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Throughout the course of the last decade, international events have pushed the development of the Danish foreign affairs department in previously unseen ways. As a result, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has undertaken an extensive re-structuring & revitalization of the department. While these changes were first influenced by external conditions, demand to have full control over its operations has led the department to carry on this evolution internally. Encouraging a merit-driven culture within the department reflects Denmark's growing focus on expanding its reach as a global actor. With emphasis on new developments in information management, transparency, globalization, & commerce, this article reviews some of the adaptive measures taken by the department & the relative degrees of success that have resulted. References. C. Brunski

In this article the author argues that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) & the Olympic Movement have a more important role in international politics after the Cold War than they had during the Cold War. This is due to three factors: 1) the IOC & the Olympic Movement have taken a more active role in international politics-, 2) the IOC & the Olympic Movement have been given greater freedom of action in international politics; & 3) international organizations, such as the United Nations, to a greater degree than before, see the IOC & the Olympic Movement as important collaborators in achieving their own goals of peace & reconciliation. References. Adapted from the source document.

It is well established in International Relations that the modem state & the state system originated at the Peace of Westphalia (1648). In this article, the author argues that there is little evidence to support such an understanding, neither in the texts of the treaties nor in the political situation before or in the wake of 1648. Rather, the Peace of Westphalia can in many ways be understood to be a step backwards from a modem understanding of sovereignty (cuius regio, eius religio: whose region it is, his religion it is), which to some extent was represented in the Peace of Augsburg (1555). International Relations' understanding of the Peace of Westphalia is based on a mythical understanding of historical processes. Furthermore, the author argues, International Relations should abandon the mythical watershed which 1648 represents. However, instead of searching for another myth to explain the origin of its main object of study, one should instead re-conceptualise the discipline in a new & more dynamic way, taking into account the heterogeneous character of the international system. 60 References. Adapted from the source document.

In May 2004, the new EU members will also become members of the EEA. This article discusses the negotiations on the enlargement of the EEA. During the negotiations the EFTA countries were faced with tough demands of radically increasing their financial support to the new member states of the EU. The result of the negotiations made the EFTA countries, particularly Norway, significant net contributors to the enlargement process, more so than many of the member states. The article discusses the negotiations & examines factors that can explain the outcome. Based on survey data the article also demonstrates the overwhelmingly positive attitudes of Norwegians toward enlargement. 1 Table, 16 References. Adapted from the source document.

The article analyzes the wars & conflicts of the Horn of Africa from a regional point of view. Although it is argued that the many conflicts largely arise for reasons internal to the individual state -- in particular, due to tensions between groups & the state stemming from the way the state formation is constituted -- it is also pointed out that the dynamics of these conflicts can only be understood in a regional perspective. As armed opposition groups use neighboring countries as bases for their attacks on the regime, & as networks of alliances are built around the principle of "my enemy's enemy is my friend," the different conflicts are interwoven into a regional conflict pattern. As the states of the region are chronically conflict-ridden & failing to maintain monopoly of violence throughout their territories, they are challenged by liberation movements that assume many of the characteristics ordinarily understood as prerogatives of the state. 14 References. Adapted from the source document.

Norway's security & defence policy was justified with reference to Cold War arguments well into the 1990s. The Norwegian NATO discourse, which is the topic of the article, is still focused on territorial defence, with allied support in an emergency situation, interoperability & alliance loyalty at its core. NATO increasingly is considered as a political instrument in which Norwegian force contributions to international operations are converted into political influence vis-a-vis Norway's allies. Some fear, however, that international engagement will reduce the national defence capacity, leaving Norway in a vulnerable situation with Russia in the northern areas. This view also reflects the opposition against defence reform, where NATO has been a central external driving force. NATO is still seen as the main arena for transatlantic relations in the Norwegian debate, whereas little attention is being paid to the ever more ambitious & capable EU. More striking, maybe, is that the attitude towards Norway's close relationship with the US, even after its unilateral turn since nine-eleven, does not seem to have changed. 64 References. Adapted from the source document.

Few books on war & peace have sold more than Norman Angell's The Great Illusion (1910). Few books have been more debated; few have been more misunderstood. This essay reviews the key argument of The Great Illusion, & shows how this book -- & its curious author -- played a formative role in the emergence of JR as a social science around the time of World War I. First, the book offered an incisive criticism of the approach of Realpolitik. Second, it introduced an alternative approach to modern interstate analysis -- an approach that hinged on the concept of interdependence. Third, the book sparked one of the first scholarly debates between Realists & Liberals on the causes of war & the preconditions of peace. These are only some of the reasons why this book deserves to be shortlisted as an influential classic in the field of International Relations. References. Adapted from the source document.