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57821. The Legal Construction of Membership: Nationality Law in Germany and the United States

Author:
Mathias Bös
Publication Date:
01-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Abstract:
The argument of this paper is that several empirical puzzles in the citizenship literature are rooted in the failure to distinguish between the mainly legal concept of nationality and the broader, political concept of citizenship. Using this distinction, the paper analysis the evolution of German and American nationality laws over the last 200 years. The historical development of both legal structures shows strong communalities. With the emergence of the modern system of nation states, the attribution of nationality to newborn children is ascribed either via the principle of descent or place of birth. With regard to the naturalization of adults, there is an increasing ethnization of law, which means that the increasing complexities of naturalization criteria are more and more structured along ethnic ideas. Although every nation building process shows some elements of ethnic self-description, it is difficult to use the legal principles of ius sanguinis and ius soli as indicators of ethnic or non-ethnic modes of community building.
Topic:
Government and Nationalism
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, and Germany

57822. When Labour and Capital Collude: The Varieties of Welfare Capitalism and Early Retirement in Europe, Japan and the USA

Author:
Bernhard Ebbinghaus
Publication Date:
01-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Abstract:
The institutionalisation of early retirement has become a universal feature of postwar industrial economies, though there are significant cross-national variations. This paper studies the impact of different types of welfare regimes, production systems and labour relations on early exit from work. After an analysis of the main trends, the paper discusses the costs and benefits of early retirement for the various actors — labour, capital and the state — at different levels. The paper outlines both the “pull” and “push” factors of early exit. It first compares the distinct welfare state regimes and private occupational pensions in their impact on early retirement. Then it looks at the labour-shedding strategies inherent to particular employment regimes, production systems and financial governance structures. Finally, the impact of particular industrial relations systems, and especially the role of unions is discussed. The paper finds intricate “institutional complementarities” between particular welfare states, production regimes and industrial relations systems, and these structure the incentives under which actors make decisions on work and retirement. The paper argues that the “collusion” between capital, labour and the state in pursuing early retirement is not merely following a labour-shedding strategy to ease mass unemployment, but also caused by the need for economic restructuration, the downsizing pressures from financial markets, the maintenance of peaceful labour relations, and the consequences of a seniority employment system.
Topic:
Economics
Political Geography:
United States, Japan, Europe, and East Asia

57823. The Carter Center News, July-December 2000

Publication Date:
07-2000
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Carter Center
Abstract:
The eyes of the world were fixed on recounts and judicial twists in the 2000 U.S. presidential election for weeks last fall. When the suspense finally lifted and a winner emerged, the experience left Americans wiser and more educated about their own democracy.
Topic:
Development, Environment, Human Rights, Migration, Science and Technology, and Third World
Political Geography:
United States and America

57824. The Carter Center News, January-June 2000

Publication Date:
01-2000
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Carter Center
Abstract:
During the first six months of this year, four Latin American countries exercised democracy by scheduling elections. The Dominican Republic, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela laid the groundwork for electoral processes, though only the Dominican Republic and Mexico actually held elections as planned (see also “What Latin America's Elections Really Mean,” Page 4). In all four cases, however, Carter Center delegates were on site to monitor the proceedings. Below are the Center's observations, listing the most recent election first.
Topic:
Development, Environment, Human Rights, Migration, Science and Technology, and Third World
Political Geography:
South America, Latin America, Central America, Caribbean, Venezuela, Mexico, and Peru

57825. Challenges to Democracy in the Americas

Author:
Hugo Chávez, Manuel Antonio Garretón M., Porfirio Muñoz Ledo, Kenneth H. Jr. MacKay, Philip Oxhorn, Kenneth Roberts, Matthew Soberg Shugart, Jorge Vargas Cullel, Laurence Whitehead, and Adolfo E. Nanclares
Publication Date:
10-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Carter Center
Abstract:
Recent events in Latin American and the Carribean, including the election of a former coup leader in Venezuela, the third-term candidacy of Peru President Alberto Fujimori, a coup in Ecuador, and the failed constitutional reform in Guatemala and subsequent election of a party led by retired military officials, have led to serious concerns about the direction of democracy in the region. Americas Program's Council of Presidents and Prime Ministers of the Americas selected the conference topic as an expression of their concern. Held in October 2000 at The Carter Center, the conference addressed the resurgence of populist leaders, the decline of political parties, the need for greater public security, and the many ways the military continues to intervene in Latin American politics.
Topic:
Democratization, Development, Human Rights, Migration, and Politics
Political Geography:
America and Latin America

57826. Observing the 1999 Elections in Mozambique: Final Report

Publication Date:
08-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Carter Center
Abstract:
Shortly after Mozambique gained independence in 1975, civil war erupted and continued to rage for the next 16 years. In 1992 a peace agreement was negotiated, and in 1994 the country's first multiparty elections were held under U.N. auspices. President Joaquim Chissano and the ruling Frelimo party won the presidency and a majority in Parliament. Renamo, the former guerilla movement headed by Afonso Dhlakama, received nearly 34 percent of the presidential ballots and won 112 of the 250 seats in parliament.
Topic:
Democratization and Development
Political Geography:
Africa, United Nations, and Mozambique

57827. Defense Monitor: Montenegro: Looking War In The Face

Author:
Tomas Valasek
Publication Date:
07-2000
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Defense Information
Abstract:
Few other places in the world seem as close to war as Montenegro, Serbia s smaller partner in the all-but defunct Yugoslav Federation. Montenegro is poised to clash with troops carrying the federal flag of Yugoslavia but in reality serving only the Serbian government of Slobodan Milosevic. The two republics fell out over the nature of the political system: Serbia s government is turning increasingly dictatorial and autocratic while Montenegro is a fledgling democracy. Unlike all previous conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, ethnic differences — which in the case of Serbia and Montenegro are blurry to the point of nonexistent — do not play a major role.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Nuclear Weapons, and War
Political Geography:
Yugoslavia, Serbia, and Montenegro

57828. Defense Monitor: NMD Update: The Real World Intrudes

Author:
Colonel Daniel Smith
Publication Date:
06-2000
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Defense Information
Abstract:
IN AN EARLIER DEFENSE MONITOR(Volume XXIX, Issue 1, 2000), we reported on the status of the National Missile Defense program (NMD). At that time the success rate of NMD was 50%, although even the October 2, 1999 success was qualified because the kill vehicle first homed on the single decoy until, at the last moment, it finally detected its true target nearby.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Defense Policy, and Economics

57829. Defense Monitor: Landmines Remain Issue in Korea

Author:
Rachel Stohl
Publication Date:
05-2000
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Defense Information
Abstract:
Three years ago the international community joined forces to ban landmines. While the majority of the countries of the world worked to reach an agreement, several countries remained opposed to the effort. Nonetheless, today the 1997 Ottawa Treaty banning the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel mines has been signed by 137 countries and ratified by 95. The Treaty entered into force in March 1999, becoming binding international law more quickly than any treaty in history.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Economics, and Nuclear Weapons
Political Geography:
Ottawa

57830. Defense Monitor: The NPT Review — Last Chance?

Author:
Rear Admiral Eugene Carroll
Publication Date:
03-2000
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Defense Information
Abstract:
Just five years ago the United States led a strong global effort to achieve indefinite extension of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1970 which was due to expire on its 25th anniversary in April, 1995. U.S. leaders exerted substantial diplomatic pressure on nations less than enthusiastic about extending the NPT regime in order to ensure perpetuation of this critically important element of the global arms control structure, one very much in U.S. security interests.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Defense Policy, and Economics
Political Geography:
United States