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102. In Search of Legitimacy in Post-revolutionary China: Bringing Ideology and Governance Back In
- Author:
- Heike Holbig and Bruce Gilley
- Publication Date:
- 03-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- The contemporary politics of China reflect an ongoing effort by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to claim the right to rule in light of the consequences of economic development, international pressures, and historical change. China stands out within the Asian region for the success the regime has achieved in this effort. By focusing on the changes in China elite discourse during the reform period and particularly during the last decade, this paper aims to elaborate on the relative importance of various sources of legitimacy as they shift over time, as well as on their inherent dilemmas and limitations. There is evidence of an agile, responsive, and creative party effort to relegitimate the post-revolutionary regime through economic performance, nationalism, ideology, culture, governance, and democracy. At the same time, the paper identifies a clear shift in emphasis from an earlier economic‐nationalistic approach to a more ideological-institutional approach.
- Topic:
- Communism, Development, Economics, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
103. Are the Chinese in Africa More Innovative than the Africans? Comparing Chinese and Nigerian Entrepreneurial Migrants' Cultures of Innovation
- Author:
- Dirk Kohnert
- Publication Date:
- 07-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- The remarkable influx of Chinese migrant entrepreneurs in West Africa has been met with growing resistance from established African entrepreneurs. Whether the former have a competitive edge over the latter because of distinctive sociocultural traits or whether the Chineseʹ s supposed effectiveness is just a characteristic feature of any trading diaspora is open to question. This comparative exploratory study of Chinese and Nigerian entrepreneurial migrants in Ghana and Benin provides initial answers to these questions. Apparently, the cultural stimuli for migrant drivers of change are not restricted to inherited value systems or religions, such as a Protestant ethic or Confucianism; rather, they are continually adapted and invented anew by transnational migration networks in a globalized world. There is no evidence of the supposed superiority of the innovative culture of Chinese entrepreneurial migrants versus that of African entrepreneurial migrants. Rather, there exist trading diasporas which have a generally enhanced innovative capacity vis‐à‐vis local entrepreneurs, regardless of the national culture in which they are embedded. In addition, the rivalry of Chinese and Nigerian migrant entrepreneurs in African markets does not necessarily lead to the often suspected cut‐throat competition. Often the actions of each group are complementary to those of the other. Under certain conditions they even contribute to poverty alleviation in the host country.
- Topic:
- Economics, Markets, and Migration
- Political Geography:
- Africa and China
104. Verschiebungen der globalen Machtverhältnisse durch den Aufstieg von Regionalen Führungsmächten. China, Indien, Brasilien und Südafrika im Vergleich
- Author:
- Robert Kappel
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- A number of regional powers are becoming important international actors and are changing the coordinates of world politics and the global economy. The political and economicshift in favor of these regional powers has been accompanied by the relative loss of importance of the US, Japan, and the EU. The latter countries are increasingly challenged by the economic growth and the geostrategical actions of the regional powers. As the conception of and debates on regional powers have been led by political science, this paper aims to contribute to the discussion from an economics perspective. Based on the discussion of different concepts of economic power–such as those of Schumpeter, Perroux, Predöhl, or Kindleberger–concepts of technological leadership, and the global value chain approaches, the paper develops a research framework for the economics of regional powers. This framework is then tested using descriptive statistics as well as regressions analysis, with a focus on the four regional powers Brazil, China, India, and South Africa. As economic power is relational, the relationship of regional powers to other nations in the region is analyzed. According to the findings, only limited conclusions on the economics of regional powers are possible: a regional power can be described as an economy with a relatively large population and land area which plays a dominant role in trade within the region and in the regional governance. The regional power develops its technological capacities, and its businesses act regionally and globally with increasing strength.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Economics, Globalization, International Political Economy, and Power Politics
- Political Geography:
- China, India, and Brazil
105. Lamb Buddha's Migrant Workers: Self-Assertion on China's Urban Fringe
- Author:
- Michael Brian Griffiths
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper presents an analysis of the everyday practices of individuality among the migrant workers with whom I worked at “Lamb Buddha”, a hotpot restaurant in Anshan City, Liaoning Province, during the summer of 2007. The majority of the data comes from four young men, meaning that the analysis complements extant studies of Chinese female migrant workers by allowing male-gendered inflections of discourse prominence. The paper examines the internal structure of “symbolic boundaries” drawn and managed in judgements, positioning statements, and so forth, attempting to regress the modalities by which these migrants assert themselves, thus showing how individuality arises from a discursive environment structured by relation to similar peers and distinctly different others.
- Political Geography:
- China
106. The Financial Crisis and China's "Harmonious Society"
- Author:
- Arjan de Haan
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- The global financial crisis has had a large negative impact on China's economy, particularly on employment, but the government responses appear to have been effective. This article focuses on the social policy responses after the crisis, and how these are situated in the austere social policies that have come about since the economic reforms started in 1978, and the recent aims to create a “harmonious society” and the challenges and contradictions these contain.
- Political Geography:
- China
107. Why Half of China's Overseas Acquisitions Could Not Be Completed
- Author:
- Jianhong Zhang and Haico Ebbers
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- About half of China's overseas acquisition attempts have not been completed; the chance of success is much lower than worldwide. This study provides an overview of China's overseas acquisition, and investigates the reasons behind the low likelihood that an acquisition deal is completed. By using a sample that consists of 1,324 overseas acquisition attempts by Chinese firms, the study found that multi-level determinants influence the outcome of China's overseas acquisitions. Based on the findings, we conclude that the distinctive social and economic environment of acquirers; ownership and low competitiveness of these acquirers; lack of global experience; and sensitiveness of the industry all hamper Chinese acquisition deals.
- Political Geography:
- China
108. New Approaches to Cross-Strait Integration and Its Impacts on Taiwan's Domestic Economy: An Emerging "Chaiwan"?
- Author:
- Gordon C. K. Cheung
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- Taiwan's Legislative Yuan and Presidential elections in January and March 2008 respectively re-orientated cross-Strait relations from hostility to co-operation. On 4 November 2008, Chen Yunlin, head of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), and Chiang Pin-kun (Jiang Bingkun), chairman of Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), meeting in the Second Chiang-Chen Talks in Taiwan, took a historical step in the further development of cross-Strait relations. Agreements were signed on direct air and sea transport, postal services and food-safety security. On 22 December 2009, the Fourth Chiang- Chen Talks took place in Taizhong and more substantial and technical agreements were signed on agriculture, inspection/ accreditation and fisheries. It seems that continuous integration between China and Taiwan is inevitable. To address the implications of this process for Taiwan's domestic economy, four dimensions of the current cross-Strait relationship are scrutinized: guanxi, plutocracy, legalism and the idea of a Chinese Common Market. It is argued that in order to intensify economic co-operation across the Taiwan Strait, more institutionalization of the cross-Strait relationship must be brought about.
- Political Geography:
- China and Taiwan
109. Between Dependency and Autonomy – Taiwanese Entrepreneurs and Local Chinese Governments
- Author:
- Lee Chun-yi
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper focuses on the changing interaction between Taiwanese entrepreneurs and local Chinese governments. Through the analysis of this changing process, it can be seen that Taiwanese businesses are a special “asset” of Chinese governments. The main argument of this paper is that both central and local governments in China have strategic considerations in respect of Taiwanese businesses. The Chinese central government values Taiwanese businesses because more Taiwanese investment in China strengthens the Beijing government in negotiations with the Taibei government. Nevertheless, since the Kuomintang (KMT) (Guomindang) regained power in 2008, the strategic value of Taiwanese businesses in the cross-Strait relationship seems to have decreased. The central government has created a profitable macro-environment enabling local officials to give a warm welcome to Taiwanese businesses. Chinese local governments value Taiwanese businessmen not only because of the central government's deliberate policy but also because they are pursuing their own self-interest. This paper firstly focuses on the changing interaction between Taiwanese businesses and Chinese local governments. It then further analyses the different but complementary interests of both central and local governments in China in relation to Taiwanese investors.
- Political Geography:
- China, Taiwan, and Beijing
110. The Global Crisis' Impact upon China's Rural Migrants
- Author:
- Sara Hsu, Shiyin Jiang, and Halcott Heyward
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- Towards the end of 2008, as the world economy slowed and export-demand declined due to the global financial crisis, news reports began to appear detailing the return of rural migrants in China to their provincial homes. It was reported that 20 million rural migrant workers were laid off, and social instability rose due to both economic hardship and to the withholding of the payment of wages. Over time, these circumstances have changed, due to both the Chinese government's fiscal stimulus package and to those programmes that have been targeted specifically at assisting the country's rural migrants. As a result, the situation for rural migrants is no longer dire; circumstances have been greatly ameliorated by proactive government policies. To confirm these results, in this paper we look both at the situation across China and briefly at a study carried out in Sichuan province.
- Political Geography:
- China
111. A Modest Proposal for a Basic Agreement on Peaceful Cross-Strait Development
- Author:
- Ya-chung Chang
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- In order to promote peaceful development in cross-Strait relations, this article proposes that both sides of the Taiwan Strait sign a “Basic Agreement on Peaceful Cross-Strait Development” – a temporary agreement ( modus vivendi ) to determine political relations and future development across the Strait. Three major points should be included in this agreement: first, both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one “Whole China” and both sides have no intention to separate from this “Whole China”; furthermore, both sides pledge not to split the “Whole China”, but to work in unison to maintain the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the “Whole China”; second, both sides of the Taiwan Strait share constitutionally guaranteed equal relations, and normal relations across the Strait will develop on the basis of this constitutional equality; and third, both sides decide to establish communities in areas of common agreement in order to promote mutually cooperative relations.
- Political Geography:
- China and Taiwan
112. Commentary on "A Modest Proposal for a Basic Agreement on Peaceful Cross-Strait Development"
- Author:
- Christopher R. Hughes
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This critique assesses Prof. Chang Ya-chung's draft basic agreement for cross-Strait relations by arguing that it overstates changes in Beijing's Taiwan policy, which is based on a strategy that has not seen substantial change since it was devised in the early 1990s to prevent the island's democratization leading to the exercise of self-determination. By over-estimating Taiwan's political, diplomatic, military, and economic vulnerability the proposal unnecessarily narrows down Taibei's options to the point where it has to accept Beijing's one-China principle. This merely closes off other options that Taiwan can just as readily pursue, such as continuing to develop cross-Strait relations through ad hoc solutions to practical problems or seeking more imaginative ways to create a durable modus vivendi with international support. Even more problematic is that a political framework for stability based on the principles of Chinese nationalism is unlikely to be acceptable for Taiwan's liberal- democratic politics and could thus amount to an unnecessary risk that would lead to a less durable cross-Strait status quo than that which has been maintained over the last two decades.
- Political Geography:
- China, Taiwan, and Beijing
113. Commentary on "A Modest Proposal for a Basic Agreement on Peaceful Cross-Strait Development"
- Author:
- Jean-Pierre Cabestan
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- The main question that Chang Ya-chung's Modest Proposal triggers is whether a political and security agreement can realistically be reached today. The twelve agreements signed by Beijing and Taibei since 2008 should be saluted as conducive to constructing détente, non- military confidence-building measures and de facto government-to- government relations across the Strait. However, in the foreseeable future, is it realistic to ask for more? Actually, a temporary or long-term political agreement between Taibei and Beijing will not be reached if the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC) refuse to formally recognize each other's separate existence and sovereignty in one way or another, at least tacitly, and if they do not agree to address security issues squarely with the assistance of the USA. Finally, no meaningful agreement can be re ached either if the PRC Chinese and certain segments of the Kuomin tang (KMT) (Guomindang) fail to recognize Taiwan's specific history or realize that the Taiwanese have been developing a distinct identity since 1949 and even more so since the island's democratization took place in the late 1980s.
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, Taiwan, and Beijing
114. Understanding the Trajectory of Social Movements in Taiwan (1980-2010)
- Author:
- Mingo-sho Ho
- Publication Date:
- 03-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- For Taiwan, the 65 years since the en d of the Second World War can be divided into three periods. The first 15 years saw the rule of a highly repressive regime, which took power shortly after the departure of the Japanese colonizers. The Kuomintang (KMT) ( ⇥咼 , Guomindang) consolidated its grip on the island by suppressing the native revolt in the February 28 Incident ( џӊܿѠѠ , ererba shijian ) of 1947 and exterminat- ing the clandestine communist movement in the early 1950s. The harsh political domination not only secured the survival of an émigré regime amid the disillusioned and hostile populace, but also facilitated its re- source extraction for its military mission to re-take mainland China. Situ- ated at the very frontline of the in ternational Cold War, Taiwanese people experienced a period of regimented frugality, ubiquitous counter- espionage, and preparation for war – a highly sterile environment for social movements.
- Political Geography:
- China and Taiwan
115. China's Trade Relations with the United States in Perspective
- Author:
- Dong Wang
- Publication Date:
- 03-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- China's trade relations with the United States over the past four decades is a topic that has not been fully dealt with in scholarly works. This paper charts the course of US-China economic relations since 1971, explains the principal forces stimulating growth and encouraging change and, finally, discusses how these two economic giants fit into an interlocking Asian and world economy. In reaction to the post- 2008 financial downturn, advocates for a new world economic order have suggested a rebalancing of global demand, which will arguably become a major, politically charged issue in the US and in China in the years to come. Growing economic interdependence has quickly presented new challenges and opportunities, with issues such as human rights, Most-Favoured-Nation status, the Taiwan and Tibet question, and the huge American trade deficit threatening to cloud the relationship at times. With China's emergence as a major power and America's hegemonic ambitions tested in successive wars, the contradiction between a booming commercial relationship and conflict associated with geopolitical and ideological differences will continue to constitute a serious challenge. The long-term goal for each side will be to forge economic ties strong enough to create a stable political relationship, rather than to be held hostage by geopolitical constraints.
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, and Asia
116. India and the Civil War in Sri Lanka: On the Failures of Regional Conflict Management in South Asia
- Author:
- Sandra Destradi
- Publication Date:
- 12-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- The paper provides an assessment of India's role in the final years of the civil war in Sri Lanka (2003-2009). In particular, it looks for explanations for India's inability to act as a conflict manager in its own region, which is in contrast to predominant assumptions about the role of powerful regional states. It also seeks to explain the surprising turn in India's approach to the conflict, when in 2007 New Delhi began to rather explicitly support the Sri Lankan government—in disregard of its traditional preference for a peaceful solution and its sensitivity for the fate of Sri Lankan Tamils. While historical and domestic pressures led to India's indecisive approach during the years 2003-2007, starting from 2007 regional and international factors—most notably the skillful diplomacy of the Sri Lankan government and the growing Chinese presence there—induced New Delhi to support the government side in order to keep some leverage on Sri Lankan affairs. The analysis of the Sri Lankan case opens several avenues for further research in the fields of regional conflict management and foreign policy analysis.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Civil War, and Diplomacy
- Political Geography:
- China, South Asia, India, and New Delhi
117. Property-driven Urban Change in Post-Socialist Shanghai: Reading the Television Series Woju
- Author:
- Samuel Y. Liang
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- In late 2009, the television series Woju (蜗居) received extremely high audience ratings in major Chinese cities. Its visual narratives engage the public and comment on social developments by presenting detailed pictures of urban change in Shanghai and the everyday lives of a range of urban characters who are involved in and affected by the urban- restructuring process and represent three distinct social groups: “white- collar” immigrants, low-income local residents, and powerful officials. By analysing the visual narratives of these characters, this article highlights the loss of the city's historical identity and shows how the reorganization of urban space translates into a reallocation of resources, power and prestige among the social groups. The article also shows that Woju represents a new development in literary and television production in the age of the Internet and globalization; its imaginative construct of the city was based on transnational and virtual rather than local and neighbourhood experience. This also testifies to the loss of the city's established identity in cultural production.
- Topic:
- Corruption
- Political Geography:
- China
118. Shanghai Alleys, Theatrical Practice, and Cinematic Spectatorship: From Street Angel (1937) to Fifth Generation Film
- Author:
- Alexander Des Forges
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This article argues that a certain type of Shanghai film of the Republican period, exemplified by 1937's Street Angel (馬路天使, Malu tianshi), makes use of a specific mode of spatial organization, modelled on the theatre, to represent the urban environment. In the case of Street Angel, and later on in 1964's Stage Sisters (舞台姐妹, Wutai jiemei), the interaction between performers and audiences characteristic of the Shanghai theatre experience serves as a crucial ground on which to base calls to political action. For a variety of related reasons, both the city of Shanghai and this mode of spatial organization so closely associated with it vanish from the big screen in the 1980s and 1990s, and begin to make a return only at the turn of the new century.
- Topic:
- Climate Change
- Political Geography:
- China and Shanghai
119. Sex, City, and the Maid: Between Socialist Fantasies and Neoliberal Parables
- Author:
- Sun Wanning
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- Of the many rural migrant workers who go to Chinese cities as cheap labourers, the one who interacts most intimately with urban residents is the domestic servant. In fact, precisely because of this “intimate stranger” status, the figure of the “maid” has captured the imagination of the urban population. This fascination is evidenced by the plethora of television narratives centring on the fraught relationships between the rural migrant woman and her male employer. This paper analyses a range of television narratives from the genres of dramas and documentaries. It shows that in these narratives, sex functions as the metaphor of social inequality between two social groups. It shows that if we explore how love, romance and marriage are constructed, we may gain some insight into processes of social and ideological contestation in the domain of cultural production.
- Political Geography:
- China
120. China's "Christianity Fever" Revisited: Towards a Community-Oriented Reading of Christian Conversions in China
- Author:
- Katrin Fiedler
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- Chinese Protestant Christianity has been continually growing over the past three decades, with an estimated one million converts per year. A number of studies have sought to explain this phenomenon. This paper critically reviews existing studies of China's “Christianity Fever” and then outlines the role of the community as one crucial factor in the conversion process. With its emphasis on communality, as a central element of both Christian theology and the fellowship activities that are part of Christian practice, Protestant Christianity fills a gap opened up by the change in traditional familial and social structures. By discussing specific aspects relating to the communal nature of Christianity, such as familism, elitism, and dynamics at work in face-to-face evangelism, this paper offers an alternative reading of existing studies.
- Political Geography:
- China
121. Byways and Highways of Direct Investment: China and the Offshore World
- Author:
- William Vlcek
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper examines a lacuna in the literature on foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to China: the absence of analysis for the prominent location of small Caribbean and Pacific islands as leading sources of FDI. An indeterminate amount of domestic capital is embedded in these FDI flows, which distorts comparative studies on FDI in developing economies between China and other states. Direct investment from China has also increased in recent years and offshore financial centres (OFCs) often serve as the initial destinations. This paper excavates the rationales behind the presence of OFCs and suggests that Chinese actors will emulate the practices of developed state multinational corporations and high-net-worth individuals. The implications of these investment practices are outlined along with possible trajectories for their impact on the process of financial liberalisation in China. Consequently, it encourages increased Chinese participation in the development of global financial governance.
- Topic:
- Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- China
122. The Taiwan Dilemma: China, Japan, and the Strait Dynamic
- Author:
- Jason J. Blazevic
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- Many Chinese and Japanese authorities believe Taiwan is essential to their respective states' national security due to the island's geographic centrality and beneficial proximity to nearby and distant sea lanes. Of further importance is Taiwan's immediacy to territorial and resource disputes between China and Japan. This article focuses on the security concerns and strategies of both states and applies realism, its tenets of defensive and offensive realism, and neoliberalism in order to better comprehend those concerns and strategies and also provide probable solutions.
- Topic:
- Oil
- Political Geography:
- Japan, China, and Taiwan
123. Liberalisierung in Zeiten der Instabilität: Spielräume unkonventioneller Partizipation im autoritären Regime der VR China
- Author:
- Günter Schucher
- Publication Date:
- 06-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- Unkonventionelle Partizipation in autoritäre n Regimen wird in der Regel als Bedrohung für das politische System und als Beitrag zu se iner Demokratisierung gesehen. Diese Sichtweise vernachlässigt allerdings, dass Proteste nicht unbedingt gegen das System gerichtet sind und dass die politische Führung nicht nur reagiert, sondern auch selbst Möglichkeiten hat, Legitimität zu generier en. Sie kann z. B. die Beteiligungsmöglichkeiten erweitern, ohne Entscheidungsmacht abzugeben, oder au ch die Verantwortung für die Lösung von Konflikten auf die lokale Ebene verschieben, um so Schuldzuweisungen für negative Folgen ihrer Politik zu vermeiden. Eine Auswert ung von Protestereignissen in China zeigt, dass es der chinesischen Führung mit diesen Stra tegien bisher gelungen ist, ihre Position zu stabilisieren.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Communism, and Government
- Political Geography:
- China
124. "Building a New Socialist Countryside" – Only a Political Slogan?
- Author:
- Anna L. Ahlers and Gunter Schubert
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- In March 2006, China's National People's Congress officially promulgated the central government's intention to “build a new socialist countryside”, a new policy initiative and approach to rural development. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in two Chinese counties in 2008 and 2009, this article investigates how the new policy is being substantiated and implemented at the local level. It argues that by combining China's new fiscal system of transfer payments to poor local governments with administrative reforms, intensified internal project evaluation, and efforts to increase the rural income through a mixture of infrastructural investment, agricultural specialization, the expansion of social welfare, and accelerated urbanization, “building a new socialist countryside” constitutes more than a political slogan and has the potential to successfully overcome rural poverty and the rural-urban divide.
- Political Geography:
- China
125. The Centrality of Actors and Interfaces in the Understanding of New Ruralities: A Chinese Case Study
- Author:
- Norman Long and Jinlong Liu
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper aims to demonstrate the advantages of adopting an ethnographic, actor interface approach to understanding the ongoing dynamics of rural development and policy intervention processes. It does so through the discussion of an EU-fun ded project orientated to introducing village-level forest-management practices in north-west China. The case highlights the ongoing everyday struggles over livelihoods and resources and focuses on the negotiations that take place between the various social actors involved. The case analysis is preceded by a broad- sweep overview of the rise of new ruralities and a discussion of the key elements of an actor interface analysis. The article concludes with a call for more cross-country and cross-regional studies of this kind.
- Political Geography:
- China
126. Social Security for China's Migrant Workers – Providing for Old Age
- Author:
- Andrew Watson
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- The concept of “migrant workers” derives from the house- hold registration system of China's planned economy period. The continued existence of that system conflicts with the development of an integrated labour market. The current social security system, based on household registration and a large number of local pools, discriminates against migrant workers because of their mobility and the lack of mechanisms to transfer benefits between pools. As a result, migrants have made major contributions to China's economic development but do not get the same benefits as urban residents. Faced with this challenge, China's government has begun to introduce policy reforms to improve social security for migrants. This article explores this development through a focus on old-age insurance. It analyses the special needs of migrants, the obstacles facing policy development and the proposed solutions. It argues that social justice and social equity require the development of a system that treats all citizens equally, and that the logic of an integrated labour market will ultimately require a unified national system of old-age insurance.
- Political Geography:
- China
127. China's Urban-Rural Integration Policies
- Author:
- Ye Xingqing
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- The analysis presented here is based on the keynote speech discussing the most recent development s in rural policy on urban-rural integration in China delivered in Chinese by Professor Ye Xingqing at the Ninth European Conference on Agriculture and Rural Development in China (ECARDC9) held at the University of Leeds in the UK on 3-5 April 2009. Professor Ye's paper provides a comprehensive overview of the main initiatives, their rationale and their context, including some of the debates surrounding them. Professor Ye, who is an invited keynote speaker of ECARDC9 and the director-general of the Department for Rural Economy, Research Office of the State Council, People's Republic of China, has been personally involved in the process of formulating these policy initiatives. This translation of his paper seeks to convey properly the author's meanings and to strike a balance between documenting the official perspective and rationales, including the use of concepts, on the one hand and ease of comprehension on the other. The translator's notes are intended only for the clarification of, not commentary on, the content.
- Political Geography:
- China
128. Reorganizing Rural Public Finance: Reforms and Consequences
- Author:
- John Q. Tian
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This article examines recent reforms to restructure rural public finance in China and their impact on local-government finance. The focus is on how fiscal income and financial expenditure are managed by local-level governments, particularly at the county and township levels, and how rural public and social services are financed. The article also looks at the development of intergovernmental transfers, ongoing administrative reform, more recent initiatives to extend public finance to cover rural residents as part of the comprehensive rural reform, and a new campaign to build a new socialist rural China.
- Political Geography:
- China
129. Where Minds Meet: The "Professionalization" of Cross-Strait Academic Exchange
- Author:
- Günter Schucher
- Publication Date:
- 08-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- In international relations, transnational academic exchange or, more generally, cultural exchange is usually seen as a function of the quality of bilateral relations. As a variety of public diplomacy intended to win the “hearts and minds” of intellectuals in another country, the development of educational exchanges depends on the twists in foreign policy. Academic exchange across the Taiwan Strait commenced in the late 1980s, directly after the lifting of the travel ban, and had gathered momentum by the mid-1990s. It even accelerated further after the inauguration of the pro-independence Chen-government in Taiwan in 2000, creating the “paradox” of the expansion of social contacts in times of frosty political relations. One possible explanation for this is that due to the rather unique situation in the Taiwan Strait people-to-people exchanges between Taiwan and mainland China have been officially promoted as a substitute for official contacts. What is often neglected by analysts of cross-Strait relations, however, is the fact that academic exchange is also a response to the global pressure to internationalize higher education. Within this two-dimensional framework (international relations and the internationalization of higher education), cross-Strait academic exchange has been developing its own dynamic. The outcome has been an increasing amount of nonofficial communication and the growing “professionalization” (in the sense of the academic profession) of academic exchange.
- Topic:
- International Relations
- Political Geography:
- China, Taiwan, and Asia
130. Beijing Bubble, Beijing Bust: Inequality, Trade, and Capital Inflow into China
- Author:
- James K. Galbraith, Sara Hsu, and Wenjie Zhang
- Publication Date:
- 09-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper explores the relationships between inequality, trade, and capital flows into China since the early 1990s and particularly in the first years of the present decade. We show that the rise in economic inequality in China has more to do directly with the activities associated with China's financial and building boom, notably in Beijing, than with the massive growth in manufacturing employment and in Chinese exports since China joined the WTO in 2001. Nevertheless, it is likely that a flow of profits from the export boom did feed the speculative fires in the capital and elsewhere, and therefore it should be no surprise that the fall of one should be linked to the fall of the other, in a particularly painful reduction of economic inequality.
- Topic:
- International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- China
131. Realpolitik Dynamics and Image Construction in the Russia-China Relationship: Forging a Strategic Partnership?
- Author:
- Maria Raquel Freire and Carmen Amado Mendes
- Publication Date:
- 09-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- Russia and China are two big players in the international system, both of which share interests and concerns and compete for preponderance and affirmation at the regional level. As a framework for political-military cooperation, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) frames this relationship in an institutional setting that might be understood as a tool for rapprochement between Moscow and Beijing or as a strategic manoeuvre for balancing an unbalanced international order. Thus the following question arises: is Russian-Chinese cooperation discourse mere political rhetoric or does it imply the intentional forging of a goal-orientated partnership? The relationship between Russia and China in political and security terms reveals identifiable common concerns, such as counter-terrorism or the fight against organised crime, while simultaneously masking the underpinning drivers, based on realpolitik dynamics and image construction on both sides (power projection, regional affirmation). This means that the strategic partnership dialogue between Moscow and Beijing is still far from being real. Realpolitik considerations rise above institutional goals, showing the lines of (dis)continuity in discourse and practice in this bilateral relationship.
- Topic:
- Security
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, Beijing, and Moscow
132. Nationalismus im Sonderangebot –Coca-Cola-Werbung zwischen Lifestyle-Kreation und politischer Mythenbildung
- Author:
- Nora Frisch
- Publication Date:
- 09-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- Nationalism in the sense of symbols or actions glorifying the fatherland can be detected in many Chinese commercials today. In the form of a mythical narration, various aspects of an idealized China image are communicated, an image designed to bring about a sense of identity for all Chinese people. While first and foremost serving consumer preferences, these emotionally charged constructions of a "super nation" can also be interpreted in an ideological sense. Seen against the background of the public discourse on patriotism underway since 1989, this "Sinization" of advertising suggests the more or less subtle influence of party-state propaganda. In analysing TV commercials and interpreting their content, the ambivalent position and general background of advertisers must, however, be kept in mind. Even as they attempt to address and leverage popular trends, these advertisers are part of the community that has shaped the worldviews and values (some of them ideological) that are also reflected in the ads.
- Topic:
- Nationalism
- Political Geography:
- China
133. China's Employment Crisis – A Stimulus for Policy Change?
- Author:
- Günter Schucher
- Publication Date:
- 09-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- In the face of severe job problems, China's government has adopted a huge stimulus package in a bid to achieve eight per cent economic growth, which is said to guarantee at least enough jobs for the new entrants to the labour market. The real situation, however, will be much grimmer than statistics indicate. Unregistered groups like unemployed rural migrants, job-searching college graduates, laid-off workers and others together with the officially registered unemployed and the new market entrants could add up to 42 million altogether, while even the most optimistic estimates say only around 15 million new jobs could be created in 2009. Nevertheless, the stimulus package demonstrates an at least temporary shift in economic policy from capital-intensive to labour-intensive growth. Additionally, the new initiatives to boost social-security spending could help to address the grievances of the most vulnerable groups in the labour market. The Chinese government's reaction to the emerging employment crisis once again demonstrates the often underestimated adaptability of China's leadership.
- Topic:
- Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- China
134. Chinese Perceptions of Russian Foreign Policy During the Putin Administration: U.S.-Russia Relations and "Strategic Triangle" Considerations
- Author:
- Joseph Yu-shek Cheng
- Publication Date:
- 09-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This article examines the Chinese perception of Russian foreign policy during the Putin administration by analysing Beijing's assessment of Russia's foreign policy objectives and its policy towards the U.S., as reflected in the official media and the authoritative publications of China's major security and foreign policy think tanks. Promoting multipolarity and checks and balances against U.S. unilateralism has been a very significant consideration on the part of the Chinese leadership. Using the concept of the "strategic triangle", the article demonstrates how changes in U.S.-Russian relations have probably become the most important variable in this push for multipolarity. In the past decade and a half, Sino-Russian relations have improved when Russia has become disappointed with the support it received from the U.S. There have also been periods of time when Russia has anticipated closer relations with the U.S. and thus neglected China's vital interests. The Chinese leadership, however, has exercised restraint at such times. There has been greater optimism in Beijing concerning Sino-Russian relations in recent years because of the expanding economic ties, Russia's increasing oil wealth and Putin's authoritarian orientation.
- Topic:
- Security and Foreign Policy
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, and China
135. Casino Capitalism and Its Legitimacy Impact on the Politico-administrative State in Macau
- Author:
- Sonny Lo
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- Casino capitalism has its dialectical tendencies in Macau. On the one hand, it stimulates economic growth, provides employment, and strengthens the post-colonial state in Macau during the period of economic boom. On the other hand, casino capitalism can widen the income gap between the rich and the poor, generate addictive gambling, and de-legitimize the post-colonial state in Macau during the global and regional economic downturn. The weaknesses of the politico-administrative state in Macau, including the absence of institutional checks and balances, the frail civil society and the relatively docile mass media, have magnified the negative impacts of casino capitalism on Macau. In response to the negative ramifications, the Macau government has taken measures to be more interventionist, to enhance social welfare, and to prepare contingency plans that would tackle the sudden bankruptcy of any casinos. The central government in Beijing also displays contradictory considerations when it deals with Macau's casino development, supporting the casino industry while simultaneously encouraging the Macau government to diversify its economy. Overall, casino capitalism not only has contradictory impacts on the Macau city-state but also reveals the inherent contradictions of Beijing's policy toward the territory's over-dependence on the casino economy.
- Topic:
- Politics
- Political Geography:
- China
136. Urban Image Construction in Macau in the First Decade after the "Handover", 1999-2008
- Author:
- Hendrik Tieben
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper describes the transformation of Macau's urban image in the first decade after the "handover" of the Portuguese enclave to the People's Republic of China (PRC). In the pre-handover years and the first years of the newly established Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR), urban interventions created an image thought to assure the continuity of Macau's Eurasian identity along with future financial stability. In 2002, with the governmental decision not to renew the local gambling monopoly, Macau's urban image was radically transformed. The liberalization of the gambling industry after Macau's return to the PRC was combined with the deregulation of building heights, developer-friendly land sales, a growing number of migrant workers, and the liberalization of travel restrictions for mainland visitors. These deregulations were based on decisions by the MSAR and the PRC governments, respectively, and led to the exponential growth of Macau's GDP within only six years. This paper describes how, through these decisions, Macau's urban image and space have been transformed.
- Political Geography:
- China and Eurasia
137. Emerging Issues for Cultural Tourism in Macau
- Author:
- Hilary du Cros
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- Recent research on achieving sustainable heritage tourism in Macau advocates a greater collaboration between tourism and heritage management authorities and the local community on reaching sustainable tourism goals. A key theme for Macau in the last ten years has been how the tension between the proponents for greater casino development versus those for cultural heritage product development has played out in government policies for heritage management, private sector tourism development and host community concerns about heritage protection and achieving quality tourism. The indirect influence of the central government on Macau Special Administrative Region's (SAR's) policy development in relation to these topics in the last ten years will be discussed in this context using findings from three recent studies by the Institute For Tourism Studies (IFT) and background information collected on government policy and community views. This paper will outline emerging issues regarding demand, supply, and impacts of cultural tourism with reference to findings from four recent research projects. Special reference will be made to over-use and under-use issues, authenticity, and the management of tourism impacts while enhancing visitor experience. Strategic planning and management of cultural tourism products will also be touched upon.
- Political Geography:
- China
138. Macau Residents as Border People – A Changing Border Regime from a Sociocultural Perspective
- Author:
- Werner Breitung
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- The concept of border people refers to people living with borders, dealing with the related difficulties and taking advantage of the respective opportunities. This concept is here applied to the residents of Macau, whose border checkpoint to the mainland has become one of the busiest in the world. Even though the border control is still in place, it has become very common for Macau residents to cross the border on an everyday basis. This paper links the people's border-related attitudes and activities to the process of Macau's integration with China and argues that the "integration from below" manifested in the growing exchange of people is a crucial factor in the overall integration process.
- Topic:
- Border Control
- Political Geography:
- China
139. Valuing Heritage in Macau: On Contexts and Processes of Urban Conservation
- Author:
- Thomas Chung
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper examines the evolving values of urban heritage in Macau in terms of the various conservation approaches and mechanisms employed, and the shifting emphases on heritage and development within the context of continuity and change in Macau. Accumulated over four centuries of cultural interchange, the richly layered Historic Centre of the former Portuguese-administered outpost attained World Heritage status in 2005. After situating the problem pertaining to the multifaceted nature of heritage valorisation, the city's trajectory of urban conservation leading up to the 1999 retrocession will be traced, and germane issues concerning heritage management vis-à-vis effects of post-handover urban developments assessed. As the latest culmination of value imbalances and conflicts arising from urban change, the Guia Lighthouse controversy will be critically appraised to speculate on a timely re-evaluation of Macau's heritage conservation process.
- Political Geography:
- China
140. „Das olympische Feuer brennt. Und mit ihm lodert das Misstrauen" – Die Chinaberichterstattung während der Olympischen Sommerspiele in Beijing 2008 ("The Olympic Torch Burns, and Great Suspicion Blazes" – China Narratives in the German Media during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing 2008)
- Author:
- Michael Poerner
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper focuses on the description of China in leading German daily and weekly newspapers during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. On the basis of a brief outline of the main China narratives in German media since the 1950s, this paper analyses China-related articles which were published during the period August 8-15, 2008. It argues that reports on China are mostly based on well established German notions of China and centre around the image of a despotic and/or dangerous China. Therefore, they primarily refer back to the source culture and contain little information of value regarding the target culture.
- Topic:
- Mass Media
- Political Geography:
- China and Beijing
141. Die Strukturreformen des chinesischen Statistiksystems
- Author:
- Günter Moser
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- The quality of statistical data covering the economic and social development of the People's Republic of China has been questioned by international and national data users for years. The reasons for this doubt lie mainly in the structure of the Chinese system of statistics. Two parallel systems exist which operate largely autonomously: the national system of statistics and the sectoral system of statistics. In the area of the national statistical system, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has the authority to order and collect statistics. This competence lies with the ministries and authorities below the ministerial level. This article describes and analyses these structures, the resulting problems, and the reform measures taken to date. It also aims to provide a better understanding of the statistical data about the People's Republic of China and to enable an assessment of them within a changing structural context. In conclusion, approaches to further reforms will be provided based on the author's long-standing experience in cooperation projects with the official Chinese statistics agencies.
- Topic:
- Economics
- Political Geography:
- China
142. China's Politics under Hu Jintao
- Author:
- François Godement and Mathieu Duchâtel
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This special issue focuses on Hu Jintao's first mandate in power, between the Sixteenth and the Seventeenth Party Congress (2002-2007). It considers two intertwined issues: power viewed through the lens of party politics, and actual policy changes that may have emanated from a mandate initially loaded with expectations. Besides the domestic dimensions of elite politics and ideological change, two central aspects of Chinese politics, the key question tackled in this issue is the ability of a new general secretary to transform past policies, especially in the realms of foreign affairs and national security since they are by tradition – and constitutionally – the responsibility of China's paramount leader.
- Topic:
- Politics
- Political Geography:
- China
143. The Chinese Communist Party: Recruiting and Controlling the New Elites
- Author:
- Cheng Li
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This article explores two interrelated aspects of the new dynamics within the CCP leadership – the new elite groups and the new ground rules in Chinese politics. The first shows profound changes in the recruitment of the elite and the second aims to reveal the changing mechanisms of political control and the checks and balances of the Chinese political system. The article argues that the future of the CCP largely depends on two seemingly contradictory needs: how broad-based will the Party's recruitment of its new elites be on the one hand and how effective will the top leadership be in controlling this increasingly diverse political institution on the other. The emerging fifth generation of leaders is likely to find the challenge of producing elite harmony and unity within the Party more difficult than their predecessors. Yet, the diverse demographic and political backgrounds of China's new leaders can also be considered a positive development that may contribute to the Chinese-style inner-Party democracy.
- Topic:
- Development
- Political Geography:
- China
144. Remaking the CCP's Ideology: Determinants, Progress, and Limits under Hu Jintao
- Author:
- Heike Holbig
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- Two decades after the predicted “end of ideology”, we are observing a re-emphasis on party ideology under Hu Jintao. The paper looks into the reasons for and the factors shaping the re-formulation of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) ideology since 2002 and assesses the progress and limits of this process. Based on the analysis of recent elite debates, it is argued that the re making of ideology has been the consequence of perceived challenges to the legitimacy of CCP rule. Contrary to many Western commentators, who see China's successful economic performance as the most important if not the only source of regime legitimacy, Chinese party theorists and scholars have come to regard Deng Xiaoping's formula of performance-based legitimacy as increasingly precarious. In order to tackle the perceived “performance dilemma” of party rule, the adaptation and innovation of party ideology is regarded as a crucial measure to relegitimize CCP rule.
- Topic:
- Economics
- Political Geography:
- China
145. Managing Stability in the Taiwan Strait: Non-Military Policy towards Taiwan under Hu Jintao
- Author:
- Wu-ueh Chang and Chien-min Chao
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- China's Taiwan policy has been one of coupling intimidation (the “stick” approach) with coercion (the “carrot ” approach), a policy mix which, in the near term, is not likely to change, as is evidenced by the passage of the “Anti-Secession Law” in March, 2005. However, un- der Hu Jintao, the focus has been on pragmatism. The warm atmosphere that presently reigns in the Taiwan Strait area is unprecedented. Further talks are expected before the two cross-Strait leaders are slated to step down, simultaneously, in 2012. An era of reconciliation and negotiations has dawned. For the first time there is consensus regarding norms of interaction between the two sides. Cross-Strait relations have stabilized after years of tumult. More open, stable and predictable cross-Strait relations are in the interests of both sides. Difficulties surely lie ahead, but they will be dealt with in a different manner than what has been witnessed in the past.
- Political Geography:
- China and Taiwan
146. China's Climate- and Energy-security Dilemma: Shaping a New Path of Economic Growth
- Author:
- Karl Hallding, Guoyi Han, and Marie Olsson
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- China is undergoing modernization at a scale and speed the world has never witnessed. As climate change increasingly dominates the global agenda, China faces the challenge of shaping a new growth path in a climate-constrained world. The paper argues that China's current climate and energy policy is, at best, a “repackaging” of existing energy and environmental strategies with co-benefits for the mitigation of climate change. Nevertheless, even though policies are not climate-change driven, the quick (rhetorical) endorsement of low-carbon development and the strong momentum of green technologies indicate that political ambitions are in favour of finding a more sustainable development pathway. A new growth path would, how-ever, require a fundamental shift, with development and energy strategies being set within climate security constraints. The eventual success of this new path remains uncertain.
- Topic:
- Security, Climate Change, Economics, and Environment
- Political Geography:
- China
147. Climate Change in China – The Development of China's Climate Policy and Its Integration into a New International Post-Kyoto Climate Regime
- Author:
- Andreas Oberheitmann and Eva Sternfeld
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- According to the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report, global emissions of carbon dioxide have to be reduced by about 80 per cent by 2050 in order to stabilise the increase in global temperature at 2 to 2.4°C by 2100 compared with its pre-industrial level. An increase of only 2°C would bring about “acceptable” negative impacts on the eco-systems and the world economy. Without a reduction in CO2 emissions in China, however, it will be hard to achieve this goal. Currently, China is already responsible for about 50 per cent of the worldwide increase in CO2 emissions recorded over the past ten years. On the other hand, it is the industrialised countries that are mainly responsible for the greenhouse-gas emissions of earlier years. Taking the challenges of China's economic growth, its impact on future CO2 emissions and the development of China's climate policy into account, this article develops a new post-Kyoto regime based on cumulative per-capita emission rights.
- Topic:
- Economics and Environment
- Political Geography:
- China
148. China's Economic Policy in the Time of the Global Financial Crisis: Which Way Out?
- Author:
- Margot Schüller and Yun Schüllerr-Zhou
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This contribution analyses the impact of the global financial crisis on the Chinese economy and the policies implemented by the Chinese government to cope with it. We argue, first, that China has not been able to decouple its economic performance from that of the U.S. and other developed countries. Second, although economic growth in the second quarter of 2009 showed that the stimulus package is working, the current development does not seem to be sustainable. In order to avoid another round of overheating, the government needs to adjust its stimulus policy. Third, the current crisis offers opportunities to conduct necessary structural adjustments in favour of more market-based and innovative industries, more investment by private companies and a stronger role of private consumption in economic growth. Fourth, with the external demand from the OECD countries declining, Chinese export companies need to further diversify their international markets and re-orient their production and sales strategies to some extent towards the domestic market.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- United States and China
149. The Chinese Meaning of Just War and Its Impact on the Foreign Policy of the People's Republic of China
- Author:
- Nadine Godehardt
- Publication Date:
- 09-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- The image of China's peaceful rise, which the Chinese government is keen to enforce in the world, stands in contrast to the view of China's ascent as a threat. China's economic and military growth is perceived as a potential threat to the (East) Asian security structure and as a challenge to the preponderance of the United States. Even though the PRC is more active in international and regional organizationsand better integrated in the international communitythan ever before, the ambiguity of China's true political intentions is still dominant.
- Topic:
- Civil Society and International Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, Israel, East Asia, and Asia
150. Empire, Hegemony, and Leadership: Developing a Research Framework for the Study of Regional Powers
- Author:
- Sandra Destradi
- Publication Date:
- 06-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- Regional powers are often conceived of as “regional leading powers,” states which adopt a cooperative and benevolent attitude in their international relations with their neighbors. The paper argues that regional powers can follow a much wider range of foreign policy strategies in their region. Three ideal-typical regional strategies are identified: empire, hegemony, and leadership. The paper is devoted to a theory-led distinction and clarification of these three terms, which are often used interchangeably in the field of international relations. According to the goals pursued, to the means employed, and to other discriminating features such as the degree of legitimation and the type of self-representation by the dominant state, the paper outlines the essential traits of imperial, hegemonic, and leading strategies and identifies subtypes for better classifying hegemony and leadership.
- Topic:
- International Relations, International Political Economy, and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- China, India, and Brazil
151. EU-African Economic Relations: Continuing Dominance, Traded for Aid?
- Author:
- Dirk Kohnert
- Publication Date:
- 07-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- Promising growth rates, increased trade, and competition among major global players for African resources have boosted the development and bargaining power of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in relation to the EU. However, Africa's least developed countries remain vulnerable to external shocks. Academic analysis is still too heavily influenced by scholastic controversies. Neither the controversy over “big-push” concepts nor the blaming of African culture as an impediment to growth or good government do justice to the real issues at stake. Even beyond the aftermath of (neo) colonialism, and notwithstanding continuing deficits in good government in many African countries, the EU bears responsibility for the fragile state of many African economies. The self-interested trade policies of the EU and other world powers contribute to poverty and unsatisfactory development in SSA. This threatens to perpetuate asymmetrical power relations in the new Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), to the detriment of regional integration and pro-poor growth. How- ever, mounting competition between China and other global players for Africa's resources is resulting in windfall profits for Africa. The latter is leading to a revival of seesaw politics, already known from the times of the Cold War, on the part of African states. This could be profitable for Africa's power elite, but not necessarily for Africa's poor.
- Political Geography:
- Africa, China, and Europe
152. The EU's Foreign Policy after the Fifth Enlargement: Any Change in Its Taiwan Policy?
- Author:
- Günter Schucher
- Publication Date:
- 02-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- On 1 May 2004, the world witnessed the largest expansion in the history of the European Union (EU). This process has lent new weight to the idea of an expanded EU involvement in East Asia. This paper will examine the question of whether there has been a change in the EU's foreign policy with respect to its Taiwan policy after the fifth enlargement. It analyses the EU's policy statements on Asia and China to find evidence. The political behaviour of the EU has not changed, although there has been a slight modification in rhetoric. The EU – notwithstanding its claim to be a global actor – currently continues to keep itself out of one of the biggest conflicts in East Asia. The new members' interests in the East Asia region are too weak to alter the EU's agenda, and their economic priorities are rather linked to the programmes of the EU than vice versa.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy
- Political Geography:
- China, Europe, Eastern Europe, Taiwan, East Asia, and Asia
153. The Emergence of a New 'Socialist' Market Labour Regime in China
- Author:
- Gunter Schucher and Jutta Hebel
- Publication Date:
- 12-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- China's transition to a market economy has been a process of basic institutional changes and institution building. The institutional change from a socialist labour regime (SLR) as one of the backbones upholding the traditional leninist system to a new 'socialist' market labour regime (SMLR) became particularly important for the success of economic and political reforms. This analysis is based on the analytical framework of regimes and makes use of the idea of path dependence. An ensemble of institutions, mutually interconnected and influencing each other, forms the regime and shapes its trajectory. Six institutions are identified to constitute the employment regime: (1) the system of social control, (2) the production system, (3) the system of industrial relations, (4) the welfare system, (5) the family order, and (6) the educational system. The SMLR is still characterised by its socialist past and differs from other varieties of transformation labour regimes and bears little resemblance to labour regimes in Western market economies.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, and Markets
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
154. Challenging Party Hegemony: Identity Work in China's Emerging Virreal Places
- Author:
- Karsten Giese
- Publication Date:
- 01-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- The Chinese Communist Party has chosen to base the legitimacy of its rule on its performance as leading national power. Since national identity is based on shared imaginations of and directly tied to territory – hence place, this paper analyses both heterodox models for identification on the national and potentially competing place-based collective identities on the local level. This analysis, based on communication within a number of popular communication forums and on observation of behavior in the physical reality of today's urban China, shows that communication within the virtual and behavior in the real world are not separated realities but form a new virreal spatial continuum consisting of imagined places both online and offline. I argue that ties to place are stronger and identities constructed on shared imaginations of place are more salient the more direct the experience of place is – be the place real, virtual or virreal. Hence in China challenges to one-party rule will probably accrue from competing localized collective identities rather than from heterodox nationalism.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Government, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
155. Ideological Reform and Political Legitimacy in China: Challenges in the Post-Jiang Era
- Author:
- Heike Holbig
- Publication Date:
- 03-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- As a Socialist country undergoing rapid social and economic transition, China presents a revealing case study on the role of ideology in the process of institutional change. Based on Douglass North's theory of institutional change and on David Beetham's theory of political legitimation, this paper argues that recent ideological reforms have been a crucial factor in sustaining the legitimacy of Communist party rule. Ideological change is conceived as a path-dependent process which helps to stabilize the social perception of transition and to frame the party's modernization achievements. At the same time, the dominant role of ideology makes the Chinese party-state, despite its economic success, more vulnerable to legitimacy crises compared to other authoritarian regimes.
- Topic:
- Government and Politics
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia