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6701. US-Vietnam: New Strategic Partners Begin Tough Trade Talks

Author:
Raymond Burghardt
Publication Date:
02-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
Vietnamese and Americans joined together in Hanoi last December for a happy celebration, commemorating the tenth anniversary of the entrance into force of the US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement signed in December, 2001. The gathering of current and former trade negotiators, diplomats, and business leaders exchanged witty anecdotes about who had been the toughest negotiator. However, the main focus for both American and Vietnamese participants was on the positive prospects for future US-Vietnam relations across the spectrum of trade and strategic common interests.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Cold War, International Trade and Finance, and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:
United States, America, Vietnam, and Southeast Asia

6702. Did the Mexican Revolution Change the Privilees of The Elite or Not? The Relationship between the Government and the Media

Author:
Juan Enrique Huerta Wong
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
The investigation in education and its role in social stratification has been the focus of attention in the sociology literature for a number of decades now. However, very little is known as to what takes place in Latin America. The supposed point of departure to study education and its role in social stratification is that education should act to break the inertias between origins and destinies. This article has asked the question whether education is a factor that contributes to break the cycle of persistent inequality in Mexico, and also if this is a form to evaluate the achievements of the social contract that came out of the Mexican Revolution, which this year, 2010, celebrates its century of existence. This is so because one of the main objectives of the revolution was to cut down the privileges of the dominant class, and along with it, the intergenerational transmission of wealth that perpetuates inequality. Two models of structural equations were compared to evaluate the relationship between wealth in the home of origin, the schooling of the parents, childhood academic achievement, the final schooling of the ego, and its economic wellbeing. The results show that there are statistical differences between the cases of Mexico and Chile in terms of the process of stratification. In Mexico, the wealth of the home of origin and the childhood academic achievement are the variables that best explain both the final level of schooling as well as the socioeconomic wellbeing of ego. In Chile, education functions as a variable that interrupts the weight of the inter-generational legacy. It is discussed then that the State in Mexico has failed in providing an educational system that can break the inertia of the association between origins and destinies, and the implications of the importance of childhood academic achievement, which calls upon keeping children in their classrooms, at least for the time period that the law mandates.
Topic:
Education, History, Elites, and Social Mobility
Political Geography:
South America, Latin America, Mexico, and Chile

6703. Reporte sobre Democracia y Autonomías en Bolivia en el periodo de Evo Morales

Author:
Diego Ayo Saucedo
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
La realidad Bolivia ha tenido cambios enormes en la última década. En una apretada síntesis se puede definir los siguientes periodos. De 1985 a 2000, fase de establecimiento y consolidación del modelo de democracia representativa de mercado con rasgos multiculturales. De 2000 a 2005, fase de declive y derrumbe del “modelo.” De 2005 a 2010, fase de transición a un modelo descolonizador, autonómico, productivo y solidario. De 2010 en adelante, fase de implementación del nuevo modelo.
Topic:
Development, Democracy, Autonomy, and Evo Morales
Political Geography:
South America and Bolivia

6704. Staple Food Prices in Botswana

Author:
BIDPA
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis
Abstract:
What were the Causes of the 2007-9 Global Food Crisis? i) The main causes for the food crisis were the increase in oil prices together with subsidies for bio-fuels provided by food exporting countries. The introduction of bio-fuel subsidies by the US for maize derived ethanol contributed significantly to the food crisis. Changes in the value of the US dollar also worsened the crisis. ii) Almost all major food exporting countries have now established substantial bio-fuel mandates whereby a certain percentage of national transport fuel requirements will come renewable sources biofuels. These can easily be raised for bio-diesel which creates an increase in demand for the feedstock. This is a low cost way for governments of providing state support for farmers. iii) According to the World Bank, for every one percentage point increase in the barrel price of oil the price of maize will rise by 0.9% for all oil prices above USD50 per barrel (World Bank 2009, p7). This now links oil prices directly to maize.
Topic:
Markets, Food, Economy, and Food Crisis
Political Geography:
Africa and Botswana

6705. Deepening East Asian Economic Integration in Services

Author:
Phillippa Dee
Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)
Abstract:
In services markets, there may be legitimate reasons to regulate. Integration efforts should target regulatory restrictions that explicitly limit competition, and those that are intended to meet legitimate objectives, but are clearly more burdensome than need to be. In health and maritime, ASEAN is already relatively liberal by international standards, although there is still scope to promote cross-border trade and ease costly cabotage restrictions. In telecommunications, the residual foreign equity limits are hard to understand, given that past reforms and current technologies have ensured that most markets are already relatively competitive. In finance, there is substantially more to do, despite progress made during the Asian financial crisis. And in air transport, despite commitments to open skies, there is a need to further align the content of bilateral air services agreements with regional integration objectives.
Topic:
International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Bilateral Relations, and Services
Political Geography:
Asia and Southeast Asia

6706. Comprehensive Asia Development Plan and Beyond -Growth Strategies for More Prosperous and Equitable East Asia

Author:
Takeshi Fujimoto, Shochiro Hara, and Fukunari Kimura
Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)
Abstract:
Let's dream of our bright and prosperous future. In the year of 2020, sixteen East Asia Summit (EAS) member countries can reach doubled per capita income compared with their income level in 2008 with proper policy guidance; eight countries may join developed countries with per capita income exceeding US$10,000, five countries could enjoy the status of newly industrialized countries with per capita income between US$3,000 and US$10,000, and three countries would have per capita income above US$1,000. The Comprehensive Asia Development Plan (CADP) provides immediate policy guidance for industrialization through the development of logistics and other economic infrastructure. Beyond CADP, EAS member countries will face novel policy challenges that developing countries in the world have not broken through yet. This policy brief claims that establishing four virtuous cycles will be the key and we must have the courage to meet a number of policy challenges.
Topic:
Development, International Trade and Finance, Regional Cooperation, and Economic Growth
Political Geography:
East Asia and Asia

6707. New START Verification: Fitting the Means to the Ends

Author:
Greg Thielmann
Publication Date:
02-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Arms Control Association
Abstract:
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) promises to lock in significant reductions in U.S. and Russian strategic arsenals by establishing lower ceilings on deployed weapons. The treaty’s verification provisions are means to that end--providing confidence that the sides are complying with those lower limits. Although the goal is to establish the high confidence levels maintained during the 15 years of the original START (1994-2009), the successor agreement will achieve that goal with more focused and up-to-date methods, including innovative verification provisions for deployed warhead ceilings. START’s multilayered limits and the elaborate verification measures flowing out of them were born of the Cold War. New START verification can be streamlined in accordance with the new, simplified limits and in response to post-Cold War realities. In assessing the new treaty, it is critical that verification provisions be judged by how well they fulfill their core function.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, and New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START)
Political Geography:
Russia, Eurasia, North America, and United States of America

6708. New START Verification: Up to the Challenge

Author:
Greg Thielmann
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Arms Control Association
Abstract:
The multilayered limits of the original Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) and the elaborate verification measures flowing out of them were born of the difficult negotiations conducted in the waning days of the Soviet Union. The streamlined verification measures in the New START agreement, finalized in April 2010, are an appropriate response to the replacement treaty’s specific limits, which are designed to address post-Cold War realities. Combining proof-tested measures from 15 years of START implementation with new approaches to contemporary challenges, New START verification provisions are well suited to fulfill their core function. These provisions promise to permit the same high confidence in compliance achieved when the original START was in force, but will do so with more focused and up-to-date methods, including innovative verification provisions for monitoring deployed warhead ceilings.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Cold War, Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, and New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START)
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6709. Fragile states and the international response: in pursuit of security or development?

Author:
Koen Vlassenroot
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
EGMONT - The Royal Institute for International Relations
Abstract:
In the pursuit of security and development in Africa, more and more reference is being made to the concept of fragile states. This paper explores the meaning of this concept and considers the attention that is being paid to it as a consequence of integrating security and development into the policy of the major donor countries. In an African context state fragility is a cause of numerous conflicts, but also a major focal point of peace processes and donor interventions. This paper is intended to be a warning against a too narrow focus on security in the process of combating fragility. It pleads for an integrated policy, based on the pursuit of sustainable development and emphasises the strengthening of the authority and power of the state and the promotion of local economic and social development.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Political Violence, Development, Economics, and Fragile/Failed State
Political Geography:
Africa

6710. The World Responds to Iran's Elections: An Early Assessment

Author:
Andrew Boyko, Mark Lewis, and Louise Stenfors Virenfeldt
Publication Date:
07-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Strategic Studies (CSS)
Abstract:
As the 2009 Iranian elections came to an end, many states and groups waited with anticipation to see who would lead Iran for the next four years. To the concern of many Western governments, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s second term as president was confirmed by the Guardian Council after a questionable recount. This paper tracks reactions from countries and groups following the election and assesses their possible implications for the future. The damning exchanges between Iran and the West are reaching a level of hostility that bodes ill for a future rapprochement. If they continue to escalate, and if Iran is unwilling to scale down its nuclear programme, is the possibility of military action against this country coming closer to realization?
Topic:
National Security, Nuclear Power, Elections, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Political Geography:
Iran and Middle East