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262. Development Cycles, Political Regimes and International Migration
- Author:
- Andrés Solimano
- Publication Date:
- 04-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- At the turn of the twentieth century, a large number of Europeans, mostly from Italy and Spain, left their homelands and headed to the distant shores of Argentina in response to the good economic opportunities, fertile land and hopes for a better future that were to be found there. At the time, Argentina was one of the most vibrant world economies. Between 1870 and 1930, around seven million people migrated from Europe to Argentina, although nearly three million returned at some different point during those years. Also foreign capital responded to the opportunities offered by Argentina, and British financial institutions funded an important part of the construction of national infrastructure needed to support growth. In contrast, European migration to Argentina virtually stopped in the 1950s, and in the next 30 years or so the country become a net exporter of professionals who were fleeing economic decline, poor opportunities and authoritarian regimes. Moreover, during this period, financial capital steadily left Argentina looking for safer places. Nowadays, and in contrary to the flow of people a century ago, Argentineans are leaving in large numbers to Spain, Italy and other destinations. Emigration this time is associated with the collapse of the country's currency experiment of the 1990s which left a legacy of massive output decline, high unemployment, financial crisis and lost hopes.
- Topic:
- Development, Emerging Markets, International Political Economy, Migration, and Poverty
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Argentina, Spain, and Italy
263. Thessaloniki And After III: The EU And Serbia, Montenegro, And Kosovo
- Publication Date:
- 06-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Since the fall of the regime of Slobodan Milosevic in October 2000, the steady normalisation of Serbia's relations with the international community has significantly enhanced the prospects for longterm peace and stability. The European Union (EU) rose to the challenge, providing resources for reconstruction and reforms in Serbia itself, as well as in Montenegro and Kosovo. As part of this assistance effort, it included the three entities in the Stabilisation and Association process (SAp) that it established to build security in the Western Balkans and open perspectives for eventual membership.
- Topic:
- Development and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Eastern Europe, Kosovo, Serbia, and Montenegro
264. Thessaloniki And After II: The EU And Bosnia
- Publication Date:
- 06-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Afflicted still by the physical, psychological and political wounds of war, and encumbered by the flawed structures imposed by the international community to implement peace, Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereafter: Bosnia) is not yet capable of plotting a strategy or undertaking the measures likely to win it membership in the European Union (EU). Yet the government announced on 10 April 2003 that its major policy goal is to join the EU in 2009, in the blind faith that the processes of European integration will themselves provide Bosnia with remedies for its wartime and post-war enfeeblement. The Thessaloniki summit meeting between the heads of state or government of the EU members and the Western Balkan states to be held on 21 June is likely to throw some cold water on their ambitions.
- Topic:
- Development and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Eastern Europe, and Balkans
265. Thessaloniki And After I: The EU's Balkan Agenda
- Publication Date:
- 06-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- The EU-Western Balkans Summit to be held in Thessaloniki on 21 June runs a real risk of discouraging reformers and increasing alienation in the Balkans, unless European policies towards the region are substantially enriched.
- Topic:
- Development and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Eastern Europe, and Balkans
266. Potential and Limits of the Pact of Stability for South East Europe: Prioritising Objectives
- Author:
- Plamen Pantev
- Publication Date:
- 02-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Austrian National Defence Academy
- Abstract:
- The Pact of Stability for South East Europe was “born” after the end of the Kosovo crisis in 1999 as a concept of dealing radically with the Balkan instabilities, but also as a geopolitical compromise of the great power centres, involved in the treatment of the post-Yugoslav conflicts. The ripeness of launching this concept and policy had several dimensions: Most of the countries from South East Europe, especially those in transition to democracy and market economy, had a definite strategy of integrating in both the European Union and in NATO; A certain level of regional cooperation had already been reached in the years that preceded the Kosovo crisis in 1999; Influential external powers had already realised that the Balkans need to be treated in the long-term only in a benign way to overcome historical deficiencies and belated modernisation of the economy, society, politics, technology and infrastructure; The disgusting consequences of four post-Yugoslav wars – a development that did not happen to two other former federal structures in Central and Eastern Europe (the Czechoslovak and the Soviet) necessitated a comprehensive and encompassing approach to deal with the plethora of issues in the Balkans, and the EU gradually evolved to the understanding that an additional strategic instrument needs to be launched to cope with the risks and instabilities in the region of South East Europe on the way of its own expansion and of turning the Balkan Peninsula into an integral part of the Union.
- Topic:
- Security, NATO, Development, and International Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Eastern Europe, Kosovo, and Balkans
267. Analyser les modes de représentation des intérêts dans l'Union européenne : construction d'une problématique
- Author:
- Sabine Saurugger
- Publication Date:
- 06-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales
- Abstract:
- This article presents conceptual tools to analyse interest representation in the European Union. On the European level, no formal system of representation can be found, but rather a patchwork of representation modes. These modes are influenced by forms of political exchange specific for each country and each political domain, which interact with opportunity structures at the European level. Analysing interest representation in a system of governance, either national, European or international requires taking into account the relations which link interest groups with political and bureaucratic actors at the national level, acknowledging the changes in these relations and to insert all that in a system of governance where actors must find solutions to problems in the management of public policies and not to forget political power games and hierarchies amongst actors. The first part of the article analyses briefly the development of interest group studies in comparative politics as well as in international relations and presents the attempts to systematize these studies undertaken since the 1990. In the second part, I analyse more specifically the network approach, which allows to overcome the cleavage between pluralism and neocorporatism in the study of the relationships between interest groups and state actors. In presenting a critical analysis of the general ideas of the network approach, I propose specific conceptual instruments helping to structure research on interest groups in the European Union.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Development, Politics, Regional Cooperation, and European Union
- Political Geography:
- Europe
268. Globalized and Localized Digital Divides Along the Information Highway: A Fragile Synthesis Across Bridges, Ramps, Cloverleaves, and Ladders.
- Author:
- Carl Cuneo
- Publication Date:
- 01-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition, McMaster University
- Abstract:
- There has been a tendency, especially in North America and Europe, and among technology enthusiasts and some educators, to assume that the whole world is connected to the Internet, and surfs the World Wide Web. Why would we use the term, 'World Wide Web', if we were not talking about a global phenomenon? However, Internet statistics show that only about six to eight percent of the world's six billion population is connected to the Internet. Approximately ninety-two percent of the world is NOT connected to, nor uses, the Internet. 1 The erroneous assumption of universal connectivity is not simply a statistical mistake. Governments, corporations, community organizations, and individuals make many incorrect decisions, with sometimes dramatic and far-reaching consequences, on the basis of the assumption that most of the world is connected to the Internet. Not only is the vast majority of the world not connected to the Internet, most people do not even have the computers, skills, experience, interest, or awareness to become connected. The disconnected are not randomly distributed, but have specific demographic, social, economic, racial, ethnic, gender, gerontological, and political characteristics that amount to a systematic bias of exclusion, often referred to as the “digital have-nots”. Similarly, the connected are not randomly distributed, but possess particular demographic, social, economic and political characteristics making up what has become known as the ““Digital Haves””. The separation, chasm, abyss, canyon, gulf, or distance between the ““Digital Haves”” and “digital have-nots” has become known as the “Digital Divide.”
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Development, Globalization, Poverty, and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- Europe and North America
269. From a Recipient of Aid Towards an Independent Actor: The Impacts of EU Integration on Estonia's Civil Society
- Author:
- Kristi Raik
- Publication Date:
- 01-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Finnish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- In recent scholarly and political debates, civil society has often been considered one of the weakest, if not the weakest aspect of democracy in the Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs). Although the Eastern EU applicant states have been fairly successful in establishing democratic institutions and formal procedures, all of them suffer from political apathy and alienation of the citizens, low public trust in state authorities, and general dissatisfaction with the functioning of democracy – even though democracy is valued in principle. In the face of these problems, activation of a sphere of civic initiative and organisation is seen by many analysts as one important means for improving the quality of democracy. Support to the development of civil society has also been an increasingly important aspect of EU policy aimed at strengthening democracy in the Eastern candidate countries. In addition to supporting civic activity in general, the EU has in recent years started to pay attention to the involvement of civil society in the Eastern enlargement process. It has been underlined that in order to guarantee the legitimacy and effectiveness of integration, citizens and nongovernmental actors should play a stronger role in the candidate countries' preparations for EU accession.
- Topic:
- Democratization and Development
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Eastern Europe, and Estonia
270. Kosovo/a Standing Technical Working Group, Training Workshop and Study Visit - Council of Europe
- Author:
- Graham Holliday
- Publication Date:
- 11-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- European Centre for Minority Issues
- Abstract:
- A joint study visit and training workshop was organized by the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) in collaboration with the Directorate General of Political Affairs at the Council of Europe (CoE). This workshop took place at the CoE headquarters in Strasbourg between 18 and 21 November 2002, and brought together approximately forty local experts from Kosovo and sixteen officials of the CoE. The general aim of the study visit/training workshop was to increase awareness of different dimensions of the CoE's work on standard setting and technical assistance in Europe, within the framework of building democratic and inclusive institutions. Special attention was paid in the training sessions of the workshop to raising awareness of international standards on minority and human rights legislation and protection, but provision was also made to cover other aspects of democracy building that were of particular interest to the project participants, such as evolving standards and good practice in local governance, social cohesion and education. The workshop further provided a forum for the participants to discuss the applicability of these standards to the Western Balkans, and to the future development of Kosovo in particular.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Democratization, and Development
- Political Geography:
- Europe