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Der »Schwabinger Kunstfund« in der Wohnung des Kunsthändlersohns Cornelius Gurlitt, der »Welfenschatz« und der Hollywoodstreifen »Monuments Men« – sie alle sorgten jüngst für internationales Aufsehen. Die Debatten drehen sich dabei stets um das Thema »NSRaubkunst «: um Kunstwerke also, die während der Nazizeit von offiziellen deutschen Stellen beschlagnahmt oder gestohlen wurden. Anders Rydell macht in seinem fulminanten Buch die Kunstpolitik der Nationalsozialisten begreiflich, die ihre Tiefpunkte in der Ausstellung »Entartete Kunst«, im devisenbringenden Verkauf und in der Zerstörung von Gemälden fand. Er erzählt, fast wie ein Kinofilm, vom Beutezug, mit dem Hitler und seine Helfershelfer riesige Kunstsammlungen anhäuften. Und er veranschaulicht eindrücklich, welche Anstrengungen man heute noch immer unternimmt, um die geraubten Werke aufzufinden und sie den rechtmäßigen Besitzern zurückzugeben.

AbstractThe world has been trying to eliminate weapons of mass destruction (WMD) — nuclear, biological and chemical arms — for over half a century. Yet many such weapons remain, and progress in nuclear disarmament has been especially disappointing. The chronic failure to achieve agreed WMD disarmament mandates has prompted the creation of several independent international commissions to find some solutions. The WMD Commission created by Sweden in late 2003 was the latest such venture, and its 2006 report has received international acclaim. Chaired by Hans Blix, the Commission covered disarmament, non-proliferation and counter-terrorism issues, and did so from a variety of policy dimensions, from unilateral action through fully multilateral cooperation. Written by a member of the Commission's secretariat staff, this article tells the story of the Commission: how it conducted its work, what it proposed and what impacts it has had — and may yet have — in revitalizing WMD disarmament efforts.

AbstractThe literature on arms control and disarmament is replete with studies demonstrating the numerous difficulties in negotiating agreements for the control or elimination of nuclear weapons. These studies stress the time consumed during negotiations, the complexity of the emerging agreements, the trade-offs required to achieve agreement, the political difficulties of treaty ratification, and the alleged advantages of alternative approaches to arms control and disarmament not involving treaties. This essay examines whether treaties and negotiations are in fact dispensable in achieving agreed multilateral disarmament objectives. It surveys recent multilateral efforts in the field of nuclear disarmament and identifies six basic criteria that enjoy broad international support as standards for assessing the merits of disarmament agreements. The essay concludes that tacit understandings and other informal political arrangements offer no substitute for legally-binding treaty obligations. This conclusion leads to several implications affecting the conduct of multilateral negotiations, and the kinds of institutional support required in the negotiating process and for the maintenance of key commitments by the relevant multilateral regimes.

"The influence of polymath philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) can still be found in a dizzying range of fields, as his writings touch on issues of identity, republicanism, and the nature of knowledge itself. Claire Rydell Arcenas's new book tells the story of Americans' longstanding yet ever-mutable obsession with this English thinker's ideas, a saga whose most recent manifestations have found the so-called Father of Liberalism held up as a right-wing icon. The first book to detail Locke's trans-Atlantic influence from the eighteenth century until today, America's Philosopher shows how and why interpretations of his ideas have captivated Americans in ways few other philosophers--from any nation--ever have. As Arcenas makes clear, each generation has essentially remade Locke in its own image, drawing inspiration and transmuting his ideas to suit the needs of the particular historical moment. Drawing from a host of vernacular sources to illuminate Locke's often contradictory impact on American daily and intellectual life from before the Revolutionary War to the present, Arcenas delivers a pathbreaking work in the history of ideas"--