El MST en Brasil y las organizaciones sociales kirchneristas en Argentina : Roles, identificación y relaciones dentro del conglomerado oficialista

En el marco de una investigación más amplia que examina en forma comparada los oficialismos de Lula en Brasil y de Kirchner en Argentina durante 2005-2006, el presente trabajo se propone estudiar, la relación que algunos movimientos sociales mantuvieron con el gobierno, como parte integral o como aliados del mismo, en el período consignado. En ese sentido, el Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST), en Brasil, y organizaciones como la Federación Tierra y Vivienda (FTV), el Frente Transversal Nacional y Popular, el Movimiento Evita, y Libres del Sur, en Argentina, constituyen uno de los distintos sujetos de dos conjuntos oficialistas que difícilmente puedan ser caracterizados, como se hacía en el pasado, como "partido oficial" o "coaliciones de partidos". Los oficialismos en cuestión no sólo aglutinan en su seno a un conglomerado muy heterogéneo de actores políticos individuales y de dirigentes de múltiples fuerzas y sellos partidarios -con sus respectivas redes de poder territorial-, sino que incluyen también a estas organizaciones populares, protagonistas de históricos procesos de amplia movilización y lucha social. ¿Qué identidad reivindican esas organizaciones en su apoyo al gobierno? ¿Cómo conciben su propio rol dentro del oficialismo? ¿Cómo definen a ese conjunto al que pertenecen o se asocian? ¿Cuál es su relación con el presidente?

Debates hacia adentro : Las ideas económicas del frente antifascista liberal en Argentina (1939-1943)

El artículo analiza las ideas económicas de un arco de instituciones y publicaciones políticas y culturales que convergieron en la consolidación del movimiento antifascista liberal en Argentina en 1939-1943, definido por el apoyo a los Aliados en la guerra mundial y la oposición a grupos nacionalistas y antiliberales y a la administración de Ramón S. Castillo (1940-1943). En diálogo con la nueva historiografía que ha revisado el período de entreguerras en Argentina, el artículo sostiene que la defensa de las libertades políticas y culturales, centro del discurso unificador del frente antifascista, coexistía con distintas posiciones sobre el liberalismo económico y el proceso de intervención del estado en la economía desarrollado por los grupos conservadores gobernantes desde 1930. El texto pone de relieve así la existencia de coincidencias inter-partidarias y diferencias intra-partidarias sobre dichos procesos que frecuentemente eran oscurecidos por el conflicto político de esos año

Perspectives on guidance and social inclusion in a global society

The world is changing rapidly. People today face numerous challenges in achieving a meaningful and fulfilling life. In many countries, there are enormous systemic barriers to address, such as: massive unemployment, HIV/AIDS, social disintegration, and inadequate infrastructure. One job for life is over. For many it never existed. Old metaphors and old models of career development no longer apply. New ways of thinking about careers are necessary, that take into account the context in which people are living, the reality of today's labour market, and the fact people's career-life journey contains many branching paths, barriers, and obstacles, but also allies and sources of assistance. Flexibility is important, as is keeping options open and making sure the journey is meaningful. Guidance professionals need to begin early, working with other professionals and those seeking assistance to develop attitudes that facilitate people taking charge of their own career-life paths. People need a vision for their life that will drive a purposeful approach to career-life planning and avoid floundering. Helping people achieve that direction can be most effectively accomplished when policy makers and practitioners work together to ensure that effective and accessible services are available for those who need them and when a large part of focus in on addressing the context in which marginalized people work and live.

Debates hacia adentro : Las ideas económicas del frente antifascista liberal en Argentina (1939-1943)

El artículo analiza las ideas económicas de un arco de instituciones y publicaciones políticas y culturales que convergieron en la consolidación del movimiento antifascista liberal en Argentina en 1939-1943, definido por el apoyo a los Aliados en la guerra mundial y la oposición a grupos nacionalistas y antiliberales y a la administración de Ramón S. Castillo (1940-1943). En diálogo con la nueva historiografía que ha revisado el período de entreguerras en Argentina, el artículo sostiene que la defensa de las libertades políticas y culturales, centro del discurso unificador del frente antifascista, coexistía con distintas posiciones sobre el liberalismo económico y el proceso de intervención del estado en la economía desarrollado por los grupos conservadores gobernantes desde 1930. El texto pone de relieve así la existencia de coincidencias inter-partidarias y diferencias intra-partidarias sobre dichos procesos que frecuentemente eran oscurecidos por el conflicto político de esos año

Perspectives on guidance and social inclusion in a global society

The world is changing rapidly. People today face numerous challenges in achieving a meaningful and fulfilling life. In many countries, there are enormous systemic barriers to address, such as: massive unemployment, HIV/AIDS, social disintegration, and inadequate infrastructure. One job for life is over. For many it never existed. Old metaphors and old models of career development no longer apply. New ways of thinking about careers are necessary, that take into account the context in which people are living, the reality of today's labour market, and the fact people's career-life journey contains many branching paths, barriers, and obstacles, but also allies and sources of assistance. Flexibility is important, as is keeping options open and making sure the journey is meaningful. Guidance professionals need to begin early, working with other professionals and those seeking assistance to develop attitudes that facilitate people taking charge of their own career-life paths. People need a vision for their life that will drive a purposeful approach to career-life planning and avoid floundering. Helping people achieve that direction can be most effectively accomplished when policy makers and practitioners work together to ensure that effective and accessible services are available for those who need them and when a large part of focus in on addressing the context in which marginalized people work and live.

El MST en Brasil y las organizaciones sociales kirchneristas en Argentina : Roles, identificación y relaciones dentro del conglomerado oficialista

En el marco de una investigación más amplia que examina en forma comparada los oficialismos de Lula en Brasil y de Kirchner en Argentina durante 2005-2006, el presente trabajo se propone estudiar, la relación que algunos movimientos sociales mantuvieron con el gobierno, como parte integral o como aliados del mismo, en el período consignado. En ese sentido, el Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST), en Brasil, y organizaciones como la Federación Tierra y Vivienda (FTV), el Frente Transversal Nacional y Popular, el Movimiento Evita, y Libres del Sur, en Argentina, constituyen uno de los distintos sujetos de dos conjuntos oficialistas que difícilmente puedan ser caracterizados, como se hacía en el pasado, como "partido oficial" o "coaliciones de partidos". Los oficialismos en cuestión no sólo aglutinan en su seno a un conglomerado muy heterogéneo de actores políticos individuales y de dirigentes de múltiples fuerzas y sellos partidarios -con sus respectivas redes de poder territorial-, sino que incluyen también a estas organizaciones populares, protagonistas de históricos procesos de amplia movilización y lucha social. ¿Qué identidad reivindican esas organizaciones en su apoyo al gobierno? ¿Cómo conciben su propio rol dentro del oficialismo? ¿Cómo definen a ese conjunto al que pertenecen o se asocian? ¿Cuál es su relación con el presidente?

Unexpected homology between inducible cell wall protein QID74 of filamentous fungi and BR3 salivary protein of the insect Chironomus

A gene, qid74, of mycoparasitic filamentous fungus Trichoderma harzianum and its allies encodes a cell wall protein that is induced by replacing glucose in the culture medium with chitin (simulated mycoparasitism conditions). Because no trace of this gene can be detected in related species such as Gibberella fujikuroi and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the qid74 gene appears to have arisen de novo within the genus Trichoderma. Qid74 protein, 687 residues long, is now seen as highly conserved tandem repeats of the 59-residue-long unit. This unit itself, however, may have arisen as tandem repeats of the shorter 13-residue-long basic unit. Within the genus Trichoderma, the amino acid sequence of Qid74 proteins has been conserved in toto. The most striking is the fact that Qid74 shares 25.3% sequence identity with the carboxyl-terminal half of the 1,572-residue-long BR3 protein of the dipteran insect Chironomus tentans. BR3 protein is secreted by the salivary gland of each aquatic larva of Chironomus to form a tube to house itself. Furthermore, the consensus sequence derived from these 59-residue-long repeating units resembles those of epidermal growth factor-like domains found in divergent invertebrate and vertebrate proteins as to the positions of critical cysteine residues and homology of residues surrounding these cysteines.

The genetic link between the Chinese bamboo partridge (Bambusicola thoracica) and the chicken and junglefowls of the genus Gallus.

Further comparison of mitochondrial control-region DNA base sequences of 16 avian species belonging to the subfamily Phasianinae revealed the following: (i) Generalized perdicine birds (quails and partridges) are of ancient lineages. Even the closest pair, the common quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) and the Chinese bamboo partridge (Bambusicola thoracica), maintained only 85.71% identity. (ii) The 12 species of phasianine birds previously and presently studied belonged to three distinct branches. The first branch was made exclusively of members of the genus Gallus, while the second branch was made of pheasants of the genera Phasianus, Chrysolophus, and Syrmaticus. Gallopheasants of the genus Lophura were distant cousins to these pheasants. The great argus (Argusianus argus) and peafowls of the genus Pavo constituted the third branch. The position of peacock-pheasants of the genus Polyplectron in the third branch was similar to that of the genus Lophura in the second branch. Members of the fourth phasianine branch, such as tragopans and monals, were not included in the present study. (iii) The one perdicine species, Bambusicola thoracica, was more closely related to phasianine genera Gallus and Pavo than to members of other perdicine genera. The above might indicate that Bambusicola belong to one-stem perdicine lineage that later splits into two sublineages that yielded phasianine birds, one evolving to Gallus, and the other differentiating toward Pavo and its allies.

Multiple origins of the yucca-yucca moth association.

The association of species of yucca and their pollinating moths is considered one of the two classic cases of obligate mutualism between floral hosts and their pollinators. The system involves the active collection of pollen by females of two prodoxid moth genera and the subsequent purposeful placement of the pollen on conspecific stigmas of species of Yucca. Yuccas essentially depend on the moths for pollination and the moths require Yucca ovaries for oviposition. Because of the specificity involved, it has been assumed that the association arose once, although it has been suggested that within the prodoxid moths as a whole, pollinators have arisen from seed predators more than once. We show, by using phylogenies generated from three molecular data sets, that the supposed restriction of the yucca moths and their allies to the Agavaceae is an artifact caused by an incorrect circumscription of this family. In addition we provide evidence that Yucca is not monophyletic, leading to the conclusion that the modern Yucca-yucca moth relationship developed independently more than once by colonization of a new host.

New Middle East Cold War: Saudi Arabia and Iran's Rivalry

The competing powers of Saudi Arabia and Iran continue to redress and reverse the strategic imbalance and direction of the Middle East’s regional politics. The 1979 Iranian Revolution catapulted these two states into an embittered rivalry. The fall of Saddam Hussein following the 2003 U.S. led invasion, the establishment of a Shi’ite Iraq and the 2011 Arab Uprisings have further inflamed tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Iran and Saudi Arabia have not confronted each other militarily, but rather have divided the region into two armed camps on the basis of political and religious ideology in seeking regional allies and promulgating sectarianism as they continue to exploit the region’s weak states in a series of proxy wars ranging from conflicts in Iraq to Lebanon. The Saudi-Iranian strategic and geopolitical rivalry is further complicated by a religious and ideological rivalry, as tensions represent two opposing aspirations for Islamic leadership with two vastly differing political systems. The conflict is between Saudi Arabia, representing Sunni Islam via Wahhabism, and Iran, representing Shi’ite Islam through Khomeinism. The nature of the Saudi-Iranian rivalry has led many Middle East experts to identify their rivalry as a “New Middle East Cold War.” The Saudi-Iranian rivalry has important implications for regional stability and U.S. national security interests. Therefore, this thesis seeks to address the question: Is a cold war framework applicable when analyzing the Saudi Arabian and Iranian relationship?

Between violent and non-violent action strategies: a study on extreme-right organizations in Italy and Spain. IHS Political Science Series No. 130, July 2012

This paper focuses on the different forms of action adopted by extreme right organizations (both political parties and non-party groups) in Italy and Spain during their recent mobilization and links them to the environmental conditions and internal organizational factors which might affect them. With particular attention paid to the actors’ perceptions of reality, the macro-level factors (such as the favourable or unfavourable political opportunities of the context, the availability of allies in power, the degree of repression by authorities, etc.) as well as the meso-level factors (such as the internal characteristics of extreme right groups and their dynamics) will be explored in order to understand the action strategies of extreme right organizations and their recourse to violence. This paper, drawing on a combination of qualitative and quantitative research techniques, will be based on 20 semi-structured interviews with extreme right representatives of the main right wing organizations in Italy and Spain as well as a protest event analysis of newspapers dating from 2005 to 2009.

Recalibrating CSDP-NATO relations: the real pivot. Security Policy Brief No. 47, June 2013

In an age of major power shifts, which we know from history always to be particularly dangerous, different scenarios are possible; the only promising one is that of more and well-structured international cooperation. Yet, critical voices point at a drifting apart of longstanding allies. Recalibrating CSDPNATO relations has become more important than ever.

Syria and the red lines of international law. CEPS Commentary, 4 September 2013

As the US and its allies France and Turkey dither over whether or not to punish Assad for having used sarin gas to kill his own people, the crucial question is: What response might the outside world legally take without the authority of the UN Security Council, which remains blocked by two veto-wielding members, Russia and China? Sadly, international law provides no clear-cut answers to this dilemma. To respond to what US Secretary of State John Kerry has rightly called a “moral obscenity”, this commentary explores ways in which formal interpretations of international law might give way to a more pragmatic approach to punish the Assad regime for its use of chemical weapons.

Helpless and lonely: Turkey's attitude towards the war in Syria. OSW Commentary No. 136, 09.05.2014

The conflict in Syria, which has lasted since 2011, has become the most significant test of the efficiency of Turkey’s foreign policy and the biggest challenge to Turkey’s security in recent decades. The lack of a clear prospect of an end to the war does not allow us to come to a final conclusion regarding the Syrian civil war’s importance for Turkey. However, it can be said today that with the exception of the initial phase of the conflict, Ankara’s influence over the course of events in Syria has been limited, and the war itself is evolving in a direction that is unfavourable for Turkey: the hostile regime of Bashar al-Assad is still in power, the opposition has proved to be an unreliable or even a dangerous ally, and in northern Syria militant jihadist groups and Kurds are gaining importance. It is also quite unlikely that the West will take any greater responsibility for stabilising the situation in the region. In response to such an unfortunate situation, and out of fear of risking deeper involvement in the conflict, during the past year Turkey’s policy towards Syria has been restrained, reactive and focused mainly on defending Turkey’s territory. However, this policy offers no security guarantees and does not prevent the country’s regional position from weakening, especially in the context of the reinforcement of the jihadist militants and the Kurdish autonomy in northern Syria. The arguments for Turkey continuing its defensive policy are strong: the country fears the possible results of an open confrontation with Assad’s forces; most probably it could not count on support for such actions from within its own society or its Western allies. It also does not have enough acceptance within the anti-Assad opposition circles. On the other hand, though, the risk of uncontrolled development of events is still present; the risk of confrontations with armed jihadist militants is growing; and the potential operation of Turkish forces, either against the jihadists or against Assad’s army, could be considered as a method of diverting attention from the political problems with which the AKP government has been struggling at home.

An Asian alternative? Russia's chances of making Asia an alternative to relations with the West. OSW Point of View, June 2008

Under Vladimir Putin's rule, Russia consistently and systematically expanded its activity in Asia, establishing closer political contacts with key countries in the region, rebuilding relations with former allies from Soviet times, and strengthening its presence in the Asian markets, in the energy sphere also. These activities were accompanied by intensive Russian propaganda, the message of which was that relations with the West can be restricted in favour of developing closer relations with Asian states. A justified question concerning the Russian Federation's realistic possibilities arises in this context: To what extent can it make Asia an alternative to theWest in geopolitical, economic and energy terms? Can Russia build an anti-Western alliance with Asian states? Is it able to reduce its dependence on the European market by developing its trade with Asia? Is it possible to redirect a substantial portion of Russian energy resource exports onto Asian markets? A presentation of the existing ties between Russia and theWest (here considered as the USA and the EU) will serve as a starting point for answering these questions. The following chapters will analyse Russia's opportunities in Asia in terms of geopolitical issues, the economy and energy