Soviet Domination Research Articles

A secret life: the Polish colonel, his covert mission, and the price he paid to save his country

For almost a decade, Col. Ryszard Kuklinski betrayed the Communist leadership of Poland, cooperating with the CIA in one of the most extraordinary human intelligence operations of the Cold War. Now that Poland is free, a riddle remains: Was Kuklinski a patriot or a traitor?. In August 1972,Ryszard Kuklinski, a highly respected colonel in the Polish Army, embarked on what would become one of the most extraordinary human intelligence operations of the Cold War. Despite the extreme risk to himself and his family, he contacted the American Embassy in Bonn, and arranged a secret meeting. From the very start, he made clear that he deplored the Soviet domination of Poland, and believed his country was on the wrong side of the Cold War. Over the next nine years, Kuklinski rose quickly in the Polish defense ministry, acting as a liaison to Moscow, and helping to prepare for a hot war with the West. But he also lived a life of subterfuge -of dead drops, messages written in invisible ink, miniature cameras, and secret transmitters. In 1981, he gave the CIA the secret plans to crush Solidarity. Then, about to be discovered, he made a dangerous escape with his family to the West. He still lives in hiding in America. Kuklinski's story is a harrowing personal drama about one man 's decision to betray the Communist leadership in order to save the country he loves, and the intense debate it spurred over whether he was a traitor or a patriot. Through extensive interviews and access to the CIA's secret archive on the case, Benjamin Weiser offers an unprecedented and richly detailed look at this secret history of the Cold War.

John F. Kennedy and the missile gap

John F. Kennedy owed his victorious bid for the presidency as well as his success in reversing former president Dwight D. Eisenhower's military and economic policies while in office largely to his ability to exploit fears of an alleged Soviet strategic superiority, famously known as the gap. Capitalizing on American alarms about national security, within months after his inauguration, he won Congressional authorization for two supplemental defense appropriations that collectively increased the defense budget by more than 15 percent. Yet, argues Christopher Preble, the missile gap was a myth. The Kennedy administration perpetuated that myth to justify a massive military buildup that had profound implications for both the domestic economy and for American foreign relations. Eisenhower had warned against excessive military spending, but the missile gap scare shook the confidence of millions of Americans. In the face of presumed Soviet dominance, Eisenhower's New Look programs no longer appeared adequate. By electing Kennedy, U.S. citizens signaled their willingness to bear any burden in exchange for peace of mind. Little did they realize that Kennedy's new military strategy, known as Flexible Response, marked a commitment to a war economy that persisted through the final days of the Cold The myth of the missile gap and the policies that followed had a profound impact on U.S. Soviet relations. But by inducing doubts about America's capacity for world leadership, it also weakened the resolve of the nation's allies. On the home front and in the international arena, the missile gap shaped the outcome of the Cold War.

Reading Livy against Livy: The dream and nightmare of (American) empire1

Recent debates over the rise of an American Empire have relied on analogies to past empires, from ancient Athens to modern Britain. Such historical analogies, while inexact and debatable, are a basic mode of understanding our relation to the past. This article explores the analogy of the United States to the Roman Empire. The figure of Rome is a contested legacy, as can be seen in the long-ago writings of Livy and Tacitus, in the developing ideal of Rome during the Middle Ages, and in the works of modern scholars and poets living under Soviet domination in Poland. Tacitus tells us that the most profound symptoms of empire may be seen in the homeland. The debate over analogies for the American Empire is thus a debate over the “state of America's soul.”

"But doth suffer a sea-change" the need for a change of perspective for a realistic sustainability strategy in an enlarged EU

This paper, first, traces some main alleys for re-thinking the very underlying notions with which we tend to think about the situation with regard to the large enlargement of 2004, especially critically reflecting upon the conventional notions of 'transition' and 'transformation'. Second, it proceeds to developing some new questions to be asked on the basis of renewed underlying notions of political interventions into variegated concrete historical processes, especially concerning the specific historical paths of development of the respective countries before, during, and after their period of Soviet dominance. Third, it presents some arguments, why these variegated situations in the history of new member countries or future accession countries present, at once, a specific challenge and a significant chance for an approach in terms of a complex and integrated strategy of sustainable development, allowing for many specific strategies to be implicit in one overarching and second order strategy defining a practice of governance for sustainable development. On this basis it outlines a new approach to what it calls the task of a second order governance, defining a sustainability strategy to identify - to 'unearth' and to 'revive' - those innovative lines and traditions within the CEE and CIS countries which are specifically related to such an attitude of looking for windows of opportunity for concrete moves approaching objectives of sustainable development - i.e., for looking systematically and comprehensively for constructive alternatives to the unilateralism of the leading powers and hegemonic strata which have defined the simplified models in place.

The Communist Successor Parties of Central and Eastern Europe by A. Bozóki J. T. Ishiyama (review)

388 SEER, 82, 2, 2004 important role in the formation of political parties in the other half of the common state, the future of Czechoslovakiawas central to political debate in the federalstate in the I990- 1992 period. To ignore that factor is to leave out a centralpiece of thejigsaw. Nevertheless, it would be churlish to focus too much attention on these criticisms. Van Biezen has produced an excellent book, full of thoughtful insights furnishedwith a wealth of empirical detail which will be of interest notjust to area studiesexperts,but to a widerpolitical science audience. Centrefor Russian andEastEuropean Studies TIMHAUGHTON European Research Institute University ofBirmingham Bozoki, A. and Ishiyama,J. T. (eds). TheCommunist Successor Partiesof Central and EasternEurope.M. E. Sharpe, Armonk, NY, 2002. xvii + 50I PP. Tables. Notes. Appendices. Bibliography.Index. ?75.50. EVERsince the collapse of Communism in Europe John Ishiyama has been making a thorough study of the successors of Communism's ruling parties. Now Andras Bozoki and he have produced what is likely to be the standard comparative work on the topic. The team of authors is extremely strong. Whilst the material and arguments that they bring may be familiarto many readers,the value of the workis in the synthesis. The editors set out to find answersto three questions. First,to what extent did the Communistlegacy impact on the adaptationstrategiesof the successor parties? Second, to what extent did the dynamics of the transition process affect the competition that they faced? And third, to what extent was adaptation affected by electoral performance? This gives the symposium a framework,which works. The comments that follow addressthe question of perspective alwaysa problem in a workwrittenby a number of authors. In many a symposium there is a problem of not seeing the wood for the trees. Here, I suspect, the problem is ratherone of knowing what constitutes the wood. A clear category of 'Communist party' was given us by the Comintern, by a sphere of Soviet dominance, and by a recognizable style of politics which enabled the category to embrace parties that lay (and lie) beyond that dominance. The category of 'Communist successorparty' is far less clear;we knowwhat a party is, but notions of Communist and succession are now muddy, to say the least. The category still has value, if only to attest one of the constants of politics the astonishingability of politicalparties to endure through time as organizations, surviving major upheavals and doctrinal turnabouts. But so varied are both the origins of the Communist successorparties and their experiences since the collapse of Communist rule in Europe, that any study of their present state can only be a map, plotting their diversityratherthan examining a categorical core. Clues can be sought to their current success or lack of it, and those clues can be ranked in importance (the book goes a good way down this track, with organization emerging as a favouredclue), but they remain multiple and refractory. REVIEWS 389 Another favouredclue presented may conceal problems.In historicalterms those partiespassed, as itwere, througha funnel constitutedby the Comintern and the Cold War. They entered the funnel from widely disparate starting points and, once emerging from the funnel, they began to diverge again. Herbert Kitschelt, in this work and elsewhere, has built on this idea (though not the funnel image itself). But not even he or not in thisbook develops the full implications of this. One implication concerns the term 'successor party' itself. Except in a very simple and analytically barren sense, the Communist Partyof Bohemia and Moravia is no more a successorof the prewar , and then Cold WarCPCz than today'sGerman Social-Democratic Party is a successorof the SPD of Engels's day. It is the same party (apartfrom the loss of the Slovakelement, which does not affectthis argument)and let not the defenders of the organization thesisgainsay this, since it makes theirpoint. It is history and geopolitics that in fact created two of the three types nationalist-patriotic and pragmatic reform parties that the book derives from a studyof the post-Communist 'succession'period. And it is a sensitivity to history that suggeststhat the label given for the book's third type -leftist retreat, embracing the Communist Party of Bohemia and...

Containing Arab Nationalism: The Eisenhower Doctrine and the Middle East

Under the Eisenhower Doctrine, the United States pledged to give increased economic and military aid to receptive Middle Eastern countries and to protect - with US armed forces if necessary - the territorial integrity and political independence of these nations from the threat of international communism. Salim Yaqub demonstrates that although the United States officially aimed to protect the Middle East from Soviet encroachment, the Eisenhower Doctrine had the unspoken mission of containing the radical Arab nationalism of Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser, whom Eisenhower regarded as an unwitting agent of Soviet expansionism. By offering aid and protection, the Eisenhower administration hoped to convince a majority of Arab governments to side openly with the West in the Cold War, thus isolating Nasser and decreasing the likelihood that the Middle East would fall under Soviet domination. Employing a wide range of declassified Egyptian, British and American archival sources, Yaqub offers a comprehensive account of Eisenhower's efforts to counter Nasserism's appeal throughout the Arab Middle East. Challenging interpretations of US-Arab relations that emphasize cultural antipathies and clashing values, Yaqub instead argues that the political dispute between the United States and the Nasserist movement occurred within a shared moral framework - a pattern that continues to characterize US-Arab controversies in the 21st century.

Nuclear Deterrence in South Asia

NUCLEAR WEAPONS HAVE REVOLUTIONIZED practice of war in 20th century. Prior to invention of such weapons in 1945, states in conflict could weigh their chances of military success against an adversary based on expected costs and benefits of going to war. Since introduction of nuclear weapons, however, balance of this strategic calculus has changed considerably. Deterrence theorists argue that nuclear weapons now take risk out of this calculation--the incredible destructive capacity of these weapons imposes such a high price on both warring parties that it renders any military victory virtually meaningless. In his pioneering work The Absolute Weapon, Bernard Brodie expressed this sentiment: thus far chief purpose of our military establishment has been to win wars. From now on its chief purpose must be to avert them. It can have no other useful purpose.(1)This paper questions basic soundness of nuclear deterrence regime between India and Pakistan, and argues that possibility of deterrence failure in this context is significant. Given historical, geographic and psychological context of these rival states, nuclear weapons are more likely to create greater insecurity (than security) for states involved. This view stands in stark contrast to analysis by South Asian security experts, like University of Texas professor Sumit Ganguly, who argues that the presence of nuclear weapons [in region] has actually made things better, for now.(2) The central argument is that new nuclear states such as India and Pakistan are, inevitably, drawn towards nuclear war by their need to undertake lowlevel aggressive actions to maintain credibility of their nuclear forces. Such actions, however, are in sharp contrast to distant battles that were fought between US and Soviet Union during Cold War, and these actions have a significantly higher probability of triggering a catastrophic deterrence failure.Beginning with an examination of evolution of nuclear deterrence theory, this paper pays special attention to developments particularly important to India and Pakistan. It then proceeds with a case study of nuclear weapons issue in India and Pakistan, up to present day. Drawing on theoretical insights provided in first section, it will then critically analyze stability of current deterrence regime. Finally, it examines some of implications that these findings have for security studies, setting agenda for future research.DOES DETERRENCE WORK? THEORETICAL INSIGHTSDeterrence is fundamentally based on an expressed threat that exacts a cost greater than potential benefits of an adversary's unwanted action, leading an adversary to avoid that unwanted action.(3) It can be based on a threat of punishment, where a state threatens to destroy assets that are valuable to its adversary if its own assets are destroyed. These punitive threats usually focus on targets such as cities and their economic infrastructure, objects that states value but which are unrelated to military operations. Deterrence can also be based on a threat of denial, where a state takes action of convincing its adversaries that their unwanted actions, such as an invasion, will be stopped and they will not achieve their military or political objectives. Denial threats usually target counterforce targets such as military units and weapons of mass destruction, which prevent unwanted military action from occurring. Ultimately, successful deterrence requires that actors being deterred believe that costs of a potential action outweigh plausible gains.During Cold War, nuclear deterrence emerged as a crucial component of US strategy, as American strategists believed that nuclear deterrence was necessary to prevent Soviet domination of Western Europe.(4) The West came to rely on nuclear weapons to deter Russian military action that could not be stopped with conventional military forces which were considered prohibitively expensive. …

Enlarging ‘Fortress Europe’: Eu Accession, Asylum, and Immigration in Candidate Countries

The European Union is soon to be composed of twenty-seven Member States. The first wave of enlargement is to take place in 2004 and may see the accession of Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and the three Baltic states. A few years later, Bulgaria and Romania are also expected to join the EU. Although previous enlargements have taken place,2the imminent accession of ten countries, mainly from Central and Eastern Europe, is unprecedented not only in terms of scale, but also for its political symbolism: for these states, EU membership confirms the success of their democratic and economic transition efforts and represents their (re-)integration to the European family after decades of isolation under the Soviet domination.

The rise and fall of the German Democratic Republic

This new book investigates communist rule in East Germany from its establishment as a sphere of Soviet influence after World War II to its rapid collapse after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Using newly available archive material, the early chapters trace the emergence of the GDR out of the Soviet zone of occupation. Later chapters cover the dramatic episodes of the 1953 uprising against Soviet dominance and the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961. The subsequent stabilisation of the GDR and the establishment of an uneasy compromise between the ruling elites and the population in the later 1960s and 1970s are explained with reference to a range of internal social, economic and political factors. The disintegration of the regime in 1989 is explained in the light of : * The chronic weakness of Gorbachev's Soviet Union. * The bravery of the protestors. * The enduring appeal of West Germany's social market economy. * Political pluralism. This clear and comprehensive survey marshals secondary and original primary sources in order to give a unique insight into the GDR's struggles and achievements.

Theriology at the Turn of the Century

J. Gliwicz (ed.). 2002. Theriology at the Turn of the Century. Acta Theriologica, Polish Academy of Sciences, Mammal Research Institute, Bialowieza, Poland, Vol. 47, Supplement 1, 244 pp. Price (paper), $22.00. This volume is a festschrift to honor 2 extraordinary contributors to mammalogy in general and the discipline in Poland in particular. Zdzislaw Pucek and Roman Andrzejewski have each been publishing in the field of mammalogy for more than 45 years. These gentlemen, and numerous colleagues in Poland and neighboring countries, were part of a magnificent group of scientists who accomplished both excellent empirical studies and significant modeling efforts for a number of decades under Soviet domination. These efforts, largely on the ecology of small mammals, are clearly a major feature of the biological sciences in Eastern Europe during the Soviet era. There are 13 contributed articles arranged in 3 sections. The title of the volume is a bit misleading in that the topics are rather selected and do not cover the range of topics found in mammalogy. However, Gliwicz notes this discrepancy in a fine preface that illuminates the rationale for the volume and its contributors. The articles themselves are, for the most part, quite thought provoking and worthwhile. All articles are authored primarily by senior scientists, so there often is a historical perspective on individual topics. Admittedly I have a bias, but I liked the 1st section best. It includes 6 articles on ecology, …

Canada and the Ukrainian Question, 1939-1945: A Study in Statecraft by Bohdan S. s> Kordan (review)

158 SEER, 8i, I, 2003 repression.Only those who had been politicallyactivewere sent to the Gulags. There were no immigrantworkersamong those executed by the NKVD, and it seems that most of the arrestedwho were not members of the Communist Partywere allowed, eventually,to leave the country. Ultimately, however, the impact of the volume is diminishedby Mensing's lackof analysis.He makeslittleattemptto engage with the impressiveamount of data he took such trouble to collect. A thorough examination would certainly have been more illuminating for the reader than the extensive catalogue of short biographies given, and it would undoubtedly have contributed to a better understandingof the Stalinistterrormachine. Whilst the publication of the data in itselfis important,offeringa valuable record of the experiences of individuals who became victims of Stalinism, the stories are, in themselves, somewhat repetitive, and readers are likely to become overwhelmed by the mass of biographical details. One is left, therefore,with the feeling that thisis more a commemorativevolume than a scholarlystudy. Hohen Neuendorf WOLFRAM VON SCHELIHA Kordan,BohdanS. Canada andtheUkrainian Question, I939-I945. A Study in Statecraft. McGill-Queen's Studies in Ethnic History, Series 2. McGillQueen 's University Press, Montreal and Kingston, 200I. XiV + 270 pp. Notes. Index. CAN$27.95 (paperback). PROFESSOR BOHDAN S. KORDAN of the Universityof Saskatchewanhaswritten an illuminating and richly detailed study of Canada's 'Ukrainian problem' during WorldWar II. In interwarEurope, the 'UkrainianQuestion' referred to the stateless situation of Ukrainians who, after a brief period of national government in I917-20, found their ethnic lands divided between the Soviet Union and Poland. For Canada, the 'Ukrainian problem' was much more than the country's officialposition on national self-determinationin Eastern Europe. It also involved the question of dealing with Canada's substantial Ukrainian minority, which had campaigned for Ukrainianindependence. As the authordemonstratesconvincingly,concernsaboutforeignpolicy, national security, and popular loyalties became entangled in Canada's official treatment of the UkrainianQuestion. Drawing extensively on Canadian archives with the addition of some British,American, and Russian materials,ProfessorKordan reconstructsthe complex interaction between the Ukrainian Canadian community and the Canadiangovernmentfrom I939-45. In theirmemos and appeals,Ukrainian nationalist activists emphasized the right of national self-determinationas a fundamental value of liberal democracy and one of the sacred principles Canada was fighting for in World War II. While not openly opposing such rhetoric, the government professedpolitical 'realism'privilegingthe national interest over the ideals of universal justice. Until I943, Canada's official position on the Eastern European imbroglio had been to support the restorationof pre-war borders;afterwards,Ottawa moved towards acknowledging Soviet domination in the region. REVIEWS I59 Neither position was satisfactoryfor the Ukrainian community in Canada, leading to deteriorating relations between the nationalist organizations and the state officials.To complicate mattersfurther,the government'sexpertson EasternEurope, such as Tracy Philippsand ProfessorGeorge Simpson, were often more sympatheticthan their superiorsto Ukrainian concerns. Both lost theirjobs in I944 when Canada began building friendly relations with the USSR, and the nationalistappealsfromCanadian Ukrainiansforthe creation of an independent Ukraine became a subjectof Soviet diplomaticprotestsand a source of embarrassmentfor the Canadian government. More important, the bureaucracy dismissed Philipps'sidea of accommodating the minorities' special interests. The view that ethnic organizationswere primarilysecurity concerns triumphed.The police repeatedly,if unsuccessfully,investigatedthe Ukrainian nationalistassociationsfor their suspectedGerman connections or Nazi sympathies.Canadian officialsignored the Ukrainian appeals and tried to prevent anti-Sovietpublic statements. By the war's end, it was clear that the government had failed to 'manage' the Ukrainian problem. Its sponsorship of the creation of an umbrella organization,the UkrainianCanadian Committee, backfiredby providingthe nationalistswith a coordinating body. The work of the Nationalities Branch of the Department of National War Services came to a standstillbecause of the absence of a clear officialpolicy on the minorities.In 1944, the Canadian bureaucracyeven considered grantingdiplomatic recognition to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic as a way of undermining the nationalists' demand for Ukrainian independence. However, this idea was abandoned afterthe Soviets attemptedto tie Canada'srecognition of Soviet Ukrainewith the Sovietrecognitionof Canada as a separatecountry.Feelinginsecureabout Canada's own internationalstatus,Ottawa shied away from the discussionof Ukraine'sstatehood.Likewise,by I945 Canadianauthoritiesweredetermined to keep their distance from ethnic politics. During the following decade, the Cold War and the mass influx of Ukrainian 'displacedpersons' into...

Reflections on the Reform of Higher Education in Central and Eastern Europe

Attempting to generalize about the reform of higher education in Central and Eastern Europe since the end of communism is made complicated by the difficulty in identifying clear terms of reference and points of comparison. The area and the higher education systems concerned are far from being homogeneous, for the homogeneity imposed by communism and Soviet domination did not last. When comparing Central and Eastern European higher education systems with those of the West, one is confronted with Western higher education systems that are quite heterogeneous and themselves also going through change. The routes to transition in higher education in Central and Eastern Europe are as diverse as the given systems and countries. The two standard categorizations of Central and Eastern European higher education, exceptionalism and underdevelopment, are inaccurate. Rather, Central and Eastern European higher education should be viewed as fitting into a wider effort to reorient the whole of European higher education towards the knowledge society. In this venture, Central and Eastern European higher education may possess some advantages that are not as prevalent further West.

A concise history of Hungary

This book offers a comprehensive thousand-year history of the land, people, society, culture and economy of Hungary, from its nebulous origins in the Ural Mountains to the elections of 1988. It tells above all the thrilling story of a people which became a great power in the region and then fought against - and was invaded by - Ottomans, Germans and Soviets. The Hungarian people preserved nevertheless a continuous individuality through its Ural-born language and a specifically Hungaro-European culture. Dominated from the sixteenth century by the Habsburgs, while ruling its own national minorities, Hungary was deprived of two-thirds of its lands and peoples through successive treaties which followed the two World Wars, after which it fell under Soviet domination for nearly fifty years. Free and independent since 1990, Hungary continues to seek its rightful position in Europe.

Towards a new higher education law in Lithuania: reflections on the process of policy formulation

The process of transition in countries formerly under Soviet domination has involved the necessity to formulate new legislation. This article traces the process of policy formulation in Lithuania as the country moved towards a new Law on Higher Education. It commences by briefly outlining the recent development of higher education in Lithuania and highlights some of the critical issues facing the higher education community. The various phases of the policy formulation process are described and the experience is analysed. The article concludes with a discussion of findings that may be of relevance to others working in the area of legislative reform in countries moving to a market economy.

Heisenberg’s Message to Bohr: Who Knows?

Heisenberg’s Message to Bohr: Who Knows?

Church, State and Propaganda: The Archbishop of York and International Relations, A Political Study of Cyril Forster Garbett, 1942-1955 by Dianne Kirby

