Showing papers in "International Affairs in 1997"

Global capitalism and the state

Abstract: 'Globalization' is a term that has come to be used in recent years increasingly frequently and, arguably, increasingly loosely. In a close analysis of the term, the author focuses on the concept ofglobalization as the transcendence (rather than the mere crossing or opening) of borders arguing that this interpretation offers the most distinctive and helpful insight into contemporary world affairs. The article goes on to explore one of the key questions raised by this trend, namely, how the growth of supraterritorial space has altered capitalism in general, and the role of the state within capitalism in particular. The author concludes by suggesting that ifglobalization poses a threat, it is not (as is often argued) to the state itseff but rather to democracy.

The global economy—myths and realities

Abstract: Hirst and Thompson's Globalization in Question is the key text questioning claims of economic globalisation. This review of its revised second edition examines its main claims: that contemporary levels of international integration fall short of the Gold Standard period; genuinely global companies remain exceptional; capital mobility is not shifting economic activity to developing countries wholesale; international eco nomic activity is primarily regional rather than global; and that international economic activity is sanctioned by nation states and remains subject to their political power. This review argues that, while their evidence provides a useful corrective to extreme globalisation views, focusing on this view understates changes in the international economy.

Democratization in central and east European countries

Abstract: The misery of Eastern Europe's small nations .. causes such great suspicion and irritation in Western European observers. [This] leads many people to conclude that the entire region.. .should be abandoned to its fate...This region's inability to consolidate itself is not due to its inherently barbarian nature, but to a series of unfortunate historical processes which squeezed it off the main course of European consolidation...We should not give up on the idea of consolidating this region if for no other reason than for the fact that today, after 30 years of great confusion, we can clearly see the course of consolidation; after the passing of mutual hatreds, occupations, civil strife, and geno-

Worlding women: a feminist international politics

Abstract: tion (m) was the only one who received support for their projects. Only in 1990, after Julius Nyerere had paid respect to the women's networks, pointing to how they had been keeping small business and communities alive, did this attitude change. In this review I have not attempted to describe the different struggles within each country in detail, the history of each group's internal and external conflicts, or their individualized struggles with unions, employers, spouses, and legal authorities. However, despite the odds and the obstacles, these new forms of economic organization seem to offer some grounds for optimism.

State of siege: will globalization win out?

Abstract: The nature of this occasion, as earlier John Vincent Memorial Lecturers have observed, is one of honour and challenge, yet inevitably tinged with an aura of solemnity. Even now, despite the passage of years, we continue to miss John's exceptional human and intellectual gifts. I recall and particularly celebrate the vividness and vivaciousness of John's special presence, a presence that impressively persists in our memories, and is brought to the shimmering surface of consciousness by this lecture series. My own first contact with John was at a great distance, serving as external reader of his dissertation at ANU, a chore I was led to take on by John's justly famous and persuasive mentor and subsequent close friend, Hedley Bull. This chore, as many others would appreciate, turned into a wonderful experience of intellectual and human discovery. I had never before encountered such an achieved and notable work as John had produced as a graduate student on the perennially important topic of non-intervention as a norm of prohibition in the diplomacy of states. What impressed me at the time, even beyond the clarity of conceptualization and control over a complex body of historical materials, was John's stylistic flair and the artful precision of his prose. Thankfully,John and Hedley had not been injected with the American careerist virus that converts incomprehensibility into an academic virtue. Unfortunately, at its worst, graduate training in the social sciences often appears to privilege obscure and pedantic writing, thereby providing mediocre thinkers with an impenetrable mask of professionalism behind which often lurks an awkward absence of creative content.

India in the twenty-first century

Abstract: Economically and politically India approaches the twenty-first century a very different countryfrom that which emergedfrom colonial rule into independence in 1947. By the year 2020 India is expected to be the fourth largest economy in the world in terms of purchasing power parity. In the light of a newforeign policy doctrine, this article examines the contradictions between India's economic and political compulsions and assesses the prospects for the world's largest democracy as it looks East to new trading partners and political links and to the resolution of long-standing security issues with its neighbours.

NATO's enlargement: anatomy of a decision

Abstract: The decision to enlarge the North Atlantic Treaty Organization represents the most serious and complicated transformation in Europe's security arrangements since the collapse of the Berlin Wall. The alliance tried to portray the process of enlargement as a measured operation in which the credentials of each candidate state were properly examined in an impartial way. Infact, NATO's enlargement was a haphazard affair and the semblance of unanimity which member states wished to project was shattered just when this unanimity mattered most. The enlargementfailed to impart coherence to the alliance itsef or restore the credibility of the West in manyformer communist countries. The expansion of the alliance was inevitable. But so were many of the subsequent problems. The main questions about the purpose of NATO and its place in Europe security remain open, and the alliance will have toface them in the nearfuture.

The Kurdish nationalist movement in the 1990s : its impact on Turkey and the Middle East

Abstract: The Kurds are the fourth largest ethnic group in the Middle East, numbering between twenty and twenty five million. Approximately fifteen million live in contiguous regions of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria, an area that they call Kurdistan, yet they do not have a country of their own. Formal attempts to establish such a state were crushed by the larger and more powerful countries in the region after both world wars. But the Gulf war, the Iran-Iraq war, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the end of the cold war have worked to reinvigorate a Kurdish nationalist movement. The movement is a powderkeg waiting to explode. With the majority of Kurds living within its borders, no country faces this threat more squarely than Turkey. And because of Turkey's concept of a unified, cohesive nationhood - in which the existence of ethnic minorities is not acknowledged - these tensions are more difficult to manage in Turkey than elsewhere.

Europe and the Middle East: power by stealth?

Abstract: Europe itsel there is considerablefrustration at being excludedfrom high-level summitry on the Arab-Israeli peace process and some positive hostility to Washington's efforts to penalize Europeans for not toeing America's line on containment of Iran as well as Iraq. Israel argues, however, that there is no room or needfor European peace mediation, andfrom the US perspective, Europeans should be much more accommodating, because, as Washington would have it, they benefit from US initiatives and commitments in the Middle East. Yet as the author argues, it is beyond a matter of choice whether to exclude or include Europe since its involvement across the region is extensive and increasing and Europeans, either as single states or as a collective, are not going to lie down and be quiet.

East Asia: economic interdependence and regional security

Abstract: The post-Cold War political/security environment has fostered both economic growth and cooperation in the countries of East Asia. Nonetheless, potential serious security challenges and uncertainties continue to exist which could threaten thefuture of regional peace and stability, while economic cooperation provides an opportunity to generate greater trust and confidence. This article discusses the vehiclesfor creating better habits of cooperation such as the promotion of natural economic territories and participation in subregional growth triangles, while accepting that the lack of political and of economic transparency remain fundamental challenges in the search for an improved Asian security environment.