Topic: Government - CIAO Search Results

301. Ethiopia’s Challenging Path to the 2020 Ballots

Author:: Anwar A. Bashir
Publication Date:: 03-2020
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Al Jazeera Center for Studies
Abstract:: Since Abiy become the new prime minister of Ethiopia, Ethiopian politics has taken a new turn. He has released political prisoners, promoted media freedom and increased inclusion of women into the political arena. He has also invited the opposition to the discussion table, and reduced tension in the 18-year feud between Ethiopia and Eritrea. As a result, some politically-oriented Ethiopians believe Abiy has taken exquisite and peerless actions. There are also several reprehensible issues, which have started under his tenure. Communal violence has peaked whilst agreements with opposition groups was met with skepticism. Moreover, the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Ethiopia has reached a zenith due to the ethnic violence, for which human rights organizations have heavily criticized Ethiopia’s leadership. Several political analysts note that Abiy’s transformations are only a veneer, because his agreement with oppositions groups are yet to be implemented, especially with the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), the oldest opposition in the country. This skepticism from the opposition has resulted in a new coalition party aimed at undermining the incumbent government in the upcoming Ethiopian 2020 election. Ogaden Liberation Front (ONLF), the second oldest opposition has complained of mistreatment by the leadership of the Somali region. Outspoken opposition politician Lidetu Ayalew of the Ethiopian Democratic Party has asserted, “Ethiopia as a nation is not ready to hold general parliamentary elections.” On the other hand, Abiy disbanded the longest ruling party in the country, the EPRDF, an action that has resulted in a widening dichotomy within his inner-circle. Jawar, an Oromo media tycoon, has tremendous support from the youth, especially since the Oromo region has boycotted Abiy’s policies. With all these various issues and considerations, there is much anticipation as to how the upcoming elections will unfold.
Topic:: Government, Elections, Conflict, and Borders
Political Geography:: Africa, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Eritrea

302. Eight Heads of States versus Coronavirus: A Leadership Comparative Question – Part 2

Author:: Mohammed Cherkaoui
Publication Date:: 04-2020
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Al Jazeera Center for Studies
Abstract:: It seems to be a three-way failure of leadership, national public policies, as well as international institutions, and should not be overshadowed by mere crisis management. By April 12, the infection cases escalated to 1,781,383 with 108,864 deaths worldwide.
Topic:: Government, Crisis Management, Coronavirus, and Health Crisis
Political Geography:: Global Focus

303. Tunisia’s Fragile Democracy: Decentralization, Institution-Building and the Development of Marginalized Regions – Policy Briefs from the Region and Europe

Author:: Dina Fakoussa and Laura Lale Kabis-Kechrid
Publication Date:: 01-2020
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP)
Abstract:: Although Tunisia has made great strides over the past seven years, its democratization process remains fragile. Disillusionment with and distrust in the government, particularly high among the young, also manifest themselves in low voter turnout. Young voters were strikingly absent in the 2014 parliamentary elections, and in the first municipal elections in May 2018, only 33.7 percent of Tunisians cast their votes. To a great extent, this disillusionment stems from the various, persistent socio-economic problems which had led to the uprisings and the ouster of the former autocratic regime in 2011. Especially in Tunisia’s historically marginalized regions, these issues remain a key challenge.
Topic:: Government, Elections, Democracy, Fragile States, and Decentralization
Political Geography:: Africa, North Africa, and Tunisia

304. A New Risk to the EU from Coronavirus Viktor Orbán’s Hungary

Author:: András Rácz
Publication Date:: 03-2020
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP)
Abstract:: Political leaders could abuse the coronavirus crisis to undermine democracy. Europe’s biggest risk is Hungary. In late March, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán could use his two-thirds majority in parliament to push through a law that would empower him to rule by decrees with no specified time limit. If he succeeds, it will undermine the European Union’s core principles, making the EU even more fragmented and difficult to manage once the pandemic is over.
Topic:: Government, Authoritarianism, European Union, Democracy, Coronavirus, and Pandemic
Political Geography:: Europe and Hungary

305. An International Partnership for Sudan’s Transition: Mobilizing Support, Preventing Instability

Author:: Gerrit Kurtz
Publication Date:: 06-2020
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP)
Abstract:: Germany has helped lead efforts to mobilize international support for Sudan’s transition process since President al-Bashir was ousted last year. To be successful, Germany and its partners must deliver on their promises to support the transitional government’s economic reforms with substantial aid. They should keep Sudan’s diverse partners aligned while broadening their outreach. Sudan is thus a test case for how much political capital Germany will spend on its stated objective of conflict prevention.
Topic:: Conflict Prevention, Foreign Policy, Government, Partnerships, and Transition
Political Geography:: Africa, Europe, Sudan, and Germany

306. Has U.S. Government Angst over the China Danger Diminished?

Author:: Robert Sutter
Publication Date:: 01-2020
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: East-West Center
Abstract:: The so-called “truce” in the trade war with the signing of the phase one U.S.-China trade agreement on January 15 comes amid indicators that the intense U.S. government consensus pushback against a wide range of perceived challenges posed by China may be subsiding.
Topic:: Government, Bilateral Relations, Economy, and Trade Wars
Political Geography:: China, Asia, North America, and United States of America

307. Considering a Soil Initiative for Africa

Author:: David Nielson
Publication Date:: 01-2020
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Abstract:: Considering a Soil Initiative for Africa JANUARY 31, 2020 By: David Nielson In Sub-Saharan Africa, 65 percent of arable land suffers from soil degradation. The most extensive data on soils in Africa is grounded in soil mapping done in the 1950s and 1960s—60 to 70 years ago—which suggests that the problem could be even worse than currently known. This destruction is stifling agricultural productivity and income growth while prohibiting the soil from carrying out its climate control functions such as carbon sequestration and water filtration. This paper diagnoses the challenges faced by governments, international organizations and research institutions in mitigating and reversing the decline of soil quality in Africa. It highlights the dearth of human capital and resources that undermines these efforts and employs the lessons learned towards outlining a framework that is based on global partnership, stronger farmer engagement and robust investment. The paper argues for a new soil initiative that is organized around workstreams that prioritize establishing soil information systems, understanding the economic costs and consequences of soil degradation, and enhancing human and institutional capacity towards soil science. This multipronged approach will reinvigorate the fight against soil degradation and destruction both globally and on the African continent.
Topic:: Agriculture, Environment, Government, and Partnerships
Political Geography:: Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa

308. Bad company: How dark money threatens Sudan’s transition

Author:: Jean-Baptiste Gallopin
Publication Date:: 06-2020
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)
Abstract:: Sudan’s transition to constitutional rule is failing: the reform of political institutions has not begun, while the country faces an intensifying economic crisis, a dramatic decline in living conditions, and a flare-up in localised violence. The civilian wing of the Sudanese state is bankrupt but unwilling to confront powerful generals, who control a sprawling network of companies and keep the central bank and the Ministry of Finance on life support to gain political power. The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia appear to be positioning a paramilitary leader known as Hemedti as Sudan’s next ruler, but the military is fiercely hostile towards him. Western countries and international institutions have let the civilian wing of the government down: they failed to provide the financial and political support that would allow Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok to hold his own against the generals. The transition will only succeed if the government stabilises the economy and civilians work hard to tilt the balance of power away from the military and towards themselves. Europeans should use their relationships with Hamdok, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia to establish civilian control of the generals’ networks of companies.
Topic:: Corruption, Government, Reform, Finance, and Transition
Political Geography:: Sudan and North Africa

309. Brief on COVID-19: National governments, not the EU, sleepwalked into the corona crisis

Author:: Christian Kvorning Lassen
Publication Date:: 04-2020
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Europeum Institute for European Policy
Abstract:: In his brief, Christian Kvorning Lassen writes that on January 26, the EU’s Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) warned Member States that Covid-19 infection spread in Europe would be probable and considerable. The EU offered in January to support Member States with purchasing of medical equipment, test kits, protective gear, and general support. Member States refused the EU’s help in January, stating that their health care systems were adequately prepared for the Virus.
Topic:: Government, Crisis Management, COVID-19, and Health Crisis
Political Geography:: Europe

310. Devising an Indian policy on Sanctions for Pakistan

Author:: Ambika Khanna
Publication Date:: 04-2020
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations
Abstract:: India must consider new strategies that can be put in place to manage Pakistan's ongoing military aggression and security threat. One policy tool that has been used effectively by many countries but remains unexplored by India is the imposition of sanctions. This paper analyses the feasibility of imposing sanctions on Pakistan and the strategies India should consider to execute this effectively. It makes recommendations on how to establish a legal framework, amend existing laws, include Indian stakeholders with business interests in Pakistan, get government departments to collaborate on implementation, and considers diplomatic measures India can undertake.
Topic:: Security, Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Government, Bilateral Relations, and Sanctions
Political Geography:: Pakistan, South Asia, and India

311. Tangled Web: The Role of Oil, Gas and Mining in Funding Regional Governments in Indonesia

Author:: David Manley, Rani Febrianti, and Hari Subhash
Publication Date:: 03-2020
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Natural Resource Governance Institute
Abstract:: Indonesia’s system of funding provincial, district and city governments is one of the most complex in the world, and has undergone substantial expansion over the last two decades. While the system allows thousands of authorities to function, it is failing in three respects: inequality of funding between regions persists, funding for some governments is unpredictable and volatile and some oil- and gas-rich regions have not sufficiently prepared for a possible future with much lower revenues. Indonesia’s planning ministry, Bappenas, should investigate these issues further focusing particularly on clarifying policy objectives, ensuring more reliable funding, supporting oil- and gas-rich regions in becoming more resilient to a long-term decline in prices and clarifying the published rules around the funding system.
Topic:: Civil Society, Government, Oil, Gas, Media, Mining, and Political Parties
Political Geography:: Indonesia and Southeast Asia

312. Holding to Account: How Publishing Facts about Foreign Corruption Creates Accountability

Author:: Aaron Sayne and Melanie D. Reed
Publication Date:: 01-2020
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Natural Resource Governance Institute
Abstract:: The complex, secretive nature of foreign corruption calls for a collaborative, all-hands-on-deck approach. Corrupt actors go to great lengths to hide their wrongdoing, using layers of legal entities, transactions, secrecy jurisdictions and middlemen. No one response can detect and prevent every bad act, and different anticorruption actors have their own unique interests, mandates and abilities. In many cases, they may struggle even to learn the facts of what went wrong. Prosecuting a corruption crime generates reams of valuable information. This can include the names of bribe takers and payers; the industries, countries and public institutions involved; how the proceeds of crime changed hands; and who facilitated or turned a blind eye. Who should get to see this information? Thought leaders on anticorruption, from Transparency International (TI) to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Working Group on Bribery (OECD WGB), have long endorsed greater transparency in foreign corruption cases. They argue, for example, that access to information raises awareness, gives guidance to anticorruption practitioners, encourages cooperation with prosecutors and boosts confidence in law enforcement. Conversely, opacity in corruption cases can weaken the deterrent value of prosecutions, open doors for prosecutorial misconduct and thwart efforts to make victims whole. These concerns are particularly keen in cases that settle via tools like deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) or plea bargains. Many governments share evidence from corruption cases confidentially, through formal legal instruments and close working relationships. But how does public disclosure of facts from corruption cases, whether by courts or other law enforcement bodies, aid the broader fight against corruption? Put differently: At a time when enforcement of anticorruption laws remains low in many countries, could more transparency help anticorruption efforts by regulators, companies, the media, civil society and others? To answer this question, the authors of this briefing analyzed materials from foreign corruption cases that have arisen since the inception of laws banning foreign bribery. During the past four years, they also conducted over two dozen interviews with experts government, the private sector, civil society and the press. From this work, they found instances in which other anticorruption actors used published facts from court cases to do their jobs more effectively. Although they undertook this research as part of the Natural Resource Governance Institute’s (NRGI’s) programming aimed at reducing corruption risks in the oil, gas and mining sectors, they did not limit themselves to cases in the extractive industries. Accordingly, their findings and recommendations apply broadly to corruption in other sectors.
Topic:: Corruption, Government, Economy, and Accountability
Political Geography:: Global Focus

313. Building a Sustainable Electric Vehicle Battery Supply Chain: Frequently Asked Questions

Author:: Patrick Heller, Ethan Elkind, and Ted Lamm
Publication Date:: 04-2020
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Natural Resource Governance Institute
Abstract:: The global transition from fossil fuel-powered vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs) will require the production of hundreds of millions of batteries. The need for such a massive deployment raises questions from the general public and critics alike about the sustainability of the battery supply chain, from mining impacts to vehicle carbon emissions. Growing demand for the mineral inputs for battery production can provide an opportunity for mineral-rich countries to generate fiscal revenues and other economic opportunities. But where extraction takes place in countries with weak governance, the benefits expected by citizens and leaders may not materialize; in some cases extraction might even exacerbate corruption, human rights abuses and environmental risks. Many EV proponents and suppliers are aware that supply chain governance problems pose a challenge to the evolution of the EV industry, but outstanding questions remain about how these challenges materialize. This brief, jointly published by UC Berkeley School of Law’s Center for Law, Energy & the Environment (CLEE) and the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) provides basic information on the EV battery supply chain and key battery minerals, such as cobalt and lithium, and addresses the following questions: What does the supply chain for EV batteries comprise? How do carbon emissions from EVs compare to traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles? What are the most significant challenges in managing the mineral extraction necessary for the EV supply chain, and what sustainability and human rights initiatives apply?
Topic:: Civil Society, Corruption, Government, Human Rights, Natural Resources, Governance, Regulation, Legislation, and Supply Chains
Political Geography:: Global Focus

314. What North Korea’s Coronavirus Measures Say About Its System

Author:: Benjamin Katzeff Silberstein
Publication Date:: 02-2020
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Foreign Policy Research Institute
Abstract:: The North Korean government response to the coronavirus has been extreme, but prudent and reasonable in context. It has closed the border to China almost entirely to both goods and people though surely some transports are still getting through. No travel is allowed to or from China although there must be exceptions to this rule as well. The state (under the banner of the Red Cross, whose branch in North Korea operates as a government entity) has dispatched people around the country to inform people about the virus. No reports have been confirmed at this time of writing, but exile journalists based in South Korea have reported several deaths from the virus from North Korea. Its actions have been blunt and all-encompassing, mainly because the state lacks the necessary capacity to act differently. North Korea doesn’t have the sort of equipment required to monitor people coming from China or to test people at the pace required.
Topic:: Government, Health, Authoritarianism, Border Control, Coronavirus, and COVID-19
Political Geography:: Asia and North Korea

315. Turkey's Opposition vs. the AKP: Measuring Messaging

Author:: Soner Cagaptay and Reilly Barry
Publication Date:: 12-2020
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: Challengers to Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are proliferating, with two breakaway parties drawing particular notice. In December 2019, Ahmet Davutoglu, who served under Erdogan as foreign minister and then prime minister, formed Gelecek (Future) in an attempt to resurrect a gentler version of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). And this past March, former finance minister Ali Babacan, credited with masterminding the country’s “economic miracle” in the early Erdogan years, established the Democracy and Progress Party as another right-leaning alternative to the AKP. The remaining aspirants include the Peoples’ Democratic Party, whose capable leader remains imprisoned for allegedly supporting Kurdish militants. This Policy Note, by Soner Cagaptay and Reilly Barry, examines the political identities of Turkey’s opposition parties as compared to the AKP and allied Nationalist Action Party. It does so through an unconventional method: analyzing voter outreach through Twitter, a medium widely used by Turks. The results reveal striking trends in how these parties view Turkey’s republican (and imperial) past, and what these views suggest about the country’s political future.
Topic:: Government, Domestic Politics, and AKP
Political Geography:: Turkey and Middle East

316. Iran-South Korea Humanitarian Trade Requires U.S. Assurances

Author:: Katherine Bauer and Kevin Mathieson
Publication Date:: 07-2020
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: Tehran is pressing Seoul regarding the billions in Iranian oil revenues held by South Korean banks, creating an opportunity to expand the U.S. humanitarian trade mechanism. On July 21, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador to lodge a complaint over Tehran’s heightened rhetoric regarding access to funds frozen in South Korea. The week before, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson had accused Seoul of having a “master-servant relationship” with Washington, while the governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) had previously threatened legal action to access the funds, which Tehran says it plans to use for humanitarian purchases. Although the U.S. government authorized use of the funds for such purposes in February, South Korean banks appear hesitant to move forward without additional U.S. assurances—a reluctance compounded by the $86 million fine that U.S. regulators levied on the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) in April for failing to identify large-scale Iranian money laundering. With COVID-19 cases on the rise again in the Islamic Republic, Washington should work with Seoul to ensure that trade for medicine, equipment, and other humanitarian items moves forward—albeit with strict oversight.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Government, and Trade
Political Geography:: Iran, Middle East, Asia, South Korea, and United States of America

317. The Future of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces

Author:: Michael Knights, Hamdi Malik, and Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi
Publication Date:: 05-2020
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: Three experts examine one of the most sensitive problems facing Iraq's new prime minister: the future of militias that were mobilized to fight the Islamic State but have since balked at subsuming themselves to the government's authority. On May 20, The Washington Institute held a virtual Policy Forum with Michael Knights, Hamdi Malik, and Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, coauthors of the recent study Honored, Not Contained: The Future of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces. Knights is a senior fellow with the Institute’s Military and Security Studies Program. Malik is a London-based Middle East analyst at IITV. Tamimi is an independent analyst and a doctoral candidate at Swansea University. The following is a rapporteur’s summary of their remarks.
Topic:: Government, Non State Actors, Islamic State, Militias, and Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF)
Political Geography:: Iraq and Middle East

318. Challenges and Prospects for the CPTPP in a Changing Global Economy: Taiwanese Accession and Canada’s Role

Author:: Hugh Stephens
Publication Date:: 12-2020
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI)
Abstract:: In the past, Canada has had to deal with the matter of Taiwan very delicately. China considers Taiwan to be an integral part of the nation: a rogue province that must eventually be reunified with the mainland. Since Canada relies much more on trade with China than with Taiwan, the stakes have favoured policies that avoid engaging with Taiwan in ways that would unnecessarily irritate China. As a result, there has been little appetite here for negotiating a bilateral trade deal with Taiwan. That attitude is finally changing. One main reason is because China is already angry with Canada, and vice versa. Relations between the two countries are at an all-time low, and domestic support for accommodating China is minimal. As a result, Canada is freer than before to consider negotiating a trade agreement with Taiwan. At the same time, Taiwan is interested in joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), to which Canada is already a party. By supporting Taiwan’s accession to the CPTPP, Canada can achieve a free-trade agreement with Taiwan without having to negotiate one bilaterally. The ability to do so under the aegis of a multilateral agreement should serve to mitigate any remaining concerns that China might further retaliate against Canada directly. However, striking back at China is not a reason for Canada to support Taiwan’s accession to the CPTPP. We should do so because it is in the interest of Canada and the other members of the CPTPP to add to the strength of the organization by welcoming an economy that is an important global trader and a key player in global supply chains. In addition, Taiwan is a country that is clearly willing and able to accept CPTPP disciplines. Canada should move quickly and enthusiastically to support Taiwan’s accession. The benefits of having Taiwan join Canada in a free-trade agreement are obvious. The opportunity to make it a reality is finally here. The Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which entered into force on Dec.30, 2018 for six of the 11 signatories that had completed ratification at that time (Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand and Singapore),1 is a beacon of hope in a dark, protectionist landscape. Along with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, which was signed on Nov. 15, 2020, the CPTPP advances the trade and investment liberalization agenda at a time when protectionist measures by some major trading countries are threatening to undo decades of progress. The commitments and new disciplines of the CPTPP are particularly important because of malaise infecting the World Trade Organization, where the work of the Appellate Body has now ground to a halt because of actions by the United States, and to offset the negative impact of the U.S.-China trade war now underway.
Topic:: Government, International Trade and Finance, Partnerships, and Trade
Political Geography:: China, Canada, Taiwan, North America, and United States of America

319. Corona Politics: The cost of mismanaging pandemics

Author:: Helios Herrera, Maximilian Konradt, Guillermo Ordoñez, and Christoph Trebesch
Publication Date:: 09-2020
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW)
Abstract:: The Covid-19 pandemic is a major test for governments around the world. We study the political consequences of (mis-)managing the Covid crisis by constructing a highfrequency dataset of government approval for 35 countries. In the first weeks after the outbreak, approval rates for incumbents increase strongly, consistent with a global “rally around the flag” effect. Approval, however, drops again in countries where Covid cases continue to grow. This is especially true for governments that do not implement stringent policies to control the number of infections. Overall, the evidence suggests that loose pandemic policies are politically costly. Governments that placed more weight on health rather than short-term economic outcomes obtained higher approval.
Topic:: Government, Health, International Political Economy, Health Care Policy, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:: Global Focus

320. Institutional design and spatial (in)equality: the Janus face of economic integration

Author:: Ingrid Ott and Susanne Soretz
Publication Date:: 08-2020
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW)
Abstract:: This paper analyzes within a spatial endogenous growth setting the impact of public policy coordination on agglomeration. Governments in each of the two symmetric regions provide a local public input that becomes globally effective due to integration. Micro-foundation of governmental behavior is based on three different coordination schemes: autarky, full or partial coordination. Scale effects act as agglomeration force and in addition to private capital agglomeration increase the concentration of the public input. Integration promotes dispersion forces with respect to the distribution of physical capital which are based on decreasing private returns. However, within the governments’ decision on the concentration of the public input, increasing integration reinforces agglomeration because it promotes the interregional productive use of the public input. Taking feedback effects between the private and the public sector into account leads to mutual reinforcement, hence agglomeration forces almost always dominate and the spreading equilibrium becomes unstable. If convergence is a separate (additional) political objective, it needs sustained additional political effort.
Topic:: Government, International Political Economy, Economic Growth, Public Policy, Private Sector, and Capital
Political Geography:: Global Focus

321. Lebanon as a Test Case for the EU’s Logic of Governmentality in Refugee Challenges

Author:: Tamirace Fakhoury
Publication Date:: 12-2020
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:: Prior to 2011, Lebanon was no traditional gatekeeper in managing migrant and refugee flows to the EU. Following mass refugee influx from Syria, the small Middle Eastern state acquired key importance in the EU’s architecture of externalisation, alternatively framed as the set of norms and practices that the EU crafts to govern migration from a distance. Lebanon currently hosts more than 1.5 million Syrian refugees and since 2012 the EU has been the key funding power seeking to help the refugee-hosting state cope with the spillover effects that mass displacement brought about on the country. The EU’s recently published New Pact on Migration and Asylum reiterates support to refugees and refugee-hosting countries – including those in Syria’s neighbourhood – as one of the central elements of cooperation with third countries on migration and displacement. After nearly a decade of cooperation between the EU and Lebanon in this area, and ahead of the EU’s new budgetary and policy-planning cycle (2021–27), now is a key moment to critically assess EU-Lebanon cooperation on displacement from Syria.
Topic:: Government, Foreign Aid, European Union, Refugees, Economy, and Syrian War
Political Geography:: Europe, Middle East, Lebanon, and Syria

322. How Chinese Local Governments are Expanding Foreign Economic Cooperation

Author:: Sanghun Lee, Hongwon Kim, Joohye Kim, Jiwon Choi, and Jaehee Choi
Publication Date:: 10-2020
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)
Abstract:: As the Chinese economy becomes more advanced and the internal and external economic environment surrounding China changes, so too does China’s strategy for external openness and economic cooperation. Accordingly, specific policies are diversifying from the past focus on manufacturing and foreign direct investment to services, overseas investment, bilateral and multilateral FTAs, and bilateral investment treaties (BITs). As the central government’s policy stance changes, China’s local governments are also promoting external openness and cooperation based on regional development stages, industrial structure, and regional development policies, reflecting the central government’s strategy. In particular, after the 19th Party Congress, the central government showed a strategic stance expanding external openness. In response, local governments have moved away from the traditional method of cooperation in the manufacturing sector centered on industrial complexes, and in recent years various cooperative methods have been promoted, including regional economic integration, service and investment, the use of FTAs, and innovations in institutions to expand external openness. Along with the shift in China’s foreign economic strategy, the economic cooperation environment surrounding Korea and China is changing as well, including the strengthening of protectionism, structural changes in the Chinese economy, the Korea-China FTA coming into effect, and the launch of follow-up negotiations. Therefore Korea needs to find new strategies and measures for economic cooperation with China, making it time to find new ways to expand cooperation with China’s central and local governments. Against this backdrop, this study aims to analyze the strategies, detailed policies and major cases of China’s central and local governments’ external openness and economic cooperation, and to draw policy implications for strengthening economic cooperation between Korea and China in the future.
Topic:: Government, Foreign Direct Investment, Economy, and Economic Cooperation
Political Geography:: China and Asia

323. Special Commentary: “Hole” of Government: What COVID-19 Reveals about American Security Planning

Author:: Isaiah Wilson III
Publication Date:: 05-2020
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
Abstract:: Almost no more need be said. This is not the traditional “monster” America prepared to destroy. But, it is the monster we face. The coronavirus, COVID-19, typifies the “compound” nature of today’s security threats. This deadly adversary is inimical to accepted international laws and conventions regarding warfare and human security protections. It is a true omnivore, respecting no borders and consuming all classes, genders, races, and faiths. This adversary has driven mass societal disruption and managed in about four months’ time to infect over 1.2 million (confirmed cases) with nearly 72,000 deaths, in the United States alone. Worldwide economic recession, even depression, seems likely and national publics now question their governments’ capacity and will to contain the adversary. Should governments fail to do so (most experts agree that the opportunity to contain COVID-19 is lost), big-data computer projections predict as many as 173,000 could die in the United States by the end of May 2020. The yet untold damage from such a toll across all sectors—political, economic, and societal—is incalculable. The potential for a global paradigm shift in the way we should perceive these threats is real. Some may ask, why speak of combatting a global pandemic as though we are waging an epochal war? This moment takes the popular fashion of war rhetoric beyond the metaphorical: We are at war against this virus…or at least we should be. We should regard this threat and its compounded implications as the security issue it is. COVID-19 is indicative of the changed nature of many of today’s threats.
Topic:: Security, Government, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:: United States of America

324. The Challenges Facing the Philippines’ Bangsamoro Autonomous Region at One Year

Author:: Zachary Abuza and Luke Lischin
Publication Date:: 06-2020
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: Just over a year ago, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) was formally established as part of a peace agreement to end nearly five decades of conflict between the Philippine government and Moro secessionists. This report discusses the many notable achievements of the BARMM government during its first year while cautioning that these accomplishments are not irreversible, and that the BARMM will need international support—including from the United States—to confront future challenges.
Topic:: Government, Separatism, Peace, and Autonomy
Political Geography:: Philippines and United States of America

325. India’s Kashmir Conundrum: Before and After the Abrogation of Article 370

Author:: Sameer P. Lalwani and Gillian Gayner
Publication Date:: 08-2020
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: On August 5, 2019, the government of India revoked the constitutional autonomy of its Muslim-majority state of Jammu and Kashmir. This report—based on field interviews, new data collection, and extensive research— focuses on the revitalized insurgency and mass uprising between 2013 and 2019, explains how the Kashmir conflict evolved to a point that contributed to India’s extraordinary political gambit, and lays out both New Delhi’s strategy and the challenges the government faces going forward.
Topic:: Conflict Prevention, Government, Insurgency, Territorial Disputes, and Conflict
Political Geography:: South Asia, India, and Kashmir

326. Corruption and the British State

Publication Date:: 11-2020
Content Type:: Video
Institution:: Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:: Is the British state corrupt? The UK has traditionally scored well in global anti-corruption rankings, but concerns about corruption, cronyism, and the conduct of elections have become increasingly prominent in public debate.
Topic:: Corruption, Government, Governance, and Leadership
Political Geography:: United Kingdom and Europe

327. The Social Contract: An Analytical Tool for Countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Beyond

Author:: Markus Loewe, Bernhard Trautner, and Tina Zintl
Publication Date:: 01-2019
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:: The social contract is a key concept in social science literature focusing on state–society relations. It refers to the “entirety of explicit or implicit agreements between all relevant societal groups and the sovereign (i.e. the government or any other actor in power), defining their rights and obligations towards each other” (Loewe & Zintl, forthcoming). The analysis of social contracts helps the understanding of: (i) why some societal groups are socially, politically or economically better off than others, (ii) why some revolt and demand a new social contract and, thus, (iii) why a country descends into violent conflict. In addition, the concept shows how foreign interventions and international co-operation may affect state–society relations by strengthening the position of the state or of specific societal groups. It illustrates that state fragility, displacement and migration can arise from social contracts becoming less inclusive. Nevertheless, the term “social contract” has so far been neither well defined nor operationalised – to the detriment of both research and of bi- and multilateral co-operation. Such a structured analytical approach to state–society relations is badly needed both in research and in politics, in particular but not exclusively for the analysis of MENA countries. This briefing paper sets the frame, suggesting a close analysis of (i) the scope of social contracts, (ii) their substance and (iii) their temporal dimension. After independence, MENA governments established a specific kind of social contract with citizens, mainly based on the redistribution of rents from natural resources, development aid and other forms of transfers. They provided subsidised food and energy, free public education and government jobs to citizens in compensation for the tacit recognition of political regimes’ legitimacy despite a lack of political participation. But with growing populations and declining state revenues, some governments lost their ability to fulfil their duties and focused spending on strategically important social groups, increasingly tying resource provision to political acquiescence. The uprisings that took place in many Arab countries in 2011 can be seen as an expression of deep dissatisfaction with social contracts that no longer provided either political participation or substantial social benefits (at least for large parts of the population). After the uprisings, MENA countries developed in different directions. While Tunisia is a fair way towards more inclusive development and political participation, Morocco and Jordan are trying to restore some parts of the former social contract, providing for paternalistic distribution without substantial participation. In Egypt’s emerging social contract, the government promises little more than individual and collective security, and that only under the condition of full political acquiescence. Libya, Yemen and Syria have fallen into civil wars with no countrywide new contract in sight, and Iraq has been struggling for one since 2003. In addition, flight and migration also affect the social contracts of neighbouring countries such as Jordan, Turkey, and Lebanon. All MENA countries are designing, or will need to design, new social contracts in order to reduce the current instability and enable physical reconstruction. This briefing paper informs on the status of conceptual considerations of social contract renegotiation in MENA countries and its meaning for international co-operation with them.
Topic:: Government, Governance, Legitimacy, Institutions, Services, and Social Contract
Political Geography:: Middle East and North Africa

328. Who’s Counting? Understanding the Landscape of Graduate Learning Overseas

Author:: Jodi Sanger and Leah Mason
Publication Date:: 10-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Institute of International Education (IIE)
Abstract:: Both U.S. graduate school enrollments and the demand for global competency in the workforce are on the rise, but what do we know about graduate-level study abroad? The Graduate Learning Overseas (GLO) research study, implemented by IIE and launched in 2017 with support from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of International and Foreign Language Education, aims to identify the scale and scope of U.S. graduate students’ educational activities and to better understand the institutional practices around student mobility data collection. This report shares results of the first national survey to U.S. higher education institutions on this topic. The results from this survey paint a clearer picture of the graduate-level study abroad landscape and demonstrate the need for institutions to build capacity to collect graduate student mobility data to support graduate students’ needs. In addition, it aims to help researchers better serve the international education field by both improving data collection practices and developing resources for institutions.
Topic:: Education, Government, Higher Education, and Graduate School
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

329. TechWomen Evaluation Report Year 7

Author:: Institute of International Education
Publication Date:: 02-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Institute of International Education (IIE)
Abstract:: This report presents findings from a TechWomen program evaluation conducted in 2018 by IIE’s Research, Evaluation, and Learning team. The evaluation assessed change in participants’ professional skills and capacities. The evaluation team utilized Social Network Analysis methodology to measure development of the participants’ professional networks with each other and with STEM professionals in the U.S. The report also outlines how the program impacted participants’ and mentors’ cross-cultural understanding and exchange of professional best practices. Finally, the report highlights program’s impact on participants’ and mentors’ communities and specifically on women and girls. TechWomen is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs implemented by IIE. Launched in 2011, the program supports the United States’ global commitment toward advancing the rights and participation of women and girls around the world by enabling them to reach their full potential. TechWomen empowers, connects and supports the next generation of women leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) from Africa, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East by providing them the access and opportunity needed to advance their careers, pursue their dreams, and inspire women and girls in their communities.
Topic:: Education, Government, Science and Technology, Culture, Women, and Higher Education
Political Geography:: Africa, South Asia, Central Asia, Middle East, North America, and United States of America

330. Contested Issues Surrounding Populism in Public and Academic Debates

Author:: Bertjan Verbeek and Andrej Zaslove
Publication Date:: 06-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The International Spectator
Institution:: Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:: Populism seems to be a well-established notion in public and academic debate alike. Nevertheless, several issues surrounding populism are still contested and thus merit closer attention. These contested issues encompass the extent to which populism is novel and ubiquitous; the scope of the phenomenon; the merits of the various definitions of populism; its political colour(s); the potential danger it poses to democracy; its appropriateness to govern; as well as populism’s impact beyond national borders.
Topic:: Government, Democracy, Populism, Public Policy, Radical Right, and Leftist Politics
Political Geography:: Global Focus

331. The Future of the European Union: Scenarios for the Start of the New Legislature

Author:: Ferdinando Nelli Feroci
Publication Date:: 11-2019
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:: A few months after the European Parliament elections, and a few weeks before a new European Commission is fully operational, the European Union is facing old and new challenges, both domestic and international. Internally, the EU will soon be testing these new institutions. In the recently elected European Parliament, nationalist and Eurosceptic political forces are a minority, but pro-European mainstream parties, which have the numbers to control the proceedings of the Parliament, have not been able to consolidate a stable and comfortable majority. The new European Commission has encountered setbacks in the confirmation procedure of three of its members and will therefore fully assume its responsibilities with some delay on 1 December.
Topic:: Government, Nationalism, Politics, Elections, and Transatlantic Relations
Political Geography:: Europe, North America, United States of America, and European Union

332. Alternative Directions for Israeli Foreign Policy on the Eve of an Election Year

Author:: Nimrod Goren, Nitzan Horowitz, Ronen Hoffman, Yohanan Plesner, Zehava Galon, Nadav Tamir, Ofer Shelah, Maya Sion-Tzidkiyahu, Zouheir Bahloul, Elie Podeh, Einat Levi, and Merav Michaeli
Publication Date:: 01-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Mitvim: The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies
Abstract:: The Mitvim Institute’s second annual conference took place in Tel Aviv on December 30, 2018. The conference explored alternative directions for Israeli foreign policy towards the April 2019 general elections. In recent years, Mitvim has formulated a series of guiding principles for a new Israeli foreign policy paradigm – a pro-peace, multi-regional, internationalist, modern and inclusive foreign policy. The conference sought to translate these principles into concrete policy directions, which will enable Israel to improve its foreign policy, increase its regional belonging in the Middle East and Europe, and make progress towards peace with the Palestinians. The conference featured Members of Knesset (MKs) Ofer Shelah and Merav Michaeli, Dr. Nimrod Goren, Dr. Ronen Hoffman, Zehava Galon, Nadav Tamir, Yohanan Plesner, Dr. Maya Sion-Tzidkiyahu, Zouheir Bahloul, Prof. Elie Podeh, and Einat Levi. It was moderated by Nitzan Horowitz and Merav Kahana-Dagan of Mitvim. The conference was held in cooperation with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, and can be watched (in Hebrew) on Mitvim’s YouTube channel.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Government, National Security, Diaspora, Democracy, and Resilience
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and European Union

333. The Role of Former Diplomats in Israel’s Public Sphere

Author:: Mitvim
Publication Date:: 03-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Mitvim: The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies
Abstract:: In Israel, former diplomats do not tend to play a significant public role. However, they have the potential to make a real contribution to improving the public and political Israeli discourse on foreign policy. Israel’s former diplomats have dozens of years of experience, diplomatic skills, knowledge of various countries and organizations, intricate networks of social ties around the world, analytic capacity and deep understanding of the international arena and of Israel’s place among nations. This valuable experience often goes down the drain. A Mitvim Institute task-team recommended to increase their role in Israel’s public sphere, in order to empower Israel’s diplomacy and Foreign Service. On February 3, 2019, the Mitvim Institute hosted a policy workshop to discuss how this can be done. It was carried out in cooperation with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and with participation of senior former diplomats (including Foreign Ministry directors-general and deputy directors-general). Discussants presented examples from other countries, outlined the situation in Israel, described the challenges to optimizing the potential impact of Foreign Ministry retirees, and identified recommendations to promote change.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:: Middle East and Israel

334. Public Opinion Findings on Israel’s Foreign Policy towards the Elections

Author:: Mitvim
Publication Date:: 09-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Mitvim: The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies
Abstract:: Towards the Israeli general elections of September 2019, the Mitvim Institute conducted a public opinion poll that examined who Israelis would like to see as their foreign minister, how they perceive the status of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and how they assess the outgoing government’s performance on key foreign policy issues. The poll was carried out in August 2019 by the Rafi Smith Institute and in cooperation with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, among a representative sample of Israel’s adult population (700 men and women, Jews and Arabs) and with a margin of error of 3.5%.
Topic:: Government, International Affairs, Public Opinion, and Elections
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

335. Israel’s Foreign Policy towards the September 2019 Elections

Author:: Yuval Steinitz, Ofer Shelah, Merav Michaeli, Yisrael Beiteinu, Nitzan Horowitz, and Ofer Cassif
Publication Date:: 09-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Mitvim: The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies
Abstract:: On 9 September 2019, the Mitvim Institute convened a pre-elections event on Israel’s foreign policy. The event focused on paths to advance peace with the Palestinians; to deepen Israel’s regional belonging in the Middle East, Europe and the Mediterranean; and to empower Israel’s diplomacy Foreign Service. Senior politicians from six political parties spoke at the event: Minister Yuval Steinitz (Likud), Member of Knesset (MK) Ofer Shelah (Blue and White), MK Merav Michaeli (Labor-Gesher), MK Eli Avidar (Yisrael Beiteinu), Nitzan Horowitz (Chair of the Democratic Union) and MK Ofer Cassif (Joint List). Each of them was interviewed by Arad Nir, foreign news editor of Channel 12 News. Dr. Nimrod Goren and Merav Kahana-Dagan of Mitvim delivered opening remarks in which they presented recent trends in Israel’s foreign policy and findings of a special pre-elections Mitvim poll. This document sums up the key points made at the event.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Government, Politics, and Elections
Political Geography:: Iran, Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

336. A Whole-of-Government Approach to Gray Zone Warfare

Author:: Elizabeth G. Troeder
Publication Date:: 05-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
Abstract:: This monograph provides an assessment of gray zone tactics used by the most active U.S. adversaries and builds the case for requiring U.S. Federal agencies to request that the Deputy National Security Advisor convene a National Security Council/Deputies Committee (NSC/DC) meeting whenever any Federal agency deems a gray zone approach to an international issue is appropriate. It also recommends that the United States should pursue the development of a standing National Security Council/Policy Coordination Committee (NSC/PCC) for gray zone solutions, with sub-NSC/PCCs for each component of the 4+1 (Russia, China, Iraq, North Korea, and violent extremist organizations) so that experts can be quickly assembled in times of crisis.
Topic:: Government, War, Military Strategy, Military Affairs, and Gray Zone
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

337. The Army Role in Achieving Deterrence in Cyberspace

Author:: Jeffrey L. Caton
Publication Date:: 03-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
Abstract:: publication cover In 2015, the Department of Defense (DoD) released the DoD Cyber Strategy which explicitly calls for a comprehensive strategy to provide credible deterrence in cyberspace against threats from key state and nonstate actors. To be effective, such activities must be coordinated with ongoing deterrence efforts in the physical realm, especially those of near-peers impacting critical global regions such as China in the Asia-Pacific region and Russia in Europe. It is important for the U.S. Army to identify and plan for any unique roles that they may provide to these endeavors. This study explores the evolving concept of deterrence in cyberspace in three major areas: • First, the monograph addresses the question: What is the current U.S. deterrence posture for cyberspace? The discussion includes an assessment of relevant current national and DoD policies and concepts as well as an examination of key issues for cyber deterrence found in professional literature. • Second, it examines the question: What are the Army’s roles in cyberspace deterrence? This section provides background information on how Army cyber forces operate and examines the potential contributions of these forces to the deterrence efforts in cyberspace as well as in the broader context of strategic deterrence. The section also addresses how the priority of these contributions may change with escalating levels of conflict. • Third, the monograph provides recommendations for changing or adapting the DoD and Army responsibilities to better define and implement the evolving concepts and actions supporting deterrence in the dynamic domain of cyberspace.
Topic:: Defense Policy, Government, Non State Actors, Cybersecurity, and Army
Political Geography:: Russia, China, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and United States of America

338. The U.S. Army in the Iraq War — Volume 2: Surge and Withdrawal, 2007-2011

Author:: Joel D. Rayburn and Frank K. Sobchak
Publication Date:: 01-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
Abstract:: The Iraq War has been the costliest U.S. conflict since the Vietnam War. To date, few official studies have been conducted to review what happened, why it happened, and what lessons should be drawn. The U.S. Army in the Iraq War is the Army’s initial operational level analysis of this conflict, written in narrative format, with assessments and lessons embedded throughout the work. This study reviews the conflict from a Landpower perspective and includes the contributions of coalition allies, the U.S. Marine Corps, and special operations forces. Presented principally from the point of view of the commanders in Baghdad, the narrative examines the interaction of the operational and strategic levels, as well as the creation of theater level strategy and its implementation at the tactical level. Volume 1 begins in the truce tent at Safwan Airfield in southern Iraq at the end of Operation DESERT STORM and briefly examines actions by U.S. and Iraqi forces during the interwar years. The narrative continues by examining the road to war, the initially successful invasion, and the rise of Iraqi insurgent groups before exploring the country’s slide toward civil war. This volume concludes with a review of the decision by the George W. Bush administration to “surge” additional forces to Iraq, placing the conduct of the “surge” and its aftermath in the second volume. This study was constructed over a span of 4 years and relied on nearly 30,000 pages of hand-picked declassified documents, hundreds of hours of original interviews, and thousands of hours of previously unavailable interviews. Original interviews conducted by the team included President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Secretaries of Defense Leon Panetta and Robert Gates, Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and every theater commander for the war, among many others. With its release, this publication, The U.S. Army in the Iraq War, represents the U.S. Government’s longest and most detailed study of the Iraq conflict thus far.
Topic:: Government, War, History, Conflict, Army, and Iraq War
Political Geography:: Iraq, Middle East, North America, and United States of America

339. Exposure to Violence and Voting in Karachi, Pakistan

Author:: Mashail Malik and Niloufer Siddiqui
Publication Date:: 06-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: Pakistan’s 2018 elections marked just the second time in history that power transferred peacefully from one civilian government to another after a full term in office. Although the initial months of campaigning were relatively free of violence, the two weeks before polling were dangerous for campaigners and voters alike, and the elections provided a platform for some parties to incite violence, particularly against Pakistan’s minority sects. This report provides a deep examination of how exposure to political violence in Pakistan’s largest city affects political behavior, including willingness to vote and faith in the democratic process.
Topic:: Government, Politics, Minorities, Elections, Violence, Peace, and Voting
Political Geography:: Pakistan, South Asia, Asia, and Karachi

340. Traditional authority and state legitimacy: Evidence from Namibia

Author:: Vladimir Chlouba
Publication Date:: 07-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Afrobarometer
Abstract:: Do African traditional leaders weaken state legitimacy at the local level? Past scholarship raises the possibility that unelected chiefs might undermine trust in national-level institutions. Relying on an original map of areas governed by chiefs and survey data from Namibia, this study examines whether respondents governed by traditional leaders are less likely to trust state institutions. I find that compared to individuals not living under traditional authority, chiefdom residents are more likely to trust government institutions. To partially alleviate the concern that chiefdom residence is endogenous to trust in national-level institutions, I use a genetic matching strategy to compare relatively similar individuals. I further find that the association between chiefdom residence and trust in state institutions is considerably weaker and less statistically significant for individuals who do not share ethnicity with their chief. This evidence suggests that traditional leaders’ ability to complement state institutions at the local level is compromised by ethnic diversity.
Topic:: Government, Governance, Leadership, Fragile States, Emerging States, Legitimacy, and Institutions
Political Geography:: Africa and Namibia

341. Human Rights Law and the Investment Treaty Regime

Author:: Jesse Coleman, Kaitlin Y. Cordes, and Lise Johnson
Publication Date:: 06-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:: In its current form, the international investment treaty regime may stymie the business and human rights agenda in various ways. The regime may incentivize governments to favour the protection of investors over the protection of human rights. Investment treaty standards enforced through investor-state arbitration risk adversely affecting access to justice for project-affected rights holders. More broadly, the regime contributes to a system of global economic governance that elevates and rewards investors’ actions and expectations, irrespective of whether they have adhered to their responsibilities to respect human rights. Without comprehensive reform, investment treaties and investor-state arbitration will continue to interfere with realization of human rights and broader public interest objectives. This Chapter provides an overview of the interaction between human rights law and the investment treaty regime. It highlights the challenges that arise from tension between international human rights and investment norms, including the impact of the investment regime on the ability of host states to regulate and on access to justice for investment-affected rights holders. The chapter also explores whether and how human rights issues have been addressed by the investment regime to date, highlighting recent developments in treaty drafting practice and responses to human rights argumentation by investment tribunals. It notes the shortcomings of current approaches, and concludes by briefly setting out options for reform.
Topic:: Government, Human Rights, Treaties and Agreements, Reform, and Investment
Political Geography:: Global Focus

342. Turkish experience with refugees returns to Syria

Author:: Başak Yavçan
Publication Date:: 02-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:: Discussion paper for the workshop on: “The Politics and Modalities of Reconstruction in Syria”, Geneva, Switzerland, 7-8 February 2019. Turkey hosts the majority of the Syrian refugees, with 3, 636 617 registered Syrians. From 2015, Turkish authorities moved from a policy of temporary protection, to one of integration, while also promoting voluntary return. According to statistics from Directorate General of Migration Management of Turkey (DGMM), in 2018, 254, 000 Syrians voluntarily returned to Syria. This was thought to be the effect of new government policies promoting return, such as permits for holiday visits and family reunion. However, 194, 000 of these re-entered Turkey, casting doubt on the actual impact of these policies as well as the security and economic conditions inside Syria, which would accommodate return.
Topic:: Government, Migration, Refugees, and Syrian War
Political Geography:: Turkey, Middle East, and Syria

343. Waiting for no one: prospects and consequences of bottom-up reconstruction in Syria

Author:: Fabrice Balanche
Publication Date:: 02-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:: Discussion paper for the workshop on: “The Politics and Modalities of Reconstruction in Syria”, Geneva, Switzerland, 7-8 February 2019. The war in Syria has not ended, yet uncoordinated bottom-up reconstruction efforts have already taken place in many areas where the bombing and violence have stopped. The government is prioritising restoring electricity, as it is inexpensive, but water, education, and health are harder to restore cheaply and quickly. The resumption of public services, and investment in regime areas depends on loyalty, reminiscent of pre-war sectarian politics. The extent of politicisation of the reconstruction efforts led by the Syrian government is reduced because of limited funds, and government disconnection from local levels. Bottom-up efforts to reconstruction are limited to individuals rebuilding their houses using remittances, or low-level housing projects. Lack of large funding for infrastructure, industry and health will slow growth, reinforce fragmentation of industry and reproduce the root causes of the conflict.
Topic:: Government, Infrastructure, Reconstruction, Conflict, Syrian War, and Services
Political Geography:: Middle East and Syria

344. Assessing Europe’s Efforts to Oppose Islamist Extremism

Author:: Robin Simcox
Publication Date:: 03-2019
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Hudson Institute
Abstract:: Determining precisely what factors lead to radicalization is a pressing challenge. In fact, beyond the violent Islamist threat, the influence of political Islam and varying shades of Salafism are also growing across Muslim communities in Europe. This, too, has harmful social consequences. The scale of the problem facing Europe was exacerbated by the decision made by Germany in 2015 to open its borders to refugees fleeing conflicts in Muslim-majority countries. While security threats undoubtedly entered with the refugee flow (or individuals were radicalized and became threats once in Europe), the refugee issue has also introduced social and cultural questions relevant to overall cohesion and integration in Europe. This essay looks at these issues from the perspective of four European countries: the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden and France. Islamist terrorists have attacked each country in the last two years, and each has taken differing approaches to preventing extremism and facilitating integration. Dozens of conversations with government officials from across Europe have informed my conclusions.
Topic:: Defense Policy, Government, National Security, Violent Extremism, Counter-terrorism, Ideology, and Islamism
Political Geography:: United Kingdom, Europe, France, Germany, and Sweden

345. The Sales Tax Proposal: Are We Beating a Dead Horse? Preliminary results from a rapid assessment

Author:: Shebo Nalishebo and Florence Banda-Muleya
Publication Date:: 09-2019
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (ZIPAR)
Abstract:: The fiscal authorities have argued that the horse – in this case, (value-added tax) VAT – is dead. In contrast, this rapid assessment argues that the VAT may have been pronounced dead too quickly, perhaps for expediency’s sake. Examples from many countries abound and show that with the right fiscal discipline to ring-fence VAT refunds and improve compliance, VAT works just fine, offering value-added incentives and avoiding cascading effects. In finding a solution for this supposedly dead horse, important questions that we need to ask are “Is the horse really dead? If it is, what killed the horse?” Without this introspection, the other horse in form of Sales Tax, which in fact died and was buried 25 years ago, might be resurrected. Without learning from previous experiences and experiences elsewhere, we are bound to make the same mistakes in trying to resuscitate a truly dead horse.
Topic:: Government, Tax Systems, Economic Policy, and VAT
Political Geography:: Africa and Zambia

346. The Structure of Government Elites within the Regime of Alaksandar Lukashenka

Author:: Francisak Viacorka
Publication Date:: 01-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Warsaw East European Review (WEER)
Institution:: Centre for East European Studies, University of Warsaw
Abstract:: his paper reveals the structure and trends within Belarus government elites in the period between 1994 and 2017. Belarus remains one of the least free and under-reformed post-Soviet countries yet it seems to have a strong functional bureaucracy. Seventy-еight per- cent of ministers and state committee chairs are employed according to their professional ca- reer background. The share of appointees with specialized education rose from 71.9% to 86% during Lukashenka’s presidency. So the author assumes that in the case of unrest or political transition, a bureaucratic apparatus composed of specialized professionals could play a stabi- lizing role. This research also shows slight indigenization1 and westernization of Nomenklatura2. The number of officials born in Belarus increased from 71.9% to 81.4%, and those from the west- ern Horadnia region increased from 4% to 20%. At the same time, the research revealed, that the Government continues to have an inadequate representation of women (<5%), and other parties (<11%); meanwhile, it has an increasing presence of professional military (from 15% to 20%).
Topic:: Government, Minorities, Transition, and Elites
Political Geography:: Europe, Eastern Europe, and Belarus

347. The European Banking Union

Author:: Pery Bazoti
Publication Date:: 08-2019
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP)
Abstract:: The decade of the economic crisis has highlighted in the most apparent way the flaws and weaknesses in the original architecture of the Economic and Monetary Union as well as the need for decisive reforms. In this effort, the European Banking Union constitutes one of the most ambitious projects of the European Union with the intention of establishing a single system of banking supervision and resolution based on a common regulatory framework. The three pillars of the banking union, analysed in the present policy brief- the Single Supervisory Mechanism, the Single Resolution Mechanism and the European Deposit Insurance Scheme– not only safeguard the banks against future financial crises but also ensure that their potential resolution will not be at the expense of the European taxpayers. Yet, there are also significant challenges that come with the establishment of the banking union; the lack of agreement on a system of risk sharing among the member states has, so far, hindered the creation of the third pillar, the European Deposit Insurance Scheme. Moreover, the new dual role of the ECB, in monetary policy and in banking supervision, and the tendency of banks to buy domestic government debt, raise questions about the efficacy of the European Banking Union under its current design.
Topic:: Government, European Union, Banks, and Economic Policy
Political Geography:: Europe

348. A Short-Sighted Vision for Global Britain

Author:: Owen Barder, Hannah Timmis, and Arthur Baker
Publication Date:: 03-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Global Development
Abstract:: here has been a resurgence in calls to reconsider the cross-party consensus in the UK on foreign aid and development. The main political parties are all committed to spending 0.7 percent of gross national income on aid, to using the internationally agreed definition of aid, and to maintaining a separate government department to administer the majority of this aid, led by a Cabinet Minister. In their recent report, Global Britain: A Twenty-first Century Vision, Bob Seely MP and James Rogers lay challenge to these long-established pillars of UK development policy. In this note, we consider some of the questions they raise and suggest alternative answers.
Topic:: Development, Government, Foreign Aid, and Bureaucracy
Political Geography:: Britain and Europe

349. The Principles on Commercial Transparency in Public Contracts

Author:: The Working Group on Commercial Transparency in Public Contracts
Publication Date:: 03-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Global Development
Abstract:: Transparency by design: Transparency should be the norm for all government contracts, particularly regarding information on what is being exchanged and for what price. Contracting systems should be designed to support proactive publication of contracts as open data. Public contracting should be designed for transparency and efficiency. Full contract publication should be the norm. Information needed to judge value for money should be disclosed. Exceptions in the public interest: Redactions on the basis of commercial sensitivity should only be justified where the public interest in withholding information is greater than the public interest in having that information published. The assessment should take into account both any commercial harm to the contractor and the broader benefits of transparency to markets and public trust. Where exceptions to publication are considered: Information should only be redacted for reasons of commercial sensitivity when the public interest in withholding information is greater than the public interest in disclosure. The public interest test should take into account the wider economic benefits of the sharing of commercial information, as well as the case for accountability and the public’s right to know. All redactions should be clearly marked with the reason for redaction. A clear and robust process: Governments should issue detailed guidance on commercial sensitivity principles and exemptions, put in place systems to support publication, ensure that redaction is time-limited, and use other oversight mechanisms to compensate for information withheld from publication. Governments should issue clear guidance to public entities, agencies, and firms on contract publication and when information may be exempted from publication for commercial sensitivity reasons. Where redaction is potentially allowed, there should be a clear process for determining what is redacted, why, for how long, and with what appeals process. There should be a system for ensuring that contracts and contract information are in fact disclosed in practice. Where exemption to disclosure of information is granted for commercial sensitivity reasons, this should be grounds for increased scrutiny through other oversight mechanisms.
Topic:: Government, Transparency, Public Service, and Contracts
Political Geography:: Global Focus

350. Indian Stand on Belt and Road Initiative and Policy Proposals

Author:: Youfa Liu
Publication Date:: 04-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Pangoal Institution
Abstract:: It has been more than three years since President Xi Jinping put forward the Belt and Road Initiative, which has been actively promoted by the Chinese government. China and India are both emerging countries and are the inseparable neighbors to each other, which constitutes one of the preconditions for the smooth promotion of the BRI. As the scheduled Summit is around the corner, it has become a paramount subject to test the strategic wisdom of the leaders of the two countries and governments on how to create conditions for India to fully engage in the joint construction, how to effectively resolve the issue of “misalignment of strategic thinking”, how to promote common development via bilateral and regional cooperation, how to manage mutual strategic suspicion via win-win cooperation, how to construct the real strategic partner relations as well as on how to jointly explore the new modality of joint development between major developing countries.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Government, Regional Cooperation, Bilateral Relations, and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
Political Geography:: China, India, and Asia

351. Enhancing Congressional Intelligence Committee Effectiveness

Author:: Carrie Cordero
Publication Date:: 08-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Center for a New American Security (CNAS)
Abstract:: In fall 2018, the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) initiated a foundation-funded project focused on bolstering bipartisan national security decision-making in Congress. As part of that effort, CNAS is focusing on challenges in conducting intelligence oversight. The project includes written reports, roundtables, engagement with congressional members and staff, and additional outreach bringing attention to the importance of bolstering meaningful and effective congressional intelligence oversight. The first paper in this series, Intelligence Oversight Priorities for the 116th Congress, was published in April 2019. This is the second paper in the series and intends to reboot the policy dialogue regarding steps the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) can take to enhance their effectiveness at overseeing the intelligence community’s activities and bolster public confidence in both their own activities and those of the intelligence community.1 The goal of this working paper is to provide a fresh assessment regarding whether the committees need significant structural reforms, assess which proposals previously generated are politically feasible, and identify areas for future research.
Topic:: Government, Intelligence, and Reform
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

352. Development of Parliamentarism. Russian View

Author:: Rethinking Russia
Publication Date:: 07-2019
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Rethinking Russia
Abstract:: Rethinking Russia issues its new report on development of parliamentarism in world politics. The modern democratic model derives from parliamentary representation, which has been developing for a number of centuries in search for better coherence between people and political decision-making. The evolution of parliamentarism has been differing from country to country, which however brought nations to similar functions for their representative bodies. What is a parliament of the XXI century? Is it a national or universal phenomenon? How does it relate to global governance? Who represents people (not peoples) outside their sovereign entity? Speaker of the Russian State Duma Viacheslav Volodin raises corresponding questions in order to articulate what Russian view on the development of parliamentarism might be. We consider such a discourse to be quite worth rethinking and propose our ideas on that. Who knows – maybe such a discussion would contribute to better understanding for challenges we are facing.
Topic:: Government, Politics, Democracy, and Parliamentarism
Political Geography:: Russia

353. South Africa: A New Dawn?

Author:: Vladimir Shubin
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Institution:: Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Abstract:: In early July, 1991, the first National conference of the ANC2 after its political admission took place in Durban. There, the party’s new leadership was formed, Nelson Mandela was elected ANC President and Walter Sisulu its Deputy President, both unopposed. However, the race for the next top position, that of Secretary-General, did take place and Cyril Ramaphosa, a long-standing leader of the National Union of Miners (NUM), won by good majority over Alfred Nzo who had occupied this post for 22 years. I had the honor of addressing the conference and, on the way back home, a very fruitful discussion in the ANC Headquarters in Johannesburg with Joe Slovo, then Secretary-General of the South African Communist Party and member of the ANC National Executive Committee. Slovo was quite happy with the results of the conference and in particular with the composition of the NEC3 : “We haven’t made any canvassing, but it’s the best Executive we could have”. Comrade Joe, as we usually called him, was of high opinion of the ANC’s new Secretary-General: “He is not a member of the SACP4 , but we always cooperated well with him”. However, Slovo then stopped for a moment and said: “But we remember that before the NUM he worked for Anglo-American Corporation”. These words of
Topic:: Corruption, Government, and Domestic Politics
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

354. Financial Central and Regional Relations Within the Government Enforcement in Indonesia

Author:: Muhammad Suhardi, L. Husni, and RR Cahyowati
Publication Date:: 09-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:: Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:: Indonesia is a unitary state as asserted in Article 1 paragraph (1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia 1945. As a consequence of this, Indonesia dividing its territory into several regions. This study aims to analyze the form of regulation on financial relations among the central and regional governments, especially those that regulate balance funds to accelerate the equitable distribution of development. Types of normative research with legislative, conceptual, and philosophical approaches were used as the research method. In conclusion, the formulation of balancing funds between the central and regional governments prevailed so far has not yet reflected a sense of justice so that it can obstruct the occurrence of even distribution among regions.
Topic:: Government, Regulation, and Finance
Political Geography:: Indonesia and Southeast Asia

355. Leaders, Managers or Administrators – Mayors in Central and Eastern European Countries

Author:: Karolina Tybuchowska-Hartlinska
Publication Date:: 01-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: This paper is the first step to fill a gap in the studies on the position of mayors in European local government systems. The first part of the paper will be devoted to critical analysis of theoretical and methodological studies on the position and selection of mayors. The second part will focus on verifying the proposed hypotheses. In the conclusions, an at- tempt will be made to present a profile of local democracy in CEE countries.
Topic:: Government, Governance, and Local
Political Geography:: Europe, Eastern Europe, and Central Europe

356. The Results of 2019 Parliamentary Elections in the Perspective of 2018 Local Government Elections

Author:: Szymon Gajewski
Publication Date:: 01-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: The analysis of the results of the elections to regional parliaments of 2018 allows to take a closer look at the current political preferences of the electorate one year before the parliamentary elections. The distribution of support for political parties in individual provinces shows that Law and Justice (PiS) enjoys constant, high and stable support, which will most likely allow this party to extend mandate to rule the country for the next 4 years. The largest opposition party, the Civic Platform (PO), sees the chances of victory in uniting further opposition groups around itself. The common start with Nowoczesna under the name of the Citizens’ Coalition (KO) did not meet the expectations. However, the distribution of support in the local government elections showed that the actions consolidating the opposition are currently the only chance to fight a leveled electoral fight with Law and Justice (PiS).
Topic:: Government, Elections, Local, Decentralization, and Parliamentarism
Political Geography:: Europe and Poland

357. Community Perspectives on Violent Extremism: Strengthening local factors of social resilience

Author:: Engjellushe Morina, Beatrix Austin, and Veronique Dudouet
Publication Date:: 09-2019
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Berghof Foundation
Abstract:: Dealing with violent extremism (VE) has emerged as a central framework of analysis and policy-making in most Western and non-Western government agencies. It is also heavily shaping the programming of non-governmental agencies and research institutions. While there is an undeniable need to address the phenomenon, more often than not analysis and programming fall short in understanding and tackling its root causes, factors, actors and systemic dynamics.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, Government, Non-Governmental Organization, Violent Extremism, and Political Extremism
Political Geography:: Balkans

358. Citizen Experiences and Challenges in Bringing Transparency and Accountability to Local Governments in Southern Mexico

Author:: Carlos García Jiménez
Publication Date:: 02-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Accountability Research Center (ARC), American University
Abstract:: Despite Mexico’s constitutional provisions for transparency, accountability, and citizen oversight of government practice, in Guerrero—a southern state of Mexico which has historically fluctuated between periods of peace and violence—the entrenched elite continues to dominate. Nonetheless, grassroots citizens’ groups have been working against the current. With the accompaniment of the Universidad Campesina del Sur (The Peasants’ University of the South, or Unicam-Sur), a local organization that promotes alternative rural education and participatory research), they have been promoting and positioning these new concepts and practices of government. Citizen action for accountability continues, in spite of persistent practices of bad governance that include indifference towards citizen proposals and the use of the “fear factor” as a means of social intimidation. Modest citizen accomplishments—on issues of transparency in public works and the opening up of local municipal council meetings to citizen participation, for example—have opened cracks in the centralized and opaque structure of the entrenched elite. Over the last 15 years, these experiences of persistent voluntarism and self-taught citizen literacy, have led to the emergence of a pathway for citizen intervention in public affairs. We can describe the steps of this approach to citizen involvement as follows: 1. Recognizing a problem and building empowerment to tackle it. Citizen groups become involved in problems that affect them and that are related to government action, and commit to changing their situations. The exchange of views about what is and what should be—drives citizens to investigate the causes and consider possible solutions. 2. Exercising the right to know. Drawing on the public transparency laws and following the operating rules of government programs, citizens request and analyze official information, and then compare it to reality. In the process, they learn about the causes of the problems—and possible solutions. 3. Monitoring and social oversight over public affairs. In light of the information obtained, the group then organizes to monitor the government action. With their evidence and arguments in hand, citizens approach government officials to correct their actions and address the problem. This type of citizen action sometimes leads to clear information about the project, course corrections, or project completion. 4. Public policy advocacy. After evaluating the progress made, citizens conclude that to prevent the problem from recurring, flawed public policies or programs need to be changed, along with their decision-making and implementation processes. In order to engage the authorities in a dialogue among equals, communities must advance to a higher level of organization, knowledge, citizen education and training. These citizen intervention processes have resulted in modest outcomes and the construction of a basic level of citizenship. Nonetheless, they have not carried over into permanent forms of citizen involvement because of the prevalence of adverse governmental conditions and the lack of essential resources for keeping these initiatives alive. These experiences are highly localized and focused on specific situations. However, they can inform similar citizen-led processes elsewhere and inspire citizens to build sustainable initiatives that promote transparency and accountability in local governments. The historic victory of the anti-establishment coalition (led by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador) in Mexico’s 2018 election, signals the start of a more favorable context for these citizen initiatives.
Topic:: Government, Citizenship, Accountability, Transparency, Oversight, and Empowerment
Political Geography:: North America and Mexico

359. The Women of Caltongo Who Opened the Government’s Doors: Social Accountability at the Edge of Mexico City

Author:: Daniela Rea
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Accountability Research Center (ARC), American University
Abstract:: The government’s plans to repair a central avenue in the Mexico City neighborhood of Caltongo brought together a group of women of diverse ages and backgrounds who were concerned about the government’s corruption and its lack of public consultation and transparency. They began to organize themselves, forming the group Caltongo Organized, and with the help of the civil society organization ControlaTuGobierno, they accessed government budget and contract information and learned about laws and regulations. They educated their fellow community members, advocated for the community’s concerns to be taken into account, and monitored the execution of the road project, which allowed them to successfully engage with government authorities to carry out its responsibilities. In this struggle, they learned that the authorities exist to serve the community; they also learned that information is power. With their struggle, the women of Caltongo sowed the seed of a community organization that seeks to make decisions about their territory and their own lives. This Accountability Note is based on a three-part journalistic series published by Pie de Página on August 19 – 21, 2019. For all the original articles, photos and videos, see Mujeres de Caltongo.
Topic:: Government, Women, Accountability, Transparency, and Community Engagement
Political Geography:: North America, Mexico, and Mexico City

360. The Primary Cause of European Inflation in 1500-1700: Precious Metals or Population? The English Evidence

Author:: Anthony Edo and Jacques Melitz
Publication Date:: 10-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre d'Etudes Prospectives et d'Informations Internationales (CEPII)
Abstract:: We perform the first econometric test to date of the influences of inflows of precious metals and population growth on the “Great Inflation” in Europe following the discovery of the New World. The English evidence strongly supports the near-equivalent importance of both influences. For 1500-1700, silver is the only relevant precious metal in the estimates. The study controls for urbanization, government spending, mortality crises and climatic changes. The series for inflows of the precious metals into Europe from America and European mining are newly constructed based on the secondary sources.
Topic:: Economics, Government, International Political Economy, Urbanization, and Inflation
Political Geography:: Europe and England

361. Challenges of States' Re-organisation: Case of Bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh Any Lessons to be Learnt?

Author:: Sheela Bhide
Publication Date:: 06-2019
Content Type:: Research Paper
Institution:: India International Centre (IIC)
Abstract:: Many political analysts are of the view that the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh is one of the most controversial bifurcations of a State in recent history. After all, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh were bifurcated in the year 2000. There were problems in those States also, but none of the acrimony and bitterness that was seen in Andhra Pradesh. What really went wrong in Andhra Pradesh? Could it have been done differently? Are there any lessons that can be learnt? This paper has been prepared by a civil servant who was directly involved in the process of bifurcation as the Chairperson of the Expert Committee for recommending the bifurcation of the State Public Sector Units. In the process, the Expert Committee members were exposed to aspects of the bifurcation of State Government assets and liabilities as well. The issues have been divided into three categories: political, legislative and administrative.
Topic:: Government, Politics, Legislation, and Nation-State
Political Geography:: India

362. Challenges of Health Care in the Middle East and North Africa

Author:: Kathrin Thomas
Publication Date:: 08-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Arab Barometer
Abstract:: MENA publics are dissatisfied with overall government performance in their countries. In 2018-19, a quarter (21 percent) say they are completely satisfied or satisfied with their governments’ general performance. In fact, there is not a one single country where satisfaction with government performance exceeds 50 percent since Arab Barometer started surveying in 2006-07. Moreover, ratings have deteriorated over the last decade in a number of countries. For example, a steady downward trend can be observed in Jordan (-18 points) as well as Sudan (-17 points) and Tunisia (-24 points) since 2010-11.
Topic:: Government, Health, Health Care Policy, Mental Health, and Public Health
Political Geography:: Middle East and North Africa

363. From Manifesto Promise to Policy Implementation: Analysis of Government’s Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Program

Author:: Gilfred Asiamah, Awal Swallah, Kojo Asante, and Samuel Baaye
Publication Date:: 07-2019
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Ghana Center for Democratic Development
Abstract:: The Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) with funding support from the Department for International Development (DFID) under its Strengthening Action Against Corruption (STAAC) program has initiated a project to track the implementation of the government's flagship Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Program (IPEP).
Topic:: Corruption, Government, Poverty, Infrastructure, and Economic Development
Political Geography:: Africa and Ghana

364. South Korean Defense Budgets 2017-2019: Paying More Despite a Reduced Threat?

Author:: Todd B. Boese
Publication Date:: 10-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: International Journal of Korean Studies
Institution:: International Council on Korean Studies
Abstract:: This article analyzes the defense budgets of the Republic of Korea for 2018, 2019, and 2020 in order to determine if the requirements and objectives articulated in government policy rhetoric are receiving increased fiscal resources. Funding for programs associated with policy objectives indicates the political importance of those objectives. Determination of funding levels for budget programs is based on analysis of documents published by the ROK National Assembly, while identification of defense requirements and objectives is based on a review of statements made by the South Korean government. This research concludes that increases to the defense budget are not driven by changes in the security environment or security policy, but rather are a function of government expansionary fiscal policy. However, increased funding for aircraft programs in conjunction with decreased funding for maneuver and firepower programs does reflect the government’s objective to build a more balanced military force.
Topic:: Defense Policy, Government, Budget, and Defense Industry
Political Geography:: Asia and South Korea

365. ICT and E-government as the Sources of Economic Growth in Information Age: Empirical Evidence from South Asian Economies

Author:: Farzana Naheed Khan and M. Tariq Majeed
Publication Date:: 01-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: South Asian Studies
Institution:: Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:: The growing importance of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and egovernment has attracted the attention of policy makers who are committed to increase the GDP per capita of a country. Therefore, this study investigates the growth effects of ICT and egovernment for a sample of eight South Asian economies over the period 1980-2016. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first empirical study, which examines the relationship between economic growth and ICT with a special emphasis on the role of ICT implementation in public sector. In particular, we use diverse indicators of ICT to assess the robustness of empirical findings. Moreover, the study employs instrumental estimation techniques 2SLS and GMM to deal with the possible problem of endogeneity. The empirical findings of our study indicate that growth effects of ICT as well as e-government are positive and significant in all models. Finally, our study concludes that the South Asia region can greatly benefit from the implementation of ICT infrastructure in general and in public sector in particular.
Topic:: Government, Science and Technology, Internet, and Political Science
Political Geography:: South Asia, Asia, and Punjab

366. A Roadmap for Investment Promotion and Export Diversification: The Case for Jordan

Author:: Ricardo Hausmann, Patricio Goldstein, Ana Grisanti, Tim O'Brien, Jorge Tapia, and Miguel Ajgel Santos
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:: Jordan faces a number of pressing economic challenges: low growth, high unemployment, rising debt levels, and continued vulnerability to regional shocks. After a decade of fast economic growth, the economy decelerated with the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-09. From then onwards, various external shocks have thrown its economy out of balance and prolonged the slowdown for over a decade now. Conflicts in neighboring countries have led to reduced demand from key export markets and cut off important trade routes. Foreign direct investment, which averaged 12.7% of gross domestic product (GDP) between 2003-2009, fell to 5.1% of GDP over the 2010-2017. Regional conflicts have interrupted the supply of gas from Egypt – forcing Jordan to import oil at a time of record prices, had a negative impact on tourism, and also provoked a massive influx of migrants and refugees. Failure to cope with 50.4% population growth between led to nine consecutive years (2008-2017) of negative growth rates in GDP per capita, resulting in a cumulative loss of 14.0% over the past decade (2009-2018). Debt to GDP ratios, which were at 55% by the end of 2009, have skyrocketed to 94%. Over the previous five years Jordan has undertaken a significant process of fiscal consolidation. The resulting reduction in fiscal impulse is among the largest registered in the aftermath of the Financial Crises, third only to Greece and Jamaica, and above Portugal and Spain. Higher taxes, lower subsidies, and sharp reductions in public investment have in turn furthered the recession. Within a context of lower aggregate demand, more consolidation is needed to bring debt-to-GDP ratios back to normal. The only way to break that vicious cycle and restart inclusive growth is by leveraging on foreign markets, developing new exports and attracting investments aimed at increasing competitiveness and strengthening the external sector. The theory of economic complexity provides a solid base to identify opportunities with high potential for export diversification. It allows to identify the existing set of knowhow, skills and capacities as signaled by the products and services that Jordan is able to make, and to define existing and latent areas of comparative advantage that can be developed by redeploying them. Service sectors have been growing in importance within the Jordanian economy and will surely play an important role in export diversification. In order to account for that, we have developed an adjusted framework that allows to identify the most attractive export sectors including services. Based on that adjusted framework, this report identifies export themes with a high potential to drive growth in Jordan while supporting increasing wage levels and delivering positive spillovers to the non-tradable economy. The general goal is to provide a roadmap with key elements of a strategy for Jordan to return to a high economic growth path that is consistent with its emerging comparative advantages.
Topic:: Government, International Trade and Finance, Finance, and Economy
Political Geography:: Middle East and Jordan

367. The Challenges of Universal Health Insurance in Developing Countries: Evidence from a Large-scale Randomized Experiment in Indonesia

Author:: Abhijit Banerjee, Amy Finkelstein, Rema Hanna, Benjamin A. Olken, Arianna Ornaghi, and Sudarno Sumarto
Publication Date:: 10-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:: To assess ways to achieve widespread health insurance coverage with financial solvency in developing countries, we designed a randomized experiment involving almost 6,000 households in Indonesia who are subject to a nationally mandated government health insurance program. We assessed several interventions that simple theory and prior evidence suggest could increase coverage and reduce adverse selection: substantial temporary price subsidies (which had to be activated within a limited time window and lasted for only a year), assisted registration, and information. Both temporary subsidies and assisted registration increased initial enrollment. Temporary subsidies attracted lower-cost enrollees, in part by eliminating the practice observed in the no subsidy group of strategically timing coverage for a few months during health emergencies. As a result, while subsidies were in effect, they increased coverage more than eightfold, at no higher unit cost; even after the subsidies ended, coverage remained twice as high, again at no higher unit cost. However, the most intensive (and effective) intervention – assisted registration and a full one-year subsidy – resulted in only a 30 percent initial enrollment rate, underscoring the challenges to achieving widespread coverage.
Topic:: Government, Health, Health Care Policy, and Economy
Political Geography:: Indonesia and Southeast Asia

368. When Do Development Projects Enhance Community Well-Being?

Author:: Michael Woolcock
Publication Date:: 06-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:: Many development agencies and governments now seek to engage directly with local communities, whether as a means to the realization of more familiar goals (infrastructure, healthcare, education) or as an end in itself (promoting greater inclusion, participation, well-being). These same agencies and governments, however, are also under increasing pressure to formally demonstrate that their actions ‘work’ and achieve their goals within relatively short timeframes – expectations which are, for the most part, necessary and desirable. But adequately assessing ‘community-driven’ approaches to development requires the deployment of theory and methods that accommodate their distinctive characteristics: building bridges is a qualitatively different task to building the rule of law and empowering minorities. Moreover, the ‘lessons’ inferred from average treatment effects derived from even the most rigorous assessments of community-driven interventions are likely to translate poorly to different contexts and scales of operation. Some guidance for anticipating and managing these conundrums are provided.
Topic:: Development, Government, Infrastructure, and International Development
Political Geography:: Global Focus and United States of America

369. The politics of hope: a nation’s patience tested

Author:: Ali Tehrani and Azadeh Pourzand
Publication Date:: 01-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Harvard Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy
Institution:: The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:: Winter 2019 marked the 40th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran. The anniversary celebrations occurred in the midst of a difficult era of socio-economic turmoil, the return ofَ U.S. sanctions, and deepening political infighting in the Islamic Republic. Tensions between the government and the people are especially high. The tectonic plates of social change have been shifting below the surface in Iran over the past two decades, with major discontent erupting in the past year. While the country’s political facade appears largely unchanged, tensions and fragmentations among the ruling elite have deepened. Economic conditions are fast deteriorating for the average citizen, while political repression remains a harsh reality. Iran’s citizens, who have clung to hope and the possibility for change through decades of domestic repression and isolation from the global economy, struggle to remain hopeful. Collective fatigue stemming from years of isolation from the global economy, as well as domestic economic hardship, compounds the disappointment Iranians feel from unfulfilled political promises. The Iranian government has repeatedly failed to carry out promised reforms; in recent years alone, President Hassan Rouhani has proven unable to carry out his promises to “open up Iran politically, ease rigid social restrictions and address human rights abuses.” As this situation continues, Iran risks despair and chaos.
Topic:: Government, Politics, Social Movement, Sanctions, Nuclear Power, Reform, Economy, and Memory
Political Geography:: Iran and Middle East

370. Current law constraining the President: a series on Congress’s options to limit arms sales and aid to Saudi Arabia, part 2

Author:: Jacques Singer-Emery
Publication Date:: 01-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Harvard Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy
Institution:: The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:: This is the second of a three-part essay series on the different paths the U.S. Congress might take to limit Washington’s support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. As explained in Part 1 of this series, the Trump administration’s continued support for the Saudi coalition’s war in Yemen has triggered a range of Congressional responses. Although Congress faces challenges in passing new legislation to denounce Saudi Arabia’s actions in Yemen and its killing of Jamal Khashoggi, the White House’s Saudi policy implicates at least four pieces of existing legislation: the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), the War Powers Resolution, the Foreign Assistance Control Act (FAA), and the Leahy Laws. These laws were all passed during the Cold War to curtail the executive’s increasing ability to unilaterally sell arms, supply military aid, and order U.S. troops to assist allies in a theater of war. The executive must abide by these laws. If the President refuses or cuts corners, Congress can bring him to heel directly via impeachment, or indirectly through court orders that force executive branch agencies to halt the restricted activity.
Topic:: Government, War, Law, Courts, and Legislation
Political Geography:: Yemen, Saudi Arabia, North America, United States of America, and Gulf Nations

371. Constraining U.S. foreign policy by enforcing current law: a series on Congress’s options to limit arms sales and aid to Saudi Arabia, part 3

Author:: Jacques Singer-Emery
Publication Date:: 01-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Harvard Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy
Institution:: The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:: This is the third of a three-part essay series on the different paths the U.S. Congress might take to limit Washington’s support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. Credible allegations of Saudi war crimes and human rights abuses in Yemen should trigger the FAA and Leahy Laws to prevent U.S. aid from reaching the Saudi-led coalition, as discussed in part 2 of this series. However, the U.S. Constitution forbids Congress from unilaterally issuing orders to any executive agency, including the Defense and State Departments. Accordingly, both the Foreign Assistance Control Act (FAA) and the Leahy laws place the onus on the executive to identify and respond to gross violations of human rights. Thus far, the executive has turned a blind eye to the Saudi coalition’s actions. Congress could independently find that Saudi Arabia has engaged in a “consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights” by commissioning its own investigations. But if the executive remains unconvinced, Congress only has two options to enforce the FAA and the Leahy laws: impeach the President, or obtain a court order requiring the executive withhold aid and arms pursuant to these laws. The first action is unlikely to occur here, but the second is a viable option. To secure a court order, Congress must show that the executive’s refusal to follow the FAA and the Leahy laws uniquely injures the legislative branch in a way that only the courts can remedy.
Topic:: Government, International Law, Law, War Crimes, Weapons, Courts, and Legislation
Political Geography:: Yemen, Saudi Arabia, North America, United States of America, and Gulf Nations

372. Facing a President’s veto: a series on Congress’s options to limit arms sales and aid to Saudi Arabia, part 1

Author:: Jacques Singer-Emery
Publication Date:: 01-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Harvard Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy
Institution:: The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:: This is the first of a three-part essay series on the different paths the U.S. Congress might take to limit Washington’s support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. Congress is considering a range of options to express its displeasure with Riyadh after Saudi agents murdered prominent Saudi journalist and critic Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in September 2018, and journalists and NGOs around the world continue to highlight human rights abuses perpetrated by Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen. Of these options, the most notable is the Saudi Arabia Accountability and Yemen Act of 2019. Congress has already voted to condemn President Donald Trump’s unequivocal support for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: the Senate voted March 13th to end US support for the war in Yemen, echoing a measure that passed the House in mid-February. But, the Saudi Arabia Accountability and Yemen Act would go further still, sanctioning those in the Saudi government responsible for Khashoggi’s death and curtailing U.S. arms sales and military aid critical to the Saudi-led coalition’s war in Yemen. The White House vehemently opposes the bill. If it passes, President Trump is expected to veto it, just as he is expected to veto the Senate’s March and House’s February resolutions.
Topic:: Government, Law, Military Affairs, and Legislation
Political Geography:: Middle East, Yemen, North America, United States of America, and Gulf Nations

373. America’s Unipolar Moment of Renewal or Collapse?

Author:: Ofer Israeli
Publication Date:: 02-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: American Diplomacy
Institution:: American Diplomacy
Abstract:: After a century of an American world order established by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson at the end of the First World War, we are facing a shift in Washington’s global attitude. President Trump’s approach to world affairs is different. Although Obama, and to some extent Bush before the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, was starting to withdraw from the U.S. historical position of key global superpower, President Trump’s approach to world affairs is a much more drastic acceleration of this move. Continuing in this direction means we may soon face a collapse of America’s century-long preeminence, and the creation of a new world order in which the U.S. is no longer leading the global power, but only first among sovereigns, if at all.
Topic:: International Relations, Cold War, Government, World War I, World War II, and Institutionalism
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, Iran, Middle East, Israel, Soviet Union, and United States of America

374. Strengthening Climate Resilience through Integration of Climate Change, Women and Youth Issues in Uganda's Agriculture Sector: Analysis of Agriculture Related Policies and Programmes

Publication Date:: 10-2019
Content Type:: Research Paper
Institution:: Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE)
Abstract:: This report provides insights into building a gender sensitive climate smart agriculture while reducing the vulnerability of women, youth and refugees to the adversity impacted by climate change. It shows that successful mainstreaming of climate change in the agricultural sector and implementation of gender sensitive climate resilient agricultural policies, programmes and practices require strong and reliable climate information services and early warning systems, enhanced technical and institutional capacities, enabling legal framework, and strong monitoring and reporting mechanisms. A strong commitment to innovative climate financing and increasing budget allocation for climate change to the sectors especially Local Governments (LGs) is also essential.
Topic:: Agriculture, Climate Change, Gender Issues, and Government
Political Geography:: Uganda and Africa

375. Decentralisation; Trends, Achievements and the Way-forward for Local Governments in Uganda: Conference Report

Publication Date:: 08-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE)
Abstract:: This report presents the proceedings of the National Conference on Decentralisation held at Hotel Africana in Kampala, Uganda, on August 13, 2019. The theme of the conference was: Decentralisation: Trends, Gains, Challenges and the Future of Local Governments in Uganda. It was collaboratively held by the Ministry of Local Government (MoLG), Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE), and the Governance, Accountability, Participation and Performance (GAPP) Program with support from USAID and UKAID. The Conference assessed the impact of decentralisation policies and trends on financing for local governments, and highlighted measures [that can be] put in place by relevant stakeholders to support and strengthen decentralisation as per Article 176 of Uganda’s 1995 Constitution. Uganda’s decentralisation experiment was hailed as exceptional in the developing world. Its scale, scope of transfer of powers (devolution), responsibilities given to subnational units, and powers granted to citizens, were unprecedented. However, challenges of limited capacity of local government authorities, financing gaps, inter-governmental relations, and new problems of maintaining sub-national cohesion, continue to hamper the effectiveness of this governance reform. Accordingly, the August 2019 Conference was informed by the findings of two recent studies that took stock of trends and progress and also examined financing challenges to local governments under Uganda’s devolution form of decentralisation. It attracted different stakeholders including: national legislators/ members of parliament and policy makers, local government political and technical leaders, researchers and academia, civil society, media and development partners. It was also broadcast live on television and channeled through social media, which created space for the public to interact and appreciate the proceedings.
Topic:: Government, Governance, Democracy, and Local
Political Geography:: Uganda and Africa

376. 5 Years Of The Law On Foreigners And International Protection: Problems Of Implementation And Suggested Solutions

Author:: Hakkı Onur Arıner
Publication Date:: 09-2019
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:: Turkey’s Law on Foreigners and International Protection (LFIP) was adopted on 4 April 2013 by the Turkish Grand National Assembly. In the five years that has passed since the coming into force of the LFIP in its entirety, it appears that the LFIP has been made to adapt to the conditions of Turkey, rather than the other way around, due to the sheer unexpected size of the phenomenon of immigration into Turkey, and the challenges encountered in establishing the institutional capacity and the inter- institutional cooperation necessary to deal with the inflows as required by the Law.
Topic:: Government, Human Rights, Migration, Refugee Issues, and Law
Political Geography:: Turkey and Middle East

377. Slipping Through the Cracks: The Demolition of a Government Homeless Shelter in an Informal Settlement: The Case of Amir Khusro Park

Author:: Ashwin Parulkar, Manish, and Sunil Kumar
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:: In May 2017, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) demolished a Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) shelter located in an informal settlement in South Delhi’s Amir Khusro Park. DUSIB had built the shelter in response to a 2014 Delhi High Court Order. DDA demolished the same structure in cognizance of a 2015 Delhi High Court Order, issued in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a private citizen urging the state to remove illegal encroachments in the area. The demolition of the shelter led to the eviction of various groups of people in Khusro Park: families in self-constructed ‘jhuggis’; women in the DUSIB shelter managed by a local NGO; and various people in a temporary shelter not authorized by government agencies. Field visits revealed connections between these settlements. Women and children of some jhuggi families, for instance, lived in the shelter where food, nutrition, documentation, education and health services were provided by the managing NGO for shelter residents and joint and nuclear jhuggi families. In this context, the report raises and responds to two salient questions. What makes homeless shelters in Delhi vulnerable to government sanctioned demolition and eviction? What is the implication of the particular case of Amir Khusro Park on the fate of shelters in Delhi’s other numerous informal geographies? The authors examine events that preceded and unfolded during and after the demolition through ethnographic research in Khusro Park, interviews with government officials and NGO social workers, and legal analysis of both Supreme and High Court Orders and policies that assign powers to various federal, state and municipal land owning agencies. The report finds that Khusro Park residents’ Court-substantiated, though broadly defined, rights to live in shelters and urban informal settlements were violated by government agencies, such as DDA. Such government agencies are permitted to undermine general rights urban poor people have to city spaces and resettlement through the existence of specific provisions that categorize jhuggi and shelter residents on government land ‘encroachers’. The authors conclude that due process measures of DUSIB’s current resettlement policy – land surveys, provision of notice and rehousing – should be based on a thorough understanding of (a) types and nature of settlements along the informal urban housing continuum (b) infrastructure and services used by residents and (c) the nature of contracts between (i) state and federal agencies and (ii) government agencies and NGOs that authorize land use and service provision.
Topic:: Government, Poverty, Public Policy, Resettlement, Urban, Informal Settlement, and Homelessness
Political Geography:: South Asia, India, and Asia

378. Infrastructure development in the Northeast: Hydropower, natural resources, legal and institutional frameworks and compliance

Author:: Manju Menon
Publication Date:: 05-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:: In 2000, the central government declared Northeast India as India’s hydropower hub. Over 165 large dam projects were proposed to come up in the region. These projects were held as crucial to India’s energy and environmental security as well as the economic development of the country’s marginalised northeastern borderlands.However, nearly two decades on, this proposal to regulate the region's water resources remains unimplemented. In addition, the projects have generated a lot of public opposition in Arunachal Pradesh where most of these dams are supposed to be situated, and in the downstream Brahmaputra valley of Assam. This article will look into the government's hype and failure to construct hydropower dams in the Northeast region. It points to the need for a reflexive political decision on water resource management from the BJP-led governments in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and at the Centre.
Topic:: Development, Energy Policy, Government, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure
Political Geography:: South Asia, India, and Asia

379. Indian Development Cooperation Regains Momentum: 7 Main Takeaways from India’s 2019-20 Union Budget

Author:: Rani Mullen
Publication Date:: 07-2019
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:: Since the turn of the century, India has continued to enlarge its development cooperation allocations and become a globally significant development cooperation partner. This brief analyzes India’s 2019-20 Union Budget for its development assistance allocations and, using IDCR’s development cooperation database, finds seven main trends in India’s development assistance allocations.
Topic:: Development, Government, Foreign Aid, Budget, and Banks
Political Geography:: South Asia and India

380. Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana & Janani Suraksha Yojana (PMMVY & JSY)

Author:: Ritwik Shukla and Avani Kapur
Publication Date:: 07-2019
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:: This brief reports on two maternity benefits schemes, offering conditional cash transfers to pregnant women and mothers: a) The Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), Government of India’s (GoI’s) scheme aimed at providing partial compensation for wage loss and improving health seeking behaviour of pregnant women and lactating mothers, and b) the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) aimed at incentivising institutional and safe delivery for reducing infant and maternal mortality. Using government data, this brief reports on: Trends in allocations, releases, and utilisation, Coverage and payments, and Outputs and outcomes.
Topic:: Gender Issues, Government, Health, Budget, Women, and Economy
Political Geography:: South Asia and India

381. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)

Author:: Avani Kapur and Meghna Paul
Publication Date:: 07-2019
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:: Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) is a flagship scheme of the Government of India (GoI) which aims to provide at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year (FY) to every rural household that demands work. Using government reported data, this brief reports on: Trends in allocations and expenditures; Trends in employment provided and wages paid, and Physical assets created and status of work completion.
Topic:: Government, Budget, Employment, Finance, Rural, and Unemployment
Political Geography:: South Asia, India, and Asia

382. Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)By AVANI KAPUR and RITWIK SHUKLA

Author:: Avani Kapur and Ritwik Shukla
Publication Date:: 07-2019
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:: The Integrated Child Development Services is the Government of India’s (GoI’s) flagship programme aimed at providing basic education, health, and nutrition services for early childhood development. This brief uses government data to analyse ICDS performance along the following parameters: Allocations, releases, and expenditures; Component-wise trends; Human and physical resources; Coverage, and Outcome.
Topic:: Development, Education, Government, Health, Budget, and Children
Political Geography:: South Asia, India, and Asia

383. Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban (SBM-U)

Author:: Avani Kapur and Sanjana Malhotra
Publication Date:: 07-2019
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:: The Swachh Bharat Mission- Urban (SBM-U) is the Government of India’s (GoI) flagship programme targeting universal sanitation coverage in urban areas. Using government data, this brief reports on: Allocations, releases, and expenditures, State-wise and component wise trends in releases, Progress on toilets built, Progress on Solid Waste Management (SWM), and Open Defecation Free (ODF) status.
Topic:: Government, Infrastructure, Budget, Urban, and Sanitation
Political Geography:: South Asia, India, and Asia

384. Beyond Poles and Wires: How to Keep the Electrons Flowing?

Author:: Navroz K. Dubash and Ashwini K. Swain
Publication Date:: 06-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:: India’s move to electrify every village and household in the country has been lauded as a success. Building on decades of targeted programmes and public investments by multiple governments, the country completed 100% village electrification in April 2018; a year after, it has electrified nearly all ‘willing’ households. Despite the time it took to get here, these achievements are important milestones in India’s development trajectory. But does connecting households to the electric grid resolve the electricity access challenge? The answer depends on whether electrons flow through the wires and whether all consumers are served equally and adequately.
Topic:: Development, Government, Infrastructure, Investment, and Electricity
Political Geography:: South Asia, India, and Asia

385. Policy Note: Dialogues On Sanitation: Legal Perspectives on Sanitation in Urban India

Author:: Scaling City Institutions for India: Sanitation
Publication Date:: 03-2019
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:: The event was organised as a part of ‘Dialogues on Sanitation’ series and specifically focused on the legal and regulatory regime pertaining to urban sanitation. The event brought together senior policymakers, city and state level implementers, technocrats, members of the civil society and legal experts to brainstorm towards bettering the regulatory regime on urban sanitation. Several aspects such as the role of law and regulation in Faecal Sludge Management, rights of sanitary workers, and public-private participation in Urban Sanitation were discussed during the course of the workshop.
Topic:: Government, Law, Regulation, Urban, and Sanitation
Political Geography:: South Asia, India, and Asia

386. Sanitation in Large and Dense Villages of India: The Last Mile and Beyond

Author:: Aditya Bhol, Shubhagato Dasgupta, Anindita Mukherjee, and Aastha Jain
Publication Date:: 03-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:: The aim of this white paper is to explore the nuances of the prevalence of on-site sanitation systems in large and dense villages of India. Villages which have a population of 1000 persons or more and a density of greater than or equal to 400 persons per square kilometre were classified as large and dense villages in an earlier research – Towards a New Research and Policy Paradigm: An Analysis of the Sanitation Situation in Large Dense Villages. Stimulated by the findings revealing a preferential pattern for selection of on-site sanitation systems in these settlements, a primary household survey was conducted in large and dense villages from five Indian states - Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The survey also included qualitative components – stakeholder interviews and transect walks. In this study the survey data has been canvassed to explore the preference patterns of households and the factors guiding them in their decision making for the construction and maintenance of on-site sanitation systems. We find that these large and dense villages exhibit a higher preference for septic tanks over pits in all states except West Bengal where pits are preferred. A majority of households have reported their toilets were private constructions. We find the preference patterns are manifested not only by the choices of building septic tanks or pits but also through the large variations in their design and sizes which are influenced by socio-economic, technical and behavioural factors. We also find specific trends in demand for desludging services by households which are influenced by internal factors such as their social status and economic well-being and by external factors such as availability of mechanised operators or continued reliance on manual cleaning and their costs which cumulatively constitute the supply side of sanitation services.
Topic:: Government, Water, Infrastructure, and Sanitation
Political Geography:: South Asia, India, and Asia

387. Synthesis Report on State of Water: A Look at the Legal and Regulatory Framework Governing Water Services across Jurisdictions

Author:: Maanav Kumar and Parag Mohanty
Publication Date:: 03-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:: This study looks at the development of legal and regulatory framework governing drinking water and sanitation services in South Africa, England and United States. Around 780 million worldwide do not have access to clean drinking water and almost 2.5 billion people lack access to improved sanitation according to data published by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In such a situation, it becomes extremely important to study the legal and regulatory measures used internationally to control, manage and improve these resources. This study, covering South Africa, England and USA, sets out to identify, comprehend and analyze these legal frameworks and structures; examine the control exercised by national, state/provincial as well as municipal governments over water and sanitation-related questions; and the responsive measures being taken by them to preserve the water resources and their quality for future generations. The authors have observed that in presence of varying geographical, historical and social factors, while it would be impossible to compare each model against the other on the basis of merit, it becomes increasingly important for governments to balance the individual’s right to water with the planet’s ecological balance.
Topic:: Environment, Government, Natural Resources, Water, Law, Regulation, Legislation, and Sanitation
Political Geography:: South Asia, India, Asia, and Global Focus

388. Budget Brief 2019-20: Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana - Gramin (PMAY - G)

Author:: Sahithya Venkatesan and Avani Kapur
Publication Date:: 01-2019
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:: Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana - Gramin (PMAY - G) is Government of India’s (GoI’s) flagship ‘Housing for All’ scheme. The scheme was launched in November 2016 and aims to provide monetary assistance for the construction of a pucca house with basic amenities to all rural houseless households and those living in dilapidated and kutcha houses. Using government data, this brief reports on trends in PMAY-G along the following parameters: Allocations and cost estimates; Releases and expenditures ; Beneficiary selection and target setting ; Target completion and physical progress of house construction ; Payments to Beneficiaries.
Topic:: Government, Poverty, Budget, and Rural
Political Geography:: South Asia, India, and Asia

389. A Path for Political Change in Lebanon? Lessons and Narratives from the 2018 Elections

Author:: Nadim El-Kak
Publication Date:: 07-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
Abstract:: The latest Lebanese parliamentary elections took place a little over a year ago. In May 2018, eleven groups, comprised of 66 candidates (including 19 women) from independent and secular segments of civil society, formed a coalition called Kulluna Watani (we are all our nation) to challenge the hegemony of traditional political parties. Considering the increasing inefficiency and unaccountability of state institutions, and widespread public frustration with the performance of public institutions, one may have expected Lebanese voters to want to vote in a few fresh faces. Nonetheless, they overwhelmingly chose to re-elect the same parties and leaders. This paper examines why activists and progressive opposition groups who try to challenge entrenched sectarian politics have been failing. It analyses the institutional and repressive mechanisms, exercised by political elites, that determine patterns in voting behaviour and thwart the emergence of alternative forces. It also looks at shortcomings of political efforts by opposition groups and outlines recommendations for the future. The findings rely on fourteen original interviews with political activists conducted in December 2018 as well as a review of scholarship on sectarian politics.1
Topic:: Government, Political Activism, Elections, and Political and institutional effectiveness
Political Geography:: Middle East, Lebanon, and Beirut

390. Insufficient Energy Technology in Pakistan: A Conversation with Michael Kugelman

Author:: Fletcher Security Review Staff and Michael Kugelman
Publication Date:: 07-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Fletcher Security Review
Institution:: The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Abstract:: Michael Kugelman is Deputy Director for the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center and is also the Center’s Senior Associate for South Asia. He is responsible for research, programming, and publications on South Asia. His specialty areas include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and U.S. relations with each of them. His recent projects have focused on India’s foreign policy, U.S.-Pakistan relations, India-Pakistan relations, the war in Afghanistan, transboundary water agreements in South Asia, and U.S. policy in South Asia. He is a regular contributor to publications that include Foreign Policy and Foreign Affairs.
Topic:: Energy Policy, Government, Science and Technology, and Infrastructure
Political Geography:: Pakistan, China, South Asia, and Asia

391. New Law Hinders Public Diplomacy and Penalizes Palestinian Students

Author:: Kaylee Steck and Mohammed Alhammami
Publication Date:: 05-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS)
Abstract:: Last fall, Congress enacted a law that indirectly led to 29 young Arab leaders losing their scholarships to U.S.-accredited universities and dealt another blow to educational and cultural exchange programming, a critical part of U.S. public diplomacy efforts.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Government, Law, and Higher Education
Political Geography:: Middle East, Palestine, North America, and United States of America

392. Training Georgetown’s Future Diplomats

Author:: Vicki Valosik
Publication Date:: 04-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS)
Abstract:: A certificate program at the School of Foreign Service offers theoretical knowledge and practical training for aspiring diplomats. According to Ambassador Barbara Bodine, Director of Georgetown’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy (ISD), the skills needed by today’s aspiring diplomats haven’t changed significantly since the days when she was preparing for her own long and successful diplomatic career. “On one level, they will need the skills diplomats have always needed: the ability to understand and shape policy, to work comfortably globally, to be able to analyze a large amount of information, and—critically important—the ability to write,” she says. “At the same time,” adds Bodine, who served as Ambassador to Yemen from 1997 to 2001, “twenty-first century diplomats also need to be able to manage large amounts of data and comfortably move from a known issue, a comfortzone issue, to something new. They need to be able to extrapolate from past experience to a new experience without rigid templates.”
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Government, and Higher Education
Political Geography:: United States of America and North America

393. Gender Issues in Kurdistan

Author:: Michael M. Gunter
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:: In the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) headquarters in Brussels, one may be surprised to find that the co-chair rule governing the activities of the congress requires joint male and female leaders to share the office. As inefficient as such a dual head might seem, it sets the stage for gender equality. Overall, the duties of both men and women in the Kurdish movement leave no time for marriage or other traditional gender roles. This is particularly true of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its related organizations, such as the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party/Peoples Defense Units (PYD/YPG).
Topic:: Gender Issues, Government, Politics, and Women
Political Geography:: Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Kurdistan, and Brussels

394. Hong Kong’s Escalating Protests: Three Questions

Author:: John J. Chin
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:: Hong Kong, once renowned as an apolitical and orderly British entrepôt, is now seething with political discontent, student unrest, and pro-democracy protests. Nothing less than the future of “one country, two systems”—the framework through which China agreed to maintain Hong Kong’s autonomy for fifty years in exchange for British agreement to restore Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty in July 1997 after more than a century of British administration—is at stake.
Topic:: Government, History, Social Movement, Law, Democracy, and Protests
Political Geography:: Asia and Hong Kong

395. The Battle of Ideas in the Question for Wealth and Prosperity in Brazil: Policy Proposals of a Right-Wing Government

Author:: Monica Arruda De Almeida
Publication Date:: 05-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:: Brazil’s income inequality is among the world’s worst. The country’s unemployment rate is currently 13 percent, compared to 4.6 percent in 2012, and the number of Brazilians in poverty or extreme poverty is now close to 30 percent, a far cry from 2014 when that number was less than 10 percent of the population. Brazil has one of the highest tax rates in Latin America—with tax revenue equal to 33 percent of GDP, against the regional average of 20 percent—but it is also notorious for its poor performance with respect to the ease of paying taxes and opening a business: the country ranks 184 and 140, respectively, out of 190 countries in the World Bank’s 2019 Doing Business Report. It is surprising, therefore, that Jair Bolsonaro, a conservative politician from the Social Liberal Party (PSL), was elected to the country’s highest office without meaningfully addressing his administration’s plans to solve the nation’s social injustices and other economic issues. Instead, Bolsonaro campaigned mostly on strengthening public security and fighting corruption, the two areas on which the former army captain built his reputation during his almost thirty years as a congressman. During the campaign, Bolsonaro recruited Paulo Guedes, a Chicago School-trained economist to be his Minister of the Economy. Guedes was tasked with building a “dream team” of experts that would design a plan to further liberalize the economy and turn Brazil into a much friendlier place to conduct business.
Topic:: Corruption, Government, Poverty, Economy, Social Policy, and Economic Inequality
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

396. From Manifesto Promise to Policy Implementation: Analysis of Government’s Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Program

Author:: Gilfred Asiamah, Awal Swallah, Kojo Asante, and Samuel Baaye
Publication Date:: 10-2019
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Ghana Center for Democratic Development
Abstract:: The Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) with funding support from the Department for International Development (DFID) under its Strengthening Action Against Corruption (STAAC) program has initiated a project to track the implementation of the government's flagship Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Program (IPEP).
Topic:: Government, Poverty, Inequality, State Actors, and Economic Policy
Political Geography:: Africa and Ghana

397. IFPA National Security Update 9: The Trump Administration’s Executive Order on Electromagnetic Pulse

Author:: Jack Kelly
Publication Date:: 07-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis (IFPA)
Abstract:: This IFPA National Security Update examines President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) on Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP), the threat posed by EMPs, how the EO addresses that threat, and what other steps should be taken to counter both man-made and naturally-occurring EMP events. In early 2017, the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis initiated an online series entitled National Security Update. Its purpose is to examine key foreign policy/defense issues and to set forth policy options. These updates are made available to the broad policy community within and outside government, including key policy makers in Washington, D.C.; members of Congress and their staffs; academic specialists; and other members of the private-sector security community. Future National Security Updates will address a range of topics in an effort to provide timely analyses and policy options.
Topic:: Defense Policy, Government, National Security, Science and Technology, Infrastructure, and Space
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

398. IFPA National Security Update 8: The Trump Administration’s Space Force Proposal: Status and Prospects for Approval in Congress

Author:: Jack Kelly
Publication Date:: 06-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis (IFPA)
Abstract:: This IFPA National Security Update examines the status of the Trump Administration’s proposal to create a U.S. Space Force as a separate military service, deliberations on Capitol Hill, and the prospects for its passage by Congress. In early 2017, the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis initiated an online series entitled National Security Update. Its purpose is to examine key foreign policy/defense issues and to set forth policy options. These updates are made available to the broad policy community within and outside government, including key policy makers in Washington, D.C.; members of Congress and their staffs; academic specialists; and other members of the private-sector security community. Future National Security Updates will address a range of topics in an effort to provide timely analyses and policy options.
Topic:: Defense Policy, Government, National Security, Science and Technology, Military Affairs, and Space Force
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

399. Does Canada Need a Foreign Policy Review

Author:: Randolph Mank
Publication Date:: 01-2019
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI)
Abstract:: Canada’s contemporary foreign policy has been shaped by deep integration with, and dependence on, the United States, offset by multilateral support for a rules-based international order. The Trump administration’s confrontational nationalism, combined with other global events and trends, has now disrupted Canada’s position and assumptions. This raises the question of whether or not it’s time for a Canadian foreign policy review. While the Trudeau government deserves credit for several initiatives, a series of discontinuities in Canada’s domestic and foreign policies suggests that our interests could be better served. The Canadian government has two main options: it can follow its current path of adjusting its policies in an ad hoc fashion, while waiting out the Trump administration and hoping for more favourable successors, or it can attempt to set Canada on a new path, in which case a foreign policy review would be warranted. The review option would only be useful if everything were on the table, including what to do about bilateral relations with the U.S., the future of our multilateral commitments, and domestic policies on such critical global issues as energy and the environment. The ultimate goal should be to advance Canada’s national interests through better aligned domestic and foreign policies.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, and Government
Political Geography:: Canada, North America, and United States of America

400. Bringing Chaos to Order: Donald Trump and his Band of National Security Advisors

Author:: Eugene Lang
Publication Date:: 09-2019
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI)
Abstract:: Two hundred and forty days. That is the average length of tenure – eight months – of the national security advisor to the U.S. president during the past two-and-a-half years. With the resignation or firing (depending on who you listen to) of John Bolton, Donald Trump is now on to his fifth assistant to the president for national security affairs, the official title of the job. It is an historic anomaly of epic proportions. Since the position was created during the Eisenhower administration in the early 1950s, on average national security advisors have served 32 months, exactly four times the average shelf life of Trump’s advisors (and Trump is only just over halfway through his first term of office).1 Revolving doors are of course a hallmark of the Trump administration, but does this one really matter?
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Government, National Security, Politics, and Donald Trump
Political Geography:: Canada, North America, and United States of America

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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS