Mega-Regional Trade Deals in the Asia-Pacific: Choosing Between the TPP and RCEP?

The emergence of “mega-regional” trade agreements has recently become the most significant trade policy issue in the Asia-Pacific. Since 2010, governments in the region have launched negotiations for two new trade agreements: the United States-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the ASEAN-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Differentiated by their membership, scope and level of ambition, the TPP and RCEP embody competing visions for how the Asia-Pacific trade system should evolve, and regional governments must now make choices over which initiative better serves their economic and political interests. This article explores the trade policy choice posed by these mega-regional trade negotiations, reviewing the evolution of the Asia-Pacific trade system, the recent emergence of the TPP and RCEP, and the competitive dynamics inherent in the development of the two proposals. It argues that four key considerations (trade policy ambition, the role of ASEAN, US-China geopolitical rivalry and defensive concerns) will be of key importance in informing regional governments’ decisions as the TPP and RCEP move towards completion in 2015.     

Moldova Between Europe and Russia: Inoculating Against the Colored Contagion?

In the elections of March 6, 2005, the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM) won re-election in an OSCE-approved parliamentary vote lacking large-scale electoral fraud and widespread popular mobilization. Grounding their analysis in the political science literature on "colored" revolutions, interviews, and news reports, two political scientists examine this outcome, asking why a colored revolution did not occur in Moldova. Moldova's "orange evolution" is analyzed in terms of structural preconditions and catalytic factors for colored revolutions as well as broader questions about possible paths out of the patronal and patrimonial forms of government dominating the CIS.     

Between national and European foreign policy: the role of Latvia and Romania in the EU’s policy towards Central Asia

This article explores whether and to what extent new member states of the European Union (EU) seek to pursue their national foreign policy goals towards Central Asia through the EU rather than bilaterally. To do so, it focuses on Latvia and Romania. While the article finds evidence of Romanian attempts to project its interests in the region onto the EU level, Latvia appears to rely more extensively on the EU level to pursue its goals towards Central Asia. Using insights from the literature on Europeanization of national foreign policy, the article explains this finding with reference to four variables that determine whether a member state will seek to upload its national foreign policy preferences onto the EU level, namely the perceived salience of the policy goals, the extent to which member states can carve out a niche, their perceived capabilities and the level of Europeanization of their national foreign policies.     

What Drives the Selection of Political Information on Google? Tension Between Ideal Democracy and the Influence of Ranking

The emergence of the Internet has altered how individuals obtain information—this also applies to political information. Search engines have taken over the role of political information gatekeepers, thus becoming key players in democracy. However, surprisingly little is known about the role of search engines in the political information process, that is, whether they represent an opportunity or a threat to democracy. Through an online survey experiment, which mimicked a Google web interface, this study examines how Swiss citizens select political information on a political news event from a Google search results page. Although citizens consider textual cues from snippets, they are more likely to select sources of information from the top of a Google results page, regardless of the source. We discuss these findings from a democratic theory perspective.     

‘A Pioneer in the Struggle for Social Justice’: Manuel Larraín and Transnational Catholic Activism in Latin America in the 1950s and 1960s

This article explores the development of inter-American Catholicism during the 1950s and 1960s. It analyses the role of the Chilean Catholic bishop Manuel Larraín (1900–1966) in his efforts to disseminate his diagnosis of underdevelopment in Latin America and to establish links with the Catholic world in the United States. Based on a review of his writings, the American press and documentation from Catholic organisations, it is suggested that the Chilean bishop advocated the implementation of social reforms and American collaboration to prevent the advance of communism and strengthen Catholicism on the continent.     

A Leader Without Followers? The Growing Divergence Between the Regional and Global Performance of Brazilian Foreign Policy

Brazilian diplomats and academics alike have long regarded regional leadership as a springboard to global recognition. Yet Brazil's foreign policy has not translated the country's structural and instrumental resources into effective regional leadership. Brazil's potential followers have not aligned with its main goals, such as a permanent seat on the UN Security Council and Directorship‐General of the World Trade Organization; some have even challenged its regional influence. Nevertheless, Brazil has been recognized as an emergent global power. This article analyzes the growing mismatch between the regional and global performance of Brazilian foreign policy and shows how both theoretical expectations and policy planning were “luckily foiled” by unforeseen developments. It argues that because of regional power rivalries and a relative paucity of resources, Brazil is likely to consolidate itself as a middle global power before gaining acceptance as a leader in its region.     

Hopes and Realities in Relations Between Russia and Japan: Is a Breakthrough Possible?

During the last 5 years, Russia and Japan have been able to widen and deepen bilateral ties in many spheres, including politics, economics, and culture. At the same time, the further qualitative improvement of bilateral relations is hampered by strong influence of an enduring negative historic memory of Japanese society toward Russia mostly due to the so-called Northern Territories syndrome. The formation of Russia’s image in Japan is also strongly influenced by a number of time-limited factors, such as the state leader’s popularity, single-moment events, empiric experience, and others (Streltsov 43). In this paper, the author traces the recent history of the territorial dispute between two countries and then attempts to evaluate the influence exerted by four time-limited factors: the triple disaster in Japan (as an example of the implications of natural disasters), the two leaders’ political aspirations, mutual trust, and popularity at home (as related to the personal features of President Putin and Prime Minister Abe), on the two countries’ approach toward signing a peace treaty and solving the territorial dispute. According to the author’s hypothesis, the strategic vision of Putin and Abe and their trustworthy relationship are playing the key role in improving ties between the two countries. Moreover, due to its importance for these ties, this paper considers the geopolitical environment of the Russo–Japan relations and the current state and perspective for bilateral energy cooperation. Finally, the author turns to an evaluation of whether a long-overdue compromise on the territorial dispute could be reached anytime soon.     

Between parliament und government: the position of the President in the discussion about the new German Constitution (1918–19)

SUMMARY

In this article, Cristiana Scnigaglia analyzes how, when the constitution of the new German republic was being debated at Weimar in 1919, difficulties arose because there had been very little prior debate in Germany about a republican form of government, since the permanence of the monarchical system had been generally assumed. This gave great weight to the writings of Robert Redslob, the only senior academic authority who had discussed at some length the institution of a presidency in a republic. The article goes on to show how leading figures like Max Weber and Hugo Preuss, who were deeply involved in drafting the Weimar constitution, drew on Redslob's ideas in arguing for the solution that was eventually accepted, a State President directly elected by popular vote, who could act as a necessary constitutional balance by setting limits to the otherwise unlimited authority of the legislature and the central government.     

The Struggle over Turkish Village Coffeehouses (1923–45)

D.I. Soyfyer, in his Krakh Sionistskikh tyeoriy, The Bankruptcy of the Zionist Theories (Dniyepropyetrovsk: Promin's Press, 1980; 192 pp.)

A.B. Doyev's Sovryemyenniy Iudaizm i Sionizm, Contemporary Judaism and Zionism (Frunze: Kirgizstan Press, 1983; 68 pp.)

Myedzhdunarodniy Sionizm: istoriya i politika (sbornik statyey), International Zionism – History and Politics: A Collection of Articles (Moscow: Nauka Press for the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union, 1977; 176 pp.)

Zionism: Enemy of Peace and Social Progress. Volume 2 of this work (1983)

I. Zvyagelskaya (authoress of a book in Russian on the Israeli military élite in politics), entitled ‘Who Is Obstructing the Settlement of the Middle East Conflict’ (pp. 137–68).

Ye. Dmitriyev (a prolific writer on the Arab‐Israel conflict), entitled ‘Zionist Ideas as Reflected in Israeli Government Policy on A Middle East Settlement in the Early 1980s’ (pp. 205–19).

Felitsia Langer is an Israeli Jewish lawyer, close to the leaders of the Israel Communist Party, who specializes in defending Arabs suspected of terrorism before the Israeli Courts. Her Oni moi brat'ya, They Are My Brethren (Moscow: Progress Press, 1979; 192 pp.)

Gorst’ rodnoy zyemli: Sovryemyennaya Palyestinskaya novyella, A Handful of the Fatherland Earth: Contemporary Palestinian Stories (Moscow: Progress Press, 1981; 312 pp.),

This Leitmotif is set by the title of the first story, ‘Return to Haifa’ (pp. 21–64) by Ghassan Kanafani (1936–73),

Ghassan Kanafani and entitled Lyudi pod solntsyem, People under the Sun (Moscow: Raduga Press, 1984; 343 pp.)

Put’ k miru na Blidzhnyem Vostokye, The Road to Peace in the Near East (Moscow: Myedzhdunarodniye Otnoshyeniya Press, 1974; 248 pp.)

Ye. Dmitriyev and V. Ladyeykin includes a chapter on ‘The Arab People of Palestine’ (pp. 55–74).

A.P. Barishyev, entitled Blidzhniy Vostok: problemi mira na rubyedzhye 80‐kh godov, The Near East: Problems of Peace at the Threshold of the 80s (Moscow: Znaniye Press, 1979; 64 pp.).

L.L. Vol'nov, Livanskiy dnyevnik, Lebanese Diary (Moscow: Political Literature Press, 1980; 96 pp.).

U vrat Vostoka: Ochyerki o Livanye, At the Gate of the East: Essays on Lebanon (Moscow: Misl’ Press, 1982; 112 pp.),

Liban: ekho agressii, Lebanon: Echo of the Aggression (Moscow: Political Literature Press, 1984; 112 pp.).

M. Ye. Hazanov's OON i Blidzniyevostochniy krizis, The United Nations Organisation and the Near‐Eastern Crisis (Moscow: Myedzhdunarodniye Otnoshyeniya Press, 1983; 176 pp.),

Hazanov's book is Palyestinskaya problyema: Dokumyenti OON, myedzhdunarodnikh organizatsiy i konfyeryentsiy, The Palestinian Problem: Documents of the UN, International Organisations and Conferences (Moscow: Progryess Press, 1984; 240 pp.).

D. Sokolov, entitled ‘Palyestinskaya tragyediya i istoki Palyestinskogo dvidzyeniya soprotivlyeniya (1917–1949 gg.)’,

‘The Palestinian Tragedy and the Origins of the Palestinian Resistance Movement, 1917–1949’ (Palyestinskiy Sbornik, Vol. 26 (89), 1978, pp. 3–21).

(Palyestinskiy Sbornik, Vol. 27 (90), 1981, pp. 3–22.)

Ye. Dmitriyev, is entitled Palyestinskiy uzyel: k voprosu ob uryegulirovanii Palyestinskoy problyemi, The Palestinian Knot: Towards the Question of Settlement of the Palestinian Problem (Moscow: Myedzhdunarodniye Otnoshyeniya Press, 1978; 304 pp.).

al‐Qadiyya al‐Filastiniyya: al‐'Udwan wa‐'l‐muqawama wa‐subul al‐taswiya, The Palestinian Problem: Aggression, Resistance, Means of Resolution (Moscow: 1983; 230 pp. Oriental Studies in the USSR, 3).

The Palestine Problem: Aggression, Resistance, Ways of Settlement (Moscow: ‘Social Sciences Today’ Editorial Board, 1984; 277 pp. Oriental Studies in the USSR, 9).     

Between Nationalism,Modernism and Secularism: The Ambivalent Place of ‘Alevi Identities’

This study discusses the position of Alevi identity and Alevi community with regard to the Turkish national identity-building project. There was a partial compatibility between the Kemalist objective of laicization and nation building and the Alevi practice and understanding of a ‘local’ version of ‘Turkish Islam’. Besides these compatibilities, Alevis faced the challenges of nation-building and homogenization policies, which involved homogenization in ethnic, religious and sectarian domains. Kurmanji- and Zazaki-speaking ethnically Kurdish/Zaza Alevis of Eastern Anatolia had a different experience during the project of centralization and ethnic homogenization, in comparison to Turkish-speaking Turcoman Alevis. This different experience still is a source of division among Alevi communities.     

Between anti-Westernization and Islamism: Turkey’s ‘Islamic’ vision in Cyprus?

This paper seeks to analyse the position of Cyprus within the geopolitical vision and broader worldview of the National Outlook Movement (Milli Görü? Hareketi) and especially of the National Salvation Party (MSP). The importance of this particular Party lies on the fact that it participated in the coalition government that made the decision to militarily intervene in the island in 1974. The paper’s principal focus is on the Islamic criticism of Turkey’s Westernization and the development of a comprehensive programme of Islamic transformation. Drawing from the above-mentioned axes, and from the context of the MSP’s geopolitical vision, Cyprus and the Cyprus problem, as well as their impact on the political stance of the MSP, are analysed.     

Negotiating power and authority in the desert: the Arab Bedouin and the limits of the Ottoman state in Hijaz, 1840–1908

This article explores the techniques and strategies used by Ottoman authorities to control the Bedouin with a specific focus on the province of Hijaz between 1840 and 1908. Using primary sources from the Ottoman and British archives, it argues that the Ottoman Empire developed a ‘politics of negotiation’ towards the tribes in its attempt to secure cities and major pilgrimage and trade routes against tribal attack. The principal agents of the empire who made this negotiated governance possible were the amir of Mecca and the governor of Hijaz. As a result of this policy, imperial authorities had to give significant concessions to the tribes, and they thus incorporated them into the province's imperial order. When the Ottoman economy went through a crisis, as in the 1900s, negotiated governance and order faced great problems.     

Al-Wefaq and the February 14 uprising: Islam,nationalism and democracy – the Shici-Bahraini discourse

Al-Wefaq's complex nature led to ambiguity over the relationship between religion and politics and over the balance between Islamic ecumenism and sectarianism. While the Shi^ci uprising presented a national and democratic agenda, questions remain over the party's full commitment to democracy and its loyalty to the national framework in the current regional turmoil with the empowerment of Shi^cis and disintegration of nation-states. There could be a discrepancy between the declared aims of an oppositional movement and its actions once it assumes power. The problematic legacy of minority–majority relations in Bahrain, the country's political culture and the difficult example of post-2003 Iraq, are further barriers to advancing full democracy. If the Shi^ci majority gains power the party may become less democratic and more sectarian. Yet, it will also have much to lose given Bahrain's strategic alliance with the US and its position as a financial services hub in the region.     

Ruling the Desert: Ottoman and British Policies towards the Bedouin of the Naqab and Transjordan Region, 1900–1948

The various policies developed by the Ottomans and British for governing the indigenous Bedouin tribes of the Negev/Naqab and Beersheba (southern Palestine) region between 1900 and 1948 are examined using primary sources. Whereas Ottoman attempts to pacify the tribes in southern Palestine and Transjordan were somewhat ineffective, the British Mandate achieved a degree of control and stability by incorporating tribesmen into the Palestine Police, strengthening the frontier areas and enhancing inter-territorial tribunal arrangements between Beersheba, Sinai and Transjordan.     

Ahmed İhsan and the ‘Wealth of the Sciences’

In the past, weekly journals often served as the primary vehicle for the publication and dissemination of high-quality literature. Novels and plays were often serialized in such periodicals, which also featured items of poetry, essays and even political analysis. The Turkish weekly Servet-i Fünun [Wealth of the Sciences] which began publishing in 1891 and closed down in 1944 attracted contributions from the best Turkish writers of its time, and its very name became a banner for new currents in Turkish literature, whether poetry or prose. Part of its success was due to the single-minded labours of its founder and editor, Ahmed ?hsan, a journalist and novelist of distinction. The article attempts to assign to the journal and its editor their proper place within the history of Turkish literary journalism.     

The sword,the pen,and the uterus: multidirectional feminist culture and the Argentine dictatorship of 1976–1983

During the period 1982–1999, a cohort of feminist cultural activists highlighted parallels between the political, gendered, racial, and linguistic frameworks used to justify state violence in Argentina of 1976–1983 and in Germany of 1933–1945. Their cultural works indicate the transnational aspects of Argentina’s failures of modernity, and the parallel responsibilities to trauma memory assumed by women and Jews as marginalized members of society, who consequently emerge as both local and transnational agents of democratization. A number of scholars have noted Argentine writers’ and playwrights’ adoption of Holocaust cultural constructs to represent the 1976–1983 dictatorship, yet these cultural contributions have not yet been studied from the combined perspectives of post-Holocaust and post-dictatorship feminist scholarship. By providing a gendered analysis of “Holocaust multidirectionality” within a global arena of “postmemory,” this article shows the convergence of the two terms in the cultural production of women who remember, represent, and transmit the experience and meaning of the Argentine military dictatorship.     

Between Conformism and Separatism: A Kurdish Students’ Association in Istanbul, 1912 to 1914

This article is an examination of the ‘Kurdish Students’ Hope Society’ – a youth-led Kurdish organization founded in the Ottoman imperial capital, Istanbul, in 1912. The article contends that the foundation of this organization should not be seen simply as a reaction to the gradual ethnic polarization and ‘Turkification’ of Ottoman politics that occurred in the aftermath of the 1908 ‘Young Turk Revolution’. It also needs to be understood in the context of dynamics emanating from within Kurdish society. Specifically, to the backdrop of an increasingly fragmented Kurdish elite, the Kurdish youth were setting out their own path towards national salvation which was neither conformist nor separatist. In short, they were outlining a ‘third way’ between these two extremes.