Suchergebnisse

Discusses the "liberal dilemma" posed by the tension that exists between the strict ethical demands of liberal universalist ethics in regard to immigration/refugee policy & political pressures that prevent the realization of such a conception. Although the liberal universalist ethics that are the foundation of refugee law seem unworkable in the current political environment, there are no alternatives capable of promoting refugee protection. Special attention is given to the ways in which ethical concepts fit into & limit policy debates on refugee policy. Key ethical positions used to justify various policy positions in West European policy debates are reviewed, including liberal universalism, welfare nationalism, & ethnonationalism. The conceptual limitations of each position are explored, along with exactly how they obstruct debate. Suggestions are offered for ways to overcome the supposed dichotomy between liberal & nationalist ethical claims & overcome the liberal dilemma. References. J. Lindroth

Discusses the "liberal dilemma" posed by the tension that exists between the strict ethical demands of liberal universalist ethics in regard to immigration/refugee policy & political pressures that prevent the realization of such a conception. Although the liberal universalist ethics that are the foundation of refugee law seem unworkable in the current political environment, there are no alternatives capable of promoting refugee protection. Special attention is given to the ways in which ethical concepts fit into & limit policy debates on refugee policy. Key ethical positions used to justify various policy positions in West European policy debates are reviewed, including liberal universalism, welfare nationalism, & ethnonationalism. The conceptual limitations of each position are explored, along with exactly how they obstruct debate. Suggestions are offered for ways to overcome the supposed dichotomy between liberal & nationalist ethical claims & overcome the liberal dilemma. References. J. Lindroth

Book review of Legislating Privacy: Technology, Social Values, Public Policy by Priscilla M. Regan and published by The University of North Carolina Press (Chapel Hill), 1995. (310 pp.)

Despite the negative rhetoric surrounding the immigration issue, recent policy in many states has provided significant benefits to both legal and undocumented immigrants. Previous scholarship on state-level immigrant policy suggests that differences in the degree of public animosity toward this group may help to explain variation in state policy, but that work largely neglects the influence that industries that employ immigrants may have on state policy decisions. This essay develops the argument that industries that employ immigrants have a substantial impact on policy decisions in some states. It also suggests that the response of state policy makers to public pressure for more restrictive immigrant policy may be moderated by the political and economic importance of those industries. The authors test specific assertions drawn from this argument in an analysis of immigrant policy making in the American states between 2005 and 2007.

The Biden Administration has accepted the Trump Administration's definition of China as a 'strategic competitor', and has retained Trump's tariffs, the 'Quad', and the upgrade in Taiwan's protocol status. But Biden's China policy is different from Trump's in being truly strategic. The key elements of that strategy are focused on improving the United States' competitiveness domestically and in international affairs; cooperation with allies and partners; an emphasis on human rights; partial decoupling of economic and technology relationships; and a search for some areas of cooperation with China. Success for the Biden strategy would consist neither of bottling up China in its current global power position nor in achieving a negotiated condominium in Asia. The Biden Administration would succeed if the United States can maintain its alliance system, keep a robust military presence in East Asia and prevent the forcible integration of Taiwan into China while avoiding major war. Several features of the China challenge make it reasonable to hope that such success is possible.

Gordon Craig recently deplored the fact that political history, and particularly diplomatic history, no longer attracts the attention of historians or the public as much as has been the case up to now. In his opinion there is no proper reason why this should be so; foreign relations and diplomacy matter very much indeed, and deserve to be studied by historians on their own merits, at least up to a point. However, there are valid reasons why diplomatic history nowadays is in a sort of crisis, and why more and more historians have come to believe that it is not enough to study the diplomatic files, however diligently this may be done, and to inquire about the deeds and motives of the fairly small groups that monopolize decision-making in foreign relations. Most historians nowadays are agreed upon the principle that foreign policy must be explained just as much by finding the social and economic factors conditioning it, as by analyzing the activities going on the level of official diplomacy.