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CIAO DATE: 02/01
Volume XXXV No.4 (October - December 2000)
IAI Library Notes
By Maritza Cricorian
Democratic commitments : legislatures and international cooperation / Lisa L. Martin. - Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c2000. - viii, 225 p. - ISBN 0-691-00924-4 (pbk) This essay argues that legislatures influence the credibility of the commitments taken on by a state, with particular reference to foreign policy and especially international cooperation. The analysis is carried out on both a presidential system and a parliamentary system, specifically the United States and the European Union, leaving aside such obvious fields as foreign trade, and concentrating on new issue areas. Four main topics are looked at: US executive agreements and treaties, the US policy of economic sanctions, US food aid, and the establishment of a single European market. More in detail, following an introduction, the second chapter outlines the theoretical context, the third applies the empirical analysis to the United States’ executive agreements and treaties, the fourth and fifth analyse the variations in the US Congress and the effects of those variations, with the fifth looking more closely at US aid policy, especially food aid. Finally, in chapters six and seven, attention shifts to the European parliamentary democracies, showing that the same parameters of legislative influence, credibility and cooperation hold for both systems.
The conclusions are generally positive: the author believes that legislatures do not obstruct, they influence – and generally positively – cooperation policies, thereby increasing the credibility of states and, therefore, allowing for ever higher levels of international cooperation.
Diritti umani e uso della forza : profili di diritto costituzionale interno e internazionale / a cura di Mario Dogliani, Stefano Sicardi. - Torino : G. Giappichelli, c1999. - VIII, 287 p. - ISBN 88-348-9339-5
Il diritto dell'Unione Europea / a cura di Gian Piero Orsello. - Padova : CEDAM, 1999. - XX, 704 p. - (Trattato di diritto amministrativo ; 32). - ISBN 88-13-22140-1
Two Italian legal works. The first is the proceedings of a seminar by the same name organised in Turin by the Associazione Italiana dei Costituzionalisti (Italian Association of Constitutional Jurists) on 11 June 1999 on some urgent issues of international and constitutional law raised by the Kosovo conflict: the international role of NATO and the UN, the legitimacy of war in international and national law and, in particular, of armed intervention for humanitarian purposes, to mention just a few. The introductory speech and talks give an overview of the various positions on these matters. The book also contains relative documentation (about half the volume), thereby setting the Balkan case in a broader context of international relations and, especially, of international instruments and the use of force to safeguard human rights.
The second volume is of a strictly legal nature, although it also has the necessary historical and political references. Divided into two parts, the first, written by the editor, deals with European Union law (historical introduction, sources, the EU’s institutional treaties and structure, the principle of subsidiarity, the integration process, CFSP, relations between Community law and the Italian legal order). The second part, written by Maria Romana Allegri, examines sectoral community policies; seventeen chapters are dedicated to the single market, free movement of goods, capital and persons, right of establishment, common agricultural policy, policies on competition and trade, industry and research, transportation and infrastructure, the environment, foreign relations, justice, the economy, culture and, finally, regional and social policies).
Dreams of power : the role of the Organization of African Unity in the politics of Africa 1963-1993 / Klaus van Walraven. - Aldershot : Ashgate, c1999. - xxvi, 467 p. - (African Studies Centre research series ; 13/1999). - ISBN 1-85628-916-8
This study aims to analyse the role of the OAU in African politics, the way it is perceived by functionaries, member states and non-governmental Africans, its ideological rationale and, therefore, African thought as concerns international affairs, and, finally, even African fears concerning the organisation.
The book can be divided into four parts: the first, an introduction, retraces the reasons and circumstances that led to the birth of the organisation; the second focuses on its internal functioning, the third deals with its anti-colonialist role, and the fourth analyses the organisation’s role in managing the African political order. The ninth chapter and an epilogue present the author’s conclusions and thoughts on the need for and possibility of rebuilding that order.
The research starts from a declaredly pan-African premise and is based on three types of sources: official OAU documents, government publications and interviews.
The methodology, including the classification of African states in the Appendix, is clearly described in the introduction.
European foreign policy and the European Parliament in the 1990s : an investigation into the role and voting behaviour of the European Parliament's political groups / Donatella M. Viola. - Aldershot : Ashgate, c2000. - XX, 343 p. - ISBN 1-84014-511-0
The aim of the book is to verify whether the European Parliament (EP) can produce common policies and supranational solutions rather than just simple national preferences and, therefore, whether it can play an effective international role or is condemned to remain a forum for debate. In other words, is a process of Europeanisation taking place? Furthermore – and consequently – the study examines the level of transnationality of the various political groups. Two of the assumptions underlying the study are the author’s convictions that member states must decide whether they want to create a supranational political entity, thus adapting their national systems of governance, and that they must mediate between the opposing prerogatives of “efficiency” and “democracy” in the functioning of the Parliament. Methodologically, the study examines the behaviour of the members of Parliament with regard to two important international crises: the Gulf and Yugoslavia, reviewing all parliamentary debates, motions and resolutions and carrying out a qualitative/quantitative analysis of the MPs’ votes.
The book is broken down into five chapters, of which one is an introduction to the role of the EP in foreign policy and its growth in the institutional sphere, from the Treaties of Rome and Paris in the fifties to the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997, as well as its relations with the constituent political groups. A conclusion, which presents the results of the analysis in substantially optimistic terms and a fine documentary appendix, mainly bibliographical, complete the volume.
Hanging in there : the G7 and G8 summit in maturity and renewal / Nicholas Bayne. - Aldershot : Ashgate, c2000. - xvi, 230 p. - (The G8 and global governance). - ISBN 0-7546-1185-X
The upcoming summit in Genoa in 2001 calls for a review of the history of this informal body, this non-institution. The title brings to mind that of another book co-authored by Bayne in 1987, Hanging Together, of which it is meant to be the sequel. While maintaining the structure of the first volume, it differs in a number of respects.
First of all, it mainly describes the summits held between 1988 and 1999 (12 in number), with particular reference to their achievements in alleviating tension, providing collective management and solving problem left unresolved by national bureaucracies and international bodies (political leadership). The dominant topic of each summit is examined, with a preference for economic debate. Finally, each chapter begins with a section on institutional developments and ends with a section on the balance of power among participants.
Essays on subjects of general interest to the summits (especially alleviating tensions between domestic and international politics) alternate with narrative chapters. In general, the impression is that a strengthened G-8 is now going through a period of renewal.
Incentives and institutions : the transition to a market economy in Russia / Serguey Braguinsky and Grigory Yavlinsky. - Princeton : Princeton University Press, c2000. - xii, 282 p. - ISBN 0-691-00993-7
This book, which originates from a rather distant symposium on the Russian economy organised in Amsterdam in 1993, attempts to analyse Russia’s so-called transition to a market economy, the causes for delay and failures and the underlying trends.
It provides the two authors – well known Russian economists, of which one is incidentally the leader of a political movement – with the opportunity to verify their economic theory on transition (in particular on institutional transformations and economic development), forging new instruments of analysis when necessary.
In the end, they try to suggest a political alternative to the present situation, indicating the means with which to implement it.
Immigration and European integration : towards fortress Europe? / Andrew Geddes. - Manchester : Manchester University Press, c2000. - xii, 196 p. - (European policy research unit series). - ISBN 0-7190-5689-6 (pbk) Le migrazioni internazionali : il cammino di un dibattito / Raimondo Cagiano de Azevedo. - 2. ed. - Torino : Giappichelli, 2000. - X, 195 p. - ISBN 88-348-9208-9
Popolazione e sviluppo : messaggi dal Cairo / Raimondo Cagiano de Azevedo, Beatrice Tecchi. - Torino : Giappichelli, c1999. - X, 229 p. - ISBN 898-348-9076-0
The number of publications on immigration and the frequency with which they are appearing are indicative of the importance that these subjects have acquired today.
The first book analyses the problem from a European institutionalist point of view. The first two chapters put the accent on the supranational resonance of immigration policies, throwing some doubt on the concept of “fortress Europe” and showing that, instead, the dominant model is one of restriction, not exclusion. In particular, the second chapter deals principally with intra-European immigration policy, underlining the importance of the prerequisite of citizenship/nationality. The third to fifth chapters highlight the institutional framework, with particular reference to the growth of common immigration policies after Maastricht (1992) and the potential effects of this institutionalisation. The sixth and seventh chapters analyse above all the pro-emigration mobilisation of non-governmental organisations and (chapter seven) the controversy over social inclusion raised by the principle of free movement. The conclusion is that there are no national solutions, there can only be common supranational ones.
The second book, a collection of notes and comments by an Italian protagonist in the debate and study of immigration, retraces the history of a country, Italy, which has shifted from being an exporter of manpower (postwar) to a destination for migratory flows (seventies and eighties). The book covers the debate on immigration in the nineties, setting the problem in the context of international and decentralised cooperation. It concludes, not unlike the first book, with a call for a permanent institutional framework in which to work out a common approach to immigration problems, with an eye to effective development aid policy.
In the third book, the same author presents the events related to the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo in September 1994. Subjects dealt with include: an evaluation of strategies pursued in helping populations, demographic evolution, reproductory health and right to fertility, gender equality, women, international migrations and international cooperation. The book also contains the original English text of the ICPD’s Programme of Action.
L'Italia e le organizzazioni internazionali : diplomazia multilaterale nel Novecento / a cura di Luciano Tosi. - Padova : CEDAM, 1999. - LII, 449 p. - ISBN 88-13-21809-5
The fact that Italy recently lost its bids for a seat on the Security Council and for the position of High Commissioner for Refugees makes this book particularly interesting.
Starting from the assumption that international organisations are of fundamental importance for coexistence and that Italy has provided and continues to provide a substantial contribution to the cause of multilateralism, this collection of mostly unpublished essays by various authors (17 in total, divided into three parts) tries to make up for the slight attention given in Italy to the historiography of international organisations, offering a picture of Italian development cooperation policy in the twentieth century.
The book does not presume to be exhaustive, but wishes only to offer some food for thought and suggestions for further study. The organisations taken into consideration are: the League of Nations, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the UN, NATO, UNESCO, the FAO, the World Bank, the European Union and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation and Europe (OSCE). The introductory chapter by the editor sets the pieces into a broader context of Italian international development cooperation policy, in an attempt to discover possible common denominators.
Management of global financial markets / edited by Jan Joost Teunissen. - The Hague : FONDAD, c2000. - 261 p. - ISBN 90-74208-16-9
Shaping a new international financial system : challenges of governance in a globalizing world / edited by Karl Kaiser, John J. Kirton, Joseph P. Daniels. - Aldershot : Ashgate, c2000. - xvi, 280 p. - (The G8 and global governance). - ISBN 0-7546-1412-3
The globalisation, but also the instability of financial markets and systems is the focus of these two volumes.
The first is based on a conference held in Budapest in June 1999 and points out that internationalisation/integration of financial markets is inevitable but has still not been achieved. On the contrary, besides offering developing countries new opportunities, it has also increased the risks of poverty and recession, above all in the last decade when the incidence of crises has been so high as to make their prevention a priority. The subject is discussed in four parts: the first centres on the new strategies for increasing the intrinsic security of financial markets; the second analyses the functioning of those markets and the possibility of more rigid supervision; the third presents the responses to financial market instability at the national and regional levels, with particular reference to Asia and Latin America; and the fourth and final part deals with the evident gaps in the international institutional fabric (for example, lack of transparency and information, regulations, liquidity, involvement of the private sector, etc.).
The second book is also based on a conference and seminar held in Germany in June 1999, sponsored by, among others, the G-8 Research Group of the University of Toronto. The book is the first of a series (within the larger series in which it appears) dedicated to the way in which G-7/G-8 and other important international institutions define the international order in reference to the major questions facing the planet. The book looks at international finance from a number of different points of view due to the different backgrounds and geopolitical origins of the authors – so many in fact, according to the editors, that no one theoretical or interpretative model dominates. The three sections following an introduction on the G-7/G-8’s contribution to the reformulation of international financial systems focus on, respectively, the response to the financial crisis, the building of a new system and the general questions that these two issues imply.
Middle East and North Africa: governance, democratization, human rights / edited by Paul J. Magnarella. - Aldershot : Ashgate, c1999. - xiv, 240 p. (Contemporary perspectives on developing societies). - ISBN 1-84014-913-2
Part of a series that is meant to offer rigorous studies to help the so-called Third World participate more incisively in the new global economy, this collection of essays by various specialists describes the state of the art concerning human rights, governance and democratisation in the countries examined.
The authors demonstrate than none of the countries of the Middle East or North Africa are full-fledged democracies; on the contrary, authoritarian regimes that do not respect human rights are the norm in this region, including Turkey and Israel which, although claiming to be democracies, both have problems with civil rights and/or democracy. In fact, while most of these countries have ratified the main humanitarian conventions, there is still a problem of implementation.
Despite this depressing picture, the authors are optimistic and suggest building a more effective mechanism for judging violations of international conventions and for carrying out sentences and, in particular, for developing the concept of international personality which allows ethnic or religious minorities to turn to international tribunals to resolve peacefully their disputes with their countries of residence.
La questione nord-irlandese: per una storia critica del conflitto in Ulster / Calogero Carlo Lo Re. - Roma : A. Pellicani, c2000. - 218 p.
The author, not new to studies on terrorism, retraces the birth and “physiognomy” of the Northern Ireland question, that is, the last three decades in the six counties that make up Ulster. The author immediately classifies the phenomenon as a colonial question dating back as far as Elizabethan times, and not as a war of religion, underlining the use of religious fanaticism as a mere instrument. He recounts the split in the republican movement and analyses the behaviour of the terrorist component, which he says is motivated by a feeling of alienation, a kind of racist/fascist fear/hatred of the other. Another chapter is devoted to loyalist terrorism, also predicated on a “racial lie”. Nevertheless, the author sees premonitory signs of a possible democratic evolution in the Unionist/loyalist thought. Particular importance is given to the study carried out by the Italian scholar Paolo Naso, which provided a Presbyterian/Waldensian point of view on the question, pointing to the incongruencies in the current terminology, the links between religion and ethnic identity, and the role of volunteers in Ulster in building peace. Lo Re also points to the role of Catholic hierarchies in supporting the status quo of the political system, a game of do ut des that ensures its social position and influence.
An important part of the book is the annotated bibliography divided into separate areas: general information, history of the conflict in Northern Ireland, with two sections on the “nationalist galaxy” and the “loyalist galaxy”, Italian books on the subject, artistic and literary works set against the Ulster conflict. The appendix is composed of an Italian translation of an essay by Tom Nairn.
Regionalism in the post-Cold War world / edited by Stephen C. Calleya. - Aldershot : Ashgate, c2000. - xxii, 254 p. - ISBN 1-84014-417-3
This book by various authors was conceived to fill the gap in international studies in the last twenty years on the newly emerging regionalism and, particularly, the international policies of regions.
The first section of the book offers a comparative analysis of regionalism and contemporary international politics and, specifically, of the relations between hegemony and regionalism. The second is focused on the evolution of regional dynamics at the European level. This is empirically analysed in four chapters dealing with the process of regional integration in the European Union, the Nordic model of regionalism, regional tendencies in southeastern Europe and the contribution of the OSCE in contemporary international relations. The third and last section outlines regional developments in the rest of the world and particularly in the Mediterranean (chap. 6), North and South America, especially the Free Trade Area of the Americas (chap. 7), the Caribbean (chap. 9).
A final chapter summarises the various regional trends illustrated, calling for further study in the field of comparative theory applied to regionalism.
The states of Eastern Europe / edited by Francis W. Carter and David Turnock. - Aldershot : Ashgate, c1999. - 2 v. - ISBN 1-85521-512-8
Published as a textbook for students, this book may nevertheless be of interest to the broader public as well. It offers a useful and very thorough survey of the new political order in Eastern Europe, dedicating a chapter/essay to each country. Not included, for obvious reasons, are the former German Democratic Republic and the Soviet Union. The rest is divided into two volumes, dealing with the northeast (central Europe) and the southeast (the Balkans) respectively. The two groups are different in terms of public opinion and the orchestration of national sentiment. Together, however, they present an eastern perspective on the concept of state/nation.
The various chapters examine the events that have been critical in developing a national identity and setting up the state, starting from the specific territory in which they took place. The spatial dimension forms a background to these essays which are, among other things, multidisciplinary. Each looks at various aspects: geography, history, ethnic groups, territorial distribution, and perceptions of stability.