‘The Cedar Revolution’: Lebanese Independence and the Question of Collective Self-Determination

The article rejects the notion conveyed by the expression ‘the Cedar Revolution’ that Lebanon has recently experienced radical political changes. On the basis of an empirical survey of recent developments, it identifies four elements of continuity; the confessional nature of Lebanese politics, the omnipresence of trans-national alliances, the confrontational nature of the political rhetoric and the continuation of foreign interventions in Lebanon's internal affairs. Making use of opinion surveys, it argues that some of these elements indicate the existence of an independence-integration cleavage in Lebanon which follows sectarian lines and which renders the conceptualization of Lebanese citizens as a collective actor able to exercise collective self-determination—either by gaining complete independence or establishing close ties with Syria—problematic. Finally, it argues at a theoretical level that the problem of collective agent and the ensuing problem of collective self-determination can potentially emerge in any polity where there is an independence-integration cleavage.     

Who represented the Israeli middle class? The crystallization of the General Zionists from 1948 to 1949

The establishment of the State of Israel was a watershed moment in the history of the General Zionists movement. The ending of the British Mandate – characterized by its responsiveness to private enterprise – symbolized the denouement of a regulatory strategy era as an exclusive modus operandi for the general organizations. The transfer of power to a participatory Jewish democracy, whereby independent institutions drew on electoral support, required that bourgeois and petit-bourgeois leaders relinquish their reservations about the political-partisan game. For the first time, they sought to gain ascendancy over a political party in the hope that it would stand up for the rights and interests of the middle class. This article will analyze the formation process of the center party and its attempt to become a significant factor in Israeli society.     

The Future of the U.S.–Australian Security Relationship

Abstract

The recent triumph of the Howard government at the polls confirms Australia’s emergence as an increasingly important ally for the United States. It is willing to be part of challenging global missions, and its strong economy and growing self-confidence suggest a more prominent role in both global and regional affairs. Moreover, its government has worked hard to strengthen the link between Canberra and Washington. Political and strategic affinities between the two countries have been reflected in—and complemented by—practiced military interoperability, as the two allies have sustained a pattern of security cooperation in relation to East Timor, Afghanistan, and Iraq in the last five years.

This growing collaboration between the two countries suggests that a reinvention of the traditional bilateral security relationship is taking place. At the core of this process lies an agreement about the need for engaging in more proactive strategic behavior in the changing global security environment, and a mutual acceptance of looming military and technological interdependence. But this new alliance relationship has already tested the boundaries of bipartisan support for security policy within Australia, and will continue to do so despite the latest election results. Issues of strategic doctrine, defense planning, and procurement are becoming topics of fiercer policy debate. Such discussion is likely to be sharpened in the years ahead as Australia’s security relationship with the United States settles into a new framework.     

The Palestinian Fidâ'i as an Icon of Transnational Struggle: The South Lebanese Experience

How did the Palestinian Resistance build the key transnational figure of the fidâ'i and why did South Lebanon play a major role in this process? Assessing the hypothesis of the ‘Lebanonisation’ of this symbol of the Palestinian national struggle, this article will examine the role and the symbol of the fidâ'i in the context of Lebanon in the 1970s, through an analysis of the actions of the fidâ'iyyn and the values and ethics that fidâ'iyyn were supposed to embody. Drawing on interviews with former fidâ'iyyn and previous research on the topic, I will consider the two dimensions of the presence of the fidâ'iyyn: first, their location in South Lebanon and how this borderland became a significant part of their struggle in the political consciousness of the marginalised local population; and second, the nature of the symbol they began to represent for Lebanese groups, especially those who became involved in Resistance groups like the student brigade (al-katibe al-tullabiyya).     

The sirens of power and German foreign policy: Who is listening?

The unification of Germany has, unsurprisingly, provoked much speculation as to the future foreign policy of the country. Two images ‐ Germany as Gulliver and Germany as Ulysses ‐ have dominated the debate, each coming in a popular and an academic version. This article analyses German foreign policy behaviour and discourse in order to determine which one is more accurate. As to behaviour, the article examines two examples from the core sector of national security policy as well as how Germany's relations developed with France, the United States, Russia and Poland. As to discourse, five ‘schools of thought’ in the current debate about German foreign policy are related to a set of five grand strategies that are suggested either in the literature or in public debate. In both words and deeds the analysis shows that united Germany continues to stick to the course of multilateralism and integration.     

Who needed the October 1973 war?

