In Defense of Sovietology

A leading specialist on the Soviet economy presents a detailed overview and evaluation of the history of Western studies of the Soviet economy. Foci of the article include: debates about the nature of the Soviet economic system; the uses of qualitative and quantitative evidence; controversies over rates of economic growth and growth of productivity, comparative size of the economy and the burden of defense expenditures; analyses of the severity of economic problems and their implications for the future viability of the system. The article concludes with an evaluation of the accomplishments and shortcomings of economic Sovietology. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: P27, P24, P52.     

Economic cooperation in Northeast Asia: The proposed Tumen River scheme

Abstract

This paper examines a relatively unexplored aspect of the Russo-Japanese territorial dispute: the involvement of subnational actors. It focuses in particular on the sustained campaign of domestic lobbying and paradiplomacy by elites from the Far East region of Sakhalin aimed at preventing the Russian central government from transferring the South Kuril Islands/Northern Territories to Japan during the 1990s. It explores the various responses to the ‘Sakhalin factor’ from federal authorities in Russia, as well as private and public bodies in Japan, highlighting the subsequent localization and pluralization of diplomatic channels. The paper also considers why the ‘Sakhalin factor’ became so prominent, pointing to a synergy of factors that include the high-profile anti-concessionary campaigns of the Sakhalin political elite, the fallout from Russia's troubled attempts at state building and a possible convergence of interests between Boris Yeltsin and regional authorities. The paper concludes with an analysis of how Vladimir Putin's federal reforms, launched in 2000, have diminished Sakhalin's authority over the South Kuril Islands.     

The House of Lords and the Northern Ireland Conflict – A Sequel

This article begins by commenting on an analysis undertaken by the late Stephen Livingstone of 13 cases relating to the troubles in Northern Ireland decided by the House of Lords between 1969 and 1993. It then attempts to repeat the analysis in respect of 12 such cases decided between 1994 and 2005. Areas of law arising for consideration during both periods include the rules on the use of lethal force, aspects of substantive criminal law and criminal procedure and the rights of persons arrested or imprisoned. The more recent cases also raise fundamental questions concerning the status and meaning of the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. The article concludes that there has been a sea-change in the way the Law Lords have handled the Northern Irish cases. From treating them in a way which might have suggested a built-in bias in favour of police, army and government perspectives, they have moved to analysing the competing arguments in the light of more modern approaches to statutory interpretation, the rule of law and human rights.     

泰国文献中"孔人"北迁的记载与孟高棉语民族的起源研究

"孔人"是泰语对古代孟高棉语民族的泛称,泰国的一些文献中提到,古代有一些叫做"孔人"的民族曾经从湄公河口向泰国北部地区迁徙并建立国家。一些学者据此认为,孟高棉语民族起源于中南半岛南部。事实上,从现有较为可靠的资料来看,孟高棉语民族的发祥地应该是在中国南方地区。泰族文献中提到"孔人"从湄公河口往北迁徙的史实,应当是公元以后的事,不能用来说明孟高棉语民族的起源。     

区域安全竞争中的东亚区域主义——基于对欧洲/北美区域主义的比较分析

区域主义的启动和深化受区域内外安全环境的影响。欧洲区域主义的启动和深化与其内外安全环境之间呈正相关关系,因而它得以历经冷战而不衰,并在冷战后进一步强化。比较而言,北美区域主义的深化与其内外安全环境总体上都是负相关关系,因而北美区域主义至今基本上仍仅限于经济领域。与北美区域主义类似,东亚区域主义的深化与东亚区域内外安全环境也基本上是负相关关系,但不同的是,由于东亚区域的内部安全环境是竞争性的,因此东亚区域的"共同体感觉"虽然呈日益强化之势,但总体上说是脆弱的。东亚区域主义的深化不仅受区域内部安全竞争的挑战,还受到区域外部的竞争性安全环境———区域间大国和全球大国安全竞争———的制约。     

Separating the Sheep from the Goats among Africa's Separatist Movements

Currently at least 12 separatist/secessionist movements are engaged in negotiations or campaigns of violence (guerrilla and regular armed conflict) in Africa. But though they are agreed on the need for radical constitutional change, they are not agreed on the solutions. More than that, they rarely maintain a unity of aim within their ranks at any given moment of time, or a consistency of aim over time. It is these shifting political objectives and the nature of the calculations behind them that this article intends to examine. At every stage of the conflict the movements' leaders have to assess the advantages of a secessionist policy as opposed to a separatist (or re-negotiated unitary state) policy. This article finds that among the most crucial factors to be weighed are popular support, state response, international recognition, and personal opportunities. There are important consequences of this shifting of political objectives. It makes typologies based on their political objectives and/or methods of limited value; political support problematic; attempts by governments to induce separatist leaders to defect or compromise worthwhile; and certain elements in the population of the homeland more vulnerable. This is the biggest hindrance to successful separatist movements.     

The Liberal Peace at Home and Abroad: Northern Ireland and Liberal Internationalism

Northern Ireland, we are told, holds positive lessons for other societies emerging from violent conflict. As Britain is one of the leading proponents of liberal internationalism, this article considers whether the liberal internationalism pushed with so much enthusiasm abroad through British foreign policy has been applied with diligence at home—in the Northern Ireland peace process. The findings suggest that Northern Ireland is by no means a poster child for liberal internationalism. Instead, British government handling of the Northern Ireland peace process shows serious deviations from the liberal internationalist canon. This article argues that liberal peace-lite has been tolerated and facilitated at home, while a stricter variant is often expected in overseas contexts.     

A Principles‐based Approach to the Barnett Formula1

This essay argues that the Barnett formula—which determines the block grant paid annually by the UK government to each of the Devolved Administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland—be reformulated, guided by the following principles: fiscal equity, accountability, transparency, and flexibility. The rationale for change is that the current fiscal arrangements make little policy sense and may not be sustainable in a changing political and economic context. The formation of a grants commission to help develop data, calculate disparities, and provide public advice to the Chancellor of the Exchequer is also advocated.     

Political generations in Northern Ireland

Since the late 1980s, Northern Ireland has seen a radical electoral shift away from the historically dominant parties in the Catholic and Protestant blocs – the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), respectively – towards the traditionally more ‘extreme’ parties – Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). This change in aggregate support has been accompanied by increasing differences between generations as older cohorts of UUP and SDLP supporters have been replaced by newer cohorts of DUP and Sinn Fein partisans. This is not a result of increased polarisation in values and attitudes (whether overtly political or simply communal intolerance) among younger cohorts who are, if anything, slightly more moderate than their forbears. Rather, this results from the changing political context in which new generations have been socialised – in particular the expanded choice sets facing voters as they have reached voting age. This in turn has positive implications for the consolidation of devolved democratic governance.     

In Defence of Politics: Interpreting the Peace Process and the Future of Northern Ireland

The interpretation of the Northern Ireland peace process is highly controversial because it not only has implications for the future of Northern Ireland but ‘lessons’ are also drawn for dealing with terrorism and insurgency globally. This article reviews and critiques key interpretations of the peace process. ‘The Militarists’, Republican Dissidents and Neoconservatives, offer a ‘fundamentalist idealist’ interpretation which leads them to reject political compromise and continue to pursue victory by military means. ‘The Enthusiasts’ are leading figures in the Labour government who champion the outcome of the peace process and recommend ‘talking to terrorists’. ‘The Sceptics’ argue in defence of politics and support the pragmatic realism used to negotiate accommodation. They are critical of ‘The Militarists’ for misinterpreting the peace process and threatening to go back to ‘war’. ‘Sceptics’ welcome powersharing but criticise the ‘Enthusiasts’ for mishandling the peace process and undermining the moderate parties. This has left Northern Ireland with high levels of segregation and economic inequality that prevent the consolidation of peace.