Biased Justice: James C. McReynolds of the Supreme Court of the United States

James Clark McReynolds was a man who people only spoke of in superlatives—most of them unflattering.     

President Jefferson's Three Appointments to the Supreme Court of the United States: 1804, 1807, and 1807

In endeavoring to set the stage for an examination and analysis of Mr. Jefferson's three appointments to the Supreme Court of the United States, a summary glance into those of his two predecessors, George Washington and John Adams, both Federalists, is apposite.     

The United States and Maghreb–Sahel security

Although the Maghreb has never been a priority, it now represents a region of significant interest for the United States. The importance of the Maghreb, and its Sahel extension, springs first from political and economic/energy interests, and second, from military, strategic and security concerns. The first relates to America's energy needs in the region, as well as to the regionalization that could create a potentially lucrative market for US businesses, especially since competition with China has increased over its recent gains in Africa. The second motivation, linked to the first, stems from Washington's new strategy and security policies initiated since 9/11 which have heightened the need for a new type of management concerning security, Islamism, terrorism, and, for a time, democratization. Unquestionably, the problems of terrorism, illegal migration, and other illegal activities are symptoms which cannot be understood if they are disconnected from their causes. However, rather than promoting economic development and good governance, the United States has focused predominantly on hard security matters and established a security system in the region which has continued under the Obama administration. Furthermore, Washington has not so far distanced itself from the regimes in the region whose authoritarianism, mismanagement of the economy, and violation of civil liberties is precisely what brought about the ills from which the Maghreb–Sahel suffers. Without addressing these issues therefore, there is little chance that the region will witness long-lasting peace, security, and prosperity. Furthermore, the protracted conflict in the Western Sahara, the resolution of which has been impeded by the geopolitical considerations of outside powers, has not only hindered the necessary construction of an integrated Maghreb, but also has the potential of leading to regional conflict.     

Africa and the United States

Peter J. Schraeder. United States Foreign Policy toward Africa: Incrementalism, Crisis, and Change . New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994.     

Atlas of the United States

In an attempt to distinguish between regional physical geography and the Soviet school of landscape science, the author defines the study objects of the two disciplines and provides a useful review of the present state of landscape science in the Soviet Union. Physical geography is said to be concerned with study of the entire geographical shell of the earth, ranging from the troposphere to the bottom of the layer of sedimentary rocks in the earth's crust. Landscape science focuses on the so-called landscape sphere, which is defined as the portion of the geographical shell that lies at or near the surface of the earth and is imbued with present-day life. Although some Soviet geographers treat the term “landscape” as a broad conceptual term (similar to climate), most investigators tend to give the term a classificatory or typological connotation, regarding landscape as the basic unit in a classification of natural geocomplexes. One landscape school focuses on the morphological structure of landscape, the other on model-building of the landscape mechanism.     

美国的利息平衡税及其效果和影响(1963-1974)

国际收支逆差困扰着20世纪50年代末至70年代初的美国历届政府.肯尼迪政府试图通过利息平衡税限制长期资本外流,以改善美国国际收支状况.约翰逊政府通过《利息平衡税法》将此税合法化、常态化.尼克松政府逐渐放宽对资本外流的管制,并于1974年中止利息平衡税.利息平衡税在扼制长期资本外流上取得了一定成效,但在改善美国整体国际收支状况上作用有限.利息平衡税在客观上促进了欧洲美元市场的繁荣,并促进欧洲货币市场的多元化发展.     

论1950-1970年代的美泰关系

1950—1970年代的美泰关系与亚洲冷战密切相关。亚洲冷战格局形成后,两国逐步结成双边同盟,在美国侵越战争期间密切合作。20世纪70年代初,美国根据全球和国内形势的变化调整亚洲政策,致使美泰关系由盛转衰。