North Korea's diplomacy to engage the United States

For the past two decades relations between North Korea and the United States have become increasingly hostile. Pervasive and vociferous criticism of North Korea's dangerous and seemingly irrational behaviour has focused on Pyongyang's use of nuclear brinkmanship, violations of human rights and general disregard for the well-being of the North Korean people, as exemplified by its decision to develop a nuclear programme while the country suffered from widespread famine. However, an alternate view put forth by both American and South Korean experts on North Korea holds that Pyongyang's use of the nuclear wager primarily has been intended to demand Washington's attention in order to initiate bilateral talks and eventually normalise relations with the US. Certainly, Pyongyang's actions have been ham-fisted at times; however, its commitment to the goal of normalisation has been unwavering. The current controversy regarding North Korea's nuclear programme may serve as a necessary step to build trust between Washington and Pyongyang and might continue for sometime, given the short history of direct engagement. However, one thing is clear: neither Washington nor Pyongyang can afford to go back to the starting point.     

More than Cleaning and Caring: The Profession of Dental Hygiene in Canada, 1951–2010

Dental hygiene has been a female-dominated profession that worked primarily for dentists who, until very recently, were usually male. This article explores the early history of dental hygiene in Canada during the 1950s and 1960s; its explosive growth in the 1970s; the influence of feminism on the profession; and the battles dental hygienists fought to improve the status of their profession including better educational opportunities; professional self-regulation and the right to practice independently of dentists. It argues that dental hygienists have made important gains, and yet the culture of ‘caring’ continues to complicate their professional status.     

Paths ahead for East Asia and Asia–Pacific regionalism

East Asia and the Asia–Pacific are core components of the global economy, and there have been important recent developments in the regionalism of both regions. After the 1997–1998 financial crisis, East Asian countries initiated more exclusive regional cooperation and integration ventures mainly through ASEAN Plus Three, but lately this process has stumbled. The Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum has also failed to make substantial progress. Attention has instead increasingly turned to free trade agreements (FTAs), yet these have hitherto been overwhelmingly bilateral in nature. There are still only a few truly regional FTAs in East Asia and the Asia–Pacific—and these are on a sub‐regional scale. However, various frustrations over the messy and fractious pattern of heterogeneous bilateral agreements led to the recent initiation of ‘grand regional’ FTA talks. The Trans‐Pacific Partnership (TPP) is an Asia–Pacific‐based, United States‐led project while the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is an East Asia‐centred project. Each contains highly diverse memberships and the successful conclusion of TPP and RCEP talks is not assured. It is argued that, if negotiated, the RCEP is more likely to advance meaningful and effective regionalism than the TPP due to the former ascribing more importance to regional community‐building. Furthermore, bilateral FTAs already in force may over the long term transform into more comprehensive economic agreements that address new regional and global challenges such as energy security and climate change.     

《宋诗话辑佚》拾遗初编

郭少虞先生《宋诗话辑佚》对已经亡佚散失的三十六种宋代诗话著作作了辑佚工作,为研究宋代诗学提供了重要的参考书。限于材料,先生辑佚之外还有一些资料未见收录,虽有学者作了一定的增补,然仍有部分资料可以补遗。本文即对《宋诗话辑佚》中的六种诗话,《王直方诗话》、《古今诗话》、《唐宋诗话》、《潘子真诗话》、《桐江诗话》、《艺苑雌黄》等六种作了增补。     

Pagan: the archaeology of a WWII battle never fought in the Northern Mariana Islands

Archaeological and historical investigation of WWII battles fought in the Micronesian archipelago of the Mariana Islands has generally concentrated on the fierce struggles for Saipan, Tinian, and Guam. Smaller islands that were neutralised during the U.S. thrust to establish air bases for the bombing campaign over Japan beginning in 1944 have received less attention, but were a strategic link in the Absolute National Defence Sphere. This paper examines the archaeological evidence of Japanese military planning for the defence of the island of Pagan situated north of Saipan, a battle that was never fought. The strategy based on an analysis of fixed weaponry emplacement appears to have been conceived in terms of engagement evolving from a ‘defence-at-the-waters-edge’ tactic in the southern Mariana Islands towards a ‘defence-in-depth’ posture faced in Iwo Jima and Okinawa.     

20世纪80年代以来中国的日本诗话研究述评

日本诗话作为中国诗话域外繁衍的一大支脉,是在中国诗话的直接影响之下产生和发展起来的,它对于开拓我国古代文学的域外追踪研究和汉字文化圈内比较文学研究,有着重要的学术文化价值。上世纪80年代以来,中国学术界介绍研究日本诗话,取得了一定的成果。     

淮河下游新石器时代的绚丽画卷──龙虬庄遗址与江淮地区古文化学术座谈会专家发言纪要

江淮东部是介于海岱地区和太湖地区之间的一个重要的考古学文化区。自５０年代初在江淮东部发现淮安青莲岗遗址并由此提出青莲岗文化的命名以来,江淮地区的考古工作始终受到考古学界的高度关注。而高邮龙虬庄遗址被评为１９９３年中国十大考古新发现之后,在考古学界也产生了较大的影响。围绕龙虬庄遗址的考古发现,探讨江淮东部原始文化和青莲岗文化,以及淮河流域古文化,对于推动中国考古学研究向纵深发展,有着积极的意义。在高邮召开的龙虬庄遗址与江淮地区古文化的座谈会上,来自北京和苏鲁豫皖浙的专家各抒己见,本刊将座谈会上有代表性的专家的发言经整理后以纪要的形式刊出,旨在对江苏乃至淮河流域的考古工作起到积极的推动作用。     

"SCENOPHOBIA", GEOGRAPHY AND THE AESTHETIC POLITICS OF LANDSCAPE

Recent critiques of the nature–culture dualism, influenced by diverse theoretical stances, have effectively destabilized the “naturalness” of nature and highlighted its pervasive and intricate sociality. Yet the practical, ethical and political effects of this theoretical turn are open to question. In particular, the emphasis on the sociality of nature has not led to reinvigorated environmental or landscape politics. Meanwhile, the need for such politics has if anything increased, as evident when ongoing and, arguably, accelerating landscape transformations are taken into account. These concerns are illustrated in the paper with an example from Iceland. In its uninhabited central highland, serious battles are now being fought over landscape values. Capital and state have joined forces in an investment‐driven scramble for hydropower and geothermal resources to facilitate heavy industry, irrevocably transforming landscapes in the process. Dissonant voices arguing for caution and conservation have been sidelined or silenced by the power(ful) alliance. The author argues for renewed attention to the aesthetic, including the visual, if responsible politics of landscape are to be achieved. Aesthetic appreciation is an important part of the everyday experiences of most people. Yet, enthusiastic as they have been in deconstructing conventional narratives of nature, geographers have been rather timid when it comes to analysing aesthetic values of landscape and their significance, let alone in suggesting progressive landscape politics. A political geography of landscape is needed which takes aesthetics seriously, and which acknowledges the merit of engagement and enchantment.     

The battle of Inab

This article studies the battle of Inab fought in 544/1149 in northern Syria between a Muslim force led by Nur al-Din of Aleppo and the Franks of Antioch. Examining both the circumstances surrounding the encounter and its consequences, the article demonstrates that it was not the important victory for the Muslims it is currently believed to have been, but a lesser battle of limited consequences. Nur al-Din was not, at this point in time, an important figure in the geopolitical situation in the Near East, but a comparatively minor character whose role in the counter-crusade was negligible.     

An audit of the India-Pakistan peace process

The India-Pakistan peace process, technically known as the Composite Dialogue Process (CDP) has sailed through numerous highs and lows in bilateral relations since 1997. It has remained susceptible to unforeseen incidents which have derailed the process several times in the past. However, since 2003 April it has progressed steadily, baring suspension for a while, with support from the highest level. This paper dwells upon the history of the peace process since it inception in 1997 and examines the progress made in the eight baskets of issues namely Jammu and Kashmir (J&K); Siachen; Wullar Barrage/Tulbul Navigation Project; Sir Creek; Terrorism and Drug Trafficking; Economic and Commercial Cooperation; Peace and Security; and, Promotion of Friendly Exchanges in various fields. The analysis of the peace process in this paper hinges on two key questions. First, has any change in the mindset of both sides come about over the years due to the peace process? And second, what are the prospects of resolving the pending issues in the future talks?     

Algérie: Les retours de la mémoire de la guerre d'indépendance

After independence, the history of national liberation in Algeria was largely managed by the single-party state. Founding figures of Algerian nationalism such as Messali Hadj and Ferhat Abbas were shrouded in silence. Since 1988 a plurality of voices has emerged and a number of historic figures have been rehabilitated. The state of quasi-civil war which has existed since 1992 between government forces and Islamic insurgents has, nevertheless, continued to inhibit discussion of human rights abuses during the war of independence. The recent resurgence in France of the debate over the use of torture during the Algerian war has been largely ignored by the Algerian government. The status of harkis , Algerian Muslims who fought on the side of the French during the war of independence, also remains acutely sensitive in official Algerian circles. Events such as the 'Berber Spring' of 2001 are continuing to press the authorities towards greater openness.     

Whatever Happened to Industry Policy in Australia?

Since the 1980s and early 1990s, there have been few constructive developments towards a comprehensive and coherent productivity-enhancing agenda. Labor governments have often provided rhetorical support but have fought over whether industry policy represents a new protectionism or market-enhancing development policy. The Coalition in opposition and in office has generally opposed the idea of industry policy, but has continued to support ad hoc and costly policy interventions. Australia's 20 years without a recession has disguised the need to reconsider industry policy and questions of economic diversity. This article argues that dealing with problems of economic structure – particularly resource dependence and climate change adaptation – requires a revitalisation of the industry policy debate. It tracks the theory and practice of industry policy in Australia and concludes that advocates for industry policy must formulate new policy ideas outside the framework of the traditional divide between intervention and free markets.     

The Iranian Nuclear Challenge

In December 2003 Iran signed an Additional Protocol to its Safeguards Agreement with the International Atomic Energy Authority. The signing followed 18 months of mounting international pressure on Iran to prove its benign motives following revelations about past failures to declare work on uranium enrichment and plutonium separation–the two routes to producing nuclear weapons-grade material. Although Iran has strenuously denied having a nuclear weapons programme, both the United States and the European Union have been highly suspicious. However, their responses to Iran have shown a divergence in how to counter the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The way forward on Iran will be influenced significantly by the extent to which the American and European approaches can be reconciled or otherwise.     

Nuclear Iran is Not an Option: A new negotiating strategy to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons

The negotiations between Iran and the P5+1¹ over Tehran's nuclear enrichment activities have not only failed to reach an agreement but have brought Iran much closer to the threshold of mastering the technology to produce nuclear weapons. There are many factors that precipitated this breakdown, including the West's inability to understand and deal with the Iranian psychological disposition, the failure to present to Iran the severity of the punitive measures that could be inflicted as a consequence of their defiance, and the US administration's misleading policy that gave Iran the room to maneuver. There is an urgent need to adopt a distinctively new strategy toward Iran consisting of three tracks of separate but interconnected negotiations: The first should focus on the current negotiations on Iran's enrichment program and the economic incentive package; the second should concentrate on regional security and the consequences of continued Iranian defiance; and the third track should address Iran's and the United States' grievances against each other. The United States must initiate all three tracks without which future talks will be as elusive as the previous negotiations, except this time the West and Israel will be facing the unsettling prospect of a nuclear Iran.     

On the pedagogy of 'small wars'

This article argues that flawed western strategies for 'small wars', those fought in the non—European world, have been informed by illusions concerning the cultural, military and political superiority of the West. With 9/11, such wars ceased to be small. The main threat to the western powers no longer emanates from other states organized along lines similar to their own, but from a transnational network enterprise that has its origins in the global South and the Islamic world. Nonetheless, old imperial and orientalist constructions continue to inform western and particularly US perceptions of the war on terror. 'Knowing thy enemy' and 'knowing thyself', Sun Tzu's formula for victory, requires abandoning flattering accounts of western identity and learning to empathize with those we call terrorists.     

日内瓦四国政府首脑会议与中美大使级会谈的实现——兼论1955年前后的中苏关系

在1954年底到1955年初筹备日内瓦四国政府首脑会议期间,苏联在国际场合对美国施加压力,加上中国的主动争取,美国终于同意进行中美大使级会谈。随后,在实现中美大使级会谈的过程中,中国同苏联密切配合:首先是希望使会谈同四国政府首脑会议相呼应,促使美国讨论台湾局势等问题;在无法实现这一目的时,中国又根据形势调整了会谈策略,试图以缓和的姿态争取同美国讨论台湾局势等问题。1955年8月1日,中美大使级会谈终于得以实现。这一过程既体现了中苏在国际关系中的相互配合和团结协作,同时也可以看出中苏关系利益的不一致。     

From Propaganda to Modernization: Media Policy and Media Audiences under National Socialism

To date, historians have worked on the assumption that NationalSocialism used the media to powerful propaganda effect. Yetat an early stage a few voices, especially within Anglo-Saxonscholarship, questioned whether the process was so direct. Increasinglythe individual media have been examined, both technically andin terms of their public the reactions they provoked. This essayexamines how the media can be said to have modernized underNational Socialism, and how newspaper readers, radio listenersand cinema audiences reacted to the development of the media.There were major differences. Radio was conceived as a mediumfor music and entertainment; new formats were developed in responseto listeners turning to programmes from abroad, so that Germanradio could no longer keep a monopoly on information. The majorityof feature films were melodramas and light entertainment, andalthough many carried a ‘message’, the cinema wasfundamentally a commercial, non-political sphere. Newspapersremained relatively conservative in presentation. The presswas largely concentrated in the hands of the party, so informationwas highly controlled, and due to difficulties of productionin wartime they became increasingly unattractive, and by 1942were trusted by few readers. The corpus of the media generallybecame technically more efficient, and sought to please itsgrowing audience. Total control of the media by the politicalleaders was not achieved. Particular elements, such as war films,or the ‘Wehrmacht Request Show’, had memorable success.Agenda setting by the media planners put certain key politicalideas into the forefront, and they were able to disseminatekey symbols and rituals of National Socialism. The media werebut one of many agents used, though, to foster political loyalty.The régime also, and more importantly, achieved thisby using existing attitudes, and through its permanent threatof violence towards the population, whom they also seduced withmaterial ‘treats’. It emerges that it is both possibleand helpful in studying the development of the media to examineit as a process of modernization in the media, in their organizationaland technical structures. This process was however underminedwherever in German society anti-modernist ideology and practicespersisted or fought back.     

The Archaeology of the Battle of Vuelta de Obligado,Buenos Aires Province,Argentina

Abstract

This paper presents the results of research carried out for more than a decade at Vuelta de Obligado, San Pedro, north-east of Buenos Aires province. The objectives were to understand the dynamics of the strategy followed on the 1845 battlefield by the two groups who fought (Anglo-French and Argentine), and to assess the impact of formation processes on the results produced. This has been achieved through the use of several sources of information: the archaeological record, written documents, Argentine and European plans and sketches, as well as data provided by the current population.     

“The ideal home of the South”: The Robert E. Lee Camp Confederate soldiers' home and the institutionalization of Confederate veterans in Virginia

For more than half a century, the Robert E. Lee Camp Soldiers' Home in Richmond, Virginia, provided shelter, food, and medical care to some of the South's neediest Confederate veterans. Applications to the Lee Camp home offer valuable insight into the post-war experiences of a substantial number of Confederate veterans and highlight the enduring effects of the Civil War upon those who fought in it. For such men, the long-term physical and economic ramifications of the conflict largely exceeded the capabilities of existing avenues of social assistance and necessitated the augmentation of state-based welfare efforts. Moreover, applications to the Lee Camp soldiers' home indicate some of the cultural assumptions which informed the home's application process and demonstrate the duality of purpose that has often been regarded by historians as a key characteristic of Confederate veterans' welfare.     

Perceived Risk and Citizen Preferences for Governmental Management of Routine Hazards

Risk perceptions are important to the policy process because they inform individuals’ preferences for government management of hazards that affect personal safety, public health, or ecological conditions. Studies of risk in the policy process have often focused on explicating the determinants of risk perceptions for highly salient, high consequence hazards (e.g., nuclear energy). We argue that it is useful to also study more routinely experienced hazards; doing so shows the relevance of risk perceptions in individuals’ daily lives. Our investigation focuses on the impact perceived risk has on citizens’ preferences over hazard management policies (as distinct from identifying risk perception determinants per se). We use a recursive structural equation model to analyze public opinion data measuring attitudes in three distinct issue domains: air pollution, crime, and hazardous waste storage and disposal. We find that citizens utilize perceived risk rationally: greater perceived risk generally produces support for more proactive government to manage potential hazards. This perceived risk–policy response relationship generally holds even though the policy options respondents were asked to consider entailed nontrivial costs to the public. The exception seems to be when individuals know less about the substantive issue domain.