Publication Year: within 25 Years / Journal:

39001. The Union of South American Nations: Mapping Multilateralism in Transition

Author:: Sandra Borda
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: International Peace Institute
Abstract:: Regional politics in Latin America today are defined by a variety of trends: Brazil continues to grow, but its leadership in the region has substantially decreased during the administration of Dilma Rousseff, which began in 2011; several countries-including Argentina, Bolivia, and Venezuela-have chosen to "Latin-Americanize" their foreign policy, discarding their former alignments with the United States; left-leaning governments, clearly critical of US power in the region, have tried to consolidate organizations such as the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) to increase their autonomy vis-à-vis the United States; right and right-center governments have responded by deepening their commercial links with the United States and the European Union (EU) and by organizing the Pacific Alliance, a traditional arrangement for free-trade and freedom-of-movement; and, finally, many countries in the region are adopting-independently of their ideological and political orientations-increasingly diversified foreign policies. At the same time, the presence of extra-regional actors has become increasingly visible.
Topic:: International Cooperation, Regional Cooperation, Sovereignty, Bilateral Relations, and Governance
Political Geography:: United States, Europe, Brazil, South America, and Latin America

39002. The rise of FDI income, and what it means for the balance of payments of developing countries

Author:: Miguel Pérez Ludeña
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:: Multinational enterprises (MNEs) multiplied their profits made in developing countries by four between 2002 and 2011 (at current prices). In Latin America and the Caribbean, they rose from US$20 billion in 2002 to US$113 billion in 2011. The growth rate has been even higher in Africa and China, but much lower in developed countries. This rise is explained by an increase in FDI stock in developing economies and the higher average profitability of MNEs.
Topic:: Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:: Africa, China, and Latin America

39003. Government-held equity in foreign investment projects: Good for host countries?

Author:: Louis T. Wells
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:: A recent Perspective concluded that, in countries given to sudden shifts in policy, "a host country government equity stake in a project may decrease project risk by giving the state a reason not to demand a renegotiation." An investor may benefit, but does the host country? In my experience, rarely.
Topic:: Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment

39004. Why China Needs New Institutions to Cope with Looming Water Scarcity

Author:: Scott Moore
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:: Few places in the world are facing such acute scarcity of water as is northern China, the region surrounding the nation's capital in Beijing. Over the past three decades, rapid economic development and population growth have caused a dramatic water shortage in the region. Groundwater tables have dropped so precipitously that in some places wells cannot be dug deep enough to reach water. Climate change is making rainfall more unpredictable, further darkening the picture for a region that is vital to both the Chinese and world economies. This brief looks at the so-far inadequate responses of the Chinese government and makes the case that new institutions are needed to allow China to meet this growing challenge.
Topic:: Energy Policy, Science and Technology, and Water
Political Geography:: China and Asia

39005. The Shape of the Cyber Danger

Author:: Lucas Kello
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:: There is little consensus among scholars and practitioners on how to confront or even characterize the contemporary cyber threat. The range of conceivable cyber conflict is poorly understood by strategic thinkers, and it is unclear how conventional security mechanisms, such as deterrence and collective defense, apply to this phenomenon. The cyber revolution's strategic quandaries need urgent resolution.
Topic:: Security, Science and Technology, Terrorism, and Military Strategy

39006. Climate Change and EU Security Policy: An Unmet Challenge

Author:: Richard Youngs
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:: Climate change plays an increasingly important role in European security debates. The European Union (EU) has begun to develop "climate security" strategies that address the strategic and political impacts of climate change. But policymakers are uncertain about how to shape immediate policy responses, and efforts to address various climate-related threats have fallen short. The EU needs to develop a more comprehensive strategy that responds to and prepares for climate-induced geopolitical instability.
Topic:: Security, Climate Change, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:: Europe

39007. Sovereign Debt Restructuring: Old Debates, New Challenges

Author:: James A. Haley
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:: Ten years ago, in the wake of the Asian financial crisis and subsequent Argentine default, the international community debated how to best promote the timely, effective restructuring of sovereign debt. The debate then focused largely on the relative merits of a so-called statutory approach for sovereign restructurings, with features of domestic bankruptcy regimes, versus the voluntary use of contractual terms designed to facilitate restructurings. At the time, the statutory approach did not have the support necessary to move from proposal to policy and efforts to improve the framework of sovereign debt restructuring rested on the contractual approach.
Topic:: Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:: Asia

39008. Tipping the Scale: An Analysis of Global Swing States in the Internet Governance Debate

Author:: Tim Maurer and Robert Morgus
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:: In December 2012, numerous news outlets reported on the debate over Internet governance that took place at the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) in Dubai. It was the first time in nearly a decade that the topic attracted major international media attention. The conference ended in a diplomatic éclat with 89 states signing the new International Telecommunications Regulations (ITRs) and 55 publicly opposing them.
Topic:: International Relations, International Cooperation, Science and Technology, Bilateral Relations, and Governance
Political Geography:: Arabia

39009. A Saudi Arabian Defense Doctrine: Mapping the expanded force structure the Kingdom needs to lead the Arab world, stabilize the region, and meet its global responsibilities

Author:: Nawaf Obaid
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:: This proposal for a Saudi Arabian Defense Doctrine (SDD) hopes to initiate an essential internal reform effort that responds to the shifting demands of today and the potential threats of tomorrow. In the last decade, the world has watched as regime changes, revolutions, and sectarian strife transformed the Middle East into an unrecognizable political arena plagued by instability, inefficiency, and failing states. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)—the Arab world's central power and last remaining major Arab heavyweight on the international scene—has emerged as the ipso facto leader responsible for regional stability and development.
Topic:: Security, Nuclear Weapons, Terrorism, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:: Middle East and Arabia

39010. Uranium from Niger: A key resource of diminishing importance for France

Author:: Bruno Tertrais
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: In France, natural uranium is immediately associated with the relationship to African countries. Uranium has always fed rumours, fantasies and conspiracy theories set against the background of all the colourful stories of what is known in France as the "Françafrique"; the web of personal and economic relations between Paris and its former colonies.
Topic:: Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Nuclear Power
Political Geography:: Africa, Europe, and France

39011. L'exception tunisienne : succès et limites du consensus

Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: International Crisis Group
Abstract:: De juillet à décembre 2013, la Tunisie a connu une crise politique dont les éléments de sortie n'étaient pas fournis d'avance, mais dont l'issue était assez claire : violences ou compromis. Depuis la promulgation de la Constitution et la nomination d'un nouveau gouvernement indépendant dit de technocrates, remplaçant la troïka emmenée par le parti islamiste An-Nahda, en janvier 2014, le pays est entré dans une nouvelle phase de transition. Si celle-ci semble moins agitée que la précédente, son issue demeure tout aussi incertaine. L'enjeu de la période actuelle est de prolonger le consensus issu du dialogue national et de préparer le prochain rendez-vous électoral, qui va suspendre en partie le compromis, tout en prévenant le retour de la polarisation. Plutôt que de se concentrer de manière exclusive sur un partage du pouvoir qui implique l'équilibre électoral entre islamistes et sécularistes, les forces politiques devraient aussi envisager les scénarios les plus inattendus, s'entendre pour limiter le pouvoir des gagnants et garantir la sérénité des perdants.
Topic:: Politics, Armed Struggle, Reconstruction, and Reform
Political Geography:: Africa

39012. Stopping Deforestation: What Works and What Doesn't

Author:: Jonah Busch and Kalifi Ferretti-Gallon
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center for Global Development
Abstract:: A new Center for Global Development meta-analysis of 117 studies has identified the key factors that drive or deter deforestation. Some findings confirm conventional wisdom. Building roads and expanding agriculture in forested areas, for example, worsen deforestation, whereas protected areas deter deforestation. Encouragingly, payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs that compensate people who live in or near forests for maintaining them are consistently associated with lower rates of deforestation. But contrary to popular belief, poverty is not associated with greater deforestation, and the rising incomes brought about by economic growth do not, in themselves, lead to less deforestation. Community forest management and strengthening land tenure, often thought to reduce deforestation while promoting development, have no consistent impact on deforestation.
Topic:: Agriculture, Economics, Environment, and Poverty

39013. Understanding Latin America's Financial Inclusion Gap

Author:: Liliana Rojas-Suarez and Maria Alejandra Amado
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Global Development
Abstract:: This paper analyzes Latin America's Financial Inclusion Gap, the difference between the average financial inclusion for Latin America and the corresponding average for a set of comparator countries. At the country level, we assess four types of obstacles to financial inclusion: macroeconomic weaknesses, income inequality, institutional deficiencies and financial sector inefficiencies. A key finding of this paper is that although the four types of obstacles explain the absolute level of financial inclusion, institutional deficiencies and income inequality are the most important obstacles behind the Latin America's financial inclusion gap. From our analysis at the individual level, we find that there is a Latin America-specific effect of education and income. The results suggest that the effect of attaining secondary education on the probability of being financially included is significantly higher in Latin America than in its comparators. Furthermore, the difference in the probability of being financially included between the richest and the poorest individuals is significantly higher in Latin America than in comparator countries.
Topic:: Economics, Education, Human Rights, and Poverty
Political Geography:: Latin America

39014. Time for FAO to Shift to a Higher Gear

Author:: Vijaya Ramachandran
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center for Global Development
Abstract:: In 2012, the Center for Global Development (CGD) convened the Working Group on Food Security, bringing together 22 experts in food policy, nutrition, agriculture, and economic development from around the world. The group's task was to review pressing challenges to agricultural development and food security and take stock of the Rome-based United Nations food agencies charged with addressing them. The working group decided to focus on the largest of those agencies—the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)—and has two key recommendations.
Topic:: Climate Change, Human Welfare, International Organization, and Food

39015. Women's economic opportunity: A new pilot index and global ranking

Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Economist Intelligence Unit
Abstract:: Women's political and economic empowerment has been a defining feature of the last century. Millions of women in the early 1900s rejected convention and ignorance to fi ght for the right to vote. Thirty years later the daughters and granddaughters of those suffragettes, defying stereotypes, flocked to factories to help build the machines that won the second world war. The next generation of women secured their rights in law, then entered the workforce in droves, fuelling economic growth in the 1980s and 1990s. At the start of the 21st century women are not just enfranchised and fully engaged in the workplace, but leading global corporations and countries of every size. Germany's Angela Merkel, Liberia's Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, and Pepsico's Indra Nooyi are three among many. Yet after a century of impressive progress, overall economic opportunities for women still lag those of men. Women, on average, earn 75% of their male co-workers' wages, and the difference cannot be explained solely by schooling or experience. In many countries, women have fewer educational and employment opportunities than men, are more often denied credit, and endure social restrictions that limit their chances for advancement. In some developing countries women still cannot vote, own property or venture outside the home without a male family member.
Topic:: Development, Economics, Gender Issues, Human Rights, and Reform
Political Geography:: Germany

39016. The Laboratory of Development: The Impact of Social Policies on Children in Latin America and the Caribbean

Author:: David Steven and Alejandra Kubitschek Bujones
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:: In October 2013, Ambassadors from the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries in the United Nations (GRULAC), their key negotiators from respective capitals, civil society representatives, and UN System agencies from the region held a retreat on the Post-2015 Agenda.
Topic:: Development and Human Welfare
Political Geography:: United Nations, Latin America, Caribbean, and North America

39017. The end of the EU project in Turkey? Determinants of Turkey's EU bid under the AKP regime

Author:: Toni Alaranta
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:: Ever since the founding of the Republic in 1923, the idea of making Turkey a European country has been a major component of the nation-building project, although Europe has also been perceived as a threat. The incumbent Justice and Development Party (AKP) embarked on an EU-inspired reform project at first, but has subsequently taken an increasingly anti-European position. Turkey's EU bid under the AKP government needs to be seen within the context of the domestic power struggle, whose origins can be traced to two opposing modernization alternatives: radical and Islamic. Within the domestic power struggle, the AKP has used the EU process as a tool to de-legitimize the secularist state elite-lite, composed of the armed forces and the judiciary. After having consolidated its hegemony, the AKP abandoned its EU aspirations, and there is currently very little societal pressure from the AKP constituency to continue the EU reforms.
Topic:: Power Politics, Regime Change, and Reform
Political Geography:: Europe and Turkey

39018. The Huthis: From Saada to Sanaa

Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: International Crisis Group
Abstract:: The power balance in Yemen's north is shifting. In early 2014, Zaydi Shiite fighters, known as the Huthis or Ansar Allah (Partisans of God), won a series of battles, in effect consolidating their control over Saada governorate, on the border of Saudi Arabia, and expanding southward to the gates of the capital, Sanaa. Now a patchwork of shaky ceasefires is in place, albeit battered by bouts of violence. Tensions are high between Huthis and their various opponents – the Ahmar family, Major General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar (no relation to the Ahmar family) and his military allies, Salafi fighters, and the Sunni Islamist party, Islah, and their affiliated tribes. Fear is growing that an escalation could draw the state into a prolonged conflict. To head off a conflagration, the parties must turn the inchoate understandings reached during the country's National Dialogue Conference (NDC) into an implementable peace plan.
Topic:: Political Violence, Armed Struggle, and Regime Change
Political Geography:: Middle East, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia

39019. Cost allocation in investment arbitration: Forward toward incentivization

Author:: John Gaffney and James Nicholson
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:: In their contribution to the FDI Perspectives series, Baiju Vasani and Anastasiya Ugale drew attention to an emerging trend in favor of the so-called "costs follow the event" (CFtE) (or loser pays) approach, which is in contrast to the more "traditional" approach under which parties share the costs of arbitration equally, with each party covering its own legal fees.
Topic:: Economics, Human Rights, International Trade and Finance, Governance, and Reform

39020. Coordination of Social Security Schemes. The Case of SADC

Author:: Ockert Dupper
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Kolleg-Forschergruppe (KFG)
Abstract:: This paper will explore whether and to what extent the (legal) rules of coordination that originated and developed in the EU can be transposed to SADC – a region characterized by high levels of migration, weakly developed social security systems and the absence of suitable portability arrangements. The principle of coordination of social security is primarily aimed at eliminating restrictions that national social security schemes place upon the rights of migrant workers to such social security. One of the fundamental principles of social security coordination is that of portability, which is the ability to preserve, maintain, and transfer vested social security rights or rights in the process of being vested, independent of nationality and country of residence. The best practice around the world to ensure portability of social security entitlements consists of multilateral and bilateral social security agreements. These agreements originated and developed in the EU, and EU coordination arrangements arguably still represent the most sophisticated and developed system of its kind, and one that is worth emulating. In this paper, it is argued that any future attempts at coordinating social security schemes in SADC should start with employment injury schemes, which is the only social security scheme common to all SADC member states. The paper considers some of the issues that should be taken into account in designing social security agreements in SADC along the lines of the EU model.
Topic:: Economics, Human Rights, Human Welfare, Migration, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:: Europe

39021. The Egyptian conundrum

Author:: Rabab el-Mahdi
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:: The puzzle of Egypt's apparently wild swings from the Mubarak regime to a Muslim Brotherhood government and then back to a military dictatorship have been manipulated to fit the simplistic linear and binary categorical models of democratic transition, with an emphasis on procedural outcomes, when in fact deeper structural issues are at stake. Three challenges explain mainstream Egyptians' choices and the tumultuous path the revolution has been following. The first is the structural economic crisis facing Egypt, coupled with lack of state administrative capacity, which no government has been able to effectively deal with. The second is the repercussions of Egypt's post-colonial history, which as a consequence tends to see the army as the "saviour" and "liberator" of the nation. The third is the failure of alternative groups to to provide solid political alternatives for the majority to rally around against the two reactionary poles and their inability to devise strategies to break loose from and reconstruct the hegemonic discourse . Consequently, international actors who throw their weight behind one reactionary faction or the other based solely on pragmatic considerations of their ability to bring about stability will be backing the wrong horse.
Topic:: Economics, Islam, Armed Struggle, Regime Change, and Popular Revolt
Political Geography:: Middle East and Egypt

39022. Why Brazil has not criticised Russia over Crimea

Author:: Oliver Stuenkel
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:: Emerging powers frequently stress the importance of sovereignty and the inviolability of international law. As a consequence, many Western observers expected that emerging powers such as Brazil would be quick to condemn Russia's annexation of Crimea. Yet Brazil remained neutral and abstained from the UN General Assembly resolution that criticised Russia. Together with the other BRICS countries, it opposed suggestions to exclude Russia from the G-20, thus markedly reducing the effectiveness of Western attempts to isolate President Putin. Brazil's unwillingness to criticise Russia may have less to do with its opinion on Russia's annexation of Crimea per se and more to do with Brasília's scepticism of Western attempts to turn Russia into an international pariah. From Brasilia's perspective, pushing countries against the wall is rarely the most constructive approach. In addition, many in Brazil are wary of a global order that privileges the U.S. and allows it to flout many norms that apply to everyone else, arguing that these double standards are far more damaging to international order than any Russian policy. Finally, Russia annexed Crimea at a time when anti-Americanism around the world still runs high as a consequence of the NSA spying scandals, making alignment with U.S. positions politically costly at home.
Topic:: Emerging Markets, Politics, and Sovereignty
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, Asia, Brazil, and South America

39023. "Don't poke the Russian bear": Turkish policy in the Ukrainian crisis

Author:: Balkan Devlen
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:: From the start of the Ukrainian crisis Turkey kept a low profile and adopted a strategy best described as "don't poke the Russian bear". Russia is a major Turkish trading partner and Turkey relies heavily on Russian natural gas for its energy needs, while Turkish prime minister Erdogan has also been dealing with serious domestic challenges in the last year. Therefore, due to both external and internal factors, Turkey will avoid confronting Russia directly and will pass the buck to the U.S. and EU. In the short to medium term there are three plausible scenarios under which Turkey will change its current policy. They include the oppression of Crimean Tatars by the Russian authorities; military confrontation in the Black Sea between Russia and NATO; or a more unified, tougher stance against Russia by the West. In the long term Turkey most likely will revert to its traditional role of balancing Russia by strengthening its ties with the West, while reducing its energy dependence on Russia.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Economics, and Governance
Political Geography:: Russia, United States, Europe, Turkey, Ukraine, and Asia

39024. Indian perspectives on the Ukrainian crisis and Russia's annexation of Crimea

Author:: Varun Sahni
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:: The statement by India's national security adviser on March 6th 2014 referring to "legitimate" Russian interest in Ukraine was unsurprisingly criticised in the West, but appreciated in Russia. Most observers missed other important elements in the statement: reference to Ukraine's internal issues; recognition that both Russian and other interests were involved; and emphasis on a peaceful settlement, reconciliation and negotiation. Debate on the Ukrainian crisis has been largely absent in India due to preoccupation with national elections, widespread consensus that Russia is a dependable "friend of India", and sneaking admiration of President Putin for his "decisiveness" in promoting Russia's interests and open defiance of the West. While China and Pakistan have deployed historical/ethno-cultural arguments to dispute Indian sovereignty over territories that India considers its own, India has consistently rejected claims to alter the territorial status quo on grounds of kinship across sovereign borders.
Topic:: Security, Foreign Policy, Sovereignty, and Territorial Disputes
Political Geography:: Russia, Ukraine, India, and Asia

39025. The Baluch insurgency: linking Iran to Pakistan

Author:: Zia Ur Rehman
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:: The Sistan and Baluchistan Province of Iran has long been associated with instability and armed conflict. The two million largely Sunni Muslim Baluch living in the province have suffered sustained racist persecution and discrimination in predominantly Shia and Persian-speaking Iran. Analysts claim that lack of development and cultural and religious repression in Sistan and Baluchistan have encouraged popular support for the insurgency among the Baluch community. Iran claims that the main bases of the two main Baluch insurgents groups, Jundullah and Jaish-ul Adl, are in Pakistan's Baluchistan Province, which shares a 1,165-kilometre border with Iran. Iranian forces are increasingly carrying out cross-border attacks against these groups, straining relations between Iran and Pakistan and possibly fuelling sectarian violence in both countries. Pakistan is battling its own Baluch separatist insurgency. It is feared that the mistreatment of the Baluch community on both sides of the border could lead to an alliance between religiously motivated anti-Iranian Sunni militant groups and the various secular Pakistani Baluch separatist groups.Iranian Baluch militants groups are not only causing an increasing internal security crisis in Iran, but are also threatening to become the key to the survival of the Taliban on the Iran-Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Topic:: Security, Insurgency, Bilateral Relations, and Sectarian violence
Political Geography:: Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran

39026. Going Beyond Economic Engagement: Why South Korea Should Press the North on Labor Standards and Practices

Author:: Marcus Noland
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:: In recent years, despite a history of enmity and armed conflict that never really ended after the Korean War more than 60 years ago, South Korea has been a major investor in North Korea, and South Korean firms have employed more than 50,000 North Korean workers. South Korea's stated goal has been to encourage sufficient economic progress by North Korea, emboldening it toward establishing a meaningful basis for reconciliation and, ultimately, national unification. The expectation, or at least the hope, has been to use economic engagement to lessen the North's direct state control over the economy and to encourage the development of a middle class that might demand greater internal opening. The goal, as enunciated by former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, has also been to foster a rise of interest groups with an enhanced stake in peaceable external relations.
Topic:: Economics, Human Rights, International Trade and Finance, and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:: Asia, South Korea, and North Korea

39027. Alternatives to Currency Manipulation: What Switzerland, Singapore, and Hong Kong Can Do

Author:: Joseph E. Gagnon
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:: For the major advanced economies and the world as a whole, insufficient aggregate demand—that is, too little spending—impeded recovery from the Great Recession of 2008-09. By manipulating their currencies to boost their net exports, many countries made a bad situation worse for their trading partners, which saw demand shifted away. The world needs policies that increase total demand rather than policies that fight over the allocation of the existing amount of demand.
Topic:: Economics, International Trade and Finance, and International Monetary Fund
Political Geography:: Europe, Asia, Switzerland, and Singapore

39028. Managing Myanmar's Resource Boom to Lock in Reforms

Author:: Marcus Noland and Cullen S. Hendrix
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:: Myanmar is in the midst of a long and difficult multifaceted transition, involving political liberalization, economic reform, and the resolution of multiple long-standing civil conflicts. The country has a history of ethno-religious conflict and separatism. Civil-military relations are muddy, and business-military-state relations are similarly opaque. An ongoing natural resource boom, and the blessings and curses that come with it, further complicates these developments. Given the country's evident institutional weaknesses, external policy anchors could play a critical role in this transition. Hendrix and Noland address the possible role for such international precommitment mechanisms—in particular, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)—in Myanmar's growing extractive sector.
Topic:: Economics, Ethnic Conflict, Governance, and Reform
Political Geography:: Asia and Myanmar

39029. The Constitutional Process in Ukraine: Issues in Play

Author:: Dominik Tolksdorf
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: Ukraine's weak rule of law and widespread corruption and nepotism, combined with growing concerns over a shift toward authoritarianism under President Victor Yanukovych, were among the key factors that triggered the Maidan protests. Many political conflicts and failures of governance in Ukraine are rooted in the weakness of the political and judicial system, including shifts in constitutional powers, over-centralization of administrative structures and a lack of judicial independence. The interim government should promote an inclusive, participatory and transparent constitutional process. Such a process could help de-escalate the current conflict and build confidence in the central government and its willingness to integrate all constituencies into Ukraine's political system.
Topic:: Conflict Prevention, Government, Sovereignty, Political Theory, and Reform
Political Geography:: Ukraine

39030. Revisiting Chicago: The Critical Need To Maintain Support For Afghanistan's National Security Forces Post-2014

Author:: William A. Byrd
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: Two years ago, the Chicago international summit agreed on long-term targets for the size of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and committed to continued international financial support until 2024. Since then, the ANSF have taken over lead responsibility for Afghanistan's security and have by most accounts performed well, taking substantial casualties but holding their own against the Taliban. However, the ANSF still rely heavily on U.S. financial and logistical support and military "enablers" in such roles as air support, medevac and reconnaissance. The Afghan government's failure to sign the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with the United States during the past eight months has coincided with, and undoubtedly contributed to, declining political support for the international engagement in Afghanistan. Not only has U.S. civilian aid in the current fiscal year been halved, but the White House recently announced a complete U.S. troop pull-out by the end of 2016, except for "normal levels" to protect the U.S. Embassy and oversee military assistance. That is close to a "zero option," albeit in 2016 and not 2014. The announcement raises serious questions about the staying power of international security funding (which would amount to billions of dollars per year into the early 2020s if the Chicago commitments hold); management of security assistance; provision of logistical support and enablers; whether Afghanistan's domestic revenues will grow fast enough to meet its own ANSF funding commitments; and timing of any future ANSF reductions in relation to possible negotiations with the Taliban insurgency. The ANSF (especially the Afghan National Army, or ANA) was largely a creation of the United States, which has advocated for and endorsed its current size and cost. It would be irresponsible to create such a force and then turn around and undermine it.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, International Cooperation, Terrorism, International Security, Military Strategy, and Armed Struggle
Political Geography:: Afghanistan and Chicago

39031. Sharia and Women's Rights in Afghanistan

Author:: Anastasiya Hozyainova
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: A major priority for international donors since 2002 has been to promote and protect women's rights in Afghanistan. Substantial progress has been made, including much stronger formal protections for women in law. However, in practice, these legal protections are uncertain to survive the coming transition as these laws are neither universally accepted within Afghanistan nor evenly applied.
Topic:: Gender Issues, Human Rights, Religion, Social Movement, and Reform
Political Geography:: Afghanistan

39032. Why do Youth Join Boko Haram?

Author:: Freedom C. Onuoha
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: Since Nigeria's return to democracy in May 1999, armed nonstate groups have significantly undermined the country's internal security environment, largely using young men as foot soldiers. Among these groups, Boko Haram has grown to become a serious national, regional, and international concern. Estimates of the death toll from Boko Haram attacks since 2009 range as high as ten thousand fatalities. With Boko Haram and other groups seemingly gaining in strength, questions arise as to why young men join them in the first place and what the government and other actors can do to prevent it. Surveys, interviews, and focus groups conducted in Nigeria in 2013 suggest that poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, and weak family structures make or contribute to making young men vulnerable to radicalization. Itinerant preachers capitalize on the situation by preaching an extreme version of religious teachings and conveying a narrative of the government as weak and corrupt. Armed groups such as Boko Haram can then recruit and train youth for activities ranging from errand running to suicide bombings. To weaken the armed groups' abilities to radicalize and recruit young men, the Nigerian government at all levels, perhaps with support from interested international actors, could institute monitoring and regulation of religious preaching; strengthen education, job training, and job creation programs; design robust programs to aid destitute children; promote peace education; and embark on an anticorruption campaign. Addressing the conditions that make it possible for insurgents to recruit young men in Nigeria can significantly diminish the strength of the insurgency, if not eliminate it altogether.
Topic:: Security, Islam, Terrorism, and Armed Struggle
Political Geography:: Africa and Nigeria

39033. Options for a Political Transition in Syria

Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Carter Center
Abstract:: This report outlines constitutional and legislative options for a political transition in Syria under the umbrella of the Final Geneva Communiqué, issued by the Action Group on Syria on 30 June 2012, and revived in early May 2013 at a meeting in Moscow between the U.S. and Russia. The Communiqué embodies the greatest degree of consensus that the international community has been able to achieve regarding the Syrian conflict, detailing a potentially viable path to a negotiated end to the civil war. Since May 2013, efforts by UN and Arab League Joint Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and others to host a peace conference on Syria (dubbed "Geneva II"), have reinforced the importance of developing possible constitutional and legislative modalities for a transition.
Topic:: Civil War, Government, International Cooperation, and Armed Struggle
Political Geography:: Russia, United States, Middle East, and Syria

39034. People with Disabilities in a Changing North Korea

Author:: Katharina Zellweger
Publication Date:: 01-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
Abstract:: "People with Disabilities in a Changing North Korea" details the situation that people with disabilities face in the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea (DPRK). Despite its reputation as a repressive, closed society where human rights are routinely abused, there are in fact institutions in the DPRK that work to address the needs of the disabled, and a number of non-governmental organizations providing aid to disabled people are active in the country. In this paper, Katharina Zellweger attempts to provide "an informed and balanced view of what it means to live with disabilities in North Korea and current work to assist the disabled."
Topic:: Health, Human Welfare, and Governance
Political Geography:: Asia and North Korea

39035. Locked In or Left Out? Transatlantic Trade Beyond Brussels and Washington

Author:: Sinan Ülgen
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:: Many countries are interested in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) that Brussels and Washington are negotiating. But the United States and the European Union (EU) began talks without devising a way to involve their main trade partners. This approach, understandable given the complexity of the negotiations, could produce a bilateral agreement that is difficult to multilateralize. To influence the negotiations, third countries interested in eventually joining TTIP should pursue an agenda centered on the accession mechanism, the elimination of nontariff barriers, and dispute settlement.
Topic:: Economics, Human Rights, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:: United States and Europe

39036. America in Southeast Asia before the 'Pivot': The 'Battle of Quallah Battoo' in 1832

Author:: Farish A. Noor
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:: Today, there is much talk about the 'American pivot' back to Southeast Asia, and the role that America continues to play in terms of the geo-strategic relations between the countries in the region. That America has been a player in Southeast Asian affairs is well-known, as America's presence in countries like Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam has been well documented since the Cold War. However, there has been less scholarship devoted to America's role in Southeast Asia prior to the 20th century, lending the impression that the United States is a latecomer as far as Southeast Asian affairs is concerned.
Topic:: International Relations and Foreign Policy
Political Geography:: United States, America, and Southeast Asia

39037. After Ukraine – NATO should stay vigilant on the Middle East

Author:: Jakob Aarøe Jørgensen
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: Leading up to the NATO Summit in September, the crisis in Ukraine has vindicated some NATO members' fears of Russia. This could cause NATO to revert to a narrow focus on Article 5 defense. Yet, other issues still pose threats and NATO should remain vigilant towards security challenges from the Middle East.
Topic:: Security, NATO, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Nuclear Weapons
Political Geography:: Russia, Ukraine, and Middle East

39038. La crise centrafricaine: de la prédation à la stabilisation

Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: International Crisis Group
Abstract:: La crise actuelle en République centrafricaine, qui a débuté en décembre 2012, marque la désagrégation de l'Etat, conséquence de la double prédation des autorités et des groupes armés. La Seleka a amplifié et porté à son paroxysme la mauvaise gouvernance des régimes précédents. Ses dirigeants ont pillé ce qui restait de l'Etat et fait main basse sur l'économie illicite du pays. Afin de rompre avec le cycle des crises qui caractérise la Centrafrique et de favorise r l'émergence d'un Etat fonctionnel capable de protéger ses citoyens, il est impératif de rendre l'intervention internationale plus efficace en y adjoignant comme priorités, en plus de la sécurité, la relance de l'économie productive et la lutte contre la corru ption et les trafics. Seul un partenariat étroit entre le gouvernement de transition, les Nations unies et le groupe des inter- nationaux impliqués dans cette crise (G5) permettra de relever ce défi. Ce partenariat doit notamment comprendre l'affectation de conseillers techniques étrangers au sein des ministères clés.
Topic:: Corruption, Economics, Environment, and Natural Resources
Political Geography:: Central African Republic

39039. The Rahmon Phenomenon: New Challenges for Tajikistan's Long-Standing President

Author:: Alexey Malashenko and Aziz Niyazi
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:: Emomali Rahmon's reelection as president of Tajikistan in 2013 testifies to his regime's stability and its capacity for self-preservation. He now faces a number of complex tasks, which include undertaking economic reforms, counteracting religious smism, and resolving conflicts with neighboring countries. It is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain a high degree of stability under these conditions.
Topic:: Security, Economics, Religion, Governance, and Reform
Political Geography:: Central Asia and Tajikistan

39040. The Economics of Egypt's Rising Authoritarian Order

Author:: Amr Adly
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:: Egypt's economy is in crisis as the new military-backed regime seeks to reestablish its authority. Fiscal restructuring and austerity measures are necessary to spur economic recovery, but they may be politically difficult to pass at this time. The new regime, therefore, will have to broaden its base and forge a more inclusive coalition of supporters in order to stabilize Egypt, retain power, and restore economic growth.
Topic:: Security and Economics
Political Geography:: Middle East and Egypt

39041. Balancing Without Containment: An American Strategy for Managing China

Author:: Ashley J. Tellis
Publication Date:: 01-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:: China is poised to become a major strategic rival to the United States. Whether or not Beijing intends to challenge Washington's primacy, its economic boom and growing national ambitions make competition inevitable. And as China rises, American power will diminish in relative terms, threatening the foundations of the U.S.-backed global order that has engendered unprecedented prosperity worldwide. To avoid this costly outcome, Washington needs a novel strategy to balance China without containing it.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Economics, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:: United States, China, America, Washington, and Asia

39042. Closing Space: Democracy and Human Rights Support Under Fire

Author:: Thomas Carothers and Saskia Brechenmacher
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:: AFTER SEEING ITS REACH INCREASE FOR DECADES, international support for democracy and human rights faces a serious challenge: more and more governments are erecting legal and logistical barriers to democracy and rights programs, publicly vilifying international aid groups and their local partners, and harassing such groups or expelling them altogether. Despite the significant implications of the pushback, the roots and full scope of the phenomenon remain poorly understood and responses to it are often weak.
Topic:: Civil Society, Democratization, Diplomacy, Human Rights, and Human Welfare

39043. Understanding the Bergdahl Prisoner Exchange

Author:: Mieke Eoyang and Ben Freeman
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:: Over Memorial Day weekend, President Obama announced that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the longest-held American captive in the Afghanistan conflict, had been released in exchange for five Taliban detainees in Guantanamo Bay. While the initial response to Bergdahl's release was positive, the deal quickly came under fire from the Right, including some who previously had advocated for his release.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Human Rights, and Terrorism
Political Geography:: Afghanistan and North America

39044. Making the Case: The President's Budget is a Step in the Right Direction

Author:: Mieke Eoyang and Ben Freeman
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Third Way
Abstract:: The President's proposed defense budget has been criticized for shrinking the military at a time when the world is getting more dangerous. This argument is simply wrong. In fact, the President's budget strengthens American security by: Providing more military funding than Ronald Reagan ever did. Investing in 21st century weapons, not Cold War relics. Cutting the Pentagon bureaucracy.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Military Strategy, and Budget
Political Geography:: America and North America

39045. Iraq's Jihadi Jack-in-the-Box

Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: International Crisis Group
Abstract:: The jihadi surge is the tragic, violent outcome of steadily deteriorating political dynamics. Instead of a rash military intervention and unconditional support for the Iraqi government, pressure is needed to reverse sectarian polarisation and a disastrous record of governance.
Topic:: Terrorism, Armed Struggle, Insurgency, Governance, and Reform
Political Geography:: Iraq and Middle East

39046. Limiting Armed Drone Proliferation

Author:: Micah Zenko and Sarah Kreps
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:: The use of unmanned aerial systems—commonly referred to as drones—over the past decade has revolutionized how the United States uses military force. As the technology has evolved from surveillance aircraft to an armed platform, drones have been used for a wide range of military missions: the United States has successfully and legitimately used armed drones to conduct hundreds of counterterrorism operations in battlefield zones, including Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. It has also used armed drones in non-battlefield settings, specifically in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and the Philippines. Collectively, these strikes have eliminated a number of suspected terrorists and militants from Asia to Africa at no cost in terms of U.S. casualties, an advantage of drones over manned platforms that has made them attractive to many other states. However, non-battlefield strikes have drawn criticism, particularly those conducted under the assertion that they are acts of self-defense.
Topic:: Arms Control and Proliferation and Military Strategy
Political Geography:: Pakistan, Afghanistan, United States, Iraq, and Asia

39047. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: A critical perspective

Author:: Rainer Geiger
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:: Launched in July 2013 by the European Union and the United States, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) represents an important effort to reach a comprehensive economic agreement between two major trading partners. As has been pointed out, the project offers great opportunities for liberalizing trade and investment and regulatory convergence. Its level of ambition implies high risks, but despite negotiators' initial optimism, its success is far from certain.
Topic:: Economics, International Trade and Finance, Treaties and Agreements, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:: United States and Europe

39048. Perspectives on topical foreign direct investment issues

Author:: John Gaffney and James Nicholson
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:: In their contribution to the FDI Perspectives series, Baiju Vasani and Anastasiya Ugale drew attention to an emerging trend in favor of the so-called "costs follow the event" (CFtE) (or loser pays) approach, which is in contrast to the more "traditional" approach under which parties share the costs of arbitration equally, with each party covering its own legal fees.
Topic:: Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment

39049. With the Peace Process on Hold, Washington Still Faces Key Israeli-Palestinian Tests

Author:: Robert Satloff
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: In the coming days, the Obama administration faces key decisions on how to respond to a Palestinian government "backed by Hamas," whether to condone Hamas participation in Palestinian elections, and what strategy to adopt in response to another effort by Palestinians to enhance their status in the UN.
Topic:: Armed Struggle and Territorial Disputes
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and United Nations

39050. Jordan and the Syria Crisis: Mitigating the 'Known Unknowns'

Author:: Andrew J. Tabler
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: As extremists continue to move into southern Syria, growing security and humanitarian problems may soon outstrip Jordan's ability to handle spillover from the war.
Topic:: Human Rights, Terrorism, and Armed Struggle
Political Geography:: Middle East and Syria

39051. Iran's Afghan Shiite Fighters in Syria

Author:: Phillip Smyth
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: Afghan Shiite militants have been fighting on the Assad regime's side for some time, and the scope and strategic purpose of Iran's involvement is becoming increasingly clear.
Topic:: Security, Terrorism, and Armed Struggle
Political Geography:: Afghanistan, Iran, and Middle East

39052. Expanding Access to Economic Opportunity in Fast-Growth Metropolitan Areas

Author:: Rolf Pendall and Margery Austin Turner
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Urban Institute
Abstract:: Many community development initiatives traditionally funded by foundations and the federal government evolved to respond to the economic conditions and barriers facing communities in big cities of the northeast and midwest. But conditions are dramatically different in Houston and other fast-growing metros like it. Neighborhood Centers, Inc. is developing and testing strategies for connecting underserved people to opportunities that reflect the realities of Houston's geography, demographics, and economy. This paper is intended to start a discussion about how these strategies differ from more traditional place-based antipoverty strategies, and how similar approaches may suit other metros like Houston.
Topic:: Economics, Human Welfare, Governance, and Reform

39053. Children of Immigrants: 2011 State Trends Update

Author:: Devlin Hanson and Margaret Simms
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Urban Institute
Abstract:: This brief updates Perspectives on Low - Income Working Families brief 9, " Children of Immigrants: National and State Characteristics" (Fortuny et al. 2009) and Perspectives on Low - Income Working Families brief 17,"Children of Immigrants: 2008 State Trends Update "(Fortuny 2010) . This brief presents da ta highlights from the 2010 and 2011 American Community Surveys. The statistics presented in this brief and others can be accessed through the Children of Immigrants Data Tool web site. Also, interactive maps showing these statistics over time and across states can be found at the Children of Immigrants Interactive Map website.
Topic:: Economics, Human Welfare, and Immigration
Political Geography:: North America

39054. Local Government Discretion and Accountability in Sierra Leone

Author:: Benjamin Edwards, Serdar Yilmaz, and Jameson Boex
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Urban Institute
Abstract:: Sierra Leone is a small West African country with approximately 6 million people. Since 2002, the nation has made great progress in recovering from a decade-long civil war, in part due to consistent and widespread support for decentralization and equitable service delivery. Three rounds of peaceful elections have strengthened democratic norms, but more work is needed to cement decentralization reforms and strengthen local governments. This paper examines decentralization progress to date and suggests several next steps the government of Sierra Leone can take to overcome the remaining hurdles to full implementation of decentralization and improved local public service delivery.
Topic:: Human Welfare and Reform
Political Geography:: Africa

39055. Immigration and the Changing Landscape for Local Service Delivery Demographic Shifts in Cities and Neighborhoods

Author:: Julia Gelatt, Gina Adams, and William Monson
Publication Date:: 03-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Urban Institute
Abstract:: As immigration has risen over the past 40 years, many communities across the United States have been changed in some way by their immigrant populations .Immigrants make up growing shares of business owners, workers, and parents across many cities and rural areas, while children of immigrants make up growing shares of school populations. Some communities have been experiencing high levels of immigration for decades and others are facing new influxes of immigrant communities. In many communities, the mix of national origins of immigrants has been shifting.
Topic:: Demographics, Human Welfare, and Immigration
Political Geography:: United States and North America

39056. Hamas Opts for the Hezbollah Model

Author:: Ehud Yaari
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: Hamas seems intent on using Hezbollah's "bullets plus ballots" approach to gain a military and political foothold in the West Bank, the PA, and the PLO.
Topic:: Terrorism, Military Strategy, and Armed Struggle
Political Geography:: Middle East

39057. Mosul Security Crisis: A Chance to Break Iraq's Political Logjam

Author:: Michael Knights
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: The loss of government control in a major city may be just the wakeup call Iraqi politicians need to embrace a more ambitious reconciliation agenda.
Topic:: Security, Terrorism, Military Strategy, Armed Struggle, Governance, and Sectarianism
Political Geography:: Iraq and Middle East

39058. Lebanon Unstable and Insecure

Author:: David Schenker
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: Military coordination with Hezbollah may be providing a quick fix, but the country's long-term strength can only be achieved with a reconstituted March 14 coalition.
Topic:: Terrorism, Military Strategy, Armed Struggle, and Governance
Political Geography:: Middle East and Lebanon

39059. The Return of Sunni Foreign Fighters in Iraq

Author:: Aaron Y. Zelin
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: The Mosul crisis highlights how ISIS has established a potent cadre of foreign jihadists who freely operate across the rapidly disappearing Iraq-Syria border.
Topic:: Islam, Terrorism, and Armed Struggle
Political Geography:: Iraq, Middle East, and Syria

39060. Iranian Proxies Step Up Their Role in Iraq

Author:: Phillip Smyth
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: Iran's proxy groups have been working closely with Iraqi government forces for some time and will likely become more important to Baghdad in light of recent events.
Topic:: Islam, Terrorism, Armed Struggle, and Sectarian violence
Political Geography:: Iraq, Iran, and Middle East

39061. Background on the 'Possible Military Dimensions' of Iran's Nuclear Program

Author:: Nima Gerami
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: Iran's compartmented nuclear program and fears of sabotage have complicated efforts to address IAEA concerns about the program's suspected military side.
Topic:: Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, and Nuclear Power
Political Geography:: Iraq, Iran, and Middle East

39062. Eye on the Ball Amid Qatar-FIFA Corruption Charges

Author:: Lori Plotkin Boghardt
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: Washington should use the State Department's upcoming annual "Trafficking in Persons" report to amplify international calls for strategic Persian Gulf partners to reform their expatriate labor practices.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Human Rights, and Labor Issues
Political Geography:: Washington

39063. Israelis Kidnapped in the West Bank: Implications

Author:: Neri Zilber
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: If U.S. policy was to "wait and see" how the Hamas-approved Palestinian reconciliation process would unfold in practice, the test is now.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Terrorism, Treaties and Agreements, and Territorial Disputes
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and North America

39064. Building a Base for Iraq's Counteroffensive: The Role of U.S. Security Cooperation

Author:: Michael Knights
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: Encouraging signs have emerged that the collapse of federal government control in Iraq may have slowed and that Baghdad is beginning the transition to counteroffensive operations to regain ground. Massive mobilization of largely Shiite volunteers has given Baghdad an untrained but motivated "reserve army" that can be used to swamp cross-sectarian areas around the Iraqi capital. All available formed military units have been pulled out of reserve and brought toward Baghdad to defend the capital. In this effort, all Department of Border Enforcement units have been relocated from the country's borders, and Iraqi army and Federal Police units have been redeployed from southern Iraq. Isolated federal government units are scattered across northern Iraq, in some cases hanging on against Sunni militants with the support of adjacent Kurdish forces.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Terrorism, Armed Struggle, Sectarianism, Law Enforcement, and Sectarian violence
Political Geography:: United States, Iraq, and Middle East

39065. ISIS, Iraq, and the War in Syria: Military Outlook

Author:: Jeffrey White
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: Events on the battlefield will reveal the true effects of the crisis, but the ISIS campaign in Iraq could ultimately help the Syrian opposition and hurt the Assad regime.
Topic:: Terrorism, Armed Struggle, and Sectarian violence
Political Geography:: Iraq, Middle East, and Syria

39066. The Political Origins of the Africa's Economic Revival

Author:: Robert H. Bates and Steven Block
Publication Date:: 04-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:: Writing in the 1990's, William Easterly and Ross Levine famously labeled Africa a "growth tragedy." Less than twenty years later, Alwyn Young noted Africa's "growth miracle," while Steven Radelet less effusively pointed to an Africa that was"emerging" and noted its rising rate of economic growth, improving levels of education and health care, and increasing levels of investment in basic infrastructure: roads, ports, and transport. In this paper, we address Africa's economic revival. In doing so, we also stress the political changes that have taken place on the continent. Once notorious for its tyrants – Jean – Bedel Bokassa, Idi Amin, and Mobutu Sese Seko, to name but three – in the 1990s, Africa joined the last wave of democratization; self-appointed heads of state were replaced by rulers chosen in competitive elections. In this paper, we assert that the two sets of changes – the one economic and the other political – go together, and that, indeed, changes in Africa political institutions lent significant impetus to its economic revival.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and Reform
Political Geography:: Africa

39067. How to enhance labor provisions in IIAs,

Author:: Rafael Tamayo-Álvarez, Maria Alejandra Gonzalez-Perez, and Juan David Rodriguez-Rios
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:: Free trade agreements (FTAs) and international investment agreements (IIAs) are regarded as instruments to promote world trade, investment flows and market liberalization. The question, however, is whether they promote sustainable development as well. This Perspective contemplates incorporating voluntary codes of conduct for multinational enterprises (MNEs) in IIAs to strengthen the protection of labor rights, "the social component [...] embedded in the notion of sustainable development."
Topic:: Economics, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, and Labor Issues

39068. Education Reform in Pakistan

Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: International Crisis Group
Abstract:: In April 2010, the eighteenth constitutional amendment committed Pakistan to free and compulsory education for all children between the ages of five and sixteen. Yet, millions are still out of school, and the education system remains alarmingly impoverished. The madrasa (religious school) sector flourishes, with no meaningful efforts made to regulate the seminaries, many of which propagate religious and sectarian hatred. Militant violence and natural disasters have exacerbated the dismal state of education. Earthquakes and floods have destroyed school buildings in Balochistan, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Punjab, disrupting the education of hundreds of thousands of children. Militant jihadi groups have destroyed buildings, closed girls' schools and terrorised parents into keeping daughters at home; their attacks made global headlines with the shooting of schoolgirl and education activist Malala Yousafzai in October 2012. The public education system needs to foster a tolerant citizenry, capable of competing in the labour market and supportive of democratic norms within the country and peace with the outside world.
Topic:: Education, Islam, Terrorism, and Reform
Political Geography:: Pakistan and Asia

39069. Protecting China's Overseas Interests: The Slow Shift away from Non-interference

Author:: Mathieu Duchâtel, Oliver Bräuner, and Zhou Hang
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Abstract:: Chinese foreign policy is slowly shifting away from a strict interpretation of non-interference, towards a pragmatic and incremental adaptation to new challenges to China's globalizing economic and security interests. Although there has always been a degree of flexibility in Chinese foreign policy regarding non-interference, even during the Maoist period, the principle has by and large remained a key guideline for diplomatic work and a major rhetorical tool.
Topic:: Foreign Policy and Governance
Political Geography:: China and Asia

39070. Women's Political Participation In Sub-Saharan Africa

Author:: Aili Mari Tripp
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Social Science Research Council
Abstract:: One of the most interesting developments in African politics since the mid- 1990s has been the increase in women's political participation. Women are becoming more politically engaged and seeking representation at all levels, from local government to legislatures and even executive office. To state the obvious, access to political power is important to groups that have historically been excluded from formal and informal politics because it means being able to have control over basic decisions affecting one's life in areas including health, education, and access to land and resources, among many others. Many women seek power to affect how justly resources are divided in society and how equitably policy decisions are made.
Topic:: Human Rights and Political Activism
Political Geography:: Africa

39071. The International Society for Public Law - Call for Papers and Panels; Van Gend en Loos - 50th Anniversary; Vital Statistics; Roll of Honour; Quantitative Empirical International Legal Scholarship; In this Issue

Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: On 26–28 June 2014, in Florence, the European University Institute and NYU–La Pietra will host the Inaugural Conference of the newly established International Society of Public Law (ICON.S).
Political Geography:: Europe

39072. The End of Geography: The Changing Nature of the International System and the Challenge to International Law

Author:: Daniel Bethlehem
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: This lecture, inaugurating a lecture series in honour of Sir Elihu Lauterpacht, looks at the changing place of geography in the international system and the challenges that this poses to international law, from the central place of geography in the Westphalian legal order to its less certain place in the rapidly globalizing and diffuse international society of the present day. Examining these issues through the contrasting prisms of the principal political organs of the United Nations in New York, on the one hand, and the UN Specialized Agencies centred in Geneva, on the other, the lecture also explores these issues by reference to Thomas Friedman's thesis that The World Is Flat. The lecture concludes by identifying a number of areas of international law, and the international legal system, that will require creative thinking in the period to come to reflect the diminishing importance of geography.
Topic:: International Law
Political Geography:: New York

39073. The End of Geography: The Changing Nature of the International System and the Challenge to International Law: A Reply to Daniel Bethlehem

Author:: David S. Koller
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: This article responds to Daniel Bethlehem's assertions that globalization is diminishing the importance of geography, and thereby challenging the Westphalian order on which international law is constructed. It contends that international law does not take geography as it is but actively creates and sustains a state-based geography. It argues that the challenges Bethlehem identifies are not new but are inherent in international law's efforts to impose a state-based order on a global world. The question is not whether international lawyers will respond to these challenges, but how they will respond. Will they follow Bethlehem in reinforcing a statist order, or will they place sovereignty of states in the service of the global human community?
Topic:: Globalization and International Law
Political Geography:: New York and Europe

39074. The Ever-Ending Geography of International Law: The Changing Nature of the International System and the Challenge to International Law: A Reply to Daniel Bethlehem

Author:: Carl Landauer
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: Daniel Bethlehem makes a convincing case in 'The End of Geography' that the growing challenges of our contemporary world require a move from our state-centred international legal system. This reply places Bethlehem's voice among a growing list of those who either describe or prescribe a move from the traditional Westphalian state system. It argues, however, that the challenges have always been transboundary and that the Westphalian state system has never been as strong or as long-lived as envisaged by its critics.
Topic:: International Law
Political Geography:: New York and Europe

39075. A Constant Craving for Fresh Brains and a Taste for Decaffeinated Neighbours

Author:: Maria Artistodemou
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: This article is a radical rethinking of public international law through the use of Lacanian psychoanalysis. Its central thesis is that while contemporary scholarship addresses what Lacan calls the symbolic and imaginary registers including law, politics, and ideology, it continues to ignore and repress the dimension of the real. The article illustrates this with a clinical example examined by Kris and discussed by Lacan. Imagining public international law as an indefatigable neurotic in search of 'fresh brains', the article shows why meeting her in the domains of law and politics is not enough to satiate her appetite. What continues to resist is the 'extimate', the inhuman element within the human that the subject hides so well from herself that it is excluded in the interior. A major instance of the extimate is the 'caffeinated neighbour', that is, the neighbour who is not in our image because her disturbing core has not been subtracted. The article argues that unless international law comes to terms with this inevitably ugly and obscene core, in oneself as well as in the neighbour, it cannot hope to achieve any meaningful changes. That the need to recognize the extimate is the ethical demand facing international law now; unless we address it, our symptoms will continue to grow and we will continue to crave fresh brains.
Topic:: International Law
Political Geography:: New York

39076. The Beneficiaries of TRIPs: Some Questions of Rights, Ressortissants and International Locus Standi

Author:: Christopher Wadlow
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: The rights and remedies of private parties under the three principal global treaties for the protection of intellectual property are restricted to persons having the status of ressortissants under the relevant treaty, and by the general law of diplomatic protection. Two largely neglected issues arise in relation to ressortissants, which the treaties do not expressly resolve. The first concerns whether the obligations which state A assumes towards the nationals of state B can be enforced by states other than B. The second is whether the obligations assumed by a state under one of these treaties extend to that state's own nationals. It is suggested that the Bananas III and Havana Club decisions have effectively resulted in unlimited locus standi for WTO members to complain of breaches of TRIPs, including the incorporated provisions of the Paris and Berne conventions. The answer to the second question is more tentative, but it is suggested that there may be greater opportunities for arguing that the provisions of TRIPs are binding on states in relation to their own nationals, including incorporated Paris and Berne Articles, than there were under either of those earlier treaties on their own.
Topic:: International Law
Political Geography:: Europe and Paris

39077. Revisiting Van Gend en Loos: A Joint Symposium with the International Journal of Constitutional Law (I.CON)

Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: Fifty years have passed since the European Court of Justice gave what is arguably its most consequential decision: Van Gend en Loos. The UMR de droit comparé de Paris, the European Journal of International Law (EJIL), and the International Journal of Constitutional Law (I.CON) decided to mark this anniversary with a workshop on the case and the myriad of issues surrounding it. In orientation our purpose was not to 'celebrate' Van Gend en Loos, but to revisit the case critically; to problematize it; to look at its distinct bright side but also at the dark side of the moon; to examine its underlying assumptions and implications and to place it in a comparative context, using it as a yardstick to explore developments in other regions in the world. The result is a set of articles which both individually and as a whole demonstrate the legacy and the ongoing relevance of this landmark decision.
Topic:: Development
Political Geography:: Europe

39078. Van Gend en Loos: The Individual as Subject and Object and the Dilemma of European Legitimacy (Abstract only)

Author:: J.H.H. Weiler
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: Fifty years have passed since the European Court of Justice gave what is arguably its most consequential decision: Van Gend en Loos. The UMR de droit comparé de Paris, the European Journal of International Law (EJIL), and the International Journal of Constitutional Law (I•CON) decided to mark this anniversary with a workshop on the case and the myriad of issues surrounding it. In orientation our purpose was not to 'celebrate' Van Gend en Loos, but to revisit the case critically; to problematize it; to look at its distinct bright side but also at the dark side of the moon; to examine its underlying assumptions and implications and to place it in a comparative context, using it as a yardstick to explore developments in other regions in the world. The result is a set of articles which both individually and as a whole demonstrate the legacy and the ongoing relevance of this landmark decision.
Topic:: Development and Law
Political Geography:: Europe

39079. The Premises, Assumptions, and Implications of Van Gend en Loos: Viewed from the Perspectives of Democracy and Legitimacy of International Institutions

Author:: Eyal Benvenisti and George W. Downs
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: In its Van Gend en Loos judgment, the ECJ assigned citizens directly enforceable rights vis-à-vis their respective state executives, and authorized national courts to protect those rights. What explains the Court's suspicion of state executives as the sole actors to implement Community law (acting directly or through the Commission)? What justifies its confidence in the ability of the national courts to protect the individuals? We submit that the ECJ was informed by the premise that national courts acting in unison could withstand political pressures and protect individuals while implementing the Treaty. Moreover, the ECJ understood that its interaction with national courts would put it in a position potentially to offer significant support for citizens of relatively weaker countries against various predatory policies employed by the more powerful states in the organization. In this article we explore these premises and present evidence to support them. More generally, we argue that there is good reason to endorse this model of judicial activism as a means to ensure democracy as judged by the effective and informed participation of individuals in public decision-making that affects them – within international organizations. This judgment demonstrates the promise of greater interaction and coordination between national and international tribunals in preventing democratic failures at both the national and international levels. Although judicial intervention often pre-empts public deliberation, it can also encourage it; although it may operate to pre-empt the vote, it can also function to ensure it.
Topic:: International Organization
Political Geography:: Belgium and Netherlands

39080. What Van Gend en Loos Stands For (Abstract only)

Author:: Damian Chalmers and Luis Barroso
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: This is the abstract only. The full article is published in Int J Constitutional Law (2014) 12 (1): 105–134 doi:10.1093/icon/mou003 Three transformational developments flowed from Van Gend en Loos: the central symbols and ideals of EU law; an autonomous legal order with more power than traditional treaties; and a system of individual rights and duties. The judgment also set out how each of these developments was to be deployed. The symbols and ideals were set out to proclaim EU authority rather than to go to what the EU did. What the EU did was, above all, government through law. The EU legal order was conceived, above all, therefore, as a vehicle for the expression of EU government. This, in turn, shaped the allocation of individual rights which were predominantly granted only where they furthered the realization of the collective objectives of EU government. Conceiving EU law as governmental law also left a profound and negative effect on EU legal meaning. This became shaped by EU law being reduced to something to sustain activities valued by EU government rather than to provide a wider, more emancipatory imaginary.
Topic:: Development and Government
Political Geography:: Europe

39081. The Duality of Direct Effect of International Law

Author:: André Nollkaemper
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: This article assesses how, 50 years after the ECJ delivered its judgment in Van Gend en Loos (VGL), the doctrine of direct effect of international law has fared outside the European Union. While obviously the core of VGL (that is, that it is EU law, not national law, which requires direct effect) is not replicated anywhere else in the world, the courts of a considerable number of states have been able to give direct effect to international law. Against the background of an exceedingly heterogeneous practice, this article argues that the concept of direct effect is characterized by a fundamental duality. Direct effect may function as a powerful sword that courts can use to pierce the boundary of the national legal order and protect individual rights where national law falls short. But more often than not, the conditions of direct effect legitimize the non-application of international law and shield the national legal order from international law. International law provides support for both functions. But above all, it defers the choice between these functions to national courts. The practice of direct effect of international law exposes how national courts play a critical political function at the intersection of legal orders.
Topic:: International Law
Political Geography:: Europe

39082. Revolutionizing European Law: A History of the Van Gend en Loos Judgment (Abstract only)

Author:: Morten Rasmussen
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: This is the abstract only. The full article is published in Int J Constitutional Law (2014) 12 (1): 136–163 doi:10.1093/icon/mou006 Did the famous Van Gend en Loos judgment constitute a breakthrough for a constitutional practise in European law or was it merely drawing the logical legal consequences of earlier case law and of the Treaties of Rome? Based on comprehensive archival studies, this article argues that neither earlier case law nor the Treaties of Rome can fully account for the judgment. Instead, Van Gend en Loos represented a genuine revolution in European law. Prompted by the legal service of the European Commission, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) took a decisive step towards addressing two major problems of international public law, namely the lack of uniform application of European law by national courts across the six member states and the lack of primacy granted to international law in several member states. The judgment was based on a new teleological and constitutional understanding of the Treaties of Rome developed by the legal service, and took the first step towards establishing an alternative enforcement system. The ECJ would already in 1964 take the second step by introducing primacy in the Costa v. E.N.E.L. judgment. The new enforcement system remained highly fragile, however, due to the dependency on the cooperation of national courts through the preliminary reference system. As a result, the full effects of the Van Gend en Loos judgment were only felt after the Single European Act (1986) pushed reluctant national governments and courts to finally come to terms with the legal order the ECJ had developed.
Topic:: Government and Law
Political Geography:: Europe

39083. Direct Effect of International Agreements of the European Union

Author:: Francesca Martines
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: The Van Gend en Loos (VGL) decision established the conceptual premises of a crucial issue to shape the relationships between the European Union and international law: the function of direct effect as a powerful instrument to guarantee that the rules of one system are complied with in another legal order. However, if compared with direct effect of EU legal rules, the issue of the effects of EU international agreements is made more complicated by the combination of the more traditional question of the self-executing character of international agreement provisions and the narrow meaning of direct effect. The former issue, strongly affected by the technique of incorporation and the rank of international law obligations within the incorporating legal order, goes to the heart of the constitutional architecture of the EU legal order where a balance is to be found between the obligation to comply with international law and the integrity of the EU legal order. The latter notion concerns instead the relationship between the private person and the legal rule and defines the special character of the EU which distinguishes it from international law. Since such a quality of EU rules cannot be automatically applied to international law rules incorporated in the EU legal order it must be verified case by case. This is the reason why, for the present author, the double test approach, first applied by the ECJ in VGL, is the right test to determine direct effect of EU international agreements, but cannot be applied to verify the self-executing effect of international law in the traditional (broader) meaning.
Topic:: International Law
Political Geography:: Europe

39084. The Evolution of Direct Effect in the EU: Stocktaking, Problems, Projections (Abstract only)

Author:: Sophie Robin-Olivier
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: Focusing on the case law developed by the Court of Justice of the European Union since Van Gend en Loos, this article contends that three important shifts occurred concerning the effects of EU law in national courts since that case was decided. First, the existence of a particular category of ('direct effect') EU norms, which implies a process of selection among EU law provisions, is no longer as problematic as the method of comparison and combination of norms in judicial reasoning that has become a vehicle for the penetration of EU law in courts. Second, the possibility for individuals to claim (subjective) rights on the basis of the Treaty is overshadowed by questions concerning obligations imposed by the Treaty on individuals, and more generally, on the methods through which this horizontal effect occurs. Third, the duty for national courts to apply EU law provisions directly (direct enforcement) is now coupled with one prior question that these courts have to address, and which has become much more sensitive than before in view of the growing centrality of fundamental rights' protection in the EU system: the question of the applicability of EU and national (constitutional) law. Having examined these three shifts, the article concludes that it has become urgent to reconsider the effects of EU law in member states in order to avoid a decline of individual rights and freedoms resulting from EU law enforcement. Thus, 'Revisiting Van Gend en Loos' leads to a reflection on the hypothesis, in which EU law should yield and national courts should be granted more discretion, when confronted with the resisting substance of national law (especially fundamental rights or freedoms protected by national constitutions).
Topic:: Law
Political Geography:: Europe

39085. Fostering Pro-social Behaviour Online: 'Nudges' in the Right Direction

Author:: Nadica Pavlovska
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:: The internet penetration and the consequent creation of hyper-connected reality has exposed the Singaporean population to much more diversity of thoughts and influences. In this environment, efforts to maintain social cohesion and multicultural tolerance among the population is now even more challenging. In light of this, this paper attempts to explore the means available to maintain pro-social behaviour and build a culture of respect online. By assessing the current measures undertaken in Singapore, this paper argues that the majority of the strategies are “mind changing” such as education and awareness raising campaigns. However, by taking into account the specificity of the internet interaction, it is suggested that these strategies could be further enhanced by adopting a “context changing” approach in the online interaction by using specific behaviour influencers such as social norms, priming and messenger approach.
Topic:: Education, Science and Technology, Multiculturalism, and Reform
Political Geography:: Asia and Singapore

39086. Assessing the responses of the Chinese media and research community to the Ukrainian crisis

Author:: Chris Alden
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:: Assessments of the official Chinese reaction to the crisis in Ukraine have focused primarily on China's abstention in the vote on a UN Security Council resolution condemning Russian actions and, to a lesser degree, on the three-pronged Chinese proposal for addressing the crisis. However, by examining an array of Chinese sources, including media reports, editorials, and research think-tank publications, a number of viewpoints are presented that provide a better sense of the scope of Chinese thinking on the subject. These concentrate on the notion of Chinese neutrality, Western interference, the domestic sources of the Ukrainian crisis, and possible policy options available to Chinese decision-makers. Understanding these provides a more nuanced understanding of Chinese reactions to the Ukrainian crisis and its possible significance for China.
Topic:: Foreign Policy and Mass Media
Political Geography:: Russia, China, Ukraine, and Asia

39087. South Africa's response to the Ukrainian crisis

Author:: Elizabeth Sidiropoulos
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:: South Africa did not join in the chorus of condemnation against Russia's annexation of the Crimea, instead adopting a position that in part mirrored language used by Russia to explain its actions, but in other ways reflected key principles of South African foreign policy. Together with its fellow BRICS members, South Africa opposed the imposition of sanctions and was critical of suggestions that Russia might be excluded from the G-20 Summit in Australia later in the year. Non-interference in the internal affairs of states and the inviolability of borders have been central organising principles of African affairs since decolonisation. South Africa's approach must be understood in the context of a desire to see the balance of forces change to reflect the rise of emerging powers. The West's unilateral actions since the end of the cold war have not sat well with the South African government. Civil society elements aligned to the ruling tripartite alliance have condemned what they perceive as Western propaganda against Russia and the West's involvement in stirring unrest in Maidan Square, Kiev. Furthermore, from a realpolitik perspective, South Africa accords its alliance with the BRICS states high priority. Yet, as a relatively small country, it is in South Africa's interests to encourage adherence to a set of global rules that are respected by all.
Topic:: Foreign Policy and Sovereignty
Political Geography:: Africa, Russia, Ukraine, and South Africa

39088. Bail-in Provisions in State Aid and Resolution Procedures: Are they consistent with systemic stability?

Author:: Stefano Micossi, Ginevra Bruzzone, and Miriam Cassella
Publication Date:: 05-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:: In July 2013, the European Commission adopted a new Banking Communication – the seventh since the start of the financial crisis – updating its criteria for the evaluation of state aid in the banking sector in response to the evolving economic and institutional environment. Under this Communication, any credit institution in need of recapitalisation or 'impaired asset' measures will be required, prior to any further action, to submit a plan for restructuring or the orderly winding down the bank. Moreover, whenever there is a capital shortfall, the Commission will require that, prior to any injection of public funds, not only shareholders – as has been the case so far – but also junior creditors write down or convert into equity their claims on the bank, regardless of whether the bank is under resolution, in order to minimise the need for state aid.
Topic:: Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:: Europe

39089. IMF Lending Practices and Sovereign Debt Restructuring

Author:: Domenico Lombardi, James M. Boughton, and Skylar Brooks
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:: The IMF has struggled for decades to develop a set of lending practices that enable sovereign borrowers to resolve serious debt problems and restore economic growth, but also respect the right of private financial markets to enter into and enforce contractual obligations. The challenge has always been to operate under a well-defined set of principles while dealing with each situation in a way that takes account of relevant circumstances. Recently, the international financial crisis that began in 2008 and the subsequent European sovereign debt crisis have raised this challenge to new heights. In providing €30 billion to Greece — the largest financial package ever granted to a single country — the IMF invoked greater discretion in its lending decisions to counteract potential "systemic" crises. By doing so, it entered a program without a restructuring agreement.
Topic:: Debt, Economics, International Trade and Finance, International Monetary Fund, and Reform

39090. Sovereign Debt Crisis Management: Lessons from the 2012 Greek Debt Restructuring

Author:: Miranda Xafa
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:: The 2012 Greek debt exchange was a watershed event in the euro area debt crisis. It generated fears of contagion and was viewed as a threat to the euro itself. Although it achieved historically unprecedented debt relief, amounting to €106 billion (55 percent of GDP), it was “too little, too late” in terms of restoring Greece's debt sustainability. There is a heated debate as to whether the debt restructuring should have taken place sooner, when Greece's adjustment program was agreed to in May 2010. This paper argues that a deep haircut up front, under threat of legislative action, would have been seen as unnecessary and deeply coercive. But delaying the restructuring beyond mid-2011, when it became clear that Greece's debt was unsustainable, was unjustified. The delay reduced the stock of privately held debt subject to a haircut, possibly making an official debt restructuring inevitable down the road. Initial fears that the Greek debt restructuring would pose a serious threat to the euro area's financial stability proved to be exaggerated. On the contrary, it demonstrated that an orderly default involving a pre-emptive debt restructuring is possible in a monetary union, provided appropriate firewalls are in place to limit contagion risks. With crisis management institutions and procedures now in place in the euro area, and with much stricter fiscal surveillance, the Greek experience is likely to remain unique in the history of debt restructurings; however, some lessons can be learned from its specific features.
Topic:: Debt and Governance
Political Geography:: Europe and Greece

39091. Somalia: Al-Shabaab - It Will Be a Long War

Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: International Crisis Group
Abstract:: Despite the recent military surge against Somalia's armed Islamist extremist and self-declared al-Qaeda affiliate, Al-Shabaab, its conclusive "defeat" remains elusive. The most likely scenario – already in evidence – is that its armed units will retreat to smaller, remote and rural enclaves, exploiting entrenched and ever-changing clan-based competition; at the same time, other groups of radicalised and well-trained individuals will continue to carry out assassinations and terrorist attacks in urban areas, including increasingly in neighbouring countries, especially Kenya. The long connection between Al-Shabaab's current leadership and al-Qaeda is likely to strengthen. A critical breakthrough in the fight against the group cannot, therefore, be achieved by force of arms, even less so when it is foreign militaries, not the Somalia National Army (SNA), that are in the lead. A more politically-focused approach is required.
Topic:: Security, Islam, Terrorism, and Armed Struggle
Political Geography:: Africa and Somalia

39092. Full Issue

Author:: Haider Ali Hussein Mullick
Publication Date:: 06-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Fletcher Security Review
Institution:: The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Abstract:: No abstract is available.
Political Geography:: United States, China, and North Korea

39093. Is There a Case – Legally and Politically – for Direct Effect of WTO Obligations?

Author:: Hélène Ruiz Fabri
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: WTO law does not require its direct effect in domestic legal orders. Whilst the stances taken in these are diverse, showing that direct effect is not denied on the whole to WTO law, all the major trading members of the WTO deny it. The fact that, in a case where a WTO member does not comply and is targeted by trade sanctions, the economic actors who in practice bear the burden of these sanctions are deprived of any recourse, may be considered unfair enough to question again the denial of direct effect. The analysis focuses notably on the EU where the debate has expanded more than anywhere else and concludes that direct effect should, even in the name of fairness or justice, be handled with caution.
Topic:: International Law
Political Geography:: Europe

39094. Waiting for the Existential Revolution in Europe (Abstract only)

Author:: Jan Komarek
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: This essay argues, contrary to the widespread beliefs that prevailed after 1989, that the experience of post-communist countries and their peoples, both before and after 1989, can bring something new to our understanding of Europe's present predicament: sometimes as an inspiration, sometimes as a cautionary tale. The lessons offered by post-communist Europe concern some deeply held convictions about the very nature of the EU and its constitutional structure. Only if this experience is absorbed in Europe as its own will post-communist countries truly return to Europe – and Europe become united. The cautionary tales of post-communist Europe concern the worrying consequences of the suppression of social conflicts 'in the name of Europe'. Such conflicts often get translated into identitary politics, which in the context of European integration often turn against the Union. The second lesson concerns the ill fate of Havel's existential revolution. The attempts of some European constitutionalists to reform individualistic emphasis of the integration project are problematic for the same reason: they turn attention away from politics, where real solutions need to be found. This relates to the third suggestion made here: that the experience of living in a collective dream of socialism can be used as an inspiration rather than as something that needs to be erased from the collective memory of Europe.
Political Geography:: Europe

39095. Is Global Constitutionalism Meaningful or Desirable?

Author:: Michel Rosenfeld
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: Upon conceiving constitutionalism on the scale of the nation-state as transparent and unproblematic, one may think global constitutionalism to be a mere utopia. On closer analysis, however, legitimation of nation-state constitutionalism turns out to be much more complex and contested than initially apparent, as becomes evident based on the contrast between liberal and illiberal constitutionalism. Upon the realization that nation-state liberal constitutionalism can only be legitimated counterfactually, the social contract metaphor emerges as a privileged heuristic tool in the quest for a proper balance between identity and difference. Four different theories offer plausible social contract justifications of nation-state liberal constitutionalism: a deontological theory, such as those of Rawls and Habermas, which privileges identity above difference; a critical theory that leads to relativism; a thick national identity based one that makes legitimacy purely contingent; and a dialectical one that portrays the social contract as permanently in the making without any definitive resolution. Endorsing this last theory, I argue that differences between national and transnational constitutionalism are of degree rather than of kind. Accordingly, it may be best to cast certain transnational regimes as constitutional rather than as administrative or international ones.
Topic:: International Law
Political Geography:: France and Netherlands

39096. Roaming Charges: Moments of Dignity: Prepping for the Prewedding Photograph, Peking

Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: We deal in EJIL with the world we live in – often with its worst and most violent patholo-gies, often with its most promising signs of hope for a better world. But, inevitably, since our vehicle is scholarship, we reify this world. Roaming Charges is designed not just to offer a moment of aesthetic relief, but to remind us of the ultimate subject of our schol-arly reflections: we alternate between photos of places – the world we live in – and photos of people – who we are, the human condition. We eschew the direct programmatic photo-graph: people shot up; the ravages of pollution and all other manner of photojournalism. 'Roaming', 'Charges', and those irritating 'Roaming Charges' – was chosen because of the multiple and at times conflicting meanings, feelings and associations the words, jointly and severally, evoke and which we hope to capture in our choice of photo-graphs. As we roam around the world we aim for images which charge us: please and challenge, even irritate, at the same time. We seek photos which have some ambiguity, are edgy and relate in an indirect way, both to the current circumstance but also to that which is, like human dignity, permanent and enduring.
Political Geography:: Europe

39097. Domestic Implementation of Human Rights Judgments in Europe: Legal Infrastructure and Government Effectiveness Matter

Author:: Alina Mungiu-Pippidi and Dia Anagnostou
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: Over the past couple of years, international law and international relations scholarship has shifted its focus from the question of whether human rights treaties bring any state-level improvements at all to investigations in the domestic context of the factors and dynamics influencing state compliance. In this direction, and focusing on the European Court of Human Rights, this study inquires into the factors that account for variable patterns of state compliance with its judgments. Why do national authorities in some states adopt a more prompt and responsive attitude in implementing these judgments, in contrast to other states that procrastinate or respond reluctantly? On the basis of a large-N study of the Strasbourg Court's judgments and a comparison across nine states, this article argues that variation in state implementation performance is closely linked to the overall legal infrastructure capacity and government effectiveness of a state. When such capacity and effectiveness are high and diffused, the adverse judgments of the Strasbourg Court are unlikely to be obstructed or ignored, even when the government, political elites, or other actors are reluctant and not in favour of substantive remedies.
Topic:: International Relations and International Law
Political Geography:: Europe

39098. Domestic Implementation of European Court of Human Rights Judgments: Legal Infrastructure and Government Effectiveness Matter: A Reply to Dia Anagnostou and Alina Mungiu-Pippidi

Author:: Erik Voeten
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: This article responds to the valuable contribution by Dia Anagnostou and Alina Mungiu- Pippidi in which they analyse how nine countries implemented European Court of Human Rights judgments that found violations of Articles 8–11 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Their conclusion that capacity plays an important role in the implementation of ECtHR judgments is certainly correct. In this short response, I highlight various aspects of the authors' analysis where they make problematic choices with regard to data and statistical methods. First, I describe and use a more comprehensive dataset that allows us to reach more generalizable conclusions. Secondly, I show how survival analysis is a more appropriate framework than logit or linear regression for analysing these data. Thirdly, I argue that the difficulty of the implementation task needs to be accounted for in any analysis of cross-country variation in implementation. My re-analysis shows that low capacity countries attract judgments that are more difficult to implement. The analysis also uncovers a subtle relationship between time, institutional capacity, and checks and balances. High capacity helps willing politicians to implement judgments quickly. Yet, among judgments that have been pending longer, countries with higher capacity are no quicker to implement than lower capacity countries. By contrast, checks and balances initially slow down implementation but help to eventually ensure begrudging implementation.
Topic:: Human Rights
Political Geography:: Europe

39099. UN Immunity or Impunity? A Human Rights Based Challenge

Author:: Rosa Freedman
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: National courts have long understood the UN to have absolute immunity from their jurisdiction, based upon provisions in the UN Charter and the Convention on Privileges and Immunities of the UN. While state immunity has evolved over recent decades, allowing restrictive immunity that distinguishes between acts jure imperii and those jure gestionis, questions have arisen as to whether that doctrine applies to international organizations and, specifically, the UN. The counterbalance to the UN's absolute immunity is the requirement that it provide alternative mechanisms for resolving disputes. This raises concerns about accountability and internal review. Case law from various courts demonstrates an increasing willingness to attempt to challenge absolute immunity on the basis that the bar to jurisdiction violates claimants' rights to access a court and to a remedy. In all of those cases, individuals' ability to access alternative mechanisms for dispute resolution has been used to show that their rights have been realized. Recent events concerning the 2010 cholera outbreak in Haiti may lead to a challenge to the UN's absolute immunity. The UN has deemed those claims to be 'not receivable', which denies the claimants their rights to access a court and to a remedy. In October 2013, lawyers for the Haiti cholera victims filed a class action in the Southern District of New York, seeking to challenge the UN's immunity by bringing the Organization before a national court. This article explores whether the events in Haiti may provide the first successful, human rights-based challenge to the UN's absolute immunity.
Topic:: Human Rights
Political Geography:: New York

39100. An International Lawyer in Democracy and Dictatorship – Re-Introducing Herbert Kraus

Author:: Heiko Meiertöns
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: Herbert Kraus (1884–1965) is among the forgotten international lawyers of the 20th century. Kraus took part in a number of developments of great importance for the shaping of modern international law: he participated in the drafting process of the Versailles Peace Treaty and the Treaty on the European Coal and Steel Community and acted as defence counsel at Nuremberg. The founding director of the Institute for International Law at the University of Göttingen was forced to retire between 1937 and 1945 due to his criticism of National Socialism. The post-war perception of his work was coined by his forced retirement. However, his work between 1933 and 1937 sheds light on the dilemma of choosing between opposition and adjustment that Kraus was faced with during that period. This article re-introduces Kraus – a complex German character of international law – and the main features of his work.
Topic:: International Law
Political Geography:: New York

Search

Search Constraints

Search Results

Refine your search

Topic

Political Geography

Content Type

Journal

Publishing Institution

Author

Publication Year

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS