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5501. 2014 Global Peace Index

Author:
Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP)
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP)
Abstract:
This is the eighth edition of the Global Peace Index (GPI), which ranks nations according to their level of peace. The Index is composed of 22 qualitative and quantitative indicators from highly respected sources and ranks 162 independent states, covering 99.6 percent of the world’s population. The index gauges global peace using three broad themes: the level of safety and security in society; the extent of domestic or international conflict; and the degree of militarisation. In addition to presenting the findings from the 2014 GPI and its seven-year trend analysis, this year’s report includes an updated analysis of the economic impact of violence as well as a detailed assessment of country risk using risk models developed by IEP based on its unique datasets.
Topic:
Security, Violence, Risk, and Peace
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5502. Metrics to Align Mission with Financial Performance: Tips from Practitioners

Author:
Mike McCreless
Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Aspen Institute
Abstract:
Social enterprises and impact investors, along with non-profits and foundations, have invested significant effort in designing metrics to monitor and evaluate impact. Yet these impact metrics do not create as much value as they could. Too often, impact metrics, and the people who manage them, are siloed in their own departments, databases, and discourses, one step removed from strategic and financial decision-making in their organizations
Topic:
International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5503. ANDE Legal Working Group: Entrepreneur Introduction to Term Sheets

Author:
Aspen Institute
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Aspen Institute
Abstract:
This guide provides an introduction to what term sheets are and provides entreprnuers with an overview of the key points to look for in negotiating their own term sheets.
Topic:
International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5504. The G20 needs a growth strategy

Author:
Mike Callaghan
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:
In this Lowy Institute Policy Brief, Director of the G20 Studies Centre Mike Callaghan AM argues that the G20 needs to develop a comprehensive growth strategy to lift global growth and create jobs. Callaghan outlines the steps required to develop such a strategy by the Brisbane G20 Summit.
Topic:
International Development
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5505. Investment Treaties and Industrial Policy: Select Case Studies on State Liability for Efforts to Encourage, Shape and Regulate Economic Activities in Extractive Industries and Infrastructure

Author:
Lise Johnson
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
This paper, prepared in connection with a February 2014 conference organized by the UN Economic Commission for Africa, discusses some of the implications that investment treaties have for investments in infrastructure and the extractive industries. It focuses on liability for government conduct (1) in connection with tenders and negotiations; (2) when responding to questions regarding the legality of the investment; (3) in using performance requirements to leverage benefits and capture spillovers from the investment; (4) changing the legal framework governing an investment in response to evolving needs, circumstances, and interests; (5) administering the investment; and (6) requesting, and responding to requests for, renegotiation. After describing some investment treaty disputes, this paper concludes by outlining options for addressing and minimizing tensions between investment treaties and government policies and practices in these areas.
Topic:
International Political Economy and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5506. The Islamic State

Author:
The Soufan Group
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Soufan Group
Abstract:
The self-styled Islamic State is an accident of history, emerging from multiple social, political, and economic tensions in the Middle East and beyond. It has challenged the territorial divisions imposed on the region following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire by carving out for itself a large area of territory. But ultimately, its impact will flow as much from its challenge to established concepts of government, national sovereignty, and national identity.”
Topic:
Terrorism, International Security, and Islamic State
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5507. 2014-2015 Guide to Women Leaders in International Affairs

Author:
Women's Foreign Policy Group (WFPG)
Publication Date:
08-2014
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Women's Foreign Policy Group (WFPG)
Abstract:
WFPG's Guide to Women Leaders in International Affairs highlights women shaping foreign policy around the world and the role that they play as leaders, diplomats, and policymakers. The Guide provides an index of prominent women from across the international community, including heads of state and government, government ministers and diplomats, and leaders of international organizations and corporations.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Government, United Nations, Women, Leadership, and NGOs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5508. Fragile States Index 2014: The Book

Author:
J. J. Messner, Nate Haken, Krista Hendry, Patricia Taft, Kendall Lawrence, Laura Brisard, and Felipe Umana
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Fund for Peace
Abstract:
The Fragile States Index, produced by The Fund for Peace, is a critical tool in highlighting not only the normal pressures that all states experience, but also in identifying when those pressures are pushing a state towards the brink of failure. By highlighting pertinent issues in weak and failing states, The Fragile States Index—and the social science framework and software application upon which it is built—makes political risk assessment and early warning of conflict accessible to policy-makers and the public at large. The Fragile States Index is an annual ranking of 178 nations based on their levels of stability and the pressures they face. The Index is based on The Fund for Peace’s proprietary Conflict Assessment System Tool (CAST) analytical platform. Based on comprehensive social science methodology, data from three primary sources is triangulated and subjected to critical review to obtain final scores for the Fragile States Index. Millions of documents are analyzed every year, and by applying highly specialized search parameters, scores are apportioned for every country based on twelve key political, social and economic indicators and over 100 sub-indicators that are the result of years of painstaking expert social science research. The 2014 Fragile States Index, the tenth edition of the annual Index, comprises data collected between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013 — thus, certain well publicized events that have occurred since January 1, 2014 are not covered by the 2014 Index.
Topic:
Sovereignty, Authoritarianism, Democracy, Fragile States, Economy, State Building, and Instability
Political Geography:
Africa, Bosnia, Eastern Europe, Balkans, West Africa, Somalia, South Sudan, and Global Focus

5509. Pathways to 'The Future We Want' | Global Civil Society and the Post-2015 Development Agenda

Author:
Luara Lopes
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI)
Abstract:
Luara Lopes examines the main processes of the current international development agenda; including the review of the Millennium Development Goals, the negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the construction of a new, post-2015 global framework.
Topic:
Civil Society, Millennium Development Goals, Sustainable Development Goals, and Institutional Development
Political Geography:
Brazil and Global Focus

5510. State-Sponsored Homophobia (2014)

Author:
Lucas Paoli Itaborahy and Jingsu Zhu
Publication Date:
05-2014
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
ILGA World (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association)
Abstract:
Every year, ILGA World publishes its State-Sponsored Homophobia report, a world survey of sexual orientation laws. Since its first edition, back in 2006, ILGA World’s State-Sponsored Homophobia has been a fundamental resource for those interested in accessing the core information on legislation affecting people on the basis of their sexual orientation. Not only human rights defenders, but also civil society organisations, governmental and United Nations agencies, allies and media worldwide value the publication as one of the main sources of information on the issue. The publication is accompanied by a series of maps and charts illustrating where criminalisation, protection and recognition laws exist.
Topic:
Human Rights, Law, LGBT+, and Homophobia
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5511. Managing Conflict after Civil War: The Power-Sharing and Power-Dividing Approaches

Author:
Matthew Hoddie
Publication Date:
08-2014
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA)
Abstract:
This paper considers two institutional alternatives for managing conflict following the negotiated settlement of civil war. The most common set of institutional structures that former civil war combatants adopt are associated with power sharing. These power-sharing institutions may be constructed across the political, military, territorial, and economic dimensions of state power. Recent research suggests that post-civil war states that specify greater numbers of power-sharing institutions within their peace agreements tend to have a lower risk of the re-initiation of conflict. At the same time, critics of power sharing emphasize that these mechanisms lack a capacity to foster common identities among rivals and have characteristics that are inconsistent with the principles of democracy. An alternative to power sharing for states that are emerging from civil war is the adoption of power-dividing institutions. The core features of the power-dividing approach are limiting the scope of government authority and establishing a wide-ranging system of checks and balances intended to manage the competing interests within a country. In many respects, these institutional structures parallel those established by the constitution of the United States. Those who are sceptical about the power-dividing approach, however, point out that these institutions have not yet been adopted in any state emerging from civil war. It thus remains unclear how effective these structures would be at managing conflict within this particularly challenging environment.
Topic:
Civil War, Political Power Sharing, Democracy, Conflict, and Crisis Management
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5512. Natural Resource Governance: An In-Depth Subfield Mapping and Analysis

Author:
Leila Kazemi
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Natural Resource Governance Institute
Abstract:
Since its incipient stages in the early 2000s, the field of natural resource governance (NRG) has greatly evolved and expanded, with new actors, approaches and target issues proliferating in recent years. Focusing on a core group of organizations working on NRG, this brief maps and analyzes their work with an eye to identifying and detailing areas of overlap and potential synergy to inform programming, strategy and priorities moving forward. At the organizational level, it examines how and why organizations focus their work in particular ways, the tools and strategies they deploy, and their self-perceived comparative advantages. At field level, this brief investigates the perceived collective impacts of NRG efforts thus far, emerging priority areas, and gaps across work that has been done to date. Throughout, particular attention is given to how the Revenue Watch Institute carries out its work and is situated in the field.
Topic:
Corruption, Natural Resources, Governance, and Accountability
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5513. Natural Resource Charter (2nd ed.)

Author:
Natural Resource Governance Institute
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Natural Resource Governance Institute
Abstract:
The Natural Resource Charter is a set of principles to guide governments' and societies' use of natural resources so these economic opportunities result in maximum and sustained returns for a country's citizens. It outlines tools and policy options designed to avoid the mismanagement of diminishing natural riches, and ensure their ongoing benefits. The charter is organized around 12 core precepts offering guidance on key decisions governments face, beginning with whether to extract resources and ending with how generated revenue can produce maximum good for citizens. First launched in 2010 at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the charter was written by an independent group of practitioners and academics, under the governance of an oversight board composed of distinguished international figures with first-hand experience of the challenges faced by resource-rich countries. It relaunched at the 2014 Natural Resource Charter Conference in Oxford, England.
Topic:
Oil, Natural Resources, Business, Tax Systems, Mining, Revenue Management, and Licensing
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5514. Challenging the Conventional: Can Truth Commissions Strengthen Peace Processes?

Author:
The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
Abstract:
This joint report by ICTJ and the Kofi Annan Foundation explores common assumptions about why truth commissions are created in the wake of armed conflict and what factors make them more likely to succeed – or fail. It arises from a high-level symposium hosted by the two organizations in November 2013, which provided an opportunity for policy makers, practitioners, and scholars with significant experience in peacebuilding and transitional justice to discuss and reflect on truth commissions and the challenges of addressing accountability in peace negotiations. The report includes a foreword by Mr. Kofi Annan, a summary of discussions, two analytical papers, five case studies, and a set of conclusions.
Topic:
Transitional Justice, Accountability, Armed Conflict, Truth and Reconciliation, and Truth Commissions
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5515. On the Importance of MC&A to Nuclear Security

Author:
Martha Williams
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM)
Abstract:
Over the past fifty years, the threats posed by nuclear material and nuclear weapons have changed. These changes demand a new response. During the Cold War, the primary concern was that more States might establish programs to develop nuclear weapons. This is still a possibility, however, the concern of State proliferation of nuclear weapons has been joined by a new concern, namely the concern that a non-State actor might acquire a nuclear weapon or misuse nuclear or other radioactive material to create a disruptive nuclear security event. Because the threat has changed, international and national approaches to nuclear security need to change. Measures should be adopted world-wide that respond to the potential for a non-State actor to acquire and misuse nuclear material. (The primary subject of this paper is containing nuclear material threats. However, the same concepts that apply to nuclear material apply to other radioactive material, and from this point forward “nuclear material” could be interchanged with “nuclear and other radioactive material.”) The first step in preventing a non-State actor from acquiring nuclear material is for States to require nuclear facilities (i.e. organizations that possess nuclear material) to establish programs to maintain control over and account for the nuclear material that they possess. Most States already require a program of accounting for and control of nuclear material as part of their international nuclear safeguards programs. Enhancing existing nuclear material control and accounting (MC&A) programs could help to address the evolved threat to nuclear security, in addition to improving safeguards. This paper addresses the need to enhance existing MC&A programs to accommodate the needs of nuclear security. If you know what nuclear material you have, if you know where it is, and if you would recognize if it had gone missing, then you have taken the first step toward protecting people and the environment from misuse of it—one of the primary goals of nuclear security.
Topic:
Regulation, Nuclear Security, and Safeguarding
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5516. Anticipating Climate Mitigation: The Role of Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMRs)

Author:
John Steinbruner
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM)
Abstract:
Global warming is likely to force assertive redirection of global energy markets in order to achieve a prudent standard of mitigation; the resulting process of energy transformation will fundamentally alter prevailing policies and institutional relationships. Efficiency gains and renewable technologies—wind, solar, and biomass—will presumably make substantial contributions, as will carbon sequestration to some extent. But at the moment it seems quite apparent that global mitigation cannot be achieved without a very substantial expansion of nuclear power generation. While current light water reactor technology will likely play a role, this paper argues that smaller modular reactors (SMRs) of innovative design, with innovative institutional arrangements, could contribute to meeting energy demands in a more safe and secure manner. Though many SMR designs are currently being developed, it is doubtful that any of them will be brought to the point of serial production by their current developers under currently projected market conditions. Completed prototype development would almost certainly have to be a public sector initiative undertaken in support of eventual mitigation. This paper explores the potential of developing international structures whereby multiple states and entities could develop several SMR prototypes and serial manufacturing hubs. The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor development process could prove to be a useful analogue to the arrangements necessary to support such large-scale SMR development and deployment.
Topic:
Climate Change, Nuclear Power, Energy, Nuclear Security, and Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5517. Challenges to Developing a Global Satellite Climate Monitoring System

Author:
Mariel Borowitz
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM)
Abstract:
Satellites are critical to the ability to understand and address climate change, due to their unique ability to provide comprehensive global monitoring of the environment. More than 30 nations have been involved in satellite Earth observations, with more than 200 satellite instruments operating in 2014 alone. However, gaps remain in the ability to adequately monitor global climate change, due in part to a lack of international consensus on the definition of an adequate monitoring system. This paper examines ongoing international efforts to identify the requirements of a global satellite climate monitoring system, including high-level efforts by the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and the Committee on Earth Observing Satellites (CEOS), as well as efforts to define more detailed technical requirements being undertaken by GCOS, WMO, and the European Space Agency (ESA). Comparing the distinct processes and interim results of these groups highlights the lack of international consensus on the definition of an adequate global climate monitoring system. Developing such a system is a complex, multifaceted challenge, which requires expert technical knowledge of climate science and satellite capabilities as well as attention to political concerns for sovereignty and long-term international cooperation. The paper examines the adequacy of the current satellite monitoring capabilities by developing a comprehensive dataset including all unclassified Earth observation satellites operating or planned between 1990 and 2020. This analysis shows that within each international effort, gaps in the type of data collected are present. Even when some data is collected on a particular variable, it is not necessarily done in a way that meets technical requirements for climate assessment and forecasting. A lack of free and open data sharing compounds this challenge, further decreasing the amount of data contributing to international climate monitoring efforts. The lack of consensus on the requirements of a global climate monitoring system makes it difficult for nations to use international coordination mechanisms to plan and prioritize future satellite systems. The paper concludes by providing a series of recommended steps to improve harmonization among international efforts. This includes coordinating the bottom-up method used within GCOS with the top-down method used at WMO to identify concrete recommendations that will allow nations to prioritize investments that improve climate monitoring and/or improve the efficiency of the existing system. It recommends consolidating international efforts to define technical requirements to avoid duplication and facilitate prioritization among user groups with regard to which variables should be collected and what technical requirements must be met. A more systematic and integrated approach to system definition will make it possible for nations to shift and/or increase investments in satellite technology to better address agreed-upon needs and priorities.
Topic:
Climate Change, Science and Technology, Governance, Satellite, and Monitoring
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5518. Measuring the effectiveness of Norwegian peace facilitation

Author:
Javier Fabra-Mata
Publication Date:
01-2014
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:
Over the past twenty years Norway has established an international reputation as a peace facilitator. The Oslo Accords and Norway’s active involvement in other peace processes in the 1990s provided the basis for constructing a peace narrative around the supposed disinterestedness and uniqueness of the Norwegian approach, which has evolved over the years, with a major move towards the professionalisation of the country’s peace efforts. Critics have questioned the results and effectiveness of Norwegian peace engagement. While they point to the collapse of peace processes and conflict recurrence, Norwegians engaged in these processes take a more positive view, avoiding absolutes and underscoring instead less spectacular, but nonetheless important achievements. Over and above peace agreements, peace processes can generate a series of tangible and intangibles peace assets – e.g. confidence building, informal peace alliances, formal institutions, etc. – some of which may help to reduce the severity of the conflict and even survive the collapse of the peace process. This expert analysis deals with the issue of conceptualising success in peace facilitation. From a study of the fundamentals underlying Norwegian peace facilitation, it shows the importance of being able to measure the degree of success of peace processes, presenting a three-tier, modular proposal for Norway to capture tangible and intangible gains in the short, medium and long term.
Topic:
Negotiation, Dialogue, Professionalization, and Peace Process
Political Geography:
Norway and Global Focus

5519. Human security twenty years on

Author:
Shahrbanou Tadjbakhsh
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:
The concept of human security, which made its international debut in the 1994 UNDP Human Development Report, adds a people-centered dimension to the traditional security, development and human rights frameworks while locating itself in the area where they converge. Ever since, a number of countries have used the concept for their foreign and aid policies. Although it became the subject of a 2012 General Assembly Resolution, the concept still courts controversy and rejection twenty years after its introduction. Politically, its close association with the notion of the Responsibility to Protect in debates about international interventions has alienated Southern countries that are sceptical about violations of state sovereignty and new conditionalities for receiving aid. No country has adopted it as a goal at the national level, raising scepticism about its utility for domestic policymaking. Yet the concept represents a malleable tool for analysing the root causes of threats and their multidimensional consequences for different types of insecurities. It can be operationalised through applying specific principles to policymaking and can be used as an evaluative tool for gauging the impact of interventions on the dynamics of other fields. The article suggests that Norway not only pursues the goals of human security at the global level, but that it also leads in adopting it as a national goal by scrutinising the country’s domestic policies using this approach.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Development, Human Rights, Responsibility to Protect (R2P), and Human Security
Political Geography:
Norway and Global Focus

5520. Advancing the Women, Peace and Security agenda: 2015 and beyond

Author:
Laura J. Shepherd
Publication Date:
08-2014
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:
This expert analysis evaluates the current state of the United Nations’ Women, Peace and Security agenda, with particular focus on three themes drawn from the most recent UN Security Council resolution (UNSCR) (S/RES/2122): the articulation of a whole-of-UN mandate for improving performance in the implementation of UNSCR 1325; the importance of civil society inclusion at all stages of peace and security governance, including conflict resolution and peace negotiations; and the upcoming High-Level Review that will take place in 2015 on the 15th anniversary of the adoption of UNSCR 1325.
Topic:
Security, Civil Society, United Nations, Women, and Peace
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5521. A new development era? The private sector moves to the centre

Author:
Evan Mawdsley
Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:
The last few years have witnessed the emergence of a loose but potent assemblage of ideas that have all but supplanted the recent “aid effectiveness” agenda. “Development effectiveness”, to use a term that became popular at the 2011 Busan High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, recentres economic growth as the principal engine of international development and foregrounds the private sector as the central driver of this growth. The concerns of good governance, social welfare and poverty reduction are not going to disappear, but their place in the sequencing and focus of many development actors and institutions is changing. Intertwined with this process is the rearticulation of foreign aid (official development assistance) as a catalyst for development, and the growing use of “blended” public and private finances to support investment and growth. If this growing trend in international development thinking and practice is to have genuine development outcomes, then (1) private-sector-led policies and programmes must actively engage with win-lose scenarios and not just assume win-win scenarios; and (2) the quality and not just quantity of economic growth must be supported by the articulation of clear and credible principles, institutional structures, and appropriate metrics and incentive mechanisms, and not simply aspirational statements.
Topic:
Development, Humanitarian Aid, Economic Growth, and Private Sector
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5522. Drugs, (dis)order and agrarian change: the political economy of drugs and its relevance to international drug policy

Author:
Jonathan Goodhand
Publication Date:
10-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:
In May 2014 the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) hosted a workshop, co-funded by NOREF and Christian Aid, designed to facilitate dialogue between scholars working on the political economy of drugs, conflict and development in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The workshop explored how political economy perspectives, derived from long-term empirical research on drugs-affected regions, can enhance understanding of, and policy responses to, drug production and trafficking. This approach, rather than seeing drugs as “exceptional” and “criminal”, seeks to situate the role of illicit economies within broader processes of state formation and agrarian change. Contributions to the workshop revealed the highly differentiated and context-specific dynamics of drug economies, and how different configurations of institutions and security markets can lead to different kinds of relationships between drugs, statebuilding, agrarian change and development. This research does not lend itself to simple policy narratives or prescriptions, but it does suggest that there can be no universal and de-contextualised solutions to “the drug problem”. Dogmatic and irreconcilable positions, adopted by both those advocating harsher prohibition and those arguing for blanket decriminalisation, fail to reflect sufficiently on the impacts such policies will have on drug-producing countries. A more grounded, comparative perspective is urgently needed in an arena where policies are often anything but evidence based and where data are patchy or politicised. Counter-narcotic (CN) strategies, based on a reification of the perceived linkages between drugs, instability and state fragility, often provide only a partial, and in some cases deeply misleading, insight into the economic and political orders that emerge around drug production. Political economy provides a corrective to these deeply entrenched biases and blind spots, by incorporating an analysis of aspects of drug economies and counter narcotics (CN) strategies that are frequently treated as residual or circumvented, including the varying levels and types of violence surrounding drug economies; the complex motives of those involved in drug production and trafficking; the linkages between licit and illicit commodities in processes of agrarian transformation; the potential developmental outcomes of drugs economies; the relationship between illicit economies and differing configurations of authority and rule; and a socially differentiated account of who gains and who loses from counter-narcotics policies. In doing so, political economy approaches provide a powerful analytical lens for developing a more contextually attuned public policy on drugs.
Topic:
Agriculture, Political Economy, and Drugs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5523. When will the global economy return to rapid growth?

Author:
Marek Dabrowski
Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Social and Economic Research - CASE
Abstract:
More than six years have passed since the subprime mortgage crisis began in the US in the summer of 2007. In the following year, it spread to the entire world economy. Its consequences have not been fully overcome yet. Thus it’s not surprising that economists’ attention has been largely devoted to short-term, crisis-related issues like financial deleveraging and repairing the balance sheets of governments, corporations and households. For the macroeconomic policy debate, this means concentrating on demand management by using monetary and fiscal policy tools in order to return to a pre-crisis growth path. Rarely has the question been asked of whether or not this is a realistic goal, i.e., whether post-crisis growth can return to pre-crisis levels. An analysis of growth perspectives in the medium-to-longterm calls for using the neo-classical growth theory, according to which there are three factors at play: labor, capital and total factor productivity (TFP). In this brief we will try to figure out what their expected dynamics are and how much each of them can contribute to economic growth in the foreseeable future.
Topic:
Economic Growth, Global Financial Crisis, Economic Policy, Macroeconomics, and Fiscal Policy
Political Geography:
Global Focus and Global Markets

5524. Iran’s Enriched Uranium Stocks Can Produce Enough HEU for 3 to 5 Nuclear Weapons The World’s Commitment to Nonproliferation is in Doubt Centrifuge Enrichment and the IAEA August 28, 2013 Safeguards Update

Author:
Gregory S Jones
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Nonproliferation Policy Education Center
Abstract:
In various papers since 2008, this author has outlined how Iran’s growing centrifuge enrichment program could provide it with the ability to produce Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) and thereby the ability to manufacture nuclear weapons.2 On August 28, 2013, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) published its latest safeguards update which shows that Iran is continuing to expand its enrichment program.
Topic:
Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear Power
Political Geography:
Iran and Global Focus

5525. A Paradigm Shift thatNever Will Be?:Justin Lin’s New Structural Economics (pdf)

Author:
Ben Fine and Elisa Van Waeyenberge
Publication Date:
01-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
Abstract:
This paper assesses the attempt by Justin Lin, former Chief Economist of the World Bank, to posit a new development paradigm through his New Structural Economics, NSE. Lin’s attempt to redefine development economics deserves scrutiny for at least two reasons. He launched his new framework from the platform that his position as Chief Economist at the Bank. Critical scrutiny of his propositions then allows for continued insights into the complex relationship between scholarship and policy at the Bank and further illuminates, more broadly, the role of the Bank across the spectrum of development economics, development studies and development policy. Second, Lin’s framework claims a return to a “structural” understanding of development, with a strong industrial policy rhetoric emanating from it. This has been greeted with considerable enthusiasm by erstwhile critics of the Bank. Closer scrutiny of the NSE, however, both reveals the flawed nature of its core theoretical notion of comparative advantage and exposes its strong, if unfortunately conservative, commitment to a flawed and incoherently applied neoclassical economics. These issues are explored across Lin’s propositions regarding structural change, the role of the state and finance and are further examined in the context of specific policy interventions that Lin attaches to the NSE.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Industrial Policy, World Bank, and Economic structure
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5526. A Note on Credit Allocation, Income Distribution, and the Circuit of Capital (pdf)

Author:
Paulo dos Santos
Publication Date:
08-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
Abstract:
This note considers the relationship between credit allocation and the aggregate, class distribution of income in the Circuit of Capital. Production and consumption credit inject means of purchase in different locations in the monetary circuits of capitalist reproduction. On the basis of comparative-dynamic analysis of the properties of steady-state evolutions, the note shows that production credit increases the wage share in total income, while consumption credit increases profit shares. These findings hold in general for any evolution in which sectoral revenue- elasticities of outlays measure less than unity. The note also motivates a new endogenous approach to the aggregate distribution of income, and offers new analytical tools facilitating work based on demand-constrained models of the Circuit of Capital.
Topic:
Inequality, Income Inequality, Economic Theory, Credit, and Capital
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5527. A History of Polyvalent Structural Parameters: the Case of Instrument Variable Estimato

Author:
Duo Qin and Yanqun Zhang
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
Abstract:
This paper investigates the rise and fall of the IV method in macro-econometric models and its subsequent revival in micro-econometric models. The key findings are: (i) the IV method implicitly breaks the contemporaneously circular causality postulated in a simultaneous- equation model (SEM) by redefining the conditional variable concerned as a suboptimal conditional expectation of it; (ii) the IV method falls out of favour in macro-econometrics mainly because of lack of empirical validations for such redefinitions; (iii) the IV method wins its popularity in micro-econometrics by its capacity to produce multiple suboptimal conditional expectations of the latent conditional variables of interest under the disguise of an SEM consistent estimator; nevertheless, (iv) such suboptimal conditional expectations give rise to the insurmountable difficulty of credibly interpreting the IV-based parameter estimates, especially in the case of prognosticated omitted variable bias. The findings highlight the methodological drawback of the estimator-centric strategy of textbook econometrics.
Topic:
Economic Theory, Macroeconomics, and Microeconomics
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5528. Modelling Scale Effect in Crosssection Data:The Case of Hedonic Price Regression

Author:
Duo Qin and Yimeng Liu
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
Abstract:
An innovative and simple experiment with cross-section data ordering is carried out to exploit a basic and common feature between many economic variables – nonlinear scale dependence. The experiment is tried on hedonic price regression models using two data sets, one for automobiles and the other computers. The key findings are: (a) Hedonic price indices can be significantly biased if they are constructed using models which disregard possible nonlinear scale effects latent in random data samples; (b) Scale-based data ordering offers considerable potential to filter such scale-dependent information from cross-section samples; (c) The filtering can be easily carried out by systematic adoption of dynamic modelling methods.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Economic Theory, Models, and Price Regression
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5529. Price Non-Convergence in Commodities: A Case Study of the Wheat Conundrum

Author:
Sophie van Huellen
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
Abstract:
The close relationship between commodity future and cash prices is critical for the effectiveness of risk management and the functioning of price discovery. However, in recent years, commodity futures prices, across the board, have appeared increasingly detached from prices on physical markets. This paper argues that while various factors, identified in previous literature, which introduced limits to arbitrage have facilitated non-convergence, the actual extent of non-convergence in these markets is caused by essential differences in the mechanisms of price formation on physical and derivative markets. With reference to the particular case of the CBOT wheat market, the paper shows that the size of the spread between futures and cash prices can be theoretically and empirically linked to the increasing inflow of financial investment into commodity futures markets.
Topic:
Agriculture, Markets, Commodities, and Financialisation
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5530. Capital Flows to Emerging Markets: An alternative Theoretical Framework

Author:
Bruno Bonizzi
Publication Date:
11-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
Abstract:
This paper represents a theoretical contribution to the analysis of international capital flows. It outlines an alternative theoretical framework based on Post-Keynesian monetary theory, and in particular on Hyman Minsky’s Wall Street paradigm and concept of Money-manager capitalism and Jan Toporowski’s theory of capital market inflation. The key aspects of such an approach are, firstly, that in a monetary analysis capital flows need to be understood as “flows of funds”, as opposed to the traditional understanding of capital flows based on “real” decision, such as saving and investment. A consequence of this is the need of focusing on gross rather than net capital flows. Secondly, when considering emerging markets, the asymmetric nature of the international monetary system must be stressed. Thirdly, it is important to understand the specific forms that capital flows take: in today’s world, pension funds and other institutional investors — alongside banks — are key players in the financial markets, and their role in shaping capital flows to emerging markets must be explicitly recognised. This paper synthesises these elements by understanding capital flows as the result of institutional investors portfolio choice. Along the lines of Minsky and Toporowski, portfolio choice by institutional investors need to be assessed in relation to their balance sheet structure, beside risk/return trade-offs and general state of risk aversion
Topic:
Emerging Markets, Capital Flows, Investment, and Economic Theory
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5531. Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Children

Author:
Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination
Publication Date:
03-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, Princeton University
Abstract:
In armed conflict around the world, hundreds of thousands of boys and girls face serious violations of their safety and human rights, including forced recruitment and abduction. Girls are often disproportionately affected by sexual violence, exploitation, and abuse in conflict zones. The day-to-day lives of children in areas of armed conflict are further impacted by attacks on schools and hospitals. Although the United Nations’ Children and Armed Conflict agenda has made tangible progress in recent years to hold perpetrators accountable and to prevent future violations, there remains an urgent need for more effective programs and policies to address the needs of children and families affected by armed conflict. The Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination with Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict and the Permanent Mission of Liechtenstein to the UN convened a workshop in February 2013 to address the current gaps in mandates related to the issue of children in armed conflict in UN Missions, particularly in Afghanistan and Somalia, with the goal of providing specific recommendations on how to strengthen the fight against impunity for persistent violators of the rights of children affected by armed conflicts. The workshop brought together academics, representatives of NGOs, and representatives of UN member states including members of the Security Council and the UN Secretariat for private discussion. The final report was issued as UN document A/67/794-S/2013/158.
Topic:
United Nations, Children, Conflict, Sexual Violence, and NGOs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5532. The Long Shadow of Chinese Censorship: How The Communist Party's Media Restrictions Affect News Outlets Around the World

Author:
Sarah Cook
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
National Endowment for Democracy
Abstract:
The Long Shadow of Chinese Censorship: How the Communist Party’s Media Restrictions Affect News Outlets Around the World provides a survey of this phenomenon and its recent evolution as it pertains to the news media sector, though similar dynamics also affect the film, literature, and performing arts industries. Specifically, this report focuses on six types of media outlets based outside mainland China that together reach news consumers in dozens of countries: major international media; local outlets in Asia, Africa, and Latin America; mainstream media in Hong Kong and Taiwan; exile Chinese outlets providing uncensored news to people in China; and media serving Chinese diaspora communities around the world.
Topic:
Media, Journalism, and Censorship
Political Geography:
China, Asia, and Global Focus

5533. Security Matters

Author:
Centre for European Security Studies
Publication Date:
02-2013
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Centre for European Security Studies
Abstract:
In 2012 CESS conducted a range of activities in Turkey in the framework of the “Good Governance of the Security Sector in Turkey” programme: In March we organised a conference and a follow-up training course in Ankara on Financial Accountability and Budgetary Transparency of the Security Sector. During these events we discussed the main procedures in reviewing defence budgets and particular attention was dedicated to the role of the Court of Accounts. It became clear during the proceedings of both events that despite the fact that changes have been made for the better in Turkey with regard to financial oversight of the security sector, most of these changes unfortunately are only made on paper and are still not put into practice. The auditing process clearly lacks key mechanisms that would make the military more accountable. Therefore the Court of Accounts still has no real leverage over the military in terms of auditing defence spending.
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5534. Gendering Global Conflict: Toward a Feminist Theory of War

Author:
Laura Sjoberg
Publication Date:
08-2013
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Columbia University Press
Abstract:
Laura Sjoberg positions gender and gender subordination as key factors in the making and fighting of global conflict. Through the lens of gender, she examines the meaning, causes, practices, and experiences of war, building a more inclusive approach to the analysis of violent conflict between states. Considering war at the international, state, substate, and individual levels, Sjoberg's feminist perspective elevates a number of causal variables in war decision-making. These include structural gender inequality, cycles of gendered violence, state masculine posturing, the often overlooked role of emotion in political interactions, gendered understandings of power, and states' mistaken perception of their own autonomy and unitary nature. Gendering Global Conflict also calls attention to understudied spaces that can be sites of war, such as the workplace, the household, and even the bedroom. Her findings show gender to be a linchpin of even the most tedious and seemingly bland tactical and logistical decisions in violent conflict. Armed with that information, Sjoberg undertakes the task of redefining and reintroducing critical readings of war's political, economic, and humanitarian dimensions, developing the beginnings of a feminist theory of war.
Topic:
International Relations, Gender Issues, War, International Security, and Political Theory
Political Geography:
Global Focus
Publication Identifier:
9780231520003
Publication Identifier Type:
ISBN

5535. An Empirical Assessment of the Role of Emotions and Behavior in Conflict Using Automatically Generated Data

Author:
Steve Shellman and Sean O'Brien
Publication Date:
07-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace
Institution:
Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research
Abstract:
Automated event data extraction techniques have revolutionized the study of conflict dynamics through the ability of these techniques to generate large volumes of timely data measuring dynamic interactions among actors around the world. In this paper, we describe our approach for adapting these techniques to extract data on sentiments and emotions, which are theorized to crucially contribute to escalating and de-escalating conflict. Political scientists view political conflict as resulting from a series of strategic interactions between groups and individuals. Psychologists highlight additional factors in political conflict, such as endorsements and condemnations, the public’s attitude toward its leaders, the impact of public attitudes on policy, and decisions to engage in armed conflict. This project combines these two approaches to examine hypotheses regarding the effects that different emotional impulses have on government and dissident decisions to escalate or de-escalate their use of hostility and violence. Across the two cases examined—the democratic Philippines and authoritative Egypt between 2001 and 2012—we found consistent evidence that intense societal fear of dissidents and societal disgust toward the government were associated with increases in dissident hostility. Conversely, societal anger toward dissidents was associated with a reduction in dissident hostility. However, we also found noticeable differences between the two regimes. We close the article with a summary of these similarities and differences, along with an assessment of their implications for future conflict studies.
Topic:
Emotions, Conflict, Behavior, and Natural Language Processing
Political Geography:
Philippines, Egypt, and Global Focus

5536. Data Quality for Measuring Political Protest and Government Change

Author:
Charles Lewis Taylor
Publication Date:
07-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace
Institution:
Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research
Abstract:
For analyzing protest and government change, data need to be both reliably measured and valid for the task at hand. Data fundamentalists insist that nothing less than total capture of every event that has taken place is sufficient for analysis. That scenario is, of course, an impossibility. Rather, methods to measure the statistical probability that a sample is appropriate for its targeted universe allow empirical analysis to proceed.
Topic:
Government, Politics, Protests, Data, and Event Indicators
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5537. A Guide to Event Data: Past, Present, and Future

Author:
Philip A. Schrodt and James E. Yonamine
Publication Date:
07-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace
Institution:
Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research
Abstract:
The goal of this paper is to provide a general overview of event data and its importance in the study of political conflict. In doing so, we illustrate how the level of methodological sophistication in the data collection, coding, and analyzing process has progressed from the earliest event-data projects in the 1970s to the most current ones today. Additionally, we highlight ongoing debates in the discipline as well as address key challenges that practitioners of event data will have to overcome to generate increasingly accurate and nuanced analyses in the future.
Topic:
International Relations, Forecast, Conflict, Quantitative, and Data
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5538. Mediation: The Best Way Forward in Conflict Prevention and Resolution

Author:
Ertuğrul Apakan
Publication Date:
01-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace
Institution:
Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research
Abstract:
In recent years, we have seen a growing interest in and support for mediation as a means of preventing conflicts and resolving disputes, not only at the United Nations (UN) headquarters, but also at regional and national levels. As the Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations since 2009, I have witnessed the momentum built around the concept of mediation. Turkey, as the co-chair of the Group of Friends of Mediation, played a leading role in this process. Its membership in the UN Security Council in 2009-2010 also helped Turkey pursue and contribute to this matter within the Council. Today’s security environment demands the UN’s increased attention through different means and tools. Out of the 67 peacekeeping operations that have been deployed in UN history, 54 have been established since 1988. The Security Council currently has over 70 conflicts in its agenda. Two-thirds of these conflicts are related to Africa and the least developed countries. A bulk of UN expenditures is allocated to peacekeeping operations, and the increasing burdens and costs of peacekeeping in the midst of a global financial crisis have also contributed to the rediscovery of preventive diplomacy and mediation as significantly less-costly crisis management options.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, Security, United Nations, and Mediation
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5539. Humanitarian Intervention as a ‘Responsibility to Protect’: An International Society Approach

Author:
Saban Kardas
Publication Date:
01-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace
Institution:
Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research
Abstract:
This article proposes to explain the post-Cold War practice of humanitarian intervention by drawing on the English School’s international society approach. It argues that although the sovereignty versus human rights debate traditionally was framed in dichotomized terms, the post-Cold War practice of humanitarian intervention illustrated the possibility of a via media approach to these competing normative claims. Post-Cold War developments regarding the place of the conventional norms of sovereignty and non-intervention on the one hand and the growing space for the protection of human rights on the other, have eased worries about the prospect for order in the international system and created a suitable environment for including of humanitarian intervention without jeopardizing that order. To contextualize this development, the article will argue that Hedley Bull’s discussion of such key terms as the international society, the centrality of states, the importance of norms, and normative change helps explain intervention in today’s world. By building on that framework, the article draws attention to the enabling and constraining factors highlighted by the international society approach, and as such, concludes that the English school suggests both promise and caution regarding the prospects for humanitarian intervention in modern international relations.
Topic:
Sovereignty, Humanitarian Intervention, International Community, Responsibility to Protect (R2P), and Non-Intervention
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5540. The Negative Impact of the War on Drugs on Public Health: The Hidden Hepatitis C Epidemic

Author:
Global Commission On Drug Policy
Publication Date:
05-2013
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Global Commission On Drug Policy
Abstract:
The hepatitis C epidemic fueled by the “war on drugs” is sweeping amongst injecting drug users around the world, yet continues to be largely ignored. Access to preventive services is far too low and diagnosis and treatment are too expensive and inaccessible for most people in need. The report provides an overview of the hepatitis C virus, while exploring how the ‘war on drugs’ and repressive drug policies are failing to drive transmission down. Hepatitis C is one of the harms caused by repressive drug policies, yet it s both preventable and curable when public health is the focus.
Topic:
Health, War on Drugs, Infectious Diseases, Drugs, and Public Health
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5541. Promoting the Rule of Law Abroad: Towards a Multi-Dimensional Approach

Author:
Manuel Balán
Publication Date:
01-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University (ISID)
Abstract:
Few if any issues are as crucial in ensuring sustainable development as the promotion and consolidation of the Rule of Law (henceforth RoL). In fact, RoL has become a major ingredient in analyses of what is missing in countries struggling for political and economic development. Yet, this objective remains elusive, as there is limited knowledge of what policies work in promoting the Rule of Law. With this in mind, this paper analyzes CIDA’s approach to RoL promotion, tracking how different programs promoted by CIDA addressed RoL concerns. Overall, and despite the term having been left out of CIDA’s priorities for some time, the organization shows interest and investment in RoL related projects. Yet, CIDA’s approach has lacked a clear and explicit direction, and has emphasized projects dealing with capacity building.
Topic:
Corruption, Development, Governance, Rule of Law, and Political Science
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5542. A Tripartite Analysis of Sustainable Development: Environmental, Social, and Political Forms of Sustainability

Author:
Erik Martinez Kuhonta, Amy R. Poteete, and David Rothwell
Publication Date:
01-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University (ISID)
Abstract:
This policy paper examines the question of sustainable development from three distinct angles: environmental, social, and political. Its ambit is broad in order to provide a wide-angle lens on the question of sustainability. The three forms of sustainability are linked through three common themes. These include: the importance of equality, the necessity of institutionalization, and the relationship between states and markets. All three forms of sustainability stress equality as a crucial outcome, pinpoint the need for institutionalization as a structure through which policies can become more effective, and address the relationship between states and markets in engaging with sustainable development.
Topic:
Environment, Politics, Sustainable Development Goals, and Equality
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5543. Targeting the ‘Invisible’: Improving Entrepreneurship Opportunities for Informal Sector Women

Author:
Tonia Warnecke
Publication Date:
01-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University (ISID)
Abstract:
In the wake of global economic downturn, policymakers in many developing countries are turning their gaze upon two things: private sector-led strategies for economic growth and women’s potential to contribute to this growth. As a consequence, female entrepreneurship has been an area of particular interest to policymakers, businesses, and non-governmental organizations, and many female-targeted policies and programs have been implemented, ranging from microfinance and subsidized loans to training and incubator programs. However, the focus on entrepreneurship as a development strategy conceptualizes entrepreneurship in a particular way—as opportunity entrepreneurship. Opportunity entrepreneurs can identify available opportunities and exploit them; they are often highly educated, have prior managerial experience, and have solid job alternatives with good salaries. They also have access to external capital and formal business networks, and operate in the formal sector of the economy. Opportunity entrepreneurs are more likely to have high-growth and high-tech businesses, but a large portion of entrepreneurship in the developing world— street vending, for example—does not fit into this category. Necessity entrepreneurs are driven to entrepreneurship for lack of other job options; they generally operate in the informal sector and lack legal protection, and their businesses do not facilitate upward mobility. The proliferation of necessity entrepreneurship in the developing world is associated with global trends of increasing informal and flexible employment over the last few decades, and it exacerbates gender inequality. Women are more likely than men to be engaged in vulnerable, informal employment across the globe, and even within the informal sector, the highest-paid jobs are primarily held by men, while the lowest-paid jobs are primarily held by women. In nearly all countries, women are more likely to be necessity entrepreneursthan men. However, most existing entrepreneurial programs target the formal sector and neglect the informal sector, disproportionately harming women. Many government-sponsored or private sector-led programs supporting female entrepreneurship focus on highly educated, middle- or upper-income women with prior entrepreneurial experience—a small minority of women. It can be challenging to design programs that effectively meet the needs of informal workers; although international organizations and non-governmental organizations are more likely to reach out to informal sector and rural women, these programs often focus on sustenance rather than business growth. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to designing female entrepreneurship programs for the informal sector. However, improving and tailoring such programs can establish a ladder between necessity and opportunity entrepreneurship, reduce gender inequalities, improve informal sector living conditions, and increase economic dynamism and informal-formal sector linkages in developing countries around the world.
Topic:
Development, Women, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Growth
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5544. Implementation of the 2010 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Action Plan

Author:
Gaukhar Mukhozhanova
Publication Date:
04-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
Abstract:
Three years after the adoption of an Action Plan by the states parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), progress on implementing its disarmament section remains very limited. NPT states parties are approaching the second session of the NPT Review Conference (RevCon) Preparatory Committee (PrepCom), which will convene in Geneva on April 22-May 3, 2013, against a mixed background. On the one hand, there is frustration with the stalemate at the traditional fora and stagnation in implementation of the Action Plan. On the other hand, many states—along with civil society—ar
Topic:
Civil Society, Diplomacy, Nuclear Weapons, Military Strategy, and Nonproliferation
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5545. The Ceasefire Drafter's Handbook: An Introduction and Template for Negotiators, Mediators, and Stakeholders

Author:
Public International Law Policy Group
Publication Date:
05-2013
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Public International Law Policy Group
Abstract:
The Public International Law & Policy Group’s (PILPG) Ceasefire Drafter’s Handbook is a guide intended to effectively supplement the activities of negotiators and drafters of ceasefire agreements. This Handbook draws from PILPG’s experience in ceasefire negotiations, as well as state practice and comparative analysis of over 200 ceasefire agreements from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. As part of the ceasefires practice area, PILPG also provides negotiation simulations, strategic memoranda, training modules, and negotiation and drafting assistance to pro bono clients. For more information about PILPG’s ceasefires work, please visit www.pilpg.org. This Handbook includes an Introduction to Ceasefires and an Annotated Ceasefire Template. The Introduction to Ceasefires provides information on the core elements of ceasefires, the effects of asymmetry on ceasefire agreements, the role of third parties, and the legality of ceasefire agreements. The Annotated Ceasefire Template describes core provisions and provides sample language for drafters to incorporate into ceasefire agreements. Although each template section offers drafters a guiding framework, it may be necessary to reshape the provisions to address the nuances of each situation. This Handbook’s comparative provisions and sample language are included to provide options from existing ceasefires to assist the drafter. A full-text database of all the agreements cited in the footnotes can be found on PILPG’s ceasefire database at www.pilpg.org/ceasefire-database/. There are three Annexes to the handbook. Annex A provides a map of geographic ceasefire elements, Annex B provides a sample chart of assembly areas, and Annex C provides a sample timeline of implementation activities.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Treaties and Agreements, Conflict, Negotiation, Peace, and Ceasefire
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5546. Rhythms and Cycles in Happiness

Author:
Wolfgang Maennig, Malte Steenbeck, and Markus Wilhelm
Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chair for Economic Policy, University of Hamburg
Abstract:
This study analyses time-dependent rhythms in happiness in three aspects. We show that the Sunday neurosis exists exclusively for men with a medium level of education and both men and women with high levels of education. Men with high levels of education may even experience a weekend neurosis. This study is the first to test for intra-monthly rhythms and to demonstrate that men with a lower educational background may suffer from negative effects on happiness towards the end of the month, potentially due to liquidity problems. The study is also the first to demonstrate that – even when controlling for health and income effects – happiness exhibits seasonal effects over the annual period, depending on gender and education.
Topic:
Economics, Happiness, and Neurosis
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5547. Should We Clash or Should I Go? The Impact of Low Wage and Bad Working Conditions on the Exit–Voice Trade-off

Author:
Olivier Godechot and Zinaida Salibekyan
Publication Date:
11-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Max Planck Sciences Po Center on Coping with Instability in Market Societies (MaxPo)
Abstract:
Although Hirschman’s exit–voice theoretical model has been applied to labor markets, research up to now has not tested one of its most important features: the impact of job quality on exit–voice strategies. Hirschman’s model of consumer behavior explains that those individuals unsatisfied with a product’s quality are more likely to “voice,” whereas those more concerned with its price are more likely to “exit.” A rationale for this tradeoff is based on information: first, information on the price of alternative options is much more accessible than information on quality; second, voice produces more information than exit and favors opportunities for specific improvements. We transpose Hirschman’s assumptions to labor markets and use the French SalSa survey and DADS, declaration by employers on social data, to examine the conditions under which French employees are more likely to exit, and the conditions under which they are more likely to voice. Our results support the Hirschmanian hypothesis. A deterioration by one unit in our working-conditions index increases the probability of participation in collective action by 5 percentage points. An increase in log hourly wage by one unit decreases the probability of quitting by 5 percentage points.
Topic:
Economics, Labor Issues, Labor Market, and Workforce
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5548. Le salaire dépend-il du sexe du supérieur ?

Author:
Olivier Godechot
Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Max Planck Sciences Po Center on Coping with Instability in Market Societies (MaxPo)
Abstract:
Do female supervisors promote greater wage equality between men and women? Although female supervisors might want to promote greater equality, might they also lack power, not only to implement this policy, but also to improve the wages of both male and female subordinates? Based on the SalSa and COI surveys, we show that female supervisors do seem to reduce the wage gap between men and women. However, the subordinates of female supervisors also receive lower wages. This phenomenon could be related to selection bias : women become supervisors more easily in sectors, jobs, and departments that are less valued and where wages are lower. Even when adding controls for measurable selection effects, employees with a female supervisor earn 2.5% to 4% less than those with a male supervisor. Although the phenomenon still needs additional confirmation, the wage gap between women and men does seem wider when employees are men (–5% to –10%) than when they are women (0% to –3%). When the supervisor is a woman, the gender gap significantly reduces: from 30% to 85%. Interpreting this phenomenon is still in its infancy. We put forward four lines of interpretation: the unobserved differences between male and female managerial positions; the effect of individual characteristics correlated with the supervisor’s gender; differences between male and female dispositions to negotiation and competition; and, finally, discriminatory corporate behavior towards female demands.
Topic:
Women, Discrimination, Equality, Workforce, and Gender
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5549. Transforming Health: International Rights-Based Advocacy for Trans Health

Publication Date:
02-2013
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
Trans people across the world face substantial barriers to adequate health and health care. They are targets of discrimination and violence, are at greater risk of contracting HIV, and experience a higher incidence of mental health problems like depression. They face discrimination from health care providers, a lack of doctors trained to address their needs, and the refusal of many national health systems and insurance providers to cover their care. Yet trans communities are building alliances to promote trans health and to fight for policies that respect gender diversity and human rights. This report profiles projects from 16 organizations in twelve countries that address these barriers. These projects offered general health services as well as those related to gender transition, trained health care providers to respond to the needs and concerns of trans patients, conducted public education campaigns about discrimination against trans people, advocated for legal and medical policy changes, and organized trans communities to empower themselves. Collecting insights from these projects, Transforming Health makes recommendations to governments, rights advocates, health professionals and public health organizations, and health and rights donors.
Topic:
HIV/AIDS, Gender Issues, Health, Discrimination, LGBT+, Public Health, Sexual Health, and Transgender
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5550. Green Transformation towards Sustainable Development?

Author:
Lisa-Marie Althaus
Publication Date:
05-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Development and Peace
Abstract:
Both the concept of sustainable development (SD) and the new green transformation concepts (GTC) aim for the integration of environmental protection and development. Previous comparative research on these GTC is not based on theoretically founded crite- ria that are related to the established development paradigm of SD. The study closes this research gap by providing a conceptual comparison of different GTC versions as pub- lished by UNEP, the OECD, and the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU). The analysis reveals that GTC concepts are indeed based on central goals and principles of SD. Unlike the concept of SD, the GTC acknowledges planetary boundaries as limits to growth. However, the more economy-focused concepts of UNEP and the OECD do not only disregard important social goals but also concerns of intergenerational equity and the globality principle of SD. In contrast, the WBGU focuses on civil society participation and both intra- and intergenerational equity by aiming for decisive institu- tional changes. It is shown that this GTC partly extends beyond the scope of SD and thus could mark an important step with regard to the further development of the concept.
Topic:
Civil Society, Climate Change, Development, Economics, Green Technology, and Sustainability
Political Geography:
Global Focus