The Uk,Germany and ESDP: developments at the convention and the IGC

This article explores UK and German positions in the debates on European defence in the Convention on the Future of Europe and in the Intergovernmental Conference that followed. It also has a subsidiary interest in France, and develops a framework for exploring why UK, German and French positions on defence cooperation diverge, but also for plotting how those positions moved significantly towards convergence during the constitutional debate. The move towards more convergent positions is traced through a discussion of Common Foreign and Security Policy, the Petersberg Tasks, the solidarity clause, structured cooperation and the European armaments and strategic research agency.     

Political Violence and the Illicit Economies of West Africa

This comparative analysis draws on field research in several West African countries to illustrate the dynamic relationships between political violence and organized crime in this sub-region. These relationships are often transactional, and almost always on a temporary basis. While some alliances of convenience may be forged, in other cases an adversarial relationship exists between organized crime and terrorist networks. In some cases, key actors within West African governments have benefited from these relationships. We then examine recent policies and strategies pursued by the U.S. and the international community that, in the name of combating terrorism, seek to constrain the illicit economies of the region, but in doing so may do more harm than good. The article concludes with some policy recommendations based on this analysis.     

Kicking the opium habit?: Afghanistan's drug economy and politics since the 1980s

Four misconceptions plague the efforts of the Afghan government and the international community to succeeding in weaning Afghanistan off its narcotics economy. The first myth is that the explosion of opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan is a new phenomenon emerging from the fall of the Taliban. The second misconception is that if the Taliban regime had remained in power, given its religious fervour, it would have extirpated the illicit economy. The third misconception is that the warlords sponsoring the illicit economy gain only immense financial profits and weapons from the drug trade, a notion that critically ignores the significant political capital that they also reap from such involvement. The final myth and the most dangerous for efforts to cement progress in Afghanistan is that large-scale eradication of the opium crop is the quickest and most effective way to stabilize the country. Only massive economic investment in Afghanistan and wise patience not to demand immediate visible measures of ‘the success’ of counter-narcotics policies can produce a decrease in Afghanistan's illicit economy that it is truly durable and not politically destabilizing.     

The project‐funding regime: Complications for community organizations and their staff

Abstract: Various levels of government contract‐out the provision of public services such as health and education to community organizations, which have traditionally received core funding for these services. In recent years, however, with the adoption of neoliberal policies and New Public Management ideals, Canadian federal and provincial governments have increasingly off‐loaded the provision of social services to community organizations through a project‐funding regime. Community organizations and their workers now find themselves facing new challenges created by this new funding regime. This article explores the ways in which the daily lives of these workers have been organized and influenced by project‐funding regime procedures and rules, which benefit the state but create hardships for workers. This analysis draws on staff interviews and focus group data collected from three community organizations in three provinces across Canada. The qualitative analytic approach includes both a thematic analysis and the identification of practices that benefit the institution but complicate worker activities, as identified by the Psycho‐Social Ethnography of the Common‐Place method, which borrows from Institutional Ethnography. Through the analysis of procedures of increased accountability, short‐term funding, hiring on contract, use of information and communication technologies, and forced partnerships, the authors delineate the ways in which a neoliberalized ruling system benefits and manages staff activities while complicating the lives of the workers. Recommendations and responses to this situation are discussed. Sommaire: Differents paliers de gouvernements donnent la prestation des services publics comme la santé et l'education en soustraitance B des organismes communautaires, qui recevaient traditionnellement leur financement de base pour la prestation de ces services. Ces dernières années, cependant, avec l'adoption des politiques néolibérales et les idéaux de la nouvelle administration publique, le gouvernement fédéral et les gouvemements provinciaux canadiens se sont de plus en plus déchargés de la prestation des services sociaux sur les organismes communautaires, grâce à un régime de financement de projets. Les organismes communautaires et leurs employés se trouvent maintenant confrontés à de nouveaux défis Créés par ce nouveau régime de financement. Le présent article explore la manière dont la vie quotidienne de ces employés a été organisée et influencée par les procédures et les règles du régime de financement de projets, qui profitent à l'État mais créent des complications pour les organismes communautaires. Cette analyse est basée sur des interviews des membres du personnel et sur des données de groupes de discussion recueillies auprès de trois organismes communautaires dans trois provinces du Canada. L'approche analytique qualitative comprend à la fois une analyse thématique et l'identification de pratiques qui profitent aux institutions mais qui compliquent les activités des employés, comme l'a démontré la méthode Psycho‐Social Ethnography of the Common‐place, qui emprunte à l'ethnographie institutionnelle. Par le biais de l'analyse de procédures d'imputabilité accrue, de financement à court terme, d'embauche par contrat, de l'utilisation de technologies de l'information et de la communication, et de partenariats forcés, les auteurs délimitent la manière dont le système néolibéral actuel profite des activités du personnel qu'il gére tout en lui compliquant la vie. Des recommandations et des solutions sont offertes pour faire face à cette situation.     

Differential Effectiveness of a Middle School Social and Emotional Learning Program: Does Setting Matter?

There is a lack of studies in the literature addressing the differential effectiveness of Social and Emotional Learning according to their implementation setting. This study compared the effectiveness of an upper middle school Social and Emotional Learning program applied in two different settings: within school and after-school hours, while controlling for individual and class-level variables. There were 837 students (M_age?=?12.70; SD?=?0.98; 47.6% were female): 246 in the control group, 319 in the after-school intervention group and 272 in the within school schedule intervention group, assessed at pretest, post-test and follow-up seven months later. Multilevel analyses identified more positive intervention results in on self-esteem, self-control, and social awareness for students in the within school schedule groups. Girls gained more in social awareness in both program settings. This study highlights the importance of analyzing Social and Emotional Learning program´s differential effectiveness in order to optimize it.     

The EU's post-liberal approach to peace: framing EUBAM's contribution to the Moldova–Transnistria conflict transformation

This article analyses what may be termed as the European Union's (EU) post-liberal approach to the Moldova–Transnistria conflict. Since 2003, within the ENP framework, the EU has become increasingly committed to its transformation. Such an engagement is further confirmed by the establishment of the European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine (EUBAM) in 2005, aimed at building confidence between the parties, stimulate their economic interdependence and change perceptions about the conflict. The mission's outcomes are moving beyond its technical scope, supporting the conflict peaceful transformation. The focus on bottom-up initiatives and local engagement allows for a broader understanding of the complex dynamics underlying the conflict, which together with the high-level negotiation process may provide a holistic approach to its resolution and increase the likelihood to reach a sustainable settlement.