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39571. Mo Yan and Chinese Literature

Author:
Mo Yan
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Columbia University World Leaders Forum
Abstract:
This World Leaders Forum program, titled Mo Yan and Chinese Literature, features an address by Mo Yan, Nobel Laureate in Literature, 2012. Introduction by: John Coatsworth, Provost of the University; Professor of International and Public Affairs and of History, Columbia University in the City of New York. Moderated by: Lydia Liu, Wun Tsun Tam Professor in the Humanities, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures and the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society, Columbia University in the City of New York.
Political Geography:
China

39572. ICSID, public opinion and the effect of (hypothetical) elite messaging

Author:
Alisha Anderson and Alexandra Guisinger
Publication Date:
08-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has emerged as a powerful actor within the field of inter-state investment arbitration. However, as with other international institutions, its existence depends on continued acceptance by domestic actors.

39573. The Transparency Rules and Transparency Convention: A good start and model for broader reform in investor-state arbitration

Author:
Lise Johnson
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
In July 2013, after nearly three years of work, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) adopted a set of arbitration rules that will help open some investor-state arbitrations to public view. The UNCITRAL Rules on Transparency in Treaty - based Investor - State Arbitration (Transparency Rules) were crafted with input from governments, academics, arbitration practitioners, and non-governmental organizations, and approved by consensus by the member states. When applied, the Transparency Rules will require disclosure of information submitted to, and issued by, arbitral tribunals throughout proceedings, mandate open hearings and expressly allow for participation by non-parties to a dispute. The Transparency Rules also guard against disclosure of confidential information and establish a repository in which all information will be published.

39574. Withdrawing incentives to attract FDI: Can host countries put the genie back in the bottle?

Author:
Anna De Luca
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
Many governments offer incentives to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). For example, the renewable energy sector has benefitted from large national incentive schemes in the past decade. However, the withdrawal of such incentives can lead to investors bringing investment treaty claims against host countries. This Perspective looks at some claims host countries face from investors in the renewable energy sector and their implications.

39575. How to enhance labor provisions in IIAs

Author:
Rafael Tamayo-Álvarez, Maria Alejandra Gonzalez-Perez, and Juan David Rodriguez-Rios
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
Free trade agreements (FTAs) and international investment agreements (IIAs) are regarded as instruments to promote world trade, investment flows and market liberalization. The question, however, is whether they promote sustainable development as well. This Perspective contemplates incorporating voluntary codes of conduct for multinational enterprises (MNEs) in IIA s to strengthen the protection of labor rights, “the social component [...] embedded in the notion of sustainable development.”

39576. Cost allocation in investment arbitration: Forward toward incentivization

Author:
John Gaffney and James Nicholson
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
In their contribution to the FDI Perspectives series, Baiju Vasani and Anastasiya Ugale drew attention to an emerging trend in favor of the so-called “costs follow the event” (CFtE) (or loser pays) approach, which is in contrast to the more “traditional” approach under which parties share the costs of arbitration equally, with each party covering its own legal fees.

39577. Player at the sidelines - NATO and the fight against ISIL

Author:
Jean-loup Samaan and Andreas Jacovs
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
On December 3rd 2014, NATO hosted the first meeting between the foreign ministers from the countries forming the US-led coalition against the so-called “Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant” (ISIL). Although all NATO members are officially part of the coalition and the Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, attended – as an observer – the meeting, participants said to the media that NATO would “only provide the building. ”Despite this word of caution, the event marked a new step in NATO's indirect involvement in the fight against ISIL. ! e ad-hoc coalition did materialize on the margins of NATO's Wales Summit last September. The question now is: will NATO merely play a role of a forum where coalition members meet, or could this lead to further participation?
Topic:
NATO
Political Geography:
United States

39578. Russia's Hybrid Warfare -Waging War below the Radar of Traditional Collective Defence

Author:
Heidi Reisinger and Aleksandr Golts
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
Ukraine is not even a state!” Putin reportedly advised former US President George W. Bush during the 2008 NATO Summit in Bucharest. In 2014 this perception became reality. Russian behaviour during the current Ukraine crisis was based on the traditional Russian idea of a “sphere of influence” and a special responsibility or, stated more bluntly, the “right to interfere” with countries in its “near abroad”. This perspective is also implied by the equally misleading term “post-Soviet space.” The successor states of the Soviet Union are sovereign countries that have developed differently and therefore no longer have much in common. Some of them are members of the European Union and NATO, while others are desperately trying to achieve this goal. Contrary to what Professor John Mearsheimer may suggest. In his article “Why the Ukraine crisis is the West's fault” he argues that NATO has expanded too far to the East, “into Russia's backyard”, against Moscow's declared will, and therefore carries responsibility for recent events; however, this seems to ignore that NATO was not hunting for new members, but found them knocking at its door.
Topic:
NATO and War
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Ukraine, Soviet Union, and Moscow

39579. The "Home Game" - Countering Violent Extremism within NATO

Author:
Jacqueline Page
Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
As the complex global security environment faced by NATO members continues to evolve in the coming years, terrorism – waged by actors both in and outside of their borders – will remain a vexing challenge. For over a decade, NATO's counterterrorism strategy has been built on taking the fight abroad. Member nations have been intimately involved in this effort as contributors to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, to the Multi-National Force in Iraq and in a variety of smaller missions around the globe. In recent times, however, there has been growing attention to the threat posed by “homegrown” terrorism and foreign fighters returning from Syria and elsewhere to their home countries throughout the Euro-Atlantic area.
Topic:
NATO
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria

39580. Europe's changing security landscape: What role will the EU play in security and defence?

Author:
Tuomas Iso-Markku
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
The Ukraine crisis has reminded Europeans of the importance of defence policy, thus amplifying the main message of the December 2013 European Council on security and defence. Many of the proposals put forward by the December summit are currently being worked on, but the Ukraine crisis creates additional challenges for the EU, highlighting the strategic divergence within the Union and posing fundamental questions about its role as a security provider. Regarding concrete achievements, the EU's defence ministers recently adopted a policy framework for systematic and long-term defence cooperation, and the Commission has also begun to work energetically towards achieving its key objectives in the defence sector. Ultimately, however, the success of the EU's efforts will depend on the commitment of the member states.
Political Geography:
Europe and Ukraine