Showing papers in "International Affairs in 2005"

Editorial Setting new agendas: critical perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility in the developing world

Abstract: The article discusses Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the developing world. Numerous claims have been made about the contribution CSR can make to poverty alleviation and other development goals. However, the contributors to this issue have reached the conclusion that current CSR approaches do not warrant such claims. A critical agenda is needed because many policy-makers see business as important in meeting development challenges: not just those of economic growth, but also in areas such as combating HIV/AIDS, reducing poverty and building human capital.

The false developmental promise of corporate social responsibility: evidence from multinational oil companies

Abstract: Using the example of multinational oil companies, this article suggests that there are fundamental problems surrounding the capacity of private firms to deliver development and the aspiration of achieving development through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) may be fundamentally flawed. The article is based on an extensive twelve-month research project on the Gulf of Guinea region funded by the Nuffield Foundation. This research identified a number of constraints to a developmental role for CSR: the subservience of CSR schemes to corporate objectives; country- and context-specific issues; the failure to involve the beneficiaries of CSR; the lack of human resources; technical/managerial approaches of company staff and the lack of CSR's integration into larger development plans. But even if private companies were able to overcome practical problems, it argues that the current CSR agenda fails to address the crucial issues of governance and the negative macro-level effects that multinational companies cause in host countries. The article concludes by suggesting that a focus on CSR may divert attention from broader political, economic and social solutions for developmental problems.

Globalization, Corporate Social Responsibility and poverty

Abstract: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become a major focus of interest for development practitioners in recent years. While development NGOs have been critical of voluntary corporate initiatives, official development agencies have taken a more positive view and in some cases encouraged CSR. This article locates the growth of CSR in the context of global deregulation since the early 1980s, highlighting the key drivers that have led to its adoption by many leading transnational corporations. It then describes the factors that have led to the recent emphasis given to CSR by both bilateral and multilateral development agencies and the United Nations. A framework for analysing the links between foreign direct investment and poverty is developed focusing on the impacts on the poor as producers, consumers and beneficiaries of government expenditures. This framework is used to illustrate the limitations of CSR in terms of likely impacts on poverty reduction through each of the channels identified and also to point to areas in which CSR may have some positive benefits. Overall, the article concludes that it is unlikely to play the significant role in poverty reduction in development countries that its proponents claim for it.

Corporate Social Responsibility: reinventing the meaning of development?

Abstract: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been adopted as an approach to international development. But who does it benefit and in what ways? Most importantly, does it allow certain interest groups to redefine the meaning of international development success? This article examines the historical relationship between business and development and compares how expectations of business as exemplified through CSR practices differ from those in the past. It then looks at the role and expectations of business in developing countries and proposes two tests for assessing if CSR makes a positive contribution to development goals based on whether it redefines the meaning of good business practice in the interests of the poor and marginalized, and if it helps development practitioners to manage more effectively the possibility and consequences of global capitalism for poor countries. The article argues that the interests of business are not adequately aligned with those of the poor, and explains why CSR does little to redress this. It argues that the business case in some instances overrides the developmental case for certain actions, and that business thinking is increasingly evident in the policies and practices of international development. Although CSR may have a positive contribution to make in some circumstances, its limitations need to be understood if development's case for involving business is not to be subsumed by business reasons for engaging with (and by-passing) developing countries.

Citizenship, accountability and community: the limits of the CSR agenda

Abstract: The focus of this article on the relationship between companies and local communities derives from a concern that many accounts of corporate responsibility and citizenship overlook this relationship—in particular, relations with poorer communities—as part of a general neglect of the developmental implications of the CSR agenda. Communities are engaging with corporations more routinely now than previously, a trend fostered by the lowering of barriers to trade through global trade accords, attempts to strengthen the rights of foreign investors and broader processes of national liberalization across many parts of the developing world. Increasingly they do so in ways that assume global significance because of new forms of global organizing and the influence of media and telecommunications, which expose companies’ activities to greater scrutiny, as well as the nature of the claims companies themselves now make about their global operations. While there is a long history of firms in the extractive and plantation sectors, being engaged in conflicts and negotiations with communities, these new factors have exposed many more sectors and regions to these political dynamics. It is often assumed that mechanisms for improving the social and environmental conduct of firms, such as codes of conduct, ethical trading initiatives and certification schemes, provide new forms of protection to poorer groups. However, questions are being asked about the extent and effectiveness of such protection, arising from concerns over whether these tools are sufficiently geared towards the needs of the very poorest workers. Similar anxieties attach to the lack of effective international and national regulation of the private sector, and the inaccessibility and underdevelopment of mechanisms of redress and company liability. 1 The purpose of this article is to add some clarity to the discussion about for whom CSR works and under what conditions.

The outsiders: the European neighbourhood policy

Abstract: In May 2004, the European Union acquired not just ten new member states but several new neighbours. At about the same time, it began to flesh out a European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) to bring some order to the EU's relations with its old and new neighbours and to ensure that the newly enlarged EU would be surrounded by a ‘ring of friends’. The ENP is also supposed to stave off further enlargement to eastern Europe. However, several problems with the ENP are evident. It requires much of the neighbours and offers only vague incentives in return, making it unlikely that the ENP can meet its core objectives. Furthermore, the ENP is ambiguous about where the EU's borders will end, and it is already apparent that such ambiguity is not helping to foster reform in eastern Europe. Either the EU should say ‘no’ to further enlargement, so the ENP becomes the framework for relations with the neighbour for the foreseeable future, or it should say ‘yes’ to eventually letting in a specified number of neighbours which then move out of the ENP.

The dark side of human rights

Abstract: Edmund Burke argued that abstract or universal rights to food and medicine were less valuable than the aid of ‘the farmer and the physician’. His point remains unanswered. Human rights receive universal lip service, but their status and justification remain murky. From one view they are universal requirements matched by counterpart universal obligations: but if so they cannot be defined or created by international Covenants. From another view they are defined by convention and have force only when states ratify international Covenants: but if so, they are not universal. This matters particularly for rights to goods and services, such as rights to food and health care. These rights require the active collaboration of those who are to deliver needed goods and services: yet this active engagement is endangered by imposing overly complex requirements in the name of compliance with human rights. Excessive demands for compliance, and excessive emphasis on complaint, compensation and blame as remedies for non-compliance, endanger the effective contribution of the farmer and the physician, and of others on whom the provision of needed goods and services most depends.

The Shifting Politics of Foreign Aid

Abstract: The war on terror and the war in Iraq pose three challenges for foreign aid. The first concern is that donors may hijack foreign aid to pursue their own security objectives rather than development and the alleviation of poverty. The second concern is that the costs of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the wider war on terror will gobble up aid budgets. The third concern is that major donors are continuing to impose competing and sometimes clashing priorities on aid recipients and this erodes rather than builds the capacity of some of the world's neediest governments. This article assesses the emerging aid policies of the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom and the European Union and proposes practical measures that could bolster an effective development-led foreign aid system.

Manufacturing amnesia: Corporate Social Responsibility in South Africa

Abstract: ‘Manufacturing amnesia’ argues that the term ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ has been abandoned by most South African firms in favour of the term ‘corporate social investment’. This has been done in order to divert attention from calls on business to redress the results of its historical contribution to the apartheid system. The discourse of reconciliation has further served to erase memories of past corporate behaviour. It also masks continuing inequalities and unsustainable practices. Business has responded weakly to the pressures for CSR, of which five broad areas are identified and analysed. Voluntary sustainability initiatives have not succeeded and compliance with black economic empowerment charters and environmental standards have to be legislated and regulated. Firms need to reassess their legacies more honestly until which time their CSR contributions will be regarded as cosmetic and self-serving.

The European contribution to global environmental governance

Abstract: The European Union has become an increasingly central player in international environmental politics. Its role, especially as a protagonist to the United States, has been highlighted by the way in which it successfully led the campaign for ratification of the Kyoto Protocol. The 2005 UK presidency has made climate change one of its twin priorities along with African development, and it is with this in mind that the article discusses the way in which the Union can be considered an international environmental actor in its own right and the various contributions that it makes to global environmental governance. While the EU is well known as a trade actor the complexities of its role as an environmental actor, operating under shared competence between the member states and the Community, are less well understood. Despite the inherent difficulties it has been surprisingly effective, although in areas such as climate change there is a need for strong presidential leadership. The EU's most evident field of activity has concerned the many multilateral environmental agreements in which it has come to play a leading role. However, this does not exhaust its contribution to global environmental governance that extends to the dissemination of norms and the incorporation of partners in its accession and neighbourhood policies. Sustainable development is also a key area of internal and external Union endeavour at the WTO and elsewhere, although there are continuing contradictions arising from its agricultural and fisheries policies. Finally, the Union's credibility will rest upon its ability to implement its environmental commitments and this is nowhere more evident than in its new emissions trading system. This is the centrepiece of the EU's commitment to the Kyoto Protocol and it is the need to co-ordinate the Union's diplomacy in the extension of the climate change regime, to include the United States and the developing countries, that the UK presidency must address.

The strategic culture of the European Union: a progress report

Abstract: This article re-examines the EU's character and potential as a strategic actor, setting that analysis in the context of the debate on strategic culture. The definition of strategic culture as the political and institutional confidence and processes to manage and deploy military force, coupled with external recognition of the EU as a legitimate actor in the military sphere, lends itself to a reappraisal around four core questions. First, military capabilities: establishing a European strategic culture is vital in order to rationalize the acquisition of capabilities necessary for the range of humanitarian and peacekeeping tasks envisaged. Equally, without military capabilities, all talk of a strategic culture would ring hollow. This article discusses how much closer the EU has come to acquiring those essential capabilities. Second, while the EU has gained significant experience of, albeit limited, military/policing experiences and established a growing reputation and some credibility for ad hoc action, to what extent and in what quarters have these experiences engendered a sense of reliability and legitimacy for autonomous EU action? Third, given that so far operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Balkans have depended on an integrated civil–military effort, do the policy-making processes of the EU now ensure the appropriate level and depth of civil–military integration? Finally, considering that EU operations have been limited in time and scope, and that much of the EU's work in the Balkans has depended upon cooperation with NATO, what can be said of the evolving relationship between the EU and NATO?

US democracy promotion in the Arab Middle East since 11 September 2001: a critique

Abstract: Promoting democracy in the Middle East has been a key foreign policy objective of the Bush administration since n September 2001 Democratizing the Arab world, in particular, is seen as an important instrument in the ‘war on terror’ To help democratize the Arab Middle East, the US initiated a number of policies which, it claims, have encouraged reform But what has really been the impact of US initiatives? This article examines the implementation of US democracy promotion policies across the Arab region, and in particular Arab countries, and argues that it has had mixed results The article suggests three reasons why this is so First, democracy is part of a wider set of US interests and concerns with which it is frequently in contradiction Second, the Bush administration conceives democracy as a panacea: it overlooks the problems its implementation may cause and lacks clear ideas about achieving this implementation Third, democracy promotion policies have limited outcomes because neither a politically neutral nor a more interventionist approach can initiate a reform process if it is not already underway for domestic reasons On the basis of the three critiques, the article concludes with recommendations for US policy

Europe and the new balance of global order

Abstract: The European Union has become an important shaping factor in international relations, but how and under what conditions it can exercise influence and contribute constructively to global order are still not well analysed. In fact, the EU's contribution may resemble more that of a force in physics than of a great power in the traditional sense of international relations (which the EU is not, and will not become in the near future), and its influence depends probably more on what the EU represents and how well it manages its own realm, rather than on what it can do externally. In this sense, European influence in international relations presently benefits from past achievements, and may therefore have peaked if the twin challenges of enlargement and national structural deficiencies are not addressed effectively. But even if the European Union does master those challenges successfully, and thus manages to sustain and perhaps even enhance its influence as a force in international relations, it will still have to proceed cautiously and clearly focus its attempts on shaping its external environment and contributing to a ‘concrete’ or ‘civilized’ global order. In a global setting that, despite appearances to the contrary, seems characterized by a diffusion rather than a concentration of power and by strong tendencies towards entropy rather than order, the EU can and will probably not remain America's principal ally in sustaining Pax Americana. Nor does it seem likely to become an equal partner in a constructive, balanced transatlantic relationship, let alone a great power capable of challenging, perhaps together with others, America's apparent pre-eminence. The most plausible assumption for the EU's future role in the new balance of global order is that of a ‘civilian force’ with a regional focus. It may best be able to contribute to global order by managing its own realm well, promoting the normative and institutional infrastructure for civilized international relations, not least in the sense of functioning statehood, and working towards effective multilateralism.

Contending cultures of counterterrorism: transatlantic divergence or convergence?

Abstract: Terrorist attacks on the United States, Spain and the United Kingdom have underlined the differing responses of Europe and the United States to the 'new terrorism'. This article analyses these responses through the prism of historically determined strategic cultures. For the last four years the United States has directed the full resources of a 'national security' approach towards this threat and has emphasized unilateralism. Europe, based on its own past experience of terrorism, has adopted a regulatory approach pursued through multilateralism. These divergences in transatlantic approaches, with potentially major implications for the future of the relationship, have appeared to be mitigated by a revised American strategy of counterterrorism that has emerged during 2005. However, this article contends that while strategic doctrines may change, the more immutable nature of strategic culture will make convergence difficult. This problem will be compounded by the fact that neither Europe nor America have yet addressed the deeper connections between terrorism and the process of globalization.

Consistency and inconsistencies in South African foreign policy

Abstract: During the presidency of Nelson Mandela from 1994 to 1999 foreign diplomats noted wryly and South African commentators complained loudly that Pretoria did not have a coherent foreign policy. There were several reasons for the ad hoc and often haphazard approach. The new government was inexperienced and preoccupied with the domestic imperatives of national reconciliation and the transformation of state departments; the Minister of Foreign Affairs Alfred Nzo was sorely lacking in dynamism and vision; and the apartheid-era officials who still dominated the Department of Foreign Affairs were dazzled by the light of democracy and an open world with high expectations of South Africa. Moreover these officials repudiated the need for a comprehensive and systematic foreign policy. At a conference in Johannesburg in 1998 I heard one of them insist that whereas defence policy was like an ocean liner that should not change direction quickly and frequently foreign policy was like a windsurfer that should be able to turn on its axis as the wind changed! A number of analysts believe that foreign policy under President Mbeki continues to lack coherence. Paul-Henri Bischoff characterizes the policy as ambiguous and Paul Williams describes it as an ‘electric synthesis of neo-realist and neo-liberal principles’. Jack Spence suggests that the government’s inclination to solve problems as they arise rather than be guided by critical and principled perspectives derives from the nature of international affairs: critics who look for coherence and consistency in a well-structured foreign policy underestimate contingent and unforeseen factors and the developments and forces that lie outside the control of even the most skilful bureaucracy and political class. Spence quotes James Mayall as saying that ‘most countries make up their foreign policy as they go along mainly because though their interests may remain consistent the circumstances to which they must react are not’. By contrast I argue that over the past five years Pretoria has consolidated its foreign policy which is now entirely coherent. This is both a consequence of the general consolidation of government and a result of Thabo Mbeki’s orientation and ambitions as a foreign policy president. Nevertheless there have been several significant contradictions some of which have undermined the country’s credibility and at times overshadowed its considerable achievements. This article first outlines the main themes of South African foreign policy with a particular focus on Africa and African security and then identifies and attempts to explain the major inconsistencies. (excerpt)

Corporate accountability in South Africa: the role of community mobilizing in environmental governance

Abstract: Contrasting perspectives of international companies and civil society groups have divided recent debates about corporate responsibility in developing countries. The Corporate Social Responsibility discourse has been promoted by business lobbies, emphasizing the role of international companies in voluntarily contributing towards the solution of pressing social and environmental problems through partnerships with other stakeholders. The notion of corporate accountability has become the rallying point for sustainable development, demanding stricter regulation of corporate behaviour by national governments and the enactment of an international corporate accountability convention. This article assesses the promises and pitfalls of these two competing approaches to industries in South Africa. The article argues that a multi-level approach is necessary to the impact of CSR and corporate accountability initiatives. It concludes that CSR may improve environmental management systems and reduce corporate pollution levels whereas corporate accountability approaches may provide important incentives for companies to improve their environmental performance, assist in the development of national environmental governance frameworks guiding company-community interaction, and facilitate the enforcement of national legislation pertaining to corporate responsibility. However, both approaches fail to address the underlying, globallevel structural causes of conflicts between companies and stakeholders affected by their operations. These conflicts can only be reversed by fundamental changes in the global economy.

Killing with kindness: funding the demise of a Palestinian state

Abstract: This article sets out to show the widening gulf that has emerged between the international community's professed diplomatic endgame to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict following a two-state paradigm, the aid strategy it has put forward since 1993 in support of this political goal, and the developments on the ground in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Within the context of a volatile Oslo peace process and the intifada, aid to the Palestinians has mainly been used as a substitute for international political will and to compensate for the lack of genuine bilateral negotiations between the parties. Aid, however, cannot buy peace. Not only has the international community's ‘aid for peace’ strategy failed to attain its stated political and socio-economic objectives, but it is also the central contention of this article that such international intervention has actually been harmful. Donors have ended up financing Israel's continued occupation of the Palestinian territories and its expansionist agenda at the expense of international law, the well-being of the Palestinian population, their right to self-determination, and the international community's own developmental and political goals. Looking ahead, despite the widespread current optimism generated by Gaza disengagement, this does not bode well for the emergence of a viable Palestinian state or the individual and collective security of the Israeli and Palestinian people.

Planning post‐conflict reconstruction in Iraq: what can we learn?

Abstract: Efforts to improve national and international capabilities to plan and manage post-conflict reconstruction operations are underway in many countries and are high on the agenda of several multilateral institutions The international community has learned lessons from the numerous post-conflict reconstruction and nation-building operations that it has engaged in since the end of the Cold War but Iraq represented the most difficult and ambitious operation undertaken to date Although the coalition effort in Iraq had many unique features, we can nonetheless draw lessons from the tenure of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) both for the ongoing effort in Iraq and more broadly for future post-conflict reconstruction operations This article discusses the challenges of post-conflict reconstruction planning and mission management and assesses what happened under the CPA It draws lessons for the future international effort in Iraq and for the international community as it considers how to plan and organize future such missions

New approaches to volatility: dealing with the ‘resource curse’ in sub‐Saharan Africa

Abstract: Much attention has been given in recent years to the paradoxical fact that huge flows of money from petroleum appear not to have brought prosperity to the African countries that produce it, but may instead have helped cause poverty, economic decline and conflict. Issues such as human rights abuses near oil installations and environmental damage have often captured the headlines, but these, while important, are peripheral to the main problems: the Dutch Disease, whereby an influx of oil money causes real exchange rates to appreciate, making local industry and agriculture uncompetitive; the damage that petroleum money causes to institutions, incentives and overall governance; and the volatility of oil prices and revenues. This article will look at the volatility problem, and how oil contracts tend to make matters even worse. They are like this for long-established technical, political and historical reasons, and there is consequently a widespread belief in the industry that change is not possible. This defeatist attitude needs to be vigorously challenged.

Getting the best of both worlds? Britain, the EU and migration policy

Abstract: In perhaps unexpected ways Britain has become quite closely linked to key aspects of EU migration and asylum policy. This could be a rather surprising outcome given that the UK is outside Schengen, opted out of the free movement, asylum and migration provisions of the Amsterdam Treaty and remains fixed on the maintenance of border controls at ports of entry to the UK. However, the differential and conditional engagement that has developed with EU migration and asylum policy has been described by Tony Blair as ‘getting the best of both worlds’. What could it mean to get the best of both worlds? Can the ‘two worlds’ of Britain and Europe be so neatly distinguished? To answer these questions the article surveys the extent of British engagement with EU migration and asylum policy and explains when, how and why the UK has opted into key aspects of it, particularly the more coercive components concerned with asylum and border controls.

The politics of corporate responsibility and child labour in the Bangladeshi garment industry

Abstract: In 1995—after more than two-and-a-half years—a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) concerning child labour in the Bangladeshi garment industry was signed by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), UNICEF (Bangladesh) and the International Labour Office (ILO), Bangladesh. The agreement and the process were uniquely important in a number of respects and this article explores a question that remains almost unasked, although paradoxically it has often been answered: why did the agreement come into existence and take that particular form? This article provides a detailed and documented analysis of the process leading up to the MOU offering not only new insight but also challenging some of the widely held views about it. Most importantly, the analysis confirms the significance of the so-called Harkin bill and the subsequent threat of boycott as the basic drivers of the entire process. It also points to the use of the Harkin bill by the Asian- American Free Labor Institute (AAFLI) on the ground and the way this was related to AAFLI's active engagement in labour organizing there, concluding that ‘protectionism in disguise’ was hardly the motive. Furthermore, by highlighting the drawn-out nature of the process and uncovering the close links between AAFLI, the International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF) and the Child Labor Coalition (CLC), the analysis challenges claims that the industry critics were uninformed and misguided, and points out that statements warning against ‘rushing into boycotts’ ought not to be based on what occurred in Bangladesh. The article argues that taking into account the efforts it took to move the BGMEA in this case, the approval of softer tactics and the critique and/or rejection of tougher tactics, was as naive as trade sanctions are blunt. In conclusion, in the light of the reported negative consequences for the children becoming a dominant theme in the process, the analysis acknowledges the importance of awareness of the risk of such consequences. However, the article points out that not only were industry critics aware of this and tried from the outset to make the industry accept some kind of responsibility, but also that the negative consequences have their own results serving to redefine the problem, narrowing the agenda and/or transferring moral culpability from corporations to critics.

British government policy in sub-Saharan Africa under New Labour

Abstract: British government policy in Africa under Labour has been motivated by a combination of humanitarianism and self-interest. The policy has been shaped principally by the Department for International Development (DFID), but also by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and by Prime Minister Tony Blair himself, as he has become more interested in Africa issues. The main focus of the policy has been on poverty reduction and development. The approach has been multi-dimensional, aiming to tackle the principal obstacles to development such as conflict, HIV, debt, governance and trade barriers. The UK has sought to increase its leverage in Africa by working multilaterally with its allies and through the UN, the World Bank and the EU. But the policy has been hampered by the inherent difficulty of promoting sound development policies in weak states, by a lack of UK leverage to affect change, and by a UK preference for statist solutions. Strategic and commercial objectives pursued by the FCO and the prime minister have sometimes appeared as being at odds with the developmental objectives of DFID. Post-9/11 concerns have reinforced the UK's motivation for dealing with Africa's problems, particularly the problems of weak and failed states. But western policies related to the war on terror may give rise to new contradictions and complicate the UK's developmental efforts in Africa.

The new South Africa's foreign policy: principles and practice

Abstract: This article outlines principles which, shortly before taking office in 1994, the ANC said would be the foundation for its future foreign policy. The ANC stated that their core concern was the pursuit of ‘human rights’, which were directly related to the promotion of democracy. Other principles included respect for international law, support for peace and disarmament, and universality. These were to be pursued in four settings. First, the global division between the First and Third Worlds as the government was concerned about economic inequality and unjust global trading systems. Second, international organizations as these were seen as central to the search for human rights, peace and equality. Third, demilitarization resulting in South Africa's forces being used for self-defence and peacemaking and keeping only. The government believed that this would produce savings which could be redirected into social development. Finally, supporting the rest of Africa as the ANC believed South Africa could not flourish if surrounded by poverty. The article examines how far the ANC governments of Presidents Mandela and Mbeki have succeeded in implementing the principles, and how far they have fallen short. The article also includes a discussion of Mbeki's policy towards Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.

The future of political Islam: the importance of external variables

Abstract: Much has been written about the potential of political Islam to affect in major ways the future of Muslim societies and polities around the world. However, most analyses of political Islam that explicitly try to assess its future potential concentrate on its innate characteristics as a political ideology with the propensity to mobilize its adherents for purposes of regime change or social transformation or both. Therefore, these analyses emphasize the inherent nature of, and the in-built contradictions within, Islamism. Far less has been written about the environment external to the phenomenon of Islamism, namely, the milieu in which Islamist groups operate and propagate their ideology. Moreover, only a minuscule portion of the writings on political Islam try explicitly to analyse the impact that variables external to the inherent characteristics of political Islam are likely to have on Islamism's future prospects. This article attempts to fill this gap by putting Islamism in a wider perspective and by analysing the impact of environmental factors external to Islamism as an ideology, and largely outside the control of Islamists, on the future potential of political Islam.

The political support system for American primacy

Abstract: The United States persists in aggressively exploiting primacy because the policy has been popular across the domestic political spectrum and is tolerated abroad despite unhappiness with it. Objections prove to be much more about style than substance. Although Democrats in the US criticize Bush for unilateralism, they seldom make the alternative of multilateralism a precondition for American action. When Washington genuflects to principles of multilateral consultation, allied governments allow themselves to be pulled along on US initiatives. Differences between the Bush and Kerry views of the American role in the world have been less than meets the eye. Only a significant disaster-such as the total unravelling of the project in Iraq-is likely to turn either party away from the urge to control the development of world order.

Combating light weapons proliferation in West Africa

Abstract: Light weapons proliferation is a serious problem in West Africa. A regional moratorium on imports of small arms and light weapons has not worked and UN arms embargoes on Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire have had limited impact. The Economic Community of West African States is currently drafting a new binding legal instrument aimed at controlling flows in West Africa but this will only succeed if the heads of state and government seriously adopt it. This needs to include greater compliance of UN sanctions, international reform of the End User Certificate system, mapping the spread of artisan production and an examination of ammunition imports to West Africa. Better control of ammunition imports in particular may assist the combat of light weapons proliferation as well as the comprehensive destruction of weapons from disarmament efforts. The illicit weapons trade in West Africa is increasingly transnational and it requires regional and international cooperation and support to combat it.

The collapse of British foreign policy

Abstract: British foreign policy has tried to balance between the United States and continental Europe for the past half-century, with an unambiguous commitment to a special relationship with Washington and an ambiguous commitment to European integration. New Labour has followed its predecessors in this, claiming that Britain can act as a bridge between America and Europe, or as a pivot around which transatlantic relations turn. In the wake of the Iraq war, deepened scepticism in Washington about whether close European cooperation is in America's interest, and scepticism across continental Europe that Britain can or should act as a privileged interlocuteur, have undermined both ends of the bridge on which British foreign policy claims to rest. The end of US commitment to Atlanticism, together with post-Cold War divergence between US and European interests and values, should have led to a shift in British priorities towards closer cooperation with other major European states and-from that shared perspective-an attempt to reconstruct a more balanced transatlantic relationship. The EU presents a sadly weak framework for such a strategy; but Britain's domestic debate, in which this government-like its predecessors-has allowed a Eurosceptic press to shape the language of foreign policy, has made it more difficult for any government to change direction. Recent government speeches on foreign policy, however, suggest that ministers still cling to the illusion that Britain has a 'unique' position between Europe and the United States.

Empire by denial: the strange case of the United States

Abstract: The issue of empire has once again become a major political question in American foreign policy discourse. But whereas in the 1960s the discussion was one that mainly concerned the radical left, over the past few years the debate has largely been conducted within neo-conservative circles. The discussion is one that should be taken seriously-in part because of its intrinsically interesting character and in part because of what it tells us about the Bush grand strategy. In the end, though, the issue of whether or not there is-or is not- an American empire, is perhaps of less importance than the fact that most Americans deny that such an empire exists. This has consequences both for the conduct of American foreign policy and for its successful execution.

‘International community’ after Iraq

Abstract: One frequently hears statements about the damage done to the 'international community' by disagreements about the invasion and occupation of Iraq. It is clear from the general nature and frequency of its use that the term 'inter-national community' has an important political function in generating legiti-macy for those who act in its name. It is also clear from its popular usage that 'international community' means very different, and often quite opposed, things to different people. Why is the strong term 'community' chosen when 'inter-national society' might be more useful? Longstanding debates within political theory and the English school provide helpful insights into why people use this term in the ways that they do. This article will argue that international community implies a deep and robust sharing of identity, and that in relation to the Iraq war, the most important meaning of it equates broadly with the West. The authors look at the effect of the war on the western international com-munity through its impact on NATO, the EU, the UN, the WTO and public opinion. They further argue that the evidence from these sources does not yet suggest that the western international community has been fatally damaged.

‘The enemy is at the gate’:1 Russia after Beslan

Abstract: This article examines the changes that have taken place in Russian domestic and foreign policy after the Beslan hostage crisis of early September 2004 The terrorist attack has had two immediate effects in Moscow: it shook new convictions about the apparent consolidation of Russia and it reinforced old beliefs in the need to strengthen the Russian state In order to analyse recent changes, the article discusses the policy framework put in place during Putin's first term to strengthen the state and to build a more favourable external environment Putin's response since the Beslan attack is founded on the premise that the only effective response to the terrorist threat is to reinforce the 'organism' of the state to withstand further attacks and to manage their consequences The article examines the limits of the policy framework in place since 2000, where a circular logic is at work, in which terrorist attacks produce greater efforts by the government to strengthen the state but with measures that do little to prevent further attack, which, in turn, stimulate a further securitization of policy The terrorist attack at Beslan has accelerated this logic, which sits uneasily with Putin's twin vision since 2000 of domestic modernization to revitalize the country and external engagement to create a predictable external setting