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50102. B2. Turki al-Faisal, Conditions for Normalizing Relations with Israel, New York Times, 12 September 2009
- Publication Date:
- 12-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Palestine Studies
- Institution:
- Institute for Palestine Studies
- Abstract:
- The United States and other Western powers have for some time been pushing Saudi Arabia to make more gestures toward Israel. More recently, the crown prince of Bahrain urged greater communication with Israel and joint steps from Arab states to revive the peace process.
- Political Geography:
- United States, New York, Turkey, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain
50103. C1. PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Speech to the UN General Assembly, New York, 24 September 2009 (excerpts)
- Publication Date:
- 12-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Palestine Studies
- Institution:
- Institute for Palestine Studies
- Abstract:
- Nearly 62 years ago, the United Nations recognized the right of the Jews, an ancient people 3,500 years old, to a state of their own in their ancestral homeland. I stand here today as the prime minister of Israel, the Jewish state, and I speak to you on behalf of my country and my people.
- Political Geography:
- New York, Israel, and United Nations
50104. C2. B'Tselem and HaMoked, The Internment of Unlawful Combatants, Jerusalem, October 2009 (excerpts)
- Publication Date:
- 12-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Palestine Studies
- Institution:
- Institute for Palestine Studies
- Abstract:
- In 2000, Israel's Supreme Court ruled that the state was not allowed to continue holding Lebanese nationals in administrative detention as "bargaining chips" for the return of Israeli prisoners of war and bodies, as they do not pose a threat. Among the detainees held were Mustafa Dirani andShaykh 'Abd al-Karim Obeid. To enable the state to continue holding them, the Knesset enacted, in 2002, the Internment of Un-lawful Combatants Law (hereafter in this chapter: the Law).
- Political Geography:
- Israel
50105. C3. Ono Academic College, "Excluded-Educated People in Quality Professions in Israeli Society," Kiryat Ono, 11 November 2009 (excerpts)
- Publication Date:
- 12-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Palestine Studies
- Institution:
- Institute for Palestine Studies
- Abstract:
- An attitude questionnaire was completed by 568 college and university students studying at different institutions in Israel. Most of the Arab, Ethiopian-descent, and ultra-Orthodox students who completed the questionnaire expressed an identical feeling: In Israel 2009, there is no equal opportunity.
- Political Geography:
- Israel and Ethiopia
50106. D1. President Barack Obama, Speech to the UN General Assembly, New York, 23 September 2009 (excerpts)
- Publication Date:
- 12-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Palestine Studies
- Institution:
- Institute for Palestine Studies
- Abstract:
- I will also continue to seek a just and lasting peace between Israel, Palestine, and the Arab world. We will continue to work on that issue. Yesterday, I had a constructive meeting with Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu and President [Mahmud] Abbas. We have made some progress. Palestinians have strengthened their efforts on security. Israelis have facilitated greater freedom of movement for the Palestinians. As a result of these efforts on both sides, the economy in the West Bank has begun to grow. But more progress is needed. We continue to call on Palestinians to end incitement against Israel, and we continue to emphasize that America does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements.
- Political Geography:
- Israel and Palestine
50107. D2. U.S. State Department, 2009 Report on International Religious Freedom, Washington, 26 October 2009 (excerpts)
- Publication Date:
- 12-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Palestine Studies
- Institution:
- Institute for Palestine Studies
- Abstract:
- Based on its pre-1967 borders, the country has an area of 7,685 square miles. The country has a population of 7.4 million (including settlers living in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem), of which 5.6 million are Jews, 1.5 million are Arab Muslims and Christians, and 320,000 are classified as "other"-mostly persons from the former Soviet Union who immigrated under the Law of Return but who did not qualify as Jews according to the Orthodox Jewish definition used by the government for civil procedures.
- Topic:
- Population
- Political Geography:
- Jerusalem
50108. Chronology: 16 August - 15 November 2009
- Author:
- Sasha Heroy
- Publication Date:
- 12-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Palestine Studies
- Institution:
- Institute for Palestine Studies
- Abstract:
- This section is part of a chronology begun in JPS 13, no. 3 (Spring 1984). Chronology dates reflect Eastern Standard Time (EST). For a more comprehensive overview of events related to the al-Aqsa intifada and of regional and international developments related to the peace process, see the Quarterly Update on Conflict and Diplomacy in this issue.
- Political Geography:
- Israel
50109. Bibliography of Periodical Literature
- Author:
- Norbert Scholz
- Publication Date:
- 12-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Palestine Studies
- Institution:
- Institute for Palestine Studies
- Abstract:
- This section lists articles and reviews of books relevant to Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Entries are classified under the following headings: Reference and General; History (through 1948) and Geography; Palestinian Politics and Society; Jerusalem; Israeli Politics, Society, and Zionism; Arab and Middle Eastern Politics; International Relations; Law; Military; Economy, Society, and Education; Literature, Arts, and Culture; Book Reviews; and Reports Received.
- Political Geography:
- Israel, Palestine, and Arabia
50110. Calypso's Cosmopolitan Strategy: Race, Nation, and Global Culture in Postwar Canada
- Author:
- Michael Eldridge
- Publication Date:
- 06-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition, McMaster University
- Abstract:
- What I mean to do in this essay, then, is trace calypso’s trajectory across the historically porous U.S-Canada border, in order to take fuller measure of its international ambitions in the mid- twentieth century. In the process, I hope to shine a light on West Indian influence over the layout of the Canadian mosaic and the logic of Canadian multiculturalism, well before that word became a catchphrase of government policy and part of the mythology of Canadian identity. But I also want to puzzle out what Canadians’ embrace of calypso during this same period signified. That, more than anything, will help us understand what sort of symbolic work calypso was doing in the True North. Canadians, of course, are famously, chronically anxious to distinguish themselves from Americans, and so I’ll concede from the start that calypso per se may have played a less direct role in calming nerves about race and national identity north of Niagara than it did in the U.S. I want to argue nevertheless that the full story of calypso in Canada still involves considerable tension over those fraught topics. And so the more significant distinction to draw, I think, is that the Canadian jitters sprang from a very different set of demographics, as well as from a rather different relationship to the history of British Empire and Commonwealth, than their American counterparts. Before we evaluate Caresser’s job performance as Canada’s hired projectionist, then, we would do well to review some of the salient facts.
- Topic:
- Nationalism, Race, Culture, and Multiculturalism
- Political Geography:
- Canada and North America
50111. How Did a Domestic Housing Slump Turn into a Global Financial Crisis?
- Author:
- Steven B. Kamin and Laurie Pounder DeMarco
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
- Abstract:
- The global financial crisis clearly started with problems in the U.S. subprime sector and spread across the world from there. But was the direct exposure of foreigners to the U.S. financial system a key driver of the crisis, or did other factors account for its rapid contagion across the world? To answer this question, we assessed whether countries that held large amounts of U.S. mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and were highly dependent on dollar funding experienced a greater degree of financial distress during the crisis. We found little evidence of such “direct contagion” from the United States to abroad. Although CDS spreads generally rose higher and bank stocks generally fell lower in countries with more exposure to U.S. MBS and greater dollar funding needs, these correlations were not robust, and they fail to explain the lion’s share of the deterioration in asset prices that took place during the crisis. Accordingly, channels of “indirect contagion” may have played a more important role in the global spread of the crisis: a generalized run on global financial institutions, given the opacity of their balance sheets; excessive dependence on short-term funding; vicious cycles of mark-to-market losses driving fire sales of MBS; the realization that financial firms around the world were pursuing similar (flawed) business models; and global swings in risk aversion. The U.S. subprime crisis, rather than being a fundamental driver of the global crisis, may have been merely a trigger for a global bank run and for disillusionment with a risky business model that already had spread around the world.
- Topic:
- Financial Crisis, Global Financial Crisis, and Housing
- Political Geography:
- United States and North America
50112. Interest on Excess Reserves as a Monetary Policy Instrument: The Experience of Foreign Central Banks
- Author:
- David Bowman, Etienne Gagnon, and Mike Leahy
- Publication Date:
- 03-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
- Abstract:
- This paper reviews the experience of eight major foreign central banks with policy interest rates comparable to the interest rate on excess reserves paid by the Federal Reserve. We pursue two main lines of inquiry: 1) To what extent have these policy interest rates been lower bounds for short-term market rates, and 2) to what extent has tightening that included increasing these policy rates been achieved without reliance on reductions in reserves or other deposits held at the central bank? The foreign experience suggests that policy rate floors can be effective lower bounds for market rates, although incomplete access to central bank accounts and interest on them weakens this result. In addition, the foreign experience suggests that tightening by increasing the interest rate paid on central bank balances can help reduce or eliminate the need to drain balances. These results are consistent with theoretical results that show that tightening without draining is possible, irrespective of whether excess reserves are large or small.
- Topic:
- Markets, Interest Rates, Central Bank, and Fiscal Policy
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
50113. Financial Globalization and Monetary Policy
- Author:
- Steven B. Kamin
- Publication Date:
- 06-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
- Abstract:
- This paper reviews the available evidence and previous research on potential effects of financial globalization, that is, the international integration of financial markets. In particular, we address the questions: Has financial globalization materially increased the influence of external developments on domestic monetary conditions? And, has it reduced the influence of central banks over financial and economic conditions in their own country? We find that central banks with floating currencies retain the ability to independently determine short-term interest rates and thus influence broader financial conditions and macroeconomic performance in their economies. However, domestic financial conditions appear to have become more vulnerable to a wide range of external shocks, complicating the task of making appropriate monetary policy decisions. Moreover, the financial crisis has highlighted the importance of cross-border channels for the transmission of liquidity and credit shocks. With financial transactions increasingly being undertaken in vehicle currencies such as dollars and euros, the liquidity provision and the lender-of-last resort functions of many central banks are being challenged. Accordingly, international arrangements for liquidity provision may become increasingly important in the future.
- Topic:
- Economics, Globalization, International Cooperation, Monetary Policy, and Interest Rates
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
50114. Globalization: Curse or Cure? Policies to Harness Global Economic Integration to Solve Our Economic Challenge
- Author:
- Jagadeesh Gokhale
- Publication Date:
- 02-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Abstract:
- Globalization holds tremendous promise to improve human welfare but can also cause conflicts and crises as witnessed during 2007–09. How will competition for resources, employment, and growth shape economic policies among developed nations as they attempt to maintain productivity growth, social protections, and extensive political and cultural freedoms?
- Topic:
- Globalization
50115. The U.S. Senate and Iraq: Who Changed Their Views and Why?
- Author:
- Andrew Bennett and Andrew Loomis
- Publication Date:
- 10-2010
- Content Type:
- Course Pack
- Abstract:
- Focusing on the evolving views of the 77 U.S. Senators who voted to authorize the use of force in Iraq in 2002, we seek to explain why some political leaders changed their views markedly from 2002 to 2008 and others did not. We argue that in view of the great preponderance of evidence that the initial premises of U.S. intervention in Iraq were not fulfilled, Bayesian updating cannot by itself explain the persistence of divergent views on Iraq. It is also puzzling that a half-dozen senators persisted in their support of Bush's position on Iraq even though this may have contributed to their electoral defeat. We use a combination of political and psychological variables, including ideology, party affiliation, safety of the senator's seat, military service, cognitive style, and presidential aspirations to explain why some senators changed their public positions on Iraq within a year, others did so by 2006, still others in 2007, and some changed very little in more than five years. We combine these variables into a typological theory and test it against a qualitative analysis of 20 senators' views on Iraq. We conclude that our model is relatively successful in predicting not only when senators' views changed but what rationales they gave for why their initial expectations were not borne out. We also note several senators who prove important anomalies for our model, including Senators Lieberman, who was the only Democrat who did not move toward opposing Bush's policies, and McCain, who thus far has not moved toward the political center on Iraq despite having effectively secured his party's nomination.
- Topic:
- Globalization
50116. Globalization and Scarcity: Multilateralism for a world with limits
- Author:
- Alex Evans
- Publication Date:
- 11-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Abstract:
- As the issue of resource scarcity arriving on the global agenda, especially in the areas of land, water, food and energy, what forms of multilateral action are needed in order to prevent a slide towards zero-sum games, resource nationalism and intensifying competition for dwindling resources? This is the question tackled in this new Center on International Cooperation report. It takes a functional approach to the issue, concentrating on identifying the concrete tasks that the international system needs to deliver in order to manage a new ‘age of scarcity’. The report looks at four areas for action - development and fragile states; finance and investment; international trade; and strategic resource competition between states – in each case identifying why a multilateral approach is needed, and what actions need to be taken over the short, medium and longer term.
- Topic:
- Globalization
50117. China versus the Washington Consensus: The Anomaly for World Bank Advocacy Research (pdf)
- Author:
- Dic Lo
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
- Abstract:
- The Chinese experience of economic transformation has presented a serious challenge to the Washington Consensus. Since the mid-1990s, institutions upholding the Washington Consensus have mostly excluded the Chinese experience – because of its conspicuous anomaly – in their attempts to interpret worldwide transition and development in line with their policy doctrines. Yet, China did in fact rigorously implement the policy doctrines in the years 1993-1997, but only to result in severe social and economic problems. Since 1998, in the face of the problems and because of increasingly social resistance to the mainstream policies, China has progressively turned to focus on “constructing a harmonious society”. This turn represents a quest for a model of social and economic development that deviates fundamentally from the Washington Consensus.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Economics, World Bank, and Social Policy
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
50118. Continental Drift: China and the Global Economic Crisis
- Author:
- Sangaralingam Ramesh
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
- Abstract:
- The economic prosperity associated with the Coastal regions of China has not ‘trickled’ down to the Western and Central regions sufficiently enough to eliminate the disparities in income between the regions. Indeed, the disparities between China’s Coastal regions and its other regions continue to deepen. In the Mao period, central planners held the mistaken belief that investment in the railways and development of heavy industry in the interior parts of China would bring prosperity. In the reform period and beyond, the focus of economic development in China has been to take advantage of China’s low labour costs. In the earlier part of the reform era the focus of economic reforms centred on the development of Special Economic Zones (SEZ’s) .In the second phase of reform policies were centred on the High Technology Development Zones [NHTIDZ’s].A characteristic feature of both SEZ’s and NHTIDZ’s is that they represent a concentration of infrastructure within a predefined spatial area. The current global economic crisis has presented China with a unique opportunity to deepen the economic transformation of the coastal regions by shifting the focus of economic development to its interior regions. Indeed, the government’s efforts to stave off the effects of the global crisis on the Chinese economy by attempting to maintain economic growth above 8% by utilising an expansive fiscal stimulus has had the effect of initiating the transformation of the interior Chinese economy. This then represents China’s third stage of economic development since 1949. This paper will examine the factors leading to China’s third stage of economic development which has resulted from the global economic crisis – the Continental drift of the economic development of China.
- Topic:
- Infrastructure, Global Financial Crisis, Investment, Stimulus, and Prosperity
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
50119. A Theory of Capital Rationing
- Author:
- Jan Toporowski
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
- Abstract:
- This paper revisits some of the issues originally put forward by the author as the theory of capital market inflation, in the book The End of Finance (Toporowski 2000). The paper makes much clearer the key assumptions and relationships between the operations of the capital market dominated by institutional investors, and the balance sheets of companies. In this way, it presents a theory of how macroeconomic dynamics may be affected by disequilibrium in the capital market. The first part of the paper examines the demand for new equity issues by institutional investors, namely insurance companies and pension funds. In the second part of the paper it is argued that the tendency of pension funds to mature may be a factor in forcing companies into debt and thus discouraging their investment and restricting their cash flow. The tendency towards forced indebtedness may be reinforced by an inelastic demand for capital by banks. The third part of the paper argues that the inelastic supply of capital in the capital market gives rise to processes of capital market inflation or deflation. The first of these may make banks more fragile. The second may contribute to deflationary processes in the macroeconomy. A fourth section argues that further instability is added by international capital market integration.
- Topic:
- Debt, Markets, Banks, and Investment
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
50120. China and World Development beyond the Crisis
- Author:
- Dic Lo
- Publication Date:
- 10-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
- Abstract:
- Recent international opinions on China and world development have focused on the Sino-US economic nexus. The neo-liberal theory of “China causing global imbalances” claims that the particular way through which China has integrated itself into the world market is to the detriment of the economies of the advanced countries. The critical theory of “China facing internal and external dependence”, in contrast, claims that the real victim has been the economic development of China itself and the majority of developing economies. The objective of this paper is to clarify the analytical efficacy of these two theories, and, on that basis, to assess the validity of their implied policies. The paper also seeks to explore into the construction of an alternative policy line that suits better the needs of the social and economic development of China and the developing world.
- Topic:
- Development, Inequality, Social Policy, and Economic Development
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
50121. U.S. Military Aid to Central Asia 1999-2009: Security Priorities Trump Human Rights and Diplomacy
- Publication Date:
- 10-2010
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Open Society Foundations
- Abstract:
- Commissioned by the Open Society Foundations Central Eurasia Project, U.S. Military Aid to Central Asia, 1999-2009: Security Priorities Trump Human Rights and Diplomacy analyzes U.S. military and police aid to Central Asian countries pre- and post-9/11. The research shows that the Pentagon established many new military and assistance programs, and that such programs contain six times the funds that are earmarked for the promotion of rule of law, democratic governance, and respect for human rights. The paper's findings suggest that the U.S. military has acquired an oversized impact on U.S. foreign policy toward Central Asia.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, Military Affairs, and Budget
- Political Geography:
- Central Eurasia
50122. The Education of Migrant Children: An NGO Guide to EU Policies and Actions
- Publication Date:
- 11-2010
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Open Society Foundations
- Abstract:
- Rising migration into Europe is now the largest factor of population growth among most EU member states. This trend is manifested in the area of education, where pupils of migrant origin comprise up to half or more of the total number of students in some schools. In these very diverse student bodies, there are higher-than-average rates of academic underachievement and early dropout, which are directly linked to problems of social marginalization, failure to integrate, and future unemployment. The education of migrant children and youth is, therefore, now viewed not only as an economic issue, but also most importantly as a political and human rights issue. As a result, education has become a key instrument in long-term integration and social inclusion strategies, and consequently a key policy area for the EU. This guide is intended as a tool for better understanding EU policies, responsibilities, and funding mechanisms related to the education of migrant children and youth within existing EU agendas on human rights, equal treatment, antidiscrimination, integration, social inclusion, and education and training.
- Topic:
- Education, Children, European Union, Youth, Unemployment, and Marginalization
- Political Geography:
- Europe
50123. European Neighbourhood Policy: Implementation of the Objectives of the EU-Georgia Action Plan
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Open Society Foundations
- Abstract:
- Third in a series prepared by the Open Society Georgia Foundation, this report assesses implementation of the EU-Georgia Action Plan by experts from Georgian nongovernmental organizations. The report identifies and analyzes the problems that hampered the implementation of Georgia's international obligations in 2008-2009 in the following areas: development of a free institutional environment for the efficient functioning of media organizations; measures to improve the business and investment climate, stimulate economic growth, reduce poverty, ensure social equality, facilitate sustainable development, and harmonize economic legislation and administrative regulations; reinforcement of parliamentary oversight as a way to establish good management practices in the field of national security and defence and implement democratic control of armed forces, and expansion of EU-Georgia cooperation in battling common challenges.
- Topic:
- International Political Economy, Regional Cooperation, European Union, Regional Integration, and Regional Economy
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Georgia
50124. A Timeline of U.S. Military Aid Cooperation with Uzbekistan
- Publication Date:
- 10-2010
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Open Society Foundations
- Abstract:
- "A Timeline of U.S. Military Aid Cooperation with Uzbekistan" tracks U.S.-Uzbek military cooperation from July 1994 to January 2010. Published by the Open Society Foundations, the paper serves as an appendix to the first paper in this series, "U.S. Military Aid to Central Asia 1999-2009: Security Priorities Trump Human Rights and Diplomacy."
- Topic:
- Diplomacy, Human Rights, Foreign Aid, and Military Affairs
- Political Geography:
- United States and Uzbekistan
50125. The Trust Deficit: The Impact of Local Perceptions on Policy in Afghanistan
- Publication Date:
- 10-2010
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Open Society Foundations
- Abstract:
- This report from the Open Society Foundations highlights the erosion of Afghan confidence in international forces due to civilian casualties, wrongful and abusive detention operations, deteriorating security, and a lack of accountability. This distrust reflects a growing divide between the perceptions of the Western public and policymakers and those of Afghan citizens about the intentions and accomplishments of international forces in Afghanistan. The Trust Deficit: The Impact of Local Perceptions on Policy in Afghanistan recommends that the international community urgently address the underlying policies that are feeding these negative perceptions.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, War, International Security, Military Affairs, Military Intervention, War on Terror, Civilians, and Casualties
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan
50126. Uganda Election Report
- Publication Date:
- 10-2010
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Open Society Foundations
- Abstract:
- This Open Society Foundations report assesses Uganda's level of preparedness to hold elections in February 2011 and makes recommendations for electoral reform ahead of the elections, if 2011 polls are to be credible. It highlights the disconnect between Uganda's legal framework in theory and that of its implementation in reality, and points to a level playing field in Ugandan politics.
- Topic:
- Elections, Democracy, Election watch, Domestic Policy, and Polls
- Political Geography:
- Uganda
50127. Parity—Expanding Equitable Insurance Coverage for Addiction and Mental Health Treatment
- Publication Date:
- 06-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Open Society Foundations
- Abstract:
- On January 1, 2010, the Wellstone-Domenici Parity Act went into effect, expanding access to mental health and addiction treatment coverage in many employer-sponsored group health plans. The new federal law applies to group health plans covering 50 or more employees that provide any level of coverage for treatment of mental health and substance use disorders. Those plans are now required to cover mental health and substance use disorders benefits at “parity,” or in the same way as they cover other medical and surgical services. Simply put, “parity” is the treatment of addiction and mental illness in insurance benefits in the same way as other medical conditions. When the law is fully implemented, it is estimated that 140 million Americans could have improved access to addiction and mental health treatment services should they need it.
- Topic:
- Health, Health Care Policy, Mental Health, Drugs, and Equality
- Political Geography:
- United States
50128. Security Matters
- Author:
- Centre for European Security Studies
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Centre for European Security Studies
- Abstract:
- Natalia Gherman is Moldova’s deputy foreign minister and chief negotiator with the EU. CESS spoke to her in Chis¸ina˘u during the second in a series of UNDP workshops on EU negotiations organised by CESS and its partners. Ms Gherman had just returned from a visit to The Hague and Berlin where she spoke to her colleagues about the visa liberalisation regime, one of the main priorities for Moldova in its relations with the EU.
- Topic:
- International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
50129. Security Matters
- Author:
- Centre for European Security Studies
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Centre for European Security Studies
- Abstract:
- Central Asia presents a broad spectrum of security challenges. These range from religious terrorism, organised crime and simmering ethnic quarrels to endemic corruption, environmental decline and a disintegrating infrastructure. Besides, the danger of instability is heightened by a lurking receptiveness to religious extremism among returned migrants.
- Topic:
- International Relations and International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
50130. Harmony and War: Confucian Culture and Chinese Power Politics
- Author:
- Yuan-kang Wang
- Publication Date:
- 12-2010
- Content Type:
- Book
- Institution:
- Columbia University Press
- Abstract:
- Confucianism has shaped a certain perception of Chinese security strategy, symbolized by the defensive, nonaggressive Great Wall. Many believe China is antimilitary and reluctant to use force against its enemies. It practices pacifism and refrains from expanding its boundaries, even when nationally strong. In a path-breaking study traversing six centuries of Chinese history, Yuan-kang Wang resoundingly discredits this notion, recasting China as a practitioner of realpolitik and a ruthless purveyor of expansive grand strategies. Leaders of the Song Dynasty (960–1279) and Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) prized military force and shrewdly assessed the capabilities of China’s adversaries. They adopted defensive strategies when their country was weak and pursued expansive goals, such as territorial acquisition, destruction of their enemies, and total military victory, when their country was strong. Despite the dominance of an antimilitarist Confucian culture, warfare was not uncommon in the bulk of Chinese history. Grounding his research in primary Chinese sources, Wang outlines a politics of power crucial to understanding China’s strategies today, especially its policy of “peaceful development,” which, he argues, the nation has adopted mainly because of its military, economic, and technological weakness in relation to the United States.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Political Theory, and History
- Political Geography:
- Asia
- Publication Identifier:
- 9780231522403
- Publication Identifier Type:
- ISBN
50131. Reaching for Justice: The participation of victims at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia,
- Author:
- Johanna Herman
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre on Human Rights in Conflict
- Abstract:
- This policy paper is based on research in Cambodia, assessing the activities and strategies regarding participation of victims before the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), funded by the University of East London Promising Researcher grant. It is hoped by the international community and by Cambodian civil society that the participation of victims will play a key part in ensuring that the ECCC has a lasting impact on Cambodia. The ECCC, in common with other hybrid tribunals, is expected to engage the affected society and victims, since it is located within the country rather than based elsewhere as the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY) are. This policy paper reviews how the victim participation process functioned during the first case and the preparation for the second case at the ECCC, and offers insights to improve practice at the ECCC and other courts that are undertaking other forms of victim participation
- Topic:
- International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
50132. Great Power Politics and Strategic Narratives
- Author:
- Andreas Antoniades, Alister Miskimmon, and Ben O'Loughlin
- Publication Date:
- 03-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Global Political Economy, University of Sussex
- Abstract:
- Great powers use strategic narratives to establish and maintain influence in the international system and to shape the system itself. This is particularly the case in periods of transition in the international system when challengers to hegemonic powers emerge. Strategic narratives are an important tool which must be considered alongside material resources as a determinant of whether emerging great powers are able to shape a new systemic alignment. Strategic narratives are a tool through which great powers can articulate their interests, values and aspirations for the international system in ways that offer the opportunity for power transitions that avoid violent struggle between status quo and challenger states. Complicating this picture, however, is a complex media ecology which makes the process of projecting strategic narratives an increasingly difficult one. Analysis of international political communication within this media ecology is central to evaluating how strategic narratives are projected and the interactions that follow. We argue that empirical analysis of the formation, projection and reception of strategic narratives in that media ecology offers a framework through which to generate important findings concerning power transition, domestic and international legitimacy, and recognition and identity - important because many international relations scholars thus far failed to take into account the difference such narratives make, and can make.
- Topic:
- Military Strategy, Geopolitics, Grand Strategy, and State Actors
- Political Geography:
- United States and Middle East
50133. Fearing a 'Shiite Octopus'. Sunni – Shi'a relations and the implications for Belgium and Europe
- Author:
- Jelle Puelings
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- EGMONT - The Royal Institute for International Relations
- Abstract:
- During the last five years, and more specifically since the US invasion of Irak, different Sunni policy makers and religious actors have ventilated their concern for what they see as the rise of Shiite Islam. Although the condemnation of Shiism by more rigorous currents such as Wahhabism is hardly new, recently different governments in the Middle East have taken concrete measures against Shiite actors. The same 'Cold War scenario' the region witnessed immediately after the Iranian Revolution seems to appear again, making Arab Sunni voices reverberate up to Western policy makers, who start to worry themselves about the role of Iran and its allies. In this paper we will try to give an evaluation of this alleged shift in the Sunni-Shi`a power balance, and point out the possible consequences for Belgium and the EU emanating from this controversy.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Islam, Bilateral Relations, and Sectarianism
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Middle East, Arabia, and Belgium
50134. Where was united Africa in the climate change negotiations?
- Author:
- Jean-Christophe Hoste
- Publication Date:
- 02-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- EGMONT - The Royal Institute for International Relations
- Abstract:
- A political commitment was reached in Copenhagen between five countries: US, China, India Brazil and South Africa. The rest of the conference simply “took note of it”, most with resignation, many with anger. This policy brief will have a closer look at the climate change negotiations from an African perspective. It will try to answer three questions to see whether the outcome of the negotiations was as unacceptable as South Africa said it was. First, what was the African Common Position and what were some of their demands? Second, how did the negotiating strategy to defend the African Common Position on climate change evolve? Third, why did South Africa call the agreement it negotiated with the US, China and India unacceptable but did it not decline to be part of that deal?
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Environment, Globalization, International Cooperation, Politics, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, India, South Africa, and Brazil
50135. The Constitutional History of U.S. Foreign Policy: 222 Years of Tension in the Twilight Zone
- Author:
- Walter A. McDougall
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Foreign Policy Research Institute
- Abstract:
- In 1973, Congress passed the infamous War Powers Resolution (WPR), over Richard Nixon’s veto. It was perhaps the most ambitious Congressional effort to bridle the President since the battle with Andrew Johnson over Reconstruction. The WPR is worth reading—once—then forgetting, because its convoluted, contradictory, and doubtless unconstitutional mix of instructions, restrictions, and ticking clocks has never been honored by any administration or upheld by any court. Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush all dispatched U.S. forces into combat situations without paying more than lip service to the WPR. In 1990, following Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait, President Bush stationed 100,000 personnel in Saudi Arabia. He sought no authorization and, in fact, informed just one member of Congress: Senator Sam Nunn (D., Ga.). When he then prepared Operation Desert Storm to liberate Kuwait, 54 Congressmen led by the chairman of House Armed Services Committee, Berkeley radical Ron Dellums (D., Calif.), filed for an injunction to stop the war. U.S. District Judge Harold H. Greene ran for cover. Noting that 54 fell far short of a majority, he judged the case “not ripe for judicial determination.”
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, War, Governance, Law, and Constitution
- Political Geography:
- United States
50136. Democracy, Markets & Transparency 2009
- Author:
- Gabriel C. Salvia and Hernán Alberro
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
- Abstract:
- Leaders of development - The analysis of the cases of New Zealand and Denmark, heading the ranking for third consecutive year, indicates that there are powerful theoretical reasons to think that open economies, liberal democratic regimes and transparent public sectors go together.
- Topic:
- Development, Markets, Democracy, Economy, and Transparency
- Political Geography:
- Denmark, New Zealand, and Oceania
50137. Argentina: Cyclical Setbacks in a Movementist Society
- Author:
- Eduardo Viola and Héctor Ricardo Leis
- Publication Date:
- 10-2010
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
- Abstract:
- This document seeks to study the UPR corresponding to the Cuban regime, which took place during the fourth working session of the UPR Working Group, in the period February 2nd-13th 2009, and its corresponding context. The focus is comparative between two regions of the world: Latin American governments and European governments.
- Topic:
- Government, Politics, History, and Economy
- Political Geography:
- Argentina, South America, and Cuba
50138. Revolutionizing Taiwan’s Security: Leveraging C4ISR for traditional and non-traditional challenges
- Author:
- Mark Stokes
- Publication Date:
- 02-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Project 2049 Institute
- Abstract:
- As a global leader in technology, Taiwan is yet to leverage the information revolution for its C4ISR needs. Faced with an array of security challenges, from China’s conventional and electronic attack to the risk of natural disasters, Taiwan’s defense and disaster management capabilities can be fortified with advanced sensor, communications and satellite technology. In doing so, Taiwan can significantly improve its security outlook.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Science and Technology, and Non-Traditional Threats
- Political Geography:
- China, Taiwan, and Asia
50139. China’s Nuclear Warhead Storage and Handling System
- Author:
- Mark Stokes
- Publication Date:
- 03-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Project 2049 Institute
- Abstract:
- China maintains its operational nuclear warhead stockpile through a centralized storage and handling system managed by the People’s Liberation Army’s Second Artillery. A preliminary examination indicates that Beijing adopts a responsible and serious attitude with regards to nuclear security and safety. Yet, an expanding ballistic missile infrastructure in the absence of significant growth in their nuclear warhead stockpile could indicate an extension of Second Artillery’s conventional strike mission.
- Topic:
- Security, Nuclear Weapons, Military Affairs, Weapons, and Nuclear Safety
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
50140. Strengthening ASEAN-India Relations in the 21st Century
- Author:
- Prashanth Parameswaran
- Publication Date:
- 05-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Project 2049 Institute
- Abstract:
- One of the most overlooked yet promising relationships in Asia is that between Southeast Asia and India. The Asia-Pacific region as a whole would benefit from a closer partnership between ASEAN and India, particularly in the areas of counter-terrorism, counter-narcotics, climate change, and natural disaster relief. While the impetus for mutual cooperation is strong, forging a strong partnership in the 21st century will require ASEAN and India to overcome several formidable challenges and seize key opportunities with courage, vision and deftness.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Climate Change, Natural Disasters, Counter-terrorism, Partnerships, Regional Integration, and ASEAN
- Political Geography:
- South Asia, India, and Asia
50141. Evolving Aerospace Trends in the Asia-Pacific Region: Implications for Stability in the Taiwan Strait and Beyond
- Author:
- Mark Stokes and Ian Easton
- Publication Date:
- 05-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Project 2049 Institute
- Abstract:
- Aerospace power is unquestionably defining the future strategic environment in a region whose vast distances place a premium on speed and agility that defy the laws of gravity. This monograph addresses trends in China’s force modernization, strategy, and doctrine; development of conventional air force, air and missile defense, and long range precision strike modernization in Taiwan, Japan, India, and the United States; and options for countering the coercive utility of evolving PRC aerospace power, including cooperative threat reduction initiatives.
- Topic:
- Deterrence, Modernization, Strategic Stability, Military, and Aerospace
- Political Geography:
- China, Taiwan, and Asia-Pacific
50142. The Next Steps in Japan-NATO Cooperation
- Author:
- Randall Schriver and Tiffany Ma
- Publication Date:
- 11-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Project 2049 Institute
- Abstract:
- The Japan-NATO relationship holds greater potential than has been realized to date. A more ambitious, more formal, and more active program for Japan’s involvement with NATO could include enhanced intelligence and information sharing, planning and exercising, defense technical cooperation programs, consultations on strategic deterrence, and a joint Arctic security initiative. While obstacles to closer cooperation are foreseeable, a stronger and closer Japan-NATO relationship will have strategic benefits that resonate beyond the trans-Atlantic region.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, Defense Policy, NATO, and Intelligence Sharing
- Political Geography:
- Japan, Asia, and Arctic
50143. Mirage or Reality? Asia’s Emerging Human Rights and Democracy Architecture
- Author:
- Kelley Currie
- Publication Date:
- 12-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Project 2049 Institute
- Abstract:
- The report examines the history, current status and future trends of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), the Bali Democracy Forum (BDF), and the Asia Pacific Democracy Partnership (APDP). The report also looks at the role that key countries in and around the region are playing in the development of these mechanisms, as well as in shaping the broader context for improved human rights and democratic governance.
- Topic:
- Human Rights, Governance, Democracy, and ASEAN
- Political Geography:
- Asia
50144. Trade, Recovery and Sustainable Economic Growth
- Author:
- Pascal Lamy
- Publication Date:
- 04-2010
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Argentine Council for International Relations (CARI)
- Abstract:
- Economists have long analysed and helped us understand trade, why nations needed it to prosper, and what governments have to do to reap the gains while managing the costs. The many theories they have developed leave no doubt about the importance of trade to growth and economic development.
- Topic:
- Economic Growth, Trade, and Sustainability
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
50145. Issues In Fiscal Policy Management Under The Economic Reforms
- Author:
- Bright Okogu
- Publication Date:
- 02-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA)
- Abstract:
- Oil-dependent economies face two interrelated challenges in the management of oil resources: in the short run, there is the need to create a stable macroeconomic environment by delinking oil revenue earnings from public expenditures, while in the long run it is necessary to maintain a sustainable use of resources that ensures intergenerational equity. In most of the past three decades, Nigeria's management of oil resources was poor. The Nigerian economy has experienced significant macroeconomic volatility, driven largely by external terms-of-trade shocks, the country's large reliance on oil export earnings and poor policy choices in the management of oil revenues. By some measures, Nigeria ranked among the most volatile economies in the world for the period 19602000. Moreover, contrary to the received wisdom of increasing financial assets as a means of saving oil revenues, Nigeria had accrued significant domestic and foreign liabilities.
- Topic:
- Oil, Reform, Economy, Macroeconomics, and Fiscal Policy
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Nigeria
50146. Implementing The Fiscal Responsibility Act At The State Level In Nigeria
- Author:
- Vanessa Ushie
- Publication Date:
- 10-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA)
- Abstract:
- Fiscal responsibility acts have become increasingly common tools to enhance fiscal prudence and public expenditure transparency in many countries. In Nigeria, fiscal profligacy at the sub-national level has emerged as a major contributor to state corruption and macroeconomic instability.
- Topic:
- Corruption, Economics, Fiscal Policy, and Public Spending
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Nigeria
50147. Foreign Aid And The Real Exchange Rate In The West African Economic And Monetary Union
- Author:
- Eberechukwu Uneze
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA)
- Abstract:
- This paper examines the relationship between foreign aid and the real exchange rate to determine how the competitiveness of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) is affected by foreign aid.
- Topic:
- Economics, Foreign Aid, Exchange Rates, Competition, and West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU)
- Political Geography:
- Africa and West Africa
50148. New START Verification: Fitting the Means to the Ends
- Author:
- Greg Thielmann
- Publication Date:
- 02-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Arms Control Association
- Abstract:
- The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) promises to lock in significant reductions in U.S. and Russian strategic arsenals by establishing lower ceilings on deployed weapons. The treaty’s verification provisions are means to that end--providing confidence that the sides are complying with those lower limits. Although the goal is to establish the high confidence levels maintained during the 15 years of the original START (1994-2009), the successor agreement will achieve that goal with more focused and up-to-date methods, including innovative verification provisions for deployed warhead ceilings. START’s multilayered limits and the elaborate verification measures flowing out of them were born of the Cold War. New START verification can be streamlined in accordance with the new, simplified limits and in response to post-Cold War realities. In assessing the new treaty, it is critical that verification provisions be judged by how well they fulfill their core function.
- Topic:
- Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, and New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START)
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Eurasia, North America, and United States of America
50149. New START Verification: Up to the Challenge
- Author:
- Greg Thielmann
- Publication Date:
- 05-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Arms Control Association
- Abstract:
- The multilayered limits of the original Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) and the elaborate verification measures flowing out of them were born of the difficult negotiations conducted in the waning days of the Soviet Union. The streamlined verification measures in the New START agreement, finalized in April 2010, are an appropriate response to the replacement treaty’s specific limits, which are designed to address post-Cold War realities. Combining proof-tested measures from 15 years of START implementation with new approaches to contemporary challenges, New START verification provisions are well suited to fulfill their core function. These provisions promise to permit the same high confidence in compliance achieved when the original START was in force, but will do so with more focused and up-to-date methods, including innovative verification provisions for monitoring deployed warhead ceilings.
- Topic:
- Arms Control and Proliferation, Cold War, Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, and New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START)
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
50150. Major Proposals to Strengthen the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty: A Resource Guide for the 2010 Review Conference
- Author:
- Cole Harvey
- Publication Date:
- 03-2010
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Arms Control Association
- Abstract:
- This report lays out the debates surrounding this essential treaty on issues such as verification, disarmament, the nuclear fuel cycle, and others. It includes a detailed pictorial timeline of the NPT, as well key treaty-related documents. The report is a useful guide for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of this cornerstone of the international nonproliferation regime.
- Topic:
- Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, and Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT)
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus