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A special regulatory regime applies to products of recombinant nucleic acid modifications. A ruling from the European Court of Justice has interpreted this regulatory regime in a way that it also applies to emerging mutagenesis techniques. Elsewhere regulatory progress is also ongoing. In 2015, Argentina launched a regulatory framework, followed by Chile in 2017 and recently Brazil and Colombia. In March 2018, the USDA announced that it will not regulate genome-edited plants differently if they could have also been developed through traditional breeding. Canada has an altogether different approach with their Plants with Novel Traits regulations. Australia is currently reviewing its Gene Technology Act. This article illustrates the deviation of the European Union's (EU's) approach from the one of most of the other countries studied here. Whereas the EU does not implement a case-by-case approach, this approach is taken by several other jurisdictions. Also, the EU court ruling adheres to a process-based approach while most other countries have a stronger emphasis on the regulation of the resulting product. It is concluded that, unless a functioning identity preservation system for products of directed mutagenesis can be established, the deviation results in a risk of asynchronous approvals and disruptions in international trade.

Is there a common notion amongst the political and military leadership in Sweden on how to defend the country? Several events in the arena of international politics during the 20th century argue for the importance of coherence between political and military thinking. Different focus during peacetime has subsequently caused fatal consequences in times of war. This thesis studies a less obvious case: Sweden, a small-state, during the 1990's in the aftermath of the Cold War. In the effort of identifying inconsistency between the political and military level the study deals with a more comprehensive issue for any democratic society: How shall the elected political leadership exercise control over an authority (subordinated the government and) with deeply rooted professional values and with authority vested in it of crucial importance for national survival? Although several of government authorities play key roles in this respect the Armed Forces stands out to be the single most important entity. The thesis approaches the problem by studying one measure of control: the defence doctrine. The doctrine is analysed by studying various documents provided by the political decisionsprocess and with interviews involving a significant number of actors in the politico-military leaderships. The purpose has been to identify whether there is any inconsistency prevailing in the perception of values to be protected by the Armed Forces in case or war, what poses threat to these values and finally how to counter the threats. Hence, the political and military views on defence doctrine are examined. The last element of the doctrine, how to deal with the perceived threats, is embodied in the strategy for countering threats. Comparative studies involving Norway and Finland have been made to provide relevant references for the findings and provide a framework for elaboration on the differences between political and military priorities encapsulated in the research hypothesis. In addition, the research hypothesis involved the assumption that technical, tactical and operational decisions would serve as explanations for any inconsistency between military and political priorities. Piecemealed low-level decisions were assumed to unintentionally diverge bottom- up perceptions and create tensions if the politico-military interaction is not fully functional or if the politicians do not fully comprehend the implications of their decisions. The empirical findings suggest differences in the consistency of the politico-military leadership when comparing Sweden with Norway and Finland. For Sweden, the findings suggest a relative good politico-military adherence regarding values and threat perceptions. However there is a disparity in the views on what strategy to adopt and the military leadership has a more offensive mindset than the political leadership. The empirical data has primarily been collected from processes. To provide a better explanation for the findings the structure of security policymaking has been adopted in a new conceptual model based on Edward Luttwak's 'vertical dimension'.

The evaluation of organizational climate is a critical factor in business management, and its importance is even greater in military higher education institutions, due to the high motivation and commitment expected from their members. However, research on this topic in Ecuador is scarce. The present study validates a scale to measure organizational climate in Ecuadorian military higher education institutions. The instrument proposed by Hernández, Garrido & Rico (2016) was applied to an intentional sample of 44 Military Engineering School (ESINGM) members. Its reliability was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient, obtaining values above 0.960, indicating high internal consistency. The dimensions of the organizational climate present in the institution were identified, and the results of the first-level statistical validation were presented. It is concluded that the scale is valid and reliable for measuring the organizational climate in this institution. In addition, this study contributes to the understanding of the organizational climate in military higher education institutions in Ecuador and may have implications for the management and improvement of educational quality in the context of higher education in Ecuador.

The report examines the issue of the deployability abroad of the German Armed Forces, the Bundeswehr, at present and in terms of future-oriented defence reforms. It notes that the Bundeswehr is growing in terms of GDP spending though not yet in numbers, that there are novel ideas about how to further develop German military doctrine toward its use in international military operations within as well as alongside NATO, and that mechanisms for identifying and closing military capability gaps through procurement are coming into place. At the same time, there are a number of industry-related, legal and political constraints in place, some of which appear poised to continue exert influence over the entire sector for years to come. Absent a very conscious effort on the part of the government and the respective ministries and institutions to alter the status quo, especially in conjunction with aggravated security and defence challenges in Germany's vicinity, it appears unlikely that these modest steps will yield substantive results in the short to mid-term.

Cultural heritage is not just something from the past, but always also reflects contemporary needs and desires. In the Traces of the Cold War describes the making of a diverse and innovative Swedish military heritage. The book shows how memories and material remains from a period characterized by fear and geopolitical tensions are infused with new meanings when bunkers, decommissioned military facilities and technology are transformed into luxury housing, attractive tourist destinations and museum exhibitions.
Through field-visits to military heritage sites across Sweden, the authors examine what material objects, narratives and emotions that today represent the Cold War. These examinations show how military structures and equipment from a time associated with threat and danger become captivating elements of the cultural heritage, while also communicating specific ideas regarding security and protection.
In the Traces of the Cold War takes a novel approach to cultural heritage by relating collective memory-making to security policy. Based on theoretical perspectives from critical heritage studies (CHS) and feminist international relations (IR), the analysis focuses on constructions of national belonging and underlines the role of gender and sexuality in narrations of security and protection.
In a democracy, the subject of military violence must always be a matter of ethical and political conversations. Setting out from this assumption, the authors critically discuss how Cold War heritagisation produces militarization as "natural" and necessary. The book invites reflection on how history is written as well as on what the requirements are for a safe and secure society.
In the Traces of the Cold War presents the results from an interdisciplinary research project. The authors are all researchers at Stockholm University and have written the book together.

During the 2000s, Sweden has pursued an active foreign and security policy. This has meant participation in several international military operations and has left many Swedish soldiers and officers with combat experience. Thus, the Swedish parliament decided in 2010 on a political reform of the veterans area, with more extensive societal support, war decorations to express the government recognition of personal sacrifices made in the service and a new medal for courage in combat. Considered as a reward system, it functions as an immaterial and emotionally established incentive, in contrast to the financial and bonus reward systems that are otherwise common. From a governance perspective, this setting is fundamentally interesting. The complexity of military operations and the demands for efficiency in armed combat are in contrast with the democratic state's need to guarantee the rule of law, even from a distance and under difficult conditions. Traditional government is not sufficient because the situation is characterized by high contextual uncertainty and therefore requires more situational adaptive control. Organizing in a professional model implies autonomy for military officials, and this means that there is a form of gap in terms of civilian control. In the dissertation, a concept and an analytical model are formulated to understand this phenomenon, entitled soft norm governance, that also form one of the main results. The model combines four levels of analysis to describe the dynamics of the steering mix: organizational metagovernance, rule control, policy work and professional ethics. One conclusion is that professional ethics has a two-way function in the chain of implementation steering, both as a decisive factor for concrete decision-making, but also as an objective for the government's soft norm governance. Thus, this control gap does not mean absence of control, but that other value-based norm systems govern our actions. In this way, soft norm governance also reaches beyond the scope of the law. The theoretical framework is metagovernance, the idea that the modern state is steering at a distance and with subtle methods, such as by organizational measures. It opens for the importance of soft law, social norms and ethics in governmental steering. The case study of the veterans policy and medal of courage contributes empirically to the specification of these theories. Furthermore, new institutionalism adds an explanatory value with a rationality of action for the officials, a so-called logic of appropriateness based on the professional role and on adaptation to the situation at hand and to applicable rules. Theoretically, the thesis contributes by supplementing with a logic of values, which takes into account the profession's ethical and moral rationality of action, which is particularly important in situations such as armed conflict. The methodological approach combines a structural statistical perspective with a qualitative and understanding-oriented perspective and can, with the support of the analytical model, illuminate both pattern and function. The material base is a total selection from the medal preparation of eight contingents in Afghanistan during the years 2008-2012, i.e. FS16-FS23. It consists of the archive material from the nominations as well as in-depth interviews with responsible commanders at the international units and at the national headquarters, including the Commander-in-Chief.

Despite significant institutional changes and refinements since its creation in 2004, the ENP(European Neighborhood Policy) remains a major tool available to the EU for providing incentivesfor reform and stability in non-member states through the diffusion of its norms and rules.Earlier studies, drawing on the Europeanization conceptual framework, have been mostly concernedabout how and by which mechanisms compliance with EU rules takes place, rather thanfocusing on whether and to what extent it occurs. By contrast, this article assesses the actorness ofthe EU in three countries of the South Caucasus (Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan), viewingactorness as composed of three dimensions – capability, opportunity, and presence – enabling andconstraining the aspirations of the EU to be an international actor in the South Caucasus.

-Sustainable landscapes require evidence-based knowledge about multiple goods, services and values, as well as integrated place-based collaboration among actors and stakeholders at multiple levels. -EUROSCAPES is an international network of researchers, journalists and practitioners that supports sharing of knowledge about how to maintain and develop sustainable landscapes. --Euro. is about the diversity of places in the European continent's East and West - from the Ural Mountains and Caucasus to the Atlantic Ocean. --.scapes links to the word landscape, which has biophysical, anthropogenic and perceived dimensions. -EUROSCAPES gathers and communicates knowledge using three series of publications: --EUROSCAPES News with short texts and illustrations that can be used by journalists. --EUROSCAPES Communication with popular summaries of peer-reviewed publications and reports. --EUROSCAPES Report with longer peer-reviewed comprehensive text. -EUROSCAPES uses the web site www.euroscapes.org to disseminate these publication series using five themes: People, Places, Practices, Projects, and Publications.

The important role played by the army in the pol'al life of Latin America is revealed by the history of these nations. To begin with, the military conquistadors were quickly replaced by a civil bureaucracy which was under the complete control of the Spanish crown. The financiers were constantly seeking to sell military titles while the need for a defense against Indians & pirates called for the creation of a militia. The wars of liberation brought the generals to the fore, though Spanish customs had already given the military the benefits of a privileged class. These soldiers now found that they had no outlet for their military prowess because South America was far removed from the area of major conflicts. The generals entered into an alliance with the large landowners to form a pol'al system resembling the Spanish one, a type of caudillism, that is to say a dictatorship depending upon the army. Toward the end of the 19th cent, modifications in the recruitment of soldiers & in the formation of officer corps tended to do away with the influence of the military on pol'al life. It was the crisis that followed WW1 that brought back the influence of the military, but this time in a diff fashion. The officer corps had become much less conservative & had been seriously affected by doctrines inspired by Fascism & Communism. The army also tended to intervene indirectly to support particular pol'al views by allowing the leaders who had the army's support to maintain order. In several states, then, the police, frequently organized with the help of the US, began to play a role formerly held by the army. The Gov's therefore began to depend for their existence on an equilibrium between the army, police, & militia. Frequently, also, the various armed forces were at odds, with the navy & the Air Force generally being more liberal than the Army. Military careers appeared to be instruments of soc promotion & made it possible, in nations where marked diff's in class existed, for individuals to achieve a fair degree of success. Tr by J. A. Broussard from IPSA.

This chapter examines the conceptual framework boxes and fluxes on "Institutions and governance and other indirect drivers" (Ch. 1, Fig. 1). International and EU governance of relevance for ecosystem services, biodiversity and water is presented. Policy integration, policy coherence, management regimes and stakeholder involvement is reflected upon. The chapter contributes to further understanding of the current and future challenges for sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services. It provides insights in options for integrating biodiversity and ecosystem services into sustainable development strategies and provides examples of current policy conflicts, along with trade-offs and innovative governance strategies for management of natural resources. Policy-makers need to find ways to handle policy conflicts, improve integration of different stakeholders' perspectives and value dimensions including ILK in policymaking, develop new data collection methods for linking biodiversity and ecosystem services, and develop governance systems that enhance transparency, sustainability and human well-being.

The article argues that Aristotelian virtue ethics & deliberative democratic theory can beneficially be considered to have a shared normative structure. The review is conducted as a comparative idea analysis, through which the respective perspectives are reconstructed. The first reconstruction, that of the Aristotelian virtue ethics, is led by three dimensions of relevance to ethical theory. These dimensions are, although indirectly, also guiding the reconstruction of the second theory, i.e. the deliberative democratic theory. The conclusion we reach is that the theories, be it with different emphasis, generally share a common view in relation to all three of the aforementioned dimensions, as well as regarding the value of deliberation. They both have a dialectical or structured approach regarding ontological basics. Both of them also motivate their main values with intrinsic as well as instrumental reasons. In addition, they share a mainly particularistic conviction, as they believe that the values are determined through a deliberative process. The concluding remarks stress the need for further & ongoing discussions on the relationship between theories of ethics & theories of democracy. 33 References. Adapted from the source document.