Political Geography: Global Focus

201. Introduction: Marxifying IR, IRifying Marxism

Author:: Faruk Yalvaç and Jonathan Joseph
Publication Date:: 06-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: Although the neglect of Marxism has been a pervasive characteristic of IR theory, there has been a marked revival of interest in Marxism. Marx’s materialist insights into the general historical development of societies, as well as his critique of capitalism and political economy, have served as alternative starting points for different critical approaches to IR and offers a welcome alternative to neorealism, constructivism, and poststructuralism that have dominated IR for several decades. Marxism provides a redefinition of IR by focusing on changes in material circumstances, historical conditions, and society instead of assuming unchanging and fixed structures of anarchy or the state. Marx’s analysis and insights into the dynamics of international relations have become even more important given the ongoing crisis of neoliberal capitalism, the rise of authoritarianism, right-wing nationalist populisms, and the racial and gendered subordinations accompanying them pointing to the importance of Marxifying IR and IRifying Marxism.
Topic:: International Relations, Development, Socialism/Marxism, Critical Realism, Ecofeminism, Political Marxism, and Gramscianism
Political Geography:: Global Focus

202. Quo Vadis, Historical International Relations? Geopolitical Marxism and the Promise of Radical Historicism

Author:: Lauri Von Pfaler and Benno Teschke
Publication Date:: 06-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: John Maclean’s 1988 call “Marxism and IR: A Strange Case of Mutual Neglect” has generated a rich bounty of Marxist studies and paradigms in International Relations (IR). This cross-pollination merged in the 1990s with the “historical turn” and shaped the sub-fields of International Historical Sociology and International Political Economy. But has it left its mark on how IR is practised today? We argue that while Marxism has spoken significantly to the discipline, mainstream IR, even Historical IR, has been largely impervious to Marxist arguments, drawing the standard charge of economism and structuralism. Rectifying these critiques, we suggest that conventional historical studies of “the international” remain methodologically and substantively impoverished. We exemplify this by showing how leading Historical IR studies of “systems change” fail to explain the inside/outside and public/private differentiations constitutive of the modern international order and to integrate the “levels of analysis” they presuppose. We further argue that this rejection has been facilitated by influential Marxist IR paradigms, which ultimately privilege structuralism over historicism: While Neo-Gramscians initially mobilised “historicism” to dissolve claims about the “sameness” of international relations across time and space, the approach became identified with the reified master-category of “hegemony”. Uneven and Combined Development, in turn, has gravitated towards matching Neo-realism’s claim to theoretical universality by insisting on transhistorical model-building and nomological “grand theory”. Both approaches remain over-sociologised and fail to address international politics. Drawing on radically historicist Political Marxism, this article shows how its substantive socio-political premises explain the historical formation of the contemporary international order and re-unite the “levels of analysis” theoretically to provide a framework for non-reductionist and non-economistic accounts of historical international relations. This requires an answer to the agentic challenge of Neo-Classical Realism by reincorporating grand strategy, diplomacy, and international politics into a reformulated perspective of Geopolitical Marxism to track the full historicity of the making of international orders.
Topic:: International Relations, History, Socialism/Marxism, Sociology, Methods, Agency, Geopolicy, and Historicity
Political Geography:: Global Focus

203. “Winning the Peace”: The Role of International Peace Settlements in the Creation of World Orders – A “Geopolitical Marxist” Perspective

Author:: Jack Edwards
Publication Date:: 06-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: For the discipline of International Relations (IR), the study of International Peace Settlements (IPS) for the organization of postwar international orders has thus far primarily been the purview of realist, liberal, and constructivist approaches. To date, Marxist approaches have tended to either ignore the significance of IPS in the formation of new global orders or have been inscribed into longer-term overarching processes – namely, the reified consequences of the development of capitalism. These proclivities have had the unwelcome effect of subsuming the role historical agents have played in the devising of international ordering strategies under preordained universal “laws of motion” and downplaying the broader efficacy of foreign policymaking in the building of world order. This paper proposes to rectify this Marxist lacuna by highlighting how adopting an approach that elaborates on the principles of Geopolitical Marxism (GPM) in IR can overcome these shortcomings. The paper argues that a radical historicist methodology for analysing these important world-historical junctures retrieves the significance of contextualized agency within the historical materialist tradition and overcomes the issues beholden to structuralist Marxist approaches.
Topic:: International Relations, History, Peace, Conference, International Order, Geopolitical Marxism, and Congress of Vienna
Political Geography:: Global Focus

204. Reconciling Tensions in the Analysis of Bourgeois Revolutions: A Critical Realist Approach

Author:: Klevis Kolasi
Publication Date:: 06-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: When and how do agents consciously reproduce or unconsciously transform social structures? This inquiry is pivotal for advancing a theory of socio-historical development, particularly in addressing a key debate within International Historical Sociology (IHS) surrounding modern revolutions. This debate revolves around the tension between the “consequentialist” interpretation of bourgeois revolutions and the “revisionist” critiques, notably from the “historicist” wing of Political Marxism (PM). This article contends that the tension arises from an inadequate conceptualization of the agent-structure relationship. Drawing on Roy Bhaskar’s transformational model of social activity (TMSA) and critical realist philosophy of science, the article proposes a conceptual framework reconciling PM’s focus on class struggle to understand the historical specificity of capitalism with the role bourgeois revolutions historically and structurally played for the development of capitalism. Integrating Bhaskar’s framework with historical materialism-inspired debates on bourgeois revolutions, the paper suggests that agents’ unconscious actions can transform social structures amid social disintegration (“classic bourgeois revolutions”). Conversely, agents consciously seek to preserve and reproduce social structures, as seen in “passive revolutions”. This occurs when social structures, marked by inequality and hierarchies, are viewed as historical constructs rather than natural phenomena, particularly in the context of uneven and combined development of capitalism. This analysis contributes to ongoing IHS debates, enriches our comprehension of modern revolutions, and extends TMSA by empirically delineating circumstances wherein agents consciously uphold or unwittingly trigger the transformation of social structures.
Topic:: International Relations, Socialism/Marxism, Capitalism, Revolution, International Historical Sociology, and Radical Historicism
Political Geography:: Global Focus

205. The Rise and Decline of the Liberal World Order and the Multilateral Trade System: A Critical-Constructivist Synthesis to International Regime Analysis

Author:: Serdar Altay
Publication Date:: 06-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: This article devises an analytical framework that synthesizes neo-Gramscian and social constructivist perspectives to dissect international regimes amid global hegemonic shifts. It portrays regimes as intersubjective constructs with unique social purposes within the broader hegemonic fabric, shaped by dominant ideologies and power distributions. The study examines the transition of the trade regime from General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) to World Trade Organization (WTO) through the Uruguay Round (1986-1994) and the Doha Round’s deadlock since 2001. The article posits that the Uruguay Round marked a pivotal hegemonic transformation, transitioning the regime from embedded liberalism to neoliberalism by transforming its social purpose, norms, and generative grammar. Yet, this shift, which precipitated a legitimacy crisis within the WTO and was exacerbated by the Doha Round’s failure to regenerate neoliberal hegemony with a fresh synthesis of free trade and sustainable development, arguably rendered the WTO directionless and contributed to the fragmentation of global trade governance amidst emerging regional pacts and varied ideological visions of economic liberalism.
Topic:: Liberalism, WTO, International Order, Critical Theory, Social Constructivism, and International Regimes
Political Geography:: Global Focus

206. Resistance and Change in Form and Content of International Law: A Third World Perspective on Commodity Form Theory of International Law

Author:: Muhammad Azeem
Publication Date:: 06-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: Can Marxists, especially in the Third World, use international law for progressive social change? Responding to the Soviet Union's context and its jurisprudential challenges in constructing socialism, Pashukanis's seminal work on commodity form theory is nihilistic, assuming the very nature of form of international law as bourgeois with limited possibilities of radical change as its new content. European Marxism, on the other hand, in its context of revolutionary defeat and consequent postmodernist pessimism of cultural Marxism, either relies on Pashukanis's nihilistic position or a pragmatist and realist posture, insisting on staying within the law's bourgeois form and being content with social democracy. As opposed to this, Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) scholars, while exploring the imperialist nature of international law and representing one variant of Third World Marxism, have been more optimistic, wanting to use international law to restrain and shield against powerful Western states, i.e., they believe that the content of Third World resistance can change the form of international law. This article deconstructs this class “content” of international law in the understanding of TWAIL and shows the postcolonial Third World states, and even in the yet to be independent states, were dominated by their dependent local elite, which had compromised by the ex-colonizers and had started blocking radical structural changes in Third World. Soon, the target of imperialism and the Third World elite became radical movements in the Third World, and this struggle of the marginalized shaped international law. Therefore, relying on the radical tradition of Third World Marxism and taking the right of self-determination as an example, this article argues that both the content and form of international law were simultaneously used, subverted, and changed in a dialectical and dynamic way by the resistance of the people of the Third World.
Topic:: International Relations, International Law, Socialism/Marxism, Resistance, Self-Determination, Third World Marxism, Western Marxism, and Soviet Official Marxism
Political Geography:: Global Focus

207. Climate Plans for the People: Civil society and community participation in national action plans on climate change

Author:: Duncan Pruett and Christina Hill
Publication Date:: 03-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: In 2024, all countries will be updating and submitting their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). These national climate plans outline commitments towards tackling climate change. These plans impact all walks of life and must therefore be inclusive of the whole of society. By examining recent practices across 11 countries, Oxfam found that NDCs were not sufficiently inclusive, often failing to involve civil society and communities who bear the burden of climate change and the impact of climate transition plans. This paper explores who the main actors are in NDCs, which stakeholders have not been included, and why. In order to foster a sustainable, equitable, and inclusive social, economic, and political environment for climate action, the paper makes recommendations for the UN, governments, donors, international agencies and civil society.
Topic:: Civil Society, Climate Change, Participation, Adaptation, and Mitigation
Political Geography:: Global Focus

208. Increasing Civil Society Ownership of National Climate Plans: Lessons drawn from Senegal’s NDC experience

Author:: Estelle Briot
Publication Date:: 04-2024
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The issue of civil society participation in the processes of developing, implementing, and monitoring national climate plans is crucial to ensuring that these ambitions are both acceptable to the populations and, beyond that, that they align with a trajectory of sustainable development beneficial to all actors in Senegalese society. This case study aims to analyze the degree of involvement through consultations with a variety of civil society actors, as well as members of the administration and international partners active in the fight against climate change. While some believe that civil society participation has progressed significantly in recent years, the vast majority feel that the level reached is still insufficient. Barriers to civil society’s appropriation of climate issues include, among others, the lack of representativeness of grassroots organizations and vulnerable groups, as well as the unfamiliarity of civil society organizations (CSOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) with the processes, objectives, and stakeholders of the National Climate Plan (NCP), meaning that many civil society actors are rarely aware of their contribution to its implementation even though they are involved. The study also shows how limited human and financial resources reduce the possibility of broad participation by civil society organizations, especially outside the capital. This raises the question of a fair, adequate, and targeted allocation of climate financing to meet the ambitions of climate policies in Senegal. This report presents recommendations to overcome barriers that may explain low ownership of national climate plans by communities, in order to propose ways for populations to be key actors in an ambitious ecological transition in Senegal.
Topic:: Civil Society, Climate Change, Participation, and Ambition
Political Geography:: Global Focus

209. Beyond Crises: The future of Special Drawing Rights as a source of development and climate finance

Author:: Didier Jacobs
Publication Date:: 06-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) during the COVID-19 pandemic has generated considerable interest in using SDRs as a tool for development and climate finance. This policy brief argues that the monetary logic that underpins SDRs justifies regular allocations of at least $200 billion a year, and more than doubling the share of low-and middle-income countries. Once allocated, governments can use SDRs in multiple ways, including to fund some development or climate projects. The brief also discusses reforms to deepen the SDR system in the interest of all countries.
Topic:: Development, Climate Finance, Sustainable Development Goals, Economic Policy, and IMF
Political Geography:: Global Focus

210. Decoding the Global Goal on Adaptation at COP28

Author:: Olivia Fielding
Publication Date:: 03-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: International Peace Institute (IPI)
Abstract:: Although adaptation has historically received less attention than mitigation, finance, and more recently loss and damage, it remains a key aspect of climate action as we near the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C threshold. This paper discusses the agreement on a framework for the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) as one of the most important outcomes of the twenty-eighth UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, providing an overview of and key takeaways from the document. The final decision text contains language on long-term transformational adaptation, which was seen as a success by many developing countries. It also sets targets for a finalized list of thematic areas—a contentious subject and another success for many developing countries. These targets explain what success looks like, ultimately aiming for the high-level objective of well-being for people and planet, while leaving the details of achieving this objective to countries. The text also includes targets for the iterative adaptation cycle. In addition, there were a number of paragraphs on means of implementation, though many developing countries saw these as a failure, as they provide little new or significant language. The next step will be to develop indicators for the targets in the GGA framework. Ideally, the negotiators should set the strategic direction of this process while leaving the selection of indicators to experts. It will be important to keep the list of indicators short, account for data gaps, and draw on existing indicators to the extent possible. While there is much work to be done to give life to the GGA framework adopted at COP28, it has the potential to be the new guiding light for climate action.
Topic:: Climate Change, Adaptation, and Conference of the Parties (COP)
Political Geography:: Global Focus

211. Gender Inclusion in the Pandemic Agreement: A Growing Gap?

Author:: Sara E. Davies and Clare Wenham
Publication Date:: 03-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: International Peace Institute (IPI)
Abstract:: There is increasing evidence of the gendered outcomes and secondary effects of epidemics and pandemics. Women make up a disproportionate share of the healthcare workforce, absorb much of the additional unpaid labor during health crises, and are exposed to increased gender-based violence and insecurity around sexual and reproductive healthcare during pandemics, among other effects. A gender-sensitive approach to health emergencies is essential for pandemic preparedness, prevention, response, and recovery. Despite the World Health Organization’s (WHO) awareness of these impacts, it does not systematically consider them in its pandemic preparedness and response. WHO’s historical “add women and stir” approach is evident in the proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR), whose attention to gender focuses primarily on committee representation. Gender sensitivity is also limited in the drafts of the WHO Convention, Agreement or Other International Instrument on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response (CA+), currently in development. Gender-inclusive language in the CA+ is essential for effective international coordination to prepare, prevent, respond to, and recover from health emergencies. This paper examines the extent to which gender has been included in the zero-draft CA+ process through a desk review of the drafts that have been published (as of March 2024), focusing on explicit mentions of gender and women. The report documents the progress to date on integrating gender equality into the CA+ and offers the following recommendations for CA+ negotiators, WHO, and member states. Future drafts of the CA+ should have provisions that address a wider range of the gendered impacts of pandemics; WHO should develop an IHR/CA+ repository; INB negotiators should directly engage relevant UN entities to recommend methods of integrating gender into the CA+; States that claim to have a principled stance on gender equity should transparently champion gender-inclusive language; and The CA+ should consider and incorporate initial lessons learned from the implementation of the gender-inclusive language in the IHR’s Joint External Evaluation (JEE) of states.
Topic:: Women, Pandemic, Inclusion, WHO, and Gender
Political Geography:: Global Focus

212. Advancing Feminist Foreign Policy in the Multilateral System: Key Debates and Challenges

Author:: Evyn Papworth
Publication Date:: 03-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: International Peace Institute (IPI)
Abstract:: Since the first feminist foreign policy (FFP) was adopted by Sweden in 2014, sixteen countries have either published an FFP or announced their intention to do so. Some proponents of FFPs have indicated that these policies can be a way to democratize and transform multilateralism, integrating feminist approaches and principles into multilateral institutions and leading to more inclusive and equitable outcomes. This requires seeing FFPs as not just a “women’s issue” but also as a way to reinvigorate an outdated and inequitable system through transformational change and the interrogation of entrenched power dynamics, including in areas such as trade, climate, migration, and disarmament. One obstacle to realizing the potential of FFPs is that there is no single definition of feminist foreign policy. Part of the challenge is that there are many interpretations of feminism, some of which reflect a more transformative, systemic approach than others. Ultimately, there is no single way to “do” feminism, and approaches to FFP should, and will, vary. If FFP is to survive and grow, it will encompass contradictions and compromises, as with all policymaking, and civil society and member states will have to collaborate to advance feminist principles in the multilateral arena. To explore the future of FFPs, the International Peace Institute, in partnership with the Open Society Foundations and in collaboration with the co-chairs of the Feminist Foreign Policy Plus (FFP+) Group, Chile and Germany, convened a retreat on Feminist Foreign Policy and Multilateralism in July 2023. Drawing on insights from the retreat, this paper discusses five ongoing debates that FFP-interested states should meaningfully engage with: Militarization, demilitarization, and the root causes of violence; Global perspectives and postcolonial critiques; The branding and substance of FFPs; The domestication of FFPs; and Accountability and sustainability.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Feminism, and Multilateralism
Political Geography:: Global Focus

213. Specialized Police Teams in UN Peace Operations: A Survey of Progress and Challenges

Author:: Charles T. Hunt
Publication Date:: 03-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: International Peace Institute (IPI)
Abstract:: Over the past decade and a half, specialized police teams (SPTs) have emerged as an innovative complement to individual police officers (IPOs) and formed police units (FPUs) in UN police peacekeeping. In general, SPTs are comprised of police officers and civilian policing experts focused on “skills transfer” and capacity building through technical assistance and advice, training, and mentoring to host-state police in a specific area of police operations or administration. This paper provides an overview of the benefits and challenges of SPTs as compared to IPOs. Some of the benefits include that SPTs are generally highly capable and meet high standards in specialized areas of policing, provide a more coherent and cohesive approach, and focus on objectives within a specific area. They also maximize capabilities by matching the work of officers to their skill sets, can be quick to deploy and adaptable, and maintain continuity by implementing longer projects. Moreover, SPTs facilitate relationship building with host-state police, use sustainable capacity-building approaches such as training of trainers, provide broader benefits to missions, and are more attractive to some police-contributing countries. At the same time, several obstacles to greater effectiveness have emerged, including that SPTs confront high-level tensions over their development and administration, experience supply-side issues due to their reliance on voluntary contributions and shortages of specially trained officers and civilian experts, and are dominated by countries in the Global North. They also have inconsistent composition, plans, and modalities across and even within missions and phases; lack sufficient guidance on key operational aspects; and lack consistent and sufficient funding. Moreover, SPTs are disconnected from broader efforts, sometimes implement unsustainable programming that focuses on “quick wins,” and often lack adequate frameworks for monitoring and evaluation. The lessons emerging from the experience of SPTs to date emphasize the need for innovation around deployment and implementation modalities for this specialized approach to capacity building. At the same time, they highlight the need for greater organizational flexibility and adaptability to empower and maximize the potential of SPTs.
Topic:: United Nations, Peacekeeping, Police, Skills, and Capacity Building
Political Geography:: Global Focus

214. Can the World Bank Deliver on Climate Change? Testing the Evolution Roadmap through Loss and Damage

Author:: Michael Franczak
Publication Date:: 04-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: International Peace Institute (IPI)
Abstract:: The establishment of a new Loss and Damage Fund and Funding Arrangements at COP27 and the Fund’s operationalization and initial capitalization at COP28 were milestones in the UN climate regime. The World Bank engaged in the Transitional Committee (TC) process as a potential host and trustee for the Fund, a member of a new “High-Level Dialogue,” and a direct provider of loss and damage (L&D) support. The implementation of the Fund and Funding Arrangements—the mosaic—is the first big test of the World Bank’s commitment to evolving its policies, practices, and relationships. This paper discusses the World Bank’s engagement with loss and damage, including the context of broader reforms aiming to modernize the Bank, such as the Bank’s Evolution Roadmap, which identifies three guiding elements for the Bank’s evolution: a new mission and vision, a new playbook, and new resources. One of the key components of the Bank’s evolution is the introduction of climate-resilient debt clauses (CRDCs) or “pause clauses.” Pause clauses feature prominently in recent initiatives to reform the international financial architecture, such as Bridgetown 2.0, the Africa Climate Summit’s Nairobi Declaration, and the Vulnerable Twenty Group’s (V20) Accra-Marrakech Agenda. The paper also discusses the debate over the World Bank’s hosting of the Fund and the set of conditions and safeguards, determined by developing countries, that the Bank would have to meet in order to host the Fund. Finally, the paper discusses priority actions for the High-Level Dialogue, including resource mobilization, institutional protocols, and the losses and damages of the future.
Topic:: Climate Change, World Bank, Loss and Damage (L&D), and Conference of the Parties (COP)
Political Geography:: Global Focus

215. Blockchain and Energy Understanding Opportunities and Challenges

Author:: Nicola De Blasio and Charles Hua
Publication Date:: 02-2024
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI)
Abstract:: The transition to a decarbonized, decentralized, and digitized energy future will unlock new business, policy, and technology models with the associated opportunities and challenges. Innovative technologies like blockchain, a shared, decentralized, and immutable digital ledger system that processes, validates, and manages digital transactions based on algorithmic consensus protocols, may enable this transition. Potential blockchain applications in energy range from enhanced distributed energy resources and peer-to-peer energy trading regimes to more robust grid management and smart energy contracts. There has been significant hype around blockchain’s potential impact in shaping economic and energy systems. Yet, it is essential to separate signal from noise and assess blockchain’s potential impact. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive analysis by identifying key use cases and then addressing which key characteristics blockchain technologies need to bring to fruition to support them. It also proposes an analytical framework to evaluate the potential impact of eight applications based on four key criteria: feasibility, maturity, scalability, and value additivity.
Topic:: Science and Technology, Innovation, Blockchain, Decarbonization, Energy, and Geoeconomics
Political Geography:: Global Focus

216. The Sky Is Not the Limit. Geopolitics and Economics of the New Space Race

Author:: Alessandro Gili
Publication Date:: 01-2024
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI)
Abstract:: Space is a contested domain for its very nature and today it is evidently becoming an increasingly important enabler of economic and military power. An increasing number of actors, infrastructures and technologies deployed in space also raises concerns for safety and security, especially in cyberspace. Many countries are striving to achieve space capabilities and autonomous access to space, and this is having a tremendous geopolitical impact, especially since space is emerging as an increasingly critical military and strategic domain. The development of the new space economy, which is increasingly involving the private sector and many industrial actors and services, will also be a game changer for the international economy. The space race likewise implies disruptive technologies that could contribute massively to the energy and digital transitions, accelerating solutions that could benefit humanity. A new international governance system for space is therefore needed urgently, considering that the current rules are no longer able to respond to a sector evolving at such a rapid pace. Which actors are leading the race? Which economic sectors could benefit the most and what could the new space economy mean for the world? How is space emerging as a military domain against a backdrop of increasing international tensions? What would a new system of global governance for space look like?
Topic:: Economics, Politics, Infrastructure, Geopolitics, Regulation, and Energy Security
Political Geography:: Russia, China, Europe, India, Italy, Global Focus, United States of America, and Space

217. Productivity spillovers from FDI: A firm-level cross-country analysis

Author:: JaeBin Ahn, Shekhar Aiyar, and Andrea F. Presbitero
Publication Date:: 07-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Bruegel
Abstract:: This paper provides cross-country firm-level evidence on productivity spillovers from foreign direct investment (FDI), separately for greenfield FDI and cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As). The granularity of bilateral sector-level FDI datasets allows for addressing possible endogeneity issues by applying a two-step approach whereby an exogenous FDI measure is constructed from a gravity-type regression of bilateral FDI flows. When looking at the effects of greenfield investments on firm labour productivity we find: i) positive intra-industry spillover effects for firms located in advanced countries, and ii) positive backward spillover effects for firms located in emerging and developing countries. These spillovers are driven entirely by FDI from advanced countries. The results from cross-border M&As are noisier, with weakly suggestive evidence for positive intra-industry spillovers in advanced countries but negative backward spillovers in emerging markets and developing countries.
Topic:: Foreign Direct Investment, Business, and Productivity
Political Geography:: Global Focus

218. The economic case for climate finance at scale

Author:: Patrick Bolton, Alissa M. Kleinnijenhuis, and Jeromin Zettelmeyer
Publication Date:: 06-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Bruegel
Abstract:: It will be impossible to contain the global temperature rise to 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels unless emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) decarbonise much more rapidly. This policy brief examines the economic case for advanced-country financial support for replacement of coal with renewable energy sources in EMDEs. Such conditional financial support is necessary in the sense that an exit from coal consistent with keeping the global temperature rise to between 1.5°C and 2°C will not happen without it, desirable from the perspective of the financier countries, and financially feasible. Although the global economic benefits of phasing out coal are very large, the costs of exiting coal generally exceed the benefits to EMDEs. However, the collective economic benefits to advanced countries greatly exceed those costs. These net benefits are positive even for small coalitions of advanced countries (G7 or G7 plus EU). The fiscal costs of financing the coal exit in EMDEs (without China) are modest as a share of G7+EU GDP at about 0.3 percent of GDP per year, assuming public-sector participation in renewable energy investment costs through blended finance of around 25 percent. Although providing climate finance to EMDEs is economically desirable and feasible from the G7 perspective, it is not happening at the necessary scale, partly because of incentives and political-economy challenges. Advanced countries are more likely to be willing to commit financing to climate action outside their borders if they have more control over how this money is spent. Developing countries are reluctant to phase out coal unless sufficiently large financial support is forthcoming for renewable investments that are consistent with their development goals. These problems could be overcome by tying renewable finance to a coal phase-out. Already-existing Just Energy Transition Partnerships with South Africa, Indonesia and Vietnam are prototypes of this approach. They should be scaled up, with sufficient grants to pay for coal closures and the social transition in coal communities, by explicitly conditioning funding on a coal phase-out and through a stronger governance structure to implement these deals.
Topic:: Climate Change, Emerging Markets, Climate Finance, Renewable Energy, Coal, Carbon Emissions, and Emerging Economies
Political Geography:: Global Focus

219. Navigating the treacherous political economy of structural reform

Author:: Davide Furceri, Jonathan Ostry, and Chris Papageorgiou
Publication Date:: 05-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Bruegel
Abstract:: We examine the economic and electoral effects of liberalisation measures using newly-constructed databases on structural economic reforms and the outcome of democratic elections since the 1970s. The data shows a remarkable slowdown in the pace of liberalisation in both advanced and emerging market and developing countries since the 1990s. A debate has emerged about the causes of this slowdown, including the possibility that reforms do not deliver the economic benefits that advocates, including the multilateral financial institutions, trumpeted. Some have pointed to the fact that the current and previous United States administrations have abandoned neoliberal policies in favour of more government intervention in the economy, and the effect has been globally contagious. Our empirical analysis suggests that the growth dividend from liberalisation is economically and statistically significant, but it emerges only slowly over time. Because of this delay, liberalising reforms are costly to democratic incumbents when they are implemented close to elections. Reforms may generate immediate concentrated losses, which elicit an electoral backlash, especially when the aggregate gains are only visible several years after the reform’s implementation. The electoral penalty is also sensitive to overall business-cycle conditions, being much larger when an economy is in recession. Electoral effects also differ depending on the type of reform. Notably, financial reforms generate more perceptible growth-equity trade-offs than real-economy reforms, especially when implemented during weak economic conditions. The political economy of reform is treacherous. To avoid adverse electoral effects, timing reform early in the electoral term and when business-cycle conditions are favourable is critical. So too is avoiding reforms that generate large distributional costs in the face of small aggregate gains (an adverse growth-equity trade-off). Focusing on these considerations is critical to reinvigorate support for structural reform.
Topic:: Economics, Political Economy, Reform, Elections, and Liberalization
Political Geography:: Global Focus

220. Global supply chains: lessons from a decade of disruption

Author:: Luca Léry Moffat and Niclas Poitiers
Publication Date:: 03-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Bruegel
Abstract:: This paper explores both the character and impact of three recent shocks to global supply chains: the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the US-China trade war. These were large shocks which have had significant impacts on domestic and international supply chains, but these impacts have differed in their longevity, economic impact and policy responses. We show that supply chains were remarkably resilient against shocks of such magnitude. However, this resilience was also achieved thanks to the equally remarkable size and scope of policy responses and global supply chain reorganisation. We recommend that pre-emptive policies may be justified to shield households and industry from future shocks. Given the entangled nature of these shocks and that their effects continue to reverberate, we emphasise the need for extensive future research to understand the nature of these shocks and the effectiveness of policy responses.
Topic:: Global Markets, Trade Wars, Trade, COVID-19, Supply Chains, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:: China, Global Focus, and United States of America

221. Knowledge spillovers and geopolitical challenges in global supply chains

Author:: Niclas Poitiers and Kamil Sekut
Publication Date:: 02-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Bruegel
Abstract:: This paper explores the role of knowledge spillovers through global supply chains against the backdrop of increasing geopolitical tensions and protectionist policies. The research, part of the ReThinkGSC project, underscores the importance of the international research and development ecosystem in fostering innovation. This ecosystem provides benefits to all countries involved and is essential for tackling global challenges. However, we highlight the growing threats to knowledge dissemination posed by policies aimed at preserving national security and leading technological positions. These measures, intended to safeguard strategic interests, risk fragmenting supply chains and stifling global innovation if they are applied on a broad basis. We recommend that restrictions on knowledge flows be limited to narrowly defined strategic areas and that countries adopt strategies to enhance internal knowledge dissemination, diversify supply chains and foster international economic ties. We emphasise the need for careful policy design, avoiding broad protectionist measures, and suggests bolstering R&D through public grants and tax incentives, and by promoting private-public partnerships.
Topic:: Geopolitics, Supply Chains, Research and Development, and Knowledge Transfer
Political Geography:: Global Focus

222. Bold International Tax Reforms to Counteract the OECD Global Tax

Author:: Adam N. Michel
Publication Date:: 02-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: Nearly 140 countries, including the United States, have endorsed a new global tax system proposed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This proposal, which aims to increase global business taxes and targets America’s most successful companies, threatens to undermine crucial features of the international corporate tax system. Congress will face a decision in 2025: conform to the OECD’s system or opt out and safeguard America’s position as the most attractive place to do business. The taxation of multinational businesses often raises concerns about a “race to the bottom” through harmful tax competition and businesses shifting profits to low-tax countries. Yet the magnitude and effect of these two phenomena are commonly misunderstood. Tax competition has allowed average statutory corporate tax rates to be cut in half over the past four decades, fueling investment and economic growth. Among OECD countries, revenues have increased while tax rates declined. The magnitude of profits shifted to low-tax countries is often inflated by researchers relying on data that overstate income in tax havens. A more comprehensive picture shows that about 8 percent of US corporate profits are reported in tax havens, only half of US multinationals have any presence in a tax haven, and they face higher effective tax rates than domestic competitors. Where it does exist, profit shifting acts as a tax cut on investment, boosting jobs and economic growth in both tax havens and higher-tax home markets. Following the long history of costly reforms to stop businesses from moving profits overseas, US policymakers should try a different approach. Instead of enacting new rules to stop income shifting out of the United States, Congress should focus exclusively on increasing the attractiveness of the United States as an investment destination.
Topic:: Reform, Business, Multinational Corporations, Tax Systems, OECD, and Competition
Political Geography:: Global Focus

223. Overcoming digital threats to democracy

Author:: Lydia Khalil
Publication Date:: 02-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:: The internet was once considered an open door to democracy and liberty. Today, it is seen as an agent of democratic erosion. Digital challenges to democracy include the scale and spread of disinformation and misinformation, the increase in polarisation and extremism that are facilitated and escalated online, and inadequate regulation. Digital platforms are increasingly perceived by the public as serving the needs and interests of the powerful rather than the public good. Average users have few means to influence key decisions and debates about how digital technologies are used and developed. The rules of the digital sphere — whether made by tech companies, regulators, or politicians — often lack public legitimacy. Applying deliberative democracy principles — where small but representative groups of people make decisions after deliberating on issues in depth — can help address the challenges of legitimacy and generate broadly acceptable solutions to the problems that bedevil online spaces and challenge democracy.
Topic:: Democracy, Disinformation, Polarization, and Digital Technologies
Political Geography:: Global Focus

224. Social Reintegration of Former Inmates: Networked Strategies for Promoting Public Policies and Strengthening Civil Society Organizations

Author:: Melina Risso, Vivian Calderoni, Camila Nadalini de Godoy, Carolina Loeb, Marina Alkmim, and Julia Quirino
Publication Date:: 04-2024
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Igarapé Institute
Abstract:: The social reintegration process for former inmates presents challenges that extend beyond the confines of the justice system alone. In the Brazilian context, marked by regional disparities and social, racial, and educational inequalities, the lack of material, financial, and psychosocial support places ex-inmates in a cycle of social rejection and criminality. The deficiency of adequate investments, exacerbated by an emphasis on punishment over post-release reintegration, intensifies these challenges. Thus, it underscores the importance of networked collaboration among public, private, and civil society sectors to optimize resource use, promote integrated solutions, and overcome obstacles in assisting former inmtes, providing multidimensional support for social reintegration. This report outlines the strategies of five network-based initiatives aimed at former inmates, implemented both in Brazil and globally. The document details how these initiatives contribute to strengthening the social reintegration of former inmates and illustrates how they can serve as models to inspire other coordinated actions in the same field. Social reintegration of former inmates and its related concepts used here synonymously – such as (re)insertion, (re)inclusion, (res)socialization, (re)education, (re)adaptation, and (re)habilitation – should be seen as a priority not only by the criminal justice system but by all stakeholders who may have a direct or indirect influence on this process. It is a global challenge that requires reforms in the justice system, strengthening the rule of law, and implementing specific public policies focused on the various challenges these individuals face in their resocialization process, including aspects such as social interaction, employment opportunities, and access to housing, health, and education. This study acknowledges that the pursuit of social reintegration should be approached from the perspective of ensuring rights and not limited to the view of security and reducing criminal recidivism. This principle was adopted based on the recognition that the criminal justice system is an environment that creates and perpetuates inequalities for the individuals within it. Therefore, ensuring the rights that were denied before, during, and after incarceration is essential for effective social reintegration. Interventions and programs with multiple approaches for this group are rarely accessible, limited to sporadic opportunities to access essential services. In Brazil, which ranks as the third country worldwide in terms of the absolute number of incarcerated individuals, there is a significant variation in incarceration rates across states, which highlights the regional disparities. The composition of Brazil’s prison population also reflects social, racial, and educational inequalities, emphasizing the selective nature of a justice system which imprisons a disproportionate number of black, young, and uneducated people.
Topic:: Security, Civil Society, Human Rights, Prisons/Penal Systems, Inequality, Reintegration, and Criminal Recidivism
Political Geography:: Brazil, South America, and Global Focus

225. The Neo-Global World: Past Baggage, Present Challenges, Future Prospects

Author:: Dmitry Yevstafyev
Publication Date:: 01-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:: East View Information Services
Abstract:: THIS paper continues a series of articles on the neo-global world written by the author in recent years.1 It also examines problems stemming from attempts to simultaneously construct a new architecture of international relations and overcome the destabilizing legacy of the largely US-centric system of late globalization. The emerging multilevel dialectic in a number of regions, not always the most promising in terms of access to resources, forms “funnels of conflict” that lead to the destruction of the economic and sociopolitical systems previously formed there. The earlier proposed hypothesis about a “blank slate” in the space of international political and economic relations being necessary for the development of basic institutions and elements of the economic architecture of the new world is, unfortunately, confirmed. We are currently witnessing the simultaneous emergence of several potential spatial “blank slates” where differences between the world’s key powers are being resolved by military force, which could result in chains of small regional conflicts turning into a systemic crisis of the global political and economic architecture. Power factors of varying degrees of intensity (from hybrid wars to direct military confrontation of the world’s largest states) will play a decisive role in the development and management of this crisis. The need to resolve the crucial accumulated points of contention of the late-global world will be of paramount importance in the ongoing processes of not just transformations but global spatial transformations, as demonstrated by the political and military-political processes of 2020- 2022, which, for various reasons, including situational ones, have acquired an antagonistic nature in a number of cases.
Topic:: Economy, Ideology, International Order, and Geoeconomics
Political Geography:: Global Focus

226. Illiberalism in International Relations

Author:: Alexander Dugin
Publication Date:: 01-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:: East View Information Services
Abstract:: There are two main schools in the theory of international relations --- realism and liberalism. Realists believe that human nature is inherently flawed (the legacy of Hobbes’s anthropological pessimism and, on an even deeper level, the legacy of the Christian idea of the Fall, or lapsus in Latin) and cannot be fundamentally corrected, which means that selfishness, predation, and violence are impossible to eradicate. This leads to the conclusion that man (who, according to Hobbes, is a wolf to another man) can only be restrained and regulated by means of a strong state. The state is inevitable and is the bearer of supreme sovereignty. At the same time, the predatory and egoistic nature of man is projected onto the state; therefore, the nationstate has its own interests. These interests take into account only their own state, while the will to violence and greed mean war is always a possibility. Realists believe that this has always been and always will be. International relations are therefore based only on a balance of power between wholly sovereign entities. No world order can exist in the long term; there is only chaos, which changes as some states weaken and others strengthen. At the same time, the term “chaos” in this theory is not bad in itself; it is merely a statement of the actual state of affairs, derived from taking the concept of sovereignty very seriously. If there are several truly sovereign powers, no supranational order can exist between them to which all would submit. Were such an order to exist, sovereignty would not be complete, in fact, it would not exist at all, and only this supranational authority itself would be sovereign. The school of realism has traditionally been very strong in the US, starting with its first founders: Hans Morgenthau and George Kennan in the US, and Edward Carr in the UK.
Topic:: International Relations, Realism, Multipolarity, Illiberalism, and Posthumanism
Political Geography:: Russia and Global Focus

227. Hegel and the Theory of International Relations: General Paradigm of the Hegelian System

Author:: Alexander Dugin
Publication Date:: 01-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:: East View Information Services
Abstract:: LET us trace the influence of Hegel’s philosophy on the theory of international relations. It is most pronounced in Marxism and liberalism, while Hegel did not have much influence on realism. Let us examine this topic in more detail. Hegel articulated his views on politics most comprehensively in his Philosophy of Right.1 These views are based on his philosophy as a whole and represent an integral part of the entire system. Nevertheless, Hegel’s theory of the Political is presented in a rather original way and should be briefly described in order to identify his set of views on international politics. First of all, let us reiterate the general paradigm of Hegelian thought. It is based on the triadic principle “thesis – antithesis – synthesis” formulated by Johann Fichte.2 Fichte, for his part, derived it from the Neoplatonic tradition. Hegel did not, in fact, use the expression “thesis – antithesis – synthesis,” although the structure of his dialectics constantly revolves around a similar triadic scheme. According to Hegel, at the beginning of everything is the Idea-initself, or subjective Spirit. This is the main thesis. Next comes the moment of negation. Thus, the Spirit negates itself, alienates itself, and becomes Nature. In this moment of negation, the Spirit ceases to be in-itself and becomes for-the-Other. However, Nature and substance are not the first principle. It is just a moment of negation. Therefore, it is negative. Being negative, it indicates what it negates, being both its cancellation and, at the same time, its sublation or elevation (Aufhebung).3 This tension between two dialectical moments manifests as the Spirit that organizes and moves nature. A “potentiation” of layers of external existence takes place – from the physical and mechanical to the chemical and finally the organic. This process of unfolding of the spirit is the mind. In humans, the mind determines consciousness. Organic life in combination with human consciousness determines the third moment: the negation of the negation, or synthesis. In humans, the Spirit enters its final turn and moves toward the stage when the Idea can contemplate itself through humans, and the Spirit would become the Absolute Spirit – i.e., the Idea-for-itself.
Topic:: International Relations Theory, Philosophy, Empire, Multipolarity, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Spirit, Idea, and Simulacra
Political Geography:: Global Focus

228. What Makes an Imagined Future Credible?

Author:: Jens Beckert
Publication Date:: 05-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
Abstract:: Narratives of the future are a crucial source of the dynamics of capitalism (Beckert 2016). Since there are no future facts, assessments of the future necessarily need to rely on accounts that cannot be limited to the presentation of facts. This means they cannot be true or false, but they can be credible or non-credible. To trigger decisions, the narrative must convince actors that it is at least sufficiently probable that events will indeed play out as portrayed. But where does this credibility come from? I propose a simple model which consists of three elements. I distinguish first the "story-maker" or "persuader", the person (or institution) that creates specific imagined futures and often wants to convince other actors of the accuracy of the narrative. Second, the "story-taker" or agent who ultimately makes the decisions through which resources are put at risk and who needs to become convinced of the credibility of the imagined future. The third element in the model is social context, the features of the social and material environment that position the agent in a social network and influence assessments of credibility.
Topic:: Capitalism, Power, Narrative, Future, Credibility, Uncertainty, Imagined Futures, Persuasion, Social Context, and Story
Political Geography:: Global Focus

229. Triffin Reloaded: The Matrix of Contradictions around Global Quasi-State Money

Author:: Herman Mark Schwartz
Publication Date:: 03-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
Abstract:: What explains the US dollar’s role in the global economy and the tensions affecting its likely persistence? Most analyses start from Triffin’s dilemma, which accurately captured specific but partial tensions of a global monetary system based on essentially fixed exchange rates, gold backing for its core currency, and relatively robust capital controls. Triffin’s approach, and those based on it, struggles to explain the tensions in a system with floating exchange rates and fiat money, because Triffin and successors assume a commodity theory of money, a loanable funds model for credit creation, and the “triple coincidence” of monetary, legal, and economic zones. Approaching the question from different premises – chartalist money, endogenous credit creation, and interlocked global balance sheets – enables us to see four factors behind the antinomies or dilemmas that structure the dynamics and durability of US dollar centrality. Those four factors are adequate credit creation and thus global aggregate demand growth, current account deficits for the core, domestic legitimacy in major economies, and the dollar’s status as global quasi-state money.
Topic:: Debt, Money, Currency, Power, Financial Systems, Geoeconomics, and Reserves
Political Geography:: Global Focus and United States of America

230. Dealing Government Bonds: Trading Infrastructures and Infrastructural Power in European Markets for Public Debt

Author:: Arjen van der Heide
Publication Date:: 02-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
Abstract:: Confronted with increased difficulties to raise taxation, high inflation, and pressures to maintain social spending, many rich democracies have increasingly sought to raise funds in financial markets since the 1970s. Using the notion of “infrastructural power,” this paper examines the various ways in which states have become infrastructurally entangled with key actors in financial markets that provide the infrastructure of today’s markets for government bonds. Drawing on twenty-two interviews with debt managers and market participants, and documentary material, the article analyses the rise to prominence of MTS (Mercato dei Titoli di Stato), an electronic platform for trading government bonds that has become a key feature of Europe’s government bond market infrastructure. It traces the emergence of MTS in Italy, its rapid diffusion through Europe and its limited (or even non-existent) success in gaining market share in Germany and the UK. In so doing, this paper finds that some debt management units actively regulate their secondary bond markets to stimulate competition among dealer banks; they “orchestrate” the market for government bonds. Others take a more hands-off approach and only engage with secondary markets mostly as market participants by issuing debt instruments and perhaps buying and selling them in the secondary market. These differences are important for understanding the politics of sovereign debt: they reflect power relations, may impact states’ cost of borrowing and their capacity to withstand moments of fiscal stress.
Topic:: Infrastructure, Financial Markets, Banks, Public Debt, and Bonds
Political Geography:: Global Focus

231. Nationality and the Right to Enter: Assessing the Impact of Refusal of Entry for the Purpose of Statelessness Determination

Author:: Cecilia Manzotti
Publication Date:: 02-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Statelessness & Citizenship Review
Institution:: Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, Melbourne Law School
Abstract:: This article considers the legal situation of migrants, including rejected asylum seekers, who are unable to enter what was, until then, regarded as their country of nationality. This is because that country, without explicitly disputing their nationality, either prohibits their entry or de facto prevents them from entering its territory by failing to issue travel documents or respond to requests for consular assistance for organising return. By examining the conceptualisation of nationality in international law on the one hand, and the international legal definition of a stateless person on the other hand, the article argues that the right to enter the territory of one’s state is so essential to the concept of nationality that refusal of entry and denial of consular assistance for arranging return should be regarded as evidence that the state does not consider a person as its national. Based on this argument, the article further assesses the suitability of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ guidance on statelessness determination in cases of direct or indirect denial of entry. Ultimately, this contribution aims to clarify the scope of the international legal definition of a stateless person by strongly grounding its interpretation in the conceptualisation of nationality in international law.
Topic:: Nationality, Migrants, Right of Entry, Refusal of Entry, Statelessness, and Asylum Seekers
Political Geography:: Global Focus

232. Gender mainstreaming in United Nations peace operations: an unfulfilled promise?

Author:: Jen Wittwer
Publication Date:: 08-2024
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI)
Abstract:: The principle of gender equality is a cornerstone of the United Nations (UN). Centred on equal access to rights, opportunities, resources and decision-making powers irrespective of gender, it’s embedded within the UN Charter and championed in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Mechanisms such as the inaugural resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agreed to in 2000 by the UN Security Council (UNSC), and the adoption of an additional nine WPS resolutions, further represent the critical intent to achieve this goal. The purpose of such WPS mechanisms is to cultivate gender balance, foster diverse leadership and champion gender equality in a global effort to establish sustainable peace after conflict. Yet, as we stand on the threshold of the 25th anniversary of UNSC resolution 1325, the UN’s stride towards gender equality for uniformed women in peace operations has been ‘exceedingly slow’. The lofty aspiration of ‘equal opportunity peacekeeping’ through gender mainstreaming policies and practices remains elusive, entangled in a web of misconceptions and entrenched systemic barriers and institutional challenges. The purpose of this ASPI report is threefold. First, it examines the blocks to implementation and the effects of gender mainstreaming strategies. Second, it advances three strategic interventions for the UN system and its global peace and security community: redefining peacekeeping benchmarks for an efficient and effective uniformed component shifting the narrative on peacekeepers’ contributions regardless of gender incorporating feminist voices and practices in the development of policies and practices for the deployment of peacekeepers. These proposed interventions offer a unique prospect for the final section of this report: encouraging Australian Government departments and agencies that have responsibilities for and commitments to execute the Australian National Action Plan (NAP) on WPS. Those commitments extend to fostering gender equality in both domestic and international WPS endeavours, thereby strengthening Australia’s position as a proactive UN member state.
Topic:: Security, Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, United Nations, Peacekeeping, Women, Peace, and Gender
Political Geography:: Global Focus

233. Happy Election Year!

Author:: Loïc Simonet
Publication Date:: 01-2024
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Austrian Institute for International Affairs (OIIP)
Abstract:: Billions of voters in 77 countries will go to the polls in 2024. Some of these elections will transform key nations’ foreign policies and might durably shape international relations. In many countries, though, elections are just a folding screen for authoritarian regimes. Even in advanced democracies, citizens’ disillusionment seems to give illiberalism a lifeline. The risk is also high that polls across the globe this year will be a ‘prime target’ for disinformation, ‘fake news’, conspiracy theory and cyber attacks.
Topic:: International Relations, Foreign Policy, Elections, and Disinformation
Political Geography:: Global Focus

234. New global (dis)order – about a world that frightens us

Author:: Vedran Džihić
Publication Date:: 01-2024
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Austrian Institute for International Affairs (OIIP)
Abstract:: This report provides an analysis of the shifting global landscape characterized by the dissolution of the post-Cold War normality into a perpetual state of crisis. It examines the intertwining of emotional politics with power dynamics, the escalating competition between democracies and autocracies, and the looming dilemma between war and peace. The report underscores the rise of emotional narratives in shaping geopolitical tensions, the emergence of a bipolar world order between democracies and authoritarian regimes, and the existential threat posed by escalating conflicts. It concludes by urging for a renewed commitment to democratic values and concerted efforts to navigate the turbulent global landscape of 2024.
Topic:: Geopolitics, Strategic Competition, and International Order
Political Geography:: Global Focus

235. The UN Summit of the Future (September 2024): Which opportunities for the OSCE?

Author:: Loïc Simonet
Publication Date:: 07-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Austrian Institute for International Affairs (OIIP)
Abstract:: The UN Summit of the Future, scheduled for 22-23 September 2024, brings together the United Nations' 193 member states under the theme “multilateral solutions for a better tomorrow.” Despite a sour mood in New York City against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and the Israel-Gaza conflict, the Summit can act as a ‘reset’. The OSCE, which is “multilateralism in action”, should use the event and its aftermaths to promote its remarkable contribution as a ‘regional arrangement’ under Chapter VIII of the UN Charter and its thirty-year concrete co-operation with the UN. Both UNSG Guterres’s ‘New Agenda for Peace’ and the draft ‘Pact for the Future’, the two conceptual foundations of the forthcoming Summit, resonate well with the OSCE’s concept of comprehensive security. By taking proactive steps in that framework, the Vienna Organization can enhance its role and effectiveness in the evolving international system. This paper’s ten recommendations include: the adoption of a Ministerial Declaration at the December 2024 Council, taking advantage of Malta’s current 'double-hatted’ status – OSCE Chair and non-permanent member of the UN Security Council -; the continuation of the joint OSCE-UN preparation in view of future opportunities in Ukraine, leveraging the SMM’s experience and lessons learned including the use of advanced monitoring technologies; the establishment of the OSCE as a ‘regional hub’ for climate change, building on Guterres’s call to address the interlinkages between climate, peace and insecurity as a “political priority”; and the increased involvement of the OSCE’s Mediterranean and Asian partners for co-operation which offer gateways to the ‘broader world’.
Topic:: United Nations, Multilateralism, OSCE, and Future
Political Geography:: Global Focus

236. Leveraging Charging Strategies to Reduce Grid Impacts of Electric Vehicles

Author:: Christine Gschwendtner
Publication Date:: 05-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:: Electric vehicles (EVs) can challenge or support electricity systems depending on how they are charged. Uncontrolled charging may strain electricity systems, e.g., by increasing peak demand in the evening,1 which may require cost- and emission-intensive infrastructure investments, such as grid reinforcements and peak generation capacity. In contrast, controlled charging can benefit electricity systems by providing flexibility,2 e.g., by shifting charging demand away from evening hours. Controlled charging that combines technical solutions with heterogenous EV user behaviors, supported by charging infrastructure at diverse locations, e.g., at work during midday, and incentives, can reduce peak demand to avoid grid constraints and support the integration of renewable energy.
Topic:: Environment, Natural Resources, and Electric Vehicles
Political Geography:: Global Focus

237. Sodium: An Alternative to the "White Gold" of the Energy Transition?

Author:: Nicola De Blasio
Publication Date:: 05-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:: As the world transitions towards low-carbon energy systems, scaling up clean energy technologies will drive demand for critical minerals and metals, such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, and rare earth elements. Stakeholders in the private and public sectors must work together to implement effective and efficient strategies, policies, and regulations to ensure that supplies are secure, reliable, sustainable, and equitable. Over the past years, the price volatility of minerals and metals has increased due to rising demand, supply chain disruptions, and concerns about tightening supplies. In addition, today’s markets are highly concentrated in a small number of countries. Although supply diversification investments are increasing, most near-term growth is expected from existing major producers, resulting in an even higher geopolitical risk.1 The transportation sector offers a stark example of these dynamics. Every year, the world increasingly relies on batteries. In 2022, electric vehicles (EVs) accounted for about 10 percent of global vehicle sales and are expected to reach 35 percent by the decade’s end.2 Announced policies around the world are accelerating these trends. For example, recent climate legislation in the United States is deploying billions into battery manufacturing and incentives for EV purchases.3 Lithium-ion batteries, a technology also used in computers and cell phones, power most EVs today. Typical of innovation cycles, years of development and deployment have resulted in significant cost reductions and improved performances. Today’s EVs are becoming increasingly competitive with internal combustion vehicles and can be driven for hundreds of kilometers between charges. Lithium is used in EVs because it is lightweight, has high energy densities, is relatively low maintenance, and can be repeatedly charged. From a market and geopolitical perspective, analysts estimate that lithium demand will increase tenfold before the end of this decade.4,5 In 2021, China dominated lithium global markets with 79 percent of all lithium-ion battery manufacturing capacity; this figure is expected to decrease slightly to around 65 percent by 2025 (see Figure 1).
Topic:: Environment, Natural Resources, Lithium, Batteries, Electric Vehicles, Energy Transition, and Sodium
Political Geography:: Global Focus

238. How Multimodal AI Could Retool Global Crisis Response

Author:: Ben Ellencweig, Jessica Lamb, Jon Spaner, and Mihir Mysore
Publication Date:: 06-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:: Imagine this future scenario: as a hurricane develops, both its intensity and the timing of landfall are recalculated every hour on desktop-grade computers. The nature of the impact, including noncorrelated crises that may occur and second-order effects of the hurricane, are modeled through multiple scenarios on city-scale digital twins that have property-level granularity. The output of these simulations results in a clear set of trigger-based action plans that are tailored, verified through human-in-the-loop mechanisms, and sent to emergency responders, community leaders, government agencies, and potentially even residents in affected areas. Community leaders have access to tools that allow them to understand what to expect, what resources to leverage, and what actions may make the most difference. Homeowners receive targeted suggestions of how to protect their assets, avoid falling victim to fraud, and navigate post-disaster support. Disinformation campaigns get countered by fact-based automated outreach.
Topic:: Security, Science and Technology, Crisis Management, Artificial Intelligence, and Disinformation
Political Geography:: Global Focus

239. Locally-led climate change adaptation works: Here are eight ways to support it

Author:: Claire Bedelian, Judith Mulwa, Beatrice Sumari, and Peter Rogers
Publication Date:: 04-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: Locally-led adaptation (LLA) is a framework of key principles for how to support communities in adapting to climate change. This policy brief looks at a study of six LLA water-related projects in Kenya and Tanzania to explore how donors, governments and civil society actors can best support the approach.
Topic:: Climate Change, Development, Water, Governance, and Adaptation
Political Geography:: Global Focus

240. Non-state armed groups in the sky

Author:: Maria-Louise Clausen
Publication Date:: 04-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: The proliferation of inexpensive and user-friendly, civilian-grade drones represents an escalating security concern for states. Currently, over 65 non-state actors are known to possess drones, and the unregulated nature of drone usage suggests that this number will continue to rise unchecked.
Topic:: Security, Non State Actors, Armed Forces, Weapons, and Drones
Political Geography:: Global Focus

241. Bridging the gap in climate change financing to violent conflict affected areas

Author:: Justine Chambers and Helene Maria Kyed
Publication Date:: 05-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: Countries affected by violent conflict are among the most vulnerable to climate change yet receive an extremely low share of global climate financing. This is despite the fact that most UN member states now recognise the interlinkages between climate change and violent conflict. The UN’s New Agenda for Peace also highlights ‘climate, peace and security’ as a crucial policy area. Upgrading climate change support to vulnerable populations in violent conflict-affected areas necessitates substantial changes to global climate financing. This is supported by the COP28 declaration on “Climate, Relief, Recovery and Peace”, signed by 91 UN member states, including Denmark, which also calls for enhanced conflict-sensitivity and more funds for local organisations.
Topic:: Climate Change, Natural Resources, Non State Actors, Conflict, Instability, and Vulnerability
Political Geography:: Global Focus

242. War volunteers in the digital age: How new technologies transform conflict dynamics

Author:: Jethro Norman
Publication Date:: 07-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: Citizens traveling to participate in foreign wars have long posed significant challenges for states. The advent of smartphones and global connectivity has added new layers of complexity to this issue. With a particular focus on the conflict in Ukraine, this brief explores how digital technologies are reshaping the landscape of foreign participation in warfare.
Topic:: Armed Conflict, Russia-Ukraine War, Digital Technologies, and Volunteers
Political Geography:: Ukraine and Global Focus

243. Essential concepts must be contested

Author:: Felix Berenskötter and Stefano Guzzini
Publication Date:: 07-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: In this forthcoming chapter for the newest Handbook of International Relations, edited by Cameron Thies, and to appear with Edwards Elgar Publ., Felix Berenskötter and Stefano Guzzini provide a methodology for how to use concept analysis for theoretical and political critique. 'Contested essential concepts' discusses the nature of concepts and of different forms of theoretical contestation, namely (1) contesting often tacit assumptions in political and normative theorizations, (2) contextualizing (and 'provincializing') the formulation of ideal-types in empirical theorizations, and (3) problematizing the use of concepts in political practice. The paper concludes by showing that meaningful contestation requires a capacity of translation.
Topic:: International Relations, Politics, and International Relations Theory
Political Geography:: Global Focus

244. The role of artificial intelligence in modern warfare

Author:: FARAS
Publication Date:: 05-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Future for Advanced Research and Studies (FARAS)
Abstract:: The use of artificial intelligence technologies in various armed conflict arenas, such as the Russian-Ukrainian war and the Israeli war in Gaza, has sparked numerous discussions about their nature, risks to international and regional security, and the sustainability of the conflict. These experiments have shown that weapons supported by artificial intelligence can be more accurate than those directed by humans, which can potentially reduce collateral damage, including civilian casualties, damage to residential areas, and the number of soldiers killed or injured. However, it also raises concerns about the possibility of committing disastrous mistakes.
Topic:: Artificial Intelligence, Armed Conflict, Russia-Ukraine War, 2023 Gaza War, and Warfare
Political Geography:: Global Focus

245. Marka Deneyimi Yaratma Sürecinde Hikâye Anlatıcılığının Rolü

Author:: Ezgi Limanlı and Burcu Öksüz
Publication Date:: 12-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AURUM Journal of Social Sciences
Institution:: Altinbas University
Abstract:: Bu çalışma, marka deneyimi ve hikâye anlatıcılığı kavramları arasındaki ilişkiyi tespit etmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Marka deneyimi ve hikâye anlatıcılığı kavramlarının, marka ile müşteri arasındaki ilişkide yarattığı duygusal ve davranışsal etkiler (memnuniyet, deneyim, güven ve sadakat gibi) incelenmiştir. Veri toplama yöntemi olarak nitel bir araştırma yöntemi olan odak grup görüşmeleri (üç oturum) kullanılmıştır. Odak grup görüşmelerinde 20 ile 30 yaş aralığında bulunan 8 kadın ve 8 erkek olmak üzere toplam 16 katılımcı yer almıştır. Bütçe ve zaman kısıtlarının olması nedeniyle tesadüfi olmayan örnekleme yöntemlerinden kolayda örnekleme yöntemine başvurulmuştur. Katılımcılara toplam 18 soru yöneltilmiştir. Katılımcılardan öncelikle marka olgusunu kapsayan soruları, daha sonra marka deneyimi sürecinde hikâye anlatıcılığına ilişkin soruları yanıtlamaları istenmiştir. Elde edilen bulgular detaylıca analiz edilmiş ve yorumlanmıştır. Çalışma sonuçlarına göre, hikâye anlatıcılığının marka deneyiminde bir bakıma katalizör görevi üstlendiği görülmektedir. Tüketicilerin duygularına hitap eden, iyi bir şekilde kurgulanmış ve doğru kanallarla ifade edilen gerçek bir hikâyenin tüketicilerde empatiyi arttırdığı ve onları ikna ettiği ortaya konulmuştur.
Topic:: Economics, Communications, Consumer Behavior, Storytelling, Branding, and Marketing
Political Geography:: Turkey and Global Focus

246. “Leonardo Da Vinci: Yapay Zekâ Işığın Bilgeliği / Cern’den Nasa’ya İnsanlık Ve Metaverse” Dijital Sergisinin Beden Teması Bağlamında İncelenmesi

Author:: Cansu Kösem İşık
Publication Date:: 12-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AURUM Journal of Social Sciences
Institution:: Altinbas University
Abstract:: Bilişim İletişim Teknolojilerinin (BİT) gelişimiyle birlikte beden hızla dijitalleşmektedir. Bedenin bu durumu, tüm algı ve deneyim pratiklerinin köklü bir şekilde değişmesi sonucunda meydana gelmektedir. Hareketli ekranlar, datalar ve kodlarla etkileşim içinde olan beden, bu teknolojik araçların bir uzantısı haline gelmiştir. Artık tüm dijital araçlar bedenle iç içe geçmiş durumdadır. Bu noktada arzu, eğlence, özgürlük gibi pratikler bedeni biçimlendirmenin araçları olarak öne çıkmaktadır. Bu makalede, bedeni biçimlendiren bir eğlence pratiği olarak Leonardo da Vinci: Yapay Zekâ Işığın Bilgeliği / CERN’den NASA’ya İnsanlık ve Metaverse dijital sergisi incelenmiştir. Bu bağlamda bedenin dijital çağdaki durumunu kavramak amaçlanmıştır. Makalede yöntem olarak dijital otoetnografi yöntemi kullanılmış; araştırmacı kendisini inceleme nesnesi, başka bir deyişle dijital sergiyi deneyimleyen olarak ele almıştır. Bu bağlamda inceleme, Walter Benjamin’in optik bilinçdışı, sanat eserinin aurası – sezgisel algısı – ve kullanım değeri üzerine olan düşünceleri, Rosi Braidotti, Katherine Hayles, Amber Case’nin posthüman beden kuramı ve Friedrich Nietzsche’nin yabancılaşma konusundaki düşünceleri ekseninde gerçekleştirilmiştir. Araştırma sonucunda ise, bedenin teknoloji dolayımlı olduğu görülmüştür. Bedenin bu hali, dijital endüstrinin yerleştiği, aktığı ve bedeni yeniden üreterek sistemin işlerliğini sağladığı bir alan olarak anlaşılmıştır. Beden, BİT’in alanıyla eklemlenerek, algısal bir çeşitliliğe açılmıştır. Bu çeşitlilikle haşır neşir haldeki beden, kendine odaklı aynı zamanda hikayeden yoksun bir forma kavuşmuştur. Diğer yandan, dijital sanat eserinin içindeki beden de yeniden üretilmiş, bağlamından kopartılmıştır. Deneyimleyen beden tükenen ve tüketen bir forma evrilirken, eserin içindeki beden de benzer bir duruma evrilmiştir.
Topic:: Science and Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Digital Art, and Body
Political Geography:: Global Focus

247. Emin Alper'in Kurak Günler Filmine Bakhtinyen Bir Yaklaşım

Author:: Baran Barış
Publication Date:: 12-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AURUM Journal of Social Sciences
Institution:: Altinbas University
Abstract:: Bakhtin, çeşitli sanat dallarında oluşturulan anlatıların incelenmesi için Einstein’ın Görelilik Kuramı’ndan ödünç aldığı kronotop kavramını geliştirmiştir. Bu kavram çerçevesinde yapılan anlatı çözümlemelerinde zaman ve uzam kurucu öğe kabul edilerek birlikte ele alınmaktadır. Bakhtin’e göre zamansal ve uzamsal belirlenimler, duygu ve değerlerin izlerini taşır. Yüzyıllara bağlı olarak değişen kronotopları yazınsal metinler üzerinden sınıflandıran araştırmacı yol – karşılaşma kronotopu, şato kronotopu, kesişme kronotopu (misafir odası ve salon kronotopu, sokaklar, kentler, kırsal bölgeler ve taşra kasabaları) ve eşik (kopuş) kronotopu olmak üzere dört temel kronotop belirlemiş; on dokuzuncu yüzyıl metinlerine kadar sürdürdüğü çözümlemelerinde ulaştığı kronotop türlerinin yanı sıra farklı ülkelerin yazınsal metinlerinde ve farklı dönemlerde başka kronotopların da saptanabileceğine dikkat çekmiştir. Kronotop kavramı, günümüzde yazın dışındaki sanat dallarında üretilen anlatıların çözümlenmesinde de kullanılmaktadır. Emin Alper’in Kurak Günler (2022) filmi açılış sekansından itibaren zaman ve uzamın kurucu öğe olarak karşımıza çıktığı bir anlatı sunmaktadır. Bu yapısı, filmin kronotop kavramı çerçevesinde incelenmesine olanak sunmaktadır. Suç ile güç arasındaki ilişkiyi irdeleyen, linç kültürünü besleyen kodların nasıl yeniden üretildiğini ortaya koyan ve izlekleriyle anlatıdaki zaman ve uzam öğelerine ilişkin obruk vb. imgeler arasında doğrudan bağlantı kuran Kurak Günler filmindeki kronotopların saptanmasının ve anlatıdaki işlevlerinin çözümlenmesinin amaçlandığı bu çalışmanın araştırma soruları şöyledir: (i) Filmde hangi kronotoplar bulunmaktadır? (ii) Bu kronotoplarla Bakhtin’in belirlediği dört temel kronotop arasındaki benzerlik ve farklılıklar nelerdir? (iii) Filmde tespit edilen kronotoplar, anlatının yapılandırılmasında hangi işlevlere sahiptir? Yapılan incelemelerde filmdeki kronotopların Bakhtin’in dört temel kronotopuyla büyük ölçüde benzerlik gösterdiği tespit edilirken anlatının kronotoplarla filmin temel izlekleri arasındaki ilişkinin koşutluğu üzerinden yapılandırıldığı görülmüştür.
Topic:: Arts, Culture, Film, and Chronotope
Political Geography:: Global Focus

248. AURUM Journal of Social Sciences (Volume 9, Number 1) - Full Issue

Author:: Meltem Yilmaz, Büşra Alparslan, Arzu Uğurlu Kara, Mesut Özcan, and Ceyhun Ilsever
Publication Date:: 07-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AURUM Journal of Social Sciences
Institution:: Altinbas University
Abstract:: The first article of this issue is on the field of law. The study is titled “A Street Law Course Experience for Raising Human Rights Awareness”. This study by Meltem Yılmaz aims to examine the contribution of ‘street law’ type legal clinic courses to increase of human rights awareness among both law students and society. As a result of the study, the author finds that giving street law-type law clinics as elective courses in the last years of faculty of law education is the most efficient option; in addition, the importance of enhancing the courses in terms of active learning methods and techniques was emphasized in order to increase efficiency concerning high school and secondary school students’ achievements. The second study in this issue is “War and Peace in Game of Thrones as An Epic Narrative”. This study from the field of psychology was conducted by Büşra Alparslan. The aim of the study is to investigate to examine the war and peace themes in the TV series Game of Thrones, which can be considered as an epic a popular culture narrative. This study’s results reveals that Game of Thrones somewhat differs from traditional epic narratives. Although classical themes like “just war discourse” pops on and off throughout the show, it is also emphasized that, unlike the traditional approach, war is not a glorious act. The third study in this issue is from the field of human resources titled “Adaptation of the “Design Thinker Profile” Scale into Turkish” by Ayça Uğur and Kemal Özkan Yılmaz. As the title suggests, the aim of the study is to adopt “Design Thinker Profile” scale developed by Chesson (2017) to the Turkish and to assess its validity and reliability. The results show that the scale has validity and reliability in Turkish. Another study in our journal is titled “Development of Maritime Public Transportation in Istanbul in the Framework of Organic Transportation Approach”. The study conducted by Ceyhun İlsever and Ayşe Buse Cılız aims to make concrete suggestions for the development of urban maritime public transportation in Istanbul in line with the principles and criteria of organic transportation, which is developed as one of the approaches to integration, accessibility, and governance in transportation. As a result, the authors propose some suggestions under specific headings to increase the demand for maritime transportation in Istanbul. The last study in this issue is from the field of psychology. The article by Ecem Kıran, Yaren Erdoğdu ve Naci Can Sümengen is titled “Examining the Relationship Between Eating Attitudes and Self-Compassion”. As its title suggests, this study aimed to examine the relationship between eating attitudes and self-compassion and to investigate the prevalence of this relationship in a non-clinical sample by evaluating it in terms of chronic and psychological disorders. As a result, a statistically significant negative relationship between disordered eating attitudes and self-compassion levels is found; in addition, results shows that the self-compassion levels of participants diagnosed with a psychological disorder were significantly lower, while participants with a chronic disease had eating attitudes that were significantly disordered compared to participants without a psychological disorder. In addition to the research articles briefly summarized above, we have also included a book review in this issue. Ahmet Tuğşad Doğukan and Fatih Dağ reviewed Thomas Piketty’s “Nature, Culture et Inégalités” book. According to the reviewers, in this book, Piketty examines the complex dynamics of socioeconomic disparities, questioning traditional assumptions that can be characterized as deterministic and offering an innovative perspective on the causes and evolution of inequality. While traditional assumptions emphasize natural factors such as individual abilities or resource endowments, Piketty argues that contrary to these factors, political and social forces have been more influential in the course of inequality throughout history.
Topic:: Development, Culture, Law, Human Resources, Social Science, and Public Transportation
Political Geography:: Turkey and Global Focus

249. Disinformation in the City: Response Playbook

Author:: Jessica (Ika) Trijsburg and Paul Costello
Publication Date:: 08-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMFUS)
Abstract:: As actors responsible for decisions and policies that shape people’s daily lives, and as those most aware of community fault lines that are fertile ground for disinformation, city officials are well positioned to respond. Yet, research, analysis, and policymaking related to disinformation have remained at the national and international levels. GMF, the Melbourne Centre for Cities, and other partners have developed a response playbook to help inform and guide city policies and practices to counter disinformation and ultimately to strengthen democracy. In cities, disinformation sometimes manifests itself in physical events, including protests and disruptions. It also has individual impacts for political, institutional, and community leaders and staff. Disinformation affects the functioning of city administrations and elected bodies, impacting governance and policymaking. It also impacts communities, reducing mutual trust and increasing division and polarization. Disinformation commonly exploits existing social fault lines and polarization. In cities, the fault lines targeted by disinformation center around First Nations, migrants, cultural diversity, gender and sexual diversity, health and wellbeing, sustainability and climate issues, and urban planning. Understanding how disinformation spreads, and how to respond effectively, is critical for city governments. Current knowledge, however, is focused mainly on the national and international realms and not readily accessible and translatable for urban governance needs. This is why GMF Cities, in response to needs expressed by many city governments, developed this playbook in collaboration with a core interdisciplinary research team from the Australian National University, Monash University, Deakin University, and Victoria University, led by the Melbourne Centre for Cities at the University of Melbourne. The playbook was developed with representatives from cities, media, the tech sector, civil society, and academia. The process began with an in-depth survey to understand the current experiences of participating cities and responses to disinformation they employed. The findings informed a series of workshops with 40 participants who together created the content of and recommendations in the playbook. The full draft was reviewed by the participants before it was submitted to other cities, city networks, disinformation experts, and other levels of government for pressure testing.
Topic:: Democracy, Cities, and Disinformation
Political Geography:: Global Focus

250. Strengthening the Representation of Women in Diplomacy: Challenges and Policy Solutions

Author:: Marta Kozielska and Karen Smith
Publication Date:: 06-2024
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: LSE IDEAS
Abstract:: Women’s representation in international diplomacy is alarmingly low. Though it varies across countries and regions, women’s underrepresentation in international diplomacy is pervasive. Despite a few women holding senior leadership positions in prominent institutions such as the World Trade Organization, European Commission, International Monetary Fund, and European Central Bank, women’s representation within international organisations is unequal and only twenty percent of ambassadors worldwide are women. At the same time, research increasingly shows that diversity enhances decision-making capabilities, better addresses the needs of a diverse population, and embodies a commitment to the democratic principles of inclusion and tolerance. The LSE IDEAS Women in Diplomacy project was launched in 2022, and it leverages research, collaboration, and dialogue to address the misrepresentation and underrepresentation of women in this field. To better understand the barriers and enablers that affect women's progress within international diplomacy, the project team has thus far carried out twelve interviews with women who have held high-ranking diplomatic positions or have participated in international diplomatic processes. The interviewees have extensive experience within several sectors, including international trade, international security, international health, development, climate change, cultural diplomacy, and international criminal law. This report summarises key insights from the interviews, a review of the literature on women in diplomacy, and expert feedback. Women face many challenges when it comes to progressing and rising to the top within international diplomacy. This report makes recommendations to try to overcome these challenges, highlighting the significance of changes that need to occur at all levels: individual (centred on empowerment), community (focused on norms, behaviours, culture), and organisational (policy-driven structural change). The key recommendations for diplomatic services and international organisations are: create and implement tailored gender-equality plans which address issues regarding equal pay, parental leave and sexual harassment; collect and analyse gender-specific data to develop an evidence-based Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategy; align internal and external gender-equality policies, including in collaboration with stakeholders; ensure fair and inclusive recruitment processes, especially for senior and leadership positions, while fostering mentorship; implement formal and informal career development support, including for ‘trailing partners’; rethink building design and accessibility, including accessible bathrooms and child-care facilities; and finally, establish social inclusion and gender equality as non-negotiable, making the benefits known to everyone within the organisation. The Women in Diplomacy project will use this initial report and its recommendations as the basis for further dialogue and discussion with women’s networks and international organisations around insights, barriers and solutions.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Women, Representation, and Banking
Political Geography:: Europe and Global Focus

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