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This Energy and Environment Paper follows the original publication on the Refomred Financial Mechanism proposal (OIES EV 45). It analyses four areas of oversight:How to design decision making (processes and remits) for the UNFCCC COP and RFM executive body so as to ensure sufficient political oversight and buy-in without the danger of over-politicized micro-management of the RFM management of its financial flows. How to ensure proper stakeholder representation in particular how to design the selection of stakeholder representatives and how to design their role in the decision-making process.How to design independent oversight (audit monitoring and evaluation) procedures within the framework of existing legal arrangements which will provide sufficient safeguards against malpractice both at the international and the national level. How to oversee financial flows to ensure compliance with financial commitments.

This book explores how identities, public spheres and collective memories are being transformed in cross-border areas, contributing to the broad sociological context of Europeanization. Offering case studies on the German-Czech-Austrian, and Czech-Polish-German borderlands, the book introduces original primary data on cross-border cooperation. This data is interpreted using the concept of active borders, which approaches borders as a source of multicultural competence and cognitive capacity. In turn, the authors argue that Europeans need to treat borders, both territorial and symbolic, as specific cultural forms. Active borders allow an unprecedented level of cross-border cooperation and integration, and foster a better understanding of differences, rather than re-embedding them or constructing others. Accordingly, the authors contend that active borders promote more dynamic, open and resilient societies, and represent crucial prerequisites for the success of the European integration project

This piece is a review of articles published in American political magazines. The Weekly Standard's Tod Lindberg believes that the time of Republican majority is over & gives the party the concrete advice of looking for more support in the political middle. As regards Iraq, Bill Kristol & Robert Kagan, also from the Weekly Standard, contend that the illusion that a political solution in midst of violence is possible in Iraq has led to the current situation. The New Republic's Jonathan Chait writes that only few Republicans have been willing to admit that Donald Rumsfeld suffered from a "hallucinatory worldview." In contrast to Dick Cheney, Esquire and the New Republic describe John McCain as the good conservative & focus on his presidential campaign in their August 2006 & October 2006 issues, respectively. A. Kallioinen

Charles Krauthammer stepped into the midst of the transnational debate with his article "The Truth about Torture" (12/2005 Weekly Standard), describing the essence of the American discussion. He differentiates three categories of war prisoners: soldiers subject to the Geneva Conventions, unlawful enemy combatants who have not earned the right to the Geneva Conventions but should none the less be handled with humanity, & terrorists with information, which is the category where the problem of torture exists. In partial agreement with McCain's assertion that torture leads to confessions but not to truth, Krauthammer points to Israel, where sharper interrogations have saved many lives. While McCain, currently the most viable Republican candidate in the next presidential election in part because of his relative independence, supports presidential responsibility in individual "ticking bomb" cases, Krauthammer favors defined rules of engagement with highly trained, regularly tested, civil interrogation specialists. Both want to avoid future misunderstandings. Unavoidable to this debate are discussions of Iraq. L. Reed

The article attempts to offer a framework for understanding the interdependence between modern civil society and the democratic state in its complexity. The author seeks inspiration mainly from two very significant sources-in Toqueville's social theory and in Giddens' theory of reflexive modernity. In the first stage the author summarises basic arguments in empirical discussions on the civil society concept. In the second stage he offers the overview of a robust normative perspective of the concept and, in the third stage, he tries to outline the complex interpretative framework for an empirical analysis of state-civil society relations. The author follows the ambition of overcoming to a certain extent the crucial sociological paradox between the macro- and micro- sociological approaches and considering both the functional-structural perspective and the empirical point of view of the civil society concept. Figures, References. Adapted from the source document.

Darfur is the biggest humanitarian, Iran the biggest security policy challenge of the present. In both cases, a military intervention is unlikely. Experts warn that should the USA deal with Russia as an enemy, Russia might actually prove to be one. Only as partner could the USA retain its vital interests in Russia, namely to prevent the Russian arsenal of weapons of mass destruction to endanger the world. E. Sanchez

Mearsheimer & Walt argue that the Israeli lobby, consisting of Jewish organizations & individuals, evangelical Christians, & neoconservatives, many of whom are Jewish but should more appropriately be in the camp of nationalist real-politicians, is the reason that the US is prepared to neglect its own & its allies security in order to advance the interests of Israel. Responses to this claim were swift, pointing out that Mearsheimer & Walt are not scientists, & that truth & originality do not go hand in hand, & in Kosovo neoconservatives called for intervention where neither oil nor Israel were involved, & reject military intervention in Iran. L. Reed

Diplomacy is an art that is an anthropological necessity & a human survival technique. At the moment, the American debate is concerned with different applications of diplomacy. Diplomatic, political, & economic pressure on Iran, the most security relevant problem, cannot succeed if the military options do not remain on the table. Russia is seeking to utilize energy exports for diplomatic purposes with brutal power politics back stage & symbolic politics with real extortion potential on the international stage, where the Oligarchs represent less a threat than the fight against corruption in politics & government. Hugo Chavez prefers to use Venezuela's crude oil as an instrument of power politics in an attractive form of authoritarian rule in this democratic age, while America suffers due to its religious & simultaneously liberal nature that attracts all, but is politically difficult in that it is too liberal for traditional societies & too religious for liberal European societies. Yet the global American hegemony is secretly valued & urgently needed in many parts of the world, & a global threat to stability is more likely to come from America's domestic demands than its role in the global order. L. Reed

This short survey article discusses views expressed by contemporary US journalists & writers in recent issues of a variety of periodicals on the so-called Bush doctrine in foreign policy, the rise of the neoconservative movement, the incompetence of conservatives to govern the country, the war on terror & against Al-Qaida, & other topics of contemporary US politics. The authors included into this survey are: Norman Podhoretz (Commentary, September, 2006?), Alan Wolfe (Washington Monthly, July-August, 2006?), John H. Richardson (Esquire, August, 2006?), George Packer (New Yorker, 18 September, 2006?), John Muellers (Foreign Affairs, September-October, 2006?), & James Fallows (Atlantic Monthly, September, 2006?). Z. Dubiel

The article depicts the views of several editors regarding the Bush administration's Middle East politics. James Fallows writes that the collapsed war of ideas in the Muslim world needs to be led in a different way. Justice not freedom is the highest ideal of Islamic societies, & American public diplomacy has to be built on this. Adapted from the source document.

A review essay on books by (1) Volker Berghahn, Transatlantische Kulturkriege. Shepard Stone, die Ford-Stiftung und der europaische Antiamerikanismus (Stuttgart, Germany: Franz Steiner, 2004); (2) Andreas W. Daum, Kennedy in Berlin. Politik, Kulture und Emotionen im Kalten Krieg (Paderborn, Germany: Ferdinand Schonigh, 2003); (3)Astrid M. Eckert, Kampf um die Akten. Die Westalliierten und die Ruckgabe von deutschem Archivgut nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg (Stuttgart, Germany: Franz Steiner, 2004); & (4) Manfred Berg & Philipp Gassert (Eds) Deutschland und die USA in der Internationalen Geschichte des 20. Jahrhunderts. Festschrift fur Detlef Junker (Stuttgart, Germany: Franz Steiner, 2004). Adapted from the source document.

In the Pacific, America is conducting tough military multilateralism. Its treaty system will first enclose China & then some day release it into an integrated strategic partnership. Europe's military future within a newly defined NATO is safeguarding the world's oceans & relieving America where Europe will not be drawn into conflicts. A strong economic Europe is in the interest of America. E. Sanchez

Victor Davis Hanson, California farmer & war historian, helps to understand how America today thinks about war. He explains the neoconservative strategy of democratization as the only remaining opportunity after all the other political attempts have failed, & draws in the other US policies. One of the most radical democratizers in the US today, he does not blindly believe, & draws on the concepts of total war from the antique & WWII. The legacy of National Socialism & communism overshadows the political culture of Europe & America. A comparison of Hitler & Stalin leads to the conclusion that one must fear not only great evil but also absolute good. Communism remains a black hole, which is problematic for Europe in its eastern expansion & its search for an identity. The history of the ideology & the divided memories are of significant importance. Adapted from the source document.