Nomenklatura democratization: Electoral clientelism in post‐soviet Ukraine

Electoral clientelism could represent a significant threat to democratic consolidation in post‐communist states. Recent elections in Ukraine provide a prime example of the way in which communist‐era elites have been able to use electoral mechanisms to launder their political resources. Evidence suggests that economic disarray has created a situation in which large sectors of the electorate are willing to have their votes bought by political machines, rather than having them won through competition between parties offering different policy packages. Clientelism of this type appears to be engaged in by two types of political actor in Ukraine: left wing parties and individual members of the economic and political elite.     

Neo‐nationalism and Neo‐Atlanticism in Italian foreign policy

The European Union has low expectations for the international climate regime after 2012, when the Kyoto Protocol effectively expires. The United States is not thought likely to sign up to new binding international commitments, whereas EU countries have experienced unexpected difficulties in implementing existing commitments. As a consequence, the European Union may be prepared to settle for a surprisingly weak follow-up to the Kyoto Protocol. At the same time, the European Union will pursue bilateral and regional climate agreements with like-minded countries, parallel to the UN framework and possibly independently of it. Collectively, such agreements could produce an international climate regime that is more robust than what could be agreed at the consensus-based UN level. Nevertheless, the European Union will continue to support the UN process as the only legitimate forum for international negotiations on climate change.     

European security policy for the people? Public opinion and the EU's Common Foreign,Security and Defence policy

The democratic foundations of European integration in the foreign and defence realm are increasingly being debated. This article looks at the question of democratic legitimacy from one particular angle, by examining public opinion as measured in Eurobarometer surveys between 1989 and 2009. Based on reflections about the relation between polling results and wider questions of democracy, it examines three aspects of public opinion: general support for a common foreign and a common defence policy; differences among support rates in EU member states; and what roles Europeans would prefer for European armed forces. It turns out that general support for a common foreign policy is high, whereas the desirability of a common defence policy is much more contested. Moreover, citizens across Europe would prefer European armed forces to take on traditional tasks, as territorial defence. An EU defence policy that goes beyond strict intergovernmentalism and is directed towards protecting international law and universal human rights would thus require a significant communicative effort to become accepted.     

Security challenges in Europe's mediterranean periphery ‐ perspectives and policy dilemmas

Challenges to European security emanating from the southern Mediterranean have had a marked influence on European security policies during the 1990s. This article identifies the main themes in the debate on Mediterranean security and the policy dilemmas which these security challenges raise for European states and their multilateral security organizations. It is argued that Mediterranean security challenges cannot be fully understood without grasping the security implications of the presence of authoritarian and repressive regimes in the South. As European security policies aim at supporting ‘political stability’ in the South through development assistance, expansion of trade relations and military co‐operation, these policies also contribute to uphold an illegitimate status quo, which is often the very source of political instability and insecurity.     

Russia's quest for multipolarity: A response to US foreign policy in the post‐cold war era

A good deal of attention has recently been focused on whether and how new ‘poles’ will rise to challenge American hegemony. This article examines the conscious effort by Russian policymakers and commentators to foster a multipolar world designed to resist American domination of the international system. In particular, three policies are examined: the formation of a Slavic Union with Belarus; the developing de facto alliance with China; and the ‘democratization’ of international politics. In light of Moscow's policies, I conclude that American foreign policy has become counterproductive by sparking balancing behavior on the part of other great powers.     

Globalization,governance and democracy in post‐communist Romania

Post‐communist transition in Romania has witnessed an accelerated globalization in the country. Global (understood here as supraterritorial) relations have altered many communication networks, forms of organization, production processes, markets, monetary and financial flows, ecological conditions, and patterns of social consciousness. Although the extent of globalization in Romania should not be exaggerated, the recent rapid spread of supraterritoriality has pulled the country out of the preceding era of territorialist politics. The Romanian state can no longer realize its claims to sovereignty and has become oriented to transborder as well as territorial constituencies. At the same time, globalization has stimulated greater involvement of transworld and regional agencies in governance. The rise of supraterritoriality has also encouraged some devolution and some privatization of regulatory authority in Romania. Singly and together, these developments pose substantial challenges for democracy. True, certain transborder initiatives have modestly promoted post‐communist democratization in Romania. On the whole, however, Romanians have obtained insufficient participation, consultation, representation, transparency and accountability in respect of the multi‐layered and fragmented governance that is emerging in the context of globalization.     

Lord Curzon and British policy towards the Franco‐Belgian occupation of the Ruhr in 1923

An analysis of the ways in which different composite monarchies conducted international relations in the eighteenth century reveals the interplay of structure and contingency in shaping change and the discussion of change. Hanover-Britain is compared with Saxony-Poland. Considering Britain as an example of a polity created and shaped by a dynastic personal union redresses teleological tendencies in the treatment of international relations and offers an important perspective.     

Military professionalism in post‐communist Hungary and Poland: An analysis and assessment

Abstract

This article discusses Russian perceptions of and attitudes toward the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Russia has historically disliked and mistrusted NATO, seeing it as the primary threat to its international aspirations; in practice Russia pursues a dual policy. Its harsh condemnation of NATO has not stopped it from cooperating in selected areas of mutual interest. The most important among them is support for NATO's military operations in Afghanistan. The recent rejuvenation of relations between the west and Moscow is known as the strategic ‘reset’, meaning a return to diplomatic contacts and limited cooperation regardless of disagreements over the invasion of Georgia and Moscow's other recent international transgressions. The reset in NATO–Russia relations has only tactical significance, however. Cooperation will take place on a limited basis, but a genuine reset in mutual relations must wait for a reset in Russia's political and strategic priorities.     

Economic policy reform and political transitions in sub‐Saharan Africa

This article examines the distributional consequences of neo‐liberal economic reform during the contemporary era of political transition in the sub‐Saharan African nations of Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania and Zambia. It questions the conventional wisdom that reform, by imposing austerity, only produces economic ‘losers’ and subsequent political opposition which will derail reform programmes, particularly in transitional democracies such as those in present‐day Africa. Indeed, it demonstrates that economically reformist politicians employ democratization as a strategy to rebuild support coalitions after initiating economic reform, as it allows them to disengage from old clients and to organize reform ‘winners’. Therefore, taking the above‐mentioned cases as a group, this article suggests that Africa's current economic and political reforms may be mutually reinforcing.     

Political evolution in post‐Soviet Central Asia

This article considers the Central Asian republics in the post‐Soviet era and the fortunes of western‐style democracy to which their respective leaders have committed themselves. A dichotomy emerges between the ‘hard’ authoritarian approach adopted by Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and the ‘soft’ authoritarianism of Kazakhstan and Krygystan. Explanations for the authoritarian path, and implicitly for the lack of progress in democratization, are then expanded upon. These range from cultural and religious factors, to economic pressures, and to the role of Russia and the russified administrators and the political system it left behind. Finally, the article highlights the challenges, potential and real, to the perpetuation of the authoritarian culture. The future path of political transition in Central Asia is of major significance because the peaceful and stable development of this geostrategically and economically important region has yet to be secured. The emergence of political cultures centred on democratic values is far from guaranteed. There is nothing to say that such values even have any place in these societies.     

European security in the post‐cold war era: The continuing struggle between realism and utopianism

This article looks at ‘the permanent dialogue’ between ‘Realist’ and ‘Utopian’ thinking in the context of the major developments which are taking place in contemporary European security. The author argues that after the dominance of ‘Realism ‘ in both theory and practice during the Cold War, a resurgence of ‘Utopian’ thinking has taken place since the events of 1989, which has had a significant impact on the architecture of European security. The main thrust of the argument, however, is that despite the contradictions between the two approaches, both have a role to play in attempts to build a new European security order.     

The Challenge to the Peace and Security in East Asiai

Today,therearethreemajoreconomiccommunitiesinthecontemporaryworld:NorthAmerica,EuropeandEastAsia,amongwhichtheEastAsianeco-nomiccommunitydistinguishesitselfasthemostdynamicandenergeticone.ThepeaceandstabilityinthisregionarenotonlyofvitalimportancetothenationalsecurityandeconomicdevelopmentofbothChinaandJapan,themainstaysinthiseconomiccommunity,butalsoarequitedecisivetothepeaceandeconomicprosperityintheAsia-Pacificregion.Asia'ssecuritysituationisonthewholestable.Un-likeAmerica,Europeandoth…