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Die USA unter Präsident Obama stehen vor globalen Herausforderungen, wie Klimawandel, nukleare Proliferation, Terrorismus, Wirtschafts- und Finanzkrise, Energieversorgung, regionale Konflikte mit globalen Auswirkungen u.a. Die traditionellen transatlantischen Beziehungen, die auf gemeinsamen Werten und wirtschaftlicher Interdependenz beruhen, sind wichtig, reichen aber zur Lösung dieser Probleme nicht mehr aus. Genauso wie die USA muss Europa seine Rolle neu definieren. Es muss sich fragen, welchen Beitrag es in einer globalisierten Welt leisten will und kann. Amerika und Europa sind wichtige Akteure, die Einbeziehung anderer ist notwendig. Auf institutioneller Ebene werden beispielsweise die G-20 immer bedeutender und lösen selbst zunehmend die G-7/8 ab.

"Integration theories usually either implicitly or explicitly assume that regional integration is driven by intraregional economic interdependence, which allows for the utilisation of economies of scale or comparative cost advantages within the region. However, following the new regionalism of the 1990s, it has become clear that regional integration may also be used by the respective member states to improve their standing in the global economy, to become more attractive for foreign direct investment and development aid, or to be more powerful in international trade negotiations. In this paper, we argue that the latter motive is more important for developing countries than the former two, because developing countries are more dependent on economic relationships with other regions than on those with their neighbours. Thus, in order to understand regional integration in the Southern hemisphere, integration theory needs to incorporate interregional relationships and the resulting positive feedback for regional integration projects among developing countries. To support this argument, we present network analyses of intraregional and interregional trade of the European Community (EC), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Association of Southeast-Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Common Market of South America (MERCOSUR) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC)." (author's abstract)

"Electoral turnout is shown to be higher and less socially skewed in member states of the enlarged European Union than in the United States. The differences in the levels of turnout can partly be related to differences in election procedures, but since the procedural rules provide similar incentives or disincentives to all social groups they cannot explain the much higher inequality of electoral participation in America. There is some evidence to sustain the notion that the higher inclusiveness of the West European welfare state fosters political integration and the equality of electoral participation. In line with this notion differences between Europe and America diminish considerably when the analysis is confined to the pensioner generation whose integration into welfare state schemes is largely similar on both sides of the Atlantic." (author's abstract)

"Zwei zentrale Fragen beschäftigen politische Beobachter in Europa: Führen das außenpolitische Debakel im Irak und die zunehmende innenpolitische Kritik in den USA zu einer grundlegenden Neubewertung des internationalen Engagements der Weltmacht? In welcher Form wird Amerika künftig global agieren? Spielen die Vereinten Nationen eine Rolle in der zu erwartenden amerikanischen Außenpolitik?" (Autorenreferat)

This article explores the relationship between the 'hero' and the celebrity culture of the 19th-century United States. Even by the 1820s, the activities of print media and entrepreneurial manufacturers meant that individuals widely recognised and worshipped as 'heroes' almost inevitably became part of the nascent celebrity culture of the age, while some actively courted this connection to pursue their own political or financial agendas. However, using the receptions of three foreign heroes, the Marquis de Lafayette, Lajos Kossuth, and John Bright, the article contends that we can still make valid distinctions between the two states through the analysis of cultural practice and discourse. In turn, by conceptualising 'hero' and 'celebrity' as two axes on the graph of fame, it is possible to use such analysis to assess more accurately a given individual's public reputation.

'In diesem Artikel wird versucht, den Entwicklungsstand der Pflegeprofession in den USA anhand neuer amerikanischer Zeitschriftenliteratur aufzuzeigen. Dabei ergibt sich, daß die Ausbildungsinstitutionen, hauptsächlich in Form von Studiengängen an Universitäten, gut ausgebaut sind. Der Pflegewissenschaft fehlt jedoch noch eine solide Grundlegung. Ebenso ist die Diskussion über eine verbindliche Pflegeethik noch nicht abgeschlossen. Das Prestige ist zweigeteilt. Auf der einen Seite genießen die akademisch gebildeten Pflegekräfte volle akademische Anerkennung, andererseits sind Ansehen und Einkommen der Pflegeberufe an der 'Bettkante' gering. Nur durch die Beseitigung dieser Defizite und durch eine stärkere politische Beteiligung, insbesondere durch die Berufsverbände, wird die volle Professionalisierung der Pflegeberufe möglich.' (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Looking back on extremely modest beginnings as a boatyard in Aumund near Bremen, the Fr. Lürssen boatyard founded in 1875 is today a Bremen-Vege-sack-based shipbuilding group specializing in the construction of naval vessels and large motor-yachts. Before World War I, it was one of Germany's leading builders of motorized boats, offering a wide assortment of boat types including motor-yachts of up to 20 metres in length. After the war, the company went on to develop new business segments. It began seeking contact to the U.S. in 1922/23, and the first yacht went to Boston in 1924. Between 1924 and 1932, it supplied American customers with altogether twenty-eight motor-yachts of widely differing types, measuring between 12 and 30 metres, along with a large number of tenders. As many of these vessels were driven with Maybach engines, Friedrich Wilhelm von Meister (1903-1978) - the New York representative of that well-known engine manufacturer of Friedrichshafen - provided sales support. And finally, between 1923 and 1931 Lürssen supplied the Fr. Krupp Germaniawerft in Kiel with 37 tenders for the large-scale yachts built there, likewise for American customers. The boatbuilding company owed this business success in great part to its technical competence as well as to the sales talents of its owner Otto Lürssen (1880-1932), who travelled to the States himself in 1927 and 1928. Yet there were also external factors: the Roaring Twenties boom in the U.S. played an important role, especially in conjunction with a vibrant yachting tradition there that went back to the nineteenth century. The majority of the customers were on the east coast, a veritable water sports Eldorado offering a wide range of yachting waters between Canada and Florida. The good political relations between Berlin and Washington during the Weimar Republic undoubtedly also had a favourable impact on the business dealings. Other yacht-building yards - in Germany and elsewhere in Europe - likewise cultivated business relations with the U.S. in those years. A change in customs regulations in 1928 and the Great Depression sparked by the New York stock market crash of 1929 put an end to Lürssen's America business in the interwar period.

In his article on Albert Ballin appearing in the "Deutsches Schiffahrtsarchiv" No. 15, 1992, pp. 135-158, Frank Broeze advocates two theses: (1) that contrary to popular opinion Albert Ballin used ruthless tactics to pursue his policy of expansion and (2) that he practiced a dubious financial policy and frequently did not know exactly what he wanted. Broeze bases his argumentation primarily on the observations of Johannes Merck and Max von Schinckel who both regarded Ballin from a critical distance. The author of the present article focuses chiefly on Broeze's accusations concerning the personal and business integrity of Albert Ballin and arrives at conclusions quite different from Broeze's: 1. In addition to the construction of the IMPERATOR class, Ball in also had internationally outstanding ships built for the South America routes (east and west coast) as well as for the East Asia service- a carefully targetted business policy, the success of which was hindered only by the First World War. Ballin's restraint in regard to austral traffic, which would have remained deficitary for Hapag because of the absolute predominance of the British, also points to a faculty for clever decision-making. 2. The low dividend payments of the Hapag in comparison to other shipping companies are not an indication of the negative effects of Ballin's business policies but of the reinvestment of a larger proportion of the profits. 3. The increase in the cost of the IMPERATOR's construction from the 25 million Marks first projected to a final total of 38 million Marks were not caused by Ballin's having habitually ordered ships in a "totally unbusiness-like" manner, but by the fact that the original plans were for a 30,000 ton vessel whereas the ship finally ordered weighed 51,000 tons. 4. There is no evidence to support Broeze's assertions that Ballin's behaviour was inconsiderate, violent, dictatorial, antagonistic and uncompromising . On the contrary, his main competitors in Bremen, England and among his pool partners have never expressed any such criticism. This is in itself a remarkable fact and speaks clearly for Ballin's integrity.