Content Type: Journal Article / Publication Year: 3 selected

1601. The Strategic Benefits of the Southern Gas Corridor

Author:: Vitaliy Baylarbayov
Publication Date:: 04-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: At the end of 2020, the Southern Gas Corridor became fully operational. This marked the completion of a journey that began a decade ago when the government of Azerbaijan and the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) took a strategic decision to launch a major natural gas export project. The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the largest and the most expensive gas supply projects in the world built to date. In December 2013, SOCAR and its partners signed a Final Investment Decision (FID) to establish a gas pipeline corridor from Azerbaijan through Georgia, Turkey, Greece, and Albania before ending in Italy. A branch pipeline is now under construction to Bulgaria, which is expected to be completed in the second half of 2021. In July 2018, the project supplied its first gas to the Turkish market and went on to change the dynamics of that country’s gas market, whereby Azerbaijan is now one of its top gas suppliers. On December 31st, 2020, inaugural commercial gas supplies arrived from the Caspian into Europe, signaling the commencement of the Southern Gas Corridor’s full operations. For Azerbaijan, the Southern Gas Corridor provides a major source of revenue unlinked to the global oil market; the project also strengthens Baku’s links with its neighbors and Europe. For SOCAR—as operator of components of the project and investor in all its segments—the project’s success represents a major step in the company’s transition from a national to an international energy company. The Southern Gas Corridor provides new gas supplies to Turkey, Georgia, and Europe and is a platform for increased supplies to these markets and also can be extended to reach additional markets in Europe. With the completion of the first stage of the Southern Gas Corridor, Azerbaijan and SOCAR, together with their partners, are examining strategies for the next phase of the corridor’s development.
Topic:: Energy Policy, International Trade and Finance, Natural Resources, and Gas
Political Geography:: Europe, Asia, and Azerbaijan

1602. The Southern Gas Corridor and the New Geopolitics of Climate Change

Author:: Morena Skalamera
Publication Date:: 04-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: It has been argued that the U.S. shale revolution, the Trump Administration’s energy policies, and the global shift towards low‑carbon energy sources and renewables have contributed to shape a new energy order—one that challenges the market power traditionally enjoyed by petro‑states. Nowhere are these developments more relevant than in Azerbaijan, as the country’s expensive investments in the Southern Gas Corridor come under increasing pressure. Unless Azerbaijani gas can be decarbonized at a competitive cost, it may risk becoming redundant within a couple of decades as Europe embraces a greener future. Geopolitics and Geo‑economics The Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) is a $45bn mega‑project ($25bn for the development of the Shah Deniz II field and at least $15bn for the delivery system) to supply natural gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe and, by so doing, reduce reliance on Russian imports. This is a priority that has taken on urgency in the wake of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and the sharp deterioration in relations between Moscow and Brussels that ensued. Currently, the SGC is made up of two pipelines to deliver gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz II field to Turkey and Europe—one called TANAP that is already operational and runs the length of Turkey, and another known as TAP stretching from Turkey’s border with Greece across Albania to Italy, which started pumping gas in late 2020. This is how a leading ADA University policy expert described the situation to me in October 2020, in light of technical delays in the pipeline’s inauguration and the big changes in energy markets described above: “the TAP pipeline is 90 percent completed and will be inaugurated soon. Unlike oil pipelines, whose flexible delivery to the end‑consumer can be sorted out once they are built— as oil travels via tanker, rail, etc.— gas pipelines are more rigid investment endeavors. [...] You don’t agree on a gas pipeline unless you have secured a buyer on the other end.” While natural gas supplies from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field are already contracted, the project has seen numerus twists and turns since it was signed with great fanfare at the end of 2013. The SGC is an expensive endeavor and the institutions that lined up to finance it are a testament to the degree of strategic importance it carries for the EU. The project has, indeed, been designated as one of the EU’s “priority projects.”
Topic:: Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Natural Resources, and Gas
Political Geography:: Europe, Asia, and Azerbaijan

1603. Oil Pipelines in the Silk Road Region Coordination and Collaboration Amidst Competition and Confrontation

Author:: Rodrigo Labardini
Publication Date:: 04-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: For centuries, numerous projects have wanted to connect the Caspian Sea to its main markets in the East (China) and the West (Europe). All vie to link energy sources (oil and gas) and goods (commodities and manufactured products) with consumers. Contemporary pipelines and transport corridors are presented as cost‑efficient, faster, and profitable, and thus sound economical alternatives to traditional hauling via tankers. Reviewing the political map, continental pathways between East and West must traverse two regional “choke‑points,” each with three alternative routes. First, the “Eastern Gap” at the Caspian Sea: Russia, Iran, and the Caspian Sea. The Caspian Sea region also includes Azerbaijan, of course, since it is the only state (together with Russia and Iran) located on its western bank, with routing options via the Caucasus to reach the Black Sea and Anatolia on to Europe. Second, the “Western Gap” at the Black Sea: Russia (again), the Black Sea, and Anatolia. The South Caucasus’ unique geographical location between East and West as well as between Russia and Iran place it at a strategic crossroads of key geopolitical interest. Furthermore, the Caucasus‑Caspian Sea‑Central Asia region (CCCA) today—this corresponds more or less to what the editors of Baku Dialogues have called the “Silk Road region”—is merging ever closer with Eurasian and Middle East politics. The politicization of energy and transport—with pipeline politics often dealing with opposing economic and partisan interests—as well as sanctions against Russia and Iran, also raises the importance of sanctions‑free routes. Compounding these issues is the fact that several countries in the region are landlocked, dependent on transit states, and vulnerable to the latter’s maneuvers.
Topic:: International Trade and Finance, Oil, Natural Resources, and Silk Road
Political Geography:: Global Focus