Scholars and pundits believe that Anwar Sadat went to war in October 1973 because Israel left him no choice. The Israeli government rejected his peace proposals during 1971–73, and Sadat initiated the war in order to demonstrate his refusal to agree to the status quo and to the continuation of the Israeli occupation of the territories it occupied in June 1967. However, when the peace treaty signed between Israel and Egypt in March 1979 is carefully studied, it appears the terms of the treaty were in fact much closer to the Israeli position and terms as presented before the 1973 war than to those set by Sadat. Careful reading of the relevant documents in general and Sadat's claims and arguments in particular will show that it was actually Sadat who needed the war, and he needed it not in order to force Israel into a political process, but for himself, so as to accept terms he could not accept without a war.     

The Commonwealth Caribbean and Europe: The End of the Affair?

Abstract

The institutional relationship between the Commonwealth Caribbean and the European Union (EU) dates back to the mid-1970s, when the Lomé Convention was signed. The agreement was seen as a high water mark in First–Third World relations. However, since then the bond has come under concerted pressure. The consequence is that today the particularism that underpinned relations for so long has almost vanished and the EU is beginning to treat the Caribbean like any other relatively marginal region of the world. The article evaluates the reasons for this change, in particular: the scrapping of the trade protocols; the erosion of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) preference due to free trade agreements signed by the EU; the refocusing of EU development policy towards the least developed countries; and the split in the ACP group with the creation of an ill-designed regional Economic Partnership Agreement. The article places these changes into starker relief by assessing briefly the deepening links between the United Kingdom Overseas Territories and the EU. However, as the article highlights, this link will neither reboot nor sustain the more important Commonwealth Caribbean–EU relationship.     

An Ignored Relationship: The Role of the Lebanese Armenian Diaspora in Conflict Resolution (1975–90)

This research examines the role of the Lebanese Armenian diaspora (LAD) during the unstructured conflict that was the second Lebanese civil war, which extended from 1975 until 1990. This research has two aims. The normative aim is to find patterns of diasporic activity in conflict such as to support positive activities and discourage negative activities. A second is to focus on an empirical case study of the LAD in order to demonstrate that the diaspora encouraged peace-making initiatives and discouraged peace-wrecking. Importantly, the LAD as a political actor in Lebanese society played a positive role in promoting dialogue, cooperation, conflict resolution and reconciliation and had a significant impact on politics in general and conflict behaviour in particular. This study concludes that it is worth studying diaspora behaviour in conflict because a diaspora could be a powerful actor in conflict resolution and peace-making.     

Marxist scholarship on Thailand the work of E. Thadeus flood (1932–1977)

Abstract

Thadeus Flood died of cancer on December 11, 1977. The last ten years of his life were devoted to promoting revolutionary change and resisting American imperialism in Thailand. His life and work reveal the contradictions of American education and imperialist policy. This is not only because of what he wrote about, but because his life and scholarship transcended his conservative and “apolitical” education, moving him from academic scholarship to political commitment, forcing him beyond the functions within the university for which he had been intended. American imperialism in Southeast Asia gave him a political awareness which his education had consistently denied him. In this brief article I would like to indicate the important lessons which Asian scholars and others can learn from his transformation, and to attempt to assess his seminal contribution to the study of Thailand. I seek to draw, from his life and work, political lessons which can further our common struggles.     

‘The Russians are Coming,the Russians are Coming’: American Management of the Crisis Associated with Ending the October 1973 War

This article follows the last 72 hours of the October 1973 Yom Kippur War; that is, the three days from the collapse of the first ceasefire, on 23 October, until 25 October, when the United Nations Security Council Resolution 340, which ended the war, was adopted. The goal is to present and analyse the interests of the United States and how it managed its policy vis-à-vis Israel and Egypt during the ceasefire imbroglio. However, the article devotes special attention to the serious crisis with the Soviet Union that played out during those fateful hours. It stemmed from the note sent by the leader of the Soviet Union, Leonid I. Brezhnev, to US President Richard M. Nixon on 24 October. From the contents of the message, senior American decision-makers concluded that the Soviets were planning the unilateral deployment of an armed force to the Middle East. In response to this threat, these officials decided to raise the state of alert of the American armed forces to Level 3. The main conclusion of the research, however, is that no real Soviet threat existed. On the contrary, the Soviet Union was interested in preserving détente and in continuing to cooperate with the United States in order to put an end to the violence in the Middle East.     

The end of apartheid as part of ‘the end of history'?

This article undertakes a critical assessment of Francis Fukuyama's interpretation of the end of apartheid. It is argued that Fukuyama's analysis, which rests on linking economic growth to democracy, falls short in the depth of its empirical analysis and fails to establish the necessary causal connection. The appeal of Fukuyama's approach is therefore explained in terms of its ideological context and function.