Suchergebnisse

Brexit negotiations were always going to be incredibly tough given the complexity of issues and the deep political divides among UK citizens in the wake of the EU referendum. Theresa May's government compounded these challenges with a poorly executed negotiation strategy: the UK government embarked on negotiations with other EU countries without a clear set of negotiating objectives; it was unable to represent itself as a unified negotiating team; it often found itself on the back foot, responding to EU proposals on both sequencing and content; and UK politicians pursued an ill-judged strategy that did not reflect the nature of the underlying negotiating problem or the UK's relative power position. These weaknesses were the result of ongoing political divides within the UK cabinet, the wider Conservative Party, and UK Parliament. Domestic divisions impeded negotiations with the EU and ultimately led to the rejection of the Withdrawal Agreement by the UK Parliament. The Brexit negotiations are a powerful illustration of how failure by a government to effectively navigate domestic politics can derail international negotiations.

"Lack of moral fibre" (LMF), a term introduced by the Royal Air Force in April 1940, was designed to stigmatize aircrew who refused to fly without a medical reason. This article explores the justification for this uncompromising policy, research by neuropsychiatrists into the psychological effects of aerial combat, and their attempts to modify LMF procedures. The reasons why the British Army and Royal Navy did not formally adopt the policy are analyzed in relation to the military context. What happened to airmen subjected to LMF assessment and treatment programs is also discussed in relation to recent British initiatives.

The conventional wisdom is that capital market integration and now monetary union have limited the options available to macroeconomic policy makers in Europe. The question considered here, therefore, is why many prominent Europeans insist that monetary union is a rational response to capital market integration. Monetary union eliminates exchange rate volatility - but only at a cost in terms of tightening the constraints on macroeconomic policy. Using a combination of macroeconomic theory and (descriptive) statistical analysis of European performance, I find that: capital market integration has increased macroeconomic flexibility through a mitigation of the current account constraint; European states have combined macroeconomic policies in a manner that has taken advantage of greater flexibility on the current account; the cost of such flexibility in terms of the impact of financial volatility on the real economy manifests differently in different countries; and monetary union both enhances flexibility on the current account and mitigates financial volatility. (European Journal of Political Research / FUB)

THE EU IS PURSUING A COMPETITIVE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT MODEL THAT COMBINES INSIGHTS FROM ENVIRONMENTAL AS WELL AS ECONOMIC ANALYSIS. THIS ARTICLE ARGUES THAT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS NEW DEVELOPMENT MODEL POSES BOTH ANALYTICAL AND DISTRIBUTIONAL CONCERNS: THE ASSUMPTIONS OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS COME INTO THEORETICAL CONTRADITIONS AND THE ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE POLICY ARE SOCIALLY UNDESIRABLE. THE SOLUTION IS TO ABANDON THE COMPETITIVE AND SUSTAINALBE DEVELOPMENT MODEL, AND TO PURSUE COMPETITIVE GROWTH AND SUSTAINABLE RESOURCE USE AS SEPARATE POLICY OBJECTIVES.

THERE ARE THREE PROFOUND SYSTEMIC MOVEMENTS NOW WORKING AT THE GLOBAL LEVEL. THE COMMON ELEMENT AMONG THEM IS THE RAPID CHEAPENING OF INFORMATION. THE FIRST PROCESS IS A SPEEDED-UP CIRCULATION OF FACTORS OF PRODUCTION. THE SECOND PROCESS IS THE CHALLENGE TO THE NON-WESTERN WORLD POSED BY RAPIDLY SPREADING NOTIONS OF POLITICAL PLURALISM. THE THIRD PROCESS IS SELF-ACTUALIZATION. THIS ARTICLE EXAMINES CHEAPER INFORMATION, THE GRIP OF SOVEREIGNTY, THE EUROPEAN PRECEDENT, SUPPLY AND DEMAND, THE DECAY OF WESTERN HARMONY, THE MOST PAMPERED GENERATION, AND, THREE FORCES OF CHANGE.

OUT OF THE POST WAR 1950S, A LONE REBELLION EMERGED IN THE UNITED STATES. THE BEAT MOVEMENT, AS IT WAS KNOWN, BEGAN IN NEW YORK AND SAN FRANCISCO. THE BEATS WERE BOMBARDED WITH NEGATIVE PUBLICITY, BECAUSE THEY TURNED THE NORMS OF NORTH AMERICAN SOCIETY SIDEWAYS TO REFORMULATE THE RULES THEY WANTED TO LIVE BY. THE BEATS WERE CURIOUS ABOUT RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITIES THAT WERE FOREIGN TO THE GENERAL POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES IN THE 1950S. THIS SEARCH FOR A SPIRITUALITY EVENTUALLY LED THEM TO BUDDHISM. BUDDHIST PRACTICE GAVE THEM A NEW OUTLET FOR THEIR NEGATIVE ENERGY, WHILE SHARPENING THEIR VIEW OF WHAT THEY WANTED IN A GOOD SOCIETY. WHILE AMERICANS RESPONDED UNFAVORABLY TO THE BEATS, THEY NEVERTHELESS HELPED TO BREAK DOWN MANY CULTURAL BARRIERS.