Journal articles on the topic 'Resident Ambassadors'

Abstract In 1580-1581, the Austrian Habsburg ambassador to the Ottoman court shared news of a remarkable letter and self-portrait that had arrived from an Ottoman subject in Habsburg captivity. Tracing the scramble for details on the matter and its import for Habsburg-Ottoman diplomacy reveals the structure, contours, and challenges of the Habsburg mission in Constantinople. The article argues that the image and the accompanying letter may be a forgery seeking to place the ambassador and the peace he was to uphold in jeopardy. Instead, the ambassador himself was captive to the factions, rivalries, and shifting loyalties in the borderlands that played out in the diplomatic culture of Ottoman Constantinople. This reveals the possibilities, limits, and ranges of control that early modern resident ambassadors had of their missions.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to address the contemporary interest in participatory destination branding. Because of a lack of empirical and evaluative studies on this form of branding, the current case study examines a volunteer resident ambassador program, which began as part of Aarhus, Denmark’s year as a European City of Culture in 2017, and has become permanent because of its success. Design/methodology/approach The case study is based on official document analyses, participant observations of program activities, and interviews with volunteer program managers and volunteers who greet cruise ship tourists. Findings Findings indicate that while the two managers and the volunteers all report on three volunteer roles – personal hosts, place promoters and providers of information – they prioritize and understand the roles differently. Similarly, the volunteers’ encounters with visitors are all unique, and this inevitably results in the conveyance of unruly and incidental destination images. Practical implications This unruliness is not necessarily problematic: despite the wide-spread interest in the management of participative branding initiatives, it is seen to be the lack of explicit brand-centered management that fosters the program’s positive outcomes, including authentic and pleasant interactions between volunteers and tourists, which, in turn, result in positive attitudes amongst tourists toward their visit. Originality/value This study discovers that positive participatory destination branding outcomes depend on managers respecting the ambassadors’ coveted autonomy, and letting go of control of a destination brand. Because of the growing hostility toward mass tourism in cities internationally, it is also noted that a resident ambassador program’s success is expected to depend on residents’ positive attitudes toward tourists.

AbstractSingapore is a practitioner of focused, innovative diplomacy, constantly in search of the political space for itself that would overcome its sense of vulnerability resulting from its geopolitical location. This has entailed involving other states in its well-being, constantly searching for ways to make itself relevant to the international community, through niche diplomacy and a proactive style.It has been creative in its use of regional diplomacy. It runs a relatively small network of embassies, with strong centralized control through its foreign ministry; it has economized on its scarce resource — skilled manpower — through extensive use of 'non-resident ambassadors'. Poor accountability to publics, attrition of talent and gender inequality are among its few weaknesses. Some, but not all, of its methods are relevant to other small states.

AbstractAlberico Gentili was a significant academic lawyer of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century. He was an Italian religious refugee who fled to England and became professor of law at Oxford. Among his works are three books on diplomacy dating from 1585. These have never attracted the same degree of interest as his other works and this article discusses both why this has been so and indicates ways in which they are worthy of more attention — particularly that they are peculiarly accurate representatives of the contemporary discussion of diplomacy and that there are two real and original contributions that Gentili made. One concerns the rights and privileges of resident ambassadors and the other rests on his clearly expressed conviction that diplomacy could know no bounds set by religion or culture. In both these opinions he was ahead of his time.

Purpose This paper aims to discuss the development up to now in the field of residents’ destination image and propose new avenues for research that will help the field to mature. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on a thorough review of the relevant academic literature. However, owing to the very tight word limit (1,000), only few representatives studies were mentioned in the manuscript. Findings In spite of its contribution, the restricted and descriptive nature of much of the research calls for a more theoretically informed approach. A lack of consensus is also apparent with regard to the conceptualization and operationalization of the resident destination image construct. Most studies did not commonly provide a definition, and an interchangeable use of “place image” and “destination image” is noted. Equally, great variation is observed in the measurement items used to capture image – the scales used are often readily adopted from tourist studies – while there is limited attempt for scale development. Within this realm, the vast majority of previous research used quantitative methods. Next, despite the strong theoretical rationale, there is limited empirical evidence documenting the importance of residents’ destination image on tourists’ own image formulation. Little is also known about the inner motives that lead some residents to act as ambassadors of their place. Originality/value The need to expand our knowledge and understanding of residents’ destination image in the future is established. The paper also briefly presented the first era of research on residents’ destination image and critiqued its predominantly descriptive nature. Areas that seek further attention have been highlighted along with directions for future research.

OBJECTIVEMultidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) are increasingly reported in residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs). We assessed whether implementation of directly observed hand hygiene (DOHH) by hand hygiene ambassadors can reduce environmental contamination with MDROs.METHODSFrom July to August 2017, a cluster-randomized controlled study was conducted at 10 RCHEs (5 intervention versus 5 nonintervention controls), where DOHH was performed at two-hourly intervals during daytime, before meals and medication rounds by a one trained nurse in each intervention RCHE. Environmental contamination by MRDOs, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter species (CRA), and extended-spectrum β-lactamse (ESBL)–producing Enterobacteriaceae, was evaluated using specimens collected from communal areas at baseline, then twice weekly. The volume of alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) consumed per resident per week was measured.RESULTSThe overall environmental contamination of communal areas was culture-positive for MRSA in 33 of 100 specimens (33%), CRA in 26 of 100 specimens (26%), and ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae in 3 of 100 specimens (3%) in intervention and nonintervention RCHEs at baseline. Serial monitoring of environmental specimens revealed a significant reduction in MRSA (79 of 600 [13.2%] vs 197 of 600 [32.8%]; P<.001) and CRA (56 of 600 [9.3%] vs 94 of 600 [15.7%]; P=.001) contamination in the intervention arm compared with the nonintervention arm during the study period. The volume of ABHR consumed per resident per week was 3 times higher in the intervention arm compared with the baseline (59.3±12.9 mL vs 19.7±12.6 mL; P<.001) and was significantly higher than the nonintervention arm (59.3±12.9 mL vs 23.3±17.2 mL; P=.006).CONCLUSIONSThe direct observation of hand hygiene of residents could reduce environmental contamination by MDROs in RCHEs.Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2018;39:571–577

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the adaptation strategies of inhabitants and the forms of participation they adopt in tourism activities in Paris. As public policies have recently recognized the importance of taking into account inhabitants in the tourism development strategy in Paris and its suburbs, this paper proposes an analysis of the different forms of this participation and its stakes for the territories. Design/methodology/approach This paper gathers the first results of a thesis work in anthropology that is based on an ethnographic method combining participant observation, semi-directive interviews and bibliographic work. Observations took place in Paris and in several cities of the Grand Paris with inhabitants involved in tourism activities, or who are experiencing a difficult cohabitation with tourists in their neighborhoods. Thus, some 40 semi-directive interviews were conducted with inhabitants, members of associations and entrepreneurs. There were also participatory observation works within public institutions, mainly at the Paris City Hall, as well as interviews with dozens of tourism professionals from the private, public and associative sectors. Findings Not all residents have the same commitment to tourism and they do not all want to meet visitors. The relationship of inhabitants to tourism is complex and heterogenous. Nevertheless, this research shows that the roles played by inhabitants are multiple: producers of tourist services, ambassadors for their city or neighborhood, the permanent resident can also be seen as a product that attracts visitors, and as a tourist himself. The permanent resident offers the possibility of going off the beaten track, and promotes the revalorization of the identity of a territory and its inhabitants. Originality/value The originality of this research lies in the choice to focus primarily on the point of view of the visited population in a European capital. Ethnographic work allows for the observation and analysis of practices, in order to understand the stakes of visitor/visitor cohabitation and to anticipate possible movements of anti-tourist rejections.

This article concerns itself with the kind of legal conflicts that broke out in the Atlantic New World between merchant interests from different parts of Europe. Case studies are made of two disputes: one between Samuel Argall of the Virginia Company and a factor on behalf of Antoinette de Pons at the Île des Monts-Déserts, and the other between the Compagnie de Caën and the Kirke brothers at the Saint Lawrence River. Together, these case studies reveal how important it was for merchant interests to have resident ambassadors and state officials advancing their interests in England and France. Procedural difficulties and jurisdictional uncertainty often impeded the road to redress. Additionally, this article suggests that the peacetime reckoning of events associated with warfare provided an optimal opportunity for disaffected private actors to have their claims for redress recognised. The extent to which private overtures for restitution relied upon public acts of diplomacy reveals some of the reasons why it is not possible to date the origins of private international law before the long nineteenth century. Rather we might profitably identify, in events such as these, the prehistory of private international law.

IN THE mid-seventeenth century the chapel of the Spanish embassy caused considerable concern to the authorities at Whitehall since they were frustrated in preventing scores of Londoners from attending it for masses and other Catholic devotions. This was a distinct issue from the traditional right of a Catholic diplomat in England to provide mass for his household or other compatriots,’ and from the custom of Sephardic Jews to gather in the embassy for Sabbath worship when they desired. While the practice of Londoners to attend mass secretly at the residences of various Catholic diplomats had developed early in the reign of Elizabeth and occasional arrests at their doors had acted as a deterrent, late in the reign of James I sizeable crowds began to frequent the Spanish embassy. John Chamberlain commented in 1621 that Gondomar had ‘almost as many come to his mass’ in the chapel of Ely House as there were attending ‘the sermon at St. Andrewes (Holborn) over against him’. Although Godomar left in 1622 and subsequently the embassy was closed for five years during the Anglo-Spanish War, it was later, from 1630 to 1655, that the Spanish chapel acquired not only a continuous popularity among Catholics of the area but also an unwelcome notoriety in the highest levels of government. This paper will suggest two primary factors which led to that development: the persistent ambition of the resident Spanish diplomats to provide a range of religious services unprecedented in number and character, and their successful adaptation to the hostile political conditions in the capital for a quarter of a century. The continuous Spanish diplomatic presence in London for this long period was in itself both unexpected and unique for it should be recalled that, for various reasons, all the other Catholic ambassadors, whether from France, Venice, Portugal, Savoy or the Empire, had to leave at different times and close their chapels. However, the site of the Spanish residence during these years by no means permanent since, as with other foreign diplomats, a new property was rented by each ambassador on arrival. There is, moreover, a wider significance in this inquiry because of the current evidence that by the eve of the Civil War the king was considered in the House of Commons to have been remiss in guarding his kingdom from a ‘Catholic inspired plot against church and state’, for while it has been well argued that a public disquiet over Henrietta-Maria's chapels at Somerset House and St. James's palace had by 1640 stimulated increasing suspicions of a Popish Plot, there were other protected chapels, particularly the Spanish, where scores of Londoners were seen to attend. Indeed, after the closure of the queen's chapels at Whitehall in 1642, the Spanish remained for the next thirteen years as silent evidence that Catholics seemed to be ‘more numerous’ and were acting ‘more freely than in the past’.

Purpose The aim of this study is to understand the knowledge-sharing structure and co-production of trip-related knowledge through online travel forums. Design/methodology/approach The travel forum threads were collected from TripAdvisor’s Sydney travel forum for the period from 2010 to 2014, which contains 115,847 threads from 8,346 conversations. The data analytical technique was based on a novel methodological approach – visual analytics, including semantic pattern generation and network analysis. Findings Findings indicate that the knowledge structure is created by community residents who camouflage as local experts and serve as ambassadors of a destination. The knowledge structure presents collective intelligence co-produced by community residents and tourists. Further findings reveal how these community residents associate with each other and form a knowledge repertoire with information covering various travel domain areas. Practical implications The study offers valuable insights to help destination-management organizations and tour operators identify existing and emerging tourism issues to achieve a competitive destination advantage. Originality/value This study highlights the process of social media mediated travel knowledge co-production. It also discovers how community residents engage in reaching out to tourists by camouflaging as ordinary users.

AbstractThis article examines the character and sources of the many complaints about money heard in the dispatches of ambassadors in the second half of the fifteenth century in Italy. In a period when ambassadors increasingly served for long periods of time as residents in a single locale, infrequency of regular remuneration became commonplace, as Italian states, with their lengthening list of pecuniary obligations, were notoriously unreliable paymasters. This article suggests that the language of complaint reflected the dynamics of Renaissance patron-client relationships and the rhetorical conventions that were shaped both by the medieval ars dictaminis and humanistic topoi. While the laments could reflect real deprivation, ambassadorial service often provided a real path to office, influence and enrichment. It also demonstrates that the financial concerns of ambassadors differed whether they were short-term or long-term ambassadors, and whether they were sent by princely or republican regimes. Based on diplomatic correspondence of ambassadors from several Italian states, the essay argues that the economic situation of these diplomatic envoys is analogous to that of condottieri: both served the cash-strapped Renaissance territorial state in areas of activity where institutions were becoming permanent.

The city brand experience of residents has emerged as an important topic due to the concentration of the city population and changes in the marketing environment. This study examined the relationship between self-city brand connection, city brand experience, city brand satisfaction, and city brand ambassadorship behavior intention (CBABI) in city residents. An empirical analysis was conducted using data collected through a questionnaire with 328 residents of Seoul and Busan in Korea. The results reveal that self-city brand connection is positively related to city brand experience and city brand satisfaction but is not directly related to CBABI. Next, city brand experience was found to have a significant positive relationship with city brand satisfaction and CBABI, and city brand satisfaction is positively related to CBABI. We also found differences in the effects of city brand satisfaction on CBABI between Seoul and Busan. Although city brand satisfaction had a significant effect on CBABI in both cities, the effect was greater in Busan. This study confirms the effect of citizens’ city brand experiences and identifies the path by which city residents become city brand ambassadors.

Place attachment has become a popular concept in tourism and environmental psychology. However, little research has explored its role in predicting place-related behaviors, compared to alternative place-related constructs such as place satisfaction. This article clarifies the differential impacts of place satisfaction and place attachment on a series of residents’ place-related behaviors (i.e., destination brand-building behaviors), providing empirical evidence from a quantitative survey study. A sample of 358 residents from Sydney, Australia, was included for partial least square (PLS) based structural equation modeling testing. Results of a number of model testing suggest that compared with place satisfaction, dimensions of place attachment affect residents’ destination brand-building behaviors differently in a unique pattern. Place satisfaction strongly predicts residents’ intention to stay or leave, while place attachment more strongly influences residents’ word of mouth, ambassador behavior, and participation in tourism planning for a destination.

Purpose – This paper aims to develop a participatory approach to place branding. In doing so, it offers guidance on how to implement a participatory place branding strategy within place management practice. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on theoretical insights drawn from the combination of distinct literatures on place branding, general marketing and collaborative governance. Findings – The paper highlights the importance of residents in the place branding process and argues that their special functions as ambassadors for the place constitute the most valuable assets in place branding. Thus, a participatory place branding approach involving residents is needed. To implement this approach, three stages are necessary: (stage 1) defining a shared vision for the place including core place elements; (stage 2) implementing a structure for participation; (stage 3) supporting residents in their own place branding projects. Originality/value – The inclusion of residents is often requested in contemporary place branding literature. Unfortunately, none of these articles offer a real strategy for participatory place branding so far. Thus, this conceptual essay provides a participatory place branding approach to help place managers implement such structure.

This article explores the diplomatic challenges which confronted the first Margaret Thatcher administration in regard to Britain's Cold War policy of non-recognition of North Korea. The request of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to simultaneously appoint its resident High Commissioner to London as its non-resident Ambassador to Pyongyang had to be opposed by the British Foreign Office despite the fact that St. Vincent was not a party to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, while London had to consider breaking the provisions of the 1883 Paris Convention in order not to recognize the ‘right of priority’ of patents which had been approved in Pyongyang as was required. Also, North Korea's stated intention to join the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization and therefore establish its permanent mission in London forced the Foreign Office to attempt to block North Korea's admittance to the IMCO despite the principle of universality of international organizations, while Britain's inability to talk directly to the North Koreans deprived London of an important means with which to stop North Korean military aid from arriving in Zimbabwe.

Even though Dutch historians have been investigating seventeenth-century material culture with regard to lifestyle and home furnishing extensively since the early 1980s, no such research has been done on the material world of the United Provinces’ diplomats abroad. This article seeks to provide insights into the main material cultural aspects of the seventeenth-century Dutch embassy: the building’s exterior, lay-out, and furnishing. A detailed inventory of Baron Hendrick van Reede van Renswoude’s movables, the first ambassador of the Lords States General to the Spanish court (1656-1669), is the main source for a detailed case study on the accommodations of the Dutch ambassador. His residence in Madrid, its indoor and outdoor spaces were equipped with the customary attributes of an early modern European diplomat. Although less lavish, opulent and refined than the French or Spanish, the Dutch diplomat’s material cultural world fitted in with the general diplomatic culture, which was increasingly influenced by the ethos of the nobility across Europe in the seventeenth century. At the same time, local conditions and lifestyle conventions shaped the ambassadorial building’s exterior and interior. The fact that Dutch diplomats, like almost all European diplomats,took residence in rented furnished local houses, undermined the implicit separateness of the embassy as a distinctly national space that reflected a typical lifestyle, a political or religious message.

In the interview, Georgios Poukamissas, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Hellenic Republic to Ukraine, provides answers to topical questions in relations between Ukraine and Greece. Mention is made of the linkages of Greece with Ukrainian lands tracing back many centuries, from antiquity to nowadays. Tangible evidence of that are the cities constructed by Greeks in the territory of modern Ukraine. Thus, the Embassy of Greece in Ukraine keeps a vigilant eye on the life of the Greek expatriate community, the majority of which lives on the outskirts of Mariupol. It is specified that the Greeks of Mariupol are rather natives than part of the diaspora, since they are the direct descendants of Crimea (Tavryda) residents from the Middle Ages. Another important fact is that Greece has opened two Consulates-General in Ukraine. It is stressed that Ukraine has to stay committed to its historical and cultural heritage, which will contribute to the development of the tourist sphere of Ukraine. Meanwhile, it is mentioned that the Embassy of Greece made major efforts to rejuvenate Byzantine studies in Ukraine. The interview states that economic cooperation between Ukraine and Greece is in need of more initiatives. The volume of bilateral trade of €500 million per year is a far cry from the desirable result; thus, the states have to do their best to improve it. It is said that Mr Ambassador is proud of the achievements Ukraine has achieved in democracy. The developments of 2019 have confirmed that the democratic spirit of Europe is growing ever stronger. Mr Ambassador goes back to Athens but he will miss Kyiv, the true gem of history and architecture. He will also miss the beauty of many other Ukrainian cities and kindness of Ukrainian people, but his heart will bear sweet memories about Ukrainian valleys, boundless plains, and huge heaps of snow in winter. Key words: Greece, tourism, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Greek diaspora, interstate relations.

The article discusses the problem of establishing a permanent diplomatic mission of Peter I in the Sublime Porte. At the initiative of the envoy E. I. Ukraintsev, an article, enabling the tsar to send an ambassador for a permanent residence in Istanbul, was included in the Treaty of Constantinople (1700). After the envoy’s departure, only the Non-diplomatic ministers of the Ambassadorial prikaz (chancellery), namely translator S. F. Lavretsky, podyachy (clerk) Gr. Yudin (died in December 1700) and interpreter D. Petrov, stayed in the Ottoman capital. Translator S. Lavretsky became the head of the Russian diplomatic mission. In 1701, a messenger M. Larionov arrived in Istanbul with the tsar’s charter. According to it translator and podyachy had to stay in Istanbul until the arrival of the plenipotentiary ambassador with ratification. On the basis of the archival documents stored in the RGADA (Moscow), the author analyzes the activities of diplomatic missions in 1700-1701. The main task of the translator and the ambassador was to inform the Russian government about the political situation in the Ottoman Empire. Peter I sent the main forces of his state to the war with the Swedes, so he needed peace on the southern borders. The translator and podyachy maintained contact with ministers of the Sublime Porte, the Jerusalem Patriarch, agents, etc. They also monitored the preparation of the Sublime Porte for the arrival of the Russian plenipotentiary ambassador. Information collected from various sources regarding the situation in Istanbul, Crimea and other parts of the Ottoman Empire, as well as Western Europe, they sent to the Ambassadorial prikaz. The activities of Russian diplomats in 1700–1701 largely corresponded to the functions of the ambassadorial secretary (charge d’affaires).

Islam is the oldest established religion among Bulghar entity, the residents along the riverbanks of the Volga-Kama triangle. This valley was famous as the first Islamic country erected in the Eastern European region. The presence of Islam in the region has raised the name of the ruler of Volga Bulgaria and was reinforced by relationship with Baghdad. The Islamisation of the Bulghar society is relevant to the role played by Ahmad ibn Fadlan, the ambassador of the Abbasid government based in Baghdad. Therefore, this article aims to examine the role played by Ibn Fadlan in the Islamization of the Bulghar society. For this study, a qualitative method using historical descriptive approach was employed, which involved compilation and evaluation of the facts of the Risalah Ibn Fadlān. Data for this study were obtained through library research. The data analyses were conducted through texts and document analyses, as well as comparison method. This study finds that Ibn Fadlan plays an important role in the islamisation of the Bulghar society, not just as an ambassador of Abbasid government but as a teacher, preacher and counselor to the Bulghar king and the whole nation.

AbstractTwo major domestic terrorist groups have plagued Peru over the past 20 years, the Sendero Luminoso or “Shining Path” (SL) and the Revolutionary Movement Túpac Amaru (MRTA). On 28 August 2003, the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission reported that an estimated 69,280 persons were killed in the internal conflict in Peru from 1980 to 2000. Most of the victims were farmers (56%), most attacks occurred in rural settings (79%), and the SL was responsible for mostof the deaths (54%). Aggressive anti-terrorism efforts by police and military during this period, often at the expense of basic human rights, also contributed to this large burden of terrorism on Peru. During the 1990s, terrorist attacks in Peru had spread to its urban areas. On 17 December 1996, 22 members of MRTA took over the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima, holding 72 hostages until the grounds were stormed by Peruvian special forces on 23 April 1997.Until recently, emergency planning and preparedness for terrorism-related events in Peru were largely underdeveloped. In the last five years, Peru has taken two key steps towards developing a mature emergency response system, with the establishment of the country's first emergency medicine residency training program and the construction of the first dedicated trauma center in Lima.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate Brazilian residents’ internal perspectives in terms of their satisfaction with the country. The paper identifies the convergences and divergences among factors related to the reputation of Brazil. Design/methodology/approach Residents’ perceptions were investigated by combining measurement scales based on previous studies in the literature; thus, a survey of 236 Brazilian citizens was employed, followed by exploratory factor analysis. Findings Two factors related to country reputation were identified. Factor 1, residents’ perceptions related to their overall satisfaction with Brazil, shows that Brazilians like and respect the country yet have low levels of trust – this dimension involves place attachment because of its emotional influences. Factor 2, representing residents’ perceptions of Brazil’s reputation abroad, shows that Brazilians think the country has a moderately positive image but not a desirable and good reputation abroad – these results indicate the need for improvements through governmental efforts. Research limitations/implications As this study opted for a comprehensive sample and not for a stratified sample, it was not possible to explore specific aspects regarding each region (Midwest, North, Northeast, Southeast and South) of the country. This type of detail could be interesting due to Brazil’s diversity. To identify destination-branding opportunities, further study should investigate Brazilian regions or cities from the residents’ point of view. Practical implications Interdisciplinary debate is encouraged among scholars, consultants, businesses and government authorities involved on the reputation of a country. Social implications Showing how the population feels about the country may offer ways of thinking about how to improve the satisfaction of these “ambassadors” of the brand Brazil, which could have impacts in the foreign perceptions about Brazil. Originality/value This study contributes to the understanding of country reputation by exploring residents’ perceptions and roles related to their satisfaction and attachment to Brazil.

Purpose This study aims to investigate how residents’ perceptions of the image of their place of living influence their level of commitment toward it. The mediating role of human place bonds (place attachment and place identity) and the moderating effect of the socio-demographic characteristics of the host community in this relationship is specifically examined. Design/methodology/approach The theoretical direct–indirect–moderation relationships are examined using structural equation modeling and moderated-mediation or condition process analysis (Hayes and Preacher, 2013). Data were collected from 472 residents living in Belgrade (Serbia). Findings The findings support the contention that place attachment and place identity mediate the relationship between place image and commitment. The study further shows that the conditional indirect relationship of place image with commitment through place attachment and place identity is significant for age. Age and place of birth are found to moderate the relationship between place image and place attachment. Research limitations/implications A stimulating avenue for future research is to explore the effect of culture (individualist, short-term oriented and low on power distance vs collectivist, long-term oriented and high on power distance cultures) on model’s relationships as well as on commitment specifically. Practical implications To enhance their residents’ commitment, place marketers should focus on two levels of action. The first lever is to assess how residents perceive the image of the place where they live as it can serve as a strategic outline to explore their level of support and address the possible negative feelings they may have toward any development project. The second level of action is developing bottom up strategies that are likely to enhance residents’ commitment which aims at transforming residents into active place ambassadors and actors of the public life of the city. Originality/value To the best of authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first in the place branding research domain to examine the role of human place bonds in the relationship between place image and commitment using mediation, moderation, and moderated-mediation analyses. Moreover, place branding literature is underdeveloped regarding the current issues most post-communist countries face.

In his attempt to rehabilitate the reputation of Dr. De Puebla, Spain's first resident ambassador to England, Garrett Mattingly dismissed as unimportant certain unflattering remarks about the envoy made by a royal councillor to two Spanish officials, who knew the councillor as Dr. Pedro Panec. Mattingly, unable to identify Panec, believed him to be insignificant in Tudor service and, therefore, his remarks to be uninformed. Nonetheless, the available sources reveal Pierre Le Pennec as the Spaniards' Dr. Panec, a cleric and lawyer from Morlaix, doctor of civil and canon laws, prothonotary of the Roman Church, king's clerk and councillor, and political agent in Henry VII's foreign service.Historians of early Tudor diplomacy (when the term is not used interchangeably with foreign policy) have focused on the routine functions of ordinary diplomatic representatives, but Pennec has not merited the interest of Tudor diplomatic historians because he did not serve extensively as one of the king's ordinary diplomats. His only ordinary diplomatic function was in 1499 when he carried procuratorial letters to the Roman Curia for Henry VII.

The case of the Canadian ambassador's residence has been the subject of several court decisions at various instances in Israel. These decisions (as well as others relating to the doctrine of sovereign immunity) have been reviewed in former issues of this section. On June 3, 1997, the Supreme Court, in its appellate jurisdiction, gave its judgment in this case and delineated the application of the international law doctrine of sovereign immunity in Israeli law. In a different case decided on the last day of 1996, the Tel-Aviv District Court was required to rule on the applicability of this doctrine to a civil suit brought against the government of the United States of America. This District Court decision now needs to be examined in light of the recent ruling of the Supreme Court in theEdelsoncase.

Looking at eighteenth-century relations between Russia and the West through the prism of diplomatic culture and rituals, this article concentrates on a “happy period” in Anglo-Russian contacts in 1768–1772, when Sir Charles Cathcart was dispatched to St. Petersburg to negotiate a treaty between the British and Russian Empires. The article argues that close relations between Great Britain and Russia at that time influenced ceremonial practices, individual contacts, and the transfer of the British culture to the Russian court. Study of the Cathcart’s archive points to the peculiar character of his mission – to the leading role that he, as British ambassador, played among diplomats in Russia; to the role of his wife, who became the first ambassadrice officially presented to Catherine ii; to their residence, which they transformed into an exemplar of “British taste” in St. Petersburg. The Cathcart case study opens up new perspectives on the diplomats in the Age of the Enlightenment.

The author reveals that Ukrainians are the closest people to him, since some important events in his life are related to Ukraine (obtaining higher education). The article describes the professional and diplomatic path of the author, characterises the circumstances of his rise as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to Ukraine, and aspiration to forge good-neighbourly relations between Ukraine and Afghanistan. The article also provides information on the structure and peculiarities of the diplomatic mission with a focus on over 15,000 Afghanistan-born Ukrainians resident in Ukraine, which accounts for the operation of the consular office of the embassy. It also outlines interesting facts about specificity of gender politics in Afghanistan. It is constitutionally enshrined that 30 percent of all deputies shall be women. Four out of 25 ministerial portfolios are currently held by women, which the author applauds, since he has no doubt that women’s experience and ideas are invaluable and must be taken into account in policy-making and public administration processes. The author narrates about bilateral cooperation at high official levels. For instance, there were held several visits of Ukrainian people’s deputies to Afghanistan; in turn, a delegation of nine Afghani ministers and deputy ministers paid a reciprocal visit to Ukraine. The article stresses that Afghanistan highly appreciates Ukrainian experience. Many Ukrainians in Afghanistan work at the NATO mission or in organisations engaged in building roads and hydroelectric power plants. The author lays emphasis on the fact that dozens of Ukrainians obtain visas for employment in Afghanistan every month. Special attention is drawn to certain aspects of the history of Afghanistan, namely the heroic upholding of state independence and struggle against foreign invaders. The author stresses the peculiarities of Ukrainian mindset, his affection to and respect for Ukraine. The Ambassador makes a conclusion that the development of bilateral cooperation will allow strengthening the positions of the two states on the international arena. On behalf of Afghanistan, he voices his support for Ukraine and entertains hopes that the terrible war in Ukrainian territory will soon be over. Key words: Afghanistan, Ukraine, cooperation, Ukrainians in Afghanistan, diplomacy, official visits.

This is a fascinating insider's account of one of the most tragic events in the history of the American Foreign Service. Cleo Noel and Curt Moore were among the Foreign Service's finest professionals- dedicated, hard­working men of impeccable integrity. Although from very different back­grounds, hard work had brought them close to the pinnacle of the service. Circumstances brought them together on 1 March 1973 at the residence of the Saudi Arabian an1bassador in Khartoum. The ambassador was hosting a diplomatic farewell p????rty for Moore, and newly-appointed Ambassador Noel was anending as a courtesy. As the party was ending around 7:00 p.m., eight heavily anned Palestinians of the Black September extremist organization burst in and seized all diplomats who failed to flee. Most were unhrumed, but Curt Moore. whom they had been told (incorrectly) was the chief CIA agent for the Middle East, Cleo Noel, and (inexplicably) the Belgian charge d'affaires, were singled out, beaten, and tied up. Ironically, as fair-minded and objective professionals, Noel and Moore were dedicat­ed to establishing the best possible relations between the United States and the Arab world and were sympathetic to the Palestinian cause.What happened during the next thirty hours leading up to the brutal assassination is told in chilling detail by Korn, who was then a Foreign Service officer serving in Washington on the task force dealing with the hostage crisis. Mr. Korn also has had extensive experience in Aral>-hraeli affairs and is able to put the subsequent events, personalities involved, and government actions in the context of the early 1970s. For example. he leaves little doubt that Yasser Arafat and Fatah were involved, if not actu­ally directing. the Khartoum operation as part of their effort to refurbish their radical credentials in competition with George Habash 's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which had carried out most of the airplane hijackings of the early 1970s. In addition, he is able to explain. but with no attempt to justify, the less-than-courageous roles played by Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Sudanese president Jafaar Nimeiry, and others ...

The “Anagrams” of Marie Casimire Sobieski The “Anagrams” of Marie Casimire Sobieski This article concerns the residence in Rome from 1699 to 1714 of Marie Casimire Sobieski, widow of King John III. She belonged to the Accademia dell’Arcadia with occult tradition, and collected cabbalistic manuscripts which today are held in the Jagiellonian Library (Ms 2284). They include numerology predictions (fols. 160r–162v, 194r) described by the queen as “anagrams”. The deciphering of these predictions by replacing the numbers with the corresponding letters of the Latin alphabet enabled the determination of the names and titles of twenty-one persons. The veracity of the deciphering is confirmed by the first two letters of the name which are placed above each numerological representation and by the year of birth of a given person. In addition to Marie Casimire’s son Jakub Ludwik, these are the relatives of the Sobieski family and people related to it by marriage as well as figures of importance to the political life of the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century. It was the abbot Pompeo Scarlatti, the ambassador of Maximilian Emmanuel, Elector of Bavaria, in Warsaw, who made the queen interested in numerology; he accompanied her on her journey to Italy and remained at her court in Rome. Marie Casimire took an interest in numerology predictions after a tragedy in 1704, when her sons Jakub Ludwik and Konstanty were kidnapped and imprisoned by Augustus II, to be released only two years later. However, the majority of these predictions date from the years 1711–1713. Contrary to the tradition of maintaining secrecy, binding at Italian academies, the queen disclosed some of the methods of numerology prophesying; however, except for one case, she did not reveal the content of the prophecies hidden behind the obtained numbers.

Who was Clara?By Kaj ThaningIn this essay the author describes his search for Clara Bolton and her acquaintance with among others Benjamin Disraeli and the priest, Alexander d’Arblay, a son of the author, Fanny Burney. He gives a detailed account of Clara Bolton and leaves no doubt about the deep impression she made on Grundtvig, even though he met her and spoke to her only once in his life at a dinner party in London on June 24th 1830. Kaj Thaning has dedicated his essay to Dr. Oscar Wood, Christ Church College, Oxford, and explains why: “Just 30 years ago, while one of my daughters was working for Dr. Oscar Wood, she asked him who “Mrs. Bolton” was. Grundtvig speaks of her in a letter to his wife dated June 25th 1830. Through the Disraeli biographer, Robert Blake, Dr. Wood discovered her identity, so I managed to add a footnote to my thesis (p. 256). She was called Clara! The Disraeli archives, once preserved in Disraeli’s home at Hughenden Manor but now in the British Museum, contain a bundle of letters which Dr. Wood very kindly copied for me. The letters fall into three groups, the middle one being from June 1832, when Clara Bolton was campaigning, in vain, for Disraeli’s election to parliament. Her husband was the Disraeli family doctor, and through him she wrote her first letter to Benjamin Disraeli, asking for his father’s support for her good friend, Alexander d’Arblay, a theology graduate, in his application for a position. This led to the young Disraeli asking her to write to him at his home at Bradenham. There are therefore a group of letters from before June 1832. Similarly there are a number of letters from a later date, the last being from November 1832”.The essay is divided into three sections: 1) Clara Bolton and Disraeli, 2) The break between them, 3) Clara Bolton and Alexander d’Arblay. The purpose of the first two sections is to show that the nature of Clara Bolton’s acquaintance with Disraeli was otherwise than has been previously assumed. She was not his lover, but his political champion. The last section explains the nature of her friendship with Alex d’Arblay. Here she was apparently the object of his love, but she returned it merely as friendship in her attempt to help him to an appointment and to a suitable lifelong partner. He did acquire a new position but died shortly after. There is a similarity in her importance for both Grundtvig and d’Arblay in that they were both clergymen and poets. Disraeli and Grundtvig were also both writers and politicians.At the age of 35 Clara Bolton died, on June 29th 1839 in a hotel in Le Havre, according to the present representative of the Danish Institute in Rouen, Bent Jørgensen. She was the daughter of Michael Peter Verbecke and Clarissa de Brabandes, names pointing to a Flemish background. On the basis of archive studies Dr. Michael Hebbert has informed the author that Clara’s father was a merchant living in Bread Street, London, between 1804 and 1807. In 1806 a brother was born. After 1807 the family disappears from the archives, and Clara’s letters reveal nothing about her family. Likewise the circumstances of her death are unknown.The light here shed on Clara Bolton’s life and personality is achieved through comprehensive quotations from her letters: these are to be found in the Danish text, reproduced in English.Previous conceptions of Clara’s relationship to Disraeli have derived from his business manager, Philip Rose, who preserved the correspondence between them and added a commentary in 1885, after Disraeli’s death. He it is who introduces the rumour that she may have been Disraeli’s mistress. Dr. Wood, however, doubts that so intimate a relationship existed between them, and there is much in the letters that directly tells against it. The correspondence is an open one, open both to her husband and to Disraeli’s family. As a 17-year-old Philip Rose was a neighbour of Disraeli’s family at Bradenham and a friend of Disraeli’s younger brother, Ralph, who occasionally brought her letters to Bradenham. It would have been easy for him to spin some yarn about the correspondence. In her letters Clara strongly advocates to Disraeli that he should marry her friend, Margaret Trotter. After the break between Disraeli and Clara it was public knowledge that Lady Henrietta Sykes became his mistress, from 1833 to 1836. Her letters to him are of a quite different character, being extremely passionate. Yet Philip Rose’s line is followed by the most recent biographers of Disraeli: the American, Professor B. R. Jerman in The Young Disraeli (1960), the English scholar Robert Blake, in Disraeli (1963) and Sarah Bradford in Disraeli (1983). They all state that Clara Bolton was thought to be Disraeli’s mistress, also by members of his own family. Blake believes that the originator of this view was Ralph Disraeli. It is accepted that Clara Bolton 7 Grundtvig Studier 1985 was strongly attracted to Disraeli, to his manner, his talents, his writing, and not least to his eloquence during the 1832 election campaign. But nothing in her letters points to a passionate love affair.A comparison can be made with Henrietta Sykes’ letters, which openly burn with love. Blake writes of Clara Bolton’s letters (p. 75): “There is not the unequivocal eroticism that one finds in the letters from Henrietta Sykes.” In closing one of her letters Clara writes that her husband, George Buckley Bolton, is waiting impatiently for her to finish the letter so that he can take it with him.She wants Disraeli married, but not to anybody: “You must have a brilliant star like your own self”. She writes of Margaret Trotter: “When you see M. T. you will feel so inspired you will write and take her for your heroine... ” (in his novels). And in her last letter to Disraeli (November 18th 1832) she says: “... no one thing could reconcile me more to this world of ill nature than to see her your wife”. The letter also mentions a clash she has had with a group of Disraeli’s opponents. It shows her temperament and her supreme skill, both of which command the respect of men. No such bluestockings existed in Denmark at the time; she must have impressed Grundtvig.Robert Blake accepts that some uncertainty may exist in the evaluation of letters which are 150 years old, but he finds that they “do in some indefinable way give the impression of brassiness and a certain vulgarity”. Thaning has told Blake his view of her importance for Grundtvig, and this must have modified Blake’s portrait. He writes at least: “... she was evidently not stupid, and she moved in circles which had some claim to being both intellectual and cosmopolitan.”He writes of the inspiration which Grundtvig owed to her, and he concludes: “There must have been more to her than one would deduce by reading her letters and the letters about her in Disraeli’s papers.” - She spoke several languages, and moved in the company of nobles and ambassadors, politicians and literary figures, including John Russell, W.J.Fox, Eliza Flower, and Sarah Adams.However, from the spring of 1833 onwards it is Henrietta Sykes who portrays Clara Bolton in the Disraeli biographies, and naturally it is a negative portrait. The essay reproduces in English a quarrel between them when Sir Francis Sykes was visiting Clara, and Lady Sykes found him there. Henrietta Sykes regards the result as a victory for herself, but Clara’s tears are more likely to have been shed through bitterness over Disraeli, who had promised her everlasting friendship and “unspeakable obligation”. One notes that he did not promise her love. Yet despite the quarrel they all three dine together the same evening, they travel to Paris together shortly afterwards, and Disraeli comes to London to see the them off. The trip however was far from idyllic. The baron and Clara teased Henrietta. Later still she rented a house in fashionable Southend and invited Disraeli down. Sir Francis, however, insisted that the Boltons should be invited too. The essay includes Blake’s depiction of “the curious household” in Southend, (p. 31).In 1834 Clara Bolton left England and took up residence at a hotel in the Hague. A Rotterdam clergyman approached Disraeli’s vicar and he turned to Disraeli’s sister for information about the mysterious lady, who unaccompanied had settled in the Hague, joined the church and paid great attention to the clergy. She herself had said that she was financing her own Sunday School in London and another one together with the Disraeli family. In her reply Sarah Disraeli puts a distance between the family and Clara, who admittedly had visited Bradenham five years before, but who had since had no connection with the family. Sarah is completely loyal to her brother, who has long since dropped Clara. By the time the curious clergyman had received this reply, Clara had left the Hague and arrived at Dover, where she once again met Alexander d’Arblay.Alex was born in 1794, the son of a French general who died in 1818, and Fanny Burney. She was an industrious correspondent; as late as 1984 the 12th and final volume of her Journals and Letters was published. Jens Peter .gidius, a research scholar at Odense University, has brought to Dr Thaning’s notice a book about Fanny Burney by Joyce Hemlow, the main editor of the letters. In both the book and the notes there is interesting information about Clara Bolton.In the 12th volume a note (p. 852) reproduces a letter characterising her — in a different light from the Disraeli biographers. Thaning reproduces the note (pp. 38-39). The letter is written by Fanny Burney’s half-sister, Sarah Harriet Burney, and contains probably the only portrait of her outside the Disraeli biographies.It is now easier to understand how she captivated Grundtvig: “very handsome, immoderately clever, an astrologer, even, that draws out... Nativities” — “... besides poetry-mad... very entertaining, and has something of the look of a handsome witch. Lady Combermere calls her The Sybil”. The characterisation is not the letter-writer’s but that of her former pupil, Harriet Crewe, born in 1808, four years after Clara Bolton. A certain distance is to be seen in the way she calls Clara “poetry-mad”, and says that she has “conceived a fancy for Alex d’Arblay”.Thaning quotes from a letter by Clara to Alex, who apparently had proposed to her, but in vain (see his letter to her and the reply, pp. 42-43). Instead she pointed to her friend Mary Ann Smith as a possible wife. This is the last letter known in Clara’s handwriting and contradicts talk of her “vulgarity”. However, having become engaged to Mary Ann Alex no longer wrote to her and also broke off the correspondence with his mother, who had no idea where he had gone. His cousin wrote to her mother that she was afraid that he had “some Chére Amie”. “The charges are unjust,” says Thaning. “It was a lost friend who pushed him off. This seems to be borne out by a poem which has survived (quoted here on p. 45), and which includes the lines: “But oh young love’s impassioned dream /N o more in a worn out breast may glow / Nor an unpolluted stream / From a turgid fountain flow.””Alex d’Arblay died in loneliness and desperation shortly afterwards. Dr. Thaning ends his summary: “I can find no other explanation for Alexander d’Arblay’s fate than his infatuation with Clara Bolton. In fact it can be compared to Grundtvig’s. For Alex the meeting ended with “the pure stream” no longer flowing from its source. For Grundtvig, on the other hand the meeting inspired the lines in The Little Ladies: Clara’s breath opened the mouth, The rock split and the stream flowed out.”

The diplomatic activity of Peter the Great covered the relations between Russia and the Ottoman Empire in the context of the Great Northern War. The main task of the Russian delegates at Sublime Porte was to maintain peace between the two powers. Diplomatic contacts between Russia and the Ottoman Empire became regular. Under the Treaty of Constantinople (1700) the tsar was allowed to delegate an ambassador to Istanbul residence. The ambassador Pyotr Tolstoy (1702–1710) and the resident Ivan Neplyuyev (1721–1735) remained at Sublime Porte as regular delegates of Peter the Great. After analyzing the records and papers of Posolsky Prikaz (the Ambassadorial Department) and the Collegium of Foreign Affairs, we have managed to establish members of all embassies sent by Peter the Great to Istanbul, as well as to discover tasks set before ambassadors and their solutions, and learn more about the life of ambassadors at the Ottoman court. In the Petrine period, the Russian delegates in Istanbul became full members of the European diplomatic corps.

Ambassador Ong Keng Yong is the Executive Deputy Chairman of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Concurrently, he is Ambassador-at-Large at the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs, non-resident High Commissioner to Pakistan and non-resident Ambassador to Iran. He also serves as Chairman of the Singapore International Foundation. Mr Ong served as Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, based in Jakarta, Indonesia, from January 2003 to January 2008. In this interview, the Ambassador reflects on some issues of particular concern with regard to war and security at sea in the region of Southeast and East Asia.

Purpose A place brand is a culmination of its exclusive history, people and traditions that affect customer and community experiences. Place branding has become increasingly important for collective heritage brand strategy, as stakeholders undertake efforts to create an aura of a distinctive geographic location. Though place branding has received considerable scholarly attention, there is a lacuna: the role of residents as co-creators of a place and its heritage. Accordingly, this paper aims to develop a “bi-directional participatory place branding” model by applying the stimulus–organism–response approach grounded theory. Design/methodology/approach A grounded theory approach with multi-sited ethnography, personal interviews (with residents and city leaders) and observational techniques were adopted in a UNESCO world heritage city of India, Ahmedabad. Findings The findings indicate that the people (residents) aspect of place branding is associated with their life stories, past experiences, feelings and aspirations. However, the place acts as a nostalgia enabler, disseminating symbolic and heritage metaphors to residents and visitors as place brand ambassadors. When the place and people components are perceived positively, residents participate involve themselves with the place and thus, in turn, become the place ambassadors. Originality/value No prior studies have analyzed the association between residents, the place where they reside and the resultant behavior toward the place. The unique contribution is the bi-directional participatory place branding model, especially involving a UNESCO world heritage city rather than solely a site.

During a private visit to Geneva, Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and His Royal Highness Prince Claus on 3 September 1985 received the Vice-President of the International Committee, Mr Maurice Aubert, in the absence of the ICRC President. The audience took place at the residence of Ambassador Robert J. van Schaik, Permanent Representative of the Netherlands in Geneva; the conversation was concerned mainly with the activities of the ICRC.

In 2009, Residente, the lead singer of a well-known Latinx music group and newly appointed international ambassador for the Latino Commission on AIDS, likened Latinxs in the US to HIV/AIDS. Taking this fertile equivalence as a conceptual point of departure, this article tracks the pitfalls and possibilities of aligning these two positions, touching on the performativity of disgust, the transmission of brown affect, and economies of racialization and deracination via the exchange of viral matter. Building upon the reparative labour of critical mestizaje, which came to the fore of Latinx studies in the 1980s, I reimagine the potentiality of a “viral mestizaje,” a form of relatedness that allows for networks of intimacy, multiplicity, and reproduction that extend beyond heternormative coupling. What is at stake in the positioning of Latinxs as “just like AIDS”? What are the possibilities and problems of analogy?

Two decisions were rendered recently by Israeli courts of lower instances which concern the field of diplomatic immunities. The first, delivered by the Magistrate Court in Petah Tikwa, deals with the inviolability of diplomatic premises and with the waiver thereof; and the second, by the District Court in Jerusalem, refers to the question of state immunity from attachment and execution, and seems to constitute a clear diversion from the accepted international norms and rules on this issue. Both decisions, rendered in the matter of the residence of the Ambassador of Côte d'Ivoire to Israel, will be examined separately, following the factual background relevant to each.The question of the inviolability of diplomatic premises, as well as that of a diplomat's immunity from jurisdiction, is a separate issue from that of state immunity. The first considers the treatment given to diplomats in foreign countries, and is codified in the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (the “Convention”), while the latter consists only of customary international law, and deals with the concepts of acts of state and the immunity of sovereign states from jurisdiction by the courts of another state. In the following survey we will show that in some instances, the two issues have been confused and conclusions drawn from one to the other without consideration of the differences between the two.

The Italian translation of Erekle the Second’s letter maintained in the archive of Vienna which was published in 1979 by Professor Ilia Tabaghua, reveals a sensational secret. In this letter we found a unique delf unveiling the fact that after the Krtsanisi tragedy suffered in 1795 Erekle the Second addressed Europe.In the course of studies and analyses we came across several delfs in one document that had been considered to be one letter, namely, in the Italian translation of a letter by Erekle the Second; chronologically these delfs turned out to be significantly distant from one other. Further studies conducted on these delfs brought us to the conclusion that in 1795, after the Krtsanisi tragedy, Erekle the Second’s ambassadors arrived to Vienna and handed the letter to the Emperor of Austria.In the Italian translation of a document by Erekle the Second that had been considered by scientists to be one single letter and which is dated with 1782, the fragment saying that “in these days the king’s residence in the East was totally destroyed” caused the first suspicion. We want to especially underline the circumstance that there is no evidence of destruction of any city or a town what could be considered to be the eastern residence of the king, found in the 80-s of the XVIII century. Therefore, there is only one way left – we should accept it that Erekle the Second is speaking about the fact of Agha Mohammad Khan destroying Tbilisi in 1795 – the tragedy that took place 13 years later. It is another fact that in 1782 Erekle the Second had no means to write about the events that would have taken place in 1795.And thus, we have come to the conclusion that the Italian translation of the letter by Erekle the Second prepared by the chancellery of the Emperor of Austria based upon the letter sent by Erekle, is not a single letter but a compilation of at least two letters written by him. We should give due significance to the fact that the mentioned Italian translation does not contain any specific personalized addressee but is addressed to the Emperor of Austria, not revealing to which of the Emperors it addresses namely. The translation does not contain any concrete date either. The article provides review of the purposes and goals that the ambassadorial mission of late fall of 1795 sent by the king Erekle to the Emperor of Austria as well as other delfs of the above mentioned letter that cause suspicion and that unambiguously confirm it that certain fragments of the letter are written in 1795 which on its part implies confirmation of the fact that in the late fall of the year 1795 there had place a diplomatic communication between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Kartli and Kakheti.This latter fact abolishes the view that had been established in historiography up today that Erekle the Second unconventionally turned to Russia after Agha Mohammad Khan brought Tbilisi to earth in 1795.

This paper seeks to explore environmental, social and governance issues arising from investment in special economic zones (SEZs) in the mainland Southeast Asian region through a mixture of thick analytical description and multiple case study approach. All the states studied here have embraced the SEZ approach as it offers rapid economic development without any implications for the political settlement, which is considered beneficial by current administrations. Particular emphasis is placed on environmental, social and governance issues in the region covered and some complex issues that have emerged. It is shown that the situation is complex and continually evolving and that there are limited constraints on the actions of corporations. Consequently, there is an opportunity for investors to set precedents and protocols on a progressive basis. Keywords Economic development; environmental, social and governance issues; mainland Southeast Asia; special economic zones References [1] Anderson, Benedict, “Murder and Progress in Modern Siam,” New Left Review. 181 (1990) 33-48.[2] Ando, “About Ando”. www.ando-kyo.co.jp/english/about/history.html/, 2016.[3] Apisitniran, Lamonphet, “Latest SEZ Land Proposal Fizzles out,” Bangkok Post, Business B2, June 19th, 2015.[4] Aung, Noe Noe, “Workers Strike over Wage Demands”, Myanmar Times. http:// www.mmtimes.com/national-news/yangon/7150-thousands-of-workers-protest-in-hlaing-tharyar.html/, November 12th, 2017. [5] Baissac, Claude, “Brief History of SEZs and Overview of Policy Debates,” in Thomas Farole, ed., Special Economic Zones in Africa: Company Performance and Learning from Global Experience (Washington, DC: World Bank. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/2341/638440PUB0Exto00Box0361527B0PUBLIC0.pdf/, 2011. [6] Beerlao, “Lao Brewery” (n.d.). http://www.beerlao.la/products/.[7] Champasak Province, “Investment Opportunities in Laos: Champasak Province”. http://www.poweringprogress.org/new/images/PDF/Champassak_10/Champassak_10.pdf/, 2009.[8] Chang, Ha-Joon, Ilene Grabel, Reclaiming Development: An Alternative Economic Policy Manual, London: Zedbooks, 2014.[9] Chintraruck, Alin and John Walsh, “Bangkok and the Floods of 2011: Urban Governance and the Struggle for Democratisation,” in Miller, M. and M. Douglass (eds.), Disaster Governance in Urbanising Asia, Singapore: Springer, 2016, pp.195-209.[10] David, Sen, “Garment Factory Employees Protest Short-Term Contracts,” Phnom Penh Post. http:// www.phnompenhpost.com/national/garment-factory-employees-protest-short-term-contracts/, 2016.[11] Embassy of Japan in the Lao PDR, “Remarks by H.E. Hiroyuki Kishino, Ambassador of Japan to the Lao PDR, at the Inauguration Ceremony of the New Ando Factory in Pakse. http://www.la.emb-japan.go.jp/content_japan_laos_relations/ambassador_speech/Ando.html/, 2013 (Champasak Province on 03 December, 2013”). [12] M. Eisenbruch, “Mass Fainting in Garment Factories in Cambodia”, Transcultural Psychiatry. 54 (2017) 155-78.[13] Gopalakrishnan, Raju, “China-Vietnam Dispute: “More than 20 Killed” in Anti-China Riots,” Independent. http:// www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-vietnam-dispute-more-than-20-killed-in-anti-china-riots-9375887.html/, 2014 (May 15th, 2014). [14] Guardian Staff, Agencies, “Aung San Suu Kyi Denies Ethnic Cleansing of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar,” The Guardian. http:// www.theguardia.com/world/2017/apr/05/myanmar-aung-san-suu-kyi-ethnic-cleansing/, 2017 (April 5th, 2017). [15] Hance, Jeremy, “High-End Laos Resort Serves up Illegal Wildlife for Chinese Tourists”, The Guardian.http://www.theguardian.com/environment/radical-conservation/2015/mar/19/high-end-laos-resort-serves-up-illegal-wildlife-for-chinese-tourists/, 2015 (March 19th, 2015). [16] HKTDC, “Myanmar Rising: Industrial and Special Economic Zones”. http://economists-pick-research.hktdc.com/business-news/article/Research-Articles/Myanmar-Rising-Industrial-and-Special-Economic-Zones/rp/en/1/1X000000/1X0A72FF.htm/, 2016. [17] Inclusive Development International, “Cambodia: Boeung Kak Lake Evictions” (n.d.). http:// www.inclusivedevelopment.net/campaign/cambodia-boeung-kak-lake-evictions/. [18] International Rivers, “The World Bank and Dams”. http://www.internationalrivers.org/sites/default/files/attached-files/world-bank-and-dams-fact-sheet.pdf/, 2015 (April, 2015). [19] Jacobsen, Trudy, Lost Goddesses: The Denial of Female Power in Cambodian History (Copenhagen: NIAS Press, 2008).[20] Kongkirati, Prajak, “Murder without Progress in Siam: From Hired Gunmen to Men in Uniform,” Kyoto University Center for Southeast Asia Studies. http://kyotoreview.org/issue-21/murder-without-progress-siam/, 2017. [21] Ku, Samuel, “China’s Expanding Influence in Laos,” East Asia Forum. http:// www.eastasiforum.org/2016/02/26/chinas-expanding-influence-in-laos/, 2016 (February 26th, 2016).[22] Kurlantzick, Joshua, “Cambodia Draws Closer to Outright Authoritarianism,” Council on Foreign Relations. http://www.cfr.org/blog/cambodia-draws-closer-outright-authoritarianism/, 2017 (October 10th, 2017). [23] Kyozuki, Tamaki, “Laos OKs Economic Zone for Smaller Japanese Companies,” Nikkei Asian Review. http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Economy/Laos-OKs-economic-zone-for-smaller-Japanese-companies/, 2015 (September 18th, 2015).[24] Larsson, Naomi, “Human Rights in Thailand: Andy Hall’s Legal Battle to Defend Migrant Workers,” The Guardian. http:// www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/jan/22/human-rights-thailand-andy-hall-legal-battle-migrant-workers/, 2016 (January 22nd, 2016). [25] Le Coz, Clothilde, “Blood Sugar”. http://www.ruom.net/portfolio-item/blood-sugar/, 2013. [26] LNC, “Nishimatsu Capitalized on Pakse-Japan SME SEZ Development”. http://laonishimatsu.com/?lang=en&module=news&idz=7/, 2016.[27] T.G. McGee, The Southeast Asian City: a Social Geography of the Primate Cities of Southeast Asia (London: G. Bell and Sons, 1967), 1967.[28] McGrath, Cam, “Sihanoukville Zone Prospers on China Links,” The Phnom Penh Post. https:// www.phnompenhpost.com/business/sihanoukville-zone-prospers-china-links/, 2017 (June 12th, 2017). [29] Mills, Mary Beth, “From Nimble Fingers to Raised Fists: Women and Labor Activism in Globalizing Thailand,” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society. 31 (2005) 117-44.[30] Minami, Ryoshin and Xinxin Ma, “The Lewis Turning Point of Chinese Economy: Comparison with Japanese Economy,” China Economic Journal. 3 (2010) 163-79.[31] Mingaladon Industrial Park, “Internal Infrastructure”. https://www.mingaladon.com/infrastructure-services.htm/, 2017a. [32] Mingaladon Industrial Park (2017b), “Investment Incentives,” http:// www.mingaladon.com/investment-incentives.htm.[33] Myanmar Industries, “Main Activities”. https:// myanmarindustries.org/index.php/main-activities-2/, 2017b. [34] Myanmar Industries, “Background”. https://myanmarindustries.org/index.php/background-2/, 2017a. [35] Nikon, “Establishment of a New Factory in Laos”. https://www.nikon.com/news/2013/0321_01.htm/,2013. [36] Nolintha, Vanthana, “Cities, SEZs and Connectivity in Major Provinces of Laos,” in Masami Ishida, ed., Intra- and Inter-City Connectivity in the Mekong Region, BRC Research Report No.6 (Bangkok: IDE-JETRO Bangkok Research Centre, 2011). http://www.ide.go.jp/library/English/Publish/Download/Brc/pdf/06_chapter4.pdf/, 2011.[37] Paing, Yan, “Chinese Developer to Invest US$390m in Mandalay Project,” Eleven Myanmar (13th, October, 2017), http://www.elevenmyanmar.com/local/11966/, 2017 (13th, October, 2017). [38] Phnom Penh SEZ, ‘Facilities and Services,’ Phnom Penh SEZ, available at: www.ppsez.com/en/the-zone/phnom-penh-sez/facilities/, 2017. [39] Pinyochatchinda, Supaporn and John Walsh, “Pollution Management and Industrial Estates: Perceptions of Residents in the Vicinity of Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate,” Information Management and Business Review. 6 (2014) 42-8.http://bua.rmutr.ac.th/wpcontent/uploads/2016/09/WY-13-56.pdf. [40] Poupon, Roland, The Thai Food Complex: From the Rice Fields to Industrial and Organic Foods (Bangkok: White Lotus Press, 2013), 2013.[41] QTSP, “Who We Are”, available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20110501200030/http://www.quangtrungsoft.com.vn:80/index.php/en/about-qtsc/who-we-are?start=3/, 2011. [42] Rentsbuy, “Govt Approves New SEZ in Champasak”. https:// www.rentsbuy.com/project/economic-zone/pakxe-japan-sme-specific-economic-zone.html/, 2015 (August 10th, 2015).[43] Reporters without Borders, “2017 World Press Freedom Index”. https://rsf.org/en/ranking/, 2017.[44] Scott, C. James, Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1985. [45] Sihanoukville SEZ, “Social Responsibility”. https:// ssez.com/en/social.asp#/, 2017. [46] Siu, Kaxton, “The Vietnam Strike Wave,” Asia Monitor Resource Centre. www.amrc.org.hk/content/vietnam-strike-wave/, 2011 (June 27th, 2011). [47] Stuart-Fox, Martin, “Historical and Cultural Constraints on Development in the Mekong Region,” paper prepared for the seminar “Accelerating Development in the Mekong Region: The Role of Economic Integration,” Siem Reap, Cambodia. http://www.imf.org/external/np/seminars/eng/2006/mekong/fox.pdf/, 2006 (June 26th-27th, 2006). [48] The Nation, “Laos-Japan Economic Zone to Benefit Local Community”. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Laos-Japan-economic-zone-to-benefit-local-communit-30276007.html/, 2016 (January 2nd, 2016).[49] The Nation, “Foreigners to Be Allowed to Set up Universities in Special Economic Zones,” The Nation. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/breakingnews/30315506/, 2017 (May 17th, 2017). [50] Thongnoi, Jitsinee, “Open for Business, If Anyone Wants to Come,” Bangkok Post, April 5th, 2015, pp. 6-9.[51] Thul, Prak Chan, “Cambodian Forces Open Fire as Factory Strikes Turn Violent,” Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cambodia-protest/cambodian-forces-open-fire-as-factory-strikes-turn-violent-idUSBREA0203H20140103/, 2014 (January 3rd, 2014).[52] Transparency International, “Country Analysis”. https://www.transparency.org/country/, 2016.[53] Trinh, Vo Thi Trung, Narumon Sriratanaviriyakul, Matthews Nkhoma and Hiep Pham, “Quang Trung Software City - The Largest Vietnamese Software Park,” Journal of Information Technology Education: Discussion Cases, Vol.2, Case No.6 (2013), http://www.jite.org/documents/DCVol02/v02-06-QuangTrung.pdf/, 2013. [54] UNCTAD, Investment and Enterprise Responsibility Review: Analysis of Investor and Enterprise Policies on Corporate Social Responsibility (New York, NY and Geneva: UNCTAD.http://unctad.org/en/Docs/diaeed20101_en.pdf/, 2011. [55] Vietnam Briefing, “IT Parks in Vietnam: Present and Future”. http://www.vietname-briefing.com/news/it-parks-in-vietnam-present-and-future7461.html/, 2017. [56] Vietnam.net, “More Software Parks to Go up”. https:// english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/science-it/116286/more-software-parks-to-go-up.html/, 2014 (November 13th, 2014a).[57] Vietnam Net, “China Attempts to Control Vietnam’s Mineral Industries”. https:// english.vietnamenet.vn/fms/business/94502/china-attempts-tocontrol-vietnam-s-mineral-industries.html/, 2014b (January 25th, 2014b). [58] Walsh, John, “Tesco Lotus Thailand: Managing Stakeholders in a Hostile Environment,” in B.S. Sahay, Tojo Thatchenkery and G.D. Sardana, Handbook on Management Cases (New Delhi: Allied Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 2008, pp. 447-51.[59] Walsh, John, “The Development of Dawei Special Economic Zone,” The Myanmar Journal. 2 (2015) 9-26, [60] Walsh, John and Nittana Southiseng, “Vientiane - A Failure to Exert Power?” City: Analysis of Urban Trends, Culture, Theory, Policy, Action. 13 (2009) 95-102.[61] Wancharoen, Supoj and Sirinya Wattanasukchai, “Urban Projects Gain Favour, Stoke Fury,” Bangkok Post (December 30th 2015), 2015. [62] Whitehead, Judith, “Intersectionality and Primary Accumulation: Caste and Gender in India under the Sign of Monopoly-finance Capital,” Monthly Review. 68 (2016) 37-52.[63] World Bank, “International Scorecard”. https://lpi.worldbank.org/international/scorecard/ 2016.[64] World Economic Forum (2016), Global Competitiveness Report, 2016, available at: reports.weforum.org/global-competititveness-report-2015-2016.[65] WTO, “Members and Observers”. https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatitis_e/tif_e/org6_3.htm/, 2016.