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HOW IS THE EEC TO REACT TO THE UNCTAD DEMAND FOR AN INTEGRATED commodity programme? In this paper we attempt to sketch the background to this question and to identify some of the major options available to the Community. At the outset, however, one point deserves emphasis: over the past fifty years there have been many attempts to manage international commodity trade. Their success or failure has invariably depended more on political than purely technical considerations. Where national security or alliance needs 'demanded' coordination, as with the combined Raw Materials Board during the Second World War, any technical difficulties were overcome; on the other hand the inter-war rubber, wheat and coffee agreements were unable to withstand the onslaught of the depression, the retreat to economic nationalism, and the readiness of many members to put short-term domestic considerations before long-term international commitments. In the current debate the political context has, of course, changed, but the relevance of these political considerations has not.

In The Protection of Water During and After Armed Conflicts: What Protection in International Law? , Mara Tignino offers an analysis of the principles and rules protecting water in situations of armed conflicts. The monograph also gives insights on the legal mechanisms open to individuals and communities after a conflict. Practice of international organizations and judicial decisions are examined in order to define the contours of the norms dealing with armed conflicts and post-conflict situations. Beyond international humanitarian law, the author suggests that other areas of international law should be taken into account such as human rights law and international water law. This comprehensive view aims at preventing damage to water resources and ensuring access to safe drinking water. Given the fragmentation of instruments and norms dealing with water in times of armed conflicts, it requires an in-depth examination of what means of international law may be developed to ensure a better protection to water

A new set of international legal rules has been developed in the recent practice of investment law, intended to balance the promotion of foreign investments with the creation of safeguards for public policies. After a brief introduction, which addresses that trend in the light of the expansion of negotiations on mega-regional agreements as the "new" instrument of investment regulation, the second section of this article discusses the question of the convergence of the protection of private investors and the protection of States' regulatory power in the experience of NAFTA countries and the most recent European investment policy, developed after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. The third section is devoted to an analysis of the substantive provisions of the recently concluded mega-regional agreements concerning three specific elements traditionally linked to investor protection (i.e. the free and equitable treatment standard, "umbrella" clauses, and indirect expropriation) in order to examine how they contribute to setting a new paradigm, or at least a move towards a new paradigm for the protection of investors' rights. Subsequently, investors' obligations – still a major topic under discussion in the practice of investment law – will be examined; and finally the new dispute settlement mechanism which has been proposed by the European Union will be assessed, discussing how it could fit with a reform of the procedural aspects of investor protection to guarantee the State's policy space.

Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) is usually thought of as a playwright: author of such works as St. Joan and Major Barbara; winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925. What is often overlooked is that he first achieved prominence in public life as a leading member of the Fabian Society, advocating a piecemeal, reformist, evolutionary brand of socialism which he considered more appropriate to the British political tradition than revolutionary Marxism. The Fabian Society—largely through the work of Sidney and Beatrice Webb—is often credited with having played a crucial part in the formation of the welfare state, and more generally it is looked upon as the major source of new ideas and policies in the British Labour Movement. Shaw served on the Society's executive committee for over two decades, acting as resident propagandist and original thinker, often tackling neglected themes. It was in this way that he developed an interest in international relations. He eventually resigned from the executive in 1911, seeking inter alia greater freedom to express his views on world events. His thoughts on the Great War, therefore, cannot be read as statements of Fabian doctrine in any strict sense. Nevertheless, his association with the Society remained close enough for those thoughts to be seen as belonging to the broadly Fabian school of social democracy. This, in essence, was the intellectual context within which he operated.

1. Nexus-thinking in International Political Economy: What energy and natural resource scholarship can offer international political economy / Caroline Kuzemko, Michael F. Keating and Andreas Goldthau -- Part I Overviews, Theories and Concepts -- 2. Conceptualizing the Energy Nexus of Global Public Policy and International Political Economy / Andreas Goldthau and Nick Sitter -- 3. Advancing the International Political Economy of Climate Change Adaptation: Political Ecology, Political Economy and Social Justice / Benjamin K. Sovacool -- 4. The Resource Nationalist Challenge to Global Energy Governance / Jeffrey D. Wilson -- 5. A Gendered Perspective on Energy Transformation Processes / Cornelia Fraune -- 6. Climate Change, International Political Economy and Global Energy Policy / Robert Falkner -- Part II Climate Change, Energy and Low-Carbon Transitions -- 7. The Politics of Procurement and the Low-Carbon Transition in South Africa / Lucy Baker and Jesse Burton -- 8. The Energy Union: A coherent policy package? / Claudia Strambo and Mans Nilsson -- 9. The Political Economy of Low Carbon Infrastructure in the UK / Ralitsa Hiteva, Tim Foxon and Katherine Love -- 10. The New International Political Economy of Natural Gas / Tim Boersma and Akos Losz -- 11. Europe's Largest Natural Gas Producer in an Era of Climate Change: Gazprom / Jack D. Sharples -- 12. Energy Development in the Arctic: Resource Colonialism Revisited / Daria Gritsenko -- Part III Energy, Resources and Development -- 13. Transnational Private Regulation and the Global Governance of Palm Oil Sustainability: From Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil Certification to the Palm Oil Innovation Group/No-Deforestation Standard / Helen E. S. Nesadurai -- 14. International Political Economy and the Global Governance of Hydroelectric Dams / Michael F. Keating -- 15. Managing the Use of Natural Resources: How Ecosystem Accounts Helped in the Philippines / Stefanie Onder -- 16. How Can Climate Justice and Energy Justice Be Reconciled? / Andrew Lawrence -- 17. The Politics of Resistance in the Neoliberal Mining Regime / Alvin A. Camba -- 18. Food for Fuels? Examining the Issue of Trade-Offs between Energy and Food / Anil Hira -- 19. Emerging Economies and Energy: The Case of Turkey / Slawomir Raszewski -- Part IV Scale: Transnational, National, Local -- 20. Low-Carbon Technologies, National Innovation Systems, and Global Production Networks: The State of Play / Llewelyn Hughes and Rainer Quitzow -- 21. An International Political Economy of Climate Change Benchmarking: Energy Standard Setting, Responses and Challenges / Caroline Kuzemko -- 22. Energy Trends, Political Economy, and International Order: The United States and the People's Republic / Wesley B. Renfro -- 23. International Political Economy of Nuclear Energy / Elina Brutschin and Jessica Jewell -- 24. The Domestic Factor in the International Political Economy of Eurasian Gas Trade / Morena Skalamera -- 25. Between Global Aspirations and Domestic Imperatives: The Case of Brazil / Flavio Lira -- 26. Localising Energy: Heat Networks and Municipal Governance / Jessica BrittonIndex

2009 was a bad year for Australia's international vocational education and training (VET) industry. Racism affecting international students on the streets and in the national media discouraged students from applying to study in Australia and made international education the centre of political controversy. In such an environment it has been easy to lose sight of the teaching and learning processes that are at the heart of VET for international students. This paper reports on part of a research project, funded by Service Skills Australia, that examined VET practitioners in the service industries. As part of that project the author carried out case studies in two registered training organisations (RTOs) that delivered training to substantial numbers of hospitality students and interviewed senior managers from four other RTOs. Staff and students alike reported on the benefits of having international students enrolled in their courses, and reported instances of good practice in pedagogy that have implications well beyond the international student cohort.

The importance of international law and institutions (Jackie Jones) -- Exploring the consequences of the normative gap in legal protections addressing violence against women (David richards and Jillienne Haglund) -- Normative developments on violence against women in the United Nations System (Rashida Manjoo) -- The African human rights system : challenges and potential in addressing violence against women in Africa (Nicholas Wasonga Orago and Maria Nassali) -- The European system : Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Council of Europe Convention on Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention) (Jackie Jones) -- Violence against women : normative developments in the Inter-American Human Rights System (Caroline Bettinger-Lopez) -- Closing the normative gap in international law on violence against women : developments, initiatives, and possible options (Rashida Manjoo)

THE AUTHOR SHOWS THAT NO ONE SERIOUSLY DOUBTS THAT THE CHARACTER AND SHAPE OF THE NEW POLITICAL ARRANGEMENTS IN SOUTH AFRICA WILL BE DETERMINED BY SOUTH AFRICANS THEMSELVES. HE ALSO SHOWS THAT MOST ANALYSTS AGREE THAT EVEN IF THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO COMES TO PASS, SOUTH AFRICA'S FUTURE IS UNLIKELY TO BE DECIDED BY EXTERNAL COERCIVE INTERVENTION. THIS ARTICLE RELATES TO THE TRANSITIONAL PERIOD IN CONTEMPORARY SOUTH AFRICAN AFFAIRS. IT DOES NOT SPECIFICALLY ADDRESS THE PERIOD AFTER THE NEW SOUTH AFRICA HAS COME INTO BEING. THE ARTICLE IS AN EXPANDED VERSION OF A PAPER PRESENTED TO THE SOUTH AFRICAN STUDY GROUP OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS AT CHATHAM HOUSE IN JULY 1993.