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Focus on the treaty signed Dec. 8, 1999 between Russia and Belarus, forming a new Union State which Russian President Putin is trying to persuade Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Latvia, and Azerbaijan, former members of the Soviet Union, to join. Included in a collection of articles under the overall title "Russia under Putin".

Schmidt-Deguelle, political consultant & spin doctor of the German government, unfolds his views regarding "spin doctors," sometimes seen as lacking democratic legitimacy, in an interview conducted by Thomas Leif, journalist & co-editor of the Forschungsjournal Neue Soziale Bewegungen. He regards this legitimacy as an open question in a political culture with various forms of lobbying & political pressure. It is crucial, however, that there is trust between consultant & consulted & that spin doctors can be changed at any time. Adapted from the source document.

Discusses regional autonomy and state paradigm shifts, transnational governance and changing borders, and economic aspects of tourism policy; uses Australian regional policy as model for the European Union; 6 articles. Some focus on relations between different levels of government.

Tests hypotheses on variation in number and characteristics of political factions in the bicameral national parliament; focus on the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

As part of a special journal section on the emergence of democracy in Iran, three recent essays originally published in local newspapers in 2000 are presented. In "Playing with the People's Choice" (Fatth, 5 Apr 2000), Mahmoud Fazeli Birjandi decries the fact that, over a month after the Feb 2000 elections, the results have not yet been made available to the public. The Council of Guardians is condemned for requesting a recount of the votes & charged with stonewalling democratic reform. In "Form and Content in Democracy and Elections" (Asr Azadegan, 9 Jan 2000), Hassan Youssefi-Ashkevari questions why democracy has been so slow to develop in Iran, highlighting the country's official disregard for its central tenets of liberty, justice, & republicanism. Particular criticism is levied against the conduct of recent elections. In "The Guardian-Like Understanding of the Right of the People" (Fatth, 18 Feb 2000), Ali-Reza Dast Afchan explores issues of citizen rights & criticizes the "salvation-oriented" rule of those who would serve as "guardians" of the public. An editorial drawn from the monthly journal Kiyan titled "Tolerating Others" examines the warlike model of culture endorsed by Iranian politicians & calls on intellectuals & religion to foster tolerance & peace. K. Hyatt Stewart