Blame it on Kissinger? The international factor and the failure of the “Markezinis Experiment”

The aborted 1967 attempt of the dictatorship to transform itself into some form of democracy has generally been under-researched, and even more so with regard to its international implications. And yet, the issue of foreign influences on the “Markezinis Experiment” has been given excessive weight – first and foremost by the protagonist himself, who blamed his failure and downfall on negative American interference – namely on the then US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s adversarial stance. Based on the examination of the international context in three main frameworks – namely its relations with the United States, Europe and the Cyprus issue – this article seeks to give an answer to the question of the foreign factor’s impact on the failure of the “experiment”.     

A Historical Inevitability?: Kissinger and US Contacts with the Palestinians (1973–76)

This article examines Henry Kissinger's role in shaping US strategy towards the Palestinian issue between 1973 and 1976, focusing a series of direct and indirect covert contacts with the Palestine Liberation Organization and its representatives during these years. Although scholars have correctly noted that Kissinger's Middle East policy concentrated on reconciling Israel with the Arab states, particularly Egypt, these contacts suggest an intent to keep open the possibility of bringing the PLO into negotiations with Israel.     

Pagri: The Mountain Town

PagriTown,intheHimalayanmountains,wasonceamountaingrazingland.whereherdsmenrovedaroundthewildgrasslandwiththeirlivestock.Astimewentby,Yadong,anearbytownatthesoutherntipofHimalayasdevelopedintoatradingportbetweenTibetandIndia.Yadong'sprosperitysoonspurredt…     

The 2000 inter-Korean summit: The road to reconciliation?

The inter-Korean summit held in Pyongyang between 13 and 15 June 2000 was an unprecedented event. It was the first time the leaders of North and South have met face to face since the formal partitioning of Korea in 1948. This article examines the main reasons why the 2000 summit occurred, what the summit produced, and its implications for inter-Korean relations in the early part of the 21st century. Although the summit could well be an important step towards breaking down the long-standing barriers of suspicion and mistrust between Pyongyang and Seoul, it is premature to conclude (as some observers have) that the summit has heightened the prospects for reunification on the Korean peninsula. Instead of grandly portraying the 2000 summit as heralding a transition to reunification, it is far more accurate to view it as a positive step towards the more modest objective of longer-term reconciliation between the two Koreas.     

The European Union—a Reflection: The Theological Challenge

Abstract

The advisor on religious affairs of the European Commission's President recently suggested the need for a European political theology. He was acknowledging Christianity's past impact on European culture. He was also intimating that a creative Christian contribution to the making of Europe's future might partly depend upon some systematic theologically informed reflection upon the nature of the challenges which the continent currently confronts. This paper does not purport to supply such a theology which, by the nature of things, must be the fruit of a long-term collaborative exercise. It does, however, seek to provide a few pointers that might become the subject of further discussion. Following clues provided by Vatican II we may seek to discern some of those "signs of the times" which might disclose the issues at stake and which, in the light of general Christian understandings, may ultimately provide some guides for subsequent action.     

The vanity of dogmatizing: The three ‘versions’

This essay reevaluates the Weimar writings of Carl Schmitt and Leo Strauss, specifically, their intellectual efforts to replace the political authority of Kantian liberalism with, respectively, a ‘political theology’ and ‘Biblical atheism’ derived from the thought of early-modern state theorists like Hobbes and Spinoza. Schmitt and Strauss each insisted that post-Kantian Enlightenment rationality was unraveling into a way of thinking that violently rejected ‘form’ of any kind, fixated myopically on material things and lacked any conception of the external constraints that invariably condition the possibilities of philosophy, morality and politics. They considered Kantian reason and liberal politics to pose serious threats to ‘genuine’ expressions of rationality and as dangerous obfuscations of the necessity of political order—of the brute fact that human beings stand in need of ‘being ruled,’ as such.     

Historical Note: “The Epileptic Constitution”: The Psychoanalytic Concept Of Epilepsy

The rise of the psychoanalytic approach to behavioral medicine in the early part of the 20th century created a unique concept of the nature and the aetiology of epilepsy based upon dynamic psychopathology. As a direct result of this a radical change in both medical and community perception of this condition was generated, and this was to persist up to and beyond the mid-century mark. This historical note details the adoption, and the rise and fall of this concept of “the epileptic constitution”, and a consideration of the negative effects that flowed from this, permeating all areas of psychiatry, neurology and even the criminal justice system.     

The Lega Nord goes south: The electoral advance in Emilia-Romagna: A new territorial model?

The article focuses on the feature of the Lega Nord's (LN) electoral advance into new Italian regions, by stressing the similarities and differences with its historical bases of support. In order to verify whether the expansion has followed a common pattern in historical and well-defined territories of the leghista settlement, results of flow-of-votes analysis in eight different sub-areas of two Northern regions (Emilia-Romagna and Veneto), are reported. Data makes empirically credible the hitherto suggestion of a LN breakthrough among new sectors of the electorate. Estimations of vote shifts show both signals of electoral continuity, and change. While in Veneto no radical change in LN's voters profile occurred, indications from flow-of-votes in Emilia-Romagna has detected a statistically significant (even if minor) flow from the center-left parties.     

The 14th Dalai Lama: Two-Faced

Whilethe14thDalaiLamaclaimstobe"seekinginternationalaidinorganizingpeacetalkswiththeChineseGovernment",the"Tibetanyouthcongress"isinserting"effortstowinindependence"intoitsresolutionsandissuingstatementsclaimingthatthecongressisamassorganizationindependentoftheDalaiLama'sgovernmentinexile.ThecongressisseekingindependenceandopposinganyeffortsforautonomywithinChina.Inthefaceofthissituation,the14thDalaiLamaexpressedregretatthemovesbythecongressandhasclaimedheisunabletopersuadethecongressional…     

QINGHAI-TIBET HIGHWAY:The Way to Maintenance

Chinaworkedawonderintheeary1950sbybuildingtheQinghai-TibetHighwaywhichextendsinQinghaitoLhasainTibet.ItispartoftheNationalHighwayNo.lo9whichlinksLhasawithBeijing.TheQinghai-TibetHighwaywaspavedwithasphaltin1985andlaterunderwentfirst-phaserenovahon.TheCent…     

“The noble pirate”: The Voice of Peace offshore radio station

This article analyzes the case of Abie Nathan's “Voice of Peace” – an offshore pirate radio station that began broadcasting in 1973 off the coast of Tel Aviv. Although the station reflected the diffusion of this type of media transmission into the Middle East from Europe, particularly in its identification with pop music, the Voice of Peace was distinct in its political and ideological aims and in its positive reception. I argue that public enthusiasm for the Voice of Peace reflected not merely the yearning for pop music but the search for a “normal” life within the turmoil of Israel. By “tuning in” to the Voice of Peace, listeners found an escapist heterotopia – an alternative to Israel's hegemonic national characteristics.     

The Societal Construction of a Criminal as Cultural Hero: The Case of “The Brinks Truck Theft”

This study examines the identification with, and encouragement and admiration of, a celebrated thief among the Internet audience of a popular Israeli web site. A content analysis of audience responses highlights the carnival atmosphere that emerged in Israel as the story unfolded of the exploits, arrest and punishment of this new criminal folk hero, a “trickster” who toppled the social order. Astonishingly, the public mood, as manifest in the online message boards, is mostly supportive of the crime and its perpetrator, with very few condemnations.