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A review essay on books by (1) Louis Emmerij, Richard Jolly, & Thomas G. Weiss, Ahead of the Curve? UN Ideas and Global Challenges (Bloomington & Indianapolis: Indiana U Press, 2001); & (2) Thomas G. Weiss, Tatiana Carayannis, Louis Emmerij, & Richard Jolly, UN Voices. The Struggle for Development and Social Justice (Bloomington & Indianapolis: Indiana U Press, 2005).

Biography becomes ethnography; how life history interviews of a criminal turned into participant observation
Biography becomes ethnography; how life history interviews of a criminal turned into participant observation
Life history interviews with a (criminal) person seem to focus on what has happened in the past. However, following a self-evident chronological frame, researcher and respondent find themselves working towards here and now. Methods change, as does the relation between the two.

A brief review of some recent European Union (EU) monetary & trade history (from the 1970 Treaty of Luxembourg to the recent Greek declarations), in which problems & successes of various kinds (eg, accession of new member states, the juste retour of the UK) have been matched by new methods of raising revenue. As tariffs & trade barriers disappeared throughout the EU, other revenues (external trade tariffs, VAT, etc) have increased in importance. Three milestones in recent EU economic history are former British Prime Minister Thatcher's disputes with the EU over trade & currency issues in the early 1980s, Maastricht, & the 1999 Council of Europe, in which current financing standards were agreed upon. 4 Tables. A. Siegel

The state of Dutch political thought in the seventeenth century is reviewed. Three main approaches are discussed: (1) The critical approach is represented by P. de la Court, who, influenced by Hobbes, defended a more democratic type of government. (2) The historical-philological movement, represented by J. Lipsius, Boxhornius, & Burgersdijk, was based on Aristotelian metaphysical concepts to develop a more systematic base for historical research. This movement influenced the development of the typical research style of the political sciences in Germany. (3) B. de Spinoza's passion-reason theory led to an analytical political science, exemplifying the typical method of integrating theory & empirical (historical) information. Modified HA.

The political map of Europe was transformed by the collapse of the Soviet Union & the reunification of Germany, ending four decades of stability & leading to new political configurations: the emergence of the independent Baltic states -- Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania -- with regional links not only to neighboring Russia but to Western Europe as well. The recent political history of the Baltic states is summarized, from their interwar independence to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact & their renewed independence in the early 1990s. Also discussed are postindependence demographic & social problems & prospects in the Baltics: the presence of large Russian minorities, language tests for citizenship, & the states' aspirations for European Union membership. The European Union has tried to serve as go-between for the region, & there are especially close & positive ties between the Baltic states & the Nordic countries. A. Siegel

A survey is presented of the difficulties which the Christian Party has met since the '20s & the resulting changes in its forms of organization, based on historical documents & writings. Discussions on related problems & suggestions for further reading are included. The survey consists of three parts concerning a decade of Belgian political history & concentrating on the years during & after WWII, the period in which the form of the party was founded & which exists to the present. Modified AA.