Tools for project development within a public action framework

This paper focuses on the contradictory relationship between tools, always open to criticism as technocratic and mechanistic, and processes of development. It focuses on the tools often known as Logical Framework Approach (LFA) which are increasingly used as process tools by many different agencies, including those who espouse values of participation and empowerment. We assess the tools from the perspective of their use in public action-based approaches, as a means to improve clarity and focus in multi-actor interventions. No one tool can fulfil the range of tasks required in complex situations and LFA is useful as one of various options. We consider two of its limitations. First, it can be used in many different styles, including as a means to analyse public interest as contested terrain, or as a technocratic tool. Second, the focus on viewing assumptions as immutable can limit the effectiveness of interventions.     

A threat to Europe? Middle east ties with the Balkans and their impact upon terrorist activity throughout the region

The internecine warfare in the former Yugoslavia has radicalised many Islamic movements in the region and facilitated close links between local Balkan groups and Middle East states as well as terrorist organisations. This article examines the spread of militant Islamic fundamentalism in the Balkans as well as in Kosovo, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Albania. The scope of linkages between Balkan Islamic movements and Iran pose serious concern for Western governments as a long‐term threat to any stability and democratisation in the Balkan region as it has intensified illegal activity throughout the area and heightened irredentist claims.     

Charles de Gaulle: The Warrior as Statesman

Charles de Gaulle is primarily remembered as the leader of “Free France” between 1940 and 1945, as well as for his time as president of the Fourth and Fifth Republics. This article explores some of the sources of his political belief system, using his military writings of the 1920s and 1930s before he became a celebrated politician. It suggests that his political views can only be understood as being influenced by his experiences as a soldier and his reflections thereon in those military writings.     

试论蒙古国主导产业的选择与发展

从蒙古国议会和政府纲领性文件的目标描述来看,蒙古国新政府将实施以资源加工出口为主、近中期轻度国内市场保护为辅的产业经济发展战略,并将在此战略基础上选择确立以下主导产业：1. 因产业贡献和比较优势,视矿山采掘冶炼业为目前唯一且将来很长一段时间内最重要的主导产业;2. 因经营方式转换的“推进效应”、技术投入乘数效应和市场准入原则,视生产绿色产品的畜产品二次加工业为恢复与培育的近中期主导产业;3. 因得天独厚的旅游资源和产业结构升级之需要,视国际旅游业为优先方向上引导发展的远期主导产业。     

FRAMEWORKS FOR CONCEPTUALISING TERRORISM

Terrorism has been situated—and thereby implicitly also defined—in various contexts such as crime, politics, war, propaganda and religion. Depending on which framework one chooses, certain aspects of terrorism get exposed while others are placed ‘outside the picture’ if only one framework is utilised. In this article five conceptual lenses are utilised: 1. terrorism as/and crime; 2. terrorism as/and politics; 3. terrorism as/and warfare; 4. terrorism as/and communication; and 5. terrorism as/and religious fundamentalism.     

Governing the suicide bomber: reading terrorism studies as governmentality

This article engages with the suicide bomber as he or she appears in the terrorism studies literature. In contrast to sensationalised narratives of the suicide bomber as pathological or fanatical, terrorism studies has increasingly come to view suicide bombing as a rational phenomenon that follows an identifiable strategic logic. Following Foucault’s articulation of governmentality, I read this literature as a governmental practice that attempts to understand the latent rationality of suicide bombing so that the phenomenon may be effectively governed and managed. With this understanding, I look specifically at the terrorism studies accounts of female suicide bombers and argue that the concerns they articulate regarding the superior capacity of these women to go undetected, such as with the use of fake pregnancies as disguises, produces the female suicide bomber as a uniquely risky and ungovernable subject.     

戈尔巴乔夫“新思维”背景下苏联对宗教问题认识的转向

戈尔巴乔夫上台以后,形成了以"民主化"和"公开性"为标志的"新思维"。但是在宗教领域,他及其所领导的苏联党和政府忽略了对社会主义条件下宗教问题的理论思考,在对宗教本质问题缺乏认识的前提下,单纯地将宗教政策的调整当作是营造良好社会氛围、提升国家声誉以及谋求与西方建立共同价值基础的工具,最终导致宗教矛盾激化,宗教问题延烧到社会政治领域、民族关系领域,演变成为推倒苏联大厦的重要推手之一。     

The Rhythm of the Deal: Negotiation as a Dance

In all the literature on the theory and practice of negotiation, the governing metaphors have been games, war, and fighting. This is true not only for tactical schools of power‐based negotiation but even for more constructive, interest‐based approaches. Our language is infused with talk of tactics, flanks, concessions, gaining ground, and winning. This article explores the possible consequences of abandoning this picture in favor of the less‐explored metaphor of the dance. We argue that both the content and the process of negotiation can change dramatically once we think of bargaining as an aesthetic activity that can provide intrinsic joy as well as extrinsic benefits. Such a “dance” provides plenty of room for competition as well as cooperation, as movements can be spirited and confrontational as well as smooth and harmonious. We identify many forms of dance that can occur within negotiation and explore three: the dance of positioning, where passions and presentations interact proudly; the dance of empathy, when the partners come to better understand each other; and the dance of concessions, where the deal is struck and the music concludes. Finally, we discuss how the dance can be employed pedagogically, in teaching and training negotiation and mediation. In particular, the Brazilian dance of capoeira illustrates holistically and experientially how movement and rhythm can be interpreted both as fighting and as dancing and how we can come to see a process as both aesthetic and purposeful at the same time. First feeling, then thinking, and, finally, speaking, we can use this medium to explore the dynamics of confrontation and cooperation in a negotiation setting.     

America's Old/New Meets Russia's True/False: The Case of Europe's North

Recent talk about Europe's diminishing importance to America's policymaking is here regarded as unfounded. Europe remains an indispensable signifier tightly embedded in the soul of the US as well as that of Russia. With identity being a relational process and profoundly social in character, both America and Russia employ Europe as the main mirror in which they portray themselves. This article unpacks their respective delineations of Europe: the American old/new as outlined by Donald Rumsfeld, and the Russian true/false, focusing on Europe's North as a region where the two perspectives might potentially clash.     

从民主党更换首相看日本政局走向

鸠山由纪夫作为首届民主党政权的首相闪亮登场,然而由于执政经验不足、＂超速＂调整对美政策、无法兑现政治承诺及深陷＂政治献金＂丑闻等原因,其政权中途夭折,但鸠山＂开路先锋＂的作用不可低估,可称为民主党政权的奠基人。菅直人临危受命,一举扭转民主党的不利局面,内阁支持率和政党支持率均迅速回升。菅直人将以建立强有力的经济、财政、社会保障体系作为三大内政课题,以日美、日中、日韩关系作为三大外交主线。但由于民主党在7月参议院选举中失利,菅直人政权的执政前景不容乐观,但尚不能威胁到民主党的执政地位。     

浙沪接轨：长三角农业“新合力”探究

长江三角洲地区以上海为龙头、苏浙为两翼, 是中国经济、科技、文化最发达的地区之一,也是中国最具活力和竞争力的经济区域之一。它以仅占全国2.2%的陆地面积,10.36%的人口,创造了占全国25.06%的国内生产总值和36.03%的进出口总额(2004年度统计数据),成为世界公认的第六大城市群。在新的形势背景下,顺应经济全球化、区域化、一体化的发展趋势,谋求长三角地区之间的经济合作与发展,积极推进长三角地区经济的一体化,必将促进资源要素的充分、合理配置,形成新的区域竞争优势。浙沪农业合作就是其中的一个重要组成部分。     

Living or surviving: Reflections on Central America

As the civil wars in Central America subside, the region is undergoing far-reaching changes in its economies, and in the role of the State, in particular in the growth of the maquila (assembly plant) industry, and the reduction of the public sector. However, poverty has increased, and is associated with high levels of violence and delinquency, as well as with a decline in food security. The challenge facing the social forces within the region, as well as NGOs such as Oxfam, is to develop a self-sustaining alternative, while also responding to the needs of the present.     

Minority Religions and the Context of Violence: A Conflict/Interactionist Perspective

Violence (broadly defined to include collective as well as individual violence) associated with the recent rise of newer religious groups or 'cults', as well as longer-term minority religions, is examined, using a conflict orientation. The interactional nature of such violence is discussed, with accusations of violence concerning minority and newer religions placed in a conflict perspective that stresses the interdependency of religious groups and their opponents. Special attention is given to allegations of: (1) violence derived from group teachings and practices, with a focus on major recent tragic events involving religious groups; and (2) violence directed against members and groups by others, including private individuals and organization, as well as governmental entities.     

日本中小企业市场竞争创新战略——以“共创环境经营”为中心

8 0年代后期以来 ,日本中小企业的存立基础、经营环境、市场竞争的空间、内容、方式、手段在发生变化。适应这种形势的发展 ,它们解读时代、市场、消费生活、意识的变化 ,重新认识本业的实际 ,着眼于利用外部资源、强化信息能力、开发中间技术、地区振兴 ,精细耕耘区域市场 ,与地区社会、国际化共生 ,挑战信息化与环境市场 ,进行市场竞争创新 ,特别是“共创环境经营”的经验 ,给我们提供了有益的启示。     

Human Security as Global Security: Reconceptualising Strategic Studies

The article argues that global security should be seen as synonymous with human security, and that strategic studies should be located within that broader rubric. Mounting such an argument means meeting the charge of those who see the broader construction of strategic studies as vague and meaningless, and as detracting from the ability to make good policy. The article attempts, therefore, to map human security in as inclusive and systematic a way as possible. It attempts to show that the concept is neither vague nor meaningless, and is suitable, therefore, to be the basis for a comprehensive account of global security.     

How Will We Fight?

In considering the question “How will we fight?”, this article begins by examining the threats we face from conventional, insurgent, and hybrid enemies as well as terrorists and super-empowered individuals. It then outlines how America can fight effectively against each threat—as well as identifying the deficiencies in our current force structure that will hinder that response. The analysis argues that America needs a well-balanced, medium-weight joint force. It then provides recommendations for each of the services, as well as special operations forces, to achieve that goal. It concludes by describing what is needed to insure our force is capable of the rapid innovation in wartime required of successful nations.     

Energy and Security in Long-Term Defence Planning: Scenario Analysis for the Swedish Armed Forces

Abstract

The competition for energy resources, as well as the closely related climate change problems, imply a number of global security consequences. A methodology to include energy aspects in long-term defence planning, based on broad civilian scenario approaches, is proposed. The study has been carried out by the Swedish Defence Research Agency, as commissioned by the Swedish Armed Forces, resulting in a number of future mission scenarios highlighting e.g. new challanges and tasks, as well as the need for new capabilities and equipment.     

基于大系统优化理论的中国—东盟自由贸易区物流协调体系研究

本文认为,根据大系统优化理论构建中国—东盟物流协调系统,将有效解决当前自由贸易区各国物流合作中存在的基础设施总体落后、管理体系与相关法律不健全、物流合作机制作用受限等问题。这是一项艰巨的工作,亟需各国政府、物流行业和企业真诚合作,共建跨国物流"协调器",并根据"标准化"内涵将大系统有效"分解"成若干子系统;同时要借助日益发达的信息化技术,协调公路、铁路、航空和水运等跨国物流子系统之间的关系。