Treasonous Conduct: Assessing the Wartime Activities,Post‐War Trials and Tribulations of Australian Collaborators in the Second World War*

There has been very little written about the activities of Australian citizens collaborating with the Germans during the Second World War. There are, however, a few instances where Australian citizens were involved in activities in Germany which could be considered treasonous. A number of these were individuals involved in an ill‐conceived military unit created by the Germans from British prisoners of war while there is at least one example of an Australian who allegedly carried out propaganda broadcasts for the Germans. The activities of these individuals and the way the authorities dealt with these cases after the war will be the focus of this article.     

Quest for freedom: The United States and India's independence

Abstract

In an attempt to publish some reviews sooner after material comes out, the Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars has added this section of short reviews of individual books, movies, TV series, and so on. For more information about short reviews as well as review essays, see the introduction to the list of books to review on p. 92 of this issue.     

A Matter of Honor: Pearl Harbor: Betrayal,Blame, and a Family's Quest for Justice: Countdown to Pearl Harbor: The Twelve Days to the Attack

A Matter of Honor: Pearl Harbor: Betrayal, Blame, and a Family's Quest for Justice. By Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan (New York: HarperCollins, 2016), pp. xvi + 521. US$35.00. Countdown to Pearl Harbor: The Twelve Days to the Attack. By Steve Twomey (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2016), pp. xvi + 368. US$30.00.     

Reparations for the Herero Genocide: Defining the limits of international litigation

The Herero were the first ethnic group to be subjected to genocidein the twentieth century. In 2001, the Herero became the firstethnic group to seek reparations for colonial policies thatfit the definition of genocide. The Herero are the latest plaintiffto use the procedures of the Alien Torts Claim Act of 1789 toseek reparations in a US federal court for war crimes committedoverseas. This article analyzes the legal arguments by Hererosagainst Germany within the context of current understandingsof international law and identifies the challenges that lieahead for this claim. The article also explores the implicationsof the Herero claim for other ethnic groups victimized by colonization.     

柬埔寨媒介:多党制下的新闻控制与争夺

柬埔寨媒介在联合国过渡政府时期获得了自由发展的机会,产生了多种声音的报纸和广播电台.之后“两首相制”引发的军事冲突,使得来之不易的新闻自由被权力斗争所湮没.目前,柬埔寨虽然实行多党制民主,但媒介仍未能逃脱各种政治和经济势力的操控,沦落为党派宣传机构和索贿工具.     

Islam in Europe: Quest for a Paradigm

Mr. Malik, a journalism fellow with the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMFUS), has returned from fieldwork in six West European countries to write a book on the outlook for Islam in the West. The GMFUS is an independent U.S. foundation created to deepen understanding, promote collaboration and stimulate exchanges of practical experience between Americans and Europeans.     

The Troubled Quest for National Political Leadership in Fiji

Abstract

The tendency for ethnic conflict to dominate political life has impeded attempts to achieve leadership and equitable government for the multi-ethnic nation and caused crises of political instability. A review of the past attempts to achieve national leadership through electoral competition illuminates the historical context of the turbulent political process of the last decade. Overcoming the impasse of ethnic conflict is the central objective of the military-based regime which continues to rule following the first parliament elections since the 2006 coup against an ethno-nationalist government and the first based on a full common franchise and the prohibition of invidious ethnic appeals in campaigning. Inter-ethnic cooperation and cross-ethnic voting were stronger features than in past elections and perhaps augur well for achievement of the elusive broad-based national leadership.     

Iran and the SCO: The Quest For Legitimacy and Regime Preservation

At the 2021 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, the Russian- and Chinese-led bloc announced the approval of Iran's longstanding bid for membership. Iran has viewed its involvement in the organization as a means of bolstering external legitimacy, fostering security-oriented regionalism, and promoting the transition toward the so-called multipolar world order. The SCO has served as a regime-preservation network by providing Iran with a source of solidarity against external pressure. Tehran's commitment to the normative order, sustained by the SCO's discourse of noninterference, sovereignty, and countering the “three evils”—terrorism, extremism, and separatism—has galvanized the organization's role as a common front against the imposition of liberal norms and challenges to regime security.     

The Quest for a United Nations Specialised Agency for the Environment

Abstract

Recent years have seen intense intergovernmental deliberations on issues concerning governance in the field of environment. Their aim has been to address the role of the institutions that provide platforms for international environmental cooperation. There are two main lines of enquiry: the role of regime-specific institutions that cater to sectoral regulatory frameworks (popularly known as multilateral environmental agreements, or MEAs); and the role of institutions that are established to follow up on global environmental conferences or a specific environmental task. Most of these institutions reflect intergovernmental consensual process. However, there are concerns about their proliferation and there is a growing cacophony of calls to ‘bring coherence to the fragmented landscape of MEAs, intergovernmental bodies, UN system entities and other international organizations’ (Sha Zukang (2011) ‘Legal and policy dimensions of sustainable development: expected contribution of Rio + 20’, Environmental Policy and Law, 41(6), pp. 244–246, at p. 245). In fact the need to bring order to environmental governance has assumed great importance and urgency if environmental cooperation is to be achieved. This paper explores, in particular, the role of the United Nations Environment Programme and its potential for conversion to a specialised agency of the UN.