2000

CJ -- Politics

First published in 1991 by the Stiftung Entwicklung und Frieden (Foundation for Development and Peace), an organization cofounded by Willy Brandt, this yearbook presents analyses of social, environmental, economic, and political trends on a worldwide scale for a general audience, in the interest of promoting global development and peace. Chapters, mostly written by scholars of Duisburg University's Institut für Entwicklung und Frieden (Institute for Development and Peace), are arranged under six broad world topic areas (Trends at the Turn of the Century, Society, Economy, Ecology, Politics, and Peace) and enhanced by informative sidebars, tables, and graphs. Each well-structured chapter includes a good-sized list of books and Internet resources for consultation. The appendix offers statistics for individual countries, as well as a summary of global problems and how they might be addressed by the international community. An extensive index distinguishes between important and more marginal page references for a given term. The quality of the organization, the writing, and the supplementary features are outstanding and make this book a worthy purchase for research and public libraries alike. [jpl/gw]
 
 

The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, a foundation established by the German Social Democratic Party, supports a library and also the archive of the Social Democratic Party and its predecessor organizations, both of which offer much of interest to researchers from abroad. The library has holdings of about 600,000 volumes and subscriptions to 1,100 journals, with yearly acquisitions totalling about 12,000 volumes. Its collections focus on (1) publications concerning the German and international labor movements; (2) scholarly publications on both the labor movement and social history in Germany since the 19th century; (3) publications of West European political parties and labor unions. In addition, it collects the publications of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung itself, and of its regional offices throughout the world.

The offerings of the library have become much more accessible in recent years. The catalog is available in electronic form, but also information about new acquisitions is made available, both in print and, in part, on the Internet. The print publications listed here testify to the library's rich resources. The annual bibliography of publications lists trade publications and also gray literature issued by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and its partner organizations. Other bibliographies focus on specific portions of the foundation's collection and contain informative introductory essays describing the history and development of these discrete collections. The index of newspapers and magazines of German trade unions covers the periods 1863-1933 and 1945-1998. Other publications deal with trade unions in specific sections of the work force. These bibliographies include titles in a number of foreign languages, demonstrating the international character of the material collected by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. They are well indexed. Together they provide an excellent overview of the library's extensive holdings. Another avenue for the user is to visit the library's home page, where the print publications are supplemented or even supplanted by other special catalogs and indexes of publications: <http://www.fes.de/library/index_gr.html>. [jpl/ldl]
 
 

The observations made in reviewing the second edition of this encyclopedia (see RREO: CJ-94-3/4-530) with respect to its structure, orientation, and contributors hold true for the third edition as well, as the central concept has not been changed. Some main articles have been newly added to account for developments in the discipline (e.g., the politics of women and gender, globalization, and transformation theories). The earlier criticism concerning unclear selection criteria still holds true. Appreciable gaps are evident in the realm of international relations: there are, for example, no entries on conflict management, peacekeeping or subsidiary power (relating to the European Union). In comparison to the Wörterbuch zur Politik [Dictionary of Politics] (see RREO: CJ-95-3-449] or the specialized volume 7 of the Lexikon der Politik [Dictionary of Politics] (see RREA 5:190), this encyclopedia is more current, of course, but both of the other publications are more balanced. Acquisition of this work should be considered only for reasons of completeness or currency. [jpl/rdh]
 
 

The Russian revolutionary and politician Lev Davidovich Bronstein, better known by his assumed name Leo Trotsky, is, thanks to two painstakingly devoted bibliographies, among the best-documented politicians of the 20th century. Following the first and second editions of the Lubitz' Trotsky Bibliography (with 3,227 entries in 1982 and 5,009 entries in 1988) came the bibliographic lifework of Louis Sinclair, Trotsky: A Bibliography (Aldershot, 1989). The Lubitz' third edition discussed here (with 9,534 numbered entries) has been dedicated to a troika of Trotsky bibliographers: Sinclair along with Isaac Deutscher and Ernest Mandel. The current interest in Trotsky--at least to the degree it is reflected by publications--is evident from statistics on page xvi: around 85 percent of all Trotsky publications have appeared since 1960, while the 1990's alone account for around 2,500 titles.

It is a pleasure to introduce a bibliography where everything has been done right. All classifications of writing are included except newspaper articles. The approach is politically neutral, representing both followers and opponents of Trotsky. There is a breadth of content, a universality of coverage (approximately 40 percent of the titles are in English), and annotated entries that are assiduously thorough. The system encourages reading and leads readily to cross referencing, not least from a network of six indexes (authors and other contributors, titles, collective works from which individual articles have been taken, series, dissertations, and congresses). Considering the publishing fever still underway, one can perhaps expect a fourth edition in some years, to which end we can only wish the bibliographers staying power. [sh/rdh]
 
 

The United Nations may have a weakened position in the international system and may be in need of reform, but given the UN's continuing role as a forum for national differences and as a central actor on the world stage, a specialized reference work on it is still desirable. This encyclopedia puts its main emphasis on institutions: agencies and special organizations of the UN take precedence. Articles on individual fields of politics (e.g., environmental protection, peacekeeping, human rights, women and the UN) also appear, along with the UN policies of important countries and a number of specialized topics (e.g., history, protection of minorities, sanctions, terminology, the Internet). The articles are four pages long on average, well structured, richly cross-referenced, and provided with adequate bibliographical references and Internet sources.

Nonetheless, although the encyclopedia may appear solid at first glance, a closer examination reveals serious deficits. Entries for some international organizations, such as the European Union and the World Bank, have been included, but others, such as NATO and the OECD, have not (neither can even be found in the subject index). We find "North-South Relations" but no "East-West Conflict," no regions (nothing on "Latin America and the UN"), an article on "The League of Nations" but not a single mention of it in the "Origins of the UN." The same weaknesses and gaps in content carry through to the meager index. The Soviet Union is found neither as an article nor even in the index--did it never exist? We find Korean and Cuban crises and a Kosovo conflict, but no Hungarian crisis of 1956. A significant usage problem arises from the appearance of organizational names in the German form in the text, while abbreviations and acronyms take the English form. Despite this rather long list of deficiencies, the overall evaluation is positive: the last German-language reference work on the UN appeared in 1991, and the present one is up-to-date and pedagogically oriented, with rich bibliographic underpinnings. The editors might take note of the points of possible improvement for a second edition. [jpl/rdh]
 
 

The series Photodokumente zur Geschichte des Parlamentarismus und der politischen Parteien [Photographic Documents On the History of Parliamentarism and Political Parties] was created on the basis of a number of recently discovered photo albums containing pictures of parliamentarians. Other titles in the series are Preußische Parlamentarier [Prussian Parliamentarians] (1986), Reichstag des Norddeutschen Bundes 1867-1870 [Parliament of the North German Federation 1867-1870] (1989) and Badische Parlamentarier 1867-1874 [Baden Parliamentarians 1867-1874] (1995). The photographic portraits, many of which are signed, form the core of these volumes, which are enhanced by short biographies of the statesmen in question. The present volume contains 754 biographies in two sections: 1871-1918 (German Empire; 542 biographies) and 1919-1933 (Weimar Republic; 212 biographies). Biographies have the following structure: name, profession, and place of residence; date and place of birth and death; dates of service and district represented; education and professional career; memberships in community, agricultural and church organizations; honorary titles and decorations. Additionally, the fates of those members of parliament serving from 1933 to 1945 are reported, with reference to the definitive M.d.R., die Reichstagsabgeordneten der Weimarer Republik in der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus [M.d.R., National Parliament Members of the Weimar Republic in the National Socialist Era], as is also participation in the "new beginning" after 1945. Also included are source citations for the portraits, and secondary literature, consisting mainly of references to parliamentary handbooks and regional collective biographies of the time. Several lists follow the biographical section: e.g., districts, election dates, legislature periods; descriptions of the three main portrait collections used; further literature. Indexes of names and places are included. [sh/hh]
 
 

A review of the 1993 edition (see IFB 99-B09-659) names the predecessors to this compendium of short biographies for members of both chambers of the Austrian Parliament from October 1918 to May 1934 and from December 1945 onwards. The number of parliamentary members has risen in this edition from a previous 1,926 to the current 2,094--the reporting period was extended from September 1993 to November 1998, and 21 members of the European Parliament have been added. As previously, the entries from official national sources have been enhanced with data from other biographical reference works and from ecclesiastical and civil registries. These include name; place and date of birth and (where relevant) death; occupation during the parliamentary period; biographical data concerning education, occupational development and political functions; data on participation in legislative sessions, party affiliation and other particulars, including governmental offices held, if any. Listed separately in an appendix are: (1) legislative sessions; (2) presidents of the parliaments; (3) leaders of the parliaments and their assistants; (4) members of parliament by their constituencies; (5) members of parliament by province. The lists 3-5 are new, but at the same time other statistical overviews (e.g., of the proportions of women and of academicians) have been dropped. The printed index has as its source a database that is continuously updated and that is offered on the Internet at <http://www.parlament.gv.at> or at <http://www.parlinkom.gv.at>. [sh/rdh]
 
 

A number of Swiss political scientists contributed to the approximately 24 articles in this handbook (more than half are in French). It is divided into six parts: fundamentals, institutions, organizations, cantons and municipalities, decision-making processes, and political spheres. The text is augmented by tables, graphs, and bibliographies. The 14-page subject index lists the subjects in the language of the article, without cross-references from either French or German. Because there are not many recent works that deal in a thorough way with Switzerland's political system, this handbook should be welcomed by libraries with substantial political science collections. [jpl/mrh]

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Last update: September 7, 2001 [RD]
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