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62. Germany-Israel Relations: Unique or Normal?
- Author:
- Shimon Stein
- Publication Date:
- 03-2018
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Institute for National Security Studies (INSS)
- Abstract:
- Recent events and statements by German figures indicate a change in Germany’s attitude to Israel. What for decades was a unique bilateral relationship – grounded in the memory of the Holocaust and the commitment that Germany consequently made to Israel’s existence and security – has been increasingly shaped by considerations of realpolitik that formerly played a secondary role.
- Topic:
- International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Israel and Germany
63. Sustaining Peace in Practice: Building on What Works
- Author:
- Youssef Mahmoud, David Connolly, and Delphine Mechoulan
- Publication Date:
- 02-2018
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute
- Abstract:
- Prevention is generally viewed as a crisis management tool to address the destructive dynamics of conflict. The sustaining peace agenda challenges this traditional understanding of preventive action by shifting the starting point of analysis to what is still working in society—the positive aspects of resilience—and building on these.
- Topic:
- International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
64. To Defeat Terrorism, Use 'People Power'
- Author:
- Maria J. Stephan and Leanne Erdberg
- Publication Date:
- 02-2018
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- As governments and communities seek the right combination of methods to halt terrorism, one that we too often miss is nonviolent resistance. It’s not that we haven’t seen the power of protest movements that use mass marches, sit-ins, boycotts and other forceful but nonviolent tactics. To the contrary, people worldwide have been moved by watching such movements sweep aside the walls of apartheid, the tanks of dictators or the impunity of kleptocracies. But governments and civil society alike have failed to connect the dots—to promote nonviolent action that can help communities address grievances while absorbing the youth alienation upon which terrorist movements feed.
- Topic:
- International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
65. USIP’s Work on Violent Extremism
- Author:
- USIP
- Publication Date:
- 02-2018
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- Over the past decade, transnational and deadly violent extremist movements—such as ISIS, Boko Haram, the Taliban, and al-Shabab—have risen out of instability and conflicts and repeatedly inflamed and perpetuated hostilities. These movements recruit followers and destabilize regions by harnessing agendas and exploiting grievances such as social marginalization, political exclusion, state repression, and lack of access to justice and resources.
- Topic:
- International Relations and International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
66. Resisting TTIP Behind the Boarder Talks: The Case of Genetically Modified Organisms
- Author:
- Vinod K. Aggarwal
- Publication Date:
- 11-2018
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Berkeley APEC Study Center
- Abstract:
- During negotiations of mega-regional trade agreements, state representatives have the incentive to demand that other parties align with their entrenched regulatory practices. Indeed, a country’s exporters will derive extensive benefits if negotiating partners fulfill these demands. Strictly pursuing self-interest, however, often leads to stalemate. When the United States (US) and European Union (EU) entered into negotiations of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), they sought to more effectively align transatlantic regulation and associated practices. Although extant literature indicates that relatively similar, rich, and developed countries should easily conclude agreements due to shared interests, negotiations between the US and EU in the regulatory area of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) deteriorated. By 2016, this matter effectively fell off the TTIP negotiating agenda.
- Topic:
- Science and Technology and International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
67. Reform and Renewal in Zimbabwe or More of the Same?
- Author:
- Paul Nantulya
- Publication Date:
- 06-2018
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Africa Center for Strategic Studies
- Abstract:
- Multiple possible scenarios could emerge from Zimbabwe’s July 30 polls—the country’s first without Robert Mugabe’s name on the ballot. For now, the military appears intent on leveraging its interests.
- Topic:
- International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Zimbabwe
68. World Cup Dreams Shape Africa’s National Narratives
- Author:
- Africa Center for Strategic Studies
- Publication Date:
- 06-2018
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Africa Center for Strategic Studies
- Abstract:
- Since Egypt’s appearance in the inaugural 1930 World Cup, African countries’ performance in the tournament has been a source of pride and national identity.
- Topic:
- International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Africa
69. Overcoming the Democratisation Deficit in the Western Balkans: A Road to (No)Where?
- Author:
- Vedran Dzihic
- Publication Date:
- 08-2018
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Austrian Institute for International Affairs (OIIP)
- Abstract:
- The internal weaknesses of the process of democratisation in the Western Balkans ensue from reinforcing a system where (ethno)politics and (ethno)political entre-preneurs use all available strategies to deprive citizens of any political agency, thus working towards obedient democracies while keeping real political power within closed circles. The conscious deepening of differences, maintaining negative tensions and instrumentalising – predominantly ethnic – identities for political or other particular purposes are some of the crucial features of (ethno)politics in the Western Balkans.
- Topic:
- International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Balkans
70. Why Americans pay too much for health care
- Author:
- Institute CATO
- Publication Date:
- 08-2018
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Why do we pay $600 for EpiPens, a long-existing piece of technology that contains just a dollar’s worth of medicine? Why do hospitalized patients so frequently receive bills laden with inflated charges that come out of the blue from out-ofnetwork providers or that demand payment for services that weren’t delivered?
- Topic:
- International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- America
71. Cato Educates Capitol Hill
- Author:
- Cato Institute
- Publication Date:
- 08-2018
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Congressional staff members play a vital role in shaping policy—they make decisions on which issues their bosses prioritize, which arguments the representatives and senators hear, and what language makes it into legislation. Cato’s popular Capitol Hill Briefings offer these staff members timely briefings on the most pressing issues facing their offices. At these events, Cato scholars and other experts update the staff on their latest scholarship and policy recommendations, critique current or upcoming legislation, and answer staffers’ questions.
- Topic:
- International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- America
72. Your Uber Ambulance Has Arrived
- Author:
- Institute Cato
- Publication Date:
- 08-2018
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Ambulances are notoriously expensive—one ride may cost more than $1,000, and insurance companies frequently refuse to cover them. In the past, patients had few alternatives to get themselves to the hospital—but in “Does Ride-Sharing Substitute for Ambulances?” (Research Briefs in Economic Policy no. 114), Leon S. Moskatel of Scripps Mercy Hospital and David J. G. Slusky of the University of Kansas demonstrate how the age of Uber and Lyft is changing that and is reducing expensive and unnecessary ambulance trips.
- Topic:
- International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- America
73. Japan-Russia relations: The Kremlin has the upper hand
- Author:
- Bart Gaens and Marcin Kaczmarski
- Publication Date:
- 09-2018
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Finnish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Even though bilateral relations have warmed somewhat, Japan has failed to convince Russia to make concessions with regard to the territorial issue of the Northern Territories/South Kuril Islands, or to cut back its cooperation with China
- Topic:
- International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Japan
74. The United States braces itself for the midterm elections: Is there a foreign-policy dimension?
- Author:
- Ville Sinkkonen
- Publication Date:
- 08-2018
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Finnish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Foreign policy rarely plays a decisive role in congressional elections in the US. However, President Trump’s tendency to mix foreign policy into the domestic debate might increase its salience. Electoral success for the Democrats could both constrain and embolden the president’s international conduct.
- Topic:
- International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- America
75. Does Pattern Bargaining Explain Wage Restraint in the German Public Sector?
- Author:
- Donato Di Carlo
- Publication Date:
- 04-2018
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
- Abstract:
- German public sector wage restraint has been explained through the presence of a specific type of inter-sectoral wage coordination in the industrial relations system – i.e., export sector-led pattern bargaining. This paper has a twofold ambition. First, as a literature assessing exercise, I review the literature in industrial relations and comparative political economy (CPE) and find that (1) the origins and mechanics of inter-sectoral wage coordination through pattern bargaining have never been laid out clearly; (2) the mechanisms of the pattern bargaining thesis have never been tested empirically; and (3) the CPE literature reveals a limiting export-sector bias. Second, as a theory-testing exercise, I perform hoop tests to verify whether the pattern bargaining hypothesis can really account for wage restraint in the German public sector. I find that Germany cannot be considered a case of export sector-driven pattern bargaining. These findings challenge core tenets of a longstanding scholarship in both CPE and industrial relations. Most importantly, they open a new research agenda for the study of public sector wage-setting that should shift its focus to public sector employment relations, public finance, public administrations, and the politics of fiscal policy
- Topic:
- International Political Economy and International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Germany
76. International Monetary Regimes and the German Model
- Author:
- Fritz W Scharpf
- Publication Date:
- 02-2018
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
- Abstract:
- The end of the Bretton Woods regime and the fall of the Iron Curtain deepened the export orientation of the German model of the economy. Only after entry into the Monetary Union, however, did rising exports turn into a persistent export–import gap that became a problem for other eurozone economies. This Discussion Paper shows why the present asymmetric euro regime will not be able to enforce their structural transformation on the German model. Neither will German governments be able to respond to demands that would bring the performance of the German economy closer to eurozone averages. Instead, it is more likely that present initiatives for financial and fiscal risk sharing will transform the Monetary Union into a transfer union.
- Topic:
- International Political Economy and International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Germany
77. Joint Humanitarian Operations
- Author:
- Jeremy Konyndyk
- Publication Date:
- 12-2018
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- The Government Reform and Reorganization Plan released earlier this year by the White House calls for substantial reform of US humanitarian institutions. The plan mandates that the State Department and USAID produce a “specific reorganization proposal” to “optimize” humanitarian assistance and “eliminate duplication of efforts and fragmentation of decision-making.” This policy note lays out guidance for how an ambitious but feasible optimization could be achieved. It is informed by two high-level private roundtables convened by the Center for Global Development to solicit expert input, as well as a desk review of documents, expert interviews, and the author’s own experiences serving in the humanitarian arms of both USAID and the State Department. While numerous experts contributed thoughts and feedback, the author takes sole responsibility for the views represented herein.
- Topic:
- International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
78. It’s Like That and That’s the Way It Is? Evaluating Education Policy
- Author:
- Susannah Hares
- Publication Date:
- 12-2018
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- It’s tricky to evaluate government education policies. They’re not implemented in NGO-like laboratory conditions, and political motivation and public sector capacity constraints play as much of a role in their success or failure as policy design. Using the examples of three rigorous studies of three different education policies, this note aims to shed some light from the perspective of someone on the policy side on how, why, and when to evaluate government-led reforms. A government education policy is not an abstract theory that can easily be replicated in a different place. In each new context, it is effectively a brand-new programme and needs to be evaluated as that. None of the three examples presented was “new” as a policy: school inspections, school vouchers, and charter schools have all been tried and evaluated elsewhere. But the evaluations of these policies—when implemented in new contexts—illuminated a new set of challenges and lessons and generated a different set of results.
- Topic:
- Education and International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
79. SVP for Clean Energy, on the Union Organizing Drive at Buffalo Solar Factory
- Author:
- Josh Freed
- Publication Date:
- 12-2018
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Third Way
- Abstract:
- Third Way Senior Vice President for Clean Energy Josh Freed released the following statement on the United Steelworkers and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers drive to organize production and maintenance workers at Tesla’s solar factory in Buffalo, New York:
- Topic:
- Climate Change and International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
80. DC Can Show True Climate Leadership by Cutting Carbon Even Faster and More Efficiently
- Author:
- Josh Freed
- Publication Date:
- 09-2018
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Third Way
- Abstract:
- I am not only the Vice President for Clean Energy at Third Way, a center left think tank based in Washington dedicated to getting the United States to zero carbon pollution by 2050. I am also a native of the DC area and almost twenty-year District resident. My father was born here, as were my children.
- Topic:
- Climate Change and International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus