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12802. Telesur : Estrategia geopolítica con fines integracionistas
- Author:
- Andrés Cañizález and Jairo Lugo
- Publication Date:
- 10-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
- Abstract:
- This article discusses the project of Telesur in the context of regional integration in Latin America and geopolitical confrontation with the US. The article considers the way in which confrontation between President Hugo Chávez's administration and the United States has made geopolitics a fundamental part of this telecommunications project. It discusses the validity of comparing Telesur to other broadcasters such as Al-Jazeera and EuroNews. Although is still too soon to provide an assessment of the viability of the channel, it is already possible to foresee that it will face in the near future a series of challenges that will reshape its nature and that of its audiences.
- Topic:
- Emerging Markets, International Cooperation, and Regional Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Latin America
12803. Sistema electoral y democracia de calidad: Análisis de las campañas electorales en Nuevo León
- Author:
- Gabriela Salazar Gonzales
- Publication Date:
- 10-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
- Abstract:
- The present article analyzes the electoral campaigns in the state of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, as a way to establish if these campaigns, as a fundamental part of the electoral and political processes, contribute to achieve a quality democracy. Based on the definition of a good quality democracy, we analyze the electoral campaigns and their institutional design: length, financing, political parties, access to the media, negative campaigns, political debates, government advertising during the campaigns, political parties fiscal accountability and their overall impact in the public participation. Finally, this paper outlines some proposals of improvement for the design of the electoral campaigns in Nuevo León.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Government, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Latin America and Mexico
12804. ¿Democracia por método o democracia por principio? Latinoamérica y su condicionado compromiso con la pluralid
- Author:
- Ulises Carrillo Cabrera and Gabriela López Gómez
- Publication Date:
- 10-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
- Abstract:
- The process of democratic consolidation in Latin America may seem to be dominated by an utilitarian search of better governments and not by a real commitment to adopt democratic principles and values. This essay analyzes data from Latinobarometer for the last decade and finds evidence of a support for democracy that is associated with low inflation and strong GNP growth. Democracy is far from being the 'only game in town' and is under pressure to obtain specific policy outcomes. Partial evidence suggests that citizens tend to support regimes from the left when they realize that democracy is more a procedural system rather than a regime of effective redistribution of wealth and income.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Democratization, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Latin America
12805. Constitución y democracia. ¿Límites y vínculos?
- Author:
- Adrián Rentería Díaz
- Publication Date:
- 10-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
- Abstract:
- There has been a process of change in the notion of constitutionalism since the middle of the 20th century, setting itself apart from its previous conceptualization which was distinguished by its stiffness and the existence of an organ responsible of surveilling the supremacy of the Constitution above the law. Using this affirmation as a starting point, the author examines the ways in which the neo-constitutionalism and the 19th-century constitutionalism theorized the concepts of constitution and democracy. The aim of this analysis is to demonstrate that the concept of formal democracy -as a method to take public decisions on the basis of the majority principle- has exhausted its heuristic capacity in neo-constitutionalism. According to the author, the use of such concept generates an indissoluble tension between constitution and democracy. Thus, based on the work of Luigi Ferrajoli, the author proposes a radical review of the concept of democracy that incorporates substantial aspects and takes into account the reality of the current normative systems.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Democratization, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Latin America
12806. Call centers and the new jobs of the 21st Century
- Author:
- Jordy Micheli Thirión
- Publication Date:
- 04-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
- Abstract:
- Call centers emerging industry is a dynamic sector in global economy and accounts worldwide jobs in millions. This article shows the tayloristic characteristics of labor process, geographical expansion trends of telemarket firms and concentration job in young people as well as the weakness of the labor relations in the industry. The conclusion is that structure of contemporary postindustrial capitalism constitutes a framework for call centers industry growth. That structure is characterized by: a need for managing the information and communication flows in a competitive way within several firms and organizations; the remarkable innovation wave in digital technology sectors and structural unemployment among young people, bachelors or graduates. In the context of an expanding tertiary economy, call centers become a pattern for managing work and creating jobs in 21st Century.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Globalization, and Science and Technology
12807. Scope and limits of the Chinese technologic and scientific system
- Author:
- Gian Carlo Delgado-Ramos
- Publication Date:
- 04-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
- Abstract:
- Using the case of nanotechnology, one of the most promising technological niches of the 21st century and one that is increasing in China, the purpose of this article is three-fold. One, the article discusses the concepts of scientific-technology system and industrial network in order to characterize the structure of development in countries that are considered as emerging or peripheral economies. Two, the term maquila-technology is analyzed in relation with the endogenous development effects of science and technology on the linkages among national production networks in China. This includes an analysis of the role of the state, the private sector, and the knowledge centers of production. And, three, the article evaluates other aspects, such as the military, that result in a friction between a progressively technological competitiveness of China with the industrial interests of the West.
- Topic:
- Development, Industrial Policy, and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
12808. Narrativas del cambio: Cultura y desarrollo económico regional.
- Author:
- David Goodman
- Publication Date:
- 04-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
- Abstract:
- China's economic growth since the late 1970s challenges economic theory so strongly that cultural explanations are often sought. A prime difficulty in such approaches is the operationalisation of the concept of Chinese culture. Culture is more readily and usefully analysed at the local rather than the national level. Local culture has been demonstrated to be important to politics and the emergence of modern Chinese nationalism. The relationship between local culture and economic development is more complex. Local culture provides ideology and often organisation that supports entrepreneurship and the development of specifically local economic activity. Through local studies in three Chinese provinces – Shanxi, Qinghai and Hainan – it is argued that local culture is not only a significant factor of production but also helps explain the trajectory and organisation of local business.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, and Government
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
12809. Analysis of a publishing position: The case of Colombian president Alvaro Uribe re-election
- Author:
- Ana Cristina Vélez López
- Publication Date:
- 04-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
- Abstract:
- This article is a descriptive and analytical text. The investigation of which the article is a product is about the presidential re-election in Colombia. That research began as an analysis of eighteen editorials published by the most important newspaper in Colombia: El Tiempo. The method of analysis was ACD (Critical Analysis of speech) by Teun A. Van Dijk. The investigation concluded that El Tiempo changed radically its position about the immediately presidential re-election because the editorial did not support it at the begging but at the end it supports the re-election with own name: Alvaro Uribe Velez.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Development, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Colombia and South America
12810. Transborder movements Mexico-United States: “Polleros” as mobility agents
- Author:
- Gaxiola y Guajardo García
- Publication Date:
- 04-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
- Abstract:
- The human traffic networks of Latin-Americans immigrants, managed by human traffickers or “polleros”, constitute an actual social phenomenon that affects the security structures in all borders of the American continent. The objective of this research is to analyze how the impact that problems, like uneven distribution of income and the lack of job opportunities in Latin America, affect the raising of human traffic networks and “polleros”. At the same time, it will be exposed the abuses that the “polleros” commit against the immigrants, and several measures that have been adopted in the international level to eradicate this problem.
- Topic:
- International Relations and Migration
- Political Geography:
- United States, Latin America, Central America, North America, and Mexico
12811. The philosophy of subject and the sociology of knowledge in the theories of Jürgen Habermas and Niklas Luhmann
- Author:
- Monica Judith Sánchez Flores
- Publication Date:
- 04-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
- Abstract:
- In this article I show that, in spite of essential differences between Habermas and Luhmann with respect to the philosophy of the subject, they both depend on the modern idea of the individual self to pose their theories of meaning (Habermas 1989 and 1990, Luhmann 1998). Habermas and Luhmann belong to divergent theoretical schools (critical and functionalist respectively) and yet they both use essential lessons about language from the German “sciences of the spirit” (Geisteswissenschaften); the phenomenological perspective and the sociology of knowledge. Even though their positions on the value of the modern individual self are opposed, the latter is an essential element in the theoretical perspectives of both sociologists: Habermas describes the individual subject as a linguistically competent, rational, and critical entity; while Luhmann rejects this anthropocentric conception outright and contemplates society as a set of systems oriented towards their own functionality. Luhmann produces a very useful sociological perspective, but rhetorically rejects the substantive aspect of the philosophy of the subject without recognizing that his perspective depends on the consciousness of the subject that he rejects at the same time. In the light of this dilemma I argue that it is necessary to remember essential lessons from Max Weber's methodology of the social sciences.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Development, and Education
- Political Geography:
- Europe
12812. In the multicultural edge: A linguistic political evaluation of the Mexican State around its indigenous communities
- Author:
- Roberto Morris Bermúdez
- Publication Date:
- 04-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
- Abstract:
- The goal of this dissertation is to assess to what extent Mexican language policy towards indigenous minorities is congruent with the guidelines that multicultural, language policy and language planning theory prescribe. These theories were chosen because current legislation indicates that these are the ideals which Mexico, as a country, The aim of this research is to present a comparison of current Mexican multicultural language policies and how these diverge from multicultural theory, this in order to make inferences applicable to further developing multicultural language policies in Mexico.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Demographics, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Central America and Mexico
12813. Danish Foreign Policy Yearbook 2007
- Author:
- Nanna Hvidt and Hans Mouritzen
- Publication Date:
- 05-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
- Abstract:
- This is an outline of Danish foreign policy 2006 provided by the Permanent Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Throughout 2006, developments caused by globalisation posed huge challenges to Denmark. The cartoons crisis and the conflict in Lebanon were the most obvious ones. Confronted with these challenges, Denmark managed to pursue a pro-active foreign policy. Interrelated issues such as energy security, climate change, failed states and weapons of mass destruction became increasingly important. These issues must be addressed with different instruments ranging from diplomacy and multilateral cooperation to trade policy and development cooperation. They illustrate the need for new tools in foreign policy such as public diplomacy, which has gained further importance in the globalised and network-based system of international relations. In addition, the need for horizontal coordination has increased. The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a major globalisation study in 2006, recommending how Denmark can cope with the challenges of globalisation.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Development, and Economics
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Denmark
12814. Oil development in Africa: Lessons for Sudan after the comprehensive peace agreement
- Author:
- Luke Patey
- Publication Date:
- 05-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
- Abstract:
- In 1999, Sudan shipped its first barrel of oil to the international market. It did so with one civil war painfully continuing between the Khartoum government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army, unrest threatening the petroleum pathway along the pipeline route in the East, and a growing conflict in the western province of Darfur. This was not a rare occurrence in Africa. Nigeria and Angola had experienced the paradoxical duality of the economic progression of oil development; a one-sided affair simply benefiting the ruling elite, while the majority of the population suffered civil war and unrelenting poverty. However, unlike previous cases of the 'resource curse' in Africa, what seems to be a growing trend took shape in Sudan with the engagement of Asian investors, particularly China, in the development of its oil industry. While Asian investment initially took place alongside Western oil companies, state-owned enterprises from China, Malaysia, and India later came to dominate the sector. Nonetheless, whether this investment will deviate from the historical norm of fuelling civil war and underdevelopment has yet to be seen.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Civil War, and Oil
- Political Geography:
- Africa, China, Sudan, Darfur, Malaysia, India, Nigeria, Angola, and Khartoum
12815. The Spread of Missile Technology and its Countermeasures
- Author:
- Marianne Hanson
- Publication Date:
- 08-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
- Abstract:
- The proliferation of missiles is commonly viewed as one of the most pressing international security issues and has been a key concern in the arms control and proliferation debate s over the past decade. This has occurred at the same time that apprehension about the horizontal spread of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) has risen, and the two issues have become closely related in formulations of potential threats, as well as in existing attempts to regulate the spread of missile technology and parts.
- Topic:
- Conflict Prevention, International Relations, Security, and Arms Control and Proliferation
12816. What's in it for Labour? Private social standards in the cut flower industries of Kenya and Tanzania
- Author:
- Lone Riisgaard
- Publication Date:
- 08-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
- Abstract:
- Export of cut flowers from East Africa to Europe is an example of how tightened quality regulations and increasing concern with social and environmental issues have created a highly codified industry. For producers participating in value chains driven by large retailers, adopting social and environmental standards is a requirement and specificities are dictated by the buyers. In this paper focus is on private social standards and the opportunities and challenges they pose for labour organizations, especially trade unions. By incorporating the concept of labour agency, global value chain analysis is widened to encompass not just industrial development but also labour development.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Economics, and Emerging Markets
- Political Geography:
- Kenya, Africa, Tanzania, and East Africa
12817. The role of freight transport in economic development: An analysis of the interaction between global value chains and their associated transport chains
- Author:
- Poul Ove Pedersen
- Publication Date:
- 07-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
- Abstract:
- The purpose of this paper is first to discuss the paradox that freight transport, which so clearly is an important prerequisite for the processes of regional development and economic internationalisation and globalisation, since the 1970s has almost vanished from mainstream economic geography and development studies, and is most often hardly mentioned in studies of international industrial development and global commodity or value chains. Secondly, the paper discusses the consequences of leaving freight transport out of the value chain analyses and argues that it has had serious consequences for economic development especially in the peripheral parts of the world, not least in Africa, and for our understanding of rural poverty.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Globalization, and Third World
- Political Geography:
- Africa
12818. A new transatlantic relationship? European responses to US global hegemony
- Author:
- Trine Flockhart
- Publication Date:
- 07-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
- Abstract:
- The paper addresses the question of how Europe (in NATO and the EU) has responded to changes in US announced and operational strategic and military policy and what the principal factors are for explaining European responses to what is perceived as a new form of American hegemony. The discussion is centered around the question of whether the United States has altered it conception of hegemony from one based on consent to one based on 'a preponderance of force', and therefore to have abandoned the crucial process of consensus building through persuasion, which has formed the foundation for the post-war Euro-Atlantic community. If so, then the problem relates more to the fundamental question of maintaining the security community during significant international change and perceived changes in European and American interests than it does to the specific policy content of American foreign policy. European reactions to the perceived change in American foreign policy have been varied in style and rhetoric, but can be di vided into those that have been concerned with safeguarding the achievements of the post-war era by following the United States wherever it may choose to go, or those who see a need for constructing a different relationship with the United States based on a more independent European foreign policy stance.
- Topic:
- International Relations and Foreign Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States, America, and Europe
12819. Rural Childhoods in Egypt's Desert Lands
- Author:
- Hanne Kirstine Adriansen
- Publication Date:
- 07-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
- Abstract:
- Based on fieldwork in Egypt's desert lands, this paper discusses rural childhoods in an area experiencing rapid social and cultural change. Since 1987, the Egyptian Government has made new villages in the desert as a means to increase agricultural production and solving problems of unemployment. Many settlers move to the Mubarak villages in order to give their children a good start in life. The desert villages are associated with a type of 'rural idyll'. The process of settling in the desert impacts upon the children's possible pathways to adulthood and their identities and social relationships. Not only do the children grow up in a different physical context, they are also exposed to new norms, values and behaviour that influences their everyday life and shape their identity. Especially the change from living in large, extended families to living in nuclear families as well as women's new roles impact upon the children's lives. The social contexts shaping the desert childhoods are in some ways more similar to contexts in 'developed' countries than in other parts of rural Egypt. The paper ends up by contrasting ideas of rural childhoods in Egypt with those found in 'developed' countries.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Civil Society, and Development
- Political Geography:
- North Africa and Egypt
12820. Siloviki versus liberal-technocrats: The fight for Russia and its foreign policy
- Author:
- Jørgen Staun
- Publication Date:
- 07-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
- Abstract:
- The window of opportunity for ensuring Russian democracy is closed or rapidly closing, at least in the intermediate term. Putin's so-called “managed democracy” has turned the Putin-regime into an autocratic system of power where all matters of importance, be it of domestic or foreign policy concern, are decided upon by the members of the small, non-elected elite of powerful bureaucrats surrounding Putin. Elections, parties, court-decisions, major media as well as major business deals – especially in so-called “strategic sectors” of oil, gas, metals and arms – are controlled by the Kremlin, based upon a closed matrix of private, corporate, organisational and national interests. Russia is still a market-based society where property rights are generally accepted – even if they are suspect of turf wars between competing clans and well-connected business groups. But “rule of law” in Russia is at least in high-profile cases a matter of “telephone justice”, that is, rulings are decided outside and not inside the courts.
- Topic:
- International Relations and Development
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Kremlin, Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia, and Maryland