Peaceful Competition Research Articles

Group Dynamics and Public Policy Formation: Insights from Nigerian Society

This paper appraises the theoretical assumptions of group theory within the purview of public policy with a specific focus on the Nigerian context. It begins by providing conceptual clarity on policy, public policy, and public policy analysis to lay the foundation for the subsequent discussion. The paper then examines the underlying assumptions of group theory and critiques its applicability within public policy discourse. Through the analysis of secondary data, this paper explores the role of group theory in shaping policy formulation and implementation processes. It highlights the significant influence of group actions on government policies, illustrating how various interest groups exert pressure and influence decision-making processes. This paper concludes that public policy emerges as a result of collective agitation and interaction within a given society. It recognises that various groups play pivotal roles in shaping policy outcomes, yet their actions are typically governed by established rules, fostering a climate of peaceful competition among competing interests.

How Countries Compete for Success in Elite Sport: A Systematic Review

The ‘Global Sporting Arms Race’ is the term that describes the competition among different countries to succeed in international sports competitions. The development of that peaceful competition determines two outputs: an increase in soft power at the international level and a promotion of the national identity and social impact. It means increasing the level of influence that the countries obtain internationally as a cornerstone of the concept of a sporting nation with a proud and healthy population. In order to explain the factors involved in the success of a sports system at the elite level, a systematic review was carried out based on the PRISMA protocol in the databases Scopus, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science. The findings of the study show that the factors that determine success at the international level have received increased attention, as shown by the number of publications since 2010. The results indicate the following research factors: (1) it was observed that most researchers tend to carry out comprehensive analyses with a holistic perspective, while the UK, Australia, Canada, and Spain carry out segmented analyses; (2) Olympic sports—especially athletics—were the most analysed; while in non-Olympic sports, those with social influence predominate in countries, such as netball; (3) the analysis of meso and micro factors is preferred over macro factors; (4) quantitative studies are preferred through the analysis of primary sources, such as official reports; and (5) the economic variable is the most common input, with medals reached at the elite level being the most used output to check the correlation or significativity of the results.

Political power sharing in post-conflict democracies: investigating effects on vertical and horizontal accountability

ABSTRACT While it may be necessary to secure elite buy-in to peaceful competition, the literature is pessimistic about the long-term effects of a power-sharing settlement on the quality of democracy. Designing institutions to guarantee political inclusion is commonly thought to undermine vertical and horizontal accountability by incentivizing rent-seeking over responsiveness to voters. This study employs data from the Varieties of Democracy project to test arguments about the pernicious institutional effects of political power-sharing settlements in post-conflict democracies, relying on a panel dataset of 28 conflict-prone states in Sub-Saharan Africa since the onset of democracy’s Third Wave (1990–2021). The analytical technique is a time-series linear regression distinguishing between upturns and downturns across a range of continuous measures of accountability. The results show that, in line with much of the literature, political power-sharing settlements are associated with increasing executive corruption and fewer improvements in the rule of law. However, none of the other proposed mechanisms linking political power sharing to poor accountability outcomes finds consistent or significant support in the cross-national sample. Overall, these findings suggest that the relatively undemocratic institutional concessions designed to resolve conflict may not pose the serious barrier to democratic deepening and consolidation as previously assumed.

The Sino-Soviet Alliance: An International History by Austin Jersild

<i>The Sino-Soviet Alliance: An International History</i> by Austin Jersild

A Unifying Enlightenment: Institutions of Political Economy in Eighteenth-Century Spain (1700–1808)

A Unifying Enlightenment: Institutions of Political Economy in Eighteenth-Century Spain (1700–1808)

Does loving a group mean hating its rivals? Exploring the relationship between ingroup cohesion and outgroup hostility among soccer fans

ABSTRACT Why does group loyalty sometimes take the form of cooperation or peaceful competition with rival groups and, at other times, violent outgroup hostility? We approached this question using online surveys and an experimental manipulation with British soccer fans. Identity fusion (a visceral sense of “oneness” with the group) is known to motivate strong forms of pro-group action, both peaceful and violent. We identified three crucial factors that influence fused supporters’ intergroup behaviours: age, gender, and exposure to out-group threat. Intergroup behaviours included ingroup altruism (e.g., giving one’s time, or emotional/financial support), barrier-crossing altruism (altruistic acts toward rival fan groups), and outgroup hostility (e.g., insulting, spitting at, or physically attacking). Overall, fused fans were more hostile towards outgroups than were weakly fused fans, but they prioritised ingroup altruism over outgroup hostility, and were most likely to report high levels of barrier-crossing altruism. Older fused fans desired future outgroup hostility only under high threat conditions. A clearer understanding of the factors that modulate these different behaviours is a crucial first step in devising more effective ways of reducing intergroup hostility and, crucially, of channelling extreme forms of group alignment into peaceful forms of prosocial action.

The Idea of Sport Agon as a Metaphor of Human Life in Thomas Hobbes’ Mechanistic Philosophy of Motion

Contemporary sport is a complex phenomenon with a rich multicultural historical tradition, its universal principles, such as peaceful and institutionalised competition included in the rules of individual fi tness professions, as well as ethos, ceremonial and ideology, are the work of many epochs and nations. The particular contribution of English culture to sport is well-known, from the promotion of its fi nal name (from the Old French desporte, which came to England in the 11th century with the Normans), through the promotion of physical education by eminent educators and philosophers such as John Locke, Herbert Spencer and Thomas Arnold, to the creation and dissemination of many sports, including football, rugby, tennis, cricket and golf. In the article, I refer to the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes, signifi cantly infl uencing the shape of modern concepts regarding natural rights, articulating, inter alia, the inalienable right of every human being to freely use his/her body to maintain health through physical activity. Hobbes based his anthropology on the mechanistic philosophy of motion, which he used to explain not only physical activity and functional fi tness of the body, but it also became a premise for the development of the psychology of human aff ects and desires, the culmination of which was the image of the sports race as a metaphor of human life. Hobbes did not limit himself to discussing in-offi ce deliberati, he was very active throughout his life, implementing the movement directive he proposed by performing sports, recreation, practicing preventive health treatments and taking numerous trips. The article is part of the history of ideas - it is a presentation of the concept of movement by the English modern philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), supplemented with a new element in doxographic studies linking the mechanicism of the Leviathan author with the existential motif regarding the idea of the life as a sport competition.

The transformation of outer space into a warfighting domain in the 21st century

The article deals with the process of the transformation of outer space into a warfighting domain in the 21st century. During the Cold War, outer space was a place of understanding and peaceful competition between superpowers. Militarization has existed since the beginning of the Space Age, excluding the weaponization of space until the beginning of the 21st century. The absence of an international regime to prevent the weaponization of space and technological advances opens up new opportunities for states in their quest to increase power. The theoretical paradigm is a realistic perspective of international institutions as a reflection of the most powerful state?s minimum consensus on a mechanism for reducing their costs. Successfully tested anti-satellite weapons open new questions about the defense of vulnerable space installations from enemy attacks. The author's prognostic thesis refers to the new race in space weapons and the matter of time when lasers, plasma weapons, kinetic bombardment, and other types of space weapons will see the light of day. The strategic balance will remain untouched until the invention of a superior space weapon able to neutralize the existing offensive capacities of the states and erase the second strike capability appears. The author concludes that international institutions cannot limit the ambitions of states in conquering space because they do not want to give up that potential, but that a limited space war is unlikely.

Give science and peace a chance: Speeches by Nobel laureates in the sciences, 1901-2018.

The paper presents the results of a quantitative analysis of speeches by Nobel laureates in the sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Medicine) at the Prize gala dinner throughout the whole history of the Prize, 1901–2018. The results outline key themes and historical trends. A dominant theme, common to most speeches, is the exaltation of science as a profession by the laureate. Since the 1970s, especially in chemistry, this element becomes more domain-specific and less related to science in general. One could speculate whether this happens chiefly in chemistry because its area of activity has been perceived to be at risk of erosion from competing fields (e.g. physics, biology). Over time, speeches become more technical, less ceremonial and more lecture-oriented. Emphasis on broad, beneficial impact of science for humanity and mankind (as emphasised in Nobel’s will) is more present in laureates’ speeches during the first half of the XXth century, while its relevance clearly declines during the last decades. Politics and its relationship with science is also a relevant topic in Nobel speeches. Particularly between the two World Wars, science is seen as terrain where nationalistic stances and fights among nations could actually find a context for peaceful competition and even cooperation.

Is War in Our Nature? : What Is Right and What Is Wrong about the Seville Statement on Violence.

The Seville Statement on Violence rejected the view that violence and war were in any way rooted in human nature and proclaimed that they were merely a cultural artifact. This paper points out both the valid and invalid parts of the statement. It concludes that the potential for both war and peace is embedded in us. The human behavioral toolkit comprises a number of major tools, respectively geared for violent conflict, peaceful competition, or cooperation, depending on people's assessment of what will serve them best in any given circumstance. Conflict is only one tool-the hammer-in our diverse behavioral toolkit. However, all three behavioral strategies are not purely learned cultural forms. This naive nature/nurture dichotomy overlooks the heavy and complex biological machinery that is necessary for the working of each of them and the interplay between them. They are all very close under our skin and readily activated because they have all been very handy during our long evolutionary past. At the same time, they are variably calibrated to particular conditions through social learning, which means that their relative use may fluctuate widely. Thus, state authority has tilted the menu of human choices in the direction of the peaceful options in the domestic arena, and changing economic, social, and political conditions may be generating a similar effect in the international arena.

Mao and the Sino–Soviet Partnership, 1945–1959 by Zhihua Shen and Yafeng Xia

Reviewed by: Mao and the Sino–Soviet Partnership, 1945–1959 by Zhihua Shen and Yafeng Xia Olavi Arens Shen, Zhihua, and Yafeng Xia. Mao and the Sino–Soviet Partnership, 1945–1959. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2015. The authors provide a well-researched volume on a crucial decade-and-half period in Chinese history that centers on the relationship of Mao Zedong and the Peoples' Republic of China with the Soviet Union. Zhihua Shen and Yafeng Xia, who previously have written extensively on the subject matter, have used both Chinese and Russian archival material for the study and have critically assessed existing western literature on the topic. At Yalta, Stalin obtained concessions from Roosevelt at the expense of China as the price for the Soviets entering the war against Japan. Among the concessions were the Chinese Changchun Railway (Chinese Eastern Railway), Dalian (Dairen), and Lüshun (Port Arthur). As a result of joint US and Soviet pressure, the Chinese Nationalist government of Jiang Jieshi was forced to agree to the concessions when it signed the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance (1945). Shortly after the proclamation of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Mao visited Moscow, where he was able to renegotiate with Stalin a new Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance, and Mutual Assistance in which Stalin renounced Russia's traditional points of interest in Manchuria. In return, Stalin gained Chinese recognition for the independence of Outer Mongolia. In an interpretation that I have not encountered previously, the authors suggest that Stalin's interest in Korea and his authorization of Kim Il-sung's plan to attack South Korea played a role in Stalin's decision to concede control of Manchuria to China. During the Korean War, Chinese intervention was supported by massive Soviet aid in the forms of military equipment and Soviet air force units to provide air cover [End Page 222] for Chinese forces. The war cemented the Sino-Soviet alliance. However, the figures the authors cite (that the Soviet air force shot down 1,097 enemy planes and that Soviet anti-aircraft downed 212, while Soviet losses amounted to 335 airplanes and 120 pilots) are questionable (p. 87). The heyday of Sino-Soviet cooperation occurred during the early years of Nikita Khrushchev, who was willing in 1954–1958 to aid Chinese economic development in a major way. Soviet aid in credits amounted to $1.3 billion (other sources say $2.65 billion). A major part of the aid was military—through advisers and equipment, the Soviets enabled China to build a navy and an air force. The aid eventually included the initiation of a peaceful nuclear energy program in 1954 that blossomed when Khrushchev agreed to provide aid for a Chinese nuclear weapons program (1957). In 1958, Khrushchev had second thoughts and pulled back the aid. The authors do not see the 1956 Secret Speech by Nikita Khrushchev and Mao's reaction to it as the beginning of the rift between the two nations (Mao said of the speech that Stalin was 30 percent wrong and 70 percent right). Indeed, the Chinese played a role in helping the Soviets pacify Eastern Europe in 1956. Mao was becoming an increasingly important political actor in the world communist movement. The relationship between the two began to deteriorate after the Moscow Conference of 1957. Personality played a role. Mao clearly felt superior in intellect to Khrushchev. Khrushchev was the head of a recognized great power that conducted world diplomacy with the United States and espoused a policy of peaceful coexistence and peaceful competition with the capitalist countries. Mao's Peoples' Republic of China was still unrecognized by many states, including the United States. Because of China's history of struggle and civil war, Mao saw revolutionary struggle against world capitalism as natural. At this point, Mao foolishly embarked on the Great Leap Forward and the Peoples' Commune Movement, which were advertised as distinctly Chinese shortcuts to communism. The failure of these approaches only embittered Mao toward the Soviets. Foreign policy issues with regard to Taiwan and India exacerbated tensions even further. Mao horrified the Soviets and the East Europeans by nonchalantly dismissing the destructiveness of nuclear war...

Challenge of political globalization

Globalization represents an intriguing new way to increase global prosperity. However, it represents a dramatic contrast to events in previous centuries, both in the West and in China, when most unions resulted from warfare and conquest rather than from peaceful negotiations. This can be seen in the increase in military conflict and decrease in political stability in many parts of the world in recent years. Therefore, achieving a union of nations through economic methods may reduce the risk of military conflict if nations can find ways to turn conflicts into a mixture of national cooperation and healthy competition (“coopetition”), leading to the evolution of a new world political order. Unlike previous efforts to create peaceful unions, such as the Global League of Nations, the new union of nations may succeed because it emphasizes the political and economic self-interest of each member state, thereby offering the possibility of win–win solutions. Through this process, conflict can become cooperation because the union of political powers with different ideologies under a unified regime will provide a dispute resolution mechanism and mitigate the risk of conflict. To achieve that goal, it will be necessary to develop a new way of thinking that emphasizes peaceful cooperation and competition rather than warfare.

Communalism sans violence: A Keralan exceptionalism?

ABSTRACTIn this paper, I undertake a broad survey of communalism in the southern Indian state of Kerala. I argue that Kerala displays as a dominant trend, a non-antagonistic form of communalism or peaceful competition among religious communities, which is a rarity for the Indian subcontinent. The reasons for this can be attributed to the severity of caste oppression and the consequent salience of caste divisions, deep inter-religious civic engagement, governmental participation by communal parties, and the presence of a communist movement and the strength of class politics. However, the emergence of Hindu nationalism as a powerful force in India and its capture of state power, and the rise of Islamist extremism, largely as a response to it, have led to a new conjuncture of antagonistic assertion of religious identities. Kerala is not immune to these trends. The transformation in political economy and the de-radicalization of the communist movement have provided a conducive atmosphere to them. Yet, non-antagonistic communalism prevails, but less emphatically.

Counter and Alternative : Narratives for a Comprehensive Strategy to Effectively Combat ISIS Propaganda ( Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre ( KLCC ) , 27 October 2015 )

Professor Alex P. Schmid began with a concise definition of extremism: an “intolerant, authoritarian ideological position whose adherents view politics not as a peaceful competition between parties…but as a zero-sum struggle, utilising…criminal and violent tactics.” Extremism, he said, was ultimately the product of radicalisation, itself a political polarisation accompanied by the rejection of any and all dialogue with those who hold opposing views. Using these generalities as a framework, Schmid proceeded with his analysis of ISIS and its propaganda machine.Â

Primacy or World Order? The United States and China's Rise—A Review Essay

How should the United States respond to China's rise? What are China's longterm strategic goals? What are the implications of U.S.-China strategic interactions for world order? Three recent works—Aaron Friedberg's A Contest for Supremacy, Hugh White's The China Choice, and Yan Xuetong's Ancient Chinese Political Thought, Modern Chinese Power—grapple with these questions in authoritative and revealing ways. This review essay examines the answers provided by these authors, with the aim of clarifying the different underlying assumptions that led them to their conclusions. Four themes are found to be especially pertinent. These are the assumptions the authors hold about the existing distribution of power, China's strategic objectives, the role of economic interdependence in Asia, and the relationship between democracy and political legitimacy. The way the authors parse these themes—which ones they bracket or admit into their analysis, and how they weigh and combine them—helps to reveal the underlying bases of their and, by implication, our policy preferences. The essay concludes by suggesting that contrary to the view of some, time has something to offer both sides. And if those opportunities are properly understood by the United States and China, the prospects for peaceful competition and coevolution improve.

Envy in the process of development: Implications for Social Relations and Conflict

This article examines envy as an important cultural link between inequality, institutions, development, and conflict. It argues that envy can be either a source of strife and stagnation or an engine for peaceful competition and growth. The fundamental conditions that activate the constructive side of envy and shut down its destructive side are access to productive investment opportunities, equality, security of property rights, and mild social comparisons. The dominant role of envy in society gives rise to a set of related cultural norms and beliefs that affect economic performance and social relations. While constructive envy is manifested in emulation or even envy-provocation -standard features of a consumer society- destructive envy produces a fear-of-envy culture that hampers economic incentives and creates an environment of suspicion and conflict.

Free trade, feudal remnants and international equilibrium in Gaetano Filangieri's Science of Legislation

In his main work, The Science of Legislation (1780–1783), the Neapolitan Gaetano Filangieri proposed a set of extensive political and cultural reforms. These reforms were necessary to free eighteenth-century societies from the remnants of feudal institutions that obstructed international peace and economic growth. Filangieri's ideas were shaped by the international political climate between the seven Years’ War and the eve of the French Revolution. Reinterpreting Montesquieu and Genovesi through the influences of French radical and Enlightenment thought (Helvétius, Raynal, l’ Encyclopédie), as well as the economics of Hume, Verri and the Physiocrats, he concluded that European modernity was inherently contradictory. From this perspective Filangieri set out to force a clean break between the technical horizons of mercantilism and enlightened absolutism and a society based on civil rights, a fair distribution of wealth and resources, and free trade. Proper ‘scientific’ knowledge of the rules and principles of legislation would allow governments to balance out the natural and cultural factors that characterise individual states, and to identify the appropriate model for social and economic development. If all states acted on their proper interest, international free trade and peaceful competition between states would emerge and the potential for general economic growth be materialised. Thus, the natural equilibrium and ‘universal consensus’ among nations could be restored.

Απομυθοποιημένη ιστορία του κυπριακού στα τελευταία 50 χρόνια , and: Turks and Greeks: Neighbors in Conflict , and: Οι οικονομικές πτυχές και επιπτώσεις μιας ομοσπονδιακής λύσης του κυπριακού προβλήματος , and: Το κράτος της Κύπρου στο διεθνές δίκαιο (review)

356 Reviews Cristophis Economides. Χϕιστοφής Οικονομίδης, ΑπομυθοποιημÎ-νη ιστοϕία του κυπϕιακοϕ στα τελευταία 50 χϕόνια. Nicosia: Economides Publishing House. 1993. Pp. 569. Vamik Volkan and Norman Itzkowitz, Turks and Greeks: Neighbors in Conflict Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England: The Eothen Press. 1994. Pp. 233. $25.50 (paperback). Andreas Theofanous. ΑνδϕÎ-ας Θεοφάνους, Oi οικονομικÎ-Ï‚ πτυχÎ-Ï‚ και επιπτώσειςμιαςομοσπονδιακήςλϕσηςτουκυπϕιακοϕπϕοβλήματος. Nicosia: Intercollege Press. 1994. Pp. 235. Kypros Chrysostomides. Κϕπϕος Χϕυσοστομίδης, To κϕάτος της Κϕπϕου στο διεθνÎ-Ï‚ δίκαιο. Athens: Sakkoulas. 1994. Pp. 500. The solution to the Cyprus problem remains elusive. Despite the end of the cold war, Cyprus remains the last divided country of Europe. Diplomats, political analysts, academics, and others have written about feasible and desirable solutions. The four recent books reviewed in this essay incorporate the perspectives of a historian, a psychiatrist, two economists, and an attorney. The continuing deadlock in Cyprus is the dominant theme of these books, even though there is no consensus among the authors as to how to resolve the dispute. The book by Economides, an economist by training, provides a brief summary of the evolution of the Cyprus problem over the last century. A large part of the book consists of his earlier analyses that have appeared in various Cypriot newspapers. The book also includes various documents most of which have been available elsewhere, as well as the author's correspondence with various political figures. Economides is critical of the handling of the Cyprus issue by the various governments of Cyprus since independence. Thus, he wants to "de-mythologize" the Cyprus issue, to address "real events" and "bitter truths." The prospects for a solution are not good because of Turkey's growing intransigence and its de facto integration of the occupied areas into Turkey. Economides also blames the Greek Cypriots for not responding positively to U.N. Secretary-General's Boutros Boutros-Ghali's 1992 "set of ideas," and for the belief among some circles that the present situation may not be that undesirable . He is also critical of the Greek Cypriot hardliners and military leaders who believe that the free areas can be protected by more military spending and greater military cooperation with Greece. He recommends that the present Cypriot leadership take advantage of the recent interest shown in die Cyprus problem by the U.N. Secretary-General, the U.N. Security Council, the United States, and the European Union. He urges serious consideration of the so-called "confidence building measures" and of the Secretary-General's 1992 "set of ideas." Economides finds that the defeat of the "rejectionist" bloc in the last Cypriot presidential election strengthens the ability of the present leadership to pursue negotiations and to make the needed compromises in order to reach a solution, as was done in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The author believes that a solution now will avoid die risk of future conflict and of greater losses to Turkey. It will also provide the Greek Cypriots Reviews 357 witii the opportunity to expand their influence over all of the island through peaceful competition. I do not question the inherent risks in the continuing deadlock in Cyprus. However, many of the author's recommendations are wishful uiinking in view of Turkey's unilateral actions in Cyprus since 1974, Turkey's rejection of any Greek-Cypriot presence in the occupied areas, and the partitionist effect of the constitutional proposals that have been supported by Turkey, the United Nations, and the United States. These proposals, if implemented, would formally divide Cyprus, limit the "three freedoms" (of movement, settlement, and property ownership) of die Greek Cypriots, and bring de facto recognition of the secessionist regime maintained by the Turkish army in the occupied areas. Implementation of the auuior's suggestions may be more harmful to die survival of Cyprus as an independent state than is the present deadlock. Economides fails to show how he would change the fundamental premises of die Turkish, American, and United Nations policies that have brought about the present deadlock. The deadlock is certainly not due to an absence of concessions by the Greek Cypriot side. The book does not break any new ground in die study of the Cyprus problem. It only promotes the auüior's claim that, in contrast to everyone else, he has always known "the Truth." Turks and Greeks: Neighbors in Conflict is written by a pair known to those...

The Political Economy of Global Neo-Liberalism

In this introduction we shall analyze the spread of neo-liberalism within the context of recent historical developments and the fall of the communist bloc. Perhaps the case studies presented in this issue of the IJPE can illustrate the theoretical and historical arguments, because economic, political, and social mutations always occur within a historical and geographical context. In this respect area studies can have the merit of pointing to some structural elements determining the sequence of events and making the functioning of societal forces more transparent. So neo-liberalism can be analyzed as an ideology accompanying recent economic changes in the world economy, but also as an instrument necessarily adopted by the less developed countries in order to adjust their economies to the pressure exercised by the major economic powers. Until now neo-liberalism as political and economic ideology has been one of the most successful elements of the reconstruction of capitalist hegemony over the global system. This occurred a few decades after capitalism and communism had silently agreed on the principle of peaceful coexistence and competition for political and economic influence in and over the formerly colonial countries. In reality two competing systems of accumulation were striving for world hegemony. Within the realm of this competition several specific features could be recognized as having a serious impact on the political, ideological, and military setting of both blocs. The Western capitalist world had to recognize the supremacy of the United States after the defeat of fascism in Europe and the subsequent implosion of European

Engineering and Politics: The Channel Tunnel in the 1880s

Engineering and Politics: The Channel Tunnel in the 1880s ANTHONY S. TRAVIS Despite their impact on transport communication, lengthy tunnels tend to arouse forbidding Dantesque visions. Moreover, as less visible expressions of human enterprise, tunnels possess none of the dra­ matic images associated with bridge design and construction or, for that matter, Gothic cathedrals, and they have, in turn, received less attention in terms of their relationships to scientific and technological development. Nevertheless, at the end of the 19th century, the ability to pierce hard-rock mountain ranges represented the greatest cele­ bration of modernization in Europe, bringing hope that new railway tunnels would facilitate movement of goods in such a way that trade wars would soon replace military wars.1 Although this was the feeling on much of mainland Europe (see fig. 1), it was not always the case in Britain, where the Establishment, Dr. Travis is deputy director of the Sidney M. Edelstein Center for the History and Philosophy of Science, Technology and Medicine at the Hebrew University ofJerusa­ lem. He wishes to thank Kenneth Knoespel, John Law, Seymour Mauskopf, and the Technology and Culture referees for many helpful comments. The late Egon Larsen provided several rare documents for the research that led to this article. 'In the two decades after 1860, many formidable natural barriers were overcome in order to bring about improved railway connections, culminating in the joining of the two sections of the Saint Gotthard tunnel in 1880: “The news that the two advance borings had met in the middle of the mountain traversed by the Saint Gothard tunnel resounded like ajoyful echo in every civilized country. It announced the success of the greatest work hitherto attempted by man” (Adolphe Gautier, “The St. Gothard Tunnel,” Nature 21 [1880]: 581). At 14.9 km, it was 2,667 meters longer than the earlier Mont Cenis tunnel. The project received considerable financial assistance from the German, Italian, and Swiss governments, and was, for Germany, “for communication with Italy, what Mont Cenis is to France” (quoted from “The St. Gothard Railway Tunnel,” Illustrated London News 80 [May 13, 1882]: 466). The construction of major international railway tunnels continued to capture public interest, especially the 19.8-kilometer Simplon tunnel linking Switzerland and Italy, started in 1898 and opened to traffic in May 1906. It was the longest tunnel on earth. The impact of the Mont Cenis tunnel in a cultural setting is described in Bruce Sinclair, “Technology on Its Toes: Late Victorian Ballets, Pageants, and Industrial Exhibitions,” in Stephen H. Cutcliffe and Robert C. Post, eds., In Context: History and the History ofTechnology—Essays in Honor ofMelvin Kranzberg (Bethlehem, Pa., 1988), pp. 71—87.© 1991 by the Society for the History of Technology. All rights reserved. 0040-165X/91/3203-0001$01.00 461 LIGUE DE LA PAIX EUROPEENNE . ; i.r,s,Ô noble* soeurs ’un merveilleux clîenun i b Paix conduisant 1 Que de Loundre a Madrid. 0 de RoumoenRussie, voire lac d ’zur aux bords de la Tamise 1 le train des nations I Sevague plus qu uno memo familho ! L'ARRIVÉE A PARIS, PAR LE TUNNEL DE LA MANCHE, DU PREMIER TRAIN DIRECT DE LONDRES A MARSEILLE. Fig. 1.—Peace follows the train ofnations. The European Peace League, at least, was excited at the prospect that, by 1884, trade agreements and major engineering projects would cause the surrender of military competition to peaceful competition. This is the message of an artist’s impression, dated 1875, anticipating the arrival of the first direct train from London to Marseilles via a Channel tunnel. (Sidney M. Edelstein Library, Hebrew University ofJerusalem.) Engineering and Politics: The Channel Tunnel in the 1880s 463 especially the military, stood firmly against any kind of fixed link with the Continent. It was not enough that Victorian Britons had devel­ oped the only viable machinery for tunnel boring, machinery that was ideally suited to a stratum of soft, almost watertight rock that was believed to continue below the seabed from Dover to the French coast. Nor was it enough that they had also developed novel and devastating explosives that might be used to mine the tunnel and destroy it completely in time of...