Ostracism and the EU’s contradictory approach to sanctions at home and abroad

The European Union (EU) is one of the world’s most active imposers of foreign policy sanctions. By contrast, the EU has never used formal political sanctions against a member. Why does the EU favour sanctions as an instrument to deal with norm violations abroad, but not at home? The article argues that an understanding of sanctions as ostracism helps illuminate this discrepancy. Far from technical instruments that can be made to ‘work’ through improved design, sanctions are social instruments that operate through selective exclusion. An in-depth scrutiny of public justifications from the European institutions and individual politicians shows that both at home and abroad sanctions are strongly associated with ostracising attributes. However, whereas practical and symbolic distance-taking from the target is core for foreign policy sanctions, at home, the same ostracising properties run against the EU’s traditional insistence on resolving disagreements through rational dialogue

Explaining the Different Trajectories of the African Union, the League of Arab States, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations

The Organization of African Unity (OAU), the League of Arab States (Arab League), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) were all established as post-colonial projects with the explicit aim to safeguard state borders and shield sovereign governments from external interference. Yet, their approaches to regional interference in domestic affairs have with time taken on different trajectories. This working paper traces the present diversity in regional approaches to negative sanctions against members back to formative events in the early days of regional cooperation. All three organizations had to confront political problems of substantial regional weight at an early stage: the OAU the apartheid regimes in Southern Africa, ASEAN the Vietnam War, and the Arab League the creation of the state of Israel. The analysis demonstrates that the concepts of the region the organizations articulated as they dealt with these problems continue to inform present positions on involvement in domestic affairs

Regional organizations and sanctions against members: explaining the different trajectories of the African Union, the League of Arab States, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations

The Organization of African Unity (OAU), the League of Arab States (Arab League), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) were all established as post-colonial projects with the explicit aim to safeguard state borders and shield sovereign governments from external interference. Yet, their approaches to regional interference in domestic affairs have with time taken on different trajectories. This working paper traces the present diversity in regional approaches to negative sanctions against members back to formative events in the early days of regional cooperation. All three organizations had to confront political problems of substantial regional weight at an early stage: the OAU the apartheid regimes in Southern Africa, ASEAN the Vietnam War, and the Arab League the creation of the state of Israel. The analysis demonstrates that the concepts of the region the organizations articulated as they dealt with these problems continue to inform present positions on involvement in domestic affairs

Some considerations on the WHO Histological classification of laryngeal neoplasms

A new edition of the World Health Organization (WHO) Histological classification of tumours of the hypopharynx, larynx, trachea and parapharyngeal space was published in 2017. We have considered this classification regarding laryngeal neoplasms and discuss the grounds for said revision. Many of the laryngeal neoplasms described in the literature and in the previous WHO edition from 2005 have been omitted from this current revision. Many are described elsewhere in the book but it may give the new generation of pathologists/surgeons/oncologists the false impression that these tumour entities do not exist in the larynx.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Towards Urban Sustainability: Learning from the Design of a Programme for Multi-stakeholder Collaboration

Owing to rapid urbanisation, cities are becoming a key locus for making sense of, and influencing, social and technological development. Urban sustainability is high on the research as well as on the development agenda. The complexity of modern cities often defies conventional governance mechanisms to promote sustainability, such as regulation, information and economic incentives. This has prompted a growing interest in innovative approaches based on collaborative learning in diverse groups of stakeholders in pursuit of sustainability. In this article, we wish to contribute to, and advance, the research and practice regarding urban sustainability by exploring the experiences of designing and facilitating a programme for multistakeholder collaboration, trust-building and concerted action in six cities in Europe, southern Africa and Southeast Asia. We apply an action research method called ‘learning history’ to understand the learning processes in the design and facilitation team and in two multistakeholder groups in Makana in South Africa and Malmö in Sweden. The findings illustrate how collaborative learning theory and systems thinking framed useful praxis for facilitating rich learning processes in these three teams. The article is presented in four sections: Section 1 provides the introduction and orientation; Section 2 provides a process description of the design of the SUS Programme; Section 3 provides learning histories; and Section 4 provides reflexive engagement on these

Nymphaea kakaduensis (Nymphaeaceae), a new species from the northern portion of the Northern Territory, Australia

Nymphaea kakaduensis C. B. Hellq., A. Leu & M. L. Moody (Nymphaeaceae) is described from Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory. This new species is endemic to the “Top End” of the Northern Territory and was formerly included in N. violacea Lehm. The distinct floral form of N. kakaduensis of having generally smaller flowers with blunt-tipped petals and different coloration than N. violacea instigated a genetic study of taxa from the region. The cpDNA trnL (UAA) - trnF (GAA) intergenic spacer region was sequenced from samples from across northern Australia and a haplotype network analysis was conducted. Plants from populations that had the distinct floral form of N. kakaduensis are found to be genetically distinct from N. violacea in northern Australia sharing 4 SNPs and a notable 23 bp indel in the cpDNA intergenic spacer region to support the morphological attributes and species designation

Aquatic vascular plants of New England, Station Bulletin, no.524

The Bulletin is a publication of the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire

Aquatic vascular plants of New England, Station Bulletin, no.517

The Bulletin is a publication of the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire

Aquatic vascular plants of New England, Station Bulletin, no.520

The Bulletin is a publication of the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire