‘Whatever It Takes'Despite European leaders’ efforts to address fears over the euro, there is no quick solution to the crisis

While most of Europe goes on holiday or sits glued to the London Oympics,the euro sovereign debt crisis continues to preoccupy policymakers.In the last week of July,it appeared as if the crisis had reached Olympian proportions as the Spanish Government looked set to follow its banks and seek a bailout from the EU.Dealing with Greece is one problem.Dealing with Spain,and potentially Italy,are problems of a vastly different dimension.As rumors grew of a Spanish bailout request,markets fell and the euro dipped against the dollar.     

State Socialization and Structural Realism

One of the common criticisms of Kenneth Waltz's Theory of International Politics is that its structural model is rather spare. This paper enriches neorealism by specifying the conditioning effects of competition and socialization operating on behalf of the international structure. Despite its neglected status in neorealist theory, I argue that socialization produces important effects on interstate interaction. I develop a model of the socialization process that uses role theory to demonstrate how interstate interaction is structured at the micro-level. Consistent with neorealism, the model assumes that socialization is heavily conditioned by material capabilities, and operates mainly on the adjustment of state behavior. I analyze several episodes of U.S. history to demonstrate that neorealism can explain how unit-level behavior is structured through socialization. The resulting elaboration of neorealism offers a more fully specified structural theory of international politics.     

International Whale Conservation in a Changing Climate: The Ecosystem Approach,Marine Protected Areas,and the International Whaling Commission

Abstract

Whale populations are exposed to a suite of contemporary threats, including by-catch, ship strikes, habitat degradation, and climate change. Of these threats, climate change presents the most challenging management dilemma because it pressures whale populations directly (e.g., by altering habitat suitability) and indirectly (e.g., by increasing disease transmission and exposure to toxicants, by affecting prey abundance, and by exacerbating other threats). There is also an emerging scientific understanding of how healthy whale populations constitute an important biological component of the climate system and contribute to climate change mitigation. The International Whaling Commission (“IWC”), which is the primary international organization dedicated to whale conservation and management, has investigated and studied climate change but has failed to develop a commensurate management response. Conversely, parallel developments in international wildlife conservation and management evince support for an integrated and holistic ecosystem approach (“EA”) and urge the immediate development of climate-adaptive measures. The EA has been operationalized in prominent legal instruments and through various management techniques, including marine protected areas (“MPAs”). In view of observed and predicted effects of climate change on whales, this article proposes a new approach to designating and protecting whale sanctuaries at the IWC that better aligns with a contemporary understanding of the EA and MPAs, and that can advance the IWC’s institutional transition towards climate-informed modernized management. This proposed innovation is tested for its legal permissibility and political feasibility, and the analysis concludes that improving the IWC’s regulatory functionality remains a crucial conservation objective.     

The proper study of propaganda

Robert Jackall (ed.), Propaganda (New York University Press; London: Macmillan 1995) (Main Trends of the Modern World). Pp.xi + 449; index. $50 (cloth); $20 (paper). ISBN 0–8147–4196–7 and 4197–5 (US). 0–333–61756–8 and 61757–6 (UK).

Bertrand Taithe and Tim Thornton (eds.), Propaganda; Political Rhetoric and Identity (Phoenix Mill, Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK, Sutton, 1999). Pp.xi + 368, biblio. essay, footnotes, index. £50 (cloth); £14.99 (paper). ISBN 0–7509–2028–9 and 2029–7.

Gary D. Rawnsley (ed.), Cold War Propaganda in the 1950s (New York, St Martin's Press; London: Macmillan 1999). Pp.xi + 246; endnotes, index. £45. ISBN 0–312–22012‐X (US) and 0–333–67591–7 (UK).

Francis Stonor Saunders, Who Paid the Piper? The CIA and the Cultural Cold War (London: Granta 1999). Pp.xi + 509, select biblio., endnotes, index. £20 (cloth); £9.99 (paper). ISBN 1–8620–7029–6 and 7327–9.

Paul Lashmar and James Oliver, Britain's Secret Propaganda War, 1948–1977 (Phoenix Mill, Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK, Sutton, 1998). Pp.xi + 223, biblio., footnotes, index. £25. ISBN 0–7509–1668–0.

Esko Salminen, The Silenced Media: The Propaganda War between Russia and the West in Northern Europe (New York, St Martin's Press, London, Macmillan, 1999. Pp.xi + 198, biblio., endnotes, index. £45. ISBN 0–333–72451–8.     

A Pragmatic Guide to Qualitative Historical Analysis in the Study of International Relations

Researchers using qualitative methods, including case studies and comparative case studies, are becoming more self–conscious in enhancing the rigor of their research designs so as to maximize their explanatory leverage with a small number of cases. One aspect of qualitative research that has not received as much attention is the use of primary and secondary source material as data or evidence. This essay explores the potential problems encountered by political scientists as they conduct archival research or rely on secondary source material produced by historians. The essay also suggests guidelines for researchers to minimize the main problems associated with qualitative historical research, namely, investigator bias and unwarranted selectivity in the use of historical source materials. These guidelines should enable advanced undergraduates and graduate students to enhance the quality of their historically minded political science scholarship.