Victims and new wars

Interpretations of ‘new wars’ are contradictory. While some stress the asymmetry of intentions, strategies, and capabilities of antagonists, others emphasize the identity of warring parties in sharing the same space of political violence. Introducing elements of a political anthropology of victimhood, this paper suggests that the polarity in new wars is driven by self-representations of collective victimhood. Modes of total warfare in the twentieth century shifted the moral centre of gravity towards representations of humanity as a transcendent victim. The universalist sacred of protecting humanity as a victim, however, masks the polarity between antagonists who legitimize aggression by defensive propositions in the name of suffered victimhood. On the one hand, moral justifications of revenge for victimhood support claims for the asymmetry of polarity. On the other hand, this asymmetry of proliferating victims conceals an ongoing symmetry of rivalry. Ultimately, the focus on political agency and on moral justifications maintains the illusion that the other is the aggressor. A new moral economy requires acknowledging the deep interdependence of rivals. The aggressor has always been aggressed. If the moral core of warfare is in the de-humanization of the enemy, possible paths of reconciliation require the moral recognition of the enemy's same humanity.     

Negotiation and the new world disorder

Book reviews in this article:
Negotiation and the New World Disorder James G. Blight Andrew W. Lynch     

China's new nationalism and cross-strait relations

The new wave of nationalistic fervor in China is believed tohave further complicated cross-strait relations. Ordinary Chineseare not willing to see Taiwan moving towards independence. Yetsuch a nationalistic belief that the mainland has a rightfulclaim over Taiwan does not seem to accord with the feelingsof a rising number of Taiwanese who tend to regard their separatenessfrom the mainland as a unique feature that deserves safeguarding.While the potential for conflict is there, the situation isnot all gloomy. The Beijing leadership has so far been ableto keep the new nationalism in check by adopting a calibratedresponse to perceived independence moves by Taiwan. While moreconciliatory in its gestures towards Taiwan, China can be firmif the need arises. Also, the United States appears to be tiltingin favor of China in terms of maintaining cross-strait stability.Depending on the situation, the Chinese leadership retains thepolitical initiative to break the deadlock at some point inthe future.     

冷战后韩国的新外交及其成因

冷战结束后,韩国利用变化中的国际形势,尤其是东北亚地区局势有利于自己的契机,果断调整在美国卵翼下无所作为的外交政策,积极主动地扩大对外交往,在外交领域取得了显著的成绩.     

Italy and the new international economic order

In order to make it more effective as an actor on the international scene, the European Union is being urged to reverse its foreign policy priorities. EU enlargement policy has fallen out of grace and many want to see Europe acquire a “normal” foreign policy with a global rather than merely regional reach, significant military means and centralised governance. Management of various conflicts in Africa and Asia is also in vogue. Such a policy shift will define the nature of Europe's actorness. It is argued that, with all its defects, the EU performs quite well as a civilian regional power and efforts to transform it into a traditional military power with a global reach could make things worse rather than better.     

Impeachment and presidential politics in new democracies

Research on presidentialism has long assumed that presidential impeachment is a rare event, made difficult by design in order to enhance government stability. However, the experience of Third Wave democracies suggests that more presidents have been targets of impeachment attempts than the literature might lead us to expect. In this article I seek to identify the factors that make directly elected presidents more or less vulnerable to impeachment attempts in Third Wave presidential democracies from 1974 to 2003. I find several factors that mobilize deputies against the president: presidential involvement in political scandal, strong presidential powers, and a hostile civil society. Presidents are more likely to fend off such efforts when their party commands a higher share of seats. I also find that popular protest against a president helps to prompt a congressional impeachment drive. Frequent efforts to resolve presidential crises via such legal procedures may explain in part why extra-constitutional means of conflict resolution have become a less attractive option in new democracies.     

Ideological radicalism and democratic experience in new democracies

In comparing publics’ ideological self-placements between established and new democracies, it has been observed that there is a higher proportion of citizens who express radical views in the latter countries. This is likely due to sharp differences with regard to evaluations of past authoritarian rule, the legitimacy of the new regime, or new institutional arrangements governing the distribution of power when countries embark on democratic transition. Studies on the attitudinal aspect of democratic consolidation lead one to expect a decrease in extreme views in new democracies with the passage of time, as questions of regime principles and institutions are settled, and citizens come to accept democracy as the “only game in town”. The present article investigates whether this proposition is applicable to “Third Wave” new democracies in Eastern Europe, Latin America, and East Asia by examining longitudinal public opinion data from 23 countries. In addition to the length of democratic regimes, We also analyse the impact of economic performance, quality of governance, and electoral systems on the proportion of radical citizens. Results show that while longer democratic experience does contribute to reducing extremist leanings, factors such as the level of corruption, rule of law, and plurality electoral rules play a more substantive role.     

Communication policy and the search for new certainties

SUMMARY

The article discusses a midweek television programme on corruption in the horseracing industry. The Jockey Club of South Africa accused SABC TV of biased reporting and in this respect won a ruling from the Media Council. The article is concerned with “the myth of objectivity” in relation to the television actuality genre, and specifically to the Midweek report. It begins by tracing the origin of the concept of objectivity in relation to the notion of photographic realism and its implications for television. It follows with an analysis of the actual programme looking at it in terms of airtime given to pro and and spokespersons on the issue, the value of the linking commentary, the relationship between the image and the commentary and its paridigmatic and syntagmatic structure. It concludes with a discussion of objectivity in actuality programmes and suggests the futility of measuring it. It considers an alternative approach of defining the type of discourse involved and the sort of contract it strikes with its viewers.     

Notes on new publications

Stephen Sestanovich (ed.), Rethinking Russia's National Interests, Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1994, xi + 115 pages, $14.95.

Ronald Grigor Suny, The Revenge of the Past: Nationalism, Revolution and the Collapse of the Soviet Union, Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1993, xv + 200 pages, biblio., index, $13.95.

Florence Benoit‐Rohmer and Hilde Hardeman, The Minority Question in Europe: Towards the Creation of a Coherent European Regime [in CEPS Paper No. 55] Brussels: Centre for European Policy Studies, 1994, 55 pages.     

Notes on new publications

Russia — Crimea — Ukraine: Triangle of Conflict by Taras Kuzio, in Conflict Studies 267, London: Research Institute for the Study of Conflict and Terrorism, 1994, 35pp., £10.

America and Europe: The Future of NATO and The Transatlantic Relationship (Final Report of the North Atlantic Assembly Presidential Task Force) by Loic Bouvard (France) and Charlie Rose (United States), Co‐Chairmen, Brussels: Imprimerie Van Ruys, 1993, 46pp.

The New US Strategic Debate by Ronald D. Asmus, Santa Monica, CA: Arroyo Center, RAND Corporation, 1993, xx + 99pp.