Suchergebnisse

This article departs from the renewed interest in commodity market regulation and assesses the position of the European Union (EU) on supply-management in tropical commodities. After sketching the resurgence of the commodity debate on the international trade front, the second section recapitulates the thesis that Europe's trade relations shifted from innovative and interventionist arrangements in the 1970s, to a neo-liberal outlook by the end of the 1990s. Based on this historical account, we examine whether the EU's role has changed during the commodity debate since 2003-2004. The analysis makes clear that, although EU policy-makers and institutions have addressed the issue, supply-management schemes are not considered. Without challenging the mainstream approach to commodity trade, Europe's initiatives with regard to 1) export stabilisation, 2) commodity protocols and 3) market access rather show an evolution 'from trade to aid'. The article concludes with a number of explanations for this recent shift.

On August 13, 2004, a United States Marine Corps helicopter crashed on the campus of Okinawa International University. The helicopter crash and the resulting U.S. military investigation served to reinvigorate pent up resentment and anger towards the U.S. military presence in Okinawa, threatening to destabilize the long standing relationship between the two nations. This Note discusses the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement which, among other things, apportions jurisdictional authority over off-base U.S. military accidents that occur on Okinawa. This Note argues that the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement (U.S.-Japan SOFA) should be a reciprocal agreement and that the United States should amend the Agreed Minutes of the U.S.-Japan SOFA to allow for a joint effort in investigating and securing off-base military accident sites. Altering the U.S.- Japan SOFA will be a substantial step in demonstrating that the United States views Japan as an equal partner in the effort to encourage peace and prosperity in the Asian hemisphere.

The governance of Russia is important in a multiplicity of ways. As the successor state of the Soviet Union, it retains characteristics of a global superpower, including a nuclear arsenal and a permanent seat in the Security Council of the United Nations. As a country with land or sea borders extending from Japan and China across Central Asia to the boundaries of an enlarging European Union, Russian affairs concern neighbours across much of the globe. As a land rich in natural resources such as oil, gas and gold, controllers of these resources have significant assets in the international economy. As a political system that has made a massive turn from a post-totalitarian one-party state to a government holding free competitive elections, the Russian Federation is a leading example of a regime in transformation. Above all, as the primary institution affecting the lives of more than 140 million people, the governance of Russia is important to its citizens.

For centuries, United States foreign policy has been outwardly characterized by its diplomatic and economic encouragement of fledgling democracies around the world. In particular, the nations of Africa are seen to benefit from America's idealistic foreign agenda. After forty years of independent stuggle and civil war, Nigeria has freely elected a leader who expresses willingness to strengthen his nation's global position through international trade and assistance. At this critical stage in Nigeria's political development, will U.S. policymakers pay lip service to democracy through limited "unrewarding social work" or will it recognize common national interests to further a "genuinely reciprocal and mutually beneficial" relationship? This Article critiques the quantity and quality of U.S. aid to Nigeria, examining underlying tensions and motivations, and the forces of globalization. In order for Nigeria to find a true and stable democracy, this Article contends, U.S. policy must establish Nigeria's role as an independent partner in the exchange of cultural and natural resources, as part of a genuine effort to bolster its domestic capability.