Joshua A. Berman
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195374704
- eISBN:
- 9780199871438
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195374704.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism, Biblical Studies
This book reveals the Hebrew Bible to be a sophisticated work of political philosophy, and the birthplace of egalitarian thought. Focusing on the Pentateuch, this book lays bare the manner in which ...
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This book reveals the Hebrew Bible to be a sophisticated work of political philosophy, and the birthplace of egalitarian thought. Focusing on the Pentateuch, this book lays bare the manner in which the Bible appropriated and reconstituted ancient norms and institutions to create a new blueprint for society. Theology, politics, and economics were marshaled anew to weaken traditional seats of power, and to create a homogeneous class of empowered common citizens. Much of this anticipates developments in the history of political thought that would recur only during the Enlightenment and in the thought of the American Founding Fathers. Ancient religion granted sacral legitimation to the ruling classes and saw the masses as mere servants. The Pentateuch, by contrast, elevates the common citizenry in the eyes of God by invoking the political institution of the vassal treaty, and casting Israel as a subordinate king to the Almighty through the theology of covenant. Through the prism of the political philosophies of Plato, Aristotle, and Montesquieu, the book demonstrates the Pentateuch to be history's first proposal for the distribution of political power. Utilizing the anthropology of pre‐modern economies, ancient norms are explored concerning land tenure, taxation, and loans are reworked so that the common citizenry remains economically secure. Invoking the transformational role of the printing press in the spread of the Reformation and the birth of the Enlightenment, the book identifies far‐reaching consequences in the Bible's approach to what was then the new technology of communication: the alphabetic text.Less
This book reveals the Hebrew Bible to be a sophisticated work of political philosophy, and the birthplace of egalitarian thought. Focusing on the Pentateuch, this book lays bare the manner in which the Bible appropriated and reconstituted ancient norms and institutions to create a new blueprint for society. Theology, politics, and economics were marshaled anew to weaken traditional seats of power, and to create a homogeneous class of empowered common citizens. Much of this anticipates developments in the history of political thought that would recur only during the Enlightenment and in the thought of the American Founding Fathers. Ancient religion granted sacral legitimation to the ruling classes and saw the masses as mere servants. The Pentateuch, by contrast, elevates the common citizenry in the eyes of God by invoking the political institution of the vassal treaty, and casting Israel as a subordinate king to the Almighty through the theology of covenant. Through the prism of the political philosophies of Plato, Aristotle, and Montesquieu, the book demonstrates the Pentateuch to be history's first proposal for the distribution of political power. Utilizing the anthropology of pre‐modern economies, ancient norms are explored concerning land tenure, taxation, and loans are reworked so that the common citizenry remains economically secure. Invoking the transformational role of the printing press in the spread of the Reformation and the birth of the Enlightenment, the book identifies far‐reaching consequences in the Bible's approach to what was then the new technology of communication: the alphabetic text.
Adrienne Heritier
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199298129
- eISBN:
- 9780191711633
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199298129.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
This book poses the question: how and why do institutions change? Institutions, understood as rules of behaviour constraining and facilitating social interaction, are subject to different forms and ...
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This book poses the question: how and why do institutions change? Institutions, understood as rules of behaviour constraining and facilitating social interaction, are subject to different forms and processes of change. A change may be designed intentionally on a large scale and then be followed by a period of only incremental adjustments to new conditions. But institutions may also emerge as informal rules, persist for a long time and only be formalized later. The causes, processes, and outcomes of institutional change raise a number of conceptual, theoretical, and empirical questions. While we know a lot about the creation of institutions, relatively little research has been conducted about their transformation once they have been put into place. Attention has focused on politically salient events of change, such as the Intergovernmental Conferences of Treaty reform. In focusing on such grand events, it is easy overlook inconspicuous changes in European institutional rules that are occurring on a daily basis. Thus, the European Parliament has gradually acquired a right of investing individual Commissioners. This has never been an issue in the negotiations of formal treaty revisions. Or, the decision-making rule(s) under which the European Parliament participates in the legislative process have drastically changed over the last decades starting from a modest consultation ending up with codecision. The book discusses various theories accounting for long-term institutional change, and explores them on the basis of five important institutional rules in the European Union. It proposes typical sequences of long-term institutional change and their theorization which hold for other contexts as well, if the number of actors and their goals are clearly defined, and interaction takes place under the ‘shadow of the future’.Less
This book poses the question: how and why do institutions change? Institutions, understood as rules of behaviour constraining and facilitating social interaction, are subject to different forms and processes of change. A change may be designed intentionally on a large scale and then be followed by a period of only incremental adjustments to new conditions. But institutions may also emerge as informal rules, persist for a long time and only be formalized later. The causes, processes, and outcomes of institutional change raise a number of conceptual, theoretical, and empirical questions. While we know a lot about the creation of institutions, relatively little research has been conducted about their transformation once they have been put into place. Attention has focused on politically salient events of change, such as the Intergovernmental Conferences of Treaty reform. In focusing on such grand events, it is easy overlook inconspicuous changes in European institutional rules that are occurring on a daily basis. Thus, the European Parliament has gradually acquired a right of investing individual Commissioners. This has never been an issue in the negotiations of formal treaty revisions. Or, the decision-making rule(s) under which the European Parliament participates in the legislative process have drastically changed over the last decades starting from a modest consultation ending up with codecision. The book discusses various theories accounting for long-term institutional change, and explores them on the basis of five important institutional rules in the European Union. It proposes typical sequences of long-term institutional change and their theorization which hold for other contexts as well, if the number of actors and their goals are clearly defined, and interaction takes place under the ‘shadow of the future’.
Alicia Hinarejos
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199569960
- eISBN:
- 9780191721977
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199569960.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, EU Law
The EU's activity under its intergovernmental pillars — The Common Foreign and Security Policy and Justice and Home Affairs — has traditionally been beyond the scope of judicial control offered by ...
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The EU's activity under its intergovernmental pillars — The Common Foreign and Security Policy and Justice and Home Affairs — has traditionally been beyond the scope of judicial control offered by the central EC legal system. The increasing importance of this activity, and its growing intrusion into the lives of individuals, has led to a sense that the level of judicial oversight and protection is insufficient and that the constitutional balance of the Union stands in urgent need of reform. While the need for reform is widely recognised, wholesale constitutional change has been stalled by the failure to ratify the Constitutional Treaty and the delay in ratifying the Treaty of Lisbon. This book charts the attempts to develop more satisfactory judicial control over the intergovernmental pillars in the face of such constitutional inertia. It examines the leading role played by the European Court of Justice in reforming its own jurisdiction, and analyses the ECJ's development as a constitutional court in comparison with more established constitutional adjudicators. Throughout the book the current constitutional position is compared extensively to the reforms introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon, offering a timely snapshot of the EU's federal structure in a state of flux.Less
The EU's activity under its intergovernmental pillars — The Common Foreign and Security Policy and Justice and Home Affairs — has traditionally been beyond the scope of judicial control offered by the central EC legal system. The increasing importance of this activity, and its growing intrusion into the lives of individuals, has led to a sense that the level of judicial oversight and protection is insufficient and that the constitutional balance of the Union stands in urgent need of reform. While the need for reform is widely recognised, wholesale constitutional change has been stalled by the failure to ratify the Constitutional Treaty and the delay in ratifying the Treaty of Lisbon. This book charts the attempts to develop more satisfactory judicial control over the intergovernmental pillars in the face of such constitutional inertia. It examines the leading role played by the European Court of Justice in reforming its own jurisdiction, and analyses the ECJ's development as a constitutional court in comparison with more established constitutional adjudicators. Throughout the book the current constitutional position is compared extensively to the reforms introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon, offering a timely snapshot of the EU's federal structure in a state of flux.
Yossi Beilin
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199275359
- eISBN:
- 9780191603686
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199275351.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Beilin was a former chief negotiator for the Israeli government in the Oslo process at Camp David and Taba. He brings a valuable contribution to this volume as a practitioner and political scientist ...
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Beilin was a former chief negotiator for the Israeli government in the Oslo process at Camp David and Taba. He brings a valuable contribution to this volume as a practitioner and political scientist involved directly in conflict negotiations. After fulfilling his post as the Minister of Justice for the Israeli government, he became one of the lead Israeli representatives in the Geneva Accord negotiations. In this sceptical work, Beilin points to the possible dangers of speaking about the combined concepts of justice and peace, believing that there cannot be one without the other. Peace treaties have often been signed and implemented by the victors of conflict, but have left the population on either side out of the determinations of justice. Beilin presents a history filled with examples in which political leaders have bypassed opportunities for peace because they did not deem the conditions just, and thus perpetuated conflict with untold costs.Less
Beilin was a former chief negotiator for the Israeli government in the Oslo process at Camp David and Taba. He brings a valuable contribution to this volume as a practitioner and political scientist involved directly in conflict negotiations. After fulfilling his post as the Minister of Justice for the Israeli government, he became one of the lead Israeli representatives in the Geneva Accord negotiations. In this sceptical work, Beilin points to the possible dangers of speaking about the combined concepts of justice and peace, believing that there cannot be one without the other. Peace treaties have often been signed and implemented by the victors of conflict, but have left the population on either side out of the determinations of justice. Beilin presents a history filled with examples in which political leaders have bypassed opportunities for peace because they did not deem the conditions just, and thus perpetuated conflict with untold costs.
Ian Clark
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199297009
- eISBN:
- 9780191711428
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199297009.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
The first case study is the Declaration against the slave trade made as part of the Congress of Vienna in 1815. How and why did this become an international concern, and with what results? The ...
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The first case study is the Declaration against the slave trade made as part of the Congress of Vienna in 1815. How and why did this become an international concern, and with what results? The chapter analyses how the international diplomacy of slave trade abolition was interconnected with the domestic political pressures brought to bear, especially upon the British government, by William Wilberforce and the Abolition Society, especially when the terms of the first Treaty of Paris became known. It explores the combination of interest and principle in Castlereagh's foreign policy. It describes the nature and the methods of the transnational movement against the slave trade. Critically, however, the chapter also insists that the international Declaration against the trade established a new normative framework, intended as it was to shame those who would flout its provisions. The articulation of an accepted international legitimacy principle against the trade was to be of major importance in the longer term.Less
The first case study is the Declaration against the slave trade made as part of the Congress of Vienna in 1815. How and why did this become an international concern, and with what results? The chapter analyses how the international diplomacy of slave trade abolition was interconnected with the domestic political pressures brought to bear, especially upon the British government, by William Wilberforce and the Abolition Society, especially when the terms of the first Treaty of Paris became known. It explores the combination of interest and principle in Castlereagh's foreign policy. It describes the nature and the methods of the transnational movement against the slave trade. Critically, however, the chapter also insists that the international Declaration against the trade established a new normative framework, intended as it was to shame those who would flout its provisions. The articulation of an accepted international legitimacy principle against the trade was to be of major importance in the longer term.
Ian Clark
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199297009
- eISBN:
- 9780191711428
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199297009.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This is the exceptional case in that the proposal to include a racial equality clause in the League Covenant was rejected. On the other hand, this is another case where the norm was supported by a ...
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This is the exceptional case in that the proposal to include a racial equality clause in the League Covenant was rejected. On the other hand, this is another case where the norm was supported by a leading state (Japan), in conjunction with a wider world society movement. The drafting history casts doubts on Japanese motives for pressing the proposal, but the failure reflects the relative weakness of Japan as a normative sponsor. While opposition to the clause certainly came from Britain, in response to pressure from parts of the empire, President Wilson's own position was ambiguous, and he certainly was not prepared to risk the Treaty of Versailles (and the League Covenant) to include it. There was a widespread pressure to hold a Pan-African Congress at Paris to coincide with the settlement. However, the Japanese delegate Baron Makino expressed a number of interesting normative arguments in support of the clause, appealing to the blurring of the distinction between international and world society brought about by the principle of collective security.Less
This is the exceptional case in that the proposal to include a racial equality clause in the League Covenant was rejected. On the other hand, this is another case where the norm was supported by a leading state (Japan), in conjunction with a wider world society movement. The drafting history casts doubts on Japanese motives for pressing the proposal, but the failure reflects the relative weakness of Japan as a normative sponsor. While opposition to the clause certainly came from Britain, in response to pressure from parts of the empire, President Wilson's own position was ambiguous, and he certainly was not prepared to risk the Treaty of Versailles (and the League Covenant) to include it. There was a widespread pressure to hold a Pan-African Congress at Paris to coincide with the settlement. However, the Japanese delegate Baron Makino expressed a number of interesting normative arguments in support of the clause, appealing to the blurring of the distinction between international and world society brought about by the principle of collective security.
Ian Clark
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199297009
- eISBN:
- 9780191711428
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199297009.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Perhaps the least discussed aspect of the 1919 settlement is its provisions on social justice, and yet an entire section of the Versailles Treaty and an article of the League Covenant were devoted to ...
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Perhaps the least discussed aspect of the 1919 settlement is its provisions on social justice, and yet an entire section of the Versailles Treaty and an article of the League Covenant were devoted to the international regulation of labour, which resulted in establishment of the International Labour Organization. These developments reflected the activities of the trade union movement, and particularly its Congresses during the war, as well as heightened sensitivity to labour in the context of both the war and the outbreak of the Russian revolution. It is clear that inclusion of a section on labour was sponsored by all of the Big Three powers for various political and instrumental reasons. What was radically new about the structure of the ILO was that it allowed membership from state representatives, but also from business and labour, thereby recognizing world society membership in an otherwise international society forum. The decisive argument was that social justice was properly the business of international society because it was fundamental to achieving international peace.Less
Perhaps the least discussed aspect of the 1919 settlement is its provisions on social justice, and yet an entire section of the Versailles Treaty and an article of the League Covenant were devoted to the international regulation of labour, which resulted in establishment of the International Labour Organization. These developments reflected the activities of the trade union movement, and particularly its Congresses during the war, as well as heightened sensitivity to labour in the context of both the war and the outbreak of the Russian revolution. It is clear that inclusion of a section on labour was sponsored by all of the Big Three powers for various political and instrumental reasons. What was radically new about the structure of the ILO was that it allowed membership from state representatives, but also from business and labour, thereby recognizing world society membership in an otherwise international society forum. The decisive argument was that social justice was properly the business of international society because it was fundamental to achieving international peace.
