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On the night of 7 July 1937, an unexpected exchange of fire on the Marco Polo Bridge about 12 km from Peking, China, between a detachment of the Japanese garrison of Fengtang deployed in military exercises & a patrol unit of the Chinese army stationed in the region, broke the peace established by the 1932 Peace Accord that ended the Japanese occupation of Manchuria. While some commentators suggest that this incident marked the beginning of WWII, it did indeed indicate the start of a true war between China & Japan. After sketching the bellicose background of China-Japan relations in the early 20th century, diplomatic actions of the Joint Commission created by the incomplete Peace Accord are explored. In particular, the nonconforming (to the Anglo-US norm) behavior of the Italian representatives is examined. Details are also provided of the War of Shanghai (Aug-late Dec 1937). J. Sadler

Plurality of cultures has always existed, but only in modern times of quick & easy communication has it become part of daily human experience, creating a new type of awareness. Diplomacy & intercultural dialogue gain a brand new value & responsibility when it is possible to access massive quantities of information through the Internet & citizens of a country come from all over the world. Diplomacy ensures peaceful relations ultimately affecting the overall well-being of a country even though it cannot rely on a system of rules & a criminal code. Diplomats' main instrument is a respectful & civil behavior even when facing pressing issues such as fundamentalism, nationalism, & war. M. Williamson

This article examines the increasing importance of the policies in international relations of Vatican City. The recent attention given to the Pope's role in achieving peaceful negotiations around the world is discussed. The ability to achieve peace through the intervention of the church, its influence on the members of the community especially young people is highlighted. The author also discusses several books that study the church's involvement in international relations in various countries & geographical locations, such as Latin America, Asia, & Africa, & with other religious groups. The author draws conclusions based on what the rest of the world can learn about diplomacy from the Vatican. E. Miller

This article contributes to the Continental (vs American) IR debate by investigating IR theory in one of the islands of the Continental IR archipelago most successful in keeping secret its vices & virtues: Italy. Here, theoretical IR has proven to be unable to fully exploit post-Cold War opportunities to establish itself as a discipline with higher visibility. Italian theoretical IR tends to produce few efforts at theory-building & some recent theoretical developments never reached the peninsula; further, Italian IR suffers from a certain detachment from broader IR trends in terms of both import, but far more, export, of literature. We suggest that to understand the Italian situation it is necessary to develop an account that goes beyond the traditional purely external explanation of IR developments in a given community, & also draws on the cultural-institutional context, ie, on the organizational characteristics of the research environment, the habits of interaction among national professionals & between them & the external market, & the political culture of the country. 2 Tables, 3 Appendixes, 89 References. Adapted from the source document.

This article gives an overview of the Johnston negotiations that took place between 1953 & 1955 to determine rights to water from the Jordan River basin. Discussion focuses on how these negotiations are representative of some of the best examples of the diplomatic process regarding any Middle Eastern conflict. The article discusses the main purposes of the negotiations & other primary objectives, as well as counterarguments by Israel & Arab nations. The negotiations are analyzed in conclusion. 1 Table. E. Miller

The political role of international theoretical discourse is an essential & most contested issue in the IR contemporary debate. The resistance of traditional perspectives to the inclusion of self-reflective elements on the agenda of international political analysis reflects the inadequacy of the theoretical framework to bear the ambiguous relation between political & theoretical discourse. I argue that metaphorical analysis has the potential both to offer an important self-reflective contribution to IR discipline & to discard its theoretical boundaries -- as defined by positivist & neopositivist assumptions. Political metaphors establish meanings that frame both political & theoretical discourse. The distinction between these two, albeit possible on analytic grounds, is in practice much less tenable; the cognitive representations of each commonly spill over to the other. Once metaphorically established, the meanings attached to these representations play a role that is both influential & latent or, more precisely, influential because latent. The analysis of political metaphors offers the opportunity to shed some light on & investigate the latent meanings that theoretical discourse assimilates from political discourse & vice versa. However, the theoretical requirements of metaphoric analysis are not compatible with the main assumptions that constitute the theoretical framework of IR traditional perspectives. The second part of the article presents reasons why metaphoric analysis, while comfortably adaptable to critical & constructivist research programs, does indeed "threaten" IR disciplinary boundaries -- as defined by the realist, pluralist, & structuralist triad -- but it also offers the opportunity to expand them toward grounds that appear more acceptable both socially & theoretically. 1 Table, 84 References. Adapted from the source document.