The impact of European economic integration on business associations: The UK case

This article presents the results of new survey research that assesses the routes and activities used by UK business associations in gathering and exchanging information with European institutions. All major UK business associations are covered, ranging from trade and professional associations to associations of the self‐employed and federations. A representative sampling framework allows general conclusions for the whole association sector to be drawn. The chief findings are that there are multiple routes for European activities employed by most associations. The most important route for all categories (except federations) is the national route, using meetings with UK ministers, officials or agencies as an attempt to get them to influence the EU. The second most important route is through European associations (which is the chief route for federations), which are also seen as the most open to influence. A ‘Brussels strategy’ of direct lobbying, or a Brussels office, is the third most important route. It is the main route for 16 per cent of respondents, which is surprising given its costs but demonstrates the increasingly important light in which the European institutions are seen. The use by associations of individual member companies to lobby for them is also surprisingly high (for 10 per cent it is the main route). Association size, resources and sectoral circumstances are shown to be important influences on an association's European strategy.     

Détente in deep water: the CIA mission to salvage a sunken Soviet submarine and US-USSR relations, 1968–1975

Despite détente, the superpowers continued their Cold War practice of spying on one another throughout the 1970s. Yet intelligence is largely ‘missing’ from the historiography of détente. Why? Based on newly declassified data, ‘Détente in Deep Water’ reveals the geopolitical calculations behind the ‘Glomar response’ and how that legalese operated to limit disclosure of intelligence operations starting with AZORIAN/MATADOR, the CIA-led project to salvage a sunken Soviet submarine using the Hughes Glomar Explorer, a ship ostensibly owned (under a cover story) by industrialist Howard Hughes. Glomar’s diplomatic backstory sheds new light on the historical relationship between intelligence collection and foreign policy.     

Canadian public service employee satisfaction and its main drivers

Using the results of the 2005 Public Service Employee Survey (PSES), this paper identifies which factors have the greatest effect on employee satisfaction in the Canadian public service. Several hypotheses are tested against the backdrop of existing literature. In general, public servant satisfaction is affected by belief in opportunities for promotion, fair classification, adherence to client service standards, life balance, recognition by immediate supervisors, team relationships with colleagues, how well information is shared and, finally, belief in the abilities of senior management. Some interesting elaborations of these basic findings emerge when other variables are controlled. The discussion considers how the public service can be seen as a more desirable career choice.