Suchergebnisse

The author analyzes various aspects of cooperation between Croatia & the European Union (EU), showing that this linkage, from functional integration to institutional admittance, is the prerequisite for economic restructuring in Croatia. The author points to the incompetence of the exporting sector as a constant in Croatian economy & the main obstacle for more profitable exports; this is primarily due to the low quality of goods & a meager competitive edge. The conclusion is that Croatia is yet to come up with the economic & social interpretation of its position within the European integrational policy compatible with its new position as an independent & sovereign state. 10 References. Adapted from the source document.

The author applies a social constructionist approach to the issue of urban ethnic relations, arguing that analyzing the political processes that construct urban images, issues, and identities will illuminate arenas of power and conflict obscured by other approaches. Toronto, known for harmonious ethnic relations, is ideal for a case study of how urban images are constructed and maintained and how certain conditions, issues, and grievances are not defined as problems. The author draws on theoretical literature, elite interviews, and textual analysis of the periodical literature on Toronto to demonstrate the important role of elites in framing issues that define the "objective conditions" of urban ethnic relations.

The author focuses on morals-based controversies, or culture wars, that have engulfed U.S. cities over issues such as gay rights, pornography, the operation of abortion clinics, hate-group activity, and judicial handling of sexual assault. Explanation of the importance of such social controversies to urban scholarship and reasons for neglect of the topic to date are offered. Drawing upon a variety of case studies of culture-war controversy, the author develops a typology of local government's roles in such controversies. That typology includes relatively familiar concepts such as responsiveness, evasion, and entrepreneurial instigation and less known or neglected concepts such as hyperactive responsiveness, repression, and unintentional instigation.

SummaryThe United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women provided an important occasion for the international community to assess and to develop its political commitment to the protection of the human rights of women. The author discusses the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action that resulted from the conference and considers whether international machineries for the enforcement of rights will be adequate to deal with rights that traditionally have been marginalized. Recognizing the past and current limitations of international mechanisms, the author argues that working within mainstream institutions as well as developing independent special procedures are necessary measures to ensure that the international system reflects the needs of women.

As the author sees it, elections in Hong Kong are not, in any rural sense, contests for power. They are fought under arrangements which are designed to provide various forms of (sometimes democratic) representation but which are also intended to serve the wider purpose of blurring the consequences of an impending change of regime. The central argument of the author is that the large pro-democracy vote in the 1991 and 1995 elections to the Legislative Council (Legeo) of Hong Kong is best understood as a general protest about the way in which the transfer of power has taken place. He scrutinizes party politics and elections in Hong Kong. (DÜI-Sen)

In spite of the uncertainties that surround future predictions in a rapidly changing world, the author attempts to draw a sketch of the events the next 25 years may reserve both for Brazil and the world in the era of globalization. Several trends that are liable to influence the course of foreign affairs worldwide are reviewed, such as homogenization, unipolarism and intensification of regional integration. The author then analyzes the insertion of Brazil into the international scene - which has been greatly enhanced in recent years thanks to the success of the "Plano Real" - and emphasizes the need for development not only in the economic but also in the social sphere. (Polit Externa/DÜI)

According to the author, the difference between Hegel & Kant regarding the definition of the idea of perpetual peace is indicative of their radically different concepts of philosophy. The first philosophy strives, through the sober acceptance of what really is, to point out where improvements are needed. The second talks about the reconciliation of reason & reality & is consequently frequently dubbed despondent. Nevertheless, according to the author, this difference between Hegel & Kant (which in certain postulates looks incompatible) is less principle-based than is usually thought, since Kant's moral & philosophical requirements regarding politics are meaningful only if there is an underlying confidence as to the historical efficacy of the reason. Adapted from the source document.

A KEY FINDING IN A 1996 DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE REPORT ON THE NATION'S PRISON POPULATION IS ATTRACTING CONSIDERABLE ATTENTION: NEARLY 7 PERCENT OF BLACK MALES WERE IN PRISON IN 1994 COMPARED WITH LESS THAN 1 PERCENT OF WHITE MALES. THESE FACTS - WHICH SEEM TO CONFIRM THE VIEW THAT A CRIME-PRONE AFRICAN AMERICAN UNDERCLASS IS TERRIFYING AMERICAN SOCIETY AND OVERWHELMING THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM - ARE MISLEADING. THE AUTHOR BELIEVES THEY PERPETUATE RACIAL STEREOTYPES THAT DON'T HELP AMERICANS ADDRESS THE REALITIES OF CRIME. IN THIS ARTICLE THE AUTHOR GIVES A CLOSER LOOK AT WHY BLACK MALES ARE MORE LIKELY THAN THEIR WHITE COUNTERPARTS TO END UP IN PRISON, AND PRESENTS FOUR FACTORS WHICH EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCES.

The author points out that there has been a remarkable shift in the tone and content of the Sino-Indian bilateral relationship in recent years, and in the course of that transformation Beijing ostensibly has begun to adapt to if not fully embrace a number of features identified with cooperative security. Beijing and New Delhi have investigated a number of confidence building measures in order to manage their border disputes. India and China have also recognized the benefits of using non-military means to assist with the process of building trust. She (the author) examines what progress has been made in these areas and assesses why China has been engaged in such activity. (DÜI-Sen)

SummaryThe decision of the second GATT panel in theTuna/Dolphindispute again focuses attention on the perceived conflict between the goah of trade liberalization and national and international efforts to protect the earth's natural environment. The author reviews the reasoning of the panel in Tuna/Dolphin II, compares it with that of Tuna/Dolphin I, and considers the adequacy of GATT law to deal with environmental concerns. Although he criticizes some of the reasoning of the panels in the two tuna/dolphin cases, the author argues that the reports do provide — though inferentially — a coherent approach for judging the GATT-legality of environmental trade measures that stem from international multilateral agreements.

The author reviews the professional debate about recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse and addresses conceptual errors, unwarranted assumptions, and factual inaccuracies in Benatar's essay "Running Away from Sexual Abuse: Denial Revisited" in the May 1995 Families in Society. Despite the fact that many therapists believe that repression or dissociation is a common response to childhood sexual abuse, little support for this idea is found in scientific studies. The author reviews the recent literature in this area and cautions social workers to avoid getting caught in the extreme polemics of this debate. Although it is important to be open to new findings in this area, we must be able to distinguish between conjecture and fact.

In his essay the author analyzes the ways in which sport ethics can make a contribution to the unity of sport science. Refering to the international accepted three-stage-model developed by Zeigler and Ries/Kriesi the impact of ethics on each stage is examined in detail. While on the first step ethics still were dominated by pedagogical considerations on the second step the boom of scientific theory implied the complete lack of ethical theorizing. Merely the third step is characterized by explicite ethical positions with integrative and interdisciplinary claims. In the end of his study the author lists up some common grounds of sport ethics in the international discussion.

The author reinterprets the conflict between communitarians & liberals as a disagreement about the desirable scope of influence of the state in the new Eastern European democracies. Communitarianism, which emphasizes unity, is a democratic substitute for collectivism, which has had a long tradition in Eastern Europe. Recent developments in Eastern Europe show that there are no preconditions for democratic communality, which means that communitarian concepts contain an element of danger. The author thinks that the best alternative to the collectivist & communitarian danger in Eastern Europe is the classical utilitarian, ie, economic liberalism. Classical liberalism is the best venue for ensuring economic progress & with it, democracy. Adapted from the source document.