Turkish foreign policy since 2002: between a‘post‐Islamist’government and a Kemalist state

This article discusses Turkish foreign policy over the past four years, since the election of a ‘post‐Islamist’ administration. It argues that although this period has been ‘Huntingtonian’, in terms of the diff erent political values and origins of the government on the one hand and the largely Kemalist state on the other, in the realm of foreign policy at least the relationship has been more cooperative and complementary than confictual. By focusing on seven areas of Turkey's foreign relations, as diverse as the EU, Cyprus, Syria and the Israeli—Palestinian conflict, the article identifies four types of experience in the overall conduct of policy: convergence; contained disharmomy; managed ideological divergence; and neutrality. It concludes by arguing that, providing Turkey's political institutions remain robust, there is no reason why this surprisingly successful cohabitation should not continue into the next parliament after 2007.     

Historical coastline adjustment at MacVanes Pond Inlet, Eastern Prince Edward Island

Sea levels are rising throughout the Atlantic Provinces at present and this is expected to continue throughout this century, forcing general coastline retreat and adjustment. In this study, a part of the coastline of eastern Prince Edward Island is examined for changes during historical time (1784–1994) using maps and aerial photography. MacVanes Pond is located between Basin Head Harbour and South Lake, all three of which were once lagoons connected to the same tidal circulation system. Sand barrier retreat has closed the connection to Basin Head Harbour and it is now a separate body of water. Meanwhile, the location of a tidal inlet at MacVanes Pond has been strongly influenced by longshore drift and the inlet has closed, re‐opened to the northeast, and subsequently shifted to the southwest. Human activities in the area have previously been, and will continue to be, affected by sea level rise and transgression. Actuellement, le niveau de la mer s'élève dans la région des provinces de l'Atlantique et l'on prévoit que cette tendance se maintiendra tout au long du présent siècle, ce qui aura pour effet général de faire reculer le littoral et de le modifier. La présente étude examine une partie du littoral est de l'Île‐du‐Prince‐Édouard pour y déceler des changements qui se sont produits dans le temps (1784–1994) à partir de cartes et de photographies aériennes. L'étang MacVanes est situé entre le bassin Head‐Harbour et le lac South, trois plans d'eau qui étaient autrefois des lagunes reliées au même système de marée. Or, une barre de sable a fermé le lion avec le bassin Head‐Harbour, qui est maintenant une masse d'eau distincte. Entre‐temps, l'emplacement d'un goulet de marée à l'étang MacVanes a été grandement influencé par la dérive littorale, au point de se fermer pour se frayer une nouvelle ouverture au nord‐est et par la suite au sud‐ouest. Les activités humaines de cette région ont été affectées, et continueront de l'être, par l'élévation du niveau de la mer et sa transgression.     

Conceptualizing Social Exclusion in Rural Britain

Most studies of living conditions in rural areas have offered essentially static snapshots. Social exclusion is a multi-dimensional, dynamic concept which emphasizes the processes of change through which individuals or groups are excluded from the mainstream of society and their life-chances reduced. This article considers social exclusion in the context of the principal forces operating on and within rural areas of Britain, including global restructuring and the changing role of the State and supra-national institutions. A framework of four systems of social exclusion and inclusion is proposed, following Reimer (personal communication, 1998), according to the means by which resources and status are allocated in society. This is used to structure a presentation of the results of several recent empirical studies which provide evidence of the processes and system failures lying behind social exclusion in rural Britain. A number of research issues are identified concerning how these processes vary between areas, how they connect to the broader forces operating at macro and meso levels, and how local action is associated with attempts to resist social exclusion.     

Neoliberalism and the Institutions for Regional Development in Australia

This paper examines some effects of the pursuit of neoliberalism on regional development policy and practice in Australia, and in particular on the activities and effectiveness of regional development organisations. The paper interprets data from a survey of 505 regional development organisations across Australia through the framework of Jessop's contribution to state theory and his identification of four key trends in economic management under neoliberalism. Regional development policies are seen as a response of governments to electoral pressure from regions, but a response that is constrained by the dominance of neoliberal ideology. The objectives of regional development are predominantly economic, but are often limited to the role of facilitation and the provision of information. Some responsibility for regional development has been shifted downwards to regions, but the effectiveness of the organisations given this responsibility is reduced by the short‐term and competitive nature of much of their funding, the lack of coordination between regional development actors at the local level, the proliferation of agencies and the competition between them. The paper concludes that regional development agencies in Australia are in many ways a product of neoliberalism, since they represent one way in which governments can be seen to be responding to regional pressure for assistance but they can do so without incurring significant costs. Yet regional development bodies are also a victim of neoliberalist thinking, since it denies them the resources and the powers they need to be more successful in their work.