Suchergebnisse

After the Vienna Congress in 1815, the Allied ministers did not return home, but continued their negotiations in Paris. They deliberated on the measure of reparation payments and arrear payments that France owed to the other European states. The new peace also rested on financial securities. The United Kingdom of the Netherlands assumed a large part in these conferences, since through the mass of private claims it was France's largest creditor. In this article we demonstrate how, as one of the essentials of the new concert diplomacy of 1815, smaller powers such as the Netherlands were allowed to weigh in on the Four Powers' deliberations in Paris. The political conundrums regarding these financial securities and reparationshave not been charted and analysed before. Through previously unstudied sources,such as the minutes of the Paris Ministerial Conference, we discuss the influence a secondary power could exert provided they deployed smart financial experts. Under that condition large political and financial gains could be made.

The possible contributions of sociobiology & ethology to the political sciences are critically examined. E. O. Wilson's Sociobiology: The New Synthesis (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard U Press, Belknap Press, 1975) is reviewed & the key concepts of his theory are presented. The group "Science for the People" criticizes Wilson's work as racist & supportive of the status quo; their complaints are rejected as biased & unjust. The last three IPSA congresses in Munich (1970), Montreal (1973), & Edinburgh (1976) show that attempts to relate biology & political sciences exist, though they are still rare. The sessions on "Biology & Politics" in the Montreal congress are presented as an example. Here, the emphasis is on the methodological contributions of ethology to political sciences. The concept of "social systems" is seen as a major contribution to the social sciences. It demands a stronger shift toward interdisciplinary works between political & biological sciences. W. Zimmerman.

UNTIL 1971, THE BELGIAN SOCIALIST PARTY (BSP) WAS THE ONLY POLITICAL PARTY THAT CLOSELY & SYSTEMATICALLY INVOLVED ITS MEMBERS IN THE DESIGNATION OF SOCIALIST CANDIDATES FOR PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS. THIS WAS ACHIEVED THROUGH A SYSTEM OF PREELECTIONS WITHIN THE PARTY ('POLLING'). THE TREND AWAY FROM 'POLLING' ALREADY PERCEPTIBLE IN 1971, HAS ASSERTED ITSELF IN 1974. ABOUT 56% OF THE ELECTED MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT OWE THEIR SEAT TO THEIR PLACE ON THE CANDIDATE- LIST AT THE 'POLL'. MORE THAN 40% OF THEM WERE DESIGNATED BY A PARTY-CONGRESS. THIS CHANGE IS NOTICEABLY TRUE IN FLANDERS. THE CHOICE BETWEEN A 'POLL' & A CONGRESS AS A DECISION-MAKING TECHNIQUE IS NOT RELEVANT AS TO THE RENEWAL OF PARLIAMENTARY GROUPS. THIS RENEWAL IS MAINLY DUE TO THE INTRODUCTION OF AN AGE-LIMIT (65) & OF A GAIN IN SEATS. A GROWING LACK OF INTEREST IN PARTY MEMBERS IS EVIDENT, IN THE COMPOSITION OF CANDIDATE-LISTS: PARTICIPATION HAS AGAIN SLIGHTLY DECLINED. 8 TABLES. MODIFIED HA.