Temporal Patterns and Effects of Surface‐Water Diversions on Daily Flows and Aquatic Habitats: Bega‐Bemboka River,New South Wales,Australia

An understanding of the nature and magnitude of hydrological, physical habitat and physico‐chemical effects resulting from surface‐water diversions in river systems is essential for effective management of water resources. For most coastal‐draining rivers in New South Wales, however, there are few data available on irrigation diversions, their hydrological impacts and environmental effects. This paper therefore presents an analysis of mean daily surface‐water diversions for pasture irrigation from approximately three years of metered data and the resultant effects on daily flows and aquatic habitats in the Bega‐Bemboka River. The period of analysis of the hydrological effects of irrigation diversions is extended to the full length of record (approximately five years) for gauging stations most affected by irrigation diversions, using Maintenance of Variance Extension Type 1 (MOVE.1) modelling techniques. The annual mean, median and peak daily rates of water diversion by metered surface‐water licences used to irrigate 925 ha of dairy pasture are 10.5 Ml d^?1, 7.3 Ml d^?1 and 41.5 Ml d^?1, respectively. Diversion effects on flow duration statistics are such that the measured 90th and 95th daily flow duration percentiles at the gauging station most affected by upstream irrigation diversions are equivalent to the 97th and 99th flow duration percentiles, respectively, under MOVE.1 modelled natural flow conditions. While diversions for irrigation over the three‐year data period account for only 6.6% of total flow volumes, diversions as a proportion of daily surface‐water inflows increase exponentially under decreasing flow rates. Median and maximum daily diversion rates attain 91% and 118%, respectively, of total surface‐water inflows to the diversion‐affected reach when upstream inflows range from 15 to 20 Ml d^?1. This exponentially‐increasing relationship between daily diversion rates and declining surface‐water inflows suggests that ‘rule of thumb’ guidelines on sustainable diversion limits based on mean or median annual percentage diversion volumes need to be applied cautiously to river systems with no or limited capacity to manipulate flows to meet downstream consumptive demands.     

Beyond the civic–ethnic dichotomy: investigating the structure of citizenship concepts across thirty‐three countries

ABSTRACT. The traditional distinction between civic and ethnic citizenship continues to dominate the study of citizenship concepts. In recent years, various authors have questioned the dichotomous character of these concepts. In this article, we empirically investigate the applicability of this dichotomy based on an analysis of International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) survey data across thirty‐three societies. The analysis demonstrates that this dichotomous structure can indeed be detected and therefore the theoretical dichotomy can be considered as empirically valid. While ethnic citizenship refers most strongly to having national ancestry, for civic citizenship the most important criterion seems to be to obey national laws. However, the ethnic concept of citizenship can also be defined in a negative manner: for ethnic citizenship, obeying the national laws is clearly not a sufficient condition. Further analysis also reveals that the measurement of both concepts is not equivalent cross‐nationally, so that findings on civic and ethnic citizenship are difficult to compare across societies.     

‘Tony's war’? Blair,Kosovo and the interventionist impulse in British foreign policy

Operation Allied Force had a decisive impact on Tony Blair's leadership of UK foreign policy. This article begins with Blair's famous Chicago speech of April 1999; his clearest statement of an apparently underlying moral purpose in international relations. It then contrasts the conventional wisdom that over Kosovo Blair was acting out of a sense of moral obligation (sharpened by recent British failings to act to prevent humanitarian disasters in the Balkans) with a revisionist account centring on the domestic political considerations impelling Blair into this particular foreign policy adventure. Blair drew three lessons from his involvement in Operation Allied Force: that media presentation was a crucial aspect of implementing a successful foreign policy strategy; that he had been too cautious between 1997 and 1999, partly as a result of being chained to the vagaries of public opinion; and that he could generate robust and worthy foreign and defence policies sitting with his close advisers on the sofa of his 'den' in Downing Street rather than working through traditional channels. The key argument in conclusion is that there was a Tony Blair before Iraq, one who was genuinely set on building a consensus around humanitarian intervention.     

THE HIGH-WATER MARK: THE SITING OF MEGALITHIC TOMBS ON THE SWEDISH ISLAND OF TJÖRN

Summary. In 1977 Grahame Clark suggested that the siting of megalithic tombs along the west coast of Scandinavia reflected the distribution of productive fishing grounds. Unlike the situation in other parts of Europe, these monuments were not associated with agriculture. Opinions have varied over the last quarter century, but enough is now known about changes of sea-level for his interpretation to be investigated on the ground. There seems to have been considerable diversity. On the large island of Örust some of the tombs located near to the sea appear to be associated with small natural enclosures defined by rock outcrops and may have been associated with grazing land. On the neighbouring island of Tjörn, however, the tombs were associated with small islands and important sea channels. During the Bronze Age the same areas included carvings of ships. Recent fieldwork in western Norway suggests that such locations were especially important in a maritime economy.     

America after Iraq

America won an asymmetric war in Iraq and lost an asymmetric peace. Translating material power advantage into favourable political outcomes has been a challenge for great powers down the ages—what makes this bridge even more difficult to cross today is the raised expectations on the part of liberal publics about the moral purpose of US‐led interventions. In this sense, Iraq is part of the explanation for why influential liberals believe there is a ‘crisis’ in America's world leadership. ‘America after Iraq’ subjects this claim to analytical scrutiny—in particular it addresses whether Iraq was simply a chapter in a longer book detailing American power and purpose in the post‐9/11 world? In answering this question the article is drawn to consider conceptual debates about a shift in the international system from anarchy to hierarchy with the US as the hegemonic power. While it rejects strong versions of the hierarchy thesis that imply the Washington is the new Rome, it is nevertheless drawn to an understanding of a hierarchical form of ordering where the US oscillates between a hegemonic role and an imperial outlaw. Seen through this lens, the Iraq War was an intervention that happened because it could, and not because it was just or necessary. Public opinion and the weakness of domestic institutions are also critical factors in explaining how it was possible for a previously status‐quo oriented hegemonic power to act recklessly and put the rules and institutions of international society under strain.     

Special relationships in flux: Brexit and the future of the US–EU and US–UK relationships

A British exit from the EU would add to growing strains on the United States’ relations with Britain and the rest of Europe, but by itself would not lead to a breakdown in transatlantic relations due to the scale of shared ideas and interests, institutional links, international pressures and commitments by individual leaders. It would, however, add to pressures on the US that could change the direction of the transatlantic relationship. From the perspective of Washington, Britain risks becoming an awkward inbetweener, beholden more than ever before to a wider transatlantic relationship where the US and EU are navigating the challenges of an emerging multipolar world. The article outlines developments in the UK, EU, Europe and the US in order to explain what Brexit could mean for the United States’ approaches to transatlantic relations. By doing so the article moves beyond a narrow view of Brexit and transatlantic relations that focuses on the future of UK–US relations. In the conclusion we map out several ways in which US views of the transatlantic relationship could be changed.