Comparing colonial differences: Baltic literary cultures as agencies of Europe’s internal others

ABSTRACT

The article discusses the Baltic colonial experience in historical and comparative perspective. It sketches the ways in which Baltic societies are best linked to theoretical discussions on postcolonial issues, and whether they might be looked upon in a more global context. The main question posed by the article is in what ways Baltic identity has been determined by processes of foreign settlement, occupation and colonization of the territory of each respective country and whether we can see Baltic societies as potential agencies of Europe’s internal others.     

Liberalism and geopolitics in EU–Russia relations: rereading the “Baltic factor”

Contrary to some expectations, the Baltic states’ accession to the EU in 2004 was not followed by an improvement in their relations with Russia. Instead, the Baltic states became known as the “troublemakers” of EU–Russia relations. This was commonly explained by their history and national identity, which contributed to an understanding of the Baltic concerns as marginal. The Ukraine crisis brought a reaction of “I told you so” by the Baltic states that for many years had been warning the West about Russia’s expansionist ambitions. This article explores the ideational underpinnings of the gap between the Baltic states’ perceptions of and relations with Russia on the one hand and mainstream views in Europe on the other. It identifies liberal interdependence, democratic peace, and realist geopolitics as key ideas that have framed the EU’s and Baltic states’ perceptions of Russia. In the vein of constructivist foreign policy analysis, these ideational structures are seen to condition the EU’s and Baltic states’ interests and policies vis-à-vis Russia. An analysis of the “Baltic factor” helps to illuminate the contradictions and shortcomings in the EU’s Russia policy and review its ideational basis which is now in need of a strategic rethink.     

中国及有关国家关于南海群岛、钓鱼岛归属的法理比较

最近,钓鱼岛和南中国海争端已经成为我国面临的重大国际挑战,通过历史证据和他国的一些文件、地图等资料论证他国对我国在钓鱼岛和南海诸岛的承认在国际法上的意义,并对相关国家以现代海洋法作为主权要求根据的局限性予以分析,结合时际法原则总结出南海诸群岛、钓鱼岛的主权归属问题。有关国家对南沙群岛、钓鱼岛的主权要求不仅缺乏历史根据,而且在国际法上也站不着脚;它们对南沙群岛、钓鱼岛的侵占活动是非法的、无效的行为。     

香港特区政府的信息公开管理

本文主要介绍了香港特区政府的《公开资料守则》与信息公开的政策、机构、管理措施和内容等,包括一般的信息披露以及政府新闻处的公共信息服务和政府的财政透明;并分析了特区政府信息电子化和网络化的成功之道。本文认为,政府信息公开是一个一举多得的政策措施,而香港特区政府信息公开的范围之广、信息公开的渠道之多都令人叹为观止,这不仅有利于政府内部的统一和协调,而且有利于政府工作的顺利开展,并且在本地和国际上树立了一个透明、廉洁、高效、负责的服务型政府形象。简而言之,透明政府的建设源于政府与社会在信息公开方面达成共识,从而使政府能够自觉自愿接受社会监督。     

跨境经济合作：黑龙江省深化对俄罗斯及东北亚区域合作创新和转型发展的新路径

近年来,黑龙江省以对外贸易和投资为依托加强对俄罗斯跨境经济合作,积极深化对俄合作境内外园区建设,打造跨境经济合作的诸多举措,使其日益成为中国向北和东北开放进程中推进跨境经济合作的示范和先导地区。     

The 1881 census in the Russian Baltic provinces: An inventory and an assessment

The 1881 census of the Russian Baltic provinces of Livland, Estland, and Kurland was the first modern-type systematic population enumeration in the Baltic area. It had been preceded by enumerations of other kinds—land cadastres that included aggregate population counts (during Swedish control of the area) in the 17th century, and fiscal revisions (during Russian control of the area) that did list residents by name but did not follow any principles of modern census-taking. The Baltic German politico-economic elite, which controlled public affairs in the Baltic provinces, decided to carry out a census of a modern kind, and produced the 1881 count. Although initially the initiative was coordinated by the statistical specialists of the three provinces, the publication of results was decentralized, resulting in a series of volumes that supplied different tables for each province. The article analyzes the contents of the census, some of its shortcomings, as well as its strengths.     

Analysis of current events: “towards the rule of law in Kosovo: EULEX should go”

Strong civil society provides individuals with arenas to bring their interests to the attention of policymakers. In so doing, civil society organizations (CSOs) can support state policies, but can also criticize policies. This paper argues that most minority rights advocacy CSOs in the Baltic states have little say in the crafting of policy and are compartmentalized into the existing agendas, with only a few groups able to evaluate policies independently. It concludes that the Baltic civil society is weak because the CSOs working on minority issues ask policymakers either too much, or too little. The findings suggest that policymakers quell criticism of their work from the side of the CSOs by ignoring their activities. Alternatively, by funding the CSO that shores up the state agenda, policymakers delegate their responsibilities to civic actors, keep critical voices from public debates and claim that their policies have the full support of a vibrant civil society. This paper investigates the options available for civil society actors to relate to policymakers in a nationalizing state by drawing on the data collected in 77 semi-structured interviews with the CSOs working with Russian and Polish minorities in the Baltic states between 2006 and 2009.     

East China Sea or South China Sea,they are all China's Seas: comparing nationalism among China's maritime irredentist claims

Much has been made over the past few years of China'vs ambitions of regaining control of its irredentist claims in the East and South China Seas. While some of this speculation focuses on the massive amounts of money the People's Republic of China (PRC) has funneled into its naval modernization program, other analysts are more interested in the drivers behind the increasingly popular sentiment that the country must “reclaim” its lost territories. The Chinese Communist Party can ill afford to ignore the voice of an already disenchanted population if it hopes to stay in power, particularly in regard to matters of national pride. As a result, in dealing with China's irredentist claims, nationalism in particular can be a powerful ideological factor in shaping the nation's foreign policies. This is especially apparent in the case of irredentism, where nationalism can often override diplomatic and strategic imperatives. This paper addresses the question of how does the nationalist discourse vary between two territorial disputes, the East and South China Seas. It uses discourse analysis to examine developing trends among online social media and news sites. This in turn allows for the construction of a framework of how nationalism develops among both elite and grassroots audiences.     

Another Baltic Postcolonialism: Young Latvians,Baltic Germans,and the emergence of Latvian National Movement

This article looks at the emergence of Latvian nationalism in the mid-nineteenth century from the intercultural perspective of postcolonial theory. The writings of early Young Latvians, and the reaction to them from the dominant Baltic German elite, show that the emergence of a modern Latvian nationalism is to a large extent due to postcolonial mimicry, as described by Homi Bhabha. Attempts to imitate German cultural models and to develop a Latvian high culture lead to hostile reactions from the German side, which, in their turn, lead to increasing consolidation of Latvian nationalism. Since the Baltic German elite increasingly legitimized its rule in terms of cultural superiority, the Young Latvians' alliance with the Russian Slavophiles led it to treat the Latvian nationalists as culturally inferior and partly Asiatic, like the Russians.     

冷战前美国的南中国海政策

冷战前美国的南中国海政策是后来的基础。18世纪末到二战结束,南中国海越来越多地涉及美国利益。二战前,美国在南中国海的利益有限,承担责任亦有限;二战期间,美国已深深地介入南中国海事务,南中国海对美国利益的影响也越来越大,从而决定了整个冷战时期乃至如今美国南中国海政策的方向。