Despite the clashing mosaic of stances, many delegates, from both rich and poor countries, said they had a sense -- after more than a decade of meetings leading to the treaty -- that agreement could be reached, mainly because a growing number of nations were seeing the deal as an opportunity for economic growth and not simply an environmental pact.
Researchers said the fact all four nations were seeing improvements indicated that the different policies pursued since devolution, such as competition in England and collaboration in Scotland and Wales, had made little difference.
Competition between nations is seen as key to human affairs, and 20th-century British history is understood as a perpetual replay of the 1966 soccer World Cup.
The piece's creative process has shown the differences between how nations are seen from the outside compared with how they're seen from within.
Both North Korea and South Korea, as well as other Asian nations, are seen as potential customers for Russian natural gas, particularly from the yet-to-be-developed Kovytka field in Siberia.
Because the fund focuses on helping poor countries cope with capitalism, support from a diverse array of developing nations is seen as vital.
Addressing worker issues under the aegis of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which includes 30 wealthy nations, was seen as a step toward that goal.
OECD guidelines are not binding, though the agreement of the 16 nations is seen as giving a strong message to companies.
Turning to the I.M.F., which often helps struggling emerging-market nations, is seen as a stigma that is to be avoided, a concern underscored by the European Central Bank's president, Jean-Claude Trichet, on Wednesday.
In social-systems studies, the actions and reactions of individuals, or even of groups as large as nations, are seen as falling within certain definable, more or less universal patterns of equilibrium and disequilibrium.
