Bush Administration supported, earlier than some West European NATO partners, the reunification of the two German states. When the crisis of the political system in East Germany escalated in 1989, the US-government tried to link the support for far-reaching democratic reforms with a rapid involvement of all NATO members in the unification strategy of the Bonn government. For the Bush administration, the most complicated task was to convince the Moscow leadership that a loss of the GDR as a strategic domain in the Central Europe, and NATO membership of a united Germany, would not undermine security interests of the Soviet Union. At the End of the East-West-Conflict, German unification was in full accordance with the global strategic interests of the United States.
The end of the Cold War opened a window for a new era in world security. Instead of rising to this extraordinary occasion, the United States has adopted a regressive Great Power approach to military security. Rather than promote 'win-win' solutions for peace, security, disarmament, and democracy, it treats international security as a 'zero-sum' game. This article discusses examples in the areas of military spending, military research and development, and arms production and export. It also looks at US policy regarding the use of force, including the role of the United Nations, military intervention in other nations, military alliances, and multilateral military action. In conclusion, the article comments on whether we can expect more constructive action under a new administration and congress.
Ghana’s local government system has been subject to various reform attempts which all involved some sort of decentralisation. This article tries to link decentralisation to changing national policy frames and the various governments’ need to maintain political control. Consequently, decentralisation becomes a dependent variable of the so called bureaucratic development state. After a brief discussion of the colonial and post-colonial local government system in Ghana, emphasis is placed on the crisis of the post colonial state and the emergence of a new local government system in 1988 - which was successfully transformed into the administrative system of Ghana’s 4th republic after 1992. Local participation has been substantially improved an sustained by the introduction of the District Assemblies Common Fund in 1993 which transfers 5% of the national tax income to the districts.
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.