Postmodern Europe and the resources of communal identities in Northern Ireland

Abstract. Irish Nationalist and Ulster Unionist communal identities have territorial, cultural and economic resources. Catalysts that have mobilized these resources and produced political action include 19th century famine and the Northern Ireland civil rights campaign of the late 1960s. As we approach the 21st century and the conditions and concepts of postmodernity initiate change in the structure and operation of the state, the European Union may realize its potential to affect the resources of communal identity and produce further change in the constitution and structural alignment of Irish Nationalist and Ulster Unionist identities. EU integration and structural initiatives have postmodernist contingencies that are beginning to redefine the structural space of Northern Ireland. The future development of these contingencies will be a fundamental factor in determining the extent to which Irish Nationalist and Ulster Unionist communal identities escape the embrace of modernity and develop with the postmodern world.     

Coping with Budget Deficits in Sweden

During the late 1970s and early 1980s Sweden's budget deficits grew more rapidly than in probably any other country of Western Europe. Government policy responses developed in three phases. In the late 1970s there was very little action taken to cope with run-away deficits. From 1980 to 1982 a strategy was formulated and partly implemented which heavily emphasized austerity measures through expenditure cuts. From late 1982 a 'mixed' strategy has been pursued which combines less drastic cuts with selected revenue increases. The virtual lack of response in the late 1970s and the turn-about in 1980 may be explained by reference to four major categories of factors: the severity and longevity of the economic crisis itself and the prevailing interpretations of its root causes; the dynamics of public sector growth and the understanding of the processes involved; the ideological and policy predispositions prevalent among policy-makers, economists, major interest groups and the public at large; and, finally, a set of 'organizational' factors mainly associated with the parliamentary situation in Sweden.     

Europe wrestling with technology

Postmodernism is currently being debated as if it were a panacea for a range of cultural, political and theoretical ills. This paper argues that postmodernism has possibilities, but that these possibilities are far fewer than either its proponents hope or its opponents fear. Moreover, the paper argues that far too many contributions to debates about postmodernism - both pro and anti - are very careless about the way they construct the politics of postmodernism.     

2009年WTO成员技术性贸易措施通报研究及应对思路

技术性贸易措施已成为WTO各成员保护其产业的主要手段,1995年以来WTO成员共发布了万余件TBT通报.通过对2009年TBT通报的发布情况和内容进行汇总和分析,分析了机电等产业TBT通报对我国产业出口的影响,旨在使相关方及时了解和应对此类通报.最后结合我院的实践提出应对TBT通报的思路和建议.     

Individual transnationalism,globalisation and euroscepticism: An empirical test of Deutsch's transactionalist theory

Recent trends of mass‐level euroscepticism seriously challenge Deutsch's transactionalist theory that increased transnational interactions trigger support for further political integration. While transnational interactions have indeed proliferated, public support for European integration has diminished. This article aims to solve this puzzle by arguing that transnational interaction is highly stratified across society. Its impact on EU support therefore only applies to a small portion of the public. The rest of the population not only fails to be prompted to support the integration process, but may see it as a threat to their realm. This is even more the case as, parallel to European integration, global trends of integration create tensions in national societies. The following hypotheses are proposed: first, the more transnational an individual, the less she or he is prone to be eurosceptical; and second, this effect is more pronounced in countries that are more globalised. A multilevel ordinal logit analysis of survey data from the 2006 Eurobarometer wave 65.1 confirms these hypotheses.     

Coping with transborder penetration: The politics of television

International conflicts are brewing over the transmission of television signals across international boundaries. The dispute is illustrative of an increasing range of cases in which the actions of one national economy penetrate deeply into another, and in which national interests and national values conflict. In this instance, the opposition to such signals stems not only from authoritarian regimes but also from democratically elected governments. The U.S. government defends such transmissions on the basis of strongly held U.S. values, including the concept of maximum choice for viewers and the fear that regulation of an entertainment medium may lead the way to government censorship. U.S. commercial interests are also involved. The conflict promises to grow more acute in time; yet the U.S. government finds it extremely difficult to agree on mitigating measures with other nations in areas of policy such as television, that is, areas that entail both domestic and foreign considerations.     

Water Policy in a Time of Climate Change: Coping with Complexity

The unpredictable impacts of climate change, combined with significant social and economic changes, mean that policy analysis is becoming inordinately more complex. Coping with this increasing complexity while engaging with a full range of stakeholders and the community requires a new approach to leadership and governance. Water planners (and others involved in the planning processes) need new skills in active listening and constructive cultural behavior, and all agencies need to recognize that thinking and acting only in the interests of their own silo of responsibilities will inevitably produce suboptimal outcomes. Leadership focused on constructive behavior that recognizes and rewards generosity of spirit across disciplines and between organizations is the foundation of this new approach.