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43581. Taiwan: Crisis Deferred, But Maybe Not For Long

Author:
Denny Roy
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
Taiwan's elections on January 14, which for the first time combined polls for the presidency and the legislature, displayed further positive evolution in Taiwan's now well-established democracy. The results also precluded an immediate disruption in relations between Taiwan and the PRC, which is good news in Washington. In Beijing's view, however, the goal is not stability across the Taiwan Strait, but unification. Chinese impatience might weigh more heavily on President Ma Ying-jeou, and by extension on the United States, during Ma's second term.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Democratization, Economics, and Politics
Political Geography:
United States, China, Washington, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia

43582. The Emerging Strategic Dynamic in Southeast Asia

Author:
Marvin C. Ott
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
Southeast Asia, long quiescent in a turbulent international environment, has suddenly become the focal point of what promises to be the signature strategic contest of the 21st century—between the United States and China. But the evolving dynamic is far more complex than a simple binary face-off between an established superpower and an emerging rival. The overarching backdrop is the profound and ongoing economic transformation of Asia. Three centuries of global economic, political and military domination by the industrialized West has given way to a fundamentally new configuration. Economic modernization that began with Japan has spread to the Sinicized populations of the region and beyond, including Southeast Asia. The global center of economic gravity has shifted westward across the Pacific—and economics is the foundation of power. The world has entered the oft-touted “Asia-Pacific Century.”
Topic:
Cold War, Communism, and Power Politics
Political Geography:
United States, China, America, and Southeast Asia

43583. A greener shade of grey: A special report on renewable energy in China

Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Economist Intelligence Unit
Abstract:
Fossil fuels will continue to dominate China's energy mix, although renewable energy will carve out a bigger role. The large market for clean technology that this provides will give succour to firms in the sector—those, that is, that are able to survive their present difficulties.
Topic:
Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, International Trade and Finance, Oil, and Natural Resources
Political Geography:
China

43584. Intellectual property and e-commerce in India: Prepare for opportunity

Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Economist Intelligence Unit
Abstract:
The loosening of administrative restrictions on licensing and related remittances in 1991 led to an increase in the number of international licensing agreements in India. Many foreign companies involved in India use a combination of exporting, licensing and direct investment.
Topic:
Corruption, Crime, Industrial Policy, Intellectual Property/Copyright, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

43585. The Puzzling Decline in Rural Women's Labor Force Participation in India: A Reexamination

Author:
Daniel Neff, Kunal Sen, and Veronika Kling
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Between 2004/2005 and 2009/2010 there was a sharp fall in female labor force participation (LFP) in rural India. Why did this occur? We look at the four standard explanations: that more women in rural areas are now pursuing higher education and are therefore not available for work (education effect), that household incomes are rising quickly enough that there is a tendency for women to withdraw from the labor force to attend to domestic duties (income effect), that employment opportunities for women are decreasing, and that social and cultural factors may be interacting with these three factors and amplifying their effects. Our findings suggest that the decline in rural women's LFP could potentially be due to an income effect and partly due to an education effect. We find no evidence of changes in employment opportunities or of social and cultural interaction effects that could explain the decline in rural female LFP.
Topic:
Economics, Education, Gender Issues, Social Stratification, Labor Issues, and Culture
Political Geography:
India

43586. Learn by Doing: Expanding International Internships/Work Abroad Opportunities for U.S. STEM Students

Author:
Debbie G. Donohue and Sabeen Altaf
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute of International Education (IIE)
Abstract:
Technological innovation is a driving force in every national economy worldwide, including the United States. The U.S. economy requires innovative programs to educate, develop, and train the next generation of globally competent scientists and engineers. Recent studies have identified a pressing need for a U.S. workforce that is more globally aware, more competent in foreign languages and intercultural skills, and more familiar with international business norms and behaviors. In the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), however, few academic programs provide adequate training and educational preparation in these areas. According to the 2011 IIE Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange, 3.9 percent of U.S. students who received credit for study or work abroad were engineers, while math and computer science students made up only 1.5 percent of U.S. students studying abroad. These two majors represented the smallest share of U.S. students abroad, other than those majoring in agriculture. While close to 10 percent of U.S. undergraduates study abroad before graduation, less than 4 percent of engineering students participate in study abroad programs; as a result, very few are gaining the global education they will need to be competitive professionals in the global workforce.
Topic:
International Relations, Education, and Immigration
Political Geography:
United States

