Mitochondrial DNA control region population data from Macedonia

Mitochondrial DNA sequences of the entire control region were analyzed in 200 unrelated individuals from Macedonia. A total of 163 different haplotypes were found as determined by 177 polymorphic sites. The probability of a random match was calculated as 1:121 (0.83%). The basic phylogenetic structure of the Macedonian population as derived from its haplogroup distribution is in agreement with other West-Eurasian populations. Upon publication, the population data are going to be available in the EMPOP database (www.empop.org) [W. Parson, A. Dür, EMPOP—a forensic mtDNA database, FSI:Genetics 1 (2) (2007) 88–92; W. Parson, A. Brandstätter, A. Alonso, N. Brandt, B. Brinkmann, A. Carracedo, et al., The EDNAP mitochondrial DNA population database (EMPOP) collaborative exercises: organisation, results and perspectives, Forensic Sci. Int. 139 (2–3) (2004) 215–226.].     

Acquiring Political Craft: Training Grounds for Top Officials in the German Core Executive

Political craft is an essential qualification of senior officials in the German Federal ministerial administration. The emphasis on political craft as a vital complement to administrative-technical competence reflects a policy-making system that is characterized by multi-party government, an assertive Parliament, a strong opposition, influential Lander , and growing informalization. In fostering political craft, three institutions play a key role: (i) the Chancellery; (ii) the political support units to the executive leadership; and (iii) the parliamentary parties in the Bundestag, which employ Federal ministerial officials on temporary leave. The centrality of these institutions in Federal policy-making makes them into outstanding training grounds for future top officials.     

Staasbildung oder Staatszerfall? Zum Formwandel Kriegerischer Gewalt in der Weltgesellschaft

The nexus between warfare and statebuilding that historians have stressed for European history, seemingly does not apply for the history of warfare after 1945. Instead, numerous political scientists hint to an ongoing depolitization of contemporary warfare and interpret civil wars as “state failure”. This analysis of war development after 1945 shows along the distinction of five realtypes that neither the thesis of a depoliticisation can be supported by the material presented, nor is the system of states endangered by the outcome of intrastate warfare. The problems of state-building, it seems, might rather be caused by economic decline and an increase of internationalisation.     

The European Union and Post-9/11 Counterterrorism: A Reappraisal

In spite of the hectic activity subsequent to the so-called month of transformation in the wake of 9/11, it is not to be taken for granted that the European Union is the right vehicle in Europe for the combating of terrorism. The lack of the EU's executive powers with respect to regulating the behavior of member states relative to a common threat such as terrorism, raises the fundamental question of whether the Union itself, as opposed to its constituent members, or an alternative multilateral forum, is an appropriate body for effectively confronting terrorism in Europe.     

Geopolitics,Patagonian Toothfish and living resource regulation in the Southern Ocean

This paper is concerned with the ongoing controversies regarding the over-harvesting of Patagonian Toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) in the Southern Ocean. After some thoughts on the varied geographies of this region, attention is then paid to the Convention for Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. Thereafter, illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing of Patagonian Toothfish is considered in some detail because it forms the basis for a subsequent examination of attempts by states and intergovernmental organisations (IGOs) to manage living resources. These measures have been contested by a variety of bodies and interest groups, however. The final part of the paper considers how the latest fishing crisis in the Southern Ocean challenged intergovernmental governance in the late twentieth century.     

Intervening in Value Chains: Lessons from Zambia's Task Force on Acceleration of Cassava Utilisation

Abstract

Smallholder farmers operate in vertical supply chains. Therefore, an understanding of key opportunities and constraints up through the value chain becomes necessary for sustaining smallholder growth. Yet market analysis is of little value unless key private and public sector stakeholders agree to implement necessary reforms. This paper advocates an approach which marries together value chain analysis with a stakeholder task force to ensure that analysis of opportunities and constraints gets translated into actions that will facilitate commercial growth. Using Zambia's cassava task force as an example, the paper describes the value chain task force method and identifies elements critical to its effective implementation.