Why does political conflict seem to consistently interfere with attempts to provide aid, end ethnic discord, or restore democracy? To answer this question, Agency and Ethics examines how the norms ...that originally motivate an intervention often create conflict between the intervening powers, outside powers, and the political agents who are the victims of the intervention. Three case studies are drawn upon to illustrate this phenomena: the British and American intervention in Bolshevik Russia in 1918; the British and French intervention in Egypt in 1956; and the American and United Nations intervention in Somalia in 1993. Although rarely categorized together, these three interventions shared at least one strong commonality: all failed to achieve their professed goals, with the troops being ignominiously recalled in each example. Lang concludes by addressing the dilemma of how to resolve complex humanitarian emergencies in the twenty-first century without the necessity of resorting to military intervention.
Understanding Evil seeks to articulate the evil that happened in Bosnia within the context of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Its analysis centers on the question of whether it is possible to ...understand evil as action. Since the foundations of the social are found in human action, evil's assault on these foundations results in the demise of the social. While evil simulates the outer form of action, ultimately evil belies itself as action. Can someone act with an evil end? Socrates says no, no one willingly does evil. Although, with a mixture of reason and empiricism, the author tries hard to overcome the Socratic position-searching for evil's agency, purpose, means, conditions, and ethos-in the end, the search fails. The author concludes by accepting the Socratic position: action whose end is evil is unthinkable. This tack provides an alternative to recent theorizing about evil by philosophers such as Richard Bernstein and Jeffrey Alexander.The book understands evil via a neologism-as sociocide, the murdering of society. In Bosnia, not only were families destroyed, but their homes as well. Not only were bridges, libraries, schools, mosques, and churches demolished, but towns and cities were obliterated. Bosnian Muslims were murdered behind the mindless rhetoric of ethnic cleansing,and their history and collective memory were viciously attacked. In the first case, the social violence is called domicide,in the second, urbicide,and in the third, genocide.In Bosnia, however, war took on a truly twisted orientation. Not only were social structures and institutions attacked, but society itself became the target. The book develops the significance of sociocide as the consequence of evil in order to understand the suffering and tragedy of people and communities in Bosnia.
Empirical evidence from agricultural labor markets is consistent with efficiency-wage theory and inconsistent with several alternative explanations. According to this theory, the higher wage or ...deferred payment (benefits) that direct-hire growers pay relative to that of farm labor contractors is an efficiency wage. Growers use this extra compensation to lower their monitoring expenses and reduce shirking by workers.
Does public opinion matter in international conflict resolution? Does national foreign policy remain independent of public opinion and the media? International Public Opinion and the Bosnia Crisis ...examines, through U.S., Canadian, and European case studies, how public reaction impacted democratic governments' response to the ethnic and religious conflict in Bosnia during the period from 1991-1997. Each case study offers an overview of the national media coverage and public reaction to the war in the former Yugoslavia and examines the links between public opinion and political and military intervention in Bosnia. The result is a comprehensive evaluation of the complex relationship between public opinion, media coverage, and foreign policy decision-making.
Since the end of the Cold War, the international community, and the USA in particular, has intervened in a series of civil conflicts around the world. In a number of cases, where actions such as ...economic sanctions or diplomatic pressures have failed, military interventions have been undertaken. This 1999 book examines four US-sponsored interventions (Panama, Somalia, Haiti and Bosnia), focusing on efforts to reconstruct the state which have followed military action. Such nation-building is vital if conflict is not to recur. In each of the four cases, Karin von Hippel considers the factors which led the USA to intervene, the path of military intervention, and the nation-building efforts which followed. The book seeks to provide a greater understanding of the successes and failures of US policy, to improve strategies for reconstruction, and to provide some insight into the conditions under which intervention and nation-building are likely to succeed.
Europe and America Peterson, John
1996, 20020911, 2002, 2002-09-11
eBook
The conflict in Bosnia, disputes within the new World Trade Organizatiion and debates about NATO enlargement all illustrate a single point: no relationship is more important in determining the state ...of international relations than the alliance between Europe and America. Contrary to accepted wisdom, John Peterson argues that the end of the Cold War actually enhances the prospects for partnership between the United States and the European Union. Completely updated, this book offers a clear and penetrating analysis of the problems and opportunities facing the transatlantic alliance.
This paper is a first attempt at evaluating the determinants of the interest rate differentials on government bonds between high yielders, namely Italy, Spain and Sweden, and Germany. In particular ...we concentrate on daily frequencies, where the relevance of economic fundamentals is rather limited, and address the question of the relative importance of local and global factors in the determination of such spread. We identify and measure three components of total yield differentials: one due to expectations of exchange rate depreciation--which we call the exchange rate factor--another which reflects the market assessment of default risk and a last one due to the different taxation treatment of long-term yields.
We examine 47 stocks that voluntarily left the American Stock Exchange from 1992 through 1995 and listed on the Nasdaq. We find that both effective and quoted spreads increase by about 100 percent ...after listing on the Nasdaq. These spread changes are consistent across stocks. In contrast, excess returns are positive when firms announce a switch from The American Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq. We are unable to explain this apparent contradiction.
Using a nationally representative sample of conventional single-family mortgage loans that originated during 1992–1995 with detailed loan pricing information, this paper examines whether interest ...rates vary by neighborhood income and racial composition. The estimates suggest that borrowers financing homes in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods generally paid 2–4 basis points more for 30-year loans, but there was no difference for 15-year loans. Results by racial composition of the neighborhood were more mixed, with borrowers in predominately Hispanic and Asian neighborhoods paying slighting higher rates, while borrowers in predominately African–American neighborhoods occasionally paid slightly lower rates. Omitted variables could account for some of these differences. Overall, the small effects suggest that redlining is unlikely to be a factor, although no firm conclusions can be drawn.
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