Suchergebnisse

"This book explores the largely neglected issue of responses to the US Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI, or the 'Star Wars' missile defence programme) across NATO. The chapters here explore the reactions of different Western allies to the announcement of the SDI in 1983 and especially the 1985 invitation to participate. While existing studies have explored the origins of the American programme and the role it may have played in ending the Cold War, this volume breaks new ground by considering the impact of the SDI on transatlantic relations in the 1980s. Based on newly available archival sources, this volume re-evaluates the responses of eight NATO member-state governments, as well as the Soviet leadership, to the SDI. In addition to looking at 'top-down' governmental reactions, the volume also explores the 'bottom-up' response to the SDI of civil society and peace activists on both sides of the Atlantic. The volume examines how the American initiative - derisively named 'Star Wars' by its detractors - provoked a crisis in relations with its allies during the final decade of the Cold War and how those tensions within NATO were ultimately resolved. This book will be of much interest to students of Cold War history, strategic studies, foreign policy and international history"--

In May of 2015, the European Commission released a package outlining the vision for its Better Regulation initiative, a program aimed at improving outcomes of European Union (EU) regulation. The move represents a step forward for regulatory reform in the EU, and signals a potential shift in world leadership roles among countries promoting evidence-based policy. The United States (US), once at the forefront of regulatory science and analysis, may now be lagging behind. If Better Regulation is implemented as its ambitious designers envision, this could signal a new role for the EU in advancing 21st century policymaking.Better Regulation seeks to improve the EU regulatory process in several ways. The initiative allows for more meaningful citizen and stakeholder participation at all stages of the policymaking process; it seeks to institutionalize the use of economic analysis throughout the lifecycle of a policy; and it sets up a process for reviewing the existing stock of regulations to ensure old rules do not become excessively burdensome or obsolete. All this is done in a manner intended to inform legislators as they periodically review funding levels for new and existing programs.

In October 1987, during a visit to the Kola Peninsula, the Secretary-General of the Soviet Communist Party, Mikhail Gorbachev, launched a series of policy initiatives which ultimately came to mark the beginning of the end of the Cold War era in the Arctic. The move was aimed at transforming the northern part of the globe from being a sensitive military theatre to becoming an international `zone of peace'. This objective was to be achieved through the establishment of a nuclear weapons-free zone in Northern Europe, restrictions on naval activities in Arctic seas, and the development of transborder cooperation in areas such as resource development, scientific exploration, indigenous people's affairs, environmental protection and marine transportation. This article analyses the contents of the Murmansk initiative, the context in which it was launched, the extent to which it materialized, and the degree to which it contributed to a normalization of interstate relations in the Arctic. In addition to being motivated by historical interest, the article aims at exploring the Copenhagen School concept of `desecuritization' and shedding light on the challenges and opportunities of turning security issues into non-security issues.

AbstractAt the height of the refugee reception crisis in 2015, a large number of volunteers across Norway mobilized to bring assistance in different forms. The two most notable initiatives were Refugees Welcome Norway (RWN) and A Drop in the Ocean (Dråpen i Havet, DiH). RWN focused on those arriving in Norway and DiH on those arriving in Greece. Looking at these two initiatives' organizational trajectories together allows us to examine how they managed the transition from the immediate 'crisis' and large volunteer mobilization to finding a role for themselves in the longer‐term. Drawing on social movement theory and literature on humanitarian action, the article argues that the two organizations, while adapting in different ways, focused their organizations around 'making it easy' for volunteers to help. The article explores how this allowed to forge their distinct identity in the organizational landscape, while also engaging with volunteers' 'need to do something'.

Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are the primary implementers of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This article identifies three trends in Chinese SOEs' development of overseas infrastructure through the BRI. Specifically, they are diversifying project models, pursuing more small and medium-sized projects, and partnering with new international actors. It also considers the implications of these shifts for Chinese SOEs and host countries.

Der Beitrag untersucht den deutschen Verbraucherschutz unter dem Blickwinkel von Zivilgesellschaft und politischer Bewegung. Zunächst wirft der Beitrag einen Blick auf den Verbraucherschutz als Teil der Zivilgesellschaft und geht dabei den Aspekten ihrer Organisationsfähigkeit und ihrer Konfliktfähigkeit nach. Nach einer Skizze der deutschen Verbraucherverbände analysiert der Beitrag die Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband e.V. und die Verbraucher-Initiative e.V.. Der Beitrag erläutert hier deren Aufbau und Organisation, die Finanzierung, die Aktivitäten und Ziele der beiden Verbraucherschutzorganisationen. Schließlich erfolgt in dem Beitrag eine Gegenüberstellung der beiden Verbände. Das Fazit widmet sich resümierend der Eingangsfrage, ob die beiden Gruppierungen eher auf dem zivilgesellschaftlichen oder eher auf dem politischen Sektor verortet werden können. (ICA2)

This study examines the association between self-reported health and the propensity for supporting citizens' initiatives in Finland. Democratic innovations such as the citizens' initiative provide novel ways for citizens to express their preferences, but whether people in poor health make use of such possibilities remains unclear. The data come from the Finnish National Election Study (FNES2015), a cross-sectional representative sample of the Finnish population. The results suggest that self-reported health affects the propensity to sign citizens' initiatives, but the effect depends on age since it mobilizes young citizens in poor health, whereas the impact on older generations is negligible.

In vielen europäischen Städten sind die vom motorisierten Individualverkehr ausgehenden Belastungen nach wie vor zu hoch. Viele Städte versuchen mit unterschiedlichen Maßnahmen die verkehrsbedingten Belastungen zu reduzieren und die Mobilität zu gewährleisten. Dabei müssen sie sich mit drei wesentlichen Fragen auseinandersetzen: Was sind wirksame Maßnahmen für eine (dauerhafte) Änderung der Verkehrsmittelwahl? Wie können diese umgesetzt werden? Warum sind vergleichbare Maßnahmen in verschiedenen Städten unterschiedlich erfolgreich und welche Konsequenzen ergeben sich hieraus für den individuellen Zuschnitt von Maßnahmen(-Paketen)? Um Antworten auf diese Fragen - im Sinne von "Trittsteinen" zu finden, wurde unter dem Dach von "Era-net Transport" die Forschungsinitiative "Stepping Stones - Making Mobility Patterns more Sustainable" ins Leben gerufen. Im Fokus der Forschungsarbeit standen 20 ausgewählte Fallstudien aus verschiedenen europäischen Ländern. Anhand der Ergebnisse dieser Fallstudienanalyse konnte ein Einblick in die Barrieren und Treiber jener Maßnahmen gewonnen werden, durch die eine Veränderung des Modal Split angestoßen und etabliert werden soll.