The transatlantic relations have been on a bumpy ride in recent years with disagreements over issues ranging from the Iraq war to the Kyoto Treaty, the arms embargo on China, and the International Criminal Court. Polemics on "hard" versus "soft" security solutions and "power versus burden sharing" oppose the U.S. option for unilateral action to EU's multilateral cooperation approach. The parallel enlargement processes in NATO and the EU had a profound impact on one another, given that they both reach the heart of some fundamental questions, ranging from trade liberalization and globalization to the nature of security in 21st century Europe. In the new political-economic architecture of Europe, complementarily dimensions of security and economy objectives gave way to new tensions between the two shores of the Atlantic. These matters, however, are only a small part of an otherwise well functioning partnership. The optimal solution is to reach a compromise between the talk of preeminence and unilateralism by the U.S. and the greater willingness by the EU to step up and share the burden.

Current European-U.S. transatlantic relations represent the heritage of a large number of international alliances and institutions that were founded at a time when there was a bipolar world, a world dominated by the United States and the Soviet Union. Today fourteen years after the end of the Cold War, some national leaders question the continued viability of these international alliances and institutions. In their references to international relations, realist and liberal theorists reflect significant ideological differences, which have considerable influence on transatlantic relations. This thesis considers a central question pertaining to the future of transatlantic relations between Europe and the United States: Will the presence, or absence, of an external threat to the countries involved be the deciding factor in their willingness to cooperate in security alliances? It is a significant question, and investigating it provides a better understanding of future uses of alliances and their role in world politics. Recently, two specific historical occurrences decisively modified the security landscape worldwide: the end of the Cold War 1991 and almost two decades of violent, deadly acts of international terrorism. Since the breakdown of the Warsaw Pact 1991 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, which made former satellite states suddenly independent, numerous eastern European countries have applied for membership in NATO and the European Union. At the same time, organizations such as, especially, the EU and NATO, have had to deal with the competitive and often contradictory interests of member states. This thesis will focus with emphasis on France, Germany, and United States because the differences in their positions inside NATO are most significant.

The United States is experiencing very low levels of trust in the government and in Washington. To the average American, Washington, D.C. seems like a bubble filled with well-off, over-educated citizens who are out of touch with the daily lives of Americans elsewhere in the country. This thesis explores this trend, the severity of it, how often it has occurred thus far in American history, the causes, and potential solutions to bridging the gap between the political elite and the average American. This paper is broken up into three topics which explain a portion of the cause for the disconnect. The first chapter focuses on the history of Washington, D.C. as a city and how its development has contributed to political disconnect. The second chapter looks at the history and transitions of a congressional career. Lastly, the third chapter explores the history of public perception of government, in order to put today’s low levels of trust into better context. I ultimately find that the city of Washington used to be a small, quaint city on a hill that was open to all. Now, it is a fortress of power, but much of this was inevitable. In order to compensate for the increasing complexity of governmental tasks, the government added more people and more buildings to take on this problem solving. This inevitably led to a bubble of well-educated and well-off citizens. Similarly, a representative today has many more tasks than the representative a century ago. He also must have many more resources to even get elected. As Washington developed and become a more attractive city as it accumulated power, it drew a new type of citizen. A type that does not look, act, or think like the average American. While these developments led to the disconnect, they were in many ways inevitable. Based on the chapter on public perception of government, I find that Americans are distrustful of those in office and of the ways that these people use the government, but they still have faith in the political institutions themselves. This shows that there is potential for reform to help Americans feel better represented, and to help the government be more responsive to the average Americans’ most pressing problems. While there are many aspects of Congress that could be modified, the conclusion chapter looks specifically at reforms that are inspired by the input of Americans. This includes reform to political debate and discourse, lobbying, congressional voting, and more.

No description available.

This thesis describes the history of the scientific Left beginning with the period of its most extensive influence in the mid-1940s as a movement for the planning of science and ending with the Labour Party's programme of 1964 claiming to harness science and socialism. Its central theme is the external and internal pressures involved in the project to align left-wing politics, trade unions and social responsibility in science. The problematic aspects of this project are examined in the evolution of the Association of Scientific Workers and the World Federation of Scientific Workers as organisations committed to trade union and science policy objectives. This is presented also in the broader context of the Association's attempts to influence the Trade Union Congress's policies for science and technology in a more radical direction. The thesis argues that the shift in the balance of political forces in the labour movement, in the scientific community and in the state brought about by the Cold War was crucial in frustrating these endeavours. This led to alternative, but largely unsuccessful attempts, in the form of the Engels Society and subsequently Science for Peace to create the new expressions of the left-wing politics of science. However, the period 1956-1964 was characterised by intensive interest within the Labour Party in science and technology which reopened informal channels of political influence for the scientific Left. This was not matched by any radical renewal within the Association or the Trade Union Congress and thus took place on a narrower basis and lacked the democratic aspects of the earlier generation of socialist science policy.

No description available.