1604. Beijing’s Long Way to the Gulf Region Oil, Security, Geopolitics

Author:: Fuad Shahbazov
Publication Date:: 04-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: Energy cooperation has been a key aspect of growing bilateral cooperation between China and the Arab states of the Gulf region for the past several years. Since 1996, China has become a net importer of crude oil and, as the second‑largest energy consumer in the world after the United States, is now the third‑largest importer of oil after the United States and Japan. Therefore, it should not come as a surprise that China is eying a deep and strategic partnership with the states of a region that sits on top of the world’s largest proven crude oil and natural gas reserves. The deepening political and economic cooperation between China and the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has received increasing attention from the region’s more established strategic players: foremost the United States, but also the UK as well as the EU and some of its member states. Indeed, the region’s apparent geopolitical challenges— such as the American withdrawal from the Middle East, the escalation of sectarian wars in the region, the outbreak and development of the Syrian conflict followed by the spread of Islamic radicalism and similar threats—have encouraged the Arab states in the Gulf (as well as Iran) to look more to the East for new reliable partners. This has provided China with an opportunity to obtain a foothold in the region, which sits adjacent to the Silk Road region and is therefore of significant and lasting interest to readers of Baku Dialogues. With the rapid growth of its economy and consequent heightened energy demands, China is viewed as a potential investor by the oil rich GCC states, each of which needs to diversify its economy. Ongoing Western sanctions directed against Iran also make China an attractive proposition for Tehran. Although the Chinese interest in, and policy towards, the region is increasingly complex, this new axis between the Gulf region (especially the Arab half) and China has not received much attention from the think tank and academic communities—at least in the West.
Topic:: Security, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, Oil, Natural Resources, Hegemony, and Energy
Political Geography:: China, Asia, and Gulf Nations

1605. Trilateral Cooperation Between Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Georgia

Author:: Dr. Richard Weitz
Publication Date:: 04-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Georgia have achieved unprecedented levels of economic and security collaboration. Through this expanding cooperation, the three countries have established themselves as a collective hub of Eurasian energy extraction and multi‑model transportation. Their growing ties have accelerated since the opening of the Baku‑Tbilisi‑Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline in 2006 to extend to the construction of additional pipelines, the launching in 2017 of the Baku‑Tbilisi‑Kars (BTK) railway, the holding of regular trilateral military exercises, and the convening of frequent high‑level leadership meetings. The South Caucasus remains one of the world’s most complex geopolitical regions, with several external powers competing for regional influence.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Regional Cooperation, Hegemony, Alliance, and Strategic Interests
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, Asia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, North America, and United States of America

1606. Ukraine’s Strategic Relations with the South Caucasus With References to Turkey and Russia

Publication Date:: 04-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: kraine’s relations with the three Southern Caucasian states of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia have been varied during the three decades since the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Ukraine has paid greater attention to pro‑Western Georgia and multivectoral Azerbaijan, and the least attention to pro‑Russian Armenia. In Soviet times, the Ukrainian and Georgian dissident and nationalist movements maintained close ties, and this influenced the development of friendly relations between Ukraine and Georgia in the post‑Soviet era. From the late 1990s onwards, Ukraine and Georgia made joining both NATO and the EU priority goals, which also played a role in bringing Kyiv and Tbilisi together. Azerbaijan pursued a multi‑vector foreign policy of integration without membership in these two institutions, managing to be cautiously pro‑Western but at the same time not anti‑Russian. Armenia, on the other hand, has been a member of all Russian‑led regional integration projects since the early 1990s, and therefore Kyiv has had few common interests with Yerevan. Relations with Armenia have deteriorated since 2014 because of Armenia’s support for Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the presence of Armenian mercenaries fighting against Ukraine in the ranks of Russia’s proxies in the Donbas. During the Second Karabakh War, the Ukrainian media, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and all political parties (except one pro‑Russian one) enthusiastically supported Azerbaijan.
Topic:: Security, International Cooperation, Regionalism, and Strategic Interests
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, Turkey, and Ukraine

1607. Development or Regression? Eurasia’s Investment Attractiveness

Author:: Stanislav Pritchin
Publication Date:: 04-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: In 2021 the countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus—some call it Eurasia, other the Silk Road region—will celebrate thirty years of independence. Theoretically, this period should have provided sufficient time for each to have formed a new economic model, set and at least partially attain long‑term development goals, and developed a foreign policy model for optimal interaction with investors, including foreign ones. However, the experience of the post‑Soviet republics under consideration in this essay, which does not aspire to be comprehensive but should rather be considered a preliminary assessment, indicates that independence is neither a prerequisite for successful development nor one that centers of achieving a sustainable increase in popular welfare. Despite the fact that in 1991 standards of living and educational and economic attainment in the Soviet republics that are examined in this essay were approximately similar, after three decades of independent development the countries under consideration have been significantly stratified in terms of national wealth, types of political and social systems, and the specifics of their economic activities.
Topic:: International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, Regionalism, and Silk Road
Political Geography:: Europe and Asia

1608. Reforming Patent Law: The Case of Covid‐19

Author:: Michele Boldrin and David Levine
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: Ashort time ago the debate over the proposal to temporarily waive intellectual property rights on Covid‐19 vaccines was raging worldwide; and the suspension of those rights seemed imminent. Public attention reached its peak in May 2021 when the Biden administration endorsed the idea and committed itself to pursuing it under the World Trade Organization–World Intellectual Property Organization (WTO-WIPO) procedural rules for waiving intellectual property (IP) protection. By suspending IP rights, the administration sought to help low‐income countries to start producing vaccines more quickly, reducing the rising and dramatic worldwide vaccine inequality.
Topic:: Intellectual Property/Copyright, Inequality, Vaccine, COVID-19, and Patents
Political Geography:: Africa, India, and Latin America

1609. An Alternative Theoretical Framework for Economics

Author:: Meir Kohn
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: As a profession, economics is thriving. The number of economists is large and growing. The volume of their output is exploding—more articles are published each year in a growing number of journals. As a science, however, economics is not doing so well. The questions addressed by all those articles seem to be getting smaller and smaller. And there seems to be little or no progress on the big questions of economics such as economic development and growth, economic fluctuations, and the proper role of government in the economy. Most of the articles published are econometric, and the results of many are of questionable quality.
Topic:: Economics, Research, Economic Theory, and Commerce
Political Geography:: Global Focus

1610. Labor Taxation: Insights from the World Economic Forum Survey

Author:: Michael Mitsopoulos and Theodore Pelagidis
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: One of the main topics highlighted in the field of economic policy applications is the impact of taxation on labor. In an era in which macroeconomic stability, technological change, and globalization pressure the job market, there exists no strong consensus in the literature on how exactly taxation influences growth, choice between work and leisure, share of income attributed to labor, or participation in different job market segments. This article focuses on employment levels and uses the results of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Executive Opinion Survey (EOS) between 2013 and 2017 to bypass several challenges often faced in the literature. By doing so, we complement the insights of the existing literature by establishing that, in institutionally mature countries, taxation that is deemed by a survey of business executives to pose a disincentive to work reduces employment.
Topic:: Labor Issues, Employment, Economic Growth, Tax Systems, and Survey
Political Geography:: Global Focus

1611. The Economic Policies of Lord Liverpool

Author:: Martin Hutchinson and Kevin Dowd
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool (“Liverpool,” 1770–1828) was UK prime minister over the period 1812–1827. His achievements were remarkable. He designed the financial attrition strategy that defeated Napoleon; led the United Kingdom through the turbulence of the takeoff stage of the industrial revolution; inherited a daunting fiscal situation that included a debt/GDP ratio of well over 200 percent, and implanted the austerity measures needed to put this ratio onto the path that led to later Victorian levels; reformed the currency; pushed through the return to the gold standard; promoted both the Corn Laws and free trade; successfully managed the 1825 financial crisis, the worst in over a century; and pushed through subsequent reforms that put the UK banking system onto a stable trajectory that lasted into the late 20th century.
Topic:: Agriculture, Economics, Fiscal Policy, and Trade
Political Geography:: Global Focus

1612. The Potential for Constitutional Devolution in South Africa

Author:: Martin van Staden
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: The African National Congress (ANC) today rules South Africa, formally a federation, as though it were a unitary state. There has been increasing agitation in recent years for the secession of the Western Cape province, which since South Africa ended apartheid in 1994 has never returned a majority vote in favor of the ANC.
Topic:: Government, Constitution, Disputes, and African National Congress (ANC)
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

1613. The Economic Mentality of Nations

Author:: Pál Czeglédi, Brad Lips, and Carlos Newland
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: Two hundred forty‐five years after the publication of Adam Smith’s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, economists continue to debate the causes of disparities in wealth among the countries of the world. Some scholars focus on the role of climate, natural resources, proximity to markets, or access to technology. Others study human capital, capital accumulation, the use of comparative advantages and economies of scale, and institutional and legal frameworks. We believe that another factor must be considered as well: the economic attitudes and causal beliefs (henceforth, “mentality”) of the population. While a growing body of research shows a clear association between economic growth and the institutions of economic freedom, those institutions can be quite fragile if the population does not have a clear understanding of what makes a country prosperous. To measure popular attitudes toward economic values, we have created the Global Index of Economic Mentality (GIEM).
Topic:: Economics, Markets, Capitalism, Youth, and Free Market
Political Geography:: Global Focus

1614. The Covid‐19 Coin Shortage: Causes, Responses, and Lessons

Author:: Nicholas Anthony
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: Covid‐19 altered almost every facet of the human experience in 2020. For those who were lucky, living rooms became offices, cocktail hours went virtual, and spare time was spent exploring new passions. But others suffered: hundreds of thousands of people died, millions became unemployed, and even more were left uncertain about their future. All the while, smaller inconveniences multiplied. Of these, the most unexpected was a serious coin shortage in the summer of 2020.
Topic:: Currency, COVID-19, Cash, and Shortage
Political Geography:: Global Focus

1615. The War on Cash: Institutional Hostility and Covid‐19

Author:: Edoardo Beretta and Doris Neuberger
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: There is significant economic literature investigating the hostility to cash or “war on cash” (Beretta 2005, 2007; Deutsche Bundesbank 2017; Jain 2017; Scott 2013; White 2018) by which financial institutions supported by governments discourage individuals from using (publicly issued) physical means of payments and convince them to move to digital (privately issued) ones.
Topic:: Economics, COVID-19, Digitization, and Cash
Political Geography:: Global Focus

1616. Covid Cash

Author:: Kenneth Rogoff and Jessica Scazzero
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: The advent of the Covid‐19 pandemic has witnessed a strong uptick in paper currency demand across advanced economies, even as contactless methods surged ahead of cash in payments. This article explores these two contrasting phenomena, which are in fact continuations of much longer‐term trends. The use of cash, while still important for small in‐person transactions, has been declining as a share of overall consumer payments for decades, thanks to a steady stream of innovations including credit cards, debit cards, electronic transfers, and smartphone payment apps. For example, in the United States, paper currency accounted for 26 percent of the number of consumer payments in 2019 but only 6 percent in value terms, down from 40 percent and 14 percent, respectively, in 2012. Meanwhile, U.S. dollars in circulation have increased from $1.1 trillion in January 2012 to $1.8 trillion in January 2020, exploding to $2.1 trillion in December 2020. The same pattern remains if one excludes foreign holdings (50–60 percent of the total) and is found in most other advanced economies as well. Some argue that soaring currency demand contests the view that the world is headed to a cashless future, or even a “less‐cash” society (see Bech et al. 2018; BIS 2020).
Topic:: Currency, COVID-19, Digitization, and Cash
Political Geography:: Global Focus

1617. Effects of Immigration on Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Author:: Robert Krol
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: Economic growth in advanced economies is driven primarily by innovations that improve productivity. Entrepreneurs and researchers, who are motivated by economic incentives, generate new ideas that result in either new or expanded businesses. The resulting expansion of businesses generates new and better products and services. Entrepreneurs also change the way production is organized because they improve efficiency that lowers prices for consumers. Such actions produce economic growth, which manifests itself by increasing product variety, jobs, and wages. As a result, economic well‐being increases (Alcigit and Kerr 2018; Jones 1995, 2016; McCloskey 2016; Romer 1990).
Topic:: Immigration, Entrepreneurship, Economic Growth, and Innovation
Political Geography:: Global Focus

1618. The GameStop Episode: What Happened and What Does It Mean?

Author:: Allan M. Malz
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: The GameStop stock trading episode that began in January 2021 has been unprecedented in some ways, especially in the ability of market participants to organize collective action openly yet anonymously. In other ways, it’s been an unsurprising repetition of past experience. Financial markets are imperfect, they display many frictions, and the imperfect alignment of interests is a perpetual dilemma in designing both contracts and public policy.
Topic:: Regulation, Economy, Public Policy, and Stock Markets
Political Geography:: United States of America

1619. GameStop and the Rise of Retail Trading

Author:: Jennifer J. Schulp
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: In January 2021, a curious event in the stock market caught the attention of the media, regulators, and the public. A well‐known struggling company dominated the headlines, not for its business model, but for the meteoric rise of its stock price. GameStop Corp. started the year trading around $19.00 a share, a pretty robust share price for a company that had been trading below $5.00 as recently as August 2020. Yet, by the end of January, GameStop’s shares were trading at over $300, at one point hitting a high of $483. GameStop’s stock price has receded from those meteoric highs, but, as of late May, it continues to trade between $160 and $180 a share.
Topic:: Markets, Economy, Investment, Stock Markets, and Equity
Political Geography:: Global Focus

1620. The Impact of Public Debt on Economic Growth

Author:: Jack Salmon
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: Following the 2007–2008 global financial crisis (GFC) and subsequent sovereign debt crisis in Europe, there has been a renewed interest in exploring the relationship between government debt and economic growth. One of the cornerstone studies on the subject that triggered an emergence of new literature was Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff’s “Growth in a Time of Debt” (2010), which became widely cited and influential among commentators, academics, and policymakers in the debate surrounding austerity and fiscal policy in debt‐burdened economies. Much of the research that followed the GFC uses panel data analysis of the debt‐growth nexus using datasets from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Commission, and Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD).
Topic:: Economy, Economic Growth, Survey, and Public Debt
Political Geography:: Global Focus

1621. U.S. Debt Sustainability under Low Interest Rates and after the Covid‐19 Shock

Author:: William R Cline
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: The worst pandemic in 100 years has hit the United States at a time when economic thinking has become more comfortable with high public debt, facilitating an aggressive response in public spending for relief that has reached a remarkable 27 percent of GDP.1 One reason for the receptiveness to large spending has been the perception that the fiscal stimulus in the Great Recession of 2007–2009 erred on the side of excessive caution and left an aftermath of unduly slow growth. More fundamentally, low real interest rates in recent years have shifted the center of gravity in macroeconomic analysis away from concern about chronic deficits and rising debt toward a certain benign neglect of debt as a problem.
Topic:: Debt, Interest Rates, Sustainability, and COVID-19
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

1622. Taliban News: Fair and Balanced?

Author:: Janet Steele
Publication Date:: 12-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: At the Taliban’s first press conference on 17 August 2021, spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid startled the world by calling for “balanced and fair reporting,” claiming that the Taliban would support free and independent media as long as journalists worked according to Islamic rules and Sharia. In this essay, I argue that Western policymakers should take the Taliban spokesperson’s words very seriously, as his frame of reference is a set of powerful Islamic concepts that are likely to resonate with Muslim listeners throughout the world. It is important both to understand his words within the context of Islam, and to search for common ground in holding the Taliban accountable for what it has pledged.
Topic:: Governance, Taliban, News Analysis, and Accountability
Political Geography:: Afghanistan and Middle East

1623. More Ethical Political Communication in the 21st Century

Author:: Benjamin Voth
Publication Date:: 12-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: Ethics as a matter of political communication vexes the human experiment in politics since its inception. A proper and grounded sense of ethics in political communication is a necessary ongoing consideration in all expert analysis of political communication in order to avoid important excesses of politics ranging from injustice to genocide. The key antidote to achieving ethical rather than unethical conduct in political communication is a careful praxis of discursive complexity. As the 21st century intensifies its attachments to vehicles of communication rooted in artificial intelligence, we as expert practitioners must intensify our pedagogy and research toward the encouragement of human dissent. The potential mismanagement of public opinion could through technological savvy unleash nightmares comparable or suprassing the Third Reich in the 1940s.
Topic:: Politics, Science and Technology, Communications, Ethics, and Artificial Intelligence
Political Geography:: Global Focus

1624. What Do Social Media Activity and Social Networks Mean for Politics

Author:: James Andrew Lewis
Publication Date:: 12-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: Social media reshapes politics and national narratives in ways that make it more difficult to govern, if by govern we mean collective actions to preserve stability and order through voluntary adhesion to laws and norms, and when necessary, through coercion deemed legitimate by the institutions of the state. Social media’s impact on narrative and legitimacy is what’s most pronounced and, in many cases, what’s most damaging to the ability of governments to govern.
Topic:: Politics, Social Media, Legitimacy, and Social Networks
Political Geography:: Global Focus

1625. Role of Social media in Amplifying Neo-Liberal Cancel Culture

Author:: Greg Simons
Publication Date:: 12-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: Cancel culture and wokeism are dangerous trends that are increasing in their intensity and the self-destruction of Western civilization is a matter of time as the underlying historical myths and value/normative philosophies that led to its global hegemony is destroyed by a messianic ideology that is engineering an exclusive homogenous worldview in the name of pluralism and inclusivity. In this world of Orwellian doublespeak, the current struggle for ideological hegemony is taking place in the information space for hearts and minds in the cognitive realm. Social media is the very frontline in the future and even very existence of Western civilization, and it has chosen to support those waging the neo-liberal cancel culture in the name of justice, liberation and equality.
Topic:: Culture, Hegemony, Social Media, Neo-Liberalism, and Cancel Culture
Political Geography:: Global Focus

1626. Conspiracy Buffs, Skeptics and the 2016 US Presidential Election

Author:: Ted Goertzel
Publication Date:: 12-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: We identified “Conspiracy Buffs” and “Skeptics” based on two conspiracy theory items included in the 2016 American National Election Survey. We then compared these two groups, and the much larger group we called the “Uncertains”, on a large number of closed and open-ended survey items. The Conspiracy Buffs had lower levels of education than the Skeptics, had less facility with language, and were more likely to state that they had not thought much about whether they were liberal or conservative. They expressed strongly angry feelings about Hillary Clinton, often citing the Benghazi incident and her use of a private email server. The Skeptics were just as angry at Donald Trump as the Buffs were at Hillary Clinton, but they did not use arguments drawn from conspiracy theories. They referred to his widely acknowledged personality traits and personal behaviors. These traits were also mentioned by many Buffs, but more in disappointment than in anger.
Topic:: Politics, Elections, Voting, and Conspiracy Theory
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

1627. A Rising "Cyber China"

Author:: Jonathan Sullivan, Sarah Jeu, and Weixiang Wang
Publication Date:: 12-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: As Xi Jinping prepares to secure an unprecedented third term as party leader, observers will find that the PRC has become increasingly assertive in its regulation of the internet and its infrastructure. The techniques honed in the treatment of China’s domestic cybersphere are increasing in presence in international cyberspace, as domestic propaganda effectively suppresses dissenting voices and nurtures cyber nationalism. The CPC’s promotion of “cyber sovereignty” and “self-reliance” in technological innovation and manufacturing further demonstrate a concerted effort to carve out a “Chinese cyberspace” different from the current free and open model. Understanding both domestic and international aspects of China’s internet is the key to addressing a more proactive and confident “Cyber China.”
Topic:: Infrastructure, Regulation, Internet, and Cyberspace
Political Geography:: China and Asia

1628. A Digital Social Contract That Safeguards Democracies and promotes Women's Rights Is Urgently Needed

Author:: Lucina Di Meco
Publication Date:: 12-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: Globally, women leaders online face relentless abuse, threats, and gendered disinformation campaigns, enabled by the lack of regulation on social media platforms causing women to become discouraged from entering public leadership and allowing anti-democratic regimes to silence critics and undermine women’s political participation. In Turkey, proposed social media reform allowing government regulation based on poorly defined definitions of disinformation coupled with the backsliding of women’s rights movements are providing a breeding ground for gendered disinformation. A small window has opened to show the responsibility of platforms for not acting sooner to address the harms their products cause on women, and democracy. We must take advantage of this moment by highlighting what the evidence demonstrates, shaping the global conversation on online harms against women.
Topic:: Women, Democracy, Gender, and Digital Space
Political Geography:: Global Focus

1629. Not In The Cards: U.S.-China Arms Control In The Era of MultiPolar Competition

Author:: Eliza Gheorghe and Dilan Ezgi Koc
Publication Date:: 12-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: The distribution of power at the international level and the intensity of the security rivalry can explain the trajectory of arms control between China and the United States. Washington and Beijing were able to work together during the second half of the Cold War and for much of unipolarity because the system was bipolar and the security competition was mild or non-existent. The advent of multipolarity and the ensuing intense security competition put an end to Sino-American cooperation on arms control. The current circumstances are not conducive to a resumption of exchanges.
Topic:: Arms Control and Proliferation, Military Strategy, Hegemony, Strategic Competition, and Strategic Interests
Political Geography:: China, Asia, North America, and United States of America

1630. When The Stakes Are High: Campaign Messages in Hungary

Author:: Zsofia Bocskay
Publication Date:: 07-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: While municipal elections are of less importance than national ones, the study of local election communication shows that there are cases when political actors frame them as first-order elections. In 2019, the opposition managed to challenge the ruling Fidesz-KDNP alliance in Hungary, and gained mayoral offices in strategically important places. In the campaign, PM Viktor Orbán’s party stressed the importance of local elections, utilizing a complex conspiracy theory. They argued that the stakes were high because Hungary’s sovereignty was at risk. In this article, I evaluate the findings of a content analysis conducted on 86 speeches that were performed as part of the ruling party’s election campaign with a special focus on topics and character remarks.
Topic:: Elections, Local, Voting, and Campaigning
Political Geography:: Europe and Hungary

1631. Domestication and Defeminization of Female Leadership

Author:: Abeer Kapoor
Publication Date:: 12-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: Throughout the article, the author argues that women politicians will always be framed within the domestic context and that they will always be attached to their male family members. Then, if they are to go beyond that, they must remove their feminine identity and discard it in order to compete with men on an equal basis.
Topic:: Gender Issues, Leadership, Feminism, Equality, and Femininity
Political Geography:: Global Focus

1632. NATO 2030: Keeping Us Safe In a More Competitive World

Author:: Mircea Geoana
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: In this new age of growing global competition and increasing complex threats, our security environment is more uncertain and contested than ever before. At the NATO Summit in Brussels in June, Allied leaders took bold decisions to adapt our Alliance to a more unpredictable world and ensure that NATO will continue to keep our one billion people safe in this new decade and beyond. Through our ambitious and forward-looking NATO 2030 agenda, our transatlantic Alliance will remain fit to face the challenges of today and future-proof against those of tomorrow. As a highly valued member of NATO, Turkey makes important contributions to our Alliance and its ongoing adaptation.
Topic:: Defense Policy, NATO, Regional Cooperation, Military Strategy, and Strategic Competition
Political Geography:: Europe and North America

1633. Getting NATO Ready For The Rest Of The 21st Century: Is NATO 2030 The Right Roadmap?

Author:: Jamie Shea
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: Visiting Brussels in June, President Biden proclaimed that “America is back”. This also means that NATO is back, as Biden reconfirmed the United States’ solemn commitment to the defense of its European allies and Washington’s willingness to once again lead a transatlantic alliance that was much derided during the Trump years. At first sight, this is all good news for NATO; but could it turn out to be a mixed blessing for the Europeans in the longer run? This article analyses whether the NATO 2030 initiative is up to the task, and whether it provides the right answers.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, NATO, Regional Cooperation, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:: Europe and North America

1634. NATO And Collective Defense in Space: Same Mission, New Domain

Author:: Aurel Sari and Hitoshi Nasu
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: The progressive militarization of outer space presents a range of policy and legal challenges for NATO due to its reliance on space assets for operational effectiveness and the increased vulnerabilities of these assets. Indeed, dependence on space-based assets and services in the conduct of military operations has become something of an Achilles heel for NATO as peer and near-peer competitors are honing their counter-space capabilities. Given the vulnerability of space-based assets and services to hostile interference, the question presents itself whether, and under what circumstances, the collective defense commitment, as set out in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty (NAT), arises in space. NATO’s ability and resolve to counter threats in space could be challenged due to the uncertain parameters of the right of self-defense itself when exercised in space and the geographical limits that Article 6 of the NAT imposes on the operation of Article 5 of the NAT.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, NATO, Regional Cooperation, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:: Europe and North America

1635. NATO's China Problem

Author:: Blake Herzinger
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s strategic minds are increasingly occupied with how to handle the People’s Republic of China’s rise as a maritime power in Asia, but this focus is misguided. China is already a maritime power in the North Atlantic, and its influence is rapidly growing. This influence does not represent a crisis for the Alliance but does require addition of China to the Alliance’s strategic considerations within its area of responsibility. Additionally, the Alliance must account for extraregional competition between the U.S. and the PRC which could draw in alliance commitments in the event of escalation between the two powers.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, NATO, Regional Cooperation, Military Strategy, Hegemony, and Strategic Competition
Political Geography:: China, Europe, Asia, and North America

1636. Biden;s Transatlantic Offset

Author:: Carsten Schmiedl
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: The United States and its allies are entering an era of strategic simultaneity for which the Transatlantic Alliance is ill-prepared. The prospect of concurrent conflict or pressure from opposing sides of the Euro-Atlantic region would stretch existing resources beyond commitments. It would also risk undermining Article 5 and 70 years of stability and prosperity for NATO in Europe. As the U.S. pivots to the Indo-Pacific, the Biden administration should pursue closer relations with the Alliance as a fourth offset strategy which seeks to bolster European defense and better align strategy at the national and multinational levels. In so doing, the United States can enhance the security and stability of the political West with a view towards the emerging geopolitical environment of the coming decades.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, NATO, Regional Cooperation, Military Strategy, and Leadership
Political Geography:: Europe, North America, and United States of America

1637. Ukraine Membership Revisited: The Case For NATO's Strategic Adaption

Author:: Iulia-sabina Joja
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: Ukraine’s NATO membership has moved over the last decade from unlikely to mission impossible. Thirteen years after the NATO Bucharest Summit promise that Georgia and Ukraine “will join” the Alliance and Russia’s subsequent invasion of Georgia, and seven years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the political willingness of the 30 NATO member states remains insufficient to keep their 2008 promise. Russia’s violation of Ukrainian territorial integrity makes Kiev’s integration into NATO almost impossible. But the strategic rationale for Ukraine joining NATO remains as compelling as ever. Moreover, the arguments for a revised NATO strategy towards the Black Sea region are multiplying. The current Alliance’s Strategic Revision process should be the first step towards a revised NATO policy towards Ukraine.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, NATO, Regional Cooperation, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:: Europe, Ukraine, and North America

1638. NATO And Its Changing Approach To Space

Author:: Victoria Samson
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: While space has been a part of NATO’s interests since the beginning of the Space Age, it is just within the past three years that we have seen an increase in NATO’s efforts to use space to meet its mission needs as an organization. This is due to an increased importance of space for national security globally and concurrent proliferation of counterspace capabilities. While NATO has started evolving its policy framework to meet these new needs, much work needs to be done to ensure that the Alliance has access to space capabilities when it needs them.
Topic:: Security, NATO, Regional Cooperation, Military Strategy, and Space
Political Geography:: Europe and North America

1639. There is No Easy Solution To The Western Balkans' Disinformation Challenge

Author:: Daniel Sunter
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: The Western Balkan countries are currently among the most vulnerable to an intentional, Kremlin-supported campaign of disinformation within the European region. The vulnerability of the Western Balkans is exacerbated for several reasons: the countries are not completely integrated into European and EuroAtlantic structures; they harbor the legacy of ethnic and religious tensions from the conflicts of the 1990s; the region continues to experience dysfunctions within its information space; and it is plagued by the unresolved Kosovo issue. Tackling a problem of this magnitude demands a comprehensive approach by governments and media associations supported by the international community
Topic:: Security, Foreign Policy, Conflict, Disinformation, and Intervention
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, and Balkans

1640. Ideological Interventions in the COVID-19 Health Crisis in Turkey By Power, Politics, and Religion

Author:: Bayram Balci and Sumbul Kaya
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: This article aims at analyzing the various ideological interventions, prompted by the pandemic in Turkey, in the fields of power, politics, and religion. In a country and a context where politics and religion are closely connected, and a particular Turkish experience with few parallels in the Muslim world, our investigation will be two-fold: how to calculate the ongoing impact of Covid-19 on the Turkish political field, and secondly, how has the religious world reacted in backing up politics in its response to this crisis. We are seeking to understand the effects of the crisis on the established power, and on the orientations of national and international policy in the context of a health crisis. Lastly, we need to examine the role of religion in the management of the crisis
Topic:: Politics, Religion, Governance, Ideology, Public Health, and COVID-19
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, and Asia

1641. Is Re-calibration Feasible in Turkey-Egypt Relations? Limits and Possibilities

Author:: Osman Bahadir Dinçer, Busra Nur Ozguler-Aktel, and Mehmet Hecan
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: The ideological dimension of the bilateral Turkey-Egypt ties constitutes a particular focal point in terms of predicaments, which could be quite tricky to overcome. Yet, it seems that the geopolitical necessities tighten the noose for Turkey to feel obliged in fixing the strained relations with the Sisi administration. It is also evident that the first step towards a compromise is expected to be taken by Ankara. Within this context and providing a brief background, this piece aims to lay out specific policy contexts to discuss the possibility and limits of recalibration between Turkey and Egypt based on a 2016 visit to Cairo in which numerous interviews with the political and academic elite were conducted.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Bilateral Relations, and Leadership
Political Geography:: Africa, Europe, Turkey, Asia, and Egypt

1642. Spotlight Turkey: A Pivotal Swing State in NATO

Author:: Tuba Eldem
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: Turkey’s geostrategic location at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, and its dual identity as both a European and Asian state is unique in the world. The country safeguards strategic waterways and offers NATO critical staging bases and logistical support to extend its reach in the Middle East. With its dual identity, multiaxial foreign policy and hybrid political regime, Turkey also emerges as a pivotal swing state in shaping the contours of a stronger Transatlantic Alliance in the emerging new global world order marked by growing power competition between Western liberal democracies and Eastern autocratic regimes.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, NATO, Regional Cooperation, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, Asia, and North America

1643. Revisiting the Libya Intervention and the Idea(l) of Responsibility to Protect

Author:: Dogachan Dagi
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: The mechanisms of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) as agreed by the world leaders in 2005 were expected to prevent mass atrocities by forming a consensusbased international response that includes the use of force. In early 2011, for the first time, the coercive element of R2P was put into force in Libya by a UNSC resolution. However, the apparent pursuit of a regime change in Libya by the intervening powers has eroded trust in the Western coalition, shattered the belief in humanitarian missions, alienated the non-Western world, and thus broken the fragile consensus. The Libya debacle has strengthened the argument that it is very unlikely, if not impossible, to detach a humanitarian intervention from power politics, and prevent its misuse
Topic:: International Cooperation, United Nations, Humanitarian Intervention, and Responsibility to Protect (R2P)
Political Geography:: Africa and Libya

1644. The United States has seen a transformation in the past 12 months, possibly the beginning of a sea change around race and culture. The very visible and tragic death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police shook the nation to its core, and prompted an unprecedented national outcry. In the months that followed, amidst the social vacuum created by the pandemic, sport emerged as a present and prominent voice for change. In many ways, we have always known that sport has an inherent power to bring people together, and that athletes, because of their celebrity status, have a platform from which to influence others. What we saw last summer was a collective and unified movement by a large sector of the entire sports enterprise that placed issues of racial oppression and inequality in the center of American consciousness. Systemic change begins with awareness, and sport is shining a bright light on this racial reckoning.

Author:: Delise O'Meally
Publication Date:: 06-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: The United States has seen a transformation in the past 12 months, possibly the beginning of a sea change around race and culture. The very visible and tragic death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police shook the nation to its core, and prompted an unprecedented national outcry. In the months that followed, amidst the social vacuum created by the pandemic, sport emerged as a present and prominent voice for change. In many ways, we have always known that sport has an inherent power to bring people together, and that athletes, because of their celebrity status, have a platform from which to influence others. What we saw last summer was a collective and unified movement by a large sector of the entire sports enterprise that placed issues of racial oppression and inequality in the center of American consciousness. Systemic change begins with awareness, and sport is shining a bright light on this racial reckoning.
Topic:: Hegemony, Leadership, Police, and Systemic Racism
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

1645. What is Wrong

Author:: Kemal Koprulu
Publication Date:: 06-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:: Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:: While delving further into the systemic issues such as corruption, biased media, and lack of accountability that have been plaguing the American political system, this article, the second of a multi-part article, argues that the Biden administration’s policies in the next four years will have irreparable repercussions for the US and global community alike. America is far from being “back”—and, in fact, is at its weakest. With the specter of a rising China and its ties to Democratic politicians and donors becoming increasingly visible, containing China during Biden’s presidency will be impossible. Despite their efforts to divert attention away from China and toward Russia, Democrats’ corrupt acts will come back to haunt them— especially ahead of the 2022 and 2024 elections.
Topic:: Corruption, Leadership, Accountability, and Transparency
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

1646. The nexus between shimglina as ADR and the formal criminal justice system: The case of the Amhara regional state, Ethiopia

Author:: Gubaye Assaye Alamineh, Kumilachew Siferaw Anteneh, Abebe Dires Dinberu, and Mohammed Seid Ali
Publication Date:: 06-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:: The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:: Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms have been the common practice to resolve various conflicts in general and blood feuds in particular in the Amhara national regional state. As such, the central objective of this study is to assess the interface between ADR and the formal criminal justice system when addressing blood feuds. To achieve this, an ethnographic research approach was used. As the finding reveals, shimglinaas the common indigenous resolution mechanism of blood feuds has been widely used. In this reconciliation process, we identified diagnosis, initiation, forgiveness and the oath as essential phases. Concerning the previous interfaces between shimglina and the formal adjudication system, the reconciliation decisions made by shimglina had been accepted and taken for granted by the formal adjudications. But now this trend has been changed due to interference by formal adjudication on the process and implementation of ADR decision-making.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Criminal Justice, Reconciliation, Disputes, and Shimglina
Political Geography:: Africa and Ethiopia

1647. State Legitimation Crisis and Violent Extremism among Young People in Nigeria

Author:: Adejoh Pius Enechojo, Ottoh Ferdinand, Onah Emmanuel, and Agugua Augustine
Publication Date:: 06-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:: The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:: This article assessed the perceptions of youth towards perceived failures of the Nigerian State and their resulting disposition towards violent extremism as a response. The subjects for the study were drawn from, and representative of Lagos, Delta and Plateau States of the Country. The article adopted an eclectic theoretical approach and utilised a crosssectional survey design to generate quantitative data from 2 106 young people aged 18 and 35 years. The chi square statistical test was used to analyse the quantitative data. The results indicated among others, that although most young people feel disenchanted by the failure of the state to fulfil its contractual mandate of delivering the public good, they are however, unwilling to personally accept acts of extremism/terrorism as legitimate means of pursuing desired goals, and are not positively disposed towards the use of violence or terrorism as a means of actualising their goals. However, the study revealed a positive relationship between young people’s belief that it is incumbent on citizens to use violence to oppose underperforming government and their willingness to adopt violence or terrorism to achieve desired goals at P-value of 0.000. The article, recommends a re-doubling of efforts by the political state to fulfil her contractual obligations of improving the socioeconomic well-being of her citizens, among others.
Topic:: Violent Extremism, Youth, State, and Legitimacy
Political Geography:: Africa and Cameroon

1648. Situating the role of youth in indigenous African Peacebuilding interventions: The question of spoilers versus menders

Author:: Isabella Osiemo, Florence Maranga, and Ruthie Chepkoech Rono
Publication Date:: 06-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:: The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:: United Nations Security Council Resolution 2250 (2015) acknowledges that the world cannot attain meaningful peace without including the youth. This is critical in Africa where the youth who constitute the bulk of the continent’s population are involved in armed conflicts as perpetrators, victims and witnesses. Consequently, the youth suffer physical, cognitive and psychosocial impact of conflict, blurring their meaningful participation in peacebuilding processes. This article discusses indigenous African interventions aimed at conflict resolution, peacebuilding, healing and restoration of youth involved in and affected by armed conflicts. Four areas are addressed, namely: introduction, youth, indigenous methods, and finally conclusion and recommendations. It was found that scholars frame youth involvement in armed conflicts as perpetrators, triggers and victims. However, there is an emerging trend which frames youth as peace-builders. Africans have a rich indigenous knowledge reservoir for conflict resolution, peacebuilding and psychosocial interventions. However, the application of these interventions is marginalised. This article therefore advocates for the revitalisation of these interventions in conflict resolution, peacebuilding, and encourages psychological healing and social restoration for the youth amid ever increasing conflicts in Africa. The researcher recommends, as a way forward, the following: greater involvement of youth in conflict resolution, peacebuilding, healing and restoration through indigenous African interventions; research on and inclusion of indigenous African knowledge in our educational system; and integration of indigenous African interventions into police, legal, justice and psychosocial support systems and practices.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Youth, Indigenous, Reconciliation, Social Capital, Marginalization, Peacebuilding, and Adjudication
Political Geography:: Africa

1649. Does Community Saving Foster Conflict Transformation? The Debate and Evidence from Kenya’s ASAL Counties of West Pokot and Turkana

Author:: Caleb Wafula
Publication Date:: 06-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:: The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:: The worldwide breakthrough of micro-finance has revolutionised lives of traditionally marginalised group; that few will dare dispute. Nowhere are the changes more sweeping than in Kenya, a country where significant adoption of community savings initiatives (Chamaas) is being witnessed.Chamaas builds on the traditional Rotating Savings and Credit Association (ROSCA) methodology and implemented as a social safety net to support communities address livelihood challenges. Despite the centrality of Chamaas in socio-economic strengthening, very little has been studied about their potential to contribute towards social cohesion and conflict transformation. This study sought to examine how Chamaas go beyond fostering economic empowerment, to enhance community member’s interaction, address communal conflicts and strengthen social bonds. This study is based on qualitative field research, undertaken in Kenya’s West Pokot and Turkana counties and focuses on how community savings contribute to conflict transformation, with especial attention to women’s issues. Importantly, it would be remiss of this study if there was no discussion on challenges that confront members of community savings schemes. Ultimately, the research will focus on how community savings can be strengthened and supported to fully integrate peacebuilding in their processes.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Women, Microeconomics, and Peacebuilding
Political Geography:: Kenya and Africa

1650. The curbing of the collective voices of workers in Ethiopia’s state-led industrialisation: The case of the garment sector

Author:: Mohammed Seid Ali
Publication Date:: 06-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:: The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:: A state-led industrialisation drive inspired by the East Asian ‘developmental state’ ideology is at the core of Ethiopia’s industrial policymaking. Yet, scholarship on the implications of Ethiopia’s state-led industrialisation on the collective voices of local industrial workers is rare. Hence, this article argues that Ethiopia’s state-led industrialisation has firmly stood for strong business-state alliances, thereby curbing the collective voices of local industrial workers. Using qualitative empirical data, the article attempts to address the research gap and contribute to the existing debate by examining why and how the country’s state-led industrialisation has been operating in this context since 2005. Analysis of the findings indicates that facilitating industrial catch-up is at the centre of the country’s industrial development policymaking. Also that, the voice of the workers has been considered as a threat to foreign direct investment (FDI). As a result of the policy, the Ethiopian government employs diverse de facto or de jure labour control mechanisms, exceptionally against the associational rights of workers in the garment exporting industries across the country’s industrial parks (IPs). Moreover, employing industries have enforced various forms of administrative and punitive measures to subdue the collective voices of their workers. Hence, Ethiopia’s activist industrial policy must navigate a reasonable balance between facilitating industrial catch-up and ensuring labour standards for inclusive, peaceful, and sustainable industrial labour relations.
Topic:: Government, Labor Issues, Industrialization, and Garment Industry
Political Geography:: Africa and Ethiopia

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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS