European security in the post‐cold war era: The continuing struggle between realism and utopianism

This article looks at ‘the permanent dialogue’ between ‘Realist’ and ‘Utopian’ thinking in the context of the major developments which are taking place in contemporary European security. The author argues that after the dominance of ‘Realism ‘ in both theory and practice during the Cold War, a resurgence of ‘Utopian’ thinking has taken place since the events of 1989, which has had a significant impact on the architecture of European security. The main thrust of the argument, however, is that despite the contradictions between the two approaches, both have a role to play in attempts to build a new European security order.     

Reviews

Leslie Holmes, Post‐Communism: An Introduction. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1997, xiv + 384 pp., £14.95.

Stephen White, Richard Rose & Ian McAllister, How Russia Votes. Chatham, NJ: Chatham House Publishers, 1997, xx + 332 pp., £14.95.

Matthew Wyman, Public Opinion in Postcommunist Russia. London: Macmillan, 1997, xiv + 269 pp., £15.99.

David Kotz with Fred Weir, Revolution from Above: The Demise of the Soviet System. London: Routledge, 1997, xiv + 302 pp., £16.99.

F. Barry (ed.), Douze Etats indépendants issus de l'ex‐URSS, special issue of Le Courrier des Pays de l'Est. Paris: La Documentation Francaise, March‐April 1995, 225 pp., abstracts in English.

Jeffrey Kopstein, The Politics of Economic Decline in East Germany, 1945–1989. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1997, xii + 246 pp., $39.95.

David Childs & Richard Popplewell, The Stasi: The East German Intelligence and Security Service. London: Macmillan, 1996, xii + 253 pp., £40.00.

Eric Solsten (ed.), Germany. A Country Study. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1996, xlix + 642 pp.

Valery Tishkov, Ethnicity, Nationalism and Conflict in and after the Soviet Union: The Mind Aflame. London: Sage, 1997, xv + 334 pp., £14.95.

Aleksandar Pavkovi?, The Fragmentation of Yugoslavia. Nationalism in a Multinational State. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1997, xii + 222 pp., £40.00.

David A. Dyker & Ivan Vejvoda (eds), Yugoslavia and After: A Study in Fragmentation, Despair and Rebirth. London, Longman, 1996, xi + 268 pp.

Tanya Renne, Ana's Land: Sisterhood in Eastern Europe. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1997, xi + 240 pp., £13.50.

Carol Skalnik Leff, The Czech and Slovak Republics: Nation versus State. Nations of the Modern World. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1997, xvii + 295 pp., $22.95.

Dennis Deletant, Ceausescu and the Securitate: Coercion and Dissent in Romania, 1965–1989. London: Hurst, 1995, xxxii + 403 pp., £39.50 h/b, £16.50 p/b.

Paul Robert Magocsi, A History of Ukraine. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1996, xxvi + 784 pp., £56.00 h/b, £26.00 p/b.

Leokadia Drobizheva, Rose Gottemoeller, Catherine McArdle Kelleher & Lee Walker (eds), Ethnic Conflict in the Post‐Soviet World: Case Studies and Analysis. New York: M. E. Sharpe, 1996, xv + 365 pp., $69.95.

Edgar O'Ballance, Wars in the Caucasus, 1990–95. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1997, xxviii + 238 pp., £42.50.

Leokadia Drobizheva, Rose Gottemoeller, Catherine McArdle Kelleher & Lee Walker (eds), Ethnic Conflict in the Post‐Soviet World: Case Studies and Analysis. New York: M. E. Sharpe, 1996, xvi + 365 pp., $69.95.

Garry Rodan (ed.), Political Oppositions in Industrialising Asia. London: Routledge, 1996.

Diane P. Koenker & Ronald D. Bachman (eds), Revelations from the Russian Archives: Documents in English Translation. Washington. DC: Library of Congress, 1997, xxv + 808 pp., £69.95.

Theresa C. Smith, in collaboration with Thomas A. Oleszczuk. No Asylum. State Psychiatric Repression in the Former USSR. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1997, xi + 290 pp., £40.00.

Stephen E. Hanson, Time and Revolution. Marxism and the Design of Soviet Institutions. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1997, xv + 258 pp., $45.00 h/b, $18.95 p/b.

Dmitry Shlapentokh, The French Revolution in Russian Intellectual Life 1865–1905. Westport, CT, London: Praeger, 1996, viii + 202 pp., £46.50.

N. E. Andreyev, To, chto vspominaetsya. Tallinn: Avenarius, 1996, Vol. 1. 336 pp., Vol. 2, 320 pp.     

The Anglo-American “Special Relationship”: The Lazarus of International Relations

Scholars have variously queried the existence of the Anglo-American “special relationship,” consigned it to history as “special no more,” or demanded that Britain choose between its European and American relationships. These critiques have become increasingly prevalent since the Cold War. Yet the current British government, like many before it, continues to portray a choice between America and Europe as a “false choice,” and the “special relationship” has arguably deepened in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. This article contends that international diplomatic history can contribute much to understanding the “Lazarus-like” quality of the “special relationship.” Specifically it argues that a number of critical continuities in post–World War II British foreign policy survived the end of the Cold War and have since contributed heavily to the determination of the British foreign policymaking elite to maintain the “special relationship” at the same time that Britain pursues a leadership role within Europe.     

Purpose and function in government-funded health coverage

Government-funded health insurance programs that claim to provide comprehensive funding of their clients' demands have commonly adopted a purposive (deductive) approach to the problem of health care funding. This involves determining the extent of covered benefits by seeking an "adequate" definition of health or health care. Payment is then limited to only those procedures medically required or indicated. In this paper we argue that the purposive approach is inadequate, and that attempted adherence to it results in a curious dislocation of service, serious inequities, and an unhealthy contemplation of the definition of health. These problems are the result of structural deficiencies in the approach, and so will not be rectified by tinkering with the definitions adopted. As an alternative, we present an outline of a functional (inductive) approach, which seeks to identify which of the expectations of its clients the government health insurance system may realistically satisfy.