Interrepublic Trade in the Former Soviet Union: Structure and Implications

A senior CIA economist presents and analyzes the structure and implications of hitherto unpublished 1990 data on interrepublic trade, recently available from sources identified with the former Goskomstat SSSR. The study, unique in its access to statistical data of Soviet origin affording detailed comparisons of trade with indigenous sectoral detail, reveals advantages and dependencies inherent in the trade structures of each of the former Soviet republics. Analysis of the context in which interrepublican trade flows (valued in rubles and dollars) occurred highlights the relationship between drastic declines in industrial output and trade among the newly independent states in the 1990s. 9 figures, 18 tables, 12 references.     

Conceptualizing and Researching Policy Convergence1

This article develops criteria to classify the relative development of public policies across countries as convergent, divergent, identical and synchronous, and indeterminate. It emphasizes that relative policy developments have to be compared over defined time periods, and that they cannot be aggregated or averaged over several time periods, or across policy sectors or policy dimensions. The significance of policy convergence between countries needs to be evaluated against relative policy developments between other countries during the same period. Given these rigorous conceptual and methodological requirements, it is doubtful whether policy convergence is as pervasive as generally assumed in the literature.     

苏联瓦解的文化因素

在苏联存在的74年间,苏联共产党带领苏联人民建设社会主义曾经取得举世瞩目的成就,但是执政的苏共未能始终坚持列宁倡导并身体力行的理论创新精神,在文化建设上发生了重大失误：因背弃马列主义使全党全民失去了精神支柱,文化力转向;民族主义和宗教极端主义的出现,使维系国家统一的文化力散向;社会道德严重恶化,人民不再相信共产党和政府,使文化力弱化。三种力量结合在一起导致苏共领导下的改革走上了一条不归路。     

The Northern Ireland Conflict: A Framework for Discussion1

At the Dublin Antipode Conference of March 1978, a debate occurred on the Northern Ireland question. In what follows we present extended versions of two of the papers (those by Boal and Anderson). We have also included other pertinent material in the form of Pringle's essay and Perron's review. Hopefully both of these papers will add a further dimension to the debate. In the case of Anderson's paper, due to both time and space limitations, the editorial collective reduced his original work substantially.