Diplomatic divergence in the antipodes: Globalisation, foreign policy and state identity in Australia and New Zealand

This article compares the constitutive relationship between foreign policy and globalisation in Australia and New Zealand. Drawing upon insights from constructivist international relations theory we argue that foreign policy instantiates a state's social identity, its self-understanding of its role and moral purpose by projecting a distinctive image onto the global stage. We explore the differences and the similarities between Australia and New Zealand by examining how each country views international order, global trade, global governance and human rights and international security. Although both countries appear to be transforming themselves into more 'globalised' states, there are significant differences in the way each seeks to balance the competing strategic and normative demands. This diplomatic divergence, we argue, stems from different conceptions of state identity.

Constructing communism in the Romanian People's Republic. Orthodoxy and state, 1948 - 49

This article analyses the ambiguous and contradictory relationship between the Orthodox Church and the communist regime during the first two years of the Romanian People's Republic. The installation of communism and the process of Stalinisation led to an unprecedented control of the church. The church was actively employed in propaganda and the regime imposed its own people in the hierarchy. On the one hand, Romanian communists followed the Soviet model regarding the place of the church in the communist state while, on the other hand, the church hierarchy adapted to the new political system by creating a theory of 'social apostolate'. Lacking popular support, the communists used the church as an instrument through which they could acquire the political support of the masses. The church thus enjoyed a favoured position in society mainly because the communists employed it in their ideological expansionism and confrontation with the West.

Bottom-up risk regulation? How nanotechnology risk knowledge gaps challenge federal and state environmental agencies

Nanotechnologies have been called the "Next Industrial Revolution." At the same time, scientists are raising concerns about the potential health and environmental risks related to the nano-sized materials used in nanotechnologies. Analyses suggest that current U.S. federal regulatory structures are not likely to adequately address these risks in a proactive manner. Given these trends, the premise of this paper is that state and local-level agencies will likely deal with many "end-of-pipe" issues as nanomaterials enter environmental media without prior toxicity testing, federal standards, or emissions controls. In this paper we (1) briefly describe potential environmental risks and benefits related to emerging nanotechnologies; (2) outline the capacities of the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Resources Conservation and Recovery Act to address potential nanotechnology risks, and how risk data gaps challenge these regulations; (3) outline some of the key data gaps that challenge state-level regulatory capacities to address nanotechnologies' potential risks, using Wisconsin as a case study; and (4) discuss advantages and disadvantages of state versus federal approaches to nanotechnology risk regulation. In summary, we suggest some ways government agencies can be better prepared to address nanotechnology risk knowledge gaps and risk management.

Market reform and state paternalism in Hungary: a path-dependent approach

Hungary is one of the worst-hit countries of the current financial crisis in Central and Eastern Europe. The deteriorating economic performance of the country is, however, not a recent phenomenon. A relatively high ratio of redistribution, a high and persistent public deficit and accelerated indebtedness characterised the country not just in the last couple of years but also well before the transformation, which also continued in the postsocialist years. The gradualist success of the country – which dates back to at least 1968 – in the field of liberalisation, marketisation and privatisation was accompanied by a constant overspending in the general government. The paper attempts to explore the reasons behind policymakers’ impotence to reform public finances. By providing a path-dependent explanation, it argues that both communist and postcommunist governments used the general budget as a buffer to compensate losers of economic reforms, especially microeconomic restructuring. The ever-widening circle of net benefiters of welfare provisions paid from the general budget, however, has made it simply unrealistic to implement sizeable fiscal adjustment, putting the country onto a deteriorating path of economic development.

Egyéni és kormányzati felelősség a vállalkozói kultúrában – Európában és Magyarországon = Individual and state responsibility in entrepreneurial culture – In Europe and Hungary

Tanulmányunkban a European Values Study adatai alapján megvizsgáljuk, miben tér el Európában a vállalkozók értékrendje más társadalmi csoportokétól, különös tekintettel az egyéni és a kormányzati felelősségvállalás megítélésére. Kísérletet teszünk a vállalkozói értékrend különböző szintjei – személyes, társadalmi és kormányzattal kapcsolatos értékrend – közötti összefüggések feltárására. Összehasonlítjuk, mennyire jellemzi a vállalkozói értékrend az egyes európai országok lakosságát, kiemelt figyelmet fordítva Magyarországra. Egy hazai vállalkozói adatbázis alapján megvizsgáljuk, hogy a magyar vállalkozók értékrendje eltér-e az európai átlagtól, továbbá milyen törésvonalak húzódnak a vállalkozói populáción belül az értékrend szempontjából. _____ Data from the European Values Study are used to examine what sets apart the normative views of entrepreneurs from those of other social groups in Europe about individual and state responsibility. Different levels of an individual’s value system are distinguished: personal, social and state-related values are differentiated. The interrelationships among these levels are explored. Using multivariate statistical analysis, we examine the prevalence of ‘entrepreneurial’ views in European countries, especially in Hungary. Relying on data from a survey of 300 Hungarian small entrepreneurs, we explore if their value system differs from the average value system of European entrepreneurs. Finally, we examine the factors social and economic factors that influence entrepreneurs’ views on personal and state responsibility.

Smallpox vaccination, the establishment of vaccination boards, and state formation in Venezuela and Cuba in the nineteenth century

The Balmis expedition, sent to America by the Spanish monarch Charles IV in 1803, was a watershed in the history of Medicine as it made smallpox vaccination available for the first time, effectively prevented the disease from spreading, and saved thousands of lives. Immunization required complex administrative measures and political decisions including the creation of Vaccination Boards, all of which involved different sectors of Spanish American society. This dissertation argues that at the beginning of the nineteenth century the Spanish American colonial state had reached some level of maturity and cohesion that made it capable of executing this complex project in public health. The significance of this mobilization and the every-day experience in implementing this new public health measure is the center of this work. It is situated geographically in Venezuela and Cuba, entities which took different evolutionary paths in the nineteenth century. The organization and functioning of Vaccination Boards in these two areas are used to illustrate the state formation process, and sharp political differences in this critical period.