Search

Begin New Search Political Geography Europe

4791. Putting politics into international development? It’s about time

Author:
Charles Cadwell
Publication Date:
04-2016
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Urban Institute
Abstract:
It may be difficult in the current political season to welcome news that international development agencies are paying more attention to the politics of reform when designing their assistance programs to poor countries. But we should be relieved that agencies like the World Bank, the UK’s Department for International Development, and our own US Agency for International Development are doing just that. For too long, aid programs operated with the convenient fiction that assistance work was purely technical. The premise of many programs was “simply transfer missing knowledge, skills, or cash to people in the foreign government or local organizations, and they could adopt policies and programs to promote growth and reduce poverty."
Topic:
Poverty, Foreign Aid, International Development, and Economic Growth
Political Geography:
Europe, Global Focus, and United States of America

4792. Calling a Spade a Spade: Canada's Use of Sanctions

Author:
Andrea Charron and Paul Aseltine
Publication Date:
12-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI)
Abstract:
Canada’s use of sanctions is little studied which means the full scope and effect of this tool are not appreciated. Until 2006, Canada applied sanctions in support of the United Nations almost exclusively. Since then, Canada has also applied discretionary sanctions in support of allies such as the European Union and United States’ measures in addition to those required by the UN Security Council. Lacking extraterritorial reach and with this new tendency to layer sanctions (applying UN and additional measures) requires the navigation of multiple pieces of Canadian legislation. Banks and private companies, which are largely responsible for giving effect to Canada’s sanctions, must navigate this legislation. This has ensnared a few Canadians in the process with little evidence that Canada’s application of sanctions is compelling its targets (people, companies, and states) to change their behaviour. Canada’s application of sanctions is a signal of its desire to support multilateral, collective security efforts – nothing more or less.
Topic:
United Nations, Sanctions, European Union, and Banks
Political Geography:
Europe, Canada, North America, and United States of America

4793. The Year of Our Discontent: A Snapshot From Berlin

Author:
Gary Soroka
Publication Date:
10-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI)
Abstract:
The European Union faces enormous challenges, including flows of refugees, economic stagnation, terrorism, xenophobia, anti-Muslim bigotry and the rise of the far right, the Brexit. Strong leadership is needed but it is in short supply. Germany is the most capable, but it too has domestic problems that are preoccupying the political class, not least the prospect of a federal election next year. Despite all this, the country has shouldered its growing responsibilities in recent years with a new confidence and no one should underestimate what they can achieve.
Topic:
Islam, Terrorism, Elections, European Union, Brexit, and Xenophobia
Political Geography:
Europe

4794. Rethinking Human Rights in EU External Policies

Publication Date:
03-2016
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
The EU’s Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy is an opportunity for the EU to redefine its role on the global stage in a way that builds on the norms that underpin its own progress, shows leadership and ambition, and takes a decisive stand against regressive regimes that prefer compliant partners that prioritise interest over universal values. In this paper, the Open Society European Policy Institute calls on the EU and its member states to end the false dichotomy between “values and interests” and argues that universal human rights constitute a building block of any policy aimed at supporting sustainable security, prosperity, and stability in Europe and beyond. The input builds on the main conclusions and recommendations that emerged from the expert discussion on human rights in EU external action cohosted by the Open Society European Policy Institute and the European Union Institute for Strategic Studies in January 2016. The convening brought together over 30 human rights experts (including from Egypt, Kenya, and Azerbaijan), EU officials, parliamentarians, and diplomats.
Topic:
Security, Human Rights, Political stability, Europe Union, Prosperity, and Political Rights
Political Geography:
Europe

4795. Montenegro: Elections Aftermath and the European Commission’s 2016 Country Progress Reports

Author:
Srđan Cvijić and Stevo Muk
Publication Date:
11-2016
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
Politically, Montenegro finds itself in a paradoxical situation. At one level it is the champion of European integration in the Western Balkans when it comes to progress in the EU accession negotiations, but it is also the only country in the region that has not experienced a change of government since the introduction of the multiparty system in 1990. The same individuals, families, and political and business elites have been controlling the country’s politics and economy for more than 25 years. This situation is likely to continue after the recently held October 16 parliamentary elections where the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists managed once again to secure the most seats in parliament but fell short of securing an absolute majority. Key conclusions in this report include: the October elections were marked by numerous irregularities and were held in problematic conditions; the Montenegrin government and European Commission need to focus more on reforms in the area of the rule of law; the EU accession process remains unclear and lacks transparency. The authors present recommendations to the European Commission, European Parliament, and the EU member states for moving forward.
Topic:
Democratization, Government, Elections, European Union, Democracy, and Rule of Law
Political Geography:
Europe, Balkans, and Montenegro

4796. European Union Borders in the Face of Insecurities (2015-2016)

Author:
Mira Kaneva
Publication Date:
09-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Security and International Studies (ISIS)
Abstract:
The associative definition of borders implies the separation or the connection between two contrasting units (even in terms of their coloring on the geographic map). Thus the inherent intermediate position of borders has always marked the bordering practices between and within political communities. In international relations studies, though, despite the centrality of borders in policy-making, border studies are reduced to a marginal position. Ironically, border studies are driven to the periphery of academic research due to the prevailing misconception of them as epiphenomena at the expense of core phenomena such as state, sovereignty, and territory
Topic:
International Organization, Immigration, and Political stability
Political Geography:
Europe

4797. Hebrew Sources in the Doctrine of the Law of Nature and Nations in Early Modern Europe

Author:
Charles Leben
Publication Date:
01-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
This article sets out to re-examine Hebrew sources in the doctrine of the law of nations of the 17th century, from Gentili’s De Jure Belli Libri Tres (although it strictly belongs to the 16th century since it was first published in 1598) to Pufendorf’s De Jure Naturae et Gentium (1672). It incontrovertibly confirms the importance of Jewish sources in the general intellectual education of the founding fathers of international law and in their general political philosophy while limiting their role with respect to the construction of international law in the strict and contemporaneous sense of the term.
Topic:
International Law, Religion, Political Theory, History, Law, and Judaism
Political Geography:
Europe and Mediterranean

4798. The problem with ‘embedded liberalism’: the World Bank and the myth of Bretton Woods

Author:
Samuel Appleton
Publication Date:
10-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Global Political Economy, University of Sussex
Abstract:
The Bretton Woods conference is conventionally understood as a radical break between the laissez faire order and its ‘embedded liberal’ successor, in which finance was suppressed in the interest of trade and productive growth. The new institutions, particularly the IBRD are often considered emblematic of this. In response to this, the paper argues that the Bretton Woods order required the enlistment, not repression, of private American finance. Firstly, laissez-faire era proposals for international financial institutions provided important precedents for the Bretton Woods institutions. Second, these were predicated on the uniquely deep liquidity of American financial markets following upon Progressive-era reforms, in the legacy of which the Roosevelt administration sought to locate the New Deal. Thirdly, they found new relevance in the 1940s as the IBRD turned by necessity to American financial markets for operating capital. Negotiating the imperative of commercial creditworthiness had two important consequences. First, it entailed the structural and procedural transformation of the IBRD, and allowed management to carve out a proprietary terrain in which its agency was decisive. Second, this suggests that US agendas were mediated by the Bank’s institutional imperatives – and that finance was no more ‘embedded’ during the Bretton Woods era than its predecessor.
Topic:
Development, Economics, World Bank, Global Markets, International Development, and Global Political Economy
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, and Latin America

4799. Shifting Sands: Power, Uncertainty and the Form of International Legal Cooperation

Author:
Timothy Meyer
Publication Date:
01-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
This article argues that the form of international agreements – binding hard law agreements versus non-binding soft law agreements – can be partially explained by states’ interests in promoting renegotiation in the presence of uncertainty and shifting power. I make this argument in three steps. First, I explain that states regularly use unilateral non-compliance as a renegotiation strategy. Second, I argue that making an agreement soft facilitates this use of unilateral non-compliance. Third, I analyse the conditions – uncertainty characterized by common interests (but not uncertainty characterized by distributive concerns) and shifting power – under which facilitating renegotiation through soft law will appeal to states. In particular, I argue that in the presence of these conditions preventing renegotiation creates long-term costs for states that can inhibit short-term cooperation. In effect, under these conditions the shadow of the future can inhibit cooperation rather than support it, as is conventionally thought. These conditions are common to many major contemporary subjects of international cooperation in a way they were not during the latter half of the 20th century, partially explaining the increased importance of soft law to contemporary international governance.
Topic:
International Relations, International Law, International Trade and Finance, Treaties and Agreements, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Europe, United Nations, and Global Focus

4800. Backlash against International Courts in West, East and Southern Africa: Causes and Consequences

Author:
Karen J. Alter, James T. Gathii, and Laurence R. Helfer
Publication Date:
01-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
This article discusses three credible attempts by African governments to restrict the jurisdiction of three similarly situated sub-regional courts in response to politically controversial rulings. In West Africa, when the Court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) upheld allegations of torture by opposition journalists in Gambia, that country’s political leaders sought to restrict the Court’s power to review human rights complaints. The other member states ultimately defeated Gambia’s proposal. In East Africa, Kenya failed in its efforts to eliminate the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) and to remove some of its judges after a decision challenging an election to a sub-regional legislature. However, the member states agreed to restructure the EACJ in ways that have significantly affected the Court’s subsequent trajectory. In Southern Africa, after the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tribunal ruled in favour of white farmers in disputes over land seizures, Zimbabwe prevailed upon SADC member states to suspend the Tribunal and strip its power to review complaints from private litigants. Variations in the mobilization efforts of community secretariats, civil society groups and sub-regional parliaments explain why efforts to eliminate the three courts or narrow their jurisdiction were defeated in ECOWAS, scaled back in the EACJ and largely succeeded in the SADC.
Topic:
Civil Society, Human Rights, International Law, and Courts
Political Geography:
Kenya, Africa, Europe, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Gambia