Turkey and the Palestinian Question: The Shift of Roles in Foreign Policy

For Turkey, which was seeking a leading role in the Middle East, the Palestinian Question became a priority in its foreign policy during the late 1990s. In this article, it is argued that the role Turkey primarily espoused in the resolution of the Palestinian Question in the period 2000–2009 has mainly been that of a communicator. Nonetheless, in times of crises between Palestine and Israel, Ankara lost its neutrality and credibility to some extent, as it shifted to the role of guardian of Palestinians and proponent of Palestine, thereby undermining its communicator role. Finally, this dilemma in Turkish foreign policy in the Palestinian Question was the fundamental impediment to Turkey's sustainable and constructive contribution to the settlement of the problem in the examined period.     

The Interregnum: The South's Insecurity Dilemma

Abstract. This article investigates the ‘insecurity dilemma’ facing many Third World states arising from the fact that multiple ethnic communities reside within their borders. In terms of analysing the types of states that exist in the ‘South’, much of the literature on this phenomenon serves to confuse the various elements of state power and, therefore, the reasons for the existence and persistence of internal threats to Third World states. It is posited that the ‘insecurity dilemma’ has three possible sources: a lack of coercive means by the state for imposing its rule; a deficient infrastructure; and a lack of legitimacy. In examining the persistence of the ‘insecurity dilemma’ the article focuses on the third dimension of state power and the possible diminution of challenges from ethnic communities within a state's borders via the process of nation-building. The possibility that it will only be a matter of time before the embryonic states of the South will emulate the success of European states in achieving some degree of domestic consensus is highly questionable when the processes of nation-building are examined, for two reasons. Firstly, the emphasis placed on ‘modernisation’– infrastructural development and state imposition of a national ‘high’ culture – may be misplaced. Secondly, because of their peripheral status in the world economy the assimilative tendencies associated with ‘modernisation’ may take an extremely long time in arriving.     

西安事变期间蒋介石政策转变的心理探因

本从历史学和心理学的角度探讨了西安事变期间蒋介石政策转变的原因,指出一定的民族主义意识、华北事变以后中日民族矛盾的尖锐、蒋介石的求生本能和宋美龄等人的亲情感化是促成蒋介石政策转变的主要因素,同时分析了这些因素在促成这一转变过程中各自所起的作用。     

The Fusion Dilemma

Abstract

Within the next five years the fusion research programme should remove any doubts as to the feasibility of burning fusion fuels controllably on a terrestrial scale. How it can be done in a manner suitable for the economic generation of power is another question, the answer to which requires the participation of a wide range of disciplines. The present position in fusion research is here reviewed and discussed with respect to important requirements which can already be identified for an economic reactor. Meeting these requirements calls for a mission-oriented project, whose timely evolution from one with a research orientation, is a challenging management problem. The cost-effectiveness of future expenditure is very dependent upon acknowledging this challenge and honestly facing the difficult tasks which it presents.     

The Energy Dilemma of Belarus: The Nuclear Power Option

A specialist on Belarusian politics and society as well as on the impacts of the Chernobyl' nuclear power station accident on that country examines the factors shaping the current debate regarding construction of a nuclear power station in the eastern oblast of Mahileu (Mogilev). In particular, he analyzes the role played by a significant rise in the price of imported oil and gas from Russia, as well as increasingly strained political relations between the two countries. The paper outlines the discussions within the country on energy and economic issues, the new relationship with Russia, and the new power station, and offers a preliminary assessment of the feasibility of the nuclear power option. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: H54, O18, Q40. 1 figure, 25 references.     

Undue Hardship and Reasonable Accommodation: The View From the Court

Title I of the Americans With Disabilities Act prohibits employment discrimination against disabled people. This article provides an overview of how the courts have interpreted the duty to accommodate an individual with a disability, focusing on the concepts of "reasonable accommodation" and "undue hardship."     

Accommodation and the politics of fiscal equalization in multinational states: The case of Canada

The politics of accommodation in multinational states sometimes features an important, yet often overlooked, fiscal dimension. In fact, the scholarly literature on the accommodation of nationalist movements emphasizes territorial autonomy, access to power and representation within central institutions, and the promotion of the state national identity, but it is virtually silent on how patterns of territorial fiscal redistribution, and more specifically programs of horizontal fiscal equalization, may contribute to accommodating sub‐state nationalism. This article looks at the Canadian case and analyses the multidimensional relationship between equalization policy and Québécois nationalism. It explains how a key motivation behind the creation of Canada's fiscal equalization program in 1957 was to “end” the institutional and political isolation of Québec and how equalization may have, thereafter, contributed to making Québec's secession less appealing to a good number of Quebeckers than it would have been in the absence of this program. Simultaneously, the article discusses how equalization may have contributed to a certain political backlash against Québec in the other provinces, thus providing mixed evidence in the assessment of the accommodation potential of equalization policy.     

Committee Influence Over Controversial Policy: The Reproductive Policy Case

Debates about legislative committee power have been fueled with empirical examples depending too much on distributive policies. I argue that answers to questions about the nature of committee influence can be enhanced by focusing on nondistributive policies that evoke broad national attention. For years scholars have not systematically tested committee influence over nondistributive policy because they have asserted that these policies are designed by the parent chamber or party. By using a methodology that traces the origin of legislation and identifies key policy activists, I demonstrate that committee influence over nondistributive controversial policy is more pronounced than others have maintained     

宋代中央客馆制度

宋代在京城设有都亭驿、都亭西驿、同文馆、礼宾院、怀远驿等中央客馆作为馆待周边各族朝贡使节的馆舍与机构。诸客馆不仅是各族使节居住的场所,还是周边各族与宋进行经济贸易的场所及周边各族了解华夏礼仪文化的场所。中央客馆制度是宋对入京的周边各族使节接待与管理制度的重要组成部分。对维护和发展宋与周边各族的关系起着积极的作用。