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6151. The Impact of Formal Institutions on Knowledge Economy

Author:
Antonio Rodríguez Andrés, Simplice A. Asongu, and Voxi Amavilah
Publication Date:
07-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
Abstract:
Using Kauffman, Kraay, and Mastruzzi governance indicators, this article analyzes the impact of formal institutions on the knowledge economy- by assessing how the enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) through good governance mechanisms affects the knowledge economy. The article also employs the World Bank’s four components of the knowledge economy index characteristic of its knowledge for development (K4D) framework. We estimate panel data models for 22 Middle East & North African and Sub-Sahara African countries over the period 1996-2010. The results show that for this group of countries the enforcement of IPR laws (treaties), although necessary, is not a sufficient condition for a knowledge economy. The results also suggest that other factors are more likely to determine the knowledge economies of these nations. Overall these findings have important implications for both policy and further research.
Topic:
Economics, Institutions, Knowledge Economy, and Panel Data
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6152. Impact of natural disaster on public sector corruption

Author:
Eiji Yamamura
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
Abstract:
This paper uses inter-country panel data obtained during the period 1990–2010 to examine how the occurrence of natural disasters has affected corruption within the public sector. There are a number of new findings from this study. (1) Disaster with the large amount of damage increase corruption not only for developing countries but also for developed countries. (2) The effect of disasters is greater in developed countries than in developing countries. (3) In the developed countries, frequency of occurrence of disaster plays important role on increasing corruption. This suggests that foreseeable disasters increase corruption. In developed countries, people have an incentive to live within disaster-prone areas to seek compensation.
Topic:
Corruption, Development, Natural Disasters, Institutions, Public Sector, and Risk
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6153. Models-as-Usual for Unusual Risks? On the Value of Catastrophic Climate Change

Author:
Antoine Bommier, Bruno Lanz, and Stéphane Zuber
Publication Date:
11-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Environmental Studies, The Graduate Institute (IHEID)
Abstract:
We study the role of alternative intertemporal preference representations in a model of economic growth, stock pollutant and endogenous risk of catastrophic collapse. We contrast the traditional “discounted utility” model, which assumes risk neutrality with respect to intertemporal utility, with a multiplicative choice model that displays risk aversion in that dimension. First, we show that both representations of preferences can rationalize the same “business as usual” economy for a given interest rate and no pollution externality. Second, once we introduce a collapse risk whose hazard rate is a function of the pollution stock, multiplicative preferences recommend a much more stringent policy response. An illustration in the context of climate change indicates that switching to the multiplicative preference representation has a similar effect, in terms of policy recommendations, as scaling up the schedule of the hazard rate by a factor of 100.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, Risk, and Discounting
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6154. Knowledge spillovers from renewable energy technologies: Lessons from patent citations

Author:
Joëlle Noailly and Victoria Shestalova
Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Environmental Studies, The Graduate Institute (IHEID)
Abstract:
This paper studies the knowledge spillovers generated by renewable energy technologies, unraveling the technological fields that benefit from knowledge developed in storage, solar, wind, marine, hydropower, geothermal, waste and biomass energy technologies. Using citation data of patents in renewable technologies at 17 European countries over the 1978-2006 period, the analysis examines the relative importance of knowledge flows within the same specific technological field (intra-technology spillovers), to other technologies in the field of power-generation (inter-technology spillovers), and to technologies unrelated to power-generation (external-technology spillovers). The results show significant differences across various renewable technologies. While wind technologies mainly find applications within their own technological field, a large share of innovations in solar energy and storage technologies find applications outside the field of power generation, suggesting that solar technologies are more general and, therefore, may have a higher value for society. Finally, the knowledge from waste and biomass technologies is mainly exploited by fossil-fuel power-generating technologies. The paper discusses the implications of these results for the design of R&D policies for renewable energy innovation.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Innovation, Renewable Energy, and Patents
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6155. Pillars of Peace

Author:
Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP)
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP)
Abstract:
The Pillars of Peace is a new conceptual framework for understanding and describing the factors that create peaceful societies. This framework defines the national characteristics which are most closely associated with peace and has been derived from a process of statistical analysis. It stands as one of the few holistic and quantitative based studies to isolate the positive factors which sustain and reinforce peaceful societies. The attitudes, institutions and structures associated with peace are also associated with many other aspects that are considered desirable, such as a strong business environment, gender equality and high levels of human capital; consequently, the Pillars of Peace can be seen as describing the optimal environment for human potential to flourish. Peace can be viewed through the lens of both negative and positive peace. Negative peace, which is the absence of violence or fear of violence, is used as the definition of peace to create the Global Peace Index (GPI), while positive peace can be defined as the attitudes, institutions and structures that, when strengthened, lead to a more peaceful society. The Pillars of Peace provides a framework for assessing the positive peace factors that create peaceful societies. The taxonomy also forms an ideal base for measuring a society’s potential for peace. These positive peace factors can also be used to assess how supportive the underlying environment is towards development, as they are positively associated with developmental outcomes and therefore the fulfillment of human potential. The Pillars of Peace provides the ideal benchmark against which to measure the performance of the broader aspects of social development and a country’s overall resilience when confronted with social upheaval. In constructing the Pillars of Peace over 900 different indices, datasets and attitudinal surveys were analysed in conjunction with current thinking about what drives peace, resilience and conflict. In order to ensure the development of a holistic framework, both a multidisciplinary and ‘systems approach’ was applied to the concept of peace, drawing on a range of recent research.
Topic:
Corruption, Government, Natural Resources, Business, Conflict, Human Capital, Peace, and Information
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6156. Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon

Author:
Ban Ki-moon
Publication Date:
04-2012
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Columbia University World Leaders Forum
Abstract:
This World Leaders Forum program, titled From Youth Explosion to Global Transformation: Unleashing the Power of Young People, will feature an address by Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations. The discussion will be followed by a question and answer session with the audience.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, Globalization, United Nations, and Youth Culture
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6157. Review: Terror in Our Times by Ken Booth and Tim Dunnek

Author:
Çiğdem H. Benam
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
Soğuk Savaş'ın sona ermesinden sonra, uluslararası sistemde yeni dönemi neyin şekillendireceğinin bilinemediği geçiş sürecini sonlandıran 11 Eylül 2001 saldırılarının üzerinden on yıl geçti. 11 Eylül saldırıları ile başlayan dönemin ve aradan geçen on yılın bir muhasebesini yapmak amacıyla Eleştirel Güvenlik Çalışmaları'nın önemli isimlerinden Ken Booth ve İngiliz Okulu temsilcilerinden Tim Dunn bir araya gelmiş. İki yazarın kuramsal yaklaşımlarının ustalıkla harmanlandığı Terror in Our Times (Çağımızda Terör) başlıklı çalışma, bugünün gittikçe karamsar bir görüntü arz eden ulusal güvenlik ve korumacılık odaklı uygulamalarını bir çerçeveye oturtuyor. Terör, tehdit, güvenlik ve dünya düzeni kavramlarını sorgulayarak, özellikle yaşanan süreçte gittikçe daha fazla ihtiyaç duyulan eleştirel ve alternatif bakış açılarını tartışıyor.
Topic:
Terrorism
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6158. From Poverty to Power, 2nd Edition: How active citizens and effective states can change the world

Author:
Duncan Green
Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Seismic events have convulsed global markets since 2008, when From Poverty to Power was first published. World news has been full of stories reflecting a profound sense of uncertainty about global futures. In response, this new edition of From Poverty to Power has been fully revised and now includes an in-depth analysis of the human impact of the global financial and food crises. From Poverty to Power, 2nd Edition argues that a radical redistribution of power, opportunities, and assets, rather than traditional models of charitable or government aid, is required to break the cycle of poverty and inequality. Active citizens and effective states are driving this transformation. Why active citizens? Because people living in poverty must have a voice in deciding their own destiny and holding the state and the private sector to account. Why effective states? Because history shows that no country has prospered without a state structure that can actively manage the development process. There is now an added urgency: climate change. We need to build a secure, fair, and sustainable world within the limits set by scarce resources and ecological realities. The book is accompanied by a list of blog resources. The From Poverty to Power blog played a key role in shaping the second edition of the book. Selected posts have now been indexed thematically to create an effective list of background material that can be read alongside the book.
Topic:
Civil Society, Climate Change, Globalization, Political Economy, and Poverty
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6159. Maritime Security East of Suez Sustaining the U.S. Role as the Key Policeman in Times of Change

Author:
Geoffrey Kemp
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Special Report
Abstract:
At the height of America’s postwar power, in the 1960s and 1970s, the U.S. Seventh Fleet was able to sustain an unchallenged presence “East of Suez” to embrace the Persian Gulf, the Indian Ocean, the Indonesian Straits, and the South and East China Seas as well as the Western Pacific. Today the U.S. remains the dominant maritime power in this vast area, especially in the region to the west of the Straits of Malacca. However, in the region closer to China, the growing power projection and sea denial capabilities of China’s military raises questions about the future ability of the United States to operate with immunity in an area China increasingly believes is part of its own patrimony. Although the United States has many allies in the region, especially Singapore, Australia, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and increasingly Vietnam, the trends in military spending and force deployments suggest the U.S. will have to increasingly rely on cooperation with allies if there is to be a balance against China’s maritime aspirations. The downside of this is that the U.S. must avoid being drawn into the many bilateral disputes between China and its neighbors and must try to play a conciliatory role rather than taking sides. This will inevitably mean that the U.S. will have to play a different role from the one it became accustomed to during its days as the undisputed hegemon. The U.S. will still remain the key policeman in the Indian Ocean and Gulf regions, but will have to adapt to a different role in parts of the Western Pacific and southeast Asian waters.
Topic:
International Security and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6160. Extended Deterrence and Security in East Asia.

Author:
Paul Saunders
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Special Report
Abstract:
Following the North Korean sinking of the South Korean frigate Cheonan, and North Korea’s subsequent shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, the Center for the National Interest proposed a U.S.-Japan-South Korea dialogue on extended deterrence in East Asia to assess whether and how the three countries could work together to strengthen stability in a region of vital importance to America’s security and prosperity—and, of course, to the security and prosperity of its close allies. Shortly before the project began, the collision of a Chinese fishing vessel with a Japanese coast guard ship near the Senkaku Islands led to a significant political confrontation between Tokyo and Beijing
Topic:
International Security and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6161. Bonded Labor: Tackling the System of Slavery in South Asia

Author:
Siddharth Kara
Publication Date:
09-2012
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Columbia University Press
Abstract:
Siddharth Kara's Sex Trafficking has become a critical resource for its revelations into an unconscionable business, and its detailed analysis of the trade's immense economic benefits and human cost. This volume is Kara's second, explosive study of slavery, this time focusing on the deeply entrenched and wholly unjust system of bonded labor. Drawing on eleven years of research in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, Kara delves into an ancient and ever-evolving mode of slavery that ensnares roughly six out of every ten slaves in the world and generates profits that exceeded $17.6 billion in 2011. In addition to providing a thorough economic, historical, and legal overview of bonded labor, Kara travels to the far reaches of South Asia, from cyclone-wracked southwestern Bangladesh to the Thar desert on the India-Pakistan border, to uncover the brutish realities of such industries as hand-woven-carpet making, tea and rice farming, construction, brick manufacture, and frozen-shrimp production. He describes the violent enslavement of millions of impoverished men, women, and children who toil in the production of numerous products at minimal cost to the global market. He also follows supply chains directly to Western consumers, vividly connecting regional bonded labor practices to the appetites of the world. Kara's pioneering analysis encompasses human trafficking, child labor, and global security, and he concludes with specific initiatives to eliminate the system of bonded labor from South Asia once and for all.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Sex Trafficking, and Slavery
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Bangladesh, South Asia, India, Nepal, and Global Focus
Publication Identifier:
9780231528016
Publication Identifier Type:
ISBN

6162. Transitional Justice and Peace building on the ground: Victims and ex-combatants,

Author:
Chandra Lekha Sriram
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre on Human Rights in Conflict
Abstract:
In the wake of violent conflict and mass atrocity, there are many contending demands, including those for peace and stability, and those for accountability and punishment. Much ink has been spilled in debating “justice versus peace”. Two key trends in peacebuilding and transitional justice may clash with one another in particular: the prevalence of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) programs and the increased emphasis on victim-centred approaches to peacebuilding
Topic:
Peace Studies and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6163. Mission Revolution: The U.S. Military and Stability Operations

Author:
Jennifer Morrison Taw
Publication Date:
09-2012
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Columbia University Press
Abstract:
Defined as operations other than war, stability operations were, for the entire history of the United States military, considered a dangerous distraction if not an outright drain on combat resources. Nonetheless, American troops are now deployed far more often for stability operations than for conventional war. In 2005, the U.S. Department of Defense reversed its traditional stance on stability operations, elevating them to a primary mission alongside more conventional offense and defense goals. Jennifer Morrison Taw argues that this action represented a revolutionary change with significant implications on U.S. foreign policy. Through a detailed examination of the accompanying adjustments to U.S. military doctrine and adaptations in force preparation, Taw connects the elevation of stability operations to the far-reaching, overly ambitious American preoccupation with managing international stability. She also shows how the DOD's decision reinforced and exacerbated domestic politics that already had reduced civilian agencies' capabilities while fostering an unhealthy overreliance on the military.
Topic:
Military Strategy, Military Affairs, and Political stability
Political Geography:
United States and Global Focus
Publication Identifier:
9780231526821
Publication Identifier Type:
ISBN

6164. Collective Self-Action

Author:
Ananth Padmanabhan and Michael Shih
Publication Date:
12-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Legal Challenges, Yale Law School
Abstract:
Collective self-defense is an express exception to the U.N. Charter’s prohibition on the use of force by states. It permits a member state to intervene in the defense of another member state when that state has been subject to an unlawful armed attack. Here we consider (1) the obligations that international law places on an intervening state and (2) the best practices for an intervening state that may be derived from past state practice.
Topic:
United Nations, Military Strategy, Legal Theory, Military Intervention, and Collective Defense
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6165. The Meaning of "Assist, Encourage, or Induce" in the Weapons Ban Context

Author:
Christina Koningisor
Publication Date:
12-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Legal Challenges, Yale Law School
Abstract:
More than half of all multilateral disarmament treaties currently in force prohibit member states from “assist[ing], encourag[ing], or induc[ing]” another party in its pursuit or use of the prohibited weapon. This report examines this provision across five major disarmament treaties and arrives at three key findings
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Treaties and Agreements, Military Strategy, and Multilateralism
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6166. Optimal Deterrence: An Evaluation of the Leaks-Regulating Regime

Author:
Ananth Padmanabhan, Tina Thomas, and Jacob Victor
Publication Date:
12-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Legal Challenges, Yale Law School
Abstract:
Recent high-profile leaks have led to renewed calls, especially from some members of Congress, for a more rigorous leaks-prosecuting regime. In response, others, most visibly the press and certain watchdog groups, have strongly resisted the claim that a more forceful response to unauthorized disclosures benefits the American public. This report evaluates the existing leaks-regulating regime and considers which of the current reform proposals are most likely to provide optimal deterrence. First, this report outlines the myriad and sometimes contradictory interests at stake implicated by unauthorized disclosure of classified information: protecting national security, safeguarding First Amendment rights, ensuring government accountability and transparency, promoting consistency in prosecution, and furthering efficient government functioning. Second, this report examines why it has proven difficult for the government to successfully prosecute leaks. It identifies four leading reasons. First, it can be difficult to identify a leaker, given the vast proliferation of the classification system and the expansion of national security bureaucracy. Second, the government faces significant legal burdens at trial— prosecutors often have to rely on circumstantial evidence; in the case of intangible information disclosure, the government may also have to deal with a heightened scienter requirements. Third, a trial may attract unwanted attention to an issue the government prefers to keep secret and defendants sometimes try to capitalize on this by using “graymail” defenses. Finally, the recipients of unauthorized disclosures—usually members of the press—enjoy robust constitutional protections that can restrict evidence gathering.
Topic:
Governance, Legal Theory, Deterrence, Classification, and Leaks
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6167. The War on Drugs and HIV/AIDS: How the Criminalization of Drug Use Fuels the Global Pandemic

Author:
Global Commission On Drug Policy
Publication Date:
06-2012
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Global Commission On Drug Policy
Abstract:
The global “war on drugs” is driving the HIV/AIDS pandemic among people who use drugs, although research has shown that repressive law enforcement forces users away from public health services and into hidden environments where HIV risk becomes markedly elevated. An assessments of the impacts concluded that many nations and international organizations tasked with reducing the drug problem have actually contributed to a worsening of community health and safety. The time for leadership is now.
Topic:
HIV/AIDS, Health, War on Drugs, and Drugs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6168. Organic Agriculture as an Opportunity for Sustainable Agricultural Development

Author:
Verena Seufert
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University (ISID)
Abstract:
We need drastic changes in the global food system in order to achieve a more sustainable agriculture that feeds people adequately, contributes to rural development and provides livelihoods to farmers without destroying the natural resource basis. Organic agriculture has been proposed as an important means for achieving these goals. Organic agriculture currently covers only a small area in developing countries but its extent is continuously growing as demand for organic products is increasing. Should organic agriculture thus become a priority in development policy and be put on the agenda of international assistance as a means of achieving sustainable agricultural development? Can organic agriculture contribute to sustainable food security in developing countries? In order to answer these questions this policy brief tries to assess the economic, social and environmental sustainability of organic agriculture and to identify its problems and benefits in developing countries. Organic agriculture shows several benefits, as it reduces many of the environmental impacts of conventional agriculture, it can increase productivity in small farmers’ fields, it reduces reliance on costly external inputs, and guarantees price premiums for organic products. Organic farmers also benefit from organizing in farmer cooperatives and the building of social networks, which provide them with better access to training, credit and health services. Organic agriculture generally reduces the vulnerability of farmers as the higher organic prices act as buffer against the low prices and price volatility of conventional markets, as organic systems are often more resilient against extreme weather events, and as the often diverse organic crop-livestock systems provide a diverse set of outputs. On the other hand, organic farmers in developing countries need to access international markets, they require often costly certification and have increased demand for labour. Overall, organic agriculture thus provides promises for sustainable agricultural development, but its shortcomings need to also be considered. This policy brief therefore concludes with a set of specific recommendations on what policy options could best address the current problems of organic agriculture and ensure the success of an organic agriculture development strategy.
Topic:
Agriculture, Development, Food, and Sustainability
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6169. Drones in Our World, part II: The Technicalities

Author:
Whitney Grespin
Publication Date:
04-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
In an effort to provide context for this series, this piece will focus on specific equipment competencies that have expanded the capabilities of drones.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Military Strategy, and Drones
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6170. No Life Left Untouched by Human Trafficking

Author:
Chrisella Sagers
Publication Date:
04-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
A special session of the United Nations General Assembly made headlines last week with a disheartening announcement – 2.4 million people today, across the globe, are victims of human trafficking. Of those, 80 percent are being forced into sexual slavery, and 17 percent are enslaved into forced labor. Even the statistic of 2.4 million people does not truly reflect the impact that this phenomenon has; the number only represents the souls caught up at any given time, but does not track those who escaped their living nightmares and found freedom. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, human trafficking is “the acquisition of people by improper means such as force, fraud, or deception, with the aim of exploiting them.” Some prefer to dispense with the seemingly whitewashed term and refer to the practice as modern-day slavery. No country is unaffected. Because of the way traffickers transport their “goods,” the human cargo often follows the same shipping lines as illegal drugs. It is one of the world’s most lucrative forms of organized crime, creating a draw for cartels seeking to diversify as well as for individual pimps on the street. Women make up nearly two-thirds of the world’s trafficked persons, and it is shockingly easy to sell these women for sex. Madrid police began an investigation last month into a prostitution ring, in which the pimps violently forced the women into sex slavery. The victims were chained to pipes and beaten into submission, and if they tried to escape or failed to pay their pimps, bar codes were tattooed onto their wrists.
Topic:
Narcotics Trafficking, Sex Trafficking, Slavery, Sexual Violence, and Human Trafficking
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6171. Filling the Values Vacuum: The Role of Western Business in Emerging Markets

Author:
James P. Cain
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
Dubai markets itself as the place where “the developed world and the emerging world meet”. Judging by the diversity amongst the almost 500,000 visitors to the Dubai Mall one recent April Saturday, the label appears to fit. Teeming with Asians, Indians, Eastern and Western Europeans, West Africans, neighbors from the Gulf and even a few Americans, the mostly under-30 crowds displayed the commercial frenzy that has been in short supply in the West in recent years. Exploring the ground level of the Mall, just across from the famous Dubai fountains and the 163-story Burj Khalifa, I was delighted to discover that the most popular and packed restaurant concept did not showcase a Mediterranean, Italian, or French moniker but a uniquely American one—Texas Roadhouse. Hand-cut steaks, Texas-size rib combos, and country dinners filled patron’s plates while the line-dancing wait staff that propelled this Kentucky-based chain to popularity in the U.S. a few years ago delighted hungry customers this April afternoon. As growth, urbanization, and megacity development proceed in Asia, Latin America, the former Soviet states, the Middle East and even Africa, Western consumer and retail brands are being met with surprisingly robust popularity. At the recent Gulf Food show not far from the Dubai Mall, a medium-sized U.S. company was awarded “World’s Best New Halal Food”. There is an immensely important lesson here: as Western governments curb spending on foreign aid, development assistance and commercial programs, a “values vacuum” is developing into which institutions, cultures and governments are stepping to promote their own ideologies and cultural values, or lack thereof. Already the largest trading partner in many South American countries, China built and paid for a $105 million soccer stadium in Costa Rica, but only after government officials waived the country’s tough labor laws. Russian companies are gobbling up natural resources in Africa as well as energy, infrastructure and telecommunications assets in Ukraine and Kazakhstan. With influence from Venezuela and its ally Iran, the newly formed “Community of Latin American and Caribbean States” proudly excludes America and Canada.
Topic:
Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Finance
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6172. From Washington to Seoul: Advancing Nuclear Security Objectives

Author:
Olexander Motsyk
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
lexander Motsyk is Ambassador of Ukraine to the U.S. Being a career diplomat, Mr. Motsyk has worked for more than 30 years in the field of foreign relations. Prior to his assignment in the U.S. he served as Ambassador of Ukraine to Turkey and Poland. His diplomatic career also includes such positions as First Deputy Foreign Minister as well as Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of Ukraine. His work was marked by the Commander Cross and Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (2010), The Order of Merit, II Degree (2006) and The Order of Justice, I Degree, of the World Jurist Association (2005). In this op-ed Mr. Motsyk discusses Ukraine’s contribution to global nuclear safety and security and importance of international cooperation to make the world a safer place to live in.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, International Cooperation, Military Strategy, and Nuclear Safety
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6173. Millennials and Social Media

Author:
Evan Kraus
Publication Date:
09-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
We hear a lot of talk about millennials, those 50 million Americans aged 18 - 29 who have entered our society with a bang. Like most past generations in their younger days, this group is idealistic, leans liberal and is excited about the future. Where millennials differ most from the generations who came before them is in their prodigious use of social media. According to Pew, 75 percent of millennials participate in social networking, and more than 20 percent have uploaded video of themselves to the web. It is that expressive nature of the generation, and their willingness to share in so public a venue, that defines the group. This idealism, combined with the expressive instincts of millennials, can have a profound impact on public policy. Take the Kony 2012 movement as an example. In March 2012, Invisible Children released a short film about Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army that urged its mostly young viewers to get involved in its publicity campaign. Within a few months, the video attracted more than 100 million views on YouTube and Vimeo, generated tremendous traditional media coverage and inspired the U.S. Senate to pass a resolution and the African Union to deploy troops, an unprecedented response to a fairly obscure issue in a remote part of the world. Of course, Joseph Kony has been a menace in Central Africa for more than a quarter-century and was indicted for war crimes by the Hague in 2005. But it took a simple, inspiring video plugged into social media to get millennials inspired and active. This is the central challenge for activists and leaders who wish to persuade millennials to adopt a similar response on other issues. By their very nature, foreign policy issues are nuanced and almost impossibly complex. The public in general, and millennials in particular, do not, as a group, have the patience to sift through every wrinkle and dependency. The age of the white paper or long-form reporting feature is largely over, replaced by the simple infographic or video-based story. It takes real talent, creativity and even a little bravery (just browse through the withering criticism aimed at Invisible Children to see why) to isolate the basic elements of an issue and express them in an interesting and compelling visual format with enough emotion and energy to inspire a supportive response. But this is the talent we must increasingly cultivate and celebrate in public affairs circles if we want the millennial public to get involved.
Topic:
Youth Culture, Social Media, Youth, and Millennials
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6174. Corporate Liquidity and Financial Fragility: The Role of Investment, Debt and Interest

Author:
Jan Toporowski
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
Abstract:
The paper addresses the issue of how debt deflation may arise in a capitalist economy with a sophisticated credit system. It argues that the standard argument of debt deflationists, that debt-financed investment causes a build-up of unsustainable investment, fails to recognise that debt is back by credit. A corollary of this is that the rate of interest is not a factor in investment decisions. Financial fragility is caused by heterogeneity of balance sheets, debt financed operations in financial markets and insufficient debt-financed investment, rather than too much such investment.
Topic:
Debt, Markets, Investment, and Credit
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6175. Lange and Keynes

Author:
Jan Toporowski
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
Abstract:
Lange engaged with Keynes in the matter of Keynes‟s macroeconomics, and over econometrics. Lange‟s interpretation of the Keynesian macroeconomic model laid the foundation for the neo-classical synthesis. But it was limited in its monetary economics. Lange also intervened in the Keynes-Tinbergen dispute over the scope and significance of econometrics. Lange collaborated in a paper that conceded Keynes‟s main point that empirical investigation could not determine theory, but insisted that theories could nevertheless be tested empirically. The paper was never publish and Keynes, unconvinced, planned to recruit Kalecki to his critique of econometrics.
Topic:
Socialism/Marxism, Economic Theory, Macroeconomics, and Keynes
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6176. Neologism as Theoretical Innovation in Economics: The case of 'Financialisation

Author:
Jan Toporowski
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
Abstract:
The term „financialisation‟ is a recognition that finance has come to play a key role on the modern capitalist economy. But users of the term do not agree on its meaning and recognition of the growing scale of finance has not brought about an increased understanding of financial processes. The paper examines the reasons for increased turnover in financial markets. The main themes in the literature on financialisation are examined and shown to lack a coherent account of financial processes that goes beyond the evidence of financial activity.
Topic:
Debt, Finance, Credit, and Financialisation
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6177. The Monetary Theory of Kalecki and Minsky

Author:
Jan Toporowski
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
Abstract:
The monetary theory of Kalecki and Minsky is usually placed within the Post-Keynesian tradition, deriving from the monetary analysis of John Maynard Keynes. The paper argues that Kalecki and Minsky shared a common inheritance in Swedish and German monetary theory, rather than the Marshallian tradition. Thus the monetary analysis of Kalecki and Minsky emphasises the endogeneity of money through capitalist reproduction, rather than through the mechanisms connecting central bank money to credit creation in the banking system. This provides the link between the monetary theory of Kalecki and Minsky and modern circuit theory.
Topic:
Monetary Policy, Banks, Economic Theory, and Keynes
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6178. Twenty Mechanisms for Addressing Torture in Health Care

Author:
Jonathan Cohen and Tamar Ezer
Publication Date:
06-2012
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
Health care settings should be places where human rights are realized. Yet, across the world, health systems often serve as venues of punishment, coercion, and violations of basic human rights, sometimes amounting to torture or cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment. This abuse is especially prevalent in the care of socially marginalized groups—people living with HIV, ethnic minorities, sexual and gender minorities, people who use drugs, and people with intellectual disabilities or mental health problems. There are many national, regional, and international mechanisms designed to promote government accountability and prevent torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, yet these mechanisms are rarely applied to health facilities. This manual describes 20 anti-torture mechanisms from the United Nations and African, European, and Inter-American human rights systems and provides illustrative examples on how to use these mechanisms to fight torture in health settings. For each mechanism, the manual explores mandate, procedure, possibilities for engagement, and prior work on torture in health care. The manual also includes a glossary of basic human rights terms. This manual is designed as a resource for organizations that advocate against abuse in health care—including international, regional, and national human rights organizations; groups focused on particular health care abuses; anti-torture groups; and the treaty bodies themselves.
Topic:
HIV/AIDS, Health, Torture, United Nations, Minorities, and Health Care Policy
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, and Global Focus

6179. Tools for Change: Applying United Nations standards to secure women’s housing, land, and property rights in the context of HIV

Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
Developed by the United Nations Development Programme and Open Society Foundations, Tools for Change is an easy-to-use resource for advocates working on women’s housing, land, and property rights in the context of HIV. It brings together relevant international human rights documents and highlights core concepts, rights, and means of enforcement, providing examples of successful advocacy from around the world. Moreover, it draws on the voices of women worldwide to explain these rights and their uses in practical terms. This manual was originally conceived during a strategic meeting on property and inheritance rights as they relate to HIV, held during the 2009 United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, where organizations gathered from around the world. It emerged from the realization that through hard work, advocates have managed to get a number of UN instruments to include protection for women’s housing, land, and property rights, and member states have pledged to abide by them. However, many advocates at the national level do not even know of these international instruments, even though they might be helpful in their work, particularly as governments may not be meeting their international human rights obligations. Advocates need a better understanding of international human rights and government obligations in order to ensure government accountability and advance women’s housing, land, and property rights. This manual seeks to empower advocates working in the context of HIV by making the relevant United Nations standards and interpretations clear and accessible—to make them "tools for change."
Topic:
HIV/AIDS, United Nations, Women, Land, Housing, and Equality
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6180. Media – International Relations Interaction Model

Author:
Tsvetelina Yordanova
Publication Date:
12-2012
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute for Security and International Studies (ISIS)
Abstract:
What role do media play in international relations is the major question that this article attempts to answer. It argues that media have quite limited impact on international affairs and foreign policy process and that the political discourse still prevails over the one of the media and the public in the contest of power in democratic societies. The contribution of the article is to conceptualize the highly scattered knowledge about media-international relations interaction and to present a model which places media on the complex terrain of world politics.
Topic:
International Relations, Communications, Media, and News Analysis
Political Geography:
Europe, Eastern Europe, and Global Focus

6181. Women Count: Security Council Resolution 1325: Civil Society Monitoring Report 2012

Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP)
Abstract:
The Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP) brings together 67 women’s organisations and networks and aims to bridge the gap between policy discussions and implementation and action on the ground on women, peace and security issues. GNWP’s work focuses on the following objectives: ▶ Enhance women’s capacities to use legal mechanisms available at the international, regional and national levels in order to protect their rights and ensure their participation in decision-making, peace building, conflict prevention and reconstruction; ▶ Enhance capacity amongst civil society, especially women’s civil society, to conduct effective monitoring, mobilize and advocate for effective policy implementation; ▶ Bring visibility to women’s issues and concerns on peace and security and amplify their voices at the national, regional and global levels; ▶ Support effective implementation of UNSCR 1325, 1820 and the supporting Women, Peace and Security resolutions particularly at the national level; ▶ Bolster Member State (MS) accountability in a range of ways and fora, which go beyond UNSCR 1325 anniversaries every October.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Gender Issues, United Nations, Peacekeeping, Women, Peace, and WPS
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6182. Explaining the Pentagon’s Defense Strategy

Author:
Julie Zelnick and Mieke Eoyang
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Third Way
Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to translate the long and technical national security strategic directive the Obama Administration laid out on January 5, 2012 into plain language and provide policymakers with guidance on how to make the case for the President’s plan. The directive has four over-arching goals, which are reflected in the budget
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Imperialism, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:
United States, North America, and Global Focus

6183. The Insistence of the Material: Theorizing Materiality and Biopolitics in the Era of Globalization

Author:
Christopher Breu
Publication Date:
08-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition, McMaster University
Abstract:
In what follows, then, I will first provide a brief account of the value and limits of the cultural turn. I will then map out some of the trajectories of the recent material turn, putting it in dialogue with older materialist approaches and suggesting the ways in which we can draw on both older and newer approaches to the question of materiality in order to theorize the bodies, objects, biopolitics, political ecology, and political economy in our globalizing present.
Topic:
Politics, Culture, and Material Culture
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6184. An Interdisciplinary Forum on Time and Globalization

Author:
Christopher Breu
Publication Date:
09-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition, McMaster University
Abstract:
How do globalization and temporality relate to one another? This was the question addressed by a 2011 workshop sponsored by Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition (IGHC) at McMaster University. In the past, globalization and temporality have both been characterized as moving forward independently of human volition, carrying all of us along in their flow. Now there are large literatures challenging this view, and showing how globalization and time are constructed and modified by humans. However, with some important exceptions (Harvey 1990, Sassen 2000, Appadurai 2005, Bauman 2000), the literatures on globalization and on temporality have developed separately from one another. It is important to bring these literatures into closer dialogue, because a great many urgent issues in contemporary human affairs involve interactions between temporality and globalization. These range from individual-level questions, such as managing the accelerated pace of everyday life, to large epochal problems, such as climate change, that may not always be readily apprehended, but are no less significant. The workshop participants, drawing on their backgrounds in a variety of academic disciplines, addressed the relationship between temporality and globalization in a variety of settings. Six of the papers presented at this workshop are gathered in this IGHC Working Paper. The assembled papers, individually and jointly, identify a number of themes of particular relevance to any comprehensive discussion of globalization and time. By way of introduction, it is useful to briefly consider how the most prominent of these themes are addressed by the contributors.
Topic:
Globalization, Human Development, and Time
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6185. Has Sovereignty Eroded?

Author:
Binneh S. Minteh
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:
Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:
This paper argues that globalization and interdependence has contributed to the “contingent maneuvering” of states with sovereignty from an economic perspective, whilst nuclear non-proliferation, security, survival, and rising nationalism established states as prominent actors on the global stage from a political perspective. The paper proceeds with an Introduction and Background Information of the State in part one. Part two gives a literature review of the state on the global political stage. In part three, the paper theorizes globalization and economic interdependence as the border- less source responsible for the decreasing power of states. Part four ponders how the contentious issues of nuclear proliferation, residual nationalism and non state actors contributed to the erosion of sovereignty for reasons of security and survival. And in part five, I ponder the theoretical implications and give concluding remarks.
Topic:
Security, Globalization, Nationalism, and Sovereignty
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6186. Terrorism as Genocide: Killing with “Intent”

Author:
Ashlie Perry
Publication Date:
07-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:
Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:
It is plausible that terrorism can manifest itself as a form of genocide. Using Raphael Lemkin’s definition of genocide and the UN Genocide Convention’s definition of genocide, non-state and state terrorism are assessed as a form of genocide. Commonalities found in the definitions of both genocide and terrorism supports the argument. The psychology of terrorism and Lemkin’s psychology of genocide describe similar motivations of perpetrators. The September 11th attacks and the U.S. invasion of Iraq are used as case studies to illustrate that terrorism can result in genocide or genocidal acts. Framing acts of terrorism as genocide allows for prosecution in international courts and brings a new perspective to the concept of killing with intent.
Topic:
Genocide, Terrorism, United Nations, Violence, and State Sponsored Terrorism
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6187. Nobody's Century: The American Proposal in Post-Imperial Times

Author:
Chas W. Freeman Jr.
Publication Date:
09-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:
We are entering a novel period in our history–one in which the United States will be both fiscally constrained and also unable to call the shots in many places around the globe. Let me try to set the stage for your discussions by raising some difficult questions for you to ponder.
Topic:
International Relations, Globalization, Hegemony, and World System
Political Geography:
North America, Global Focus, and United States of America

6188. Edges of Radicalization: Ideas, Individuals and Networks in Violent Extremism

Author:
Scott Helfstein
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
The Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) at West Point is pleased to announce the release of a new report entitled “Edges of Radicalization: Ideas, Individuals and Networks in Violent Extremism,” by Scott Helfstein. This paper examines radicalization as a social phenomenon through the behavior of individuals and networks. Violent extremists, individuals pursuing political change through violence, remain committed to striking the U.S. homeland and its interests abroad. It is important to understand how radical ideas spread to counter or contain this immediate and persistent threat. This study argues that the spread of violent extremism cannot be fully understood as an ideological or social phenomenon, but must be viewed as a process that integrates the two forces in a coevolutionary manner. The same forces that make an ideology appealing to some aggrieved group of people are not necessarily the same factors that promote its transfer through social networks of self-interested human beings. This means that there is value in differentiating why radical ideologies resonate among individuals, and how individuals come to adopt and advocate those ideas. This report helps contextualize the current terrorist threat, the role of technology in radicalization, and next steps in decoding radicalization.
Topic:
Terrorism, Violent Extremism, Radicalization, and Networks
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6189. Forcing Democracy: Is Military Intervention for Regime Change Permissible?

Author:
Müge Kınacıoğlu
Publication Date:
01-2012
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 intends to go beyond the consequentialist utilitarian ap- proaches to forcible regime change by addressing the question of forcing democracy-building from an angle of appropriateness. It aims to analyze the admissibility of pro-democratic military interventions in international society by focusing on the UN and state practice. Is military intervention to remove a tyrannical regime permissible in international law? To what extend does international society condone an outside force to impose a democratic regime? Does the practice of the UN Security Council in promotion of democracy by force point to an emerging norm with regards to expansive concept of humanitarian intervention? To analyze such questions, this article first provides for a discussion of the concept of intervention. Second, it overviews the normative framework of the use of force in international relations. It continues with the analysis of unilateral and multilateral pro-democratic military interventions, and the UN Security Council practice of condemning, authorizing or consequently endorsing democratic regime change in the target states. In the conclusion part, the article assesses the legality and legitimacy issue regarding the pro-democratic intervention and regime change in light of main norms enshrined in the UN Charter and in general international law.
Topic:
United Nations, Regime Change, Democracy, Military Intervention, UN Security Council, and Intervention
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6190. Beyond the Global Financial Crisis: Structural Continuities as Impediments to a Sustainable Recovery

Author:
Ziya Önis and Mustafa Kutlay
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace
Institution:
Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research
Abstract:
There has scarcely been a day in the last three years when we have not read depressing headlines in the newspapers about the global economic crisis. The current turmoil, which many experts concur in seeing as the worst jolt to the world economy since the Great Depression, is pushing the parameters of the established system to its limits. One could say that we see, in the short-term measures taken against the crisis at the time, an effective anti-crisis strategy. But ironically, the promptness with which these short-term measures were enacted prevented adequate questioning of the dominant paradigm which had caused the crisis. As a result, the structural problems leading to the crisis were not reduced. Despite the occurrence of the deepest economic crisis to be experienced since the Great Depression, the present economic emergency did not shake the neoclassical economic paradigm as strongly as was needed. A puzzle that this study aims to solve arises here: Why and how has the conventional wisdom survived and reproduced its intellectual hegemony even after the “most devastating economic crisis” since the Great Depression?
Topic:
Economics, Economic structure, Global Financial Crisis, Recovery, Lobbying, and Regulatory Capture
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6191. State-Sponsored Homophobia (2012)

Author:
Lucas Paoli Itaborahy
Publication Date:
05-2012
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

6192. 2011-2012 Guide to Women Leaders in International Affairs

Author:
Women's Foreign Policy Group (WFPG)
Publication Date:
08-2012
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

6193. A crisis in the human rights concept in the begining of the 21st century

Author:
Yevgeniy Zhovtis
Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
Abstract:
Essential human rights principles say that for citizens ‘everything which is not forbidden is allowed’ while for the government ‘everything which is not allowed is forbidden’. But authoritarian states manage to turn these principles upside down both in law and it practice.
Topic:
Human Rights, Law, Authoritarianism, and Citizenship
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6194. Peace Agreement Drafter's Handbook

Author:
Public International Law Policy Group
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Public International Law Policy Group
Abstract:
The Public International Law & Policy Group’s (PILPG) Peace Agreement Drafter’s Handbook is a comprehensive guide on how to draft a peace agreement based upon comparative analysis of more than 60 peace agreements over a period of more than 30 years. This Handbook is intended to assist drafters, mediators, negotiators, and anyone else interested in the substantive and practical contents contained in peace agreements. PILPG designed this Handbook to facilitate drafting peace agreements quickly, efficiently, and effectively. The Handbook does not proffer advice on how to negotiate or otherwise reach an agreement. Rather, the Handbook is designed to facilitate the ability of parties and other actors to translate political agreements into legally-binding treaty language. Emphasis is placed on crafting provisions in such a way as to enhance their full and effective implementation, as well as the durability of the agreement itself. The Handbook sets out the essential components and core elements found in most peace agreements because approximately 60–70 percent of all peace agreements draw on similar components and language. However, every conflict is unique and drafters may have to adjust certain elements to enhance an agreement’s relevancy and applicability to a particular conflict situation or post-conflict environment. Therefore, each chapter should be considered as ad hoc, and reshaping the new agreement to address the nuances of each party’s needs will be necessary. Similarly, the comparative provisions and sample language provided in the Handbook are by no means exclusive, recommended, or mandatory. The purpose of the Handbook is to assist a drafter prepare a well-crafted agreement and enhance the durability of future agreements by drawing upon the best practices from prior agreements. The Handbook consists of several chapters, all of which follow the same basic format. Each chapter focuses on a particular section commonly found in peace agreements, such as ceasefires, economic restructuring, and property restitution. Each chapter first identifies the basic elements in that section of a peace agreement. For instance, in ceasefires, the basic elements include the identification and definition of prohibited acts, separation of forces, and verification, supervision, and monitoring. The primary notes found in each chapter provide a brief overview of a specific element. These elements are then addressed through comparative analysis. The analysis provides for the drafter language found in other peace agreements from which the most relevant to the drafter’s conflict can be selected. Each section then concludes with sample language.
Topic:
Diplomacy, International Cooperation, Treaties and Agreements, and Peace
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6195. Post-Conflict Constitution Drafter's Handbook

Author:
Public International Law Policy Group
Publication Date:
12-2012
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Public International Law Policy Group
Abstract:
The Public International Law & Policy Group’s (PILPG) Post-Conflict Constitution Drafter’s Handbook is intended to assist drafters of constitutions in post-conflict situations. The Handbook draws from PILPG’s experience in facilitating post-conflict constitution drafting processes, as well as comparative state practice, and is based upon analysis of over 150 constitutions from post- conflict and stable states. The Handbook is divided into sixteen chapters, each of which covers a core section in post-conflict constitutions. The chapters include: the Preamble, State Structure and Devolution of Powers, the Executive, the Legislature, the Judiciary, International Legal Obligations, the Electoral System, Financial Matters and the Central Bank, Human Rights, Minority Rights, Women’s Rights, Defense and Security, the Role of Religion, Customary Law, Natural Resources, and Extraordinary Measures. Within each chapter, the Handbook describes core provisions and provides sample language that may be used as a basis for constitutional provisions. In some instances, the Handbook provides several options that the drafter may choose from. The sample language is identified as “Option One” and “Option Two.” In others, the Handbook provides optional language that drafters may include. In those instances the sample language is identified as “Optional.” The intent of this handbook is to provide the drafter with options in structuring constitutional provisions. Since every post-conflict situation is unique, the drafter may change certain elements to enhance the constitution’s relevance and applicability to a particular context. The purpose of the sample language is merely to provide options from ratified constitutions to assist the drafter. The Handbook also contains two annexes. Annex I provides a list all of the constitutions cited in the footnotes and a link to their location on the World Wide Web. Annex II provides a compilation of all the sample language. PILPG is committed to supporting constitution drafters in fulfilling their roles, and, upon request, can provide additional assistance in considering particular provisions and language.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Peacekeeping, Conflict, Negotiation, and Peace
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6196. Exports and Olympic Games: Is there a Signal Effect?

Author:
Wolfgang Maennig and Felix J. Richter
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chair for Economic Policy, University of Hamburg
Abstract:
Rose & Spiegel (2011) find that Olympic Games host countries experience significant positive, lasting effects on exports. They interpret their results as an indication that countries use the hosting of such events to signal openness and competitiveness. We challenge these empirical findings on the grounds that a comparison of structurally different and non-matching groups of countries might suffer from a selection bias. We demonstrate that with an appropriate matching and treatment methodology, the significant Olympic effect disappears.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Olympics, and Exports
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6197. Reasons for Russia’s War on Ukraine and its foreseeable consequences on Latin America

Author:
Fernando Petrella
Publication Date:
06-2012
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Argentine Council for International Relations (CARI)
Abstract:
1. Is the rise of emerging powers the rise of the "rest" (as Fareed Zakaria has put it) or, the somewhat more intriguing possibility, the rise of the "different"? 2. Is there a chance to build a partnership between the traditional powers - the "western constellation", mainly the G7 countries - and the emerging countries, (the "rest"; the "different"), or can we only hope for a mere "coexistence", as we seem to have today?
Topic:
International Relations, G7, and Emerging Powers
Political Geography:
Latin America and Global Focus

6198. Missing Import Price Changes and Low Exchange Rate Pass-Through

Author:
Etienne Gagnon, Benjamin R. Mandel, and Robert J. Vigfusson
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
A large body of empirical work has found that exchange rate movements have only modest effects on inflation. However, the response of an import price index to exchange rate movements may be underestimated because some import price changes are missed when constructing the index. We investigate downward biases that arise when items experiencing a price change are especially likely to exit or to enter the index. We show that, in theoretical pricing models, entry and exit have different implications for the timing and size of these biases. Using Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) microdata, we derive empirical bounds on the magnitude of these biases and construct alternative price indexes that are less subject to selection effects. Our analysis suggests that the biases induced by selective exits and entries are modest over typical forecast horizons. As such, the empirical evidence continues to support the conclusion that exchange rate pass-through to U.S. import prices is low.
Topic:
International Trade and Finance, Exchange Rate Policy, Imports, and Price
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6199. Monetary Policy in Emerging Market Economies: What Lessons From the Global Financial Crisis?

Author:
Brahima Coulibaly
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
During the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, emerging market economies (EMEs) loosened monetary policy considerably to cushion the shock. In previous crises episodes, by contrast, EMEs generally had to tighten monetary policy to defend the value of their currencies, to contain capital flight, and to bolster policy credibility. Our study aims to understand the factors that enabled this remarkable shift in monetary policy, and also to assess whether this marks a new era in which EMEs can now conduct countercyclical policy, more in line with advanced economies. The results indicate statistically significant linkages between some characteristics of the economies and their ability to conduct countercyclical monetary policy. We find that macroeconomic fundamentals and lower vulnerabilities, openness to trade, and international capital flows, financial reforms, and the adoption of inflation targeting all facilitated the conduct of countercyclical policy. Of these factors, the most important have been the financial reforms achieved over the past decades and the adoption of inflation targeting. As long as EMEs maintain these strong economic fundamentals, continue to reform their financial sector, and adopt credible and transparent monetary policy frameworks such as inflation targeting, the conduct of countercyclical monetary policy will likely be sustainable.
Topic:
Economics, Emerging Markets, Monetary Policy, and Global Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6200. Fiscal Consolidation in an Open Economy

Author:
Christopher J. Erceg and Jesper Linde
Publication Date:
04-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
This paper uses a New Keynesian DSGE model of a small open economy to compare how the e¤ects of fiscal consolidation di¤er depending on whether monetary policy is constrained by currency union membership or by the zero lower bound on policy rates. We show that there are important di¤erences in the impact of fiscal shocks across these monetary regimes that depend both on the duration of the zero lower bound and on features that determine the responsiveness of inflation.
Topic:
Economics, Economic Theory, Fiscal Policy, and Consolidation
Political Geography:
Global Focus