Regionalism in Central Asia is often identified with the dominance of tribal affiliations in politics. This classification, however, is problematic because it neglects the extent of social change under the Soviet rule. In Soviet Turkmenistan state structures were relatively strong. However, personal relations within the Communist party had preserved patrimonial elements within the state. The dissolution of the Soviet Union led to a stronger patrimonialization of authority relations. In Turkmenistan, this process led to an extreme form of a neo-patrimonial state due to the personal and arbitrary rule of its president Nijazov.

Taking into account historical as well as sociological differences, the author distinguishes between different modes of socialism. On the periphery of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the combination of modern and traditional elements led to the establishment of hybrid political forms. They could be characterized as bureaucratic-patrimonial and associated with a specific type of state: the „peripheral socialist state“.

During the violent phases of transformation in post-Soviet Georgia the power of the police passed on to paramilitary groups. Under the rule of president Shevardnadze, however, the police regained a central political role, but it remained embedded in Soviet and pre-Soviet political structures. This becomes visible by looking at the political economy of the police. Informal taxes, purchase of office, and clientelism became established practices within the police. At present, the new government tries to carry out structural reforms in the police sector, which might lead to a break with the current hybrid Georgian state model.

The increasing concentration of power in the hands of the presidential families in all Central Asian states led to the personalisation of the state during the last years. The presidents successfully established neo-patrimonial, authoritarian regimes with a high level of consolidation but without fulfilling the criterion of democracy. The article explores the strategies the presidents use to maintain their authority and discusses which political developments can be expected concerning the question of succession.

Since the late 1960s of the 20th century, Bulgaria experienced a great increase in organized crime. As a result, relations between the managers of state-owned enterprises, the state security service, party officials, and criminal actors grew and became stronger. Parts of the old network are still functioning. Through the support of governmental circles, organized crime became established and dominated essential parts of the economy, from the mid-1990s. Since 1996, however, governments tried to act against organized crime. The influence of the mafia is still an unsolved problem and a challenge to the transformation of the country.

This article looks at contemporary Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan and addresses the question of how these states, which suffer from considerable institutional weaknesses, nevertheless retain the ability to control key aspects of statehood, first of all security and a measure of central authority. It is argued that these states invest only in selected aspects of statehood. The needed resources are mobilized by a system of informal taxes, which are then invested in certain selected core functions of statehood. This form of state depends on both formal and informal institutions, which are mutually supportive.

The article explains the origin of the French expression tirer une lettre de change, which is opaque for present-day speakers. Originally, it was the money that was drawn (home) by means of a bill of exchange, but already in the second half of the 16th century the verb tirer "to draw" could also take as a direct object the bill itself, thereby obscuring the original meaning.

Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit dem Einsatz hochfrequenter Pulsfolgen ultrakurzer Laserpulse zur Lasermikrobearbeitung von hochlegierten Stählen. Dabei wird der Einfluss verschiedener Laserparameter auf die Abtragseffizienz, die erzeugten Oberflächenstrukturen sowie auf physikalische Prozesse während der Lasermikrobearbeitung untersucht. Zu diesem Zweck wurde X90CrV18-Stahl mit ultrakurzen Laserpulsen und extrem hohen Pulswiederholfrequenzen innerhalb einer Pulsfolge von bis zu 2,5 GHz bestrahlt. Die Abtragsvolumina und Strukturdurchmesser pro Laserpuls, die emittierte Sekundärstrahlung innerhalb einer Pulsfolge sowie die resultierende Topographie nach der Bestrahlung wurden empirisch untersucht. Um ein grundlegendes Verständnis der bei der Bestrahlung in der Wechselwirkungszone wirkenden physikalischen Mechanismen zu erlangen, wurden Simulationen der Wechselwirkung von einzelnen ultrakurzen Laserpulsen sowie von Pulsfolgen ultrakurzer Laserpulse mit hochlegiertem Stahl durchgeführt. Erkenntnisse über funktionale Zusammenhänge zwischen den Laserparametern ultrakurzer Laserpulse und der resultierenden Abtragstiefe sowie der Schmelzfilmbildung wurden aus Ergebnissen umfangreicher Simulationen abgeleitet. Darüber hinaus erlauben die Ergebnisse des pro Laserpuls abgetragenen Volumens Rückschlüsse auf Abschirmprozesse innerhalb einer Pulsfolge durch eine vorhandene Ablationswolke bzw. durch ein Plasma. Eine iterative Abschirmung der Laserstrahlung nachfolgender Laserpulse durch die Wechselwirkung mit einer vorhandenen Ablationswolke tritt vor allem bei der Verwendung von Pulsfolgen mit Pulswiederholfrequenzen im MHz-Bereich auf. Ausgehend vom Ablationsvolumen pro Laserpuls bei Pulswiederholfrequenzen im GHz-Bereich wird die Laserstrahlung nachfolgender Laserpulse einer Pulsfolge nahezu vollständig vom Plasma abgeschirmt. Basierend auf den neuen Erkenntnissen dieser Arbeit wurden optimale Prozessparameter für die Erzeugung von 3D-Mikrostrukturen ermittelt, um eine möglichst hohe Effizienz bzw. Produktivität bei gleichzeitig geringer Oberflächenrauheit zu erreichen.

Jahresbericht der Universitätsbibliothek Chemnitz - Berichtsjahr 2006 / Annual report of the University Library of Chemnitz in 2006

Jahresbericht der Universitätsbibliothek Chemnitz - Berichtsjahr 2006 / Annual report of the University Library of Chemnitz in 2006