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.     

Exchanging energy technology information on the internet

This paper describes the U.S. experience in using the Internet to disseminate international information about the technical and economic performance of newly demonstrated, energy efficiency technologies. It draws specifically on Oak Ridge National Laboratory's use of the Internet to promote the goals of the International Energy Agency's Center for the Analysis and Dissemination of Demonstrated Technologies (CADDET). Statistics from the U.S. CADDET home page system illustrates the potential of the Internet for contributing significantly to the goals of international information exchange. However, to reach a wider range of international and domestic audiences (beyond primarily upscale and educated professionals located in industrialized countries), Internet systems need to include other dissemination efforts that reach individuals in countries and organizations not currently using Internet services. In addition, more personal and customized information sources may be needed for providing users with the types of assistance and guidance required to translate knowledge of a technology's technical and financial performance into a decision to purchase, install, and use the technology.     

At the Movies: A Continuing Dialogue on the Challenges of Teaching with Film

As part of ISP's ongoing effort to provide a scholarly venue for the exchange of ideas on a variety of topics, this issue's ISP Forum presents one set of reactions to the February 2001 article by Lynn Kuzma and Patrick Haney titled "And Action . . . ! Using Film to Learn About Foreign Policy" (February 2001:33-50). Vincent Pollard's comments represent what we hope will be the first in a series of comments on teaching international studies with film. Profs. Kuzma and Haney in their rejoinder urge for an ongoing discussion of the topic, as they see the use of film growing in the field. More broadly, the Editors of ISP invite readers to submit their own comments and reactions on this and other pieces that appear within the pages of ISP. Please note that all submissions undergo a peer review process.     

A profile of mentally disordered offenders admitted to inpatient psychiatric services in the United States

This research note presents data about mentally disordered offenders (MDOs) treated in inpatient psychiatric services. Data are derived from 1980 admission surveys by the Survey and Reports Branch, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). These data report for the first time inpatient services provided to MDOs by non-Federal general and private hospitals. A total of 31,773 MDOs were admitted, with 85% going to state and county mental hospitals. The largest group, including admissions for evaluation, was ISTs (58%), followed by mentally disordered prisoners (32%), NGRIs (8%), and MDSOs (3%). Women and whites tended to be overrepresented among MDOs as compared to prison and jail inmates. Clear diagnostic differences by legal status were found, with schizophrenia predominant among NGRIs (81%) and alcohol and drug abuse disorders more frequent among ISTs. Overall, state and county hospitals in both 1967 and 1980 were the primary locus of care for mentally disordered offenders.     

Teaching International Studies from a Regional Perspective: An ISP Symposium on Power, Wealth and Global Order: An International Textbook for Africa

Thanks to a suggestion made by Tim Shaw (Dalhousie University), the Editors of ISP decided about a year ago to commission a discussion of the textbook Power, Wealth and Global Order: An International Relations Textbook for Africa. This symposium aims at increasing our understanding of the different, regionally specific perspectives that can be brought to bear when studying international relations outside of North America and Western Europe. We want to thank Prof. Donald Gordon for the time he spent on examining the volume at hand and for his insightful analysis of the contribution made by the editors and authors of the textbook. Based on this discussion, we then asked four other authors from diverse areas of the world (Venezuela, Korea, Slovenia, and Russia) to read Prof. Gordon's analysis and respond to a set of questions we posed to them. Those questions and their comments follow Prof. Gordon's essay. We would also like to invite other ISA members from anywhere in the world to comment on this subject, as a continuing effort to engage important pedagogical topics in the pages of ISP.