Turkey will seek to maximise influence in Afghanistan

Significance An ‘air bridge’ between Kabul and Islamabad of eight aircraft and two helicopters completed the evacuation before the August 31 deadline. Meanwhile, Turkey has stepped up engagement with Taliban leaders, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has suggested further high-level meetings in the coming weeks and months. Impacts Russia and China will look to use Afghanistan as another wedge between Turkey and the West. Whatever happens, Afghanistan will remain a politically divisive domestic issue for Erdogan. Without external sources of funding, it will be very difficult for Turkey to convince investors to operate in a Taliban-run Afghanistan.

Land Reform, Henry Rider Haggard, and the Politics of Imperial Settlement, 1900–1920

This article considers the links between land reform and emigration through the figure of Henry Rider Haggard and argues that these two issues were deeply intertwined within British politics. Land reform in Britain is often considered as a domestic issue, but imperial campaigners often presented this in terms of the British empire. Haggard campaigned for twenty years for a greater living link to the land in Britain and the empire and believed that this link had profound effects upon English patriotism, character, and health. The imperial frontier had a spirit that improved English character, an idea that Haggard developed in the 1870s and is evident in much of his fiction. Imperial emigration was presented as a patriotic act that aided imperial defence in Australia from Chinese expansion and in South Africa from indigenous opposition. Population was the only way to bolster and defend the empire. Considering his books, speeches, newspaper reviews, and his work for the Royal Colonial Institute, this article argues that British politics and the land between 1900 and 1920 should be considered in an imperial frame. Existing work has neglected the imperial aspect of land reform, and how it was presented by emigration societies, which many imperialists considered an obvious way of dealing with unemployment and increasing urbanization whilst bolstering Greater Britain.

Alain Locke’s “Moral Imperatives for World Order” Revisited

History offers a review of past events in a quest for contemporary relevance, where hindsight can serve as a source of insight into present-day social paradoxes and dilemmas. The present essay revisits three public speeches by distinguished Bahá’í philosopher, Alain Locke, presented at the Institute of International Relations’ Tenth Annual Session in 1944, and argues that he articulated a three-part message: (1) racism, although an American problem, is not purely a domestic issue; (2) racism has bilateral and multilateral consequences (especially economic) in the international context; and (3) three “moral imperatives”—of promoting the unity of races, religions, and nations, both locally and globally—are primary objectives in the quest for world peace.

The Scottish Referendum: The View from Quebec

The chapter begins by noting the significance for Quebec of parallels between Quebec and Scotland. It points out also the particular significance of the referendum concept in Quebec, given a history of referendums. This long predates the votes in 1980 and 1995 on sovereignty. Differences between Quebec and the rest of Canada have been accentuated by this history. The Scottish referendum therefore ranked relatively high in measurements of most covered news items in Quebec in 2014. However the coverage mainly used the Scottish case to reflect back on Quebec, so that even coverage from Scotland tended to have Quebec issues in the background. The chapter analyzes output from a variety of media and notes various issues, ranging from the division of powers between Scotland and the UK to questions of management of natural resources and international treaties. There is some focus on Scottish politicians and celebrities. Generally media coverage appeared balanced. The chapter concludes that the referendum was treated like a domestic issue in Quebec.

Spain, Catalonia and the Scottish Referendum: A Study in Multiple Realities

The Scottish referendum was a high priority topic, seen as a domestic issue by the Spanish media, throughout the campaign. Coverage was heavily influenced by demands for Catalan independence, with which Spanish politicians and the Spanish media heavily associated Scottish constitutional demands. The chapter discusses press and broadcast coverage from both Madrid and Barcelona, the media coverage being very extensive, to the point that on polling day itself several newspapers each carried over a dozen pieces on the referendum, with much advance coverage. Scotland was often depicted as a ‘mirror’ for Catalan aspirations and a source of ‘lessons’ for both Catalonia and Spain. The chapter concludes by noting that Scotland’s importance during the referendum phase was as a resource in negotiating territorial tensions inside Spain.

Race, Party, and Representation: Health Care Attitudes in a Modern Southern State

The quality of representation is assessed on the important issue of health care and in an historically traditionalistic southern state. Comparing surveys of Mississippi residents and state legislators, we find that representation has been promoted by the enfranchisement of African Americans and the rise of competitive political parties. Policy opinions on this single domestic issue are multidimensional, as proactive, provider, and services dimensions exist. Lawmakers serve as trustees on the proactive and provider dimensions, being more supportive of these programs than the public with Democrats particularly enthusiastic with proactive programs and Republicans particularly favoring the provider dimension. The parties diverge on services, where Democrats are more supportive and Republicans less supportive than average citizens.

Dodging the Draft: Federal Constitutional Court Evades Review of Germany's Military Service Law

The incendiary image of German soldiers, serving as members of a proposed UN peace keeping force assigned to the Palestinian territories, formed the emotionally-charged and highly controversial backdrop to the Constitutional Court's recent consideration of the constitutionality of Germany's military/civil service obligation. The conflict in the Middle East aside, the military/civil service obligation has also emerged as a hot domestic issue as the campaign for the September federal elections catches its stride. Given this political climate it is hardly surprising that the Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court) opted to dismiss, on procedural grounds, two cases that posed distinct but related challenges to Germany's military/civil service obligation. It is, however, precisely the Court's explicit recognition of the politically-loaded nature of questions concerning Germany's military/civil service obligation that makes its decision in the first of the two cases remarkable.