Sir Otto Niemeyer,the bankrupt state and the federal system

One of the main myths about Australian political and economic history relates to the intervention in economic policy making in the 1930s by the Bank of England through the mission of Sir Otto Niemeyer. This article argues that Niemeyer's advice was not heeded. Rather, parallels between what he demanded and the Premiers’ Plan were largely confined to the level of rhetoric as part of a strategy to regain access to the London capital market. State expenditures were reduced gradually according to local political calculations and fiscal priorities, and not in step with the timetable set by the Bank of England. Far from weakening and dividing the Australian state, the federal separation of powers led to the gradual introduction of fiscal austerity, as state governments had little option but to maintain their role in complementing capital accumulation and facilitating social legitimation.     

Review on Late Pleistocene-Holocene relative sea-level changes in Kuwait: New evidence from Failaka island

New results from fieldwork carried out on Failaka island testify to relative sea-level fluctuations during Late Pleistocene and Holocene. This study is based on analysing, sampling and dating geomorphological sea-level indicators, including beach ridges or beachrocks. The results have been compared and harmonised with recalibrated data from pre-existing literature to reconstruct the relative sea-level local chronology. The vertical displacement identified may have induced coastline mobility and significant environmental changes and impacted the human occupation in Failaka and along the coastal areas of Kuwait. Eventually, the results highlight the impact of large-scale crustal deformations on regional relative sea-level variations.     

Geoarchaeology of Ancient Aulis (Boeotia,Central Greece): human occupation and Holocene landscape changes

This article presents the results of a coring operation which brought to light new evidence for the evolution of the coastal plain of Aulis (Boeotia, Central Greece) in the Holocene. Thanks to Homer, Aulis is best known as the gathering point of the Achaean fleet before it sailed to Troy and a sanctuary of the goddess Artemis. Ancient sources and archaeological evidence suggest the presence of an ancient marine bay, potentially used as a harbor. In the course of investigation, we drilled two cores, to a maximum depth of 4.20 m in the marshy lowlands and performed mollusc and micro-paleontological identifications, laser grain size analyses, and magnetic susceptibility measurements in order to reveal the facies evolution of the area. We obtained a chronostratigraphy sequence through a series of seven AMS ¹⁴C radiocarbon dates. Our study shows that the area was affected by a shallow marine incursion from the first half of the 6th millennium BC and gradually turned into a succession of shallow marine/lagoon environments from ca. 5000 cal. BC to the 2nd Century AD, and into a confined lagoon environment during the Roman and Byzantine periods.     

Business,empire and the United Australia party

This article presents an analysis of the political economy of the United Australia Party (UAP) mainly while in government There are discussions of decisions and policies relating to tariffs, the exchange rate and trade relations with the United Kingdom. Through four case studies of policy‐making it deals with two interrelated aspects of this political economy. The first aspect focuses on conflicts between key business groupings and how UAP government policies were shaped in part by a need to negotiate compromises between these business groupings in the context of wider economic problems. The second aspect deals with relations between the UAP government and British manufacturers and banks. It shows that Australian politicians and institutions possessed considerable independence and bargaining power.     

Modernity,legitimation and the Soviet imperial state

Charles W. Kegley Jr. and Pat McGowan, (eds) Foreign Policy USA/USSR, Beverly Hills, Sage Publications, 1982, pp. 320. $25, $12.50 (paper)

David Holloway The Soviet Union and the Arms Race, New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1983, pp. 211. $28.50

T. H. Rigby and Ferenc Feher (eds) Political Legitimation in Communist States, London and Bas‐ingstoke, Macmillan, 1982, pp. 177. $20

George W. Breslauer Khrushchev and Brezhnev as Leaders: Building Authority in Soviet Politics, London, George Allen and Unwin, 1982, pp. 318. $39.95, $18.95 (paper)

Y. V. Andropov, Speeches and Writings, Oxford, Pergamon Press, 1983, pp. 262. $30.00