“Never a Dull Moment”: The Moscow Ambassadorship of Sir Frank Roberts in the Years of the Berlin and Cuban Missile Crises, 1960–1962

This analysis explores the largely unsung Moscow ambassadorship of Britain’s Frank Roberts (1960–1962). After examining his Embassy’s role in developing cultural and commercial relations, the article addresses Roberts’ involvement in the Berlin and Cuban missile crises. In the former case, he made a low-key but important contribution by influencing American policy; in the second, he provided insightful assessments of Soviet attitudes and thinking. Roberts’ ambassadorship demonstrated the continued importance of resident embassies and ambassadors, because of the lack of ministerial-level Anglo–Soviet relations and the need to interpret Soviet policy in crisis situations. The research contributes to the literature of diplomatic representation as well as of Anglo–Soviet relations during the Cold War.     

Analysing wellbeing: a framework for development practice

This article presents a framework for analysing wellbeing in development practice, drawing on the work of the Wellbeing in Developing Countries Research Group (WeD). Wellbeing is viewed as a social process with material, relational, and subjective dimensions. Wellbeing may be assessed at individual and collective levels, but at base is something that happens in relationship – between individual and collective; between local and global; between people and state. The article considers potential hazards in taking wellbeing as focus, and concludes by considering what real difference such a focus could make.     

Editors' Note

Stephen Brooks' Producing Security is a very fine book that advances our understanding of globalization and of the links between economics and national security. In this paper I evaluate favorably and explore the frontiers of the book's chief contributions: its elucidation of the globalization of production, its illustration of the novelty of that phenomenon, and its consideration of the significance of this for world politics. I then raise one basic dissent, challenging the idea that the globalization of production has indeed altered the calculus of conflict—though my claim is not that the argument is wrong, but rather, that it is very considerably oversold. A final section offers some hypotheses on how the processes of globalization more generally may be altering the calculus of conflict for reasons complementary to, but largely distinct from, those emphasized in Producing Security.     

Does police size matter? A review of the evidence regarding restructuring police organisations

Restructuring and merging public sector organisations is often seen as a way to enhance efficiency and efficacy. There is ongoing debate about the impact of police force sizes, structures and mergers as police organisations attempt to adapt to reductions in their budgets and changes in patterns of criminality. The article reviews the evidence regarding key aspects of police reform: finding mixed evidence regarding the links between size and performance, while noting risks that mergers may impair local policing. The article discusses the impact of mergers on protective services, governance and accountability, while also discussing potential risks and opportunities associated with the merger process itself. The review finds significant gaps in the available evidence, and significant opportunities to expand the evidence base on this topic. Given current gaps in the evidence regarding size, efficacy and efficiency, it is important to give due consideration to symbolic and rhetorical aspects of mergers.