Sophie Meunier and Kalypso Nicolaïdis
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198297574
- eISBN:
- 9780191598982
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198297572.003.0016
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
This chapter argues that the policy equilibrium established by the Treaty is unlikely to be sustainable due to several challenges. These are the relaunching of multilateral trade negotiations under ...
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This chapter argues that the policy equilibrium established by the Treaty is unlikely to be sustainable due to several challenges. These are the relaunching of multilateral trade negotiations under the World Trade Organisation, the Eastward enlargement of the EU, and the proliferation of bilateral and plurilateral agreements between the EU and its trading partners. Existing policy mechanisms that should be replaced are discussed.Less
This chapter argues that the policy equilibrium established by the Treaty is unlikely to be sustainable due to several challenges. These are the relaunching of multilateral trade negotiations under the World Trade Organisation, the Eastward enlargement of the EU, and the proliferation of bilateral and plurilateral agreements between the EU and its trading partners. Existing policy mechanisms that should be replaced are discussed.
Berthold Rittberger
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199273423
- eISBN:
- 9780191602764
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199273421.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
Analyses the developments from the Maastricht Treaty leading up to the approval of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. It is first shown that after adoption of the SEA, the role of ...
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Analyses the developments from the Maastricht Treaty leading up to the approval of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. It is first shown that after adoption of the SEA, the role of national parliaments in EU decision-making has become an ever more salient item on the agenda of the member states. Asks whether this ‘trend’ towards empowering national parliaments follows the same logic as the empowerment of the European Parliament. Furthermore, the chapter explains why the empowerment of national parliaments still lags behind that of its EU-level counterpart, the European Parliament.Less
Analyses the developments from the Maastricht Treaty leading up to the approval of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. It is first shown that after adoption of the SEA, the role of national parliaments in EU decision-making has become an ever more salient item on the agenda of the member states. Asks whether this ‘trend’ towards empowering national parliaments follows the same logic as the empowerment of the European Parliament. Furthermore, the chapter explains why the empowerment of national parliaments still lags behind that of its EU-level counterpart, the European Parliament.
Donald Markwell
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198292364
- eISBN:
- 9780191715525
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198292364.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Within three weeks of leaving the Paris Peace Conference, Keynes had begun to write a book on the Treaty and the economic condition of Europe. He was uncertain whether he would persevere with it, but ...
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Within three weeks of leaving the Paris Peace Conference, Keynes had begun to write a book on the Treaty and the economic condition of Europe. He was uncertain whether he would persevere with it, but Cecil and others encouraged him to do so, andThe Economic Consequences of the Peacewas published in December 1919. In the months of writing, Keynes was involved in a number of discussions of the needs of post-war reconstruction, including talks with a group of European and American financiers meeting in Amsterdam in October and November. This chapter sets out his role in the Amsterdam process of private financial diplomacy; the argument ofThe Economic Consequences; criticisms against it; its impact in the USA; Keynes’s subsequent role in debate on post-war reconstruction leading up to its sequel,A Revision of the Treaty, which appeared in January 1922; and, briefly, debate on reparations and war debts down to 1933.Less
Within three weeks of leaving the Paris Peace Conference, Keynes had begun to write a book on the Treaty and the economic condition of Europe. He was uncertain whether he would persevere with it, but Cecil and others encouraged him to do so, andThe Economic Consequences of the Peacewas published in December 1919. In the months of writing, Keynes was involved in a number of discussions of the needs of post-war reconstruction, including talks with a group of European and American financiers meeting in Amsterdam in October and November. This chapter sets out his role in the Amsterdam process of private financial diplomacy; the argument ofThe Economic Consequences; criticisms against it; its impact in the USA; Keynes’s subsequent role in debate on post-war reconstruction leading up to its sequel,A Revision of the Treaty, which appeared in January 1922; and, briefly, debate on reparations and war debts down to 1933.
Malcolm Ross and Yuri Borgmann-Prebil (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199583188
- eISBN:
- 9780191594502
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199583188.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law, EU Law
The European Commission has claimed that ‘Solidarity is part of how European society works...’ . But how are we to understand solidarity and what are its implications to government policy? This book ...
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The European Commission has claimed that ‘Solidarity is part of how European society works...’ . But how are we to understand solidarity and what are its implications to government policy? This book addresses the question of what solidarity might mean today and its relevance to the purposes of the European Union and the way it functions. Is solidarity just a slogan or can it have meaningful legal and policy content? Contributions from leading scholars in law, politics, and sociology are brought together in this book to discuss an idea that is coming under fresh scrutiny at a time when the EU's direction following the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty is hotly debated. The book engages with both the content and limitations of solidarity as a concept in political and legal debate, and its application to specific fields such as migration, education, and pension policies. The book provides a provocative analysis of the power and potential of solidarity, applying a sceptical and rigorous assessment of the conditions necessary for it to make a difference to the European political and legal space at a time when traditional manifestations of national solidarity (e.g., in health care) are perceived to be under threat from EU market liberalization policies. A number of chapters consider whether an EU concept of solidarity is possible and how that might affect the balance between market and social priorities for the Union's future.Less
The European Commission has claimed that ‘Solidarity is part of how European society works...’ . But how are we to understand solidarity and what are its implications to government policy? This book addresses the question of what solidarity might mean today and its relevance to the purposes of the European Union and the way it functions. Is solidarity just a slogan or can it have meaningful legal and policy content? Contributions from leading scholars in law, politics, and sociology are brought together in this book to discuss an idea that is coming under fresh scrutiny at a time when the EU's direction following the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty is hotly debated. The book engages with both the content and limitations of solidarity as a concept in political and legal debate, and its application to specific fields such as migration, education, and pension policies. The book provides a provocative analysis of the power and potential of solidarity, applying a sceptical and rigorous assessment of the conditions necessary for it to make a difference to the European political and legal space at a time when traditional manifestations of national solidarity (e.g., in health care) are perceived to be under threat from EU market liberalization policies. A number of chapters consider whether an EU concept of solidarity is possible and how that might affect the balance between market and social priorities for the Union's future.
Julia von Dannenberg
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199228195
- eISBN:
- 9780191711367
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199228195.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
Based on recently released archival sources, this book analyses the German-Soviet negotiations leading to the conclusion of the Moscow Treaty of August 1970. This treaty was the linchpin of the ‘New ...
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Based on recently released archival sources, this book analyses the German-Soviet negotiations leading to the conclusion of the Moscow Treaty of August 1970. This treaty was the linchpin of the ‘New Ostpolitik’ launched by Chancellor Willy Brandt's government as a policy of reconciliation and an attempt to normalize relations with the countries of the Eastern bloc. Focusing on the decision-making processes, both within the German domestic political system as well as within the international context, this book offers a new interpretation of the shift from confrontational to détente politics at this time, arguing that the Moscow Treaty was the product of various interrelated domestic and external factors. As the book shows, the change of government to a Social-Liberal coalition was the first important precondition for Ostpolitik, while the speedy conclusion of the Moscow Treaty owed much to the high degree of secrecy and centralization that characterized Brandt's policy-making and that of his small coterie of advisors. However, Brandt's predominance in the decision-making process does not mean that he alone determined the direction of policy. His room for manoeuvre was, amongst other things, constrained by his coalition's narrow parliamentary majority as well as the Western Allies'special rights. On the other hand, German-Soviet trade expansion, public opinion, and the emerging international interest in détente in the mid-1960s were crucial factors favouring Ostpolitik. It was in this configuration of circumstances that Brandt placed himself at the forefront of the movement towards détente between East and West by introducing his bold diplomatic design — one that had the reunification of Germany as its ultimate goal.Less
Based on recently released archival sources, this book analyses the German-Soviet negotiations leading to the conclusion of the Moscow Treaty of August 1970. This treaty was the linchpin of the ‘New Ostpolitik’ launched by Chancellor Willy Brandt's government as a policy of reconciliation and an attempt to normalize relations with the countries of the Eastern bloc. Focusing on the decision-making processes, both within the German domestic political system as well as within the international context, this book offers a new interpretation of the shift from confrontational to détente politics at this time, arguing that the Moscow Treaty was the product of various interrelated domestic and external factors. As the book shows, the change of government to a Social-Liberal coalition was the first important precondition for Ostpolitik, while the speedy conclusion of the Moscow Treaty owed much to the high degree of secrecy and centralization that characterized Brandt's policy-making and that of his small coterie of advisors. However, Brandt's predominance in the decision-making process does not mean that he alone determined the direction of policy. His room for manoeuvre was, amongst other things, constrained by his coalition's narrow parliamentary majority as well as the Western Allies'special rights. On the other hand, German-Soviet trade expansion, public opinion, and the emerging international interest in détente in the mid-1960s were crucial factors favouring Ostpolitik. It was in this configuration of circumstances that Brandt placed himself at the forefront of the movement towards détente between East and West by introducing his bold diplomatic design — one that had the reunification of Germany as its ultimate goal.
Jeffrey S. Lantis
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199535019
- eISBN:
- 9780191715952
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199535019.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, International Relations and Politics
This chapter analyzes data from eighteen case studies and draws conclusions regarding the significance of ratification processes. Broad lessons of this study are that the ratification process can be ...
