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Since 2008, Greece has been at the centre of European current affairs due to the financial and economic crisis. However, it should not be forgotten that before the current crisis the political upheavals of the early 1990s and the collapse of Marxist-inspired regimes had already radically transformed the face of the country. These transformations have been seen as a return of the Balkans’ question, raising issues of border disputes and migration, minorities and national inclusion. They have had far-reaching consequences on the relations between Greek society and its peripheries, and what some have deemed to be its destabilising diversity. In this context, the material presented in this book examines the strengthening of discourses of belonging which draw legitimacy from a glorification of the past and tradition. The fieldwork carried out over the past 15 years on the fringes of Greece has focused on groups who were stigmatised and distanced from standard definitions of Greekness. It provides an original perspective on the changes that the country has undergone in recent decades. The question of the nation-state’s future is raised through close observation on the local scale, leading to a debate about the relationship between areal and reticular territory within the framework of globalisation. This book also aims to provide non-Francophone readers with access to research carried out on these issues in France, shifting the focus of Balkan Anglophone specialists for whom French publications remain a distant province.

The work explores the spread of French science and culture beyond the borders of France, and focuses on the deliberate measures enacted by successive French governments to make such dissemination as effective as possible. This well-established French tradition is explored over time particularly since the closing years of the twentieth century. There is a very full description of the institutions, both former and current, established by France in the many locations worldwide. Soft power is redefined and contrasted with the more familiar hard power across the arts-to-science spectrum. The propagation of ideas and practices abroad is demonstrated in terms of a diplomatic push through varying and differing means and channels. Francophone initiatives are underscored, including the roles of French-speaking countries both as receptors and generators of French culture. The 2011 New Start is highlighted, reorienting action for the arts and for science and university diplomacy, particularly those aspects receiving increasing attention. International cooperation, both linguistic and educational, is seen as key to government involvement through the organization and implementation of French cultural and scientific activities abroad, and these are described in later chapters. Philippe Lane steers us through a myriad of acronyms for which he provides a very useful list.

The MacBride Principles contained nine affirmative action proposals aimed at eliminating religious discrimination in the employment practices of United States corporations with subsidiaries in Northern Ireland. The weapon used by the MacBride campaigners was the federal constitution of the United States. States and cities in the Union could pass their own corporate legislation incorporating the MacBride Principles and use their pension fund investments to table shareholder resolutions seeking the Principles' inclusion in employment policies. Later developments saw their application to US and foreign firms supplying goods and services to states and cities. Using devolved legislation, the MacBride Campaign broke the stranglehold on the discussion of Irish issues maintained by the US, UK and Irish governments in the Congress. It was debated in state legislatures and city councils. Irish-America was motivated to participate in a nonviolent campaign to achieve social justice in Northern Ireland. Supported by the United States government, there was a fierce reaction by the British government to the Principles. Its attempts to suppress them were unsuccessful.

This book is a detailed analysis of the attempt by Britain and Spain since 1980 to solve their dispute over the future of Gibraltar. Spain wants the restoration of her territorial integrity, whereas the Gibraltarians have never shown any interest in becoming part of Spain. Britain had ignored UN calls for negotiations, but following the restoration of Spanish democracy and with Spain due to become a fellow member of both NATO and the European Community, Britain felt an obligation to try to resolve the dispute. The book examines the events which have taken place following the signing of the Lisbon Agreement between Britain and Spain to discuss the differences between them on this issue. It traces the effect of the Falklands war in 1982 on the Gibraltar negotiations, and shows that events in the South Atlantic did not prevent an explicit commitment in the Brussels Declaration of 1984 to discuss the thorny issue of the sovereignty of Gibraltar. Since that time, although communications and cooperation between Spain and the Rock have improved, little progress has been made towards resolving the question of sovereignty.