Search

Begin New Search Political Geography Global Focus Publication Year within 10 Years Publication Year within 5 Years

1751. Cuba’s voting pattern during its 12 years at the UN Human Rights Council

Author:
Brian Schapira and Roxana Perel
Publication Date:
09-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
Abstract:
Over the twelve years during which Cuba had a seat at the UN Human Rights Council, the regime has been systematically complicit in the grave human rights violations perpetrated in other parts of the world. This can be inferred from the recorded votes, opposing to resolutions condemning dire human rights violations and calling the world into action. They have been constantly abetting and siding with autocratic governments across the world. In the bid to join the Human Rights Council during the 2021-2023 term, the one-party system stated that «should Cuba be elected to the Human Rights Council, it would continue to support its long-standing initiatives». Global democracies, especially those in Latin America who strive to consolidate the respect for human rights, shall oppose to the candidacy of Cuba and any other autocracies to the Human Rights Council, and they must do so publicly and actively in order to avoid the weakening of the International system for human rights protection.
Topic:
Human Rights, United Nations, UN Human Rights Council (HRC), and Human Rights Violations
Political Geography:
Cuba and Global Focus

1752. China: A hard-line autocracy that loses credibility at an international level

Author:
Dorothea Krueger
Publication Date:
08-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
Abstract:
The country report of China in the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) 2020 shows little change for the continent-sized Asian country since the last report of 2018. Structural challenges continued to intensify and the CCP’s single-party leadership does not consider democratic transformation as an objective to be pursued. On the contrary, the administration of President Xi Jinping continued to oppress opponents and dissidents while intensifying ideological indoctrination and surveillance. The deprivation of civil liberties, the concentration of power and the lack of political participation are the main reasons for classifying China in the BTI as a hard-line autocracy. At the same time, the BTI warns that China is becoming increasingly isolated from the world’s liberal democracies and loses their confidence. Human rights violations in so-called “re-education camps”, where it is estimated that more than one million Uyghurs are held, caused widespread criticism among Western democracies and lead to even more concern over China’s candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council elections in October this year.
Topic:
Human Rights, United Nations, Authoritarianism, UN Human Rights Council (HRC), Illiberal Democracy, Democratic Decline, and Human Rights Violations
Political Geography:
China, Asia, and Global Focus

1753. Russia: an increasingly repressive autocracy seeking a place on the UN Human Rights Council

Author:
Lara María Kovandova
Publication Date:
07-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
Abstract:
The Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) 2020 cautiously points to Vladimir Putin’s forging of an authoritarian-bureaucratic nomenklatura. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have denounced the deteriorating human rights situation in Russia, with freedom of speech and assembly systematically undermined and violated. The recent plebiscite to reform the constitution is the epitome of Mr Putin masquerading the authoritarian regime as a democracy.
Topic:
United Nations, Authoritarianism, Democracy, Vladimir Putin, Human Rights Violations, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch
Political Geography:
Russia, Latin America, and Global Focus

1754. BTI and Cuba: the State of democratic denial

Author:
Manuel Cuesta Morúa
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
Abstract:
Compared with other reports on Cuba, the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) has several noticeable advantages. The first is that it is a comprehensive report, embedded in three pillars: economics, politics and governance. The second is that it captures trends, whereas more reports are static. The third is that it considers themes through indicators, which most reports ignore. And as it is issued every two years it makes it possible to know the consistency (or lack, thereof) of the transformation and its rhythm. The following up. Has Cuba been transformed in 14 years (2006-2020)? Reading the report, it can be concluded that it has, whilst a new concept is introduced: that of static transformation –a sample of changes that leave the structures of a society intact.
Topic:
Human Rights, Governance, Authoritarianism, Democracy, Society, and Human Rights Violations
Political Geography:
Cuba, Latin America, and Global Focus

1755. Imperfect competition in product and labour markets. A quantitative analysis

Author:
Dario Tortarolo and Roman D. Zarate
Publication Date:
05-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Nottingham Interdisciplinary Centre for Economic and Political Research (NICEP)
Abstract:
We disentangle the extent of imperfect competition in product and labor markets using plant level data. We derive a formula for the ratio between markups and markdowns assuming costminimizing firms that face upward-sloping labour supply and downward-sloping product demand curves. We then separate this combined measure of market power by estimating firm-level labour supply elasticities instrumenting wages with a different set of instruments: including the use of intermediate inputs, input price shocks, and TFP shocks. Our results suggest that both markets exhibit imperfect competition, but the variation is mainly driven by markups. We also estimate the relative gains of removing market power dispersion on allocative efficiency, finding that markups are more important on TFP than markdowns.
Topic:
Economics, Labor Issues, Finance, Labor Market, Supply Chains, and Price
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1756. The first and last word in debates: Plaintive plaintiffs

Author:
Elena D'Agostino and Daniel J. Seidmann
Publication Date:
02-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Nottingham Interdisciplinary Centre for Economic and Political Research (NICEP)
Abstract:
Is it better to have the first or the last word in two-round debates like common law trials? If litigants always share available witnesses then they never prefer to present first (to lead), and may prefer to follow; and they never prefer to choose the order after observing the available witnesses than to always follow. Litigants can prefer to lead if they have different available witnesses because the outcomes when some litigant leads coincide with the outcomes in an alternative game where that litigant follows, but commits to its reaction function before observing its available witnesses. Leading is therefore a commitment device.
Topic:
Law, Criminal Justice, and Legal Sector
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1757. Foreign influence and domestic policy

Author:
Toke S. Aidt, Facundo Albornoz, and Esther Hauk
Publication Date:
01-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Nottingham Interdisciplinary Centre for Economic and Political Research (NICEP)
Abstract:
In an interconnected world, economic and political interests inevitably reach beyond national borders. Since policy choices generate external economic and political costs, foreign state and non-state actors have an interest in infl uencing policy actions in other sovereign countries to their advantage. Foreign infl uence is a strategic choice aimed at internalizing these externalities and takes three principal forms: (i) voluntary agreements, (ii) policy interventions based on rewarding or sanctioning the target country to obtain a specific change in policy and (iii) institution interventions aimed at influencing the political institutions in the target country. We propose a unifying theoretical framework to study when foreign in fluence is chosen and in which form, and use it to organize and evaluate the new political economics literature on foreign infl uence along with work in cognate disciplines.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, International Relations Theory, Borders, Nation-State, and Domestic Policy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1758. Beyond Compliance and Cooperation? Rethinking Corporate Social Responsibility in Global Value Chains in the Age of COVID-19

Author:
Peter Lund-Thomsen and Jacob Ramirez
Publication Date:
12-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Business and Development Studies (CBDS), Copenhagen Business School
Abstract:
In this article, we explore whether COVID-19 has led to a rethink of the two dominant ways of conceptualizing corporate social responsibility (CSR) in global value chains (GVCs): the compliance and cooperation paradigms. Hence, we examine whether any changes have taken place in the drivers, main features, theoretical underpinnings, and limitations of these two approaches to CSR in GVCs in the light of COVID-19. We contend that COVID-19 has been associated with an expanded version of the compliance paradigm. However, COVID-19 has not directly challenged the cooperation approach as a conceptual model. Instead the partial failure of buyers to act responsibly in relation their purchasing practices and restrictions on international travel have highlighted the limitations of this approach in the age of COVID-19. The conclusion highlights the main findings, research and policy implications of this analysis.
Topic:
International Political Economy, Business, Economic Policy, Pandemic, Global Value Chains, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1759. Not every time is the right time for real-time marketing: branding in the COVID-19 pandemic

Author:
Lisa Ann Richey and Maha Rafi Atal
Publication Date:
08-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Business and Development Studies (CBDS), Copenhagen Business School
Abstract:
As the global Covid-19 pandemic spread through Europe and North America, companies raced to communicate how they were responding to the crisis. Advertising that focuses on a company’s response to humanitarian crises is hardly new. Every holiday season features a parade of brands touting their seasonal partnerships with charitable causes. Yet these exercises in “Covid-branding” struck a particular nerve with both consumers and media commentators because so many of the brands stuck to the same script.
Topic:
Economics, Markets, Communications, and Advertising
Political Geography:
Europe, North America, and Global Focus

1760. Siyaset ile Ahlak Arasındaki Gerilimi Yumuşatma Çabası Olarak ‘Kirli Eller’ Kavramı

Author:
Esat Pinarbaşi
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bilgi
Institution:
Sakarya University (SAU)
Abstract:
Özet Bu çalışmada “kirli eller” kavramı siyaset felsefesinin en çok tartışılan konularından biri olan siyaset-ahlak ilişkisi çerçevesinde ele alınacaktır. Bu amaçla öncelikle deontolojik ve teleolojik ahlak anlayışlarına değinilecek daha sonra kirli eller kavramı örnekler üzerinden analiz edilecektir. Weber’in sorumluluk ahlakı dediği şeyin kirli eller kavramına benzerliği gösterilecek; kirli ellerin siyaset ahlak geriliminde bir orta yol olduğu Walzer’ın görüşleri bağlamında temellendirilecektir. Sonuç olarak Kavramın siyaset ve ahlak arasındaki gerilimi azaltan bir yönünün olduğu; ne deontolojik ne de teleolojik bakış açısı içinde değerlendirilemeyeceği gösterilecektir.
Topic:
Politics and Morality
Political Geography:
Turkey and Global Focus