This thesis provides a study of United Kingdom (UK) macroeconomic policy and economic ideas. Specifically, the thesis seeks to explore the reasons when and why UK macroeconomic policy and economic ideas exhibits change or continuity. The central contention of this thesis is that the model of punctuated equilibrium provides a flawed understanding and explanation of when and why policies and idea exhibit continuity and change in UK macroeconomic policymaking. In particular, the thesis seeks to fill two gaps in our existing knowledge of UK economic policymaking, which emerge from critical literature reviews. The first gap pertains to the need for greater specificity in our understanding and definition of orthodox UK macroeconomic policy. The second gap relates to the need for a superior understanding of when and why UK macroeconomic policy and economic ideas exhibits change and continuity. The original contribution of this thesis to the literature on UK economic policymaking arises from the two research findings generated in Chapters Three and Four, which are then tested in a series of case-study chapters in the second half of the thesis. The first research finding is the provision of greater precision in our understanding and definition of orthodox macroeconomic policy. The second research finding is the identification of a historical pattern in UK macroeconomic policymaking, which is named the orthodox cycle. The orthodox cycle utilises the new understanding and definition of orthodox macroeconomic policy to show the continuity of orthodox policy and ideas in UK macroeconomic policymaking, through a series of distinct phases, in the aftermath of crises and changes in government.

by Au Yeung-kwan. / Bibliography: leaves 62-64 / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1983

劉健明 = A study on the shift in governmental power structure in mid-T'ang (712-820 A.D.) / Lau Kin Ming. / 複本為複印本. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--香港中文大學. / Fu ben wei fu yin ben. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 734-801). / Liu Jianming = A study on the shift in governmental power structure in mid-T'ang (712-820 A.D.) / Lau Kin Ming. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue. / 論文提要 --- p.1 / Chapter 一 --- 導論 --- p.5 / Chapter 二 --- 玄宗朝政府組織的轉變（七一二│七五五） / Chapter （一） --- 三省制的確立及其破壞 --- p.38 / Chapter （二） --- 政府組織重建與政事堂性質的轉變 --- p.68 / Chapter （三） --- 內廷勢力的滋長 --- p.98 / Chapter （四） --- 使職的設立與計臣的拜相 --- p.123 / Chapter （五） --- 權相的出現與政制的破壞 --- p.168 / Chapter 三 --- 中唐政府的重組　（肅宗│德宗建中年間七五六│七八三） / Chapter （一） --- 肅宗奪位與宦官勢力的抬頭 --- p.207 / Chapter （二） --- 相權被削與決策權力的內移 --- p.235 / Chapter （三） --- 職事官的失職與使職代正官 --- p.259 / Chapter （四） --- 專使的任用與財政的整頓 --- p.282 / Chapter （五） --- 代宗晚年及德宗初年的改革 --- p.298 / Chapter 四 --- 中唐政府的再重組　（德宗貞元年間│憲宗七八四│八二̐ơ） / Chapter （一） --- 建中之亂後的內廷 --- p.318 / Chapter （二） --- 建中之亂後的政府 --- p.336 / Chapter （三） --- 順宗朝政爭與學士宦官權力的增長 --- p.366 / Chapter （四） --- 憲宗朝政府改組與翰林承旨的設立 --- p.395 / Chapter （五） --- 憲宗朝宦官權勢的確立 --- p.423 / Chapter 五 --- 政府權力移轉下的新局面 / Chapter （一） --- 政府權威的失墮與離心勢力的成長 --- p.457 / Chapter （二） --- 唐政權的開放與黨爭 --- p.513 / Chapter （三） --- 政府政策的轉變與民生 --- p.566 / Chapter （四） --- 新思想的發孕──尊王思想的抬頭 --- p.629 / Chapter 六 --- 結論 --- p.672 / 附表 / 表一　玄宗至憲宗朝宰相任期表 --- p.702 / 表二　唐代科舉出身宰相表 --- p.716 / 表三　安使亂前十節度使表 --- p.722 / 表四　藩鎮對中央政府的態度統計表 --- p.731 / 參考書目 --- p.734

The three theories may seem to be at odds with each other, but each brings to the discussions very relevant and useful notions of alliance motivation rooted in the notions of power, threat, and interest/opportunity. It is not the aim of this chapter to arrive at a new theory that explains the entirety of Saudi-U.S. relations to the exclusion of other perspectives. The goal is to broaden the path, which enriches understanding of Saudi-U.S. relations and alignment by applying not just one but all three major elements found in realist alliance theory: power, threat, and interest. This thesis examines and applies realist theories of alliance to Saudi-U.S. relations and alignment from 1941-1957, which are best understood within a structure of power, threat, and interest/opportunity for gain. Realist alliance theories applied to economic, military, and political circumstances and events in the Saudi-U.S. case result in a more complete understanding of the formation, dynamics, and endurance of the Saudi-U.S. alliance. In addition to the grand scenario of Cold War power-seeking and self-interests, the Palestine-Israel problem, the Buraimi dispute, and the Suez Canal Crisis made Saudi-U.S. relations, and the formation of alignment, a complicated process marked by extraordinary challenges to the interests of both states. Gregory Gause (2007) emphasised that except for Walt’s study, literature on the formation and endurance of the Saudi-U.S. alliance is virtually non-existent. The literature review pointed to a shortage in deploying major realist alliance theories into the Saudi-U.S. alliance, especially theories advanced by Stephen Walt (1985, 1987) and Randall Schweller (1994, 1997). The literature shows that the application of realist alliance theory tends to emphasise a single dimension more than an attempt to integrate arguments from the three major theories. The paper argues that the integration of multiple realist alliance theories in the study of the Saudi-U.S. case is more useful than studies that focus on single concepts only, such as balance of power. The application of core elements of neorealist and neoclassical realist alliance theories creates an explanatory structure that brings a sharper focus and a more sober understanding of the basic drivers of the Saudi-U.S. alignment. By viewing the Saudi-U.S. alliance through the lens of the three major realist alliance theories, the research paper adds to the body of knowledge about the dynamics of a long-standing and critical alliance in the international economic, political, and military arena.