Number of results to display per page
Search Results
35442. Defeating ISIL Requires US Leadership Now
- Author:
- Edward M. Gabriel
- Publication Date:
- 09-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Ambassadors Review
- Abstract:
- As a member of the Council of American Ambassadors, I have written before in CAA publications on Syria and radicalism in the Levant—once in September of 2013,1 and again in September of 2014.2 Nearly a year later, I am disheartened to see that US leadership continues to be timid in its struggle with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) and Syria, in spite of our warnings and prediction that if the United States didn’t define and lead the effort in this fight, radical elements would take over against our interests. This didn’t have to be the case and doesn’t have to be in the future. However, the problem cannot simply be wished away and we can’t wait two long years for a new administration to take action.
- Topic:
- Political Violence, Islam, Religion, and Violent Extremism
- Political Geography:
- Iraq, Middle East, Arab Countries, and Syria
35443. Equatorial Guinea Plays a Leading Role in Combating Malaria
- Author:
- Mark L. Asquino
- Publication Date:
- 09-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Ambassadors Review
- Abstract:
- In August 2014, I attended a ceremony at the Willard Hotel in Washington, DC that celebrated the tenth anniversary of the Bioko Island Malaria Control Project. Those speaking at the event included senior executives from Marathon Oil Corporation, Noble Energy Inc., and Atlantic Methanol Production Company, which are all US petroleum companies that operate in Equatorial Guinea. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of Equatorial Guinea, also delivered remarks. All of the speakers were enthusiastic about a dynamic project that has had a transformative effect on the health of generations of Equatoguineans by reducing the morbidity and mortality of malaria infection. What follows is an overview of the project’s history as well as the commitment to US innovation and a shared audacity to tackle one of humankind’s most endemic and fatal diseases.
- Topic:
- Development, Health, Human Welfare, Infectious Diseases, and Health Care Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States and Equatorial Guinea
35444. On US and Haiti Relations: The Ties that Bind
- Author:
- Pamela A. White
- Publication Date:
- 09-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Ambassadors Review
- Abstract:
- Haiti is the last country I will serve as a United States diplomat abroad and it was one of the first places I served early in my career. My perspectives on US and Haitian relations have ripened over decades of observation and years of first-hand experience. The question I have been asked most is: “Why does the US Government care about Haiti? There are only about 11 million Haitians, the majority are poor, and they don’t even speak English.” And then the same people answer their own question: “Oh, I know, the United States doesn’t want 40,000 boat people landing on its shores—better to keep them in Haiti!”
- Topic:
- Development, Diplomacy, Bilateral Relations, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Haiti and United States of America
35445. Brazil and the United States: Renewed Momentum in a Natural Partnership
- Author:
- Liliana Ayalde
- Publication Date:
- 09-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Ambassadors Review
- Abstract:
- It is impossible to comprehend Brazil without understanding the dimensions of this continent-sized country, which occupies a land mass larger than that of the lower 48 of the United States. Brazil’s land border, which it shares with ten South American neighbors, is five times larger than the border between the United States and Mexico. Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world in terms of population. (For context, Indonesia is fourth.) It has abundant natural resources of every kind, including the world’s largest reserves of fresh water. It is home to two-thirds of the iconic Amazon, the globe’s largest tropical rainforest. It is the second largest economy in the Western Hemisphere and, depending on one’s calculus, the seventh or eighth largest economy in the world. The State of Sao Paulo alone has an economy larger than that of Argentina. Brazil has more cities with a population of over one million people than the United States. It is the world’s second largest exporter of agricultural goods after the United States. It derives 75 percent of its energy needs from hydro-electric sources—some of the cleanest energy platforms among large nations—and its current production of oil and gas make it among the top ten energy producers in the world. Brazil could become an even larger global producer with the development of its pre-salt oil reserves. With Embraer, Brazil has the world’s third largest aviation company after Boeing and Airbus, and in Gerdau, the top producer of long steel in the Americas. And this is just an illustrative sampling. One needs to keep in mind these basic facts about Brazil to help put surface events, including today’s headlines, in perspective.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Economics, Energy Policy, Oil, and Natural Resources
- Political Geography:
- United States and Brazil
35446. The Evaluation Revolution in Public Diplomacy
- Author:
- Carissa Gonzalez
- Publication Date:
- 09-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Ambassadors Review
- Abstract:
- Analytics. Metrics. Evaluation. Impact. All these terms are routinely bandied about, increasingly so in Washington, and yet Public Diplomacy (PD) professionals in the field (the ones most directly impacted by these concepts and trends in measurement) have been historically reluctant to discuss them for fear that admitting such loaded, mathematical terms into the equation of their work will undermine the relational, long-term, nuanced public outreach they do day in and day out.
- Topic:
- Diplomacy, History, Governance, and Public Opinion
- Political Geography:
- United States
35447. ASEAN: Creating the Rules-Based Architecture in Asia
- Author:
- Nina Hachigan
- Publication Date:
- 09-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Ambassadors Review
- Abstract:
- In my second week on the job as the second United States Ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), I headed to Naypyidaw, Burma to meet President Obama at the East Asia Summit. There I witnessed one of the many reasons the United States has increased its engagement with ASEAN: ASEAN convenes Asia. In 1967, leaders of five nations formed ASEAN, renouncing the violence that had characterized their relationships and dedicating themselves to furthering the prosperity of the region. Five more countries joined in the intervening decades and now ASEAN’s Member States, with a total population of some 625 million, are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. ASEAN has delivered well on its primary mission: to keep the peace among a group of member states with huge diversity in levels of economic development, political systems, cultures, religions, and size. This foundation of geopolitical stability has allowed the economies in Southeast Asia to take off and lift tens of millions out of poverty. As a whole, ASEAN has enjoyed the third highest growth rate in the world over the past decade.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Human Welfare, Poverty, and Regional Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Asia
35448. The Belt and Road initiative: connecting China and Central Europe
- Author:
- Xiao Fang
- Publication Date:
- 12-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Issues: Slovak Foreign Policy Affairs
- Institution:
- Slovak Foreign Policy Association
- Abstract:
- China and Central Europe have experienced similar transitions over time and have a constructive role to play in the international system, taking on responsibility for development. Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries is conducted via the “16+1” mechanism, the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st century maritime Silk Road, known as the “Belt and Road initiative.” Central European countries are EU member states and emerging economies. They are located at a geographically strategic juncture and form part of the East Asia–Transatlantic value chain. The 16+1 mechanism is helping China and Central European countries establish high level annual meetings and is encouraging the private sector, business, people-to-people exchanges. The Belt and Road initiative is providing new financing facilities, and a dialogue with the European Commission on investment plans is being launched. Studies and working groups are emerging to help set strategies, build mechanisms, allocate resources and implement policies. This article argues that the Chinese approach, i.e. the 16+1 mechanism and Belt and Road initiative, is platforms paving the way for China–Central Europe cooperation.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Politics, and Geopolitics
- Political Geography:
- China and Central Europe
35449. China’s engagement in Central and Eastern Europe: regional diplomacy in pursuit of China’s interests
- Author:
- Pleschova. Gabriela
- Publication Date:
- 12-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Issues: Slovak Foreign Policy Affairs
- Institution:
- Slovak Foreign Policy Association
- Abstract:
- The purpose of this study is to discuss the motivations and challenges associated with China’s enhanced cooperation with Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). It perceives China’s partnership with CEE as a product of the regional diplomacy approach China also uses in relations with the rest of the world. The study concludes that China is increasingly active in shaping the foreign relations of other countries and is a more influential actor in the international arena. Therefore, a platform which unites 16 CEE countries may prove too weak to advance these countries’ interests vis-à-vis China. A more effective solution would appear to be to replace the 16+China mechanism with the more powerful EU platform.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Regional Cooperation, and European Union
- Political Geography:
- China and Central Europe
35450. Future of trade relations within the 16+1 group: risks and opportunities
- Author:
- Vilem Semerak
- Publication Date:
- 12-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Issues: Slovak Foreign Policy Affairs
- Institution:
- Slovak Foreign Policy Association
- Abstract:
- The paper provides an overview of stylized facts on current trends in trade between the PRC and the 16 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. The potential effects of the “One Belt, One Road” initiative are discussed as are policy recommendations for the CEE countries. Trade with China is seen as complementary to trade with the core of the EU (and with the mutual trade of the CEE region,) once the international fragmentation of value chains is taken into account. Multilateral and plurilateral (e.g. EU-based) approaches to relations with China are likely to generate fewer risks compared to isolated solutions based on national interest pursued individually by CEE countries.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Politics, and Multilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- China, Eastern Europe, and Central Europe
35451. Coming out of the shadows: the Polish perspective on China–Central and Eastern Europe relations
- Author:
- Justyna Szczudlik
- Publication Date:
- 12-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Issues: Slovak Foreign Policy Affairs
- Institution:
- Slovak Foreign Policy Association
- Abstract:
- In the last two decades, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have not played an important role in China’s foreign policy and vice-versa. EU membership did not change China–CEE relations remarkably. The situation started to change once the global financial and economic crisis hit. CEE began to notice that China is an economic and political partner to be reckoned with. Meanwhile, despite the crisis, the PRC started to look at CEE as a stable region – especially in economic terms. At the beginning China decided to strengthen bilateral ties with CEE countries. But in mid-2011 Beijing took the first step to launch cooperation with CEE as a region,
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Economics, Politics, and Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- China and Central Europe
35452. Blowing from the East
- Author:
- Agnes Szunomar
- Publication Date:
- 12-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Issues: Slovak Foreign Policy Affairs
- Institution:
- Slovak Foreign Policy Association
- Abstract:
- China is increasingly perceived in Central and Eastern Europe as a country which could bring economic success to the countries of the region through the development of trade relations and the growing inflow of Chinese investment. Within the region, Hungary is regarded as occupying a prominent position by Chinese people and the government for several reasons. Chinese relations have historically been good: over the past decade Hungarian governments have committed themselves to developing the relationship. This trend was further confirmed after the global economic crisis of 2008, when Hungary started looking for new opportunities in its recovery from recession. The “Eastern opening” policy was initiated after the crisis and partly because of it. Officially, this policy puts more emphasis on further developing Chinese–Hungarian relations than was previously the case, including increasing trade and investment. However, the outcomes of the policy – such as the construction of the Budapest–Belgrade railway line – can be evaluated in different ways.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- China and Central Europe
35453. Migration from China to Slovakia
- Author:
- Peter Ondris
- Publication Date:
- 12-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Issues: Slovak Foreign Policy Affairs
- Institution:
- Slovak Foreign Policy Association
- Abstract:
- While numerous specialist studies about Chinese communities have been published in other countries in the region, this is not the case in Slovakia. Therefore there is a general lack of information about the Chinese community in Slovakia. The objective of this study is, at least partially, to fill this gap. While in many cases, i.e. in Central and Eastern Europe, businesses run by Chinese migrants have contributed to the economic stabilization of the region, including in Slovakia. It should be noted that the number of Chinese people in Slovakia has in the last ten years decreased as a percentage of the foreigners living legally in Slovakia. One could assess this as being a consequence of Slovakia’s EU membership and its adoption of European legislation. The Slovak government has adopted policies to try to change the nature of Chinese migration to Slovakia and attract more educated people and businessmen.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, European Union, and Multilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- China, Eastern Europe, Hungary, Central Europe, and Slovakia
35454. Where the Lions Are: Gazprom's "Energetic Pliers" and Aspirations of a Eurasian Archipelago: The Geopolitics of Russia's Networked Energy Infrastructure
- Author:
- John Haines
- Publication Date:
- 08-2015
- Content Type:
- Book
- Abstract:
- In a recent essay, George Friedman wrote with admirable clarity about an intelligence truism that is at one and the same time elemental and frequently overlooked: “The entire principle of strategic intelligence is to ruthlessly discard the subcritical noise that is being collected in order to identify the center of gravity of events. A tiny hint may sometimes draw attention to a major process, particularly in military affairs. Finding that tiny hint, however, requires huge amounts of time and effort, and little time is left to understand the meaning. Moreover, in many cases, the process is in plain sight. The trick is to see it, and the even harder trick is to believe it.” With that charge, the objective of this essay is to look at Russia’s network of natural gas pipelines and ethnic enclaves in its near abroad in the interest of exploring whether and how the two intersect. The initial hypothesis is that ethnic separatism is instrumental to the former in two fundamental ways. First, these enclaves are located geographically along major energy pipeline routes, often at key junctures in pipeline networks. Second, they sit atop substantial shale gas reserves, the determined exploitation of which would decisively undercut Russia's natural gas oligopoly. They constitute specific, identifiable “spheres of privileged interests” in Russian foreign policy. The idea for this essay began with a conversation with a Moldovan diplomat about Transnistria, a separatist region of his country that has amassed a staggering debt—in excess of $5 billion—for the purchase of Russian natural gas. Russia's use of this debt to exert political pressure on Moldova is a story broadly understood.[4]
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Debt, Economics, Energy Policy, and Natural Resources
- Political Geography:
- Russia
35455. The New Innovator’s Commercialization Dilemma
- Author:
- James Hinton and Kent Howe
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- This report outlines the impetus behind the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) International Intellectual Property Law Clinic, which operated for three months in 2014. It consisted of a partnership among the CIGI International Law Research Program (ILRP), Communitech (the Region of Waterloo’s hub for commercialization of innovative technologies) and leading intellectual property (IP) law firms. The report describes the new innovator’s commercialization dilemma — a multifaceted dilemma arising from lack of IP legal knowledge, lack of financial resources and the high costs associated with IP protection, all of which combine to place the new innovator in a vulnerable position at the early stages of their commercialization timeline. After briefly surveying the current environment for entrepreneurship-based clinics, the report describes the elements and structure of the CIGI clinic. The advantages for participating students as well as first-hand accounts of the benefits of the CIGI clinic are also detailed. Taking lessons learned from the CIGI clinic, the report illustrates how an IP-focused law clinic can help to address the commercialization dilemma. The report describes the manner in which IP clinics might be structured, while reviewing the associated benefits and challenges for each structure. The report also makes brief recommendations for governments, law societies, law schools and IP offices to support the provision of IP legal services through the law clinic model.
- Topic:
- Environment, International Trade and Finance, Intellectual Property/Copyright, Governance, and Entrepreneurship
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
35456. Toward a Social Compact for Digital Privacy and Security
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- On the occasion of the April 2015 Global Conference on Cyberspace meeting in The Hague, the Global Commission on Internet Governance calls on the global community to build a new social compact between citizens and their elected representatives, the judiciary, law enforcement and intelligence agencies, business, civil society and the Internet technical community, with the goal of restoring trust and enhancing confidence in the Internet. It is now essential that governments, collaborating with all other stakeholders, take steps to build confidence that the right to privacy of all people is respected on the Internet. This statement provides the Commission’s view of the issues at stake and describes in greater detail the core elements that are essential to achieving a social compact for digital privacy and security.
- Topic:
- Security, Science and Technology, Communications, Mass Media, Governance, Digital Economy, and Internet
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
35457. Just Enough, Just in Time: Improving Sovereign Debt Restructuring for Creditors, Debtors and Citizens
- Author:
- Richard Gitlin and Brett House
- Publication Date:
- 07-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- Recent international financial turmoil — most notably in Greece — has refocused attention on the risks posed by severe sovereign debt crises and weaknesses in our approaches to restructuring sovereign debt. Since early 2010, these risks have driven a range of debt-related policy proposals and actions in individual economies, across regions and at the international financial institutions. While some incremental first reform steps have been taken, these have not yet produced a more efficient, effective or resilient international framework for handling severe sovereign debt crises and effecting sovereign debt workouts. In contrast, some institutional and policy changes made in the heat of the euro-zone crisis have raised as many questions as they have resolved. Old policy ideas are also being resurrected and configured in new ways for current challenges. After years of substantial fiscal stimulus and exceptional monetary policies, high debt burdens across the advanced economies, fears of secular stagnation, signs of an imminent increase in US borrowing costs and deteriorating demographics together make a compelling case for concerted action to improve international arrangements for dealing with distressed sovereign debt.
- Topic:
- Debt, Economics, Monetary Policy, Financial Crisis, and Global Markets
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
35458. Corporate Debt in Emerging Economies: A Threat to Financial Stability?
- Author:
- Barry Eichengreen, Domenico Lombardi, Malcolm D. Knight, Yu Yongding, Stephen G. Cecchetti, Diane De Gramont, Şebnem Kalemli-Özcan, Phillip R. Lane, Ugo Panizza, and Viral V. Acharya
- Publication Date:
- 09-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- During 1999-2007, the international balance sheets of emerging economies grew stronger through a combination of current account surpluses, a shift from debt funding to equity funding, and the stockpiling of liquid foreign reserves. This risk-mitigating strategy improved the international financial standing of many emerging economies and helped these economies withstand the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. However, a combination of domestic and external factors has led to a partial reversal of this strategy, with some emerging economies accumulating significant external debt since 2010. Previewed by the May 2013 “taper tantrum,” there has been considerable speculation that a tightening of dollar-funding conditions and a macroeconomic slowdown in emerging economies may result in financial instability in some emerging economies.
- Topic:
- Debt, Economics, Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, Financial Crisis, and Global Markets
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
35459. Next Steps for the G20: Turkey 2015
- Author:
- Paul Martin, Thomas A. Bernes, Olaf Weber, Hongying Wang, and Kevin Carmichael
- Publication Date:
- 11-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- On November 15-16, 2015, leaders of the world's major advanced and emerging economies will meet in Antalya, Turkey for the G20 summit. In this special report, CIGI experts present their perspectives and policy analysis on the key priorities facing the G20 at Antalya. The Right Honourable Paul Martin states that the multilateral institutions created to make globalization work should be a G20 priority. Thomas A. Bernes asks whether G20 leaders and the institutions that support them can articulate a “policy upgrade” that brings more credibility than last year’s Brisbane Action Plan. Olaf Weber argues that the next step for the G20 should be the development of policies and guidelines that help to manage climate change and financial risk in a prudential way. Hongying Wang examines China's rare opportunity as it assumes the presidency of the G20 to push for collective new thinking on how to establish a less fragmented and more coherent global framework for investment governance that balances the interests of different stakeholders. Finally, Kevin Carmichael suggests that the G20 should elevate gender balance to the top of its agenda.
- Topic:
- Economics, Emerging Markets, Globalization, Governance, G20, Financial Markets, and Turkey
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
35460. The End of the Beginning: Paris COP 2015
- Author:
- David Runnalls
- Publication Date:
- 11-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- The Paris Conference of the Parties (COP) 2015 is designed to produce the next round of climate change action. There are reasons to believe that the chances for success at the multilateral level are better now that they were before, but even under the most optimistic scenarios, Paris will not be the end of the negotiations. The Paris summit will be crucial to maintaining the momentum that has been building in the private sector and civil society on the issue of climate change. COP 21 has generated an enormous amount of public interest. Civil society actions both before and during the Paris meeting promise to be on a grand scale. In addition, COP21 has excited action from a number of other levels of government not normally seen at these events. Leaders of the IMF, the World Bank and the OECD have all stated that climate change is the principal economic issue facing the world this century. There is a growing realization among the world's economic decision makers that the shift to a low-carbon economy is not only a necessity, but also may be less costly than we believe. The need to identify both public and private financing solutions is the greatest hurdle facing the Paris COP. CIGI's climate change research is tackling the issue of financing sustainable development, in addition to how agreements can be reached by smaller countries, how to address the problems of the delayed benefits from mitigation, ways that China can exercise leadership in this arena, and how the world's financial institutions can help mobilize climate finance from the private sector.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Regulation, Financial Markets, and Climate Finance
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus