Arzamas-16 and Russian Studies

Abstract

A Korean specialist analyzes the project designed to link the Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR) and Trans-Korean Railway (TKR), a project that is currently under active discussion in both Russia and South Korea. The significance of the TSR in relation to Russia's new strategy towards the Asia-Pacific region and the present conditions of international transit container traffic is examined. An evaluation is offered of the critical issues that need to be resolved to make the project a reality as well as implications of the project for economics and politics in the region if the project reaches completion.     

The use of eminent domain in land assembly: The case of the Tennessee Valley Authority

Eminent domain gives public agencies the right to acquire property from private individuals in exchange for just compensation. Following Kelo vs. New London 2005, the powers of eminent domain were extended, opening the door for potential abuses of power by government officials. In this paper, I empirically investigate the use of eminent domain using newly digitized records from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which extensively used eminent domain to construct dams in the 1930s. Using a sample of families living in one reservoir location, I find empirical evidence that land tenure, the number of property holdings, and debt levels affected the holdout decision, suggesting that holdouts are individuals with high subjective values. I then develop a screening model with asymmetric information in seller valuations to predict when eminent domain will be used and what settlement values and court awards would be. I test the model’s and find that individuals who held out increased their property value by about 5 %, and incentives to holdout existed only for individuals who received initially low settlement proposals.     

Bibliographical essay / the hart‐Devlin debate

Richard Posner, Not a Suicide Pact: The Constitution in a Time of National Emergency New York: Oxford University Press, 2006, 208 pp.     

The federal republic and the future of Europe: A reassessment

Speculation concerning a dominant or hegemonic role to be played by a unified Germany in a post‐cold war Europe is misplaced. The extent to which the Federal Republic of 1949–89 has been caricatured as an economic giant but a political dwarf has undermined an appreciation of the manner in which successive Bonn governments have used multilateralism in foreign policy to further Germany's political influence in Europe long before national reunification. At the same time, it is unlikely that reunification will bring a dramatic change in German foreign policy. The nature of the Federal Republic's domestic politics, as well as the relationship with the European Community, apply substantial constraints on the ability, or the desire, to bring about a radical reorientation. The principal architect of change in Germany's relationship with its neighbours will be the country's expansive corporate sector. The gap between the restrained nature of Germany's diplomacy and the extrovert dynamism of its industry, furthermore, promises to make the Federal Republic's adjustment to a new international role awkward.