What is wrong with this announcement of the Nato conference?
There are many points, which all have also connection to
questions of sociology.
1) Is is made in form of a SPAM, electronic mass postings to many
email lists and personal addresses in same time. Too large
network causes communicative block and general confusion if only
someone decides to react.
2) It is provocative irrespective of its neutral
and bisneslike format. Nato is going on its failurous air war in
Yugoslavia causing new and deeper ethnic tensions; social,
economic and ecological disaster in whole area, regardless of how
good and fair its aims one can think to be. This context makes
the "cordial invitements" for aplications to be possibly approved
to become distictive member of this "Atlantic community", whose
"lunch will be served on the terrace of the 18th century
mansion", look grotesque or cynical. So ...
3) It is arrogant. It is spread all over maybe to thousands of
internet addresses. Here some are thougt to be defined by face
value members of "Atlantic community". When you take look the
list of speakers and organizers below, the political, military
and business elite of the US America and Britain is regarded as
most eminent inner circle of this "Atlantic community".
Then there are these email address owner in different kinds of
mailing lists, who must evaluate the grade of their
actual belongingnes and qualifications to this "community". Mrs.
Slobodanka Nedovic, an academic adversary of Milosevic rule from
Belgrad, showed in her message dramatically that some of the
invited must continuosly suffer the results of the bombing of the
infrastructure of their country and contamination of its natural
environment. The logic of thinking and acting of this
"community" has been causing it.
4) In frequently used terms by sociolgists, this "Atlantic
community" does not seem to be very reflexive. There is nothing
in the conference program about, what the organisation of this
"community" has caused in Balkans, which seems to be a big
failure for next decades. "Community" has not used any
information available about the history of the Balkan and the
mythologies, collctive moods, belief structures and ways of
thinking of its people. It was only expected, that by dropping
some bombs, people would rise, go and throw Milosevic away.
View to the action of communities of these cultures is
mechanistical.
Milosevic regime is an areal catastrophe. "Atlantic community"
can be appraised to be a global catastrphe.
Jorma Anttila
Department of social psychology
University of Helsinki, Finland
Douglas Eden:
> You are cordially invited to apply to attend the
>
> 4TH ANNUAL TRENT PARK CONFERENCE
> ON THE FUTURE OF THE ATLANTIC COMMUNITY
>
> Organised by the Centre for Study of International Affairs (Europe and
> America), School of Humanities and Cultural Studies, Middlesex University,
> in collaboration with the Atlantic Council of the United Kingdom and Baylor
> University, Texas.
>
> Title: NATO'S FUTURE and ATLANTIC FRIENDSHIPS and RIVALRIES
>
> Date & Venue: Friday, 18th June 1999, The Mansion and New Hall, Middlesex
> University, Trent Park; 9.45am to 5pm. Lunch (12.45-2.15) will be
> served on
> the terrace of the 18th century mansion overlooking Capability
> Brown's park
> and lake.
>
> Cost: £30 (£15 students and concessions) including lunch ($50/$25)
>
> APPLY TO: Mrs Anna Pavlakos, Conference Secretary,
> The Future of the Atlantic Community, Room T118, Middlesex University,
> White Hart Lane, London N17 8HR, England
> (Email [log in to unmask] or Telephone 0181-362 5363;
> Fax 0181-362 6652). Map and directions will be provided.
> Accommodation advice available.
>
> Organiser: Douglas Eden, Head of the Centre for Study of International Affairs
> (Europe and America), School of Humanities and Cultural Studies,
> Middlesex University.
>
>
> SPEAKERS (all confirmed, but not necessarily in order of speaking):
>
> Sir Oliver Wright GCMG GCVO DSC, HM Ambassador to the United States,
> 1982-86, and to West Germany, 1975-81:
> "Europe and America: Friends or Foes?"
>
> Air Marshal Sir John Walker KCB CBE AFC FRAeS, Chief of Defence
> Intelligence, Ministry of Defence, 1990-95; previously Deputy Chief
> of Staff, Operations and Intelligence, HQ Allied Air Forces Central
> Europe;
> Chairman, Airship Technologies:
> "NATO: 50 and Still Growing Up."
>
> Richard Balfe MEP, Member of the European Parliament (Labour) for London
> South Inner since 1979, Labour Defence Spokesman, Member Foreign
> Affairs and Security Committee:
> "The Democratic Input."
>
> Professor Margarita Mathiopoulos, Professor for American Foreign Policy and
> International Politics, University of Braunschweig, and Senior
> Advisor for
> European and North American Markets, British Aerospace plc:
> "Europe: a Future Global Player with London on Its Side."
>
> Professor Emil J Kirchner, Jean Monnet Professor in European Integration and
> Director of the Centre for European Studies, University of Essex;
> co-author
> (with James Sperling) of "Recasting the European Order: Security
> Architectures and Economic Co-operation":
> "NATO and New Security Threats,"
> based on a study prepared for the European Commission.
>
> Dr William Schneider Jr, Member of the Rumsfeld Commission to Assess the
> Ballistic Missile Threat, President of International Planning
> Services Inc,
> US Under Secretary of State for Security Assistance (1982-86),
> Chairman of the President's General Advisory Committee on Arms Control
> and Disarmament (1987-93):
> "Findings of the Rumsfeld Commission:
> threats from the proliferation of ballistic missiles
> and weapons of mass destruction - and possible remedies."
>
> Professor Stephen Gardner, Herman Brown Professor of Economics and Director
> of the McBride Center for International Business, Baylor University;
> founding member of the International Educational Consortium for St
> Petersburg; author of Comparative Economic Systems, used at more
> than 100
> universities around the world:
> "Atlantic Economic Relations and NATO."
>
>
> Advisory Board of the Centre: Sir Oliver Wright (chairman), The Rt Hon the
> Lord Ryder of Wenum OBE, The Hon Edward Streator, Richard Balfe MEP,
> Nicholas Harvey MP, Alan Lee Williams OBE, Professory Gary L McDowell,
> Professor Joseph A McKinney, Professor Geoffrey Lee Williams, Dr William
> Schneider Jr, Dr Melvyn Stokes, William Mader, Peter Robinson, Geoffrey
> Smith.
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