Western European Perspective Research Articles

Over the Wall/After the Fall: Post-Communist Cultures through an East-West Gaze by S. Forrester M. J. Zaborowska E. Gapova (review)

I42 SEER, 84, I, 2006 Forrester,S., Zaborowska,M. J. and Gapova, E. (eds). Over theWall/After the Fall. Post-Communist Cultures through anEast-WestGaze.Indiana University Press, Bloomington and Indianapolis, 2004. xi + 320 pp. Illustrations. Notes. Selected bibliography.Index. $30.00 (paperback). THEdeclared goal of Over theWall/After theFallis to markout the boundaries of a new discipline- post-socialist studies and distance itself from the traditionof Slavicstudieswhich privilegesRussiaover othercountries,regions and nations of Eastern Europe. Drawing on theoretical references from cultural studies, gender and postcolonial studies, the authors promise to problematize a homogeneous Eastern European identity bringing into focus questionsof gender, classand ethnicitytypicallyneglected in theinvestigations of the region. They see the fall of the BerlinWalland the breakup of the EastWestbinary as opening up new theoreticalspaceswhere the questionsof postI989 and post-Communistculturalidentitiescan be addressed,and where the differencewhich is EasternEuropecan emerge in place of the tropesand signs of the Cold War. With the authorityofpersonalexperience ofthe regionand strongacademic credentials, the editors of OvertheWall/AftertheFall seem particularlywellequipped for the ambitious and laudable taskof bringing into focus the EastWest gaze and interrogating the post-socialist condition. The editors are: Magdalena Zaborowska, a Polish academic who teaches African-American studies in the US; Sibelan Forrester,an American professorof Russian, and Elena Gapova who lives and lectures in Belarus and specializes in gender studies. It is strikingthat, out of fifteen contributorsto the book, only two (Elena Gapova's and Vera Sokolova's)representvoices of the scholarswho actually work in Eastern Europe. One contributor, Rainer Gries, who is based in Vienna and writes in German (his is the only text translated into English), represents the Western European perspective. Given the importance of Eastern Europe for its Western neighbours and the historic tendency of Eastern Europeans to make Western Europe their main reference point, the absence of voices from Europe in the declared East-Westgaze is problematic. With most of the contributors based in the American academia (the enigmatic 'Benni Goodman', the author of the postface, is a case apart as his identity is not disclosed) the privileging of the American perspective on Eastern Europe has some profound consequences for the whole post-socialist project. Individual chapters cover a wide-range of topics and include analysis of travel writing, language and identity politics, architecture and the city, branding, lifestyle and everyday, gender and sexual politics, representation and also engagement with traditional cultural practices such as theatre and visual arts. The status of the various opening texts and their contents is uncertain. As we proceed through overly complex introductions,the postmodern discourse of word play, bracketing and flexible meanings gains an awkward force. Twice, we begin with a close reading of poems by the Polish Nobel laureate, Wislawa Szymborska,each poem signallingsome of the intellectualobjectives REVIEWS 143 of the book, the ways in which they are to be interrogated and the kind of cultural hierarchies which we are about to encounter. The poems are powerful,the readingless so. While we can hearloud and clear the personal and intellectualoutpourings of Zaborowskaand Forrester,thevoice of Gapova seemsconspicuouslyabsent from the framing of the project. The validity of the claim about the dialogic nature of the project and its decentred and self-reflectedEast-West gaze is thus undermined. With Forresternot contributing any essays, and Gapova's voice silent throughout all introductions, Zaborowska's presence is most prominent. The collective editorial voice is fragmented, internally conflicted and at times confused. It switches abruptly between theoretical interludes and references and personal anecdotes and autobiographicalruminations.At the same time, some straightforwardsignpostingregardingthe content and nature of the chapters to follow is obscured and instead in the final part of the introductionwe aretreatedto a kindof a manifestoof thepost-socialiststudies project.And thisiswhere the realproblem starts. The term 'post-Communist', rather effective in the title, is transformed within the body of the text into 'postsocialist',and the discussion of its fluid articulation is relegated to a footnote. The parameters of discourse and the claimed East-Westgaze of the volume and the theoreticaland historicalbases of the proposed field of postsocialist studies are thus rendered uncertain, creating confusion as to the objective of the book and the intellectual tools with which it is to be treated. The term post-socialism...

Variations in care and outcome in the first year after stroke: a Western and Central European perspective

Background: There are significant variations in the short term patterns of care and outcome after a first stroke in Europe. Objective: To estimate the variation in stroke care and outcome...

The rescue of Jews from Nazi persecution: A Western European perspective

The rescue of Jews from Nazi persecution: A Western European perspective

Tractors 2001/2002

The tractor, with its main version the ‘standard tractor’, has for decades been the key machine in agricultural mechanisation and therefore plays a crucial role in providing the world’s food supply both today and in the future. The functions that tractors are required to fulfil have continued to expand internationally — representing a major challenge in terms of product planning for internationally active companies. This article by the Chair of Agricultural Machinery of the Technical University of Munich reviews the state of the art in tractor technology and describes the development trends from a Western European perspective.

Globalisation, Regions, Nations and Integration: Central and Western European Perspectives

Abstract As the eastern Enlargement of the European Union is approaching there is more and more talk about the necessity of fundamental reforms in the ways in which the EU is governed and managed. Most observers agree that the old ways of the Community Method will no longer be able to answer the challenges of Enlargement Multilevel governance and subsidiarity as guiding principles of EU governance in the last decade or so have enabled many constitutional regions and stateless nations to have a greater impact in decision‐making at the European level. The ongoing Future of Europe debate and the establishment of the European Convention, which is supposed to be a preparation for the next Intergovernmental Conference in 2004, have clearly opened up new possibilities for sub‐state actors to formulate their opinions and contribute to the pan‐European debate about how our continent should look after Enlargement. The chief aim of this paper is to outline the vision of the constitutional regions concerning the future of the enlarged EU and to assess whether or not their views are taken into consideration by the other actors in the debate.

Globalisation, regions, nations and integration: Central and western European perspectives

As the eastern Enlargement of the European Union is approaching there is more and more talk about the necessity of fundamental reforms in the ways in which the EU is governed and managed. Most observers agree that the old ways of the Community Method will no longer be able to answer the challenges of Enlargement Multilevel governance and subsidiarity as guiding principles of EU governance in the last decade or so have enabled many constitutional regions and stateless nations to have a greater impact in decision‐making at the European level. The ongoing Future of Europe debate and the establishment of the European Convention, which is supposed to be a preparation for the next Intergovernmental Conference in 2004, have clearly opened up new possibilities for sub‐state actors to formulate their opinions and contribute to the pan‐European debate about how our continent should look after Enlargement. The chief aim of this paper is to outline the vision of the constitutional regions concerning the future of the enlarged EU and to assess whether or not their views are taken into consideration by the other actors in the debate.

An assessment of riverine loads of nutrients to Lake Peipsi, 1995-1998.

The Lake Peipsi is the fourth largest lake in Europe (3,555 km 2 ) with a drainage basin of approximately 44,000 km 2 . An assessment study of the nutrient loads to the Lake Peipsi showed that the riverine transport is the most important pathway for the total input of nutrients. In particular, it was shown that the lake, from its rivers, received an average of 20,500 tonnes of nitrogen (N) and 910 tonnes of phosphorus (P) annually during the time period 1995-1998. These estimates are substantially lower than previously reported. The total nutrient loads correspond to area-specific loads of 4.7 kg ha -1 for nitrogen and 0.21 kg ha -1 for phosphorus. The nitrogen load was low in a Baltic Sea and Western European perspective and was, for example, almost two times lower than the corresponding load to the Gulf of Riga. The phosphorus load was somewhat higher than the corresponding riverine load to the Gulf of Riga but almost two times lower than the average phosphorus transport in the rivers draining to the Baltic proper and the Western Baltic. Examination of the spatial variation of nutrient loads showed that the two largest basins, i.e. those of the Velikaya and Emajogi rivers, contributed approximately 80 % (16,500 tonnes yr -1 ) of the nitrogen load and 84 % (760 tonnes yr -1 ) of the phosphorus load transported to the lake via rivers. The Velikaya River alone accounted for approximately 65 % of the total riverine load. The area-specific loads of N and P ranged from 3.0 to 8.4 kg ha -1 for N and from 0.05 to 0.24 kg ha -1 for P. However, the nutrient levels in almost all the studied rivers were relatively low or moderate given the large share of agricultural land in the drainage basin (42 %). Uncertainties in the load estimates were identified and mainly devoted to lack of tot-N and tot-P analsyis and low sampling frequency in Russian rivers.

Refugees and migration: Rewriting the definitions

The author reports on a conference held in London, England in November 1992 as part of Global Partnership '92 which considered the alarming increase in forced migration. Participants argued that immigration controls do not tackle the causes of migration, and international law is inadequate, failing to satisfactorily distinguish between immigration and asylum issues. The particular concerns of economic migrants and guest workers are discussed. The majority of discussion was from the Western European perspective.

The Concept of ‘Safe Country’ and Expeditious Asylum Procedures: A Western European Perspective

The Concept of ‘Safe Country’ and Expeditious Asylum Procedures: A Western European Perspective

Missile defenses and western European security: NATO strategy, arms control, and deterrence

Western European Reaction to the Strategic Defense Initiative Western Europe and the First ABM Debate: 1965-1972 SDI and Deterrence: A Western European Perspective Western European Arms Control Perspective and SDI SDI and Western European Support for the ABM Treaty Antitactical Missile Defense, Western Europe, and the INF Treaty Antitactical Missile Defense and NATO Strategy Summary and Conclusion

Williams, Allan M. and Shaw, Gareth (eds.), "Tourism and Economic Development: Western European Perspectives" (Book Review)

Williams, Allan M. and Shaw, Gareth (eds.), "Tourism and Economic Development: Western European Perspectives" (Book Review)

The Persecution of the Jews in the Netherlands: A Comparative Western European Perspective

The Persecution of the Jews in the Netherlands: A Comparative Western European Perspective

SDI and deterrence: A Western European perspective

Abstract Many Western European critics of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) argue that ballistic missile defenses (BMD) will upset deterrence stability, promote crisis instability, increase the likelihood of conventional and/or limited nuclear war confined to Europe, and degrade the credibility of French and British nuclear deterrents. Underlying these criticisms is an approach to nuclear strategy that views mutual vulnerability as the sine qua non of deterrence. This analysis argues that not only is mutual vulnerability (or mutual deterrence) inconsistent with U.S. extended deterrence requirements, but such deterrence based on the concept of mutual assured destruction (MAD) has never guided U.S. or Soviet operational deterrence policy. By equating the term deterrence with assured destruction or mutual vulnerability, European critics of SDI preempt any sound analysis of the impact of BMD on deterrence stability. Indeed, it can be argued, even from a Western European perspective, that certain types of BMD deployments can strengthen the Alliance's ability to deter Soviet acts of aggression. Western European critics of SDI must also realize that instabilities resulting from defensive deployments must be viewed in the context of existing and future instabilities created by the continuing growth of Soviet offensive and defensive capabilities.

Western European Security Cooperation Trends, Perspectives, and Evaluation

Western European Security Cooperation Trends, Perspectives, and Evaluation

Victim Compensation and Offender Restitution in the Federal Republic of Germany—a Western-European Comparative Perspective

Abstract In the Federal Republic of Germany, as well as in most other Western European countries, the growing emphasis in victimology during the last 15 years has led to several legal schemes for victim compensation. The German Victim Compensation Act of 1976 provides compensation for violent acts within the framework of a social security system with periodic payments, while most of the other West-European countries grant lump sums from a special compensation fund. The German legislation, however, has given the victim a relatively weak position. The problems are aggravated because of the restrictive, and concerning the Federal states—different, application of the law. Victim compensation as a restitutional sanction within the penal law doesn't play an important role. Furthermore, the financial situation of most offenders is so bad, that the civil claims of the victim for damages cannot be compensated. In Germany, however, remarkable efforts are made by the debt relief programs for offenders, which allow v...

A Concept of Development Centred on the Human Being Some Western European Perspectives

(1981). A Concept of Development Centred on the Human Being Some Western European Perspectives. Canadian Journal of Development Studies / Revue canadienne d'etudes du developpement: Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 135-163.

Scandinavian social democracy: Achievements and problems

The performance of the Scandinavian Social Democratic parties is assessed in a comparative Western European perspective. The Social Democrats’ achievement of the status of ‘natural parties of government’ is shown to have been matched by welfare policy outcomes markedly superior to most other advanced nations. It is also argued that the long period of Social Democratic dominance in Scandinavia has provided the organised working class with an important position in the power structure and an influence in formulating the prevailing ‘image of society’. Finally, the political problems threatening continued Social Democratic ascendancy are briefly examined.

Image and Reality in World Politics, Sanity and Survival: Psychological Aspects of War and Peace, Systems Analysis and Policy Planning: Applications in Defense and Western European Perspectives on International Affairs: Public Opinion Studies and Evaluations

Image and Reality in World Politics, Sanity and Survival: Psychological Aspects of War and Peace, Systems Analysis and Policy Planning: Applications in Defense and Western European Perspectives on International Affairs: Public Opinion Studies and Evaluations

Western European Perspectives on International Affairs: Public Opinion Studies and Evaluations. Ed. by Richard L. Merritt and Donald J. Puchala. (New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1968. Pp. 552. $17.50.)

Western European Perspectives on International Affairs: Public Opinion Studies and Evaluations. Ed. by Richard L. Merritt and Donald J. Puchala. (New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1968. Pp. 552. $17.50.) - Volume 63 Issue 1

Western European Perspectives on International Affairs: Public Opinion Studies and Evaluations

Western European Perspectives on International Affairs: Public Opinion Studies and Evaluations