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661. The Oldest Hath Borne Most: Response to Daniel Gordon

Author:
Roger Chartier
Publication Date:
03-2002
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
French Politics, Culture Society
Institution:
Conference Group on French Politics Society
Abstract:
In "'The Oldest Hath Borne Most': Response to Daniel Gordon," Roger Chartier rejects the idea that he has made Elias the object of sectarian devotion, and he refutes several misrepresentations that he believes Gordon makes of his own writing about Elias. He goes on to criticize Gordon's claim that Elias clung to a narrowly linear view of historical change. Most of all, Chartier takes issue with the notion that a conservative German nationalism or "germanophilia" informed Elias's sociological thought in the way Gordon describes. This line of argument, in Chartier's view, rests on a form of a priori ideological reductionism that is as misleading as the sociological reductionism that too often prevailed in the 1970s.
Political Geography:
Germany

662. Europe's New Security Vocation

Author:
Michael Brenner
Publication Date:
03-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
The idea of a European Security and Defense Identity (ESDI) has been a feature of the transatlantic security dialogue for a decade. The 1991 Maastricht Treaty foresaw an eventual incorporation of the Western European Union (WEU) as the defense arm of the European Union (EU). Endowing the Union with military capability was a logical extension of the commitment to a Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) as stipulated in the treaty. Both ideas, promoted by France and Germany, expressed the general desire of member states to play a more active role in securing the peace and stability of postcommunist Europe. Extending the principle of integration into the foreign policy field served two purposes. It was a means to tighten community bonds in the new, unsettled strategic environment by providing reassurance against the renationalization of defense policies. At the same time, it laid the basis for a collective effort to influence continental affairs consonant with the European venture in an orderly transition to democracy and market economies. The perceived need to add a security building block to the project of "constructing Europe" also reflected apprehension about a possible retreat of the United States from a Europe now free of the Soviet military threat. That possibility added further reason for West Europeans to make contingency plans for an uncertain future.
Topic:
Security and NATO
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, France, Soviet Union, and Germany

663. Health Care in Germany

Author:
Christa Altenstetter
Publication Date:
05-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Union Studies Center
Abstract:
The question of whether the introduction of competition and managed care in the German health care system means a "new paradigm" or simply a "stalemated strategy" was raised in a 1999 issue of Health Affairs by Lawrence Brown and Volker F. Amelung (1999). In that same issue, Uwe E. Reinhard (1999) responded with a question of his own: "Why would Germany wish to emulate the US style of managed care, with its as yet unproven effect on quality and outcomes?" The core of their disagreement seems to center around two issues. First, can competition and managed care flourish in a political culture and healthcare system where central policy-making and enforcement arrangements are embedded? The distinct political economy and history of Germany may create conditions that are not conducive to competition and managed care, unlike the US. The second issue that leads to the different interpretations above is the elusive concept of quality in health care, especially how to measure and achieve it.
Topic:
Government, Human Welfare, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
Germany

664. How does globalisation affect local production and knowledge systems? The surgical instrument cluster of Tuttlingen, Germany

Author:
Gerhard Halder
Publication Date:
03-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Development and Peace
Abstract:
The recent discussion of the winners and losersfrom globalisation has given prominence to regional development and industrial clusters in the global organisation of production and know-how. Tuttlingen, in southern Germany, is the recognised world leader in the global surgical instruments industry. However, price competition from emerging low-cost locations in South and South/East Asia and Eastern Europe, and rapid technological developments in medical engineering pose new challenges for the Tuttlingen cluster. In the past, institutional joint action was one of the pillars of the cluster's success, but there are doubts as to whether such institutions can face the new challenges. New public-private initiatives suggest a way forward, but it is too early to gauge their impact. In the past there wereimportant examples of small and medium sized firms coming togetherin joint marketing, production, and research and development efforts. While they continue, local competition has become more intense, making inter-firm co-operation more difficult. Some firms do, however, co-operate with suppliers further down the value chain, particularly those in Pakistan and Malaysia. The new challenges are also leading to further differentiation, both amongst firms as well as between producers and traders within the cluster. The most radical forms of product and functional upgrading are being concentrated in the cluster' sleading large firms. Innovation seems to be linked to close ties with end-users, the concentration of knowledge in medical engineering, and changes in surgical practices and health care delivery. Thus, the cluster while the 'big fish' in its own pond of surgical instruments, is having to come to terms with being a 'small fry' in the larger sea that constitutes the global health care sector.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Globalization, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe, East Asia, and Germany

665. Conference on "New International Challenges: Reassessing the Transatlantic Partnership" - Final Report

Publication Date:
07-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
The conference was organized by the Istituto Affari Internazionali and sponsored by the German Marshall Fund of the United States, the EU Institute of Strategic Studies and the US Embassy in Rome. Its general purpose was to discuss the new international challenges and to reassess the transatlantic partnership in light of them.
Topic:
Security and NATO
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, and Germany

666. "After September 11th, Governing Stability Across the Mediterranean Sea: A Transatlantic Perspective" A Conference Report

Author:
Maria Cristina Paciello
Publication Date:
03-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
The conference, organized by the International Affairs Institute and sponsored by the NATO office of Information and Press, and the German Marshall Fund of the United States, was held to discuss the question of governing stability across the Mediterranean Sea in the post-September 11th environment. It focused on three broad themes: governing stability in the Mediterranean; challenges to stability; and governance and partnership in the Mediterranean.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, and Germany

667. Trans-Atlantic Relations: Challenges and Opportunities

Author:
Wolfgang Ischinger
Publication Date:
10-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Institute at University of Wisconsin, Madison
Abstract:
I would like to share some observations about German-American relations, about Afghanistan, about Iraq and the war on terrorism, and about power and the global system. Where does Germany stand today? The recent elections in Germany have brought about a number of significant developments.
Topic:
International Relations and Security
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, America, Europe, and Germany

668. The European Convention and Defence

Author:
Marta Martinelli, Gerrard Quille, Claire Piana, and Jamie Woodbridge
Publication Date:
12-2002
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Security Information Service
Abstract:
The Convention WorkingGroup on Defence, chairedby Michel Barnier submitted itsfinal report on December 102002. This article reviews themajor debates within the groupand how they reflect memberstates' positions, in particular inrelation to the recent Franco-German Initiative.
Topic:
Security and Defense Policy
Political Geography:
Europe and Germany

669. China and the United States in the Korean Reunification Process

Author:
Samuel S. Kim
Publication Date:
03-2002
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Journal of Korean Studies
Institution:
International Council on Korean Studies
Abstract:
For the first time since the Korean War, and particularly in the wake of German reunification, the question of Korean reunification has generated a flurry of debate both inside and outside Korea, but usually with more heat than light. With North Korea constantly back in the news as East Asia's time-bomb, seemingly ripe for implosion or explosion, prospects for Korean reunification have quickly become conflated with the question of the future of North Korea—whether it will survive or will collapse, slowly or suddenly.
Political Geography:
United States, China, East Asia, North Korea, Germany, and Korea

670. Precocious British Industrialization: A General Equilibrium Perspective

Author:
N.F.R. Crafts and C. Knick Harley
Publication Date:
01-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
The British industrial revolution created an industrial economy. While casual discourse conflates industrialization and economic growth, Britain was remarkable primarily for the pronounced structural change that occurred rather than for rapid economic growth. Uniquely the British labour force became highly industrialized even prior to the move to free trade in the 1840s. On the eve of the abolition of the Corn Laws the share of agriculture in employment had already declined to levels that were not reached in France and Germany until the 1950s.
Topic:
Economics and Industrial Policy
Political Geography:
Britain, Europe, France, and Germany