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CIAO DATE: 02/03
Volume XXXVII No.2 (April–June 2002)
IAI Library Notes
By Maritza Cricorian
Alliance politics, Kosovo, and NATO’s war: allied force or forced allies?, edited by Pierre Martin and Mark R. Brawley. - New York : Palgrave, c2000. - xiv, 246 p. - ISBN 0-312-23817-7
This book is based on two meetings of the authors in autumn 1999 and spring 2000. The various papers that compose it analyse the factors determining adhesion to Atlantic Alliance policies from the member countries’ point of view, highlighting the inter-relations between internal factors and foreign policy factors. The papers are divided into two sets: the first, providing a background, deals with the theoretical approach to the question (realism vs institutionalism vs constructivism), the challenges now facing NATO, the legal conflict between the Alliance and the United Nations, and the role of the European Union in European defence. The second set of papers analyses the national points of view and the domestic factors that determine the participation in the Operation Allied Force of the US, Great Britain, Canada, Spain, Germany, France, Italy and central European countries (Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary). The motivations identified for each are strategic and humanitarian interests for the first three, the desire to prove their reliability to the other allies for the next two, ambitions of primacy and the lack of valid alternatives for France - the most reluctant of the states, the need to reconcile internal and external needs for Italy, and motivations dictated by the international context for the last. The conclusions attempt to integrate the two sets of contributions into a whole that provides a key for comparison of the various attitudes towards the US observed in the member states and draws a lesson with respect to NATO’s “interventionist” policy.
Balkan reconstruction, edited by Thanos Veremis and Daniel Daianu. - London : Frank Cass, c2001. - 224 p.- ISBN 0-7146-8172-5
Scholars from the Balkans attempt to analyse the area of southeastern Europe to highlight the internal dynamics and the challenges faced. The contributions are divided into two parts: the first includes essays on the main issues at hand; the second consists of country studies (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Macedonia, and Romania). In particular, the former deal with 1) the Stability Pact, economic aspects and prospects; 2) Western assistance, which tends to create a new protectorate and has a negative impact on the transformation of the region (the authors pleas for plans for mega-projects to be abandoned in favour of more modest intervention measures); 2) a low state capacity, linked above all to delays in structural reforms and privatisation; 4) economic aspects of regional cooperation; 5) the relation between poverty and regional development; 6) economic aspects of transition; 7) the Western point of view on reconstruction.
Challenges from within, by Roger Murphy. - Aldershot : Ashgate: c2001. - ISBN 0-7546-1124-8
This volume examines the challenges to the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) posed by the bureaucratic apparatus and the changes in British foreign policymaking under the constraints of interdependence. Thus, aside from the introductory chapter, the second chapter focuses on changes in FCO and particularly, the need for its officials to provide increasingly technical information; the third chapter examines the inter-relations between the overseas post network and the Permanent Representation to the European Community (UKREP) and the Missons to the United Nations (UKMIS); the fourth centres on the growing international role of the internal bureaucracy with particular attention to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) and the Employment Dept. Group; the fifth chapter analyses the international negotiating channels; the sixth deals with the problem of coordination and the new challenges; the concluding chapter recapitulates the challenges and opportunities for the FCO, draws some comparisons with other countries and underlines the importance of institutional analysis for foreign policy studies. The study was largely based on government documents and interviews with Whitehall officials. Given the matters treated, a list of acronyms would have facilitated reading.
The emerging Euro-Mediterranean system, by Dimitris K. Xenakis & Dimitris N. Chryssochoou. - Manchester : Manchester University Press, c2001. - (Europe in change). - ISBN 0-7190-6013-3
This two-author essay applies theoretical instruments - specific to international relations and relating to European integration - to the analysis and assessment of developments in Euro-Mediterranean relations and the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. It is broken down into three parts, each of which deals with a different aspect of regional order-building: ther first sets the issue into the post-1989 international context and explains Mediterranean specificities; the second part examines European policies towards the Mediterranean before and after the birth of the Barcelona process in 1995 and its evolution; the third and last part deals with theoretical aspects and conceptualises the emergence of a new Euro-Mediterranean system.
European Union and new regionalism : regional actors and global governance in a post-hegemonic era, edited by Mario Telò. - Aldershot : Ashgate, c2001. - xxii, 330 p. - (The international political economy of new regionalisms series). - ISBN 0-7546-1749-1
This work springs from a research project and a multi-displinary international academic network launched by the Université Libre de Bruxelles and coordinated by Mario Telò, the first results of which were presented during an international workshop held in the same city. It attempts to combine European and international studies, on the one hand setting the EU and its foreign relations in the framework of existing regional groupings and, on the other, exploring the potential of regionalism as a new paradigm (vs globalisation) in international governance. In practice, it looks at four different existing models of regionalism, in addition to that of the Union itself: Mercosul/Mercosur, the North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA), the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). In the final considerations, the editor puts forward three scenarios for the international identity of the European Union: “a continental trading state, a new mercantilist fortress or a new civilian power”. Completing the work are a list of “regional and inter-regional arrangements”, each with the date of inception, objectives and member states.
Les fédérations européennes de partis : organisation et influence, edité par Pascal Delwit, Erol Külahci, Cédric Van de Walle. - Bruxelles : Editions de l’Universitè de Bruxelles, c2001. - 254 p. - (Sociologie politique). - ISBN 2-8004-1266-6
The outcome of an international colloquium organised by the Centre d’étude de la vie politique (CEVIPOL) of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) in November 2000, this volume is part of a research project on European political union carried out by the Institut d’études européennes and the Pole européen Jean Monnet of Brussels. The authors analyse the role of party federations in the European Union from an historical, political and organisational point of view, with reference to the construction of a supranational political system. The book is divided into three parts: the first is dedicated to theoretical aspects, the second to analysis of the five structures that currently exist (the European Socialist Party, the European People’s Party, the European Party of Liberal Democrats and Reformers, the European Federation of Green Parties, the Democratic Party of European Peoples/Free European Alliance); the third and last assesses the influence of these federations on the European decision-making process. The conclusions suggest possible developments, in light above all of two “primordial” factors: eastward enlargement of the Union and the public financing of the federations.
International and national law in Russia and Eastern Europe : essays in honor of George Ginsburgs, edited by Roger Clark, Ferdinand Feldbrugge, Stanislaw Pomorski. - The Hague : M.Nijhoff Publishers, c2001. - x, 479 p. - (Law in Eastern Europe ; 49). - ISBN 90-411-1654-0
This is a classic Festschrift in which 15 colleagues render homage to George Ginsburg’s forty years of activity of. The book’s scope encompasses Ginsburg’s entire sphere of interest, that is, international law in its various aspects, with particular reference to the former Soviet Union and its successor states. In fact, the 15 contributions range, to mention only a few, from the action of the Russian Constitutional Court, in particular the decision-making process and dissenting opinions, to citizenship and the protection of minorities in Eastern European countries, medieval Russian treatises to the aspects of international law inherent in Russia’s annexation of Latvia in 1940, from the relation between international law and constitutional law in Poland to Russian diplomacy in international organisations, to attempts at constitutional reform in Russia.
International investments and protection of the environment : the role of dispute resolution mechanisms, edited by the International Bureau of the Permanent Court of Arbitration. - The Hague : Kluwer Law International, c2001. - xviii, 347 p. - (The Permanent Court of Arbitration/Peace Palace Papers ; 2). - ISBN 90-411-1588-9
The proceedings of the Second International Law Seminar of the Permanent Court of Arbitration held in May 2000 this book deals with the conflict of interests between human society’s defence of its natural environment and the interests of investors. It is composed of five papers, besides the introduction: the first on the implications of national and international environmental obligations for the standards of protection of foreign investors; the second on the international constraints on national environmental regulations, in particular multilateral investment treaties; the third on investments in the oil and mining sectors; the fourth on the use of business principles in dispute prevention; the fifth on dispute settlement mechanisms in case of economic activities in the marine environment. The papers are followed by a summary of the discussion among panellists with three “floor leaders”, of whom three ad hoc contributions are presented. The book also contains an article on the Bhopal case, a reprint of a speech made in 2000 but still very topical on the treatment of international environment disputes, an analytical summary in French of the papers presented. Finally, an appendix provides a set of guidelines for negotiating and drafting dispute settlement clauses for international environment agreements.
Measuring the costs of protection in Europe : European commercial policy in the 2000s, by Patrick A. Messerlin. - Washington : Institute for International Economics, 2001. - xvi, 408 p. - ISBN 0-88132-273-3
The fifth of a series dedicated by the IIE to the costs of protectionism in the world, this study tries to estimate the costs of European trade protectionism for consumers and to assess Europe’s economic policy on protectionism. In particular, the author, professor of economics at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris, tries to outline the future evolution of internal/sectoral policies in the EU and the EU’s trade policy, as well as the agenda of the November 2001 WTO round. He points to political integration rather than the federative option as the road that a united Europe should follow. The essay is enhanced by numerous tables and boxes, as well as one index containing 22 case studies (from cement to telecommunications) and another on European instruments for contingent protection, with particular reference to anti-dumping.
Multilateral regulation of investment, edited by E.C.Nieuwenhuys and M.M.T.A.Brus. - The Hague : Kluwer Law International, c2001. - 244 p. - ISBN 90-411-9844-X
The result of a symposium on the OECD’s attempt to conclude the Multilateral Agreement on Investment, this book is also part of an inter-university cooperation programme on issues of global governance and the rule of law in international society. The nine authors, academics and practitioners, feel that a multilateral agreement in the sector of investments is necessary and indicate essential criteria to ensure its success. They are in fact convinced that such regulation would not only reduce risks but also bolster confidence between investors and host countries. The appendix provides extracts from the MAI Negotiating Text of 24 April 1998.
New directions in global economic governance : managing globalisation in the twenty-first century, edited by John J. Kirton, George M. von Furstenberg, c2001. - xxviii, 364 p. - (The G8 and global governance series). - ISBN 0-7546-1698-3
This book, the sixth of Ashgate’s series on the G-8 (for the previous ones, see The International Spectator, no. 4/99, p. 94; no. 4/2000, p. 113-4; no. 4, 2001, p. 107-8) is based on various sources: three conferences held between 12 and 20 July 2001 in Japan, ad hoc contributions, the work of the University of Toronto’s G-8 research group and a research project by the same university on Canadian participation in the international trade system (EnviReform). Maintaining the same economic and political economy approach as the others and a general focus on global governance, the book focuses on three major lines of study: the international economic order with its three pillars: international finance, the international trade system and the new digital economy; the transformations under way and the trends in the global economy and its governance; finally, the role of international institutions in forging the new order. No specific theoretical or interpretative approach was adopted so that essays reflect the various backgrounds and experience of the authors. A documentary appendix on the preceding G-7/G-8 summits concludes the book.
No more bashing : building a new Japan-United States economic relationship, by C. Fred Bergssten, Takatoshi Ito, Marcus Noland. - Washington : Institute for International Economics, 2001. - xxiv, 328 p. - ISBN 0-88132-286-5
This work is part of a traditional series of studies by the Institute for International Economics dedicated to economic relations between Japan and the United States. It focuses in particular on the last turn of the century and in seven chapters analyses the political and economic context of these relations, the economic and financial vicissitudes of the two countries during the last decade, their financial and trade relations, including trade disputes in the WTO, new international developments and two countries’ role in them. Finally, it concludes by indicating a new strategy for the future in which the US should abandon it unique Japan-specific economic policy for a new approach more firmly set in themultilateral system. In this context, the titles of some of the sections of the last chapter are significant: “Reorienting the trade relationship”, “Rebasing the monetary relationship”, “Reconfiguring Japan’s foreign economic policy”, etc. The text is liberally endowed, as are most of the Institute’s publications, with information boxes and tables.
Prospects for democratic consolidation in East-Central Europe, edited by Geoffrey Pridham and Attila Agh. - Manchester : Manchester University Press, c2001. - xiv, 244 p. - ISBN 0-7190-6057-5
The book offers a revised and updated selection of papers presented to a conference of the “Ten Years After” series, held in Budapest in June 1999 and centred on consolidation of democracy in Central and Eastern Europe. The papers presented are dedicated exclusively to the political aspects of the transformation in the last decade, attempting to identify models and trends. They are made up of thematic contributions, case studies, with particular reference to the so-called Visegrad countries. Priority has been given to the international and social developments of the subjects at hand. More in detail, the first chapter is a general introduction; the next two chapters are devoted to international aspects, in particular the relationship between Europeanisation and democratisation; the fourth chapter studies the function of civil society in democratic consolidation; the fifth analyses the development of a democratic political culture; the sixth examines the party system, and the last three chapters (7-9) present case studies of Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia (taken together), respectively. All agree that the Central and Eastern European countries have moved from transition to consolidation.
The twenty-first-century firm : changing economic organization in international perspective, edited by Paul DiMaggio. - Princeton : Princeton University Press, c2001. - viii, 275 p. - ISBN 0-691-05851-2
An interesting work on organisation theory and industries in the twenty-first century - structures, strategies, governance, changes under way. The book is divided into two parts: the first contains three chapters of analysis of as many parts of the world; the second is made up of four commentaries on the results of the first three chapters using different theoretical approaches. More specifically, chapters 2-4 focus on the West (US and Western Europe), Central and Eastern Europe (Hungary and the Czech Republic) and Japan, trying to determine the trends under way in each. Chapters 5-8 reflect on the results of the preceding three from a legal, evolutionary, economic and historical point of view. In the ninth chapter, the editor summarises the common views and basic differences among the authors and raises some crucial questions.
The UN Committee against torture : an assessment, by Chris Ingelse. - The Hague : Kluwer Law International, c2001. - xviii, 464 p. - ISBN 90-411-1650-8
The product of a research study carried out between 1994 and 1999 and a PhD dissertation, this book is centred on the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which came into force in 1987, and its supervisory body, the Committee against Torture, established by Article 17 of the Convention. The author’s intent was to evaluate the Committee’s role in the development of the Convention and the banishing of torture and to draw a balance of experience accumulated from both a material and a procedural point of view. The book has three parts: the first (chap. 2-3) provide a background to the establishment of the Convention; the second (chap. 4-7) are centred on the procedural aspects of the Convention: the setting up, nature andinstruments as its disposal of the Committee against Torture, with particular attention to the reporting, inquiry and complaints procedures; the third part analyses the “substantial” aspects (chap. 8-12) and in particular the Committee’s role in developing the Convention’s material provisions, starting out from the assumption that the Committee has the potential to breathe life into the Convention. Enforcement is not at the centre of the author’s interest. The conclusions (chap. 13) attempt an assessment of the Committee’s role and activity, also in comparison with other bodies, mainly its predecessor, the UN Human Rights Committee. A useful completion is the text of the Convention and a list of “case law” sources.