Suchergebnisse

De Wetenschappelijke Raad voor het Regeringsbeleid (WRR) bepleit in zijn rapport Aan het buitenland gehecht een nieuwe aanpak van het buitenlandbeleid. De wereld om ons heen is onderhevig aan veranderende machtsverhoudingen, wordt bevolkt door andere spelers dan in het verleden, en wordt gekenmerkt door een sterkere verknoping van nationale en internationale vraagstukken. Dit vraagt om nieuwe antwoorden, om een heroriëntatie op het buitenlandbeleid. Het rapport wordt op 30 november namens de regering in ontvangst genomen door de minister van Buitenlandse Zaken, dr. U. Rosenthal. Het rapport st

Y. Kleistra, Hollen of stilstaan. Beleidsverandering bij het Nederlandse ministerie van buitenlandse zaken P.R. Baehr, M.C. Castermans-Holleman, F. Grünfeld, Human rights in the foreign policy of the Netherlands E.M. van den Berg, The influence of domestic NGOs on Dutch human rights policy. Case studies on South Africa, Namibia, Indonesia and East Timor. The role of human rights in post-1945 Dutch foreign policy: Politicological and historical literature, Maarten KuitenbrouwerThe second Dutch government under Prime Minister Kok fell in 2002 following the publication of a critical report by the Dutch Institute for Wartime Documentation (NIOD) on the Srebenica issue. This event forms the starting point for a review of the recent literature on the role of human rights in Dutch foreign policy during the last few decades in both political science and history. Both disciplines share the 'decisionmaking analysis' in international relations theory as a common background. In addition, political scientists and historians have often found themselves researching the same human rights issues that affect Dutch relations with a series of non-Western countries. An explanation of Dutch policy is usually sought based on a combination of internaland external factors. In general, comparative analyses and research into its effectiveness are still conspicuous by their absence. All in all, there are more similarities than differences between recent political and historical studies on the role of human rights in Dutch foreign policy.

The Policy of Independence. The Background of a Crucial Phrase in Dutch Foreign Policy 1900-1940The phrase 'policy of independence' was coined by the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Van Karnebeek after the First World War. It has aroused a lot of discussion ever since. The phrase is often portrayed as sign of a change from a passive policy of neutrality to a much more active foreign policy. In this article the use of the phrase and the question of continuity or discontinuity are raised. This is done first of all on the basis of some crucial episodes from the First World War and subsequently the Dutch policy towards the German emperor and crown prince, Belgium and the League of Nations. This contribution argues that throughout those years the Dutch government pursued a policy characterized by activity and adopted an attitude that adhered to international law. Even before 1914 this approach was referred to as 'independent'. Thereafter, Van Karnebeek coined the phrase 'policy of independence' to give expression to this prevailing attitude.

Reading the news about Iran today one can hardly imagine that relations between the Netherlands and Iran were excellent until 1979. Mohammed-Reza Pahlavi, the last shah of Persia, was known in The Netherlands as a visionary and reformer. Persia was represented as a mythical land with an ancient civilization. The Dutch royal family enjoyed visiting the shah, and large and small Dutch companies were successful in Iran.

When in the 1970s awareness spread about repression under the shah, the Dutch government was faced with difficult choices. How could these relations be continued, now that public opinion had turned against it? The Dutch government decided to ignore the criticisms, and firmly held on to the idea of the shah as an enlightened despot. As such, it did not see the Iranian Revolution coming, and suffered the consequences.

Between 1949 and 1962 the Netherlands renounced its sovereignty over most of its overseas territories. Nevertheless, during the entire period of the Cold War, the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) stood by its point of view that it had a global task to fulfil. This military-naval deployment, outside the NATO treaty area during and shortly after the Cold War in relation to the structural global ambitions of the Royal Netherlands Navy's leadership, is the central theme of this study. This theme is analysed on the basis of theories and an understanding of multinational fleet operations after 1945 and Dutch policy regarding naval operations outside the NATO treaty area, but above all through regional case studies (Korean War 1950-1955, operations around the Arabian peninsula 1984-2000, and in the Adriatic Sea and Montenegrin waters 1992-2001). These case studies were examined by addressing the following central questions: to what extent did these missions involve a traditional approach to Dutch foreign policy? To what extent did the Navy's leadership influence the political-strategic decision-making on these out-of-area operations? To what extent were Dutch tasks and operations different from those of coalition partners, specifically those of the British Royal Navy, which the Royal Netherlands Navy considered to be its 'sister navy'? To what extent did the existing national and international perceptions of the RNLN influence Dutch decision-making on these missions, and how much did the participation in multinational fleet operations subsequently contribute to the objectives the Dutch government had in mind? In all the three case studies, the national and international perception of the Netherlands as a maritime nation and the ability to deploy high-quality navy units were taken into account in the Dutch government's decision-making regarding the RNLN participation in multinational fleet operations. The missions always received international, and especially British and American, appreciation and respect. The fact that ...

Few other countries are so interrelated with the world around us in political, economic, and social respects as the Netherlands. This means that the Dutch government needs to be alert in its response to the risks and opportunities presented by a rapidly changing world. Addressing this issue, the Scientific Council for Government Policy (wrr) offers some reflections in this report, guided by the question how the Netherlands can develop a foreign policy strategy that matches the changing power relations in the world and the radically changed character of international relations. The answer to this question is a reorientation. This means making transparent choices, making smarter use of Europe as our dominant arena, and, finally, choosing an approach that makes better use of the growing role of non-state actors. The report's recommendations not only underline the necessity of reorientation but also show how this could be accomplished in practice.

The central question of this dissertation is what role national identity has played in the interdepartmental policy field of international cultural policy (ICP) in the Netherlands between 1970 and 2012. In four chapters I analyse the history of ICP and the related political debate, using a theoretical framework consisting of the main concepts of a Discourse Historic Analysis (critique, ideology, and power), and tensions within the discourses on ICP and national identity. The role of national identity in the first period (1970-1986) is characterized as 'cultural nationalism'. Culture plays an important role in distinguishing the nation state from the rest of the world, and due to the decreasing autonomy in the field of economics and politics culture is considered (by some) to be the last bearer of the national identity. The debates focus on the question whether or not the government has a role in (actively) protecting that identity. The publication of the report "Culture without borders" by the Scientific Council for Government Policy marks the beginning of the second period (1987-1996). Gradually the primacy of the policy shifts from foreign to cultural policy, and attempts are made to combine within ICP the growing cultural diversity of the Dutch society with the uniting role of a national identity. Therefore the role of national identity is characterized as 'multiculturalism'. Extra funding for international cultural activities in 1997 marks the beginning of the third period (1997-2006), in which the role of national identity is characterized as 'cultural relativism'. The relationship between culture and the nation becomes more loose, and cultural activities abroad no longer seem to represent the nation's identity. This approach in ICP contrasts strongly with the growing discontent and heated public and political debate on national identity. Characteristic for the fourth period (2007-2012) is the return to the primacy of foreign policy and the focus on diplomatic and economic goals. Culture is treated as a ...

Klep, Christ, Somalië, Rwanda, Srebrenica. De nasleep van drie ontspoorde vredesmissies (Dissertatie Utrecht 2008; Amsterdam: Boom, 2008, 385 blz., ISBN 978 90 8506 668 2)When the Home Front meets Foreign Parts. The Aftermath of Commissions of Inquiry into derailed Peace MissionsPeace Missions take place in difficult and volatile circumstances. It is therefore hardly surprising that some peace missions become 'derailed'. Christ Klep zooms in on three 'derailed' missions in his book and focuses on the value of Commissions of Inquiry which are subsequently set up as a result of public and political pressure. Do they succeed in revealing the 'how' and the 'why' of such derailments and – above all – identifying those who are responsible? Based on a broad spectrum of questions and extensive source materials, Klep concludes that 'the number of escape routes from the labyrinth of responsibility is practically infinite'; a clear message for all those taking part in international and domestic politics. It is here that the author skillfully and expertly succeeds: exposing the complex entanglement of domestic and foreign policy, even concerning events that sometimes happen away from the capital city.

"The European Union is today a major player in many policy areas, going from classic economic fields as competition policy, agriculture and fisheries policy to new emergent fields as environmental policy, arterial intelligence policy, security and foreign policy and criminal justice policy. These policies comes with an increasing level of EU regulation, having also a substantive impact on the harmonization of national policies and regulations. This expansion of EU competence naturally also places new demands on their enforcement, especially when it comes to investigations with the aim of imposing punitive administrative and/or criminal sanctions. In this expanded version of his valedictory lecture Prof. Vervaele is assessing 1) to what extent the EU and its Member States have a policy on punitive enforcement in the internal market and in the Area of Freedom Security and Justice and 2) how this policy translates into the harmonization of substantive administrative and criminal law and procedural law at the national level and into the elaboration of administrative and judicial cooperation instruments and the setting up of European enforcement agencies. The assessment includes to what extent this policy takes account of the human rights obligations. Vervaele concludes with a plea for a European model for punitive law enforcement with an increased alignment between the administrative enforcement tools in the internal market and the criminal enforcement tools in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. In this model the national enforcement authorities are build in under a network cooperation scheme."--

Dirksen, E.: De russische economische crisis. - S. 1-10. Wilkening, D. A.: The future of Russia's strategic nuclear force. - S. 11-32. (1) Wettig, G.: NATO, Russia and European security after the Cold War. - S. 33-39. (1) Facon, I.: L'armee russe, menace ou recours? - S. 41-52. (1) Braithwaite, R.: La russie, pays europeen. - S. 53-67. (1) Tinguy, A. de: Russie: dix ans de migrations, reflets d'un monde et transition. - S. 69-77. (1) Michel, L.: L'avenir de la Russie. - S. 1-3. (2) Vogel, H.: The Russian economy. - S. 7-11. (2) Adler, A.: La situation politique en Russie. - S. 13-20. (2) Mel'vil', A.: Domestic politics in Russia on the eve of March 26, 2000. - S. 21-27. (2) Kelleher, C. M. ; Tkacenko, S.: Internal security and the relations with "near abroad". - S. 29-40. (2) Graham, T. E (jr.): Russia's foreign policy. - S. 41-48. (2) ... Chudolej, K.: Russia, NATO and the European Union. - S. 53-58. (2) Bachkatov, N.: Ou va la Russie? - S. 59-62. (2)

Dutch-American relations in the post-war period have been inexorably intertwined with the Cold War. In the course of the 1960s the East-West struggle entered a new phase with the beginning of a period of détente, which had important consequences for the Dutch-American relationship. In this dissertation, which focuses on the governmental level, the following issues are dealt with: firstly, to what extent was the relationship affected by the complicating developments that took place in the years 1969-1976? Secondly, how did Dutch and American policy makers view the relationship? Finally, what did the asymmetry in the relationship mean and were the Dutch able to exert any influence? When taking into account both international and domestic factors, the picture that emerges is one of both change and continuity. What makes the period concerned stand out is the fact that the Atlantic Alliance was at a point where a redefinition of the common goals seemed unavoidable. Security concerns and preserving the American dominant position in the international arena were the foremost concerns of President Nixon and NSC-advisor Kissinger. These ideas clashed with those of Dutch politicians of for instance the Labour Party who wanted détente, an active human rights policy and development cooperation to be part of the Atlantic foreign policy agenda. The American embassy in The Hague was aware of these changes: it noticed a turn to the left in Dutch society and the political landscape. The Dutch cabinets in the period concerned faced domestic pressure to take a more critical stance towards the United States, where the Nixon administration faced problems concerning its image and credibility because of the Vietnam war and the Watergate scandal. On the other hand, unmistakable signs of continuity in the Dutch-American relationship were present. The Dutch governments in the years concerned did not turn away from Atlantic cooperation, as the Netherlands remained dependent on the American military commitment to Western Europe. Détente was ...