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39601. Low Carbon Shanghai Avoiding Carbon Lock-In through Sustainable Urbanization

Author:
Wing Ho Tom Cheng, Gautam Kamath, Kevin Rowe, Eleanor Wood, and Taisen Yue
Publication Date:
08-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
Shanghai will lock in a future of high energy costs and worsening air pollution if it does not change current policies for the planning, construction, and operation of new urban developments, particularly transportation systems, and buildings. This report assesses the policy frameworks for these systems and their implications for Shanghai's prospects as a low carbon city. The major obstacles to efficient, low carbon development are the fragmented planning system for land use and transportation, the insufficiently stringent building energy efficiency codes and the lack of investment in opportunities to encourage efficient consumer behavior. Carbon lock-in occurs when infrastructure projects, or other developments with long lifetimes, are designed with high-carbon characteristics that are difficult to reverse later. This issue is par¬ticularly acute for rapidly-urbanizing Shanghai, where there is an emphasis on keeping project costs low and completion times short. This report was prepared as a case study for the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), a prominent government-affiliated think tank in China. The recommendations are addressed to the Shanghai Municipal Government. Many recommendations hold relevance for the governments of other fast-growing Chinese cities facing similar carbon lock-in challenges to Shanghai.
Political Geography:
China and Shanghai

39602. Cutting Too Deep: The Obama Administration's Proposals for Nuclear Security Spending Reductions

Author:
Matthew Bunn, Nickolas Roth, and William H. Tobey
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
The substantial nuclear security budget cuts proposed by the Obama administration for fiscal year (FY) 2015, if approved, would slow progress toward preventing the essential ingredients of nuclear bombs from falling into terrorist hands. Many of the proposed cutbacks are not the result of completing projects under the four-year effort to secure vulnerable nuclear materials or putting the mixed oxide (MOX) fuel program for plutonium in cold standby. The drop in funding would result in real and significant cuts to important ongoing nuclear security programs. Congress should act to reduce the scale of the proposed cut for nuclear security programs by at least $100 million, and should consider other substantial increases in funding for nonproliferation programs.

39603. The Bottom Line Investing For Impact on Economic Mobility In The U.S: "Insights from Abroad: Impact Investing in Emerging Markets"

Author:
Alexander N. Pan and Randall Kempner
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Aspen Institute
Abstract:
From our perspective at ANDE, we have seen impact investing become an increasingly important tool used to support small and growing businesses in the developing world that are capable of creating jobs, stimulating long-term economic growth, and generating social impact. However, impact investing is still very much an emerging tool. If it is to scale and become a viable solution to social issues in the United States. There are several key lessons from the international context that the industry should consider.
Political Geography:
United States

39604. Tectonic Shifts in the U.S. Electricity Sector

Author:
Dave Grossman (Rapporteur), Roger Ballentine, and Andy Karsner
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Aspen Institute
Abstract:
The U.S. electricity sector is nearing an historic inflection point. A confluence of mutually-reinforcing factors is putting unprecedented pressure on the century-old model of monopolistic supply of electrons at approved rates of return, flowing from central generation stations to end-users. Cleaner energy generation technologies continue to improve, are getting less expensive, and are being deployed at an accelerating rate. Innovations in the financial markets and in business models are spurring cleaner energy deployment and increasing competition for providing customers with energy services. A new generation of customers accustomed to transparency, control, and choice in all aspects of their consumption of goods and services is increasingly expecting the same from energy providers. Information technologies that have enabled rapid change in communications and entertainment are now starting to be applied to energy. And public policies are beginning to enable, if not encourage, fundamental changes in how electricity is generated and provided. The current utility model is colliding with this confluence of factors, leading to a system in conflict, with the old system trying to accommodate more irregular dispatch, customer or third-party owned distributed generation, a range of social equity issues, and societal desires for a stable, clean, interactive, and hardened system. While part of the answer to these challenges may lie in a reformulation of the regulated utility business model, others believe that a more fundamental re-ordering of how energy is produced, delivered, managed, and owned is in the offing. This vision of a re-ordered, more diverse, more competitive, and more integrated electricity system could be thought of as “Clean tech 3.0”. This vision involves better systems (not just better devices), smart and connected devices of all sorts, a dynamic and flexible two way grid, more active and involved consumers, and business models that do not rely on subsidies. It also envisions clean energy not just as a commodity but as a way to provide value to customers (e.g., comfort, mobility, health). Achieving Clean tech 3.0 will require society to grapple with some tough equity and policy challenges, including whether to keep and/or adapt the traditional regulatory compact, how to treat low-income consumers and consumers not generating their own power, and which policies and institutions should be created, reformed, or eliminated to create the proper enabling environment for change. The electricity sector is already starting to witness the rise of a class of customers empowered by technological advances to start to re-think their relationship to energy. These empowered customers have social needs and practical preferences for which they are willing to pay, including price certainty, reliability, resilience, and cleanness. The industry is thus entering a new era that focuses less on selling electrons than on offering consumers valuable services. The path, however, is not without obstacles. The role for traditional utilities in this customer-focused market is unclear; such a focus has not historically been part of their business and is not one of their strengths, and the utilities have been operating in a sector unaccustomed to significant change. Clean energy companies, too, can find it challenging to develop new profitable business models. Even the energy efficiency industry, which offers the fastest and lowest cost pathway to a cleaner energy future, may struggle to sell and scale energy efficiency unless market structures and enabling policies can align with improving technologies to realize the full value proposition of smarter energy delivery and consumption. Regulators have been struggling to figure out how to address the suite of changes facing the electricity sector as well. Current physical and policy infrastructures do not seem to be up to the task. There appear to be three interdependent tectonic plates in motion – long term utility generation planning, mid-term smart grid design, and very near-term device and software design and deployment – that are not aligned, are moving at dangerously different speeds, and are not properly engaging with each other on a regular basis. Regulatory models must be devised that are more flexible, adaptive, and open to rapid advances in technology. There are some places now, such as Hawaii and New York, where regulatory innovation is occurring to try to get ahead of some of these issues. While the challenge of rethinking utility regulatory models falls largely in the hands of state policy makers, the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed rule for carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants, issued under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act, might have profound implications for how state policies and markets will impact energy efficiency and clean energy. The draft rule would set 2030 emissions goals for states and then give states flexibility on how to meet those goals. The draft 111(d) rule is complex, and a variety of concerns have been raised about it. It is not known how the final rule will be modified to address concerns and comments, nor how the almost certain litigation will be resolved. At the very least, the draft rule is already spurring conversations in every state that have not been had to this point at the level and scale necessary, forcing states to think about how emissions reductions will be achieved, what their energy mix will be, what role clean energy will play, and how state policies and market structures need to change in the years ahead. Those conversations can help contribute to broader discussions about creating a clear and compelling vision of the near-future state of U.S. clean energy. Those discussions need to include a range of actors, including the many regulators and utility executives who think the U.S. is still in Clean tech 1.0 and does not need to go anywhere else. There is a need to figure out how to bring those people along and help them start to understand the speed and nature of the changes that are occurring.
Political Geography:
United States

39605. Legal Mechanisms for Governing the Transition of Key Domain Name Functions to the Global Multi-stakeholder Community

Author:
Aaron Shull, Paul Twomey, and Christopher S. Yoo
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
The US government has announced that it is prepared to unilaterally relinquish its historical control of the key technical functions that make up the modern-day Internet. This control stems from the foundational role played by the United States in the creation of the Internet, and has been exercised through the law of contract over the organization that performs these functions, a not-for-profit corporation based in California, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Under the existing contractual arrangement, ICANN has been accountable to the US government for the performance of these functions. However, if the US government is no longer party to this agreement, then to whom should ICANN be accountable? The existing contractual arrangement includes much more than simple contractual terms. In fact, these obligations make up many of the core tenets of contemporary multi-stakeholder Internet governance. These core principles should be preserved during the transition, and this paper advances two main arguments to achieve this. First, the existing contractual accountabilities held by the US government could be transitioned through the law of contract to the existing customers of Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) services, creating direct accountability for the performance of those functions between the organization performing those services and the organizations using them. Second, in order to increase support within the broader community, modest revisions could be made to ICANN's independent review process to expand the grounds of review, allowing the review tribunal to hear additional cases on a broader range of complaints, with expanded powers of administrative review of decision-making processes.
Political Geography:
United States and California

39606. Disclosure-based Governance for Climate Engineering Research

Author:
A. Neil Craik and Nigel Moore
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
Transparency has become a dominant theme within academic and policy discussions on climate engineering (CE) research governance. As CE research moves from modelling and laboratory studies to field experiments, there is a need to operationalize transparency; that is, to move from transparency in principle to transparency in practice. This, in turn, requires greater attention be paid to the purposes that CE research transparency is intended to serve since the ends sought, as well as the context in which they will operate, will drive the design features of disclosure mechanisms. The objective of this paper is to focus attention on the implementation challenges that disclosure faces in the realm of CE research governance. To this end, we identify and elaborate on two distinct roles that disclosure-based governance is anticipated to play: minimization of the potential for environmental and social concerns associated with CE research; and to generate and maintain legitimacy in the research process itself. Drawing on that discussion, we then identify a number of key design features that disclosure-based governance will need to achieve those ends, and we argue in favour of an approach to disclosure-based governance that recognizes the iterative and inherently normative nature of CE governance and supports the development of a decentralized system of disclosure serving multiple ends.

39607. Comments on the September 29, 2014 FSB Consultative Document, "Cross-Border Recognition of Resolution Action"

Author:
David Kempthorne, Steven L. Schwarcz, Mark Jewett, and Catherine Walsh
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
The International Law Research Program (ILRP) of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Financial Stability Board's (FSB's) Consultative Document, “Cross-Border Recognition of Resolution Action” (hereafter referred to as the “Consultative Document”) that was released on September 29, 2014. The 2008-2009 financial crisis highlighted the costs and consequences of disorderly resolution procedures for large, complex and systemically important financial institutions. The appropriate design and implementation of resolution procedures for G-SIFIs is critical to limit taxpayers' exposure to the failure of systemically important financial firms and to reduce the costs of financial firms' failure for the wider financial system and the real economy. This paper's analysis concludes that a contractual approach intended to give effect to resolution proceedings in a jurisdiction outside the jurisdiction where the contract was issued has a number of limitations that cannot be effectively overcome through appropriate contract design.

39608. From "Taoguang Yanghui" to "Yousuo Zuowei": China's Engagement in Financial Minilateralism

Author:
Hongying Wang
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
As part of a shift toward a more activist foreign policy, China has accelerated its engagement in minilateralism, which is the gathering of a sub-group of countries within or outside a multilateral institution to solve a problem when the multilateral institution is unable to reach agreements among its members. This paper examines China's minilateral diplomacy in the financial area. Although China has been involved in regional financial cooperation for the last 15 years, its recent minilateral initiatives, such as the New Development Bank (NDB), the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), are far more China-centred. What are China's motivations? Will these minilateral schemes undermine the traditional multilateral institutions? This paper argues that the Chinese government seeks to use financial minilateralism to stimulate reform of global financial institutions, provide financial public goods for its regional neighbours and fellow developing countries, as well as directly promote China's economic and political interests. China's financial minilateralism is not meant to overthrow the existing multilateral institutions, but this could change depending on the interaction between how the world responds to China's new activism and the domestic political dynamics in China. Western countries should understand and accommodate China's aspirations and encourage China to keep its minilateralism open.
Political Geography:
China

39609. Legal Interoperability as a Tool for Combatting Fragmentation

Author:
Rolf H. Weber
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
The recently developed term “legal interoperability” addresses the process of making legal rules cooperate across jurisdictions. It can facilitate global communication, reduce costs in cross-border business and drive innovation, thereby creating a level playing field for the next generation of technologies and cultural exchange.

39610. Innovations in Global Governance: Toward a Distributed Internet Governance Ecosystem

Author:
Stefaan G. Verhulst, Beth S. Noveck, Jillian Raines, and Antony Declercq
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
The growth and globalization of the Internet over the past 40 years has been nothing short of remarkable. Virtually all sectors, from development to health care to education to politics, have been transformed. Yet developments in how the Internet is governed have not kept pace with this rapid technological innovation. Figuring out how to evolve the Internet's governance in ways that are effective and legitimate is essential to ensure its continued potential. Flexible and innovative decision-making mechanisms are needed in order to enable disparate governance actors to address and respond effectively as changes in the network occur. Actors need mechanisms to coordinate and cooperate around a variety of different governance approaches that may be used to address urgent issues that impact users in various ways from the local to global level. As for legitimacy in decision making, this is typically derived from citizen participation, or membership in a territorial community — an unobtainable metric for Internet governance given the global, cross-sector nature of the network. Internet governance frameworks have traditionally handled this challenge through interest group or stakeholder representation, limiting broader participation in certain kinds of governance decisions that increasingly impact all users across borders and cultures — and also by treating technical and informational Internet practices as falling within national borders, which has led countries to adopt divergent or competing approaches on issues that affect the stability of the global network, risking Internet fragmentation. enhanced coordination and cooperation across institutions and actors; increased interoperability in terms of identifying and describing issues and approaches for resolution throughout the ecosystem (i.e., creating a common Internet governance ontology); open information sharing and evidence-based decision making; and expertise- or issue-based organization to allow for both localization and scale in problem solving. In proposing ways to realize this framework, the paper draws on the lessons of open governance, adopting innovative techniques such as opening data, crowdsourcing and expert networks to facilitate coordination, information sharing, and evidence generation by and across increasingly diverse and global groups of Internet actors, who seek to address the current complex and pressing issues — from increasing access to privacy to cyber security — without risking the stability of the underlying network. The paper also calls for creating practical tools to support such an effective, legitimate and evolving Internet governance ecosystem, including an issue-based map and data repository of current responses to Internet-related governance issues, which can serve as a resource for modelling alternative approaches to tackling urgent issues. Although no right answer or single model for how to manage all issues of relevance to the Internet is suggested within this paper, the proposed framework intends to allow for diverse experiments in distributed governance approaches to learn what works and what does not.

39611. Fiji's election and Australia: the terms of re-engagement

Author:
Jenny Hayward-Jones
Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:
The Lowy Institute for International Policy is an independent policy think tank. Its mandate ranges across all the dimensions of international policy debate in Australia – economic, political and strategic – and it is not limited to a particular geographic region. Its two core tasks are to: produce distinctive research and fresh policy options for Australia's international policy and to contribute to the wider international debate. promote discussion of Australia's role in the world by providing an accessible and high quality forum for discussion of Australian international relations through debates, seminars, lectures, dialogues and conferences.
Political Geography:
Australia

39612. The Case for a New Federalism in Libya

Author:
Karim Mezran and Mohamed Eljarh
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
Following Muammar Qaddafi's ouster more than three years ago, Libya fragmented, and the absence of a capable central government opened up the space for a violent political struggle over the country's key resources and state institutions that continues today. Given Libya's troubled history with centralization, there is a need for a rethink about a post-revolutionary form of governance. However, calls for federalism based on the country's three historical regions (Cyrenaica in the east, Fezzan in the south, and Tripolitania in the west) are outdated and do not take into account that Libyans' loyalties to tribe, clan, or region trump their sense of national identity. In "The Case for a New Federalism in Libya," Karim Mezran, a senior fellow at the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East and Mohamed Eljarh, a nonresident fellow at the Rafik Hariri Center, argue for a different approach. In order to empower local authorities to address distinctly local grievances while supporting a vision for a unified Libya, the authors offer a fresh proposal for a federalist system in which the executive branch handles foreign affairs and national security issues and considerable legislative powers are devolved to the regions. Such a set-up would require clear communication between the levels of government and help to eliminate the threat of partition by more effectively responding to the distinctive challenges of different segments of Libyan society. Federalism in Libya, however, faces obstacles, including the fundamental one of trust, as concerns linger that federalists' real objective is to secede. The authors provide recommendations for how to overcome these roadblocks and institutionalize federalism, including by establishing a consultative constitution-drafting process and launching a civic responsibility initiative focused on self-governance within the rule of law.
Political Geography:
Libya

39613. Morocco's Gradual Political and Economic Transition

Author:
Karim Mezran and Mohsin Khan
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
In contrast to popular uprisings throughout the Middle East and North Africa in 2011, Morocco has emerged relatively unscathed, avoiding destabilizing political upheaval or economic impact. The case of Morocco has surprised many observers because its weak and problematic social, political, and economic indicators are much like those of the other transitioning countries.
Political Geography:
Middle East, North Africa, and Morocco

39614. International in Life, National in Death? Banking Nationalism on the Road to Banking Union

Author:
Martin Rhodes and Rachel A. Epstein
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Kolleg-Forschergruppe (KFG)
Abstract:
European states have a long history of banking sector nationalism. Control over credit allocation is believed to contribute to economic development and competitiveness goals, insulation from external economic shocks, and control over monetary policy. This paper explains the potentially dramatic loss in domestic control over banks created by the European Banking Union (EBU). First, we argue that ongoing liberalization in the global and European economies has made banking sector protectionism both more costly and conflictual. Second, we contend that because many of the biggest banks have internationalized their operations, they now prefer centralized European regulation and supervision. Third, supporting a modified neofunctionalist argument, we find that behind the sometimes frenetic intergovernmental bargaining in 2012-14, it is primarily the European Commission and the European Central Bank that have pushed Banking Union ahead. Supranational institutions have argued, with some success, that they have unique capacity to solve collective action and prisoners' dilemma problems. Contrary to accepted wisdom, Germany has not set or limited the Banking Union agenda to a great extent, in part because of its own internal divisions. Moreover, the Commission and the ECB have managed at critical junctures to isolate Germany to secure the country's assent to controversial measures.
Topic:
Economics, Government, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
Europe and Germany

39615. Preventing Corruption in Humanitarian Operations

Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Transparency International
Abstract:
Corruption undermines the humanitarian mission that is the raison d'être of humanitarian operations. Relief is delivered in challenging environments, in the midst of conflict and where natural disasters have stretched or overwhelmed national capacities. The injection of large amounts of resources into resource-poor economies where institutions have been damaged or destroyed can exacerbate power asymmetries and increase opportunities for abuse of power. There is often pressure to disburse aid rapidly and immense organisational challenges in suddenly expanding the scope and scale of programme delivery. Commonly, the countries in which the majority of humanitarian aid is delivered already suffer from high levels of perceived corruption prior to an emergency.
Topic:
Corruption and Humanitarian Aid

39616. National Integrity System Assessment – Israel, 2013

Author:
Ran Lachman
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Transparency International
Abstract:
The national integrity system of Israel was found to have uneven or "oscillating" levels of integrity: some of the central pillars received a fairly high score, placing them in the top fifth of the evaluation scale, some medium-high scores, whereas some pillars, central to the system, received scores barely above mid-scale. The pillars with the highest integrity, in terms of over-all integrity ranking, can be regarded as pillars that safeguard the democracy in Israel: chief among them is the Central Elections Committee (91), followed by the Judicial Branch (83) and the State Comptroller (81). On the other hand, the analyses indicate that the principle weakness of the Israeli national integrity system lies with the pillars of The Public Sector ±i.e., the Civil Service (52), the Executive Branch (58), and the political parties (60).Conspicuous in its low integrity score was The Executive Branch, i.e., the government, where the indicators of Governance and the Role in the integrity system were particularly low.
Topic:
Government
Political Geography:
Israel

39617. Transparency in corporate reporting: assessing the world's largest companies (2014)

Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Transparency International
Abstract:
<p>This Transparency International report, Transparency in Corporate Reporting: Assessing the Worlds Largest Companies, evaluates the transparency of corporate reporting by the worlds 124 largest publicly listed companies. The report assesses the disclosure practices of companies with respect to their anti-corruption programmes, company holdings and the disclosure of key financial information on a country-by-country basis. It follows on from a 2012 report which focused on the worlds 105 largest publicly traded companies. The report is part of a series of studies based on a similar methodology aimed at assessing the transparency practices of companies, the most recent being a 2013 report on leading emerging market companies./p

39618. Exporting Corruption: Progress Report 2014: Assessing enforcement of the OECD Convention on Combating Foreign Bribery

Publication Date:
10-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Transparency International
Abstract:
<p>This is the tenth annual progress report on OECD Anti-Bribery Convention enforcement by Transparency International, the global coalition against corruption. The OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, adopted in 1997, requires each signatory country to make foreign bribery a crime for which individuals and enterprises are responsible. The Convention is a key instrument for curbing the export of corruption globally because the 41 signatory countries are responsible for approximately two-thirds of world exports and almost 90 per cent of total foreign direct investment outflows. The OECD Working Group on Bribery, which represents the 41 Parties to the Convention, conducts a follow-up monitoring programme under which 9-10 countries are reviewed each year.</p>

39619. Real lives, true stories

Publication Date:
08-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Transparency International
Abstract:
<p>As many as two in three people worldwide believe that ordinary citizens can make a difference in the fight against corruption. Whether its taking on an abusive school system, exposing a crooked driving instructor or blocking the re-election of a corrupt mayor, these individuals are demonstrating their power to bring about lasting change in their communities./p

39620. Staying on side: how to stop match-fixing

Publication Date:
08-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Transparency International
Abstract:
Transparency International, the Association of European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL) and the German Football League (DFL) came together to share experiences on how to reach our common goal: to raise awareness about match-fixing and develop educational materials and approaches to help prevent it. The project, which was co-funded by the European Commission, included representatives from Transparency International chapters and professional football leagues in Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal and the United Kingdom, and participation by leagues in Norway and Poland.
Political Geography:
United Kingdom, Europe, Norway, Greece, Poland, Lithuania, Germany, Italy, and Portugal

39621. Anti-Corruption Kit: 15 ideas for young activists

Publication Date:
08-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Transparency International
Abstract:
Citizens rely on governments for essential goods and services. But what's more is they pay for those services through taxation. If a government, or people within a government, feel like nobody is watching, then the temptation to steal becomes much more seductive. Accountability to the public begins when people – like you! – track government spending and detect corruption by watching how and where the money flows.
Topic:
Government

39622. Protecting climate finance: An anti-corruption assessment of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility

Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Transparency International
Abstract:
Protecting Climate Finance: An Anti-Corruption Assessment of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility is the last in a series of reports by Transparency International aimed at analysing the policies and practices that seven multilateral climate funds have in place to prevent corruption and enable accountability. The purpose of this study was to contribute to the positive development and strengthening of the FCPF's Readiness Fund to support the effective achievement of its objectives. Established in 2008, the FCPF aims to assist developing countries in their efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and foster conservation, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+) by providing value to standing forests. It aims to do this through two funds: the Readiness Fund and the Carbon Fund. As of December 2013, the Readiness Fund has approved grants of over US$45 million1, whereas the Carbon Fund has not yet disbursed any funds. Although both Funds are described in this document, only the former is assessed. Transparency International's assessment of the Readiness Fund reviewed both its governance arrangements and its transparency, accountability, and integrity policies and practices against a set of 12 indicators. The study involved preliminary desk research and a subsequent interview with the Facility Management Team. Peer reviews were further engaged to validate or question the findings.2 As a result, Transparency International has identified both best practices and some areas where the Fund's policies should be strengthened. Overall, the Fund has made a commitment to operate with transparency and to provide open access to the information produced through its work. It has put in place guidance clearly listing the information to be made available, together with responsible parties and timelines. In practice, it further ensures the regular publication of information on its executive functions and activities. However, there is still much room for improvement. It should ensure that information regarding the anti-corruption rules and safeguards of downstream actors, such as Delivery Partners and REDD+ Country Participants, is disclosed and made easily accessible on its website. In addition, the transparency of the FCPF's Participants Committee can be bolstered by making provision for webcasting of meetings. Finally, it could further improve its performance by making its financial information available according to International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) standards. In terms of accountability at the Fund level, clear and comprehensive processes defined by World Bank policies are in place to ensure the investigation and sanctioning of the Facility Management Team (the Fund's Secretariat) and its Trustee. However, further rules and procedures regarding the Participants Committee are required to ensure full accountability at the Fund's executive level. This means gaining sufficient assurances that honest, independent and impartial processes are in place to investigate, review and sanction the behaviour of the Committee and its individual Members. Accountability at the national level is delegated to the Fund's Delivery Partners. The effectiveness of this arrangement is important but difficult to assess given the scant availability of easily accessible information regarding which specific anti-corruption rules are applied by Delivery Partners. For example, clarity is lacking regarding which whistleblowing procedures and complaints mechanisms are in place. Therefore, downstream accountability needs to be demonstrated in much clearer and more consistent ways. Citizens have a key role to play in advancing the anti-corruption agenda. As watchdogs and/or independent consultants, they can help to ensure the integrity and effectiveness of decision-making processes. Fund policies and processes are in place regarding civil society participation, both as Observers at Participants Committee meetings and as consulted stakeholders in-country. However, putting these into practice at the national level has been challenging and the Fund faced criticism for its failures in ensuring consultation in its early years. Its recent improvements have however also been 4 recognised. The Fund must continue to strengthen its performance in this area to ensure more open, meaningful engagement and better uptake of citizens' concerns. Finally, the Fund cannot be said to have a comprehensive corruption prevention approach in place for all of the actors falling within its remit. The FCPF can draw on the anti-corruption policies and procedures of the World Bank for many of its actors such as the Facilty Management Team, Trustee and World Bank as Delivery Partner, and through its Common Approach has put in place minimum standards expected of its newer Delivery Partners. However gaps remain, including the absence of a Fund-wide zero-tolerance of corruption policy. Furthermore, standards of conduct required from Fund actors and sanctions for falling short of those standards are not clearly set out at the Fund level. As an international mechanism entrusted with public money, the FCPF will need to take on a Facility-wide zero-tolerance of corruption policy and improve access to information on key anti-corruption assurances. This information is essential to ensure both downstream and upstream accountability for the prevention and deterrence of corruption. As set out above, the Fund has already made some important advances in this direction. Transparency International welcomes and supports the Fund's ongoing efforts to strengthen and evolve a clear, comprehensive and consistent set of policies to demonstrate its overall global accountability.

39623. Limits of Control — Challenges to Spatiotemporal Analysis of Sub-State War

Author:
Christian Ickler
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700
Abstract:
Territorial control by violent (non-)state actors (VNSA) in sub-state war features prominently in many fundamental concepts in conflict studies. Though there have been attempts to measure this phenomenon or at least delimit it from a spatiotemporal perspective, these have so far been based either primarily on qualitative expert assessments or rely on dyadic event data to determine contested areas. In this methodological research paper, I present three approaches that can be used to estimate actor presence on basis of spatiotemporal approximation. In doing so, I focus on challenges and obstacles that can be encountered when measuring territorial control via the proxy of territorial contestation. Spatiotemporally disaggregated violent incidence data is used to analyze a small subsample of countries in sub- Saharan Africa in order to determine various ways of visualizing territorial contest. Further points of discussion include the impact of data aggregation, the availability of context data and analytical methods used for these evaluations.
Topic:
War
Political Geography:
Africa

39624. Governance Transfer by the Southern African Development Community (SADC). A B2 Case Study Report

Author:
Anna van der Vleuten
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700
Abstract:
As early as 1992, the Treaty of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) already included a commitment to human rights, democracy, and the rule of law as governance standards in its member states, but it was in 2001 that SADC significantly broadened its efforts at governance transfer. SADC focuses in particular on standards related to gender, (socioeconomic) human rights, and (electoral) democracy, which are promoted and protected through various instruments including military interventions and sanctions in the framework of security cooperation. While the rule of law and good governance have also gained a more prominent place on the agenda since 2001, standards and instruments are less developed. Overall, there is a significant gap between the prescription of standards and policies on the one hand and the implementation of measures on the other. The suspension of the SADC Tribunal in 2010 following its rulings on human rights issues clearly shows the limits of SADC as an active promoter vis-à-vis its member states.
Topic:
Security, Development, and Governance
Political Geography:
Africa

39625. Governance Transfer by the Organization of American States (OAS). A B2 Case Study Report

Author:
Mathis Lohaus
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700
Abstract:
This case study examines to which extent the Organization of American States (OAS) engages in governance transfer to its member states. Both the standards and policies prescribed in regional documents as well as their application are analyzed. Historically, the organization has emphasized two areas. Human rights are protected through multiple treaties and a strong regional legal regime. Democracy is protected by strong incentives to avoid coups and supported via different types of assistance, including a long-standing system of election observation. The OAS addresses good governance since the 1990s, particularly with regard to combating corruption and modernizing public management. Provisions concerning the rule of law are addressed in connection with the other standards. After analyzing the framework and measures of governance transfer, this report explores how the observed patterns can be explained and briefly discusses the future prospects for the OAS.
Topic:
Human Rights and Governance
Political Geography:
America

39626. Governance Transfer in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). A B2 Case Study Report

Author:
Mathis Lohaus
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700
Abstract:
This case study examines to which extent the Organization of American States (OAS) engages in governance transfer to its member states. Both the standards and policies prescribed in regional documents as well as their application are analyzed. Historically, the organization has emphasized two areas. Human rights are protected through multiple treaties and a strong regional legal regime. Democracy is protected by strong incentives to avoid coups and supported via different types of assistance, including a long-standing system of election observation. The OAS addresses good governance since the 1990s, particularly with regard to combating corruption and modernizing public management. Provisions concerning the rule of law are addressed in connection with the other standards. After analyzing the framework and measures of governance transfer, this report explores how the observed patterns can be explained and briefly discusses the future prospects for the OAS.
Topic:
Human Rights and Law
Political Geography:
America

39627. European leverage and a new Israel-Palestine approach

Author:
Lara Friedman
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:
With their own interests challenged and growing domestic constituencies pressing for action, European leaders are asking what Europe can do to reaccredit its policies in the Israeli-Palestinian arena, notwithstanding U.S. opposition. In this context the time has come for Europe to adopt a new Middle East policy paradigm in which European leverage is identified and employed as part of a coherent effort aimed not at altering the behavior of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but at altering the political environment in which Netanyahu and his challengers on the right operate.
Political Geography:
Europe, Middle East, and Israel

39628. The United Nations and a peace process strategy for Syria

Author:
Leila Hilal
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:
The counterterrorism effort launched by the U.S.-led anti-Islamic State coalition has sidetracked international attention away from a political resolution to the Syrian civil war. Officials, analysts and peace practitioners alike are latching on to quick fixes aimed at mitigating violence at the local level. Although stakeholders are mindful of the need to match bottom-up de-escalation efforts with top-down interventions, a comprehensive approach is as elusive as ever. The United Nations (UN) secretary-general's appointment of a new special envoy for Syria presents an opportunity for building an inclusive peacemaking strategy for the country. This policy brief provides a series of recommendations for the development of a strategy led by the UN with support from key countries.
Political Geography:
Syria

39629. Identifying Binding Constraints in Pacific Island Economies

Author:
Ron Duncan, Hilarian Codippily, Emele Duituturaga, and Raijieli Bulatale
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
The emergence of a large number of small states over the past four decades or so (there are presently around 50 states with populations with less than 1.5 million) has led to considerable interest amongst researchers, member governments, and international agencies in their economic and environmental viability. The literature generated in the process has focused on the special problems and development challenges faced by such states, including their prospects for integration with the changing global environment. The study presented here builds upon this literature in examining the binding constraints to development. It is our hope that this study will benefit policy makers, researchers, and the donor community.
Topic:
Economics
Political Geography:
Island

39630. The Ontological (In)security of Similarity: Wahhabism versus Islamism in Saudi Foreign Policy

Author:
May Darwich
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
It has long been argued that identity matters in international relations. Yet, how identity impacts enmity and conflict among states remains the subject of debate. The existing literature asserts that differences in identity can be a source of conflict, whereas convergence and similarity lead to cooperation. Nevertheless, empirical evidence from the Middle East has long defied this hypothesis. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which prides itself on being an Islamic model and claims Islamic leadership, has opposed the rise to power of Islamist movements in the Middle East. To address this paradox, this article builds on the growing literature on ontological security to propose a theoretical framework explaining how similarity can generate anxiety and identity risks. This framework, I argue, moves beyond traditional regime‐security approaches to reveal that security is not only physical but also ontological. I then illustrate the argument through a comparison of Saudi identity risks in the wake of the Iranian revolution (1979) and the ascendance of the Muslim Brotherhood to power in Egypt (2012). Ultimately, these cases provide intriguing insights into foreign policy behaviour during critical situations.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Islam
Political Geography:
Saudi Arabia

39631. The Heterogeneity of FDI in Sub-Saharan Africa: How Do the Horizontal Productivity Effects of Emerging Investors Differ from Those of Traditional Players?

Author:
Birte Pfeiffer, Holger Görg, and Lucia Perez-Villar
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
It is generally accepted by policymakers that outward foreign direct investment (FDI) can contribute to economic development in host countries via knowledge spillovers to the domestic economy. Given that multinational corporations (MNCs) possess technological or managerial advantages, they can generate positive externalities through the diffusion of knowledge to domestic firms. This knowledge transfer can occur horizontally, if firms in the same sector benefit from the presence of multinationals, or vertically, if upstream or downstream domestic sectors gain from the presence of foreign investors. Yet, whereas the FDI literature has reached a certain level of agreement that vertical relationships with local suppliers generate positive productivity spillovers, the evidence on horizontal spillovers is still mixed and inconclusive, and estimates differ in terms of statistical significance and magnitude (Havranek and Irsova 2013).1 These inconsistencies derive largely from differences in the measurement of foreign presence and the type of data used – cross‐sectional versus panel – across studies (Görg and Strobl 2001). Further, there are determining factors at the firm and country level that enhance the realization of spillovers and need to be taken into account. Görg and Greenaway (2004) show that studies accounting for the heterogeneity of domestic firms, and especially their absorptive capacity, tend to report positive results.
Political Geography:
Africa and Europe

39632. International Sanctions against Iran under President Ahmadinejad: Explaining Regime Persistence

Author:
Oliver Borszik
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
This paper seeks to explain how Iran's regime persisted in the face of international sanctions during Mahmud Ahmadinejad's presidency, from 2005 to 2013. It reconstructs the interplay between the intensifying UNSC, US and EU sanctions and the targeted regime's strategies to advance the nuclear program and maintain intra-elite cohesion. Initially, the nuclear program was expanded due to high oil income in combination with explicit resistance to the presumed regime‐change ambitions of the Western sanction senders. At the end of Ahmadinejad's presidency, the decline of foreign exchange earnings from oil exports and the continued regime-change scenario contributed to the neglect of this regimelegitimizing strategy in favor of the maintenance of intra-elite cohesion. My main argument is that once the US and EU oil and financial sanctions curtailed the cost‐intensive further development of the nuclear program, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei used these sanctions as an external stimulus to contain burgeoning factional disputes.
Topic:
Regime Change
Political Geography:
Iran

39633. The Institutional Presidency from a Comparative Perspective: Argentina and Brazil since the 1980s

Author:
Mariana Llanos and Magna Inácio
Publication Date:
10-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
This paper focuses on the evolution of the institutional presidency – meaning the cluster of agencies that directly support the chief of the executive – in Argentina and Brazil since their redemocratization in the 1980s. It investigates what explains the changes that have come about regarding the size of the institutional presidency and the types of agency that form it. Following the specialized literature, we argue that the growth of the institutional presidency is connected to developments occurring in the larger political system – that is, to the political challenges that the various presidents of the two countries have faced. Presidents adjust the format and mandate of the different agencies under their authority so as to better manage their relations with the political environment. In particular, we argue that the type of government (coalition or single-party) has had consequences for the structure of the presidency or, in other words, that different cabinet structures pose different challenges to presidents. This factor has not played a significant role in presidency-related studies until now, which have hitherto mostly been based on the case of the United States. Our empirical references, the presidencies of Argentina and Brazil, and typical cases of coalitional as well as single-party presidentialism respectively all allow us to show the impact of the type of government on the number and type of presidential agencies.
Political Geography:
United States, Brazil, and Argentina

39634. A Ticking "Time Bomb"? ‒ Youth Employment Problems in China

Publication Date:
10-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
<p>Chinas leadership currently seems to be extremely worried about unemployment, and particularly youth unemployment, even though the countrys official unemployment rate is rather low. Possible reasons for this are that (1) the youth unemployment rate is actually higher than stated; (2) the inadequate employment situation faced by many young people is actually worse than the incomplete measurements of unemployment indicate; (3) particularly graduates of tertiary education institutions face a job reality below their expectations; (4) the Chinese population is highly concerned about the labor markets development; and, (5) the state fears that frustration and discontent might trigger protests, as was recently the case in the Arab world and other countries. This paper analyzes the different dimensions of the inadequate employment situation of Chinese youth and provides evidence to support all five of these assumptions, although indications of direct actions being undertaken by unemployed young people in China in response are rather scarce. But aside from that, there are other forms of youth resistance as well. Many young people in the country vent their frustration over the internet, and opting out and cynicism can also threaten social harmony. Tertiary‐sector graduates make up approximately half of all young people entering the Chinese labor market every year and are the ones most affected by the currently unsatisfying job prospects. Though the unemployment of graduates is only short term in nature, a lack of job opportunities combined with declining opportunities for upward mobility carry strong potential to generate further uneasiness and disorder in China./p

39635. Sealing a Colombian peace deal: challenges of citizen ratification

Author:
Silke Pfeiffer
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:
While a peace agreement between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Colombian government seems to be within reach, a number of substantial and procedural issues might still cause controversies. One such topic is the question of how a potential peace agreement should be ratified. Both parties have made clear that ratification should involve direct citizen participation. The FARC's proposal for a broadly mandated Constituent Assembly is effectively not politically viable. Other constitutional options have practical, political and legal implications. A final formula will need to deal with the armed group's concern for the legal security of its members while rapidly generating a political mandate to proceed with implementation. The inevitable time lag between signature and ratification will most certainly become a political liability because the FARC is likely to refuse to lay down its weapons in this period. With low levels of trust between the parties and a society deeply sceptical of the guerrilla's intentions to abandon the armed struggle, all sides will feel the need to be protected against risks of non-compliance. The greatest risk related to citizen ratification remains non-approval, because large parts of the population continue to be sensitive – if not opposed – to the idea of granting wide-ranging concessions to the FARC. Mobilising a strong political and social majority behind the peace process and a potential deal is a priority if a final agreement is to survive popular scrutiny and become a foundation for lasting peace.
Political Geography:
Colombia

39636. Beyond terror: addressing the Boko Haram challenge in Nigeria

Author:
Kate Meagher
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:
Addressing the Boko Haram insurgency in northern Nigeria requires policymakers to look beyond Western security templates of Islamic terrorism to grasp the underlying causes of what is primarily a Nigerian conflict. This policy brief examines the four explanatory factors behind the insurgency: economic marginalisation, governance failures, extremist operations and security failures. Economic causes are traced to poverty, unemployment and extreme inequality between northern and southern Nigeria, while governance failures relate to national religious polarisation, political brinksmanship among religious elites, and rampant corruption in the face of mass poverty. The focus on extremist operations considers the shifting objectives and recruitment strategies of Boko Haram, which tend to confound clear policy analysis, while an assessment of security failures notes their role in driving rather than reining in radicalisation. Recommendations for international policy interventions focus on four areas of constructive engagement. These include diplomatic pressure on the Nigerian government to demonstrate adequate political will to address the insurgency, supporting human rights training and providing appropriate equipment for the military, providing more socially differentiated support for the generation of dignified livelihoods appropriate to both the educated and uneducated unemployed, and more concerted support for the compensation of Boko Haram's victims.
Political Geography:
Nigeria

39637. Boko Haram: origins, challenges and responses

Author:
John Campbell
Publication Date:
10-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:
Boko Haram is a radical Islamist movement shaped by its Nigerian context and reflecting Nigeria's history of poor governance and extreme poverty in the north. The movement is unique in that it combines a sectarian, radical Islamic agenda with violence. Its stated goal is the establishment of a sharia state, but it shows little interest in actually governing or implementing economic development. It is based on the fundamentalist Wahhabi theological system and opposes the Islam of the traditional northern Nigerian establishment, which is broadly tolerant. Boko Haram and its more radical splinter, Ansaru, are steadily expanding their area of operations. Kidnapping has become a major source of revenue and is widespread, while attacks have occurred in Lagos and Kano. The government's response has been to treat Boko Haram as a part of the international al-Qaeda movement. Security service abuses are likely a driver of some popular support for or acquiescence to Boko Haram. The struggle between the government and Boko Haram has dire humanitarian consequences. Many people have been internally displaced in northern Nigeria and many refugees have fled to neighbouring countries. The international community may be asked to help provide humanitarian assistance in what is one of the poorest parts of the world.
Political Geography:
Nigeria

39638. Why Mpeketoni matters: al-Shabaab and violence in Kenya

Author:
David M. Anderson
Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:
The massacre at Mpeketoni in June 2014 signalled a new departure for al-Shabaab in its violent attacks on the Kenyan state. Justifying the attack as retaliation for the extrajudicial killings of Muslim leaders and the general oppression of Muslims, and as an act of war, al-Shabaab dem-onstrated a keen awareness of the sensitive political position of Kenya's Muslim population. Having been founded in a nationalist context in Somalia, al-Shabaab appears now to be rein-venting itself in the context of Kenya's troubled domestic politics. Claims that the Mpeketoni violence was based on local politics only underline the success of al-Shabaab's “reinvention”. The Kenyan state has done little to win support amongst its own Muslim population for its cur-rent invasion of southern Somalia. Its efforts to contain al-Hijra, an al-Shabaab franchise now operating in Kenya, has involved heavy-handed policing, most recently in Operation Usalama Watch, and has seen the killing and “disappearance” of more than 20 Muslim leaders. Kenya's government now needs to rebuild trust with Muslim communities in its north-eastern border areas, and elsewhere, and to seek a consensus against radicalisation. This should involve a reconsideration of policing methods, the creation of opportunities for political dialogue with Muslim leaders, and a more sensitive, culturally appropriate and equitable approach to Muslim communities in general.
Political Geography:
Kenya and Somalia

39639. Turkey's new focus on Africa: causes and challenges

Author:
Ali Bilgic and Daniela Nascimento
Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:
Although Turkey had no past colonial involvement with African countries, there has been an increasing revival of Turkey's relation with the continent since the end of the 1990s, which reached a peak after 2005. From then on, along with a focus on Central Asia, the Balkans and the Middle East, Turkish foreign policy started shifting its focus to Africa, and as a new donor country Turkey's political and economic relations with sub-Saharan African countries have intensified significantly. This policy brief analyses and discusses the main economic, political, and strategic motivations behind these shifts and priorities, as well as some of the perceptions and current challenges this change in policy faces.
Political Geography:
Africa, Central Asia, Turkey, Middle East, and Balkans

39640. Russia's development assistance, with a focus on Africa

Author:
Andrey Makarychev and Licínia Simão
Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:
It was not until 2007 that the concept of development assistance became part of the Russian foreign policy toolkit. This policy brief explains Russia's development assistance policy – mainly towards Africa – as an effect of the country's global commitments and socialisation dynamics, on the one hand, and Moscow's growing interest in exploring the potential of soft power as an indispensable element of its diplomacy, since both aspects are interrelated. The policy brief also looks at the mismatches between Russia's normative discourse in its assistance towards Africa, and the economic and geopolitical interests it pursues simultaneously. This provides room for reflection on the specificities of so-called South-South cooperation, with which the BRICS grouping in particular is often associated.
Political Geography:
Africa, Russia, and Moscow

39641. The Politics of Polarization: Governance and Party System Change in Latin America, 1990–2010

Author:
Sam Handlin
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
What are the causes and implications of polarization in new democracies? During Latin America’s “Left Turn” period, highly polarized party systems emerged in some countries–Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and El Salvador–but not the rest of the region. This paper proposes a theory to explain variation, centered on the presence of electorally relevant parties of the left in the pre-Left Turn period and, most critically, the quality of governance in that period. Poor governance created opportunities for partisan actors on the left to politicize a second dimension of political contestation, anti-systemic versus systemic positions on the design and operation of the state, and thus chart alternative paths to electoral viability that required little left-right programmatic moderation. This dynamic empowered radical party factions and drove polarizing dynamics in party systems. High quality governance, in contrast, gave left parties little choice but to moderate their programs in search of electoral viability. This dynamic empowered moderate party factions and drove centripetal dynamics in party systems. Empirically, the paper tests these arguments through a broad overview of the case universe and in-depth case studies of Venezuela and Brazil.
Topic:
Democratization, Development, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
Latin America

39642. Choreographies of Shared Sacred Sites: Religion, Politics, and Conflict Resolution

Author:
Elazar Barkan and Barkey Karen
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Columbia University Press
Abstract:
This anthology explores the dynamics of shared religious sites in Turkey, the Balkans, Palestine/Israel, Cyprus, and Algeria, indicating where local and national stakeholders maneuver between competition and cooperation, coexistence and conflict. Contributors probe the notion of coexistence and the logic that underlies centuries of "sharing," exploring when and why sharing gets interrupted--or not--by conflict, and the policy consequences. These essays map the choreographies of shared sacred spaces within the framework of state-society relations, juxtaposing a site's political and religious features and exploring whether sharing or contestation is primarily religious or politically motivated. Although religion and politics are intertwined phenomena, the contributors to this volume understand the category of "religion" and the "political" as devices meant to distinguish between the theological and confessional aspects of religion and the political goals of groups. Their comparative approach better represents the transition in some cases of sites into places of hatred and violence, while in other instances they remain noncontroversial. The essays clearly delineate the religious and political factors that contribute to the context and causality of conflict at these sites and draw on history and anthropology to shed light on the often rapid switch from relative tolerance to distress to peace and calm.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, Religion, International Affairs, and Culture
Political Geography:
Middle East, Eastern Europe, and North Africa
Publication Identifier:
9780231169943
Publication Identifier Type:
ISBN

39643. Schools for Conflict or for Peace in Afghanistan

Author:
Dana Burde
Publication Date:
10-2014
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Columbia University Press
Abstract:
Foreign-backed funding for education does not always stabilize a country and enhance its statebuilding efforts. Dana Burde shows how aid to education in Afghanistan bolstered conflict both deliberately in the 1980s through violence-infused, anti-Soviet curricula and inadvertently in the 2000s through misguided stabilization programs. She also reveals how dominant humanitarian models that determine what counts as appropriate aid have limited attention and resources toward education, in some cases fueling programs that undermine their goals. For education to promote peace in Afghanistan, Burde argues we must expand equal access to quality community-based education and support programs that increase girls' and boys' attendance at school. Referring to a recent U.S. effort that has produced strong results in these areas, Burde commends the program's efficient administration and good quality, and its neutral curriculum, which can reduce conflict and build peace in lasting ways. Drawing on up-to-date research on humanitarian education work amid conflict zones around the world and incorporating insights gleaned from extensive fieldwork in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Burde recalculates and improves a popular formula for peace.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, Education, Humanitarian Aid, and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and Central Asia
Publication Identifier:
9780231537513
Publication Identifier Type:
ISBN

39644. The Arab Uprisings Explained: New Contentious Politics in the Middle East

Author:
Marc Lynch
Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Columbia University Press
Abstract:
Why did Tunisian protests following the self-immolation of Mohammed Bouazizi lead to a massive wave of uprisings across the entire Arab world? Who participated in those protests, and what did they hope to achieve? Why did some leaders fall in the face of popular mobilization while others found ways to survive? And what have been the lasting results of the contentious politics of 2011 and 2012? The Arab uprisings pose stark challenges to the political science of the Middle East, which for decades had focused upon the resilience of entrenched authoritarianism, the relative weakness of civil society, and what seemed to be the largely contained diffusion of new norms and ideas through new information technologies. In this volume, leading scholars in the field take a sharp look at the causes, dynamics, and effects of the Arab uprisings. Compiled by one of the foremost experts on Middle East politics and society, The Arab Uprisings Explained offers a fresh rethinking of established theories and presents a new framework through which scholars and general readers can better grasp the fast-developing events remaking the region. These essays not only advance the study of political science in the Middle East but also integrate the subject seamlessly into the wider political science literature. Deeply committed to the study of this region and working out the kinks of the discipline, the contributors to this volume help scholars and policymakers across the world approach this unprecedented historical period smartly and effectively.
Topic:
Democratization, Political Economy, Insurgency, and Authoritarianism
Political Geography:
Middle East and North Africa
Publication Identifier:
9780231158848
Publication Identifier Type:
ISBN

39645. Shifting Sands: The United States in the Middle East

Author:
Joel S. Migdal
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Columbia University Press
Abstract:
Joel S. Migdal revisits the approach U.S. officials have adopted toward the Middle East since World War II, which paid scant attention to tectonic shifts in the region. After the war, the United States did not restrict its strategic model to the Middle East. Beginning with Harry S. Truman, American presidents applied a uniform strategy rooted in the country's Cold War experience in Europe to regions across the globe, designed to project America into nearly every corner of the world while limiting costs and overreach. The approach was simple: find a local power that could play Great Britain's role in Europe after the war, sharing the burden of exercising power, and establish a security alliance along the lines of NATO. Yet regional changes following the creation of Israel, the Free Officers Coup in Egypt, the rise of Arab nationalism from 1948 to 1952, and, later, the Iranian Revolution and the Egypt-Israel peace treaty in 1979 complicated this project. Migdal shows how insufficient attention to these key transformations led to a series of missteps and misconceptions in the twentieth century. With the Arab uprisings of 2009 through 2011 prompting another major shift, Migdal sees an opportunity for the United States to deploy a new, more workable strategy, and he concludes with a plan for gaining a stable foothold in the region.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, NATO, Cold War, and Islam
Political Geography:
Middle East
Publication Identifier:
9780231536349
Publication Identifier Type:
ISBN

39646. Under Siege: PLO Decisionmaking During the 1982 War

Author:
Rashid Khalidi
Publication Date:
01-2014
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Columbia University Press
Abstract:
Under Siege is Rashid Khalidi's firsthand account of the 1982 Lebanon War and the complex negotiations for the evacuation of the P.L.O. from Beirut. Utilizing unconventional sources and interviews with key officials and diplomats, Khalidi paints a detailed portrait of the siege and ensuing massacres, providing insight into the military pressure experienced by the P.L.O., the war's impact on Palestinian and Lebanese civilians, and diplomatic efforts by the United States. A new preface by Khalidi considers developments across the Middle East in the thirty years since the conflict. The preface also cites recently declassified Israeli documents to offer surprising new revelations about the roles and responsibilities of both Israeli leaders and American diplomats in the tragic coda to the war, the Sabra and Shatila massacres.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Human Rights, War, and Territorial Disputes
Political Geography:
Middle East and Lebanon
Publication Identifier:
9780231061865
Publication Identifier Type:
ISBN

39647. Boundaries of Toleration

Author:
Charles Taylor and Alfred Stepan
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Columbia University Press
Abstract:
How can people of diverse religious, ethnic, and linguistic allegiances and identities live together without committing violence, inflicting suffering, or oppressing each other? In this volume, contributors explore the limits of toleration and suggest we think beyond them to mutual respect. Salman Rushdie reflects on the once tolerant Sufi-Hindu culture of Kashmir. Ira Katznelson follows with an intellectual history of toleration as a layered institution in the West. Charles Taylor advances a new approach to secularism in our multicultural world, and Akeel Bilgrami responds by offering context and caution to that approach. Nadia Urbinati explores why Cicero's humanist ideal of Concord was not used in response to religious discord. The volume concludes with a refutation of the claim that toleration was invented in the West. Rajeev Bhargava writes on Asoka's India, and Karen Barkey explores toleration within the Ottoman and Habsburg Empires. Sudipta Kaviraj examines accommodations and conflicts in India, and Alfred Stepan highlights contributions to toleration and multiple democratic secularisms in such Muslim-majority countries as Indonesia and Senegal.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Political Violence, Ethnic Conflict, International Cooperation, and Sectarianism
Political Geography:
Africa and South Asia
Publication Identifier:
9780231165679
Publication Identifier Type:
ISBN

39648. Reforming Democracies: Six Facts About Politics That Demand a New Agenda

Author:
Douglas A. Chalmers
Publication Date:
01-2014
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Columbia University Press
Abstract:
Even well-established democracies need reform, and any successful effort to reform democracies must look beyond conventional institutions--elections, political parties, special interests, legislatures and their relations with chief executives--to do so. Expanding a traditional vision of the institutions of representative democracy, Douglas A. Chalmers examines six aspects of political practice relating to the people being represented, the structure of those who make law and policy, and the links between those structures and the people. Chalmers concludes with a discussion of where successful reform needs to take place: we must pay attention to a democratic ordering of the constant reconfiguration of decision making patterns; we must recognize the crucial role of information in deliberation; and we must incorporate noncitizens and foreigners into the political system, even when they are not the principal beneficiaries.
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, Politics, Political Theory, and Governance
Political Geography:
Global Focus
Publication Identifier:
9780231162951
Publication Identifier Type:
ISBN

39649. The Impossible State: Islam, Politics, and Modernity's Moral Predicament

Author:
Wael B. Hallaq
Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Columbia University Press
Abstract:
Wael B. Hallaq boldly argues that the "Islamic state," judged by any standard definition of what the modern state represents, is both impossible and inherently self-contradictory. Comparing the legal, political, moral, and constitutional histories of premodern Islam and Euro-America, he finds the adoption and practice of the modern state to be highly problematic for modern Muslims. He also critiques more expansively modernity's moral predicament, which renders impossible any project resting solely on ethical foundations. The modern state not only suffers from serious legal, political, and constitutional issues, Hallaq argues, but also, by its very nature, fashions a subject inconsistent with what it means to be, or to live as, a Muslim. By Islamic standards, the state's technologies of the self are severely lacking in moral substance, and today's Islamic state, as Hallaq shows, has done little to advance an acceptable form of genuine Shari'a governance. The Islamists' constitutional battles in Egypt and Pakistan, the Islamic legal and political failures of the Iranian Revolution, and similar disappointments underscore this fact. Nevertheless, the state remains the favored template of the Islamists and the ulama (Muslim clergymen). Providing Muslims with a path toward realizing the good life, Hallaq turns to the rich moral resources of Islamic history. Along the way, he proves political and other "crises of Islam" are not unique to the Islamic world nor to the Muslim religion. These crises are integral to the modern condition of both East and West, and by acknowledging these parallels, Muslims can engage more productively with their Western counterparts.
Topic:
Islam, Post Colonialism, Fragile/Failed State, and Governance
Political Geography:
Middle East and Arab Countries
Publication Identifier:
9780231162579
Publication Identifier Type:
ISBN

39650. The China Threat: Memories, Myths, and Realities in the 1950s

Author:
Nancy Bernkopf Tucker
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Columbia University Press
Abstract:
Nancy Bernkopf Tucker confronts the coldest period of the cold war--the moment in which personality, American political culture, public opinion, and high politics came together to define the Eisenhower Administration's policy toward China. A sophisticated, multidimensional account based on prodigious, cutting edge research, this volume convincingly portrays Eisenhower's private belief that close relations between the United States and the People's Republic of China were inevitable and that careful consideration of the PRC should constitute a critical part of American diplomacy. Tucker provocatively argues that the Eisenhower Administration's hostile rhetoric and tough actions toward China obscure the president's actual views. Behind the scenes, Eisenhower and his Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, pursued a more nuanced approach, one better suited to China's specific challenges and the stabilization of the global community. Tucker deftly explores the contradictions between Eisenhower and his advisors' public and private positions. Her most powerful chapter centers on Eisenhower's recognition that rigid trade prohibitions would undermine the global postwar economic recovery and push China into a closer relationship with the Soviet Union. Ultimately, Tucker finds Eisenhower's strategic thinking on Europe and his fear of toxic, anticommunist domestic politics constrained his leadership, making a fundamental shift in U.S. policy toward China difficult if not impossible. Consequently, the president was unable to engage congress and the public effectively on China, ultimately failing to realize his own high standards as a leader.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Political Economy, and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:
United States and China
Publication Identifier:
9780231159258
Publication Identifier Type:
ISBN