Selective Saber Rattling by Iraqi Politicians

Former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi stunned the Iraqi and American political establishment with his comeback success in Iraq's 2010 election. Speculation immediately began to focus on how his coalition could have won the most seats, focusing on disaffection with the status quo. But the answer could come from a tactic Allawi has repeatedly used: tying his domestic political opponents to countries that Iraq has clashed with in the past, to reignite old hatreds and fears. This article investigates, not only how Allawi and even his rivals have adopted such a strategy, but also how our current understanding of the diversionary theory of conflict needs to be modified to see how politicians in other places play this wag the dog game.     

试论知识分子在和平解决西安事变中的作用

西安事变爆发后,民国知识分子纷纷发表社论和声明,几乎不约而同地谴责张杨的行为,并要求立即释放蒋介石,和平解决西安事变,这在很大程度上引导了当时的舆论和民意走向,从社会层面上给张杨施加了巨大压力。民意的导向直接影响了参与谈判的各政治组织和政治团体,从客观上为西安事变的和平解决创造了条件。     

The Fiqh of Revolution and the Arab Spring: Secondary Segmentation as a Trend in Islamic Legal Doctrine

This article examines how the events of the Arab Spring have helped give birth to a new juristic subfield known as the “Fiqh of Revolution”. The Fiqh of Revolution supplies legal guidance on peaceful rebellion under contemporary conditions, addressing itself to a 21st century world order shaped by new internet media and post‐Cold War international human rights conventions. I argue that besides being an important source of influence for Islamist movements, the Fiqh of Revolution also illustrates broader trends in contemporary Islamic legal thought. In particular, I draw attention to the process of “secondary segmentation”, whereby new legal subfields are created for the purpose of justifying and regimenting the use of utilitarian modes of juristic reasoning. Although “secondary segmentation” is an emergent trend, I suggest that it has important implications for the future evolution of Islamic legal doctrine.     

On realpolitik and its limitations

A largely peaceful collapse of dictatorships both in the communist world and beyond occurred in 1989. That year also saw one notable failure: the violent suppression of peaceful protest in Tiananmen Square, raising the perennial question of how far dictatorships can be effectively undermined by non‐violent methods. This review article offers no definitive answer to the question but provides a series of specific case‐studies from different countries, each chapter written by an expert on the country concerned. Besides covering the collapse of communist rule in the Baltic states, East Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia, it examines the role of non‐violence in four post‐communist revolutions: in the rump Yugoslavia, Kosovo, Georgia and Ukraine. But its scope goes far beyond the former communist world. The authors demonstrate that non‐violence has, with varying degrees of success, played a role in many regions—in India under British rule; in the US civil rights campaign; in Northern Ireland prior to the troubles; in Portugal during the transition to democracy in the 1970s; in Iran before the overthrow of the Shah; in the Philippines before the removal of President Marcos in 1986; and in Chile in the late 1980s, gradually ending the Pinochet dictatorship. The negotiated dismantling of apartheid in South Africa is the subject of a long chapter. The book also examines two conspicuous failures of peaceful protest—China in 1989 and Burma in 2007. The book's conclusions are understandably cautious, but the authors concede that civil resistance has proved a more potent weapon than was previously supposed. At all events, so the reviewer argues, the notion that civil resistance can only work in free societies has been proved demonstrably wrong.     

War and peace: historiography and seventh-century embassies

The evidence for, and circumstances of, seventh-century embassies are examined, and it is suggested that the lack of documented diplomacy is partly accounted for by what may have been relatively peaceful conditions in the west, and partly by the nature of the sources for the period.     

Crusader Diet in Times of War and Peace: Arsur (Israel) as a Case Study

This paper puts forward an archaeozoological analysis of two sizeable animal bone assemblages from the thirteenth‐century Crusader town of Arsur (Israel). Each represents a distinct behavioural practice, one of meat eaten in peaceful times and the other of meat consumed under stressful conditions while preparing for and undergoing a siege, when consideration was given to factors of benefits and space. Our results show that the faunal remains from before and during the Mamluk siege enunciate differences of subsistence and identity at the site at two different times and under diverse conditions.     

Liberal internationalism revisited: Grotius,Vattel, and the International order of states1

This essay offers a philosophical critique of modern accounts of liberal internationalism in light of two early modern European formulations of international order developed by Hugo Grotius and Emmerich de Vattel. The major problem in theories of international relations has been the straightforward extension of principles of domestic order to relations between states to achieve a peaceful co-existence. Conventional theories see “international order” in terms either of a hierarchical order in which states pursue a common interest and interact strategically, or an anarchical order in which common purposes are lacking and warfare is paramount. Elements of both views are found in Grotius and Vattel and this allows us to understand the failure of modern accounts of liberal internationalism in order to grasp the global transformation of power between states that is underway at present.     

Conflict management of riparian disputes

This paper builds on a large literature that explores the linkages between resource scarcity and interstate conflict. Focusing on competing claims over cross-border rivers, we analyze peaceful and militarized techniques used by states to manage river claims, and compare the success of these techniques for resolving the issues under contention. We focus on two key factors to account for variance in the use and effectiveness of conflict management strategies: water scarcity and institutions. We argue that high levels of water scarcity increase the frequency of explicit claims over fresh water, increase the chances of militarized conflict over these claims, and make it more difficult for conflict management institutions to be created or to be effective. We also examine the role of peace-promoting institutions, both river-specific and general institutions, arguing that institutional membership should promote peaceful attempts to resolve river claims. Analyzing data on river claims (1900–2001) from the Issue Correlates of War (ICOW) Project, we find that greater water scarcity increases the likelihood of both militarized conflict and peaceful third party settlement attempts, while river-specific institutions reduce militarized conflict and increase the effectiveness of peaceful settlement attempts.     

从万隆会议看周恩来和平外交思想的传播与影响

为参加万隆会议,周恩来制定了“争取扩大世界和平统一战线,促进民族独立运动,并为建立和加强我国同若干亚非国家的事务和对外关系创造条件”的总方针.围绕这个总方针,周恩来本着求同存异的精神,采取各种有效措施和办法,排除各种干扰和破坏,使会议形成了不同社会制度的国家和平共处、不同文明求同存异的“万隆精神”.万隆会议的召开,为中国提供了一个走上国际舞台的机会,而周恩来的和平外交思想也得到广泛传播并产生了深刻影响.     

Revisiting Bula Matari and the Congo Crisis: Successes and Anxieties in Belgium’s Late Colonial State

It is the era of decolonisation in central Africa: angry mobs in the streets; authorities struggling to contain agitation by communists and other subversives; reports of Africans strangled to death or dragged behind cars by European settlers; whites arming themselves. One might presume these scenes of disorder and abuse took place during the Congo crisis from 1960 to 1965, when events appeared to spin out of control in central Africa. In fact, they occurred during the years after the Second World War, when Belgians seemed to have affairs well in hand in their central African colony. The Congo crisis is almost always viewed in sharp contrast to the peaceful era that preceded it—as if the lifting of Belgian rule unleashed chaos—and the relative stability post-1965 that came with the Mobutu dictatorship. There is broad agreement that Congo’s independence was a fiasco, with the former colonial ruler, Belgium, largely to blame. This essay argues that the Belgian authorities were not as in control as has been believed. Historians have known for years now that things were not as rosy as they might have seemed at the time, in the years leading up to independence in 1960, but recently available archival documents reveal the situation was even more fluid than previously thought. Bula Matari was not as far-reaching as believed, and many controls signalled a nervousness inherent in the late colonial state more than they did its strength. Reports by administrators reveal a lack of domination in the 1950s and underlying tensions in the colony, even conflicts. The public impression that Belgians had affairs well in hand is due in part to post-Second World War propaganda depicting an idyllic Congo. Belgians wanted to build support for colonialism, bolster their authority, forestall foreign interference and combat their own anxieties. Images produced persuaded many that the Congo was more peaceful than it was. The shock at independence ought to be attributed less to events unfolding as of June 1960 and more to the impressions of tranquillity projected by the authorities beforehand.     

毛泽东关于西藏民主改革的认识与决策

西藏民主改革是西藏在和平解放的基础上由封建农奴制到人民民主的历史性变革和发展,是西藏完成反帝反封建的民主革命任务的里程碑。这是在以毛泽东为核心的中共中央第一代领导集体根据西藏和平解放后不同阶段的实际,正确认识和处理西藏民主改革的历史必然性与社会基础、时机与条件、策略与步骤以及性质与前途等问题,并依此相应地作出和平协商、"六年不改"、赎买和"稳定发展"等方针政策的指导下开展和实现的。正是在这一历史进程中,西藏由和平解放、筹备成立自治区至民主改革,跨越几个世纪而成为人民民主的西藏。     

South African Nuclear Development in the 1970s: A Non-Proliferation Conundrum?

ABSTRACT

The 1970s is often argued to be the era marking the beginning of the overall transformation of the international system and the nuclear order, following the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) entering into force in 1970. South Africa challenged this nuclear order from the outset. In addition to regarding the NPT as inherently discriminatory and hypocritical in allowing a difference between nuclear weapon ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’, the South African apartheid regime felt threatened by Soviet expansionism into Southern Africa. Facing international condemnation and isolation due to its repressive domestic politics of racial segregation, and gripped in a war against Soviet- and Cuban-backed forces in Angola, the apartheid regime was quick to move from a decision to build one peaceful nuclear explosive device in 1974, to a formal decision in 1978 to design and develop a secret strategic nuclear deterrent. Using knowledge and skills acquired during a period of techno-nationalism and Western collaboration during the 1960s, South Africa was able to cross this threshold in a relatively short space of time, thereby signaling a clear departure from the nuclear non-proliferation regime that the five nuclear powers of the NPT were trying to establish.     

Peaceful development: China's policy of reassurance

The rise of China has aroused much concern and anxiety around the world. This has complicated China's foreign policy objective of securing a peaceful international environment for domestic reforms and development. Accordingly, reassuring the world of the benign nature of China's rise has become a central feature of China's foreign policy. This paper describes and analyses China's efforts in this regard. First, it outlines the central features of such efforts which constitute a policy of reassurance. Then it explores the major factors shaping the policy. Finally it tries to assess the result of the policy and speculate about its future development. It is hoped that this will help gain a better understanding of China's foreign policy.     

Policy Paradigms and Policy Change

Canadian policy towards Aboriginal Peoples is a complex regime involving property rights, constitutional entitlements, cultural concerns, and interlocking administrative, social, economic, and political aims and goals. Recent events related to constitution-making have led investigators to suggest that an old "assimilationist" paradigm established in colonial times is in the process of being replaced by a new policy paradigm of "self-government" and "peaceful coexistence." Utilizing a model of paradigmatic policy change put forward by Peter Hall, this paper examines the development of the old and new Canadian policy and the reasons for the transition between the two. In so doing, it establishes the need to focus more closely on the relationships existing between endogenous and exogenous sources of change in policy subsystems in understanding the liming and content of policy change.     

Underlying Causes of Violence in the Middle East

In the last five decades the Middle East has been the scene of very intensive conflict, violence and terror. The magnitude of violence has intensified following the events of September 11, 2001. There has been an outpouring of writing and scholarship that focuses on the analysis of this phenomenon. This paper attempts to reveal the major factors that have contributed to the state of violence in the Middle East. The paper argues that the failure of most of the Middle Eastern regimes to widen the arena of political participation, as well as their inabilities to improve the socio‐economic conditions of the masses, has been the major cause for violence. Adding to this the US global strategy to fight terror, and subsequently the invasion of Iraq, as well as the failure to reconcile the Palestinian issue also precipitated the state of violence in the Middle East. It is only after redressing the socio‐economic and political grievances of the masses, and finding remedies to both the Palestinian and Iraqi issues that we can contemplate the idea of a peaceful and stable Middle East. In this article, the author will attempt to address each of these factors.     

Late Chalcolithic mass graves at Tell Brak,Syria, and violent conflict during the growth of early city-states

Abstract

Excavations and surveys carried out from the mid-1990s through 2009 at Tell Brak, northeast Syria, have focused on reconstructing the socioeconomic complexity and physical growth of one of northern Mesopotamia's earliest urban settlements. The recent discovery of several mass graves on the edge of the city, created at an important threshold in its physical expansion (ca. 3800–3600 B.C.), adds to a longstanding debate about the connection between the growth of early city-states and violent conflict. These graves, with their population of as many as several hundred primarily sub-adults and young adults, are interpreted as the result of large-scale violent events and may provide evidence for the post-mortem treatment of enemies. They offer a strong counterpoint to the dominant reconstruction of a peaceful prehistory in the region.     

十世班禅与西藏和平解放及班禅问题的解决

班禅返藏问题,不仅是十世班禅自己的问题,也是和平解放西藏、实现国家统一和民族团结的一大核心问题。他首先争取中共中央对自己地位的承认,提出解决班禅问题的方案和意见;接着在和平解放西藏的谈判中使班禅问题的解决在协议中规定下来。十七条协议签订后,他又采取积极措施使书面规定得到具体实现,顺利返藏。班禅问题得以解决的根本原因是中国共产党维护国家统一和民族团结的决心与正确的方针、步骤,十世班禅也作出了积极的努力和贡献。     

争取和平解放西藏与昌都战役问题研究

争取和平解放西藏和筹划实施昌都战役是《关于和平解放西藏办法的协议》签订前西藏和平解放历史发展的两条主线。中央人民政府遏止了西藏“亲善使团”,并将“西藏代表团”定位为西藏“地方性的及民族性的代表团”,而争取其到北京与中央人民政府谈判西藏和平解放问题。历史没有给予避免昌都战役而实现昌都和平解放,进而推进西藏和平解放的客观条件。昌都战役“以打促和”,成为和平解放西藏的一个必经阶段。昌都战役从1950年10月6日开始,实际结束于10月21日。昌都战役后,达赖在和谈问题上有一个渐进而非急进的演变过程。     

Restitution over coffee: truth,reconciliation, and environmental violence in East Timor

Truth commissions have become an almost obligatory component of the process by which national societies attempt to reconstruct themselves in the aftermath of, and recover from, periods of violent, authoritarian rule, and/or war, especially of the civil variety. Proponents of truth commissions see them as indispensable to promoting reconciliation between former adversaries as well as a transition to a more just, democratic, and peaceful political order, while serving as an important component in nation-state-(re)building. This paper analyzes and critiques the boundaries that typically define the tasks of truth commissions with a focus on East Timor’s. It contends that commissions achieve less than they might in terms of their goal of facilitating a justice-infused notion of reconciliation between conflicting parties because of their tendency to focus on individual acts or events of violence, while giving relatively little weight to systemic or structural forms of violence. To substantiate this argument, the paper analyzes the relationship of coffee—East Timor’s primary export commodity—to the violence and terror that the country’s truth commission addresses. In doing so, the paper illustrates the dynamic links between violence and the environment and how said environment comes to embody that violence and to reproduce it in various forms. It also demonstrates the limits of truth commissions as conventionally defined as they relate to matters of social justice. In doing so, it potentially points the way toward more ambitious, and more successful, truth-telling and reconciliation processes—if we assume the goal is to promote a just and peaceful coexistence between former adversaries. The framework employed is one of a Third World political ecology of violence, one that understands violence not only in terms of direct acts of physical brutality, but also in terms of indirect acts and social structures that cause injury.     

战后日本政府“解释改宪”历史过程评述

战后日本宪法因其第九条规定而被称为"和平宪法"。长期以来,日本政府通过"解释改宪"的方式,不仅使日本突破了和平宪法所规定的"不保持战力"等限制,而且在军事实力上获得了巨大的发展,并将以"专守防卫"为任的自卫队派往了海外。通过政府对宪法第九条进行的扩大解释,战后日本在国家发展方向上偏离了和平宪法确立的和平主义宗旨与原则。