International reactions to the Scottish referendum

The referendum on whether Scotland should become an independent country will be held on 18 September 2014. This article reflects on the evolution of foreign governments' attitudes towards the referendum since its confirmation in October 2012, and on their expectations should a ‘yes’ vote result. With few exceptions, they have adopted a policy of non‐intervention, treating the referendum as the UK's domestic affair. President Obama's expression on 5 June 2014 of his desire for the UK to remain ‘a strong, robust, united and effective partner’ may, however, be seen as a sign of increasing apprehension abroad. Concerns of foreign governments aroused by the referendum include the diminution of the UK's power and role in international affairs, the possible encouragement of other secessionist movements, and disturbance to international organizations and alliances. It is commonly assumed that Scotland would become a reasonably prosperous and reliable small state. But how would the rest of the UK (rUK), a much more powerful and populous country, respond to ‘the loss of Scotland’? How would it affect the UK's already unsettled relations with the EU, including the prospect of a referendum on EU membership? Despite many uncertainties and a febrile political atmosphere, it is widely expected abroad that Scotland and rUK would settle into a cooperative relationship after a difficult transitional period, and that an independent Scotland would be accepted into the EU and NATO if it displayed flexibility on important issues.     

In praise of folly: international administration and the corruption of humanity

Advocates of international administration tend to embrace conduct and utterance that proposes to vindicate fundamental human rights and freedoms by suspending an important part of its content: the principle that human beings should not be subject to coercion except where they have given their consent. This article begins by arguing that the character of this dilemma is obscured by a vocabulary of technique that divests the category 'international administration' of its normative coherence. In fact, international administration discloses two distinct modes of association—contract and trust—which presuppose different values, different obligations, and different expectations. The article proceeds in arguing that a trust instituted among equals is susceptible to objection in so far as trustee and beneficiary are necessarily joined in a coercive relationship that rules out the possibility of consent. The article concludes by arguing that recent attempts at reconciling this sort of relation with the demands of human rights entails a kind of corruption that is intelligible in making ordinary language correspond with the ideal, so that what was once described as the denial of human dignity—subjection to alien rule—is now described as the promotion and protection of fundamental human rights.     

Germany and the European Union: from ‘tamed power’ to normalized power?

Germany has traditionally played a key role in promoting European Union solutions to domestic policy problems. In doing so it gained a reputation as a ‘tamed power’ (Katzenstein). This article reviews Germany's diplomacy two decades after unification. It explores the ‘tamed power’ hypothesis with reference to three policy areas: constitutional reform in the EU; Justice and Home Affairs policy; and an issue that has made German European policy very salient of late, the management of the Eurozone. The article argues that Germany has become a much less inclusive actor in European policy, pursuing policy solutions through ‘pioneer groups’ where these offer greater promise than the EU itself and becoming increasingly attentive to domestic political constraints. The article argues that Germany has become a normalized power, with significant implications for the EU.     

Reassessing the special relationship

The resignation of Tony Blair as British Prime Minister and the transition from Bush to Obama in the US mark the end of the second revival of the US–UK special relationship. The classic era of the special relationship began under the Labour government in the 1940s, though it was Winston Churchill who inspired the concept. It ended with the resignation of Harold Macmillan in 1963. Margaret Thatcher revived close personal relations with the US President as a guiding principle of UK foreign policy and Tony Blair successfully revived them again, even though the end of the Cold War had transformed the framework of transatlantic relations. Over the past 60 years US–UK relations have embedded specific security arrangements which have persisted, largely unquestioned, through the ups and downs of political relations at the top: close links between the two countries' armed forces; access to defence technology and procurement; intelligence ties through the UKUSA Agreement; a semi-independent nuclear deterrent and provision of military bases in the UK and its overseas territories. Public debate on the costs and benefits of these links has been limited; successive governments have discouraged a wider debate. The Obama administration enters office with few of the personal ties to Britain and to English culture, which have underpinned the special relationship. Earlier US administrations have approached relations with the UK from the perspective of US interests, while many British political leaders have felt—and have hoped to find in Washington—a sentimental attachment to Anglo–American partnership. British foreign policy would benefit from a reassessment of the structures of US–UK relations in terms of British interests, costs and benefits.     

Language,ethnicity and religion: a complex and persistent linkage

ABSTRACT. Among the markers of ethnonational identity, language and religion have figured with equal prominence. In many cases, religion has been the bedrock of nation‐building; and even today, it is difficult to separate a number of national identities from their religious matrices. Religious identity is based on, and perpetuated in, narratives expressed in a specific language. Language and religion are related; in our secular age, however, that relationship is no longer consistent. The two may feed upon one another; language may substitute for religion; or religion may trump language. This article explores the varying relationships between language and religion.     

A MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF FARM OUTPUT IN SELECTED LAND-REFORM AREAS OF JAMAICA

The claim of many that certain features of Jamaican land reform discourage optimum increases in farm output has been pointed out. To test the argument, seven land-reform features, which meet methodological, theoretical, and practical restrictions, have been examined. An hypothesis derived mainly from agricultural- economic theory about the linear relation between each of the seven features and farm output per acre has been devised. The hypotheses have been tested with a multiple regression analysis of data from six land settlements selected to represent a variety of geographic settings. The hypotheses have been partially upheld, but must be revised in the following form: (1) in many cases, particularly in the early years of production, farm acreage is negatively related to output per acre; (2) in subsistence areas, where great diversity in agriculture is common, greater diversification leads to greater output per acre; (3) in most cases where farmers live an appreciable distance from their holdings (at least 0.3 miles), output per acre is negatively related to the distance; (4) output per acre declines as the age of operator increases, but only if the operator is mainly dependent on his own labour, and only after a relatively advanced age (60 years, perhaps) has been attained; (5) the number of a farmer's dependents does not affect output (gross income per acre); (6) a farmer's non-farm income does not exhibit a negative relation to output per acre, and may be positively related if the outside income can be used to purchase productive farm inputs; (7) in some cases acreage of additional land used is positively related to output per acre on settlement properties. Hopefully, further research will lead to a more rational basis for the formulation of these hypotheses. Using the regression equations, estimates have been made of the changes in output per acre which could have been achieved with feasible changes in relevant factors. Estimates indicate that current farm output could have been greatly increased in some settlements, thus justifying some of the criticism of Jamaican land reform.     

METROPOLITAN AND NON-METROPOLITAN POPULATION TRENDS IN CANADA, 1966–1982

This paper discusses broad population movements within and between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan regions in Canada during the recent past. It is based on an annual series of aggregate migration at the metropolitan level. Three complementary approaches are used in order to distill information from this vast array of interregional flows. The first is based on net migration. The second, disequilibrium analysis, is based on the difference between the observed population shares of regions and a set of calculated steady-state population shares which would result if the currently observed set of interregional migration rates remained constant. Both approaches indicate short-term effects of migration on the evolving pattern of regional growth and decline. The third approach, based on aggregate interregional flows, allows one to observe some changes in migration behaviour which are not made evident by the first two approaches.     

The Blind Leading the Blind? Teaching Geography to Students with Vision Impairment

Geography frequently uses graphics to express the spatial concepts that are the hallmark of the discipline. Students with a vision impairment may find access to this medium limited, and consequently teachers of geography may find themselves in the position of imposing discriminatory educational conditions upon such students. This paper arises from the absence of any coordinated statement of policies or methodology for teaching in this area in Australia, and reviews strategies which may be adopted: the provision of suitable materials; the adaptation of the conceptual and administrative bases of teaching; and the provision of advice and information.     

INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION AND REMITTANCES TO A LEBANESE VILLAGE

Remittances are an important source of income for many labour-exporting Third World countries, especially for rural communities. Based on a theoretical framework developed by Lucas and Stark (1985) and Stark and Lucas (1988), a number of hypotheses concerning remittances from foreign emigrants are developed and tested using questionnaire survey data from Lala, a Lebanese village. According to the theory, a rural family engages in an implicit insurance-type contract with the potential migrant because both are averse to risk. A family interested in adopting new but risky agricultural technology invests in the emigration of one of its members and insures him or her against possibilities of unemployment or other uncertainties. Once established abroad, the migrant is expected to reciprocate by remitting, and thus insuring the family against unforeseen agricultural adversities. An emigrant is deterred from defaulting on the implicit contract because of a desire to inherit the parent's wealth and a need to maintain contacts with residual family members who help to administer and oversee a migrant's investment in the village, to maintain a sibling's reputation, and thus facilitate his or her return and reintegration into the community. Results from testing the hypotheses are somewhat consistent with the proposition that, after a period of adjustment, migrants do begin to remit, thereby providing their families with an insurance against the uncertainties of life in the country of origin. However, the level of remittances does not appear to depend on the potential to inherit from a family's wealth. Moreover, families do not seem to invest in their migrants so as to improve their farm lands and to undertake risky agricultural techniques. The long-term remittance commitment of migrants to their residual families suggests that migrants’ altruism may be a more significant motivating factor than self-interest. ?envoi ?argent par des émigrants dans leur pays ?origine est une importante source de revenu pour plusieurs pays exportateurs de main-?oeuvre du Tiers Monde, spéialement pour les communautes rurales. Basées sur un concept théorique développé par Lucas et Stark (1 985) et Stark et Lucas (1988), plusieurs hypothèses au sujet de ?envoi ?argentpar des émigrants à?étranger sont développées et testées en utilisant les données ?un questionnaire soumis à Lala, un village libanais. Selon cette théorie, une famille de milieu rural s'engage avec un éventuel migrant dans un contrat implicite de type assurance pour minimiser les risques des deux parties. Une famille intéressée à adopter une nouvelle technique agricole pleine de risque investit dans ?émigration ?un de ses membres et ?assure contre les possibilités de chomage et contre ?autres incertitudes. Une fois ?immigrant établi à?étranger, il se sentira obligé de leur rendre la pareille en leur faisant parvenir de ?argent pour les garantir contre des événements agricoles imprévisibles. ?émigrant est dissuadé de manquer à ses engagements à cause de son desir ?hériter de la fortune de ses parents et du besoin de garder contact avec la famille restante qui ?aidera à administrer ses investissements dans son village, et à maintenir sa réputation au sein de sa famille, facilitant ainsi son retour et sa réinsertion dans la communauté. Les résultats du test des hypothèses sont plutǒt compatibles avec la proposition qu'après une période ?ajustement, les migrants cornmencent à envoyer de ?argent dans leur pays ?origine, ce qui fournit à leur famille une assurance contre les incertitudes de la vie dans le pays ?origine. Par contre, le niveau ?envoi ?argent ne sernble pas dépendre des possibilités ?hériter. De plus, les farnilles ne sernblent pas investir dans le migrant dans le but ?arnéliorer leurs terres agricoles et ?acquérir des techniques agricoles risquées. ?engagement à long terme des émigrants à leurfarnille au pays ?origine suggère que ?altruisme est peut-ětre un facteur plus rnotivant que ?intéret personnel.