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This chapter analyzes data from eighteen case studies and draws conclusions regarding the significance of ratification processes. Broad lessons of this study are that the ratification process can be highly controversial, produce a significant amount of political exchange, and alter state behavior. Indeed, eleven out of eighteen case studies showed signs of moderate or high amounts of political controversy during the ratification stage. The chapter also summarizes insights on the puzzle of treaty near-failures and failures in democratic systems, illuminating the importance of system pressures, executive strategies for ratification, interest group mobilization, and regime type (manifest in executive–legislative relations). Evidence showing increasing controversy in democratic systems regarding multilateral treaties raises difficult questions for international cooperation in the 21st century. Finally, the chapter discusses avenues for additional investigation including empirical study of the links between ratification mechanisms and outcomes.Less
This chapter analyzes data from eighteen case studies and draws conclusions regarding the significance of ratification processes. Broad lessons of this study are that the ratification process can be highly controversial, produce a significant amount of political exchange, and alter state behavior. Indeed, eleven out of eighteen case studies showed signs of moderate or high amounts of political controversy during the ratification stage. The chapter also summarizes insights on the puzzle of treaty near-failures and failures in democratic systems, illuminating the importance of system pressures, executive strategies for ratification, interest group mobilization, and regime type (manifest in executive–legislative relations). Evidence showing increasing controversy in democratic systems regarding multilateral treaties raises difficult questions for international cooperation in the 21st century. Finally, the chapter discusses avenues for additional investigation including empirical study of the links between ratification mechanisms and outcomes.
Carl Wellman
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199744787
- eISBN:
- 9780199827138
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199744787.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
This book discusses all three species of human rights—moral, international, and national—at length, but it pays special attention to the moral reasons that are relevant to each species. The first ...
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This book discusses all three species of human rights—moral, international, and national—at length, but it pays special attention to the moral reasons that are relevant to each species. The first part develops an original view of the nature and grounds of moral human rights based on the author’s previous publications in the general theory of rights. If respected, they confer some sphere of dominion on the right-holder in some potential confrontation and are grounded on specifically moral reasons. The second part explains how moral human rights are relevant to both the justification and the interpretation of human rights in international law and identifies several other relevant moral considerations, such as peace and social justice. The third part argues that different kinds of moral and international human rights ought to be incorporated into national legal systems in four distinct ways: in a written constitution, judicial decisions, legislation, and human rights treaties. Finally it explains how the moral dimensions of human rights are relevant to the alleged use of torture in the interrogation of detainees in the Bush administration war on terrorism.Less
This book discusses all three species of human rights—moral, international, and national—at length, but it pays special attention to the moral reasons that are relevant to each species. The first part develops an original view of the nature and grounds of moral human rights based on the author’s previous publications in the general theory of rights. If respected, they confer some sphere of dominion on the right-holder in some potential confrontation and are grounded on specifically moral reasons. The second part explains how moral human rights are relevant to both the justification and the interpretation of human rights in international law and identifies several other relevant moral considerations, such as peace and social justice. The third part argues that different kinds of moral and international human rights ought to be incorporated into national legal systems in four distinct ways: in a written constitution, judicial decisions, legislation, and human rights treaties. Finally it explains how the moral dimensions of human rights are relevant to the alleged use of torture in the interrogation of detainees in the Bush administration war on terrorism.
William Boothby
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199569946
- eISBN:
- 9780191705250
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199569946.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law
This book is about the law of armed conflict governing the use of weapons. It interprets these rules and discusses the factors influencing future developments in weapons law. After relating the ...
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This book is about the law of armed conflict governing the use of weapons. It interprets these rules and discusses the factors influencing future developments in weapons law. After relating the historical evolution of weapons law, the book discusses the important customary principles that are the foundation of the subject, and gives a condensed account of the law that exists on the use of weapons. Thereafter, the treaties and customary rules applying to particular categories of weapon are stated and explained article by article and rule by rule in a series of chapters. The legal review of weapons is also discussed, both from the perspective of how such reviews should be undertaken and how such a system should be established. Having stated the law as it is, the book then discusses the way in which this dynamic field of international law develops in the light of various influences. In the final chapter, the prospects for future rule change are discussed. The focus of this book is thus more specific and detailed than that of the more general texts on the law of armed conflict. Throughout this book, a conscious effort has been made to explain the law as it applies to all states.Less
This book is about the law of armed conflict governing the use of weapons. It interprets these rules and discusses the factors influencing future developments in weapons law. After relating the historical evolution of weapons law, the book discusses the important customary principles that are the foundation of the subject, and gives a condensed account of the law that exists on the use of weapons. Thereafter, the treaties and customary rules applying to particular categories of weapon are stated and explained article by article and rule by rule in a series of chapters. The legal review of weapons is also discussed, both from the perspective of how such reviews should be undertaken and how such a system should be established. Having stated the law as it is, the book then discusses the way in which this dynamic field of international law develops in the light of various influences. In the final chapter, the prospects for future rule change are discussed. The focus of this book is thus more specific and detailed than that of the more general texts on the law of armed conflict. Throughout this book, a conscious effort has been made to explain the law as it applies to all states.
Jason Ralph
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199214310
- eISBN:
- 9780191706615
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199214310.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This chapter explains why the Clinton administration chose to sign, and the Bush administration chose to ‘unsign’ the Rome Treaty. Both argued that the Treaty violated the principle of sovereign ...
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This chapter explains why the Clinton administration chose to sign, and the Bush administration chose to ‘unsign’ the Rome Treaty. Both argued that the Treaty violated the principle of sovereign consent and they both appealed to Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties to support their argument. The chapter then asks why the US finds this argument so compelling when other democratic states are not threatened by the Court. The chapter offers an answer that goes beyond arguments that focus on America's national interests and its international responsibilities. Instead, it focuses on the cultural role that democratic consent plays in constituting America as a separate nation. The policy of opposing the ICC while offering alternative approaches to international criminal justice is, therefore, a representational practice designed to instantiate a particular image of America as well as a political move to protect the national interest.Less
This chapter explains why the Clinton administration chose to sign, and the Bush administration chose to ‘unsign’ the Rome Treaty. Both argued that the Treaty violated the principle of sovereign consent and they both appealed to Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties to support their argument. The chapter then asks why the US finds this argument so compelling when other democratic states are not threatened by the Court. The chapter offers an answer that goes beyond arguments that focus on America's national interests and its international responsibilities. Instead, it focuses on the cultural role that democratic consent plays in constituting America as a separate nation. The policy of opposing the ICC while offering alternative approaches to international criminal justice is, therefore, a representational practice designed to instantiate a particular image of America as well as a political move to protect the national interest.
Daniel H. Joyner
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199204908
- eISBN:
- 9780191709470
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199204908.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law
Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) technologies is by no means a new concern for the international community. Indeed, since the signing of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty in ...
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Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) technologies is by no means a new concern for the international community. Indeed, since the signing of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty in 1968, tremendous energies have been expended upon diplomatic efforts to create a web of treaties and international organizations regulating the production and stockpiling of WMD sensitive materials within states, as well as their spread through the increasingly globalized channels of international trade to other states and non-state actors. However, the intervention in 2003 by Western powers in Iraq has served as an illustration of the importance of greater understanding of and attention to this area of law, as disagreements over its content and application have once again lead to a potentially destabilizing armed intervention by members of the United Nations into the sovereign territory of another member state. Other ongoing disputes between states regarding the character of obligations work assumed under non-proliferation treaty instruments, and the effect of international organizations' decisions in this area, form some of the most contentious and potentially destabilizing issues of foreign policy concern for many states.Less
Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) technologies is by no means a new concern for the international community. Indeed, since the signing of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty in 1968, tremendous energies have been expended upon diplomatic efforts to create a web of treaties and international organizations regulating the production and stockpiling of WMD sensitive materials within states, as well as their spread through the increasingly globalized channels of international trade to other states and non-state actors. However, the intervention in 2003 by Western powers in Iraq has served as an illustration of the importance of greater understanding of and attention to this area of law, as disagreements over its content and application have once again lead to a potentially destabilizing armed intervention by members of the United Nations into the sovereign territory of another member state. Other ongoing disputes between states regarding the character of obligations work assumed under non-proliferation treaty instruments, and the effect of international organizations' decisions in this area, form some of the most contentious and potentially destabilizing issues of foreign policy concern for many states.
Stephen M. Schwebel
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199571345
- eISBN:
- 9780191705472
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199571345.003.0027
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law, Private International Law
In 2004, the United States government adopted and published a Model Bilateral Investment Treaty that substantially revised the Model Bilateral Investment Treaty previously employed by it in ...
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In 2004, the United States government adopted and published a Model Bilateral Investment Treaty that substantially revised the Model Bilateral Investment Treaty previously employed by it in negotiations with other governments over the conclusion of bilateral investment agreements. It has subsequently used the 2004 Model BIT in negotiating bilateral investment treaties, and investment chapters of free trade agreements, with other governments. This chapter focuses on a single provision stating that the ‘fair and equitable treatment includes the obligation not to deny justice’. The result of this specification is that the standard of fair and equitable treatment that is a paramount standard of bilateral investment treaties the world over is reduced in the US Model BIT to (i) ‘the customary international law minimum standard of treatment’ and (ii) ‘the obligation not to deny justice’.Less
In 2004, the United States government adopted and published a Model Bilateral Investment Treaty that substantially revised the Model Bilateral Investment Treaty previously employed by it in negotiations with other governments over the conclusion of bilateral investment agreements. It has subsequently used the 2004 Model BIT in negotiating bilateral investment treaties, and investment chapters of free trade agreements, with other governments. This chapter focuses on a single provision stating that the ‘fair and equitable treatment includes the obligation not to deny justice’. The result of this specification is that the standard of fair and equitable treatment that is a paramount standard of bilateral investment treaties the world over is reduced in the US Model BIT to (i) ‘the customary international law minimum standard of treatment’ and (ii) ‘the obligation not to deny justice’.
Jeffrey S. Lantis
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199535019
- eISBN:
- 9780191715952
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199535019.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, International Relations and Politics
This book studies international treaty ratification processes in multiple issue areas. This study sets out to fill a gap in political science scholarship by investigating the role that international ...
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This book studies international treaty ratification processes in multiple issue areas. This study sets out to fill a gap in political science scholarship by investigating the role that international and domestic political actors and conditions play in the critical, post-commitment phase of cooperation. The book employs the comparative case study method, drawing on original research, elite interviews, and discursive analyses of government documents in Europe, Australia, and North America. Cases examine a select number of treaties on trade cooperation, the environment, European integration, and the nuclear nonproliferation regime. It concludes that the role of norms and executive strategies play an especially significant role in shaping ratification outcomes. It is argued that the book will appeal to a broad audience interested in the question of whether international treaties remain powerful instruments for cooperation in the twenty-first century.Less
This book studies international treaty ratification processes in multiple issue areas. This study sets out to fill a gap in political science scholarship by investigating the role that international and domestic political actors and conditions play in the critical, post-commitment phase of cooperation. The book employs the comparative case study method, drawing on original research, elite interviews, and discursive analyses of government documents in Europe, Australia, and North America. Cases examine a select number of treaties on trade cooperation, the environment, European integration, and the nuclear nonproliferation regime. It concludes that the role of norms and executive strategies play an especially significant role in shaping ratification outcomes. It is argued that the book will appeal to a broad audience interested in the question of whether international treaties remain powerful instruments for cooperation in the twenty-first century.
Penelope Turnbull and Wayne Sandholtz
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199247967
- eISBN:
- 9780191601088
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019924796X.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
An analysis is made of the creation of new European Union (EU) spaces for cooperation in policing and immigration policies. The Treaty of Rome was silent on both topics, and before the Maastricht ...
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An analysis is made of the creation of new European Union (EU) spaces for cooperation in policing and immigration policies. The Treaty of Rome was silent on both topics, and before the Maastricht Treaty on European Union (TEU), European Community (EC) states had begun to coordinate their responses to specific problems – such as terrorism, drugs, and asylum seekers – usually on a bilateral basis, with multilateral forms of cooperation fragmented, ad hoc, and outside EC structures. The chapter has three main sections, the first of which briefly describes the institutional landscape in policing and migration in Europe before the TEU. Section 2 assesses the major internal and external changes – the Single Market and the collapse of the Iron Curtain, respectively – that provoked the move toward institutionalizing police and migration cooperation at the EU level; it devotes particular attention to the domestic crisis in Germany resulting from massive migrations from the east, and the policy entrepreneurship of Germany’s Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Section 3 analyses how the Third Pillar of the TEU, that on Justice and Home Affairs (in which policing and immigration policies were combined) borrowed from existing institutions – most notably the Second Pillar (the Common Foreign and Security Policy); the Amsterdam Treaty (1996) then partially separated policing and migration again – but with a completely different institutional structure within the European Union.Less
An analysis is made of the creation of new European Union (EU) spaces for cooperation in policing and immigration policies. The Treaty of Rome was silent on both topics, and before the Maastricht Treaty on European Union (TEU), European Community (EC) states had begun to coordinate their responses to specific problems – such as terrorism, drugs, and asylum seekers – usually on a bilateral basis, with multilateral forms of cooperation fragmented, ad hoc, and outside EC structures. The chapter has three main sections, the first of which briefly describes the institutional landscape in policing and migration in Europe before the TEU. Section 2 assesses the major internal and external changes – the Single Market and the collapse of the Iron Curtain, respectively – that provoked the move toward institutionalizing police and migration cooperation at the EU level; it devotes particular attention to the domestic crisis in Germany resulting from massive migrations from the east, and the policy entrepreneurship of Germany’s Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Section 3 analyses how the Third Pillar of the TEU, that on Justice and Home Affairs (in which policing and immigration policies were combined) borrowed from existing institutions – most notably the Second Pillar (the Common Foreign and Security Policy); the Amsterdam Treaty (1996) then partially separated policing and migration again – but with a completely different institutional structure within the European Union.
