Working Papers
Academic Year 2005-2006
All 2005-06 papers are available (as .pdfs) and searchable
at the IES e-Scholarship
Repository of the California Digital Library.
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Ralf Banken, The
Influence of the SS on the Foreign Exchange Controls and the
Despoliation of the German Jews, 1935-1941
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Ralf Banken, National
Socialist Plundering of Precious Metals, 1933-1945: The Role
of Degussa
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Gerard (Gérard) Bossuat, Europe
and United States, 1944-2006: Two Destinies in an Uncertain
World
-
Andrew Gamble, The Idea of the West: Changing Perspectives
on Europe and America
-
Gunther Hellmann, Inevitable Decline versus Predestined Stability:
The Structure of Disciplinary Explanations of the Evolving
Transatlantic Order
-
Charles
A. Kupchan, The Unraveling
of the Atlantic Order: Historical Breakpoints in U.S.-European
Relations
-
Abraham Newman, Struggling Over Civil Liberties:
The Troubled Foundations
of the West
-
Kate O’Neill, Mad
Cows and Ailing Hens: The Transatlantic Relationship
and Livestock Disease
-
Elliot
Posner, Institutional
Origins of Bargaining Power: The New Transatlantic Relations
in Financial Services
-
Mary Elise Sarotte, Transatlantic Tensions
and European Security
-
Christoph
Strupp, Dealing
with Disaster: The San Francisco Earthquake of
1906
- Justin
Vaisse (Vaïsse),
The Rise and Fall of the
Bush Doctrine: the Impact on Transatlantic
Relations
The Influence
of the SS on the Foreign Exchange Controls and the Despoliation
of the German Jews, 1935-1941
Ralf
Banken, University of Cologne
The
law on Foreign Exchange Control, which had been passed as early
as 1931 in oder to fight the scarcity of foreign currency,
was used to impede the transfer of Jewish property abroad immediately
after the Nazis came to power. However, only from 1935 on,
legislation on foreign currency aimed at the limitation of
Jewish property transfers. After Reinhard Heydrich, in his
capacity as the head of the foreign currency investigation
office, intervened in the legislation from late 1936 on, the
foreign currency laws in very short time were expanded into
an instrument of discrimination for Jewish emigration. Even
before the pogrom of November 1938, it prevented nearly every
transfer of property abroad if the owners were Jewish.
National
Socialist Plundering of Precious Metals, 1933-1945: The Role
of Degussa
Ralf
Banken, University of Cologne
This
research project of the Research Institute for Social and Economic
History at the University of Cologne is to clarify the process
and causes of the theft of precious metals by the Nazis as
well as explaining the economic utilization of the stolen property
between 1938 and 1945, giving special consideration to the
participation of Degussa in this process. The focus of the
study is not only the plundering of Jewish gold in the German
death camps, but considers all forms of the confiscation of
gold, silver and platinum by German institutions in occupied
Europe and the Reich. In this short overview, the sources,
methods and results of the study are presented, with special
regard to the Polish example.
Europe
and United States, 1944-2006: Two Destinies in an Uncertain
World
Gerard (Gérard) Bossuat, Université de
Cergy-Pontoise
An Atlantic partnership is acceptable if the European cultural,
linguistic, social and economic diversities are preserved.
And yet, Europe feels a threat through the now Globalisation
which is so often seen as a form or aspect of Americanisation.
The European Union is weak but not drifting away. If the Union
do wants to behave as “a global power in the Economic,
Social, Environmental governance of the world” (Josaiane
Tercinet), it must talk as a united power. This short overview
of the period 1945-2006, made by an historian who is aware
of the long term influence, shows that it is European integration
that has recreated the conditions of the European renewal.
Of course, Atlantic economic integration represents a mighty
trend ever since 1944. But the Atlantic economic and financial
interactions do not necessarily create the political unity
of action between the two sides of the Atlantic ocean. It seems
that trouble between the two banks of Atlantic is rising because
the political, even mental, position of now US leaders and
not because economic or commercial tensions. However, it doesn’t
only depend on the short term situation. We will conclude on
the specificity of the two sides of Atlantic. Beyond an economic
integration which seems inevitable in an open world and which
will spread to another part of industrial countries, beyond
the necessary bilateral cooperation due to the old friendship,
to hope overcoming the political and cultural differences between
the two is both an unrealizable dream and a mistake.
The
Idea of the West: Changing Perspectives on Europe and America
Andrew Gamble, Political Economy Research Centre, University of
Sheffield
America owes its origins to Europe and is unthinkable without Europe,
but there has always been a strand of American thinking which has
downplayed the connection and wished to assert the exceptionalism
of the American experience and the need for America to keep Europe
at a distance to involve contamination from its old, corrupt power
politics. Europeans were fascinated by the new world unfolding
in America, which contrasted so sharply with their own, yet was
so intimately related to it. At the same time they regarded America as for
the most part a novice and outsider in world politics. Recently roles have
been reversed, with many Europeans condemning America as a new Empire, while
many Americans accuse Europe of refusing to share the burdens and make the
hard choices needed for global leadership. The idea of the West which for
four decades united Western Europe under American leadership after 1945 has
been undermined. Different current meanings of the ‘West’ are
explored through recent arguments about the nature of the relationship between
Europe and America, focusing on narratives of security, modernity and ideology.
A number of possible scenarios for the future of this relationship are then
outlined.
Inevitable Decline versus Predestined Stability: The Structure
of Disciplinary Explanations of the Evolving Transatlantic Order
Gunther
Hellmann, Institute of Political Science, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University
Frankfurt am Main
The future of NATO has been a hotly debated topic at the center of IR debates
ever since the end of the Cold War. It has also been a very complicated one
given the discipline´s conceptual and theoretical difficulties in studying
change. Most analysts now agree that NATO (and the transatlantic order more
broadly) are going through some major changes. Yet while there is consensus
that the depth as well as the pace of these changes is more far-reaching
than in past decades it is unclear exactly how deep and how far these changes
reach. In order to come to grips with these changes most of the chapters
in this book are exploring the character as well as the sources of these
changes. This chapter approaches the topic by examining how the discipline
has dealt with the question of the evolution of the transatlantic order in
the past. It argues that IR has not been very well equipped conceptually
to deal with the phenomenon in question, ie. large-scale processes of change.
In applying a typological framework developed by Paul Pierson the chapter
discusses what types of causal accounts have dominated in the IR literature – and
what this may tell us about particular strengths, biases and potential blind
spots in coming to grips with the evolution of this order. In essence it
argues that the structure of the most prominent explanations is often quite
similar irrespective of paradigmatic descent. Inspite of major differences – inspite,
even, of mutually exclusive predictions – as to the expected path of
the order´s evolution realist, liberal and constructivist accounts
heavily rely in equal fashion on causal arguments which emphasize large-scale
causal processes which are almost always framed in rather statist structural
terms even though they essentially entail slow moving causal processes. This
temporal dimension of the causal processes presumably shaping the future
of the transatlantic order is seldom spelled out in detail, however. Thus,
if one examines the debate as a whole one sees a picture of IR scholarship
which essentially oscillates between two extremes: the position that NATO
(as the core institution of the transatlantic order) was (and is) certain
to survive and the position that it was (and is) certain to collapse. What
is more, these extremes on a spectrum of possible positions on the transatlantic
order´s evolution between breakdown on the one hand and successful
adaptation on the other are not hypothetical but mostly real. Thus, the debate
does not gravitate towards the center (ie. a position which, for instance,
envisages a loser but still cooperative relationship) after the usual give
and take of exchanging scholarly arguments. Rather it mostly sticks with
either of the two extreme positions. The chapter illustrates the problems
associated with this point in some details and discusses potential remedies.
The Unraveling of the Atlantic Order: Historical Breakpoints
in U.S.-European Relations
Charles A. Kupchan, Georgetown
University and the Council on Foreign Relations
The argument of this paper is that the Atlantic order is in the midst of a
fundamental transition. The transatlantic discord that has emerged since
the late 1990s marks a historical breakpoint; foundational principles of
the Atlantic security order that emerged after World War II have been compromised.
Mutual trust has eroded, institutionalized cooperation can no longer be taken
for granted, and a shared Western identity has attenuated. To be sure, the
Atlantic democracies continue to constitute a unique political grouping.
But as scholars and policy makers alike struggle to diagnose the troubles
that have befallen the Atlantic community and to prescribe mechanisms for
redressing the discord, they would be wise to recognize the scope of change
that has been taking place in the Atlantic order.
Struggling Over Civil Liberties: The Troubled Foundations of
the West
Abraham Newman, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
Shared fundamental liberties and democratic principles have long provided the
core of what observers of international affairs termed the West. While national
institutions and policies have at times varied, they rarely challenged the
foundations of the transatlantic partnership. With the rise of information
technology and the new security environment, however, local variations in
fundamental rights have produced significant international implications.
Examining recent transatlantic disputes over privacy and free speech, the
paper argues that a new set of international issues have emerged dealing
with transnational civil liberties. Once core unifying principles of the
transatlantic relationship these basic freedoms have transformed into flashpoints
for conflict. After identifying this new trend, the paper argues that the
nature of these conflicts is framed by the timing of international interdependence
relative to the maturity of national regulatory regimes.
Mad Cows and Ailing Hens: The Transatlantic Relationship and
Livestock Diseases
Kate O’Neill, UC Berkeley
This paper examines how the emergence and spread of animal diseases
such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or "mad cow
disease") or avian influenza have shaped the dynamics of transatlantic
trade in live animals and meat products. It then compares the responses
of the US and the EU, respectively, to looming, potentially long-term
threats of epidemics to human and animal health, focusing particularly
on recent outbreaks BSE and avian flu. It documents what appears
to be a shift away from a sole reliance on trade embargoes to protect
animal and public health from disease outbreaks to deeper, institutional
responses on the part of the US and EU respectively. However, while
it appears that the EU is learning from the US public health establishment,
there is little evidence of transatlantic cooperation in this area.
Institutional
Origins of Bargaining Power: The New Transatlantic Relations
in Financial Services
Elliot
Posner, George Washington University
This
article examines the new transatlantic relations in financial
services. It maintains that shifting boundaries of regulatory
authority inside the EU are changing the distribution of external
bargaining power and thereby shaping patterns of US-EU dispute
management. The argument challenges constructivist and functionalist
hypotheses. By showing that changing frontiers of authority
are likely, often unintended, sources of altered levels of
market dependencies, it also explains why presumptions of continued
US financial hegemony have not been borne out. The article’s
empirical section demonstrates that the root cause of new,
more balanced Euro-American relations was the creation of an
EU regulatory system for financial services, which is transferring
authority from the national to the European level. This regional
development has increased the relative bargaining power of
EU regulators. The more accommodative stance of US financial
authorities comes largely in reaction to pressure from American
companies that operate in Europe and have much at stake in
the shape of new EU financial regulations. The construction
of a European-level regulatory regime, carried out for largely
internal reasons, thus triggered new private sector political
behavior and US regulatory positions and altered transatlantic
relations in financial services. These findings have implications
for debates about firm-government relations, governance
of the international economy and the EU as a global actor.
Transatlantic Tensions and European Security
Mary Elise Sarotte,
St. John's College, University of Cambridge
Any nuanced assessment of current transatlantic tensions requires an awareness
of their historical context. An understanding of the legacy of the Cold War
in particular helps to answer the following questions: (1) What are the sources
of current US-European tensions? (2) Has the transatlantic connection sustained
mortal damage, or can it endure? (3) What changes of attitude and of focus
might help the transatlantic relationship in the future? The argument is
as follows: The US-European relationship is under assault not just because
of recent US military actions but also because of a longer-term shift away
from a successful US Cold War grand strategy that still had much to offer
the post-Cold War world. However, cause for alarm is limited, because the
history of cooperation, the lack of alternative partners, and the very real
nature of external threats means that neither the US nor the Europeans have
any realistic alternative to cooperation with each other.
Dealing
with Disaster: The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906
Christoph
Strupp, German Historical Instititute, Washington, D.C.
The
San Francisco earthquake of 1906 remains one of the biggest
urban disasters in American history. This paper gives a comprehensive
overview of how the city coped with the immediate consequences
of the catastrophe and quickly rebuilt. It analyzes the tense
political situation of San Francisco in 1906, the role of the
economic elite during and after the disaster, insurance aspects,
social consequences of the process of rebuilding, and, finally,
the treatment of the earthquake in the media and by contemporary
geologists. I argue that the rebound of San Francisco was contingent
on a unique combination of factors that ensured its success.
However, San Francisco has limited value as a role model for
other cities in a disaster situation. The downplay of
the geological danger in the interest of economic benefits
stood in the way of an adequate preparation for future earthquakes
and hampered attempts to educate the general public.
The Rise and Fall of the Bush Doctrine: the Impact on
Transatlantic Relations
Justin Vaisse (Vaïsse), French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Institut
d'Etudes Politiques de Paris
Between 2002 and 2005, a relatively coherent and profoundly renewed strategic
approach to international relations was developed by the Bush administration.
Premised on an optimistic assessment of great power relations ("a balance
of power that favors freedom"), it emphasized the importance of promoting
democracy as a way to solve many of the long-term political and security
problems of the greater Middle East. It rested on the view that American
military power and assertive diplomacy should be used to defeat tyrannies,
challenge a pernicious status quo and coerce states into abandoning weapons
of mass destruction and support for terrorism - without worrying too much
about legitimacy or formal multilateralism. The Bush doctrine led to tensions
with the Europeans, who for the most part shared neither the world view that
underpinned it nor its optimism about possible results, especially as far
as geopolitical stability, terrorism and weapons of mass destruction were
concerned. Then, in 2005, two silent developments took place: the Bush administration,
while insisting on staying the course rhetorically (through "transformational
diplomacy"), reverted to classical realism in its actual diplomacy -
largely for reasons of expediency. China and India, on the other hand, imposed
themselves on the global agenda, bringing multipolarity back into the picture
of the world to come. While generally closer to European views, the new American
realist line remains distinct from the European insistence on strengthening
the rules and institutions of global governance.
