'Arming the key battleground': German rearmament, 1950-55

Saki Dockrill, Britain's Policy for West German Rearmament, 1950-1955, Cambridge Studies in International Relations No 13, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1991, £27.50.

Thomas Alan Schwartz, America's Germany. John J. McCloy and the Federal Republic of Germany, Cambridge, USA, Harvard University Press, 1991, £23.95.     

German policy in a strategic triangle: Berlin,Paris, Washington … and what about London?

The article presents the German view on the current stand and future perspectives of the transatlantic relationship. It points to the caesuras that have defined the US–German relationship since the end of the Cold War. It also details the German role in both the Afghanistan and Iraq wars following the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and highlights the German discussion on its involvement in those wars. The historical strategic triangle of the US, Germany and France might develop into a Euro‐American ellipse to confront current global challenges, but, as of today, many hurdles remain, particularly the lack of a common vision and policy regarding the future political order of Europe. The article finally calls on the German government to continue its policy as a ‘civilian power’ and to repair its relations with the US after the Iraq war. International cooperation in multilateral institutions remains the main pillar of German foreign policy.     

The choice for multilateralism: Foreign aid and American foreign policy

Why do governments choose multilateralism? We examine a principal-agent model in which states trade some control over the policy for greater burden sharing. The theory generates observable hypotheses regarding the reasons for and the patterns of support and opposition to multilateralism. To focus our study, we analyze support for bilateral and multilateral foreign aid giving in the US. Using new survey data, we provide evidence about the correlates of public and elite support for multilateral engagement. We find weak support for multilateralism and deep partisan divisions. Reflecting elite discourse, public opinion divides over two competing rationales—burden sharing and control—when faced with the choice between multilateral and bilateral aid channels. As domestic groups’ preferences over aid policy diverge from those of the multilateral institution, maintaining control over aid policy becomes more salient and support for multilateralism falls.     

Issue definition and two-level negotiations: An application to the American foreign policy process

This article builds on the two-level games and international negotiation literatures and shows how the use of an issue typology can shed light on the nature of the interactions between domestic political forces and international negotiations. This is done by presenting four foreign policy process models illustrating that the decision-making process varies depending on the type of issue that is involved in a particular situation. The varying structure and nature of the process affects the range of the domestic level win-set and hinders or aids the achievement of international agreement depending on which model is in play. Although the focus in this article is on the American foreign policy process, the argument is generic to the broader theoretical development of the two-level games approach because similar, but country-specific, decision-making models can be developed for use in the study of non-American foreign policy. Such generalizations build on recent work focusing on the impact of state structure on the foreign policy process and its outcomes.     

Let someone else do the job: American policy on the eve of the six day war

The closure of the straits on 23 May 1927 placed the Johnson administration in an impossible position. Publicly committed to maintaining the freedom of passage through the straits, its own freedom of action was limited the congress, who insisted that it act only with some form of an international framework. It was obvious that unless something were to be done to open the straits and secure free passage for the Israeli ships, war was inevitable. In the first week, after the closure of the straits, the American administration made efforts to find ways to resolve the crisis, and especially in establishing a naval task force to breach the blockade. At the end of May it realized that there was no practical plan to end the blockade. Accordingly, it reconciled to the prospect of an independent Israeli action to open the straits.     

Let someone else do the job: American policy on the eve of the six day war

The closure of the straits on 23 May 1927 placed the Johnson administration in an impossible position. Publicly committed to maintaining the freedom of passage through the straits, its own freedom of action was limited the congress, who insisted that it act only with some form of an international framework. It was obvious that unless something were to be done to open the straits and secure free passage for the Israeli ships, war was inevitable. In the first week, after the closure of the straits, the American administration made efforts to find ways to resolve the crisis, and especially in establishing a naval task force to breach the blockade. At the end of May it realized that there was no practical plan to end the blockade. Accordingly, it reconciled to the prospect of an independent Israeli action to open the straits.     

语言政策与国家认同:原苏联民族语言政策的失误与思考

苏联成立后,没有建立将俄语作为国家通用语言进行推广的法律框架,但在具体实践中却逐渐强化了俄语作为通用语的推广力度,并将推广俄语与构建"苏联人民"联系起来。由于没有辩证地区分语言的身份标志作用与交流作用,因而引起了一些非俄罗斯加盟共和国民族主义情绪的反弹。上述失误使原苏联语言政策未能有效发挥对国家认同应有的促进作用。     

Thirty-seven degrees frigid: US-chilean relations and the spectre of polar arrivistes, 1950-59

After its 1948 proposal to internationalize Antarctica had been rejected, the United States accepted the Chilean Escudero Plan as a necessiry for avoiding further political disputes among the seven nations that had balked at the proposal's call to renounce their sovereign rights. US and Chilean officials proceeded to discuss revisions that might enhance the Escudero Plan's acceptabiliry to the other nations, all of which shared the goal of excluding the Soviet Union. Before there had been any substantial progress, the 1957-58 International Geophysical Year legitimated the USSRs presence in the far south, and already tense US-Chilean relations entered a phase of heightened apprehensiveness. This article explores the diplomatic and contextual nuances of this bilateral interaction that proved central in bringing the Antarctic Treary of 1959 to fruition.     

俄罗斯的欧洲战略——俄罗斯与德、法、英三国关系的几点分析

俄罗斯总统普京上台伊始,就提出了俄罗斯的定位问题,明确制定了融入欧洲的战略目标.如今,6年过去了,俄罗斯与欧洲的关系有了明显的改善,普京朝着既定的目标靠近了一大步.但这并不意味着俄罗斯已经融入欧洲.俄罗斯与欧洲的经济关系日愈密切,但政治关系却是止步不前,并没有多大进展.不过,应当肯定的是,普京的欧洲外交在这6年中取得了历史上最好的成绩,尤其表现在发展与德国、英国、法国之间的战略合作等一些重大的问题上.     

Analysis: Trade openness,economic development and civil war onset in the post-colonial world, 1950–1992

This article reinvestigates the effects of trade openness and economic development on civil war. While some scholars argue that economic openness increases domestic turmoil, others claim that it promotes domestic peace. Focusing on trade openness as a key indicator of economic openness, hypotheses derived from previous research are tested against data for 83 states in the post-colonial world from 1950 to 1992. Results show that increased trade openness and economic development reduce the risk of civil war. The effect of trade is slightly greater with higher economic development. Civil war is more likely with oil export dependence, increased militarization, mixed regimes, mountainous terrain, and increased ethnic fractionalization.