Editor's note

Abstract

In this article the author investigates the degree to which regional political relationships as well as domestic political stability have changed as a result of the Gulf War. As the countries of the former Warsaw Pact, Latin America, and elsewhere attempt to democratize, often with American support, the countries of the Gulf, at least on the governmental level, appear largely immune to this trend. This is belied somewhat by popular desires for political liberalization as well as cynicism about America's aims in the region. The political future and stability of this key part of the world is further complicated by the changing relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia who share a distrust for Iraq if little else. Thus, despite the Gulf War, many of the key issues that have traditionally influenced the Gulf region remain salient even after significant modifications in the status of the regional power‐holders.     

Editor's Notes

Professor Wenfang Tang's article, Nationalism and ElectoralOutcome in Taiwan: The Impact of Identity Fence-sitting on VotingBehaviour, examines the impact of the electorate's sense ofnational identity on voting behaviour, based on public opinionsurvey data amassed over the four Taiwan elections from 2000to 2004. The concept of national identity combines an individual'ssense of either ethnic Taiwanese or Chinese identity and correspondingadvocacy of either Taiwan independence or reunification withChina. The article focuses on national identity ‘fence-sitters’—thesection of the electorate undecided as to its sense of eitherChinese or Taiwanese identity, consequently an advocate of neitherindependence nor reunification. Professor Tang's     

Editor's Notes

Guo Gang's essay, Government Leadership Change and InternationalNegotiations uses a game theoretic model to explain the effectsof leadership change on international negotiations. The essayargues that leadership in transition introduces a context ofasymmetric information that has an impact on negotiations andtheir outcome. It identifies and analyses three perfect Bayesianequilibria employing a case study based on the strategic dialoguebetween the United States and the USSR during the Cold War period.Guo Gang applies the logic developed in