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In a rather unambitious working document,[4.5pc] theEuropean Commission (2002)has presented its analysis of globalization and views on how Europe should respond to its challenges. Provoked by the blandness of this disappointing report, this paper examines whether the EU has other options than pursuing its current policies, which stay within the framework of neoliberal globalization and are roughly equivalent to the ones followed and propagated by the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the manner in which the east of Europe has been theorized in the post cold war environment, and the implications for our understanding of the relationship between east and west. It argues that hegemonic discourses of neoliberalism lend a quality of inevitability to the integration of east into west, which in turn leads to a singular conception of Europe at the end of a trajectory of development. The paper argues that the relationship of western Europe to eastern Europe is more fruitfully explored through the conceptual framework of a center to its margins, which allows for a broader range of analysis on the issues – conceptual and implementational – at stake in transition processes, and which will allow for a theoretical exploration of where power is located and exercised. Because eastern Europe is understood in scholarly and policy communities as politically and geographically European, the study of postcommunist transition in Europe falls outside the purview of a development studies community that is increasingly focused on the emerging north/south divide. In a scholarly environment where the East/West divide no longer constitutes a salient focus of study, there is a need for the development of a framework that will provide a richer understanding of the reconstituted relationships being formed in Europe in the post-cold war environment. This paper argues that the social, economic, and political impact of disciplinary neoliberalism in eastern Europe can benefit from an analysis that takes into consideration the Eurocentric, disciplinary power that lies at the core of the transition process. Toward this end, it is necessary to query the discursive foundations of what constitutes the `properly European' in order to develop a framework for a more fruitful course of analysis with respect to the relationship between Europe and its fluctuating eastern margins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the crisis of socialism, Afro-Marxist states have introduced considerable changes simultaneously with Eastern Europe and the USSR. Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia have now in principle adopted multiparty political systems in addition to implementing a variety of economic liberalisation measures. However, unlike in Eastern Europe and the USSR (after the failed coup), the goal of economic liberalisation in Afro-Marxist states is, according to various official indications, a mixed economy and not a fully fledged market system. Why the responses of Afro-Marxist states to the socialist crisis are different from those of Eastern Europe and the USSR, how these responses are likely to affect their development processes and what their indications are to the future of socialism in the African continent have not yet been studied. This paper is intended to provide a preliminary assessment of change in these countries in order to stimulate further study. The paper is divided into two parts. The first outlines critical political and social dimensions of the crisis of socialism in general, and of Afro-Marxism in particular. The second briefly sketches the initial responses of the Afro-Marxist states to the socialist crisis and analyses the potential implications of such change to their economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of International Relations / Medzinarodne Vztahy is the property of University of Economics in Bratislava, Faculty of International Relations and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article reassesses relations between the free-trade and anti-slavery movements in the mid-nineteenth century. It places well-known controversies over the removal of preferential import duties on free-grown sugar into the context of a broader and more complex relationship, in which the Anti-Corn Law League borrowed many of the tactics pioneered by the abolitionists, while also attempting to assume antislavery's mantle of moral reform. In particular, the article situates the campaigns in a transatlantic context complicated by the domestic agendas of American anti-slavery groups and southern cotton growers, both of whom tried to take advantage of the British free-trade movement for their own ends. Finally, it is argued that the apparent success of the League in forcing the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 not only contributed to the decline of anti-slavery as an effective extra-parliamentary movement, but also ensured that other moral reform campaigns such as the peace movement were forced to adopt the language and tactics of free-trade liberalism to survive, generating a lasting legacy that came to fruition with the emergence of the Gladstonian Liberal Party. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the logical and historical determinants of European integration and reflects on the potential and dangers this presents for labour movement renewal. Through the principle of ‘subsidiarity’ a regulatory gap has been established between political mobilisation at the national level and neo-liberal regulation at the European level. The historical determination of this form is traced through an exploration of the social struggles against neo-liberalism that have developed within member states and transnational mobilizations that bridge this regulatory gap by linking resistance across national boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Diversitas Journal is the property of Diversitas Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper develops a relational analysis of populism. After placing the rise of contemporary European populism in the post-Cold War context, the static definition of populism as a "thin-centred" and restrictive ideology is exposed. A definition of populism as a process is used, in contrast with the tendency to apply static definitions. The figure of Pablo Iglesias is in this sense presented as an exemplary case that demonstrates the limitations of the use of these static definitions. The EU is also examined as a body that is spearheading the depoliticising processes that provoke the populist reaction - placing the focus on the "New Intergovernmentalism" to interpret the integration dilemmas - and the populist-technocratic and liberal-democratic dichotomies are addressed as historical endosymbioses. Finally, consideration is given to what should be done about the populist impasse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Trakya University Journal of Social Science is the property of Trakya University, Institute of Social Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper is set out to study whether Germany's European politics can be confined into Kantian (liberal) or Bismarckian (realism) realm and to what extent these two traditions can shed light on the current policy of Germany within European Union. The clash of idealism and realpolitik are going to be used as a means to shed light on Germany's current hegemony in the EU. It is also aimed to point out how permanent emphasis on national interest is prevailing in Adenauer's period and how Bismarckian way of dealing with international relations still protects its validity today. It is argued that Germany's ongoing integration policy (Kantian perspective) is an incremental tool in service of recognition in the international arena in 50s and then paving the way for a renewed hegemony of Germany in the continent. It is a significant descriptive study since it points out how Kantian approach is utilized as a means to reach Bismarckian Germany since many scholars focus on the overlap of national interest and integration policies but not questioning whether German national interest is the prime beneficiary in the process even after the WWII. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to Madeley's (2003) comparative framework of state-church relations in Europe, Poland is part of the historic Northeast-Southeast multi-confessional culture belt. The aim of this paper is to analyse the historic relationships between the Polish state and church in relation to this framework with special attention to the post-Second World War period and to the consequences for the Polish religious landscape. In contrast to the multi-confessionality of the historic Polish polities, after the Second World War Poland became a mono-confessional, Roman-Catholic country. Territorial changes, the resettlement of people and the annihilation of the Jewish population by the Nazis were responsible for this religious homogenisation. Consequently, the relationship between state and church was almost completely confined to the relationship with the Roman-Catholic Church. During the 45 years of communist dominance, that church became the largest public organisation independent of the state authorities and played the most important role in the struggle against the ‘atheisation’ of Polish society as a consequence of the strong support for the church by the majority of people. The post-1989 period is characterised by a liberalisation towards non-Catholic religious communities and—after an initial reluctance—a positive attitude of the Polish Roman-Catholic Church (strongly supported by the Polish Pope John Paul II) towards the Polish membership of the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information about the paper "The Idea of Democracy in Contemporary Catholicism," by William J. Fitzgerald. It is an objective analysis of the Pope's Christmas message of 1944 and of his addresses to the Rota in 1945 and 1946. In explanation of the apparent hostility or indifference of some nineteenth- century popes toward democracy, it is correctly noted that in the past on the continent of Europe, democracy has usually meant extreme liberalism and anticlericalism. Fundamental Catholic premises are well outlined: it is recognized that there is no isolated Catholic theory of the state, but a Catholic theory of society in which the state has a definite and limited place. The Church has lived under different regimes, insisting only on the protection of fundamental human rights. From the Christmas message the main points elaborated are the emphasis on the "common man," the juridical statement of freedom of opinion and expression, the distinction between the people and the masses which is at the foundation of representative parliamentary government and the necessity of authority rooted in the natural law.

The article discusses the idea of new punitiveness with the connection of British imperialism. European penalty is the practice which is a part of their colonial strategy and has affected the humanity. The article also discusses various issues in connection like slavery, metropole, migration, liberalism and lastly how these things affected in the racist culture of the country.

Copyright of Revista de Estudios Políticos is the property of Centro de Estudios Politicos y Constitucionales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study analyses the evolution in large firms' strategy and structure in a new spatial and temporal context (Spain 1993-2003). The central question of this work is to determine whether transformations undergone in this country have led Spanish companies' strategies and structures to converge with those of other European countries, following the predictions of 'universalistic' theories of strategy and organization; or whether cultural/institutional effects have remained strong, following a path-dependence/cultural-lag type logic. The Spanish experience is particularly significant for theory in general because its late development and very distinctive institutional origins allow us to test theories applied before in a new country and more recent time period. Our findings show that a changing context (e.g. liberalization) has led Spanish firms to converge with those of other European economies in the pattern of strategy and structure (increasing levels of diversification and divisionalization). Thus, the findings of this study in a new context are consistent with universalistic predictions that strategies and structures will evolve towards a common model of corporate development, as Chandler postulated initially. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the novels by Miguel de Cervantes and other authors which illustrate free will and freedom. The author noted that freedom is a multifaceted and often controversial concern during early modern Europe. He added that freedom is different from today, where under the influence of liberalism and its validation of individual rights, achievements and individual liberties, people are used to cast freedom in a positive light. He compared it to Don Quixote's definition of freedom, the license to make one's own way in the world and the absence of social duties. He also cited Acosta's argument that the oppression to which the American Indians and others conquered by Spain have unjustly been subject.

Abstract: Postal reform has become a global trend in the age of liberalisation and privatisation. At the same time, change in this politically entrenched policy field meets with domestic resistance. This article sheds light on the politics of reform and regulation in four European and Asian countries. It is found that reform trajectories are far from being uniform and so are the emerging regulatory regimes: in view of domestic resistance France engaged in minimal change which was exclusively driven by European Union (EU) pressure; Germany initially introduced far-reaching measures, but for political motives deviated from this reform path over time; in Japan postal reform has been a side-effect of restructuring the country’s financial and banking sector, running short of introducing a regulatory framework which would effectively open up the market to competition; the preconditions for change were most favourable in Singapore, yet remaining bottlenecks may prevent that full liberalisation lives up to reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contest to define ‘democracy’ has become a fundamental concern of global politics. As Noam Chomsky has argued, the guardians of world order have sought to establish democracy in one sense of the term, while blocking it in others. The article interrogates the theoretical and material underpinnings of the great-power-defined agenda of democratisation. It argues that the democratisation project seeks to constitute (neo)liberal polities with a procedural notion of democracy, through coveted transformations in three domains: the minimal ‘neutral’ state, the liberal public sphere or ‘civil society’, and the liberal ‘self’. The impetus to constitute African social relations in its own particular image may be attributable to liberalism's universalist pretensions. But ideas have materiality. Liberal democracy qua liberalism maintains a strong historical association with the birth and evolution of the modern capitalist world. The article contends that the democratisation project endeavours to reproduce within Africa (and elsewhere) the patterns of transformation that characterised the transition to capitalist modernity in north-west Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Europe has underperformed relative to its peers and to its own previous performance over the last two decades. That underperformance reflects a range of factors, from structural rigidities in labour and capital markets, to inappropriate macroeconomic policy. But one set of policy measures that could contribute to improved economic performance in the future is trade liberalisation and reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). This article examines the benefits that could accrue to the UK, EU and global economies from the liberalisation of trade in goods and from the replacement of the current CAP with other, more productive forms of spending. It finds that the current barriers to trade in the EU, and the resources dedicated to the maintenance of the CAP, are set to cost the EU some 2% of GDP by 2015 if they remain in place. Moreover, this cost falls disproportionately on the poorer members of society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I trace historical events and thoughts that have joined forces in creating American cultural ways of "thinking about human beings and acting upon them." I suggest that while Foucault, Rose, and Popkewitz's work has demonstrated crucial parallels between the emergence of a new liberalism and a new way of governance--governing the soul--the American solution differs significantly from that of Europe. Rather than monitoring, oppressing, or regulating the inner state of the individual, the American approach is to construct and act upon an idealized self that fits well into the current political and social order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The principle of the self-determination of peoples is enshrined in the United Nations Charter and based on liberal and democratic values. However, the international community has, until recently, interpreted this principle very restrictively, so that it has amounted to little more than the right to be free from European colonialism. The collapse of the USSR and Yugoslavia, as well as persistent ethno-nationalist conflicts around the world, have provoked new thinking about the right of self-determination in political theory. This article reviews six theories, and identifies what they have in common and on what they differ. It draws some cautious policy conclusions from this analysis and, in doing so, seeks to clarify the role and limits of theory in international politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses Max Horkheimer and Herbert Marcuse's interpretation of critical theory and its aims. The author analyzes the basic intention of Horkheimer and Marcuse which was to assist the transition from capitalism to socialism in some of the European nations by unmasking the inhibition of the revolutionary potential of the masses through the manifold devices of culture. The author also explains the critical theory that in Horkheimer's view corresponds to the social situation wherein the fate of socialist revolution was predetermined in those lands which had never experienced a liberalist phase at all.

As indicated previously, the consequences of the Common Market for nonmember countries will depend as much or more on subsequent policy decisions of the Community as on the provisions of the Rome Treaty. This analysis suggests that at present nonmember countries have been put in a disadvantageous position. Future developments will depend in large measure on the willingness of the EEC to recognize the interests of nonmembers in their deliberations or, to use the standard phraseology, whether the Common Market will be outward or inward looking. There is some evidence to indicate that up to now the Community has been looking a little in both directions. One can get some comfort in the belief that the Common Market will be outward looking from the Rome Treaty itself. Article 110 indicates that the interests of the Community lie in expanding world trade. Furthermore, the influential leaders of the Commission of the EEC and Professor Hallstein in particular have continually supported this belief in public statements. Nor has the liberalism of the Common Market been confined to words alone. The first two internal tariff reductions were generalized to nonmember countries (as long as the resulting tariff did not fall below the external target rate). Also, the common Market was willing to enter negotiations through GATT in the so-called "Dillon round" and eventually reached agreements with other countries through which their external tariff was reduced by almost 20 per cent. There is some indication, however, of less liberal tendencies within the EEC. The tariff reductions made so far by the Common Market have been relatively painless in that they have merely removed some but not most of the excess protection created by the common external tariff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]