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54262. Reconciling Growth and the Environment
- Author:
- Neva Goodwin and Jonathan Harris
- Publication Date:
- 03-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University
- Abstract:
- Macroeconomic theory and policy are strongly based on the assumption that economic growth is a fundamental goal. The environmental realities of the twenty- first century compel a reassessment of macro theory in terms of the impact of current growth patterns on planetary ecosystems.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Development, Economics, and International Trade and Finance
54263. Political Disaffection and Democratization: History in New Democracies
- Author:
- Mariano Torcal
- Publication Date:
- 10-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Kellogg Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper focuses on the analysis of political disaffection. After discussing and defining this notion, the article shows that disaffection affects more widely, though not exclusively, third-wave democracies. The close link between levels of disaffection and the history of democratization in each country explains its higher incidence among new democracies. For this very reason, political disaffection could also run high among more established democracies. However, regardless of its incidence in each particular country, political disaffection reveals a distinctive nature in new democracies because of the absence of a democratic past in many of these cases. Thus, disaffection constitutes a key element to explain the lower propensity of citizens of new democracies to participate in every dimension of political activity.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Government, International Political Economy, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Europe
54264. Informal Institutions and Comparative Politics: A Research Agenda
- Author:
- Gretchen Helmke and Steven Levitsky
- Publication Date:
- 09-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Kellogg Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- During the 1990s, comparative research on political institutions focused primarily on formal rules. Yet recent studies suggest that an exclusive focus on formal rules is often insufficient, and that informal institutions, ranging from bureaucratic and legislative norms to clientelism and patrimonialism, often have a profound—and systematic—effect on political outcomes. Neglecting these informal institutions thus risks missing many of the “real” incentives and constraints that underlie political behavior. This article seeks to move informal institutions from the margins to the mainstream of comparative politics research. It develops an initial framework for studying informal institutions and, importantly, integrating them into comparative institutional analysis. In the conceptual realm, the article attempts to clarify what is meant by “informal institution” and then develops a typology of four patterns of formal-informal institutional interaction: complementary, accommodating, competing, and substitutive. In the theoretical realm, the article examines two issues that have been largely unexplored in the literature on informal institutions: the question of why and how informal institutions emerge, and the sources of informal institutions stability and change. A final section explores some of the practical challenges inherent in research on informal institutions, including issues of identification, measurement, and comparison.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Government, International Political Economy, and Politics
54265. La Posguerra Colombiana: Divagaciones Sobre la Venganza, La Justicia y la Reconciliación
- Author:
- Iván Orozco
- Publication Date:
- 05-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Kellogg Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- This essay explores the relationships between vengeance, justice and reconciliation in contexts of war and transitions towards democracy, with a special emphasis and interest on the Colombian situation. It aims at easing, at least partly, the tensions facing peace makers and human rights activists who deal with the issue of “impunity” for atrocious crimes perpetrated by the state and other political organizations. It does so by distinguishing between vertical and horizontal processes of victimization and by distributing functions between peace makers and human rights activists in accord with this distinction. Based upon the premise that transitional Justice always entails a compromise between punishment, truth and reconciliation, the paper argues for a certain priority of punishment in contexts of vertical victimization and for a partial precedence of reconciliation in contexts of horizontal victimization. The notion of “gray areas” where the distinction between victims and perpetrators, best represented by certain kinds of “collaborators” and, “avengers” collapses, lies at the heart of the logics of forgiveness and reconciliation. After characterizing the Colombian conflict as a case of horizontal victimization—i.e., symmetric barbarism—the paper proposes a model of transitional justice for Colombia built on the primacy of truth and forgiveness for the inhabitants of gray zones and punishment for the engineers and managers of barbarism.
- Topic:
- Democratization and Government
- Political Geography:
- Colombia and South America
54266. Policy Making Under Divided Government in Mexico
- Author:
- Benito Nacif
- Publication Date:
- 03-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Kellogg Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- Without a majority in the Congress, the president's party looses the ability to direct policy change. With only one-third of the vote, the president's party can prevent any initiative from turning into law. Individual opposition parties gain influence under divided government but lack the power to veto policy change. Contrary to what critics of Presidentialism have argued, political parties in presidential regimes do not lack in incentives to cooperate and build policymaking coalitions. Coalition building depends on the potential gains of cooperation that both the president's party and the opposition parties can capture if they modify the status quo. Two sufficient conditions for coalition building can be identified: an extreme position of the status quo, and the location of the president's party at the median position. This explains law change and the size of lawmaking coalitions under divided government in Mexico.
- Topic:
- Government and Politics
- Political Geography:
- North America and Mexico
54267. When Capital Cities Move: The Political Geography of Nation and State Building
- Author:
- Edward Schatz
- Publication Date:
- 02-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Kellogg Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- Capital relocation (i.e., the physical move of the central state apparatus from one location to another) is an unusual tool for nation and state building. Yet, it is used more frequently than we might expect. Thus, when Kazakhstan shifted its capital city in 1997 from Almaty to Astana the move was unique in that post-Soviet region, but not as uncommon in other post-colonial cases. This paper examines the move of the capital in Kazakhstan suggests that this move was designed to address particularly acute nation-and state-building challenges. If the Kazakhstan experience seems strange in de-Sovietization, this tells us much about the different nature of post-Soviet space versus other post-colonial contexts. The relative in frequency of capital moves implies that the challenges of nation and state building in the ex-USSR—as daunting as they have proved to be—are generally not as acute as in those of other post-colonial contexts.
- Topic:
- Government and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Central Asia, and Kazakhstan
54268. ¿Crisis en el Sindicalismo en América Latina?
- Author:
- Francisco Zapata
- Publication Date:
- 01-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Kellogg Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- Economic adjustment policies, trade liberalization, privatization of State enterprise and transformation of labor markets and labor market institutions relate to a process of transition between a model of import substitution industrialization and a "new economic model" characterized by the transnationalization of Latin American internal markets. All these elements contribute to change the premises of the organization of unions and to weaken their role in the negotiation of salaries and working conditions, their intervention in the regulation of employment and their participation in the administration of social security and health benefits. On the basis of the cases of Brazil, Chile and Mexico, the presentation will provide a context in which to pose the question of the crisis of Latin American labor and examine some of the alternatives that are available for trade unions in the new economic conditions.
- Topic:
- Industrial Policy and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Brazil, South America, Central America, North America, Mexico, and Chile
54269. Individual Unemployment Accounts
- Author:
- Lawrence Brunner and Stephen M. Colarelli
- Publication Date:
- 10-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Independent Institute
- Abstract:
- The unemployment compensation system in the United States is out of date and in trouble. The system has four fundamental problems: (1) during recessions, it often cannot meet its financial obligations without federal aid or deficit spending; (2) it is out of step with the structural and cultural realities of the modern workforce; (3) it encourages layoffs and unemployment; and (4) it operates in isolation from other programs related to employment and financial security. We propose an alternative unemployment policy based on the individual unemployment account (IUA). The IUA would be a mandatory and portable individual trust to which the employer and employee contributed. It shifts control and responsibility from the employer and the state government to the employer and the employee, and it is compatible with the realities of a twenty-first-century economy. We begin by providing an overview of how the current unemployment insurance system works and discussing its problems. We then describe an alternative unemployment policy based on IUAs and discuss the benefits of such a policy.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, and Human Welfare
- Political Geography:
- United States
54270. ICAR Newsletter, Volume 13, Number 1
- Author:
- Dennis J.D. Sandole, Kevin Avruch, Jannie Botes, Sandra I. Cheldelin, Sara Cobb, Daniel Druckman, Ho-Won Jeong, Linda Johnston, Michelle LeBaron, Christopher Mitchell, Daniel Rothbart, Richard Rubenstein, and Wallace Warfield
- Publication Date:
- 12-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University
- Abstract:
- The Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution is commemorating a number of historic milestones in this academic year. Among the reasons for celebration is that ICAR recently surpassed the 20 year mark since the Center for Conflict Resolution, ICAR's forerunner, opened its doors. Moreover, ICAR's doctoral program in conflict analysis and resolution, in existence since 1988, now counts nearly 30 Ph.D.s on its roll.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, Human Rights, and Peace Studies
54271. Space and Security Policy in Europe
- Publication Date:
- 10-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- The evolution of a European space policy is encouraged by the recent EU decision to develop the Galileo project. This decision confirms the willingness to pursue a policy in the space technologies that goes beyond the national level, even if national visions are still predominant. A new security concept is emerging. The evolution of the foreign, security and defense policy (CFSP, ESDP) and the protection of population requires integrated approach.
- Topic:
- Security
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Middle East
54272. The Impact of the Iraq Crisis on Mediterranean Dynamics Implications for EU-Turkey Relations
- Author:
- Roberto Aliboni
- Publication Date:
- 10-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- This paper deals with the impact of the Iraqi crisis on Mediterranean dynamics. Four such dynamics are taken into consideration, assuming their particular significance: (a) the Israeli- Palestinian conflict and, more broadly, the opposition between Israel and the Arab-Muslim countries; (b) the stability of regional regimes and their transition to democracy; (c) the development of the EU Mediterranean policies and their relevance in the region; (d) Turkey's national and regional interests.
- Topic:
- Security
- Political Geography:
- Iraq, Turkey, Middle East, and Arabia
54273. EU constitutional Reform Priorities for the Italian Presidency
- Publication Date:
- 06-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- This document is intended to: highlight the main achievements of the Constitutional Treaty drafted by the European Convention which should be fully endorsed by the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC); emphasise some critical points of the Draft Constitutional Treaty that need to be revised to ensure an effective functioning of the European Union, avoid the risk of a decision-making paralysis and make possible future constitutional adaptations; suggest further modifications to the Draft Constitutional Treaty which appear necessary for a truly, effective constitutional reform of the Union.
- Topic:
- Security and International Organization
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Italy
54274. A Pressing Humanitarian and Development Issue: Reflections on Internal Displacement and Resettlement
- Author:
- Robert Muggah
- Publication Date:
- 07-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Social Science Research Council
- Abstract:
- There is considerable disagreement in academic and policy circles about what precisely constitutes internal displacement and resettlement – when it begins and ends, what kinds of rights to protection and assistance such people are entitled to, how it can be measured and understood, and who should be responsible for managing it.
- Topic:
- Development, Human Welfare, and Migration
54275. Israeli Democracy Depends on Peace with the Palestinians
- Author:
- Heiko Wimmen
- Publication Date:
- 07-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Social Science Research Council
- Abstract:
- HW: Professor Peled, during the two years of Ariel Sharon's tenure as prime minister, Israel has seen a steep economic decline, and a rapidly deteriorating security situation. Yet Mr. Sharon enjoys more support than any Israeli head of government for a long time. What do you make of this paradox?
- Topic:
- Government and Peace Studies
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Israel, and Palestine
54276. Iraq and the Return of Colonialism
- Author:
- Burhan Ghalioun
- Publication Date:
- 07-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Social Science Research Council
- Abstract:
- The failure to discover any traceable evidence of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq doubtlessly creates a serious embarrassment for the American administration. But the US never made much of an effort to conceal that the purported existence of WMDs in Iraq was only a pretext employed to obtain the consent of some of its bigger allies to its global strategic outlook, and the acquiescence of smaller nations to its regional plans. The real objective behind the US strike against Iraq was not the destruction of WMDs – Iraq in its pre-war state was ill equipped to produce WMDs anyway – but to topple the regime of President Saddam Hussein. The Bush administration also clearly considered regime change to be more than a strategic aim in itself, but rather a prelude to a general makeover of the region, in the course of which many local regimes would have to change or be changed according to its strategic vision. Secretary of State Colin Powell made this abundantly clear when, in December 2002, he promised the peoples of the region a concerted effort on behalf of the US to achieve democratic change, fight unemployment and work for the improvement of women's position in society.
- Topic:
- Government
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, America, and Middle East
54277. Disarming Views: A Developmental Response to Small Arms and Light Weapons?
- Author:
- Robert Muggah
- Publication Date:
- 07-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Social Science Research Council
- Abstract:
- The availability and misuse of small arms and light weapons is like a disease – a symptom and an outcome of human insecurity. Investments in improving security – a precondition of development – are strongly correlated with reductions in violence and poverty. But the development community has yet to fully wake-up to the wide-ranging effects of small arms. The issue is often treated as somebody else's problem, as too big and complex and therefore not amenable to a developmental response. But the effects are preventable. A concerted effort on the part of the development community to prevent and treat this veritable epidemic could yield substantial developmental dividends.
- Topic:
- Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Development
54278. Whose Bomb is it Anyway? Public opinion and perceptions about Nuclear Weapons and Policy in the Post-Explosions Phase in Pakistan
- Author:
- Haider K. Nizamani
- Publication Date:
- 01-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Social Science Research Council
- Abstract:
- The Pakistani society is rid with fissures on almost every issue and aspect concerning the nature of political system, nation-building, the meaning of the national identity and the means to ensure it. When it comes to the nuclear issue mid this cacophony and chaos, General Pervez Musharraf asserts that there is complete national consensus on Pakistan's nuclear program. Leaders of Jamaat-E-Islami, the most vocal political party in espousing the cause of nuclear Pakistan, argue that barring few individuals who are against nuclear weapons, the overwhelming majority of Pakistanis consider nuclear weapons essential for the country's security. Is there really a consensus in Pakistan regarding the nuclear option? Have people thought about their country's nuclear weapons program and policy? Have they thought about the likely costs of their country's nuclear program? Do they know who is in the control of the country's nuclear infrastructure? Such questions address the perceptual, doctrinal, command and control, and future dimensions of Pakistani nuclear weapons and policy.
- Topic:
- Nuclear Weapons and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan and Brazil
54279. Multilateral Arms Control and the Challenge of North Korea
- Author:
- Chung-in Moon
- Publication Date:
- 06-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Social Science Research Council
- Abstract:
- The North Korean problem is composed of two inter-related issues, namely nuclear weapons and missiles. The current quasi-crisis on the Korean peninsula has resulted mainly from disputes over North Korea's nuclear weapons development that involves three dimensions. The first dimension is the suspicion on its past possession of nuclear warheads (one or two) before the signing of the Geneva Agreed Framework (Agreed Framework) in 1994. The second one centers on present nuclear issues related to reprocessing of 8,000 spent fuel rods stored in water pond and manufacturing and exports of plutonium as well as production of additional nuclear warheads, which were previously frozen by the 1994 Agreed Framework. The third dimension is the future nuclear problem associated with the development of highly enriched uranium (HEU) program. The United States claims that North Korea admitted its existence during its special envoy, James Kelly's visit to Pyongyang in October 2002.
- Topic:
- Security and Arms Control and Proliferation
- Political Geography:
- Geneva, Israel, and North Korea
54280. Is South Asian Nuclear Politics Different?
- Author:
- Rajesh Basrur
- Publication Date:
- 05-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Social Science Research Council
- Abstract:
- The central question before us is whether it is appropriate for South Asians to learn from the US-Soviet experience of the Cold War. This raises other questions: Are the two sets of relationships comparable? Is there in South Asia a "cold war" essentially similar to the Cold War? Should the theoretical lenses we use for both sets be the same? Can we learn from the one about the other? Is the thinking and practice relating to nuclear weapons in the two sets comparable?
- Topic:
- Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- United States, South Asia, and Soviet Union