Author: / Topic: Development - CIAO Search Results

3101. Somalia's Future

Author:: Jennifer Cooke and David Henek
Publication Date:: 02-2007
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:: On January 17, 2007, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), in collaboration with the Council on Foreign Relations, the U.S. Institute of Peace, and the Woodrow Wilson International Center, hosted a major conference in Washington, D.C., entitled "Somalia's Future: Options for Diplomacy, Assistance, and Peace Operations." The conference brought together expert observers from Mogadishu, senior U.S. policymakers, representatives from humanitarian assistance organizations, and regional analysts to convey to a U.S. audience the current situation in Somalia and to lay out the challenges facing the United States and the broader international community.
Topic:: Development, Diplomacy, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:: Africa, United States, and Somalia

3102. The Armenian road to democracy – Dimensions of a tortuous process

Author:: Maria Raquel Freire and Licínia Simão
Publication Date:: 05-2007
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:: This paper looks at the Armenian transition towards democracy, focusing on the internal and external dimensions of the process. Internally, we consider the decision-making structure, with particular emphasis on the role of leadership, the development of political parties and changes in civil society. Externally, our attention is focused on neighbourly relations and external actors, including international organisations, particularly the European Union (EU), and its specific instrument, the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). The paper aims to shed light on the democratisation process in Armenia and the role of the EU in this process, by looking at the relationship between Brussels and Yerevan, at the instruments and strategies in operation, and at the international context in which these changes are taking place.
Topic:: Democratization, Development, and Politics
Political Geography:: Europe, Eastern Europe, Armenia, and Brussels

3103. Fruit of the Poisonous Tree - Member States' Indirect Use of Extraordinary Rendition and the EU Counter-Terrorism Strategy

Author:: Florian Geyer
Publication Date:: 04-2007
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:: Recent investigations, not least by the EP Temporary Committee, have shed light on the illegal practice of extraordinary renditions and unlawful detentions by foreign security services on European territory with the alleged involvement of certain member states, which suggests that the line between cooperation and complicity has become blurred. This paper addresses the issue of how EU member states could not resist taking advantage of extraordinary renditions and unlawful detentions and how they still profit from such practice. Recent examples of this kind of profiteering are provided, together with an assessment of their legality.
Topic:: Development, International Organization, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:: Europe

3104. Political Islam in Turkey

Author:: Senem Aydin and Rusen Çakir
Publication Date:: 04-2007
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:: Turkey differs from the Arab states studied in the CEPS–FRIDE Political Islam project in not only in having a European Union membership prospect, but also in the fact that a broadly Islamist-oriented party has been in office since 2002. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) still enjoys the primary support of pro-Islamic constituencies in Turkish society and its orientation towards the EU has not changed since its assumption of power. An overwhelming majority in the party still sees the EU as the primary anchor of Turkish democracy and modernisation despite the inferred limitations of cooperation on issues relating to the reform of Turkish secularism. Yet the growing mistrust towards the EU as a result of perceived discrimination and EU double standards is beginning to cloud positive views within the party. Decreasing levels of support for EU membership in Turkish society and the fact that explicitly Euro-sceptic positions are now coming from both the left and the right of the political spectrum suggest that the sustainability of the pro-European discourse within the party could be difficult to maintain in the longer run.
Topic:: Development, Politics, and Religion
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, and Arabia

3105. The EU Border Management Strategy: FRONTEX and the Challenges of Irregular Immigration in the Canary Islands

Author:: Sergio Carrera
Publication Date:: 03-2007
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:: The EU is developing a border management strategy aiming at an "integrated and global response" to the challenges posed by the phenomenon of irregular immigration through the common external borders. "The Southern maritime borders" constitute one of the main targets addressed by this strategy. On November 2006, the European Commission published a communication calling for the reinforced management of the EU's Southern maritime borders and for the maximisation of the capacities of the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union – FRONTEX. This paper provides some reflections about these current policy approaches by looking at the nature, scope and practical implications of the implementation of the Integrated Border Management strategy and its relationship with a common EU immigration policy. After assessing the latest policy developments in these areas, we raise a number of questions about some of the functions and capacities carried out by FRONTEX, and present a series of vulnerabilities characterising the joint operations coordinated by this Community body taking the example of the operations HERA I, II and III in the Canary Islands (Spain).
Topic:: International Relations, Development, and Migration
Political Geography:: Europe and Spain

3106. Integration: An Ever-Closer Challenge

Author:: Stefano Bertozzi
Publication Date:: 02-2007
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:: This article argues for closer integration to be a key part of the EU's migration policy. It accepts that migration is necessary for a prosperous Europe and looks at the role of the EU and how best to integrate immigrants. Countries' experiences and the need for better aligned policies among member states are examined. The European Commission's role in sharing experiences and best practices is considered, as well as the need for the many stakeholders involved to work together. Integration is a complex and delicate process, and ultimately the EU must be bolder in its promotion of integration if it is to benefit from migration.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Development, and Migration
Political Geography:: Europe

3107. European Neighbourhood Policy Two Years on: Time indeed for an 'ENP Plus'

Author:: Michael Emerson, Gergana Noutcheva, and Nicu Popescu
Publication Date:: 03-2007
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:: Conceived in 2003 and 2004, the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) has now had two years of operational experience. This initial experience has seen a sorting out of the partner states, with Action Plans drawn up for five Eastern and seven Southern partner states. We would distinguish among these 12 states between the 'willing' and the 'passive'; and among the other partner states without Action Plans between the 'reluctant' and the 'excluded'. These groupings should be the basis for stronger differentiation in the policy packages offered by the EU. In general the political context now calls for a strong reinforcement of the ENP, since the benign situation of 2004 has given way now to a more menacing one, given threats to European values bearing down on the EU from all sides. The EU institutions recognise these needs in principle, and last December the Commission advanced many valuable proposals. 'ENP plus' is a term being used by the current German Presidency, without this yet being defined in a public document in operational detail. In our view, 'ENP plus' could mean: Plus an advanced association model for the able and willing partner states, Plus a strengthening of regional-multilateral schemes, Plus an upgrading of the standard instruments being deployed, and Plus the offer of an 'ENP light' model for difficult states or non-recognised entities.
Topic:: Development and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:: Europe and Eastern Europe

3108. Making the EU Citizens' Agenda Work

Author:: Elspeth Guild
Publication Date:: 02-2007
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:: On 5 January 2007, Elspeth Guild was invited by the European Commission Select Committee of the UK House of Lords to submit written evidence to assist that body in its scrutiny of the European Commission's annual legislative and work programme. This Policy Brief reproduces her submission in full.
Topic:: International Relations, Security, and Development
Political Geography:: Europe

3109. Don't blame globalisation for the squeezing of the middle class

Author:: Ángel Ubide
Publication Date:: 02-2007
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:: Globalisation is being blamed for the squeezing of the middle class and protectionism is being offered as a solution. We argue in this paper that the increase in inequality is a long-term trend resulting from a variety of factors, including the decline in manufacturing, the reduction in the progressivity of taxation and the steady increase in asset prices, and that globalisation has only had a marginal impact on it. Protectionism will not reverse any of these trends. We discuss some policy options aimed at cushioning this increase in inequality and argue that they will likely result in expanding fiscal deficits and pressure on central banks to test the limits of growth.
Topic:: Demographics, Development, Economics, and Globalization

3110. Decision-making in the Enlarged Council of Ministers: Evaluating the Facts

Author:: Julia De Clerck-Sachsse and Sara Hagemann
Publication Date:: 01-2007
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:: In its Communication on Enlargement Strategy and Main Challenges 2006-2007, released 8 November 2006, the European Commission concluded: “Overall, the fifth enlargement has been a considerable success” and “(t)he EU's institutions have continued to function effectively” (p. 4). In his speaking points to the press, Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn (2006) stressed two important criteria for evaluating the integration process: With respect to institutional matters, the EU's decision-making processes must remain effective and accountable, for the sake of current member states as well as in view of further enlargement. With respect to policy-making, the EU needs to be in a position, as it enlarges, to continue developing and implementing common policies in all areas. Accordingly, assessment of the impact of enlargement on EU policies is planned to take place at all key stages of the enlargement process.
Topic:: Development and International Organization
Political Geography:: Europe

3111. Looking for the cure-all? Targets and the EU's New Energy Strategy

Author:: Christian Egenhofer
Publication Date:: 01-2007
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:: On 10 January 2007, the European Commission outlined the European Union's 'energy and climate change vision' based on two principal documents: Communication on “An energy policy for Europe”, and Communication on future climate change policy for the period post-2012 when the Kyoto Protocol expires, entitled “Limiting global climate change to 2°C: The way ahead for 2020 and beyond”.
Topic:: Development, Energy Policy, and Environment
Political Geography:: Europe

3112. Paying for People: Financing the skilled workers needed to deliver health and education services for all

Publication Date:: 04-2007
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: This is the first in a series of three papers that examines the financing of services in developing countries. This paper focuses on external assistance in the form of aid and debt cancellation. The other papers in the series will focus on internal revenues; first, receipts from taxation and then receipts from extractive industries.
Topic:: Debt, Development, Education, Health, Humanitarian Aid, International Political Economy, and Poverty

3113. Nagorno-Karabakh: Risking War

Publication Date:: 11-2007
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: International Crisis Group
Abstract:: Armenia and Azerbaijan have failed to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, even though the framework for a fair settlement has been on the table since 2005. A comprehensive peace agreement before presidential elections in both countries in 2008 is now unlikely but the two sides still can and should agree before the polls to a document on basic principles, which if necessary clearly indicates the points that are still in dispute. Without at least such an agreement and while they engage in a dangerous arms race and belligerent rhetoric, there is a risk of increasing ceasefire violations in the next few years. By about 2012, after which its oil revenue is expected to begin to decline, Azerbaijan may be tempted to seek a military solution. The international community needs to lose its complacency and do more to encourage the leaderships to prepare their societies for compromise and peace.
Topic:: Conflict Prevention, Development, and United Nations
Political Geography:: Eastern Europe, Armenia, and Azerbaijan

3114. Winding Back Martial Law in Pakistan

Publication Date:: 11-2007
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: International Crisis Group
Abstract:: General Pervez Musharraf imposed martial law in Pakistan on 3 November 2007. He suspended the constitution, sacked the chief justice of the Supreme Court and removed other judges of that court who declared his act illegal. Police immediately began arresting lawyers, politicians and human rights activists. Independent television channels were taken off the air and reporting restrictions imposed. Thousands have since been jailed, journalists threatened and protests by lawyers and others suppressed. Replacing dissenting judges with hand-picked appointees, and ruling by decree, Musharraf's objective is to retain personal power by gaining judicial approval for martial law, followed by the creation of a democratic façade through rigged elections. The international community should demand the immediate restoration of constitutional order, the rule of law and the legitimate judiciary, the release of political prisoners and the appointment of an impartial caretaker government to oversee free and fair elections.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Democratization, and Development
Political Geography:: Pakistan and Asia

3115. Guinea: Change on Hold

Publication Date:: 11-2007
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: International Crisis Group
Abstract:: Dix mois après le déclenchement d'un mouvement de révolte populaire contre le régime du président Lansana Conté, au pouvoir depuis 23 ans, et sept mois après la formation d'un nouveau gouvernement, la Guinée est toujours dans une incertitude totale quant à son avenir immédiat. L'état de grâce dont a bénéficié le Premier ministre Lansana Kouyaté, celui qui devait conduire le « changement » exigé par le peuple, fut de courte durée. Les fissures au sein du mouvement collectif qui a ébranlé le régime au début de l'année risquent de favoriser une reconquête du pouvoir par le clan présidentiel. Pour éviter tout retour de la violence, le Premier ministre doit impérativement convaincre les citoyens guinéens de sa détermination à oeuvrer en faveur d'une véritable transition démocratique et a besoin de recevoir à cet effet un soutien actif de la Communauté économique des États d'Afrique de l'Ouest (CEDEAO) et des partenaires extérieurs, de même que de la France et des États-Unis qui ont des liens de coopération avec l'armée.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Democratization, and Development
Political Geography:: Africa and Guinea

3116. Sri Lanka: Sinhala Nationalism and the Elusive Southern Consensus

Publication Date:: 11-2007
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: International Crisis Group
Abstract:: Sinhala nationalism, long an obstacle to the resolution of Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict, is again driving political developments on the island. Nationalist parties, opposed to any significant devolution of power to Tamil areas of the north and east and to negotiations with the Tamil Tigers, help set President Mahinda Rajapaksa's agenda. The government takes a hardline stance, responding in part to opposition to the flawed 2002-2006 ceasefire and peace process. Would-be peacemakers need to better understand Sinhala nationalism, which is too often dismissed as merely irrational and racist. With little likelihood of a new formal peace process soon, the longterm challenges it poses to the conflict's resolution need to be addressed.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Democratization, and Development
Political Geography:: South Asia and Sri Lanka

3117. Ethiopia and Eritrea: Stopping the Slide to War

Publication Date:: 12-2007
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: International Crisis Group
Abstract:: The risk that Ethiopia and Eritrea will resume their war in the next several weeks is very real. A military buildup along the common border over the past few months has reached alarming proportions. There will be no easy military solution if hostilities restart; more likely is a protracted conflict on Eritrean soil, progressive destabilisation of Ethiopia and a dramatic humanitarian crisis. To prevent this, the international community – in particular, the UN Security Council and the U.S., which is the single most influential outsider – must act immediately to give both sides the clearest possible message that no destabilising unilateral action will be tolerated. Once the immediate danger is past, efforts should be reinvigorated to ensure that the parties comply with their international law obligations, disengage on the ground and restore the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) – in a longer time frame – to develop political and economic initiatives for resolving the fundamental problems between the old foes.
Topic:: Conflict Prevention, Development, and United Nations
Political Geography:: Africa, United States, Ethiopia, and Eritrea

3118. Congo: Staying Engaged after the Elections

Publication Date:: 01-2007
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: International Crisis Group
Abstract:: On 6 December 2006, Joseph Kabila was sworn in as the first democratically elected president since Congolese independence, concluding a landmark electoral process largely devoid of major violence or gross irregularities. Democratic governance is now expected to support peacebuilding and reconstruction. The new government has weak and barely functioning institutions, however, and the international community, which has given decisive support to the peace process, must continue to help it overcome serious security and political challenges. Immediate agenda items include to set up promptly a new structure to coordinate aid efforts, renew the United Nations Mission (MONUC) with a strong mandate and increase efforts to improve security throughout the country.
Topic:: Democratization, Development, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:: Africa and Democratic Republic of the Congo

3119. Options for Revenue Generation in Post Conflict Environments

Author:: Michael Carnahan
Publication Date:: 05-2007
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:: This paper advances five proposals for policies to improve revenue generation in post-conflict environments. In the aftermath of violent conflict there often is a gap between demands for the restoration of basic public goods and services, including jobs and security, and governmental capacity to generate revenue to meet these pressing needs. Improved revenue generation is a key task for building both a sustainable state and a durable peace.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, International Relations, Development, and Economics

3120. Peacekeeping in Sudan: The Dynamics of Protection, Partnerships and Inclusive Politics

Author:: Ian Johnstone and Alhaji M.S. Bah
Publication Date:: 05-2007
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:: The inter-related conflicts and peace processes in Sudan present a monumental peacekeeping challenge. The protracted crisis in Darfur has put the African Union – and the broader international community -- to a severe test. Plans for a hybrid African Union-United Nations operation there continue, but Khartoum remains opposed. Meanwhile, implementation of the north-south peace agreement is faltering, with the UN mission struggling to keep it on track in the face of indifference from both parties and frequent hostility from the north.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Development, International Cooperation, and United Nations
Political Geography:: Africa and Sudan

3121. China and Economic Integration in East Asia: Implications for the United States

Author:: C. Fred Bergsten
Publication Date:: 03-2007
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:: East Asia is clearly, if gradually and unevenly, moving toward regional economic integration. Market forces are leading the process, as firms construct production chains across the area that exploit the comparative advantage of its individual countries. Governments are now moving to build on those forces, and consolidate them, through a series of formal agreements to intensify their economic relationships and start creating an East Asian Community.
Topic:: Development and Economics
Political Geography:: United States, China, Israel, East Asia, and Asia

3122. Global Imbalances: Time for Action

Author:: William R. Cline, John Williamson, Yung Chul Park, Alan J. Ahearne, Kyung Tae Lee, and Jean Pisani-Ferry
Publication Date:: 03-2007
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:: One of the principal dangers currently facing the world economy arises from the large and unsustainable imbalances in current account positions. Some observers argue that these imbalances will unwind gradually and nondisruptively, while others emphasize the risks of a sudden change of sentiment in financial markets that could result in an abrupt and damaging adjustment. No one knows which scenario will materialize, but a priori for policymakers should be to reduce the risks of a crisis, which could produce a world recession and disruptions to the global trading system. For that, the global economy requires official sponsorship of a credible, comprehensive adjustment program. This policy brief outlines such a program.
Topic:: Development, Economics, Globalization, and International Trade and Finance

3123. American Trade Politics in 2007: Building Bipartisan Compromise

Author:: I.M. Destler
Publication Date:: 05-2007
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:: As Democrats took over the United States Congress in January 2007, many trade advocates trembled. Over the past decade, votes on trade liberalization had broken increasingly along partisan lines. Trade promotion authority (TPA)—indispensable for negotiating new trade agreements—passed by just one House vote in December 2001, with just 21 out of 210 Democrats in favor. In July 2006 the Central American Free Trade Agreement—Dominican Republic (CAFTA-DR) won by just two votes, with a minuscule 15 of 202 Democrats voting “aye.” By one accounting, voters in November 2006 had replaced 16 trade-friendly House Republicans (and five similar Senate Republicans) with tradeskeptical Democrats. No seats in either house moved in the free trade direction (Evenett and Meier 2006).
Topic:: Development, Government, International Trade and Finance, and Politics
Political Geography:: America

3124. Merry Sisterhood or Guarded Watchfulness? Cooperation Between the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank

Author:: Michael Fabricius
Publication Date:: 12-2007
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:: Since their inception at the end of the Second World War, the sister organizations of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have aimed to consistently speak with one voice vis-à-vis their member governments. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that they often do not speak in one voice. Fabricius draws on field research conducted in Ghana, Pakistan, Peru, and Vietnam to identify the conditions that determine whether or not the organizations are indeed on the same page and to address whether their traditional plea for consistency is always desirable. He recommends which measures seem crucial to ensure Bank-Fund consistency. At the same time he argues that under certain conditions, this consistency may lead to policy choices that are only second-best. He proposes that the Bank and the Fund pursue a case-specific approach in deciding whether they should take the same stance. A more flexible approach may increase not only the ownership of borrowing countries but also the sustainability of policy choices.
Topic:: Development, Economics, International Organization, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:: Pakistan, Vietnam, Peru, and Ghana

3125. Exit Polls: Refugee Assessments of North Korea's Transition

Author:: Stephan Haggard, Marcus Noland, and Yoonok Chang
Publication Date:: 12-2007
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:: Results from a survey of more than 1,300 North Korean refugees in China provide insight into changing economic conditions in North Korea. There is modest evidence of slightly more positive assessments among those who exited the country following the initiation of reforms in 2002. Education breeds skepticism; higher levels of education were associated with more negative perceptions of economic conditions and reform efforts. Other demographic markers such as gender or provincial origin are not robustly correlated with attitudes. Instead, personal experiences appear to be central: A significant number of the respondents were unaware of the humanitarian aid program and the ones who knew of it almost universally did not believe that they were beneficiaries. This group's evaluation of the regime, its intentions, and accomplishments is overwhelmingly negative—even more so than those of respondents who report having had experienced incarceration in political detention facilities—and attests to the powerful role that the famine experience continues to play in the political economy of the country.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and Politics
Political Geography:: China, North Korea, and Korea

3126. A (Lack of) Progress Report on China's Exchange Rate Policies

Author:: Morris Goldstein
Publication Date:: 06-2007
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:: This working paper assesses the progress made in improving China's exchange rate policies over the past five years (that is, since 2002). I first discuss four indicators of progress on China's external imbalance and its exchange rate policies—namely, the change in (and level of) China's global current account position, movements in the real effective exchange rate of the renminbi (RMB), the role of market forces in the determination of the RMB, and China's compliance with its obligations on exchange rate policy as a member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). I then discuss why the lack of progress in improving China's exchange rate policies matters for the economies of the China and the United States and for the international monetary and trading system. I also argue that several popular arguments and excuses for why more cannot be accomplished on removing the large undervaluation of the RMB are unpersuasive. Finally, I consider what can and should be done by China, the United States, and the IMF to accelerate progress over the next year or two.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and Foreign Exchange
Political Geography:: United States, China, and Asia

3127. From Industrial Policy to Innovative Policy: Japan's Pursuit of Competitive Advantage

Author:: Marcus Noland
Publication Date:: 05-2007
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:: Japan faces significant challenges in encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship. Attempts to formally model past industrial policy interventions uniformly uncover little, if any, positive impact on productivity, growth, or welfare. The evidence indicates that most resource flows went to large, politically influential “backward” sectors, suggesting that political economy considerations may be central to the apparent ineffectiveness of Japanese industrial policy.
Topic:: Development, Foreign Exchange, and Industrial Policy
Political Geography:: Japan and Asia

3128. Offshoring, Outsourcing, and Production Relocation-Labor—Market Effects in the OECD Countries and Developing Asia

Author:: Jacob Funk Kirkegaard
Publication Date:: 04-2007
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:: This working paper evaluates the validity of available data on and the extent of the impact of offshoring on service-sector labor markets in the United States, EU-15, and Japan. A three-tier data validity hierarchy is identified. The impact of offshoring on employment in the three regions is found to be limited. Correspondingly, developing Asia is unlikely to experience large employment gains as a destination region. The paper highlights the case of the Indian IT industry, where the majority of job creation has been in local Indian companies rather than foreign multinationals. Domestic entrepreneurs have played a crucial role in the growth of the Indian IT-related service industry. However, increased tradability of services and associated skill bias in favor of higher skilled workers could have an uneven employment impact on developing Asia. Some high-skilled groups are benefiting and will continue to benefit dramatically from new employment opportunities and rising wage levels. Meanwhile, the same skill bias may eliminate many employment opportunities for unskilled or low-skilled groups in the region. Developing Asian countries therefore face a double educational challenge in the coming years: the need to simultaneously improve both primary and higher education.
Topic:: International Relations, Development, Economics, and Industrial Policy
Political Geography:: United States, Japan, and Asia

3129. Finding the Money: Informal Credit Practices in Rural Afghanistan

Author:: Floortje Klijin and Adam Pain
Publication Date:: 06-2007
Content Type:: Research Paper
Institution:: Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
Abstract:: It is widely believed that there is a strong demand for credit in Afghanistan and that much of this demand is unmet, justifying a major programme in microcredit provision. But there is very little understanding of the extent and the workings of informal credit systems, particularly outside opium poppy growing areas. Is there such an absence of credit available to poor rural households as is assumed? Do microfinance and informal credit respond to the same needs? Is informal credit simply the same thing as formal credit, except that it takes place outside formal institutions? And if there is more informal credit available than is believed, what does this mean for the development and role of formal credit systems? These key questions informed a detailed anthropological study of informal credit practices in three contrasting villages in Herat, Ghor and Kapisa. Drawing from a detailed presentation of eight households case studies, and amplified with addition case material, a number of key conclusions can be drawn from the findings.
Topic:: Development, Economics, Monetary Policy, Microcredit, Rural, Money, Demand, and Credit
Political Geography:: Afghanistan and South Asia

3130. Your Vote Counts, Your Vote Decides

Author:: Rafael López Pintor and María Félix Herrera
Publication Date:: 03-2007
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), based in Washington in DC, carried out a technical assistance program in support of the 2006 electoral process in Nicaragua, starting in October 2005. The counterpart institution was the Supreme Electoral Council, which together with IFES proceeded to define those areas in which IFES could collaborate. These were concentrated mainly in the fields of public information regarding the verification of the voter registration list, the preparation and distribution of voter identity cards and the direct training of members of the voting tables in all 153 municipalities in the country.
Topic:: Civil Society, Democratization, Development, and Politics
Political Geography:: Washington and Latin America

3131. Managing Contradictions: The Inherent Dilemmas of Postwar Statebuilding

Author:: Timothy D. Sisk and Roland Paris
Publication Date:: 11-2007
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: International Peace Institute
Abstract:: State building—the construction of legitimate, effective governmental institutions—is a crucial element in any larger effort to create the conditions for a durable peace and human development in countries that are just emerging from war. In recent years, state building has emerged as a central goal of multidimensional United Nations peace operations in war-torn societies, and for good reason. Without functioning and legitimate state institutions, post conflict societies are less likely to escape the dual “traps” of violence and poverty.
Topic:: Political Violence, Development, Peace Studies, Poverty, United Nations, and War

3132. Toward Economic Sustainability of the Media in Developing Countries

Author:: Marguerite H. Sullivan
Publication Date:: 06-2007
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: National Endowment for Democracy
Abstract:: The Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) at the National Endowment for Democracy aims to strengthen the support, raise the visibility, and improve the effectiveness of media assistance programs by providing information, building networks, conducting research, and highlighting the indispensable role independent media play in the creation and development of sustainable democracies around the world. An important aspect of CIMA's work is to research ways to create an environment that will allow independent and free media to be sustainable and to attract additional U.S. private sector interest in international media development.
Topic:: Civil Society, Democratization, Development, and Third World
Political Geography:: United States

3133. The State of the Pro-Democracy Movement in Authoritarian Burma

Author:: Kyaw Yin Hlaing
Publication Date:: 12-2007
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: East-West Center
Abstract:: When Burma gained independence in 1948, its regime was a part of the phenomenon, which Samuel Huntington called the second wave of democracies. Although Burma's parliamentary democracy was by no means perfect, opposition parties were allowed to exist and elections were held regularly. The coup staged by the Revolutionary Council, which was led by the military on March 2, 1962, brought an end to this brief period of electoral democracy in Burma.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Democratization, Development, and Politics
Political Geography:: Asia and Burma

3134. "BRIC countries are opaque"

Author:: George Vojta
Publication Date:: 06-2007
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Media Tenor International
Abstract:: Media Tenor: Even within the BRIC States one cannot say that all three are on the Media Agenda, not mention developing countries. What could be the reason for this salience? Vojta: My sense is that the four BRIC countries are rising in media visibility as they become more significant players in the global system. Very shortly these four countries will surpass the G7countries in annual absolute growth results.
Topic:: Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Infrastructure
Political Geography:: Russia, China, South Asia, and Latin America

3135. Democratisation and Development: How to Avoid the Liberal Internationalism Trap and Still Be "Policy Oriented"

Author:: Daniela Pioppi
Publication Date:: 06-2007
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The International Spectator
Institution:: Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:: Review of: Democratization and development : new political strategies for the Middle East, edited by Dietrich Jung, Palgrave MacMillan, 2006
Topic:: Development
Political Geography:: Middle East

3136. The International Politics of the Chinese Arms Embargo Issue

Author:: Nicola Casarini
Publication Date:: 09-2007
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The International Spectator
Institution:: Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:: The Chinese arms embargo issue has gone beyond Sino-European bilateral relations to become a matter of significance - and concern - for East Asian and US policymakers. Thus, an eventual solution depends not only on the interplay between EU and Chinese policymakers' interests and considerations, but is now interconnected with China's domestic developments and regional posture, the security concerns of China's neighbours (especially Japan and Taiwan), the evolution of US-China relations and transatlantic relations.
Topic:: Development
Political Geography:: Japan, China, Europe, Taiwan, and East Asia

3137. Discourse, Dissent, and Strategic Surprise: Formulating U.S. Security Policy in an Age of Uncertainty

Author:: Janne E. Nolan and Douglas MacEachin
Publication Date:: 01-2007
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
Abstract:: The Institute for the Study of Diplomacy (ISD) at Georgetown University launched a two-year study of the role of intelligence and policy failures in undermining the pursuit of U.S. strategic interests. This study focuses on why the United States has found itself unprepared to manage or contain adverse developments in regions of vital interest even in instances where there was extensive U.S. diplomatic and military involvement. The authors of this monograph selected five case studies of "strategic surprises" drawn from recent history. The cases were discussed and analyzed by a working group made up of senior practitioners and policy experts, a group established in the fall of 2004 that held five meetings sponsored by ISD from November 2004 through the spring of 2006.
Topic:: Security and Development
Political Geography:: United States

3138. The Financial Sector and Economic Development: Banking on the Role of Human Capital

Author:: Manuela W. Armenta
Publication Date:: 05-2007
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:: School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:: Evidence suggests that human capital development contributes to the stability of banks. Unfortunately, developing countries, both pre- and post-liberalization, often suffer from an inadequate supply of capable professionals. This situation threatens the potentially positive relationship between financial liberalization and economic growth. It is therefore urgent that developing states develop policies aimed at addressing the supply and demand-side requirements of the financial sector. Such policies must target the development of professionals with both appropriate academic backgrounds in business and the requisite on-the-job skills. Public-private solutions are advocated as the most efficient and effective approach to the development of comprehensive policies in this regard.
Topic:: Development, Economics, Finance, Human Capital, Banking, and Public-Private Partnership
Political Geography:: Global Focus

3139. Is the Price Right? A Study of the Impact of School Fees in Rural Bangladesh

Author:: Emily Grenzke
Publication Date:: 05-2007
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:: School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:: The purpose of this article is to investigate the effect that user fees have on primary school enrollment and educational attainment in rural Bangladesh. There is growing international consensus that school user fees should be abolished in developing countries because they pose a barrier to universal enrollment. However, where school fees are the primary source of revenue for education, abolishing them significantly threatens the quality of education provided. Using data from three different regions in Bangladesh in 1996, this article employs a Heckman model to estimate the determinants of school enrollment. The results suggest that (i) fixed enrollment fees are a barrier to participation in the education market, (ii) but annual fees are not, and (iii) that the cost of secondary education has a significant impact on primary school enrollment. Based on these results, and considering the need for revenue, current policies aimed at abolishing all varieties of school fees are not justified. The article concludes by recommending advocacy for lower fixed enrollment fees and lower fees for secondary schools.
Topic:: Development, Education, Rural, and Schools
Political Geography:: Bangladesh and South Asia

3140. Capacity Building for the Promotion of Trade and Investment in Africa Challenges and Strategies

Author:: Soumana Sako and George Kararach
Publication Date:: 01-2007
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Abstract:: The lack of capacity has hindered Africa from exploiting the investment and trade opportunities offered by the global economy. Most of the constraints and challenges are linked to ineffective policies, poor management systems and frameworks, weak governance, conflicts, HIV/AIDS and the heavy external debt, among others. Despite Africa’s efforts to lifting some of the developmental constraints, African governments should strive to increase their awareness and build their capacity towards the promotion of trade and investments in Africa, and thus ensure their effective participation in the world economy. Following the commitments made to developing countries– dubbed the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) - the promise of additional assistance to developing countries to help them participate, negotiate and implement WTO agreements has not been backed by adequate resources. Given the experience of Africa over the last half century, it is clear that trade reform and openness alone is not sufficient to sustain economic growth and poverty reduction. The WTO and its associated rules and procedures have defined the framework for trade and investment promotion in Africa, as is the case for the ‘Singapore issues’, in terms of investment protection, competition policy, transparency in government procurement and trade facilitation.
Topic:: HIV/AIDS, Debt, Development, Governance, Capacity, WTO, and Doha Development Agenda
Political Geography:: Africa

3141. The Benefits and Risks of Financial Globalization

Author:: Peter B. Kenen
Publication Date:: 07-2007
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: It is by now almost impossible to conceive of a world without a global financial system. To be sure, large numbers of low-income developing countries have little access to that system. But most middle-income developing countries, even some that still have capital controls of one sort or another, are increasingly integrated into that system, and all of the major developed countries are fully integrated.
Topic:: Development, Economy, Integration, and Financial Globalization
Political Geography:: Global Focus

3142. Fair Trade Coffee Enthusiasts Should Confront Reality

Author:: Jeremy Weber
Publication Date:: 01-2007
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: From university cafeterias to supermarkets in the developed world, people are buying Fair Trade (FT) coffee certified by the FLO-Cert, the certifying entity of Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO). The assumption is that such purchases will contribute to the welfare of marginalized producers in the developing world. While sales of FT coffee in Europe have stabilized, the North American and Japanese markets are growing rapidly. Total sales increased 40 percent from 2004 to 2005, to a total volume of 33,992 metric tons (MT) (FTO 2005). What is “Fair Trade”? According to FINE, the umbrella organization that comprises the four largest Fair Trade organizations (FLO, International Federation for Alternative Trade, Network of European World Shops, and the European Fair Trade Association), Fair Trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers—especially in the South [FINE 2001]. The FINE definition optimistically assumes that the trading partnerships and conditions promoted by Fair Trade necessarily “contribute to sustainable development.” It is true that the Fair Trade coffee system—the producers, exporters, importers, and retailers operating by the rules and standards of FLO—has improved living standards for many participating coffee growers (Bacon 2005, Raynolds 2004). Yet the system faces vexing issues such as a disconnect between promotional materials and reality, excess supply, and the marginalization of economically disadvantaged producers and groups. Those involved in Fair Trade coffee debates and governance must address these issues if Fair Trade is to be an effective mechanism for rural development in coffee producing regions.
Topic:: Development, Economy, Trade, Coffee, and Fair Trade
Political Geography:: Global Focus

3143. The Role of the Natural Resource Curse in Preventing Development in Politically Unstable Countries: Case Studies of Angola and Bolivia

Author:: Saraly Andrade and Joaquin Morales
Publication Date:: 11-2007
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
Abstract:: For about three decades now, development economics researchers have consistently claimed that third world resource-rich countries were not developing as well and/or as fast as they were expected to, given that their natural resources endowment was considered a great opportunity for development. The phenomenon of underperformances concerning primary commodity exporters relative to non resource-rich countries has been often referred to as to the “Natural Resource Curse”. The authors use an historical and political approach to the manifestations of the curse in the specific cases of Angola and Bolivia, both resource abundant countries, but suffering among the lowest development standards in their respective continents. In chapter one, the authors make a quick review of the literature explaining both causes and manifestations of the Resource Curse. The authors go beyond the classical Dutch Disease explanations and show how natural resources lead to behaviours of looting, rent-seeking and civil confrontations. In chapter two, the authors present the framework where they adjust the “African Anti-growth Policy Syndromes” described by Paul Collier to the specific case of the Natural Resource curse. In addition, they add some considerations of the negative effect of natural resource extraction by analysing externalities on environment, education and inequalities. Chapters three and four analyse the case studies of Angola and Bolivia respectively, emphasizing the role of historical context explaining policy behaviour and the critical impact of unexpected windfalls and sudden price collapses. The authors find that natural resources could sustain long lasting conflicts, but that conditions of fractionalization of society determine the possibility of conflict. A country divided in two rigid political factions is more prone to internal conflict, like in Angola, whether in countries where frontiers between blocks are blurried or the country is multi-polar, like in Bolivia, the risks of long-lasting civil war seem less important. Apart from conflict, the authors show that lack of institutions and inequality make of natural resources a source of political instability that has far more impact on economic performances than other factors.
Topic:: Civil War, Development, Natural Resources, and Rent-seeking
Political Geography:: South America, Angola, Bolivia, and Africa

3144. Analysis of International Migration and its Impacts on Developing Countries

Author:: Paolo Barrientos
Publication Date:: 11-2007
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
Abstract:: This paper provides a review of the literature on the reasons and consequences of international migration. The principal determinants of migration are analyzed and it is seen that educated people from developing countries are more likely to migrate for several reasons (i.e. network determinants, costs of moving, pull factors and push factors). Looking into the empirical data, the global trend is that emigration of educated people (usually called “brain drain”) has increased a lot. This trend implies that industrialized countries are importing highly skilled people from developing countries and this will certainly have important consequences for developing countries in the long run. Some researchers argue that developing countries will loose, since the most qualified people leave and stop contributing to their country. Others say that the global trend can be beneficial because positive spillovers will be created; in the sense that developing countries will experience higher investments in human capital (“brain gain”). Empirical findings show that these spillovers depend on the probability to migrate and the stock of human capital that a country has. Finally another group of researchers argues that this process is inevitable, and barriers to migration should be abolished in order to reap the benefits for both sending and receiving countries as well as the migrants themselves.
Topic:: Development, Migration, Brain Drain, and Human Capital
Political Geography:: Global Focus

3145. Theory, History and Evidence of Economic Convergence in Latin America

Author:: Paolo Barrientos
Publication Date:: 12-2007
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
Abstract:: Economic convergence exists when two or more economies tend to reach a similar level of development and wealth. The study of convergence is an important topic because besides being useful for the debate between different theories, it can respond several inquiries such as if the distribution of income between economies has become more equal over time and if poor economies are catching up with the rich. Latin American countries are characterized by having few language barriers, similar culture, religion and common history. So convergence could be expected. However, literature about convergence in Latin America is scarce and preliminary analysis shows that divergence exists in the region. The thesis tries to fill in the gap by covering theoretical, historical and statistical evidence of convergence in the region during 106 years, from 1900 to 2005. The thesis uses a neoclassical growth model based on Solow and Ramsey models. After revising the economic history of 32 countries, several groups were identified and convergence was expected to occur. Different concepts of convergence are tested inside each group through graphs, single cross section regressions and panel data estimations. In general, the results show a success with the grouping. However, the groups that converged under all concepts are those composed by countries that have succeeded in industrializing and/or were able to build strong institutions that could tight welfare and economic growth in a globalization context. The speed of convergence for those countries is around 2%. It is also found that integration processes have not helped to accelerate convergence.
Topic:: Development, History, Economy, and Economic Growth
Political Geography:: Latin America

3146. Economic Growth and India's Future?

Author:: Joydeep Mukherji
Publication Date:: 03-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for the Advanced Study of India
Abstract:: Recent optimism about India is based on the view that the country may finally be on a higher growth trajectory after more than a decade of halting economic reform. Spurred by a balance of payments crisis a decade ago that pushed the government of India to nearly defaulting on its foreign debt, a series of coalition governments have slowly deregulated the once most-regulated economy outside the communist world. Over the years, the government has enlarged the role of market forces, given more freedom to the private sector, and cut barriers to domestic and foreign competition. At the same time, India's state governments have gained considerable autonomy from the central government, making India into the federal state envisaged in its constitution.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:: India, East Asia, and Asia

3147. India's New Entrepreneurial Classes: The High Growth Economy and Why it is Sustainable?

Author:: Sunil Bharti Mittal
Publication Date:: 02-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for the Advanced Study of India
Abstract:: I am Francine Frankel, director of the Center for the Advanced Study of India, and it is my great pleasure this evening to introduce our speaker for CASI's Annual Lecture, Sunil Bharti Mittal, the founder, chairman, and group managing director, Bharti Enterprises. I hardly need tell this audience that Bharti Tele-Ventures is India's leading telecom conglomerate and its largest mobile service operator.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:: India, East Asia, and Asia

3148. Economic Size Trumps All Else? Lessons from BRICSAM

Author:: Timothy Shaw, Andrew F. Cooper, and Agata Antkiewicz
Publication Date:: 12-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:: Continuing CIGI's BRICSAM research, this paper questions whether size (economic or population) of emerging economies alone is enough to warrant accommodation in the rules and structures of the international system. The global realignment of states following the resulting power vacuum brought on by the end of the Cold War is finally materializing, as a new triangular formation has taken shape: the 'first world' club of the OECD; the 'second world' of emerging economies; and, a heterogeneous 'third world' of the rest. The interplay between and mobility among these groups of states deserves in-depth analysis. The core of this paper observes the economic and social trends of countries in the second tier, and their upwards aspirations towards the top-tier of the global architecture. Traced through a variety of indices, the growth of the BRICSAM group of countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, ASEAN-4 and Mexico) is demonstrated to be a powerful force in international economics and political economy. For the inclusion of these states, a change in the key aspects of global economic governance, the international architecture and geopolitics seems inevitable, and with it, new challenges arise for decision-makers and scholars alike.
Topic:: Cold War, Development, Economics, and Globalization
Political Geography:: Russia, China, India, South Africa, Brazil, and Mexico

3149. A Fresh Approach to US Energy Security and Alternative Fuels: The Western Hemisphere and the Ethanol Option

Author:: Annette Hester
Publication Date:: 10-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:: Spurred by world events, energy security has vaulted to the top of the US political agenda. Concerns about supply interruptions and rising prices sped approval of an energy bill which Congress had in the works for nearly five years. Moreover, the growing prominence of the nation's energy challenges, drew special attention from President Bush in his 2006 State of the Union Address, sparking a renewed search for viable alternative fuels. Of those, ethanol is receiving the lion's share of attention. This paper will argue that the new US focus on energy alternatives will undoubtedly impact the ethanol and agriculture markets. However, this discussion will also advance the notion that a key element of an effective ethanol strategy from both cost and environmental perspectives lies in forging technological and open trading relationships in the Western Hemisphere, particularly with Brazil and Canada.
Topic:: Security, Development, Energy Policy, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:: United States, Canada, and Brazil

3150. Recent Regional Agreements: Why so many, so fast, so different and where are they headed?

Author:: John Whalley
Publication Date:: 09-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:: Recent years have witnessed a sharp increase in the number of regional trade agreements (RTAs) both concluded and under negotiation. This paper attempts to document and discuss this growth focusing on the United States (US), the European Union (EU), China, India and the agreements of other countries. The form, coverage, and content of these agreements vary considerably from case to case. This paper poses the following questions: why so many, why the variation, and why the recent increase in RTAs? Implications for the trading system are discussed in a final section.
Topic:: Development, International Trade and Finance, Regional Cooperation, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:: United States, China, and India

3151. Developing Countries and the WTO Agriculture Negotiations

Author:: Jennifer Clapp
Publication Date:: 03-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:: The Doha 'Development' Round of trade negotiations at the WTO has featured agricultural trade liberalization as one of its key aims. But developing countries were frustrated with both the process and the content of the agricultural agreement negotiations early on in the Round. This prompted these countries, through a number of developing country groupings such as the G-20 and others, to call for changes in the talks to ensure that developing country voices and concerns were heard. Though developing countries were in many ways successful in registering their concerns in the latter half of the negotiations and have maintained a fairly high degree of cohesion across the Global South, it remains unclear whether this cohesion will last as the uneven impacts of agricultural trade liberalization become apparent.
Topic:: Agriculture, Development, International Trade and Finance, and Third World
Political Geography:: Uruguay

3152. Trade, Development and the Doha Round: A Sure Bet or a Train Wreck?

Author:: Daniel Drache
Publication Date:: 03-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:: This paper explores the strategy and assumptions that are pushing the Doha Round into dangerously troubled waters, and it assesses the different agendas on the table. It summarizes how we reached the current deadlock, and examines the state of the WTO's legal dispute mechanism. It then critically assesses how divergences play out in the key policy areas of water exports, generic drugs, textile quotas, service-sector liberalization, and agricultural subsidies. Lastly, it will try to answer the question of whether Doha is 'a sure bet, or a train wreck' by looking at several of the prospects and possible scenarios that face the WTO post-Hong Kong. What is now evident is that a target deal seems more distant than ever. It would appear that evolution is not going to be kind to the WTO. The Doha Round is too complex which increases the possibility of failure; too intrusive to assuage many of global civil society's concerns and too anti-development for numerous countries in the Global South to come on board. Paradoxically, many countries are proving to be resilient and innovative when faced with the negotiating impasse and are not pushing the panic button. The global economy is not drifting towards protectionism and the core trading nations seem ready to accept a less dynamic WTO.
Topic:: Development, International Trade and Finance, and Third World
Political Geography:: China and Asia

3153. What if different and opposing views of sociology were complementary to each other?: Reflections on the development of the knowledge of collective life

Author:: Pierre Tripier
Publication Date:: 09-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:: Sociology was born at a time when the Newtonian paradigm was introduced as the hegemonic scientific model. However, this model was not sufficient to understand complex and unstable situations. The model was a unitary explanatory system that not only considered time and space as absolute, but is also drew sociology away from medicine, history, geography and the art of governing. With sociology, these disciplines could have been better understood. That is, when the Newtonian paradigm was discussed from the point of view of thermodynamics, quantum physics, and restricted relativity, other perspectives –dialogic and interactionists- could have conquered legitimate positions in the social sciences so as to compete with these deterministic points of view. Today, a third phase of evolution in physics and biology has allowed for non-contradictory stands in their different perspectives primarily because of the division of work and the awareness of their complementary elements. This question is could this also occuir in sociology?
Topic:: Civil Society, Development, and Science and Technology

3154. The Narratives of the Detained-Disappeared (Or the Problems of Representation Facing Social Catastrophes)

Author:: Gabriel Gatti
Publication Date:: 08-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:: The text proposes the concept of the detained-disappeared as the point from which to analyze social management strategies of a high-caliber theoretical problem in the context of contemporary social sciences, the crisis of representation. To analyze these strategies, this work starts by narrowly defining the concept of the detained-disappeared, thereby suggesting that this is a catastrophe for identity and for language. After considering the social and historical context of the the Latin-American southern hemisphere, the author explains and examines the two forms of narrative that explain how the concept and its consequences have been managed. These forms of narrative are the transitional narrative of the invisible and the highly complex narrative of the void.
Topic:: Civil Society, Development, and Human Rights
Political Geography:: Latin America and Central America

3155. Constitutional Article 59 and 20th Century Mexican Authoritarianism: An Explanatory Explicative Synthesis

Author:: José Ramón López Rubí Calderón
Publication Date:: 06-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:: If the principal components of Mexico's 20th century authoritarianism were a strong president and a hegemonic party loyal.to it, we need to ask: What were the causes of the creation of the binomial system that was in fact successfully supported and articulated. From the perspective of neoinstitutionalism, this text explores not only the causal connections between the implementation and the workings of no-reelection in the federal Congress, but also the creation and persistence of the authoritarian regime. In fact, such an institution (institutional rule) contributed to the concentration of power in one single party that then contributed to the concentration of power in one single figure, the president.
Topic:: Development, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:: Mexico

3156. Legislative Performance and party difference in Mexico: the Chamber of Deputies, 2000-2003

Author:: Everado Rodrigo Daz Gmez
Publication Date:: 05-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:: El artículo muestra los resultados de una investigación sobre el desempeño legislativo y la disciplina partidista en la Cámara de Diputados mexicana, durante la 58 Legislatura (2000-2003). El trabajo pone a prueba cuatro hipótesis provenientes de la bibliografía sobre gobierno sin mayoría en el caso mexicano. En particular, busca mostrar que, contrario a lo que se piensa comúnmente, las instituciones políticas mexicanas, y en especial el Congreso, no están en un estado de “parálisis” o crisis.
Topic:: Development, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:: Central America and Mexico

3157. Haiti's Economic Challenge

Author:: Emily Hsu and Robert Pierto
Publication Date:: 07-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: Haiti's new government faces an enormous economic challenge. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and among the poorest countries in the world. Two thirds of Haiti's eight million citizens live in poverty. Half of its adult population is illiterate. Only a quarter of its children attend school. Since a brief spike in the 1970's, Haiti's economy has experienced a steady decline as a result of rapacious government policies and, possibly well intentioned, but destructive international sanctions.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:: Central America and Haiti

3158. Prospects for Mediation of the Lebanon Crisis

Author:: Patricia Karam and A. Heather Coyne
Publication Date:: 07-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: The U.S. Institute of Peace was the venue for a roundtable session in mid-July to discuss the prospects for mediation of the current crisis in Lebanon. The discussants included former White House and State Department officials, as well as regional experts with experience in mediating previous conflicts between Israel and Lebanon. This USIPeace Briefing highlights the central points made during that discussion and does not represent the views of the Institute, which does not advocate specific policies.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, International Relations, and Development
Political Geography:: United States, Middle East, and Lebanon

3159. Haiti's New Government Faces Historic Dilemmas

Author:: Robert Perito
Publication Date:: 05-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: Two years after Jean-Bertrand Aristide's ouster by armed revolt, Haiti appears ready to turn a page in its turbulent political history. Earlier this month, the Haitian people successfully completed parliamentary elections with minimal violence or fanfare, two months after choosing their new president, René Préval. Once in office, Haiti's new leadership will face grave political challenges in governing a country that has been traumatized by chronic violence and instability.
Topic:: Development, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:: Central America and Haiti

3160. Economic Empowerment of Women in Iraq: The Way Forward

Author:: Yll Bajraktari
Publication Date:: 05-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: A UN/World Bank survey conducted after the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime revealed that even though women represented about 55 percent of Iraq's population, they made up only 23 percent of the workforce. Although the international community and Iraqis have since devoted considerable attention to boosting the status of women in Iraq, most of these efforts have focused on the social and political empowerment of women. Full democratic consolidation in Iraq can only be achieved by guaranteeing, in addition, a leading economic role for women in Iraq.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and Gender Issues
Political Geography:: Iraq and Middle East

3161. What Do Islamists Really Want?

Author:: Abdeslam Maghraoui
Publication Date:: 05-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: Throughout the Muslim world, Islamist parties have emerged as major power brokers when allowed to compete in free elections. Yet their positions on many crucial governance issues remain unknown or ambiguous. Most debates on the potential to moderate and integrate Islamists in the democratic process have focused on Islam's compatibility with democracy or on debates over Islamists' normative commitment to democracy separately from the mechanics of achieving political power.
Topic:: Democratization, Development, Government, and Religion
Political Geography:: Middle East

3162. Syria and Political Change II

Author:: Scott Lasensky
Publication Date:: 03-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: This is the second in a series of USIPeace Briefings written by Scott Lasensky and Mona Yacoubian of USIP's Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention. It is based on discussions at a recent seminar. The views expressed do not reflect those of USIP, which does not take policy positions. One year after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and facing mounting international pressure, the Syrian regime is consolidating its hold on power and adopting a more defiant stance, both in the region and toward the West. On December 12, Lebanese journalist Gibran Tueni—who had been staunchly opposed to Syrian involvement in Lebanon—was killed by a car bomb in Beirut. The attack occurred amidst continued Syrian intimidation of key witnesses as well as an orchestrated Syrian campaign to discredit the UN's Hariri investigation. Then, in a late December interview on al-Arabiya, former Syrian Vice President Abdel Halim Khaddam accused the Syrian regime of directly threatening Hariri just before his death. Khaddam is now openly calling for regime change, even reaching out to exiled leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood. In February 2006, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice criticized the Syrian government for encouraging violence and inflaming popular anger over the Danish cartoon controversy.
Topic:: Development, Politics, and United Nations
Political Geography:: Middle East and Syria

3163. Lebanon's Confessionalism: Problems and Prospects

Author:: Imad K. Harb
Publication Date:: 03-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: Over the past year and a half, Lebanon has witnessed tremendous political upheaval. In September 2004, Parliament extended the term of the country's president, Emile Lahoud, for three years after heavy-handed Syrian interference. Attempts were made on the lives of several public figures; among those killed was former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. A popular uprising forced Syria to withdraw the troops it had deployed in Lebanon since 1976. New parliamentary elections were held in May and June, 2005, and resulted in a new majority coalition of reform-minded, albeit sectarian, leaders who promised an overhaul of Lebanese politics.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Development, and Politics
Political Geography:: Middle East, Lebanon, and Syria

3164. Explaining the Yugoslav Catastrophe: The Quest for a Common Narrative

Author:: Daniel Serwer and Yll Bajraktari
Publication Date:: 01-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: More than a decade after the dissolution of Yugoslavia, people of the region remain deeply divided by contradictory accounts of what happened. Redefinition of historical perspectives along ethno-nationalist lines makes mutual understanding more difficult and hinders reconciliation. Controversies that emerged from the decade of wars continue to hamper the region's prospects.
Topic:: International Relations, Development, and Nationalism
Political Geography:: Eastern Europe

3165. Creating a More Inclusive Peace in Côte d'Ivoire

Author:: Kelly Campbell and Adams Fusheini
Publication Date:: 08-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: On June 19-20, 2006, the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), in partnership with the West African Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), hosted a workshop entitled "Challenges to Peace and Reconstruction in Côte d'Ivoire" in Accra, Ghana. Fourteen representatives of diverse Ivoirian civil society organizations (CSOs) attended the conference, as well as representatives from the United Nations Mission in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and other nongovernmental organizations.
Topic:: International Relations, Development, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:: Africa and United States

3166. State recognition of traditional authority in Mozambique: the legible space between state and community

Author:: Helene Maria Kyed and Lars Buur
Publication Date:: 12-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: In 2000 the Mozambican government initiated a process of formally recognizing traditional leaders both as representatives of local community interests and as assistants of local state organs. Twenty-five years after the FRELIMO government abolished the formal power of traditional leaders, the Decree 15/2000 provided for their re-inclusion in the performance of a long list of state administrative tasks and re-named chiefs or régulos as 'community authorities'. In line with post-war commitments to democratic decentralization, the Decree promises to enhance community participation in local administration and rural development. The role of traditional authority as intermediary between rural populations and the state is not a new problematique, but has been part of the ongoing process of state formation from Portuguese colonial rule, through post-colonial FRELIMO nation-state building, to today's liberal democratic governance. This article addresses some fundamental questions pertaining to the official recognition of traditional leaders as community authorities. It argues that the double role that they are expected to fulfil as both community-representatives and state-assistants is not equally balanced either in the Decree 15/2000 or in its implementation: the scale tips heavily towards the state-assistance role. After a brief history of traditional authority as a basis for understanding the recent official recognition, the article outlines the main techniques through which traditional leaders have been made legible as 'true' community representatives capable of working as state assistants. Based on analysis of the processes of legibility, the article scrutinizes the reified notions underpinning the Decree, such as the understanding of 'traditional rules' and the definition of 'community'. It concludes by pointing out some consequences of these reified notions for kin-based forms of community authority.
Topic:: Civil Society, Development, and Government
Political Geography:: Africa

3167. Better (RED) than Dead: 'Brand Aid', Celebrities and the New Frontier of Development Assistance

Author:: Stefano Ponte and Lisa Ann Richey
Publication Date:: 09-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: Bono's launch of Product (RED)™ at Davos in 2006 marks the opening of a new frontier for development aid. The advent of 'Brand Aid' explicitly linked to commerce, not philanthropy, reconfigures the modalities of international development assistance. American Express, Gap, Converse and Armani represent the faces of ethical intervention in the world, as customers are encouraged to do good by dressing well. Consumption, trade and aid wed dying Africans with designer goods, as a new social contract is created to generate a sustainable flow of money to support The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Aid celebrities – the bard, the teacher and the healer – guarantee the 'cool quotient,' the management and the target of this new modality. Bono is the rock-star who led his fans to believe that they could solve Africa's problems of AIDS and poverty. Jeffrey Sachs is the recently-radicalized economist who masterminded The Global Fund. And Paul Farmer is the physician who convinced the world that treatment of AIDS was possible in even the poorest communities. The consumer's signification of status through designer RED products does not represent the exploitation of the most downtrodden – it actually helps them. 'Brand Aid' creates a world where it is possible to have as much as you want without depriving anyone else. Promoted as new leftist development chic, compassionate consumption effectively de-links the relations of capitalist production from AIDS and poverty.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and Humanitarian Aid
Political Geography:: Africa and America

3168. Interim Return and Palestine: On Politics, Terminology and Structural Invisibility

Author:: Riina Isotalo
Publication Date:: 08-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: Taking its cue from the literature on return migration and repatriation processes as well as the Palestinian refugee problem, this paper looks first at the issue of return to place of origin or not. Return migration to the West Bank and Gaza Strip is then considered in the light of this schema, and stipulations of the politicisation of a transnational paradigm and the structural invisibility of return migration are highlighted. The present paper argues that in the Palestinian context, return is a political issue for all parties concerned and that Palestinian return migration has been structurally invisible. The paper concludes that politicisation of a transnational paradigm should be acknowledged in studying Palestinians' transnational mobility and relations because otherwise the fact that some transnational practises might aim at permanent return can pass unnoticed.
Topic:: Development, Migration, and Politics
Political Geography:: Middle East and Gaza

3169. Poor People in Environmental Management in Uganda and Tanzania

Author:: Kim Raben, Michael Kidoido, Dositeus Lopa, Zarupa Akello, and Jannik Boesen
Publication Date:: 08-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: This is a paper on analysing the Participatory Environmental Management (PEMA) programme's impact on poverty, livelihoods, and the knowledge-attitudes-practices syndrome in the Kasyoha- Kitomi forest landscape in Uganda and the South Nguru forest landscape in Tanzania. The objectives of the Participatory Environmental Management (PEMA) programme are to improve the livelihood security of poor, natural resource dependent households [...] and enhance the capacity of civil society and government institutions to design and implement effective ICD programmes The principal purpose is to analyse the poverty situation in each landscape in terms of the level and composition of poverty and the factors causing the poverty of different groups of the population. A secondary purpose is, during the first phase, to be able to indicate the effects of forest management on poor people's livelihoods, to register their relationships with the forest, and not least to analyse the involvement of the poor and marginalised in new initiatives of landscape planning and environmental management. DIIS has developed a methodology for monitoring the poverty impacts of agricultural interventions at household level, which is now being used for this purpose.
Topic:: Development, Environment, and Poverty
Political Geography:: Uganda, Africa, and Tanzania

3170. From Soldier to Civilian: Disarmament Demobilisation Reintegration in Afghanistan

Author:: Peter Dahl Thruelsen
Publication Date:: 06-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: This report sets out to explore the processes of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) within the context of post-conflict peace-building. I have tried to investigate the transformation of soldiers to civilians in the aftermath of war. The purpose of the research is to facilitate practical recommendations of DDR to be used in future cases of post-conflict peace-building.
Topic:: Security, Civil Society, and Development
Political Geography:: Afghanistan and Asia

3171. Supporting local innovation for rural development: analysis and review of five innovation support funds

Author:: Esbern Friis-Hanse and Henrik Egelyng
Publication Date:: 06-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: The aim of this study is to follow up the 1st GRA-World Bank workshop on in- novation systems at the community level, “Touching the Hearts of the People”, held in Kuala Lumpur 6-8 February 2006. By resolution, this workshop recommended that a 'review of existing innovation support funds and outline of a global mechanism to foster community level innovations' should be undertaken. The study is also, in part, a response to a recent report from the World Bank's Indigenous Knowledge for Development Program, which calls for the establishment of an “innovation fund to promote successful IK practices” (Gorjestani, N., in WB 2004; 45-53).
Topic:: International Relations, Agriculture, Development, and Economics

3172. An Overview of the Certified Organic Export Sector in Uganda

Author:: Peter Gibbon
Publication Date:: 03-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: This paper reports the results of a survey of almost all certified and in-conversion organic export operations in Uganda in late 2005. It covers products exported, company size and ownership, standards exported to, certification costs, total export values, value-added in Uganda, marketing channels, crop procurement systems, management of organic operations and the main challenges experienced by exporters. Findings include that numbers of certified exporters are growing rapidly. Export values are also growing, but more slowly: They reached USD 6.2 million in 2005. A handful of firms exporting coffee and cotton dominate the sector and this situation is likely to remain. Though the sector is maturing, most recent entrants are small, relatively weak and currently depend on donor support.
Topic:: Agriculture, Development, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:: Uganda and Africa

3173. A Complex Reality: The Strategic Behaviour of Multinational Oil Corporations and the New Wars in Sudan

Author:: Luke A. Patey
Publication Date:: 03-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: This paper reports the results of a survey of almost all certified and in-conversion organic export operations in Uganda in late 2005. It covers products exported, company size and ownership, standards exported to, certification costs, total export values, value-added in Uganda, marketing channels, crop procurement systems, management of organic operations and the main challenges experienced by exporters. Findings include that numbers of certified exporters are growing rapidly. Export values are also growing, but more slowly: They reached USD 6.2 million in 2005. A handful of firms exporting coffee and cotton dominate the sector and this situation is likely to remain. Though the sector is maturing, most recent entrants are small, relatively weak and currently depend on donor support.
Topic:: International Relations, Development, and War
Political Geography:: Africa and Sudan

3174. EU Civilian Rapid Reaction - trouble ahead!

Author:: Peter Viggo Jakobsen
Publication Date:: 12-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: This brief takes issue with the prevailing view that the ESDP capacity building process is easier and has been more successful in the civilian than in the military field. It argues that civilian capacity building is harder than military capacity building, demonstrates that the EU's civilian rapid reaction capacity is considerably smaller and less integrated than it is generally assumed, and that the capacity goals set for 2008 are unattainable. Yet another major EU expectations-capability gap has been created and there is now a real danger that this gap will seriously damage the EU's reputation as the global leader in civilian crisis management.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Civil Society, and Development
Political Geography:: Europe

3175. After Enlargement: Europe's New Migration System

Author:: Adrian Favell
Publication Date:: 12-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: Policy makers underestimate the importance of underlying demographics and labour market dynamics on future East-West migration in Europe. Flows have generally been demand driven, and have therefore been drawn by European nations with the most open and informal labour markets – such as Britain, Ireland, Italy and Spain –rather than more highly regulated welfare states such as Denmark. They are also more likely to be circular and temporary than one way immigration. I discuss the desirability of the apparently inevitable trend in Europe towards a more US style international labour market that strongly parallels the migration system between the US and Mexico. The underlying trend in Europe is towards the emergence of a more regionalised system, in which West European societies come to rely on East European movers to fill secondary labour market needs in the service economy, rather than more racially or ethnically distinct non-European immigrants.
Topic:: Development, Migration, and Politics
Political Geography:: Europe

3176. Water reform - implications for rural poor people's access to water

Author:: Helle Munk Ravnborg and Claus Aagaard
Publication Date:: 08-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: Many countries are currently in a process of water reform, often motivated by increasing and a changing composition – and strength – of demands for fresh water. In many countries this reform process has been met with opposition from all political corners, including traditional water users such as large scale farmers and civil society organizations such as indigenous movements and environmental groups.
Topic:: Development, Health, Human Welfare, and Poverty
Political Geography:: Africa

3177. UN-led Strategies for Media and Communications in Conflict Prevention and Peace Building

Author:: Bent Nørby Bonde
Publication Date:: 07-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: Media have contributed significantly to the escalation of violent conflicts, but also have a strong potential for contributing to peace building and conflict transformation. The sooner the first steps are taken towards changing the existing media the cheaper and more efficient this process will become. The need for boosting the rapid deployment is evident.
Topic:: Conflict Prevention, Development, Peace Studies, and United Nations
Political Geography:: Yugoslavia

3178. Foreign Direct Investment: Key Issues for Promotion Agencies

Author:: Sergey Filippov, Iornara Costa, and Mariana Zanatta
Publication Date:: 10-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: The growing importance attached to attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) is evidenced by the steady rise of investment promotion agencies (IPAs) worldwide, especially from the early 1990s. Since its launch in 1995, the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) has registered a growing number of members representing cities, regions, countries and free zones from all over the world: from 112 in 2002, 161 in 2004, rising to 191 members from 149 countries in 2006. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) there were around 500 IPAs in more than 160 countries in 2004.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Development, Economics, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:: United Nations

3179. Mobilizing Talent for Global Development

Author:: Andrs Solimano
Publication Date:: 08-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: The generation of new ideas and their application for productive uses is an important engine for growth and development. This is an area in which developing countries usually lag behind developed countries and is where development gaps are more evident. Behind the generation of ideas, innovations, and new technologies there is 'human talent': an inner capacity of individuals to develop ideas and objects, some of them with a high economic value. The 'human factor' is critical to the success or failure of many endeavours. Several countries, particularly China and India, followed by Russia, Poland, and some Latin American countries, are becoming an important source of talented people with PhDs and degrees in science, engineering, and other areas that can lead to change in the international patterns of comparative advantages and reduce development gaps. Part of the new talent formed in developing countries goes to live and work to developed countries, typically the USA, UK, and other OECD nations. At the same time multinational corporations are outsourcing several of their productive and service activities, including research and development, to developing countries (China and India are main destinations) to take advantage of the (less expensive) talent being developed there. Today, therefore, we see a double movement of talent and capital around the globe: on the one hand talent from developing countries is moving north seeking better opportunities where people are equipped with more capital, technologies, and effective organizations. On the hand capital from the north pursues talent in the south; a process largely led by multinational corporations.
Topic:: Development, Economics, Human Welfare, and Migration
Political Geography:: United States, China, United Kingdom, and India

3180. Fiscal Policy for Poverty Reduction, Reconstruction, and Growth

Author:: Matthew Smith, Alan Roe, and Tony Addison
Publication Date:: 06-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: An effective state is able to mobilize revenue and spend it on infrastructure, services, and public goods that both enhance human capital and the well-being of communities (especially the poor), as well as stimulating investment and employment creation by the private sector. An effective state also manages public finance to ensure that macroeconomic balance is maintained—with policy neither too restrictive to discourage private investment and growth, nor too accommodative to create high inflation and crowd out private investment. Fiscal issues are therefore at the heart of the state's role in the development process and failure in this policy area—whether it is in taxation, public expenditures, or in managing the fiscal deficit and public debt—can quickly undermine growth and poverty reduction. Fiscal weakness can also be fatal to social peace when one or more ethnic, religious, or regional groups are taxed unfairly—or receives too little in the allocation of public spending.
Topic:: Debt, Development, Economics, and Poverty
Political Geography:: Africa and Asia

3181. Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Transport Alternatives: Issues for Developing Countries

Author:: Grant Boyle and Lynn Mytelka
Publication Date:: 05-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: Recent technological advances in the application of hydrogen fuel cells in the transport sector have drawn considerable attention and increased funding from both public and private sources over the past ten years. The International Energy Agency estimates that about US$1billion per year is currently being invested in public hydrogen and fuel cell research, development, test vehicles, prototype refuelling stations and demonstration projects, as compared to the total annual public budget for energy research, development and demonstration of around US$8billion. While still in the early stages of development and costly in comparison to conventional vehicle propulsion and fuel technologies, fuel cells and hydrogen offer a promising solution to address growing concerns over the transport sector's dependence on oil and its impact on climate change.
Topic:: Development, Energy Policy, Science and Technology, and Third World
Political Geography:: United States and Europe

3182. Open Source and Open Standards: A New Frontier for Economic Development?

Author:: Philip Schmidt and Rishab Aiyer Ghosh
Publication Date:: 03-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: Free software (also called open source software or libre software) has become one of the most talked about phenomena in the ICT world in recent years. This is remarkable, not only for the usual reasons—that open source has been around for many years as a volunteer driven success story before being discovered by big business and now government— but also because it has largely developed quietly on its own without the headline coverage and glare of international attention that it now receives.
Topic:: Development, Economics, Science and Technology, and Third World
Political Geography:: United States

3183. Post Conflict Rehabilitation: Lessons from South East Europe and Strategic Consequences for the Euro-Atlantic Community

Author:: Gustav E. Gustenau, Jean-Jacques de Dardel, and Plamen Pantev
Publication Date:: 04-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Austrian National Defence Academy
Abstract:: The purposeful efforts to explain and define the changes of the Cold War system of international relations continue for a second decade. Certain referent studies stimulate the thinking on these topics, including in the post-9/11 period. Understanding better the transformation of the international system would provide us with a better view on the changes in its regulative sub-system, including the international legal component of the latter.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, NATO, Development, Human Rights, and International Cooperation
Political Geography:: Europe and Balkans

3184. Governance in Areas of Limited Statehood – New Modes of Governance? Research Program of the Research Center (SFB) 700

Author:: Thomas Risse and Ursula Lehmkuhl
Publication Date:: 12-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700
Abstract:: The governance problematique constitutes a central research focus in contemporary social sciences. Yet, the debate remains centered on an „ideal type“ of the modern nation-state – with full sovereignty and a legitimate monopoly over the use of force. From a global as well as a historical perspective, however, the Western modern nation-state is an exception rather than the rule. Outside the developed world, we find areas of “limited statehood”, from developing and transition countries to „failing“ and „failed states“ in today's conflict zones and – historically – in colonial societies. Our Research Center focuses on these areas of limited statehood which lack the capacity to implement and enforce central decisions or even lack the monopoly over the means of violence. We ask: How can effective and legitimate governance be sustained in areas of limited statehood? Which problems emerge under these conditions? We assume that “multi-level governance” is the rule in areas of limited statehood, linking the local with the national, regional, and global levels. We also assume that governance in areas of limited statehood involves a variety of public and private actors, such as states, international organizations, firms, and civil society. Governance entails negotiations, bargaining, and arguing among these actors rather than hierarchical „command and control“.
Topic:: Democratization, Development, International Cooperation, and Political Economy

3185. Governance in Räumen begrenzter Staatlichkeit: Neue Formen des Regierens?

Author:: Thomas Risse and Ursula Lehmkuhl
Publication Date:: 12-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700
Abstract:: Governance ist zu einem zentralen Thema sozialwissenschaftlicher Forschung geworden. Dabei besteht Übereinstimmung, dass politische Gemeinwesen bestimmte Leistungen in den Bereichen Herrschaft, Sicherheit und Wohlfahrt erbringen sollen. In den Debatten wird aber oft „eff ektive Gebietsherrschaft“ als Kernelement moderner Staatlichkeit stillschweigend vorausgesetzt, und die Forschung konzentriert sich auf die OECD-Welt. In globaler sowie historischer Perspektive sind autoritative Entscheidungskompetenz und Gewaltmonopol des Staates jedoch die Ausnahme, nicht die Regel. Ein Blick auf die Länder des Südens, „zerfallen(d)e Staaten“ in den Krisenregionen der Welt oder ehemalige Kolonien bestätigt dies. Hier wird politisch gesteuert, ohne dass die vielfältigen Verfahren demokratischer und rechtsstaatlich organisierter Wohlfahrtsstaaten verfügbar wären. Der SFB 700 fragt daher nach den Bedingungen von Governance in diesen Räumen begrenzter Staatlichkeit: Wie und unter welchen Bedingungen werden Governance-Leistungen in den Bereichen Herrschaft, Sicherheit und Wohlfahrt in Räumen begrenzter Staatlichkeit erbracht, und welche Probleme entstehen dabei? Die SFB-Teilprojekte untersuchen, wie dort regiert wird und welche Probleme dabei entstehen. Dabei gehen wir davon aus, dass sich in Räumen begrenzter Staatlichkeit „neue“ Formen des Regierens herausbilden, die vorwiegend „weiche“ Steuerungsformen nutzen, auf vielfältigen Kooperationsformen zwischen staatlichen und nicht-staatlichen Akteuren basieren und durch eine Verschränkung von globalen, nationalen und lokalen Ebenen charakterisiert sind.
Topic:: Democratization, Development, International Organization, and Political Economy
Political Geography:: Germany

3186. Fifteen Proposal for Italy's European Policy

Author:: Ettore Greco, Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, and Stefano Silvestri
Publication Date:: 01-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:: Despite the important achievements of the past years (the Euro, enlargement, the drafting of the Constitutional Treaty, interventions in the Balkans and the growing diplomatic role in the Middle East), Europe is at a standstill and experiencing scepticism which, combined with prolonged economic stagnation, could deteriorate into a serious crisis. In this difficult situation, Italy could suffer particularly negative consequences. At the same time, however, it could – as in the past – play a prominent role in providing the Union with new dynamism.
Topic:: Development, International Cooperation, and International Political Economy
Political Geography:: Europe and Italy

3187. The Implications of China's Rise for Asia and Europe

Author:: Linda Jakobson
Publication Date:: 05-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:: China has in a very short time span embraced multilateral mechanisms to address a broad range of issues and avoided confrontation with the United States. Both stances have shaped Asian and European views of a rising China. At present, Asian and European leaders take China's word regarding its peaceful intentions as a rising power. However, Asian and European policy-makers tend to refrain from confronting China too strongly on issues sensitive to Beijing (poor implementation of intellectual property rights, disregard for human rights, etc). The more prosperous China grows, the less influence any other country will have over Beijing's policies. A rising China is a challenge to others because of its sheer size, its great need for imported energy, and the environmental degradation it causes due to its ongoing industrialization. The troubled relationship between China and Japan is one of increasing concern and could lead to aggravated tensions in East Asia.
Topic:: International Relations, Development, and International Political Economy
Political Geography:: United States, China, Europe, and Asia

3188. Privatisation in Deep Water? Water Governance and Options for Development Cooperation, INEF-Report 84

Author:: Annabelle Houdret and Miriam Shabafrouz
Publication Date:: 01-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Institute for Development and Peace
Abstract:: Water is an essential factor for human development and health, but also for agricultural production, the development of the tourism sector and industrial growth. The increasing scarcity of the resource contributes to high competition between these user groups. Growing tension and conflict over water allocation urge for new approaches in demand management.
Topic:: Development, Government, Health, and Privatization

3189. Matisse at Vence: An Epilogue to Van Gogh and Gauguin: The Search for Sacred Art

Author:: Kenneth E. Silver
Publication Date:: 06-2006
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: French Politics, Culture Society
Institution:: Conference Group on French Politics Society
Abstract:: Silverman's intent is to emphasize the "critical role of religion in the development of modernism." As an addendum to that pursuit, it should be pointed out that, well into the twentieth century, religion remained crucial to artistic innovation and development (and still is). We now recognize how important apocalyptic imagery was to Wasily Kandinsky's abstraction. In the wake of the Second World War, and French occupation by the Germans, religion made a powerful reappearance in the art of the avant-garde. Henri Matisse's Chapel of the Rosary at Vence is one of the great works of this period; it is worth briefly examining the ways in which Matisse understood the intersection between modern art and his reengagement with Catholicism.
Topic:: Development and War
Political Geography:: Germany

3190. Les débats autour du mouvement pour la décroissance

Author:: Françoise Gollain
Publication Date:: 06-2006
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: French Politics, Culture Society
Institution:: Conference Group on French Politics Society
Abstract:: The last four years have seen the rise of a movement on the French radical left positing a fundamental conflict between economic growth and ecological sustainability and calling for a reversal of growth (décroissance) against the current consensus around the concept of sustainable development. This challenge to the growth imperative and, more widely, of the ideology of progress, represents a return to the explicitly antiproductivist approaches that emerged in the early 1970s with the rise of radical political ecology. This article charts the birth of the décroissance movement, which is comprised of two components: anticonsumerist and antidevelopment. It also contrasts the movement with other closely- related ideological elements of the French antiglobalization and anticapitalist movements, elements that belong to the dominant, mainly Marxist tradition, whose anticapitalist struggle builds on the legacy of the Enlightenment period. The article concludes that, by placing antieconomicist and antiutilitarian thought drawn from social sciences on the agenda of the French radical Left, the décroissance movement could potentially generate a major paradigm shift founded on a critical evaluation of the heritage of modernity.
Topic:: Development

3191. Taiwan's Rising Rationalism: Generations, Politics, and "Taiwanese Nationalism"

Author:: Shelley Rigger
Publication Date:: 01-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:: A peaceful, amicable relationship between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China (PRC) is essential to prosperity and security in and beyond the Taiwan Strait. Anticipating the future direction of crossstrait relations is thus very important. But it is also very difficult, not least because key trends in the Strait seem to be headed in opposite directions. On the one hand, the scope and intensity of crossstrait interactions are expanding rapidly, creating shared interests on the two sides and eroding resistance to closer crossstrait ties. On the other hand, popular support for political unification within Taiwan is declining, and the percentage of Taiwan residents who think of themselves as Taiwanese, not Chinese, is rising.
Topic:: Development, Energy Policy, and Environment
Political Geography:: Europe and Taiwan

3192. Defusing Conflict in Tsalka District of Georgia: Migration, International Intervention and the Role of the State

Author:: Jonathan Wheatley
Publication Date:: 10-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: EastWest Institute
Abstract:: The Tsalka district of Georgia, situated in the west of the province of Kvemo Kartli, is home to a highly diverse population and has, since Georgia gained independence, been affected by three interconnected and potentially destabilising trends. First, after the collapse of the USSR, the local economy disintegrated. During the Soviet era, Tsalka had been a highly productive agricultural region, but after the Soviet internal market broke down and the roads and railway links fell into disrepair, most inhabitants of Tsalka district were forced to eke out a subsistence living from what they could grow and raise on their own parcels of land. Secondly, the state-society relationship in Tsalka district has changed radically over the last twenty years; from a highly regulating state in the Soviet period, to its virtual withdrawal in the 1990s and early 2000s, to a re-establishment of state authority in the aftermath of the November 2003 'Rose Revolution'. Finally, Tsalka has been the epicentre of successive waves of in-migration and out-migration; from a large-scale exodus of Greeks that began in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union and continues unabated today to the rapid in-migration of Georgians from Adjara and Svaneti that began to gain pace in the late 1990s and reached its peak during the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline in 2003-2004.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Development, and Ethnic Conflict
Political Geography:: Caucasus

3193. The Open Method of Coordination as practice - A watershed in European education policy?

Author:: Åse Gornitzka
Publication Date:: 12-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: European Research Papers Archive
Abstract:: This paper asks whether the application of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) represents a fundamental change in how cooperation takes place within education as a policy area at the European level. Based on a case study of a process that eventually would lead to the “Education and Training 2010” programme of the EU, the paper analyses how the OMC was turned into practice in European education policy. It argues that with the introduction of the OMC a new political space was created in this policy domain. The paper analyses the practices of the OMC in terms of the actors and roles that have been activated at the European level, the role of OMC education in a larger order, and its operative dynamics. The different elements of OMC show varying degrees of institutionalisation. Parts of this process have been experimental, especially as a venue of policy learning and peer reviewing. On the other hand the attention and agenda of EU institutions involved in education policy have been coordinated over time through the routines established around the goals and objectives of the OMC process. The use and development of indicators have also become well established as one of the main components of European cooperation in this field.
Topic:: International Relations, Development, and Education
Political Geography:: Europe

3194. Higher Education as a Form of European Integration: How Novel is the Bologna Process?

Author:: Anne Corbett
Publication Date:: 12-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: European Research Papers Archive
Abstract:: This paper argues that at a time in which higher education has become central to the concerns of EU institutions as well as national governments, it is helpful to understand current policy initiatives - both the spin offs from the EU's Lisbon strategy and the intergovernmental Bologna Process – in the comparative terms of the dynamics of policy-making. Drawing on institutionalist frameworks biased towards process (Kingdon 1984, March and Olsen 1989, Barzelay 2003) and comparative historical analysis, it presents policy initiatives from the period 1955-87, including the supranational European University proposal and the Erasmus programme, as both historical events, and theorised configurations of agenda setting, alternative specification, and choice. It suggests that such a framework can be helpful to both those interested primarily in European integration and those whose interests lie in the dynamics of higher education policy-making in a multi-level setting.
Topic:: Development, Education, and Government
Political Geography:: Europe and Lisbon

3195. Constructivist Approaches in International Relations Theory: Puzzles and Promises";

Author:: Antje Wiener
Publication Date:: 12-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: European Research Papers Archive
Abstract:: By raising the question of what made constructivism possible the paper discusses the puzzle and promises of constructivist scholarschip in IR. It is argued that the communicative style which coined constructivism as a movement provides the key. Two puzzles are the focus, first, a lack of epistemological overlap, secondly, a disciplinary culture of consecutive debates which reached their high point of non-communication with the so-called Third Debate. However, while the constructivist movement gathered influence as a reference frame in the late 1990s, it is neither genuine to international relations theory nor does it originate in the 1990s. Why and how did constructivism manage to bring such a diverse group of scholars to one table? Section 2 of the paper develops the argument and introduces the concept of framing to understand the puzzle of conversation in IR. Section 3 recalls the emergence of constructivism, identifies the theoretical discussions and the significant conceptual moves. Section 4 summarizes the value-added and flags 'norms' research as the core of constructivist political science.
Topic:: International Relations, Development, Education, and Politics

3196. The Problem of Legitimacy in the European Polity. Is Democratization the Answer?";

Author:: Ulrich K. Preuss and Claus Offe
Publication Date:: 12-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: European Research Papers Archive
Abstract:: The authors discuss potential sources of legitimacy of the EU, i. e. of the normative bindingness of its decisions. After rejecting the views that such legitimacy is either not needed, not feasible, or provided for already, they focus upon the corrosive impact of the EU upon democratic legitimacy within member states. Brussels-based 'governance' is essentially uncontested and can hardly provide for the legitimacy that results from the interplay between government and opposition within nation states. The problem boils down to achieving legitimacy in the absence of the political community of a 'demos'. The paper outlines a solution to this problem that relies on the apparently oxymoronic model of a 'republican empire' - a political community, that is, which is held together not by the bonds of some presumed sameness, but, to the contrary, by the shared contractual recognition of the dissimilarity of its constituent parts from which legitimacy can flow.
Topic:: Democratization, Development, and Politics
Political Geography:: Europe and Brussels

3197. Current Legal Issues in the External Relations of the European Union

Author:: Michel Petit
Publication Date:: 12-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: European Research Papers Archive
Abstract:: This paper is based on a lecture delivered during the Academy of European Law Summer School 2006. It provides an examination from a legal perspective of three current themes in the external relations of the European Union. First, the legal implications of the pillar structure for external relations, including recent case law and practical issues arising from the application of Article 47 TEU, the borderline between Community external policies and the Union's common foreign and security policy, and practical interpillar cooperation. It concludes that it is easier to combine the pillars by means of pragmatic solutions, whereas it is much more difficult in the case of a strictly legal construction which takes into account the requirements of Union coherence and the separate character of each pillar. Second, the paper turns to the balance between Member States and the European Union/Community in external policy and in particular the application of the “AETR test” in recent case law including the “Open Skies” cases, the Lugano Convention Opinion and the “Mox Plant” case. It concludes that a proper application of the AETR remains a practical challenge that transcends the narrow issue of pure legal deduction as to whether Community competence is “affected” or not. And third, the paper considers the position of the EU within, and participation in the work of, international organisations such as the United Nations, the WHO and the WTO. The paper concludes by emphasising the need for collaboration between the institutions and for pragmatic solutions to the problems that are inevitable while the Union retains its current complex structure.
Topic:: International Relations, Development, and International Law
Political Geography:: Europe

3198. Multi-Level Judicial Trade Governance without Justice? On the Role of Domestic Courts in the WTO Legal and Dispute Settlement System

Author:: Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann
Publication Date:: 12-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: European Research Papers Archive
Abstract:: The fragmented nature of national and international legal and dispute settlement regimes, and the formalistic nature of the customary international law rules on treaty interpretation and conflicts of laws, offer little guidance on how national and international judges should respond to the proliferation of competing jurisdictions and the resultant incentives for forum shopping and rule shopping by governments and non-governmental actors in international economic law. Due to their different jurisdictions, procedures and different rules of applicable laws, national and international judges often interpret international trade law from different (inter)national, (inter)governmental, constitutional and judicial perspectives. This paper explores the judicial functions of national and international judges to reach justified decisions based on positive law, on the basis of transparent, predictable and fair procedures, and to interpret international treaties “in conformity with principles of justice.” Chapters I to III explain some of the “principles of justice” underlying international trade law and argue that international rules for a mutually beneficial division of labour among private citizens should be construed with due regard to the human rights obligations of governments. Chapters III and IV propose to strengthen international cooperation among national and international courts, for instance by negotiating additional WTO commitments to interpret domestic trade laws in conformity with the WTO obligations of the countries concerned and to settle WTO disputes over private rights primarily in domestic courts, without transforming essentially private disputes into disputes among governments.
Topic:: Development, Government, International Trade and Finance, and Non-Governmental Organization
Political Geography:: Europe

3199. Codecision and Institutional Change

Author:: Henry Farrell and Adrienne Héritier
Publication Date:: 12-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: European Research Papers Archive
Abstract:: We examine the sources and processes of institutional change in one important aspect of EU politics—the legislative procedure of codecision and show how interstitial change of institutions emerges between formal Treaty revisions and under specific conditions may be formalized in subsequent formal Treaty reforms. We develop two related models of Treaty change. First, in a'simple' model, we argue that informal rules will be formalized in the Treaty text where all member states are in agreement, and will be rolled back when all member states oppose them; otherwise they will continue in existence at the informal level. Second, in a more complex framework, we argue that actors who have effective veto powers in a related arena may make credible threats that allow them to press member states into formalizing informal rules, provided that member states are not unanimously opposed to this formalization. We empirically assess our claims in the light of several instances of informal rules applied in the codecision procedure.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and Politics
Political Geography:: Europe

3200. Legislate or Delegate? Bargaining over Implementation and Legislative Authority in the European Union

Author:: Henry Farrell, Adrienne Héritier, and Carl-Fredrik Bergström
Publication Date:: 12-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: European Research Papers Archive
Abstract:: In this article we explain how actors' ability to bargain successfully in order to advance their institutional preferences has changed over time as a function of the particular institutional context. We show how actors use their bargaining power under given institutional rules in order to shift the existing balance between legislation and delegation, and shift the rules governing delegation in their favour, between formal treaty changes. We argue that a collective actor's preferences over delegation is a function of whether the actor has more ability to influence policy through delegation or through legislation. We go on to argue that the degree to which a specific actor's preferences can prevail (in a setting in which different actors have different preferences) will depend upon its bargaining power under existing institutional rules, i.e. its ability to impede or veto policy in order to change the division between legislation and delegation and the rules of delegation. Our primary focus in this article is on choice over procedure; i.e. the battles over whether or not delegation or legislation should be employed. We maintain a secondary focus on change in procedure, examining how different procedures of comitology have come into being and been removed from the table. We examine the evolution of the debate over comitology and implementation, over five key periods. We scrutinize how actors within these periods seek to shift the balance of legislation and delegation and the rules of delegation according to their preferences. Our conclusions assess our empirical findings on the basis of our model.
Topic:: Development, Government, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:: Europe

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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS