That explains why EC/Japan always "cave in". Don't expect any "anti-hegemonic alliances" to emerge from these, short of profound social transformations within these countries.
-Brad Mayer Oakland
>The Europeans will probably go along with
>the Bush crowd, for the habits of servility die hard. But, crucially,
>they may not. The fact is that European servility no longer makes
>geopolitical sense, and that the trans-Atlantic tensions engendered
>by U.S. climate politics join a growing portfolio of friction points
>on issues as disjoint as nuclear missile defense and genetically
>modified foods. Besides, when hegemons overreach, anti-hegemonic
>alliances become possible. They sometimes become necessary as well,
>but necessity, as we all know, or should, becomes a force only when
>people recognize and fight for it.
>
>Just now, necessity dictates that the climate regime be protected
>from the Americans. And it's possible, just possible, that the
>Europeans are ready to give it a try. Not, to be sure, that this is a
>time for optimism. If the Bush administration forces the issue of
>developing country participation, all hell is going to break loose.
>If the Europeans and the Japanese want to save Kyoto, they're going
>to have to move fast, and just now the Japanese don't seem ready for
>decisive action of any sort.