BOOK REVIEWS353 Church, State and Propaganda: The Archbishop of York and International Relations, A Political Study of Cyril Forster Garbett, 1942-1955. By Dianne Kirby (Hull: University of HuU Press. 1999. Pp. vi, 303. £14.99 paperback .) Christianity has played a major role in the growth and development of western civUization. Marxists and other secularists, however, have taken a critical view of religion and have even predicted its demise. Events of the twentieth century, which has seen two world wars and the Holocaust, seemed to confirm its declining significance in the contemporary world. But communism has collapsed and Christianity appears to be thriving. Important in any discussion of modern religion is its connection with politics, and Dianne Kirby re-evaluates the poUtical role of the AngUcan Church and the actions of the Archbishop of York, CyrU Forster Garbett, and shows how religion became a defense against godless communism. According to the author, "This study ventures into the field of 'the most contested concept'—ideology, bringing together the poUtical and the reUgious in a way not previously attempted" (p. 1). After a brief biography of Garbett (1875-1955), which emphasizes his concern for the poorer members of society and his early work in the AngUcan Church, Kirby begins her analysis of Garbett's view of the relationship of church and state in 1942, when he was enthroned as Archbishop of York. As Archbishop, he effectively promoted the war effort and worked with the Ministry of Information and the Foreign Office. Consequently, Garbett came to believe that the church had an important part to play in modern society as an equal partner with the state. Kirby successfully demonstrates how this principle guided Garbett in his defense of a Christian western civilization against the evils of atheistic communism and shows how Archbishop Garbett responded to the anxiety created by fear of Soviet domination. The perilous situation in Greece and Eastern Europe, the debates in England concerning the use of nuclear weapons, and the relationship with the United States aU provided platforms for Garbett to denounce communism. In addition to descriptions of the Archbishop's visits abroad and his encounters with statesmen and other churchmen, extracts from speeches, diary entries, and newspaper reports give the reader an insight into his personality and mission. "Garbett saw the struggles against first fascism and then communism as righteous contests which permitted the Church to assume a significantly meaningful role in the Ufe of the nation whereby it was able to re-establish its position as an authoritative institution " (p. 266). Kirby has made good use of archives and printed sources to describe the complexities of the ColdWar era and the actions ofArchbishop Garbett to combat the growth of communism. She certainly understands his goals. The author also has a good grasp of the political environment in postwar England and the intricacies of international diplomacy. Her descriptions of Garbett's numerous foreign trips, his relations with diplomats, and his ideas on the important role of Christianity in the secular world prove that religion and ideology, as repre- 354BOOK REVIEWS sented by the Archbishop ofYork, did exert a constructive influence in the troublesome period following World War II. Rene Kollar St. VincentArchabbey Latrobe, Pennsylvania American and Canadian L'Amérique du Nordfrançaise dans les archives religieuses de Rome 16001922 . Guide de recherche. Under the direction of Pierre Hurtubise, Luca Codignola, and Fernand Harvey. (Sainte-Foy Québec: Les Presses de l'Universit é Laval, Les Éditions de l'IQRC. 1999. Pp. xü, 202. $32.00 Can.) AU guides, catalogues, and calendars save historians innumerable hours. This is particularly the case, when, as in the present book, the professionals who put the volume together are scholars actively working in the craft. The authoreditors of the Guide carefully divided the chores. As the introduction explains, Hurtubise and Roberto Perin contextualized the opus in the historical essay on "Rome et l'Amérique du Nord française." Codignola and Matteo Sanfilippo, who worked together in composing "Archivistes, historiens et archives romaines," were responsible for the archives and libraries of Rome. Harvey joined Codignola in drawing up helpful chronological tables. The Guide leans toward Canada—a tUt obvious and intended—but it does...

Recreating Europe: the European Union's policy towards Central and Eastern Europe

Part I. Background 1. From the overthrow of Soviet domination to integration with the European Union Part II. Association: 2. The association agreements and their institutions: the legal framework 3. Trade and the Europe agreements 4. The creation of the market economy: competition, factor movements and economic cooperation in the association agreements 5. Financial assistance to Central and Eastern Europe Part III. Making Enlargement a Reality: 6. Going beyond the Europe Agreements: the European Union's pre-accession strategy 7. The costs and benefits of enlargement 8. Preparing for accession: problems for the associated countries 9. Agriculture 10. Redistribution and the structural funds 11. Enlargement and the Community budget 12. The future European architecture: the Amsterdam treaty and enlargement 13. Free movement of labour, migration and 'second- and third-pillar' issues 14. The political economy of enlargement 15. Strategies for accession 16. Conclusions: transition, integration and cooperation.

Who ‘Makes’ the Shaman?: The Politics of Shamanic Practices among the Buriats in Mongolia

AbstractThe number of shamans among the Buriats of Dornod in Mongolia has been dramatically increasing since the mid 1980s, when the gradual dissolution of the socialist system and Soviet domination took place. By placing the shamanic practices in a context of historico-political changes, the paper questions what constitutes a shamanic practice and what makes and what unmakes a shaman nowadays. The paper examines the shamanic experience of the Dagdan shaman and his relationship with his community, in order to illustrate the complex and dynamic nature of shamanic practice. While the locals’ knowledge of spirits (ongons), the belief in their own lineage ongons and the local standards for moral disposition all control and limit a shaman’s power and prestige, the shaman attempts to supersede the local standards by restoring symbolic capital and by seeking power and recognition outside of the community. The search for power and recognition outside of the community becomes the shaman’s arena for creating, transforming and acting out multiple identities: ethnic, national and personal.

Nutrition Education in a Rural Community of Latvia

After fifty years of Soviet rule, the country of Latvia is undergoing widespread change as it seeks to redevelop its government, economy, and healthcare system. The demands of the population have exceeded their resources, both financial and material. The American International Health Alliance (AIHA), in a partnership with a large Midwestern healthcare facility, sponsored a community health promotion project in a rural area of Latvia. Current health information for consumers and health professionals was lacking, and the dietitian as a professional was unknown in Latvia. The District of Tukuma with a population of 57,000 was identified as the area to develop and pilot a community-driven health promotion/education model. The Tukums students were identified via town hall meetings as a community strength. The high school students with help from younger students, teachers, and community members developed audience-specific nutrition and food safety information in varied media for children, family members, and the community. The Latvians consulted with their dietetic partner in person and via electronic mail. With the involvement of grandmothers preparing traditional foods and students making safe and healthy recipe modifications, a cookbook, a new concept to this generation, was developed. Evaluation of the community project required a delicate process. Due to nearly fifty years of Soviet dominance, questioning or interrogating community members in oral or written form could not be considered as an option. The objective of community-wide awareness was achieved in the initial year. Success was identified with World Health Organization (WHO) recognition and eventual adoption and expansion of the project in its second year to other Latvian communities.

Constitution-making in the region of former Soviet dominance: with full texts of all new constitutions ratified through July 1995

With the end of the Cold War and the disintegration of the Soviet Union, newly formed governments throughout Eastern Europe and the former Soviet states have created constitutions that provide legal frameworks for the transition to free markets and democracy. In Constitution-Making in the Region of Former Soviet Dominance, Rett R. Ludwikowski offers a comparative study of constitution-making in progress and provides insight into the complex political and social circumstances that are shaping its present and future. The first study of these recent constitutional developments, this book also provides an appendix of all newly ratified constitutions in the region, an essential new reference source for scholars, students, and professionals. Beginning with a review of the constitutional traditions of Eastern and Central Europe, Ludwikowski goes on to offer analysis of the recent process of political change in the region. A second section focuses specifically on the the new constitutions and such issues as the selection of the form of government, concepts of divisions of power, unicameralism vs. bicameralism, the flexibility or rigidity of constitutions as working documents, and the process of reviewing the constitutionality of laws. Individual states as framed in these documents are analyzed in economic, political, and cultural terms. Although it is too soon to fully consider the implementation of these constitutions, special attention is devoted to the effect of reform on human rights protection, a notorious problem of continuing concern in the region. A final section offers an insightful comparative study of constitutional law by reviewing the post-Soviet process of constitution-making against the backdrop of Western constitutional traditions. Constitution-Making in the Region of Former Soviet Dominance is both a comprehensive study of constitutional developments in the former Soviet bloc and a primary reference tool for scholars of constitutional law, and Eastern European and post-Soviet studies.