This book draws attention to selected aspects of the Central European reality and discusses interesting subjects related to the political, economic and social landscape of the region, which are in a continuous process of transformation. The book will be a useful source of knowledge, as Central Europe is still considered to be an “undiscovered island” in the “changeable waters” of contemporary international relations.

This collection contains a selection of papers presented a the very First All-European Canandian Studies Conference that took place in The Hague, October 24-27, 1990. This unique meeting took place for the first time in the history of Canadian Studies. The focus of the papers is on the future rather than the past and it took place at a moment in time when Canada went through major crises that raised serious doubts about the country s future. The papers of this volume explore the main issues and problems that Canada faces. The volume contains sections on demography, environmental problems, economic transformations, Canadian identity, political power structure, aboriginal issues and Canada s international relations. As a whole the book takes stock where Canada stands and where it is going.

Is there life for the family in the 21st century? Pessimists view the traditional two-parent nuclear family as a relic of the past, attributing their gloomy outlook to increased demands from the workplace, rampant technological advancement, and the pursuit of personal achievement at the expense of interpersonal needs and values. Optimists, on the other hand, claim that increasing alienation and emphasis on the occupational sphere necessitate a sense of family, community, and belonging as a haven from work-related stress. This volume addresses these and related issues such as the interplay of personal versus interpersonal factors in family development, the role of the extended family, and the interface between work, community and family. The contents of this book--scholarly contributions from a unique interdisciplinary rostrum of behavioral scientists in such diverse fields as psychology, sociology, anthropology, social work, industrial management, and demography--represent the latest developments in research, theory, and practice in family studies. The reader is presented with theoretical formulations, empirical findings, and applied interventions regarding family life in different parts of the world. A systems perspective is adopted as the family is examined at its interface with individuals, community, society, and culture, with the interdependence of these different levels emphasized. In addition, an attempt is made to integrate the work of theoreticians, researchers, and practitioners in understanding the evolving family. Dreman provides a survey of family life in the international arena and finds a surprising consensus between the different disciplinary perspectives and the respective geographical arenas. He discusses life-span issues in relation to all levels of family life including the impact of increased longevity and decreased fertility in relation to topics such as individual development, parent-child and couple relationships, the workplace, and the community. This book also highlights the interplay of biological and interpersonal dynamics as in the case of spousal depression.

Theory of International Law at the Threshold of the 21st Century is a remarkable book, and is destined to become a standard work, without which no International Law library will be complete. The essays contained in this volume are written by the foremost experts, and the topics have been chosen with the greatest care, to reflect the most pressing current problems facing the world community. The research and writing made available in this collection will be of enduring worth, and will be studied and quoted for decades to come. It follows in the finest traditions of the major collective works published by Martinus Nijhoff/Kluwer Law International. It is most appropriate that a remarkable book should be dedicated to a remarkable man, and the editor of the volume Professor Jerzy Makarczyk has ensured that the choice of writers, the choice of topics and the quality of the material do indeed honour one of the leading international lawyers of his generation: Professor Krzysztof Skubiszewski.

This book provides a comprehensive assessment of minority rights in Central and Eastern Europe, covering all the countries of the region that have joined the EU since 2004, including Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria.

Comparative law is a research methodology which has been increasingly fashionable in recent decades, as comparisons between common law and civil law have dominated the law studies landscape. There are many methods of comparative law in use, including comparison of legal rules, comparison of cases, and comparison of legal theories. Each of these methods has strong proponents and opponents. Dogmatic comparisons of rules are criticized for not giving the whole picture of law in action, but praised for being the first and the only truly legal step in comparative research. Case-based comparisons are praised for enabling us to compare the true understanding of rules by courts, yet the critics of this method point out that only the higher courts’ decisions are subject to comparison, and most cases do not reach this stage. Finally, comparisons of legal theories are praised for enabling us to know the spirit of the laws, yet opponents would argue that many countries sharing the same theory would draw opposite conclusions from it. This book is a result of the attempted (and successful) introduction of comparative law into the region of Eastern and Central Europe. The subject has induced interest beyond expectations. This volume opens with a chapter on the unification of law, both from the perspective of institutional unification by such supra-state organizations, spontaneous and institutionalized unifications between two or more legal systems, and the methods of choosing the right rules in the unification process. Chapters two and three follow the classical division of private and public law, as proposed by the brilliant Roman lawyer Ulpian. Overall, the chapters in this book offer an interesting and engaging commentary on the current topics discussed by academics in Eastern and Central Europe.

Jewish life in Europe has undergone dramatic changes and transformations within the 20th century and also the last two decades. The phenomenon of the dual position of the Jewish minority in relation to the majority, not entirely unusual for Jewish Diaspora communities, manifested itself most distinctly on the European continent. This unique Jewish experience of the ambiguous position of insider and outsider may provide valuable views on contemporary European reality and identity crisis. The book focuses inter alia on the main common denominators of contemporary Jewish life in Central Europe, such as an intense confrontation with the heritage of the Holocaust and unrelenting antisemitism on the one hand and on the other hand, huge appreciation of traditional Jewish learning and culture by a considerable part of non-Jewish Europeans. The volume includes contributions on Jewish life in central European countries like Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, and Germany.

This book provides a comprehensive and up-to-date picture of territorial change on the municipal level across all European countries. Taking a thematic and comparative perspective, the book builds on extensive quantitative data and a large survey of academic experts in 33 European countries. Territorial organisation of the municipal level in Europe is strongly diversified and yet far from stable. Politically speaking, territorial reforms tend to be risky and difficult, as such changes affect vital interests and identities. Despite such difficulties, the last two decades have witnessed considerable changes in territorial divisions at the municipal level across a range of European countries. In this book, the authors describe and analyse these changes comprehensively, making a vital contribution to understanding the reasons and dynamics of territorial reform processes. This book will be of key interest to scholars, students and practitioners in local or sub-national government, institutional design and more broadly to political science, public administration/policy, human geography, sociology and economics.

This outstanding compendium of articles on Europe's militarysituation as we enter the new millennium has been compiled under the aegis of the GeorgeMarshall European Center for Security Studies. The leading analysts of military studies in everymajor nation of Europe are included, along with three overview pieces that set the tone andcontent for this nicely integrated volume. The opening pieces, by Martin Shaw on the evolutionof a "common risk" society, Christopher Dandeker on the military indemocratic societies, and Wilfried von Bredow on the re-nationaliation of military strategy setthe tone for the work as a whole. Althoughthe Cold War is now a decade removed from the new Europe, the challenges of transition to newdefense systems and institutional structures still confront those who plan the future for themilitary establishments of Europe. The individual country studies contained in this volume, aswell as the final analysis of the trends and probable future developments in Europe, should berequired reading throughout the national security structure, for politicians and decision makersseeking to understand the dilemmas facing European militaries and the societies they defend. The country chapters cover a wide range ofnations. Jean Callaghan examines the Bulgarian armed forces after its 1997 elections. MarieVlachova and Stefan Sarvas review civil-military relations in the Cech nation. Jano Sabo studiesthe role of the defense sector in Hungary. Adriana Stanescu sees Romania as a case of delayedmoderniation. Paul Klein and Jurgen Kuhlmann review the German armed forces in the context of apeace dividend. Bernard Boene and Didier Danet consider France in the light of the post draftsituation. Marina Nuciari and Giuseppe Caforio consider the Italian military in a democraticcontext. Finally, Jan van der Meulen and his colleagues, look upon the Netherlands military as acase study in post-moderniation. The final contribution is a summary report by the editors onthe lessons that have been learned in assessing the contemporary civil-military complex. In all,this is a state of the art volume on the state of the armed forces in Europe.