Books

CDs

Events/Exhibits

Film/Video

Published four times per year, $ 39.80 for one year subscription, reduced rates for longer subscription
160 pages
ISBN: 1439-8443.
Reviewed by Frieder Nake, Germany. E-mail: nake@informatik.uni-bremen.de


The German Council on Foreign Relations is a non-profit private organization. According to its own proclamation, it supports efforts for understanding between peoples. Its means are meetings, study groups, publications, and international academic cooperation. Its committees list the names of many top German (former) government and industry leaders, and persons from other societal institutions.

The journal has the typical format and layout of a serious scientific publication. Contributions come from government officials, administrators in the European bureaucracy, free-lancing journalists, university professors, industry managers, and others. The journal is intended as a means to get European (and in particular, German) views accross to a US audience, and thus increase mutual trust. Articles are almost exclusively of political content, and therefore are not normally of interest to Leonardo readers. The bulk of the journal is dedicated to original contributions (analyses, essays, comments). There are also book reviews, references to papers in various European journals, a short European diary of events, and an extensive documentation (speeches, communiquÚs, press conference papers, official declarations, charters, etc.).

Of the articles in the second issue (summer 2000), only the following titles may have some distant relevance for the arts and technology: "Global, fast, digital" by Thomas Middelhoff, CEO of the media trust, Bertelsmann; and "E-commerce in transatlantic relations". Interesting as all that may be, it most likely does not hit Leonardo's audience.

top