This research essay examines the emergence and development of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade and its attempts to influence foreign policy. Established as the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs in 1952, it was the first committee to have a specific portfolio alignment. The purpose of the committee was to ensure that a considerable number of parliamentarians could become informed about foreign affairs issues. The establishment of a committee for such a purpose was surprising in that proponents of parliamentary reform at that tune were strongly advocating that a comprehensive system of committees be created for the purposes of financial scrutiny of government expenditure and consideration of legislation. Against this background it is interesting that the new committee was not given - and indeed showed no intention of assuming - the role of scrutinising the activities of the Department of External (and later, Foreign) Affairs. It is also interesting that Prime Minister Robert Menzies instigated the committee despite the fact that the government - and particularly the Minister for External Affairs R G Casey - feared the committee might go beyond its terms of reference and attempt to exert influence on government policy. Consequently the government imposed severe restrictions on the committee's activities which resulted in the Opposition steadfastly refusing to participate in the work of the committee for 15 years. Once some of these restrictions were removed, the committee began to operate as a bipartisan committee in 1967 and promptly set about attempting to influence government policy in foreign affairs. Casey's worst fears were realised. Over the years the brief of the committee expanded into the areas of defence and trade. Eleven of the committee's reports address significant defence issues and since 1987 the committee has conducted extensive inquiries into trade matters. For the purposes of this research essay however I have focused on the development of the committee's interest and influence in the area of foreign affairs. Chapter One of this essay describes the background of parliamentary reform which resulted in the establishment of a comprehensive system of committees within the Australian Parliament. Against this background the emergence of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs is outlined in Chapter Two. Chapter Three identifies the major trends in the work of the committee while Chapter Four examines the influence and some of the mechanisms through which the committee has exerted pressure on foreign affairs policy. The conclusions of my research are addressed in Chapter Five. This research essay is based on an analysis of official committee documents which address foreign affairs issues from 1967 to the present. The major sources for the essay therefore are the reports of the committee, government responses to those reports and parliamentary debates. Other works consulted include academic journals and monographs. I have also gained numerous insights into the powers and limitations of committees through informal discussions with members of various committees and colleagues. To these people I am indebted for their thoughtful and provocative remarks. In particular I thank Professor John Halligan of the University of Canberra for his assistance and encouragement in bringing this research essay to its conclusion.

Canada's relations with Nicaragua changed greatly during the 1980s after the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) came to power in a revolution which overthrew the Somoza dynasty. For the first few years of the new regime in Nicaragua, Canada provided little support, declaring that Canadians had no significant interests in the country and there was no reason for them to get involved in Central America's ongoing conflicts. When Brian Mulroney first came to power with Joe Clark as his Secretary of State for External Affairs, the Progressive Conservatives generally held to the course set by the previous Liberal government. However, as the 1980s went on the Conservatives began providing Nicaragua with more bilateral aid, and became increasingly involved in the regional peace process known as Esquipulas; this culminated in Canadian peacekeepers entering the region in 1990 as part of a UN peacekeeping force. The major impetus for the government's change in attitude was the strong and consistent pressure placed on the government by the Canadian public. Aid raised privately by Canadians for Nicaragua overshadowed government aid for much of the decade, making the government response look weak. The support of the Canadian public for action in Central America was the major factor which pressured the federal government into becoming more involved in Nicaragua, even though the government was not as supportive of the new regime in Nicaragua as a large portion of the Canadian public often was.

Canada's relations with Nicaragua changed greatly during the 1980s after the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) came to power in a revolution which overthrew the Somoza dynasty. For the first few years of the new regime in Nicaragua, Canada provided little support, declaring that Canadians had no significant interests in the country and there was no reason for them to get involved in Central America's ongoing conflicts. When Brian Mulroney first came to power with Joe Clark as his Secretary of State for External Affairs, the Progressive Conservatives generally held to the course set by the previous Liberal government. However, as the 1980s went on the Conservatives began providing Nicaragua with more bilateral aid, and became increasingly involved in the regional peace process known as Esquipulas; this culminated in Canadian peacekeepers entering the region in 1990 as part of a UN peacekeeping force. The major impetus for the government's change in attitude was the strong and consistent pressure placed on the government by the Canadian public. Aid raised privately by Canadians for Nicaragua overshadowed government aid for much of the decade, making the government response look weak. The support of the Canadian public for action in Central America was the major factor which pressured the federal government into becoming more involved in Nicaragua, even though the government was not as supportive of the new regime in Nicaragua as a large portion of the Canadian public often was.

This paper explores the historical development of the Baghdad Railway in the context of international affairs during the decline of the Ottoman Empire. Viewed from the perspectives of businessmen and diplomats, the Railway was an expensive venture with considerable economic and strategic potential. This report provides an overview of the Railway project amid growing apprehension in Europe and Great Britain about German designs. / text

Die Arbeit beleuchtet die Beziehungen zwischen der DDR und der Volksrepublik China in den Jahren 1978 bis 1990. Dabei werden sowohl die innen-, wie auch die außenpolitischen Bedingungen dieser Beziehungen in der DDR und China beleuchtet. Besonderes Augenmerk wird auch auf die Sowjetunion gelegt. Die Beziehungen Moskaus gegenüber Beijing und Ostberlin werden dargestellt und mit den daraus resultierenden Folgen für die DDR-Führung in Bezug gesetzt. / The paper gives attention to the relationship between the German Democratic Republic and the People's Republic of China between 1978 and 1990. Central points are the domestic policies and foreign affairs of both countries. Besides the scripture attend to the relationship of the GDR and the PRC with the Soviet Union.

Orientador: Clodoaldo Bueno / Banca: Estêvão Chaves de Rezende Martins / Banca: José Luis Bendicho Beired / Resumo: Este trabalho trata das relações entre o Brasil e o Mundo Árabe, especialmente depois da primeira crise do petróleo, em 1973. Diante da disparada do preço do petróleo, o Brasil passou a intensificar o seu intercambio diplomático e comercial com os países árabes no intuito de suavizar os efeitos da crise. De forma inédita e adotando uma política externa pragmática baseada no interesse comercial do país, o governo Geisel incrementou as relações do Brasil com o Oriente Médio e norte da África. Nesta busca por novos aliados, destacou-se o Iraque. A amizade Brasil-Iraque começou com a prospecção de petróleo e a descoberta pela Petrobrás do poço iraquiano de Majnoon, um dos maiores do mundo, e também pela construção de estradas e ferrovias. / Abstract: This work deals with the relations between Brazil and the Arab World, especially after the First Oil Crisis of 1973. To face the fast rise of the oil prices, Brazil started to intensify diplomatic and commercial affairs with the Arab countries in intention to reduce the effects of the crisis. Adopting a new and more pragmatic foreign politics, based in the commercial interest of the country, the Geisel government developed the relations of Brazil with the Middle East and North of Africa. In this search for new allies, Iraq was distinguished. The Brazil-Iraq friendship started with the prospection of oil and the discovery by Petrobras, of the Iraqi well of Majnoon, one of the greatest of the world, and also the building of roads and railroads in that country. / Mestre

Orientador: Sebastião Carlos Velasco e Cruz / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciencias Humanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-07T01:10:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Bojikian_NeusaMariaPereira_M.pdf: 6039242 bytes, checksum: 3f08aa115411cede3761039f5a667318 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Resumo: A presente dissertação busca examinar por que um pais que se dispões a fazer reformas tão profundas em sua estrutura economica, conforme a que se verifica na dimensão financeira, durante a decada de 1990, adota uma postura tida como conservadora nas negociações comerciais internacionais¿Observação: O resumo, na íntegra poderá ser visualizado no texto completo da tese digital / Abstract: This dissertation has the purpose of examining why a country that was able to undertake such broad economic reforms as Brazil did in the financial area during the 1990s, also takes such an apparently conservative position in international trade negotiations...Note: The complete abstract is available with the full electronic digital thesis or dissertations / Mestrado / Instituições, Processos e Atores / Mestre em Relações Internacionais

This research analyzes why diplomacy is failing in the Dominican Republic. In this thesis, I describe how Dominicans construct their foreign affairs, and the limitations that diplomacy has had in the country. In order to achieve these goals, I have analyzed official documents such as the 2013 and 2015 payrolls of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and legal documents including Article 146 from the Constitution, Organic Law 314 from 1964, and the Protocol of Transparency and Institutions. I argue that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Dominican Republic lacks seriousness and is characterized by the following variables: (1) patronage, (2) corruption, and (3) the systematic violation of Dominican law. The thesis emphasizes how these variables have had a tremendous impact on the exercise of diplomacy. The research analyzes the reaction of the Dominican state and its citizens and how the nation responds to criticisms by the international community. Dominican citizens think that the opinion of international media is a campaign against their country. The implications of this false public perception is an intense nationalism, and the government encourages this. The true problem, as this thesis demonstrates, is institutional weakness. The government uses intense and widespread nationalism to hide institutional weakness and state corruption. After exploring this dialogue between the government, citizens and international media, I move forward framing concepts such as soft power and new public diplomacy to reinforce the importance of listening to foreign publics. In addition I explain why the country needs to change the traditional approach to foreign affairs. The adoption of a new public diplomacy is required to establish credibility and the integration between state, citizens and international publics.

Diplomats spend four years at a time abroad in South Africa's foreign missions, and after a home posting to Pretoria, typically lasting two years, they leave again. Children attend international schools. Thus diplomatic families have to adjust to a lifestyle of change and discontinuity, foreign cultures and unknown environments. The extent of this adjustment seems underrated and misunderstood. Since 1994 the number of missions abroad has doubled and most of the new missions are in the third world, hence the focus on hardship postings. In this narrative research, interviews were conducted with diplomatic families in several hardship posts. The aim was to gain a better understanding of the process of adjustment based on first hand information. Adjustment is described as a complex unfolding narrative with regressive as well as progressive story lines. The first stage lasting up to six months is seen as regressive, since the person is further removed from his goal of adjustment than at arrival. The rest of the stay is largely progressive if adjustment is seen as "being settled in a familiar routine" . Regressive elements refer to environmental restrictions. Findings include a description of an ideal couple for the foreign service; a need for effective preparation for a posting is confirmed; a changed relationship between Head Office and an official when abroad; diffuse identity among adolescents who spend formative years abroad, resulting in poorly understood adjustment problems on reentry; importance of attending to the soft issues of relocation instead of focusing on financial compensation. / Thesis (PhD (Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Psychology / unrestricted

The problem of this study was the lack of knowledge about user satisfaction with the library services which are provided at the library of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in Saudi Arabia. The purposes of the study were twofold: (1) to measure, evaluate, and analyze user satisfaction with the library services provided at the MFA Library for the employees; and (2) to develop a model for evaluation of user satisfaction of library services in government libraries in Saudi Arabia.