Territoriality and Citizenship: Membership and Sub-State Polities in Post-Yugoslav Space

This article deals with the issue of sub-state citizenship in the post-Yugoslav countries and focuses on the emergence and definitions of membership. The article analyses conceptions of nationhood and territorial compositions of the states, proceeds with the analysis of sub-state entities' governance arrangements and compares conceptions of nationhood and membership in state-wide and sub-state polities. The article identifies four broad categories of sub-state polities and two diverging tendencies in the definition of membership. At one end of the spectrum, there are cases in which membership in regional polities is based on territorial, multi-ethnic and civic principles. At the other end, membership is defined in ethno-national terms.     

Supporting Effective Citizenship in Local Government: Engaging,Educating and Empowering Local Citizens

Civic-republican theories suggest that an active citizenry is associated with community cohesion, better political institutions and inclusive democratic decision making. The influence of these arguments on the UK Labour government has led policy makers to focus attention on strategies to promote citizenship at a local level. In particular, English local authorities are expected to provide ‘support for citizenship’ as part of their wider duty to promote ‘effective community engagement’. The ways in which they can do this are various, ranging from the simple provision of information to direct support for community networks and groups. This article reports the findings of an extensive study of English councils' efforts to engage, educate and empower local citizens. The paper concludes that although local authorities have made significant progress in recent years in widening the structures for communicating with, and engaging citizens, there remains considerable scope for improving activities that address the learning implications of effective citizenship.     

The Question of Palestine and United States Behavior at the United Nations

This article examines United States behavior at the United Nations regarding the Question of Palestine, with focus on the US-Israel relationship and US voting pattern. What is found is an overwhelming voting coincidence between the US and Israel in the UN General Assembly or a US liberal use of the veto in the UN Security Council in support of Israel. The strong bond between both countries, brought about by common interests and practical US realities, has created an impasse on the Question of Palestine at the UN. All concerned must realize that membership in the UN necessitates upholding the UN Charter and moving beyond national idiosyncrasies and short-term advantages in order to achieve stability and peace with justice for all.     

Before and after Dayton: The UN and NATO in the former Yugoslavia

Business managers name Africa's political instability as a key obstacle to economic development, but many companies continue to invest in Africa. The article explains this apparent contradiction by looking at the case of Shell in Nigeria. Nigeria experiences serious political instability, yet Shell is expanding its investment in the country. This article deals with sources of firm-specific political instability that have affected Shell in Nigeria in the past and attempts to explain why a specific corporation such as Shell may want to make investments in the country despite political instability. The examination of three different angles of Shell's activity, which forms the core of this paper, reveals that political instability does not hinder Shell from operating in Nigeria. Firstly, the international perspective illuminates in what way Nigeria may be more attractive to Shell than other countries. Profits in Nigeria appear to be higher than elsewhere, while Shell occupies a dominant market position unrivalled in most other countries. Secondly, the structural perspective illuminates the interconnectedness of Shell with state structures in Nigeria that may tie the company to Nigeria. Shell established a first mover advantage in the 1950s, since Nigeria was a British colony until 1960 and British oil companies were given preferential treatment. After independence, Shell managed to penetrate state structures which helped to hedge political risk in the country. Thirdly, the strategic perspective explores how Shell's strategic approaches may make political instability less significant to Shell. This article concludes that Shell has adopted to political instability. The conclusion that political instability can be conducive to business is significant since one expects political instability to be inherently harmful to business.     

拉丁美洲：和谐的民族,和谐的文化

近几年中国和拉丁美洲的关系有了很大发展,特别是文化交流进一步展开,这种文化交流不仅是传播中国文化,还有一个重要内容,就是拉美有许多优秀的文化成果,值得我们吸收和借鉴,以促进我国和谐社会的建设：