Suchergebnisse

We should not be surprised if we find each of the former republics of the Soviet Union placing foremost in their foreign policy the desire to achieve a truly recognized statehood. Obviously, developing their constitutions, and internal political and economic structures, is an internal matter, but it is closely related, of course, with the foreign policy that they can pursue. The principal aim of a foreign policy—just as perhaps the principal aim of an individual—is self-preservation. And once the entity has been created, either because of a long struggle of important forces within the society or, in a few cases, because independence is handed to them due to events elsewhere, the fact is that once you are independent you must act in a way that defends your independence. You defend the ability of whatever political system you have to make its own autonomous decisions. And I believe that what we are seeing today reflects this imperative. We see it most spectacularly, of course, in the jockeying of Russia and Ukraine within the Commonwealth of Independent States.

First VisionsDuring the Soviet period Estonia, like the other national republics of the USSR, lacked a foreign policy of her own. While foreign ministries did exist, they had just a symbolic function: staffed by only five or six people, they were allowed minimal cultural and trade contacts with the Western countries and limited inter-communist party ties within the Soviet bloc. They had to report to the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs on every move they made and served, first and foremost, as cover organizations for the KGB. Designing more substantive foreign policies in the Baltic Republics actually began before they gained independence in 1991. In 1989–1990, the emerging political parties voiced their first visions of the future of the Baltic States, which, generally speaking, boiled down to becoming sovereign democratic states, striving for friendly relations with all countries of the world. By that time, under the pressures of perestroika and glasnost, the Soviet authorities had been compelled to loosen their grip on the foreign contacts of the union republics. Those contacts, however, could not be called yet a foreign policy. They could, rather, be identified as isolated moves in the arena of international politics.

A review essay on a book by Anthony Lake, Six Nightmares: Real Threats in a Dangerous World and How America Can Meet Them (New York: Little, Brown, 2000). This memoir of four years as President Clinton's national security adviser offers an insider's look at foreign crises as well as Lake's response to Republicans who blocked his confirmation as director of the CIA. Six potential threats to the US are described as (1) terrorist attacks involving biological weapons; (2) misuse of computer technology to create economic mayhem; (3) foreign aggression from an uncertain source; (4) endless peacekeeping; (5) failure to recognize shifts in power relations; & (6) rancorous partisanship. It is contended that Lake's account of foreign affairs ignores some important crises like Rwanda, & his recommendations are confusing & contradictory. He tries to rationally explain policies formed in haste & ignorance, resulting in a "memoir-cum-history," typical of former national security advisers. Nonetheless, he should be praised for drawing attention to the need for serious foreign policy. J. Lindroth

Changes in Vatican-Soviet relations since 1939; emphasis on the pontificate of John Paul II.

This article examines the characteristics of individual members of Congress who become "foreign policy entrepreneurs." Rather than simply responding to an administration's foreign policy requests, such legislators try to lead Congress by initiating action on the foreign policy issues they care about rather than awaiting administration action. This study examines foreign policy entrepreneurs across a number of factors, including the parties to which they belong, the chambers in which they serve, the various legislative access points they employ, & the different legislative tactics they use. Also examined are the changes in such patterns overtime. We test hypotheses about the characteristics & behavior of entrepreneurs using a data set of 2,621 instances of entrepreneurial behavior across the post-WWII period. We conclude that congressional foreign policy entrepreneurs are increasingly salient players in the foreign policy process & are driven by policy disagreements & partisan calculations. 5 Tables, 1 Figure, 95 References. Adapted from the source document.

'Foreign Attachments: The Power of Ethnic Groups in the Making of American Foreign Policy' by Tony Smith is reviewed.