‘The Secret Nazi Network’ and Post-World War II Latvian Émigrés in the United States

This study of post-World War II political refugees from Latvia in the United States during the 1970s and 1980s uses data from American and Latvian periodicals, printed materials and archival records to uncover the complexities in small immigrant groups’ collective memory, political position and relations with the dominant group. When a number of Latvians were accused by the Office of Special Investigations of having lied on their immigration forms about their collaboration with the Nazis, this story gained political undertones and propelled the émigré community into an intra-group debate over its history and public image.     

俄美关系:冷和平

俄美关系的基本特点已定型 ,即“冷和平”。现在的俄美关系是冷战后最“冷”的时期 ,1999年是双方关系陷入新低点的标志年。俄美是一对无共同利益基础的伙伴 ,导致俄美冲突的基础性原因是大国争雄 ,俄美的战略利益、地缘安全、国际目标都相去甚远 ,互相矛盾 ,俄美冲突具有不可避免性 ,“冷和平 ,冷伙伴”是俄美关系的现实写照。短期内 ,俄罗斯无力重开冷战 ,而美国将继续对俄采取两面政策。普京将高举爱国主义和强国意识的旗帜 ,俄美关系的实质不会发生重大变化。从长远来看 ,随着俄罗斯重振大国地位 ,努力成为多极世界中的一员 ,俄美对立将会升温 ,甚至向“热冷战”转化     

Incentives to Rebel,Bargaining, and Civil War

To fully understand the effects of factors that encourage rebellion, we must differentiate between the way such factors influence mass decisions to join an ongoing rebellion and the way they influence the level of concessions offered by the government. We analyze a three-player bargaining model that allows us to do so. Our results indicate that governments tolerate a greater risk of conflict with their chosen concessions when any conflict that does occur is likely to take the form of a limited, rather than popular, rebellion. We demonstrate that rebellions are more likely to be popular when the general populace is relatively dissatisfied with the status quo and when the government is relatively incapable of putting down rebellions. Widespread poverty and low state capacity might therefore be associated with a lower likelihood of conflict, but a greater probability that the general populace will participate in any conflict that does occur.     

Voting in the United Nations security council

Recently, both within and outside of the U.N. there have been serious debates on certain proposals which are aimed at changing the voting structure of the Security Council. However, neither the proponents nor the opponents of these proposals provide any evidence whatsoever about consequences of the change. This paper has dealt with two critical areas: 1) the role of the veto in the functioning of the U.N. is analyzed and articulated and 2) recent proposals to change the voting structure of the Council are analyzed and their theoretical consequences are identified.     

From Tremors to Talks: Do Natural Disasters Produce Ripe Moments for Resolving Separatist Conflicts?

This article suggests that natural disasters can produce a ripe moment for conflict resolution because governments faced with the demand for effective disaster relief have incentives to offer concessions to separatist challengers. An analysis of the prevalence of new negotiations, ceasefires, and peace agreements during 12-month periods before and after natural disasters for separatist dyads 1990–2004 reveal some support for this proposition. Natural disasters increase the likelihood that parties will initiate talks or agree to ceasefires but have less effect on the signing of peace agreements. In line with the proposed mechanism, these results are particularly strong in democracies and following more severe disasters where the need to provide relief is most acute.     

Alliance Institutionalization and Alliance Performance

The appeal of differentiating between small and big wars is limited if the question is restricted to the utility of inductive indicators of war size in isolating some phenomenon of interest. However, there is considerable theoretical justification for treating systemic wars as a special war category. Historical‐structural emphases on geopolitical and macrostructural dynamics have led to the development of contextually specific theories that do not lend themselves readily to the explanation of all interstate wars. Examination of the cyclical fluctuations in the concentration of sea power and land power over the past 500 years help illustrate this general point. Thus, to the extent that systemic wars require a different type of explanation than do non‐systemic wars, the appropriate specification of the dependent war variable is an inescapable necessity.     

美国因素和1962年《日内瓦协议》以后老挝内战的重启

日内瓦协议签署以后,美国并没有停止对老挝事务的干涉。美国政府在继续援助老挝反共力量的同时,进一步采取了促进老挝中立派与右派势力合作的战略。美国对日内瓦协议的公然违背造成了老挝政治力量的再次分化与重组。老挝再次陷人内战的同时,美国也对老挝事务进行了直接的军事干涉,使老挝最终成为越南战争的真正战场。     

伊拉克战争的国际法思考

本文从国际法角度分析伊拉克战争的法律依据及其引起的法律后果 ,探讨国际法在这场战争中面临的挑战。作者认为 :美英对伊动武没有合法的依据 ,它引起相应的国际法律责任 ;不能因为这场战争而否认禁止使用武力原则的作用 ,而是应进一步加强该原则的实施。     

马克思主义视域下的国际战争问题

私有制和剥削制度是国际战争的总根源,但并不是惟一的原因.国际战争的性质是由阶级利益、民族利益和整个人类利益等综合因素决定的.在国际战争不至于发展成为一场毁灭性的核战争的前提下,战争是政治继续的命题仍然有效.就理论意义而言,世界格局论、势力均衡论、集体安全论、和平共处论等,无不寄托着人们对防止战争、维护和平的美好愿望与构想.总结国际关系的实践,最具有强大生命力的则是和平共处五项原则.     

From la guerra sucia to ‘A Gentleman’s Fight’: War,Disappearance and Nation in the 1976–1983 Argentine Dictatorship

Analysing the last Argentine dictatorship in the light of contemporary re‐examinations of war, this article argues that the 1976–1983 dictatorship can be understood as a shift in war(s), from la guerra sucia to the Falklands/Malvinas conflict, from a limitless and unsustainable internal war to a bracketed external war. That external war is shown to be an attempt to re‐found a nation imploding through disappearance. Drawing on the history of disappearance in Argentina reveals that, despite obvious differences, there are many continuities between the dictatorship and other regimes, emphasising the dangers of a politics that encourages a nation ‘re‐malvinizada’.