43587. Valuing Study Abroad: The Global Mandate for Higher Education

Author:
Scott J. Freidheim
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute of International Education (IIE)
Abstract:
Scott Freidheim spoke at the British Academy's International Conference in London in March 2012, presenting U.S. perspectives on study abroad as part of an international panel. At the conference, the British Academy and the University Council of Modern Languages (UCML) released a joint position statement, Valuing the Year Abroad, that advocated support for funding a third year abroad for British undergraduate students and that drew on case studies from a survey they conducted among study abroad alumni. With representatives from the United States, China, and Germany, the international panel was invited to discuss British government and higher education policy on study abroad, and other countries' policies and best practices in study abroad.
Topic:
International Relations, Education, and Globalization
Political Geography:
United States, China, London, and Germany

43588. The Abbottabad Documents: Bin Ladin's Security Measures

Author:
Liam Collins
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
CTC Sentinel
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
Within a mere week of his death, Usama bin Ladin asserted that “reality has proven that American technology and its sophisticated systems cannot arrest a mujahid if he does not commit a security error.” Although Bin Ladin witnessed numerous senior al- Qa`ida members killed or captured by the United States and its coalition partners over the years, his words suggest that he attributed these losses not to superior U.S. technology, but to error or carelessness on the part of individuals. He was of the view that adhering to “the required security precautions [for people] in our situation” is feasible and human error is avoidable if the mujahid is “conscious of the importance of the mission he is fulfilling and is capable of staying in hiding until the situation opens up.”
Topic:
Security
Political Geography:
United States

43589. Beware of Imitators: al-Qa' ida through the lens of its Confidential Secretary

Author:
Nelly Lahoud
Publication Date:
06-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
“I should write a history of the jihadis in my time as I witnessed it and not as it is perceived by the West or those who disagree with us,” explains Fadil Harun regarding his motivation to publish his two-volume manuscript al-Harb `ala al-Islam: Qissat Fadil Harun (The War against Islam: the Story of Fadil Harun). Posted on the jihadi website Shabakat Ansar al-Mujahidin on 26 February 2009, the manuscript constitutes Harun's autobiography, in which he presents an intimate account of his life in the context of his career with al-Qa`ida. Harun (also known as Fazul `Abdallah Muhammad) was an al- Qa`ida operative who was killed in June 2011 by Somali government forces. Among the operations in which he played a key role are the 1998 East Africa bombings that targeted U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, following which he claims to have been appointed al-Qa`ida's “Confidential Secretary” (amin sirr al-qa`ida).
Topic:
Islam, Terrorism, Armed Struggle, and Counterinsurgency
Political Geography:
United States, Somalia, Nairobi, and East Africa

43590. Turkey and the Iranian nuclear programme: Key to progress in regional disarmament?

Author:
Hanna Ojanen and Barbara Zanchetta
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
The increasing tension around the Iranian nuclear programme and the uncompromising positions of the protagonists have made the goal of creating a zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East seem utopic. Yet, the current strategy of maintaining a low profile in the discussions on the zone, while keeping the focus exclusively on Iran, is not likely to lead to progress. Instead, combining the Iranian question with the zone and enlarging the content and scope of the negotiations even further by including Iran's neighbours could be a better strategy. Turkey could play a key role because of its unique relations with Iran, and because of its strong quest for a more prominent international position — if it can only strike the right balance between the role of lead actor and team player. Turkish-Iranian relations could notably inspire the consideration of accompanying pragmatic agreements on regional cooperation in other fields as a way forward for the upcoming Middle East disarmament negotiations in Finland.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, and Power Politics
Political Geography:
Iran, Turkey, Middle East, and Finland