Russia's Accession to the World Trade Organization

A prominent specialist on the Russian economy presents a timely assessment of Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization. The author discusses the reasons that prompted Russia to seek membership and scrutinizes the major obstacles, such as complexities of the accession process and the country's institutional malaise. An analysis of the effects of possible membership on the Russian economy is followed by a focus on Putin's first term (2000-2003) when he supported entry, and the second (2004-2007) when he lost interest. Also presented are two scenarios projecting reinvigorated pursuit of Russian membership, or abandonment of the goal. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: F13, F40, O19. 1 table, 46 references.     

从云锦公所到铁机公会--近代苏州丝织业同业组织的嬗变

苏州丝织手工业历史悠久,云锦公所为其行会组织。明末清初以后。社会经济的发展导致行会制度开始动摇,行会功能遭到削弱。清朝末期,随着中国社会经济发生深刻变化,苏州丝织业云锦公所的旧式行会色彩日益淡化。虽仍沿用旧称,但与传统社会里的纯粹行会组织已经不可同日而语,表现出向资产阶级同业团体过渡的特征。到民国年间,在苏州丝织业生产方式和经营方式发生根本变化的同时,云锦公所也完成了自身的转化,演变为资产阶级同业组织的成熟形态——“铁机丝织业同业公会”。     

Finnish Farmstead Organization in Old And New World Settings

During recent years an increasing amount of scholarly attention has focused upon the assessment of ordinary people, conventional places and common events. Most studies of material culture, however, have been directed toward vernacular and ethnic architecture and artifacts, with relatively little attention given to the physical organization of rural enclaves or entire farmstead units. Undoubtedly studies of farmsteads have been limited in number because of the substantial amount of field survey work that is required, and what is perceived as a lack of primary research materials, both archival and structural. Despite these apparent problems, an assessment of extant rural building groupings and remnants in a Wisconsin Finnish-American community and a perusal of various reference materials revealed sufficient evidence to undertake an in-depth study of farmsteads and their spatial organization. By comparing farmsteads developed by Finnish immigrants in Wisconsin with prototypical examples from Finland, it was possible to determine both differences and similarities in functional and morphological characteristics on both sides of the Atlantic.     

Afghanistan and the Opium World Market: Poppy Production and Trade

The Afghan poppy cultivation is presented here as a case in point to exemplify the linkages between external influences and local effects. World market and power relations have influenced cultivation patterns, processing, and trafficking. At the same time, poppy cultivation pinpoints an internal development which is strongly linked to deteriorating state control, warlordism, and regional power politics. Opium production has served as a major source of revenue for the upholding of disparate political structures which reflect the present political map of Afghanistan. Poppy cultivation in Afghanistan gained a substantial push during the last quarter century, from an annual production of 200 tons in 1979 to 4,200 tons in 2004, making use of former development efforts in creating irrigated oases in Helmand and Nangarhar. Prices rose after the Taliban's 2001 ban on production, raising farmers' incomes substantially and turning opium into an unrivalled cash crop. Fairly new production zones have been added in recent times; for example, Badakhshan—the stronghold of the Northern Alliance—has gained the third position with major increases in the last few years. Afghanistan's poppy cultivation and opium production has to be interpreted in terms of globalization and fragmentation. Drug trafficking affects the neighboring states, namely, Iran, Tajikistan, and Pakistan, as they function as consumer markets as well as trade routes for contraband drugs heading towards the West. Consequently, the Afghan poppy cultivation is interpreted in a holistic manner.     

New World States and Empires: Economic and Social Organization

We take a critical perspective in discussing recent publications on the archaeological study of the ancient state-level societies of Latin America. For some topics, such as intensive agriculture and exchange, data are far ahead of theory, whereas for others (e.g., gender and ethnicity), theory has outstripped data. Craft production, a topic that has achieved a good balance of data and theory, is one of the success stories of recent Latin American archaeology. After a discussion of sources of data, we review these and other topics (e.g., consumption patterns, household studies, social organization) in terms of both data and theory. In a second review article, we cover the topics of politics, religion, urbanism, and the processes of change.     

Rethinking the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and its Inter‐American Regional Organization

In responding to the impact of corporate globalization on the working class, the trade union movement needs not only to rethink its strategies, but also to review its international organization. This article highlights changes in the labour market such as the increase in unemployment, deregulation, informality, the stronger presence of women, and the issue of child labour. In this context, the article goes on to consider the growing social movements that might form alliances with trade unions for social change. The present international confederations of trade unions—the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), the World Confederation of Labor (WCL), and the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU)—were profoundly engaged in the cold war. Their structure today, particularly that of the ICFTU, is the same as 50 years ago. The ICFTU's structure mirrors the Leninist model of centralized direction practiced by its traditional opponent, the WFTU. Many national confederations resisted this East‐West pressure during the Cold War, and chose to stay outside all of the international confederations. Post‐Cold War, most have elected to become members of the ICFTU, believing it to be a democratic space for an open political debate, and in the hope of reform. However, expected change has been slow to materialize. This paper explores the way in which changes already made in the Organización Regional Interamericana de Trabajadores (ORIT) might shape ongoing discussions in the ICFTU.     

世界历史发展进程中的第二次世界大战

第二次世界大战是资本主义陷入深刻危机的产物,使人类在物质上和精神上蒙受了前所未有的巨大双重劫难。但是,战后形成的社会主义新气象和殖民体系的瓦解,以及在国际关系中形成的各种维护世界和平与安全、促进全球经济发展与合作的新机制,进一步加快了世界历史的发展进程。战后的世界历史进入了一个以和平与发展为时代主题的新阶段。     

走到世界的尽头 乌斯怀亚

<正>我能想到的最浪漫的事,就是牵着你的手,一起走到世界的尽头。这个"世界的尽头",就是阿根廷乌斯怀亚,有人类居住的最南端的城市,出了乌斯怀亚港口1000海里,就是渺无人烟的茫茫冰河南极洲。皑皑雪山下"美丽的海湾"乌斯怀亚,位于南半球的顶端火地岛南海岸,走到这里,就走到了世界的尽头——出港口,过德雷克海峡,就是无人居住的冰封南极极地。这里依山傍水,小镇的建筑色彩绚丽,山顶常年积雪,山下的森林却郁郁葱葱,风光旖旎     

A trade balance: litigation and negotiation in the World Trade Organization's dispute settlement system

The establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been widely accepted as representing the legalisation of world trading rules. However, it is important to reflect on the limits of this legalisation thesis in terms of the interface between international and domestic policy processes. By locating trading disputes in a political analysis of policy implementation, it is argued that it is difficult to establish conceptually how the WTO dispute settlement system could have authority separate from and above the conventional international politics of trade policy relations. Instead, the article argues that case outcomes should be expected to be largely the product of domestic political institutions and policy processes, and how these intersect with developments in the WTO dispute settlement system. Brief studies of the Australian government's dispute settlement strategy and two high-profile WTO disputes—the US upland cotton and European Union sugar cases—serve to suggest that the authority of international trade law is not as significant as assumed by the legalisation thesis. Rather, domestic politics and institutions have an important impact on the outcome of trade disputes.