Book Reviews : The Year Book of World Affairs. Edited by George W. Keeton and Georg Schwarzenberger: 1974: 1975: 1976. £5.25; £6.60; and £8.00 respectively. Published by Stevens & Sons for the London Institute of World Affairs
| Published date | 01 April 1976 |
| DOI | 10.1177/004711787600500314 |
| Date | 01 April 1976 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
1051
demand
would
appear,
to
this
reviewer
at
least,
a
recipe
for
disaster.
There
is
rather
too
much
reliance,
in
the
concluding
summary,
upon
many
of
the
presently
accepted
concepts
of
the
social
sciences.
His
analysis
of
the
decline
in
British
self-confidence
and
the
rather
sudden
awakening
to
post-war
reality
of
loss
of
power
is,
however,
very
well
done.
The
author’s
assessment
of
the
role
of
the
economist
in
the
for-
mation
of
policy
is
very
interesting.
He
quotes
Milton
Friedman:
&dquo;we
economists
in
recent
years
have
done
vast
harm
to
society
at
large
and
to
our
profession
in
particular
by
claiming
more
than
we
can
deliver.
We
have
thereby
encouraged
politicians
to
make
extravagant
promises,
inculcated
unrealistic
expectations
in
the
public
at
large,
and
promoted
discontent
with
reasonably
satisfactory
results
because
they
fall
short
of
the
economists’
promised
land&dquo;
and
adds
&dquo;The
high
hopes
were
soon
disappointed.
Modern
economics
is
among
the
most
precise,
but
conse-
quently
also
one
of
the
most
limited,
social
sciences.
It
has
to
work
on
the
basis
of
clearly
stated
assumptions
which
greatly
simplify
the
com-
plexities
of
real
life;
consequently
all
its
findings
must
be
understood
within
the
limitations
of
these
assumptions....
The
promises
were
invariably
exaggerated
and,
looking
at
the
period
as
a
whole,
one
cannot
help
gaining
the
impression
that
the
economy
was
behaving
in
a
uni-
formly
fitful
manner,
following
the
stop-go
pattern
based
upon
the
Keynesian
belief
in
demand
control&dquo;.
The
book
has
an
enormous
range
and
throws
up
very
interesting
ideas
which
merit
consideration.
-
The
Year
Book
of
World
Affairs.
Edited
by
George
W.
Keeton
and
Georg
Schwarzenberger:
1974:
1975:
1976.
£5.25;
£6.60;
and
£8.00
respectively.
Published
by
Stevens
&
Sons
for
the
London
Institute
of
World
Affairs.
In
the
space
available
it
is
not
possible
to
do
more
than
enumerate
the
wide
range
of
articles
contained
in
these
three
volumes,
Nos.
28,
29
and
30,
with
an
occasional
comment
upon
a
particular
one
of
special
interest,
either
because
of
the
subject
dealt
with
or
the
special
expertise
of
the
writer.
In
the
first
volume
listed,
Lord
Strang
on
&dquo;Politicians
and
Profes-
sionals
in
Diplomacy&dquo;
reminds
us
of
the
value
of
the
close
relationship
between
Ministers
in
charge
of
national
policy
and
the
diplomats
whose
knowledge
of the
milieu
in
which
they
move
is
both
continuous
and
intimate,
given
that
the
occupier
of
the
post
is
&dquo;worth
his
salt&dquo;.
He
also
forecasts the
variety
of
skills
which
will
be
needed
in
the
diplomatic
field
following
our
adherence
to
the
Treaty
of
Rome.
Professor
’Carey
Joynt
and
R.
J.
Yalem
deal
respectively
with
the
Anatomy
of
Crisis
and
Tripolarity
(i.e.
China,
USSR
and
the
USA),
and
World
Politics;
David
Owen,
M.P.,
and
Minister
for
the
Navy
(1968-70);
forecasts
the
probable
&dquo;Western
Naval
Strategy
for
the
Eighties&dquo;.
Professor
F.
S.
Northedge,
&dquo;America,
Russia
and
Europe&dquo;
stresses
both
the
unpredictability
of
developments
in
foreign
relations
and
the
need
to
maintain
Western
European
links
with
the
United
States
particularly
if
&dquo;Soviet-American
relations
are
not
to
work
to
Western
Europe’s
disadvantage&dquo;,
advice
which
has
since
been
followed
and
reinforced
by
the
growing
realisation
of
the
nature
of
detente.
An
examination
of
the
&dquo;Evolution
of
Anglo-French
Relations&dquo;
by
Roger
Sceats
is
followed
by
two
interesting
articles
on
Japan,
&dquo;Japan
Among
the
Powers&dquo;
by
Ian
H.
Nish
and
&dquo;The
Foreign
Policy
of
Japan&dquo;
by
J.
M.
Grieve.
Both
writers
stress
her
growing
economic
power
and
consequent
increasing
freedom
of
action,
but
both
expect
her
to
keep
a
&dquo;low
profile&dquo;
for
the
immediate
future.
In
&dquo;The
Human
Environment:
Stockholm
and
After&dquo;,
Ambassador
Edward
Hambro
emphasises
that
the
strong
threat
to
the
world’s
ecological
balance
demands
the
overriding
of
&dquo;principles
of
national
sovereignty
and
political
independence&dquo;
in
order
to
achieve
international
co-operation
in
solving
the
&dquo;enormous
tasks
in
front
of
us&dquo;.
In
addition,
there
are
short
articles
on
&dquo;Unders~tanding
Foreign
Assistance
Through
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