Energy Security and Germany's Response to Russian Revisionism: The Dangers of Civilian Power

This article examines the impact of German dependence on Russian gas supplies for Europe's ability to apply effective sanctions against Russia. It demonstrates that by focusing on the environmental dimensions of energy policy and a policy of rapprochement with Russia, Germany has neglected the security of supply implications of its dependence on Russian gas. The article argues that Germany's excessive energy dependence on Russia has limited the ability of the EU to challenge Russian revisionism by targeting its energy sector through sanctions. The article makes a number of energy policy recommendations which will be essential for Germany to avoid undue Russian influence on its foreign and security policies. The article concludes by exploring the utility of Neoclassical Realism in understanding Germany's approach to energy security. In doing so it highlights the dangers of allowing ideology to cloud a sober assessment of the imperatives of the balance of theat.     

The Social Construction of Slovakia as a Donor and its Power Effects

This article shows the power effects of Slovak development cooperation discourses. It focuses on how the Slovak population is constructed as ‘willing to help’, and the effects of this construction on the legitimation of the current regime and on the construction of the Slovak identity as developed. The article further shows the unequal relationship between ‘old’ and ‘new’ donors, how transition experience enables this relationship, and the power effects of the discourse of donor effectiveness in Slovakia.     

Jewish population genetic data in 20 polymorphic loci

Frequency data of 20 polymorphisms (13 autosomal and 6 Y-chromosome STRs and the Alu-insertion YAP) were determined in a sample of 124 unrelated Jewish individuals from Ashkenazi, Sephardic, North African and Oriental origin. The a priori statistical power of the set of studied loci was highly discriminating (PD=1 in 2.393 E+15 individuals for autosomal STRs, and a probability of finding two unrelated males with the same haplotype of less than 0.01). Some significant population differences were registered between Jews and other Circummediterranean populations in Y-chromosome loci frequencies.     

The Hollywood War Machine

What we call the "Hollywood War Machine" analyzes the production of films within the studio system depicting the glories of US military action within theaters from around the world, spanning the Revolutionary War period to the present. A large majority of films under discussion here can be understood from the perspective of "good wars" that the film industry has strongly favored, especially during the 1990s. This essay reveals an increasing emphasis on the World War II experience as the quintessential "good war" that brings American audiences back to the undistilled benevolence of the US military through its various patriotic and heroic exploits. The undoubtedly powerful impact of the September 11, 2001 events and their aftermath upon the Hollywood War Machine is a topic worthy of further discussion.     

Same Bed,Different Dreams? Structural Factors and Leadership Characteristics of Central Government Agency Reform in China

ABSTRACT

The reorganization of government agencies can be studied as a pre-reform process in terms of the structural changes made, or as a post-reform process in terms of the effects of the reorganization. In this study of two mergers of agencies in China’s central administration, we focus on structural features and the post-merger process, paying special attention to structural and cultural integration. Our qualitative analyses reveal that the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) is considered to have been more successful in merging agencies and integrating functions than the State Administration for Press, Publications, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT). We found that using physical arrangements and leadership features as explanatory variables generated helpful theoretical and policy implications for organizational architecture and public sector reforms.     

Performance Management and Public Sector Reform: The Norwegian Hospital Reform

This article addresses the development of new performance management systems related to public sector reforms. One such system is Management by Objectives and Results (MBOR), based on an official OECD model. Such a system tries to establish unambiguous goals, objectivity, and incentive elements into often traditionally trust-based systems embedded in a complex political-administrative context. To analyze such performance management systems and how they work in practice, we focus on a recent reform of the hospital structure in Norway. Using a broad institutional perspective, we argue that the MBOR-system in Norway is a mixed and complex system encompassing different kinds of logic. These include instrumental elements from the new performance management systems combined with ad hoc preventive efforts by the political leadership, the influence of cultural constraints, elements of rather inappropriate self-interested action, and pressure from the environment. The study reveals that the hospital reform in Norway in practice can be seen as an integrated model, combining informal trust-based approaches and formal performance management measures. It also shows that negative side effects and dysfunctions might occur.     

Reference materials for diplomatic studies

Edmund Jan Osmanczyk Encyclopedia of the United Nations, Basingstoke, Taylor and Francis Ltd. 1990 £175.00.

The International Directory of Government, London, Europea Publications, 1990, £140.

Louise Haberman and Paul Sack (eds.) Annual Review of Nations: Year 1988, Basingstoke, Taylor and Francis, 1989, £57.     

EU update

This is the first edition of the Bristows column on developments in EU law relating to IP, IT and telecommunications. This news article summarises recent developments that are considered important for practitioners, students and academics in a wide range of information technology, e-commerce, telecommunications and intellectual property areas. It cannot be exhaustive but intends to address the important points. This is a hard copy reference guide, but links to outside websites are included where possible. No responsibility is assumed for the accuracy of information contained in these links.