The politics of Australia's international economic relations: Adjustment and two‐level games

Economic adjustment, a political priority for Labor governments throughout the second half of the 1980s, and in contrast to earlier Australian scholarship and practice, is now recognised to be an internationally, as well as a domestically, determined and constrained enterprise. Theoretical developments in international political economy in North America of late have provided a variety of approaches for conceptualising this twofold enterprise. Taking two cases (the development of the Cairns Group and its activities in the Uruguay Round of Trade Negotiations and the development of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) this paper looks at two of these approaches—to show how they can contribute to the understanding of international economic policy under Labor in the late 1980s and early 1990s.     

Toward a synthesis of foreign relations in the Civil War era, 1848–77

Perhaps the greatest void in the scholarship on U.S. foreign relations is the lack of a synthesis covering the Civil War era, 1848–77. Largely as a result of the crisis of the Union, these years constitute a distinct period in foreign relations that should be treated as a whole. Though sectionalism, party conflict, the Civil War and Reconstruction did not influence foreign policy in a consistent manner, statesmen viewed foreign affairs through a lens colored by the process and meaning of the domestic conflict. Additionally, ethnicity and race, flows of capital, and geopolitical and commercial rivalries all factored into the equation of foreign policy formulation. This essay explores the historiography and suggests that foreign relations in the Civil War era constituted a contested period of transition, dominated by the crisis of the Union.     

Learning mobility: high-school exchange programs as a part of transnational mobility†

Long-term high-school exchange is a popular way to go abroad for German youth (2.5% of 16-year-olds go abroad for 6–12 months). The ongoing research project is dealing with the long-term impact of high-school exchange programs on further mobility of the participants. Using an online survey among 3000 former exchange students and 30 qualitative focus interviews, it is shown that mobility reproduces itself. Six years after the exchange, about 80% of the respondents have been abroad again for a period of longer than six weeks. This is seen as part of a normalization of transnational social practices.     

The neuroscience of Helmholtz and the theories of Johannes Müller. Part 2: Sensation and perception

In this, our continuation paper on Helmholtz and Müller, we examine Helmholtz's contributions to sensation and perception, with emphasis on his extension and modification of Müller's theory of specific nerve energies. The material is again presented in biographical-chronological context. We also examine Helmholtz's views on depth and space perception, and his empirical theory of knowledge, which are also compared to Müller's views. It will be shown that Helmholtz remained stimulated by the thoughts and doctrines of Johannes Müller in the sensory-perceptual part of his career, which began early in the 1850s and ended with his death. Nevertheless, Helmholtz's own experiments and new discoveries by others sometimes led him to quite different conclusions.     

Australia's embrace of investor state dispute settlement: a challenge to the social contract ideal?

This paper explores the origins of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) treaties and their implications for the Australian social contract. This analysis includes how and why ISDS emerged in NAFTA, was rebuffed with the failure of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), and became incorporated into most subsequent bilateral US trade and investment agreements. The paper considers Australia's exposure to ISDS—first through using it in bilateral investment agreements in nations with inadequate governance mechanisms to support the rule of law, then turning against it when a multinational tobacco company tried to use the mechanism to overturn scientifically endorsed, democratically approved and constitutionally validated tobacco plain packaging measures. The paper concludes by exploring the hypothesis that an alternative governance vision can be achieved in which the system of investment arbitration and trade law is made coherent with presumptively more democratically legitimate normative systems such as constitutional and international law.     

US-China relations after 11 September: a long engagement or marriage of convenience?

This article traces the evolution of US–Sino relations in the period since the 11 September attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. It argues that the resultant, largely unanticipated rapprochement that has occurred between Beijing and Washington is actually more robust than many analysts have thus far been prepared to acknowledge. While conflictual elements will remain a feature of this all-important bilateral relationship, the article contends that the current ‘honeymoon period’ in US–Sino relations is likely to persist for some time yet, largely because it is underwritten by a deeper combination of economic, political and strategic considerations. While recognising that it is both natural and necessary to contemplate the ‘worst of times’ that may still lie ahead in US–Sino relations, the article concludes that it is particularly important for Australian policymakers to acknowledge the potential for a prolongation of the post-11 September ‘honeymoon’ and to actively encourage this possibility as they contemplate alternative approaches to managing China's rise.     

The chemical analysis of oriental ceramic body compositions: Part 2—Greenwares

The results of over 130 chemical analyses of Chinese Greenware bodies are presented, obtained by atomic absorption spectrometry. A clear chemical difference is seen between the earlier Northern Zhejiang Yue wares and the later Longquan celadons. Interesting connections are observed between Northern Celadons (assumed to be from Yaozhou), Hangzhou Guan wares and early Jingdezhen Greenwares, which are tentatively explained by the flight of the Song court to Hangzhou in AD 1127, perhaps taking Imperial potters with them. The Longquan celadons contained a substantial number of kiln sherds, obtained by Nils Palmgren on his visit to the area in 1936. The availability of authentic kiln material is very unusual in Western studies of this kind, and particular attention is paid to these data. It was hoped to discriminate between the named kilns around Longquan (Lishui, Qikou, Yuankou, Longfeng, Jincun, Dayao, Anfu, Baoding and Wenzhou), and it proved possible to distinguish chemically the Baoding and Wenzhou products. These kilns are geographically slightly removed from Longquan itself, are probably earlier in date, and their composition appears to be intermediate between the Yue wares of Zhejiang province and the true Longquan celadons. The other kilns proved difficult to distinguish, and observed small differences are probably due to differences in date or fabric quality.     

Embroidery as a Means of Diplomacy: The Artisans’ Part in a Royal Marriage Proposal, 1560–1561

The use of fashionable dress played an important part in early modern dynastic politics. In this paper, the diplomatic efforts to engineer a marriage between Erik XIV of Sweden and Elizabeth I of England are used as an example of the interrelations of textiles and diplomacy. Parallel to their negotiations in London, the Swedes organised the production of luxury goods and set up temporary workshops on the spot. The study looks at the Swedish embroidery workshop in London, using written records to investigate its organisation and production, and to discuss artisanal skills and the transnational element in employment in a royal workshop. It is suggested that the entire enterprise was a diplomatic practice, designed to enable the Swedes to draw attention to their presence in London and make their consumption visible on all possible levels.     

A Reexamination of Output Convergence in the U.S. States: Toward Which Level(s) are they Converging?

Abstract.  This paper reexamines the issue of output convergence among the 48 states in the continental United States. Implementing multiple panel data techniques to state per capita output during the period 1929–2001 reveals little evidence of stochastic convergence in all 48 states, but some evidence among collections of states at the regional level. This observation may suggest that output convergence in the United States has proceeded among geographically neighboring states rather than among distant states, notwithstanding the nearly complete integration of product and factor markets. Our findings appear to be robust to a subsample analysis, although the intensity of convergence varies with the choice of output measure and deflator. Industrial structures and geographic proximity are considered as potential explanations for the regional pattern of output growth dynamics.