Russia,Ukraine, and the Imperial Legacy

Three specialists in social services present an assessment of Hungary's performance during the economic transition from the perspective of social policy and the general welfare of the population. Using figures drawn from a variety of European sources, they offer a review of social expenditure, labor market tendencies, and the social security, health and education systems, comparing throughout with data from the Czech Republic, Poland and the European Union.     

Brexit,Development Aid,and the Commonwealth

Abstract

Development cooperation between the European Union (EU) and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of states has provided a vehicle for the UK’s ongoing relationship with the majority of the Commonwealth, although this was widely overlooked in the run-up to the UK referendum and its aftermath. Membership of the EU has provided the UK with the opportunity to collectivise its obligations to ACP Commonwealth states and a framework for its development cooperation relations across the Global South. This has augmented British leadership in global development and the alignment of development policy and practice at the global, regional and national levels. This paper argues that withdrawal from the EU would be a lengthy and costly process that threatens to undermine the UK’s position in global development, current levels and sources of development funding and existing and nascent trade relations. While this will present particular challenges for ACP Commonwealth states, there may also be opportunities to propose and advocate for alternative frameworks. However, recent changes to the UK’s post-referendum political leadership does not augur well for those hoping for a roll back of pressures for liberalisation and associated reforms.     

America,capitalism, and the interstate system

Peter Gowan responds to published criticisms of his article “Triumphing toward International Disaster: The Impasse in American Grand Strategy” (Critical Asian Studies 36, no. 1 [March 2004]: 3-36) by Kristen Nordhaug, Ravi Arvind Palat, Vijay Prashad, Marika Vicziany, Mark T. Berger, and Heloise Weber (see Critical Asian Studies 37, no. 1 [March 2005]: 75-140).     

Germany,Russia, and the Rise of Geo-Economics

This article argues that the merger of the PDS with the WASG offers the new ‘Left Party’ an opportunity to realise a long-held goal of the PDS – a firm place in Germany's party system as a nationwide party of the radical left. Much, however, will depend upon the successful resolution, or at least successful management, of some key points of conflict. To understand the challenges involved here, the article compares and contrasts the merger of the German Greens and Alliance '90 with that of the PDS and WASG. Although there are some striking similarities between the two merger processes, there are also some significant differences, differences that suggest that the long-term marriage of the PDS and WASG may be a rocky one.     

农业农村部 国家林业和草原局 国家发展改革委 财政部 科技部 自然资源部 生态环境部 水利部关于认定中国特色农产品优势区(第三批)的通知

农市发[2020]1号各省、自治区、直辖市农业农村(农牧)、畜牧兽医、农垦、渔业厅(局、委、办),林业草原、发展改革、财政、科技、自然资源、生态环境、水利主管部门,新疆生产建设兵团农业农村局,黑龙江省农垦总局,广东省农垦总局,内蒙古、吉林、黑龙江、大兴安岭、长白山森工(林业)集团公司:为贯彻落实中央1号文件和中央农村工作会议关于开展特色农产品优势区建设工作的要求。     

Globalization,education, and the politics of identity in the Asia-Pacific

Abstract

This essay examines a resurgent interest in “regionness” as a response to globalization, and it looks at how governments and citizens have participated in the discourse on forging a new Asia-Pacific community that has developed over the past fifteen years. Part one distinguishes between “regionalization” and “regionalism” as competing visions for the construction of a future Asia-Pacific community. Regionalization, the dominant paradigm during the postcolonial period, centers on interstate forums dominated by officially recognized political and economic elites who seek interstate cooperation in order to protect state interests, state power, and national identity from foreign as well as domestic challenges. Regionalism, as an alternative paradigm, envisions the creation of transnational networks inclusive of nonofficial actors, whose identification with a particular state and set of national interests does not preclude the creation of a regional identity (or identities) and support for regional interests. Part two considers the challenges that regionalism poses for the nation-state and its leadership. It does so by highlighting the pressure for reform that globalization has brought to bear upon one particular institution that theorists of nationalism have long identified as central to the perpetuation of national identity, national unity, and state authority: schooling. Part three assesses the current prospects for such reforms by briefly examining recent educational developments in Japan, Australia, Malaysia, and Singapore.     

斯大林、苏联外交与冷战的起源

对安全的追求,对于形成斯大林在战前、二战中以及战后不同时期的政策起到了至关重要的作用。从国内政治看,这种政策不仅是动员苏联人民应对斯大林所认为的即将到来的、新一轮同西方的对抗的手段,而且也是巩固他在苏联最高决策层内地位和权力的一个手段。斯大林是苏联在战后关键问题上,诸如东欧的前途、德国问题以及对日占领问题上采取强硬政策的决策者。斯大林努力主导战后东欧国家的政治发展,其主要目标是要沿着苏联西部边界建立一个安全地带。斯大林认为,这一目标同与西方保持良好关系的需要并不矛盾。斯大林希望苏联在东欧的势力范围可以被英美所承认,以换取苏联承认西方在欧洲其他地区的影响。斯大林对东欧的控制,部分原因也是因为担心同英美的合作可能面临失败。然而,斯大林对东欧的控制最终还是被西方认为是挑战西方,从而产生了与他的愿望相反的结果。在这一过程中,苏联对自身安全与意识形态的追求,一方面同西方所坚持的所谓"民主、自决"原则产生了尖锐的矛盾;更为重要的是,苏联的目标同美国日益扩张的在全球的利益发生了严重的冲突,从而使欧洲逐步分裂成为两个敌对的集团。在同西方盟国打交道的过程中,斯大林在较少重要性的问题上,如的里雅斯特问题、其卫星国的赔偿问题以及托管地等问题上表现出灵活性,也愿意作出妥协。而在主要问题上,斯大林则毫不妥协。苏联在战争后期和战后初期对土耳其、伊朗的政策,成为以美国为首的西方国家遏制苏联的主要理由,成为导致冷战爆发的重要事件。就这样,苏联和美国这两个战时的盟友,领导着各自的阵营,开始了长达四十年的冷战。     

The PRC,Taiwan, and the overseas Chinese

The rapid growth of China’s economy and its opening to the outside world have attracted a large volume of trade and investment from Hong Kong and Taiwan, creating an economic grouping with a total foreign trade in 1992 almost equal to that of Japan. The economic linkage of this “Greater China” with Southeast Asia’s overseas Chinese communities is steadily growing and will continue to do so for the rest of the decade, barring a sharp drop in the PRC’s growth rate, which seems unlikely.     

Personalization and Institutional Constraints: Pinochet, the Military Junta, and the 1980 Constitution

The standard account of military dictatorship in Chile (1973–1990) portrays the case as a personalist regime, and uses the dynamics associated with this type of regime to explain General Pinochet's control of the presidency, the enactment of the 1980 Constitution, and the longevity of military rule. Drawing on records of the decisionmaking process within the military junta, this article presents evidence for a different characterization of the dictatorship. It shows that Pinochet never attained the supremacy commonly attributed to him, that the commanders of the other branches of the armed forces retained significant powers, and that the 1980 Constitution was not enacted to project Pinochet's personal power. More generally, this study suggests that personal power is not a necessary condition for regime longevity; collective systems can also produce cohesion and stability.