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5751. Exploring Universal Rights: A Symposium

Author:
Jamie Mayerfeld, Henry Shue, Jack Donnelly, Kok-Chor Tan, Charles Beitz, and Brooke A. Ackerly
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Human Rights and Human Welfare - Review Essays
Institution:
Josef Korbel Graduate School of International Studies, University of Denver
Abstract:
The struggle for human rights has been shadowed by philosophical doubt. Can we assert universal human rights without engaging in moral imperialism? Can we have confidence in the moral beliefs that underlie human rights claims? Can we justify human rights to those who do not believe in the intrinsic value of autonomy? Which Rights Should Be Universal?, the first of two projected volumes on human rights, is a significant contribution to this literature. In a series of original and mind-opening arguments, William Talbott, a professor of philosophy at the University of Washington, lifts us over one philosophical impasse after another. Admirers of Which Rights Should Be Universal? will find their thinking about human rights enlarged and enhanced by a wealth of new concepts; critics will be kept busy in answering the book's copious arguments. From any perspective, Professor Talbott's book moves the conversation about human rights onto a new plane.
Topic:
Civil Society, Development, Gender Issues, Human Rights, Political Economy, and Post Colonialism
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5752. Can Scientific Codes of Conduct Deter Bioweapons?

Author:
Jeanne Guillemin
Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:
At least since the First World War, when the German army sabotaged the Allies’ pack animals with anthrax and glanders, worldwide concern about biological weapons has focused on how to improve legal restraints against biological weapons (BW). Over these same years, the major powers have vacillated in their willing- ness to promote international treaties and laws against BW programs. At the end of the Cold War, hopes were high for a global consensus to strengthen the 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC), making it a standing organization comparable to that of the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention and an expanded man- date to ensure compliance. Instead, in the name of national security, the United States has recently promoted an emphasis on voluntary measures. One of these, the international adoption of biosecurity codes of conduct, puts the burden on elite scientists to solve a prob- lem of weapons proliferation that can be better addressed by effec- tive legal restraints.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Science and Technology, Military Strategy, and Biological Weapons
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5753. The Unemployment Impact of Immigration in OECD Countries

Author:
Sébastien Jean and Miguel Jimenez
Publication Date:
07-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
This paper assesses the consequences of immigration for natives' unemployment in OECD countries and investigates the role played by product and labour market policies in the economy's adjustment to immigration inflows. The estimations, combining a skill-level and an aggregate approach using data for males, cover eighteen OECD countries over the period 1984-2003. While no significant long-run impact is found, an increase in the share of immigrants in the labour force is estimated to raise temporarily natives' unemployment, over a period of approximately five to ten years. Anticompetitive product market regulations are found to increase both the magnitude and the persistence of this impact, while more stringent employment protection legislation magnifies its persistence, and a higher average replacement rate of unemployment benefits increases its magnitude.
Topic:
Migration, Labor Issues, Immigration, Developing World, and Unemployment
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5754. Migration in OECD countries Labour Market Impact and Integration Issues

Author:
Sébastien Jean, Orsetta Causa, Miguel Jimenez, and Isabelle Wanner
Publication Date:
07-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
immigration for natives' labour market outcomes, as well as issues linked to immigrants' integration in the host country labour market. Changes in the share of immigrants in the labour force may have a distributive impact on natives' wages, and a temporary impact on unemployment. However, labour market integration of immigrants (as well as integration of second-generation immigrants - both in terms of educational attainments and of labour market outcomes) remains the main challenge facing host economies. In both cases, product and labour market policies have a significant role to play in easing the economy's adjustment to immigration.
Topic:
Migration, Labor Issues, Immigration, and Employment
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5755. Integration of Immigrants in OECD Countries Do Policies Matter?

Author:
Orsetta Causa and Sébastien Jean
Publication Date:
07-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
This working paper assesses the ease of immigrants' integration in OECD labour markets by estimating how an immigration background influences the probability of being active or employed and the expected hourly earnings, for given individual characteristics. Applying the same methodology to comparable data across twelve OECD countries, immigrants are shown to significantly lag behind natives in terms of employment and/or wages. The differences narrow as years since settlement elapse, especially as regards wages, reflecting progressive assimilation. Strong differences in immigrant-to-native gaps are also observed across countries, and the paper shows that they may, to a significant extent, be explained by differences in labour market policies, in particular unemployment benefits, the tax wedge and the minimum wage. In addition, immigrants are shown to be overrepresented among outsiders in the labour market and, as such, highly sensitive to the difference in employment protection legislation between temporary and permanent contracts.
Topic:
Migration, Labor Issues, Immigration, Employment, and Social Services
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5756. Globalisation and Higher Education

Author:
Simon Marginson and Marijk van der Wene
Publication Date:
07-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Economic and cultural globalisation has ushered in a new era in higher education. Higher education was always more internationally open than most sectors because of its immersion in knowledge, which never showed much respect for juridical boundaries. In global knowledge economies, higher education institutions are more important than ever as mediums for a wide range of cross-border relationships and continuous global flows of people, information, knowledge, technologies, products and financial capital. Even as they share in the reinvention of the world around them, higher education institutions, and the policies that produce and support them, are also being reinvented. For the first time in history every research university is part of a single world-wide network and the world leaders in the field have an unprecedented global visibility and power. Research is more internationalised than before and the mobility of doctoral students and faculty has increased. The specifically global element in academic labour markets has gained weight, especially since the advent of global university rankings. This working paper explores the issues for national policy and for individual institutions. Part I provides an overview of globalisation and higher education and the global responses of national systems and individual institutions of higher education. Part II is focused on certain areas of policy with a strong multilateral dimension: Europeanisation, institutional rankings and typologies and cross-border mobility.
Topic:
Education, Globalization, Multilateralism, and Higher Education
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5757. Reducing Risks from Global Imbalances

Author:
Research and Policy Committee of the Committee for Economic Development
Publication Date:
09-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Conference Board
Abstract:
This report traces the evolution of the current large global trade and financial imbalances, examines their sources, and makes recommendations that, if adopted, will help ensure continued growth in the global economy.
Topic:
International Trade and Finance, Economy, Global Political Economy, and Risk
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5758. Adjustment Options and Strategies in the Context of Agricultural Policy Reform and Trade Liberalisation

Author:
Osamu Kubota
Publication Date:
08-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Reforming agricultural policies by reducing distorting support improves economic efficiency as a whole through a better allocation of resources. This implies that adjustment may have adverse effects on some agricultural households and other people engaged in the sector, in particular in the short term. There may also be negative impacts on upstream and downstream sectors and on regional economies that rely on commodities whose prices and production levels fall with reductions in support and protection. Despite pressures to reform to meet multilateral and bilateral trade commitments and to respond to budgetary constraints, these adverse impacts are a major reason why governments find it difficult to make progress in policy reform.
Topic:
Agriculture, Reform, Trade Liberalization, and Trade
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5759. Financing Water Supply and Sanitation Sector in EECCA Countries, including Progress in Achieving Water-Related Millennium Development Goals (MDGS)

Author:
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
Publication Date:
11-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
At their meeting in Almaty in October 2000, EECCA Ministers of Environment, Finance, and Economy, Ministers and senior representatives from several OECD countries, as well as senior officials from International Financial Institutions (IFI), International Organisations, non-governmental organisations, and the private sector, recognised the critical condition of the urban water supply and sanitation sector in EECCA and endorsed "Guiding Principles for the Reform of the Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Sector in the NIS". Participants requested the EAP Task Force to assess progress in implementing these Guiding Principles for review at a major conference of stakeholders that took place in 2005 in Yerevan, Armenia. This paper is an update of a report that was prepared for the Ministerial meeting in Yerevan, drawing on more recent data, and responds to the Ministers' request to prepare such a paper for the Environment for Europe Conference in 2007.
Topic:
Water, Millennium Development Goals, NGOs, and Sanitation
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5760. Security Matters

Author:
Centre for European Security Studies
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Centre for European Security Studies
Abstract:
After fact-finding missions to Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2006, we began running Starlink training courses on democratic governance in the security sector in those countries in February 2007. The first was in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, and our partner was Dr Leila Aliyeva. We took the opportunity to officially open the Starlink programme with a high-level meeting, after which we ran the first training event. Senior representatives of various ministries and members of parliament participated in the high-level meeting, as well as the OSCE presence in Azerbaijan. The interest of the media was lively and spawned several newspaper articles and bulletins on national television. The first Starlink course on defence took place on the following days with an enthusiastic, pro-active and diverse group of participants.
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5761. Security Matters

Author:
Centre for European Security Studies
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Centre for European Security Studies
Abstract:
This issue of Security Matters is mostly devoted to Turkey. It carries three articles that were presented as papers at a workshop on Turkey and the European Security and Defence Policy, held in Istanbul on 12-13 June 2006 and organised by CESS in cooperation with the Istanbul Policy Center at Sabanci University. In late 2006, our programme on Governance and the Military in Turkey came to an end, and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs approved the funding for a new CESS programme, called ‘Reforms in Turkish Civil-Military Relations: Measuring Progress and Building Capacities’. As before, IPC will be our main Turkish partner. Despite the difficult political climate, the Netherlands government wants to continue to provide constructive support for democratic reforms in Turkey. These are important for Turkey, for Europe, and for the successful integration of Turkey into the European Union.
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5762. 2007-2008 Guide to Women Leaders in International Affairs

Author:
Women's Foreign Policy Group (WFPG)
Publication Date:
12-2007
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

5763. State-Sponsored Homophobia (2007)

Author:
Daniel Ottosson
Publication Date:
09-2007
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

5764. Global Imbalances: A Source of Strength or Weakness?

Author:
Kristin J. Forbes
Publication Date:
07-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Gross capital flows into the United States totaled $1.8 trillion in 2006. When combined with the $1.0 trillion the United States sent abroad, these net capital inflows funded the U.S. current account deficit of about $800 billion.1 The source of a large proportion of these capital inflows was developing economies—especially China and major oil exporters. Why are foreigners willing to invest such massive amounts of money in the U.S. economy? And perhaps even more surprising—why are countries with low levels of investment willing to send this relatively scarce resource to a capital-abundant economy instead of investing in their own countries? Understanding the motivation behind the millions of individual decisions that drive these capital inflows is critically important to understanding if this massive net transfer of capital into the United States reflects a strength or weakness of the global economy.
Topic:
Economy, Investment, and Capital
Political Geography:
Global Focus and United States of America

5765. The Welfare Implications of Global Financial Flows

Author:
Eswar Prasad
Publication Date:
07-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Any discussion of whether the global financial system has served the world well requires us to think about what it is that capital flows could achieve in the best of circumstances. The basic neoclassical model suggests that, with rising financial globalization, capital should flow from rich to poor countries, making people in both sets of countries better off by enabling a more efficient international allocation of capital from countries where capital is less productive to those where it ought to be more productive. In addition, financial flows should allow for more efficient sharing of risk across countries, thereby facilitating the smoothing of national consumption against countryspecific shocks to national output. These benefits are likely to be greater for developing countries as they have less capital and more volatile growth, implying that both the growth and risk sharing benefits would be larger for them.
Topic:
Economy, Welfare, Capital, and Financial Systems
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5766. The Benefits and Risks of Financial Globalization

Author:
Peter B. Kenen
Publication Date:
07-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
It is by now almost impossible to conceive of a world without a global financial system. To be sure, large numbers of low-income developing countries have little access to that system. But most middle-income developing countries, even some that still have capital controls of one sort or another, are increasingly integrated into that system, and all of the major developed countries are fully integrated.
Topic:
Development, Economy, Integration, and Financial Globalization
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5767. The Conquest of Worldwide Inflation: Currency Competition and Its Implications for Interest Rates and the Yield Curve

Author:
Randall S. Kroszner
Publication Date:
07-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
In the United States and in virtually every country around the world, inflation has declined, and in most countries dramatically so. In addition, the volatility of inflation and expectations of future inflation have also fallen significantly. I will call these changes experienced around the globe the conquest of worldwide inflation. I will begin by providing a few facts about the substantial improvement of inflation during roughly the past decade compared with the quarter century that preceded it. I will then try to understand why this remarkable decline in inflation has taken place. In particular, I argue that globalization, deregulation, and financial innovation, in part spurred by experiences of high inflation in the 1980s, have fostered currency competition that has led to improved central bank performance and, hence, the recent conquest of worldwide inflation. Friedrich Hayek (1976) had long ago advocated permitting greater competition among currencies, arguing that there would be a race to the top rather than a race to the bottom. Regardless of what one might think of Hayek’s policy proposals, technological change in a globalized and competitive marketplace, I believe, has increased competition among currencies issued by central banks.
Topic:
Economy, Inflation, Interest Rates, Currency, and Economic Competition
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5768. Fair Trade Coffee Enthusiasts Should Confront Reality

Author:
Jeremy Weber
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
From university cafeterias to supermarkets in the developed world, people are buying Fair Trade (FT) coffee certified by the FLO-Cert, the certifying entity of Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO). The assumption is that such purchases will contribute to the welfare of marginalized producers in the developing world. While sales of FT coffee in Europe have stabilized, the North American and Japanese markets are growing rapidly. Total sales increased 40 percent from 2004 to 2005, to a total volume of 33,992 metric tons (MT) (FTO 2005). What is “Fair Trade”? According to FINE, the umbrella organization that comprises the four largest Fair Trade organizations (FLO, International Federation for Alternative Trade, Network of European World Shops, and the European Fair Trade Association), Fair Trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers—especially in the South [FINE 2001]. The FINE definition optimistically assumes that the trading partnerships and conditions promoted by Fair Trade necessarily “contribute to sustainable development.” It is true that the Fair Trade coffee system—the producers, exporters, importers, and retailers operating by the rules and standards of FLO—has improved living standards for many participating coffee growers (Bacon 2005, Raynolds 2004). Yet the system faces vexing issues such as a disconnect between promotional materials and reality, excess supply, and the marginalization of economically disadvantaged producers and groups. Those involved in Fair Trade coffee debates and governance must address these issues if Fair Trade is to be an effective mechanism for rural development in coffee producing regions.
Topic:
Development, Economy, Trade, Coffee, and Fair Trade
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5769. The Effect of Judicial Selection Processes on Judicial Quality: The Role of Partisan Politics

Author:
Russell S. Sobel and Joshua C. Hall
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The quality of a state’s judicial system is an important determinant of economic growth and vitality. The decisions made within state judicial systems affect the degree to which private property rights are well-defined and enforced, which is an essential building block for entrepreneurial activity and economic growth. The key link between free-market institutions, such as secure property rights, and entrepreneurial activity has been demonstrated by Kreft and Sobel (2005) and Ovaska and Sobel (2005). Bad court decisions often infringe on the individual liberties and freedoms that are essential underpinnings for civil society and a well-functioning market economy (see Dorn 1985 and others in that special issue of the Cato Journal on this general topic). In addition, decisions made within state judicial systems also have important effects on the cost of doing business in a state. Poor liability rules reflected in state judicial decisions have been blamed for high medical malpractice rates, high workers’ compensation rates, and high automobile insurance rates in many states. Judicial decisions also impact the costliness of mandates and other regulations faced by businesses. Thus, it is clear that the judicial system is important for economic activity, and thus so is the selection mechanism that is used to determine the membership of state courts.
Topic:
Politics, Economic Growth, Judiciary, and Political Parties
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5770. Global Imbalances: Do They Matter?

Author:
Miranda Xafa
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
This article reviews the recent literature on global imbalances and discusses the policy implications of the various theories that have been advanced to explain their unprecedented increase. Most of these theories fit the stylized facts, namely, the steady increase in the U.S. current account deficit, the shift to a surplus position of the developing countries, and the low nominal and real interest rates globally. The “low U.S. savings” theory—reflecting the increase in the fiscal deficit and in housing wealth—views the current account deficit as the result of fiscal and monetary policy decisions in the United States that need to be urgently reversed to prevent a crash landing. Other theories however, focusing on developments outside the United States, portfolio balance effects, or previously neglected benign factors, do not yield such a doomsday scenario. It is relevant to note that there is no historical precedent of disorderly exchange rate adjustment in industrial countries that keep inflation under control (Croke, Kamin, and Leduc 2005). Concerns over a disorderly unwinding of global imbalances therefore appear exaggerated. This view, prevalent among market participants and several prominent academics, has not been widely embraced by policymakers.
Topic:
Monetary Policy, Economy, Wealth, and Savings
Political Geography:
Global Focus and United States of America

5771. Economic Freedom and Net Business Formation

Author:
Noel D. Campbell and Tammy M. Rogers
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Economic freedom indexes, especially the Fraser Institute/Cato Institute Economic Freedom of the World (EFW) index and the Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal Index of Economic Freedom, are becoming increasingly important as researchers seek to explore the link between economic freedom and prosperity. The consistent finding is that nations with more economic freedom—as indicated by security of property rights, free trade, limited government, low marginal tax rates, and so forth—enjoy higher per capita incomes and general living conditions compared with countries that are less free.1 In a less aggregated study, Karabegovic et al. (2003) find that differences in economic freedom across U.S. states and Canadian provinces are significantly and positively related to differences in the level and growth of economic activity across states and provinces. Various researchers have used the Economic Freedom of North America (EFNA) index, published by the Fraser Institute (Karabegovic, McMahon, and Mitchell 2005), to address questions of income differentials between states, income growth, and entrepreneurship.2 Scholars have also used the EFNA index to study migration. Ashby (2007), not surprisingly, finds that people tend to move from less free to more free areas.
Topic:
Migration, Economy, Business, Free Trade, and Freedom
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5772. Analysis of International Migration and its Impacts on Developing Countries

Author:
Paolo Barrientos
Publication Date:
11-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
Abstract:
This paper provides a review of the literature on the reasons and consequences of international migration. The principal determinants of migration are analyzed and it is seen that educated people from developing countries are more likely to migrate for several reasons (i.e. network determinants, costs of moving, pull factors and push factors). Looking into the empirical data, the global trend is that emigration of educated people (usually called “brain drain”) has increased a lot. This trend implies that industrialized countries are importing highly skilled people from developing countries and this will certainly have important consequences for developing countries in the long run. Some researchers argue that developing countries will loose, since the most qualified people leave and stop contributing to their country. Others say that the global trend can be beneficial because positive spillovers will be created; in the sense that developing countries will experience higher investments in human capital (“brain gain”). Empirical findings show that these spillovers depend on the probability to migrate and the stock of human capital that a country has. Finally another group of researchers argues that this process is inevitable, and barriers to migration should be abolished in order to reap the benefits for both sending and receiving countries as well as the migrants themselves.
Topic:
Development, Migration, Brain Drain, and Human Capital
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5773. The Financial Sector and Economic Development: Banking on the Role of Human Capital

Author:
Manuela W. Armenta
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:
School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:
Evidence suggests that human capital development contributes to the stability of banks. Unfortunately, developing countries, both pre- and post-liberalization, often suffer from an inadequate supply of capable professionals. This situation threatens the potentially positive relationship between financial liberalization and economic growth. It is therefore urgent that developing states develop policies aimed at addressing the supply and demand-side requirements of the financial sector. Such policies must target the development of professionals with both appropriate academic backgrounds in business and the requisite on-the-job skills. Public-private solutions are advocated as the most efficient and effective approach to the development of comprehensive policies in this regard.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Finance, Human Capital, Banking, and Public-Private Partnership
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5774. How to Win the Olympic Games - The Empirics of Key Success Factors of Olympic Bids

Author:
Arne Feddersen and Wolfgang Maennig
Publication Date:
09-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chair for Economic Policy, University of Hamburg
Abstract:
This paper examines the probability of the success of city bid campaigns on the basis of quantified determinants for a total of 48 bids for the Summer Olympic Games between 1992 and 2012. Using a model comprising the distance of sporting venues from the Olympic Village, local temperatures and unemployment rates, we can correctly predict the decision for 100% of failed bids and 50% of successful bids.
Topic:
Economics, Sports, Olympics, and Bids
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5775. Mega-Sporting Events as Experience Goods

Author:
Malte Heyne, Wolfgang Maennig, and Bernd Suessmuth
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chair for Economic Policy, University of Hamburg
Abstract:
This paper tests the hypothesis that a nation’s hosting of a mega-sporting event is an experience good for its residents. Applying data from an ex-ante and ex-post query based on contingent valuation methods, we use the Soccer World Cup 2006 as a natural experiment. The significant ex-post increase in valuation is shown to be due to adventitious citizens requiring an involving experience, rather than to an updating of a-prior assessment.
Topic:
Economics, Sports, World Cup, Cotingent Valuation Method, and Experience Goods
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5776. Arenas vs. Multifunctional Stadia – Which Do Spectators Prefer?

Author:
Arne Feddersen and Wolfgang Maennig
Publication Date:
09-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chair for Economic Policy, University of Hamburg
Abstract:
Large sports stadia construction follows two different general concepts: (1) Mono-functional arenas which are specially suited for one sport exclusively and which are characterised by the absence of an athletic track. (2) Multifunctional sports stadia which can be used for different sporting or cultural events. Officials of clubs often argue that the atmosphere in an arena is significantly better than that of a multipurpose facility and that spectators prefer such an atmosphere. Estimated panel regressions with fixed effects show a significant positive effect of a mono-functional soccer stadium on spectator demand. Controlling for other demand determinants in the German professional soccer league, Bundesliga, an isolated effect of around 4,800 additional spectators a game can be found. This translates into a substantial increase of about 18.7% against the mean value of 25,602 spectators per Bundesliga game.
Topic:
Economics, Sports, Soccer, and Stadiums
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5777. Closed to Reason: The International Narcotics Board and HIV/AIDS

Publication Date:
02-2007
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
In this report on the International Narcotics Control Board—a secretive UN-funded body responsible for monitoring compliance with the UN drug conventions—Daniel Wolfe, OSI International Harm Reduction Development Deputy Director, and Joanne Csete, Executive Director of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, detail the ways in which the Board rejects scientific evidence and expert legal analyses, praises governments that violate human rights, and stresses drug control at the expense of public health, blocking evidence-based efforts to address the epidemic of HIV among injecting drug users. Closed to Reason offers recommendations to increase the Board's accountability and transparency and to make it an effective part of the international response to HIV/AIDS.
Topic:
HIV/AIDS, Health, United Nations, Narcotics Trafficking, and Legal Sector
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5778. Enhancing the Implementation of United Nations Security Council Sanctions

Author:
Fourth Freedom Forum
Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Fourth Freedom Forum
Abstract:
Sanctions are a powerful expression of the collective voice and the collective will of the international community. As such, their symbolic impact is undeniable. Their practical impact has been demonstrated in several cases where sanctions have helped to prod conflicting parties towards compromise.
Topic:
United Nations, Sanctions, Conflict, International Community, and UN Security Council
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5779. The UN Security Council’s Response to Terrorism: Before and After September 11, 2001

Author:
Hilde Haaland Kramer and Steve A. Yetiv
Publication Date:
09-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Political Science Quarterly
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
HILDE HAALAND KRAMER and STEVE A. YETIV argue that the UN Security Council’s response to global terrorism has been more forceful and comprehensive since September 11 and that it has broken some new ground. The authors posit that although the UN remains controversial in the United States, Washington benefited from its response to September 11, as imperfect as it was.
Topic:
Terrorism, United Nations, 9/11, and UN Security Council
Political Geography:
Global Focus and United States of America

5780. Who Failed Whom? Assessing the UN's Human Rights Efforts

Author:
Balakrishnan Rajagopal
Publication Date:
10-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:
Several months ago, during the finalization of the plan to replace the United Nations’ Commission on Human Rights with the new UN Human Rights Council, John Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, said with characteristic flourish, “We want a butterfly. We’re not going to put lipstick on a caterpillar and declare it a suc- cess.” Is the new UN Human Rights Council a butterfly or a cater- pillar (with or without lipstick)? Bolton’s pungent remark rests on three underlying assumptions: first, UN reform was urgently needed in the human rights field because its predecessor, the UN Commission on Human Rights, was a failure; second, the cause of failure was the takeover of the Commission by undemocratic and repressive states and the resultant hijacking of the human rights agenda; third, the best way to make the UN effective and legitimate in the human rights field was to restrict the membership of its premier body, i.e., the Council, to a handful of liberal democratic states and have them act as the custodians and enforcers of human rights. Bolton’s critique of the Commission (if not his lan- guage) and his vision to go forward have been shared widely by many academics, policy specialists, and western international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) that specialize in human rights advocacy.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Cooperation, United Nations, and NGOs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5781. Thinking About Rogue Leaders: Really Hostile or Just Frustrated?

Author:
Akan Malici
Publication Date:
09-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
When the Cold War came to an end almost two decades ago, scholars contemplated that we might soon miss it.1 The reason for such a counterintuitive feeling is simple: with the move from bipolarity to unipolarity, security threats no longer emanate from the rivalry of two superpowers but rather from the existence of rogue states. Rogue states are said (or partly known) to sponsor or practice international terrorism and to engage in the acquisition and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.2 Their leaders are said to be genuinely belligerent and hostile, and sometimes they are even described as crazy.3 In thinking about rogue states and their leaders, scholars, security analysts and observers of international politics have two fundamental options. The first option is to join the conventional wisdom, which is attractive because of its apparent plausibility. However, there is also a danger to this option. Judgments are often made on a purely descriptive basis without sufficient effort towards critically asking why rogue leaders behave in the ways they do. Simply asserting that they are crazy or irrational is too simple and, indeed, wrong. Too often labels and slogans are substituted for reflection and actual analysis. This, in fact, helps perpetuate our crises with rogue states rather than ameliorate them.
Topic:
Leadership, Psychology, and Rogue States
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5782. Energy, Cities, and Security: Tackling Climate Change and Fossil Fuel Risk

Author:
Peter Droege
Publication Date:
09-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
The world economy is based on cities: cities are its very home. Global financial flows are structured within urban systems; city networks physically articulate national and international markets. Historically, cities have been built around markets, too. Founded on trade routes, they formed growing economies in themselves; they gave rise to and nurtured the dynasties and institutions that manage the decisions that guide national economies. Cities are settings of political command and control, and centres of culture. Here society’s leading images and messages are produced and packaged, shaping social reality and articulating aspirations. The great urban centers of yore were the main stages of their respective political settings. Democracy was developed by urban societies, and it was shaped and supported in the public spaces and institutions of major cities. Today, most population growth occurs in urbanized areas, with half of the world’s population dwelling here. But cities, their form, economies, and growth dynamics have also been very much defined by the energy systems dominating their eras. The manner of this interaction helps define the security profile of an age, a nation, or the balance of global relations. Global trade, sprawling cities, or periods of large-city formation are not new historical phenomena. The stories of hegemonic urban networks involving Babylon of the 18th century BC, Angkor of the 12th century AD, or London of the late 18th century are testimony to this fact. But the speed and sheer mass of the current urbanization wave, and the formation of super and mega-sized cities as a widespread, simultaneous, indeed, global phenomenon is unprecedented; it has only been acknowledged as a significant force during this past half-century. While rampant urbanization had not found wide recognition prior to the 1970s, it has also not been particularly well understood in the time since. The massive explosion of the world’s urban population is relatively new, gathering momentum in the first half of the 20th century and accelerating from the 1950s on. From the 1970s, a burgeoning research literature genre formed to give meaning and voice to this phenomenon.1 Since then, these urban centers have been described as world cities, global cities, megacities, or referred to broadly as the global urban system. Regardless of the label used, this conception connotes primacy of global markets, corporate control, seats of national power, homes to regional security apparatuses and, above all, the agency and relevance of technological innovation in surface, air & sea transport, defense, and the advent of advanced telecommunications.
Topic:
Security, Climate Change, Economy, Fossil Fuels, Cities, and Energy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5783. Brand USA: Democratic Propaganda in the Third Social Space

Author:
Belinda H. Y. Chiu
Publication Date:
09-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
Traditional approaches to foreign relations are being replaced by marketing strategies to brand nations by enhancing their image and reputation. No longer is this responsibility limited to government tourism boards. Rather, because “every nation is already a brand,”1 the responsibility to create positive perceptions of the nationstate has fallen on the shoulders of departments of foreign affairs and diplomacy. As an increasingly important tool to promote foreign interests and to attract allies—or in marketing terms, loyal customers—branding allows nation-states to craft and influence how others perceive its political, economic, and social systems & values. Branding is everywhere. But what is it? Brand equity of a product or service is the set of value-added assets that is communicated and strengthened by building name recognition, customer loyalty, and perceived quality. Although it had its beginnings in the consumer product industry, it is no longer restricted to the CocaColas and Proctor & Gambles of the world. Branding has become a tool of public diplomacy. Citizens and leaders of foreign nations have existing ideas about other countries, be they positive or negative. In a technologically-advanced and globalized world, the branded nation has added pressure to be strongly aware of its own brand.2 A nation’s brand can be strengthened by favorable policies, such as debt relief and foreign aid, or conversely, compromised by economic embargoes and declarations of war. Like consumer goods, smart brand management is essential to maintaining a positive impression and build loyal followers. However, as with consumer goods, smart brand management can only sell the product. While branding can change perceptions about the product, it cannot change the product itself. This paper will first briefly discuss the “third social space” in a democracy, the public space for media and marketing. According to Habermas, this third social space sits between the first (the state), and the second (the market, or private sector). Second, it will explore the characteristics of nation branding and its importance to foreign relations, examining the case of Brand USA, with a particular focus on the Shared Values Initiative targeted toward the Arab and Muslim worlds. Finally, it will discuss whether branding has democratic appeal or propagandistic flavor. While there exists skepticism that this process has too much of a Machiavellian feel to it, branding nations is a useful public diplomacy and relations tool, as long as it does not misrepresent facts.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Soft Power, Propaganda, and Marketing
Political Geography:
North America, Global Focus, and United States of America

5784. Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way? Untangling Ownership and Political Will in Post-Conflict Stability and Reconstruction Operations

Author:
Derick W. Brinkerhoff
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
How best to assist fragile and post-conflict states to improve conditions for their citizens and to establish the policies, institutions, and governance procedures that will lead to socio-economic development has constituted an enduring set of questions for international assistance agencies. These questions have taken on renewed urgency in today’s world where concerns about transnational terrorism, intrastate conflict, and state failure have led to an intersection among the policy, research, and programmatic agendas of the international development, humanitarian, security, and diplomatic communities. The World Bank’s list of fragile states grew from seventeen to twenty-six during the years 2003 to 2006, confirming that the problem of addressing the needs of low-income countries affected by poor governance, persistent poverty, and weak economic growth is becoming ever more difficult and complex.1 While definitions of fragile states vary, all concur that state fragility is directly related to capacity deficits. Fragile states have governments that are incapable of assuring basic security for their citizens, fail to provide basic services and economic opportunities, and are unable to garner sufficient legitimacy to maintain citizens’ confidence and trust. When these capacity deficits are large enough, states move toward failure, collapse, crisis, and conflict. In post-conflict countries, the recovery process—often supported by international donor assistance—involves rebuilding capacity and filling deficits, though backsliding is an ever-present risk. As Collier et al. note, countries that have experienced violent conflict face a 40 percent risk of renewed violence within five years.2
Topic:
Foreign Aid, Reconstruction, Fragile States, Political stability, and Post-Conflict
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5785. Rethinking “Nation-Building:” The Contradictions of the Neo-Wilsonian Approach to Democracy Promotion

Author:
Roberto Belloni
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
International intervention in weak states is the post–Cold War response to fragmentation and conflict. International operations have been deployed across much of the world, from Afghanistan to Bosnia, Cambodia, Kosovo, East Timor, Iraq, and Somalia, to cite just a few of the most prominent cases. These operations have taken place in different circumstances, with some of them justified in the name of the War on Terror, and others more broadly conducted in view of implementing recently achieved peace agreements. All of these operations face similar constraints and dilemmas. The context in which international intervention takes place is one of extreme political, economic, and social instability. Years of war destroy physical and economic infrastructure, provoke massive human displacement, and leave the population traumatized. Moreover, rarely does war end with a clear victory for one of the parties involved. Instead, conflicts frequently terminate with the signing of a peace agreement, which reflects a difficult and unstable compromise. Perhaps unsurprisingly, half of the countries emerging from conflict revert to violence within five years. Even when a return to violence is averted, these countries remain politically, economically, and socially volatile. Accordingly to one estimate, at present around seventy current or potential conflicts exist across the world.1 This situation calls for both a theoretically informed understanding of the goals, possibilities, and limits of international intervention in support of peace processes as well as country-specific knowledge to tailor such intervention so as to maximize its effectiveness. Unfortunately, even the basic vocabulary used to describe international involvement is contested and confusing, with analysts using terms such as “peace-building,” “nation-building,” and “state-building” to describe the same general phenomenon of international intervention in weak states. This paper begins with a brief attempt at conceptual clarification. Second, it explores the limits of the template adopted by international interveners. Wilsonianism, named after the American President who argued that democracy and self-determination are necessary conditions for domestic and international peace and stability, offers a basic model for contemporary international missions. While Wilsonianism was generally successful in the aftermath of World War I and World War II, this has not been the case for more recent attempts. Contemporary neo-Wilsonianism focuses on political and economic liberalization as means to build viable democracies. As increasingly highlighted by a new generation of democracy analysts, such a formula is often unsuitable for war-torn countries plagued by scarce domestic resources and continuing competition between groups wishing to control the state. At least in the short term, liberalization dangerously heightens competition among groups, thus increasing the possibility of a relapse into war. Third, this paper investigates the less often noted contradictions of neo-Wilsonianism. Not only do political and economic liberalization risk promoting further conflict, they are also at odds with other important goals of international intervention in weak states; in particular, the attempt to uphold individual and group rights. In addition, the potentially positive impact of international intervention is limited by the need to demonstrate concrete and visible results in a very short time frame. The paper concludes with a brief exploration of the alternatives to the prevailing practice of international intervention, with particular reference to the newly created United Nations Peacebuilding Commission.
Topic:
Fragile States, Intervention, Post-Cold War, and Nation-building
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5786. Fixing Failing States: The New Security Agenda

Author:
Pauline H. Baker
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
Weak and failing states rank among the world’s greatest threats to international peace and security today. While major threats to world peace used to come mainly from ideological, military, or economic competition among competing states, in modern times lethal threats are growing within states from communal tensions among rival factions, extremists groups with radical political agendas, and faltering regimes clinging to power and asserting militaristic ambitions. These are the driving forces of a growing world disorder.1 Recent events highlight this paradigm shift in the strategic environment. North Korea is a failing state with an inward-looking regime and a negative view of the world. Its own insecurities, including its fear of a US invasion, are motivating it to pursue nuclear capabilities that have increased its isolation further and exacerbated tensions.2 Lebanon is a weak state that successfully cast off fifteen years of Syrian military occupation, but was unable to assert its sovereignty and fill the vacuum left behind. Hezbollah used that opportunity to assert itself as a “state within a state,” with dual power bases in the government and in the south, where its autonomous security forces launched a devastating war with Israel in July 2006. Then there is Sudan, a country with the highest risk of internal violence that has stonewalled effective international action to stop the continuing humanitarian crisis in Darfur, described by the US State Department as genocide. 3 Internal weaknesses within these states have increased the threat of nuclear proliferation, precipitated an interstate war, and worsened an ongoing humanitarian crisis, respectively. Though the origins of state weakness go back decades, the curtain was raised on the era of failing states—if one can call it that—by the tragedy of September 11, 2001. One year after the biggest terrorist attack on the US in history, the 2002 US National Security Strategy stated that America is threatened more by failing states than it is by conquering states, overturning decades of US national security thinking. Overnight, we went from looking at security through a “big power” lens to seeing it from a “small power” lens. Much of the rest of the world has come to see security challenges from that perspective as well.
Topic:
Security, Terrorism, Fragile/Failed State, and Geopolitics
Political Geography:
Global Focus and United States of America

5787. Reconstruction and Reconciliation: What’s Economics Got to Do With It?

Author:
Christopher J. Coyne
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
Reconstruction and reconciliation are perhaps the most pressing issues of our time. The ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, as well as the many problems generated by weak, failed, and conflict-torn states in other parts of the world, are examples of situations where these topics are relevant. Reconstruction entails rebuilding, and in some cases constructing, both formal and informal institutions in weak, failed, and postwar countries. More specifically, the reconstruction process involves the restoration of physical infrastructure and facilities, minimal social services, and structural reform in the political, economic, social, and security sectors. The end goal is the establishment of liberal democratic institutions, or at least the foundations of such institutions. A liberal democracy refers to political institutions which recognizes, respects, and enforces individual and civil rights, the rule of law, and private property.1 Typically the reconstruction process involves some array of indigenous citizens and elites as well as exogenous actors, whether they are military occupiers or international policymakers. Reconciliation can be seen as a key aspect of the broader reconstruction process and involves individuals coming to terms with past human and civil rights abuses, oppression, and violations of the rule of law and private property. Any shift from an illiberal to a liberal regime requires some form of reconciliation between enemies. The past violations of human, civil, and property rights by certain individuals must be addressed, but when doing so, a balance of retribution and reconciliation should be established. In the absence of such an ethic of forgiveness and reconciliation, the transition toward a liberal order will be incomplete.
Topic:
Economics, Reconstruction, Reconciliation, and Post-Conflict
Political Geography:
Middle East and Global Focus

5788. On the Very Idea of Transitional Justice

Author:
Jens David Ohlin
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
The phrase “transitional justice” has had an amazingly successful career at an early age.1 Popularized as an academic concept in the early 1990s in the aftermath of apartheid’s collapse in South Africa, the phrase quickly gained traction in a variety of global contexts, including Rwanda, Yugoslavia, Cambodia, and Sierra Leone.2 A sizeable literature has been generated around it, so much so that one might even call it a sub-discipline with inter-disciplinary qualities.3 Nonetheless, the concept remains an enigma. It defines the contours of an entire field of intellectual inquiry, yet at the same time it hides more than it illuminates. No one is exactly sure what it means. One reason might be its combination of two very different kinds of words in a single phrase. “Justice” is perhaps the greatest of moral values, with a history that extends back to the moment man started criticizing the conduct of his fellow man. It is meant to evoke a universal, normative goal. “Transitional,” on the other hand, defines a particular situation, an exceptional and limited moment that stands in contrast to the universal goal. So the second term limits and qualifies the first in some important way, but how is totally unclear. Is transitional justice some other kind of justice, fundamentally different from justice during non-transitional moments? Or is it simply ordinary justice, a familiar end-state that remains elusive because a society has been ripped apart by genocide or some other ethnic conflict?4 If it is the latter, the field is about how to achieve, in a very pragmatic way, the usual goals of justice in difficult times. If it is the former, the field fundamentally re-conceives our understanding of justice in the face of radical social violence. 5 One is largely an exercise in social science, the other an exercise in moral philosophy. The current field of transitional justice straddles this distinction, and does so, I shall argue, in a somewhat uncomfortable way. Although the concept now dominates international affairs as an umbrella under which these problems are investigated, it remains fundamentally misunderstood. Specifically, the term “transitional justice” betrays a deep tension between two approaches to justice that goes to the heart of the burgeoning program of international criminal justice.
Topic:
Transitional Justice, Justice, Social Science, and Moral Philosophy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5789. Building the Rule of Law and Establishing Accountability for Atrocities in the Aftermath of Conflict

Author:
Louis Aucoin
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
As places like Iraq and Afghanistan dominate the news, perhaps never before has post-conflict reconstruction assumed greater importance. As the resources of countries around the globe are invested in these and other conflict and post-conflict situations, it has become increasingly clear that the establishment of the rule of law is essential to the success of these efforts. In fact, the authorities have begun to recognize that the failure to prioritize the rule of law has been one of the chief failings of recent post-conflict missions.1 In the Secretary-General of the United Nations’ August 2004 report entitled “The rule of law and transitional justice in post-conflict societies,” Kofi Annan has defined the rule of law as: a principle of governance in which all persons, institutions and entities, public and private, including the State itself, are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced and independently adjudicated, and which are consistent with international human rights norms and standards. It requires, as well, measures to ensure adherence to the principles of supremacy of law, equality before the law, accountability to the law, fairness in the application of the law, separation of powers, participation in decision-making, legal certainty, avoidance of arbitrariness and procedure and legal transparency.2 In the past few decades, international and local actors have been working separately and together to foster all of these aspects of the rule of law in countries where it has been destroyed by conflict. There are now a number of activities that have emerged as standard strategies for the promotion of rule of law and transitional justice in post-conflict societies. New lessons are learned from each international mission or intervention in post-conflict societies, and practitioners are beginning to identify important methodological approaches building on those lessons. So-called “top-down” approaches, in which international elites attempt to impose foreign models, are frowned upon, and “bottom-up” strategies designed to foster local ownership and legitimacy are favored. In addition, practitioners of rule of law promotion now call for a holistic approach to this field in which multidisciplinary teams coordinate all of their activities pursuant to a strategic plan, which itself is the result of a careful pre-deployment assessment. The principal activities now intimately associated with this new field include: constitution-making, judicial reform, law development, democratic policing, establishing accountability/fighting impunity, fighting corruption, and the use of local customary practices in promoting the rule of law. This study analyzes the state of the art of rule of law promotion in the context of each one of these rule of law activities, briefly identifying the lessons learned, flagging questions unanswered, and, where possible, identifying the way forward.
Topic:
Conflict, Rule of Law, Accountability, and Atrocities
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5790. From Foes to Bedfellows: Reconciling Security and Justice

Author:
Jean-Marc Coicaud and Jibecke Jönsson
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
This article aims to show how and why justice is, and should be, an integral part of security, and why this relationship is important to address, especially in the international context. It does so, first, by arguing that the current model of international security, by disconnecting the quest for security from the pursuit of justice, is self-defeating. As long as the contribution that justice can make to security is overlooked, international order, let alone international security, will not be achieved. Second, the article looks more closely at why and how justice is key to security. Taking justice seriously in the context of international security is particularly challenging because of the national bent, which states impose upon international relations.1 Third, the article points to a few measures that could help to better embed security and justice at the international level. In this regard, while suggestions are made for how international policymakers are to advance the idea of an international rule of law, it is also pointed out how this development is to be paralleled by continuous efforts to foster certain attitudes and values within people and societies of the international community. Finally, questioning if today’s culture and decisionmakers are actually prone to truly dovetail justice and security, the article concludes with some words of cautious optimism.
Topic:
Security, Justice, and International Order
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5791. Why Do Islamist Groups Become Transnational and Violent?

Author:
Quinn Mecham
Publication Date:
08-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:
Since al-Qaeda’s rise to prominence as the most commonly rec- ognized Islamist group worldwide, Islamist movements are increasingly viewed as violent, transnational organizations. Most Islamist groups, however, are actually non-violent and focused on the domestic audience of their home countries. They can become both violent and transnational as their domestic contexts and incentives change, however. The reasons that Islamist movements move from non-violence to violence, and from national to transna- tional strategies, have far-reaching implications for the way we deal with Islamist groups and are critical for policymakers to under- stand.
Topic:
Terrorism, Violent Extremism, Al Qaeda, transnationalism, and Militant Islam
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5792. Deterring Cyber War: A U.S.-Led Cybersecurity Summit

Author:
Andy Johnson and Kyle Spector
Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Third Way
Abstract:
Every day, U.S. military and civilian networks are probed thousands of times for cyber weaknesses. As a result of the mounting threat, there is a growing consensus that international action is required to reduce the threat of cyber war. The U.S. should take the lead in deterring cyber war by hosting a cybersecurity summit—a key first step to building an international cyber accord
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Diplomacy, International Cooperation, and Cybersecurity
Political Geography:
United States, North America, and Global Focus

5793. Public-Private Partnerships for Development: A Handbook for Business

Author:
Suezan C. Lee
Publication Date:
07-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Conference Board
Abstract:
CED partnered with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on this handbook, published in 2006, which is designed to help businesses operating in developing countries understand how to build public-private partnerships that will benefit their host country populations and the participating firms.
Topic:
International Trade and Finance, Partnerships, Business, Public Sector, Economic Development, and Private Sector
Political Geography:
Global Focus and United States of America

5794. Reducing Global Poverty: Encouraging Private Investment in Infrastructure

Author:
Research and Policy Committee of the Committee for Economic Development
Publication Date:
07-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Conference Board
Abstract:
This paper builds on some of the findings and recommendations of the 2002 CED policy statement, A Shared Future: Reducing Global Poverty, which broadly examined the phenomenon known as globalization and offered a blueprint for how best to harness economic integration and political cooperation between developed and developing countries towards enhancing economic growth and combating global poverty. Encouraging Private Investment in Infrastructure evaluates various options for public-private partnerships and provides brief analyses of several successful projects in order to identify best practices.
Topic:
Globalization, Poverty, Infrastructure, and Investment
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5795. Security Matters

Author:
Centre for European Security Studies
Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Centre for European Security Studies
Abstract:
In the Starlink programme, sponsored by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, CESS is developing training courses on democratic governance in the security sector. These are tried out in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, and come in three types. One focuses on the defence sector, another on law enforcement, and the third on intelligence
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5796. Social Cohesion, Institutions

Author:
William Easterly, Michael Woolcock, and Jozef Ritzen
Publication Date:
08-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:
We present evidence that measures of “social cohesion,” such as income inequality and ethnic fractionalization, endogenously determine institutional quality, which in turn casually determines growth.
Topic:
Civil Society, Development, Government, and Poverty
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5797. Stealing Al Qa’ida’s Playbook

Author:
Jarret Brachman and William McCants
Publication Date:
02-2006
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
The key to defeating the jihadi movement is identifying its strengths and weaknesses so that the former may be countered or co-opted and the latter exploited. In this article, we argue that the people who know these strengths and weaknesses best are the jihadis themselves; one just needs to know where (and how) to look for their insights. Jihadi leaders are surprisingly frank when discussing the vulnerabilities of their movement and their strategies for toppling local regimes and undermining the United States. Their candor is, in large part, a consequence of struggles for leadership within the movement; thus, a leader of one group will publish his strategic vision in order to gain more recruits and achieve a reputation as a serious scholar worthy of respect. It is also a consequence of the United States’ success in destroying jihadi training camps and denying safe havens—jihadi leaders have had to put their writings online so as to provide continuing guidance to a very decentralized following. In a sense, members of the jihadi movement have put their playbooks online. By mining these texts for their tactical and strategic insights, the United States will be able to craft effective tactics, techniques, and procedures to defeat followers of the movement. In what follows, we will demonstrate the efficacy of this approach by highlighting the insights we have gleaned from the works of four prominent jihadi ideologues.
Topic:
Terrorism, Al Qaeda, Leadership, and Ideology
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5798. Militant Ideology Atlas

Author:
William McCants
Publication Date:
11-2006
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
The Militant Ideology Atlas identifies the most influential thinkers in the Jihadi Movement and delineates the movement’s key ideological vulnerabilities. It situates the Jihadi Movement within the various Muslim constituencies that Jihadi leaders seek to influence and persuade. Each constituency is responsive to leaders in the broader constituencies of which it is a part, but each also has its own set of thinkers that are best positioned to influence their base. The largest constituency is comprised of Muslims. This includes Sunnis and Shi’as and ranges from secularists to fundamentalists. The authors assert that Jihadi propaganda, which is designed to reclaim the credibility lost among mainstream Muslims, can be countered with the following messages: Jihadis want a totalitarian system of government. The Jihadi message is so weak and unappealing that they have to use violence to persuade people. The next constituency is comprised of Islamists, who differ over the meaning of Islamic law, and the means of achieving its supremacy. Among Sunnis the Muslim Brotherhood is the most influential group in the Islamist constituency, including Yusuf Qaradawi as their spokesman. Next, Salafis differ over the final form of these states and the proper means for achieving them. The most influential Salafis are Saudi clerics. They are Sunni Muslims who want to establish and govern Islamic states based solely on the Qur’an and the example of the Prophet as understood by the first generations of Muslims close to Muhammad. Finally, the Jihadis, the holy warriors, are a movement that is part of the larger Salafi Movement. Since Jihadi thinkers draw their legitimacy from the same tradition as Salafis, Salafi scholars are best positioned to discredit the movement among other Salafis. Specific prescriptions for delegitimizing the Jihadi Movement are outlined at the conclusion of this report.
Topic:
Terrorism, Counter-terrorism, and Ideology
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5799. Legal Survey 2006 - With the governments in our bedrooms

Author:
Daniel Ottosson
Publication Date:
11-2006
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

5800. Creating a Policy Environment for Entrepreneurs

Author:
Thomas A. Garrett and Howard J. Wall
Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Entrepreneurship is often viewed as a catalyst for economic growth. Through innovation, hard work, and a willingness to accept financial risk, the entrepreneur takes advantage of previously undiscovered opportunities for arbitrage and profit (Kirzner 1997).1 This quest for profit, and the possibility of personal and financial failure, aid in ensuring that an economy’s resources are used efficiently. Successful entrepreneurs provide employment opportunities to others, generate innovation, spur economic growth, and contribute to state and local governments in the form of tax revenue (Gwartney, Holcombe, and Lawson 2004; Kreft and Sobel 2005). Because of this perception of the benefits generated by entrepreneurship, a large literature has focused on the factors that influence the decision of an individual to become an entrepreneur and the conditions under which entrepreneurship prospers.
Topic:
Finance, Entrepreneurship, Economic Growth, and Risk
Political Geography:
Global Focus