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Begin New Search Topic Governance Political Geography Global Focus Content Type Journal Article Publication Year within 5 Years

1. The Monroe Doctrine as the Will and Idea of the United States of America

Author:
Boris Martynov
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
East View Information Services
Abstract:
On February 24, 2022, international relations entered a whole new stage of development affecting, albeit to varying degrees, practically all states, with no end in sight. On September 7, 2022, speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the world was experiencing “fundamental transformations.” Such transformations generally require several years to be completed. By the middle of the third decade of the 21st century, two highly important signs of a new situation have become absolutely clear: a crisis of the old institutions of global governance and the new rising and developing centers of power. At the same time, the opinion that the new is just the “well-forgotten old” is confirmed. This is especially true of the US and its policies.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, History, Governance, Law, Psychology, Identity, and Monroe Doctrine
Political Geography:
Russia, Global Focus, and United States of America

2. Extraordinary Legal Measures and Their Application as a Response of States to the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author:
Boguslaw Stanislaw Przywora and Karol Dobrzeniecki
Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
The topic of the present article is the response of states to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic by using extraordinary legal measures provided for in their constitutions and legislation. By reference to the research project's findings, the authors characterise the legal solutions in selected jurisdictions and attempt to demonstrate the relationship between the application of emergency measures and the specific political system of states. By doing so, the authors consider such factors as the territory, population, or type of political regime.
Topic:
Governance, Pandemic, COVID-19, Health Crisis, and Legal Sector
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3. Space Traffic Management (STM) – Legal Aspects

Author:
Malgorzata Polkowska
Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
Space Traffic Management (STM) is a new concept referring to space activities. The highest priority is the safety and security of outer space and all conducted operations. There is no definition of STM. There is an urgent need to regulate STM providing safety and security regulations at the international, regional, and national levels. Because there is no STM definition, the regulator might use the example of existing regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organization on Air Traffic Management (ATM). European EUSST is a good example of being a “precursor” of STM. However, many questions are still open regarding specific regulations needed to create an STM system, such as at which level they should be made: globally, regionally, or nationally.
Topic:
International Cooperation, Territorial Disputes, Governance, and Space
Political Geography:
Global Focus

4. Multilateralism and the Superpower

Author:
Jeremy Greenstock
Publication Date:
02-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
American Diplomacy
Institution:
American Diplomacy
Abstract:
Editor’s note: The author served as UK Ambassador to the UN 1998-2003. The UN, with its network of institutions and agencies, is the only truly global organisation. It is a great experiment, not in global governance, because the political direction of the UN lies firmly in the hands of sovereign nations, but in providing both norms and tools for managing the international arena 1. Its system is flawed and may well be unimprovable. But what it tries to do, and does, is indispensable for the avoidance of catastrophic war and for the development of a sustainable world. The UN as an institution is also, not unlike the American Constitution, an adversary of raw power. Born in an era of war and empire, its charter and principles provide shelter and help for weaker nations, and set limitations on the capacity of the strongest countries to throw their weight around selfishly—the generator of empires and wars. It came into being at the instigation of the great powers, and so they know —or they used to know—what they were creating and why. The United States was at the centre of it, seeing it as a great step towards the ending of the era of imperialism. The UN is not just about what happens in the Security Council. The work of the Secretariat, the funds, agencies and programmes, and indeed of several of the intergovernmental institutions such as ECOSOC, is primarily dedicated to every aspect of international development. They act on the premise that if a large part of the world is racked by poverty and disease, the more fortunate part will not have a stable environment in which to enjoy their relative success. The history of regional conflict over the last 75 years bears this out. As the UK’s Permanent Representative between 1998 and 2003, with a permanent place on the Security Council, I made a point of setting my inevitable focus on the Council’s work in the context of this wider UN purpose. The maintenance of international peace and security is an essential component of sustainable development, not just an end in itself.
Topic:
Security, United Nations, Governance, Sustainable Development Goals, Multilateralism, and Peace
Political Geography:
Global Focus and United States of America

5. Tianxia (All-Under-Heaven): An Alternative System or a Rose by another Name?

Author:
Mehmet Şahin
Publication Date:
07-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace
Institution:
Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research
Abstract:
Tianxia is considered as an alternative institutionalization to govern the international system. It refers to world governance that is regulated by a world institution. Accordingly, a world institution plays the harmonizer role under this system. States, on the other hand, choose their economic models and the leader organizes the relations among different units. This paper thus argues that Tianxia is an alternative framework to Western-oriented IR theories. In that sense, this article aims to explore the similarities between the philosophical idea of Tianxia and Western-oriented IR Theory. More specifically, the article explores the issue from the international system perspective. The epistemological gaps and ontological similarities between the two frameworks will be demonstrated.
Topic:
International Relations, Governance, International Relations Theory, and International System
Political Geography:
China, Asia, and Global Focus

6. Public Policy: An Amorphous Concept in the Enforcement of Arbitral Awards

Author:
Akousa Serwaah Akoto
Publication Date:
03-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:
Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:
Public policy permeates the legal principles of a state and its ruling government. The justification of public policy is topical to the ethics and canons acknowledged by that state. These values are determined by the applicable political, social, economic, religious, and legal systems, which differ among states. As public policy usually best illuminates the broad area of government laws, regulations, provincial ordinances, and court decisions, the standards creating public policy alter as states develop. The motif of public policy is critical when the question of enforcement of arbitral awards suffice. There is no definite meaning of the term in the famous Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York Arbitration Convention) to enforce foreign arbitral awards. Hence, this paper explores and traces some contemporary trends in defense of public policy as an exception to the enforcement of arbitral awards worldwide.
Topic:
Governance, Law, Regulation, and Public Policy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

7. How Govenrment Outflow and Public Debt Affect Inflation: Evidence from See Countries

Author:
Ereza A. Arifi
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Abstract:
The study aims to address public debt and government outflow affecting inflation in some of the countries of Southeast Europe, observing a combination of factors both theoretically and econometrically. The investigation included six (6) SEE countries, including the 2006-2020 timeframe, with 90 observations. The dynamic approach, the fixed effect, and the Arellano/Bond estimator were used to check the parameters considered in the study using panel data. Furthermore, the study also applied diagnostic tests such as the Sargan over-identifying restrictions and Pedroni test for cointegration. The results of the fixed effect and Arellano / Bond estimation demonstrate that public debt, current budget outflows, and capital budget outflows affect inflation, while overall budget outflows are insignificant. For further studies, it would be useful to apply other dynamic models by applying other specific factors, which will be considered as a useful contribution to the academic, research, and policy-making structures.
Topic:
Financial Crisis, Governance, Finance, Inflation, and Public Debt
Political Geography:
Global Focus

8. Going Beyond the Add-and-Stir Critique: Tracing the Hybrid Masculinist Legacies of the Performative State

Author:
Amya Agarwal
Publication Date:
08-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:
A West-centric knowledge bias has plagued International Relations (IR) for some time, prompting many non-West scholars to develop indigenous knowledge systems. In doing so, there is, however, a risk of both essentialization of certain cultures/histories; and reproducing the hierarchic and exclusionary structure of knowledge production. Moving beyond the add and stir critique style of non-Western approaches to IR, this paper explores the significance of connections and hybrid histories to understand gendered state practices. Through a case study of state performance in Kashmir, the paper traces the hybrid masculinist legacies (colonial, Brahminical and Kshatriya) derived from both Western and non-Western histories.
Topic:
International Relations, Gender Issues, Governance, State Building, and Masculinity
Political Geography:
Global Focus

9. Women and Children First

Author:
Elena Habersky
Publication Date:
04-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Cairo Review of Global Affairs
Institution:
School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
Abstract:
Women and children migrant voices, especially after the pandemic, must be amplified in discussions around the Global Compact, which aims to bring world governments in line with good and safe migration governance.
Topic:
Migration, Governance, Children, Women, Humanitarian Crisis, and Gender
Political Geography:
Global Focus

10. Contemporary Challenges to Global Democracy

Author:
Erica Frantz
Publication Date:
03-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
Today’s democracies are under threat. According to the watchdog organiza- tion Freedom House, each year of the past decade has seen a decline in global democracy.1 Importantly, many of these declines have occurred in wealthier and more established democracies, which scholars have typically considered resistant to democratic backsliding. In some instances, these erosions have left democracies weakened, such as in India and the United States; however, in other instances, they have led to complete democratic collapse and the emergence of authoritarianism, such as in Turkey and Serbia.
Topic:
Governance, Democracy, Dictatorship, Political Crisis, and Autocracy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

11. June 2020 Issue

Author:
Paul Cruickshank, Don Rassler, Audrey Alexander, Chelsea Daymon, Meili Criezis, Christopher Hockey, Michael Jones, Mark Dubowitz, Saeed Ghasseminejad, and Nikita Malik
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
CTC Sentinel
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
COVID-19 is arguably the biggest crisis the planet has faced since the Second World War and will likely have significant impacts on international security in ways which can and cannot be anticipated. For this special issue on COVID-19 and counterterrorism, we convened five of the best and brightest thinkers in our field for a virtual roundtable on the challenges ahead. In the words of Magnus Ranstorp, “COVID-19 and extremism are the perfect storm.” According to another of the panelists, Lieutenant General (Ret) Michael Nagata, “the time has come to acknowledge the stark fact that despite enormous expenditures of blood/treasure to ‘kill, capture, arrest’ our way to strategic counterterrorism success, there are more terrorists globally today than on 9/11, and COVID-19 will probably lead to the creation of more.” Audrey Kurth Cronin put it this way: “COVID-19 is a boost to non-status quo actors of every type. Reactions to the pandemic—or more specifically, reactions to governments’ inability to respond to it effectively—are setting off many types of political violence, including riots, hate crimes, intercommunal tensions, and the rise of criminal governance. Terrorism is just one element of the growing political instability as people find themselves suffering economically, unable to recreate their pre-COVID lives.” The roundtable identified bioterrorism as a particular concern moving forward, with Juan Zarate noting that “the severity and extreme disruption of a novel coronavirus will likely spur the imagination of the most creative and dangerous groups and individuals to reconsider bioterrorist attacks.” Ali Soufan warned that “although the barriers to entry for terrorists to get their hands on bio weapons remain high, they are gradually being lowered due to technological advances and the democratization of science.” The special issue also features five articles. Audrey Alexander examines the security threat COVID-19 poses to the northern Syria detention camps holding Islamic State members, drawing on a wide range of source materials, including recent interviews she conducted with General Mazloum Abdi, the top commander of the SDF, and former U.S. CENTCOM Commander Joseph Votel. Chelsea Daymon and Meili Criezis untangle the pandemic narratives spun by Islamic State supporters online. Christopher Hockey and Michael Jones assess al-Shabaab’s response to the spread of COVID-19 in Somalia. Mark Dubowitz and Saeed Ghasseminejad document how the Iranian regime has spread disinformation relating to the pandemic. Finally, Nikita Malik discusses the overlaps between pandemic preparedness and countering terrorism from a U.K. perspective.
Topic:
Communications, Governance, Counter-terrorism, Media, Islamic State, Crisis Management, Al Shabaab, Pandemic, COVID-19, and Disinformation
Political Geography:
Africa, United Kingdom, Iran, Middle East, Syria, and Global Focus

12. Enhancing Environmental Protection During Occupation Through Human Rights

Author:
Karen Hulme
Publication Date:
07-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:
Environmental protection is not specifically included in treaty law relating to State obligations during situations of occupation. While clearly not of the same scale as damage caused to the environment during armed conflict, damage caused during occupation is often similar in nature – largely due to those who seek to exploit any governance vacuum and a failure to restore damaged environments. What can human rights offer in helping to protect the environment during occupations? What protection can be offered by an analysis of environmental human rights law?
Topic:
Environment, Human Rights, Governance, and Conflict
Political Geography:
Global Focus

13. International Migration amid a World in Crisis

Author:
Joseph Chamie
Publication Date:
09-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal on Migration and Human Security
Institution:
Center for Migration Studies of New York
Abstract:
This article comprehensively examines international migration trends and policies in light of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. It begins by reviewing migration developments throughout the past 60 years. It then examines pandemic-related migration trends and policies. It concludes with a series of general observations and insights that should guide local, national, regional, and international policymakers, moving forward. In particular, it proposes the following: National measures to combat COVID-19 should include international migrants, irrespective of their legal status, and should complement regional and international responses. Localities, nations, and the international community should prioritize the safe return and reintegration of migrants. States and international agencies should plan for the gradual re-emergence of large-scale migration based on traditional push and pull forces once a COVID-19 vaccine is widely available. States should redouble their efforts to reconcile national border security concerns and the basic human rights of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. States and the international community should accelerate their efforts to address climate-related migration. States of origin, transit, and destination should directly address the challenges of international migration and not minimize them.
Topic:
Migration, Governance, Borders, Public Health, Humanitarian Crisis, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Global Focus

14. State Human Rights Performance and Recommendations under the Universal Periodic Review

Author:
Eric Cox
Publication Date:
01-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace
Institution:
Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research
Abstract:
This paper analyzes recommendations made to states under the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in order to determine whether or not the UPR is making meaningful recommendations to states under review. The UPR reviews the human rights of all UN Member States every four years. During the review, each state receives a number of recommendations from other UN member states. This paper uses data from UPR Info to determine if states with better human rights performance as measured by the CIRI human rights data project receive fewer recommendations than states with worse performance. It finds that, even when controlling for other factors, states with worse records on civil and political rights generally receive more recommendations than states with better records. States with lower scores from CIRI on women's economic and political rights receive more recommendations regarding women's issues than states with higher scores. These findings hold regardless of region, suggesting that, at a minimum, the UPR process is identifying violators of human rights.
Topic:
Human Rights, United Nations, and Governance
Political Geography:
Global Focus

15. Lessons Learned from Modern Slavery Addressing Shared Challenges in Measurement for Statelessness Researchers

Author:
Davina P. Durgana
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Statelessness & Citizenship Review
Institution:
Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, Melbourne Law School
Abstract:
Modern slavery and statelessness research efforts present an opportunity for a collaborative and shared research agenda. This discussion focuses on the importance of measurement for both modern slavery and statelessness research, a proposed shared research agenda for statelessness and modern slavery in the Americas, and challenges statelessness researchers face that can be addressed by best practices from the modern slavery field. This discussion is informed by the work of Walk Free — made possible by the Minderoo Foundation — a leader in the modern slavery space and producer of the Global Slavery Index ( ‘GSI’).1 The GSI is the world’s most comprehensive study on the prevalence of modern slavery and enables us to refine our thinking on how to better respond to this crime, and how to prevent modern slavery in the future.2 Effective measurement of modern slavery is the cornerstone of evidence-based policy making in our field and can have a similarly powerful impact on statelessness research. This symposium on the challenges, solutions and best practices of measurement in modern slavery — and how it can inform statelessness research — is a critical opportunity to ensure that all stakeholders feel empowered to interpret and use our collective findings.
Topic:
Governance, Slavery, and Stateless Population
Political Geography:
Global Focus

16. A ‘Place’ for Stateless People? Connecting Place-Based Research with Statelessness

Author:
Alison Gardner and Phil Northall
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Statelessness & Citizenship Review
Institution:
Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, Melbourne Law School
Abstract:
This symposium contribution presents something of a paradox: what can techniques that are designed to address policy and practice in a particular space offer to researching the issue of statelessness? Statelessness, after all, is often characterised as a condition of legal and sometimes physical limbo. Connections between statelessness and forms of contemporary slavery also tend to focus on the ramifications of movement. For example, the trafficking of people across borders results in many people losing evidence and benefits of citizenship, at least temporarily. In cases where people are exploited by members of their own family or by organised gangs operating within their own community, the ability to return to their home nation may be severely compromised. As a foreign national in the United Kingdom, being without a ‘conclusive grounds’ decision in regard to your claim of modern slavery can be detrimental to your case for asylum,1 leaving you effectively stateless.However, if we want to address the challenges faced by individuals in respect to statelessness, it is also valuable to understand the personal, local, cultural, legislative and structural context in which those issues occur. Place-based approaches provide a framework for this synthesis. The British Academy describes place-based policy-making as ‘aligning the design and resourcing of policy at the most appropriate scale of place, in order to develop meaningful solutions, which improve people's lives’.2 The optimal size and scope of any place-based initiative can vary, but relate to the nature of the problem and to resources, institutions, assets and communities that contribute to improving outcomes. Place-based research, policy-making and activism are often developed in response to complex social problems with the aim of achieving transformation.3This approach may be targeted at specific population groups or communities, or concentrate on a particular issue in a given location. ‘Place’ may also be thought of not just as a material concept, but also as the product of social relations, networks and the integration of global and local influences. It is constructed through time, and contested through power relations, creating an arena for debate, conflict and co-production.4Much antislavery activity in the UK is now delivered by local place-based partnerships, which bring together statutory and non-statutory stakeholders across a defined area to offer a wide spectrum of prevention activity, awareness raising and survivor support. While the approach to modern slavery in the UK has been dominated by a criminal justice framing at the national level, partnerships at the local level enable a more nuanced response, which can incorporate attention to the wider ‘social determinants’ of modern slavery including societal drivers for exploitation, legislative and structural barriers to assistance, and community and corporate responsibilities in response to the problem. Place-based responses also offer a forum to engage a wider cross-section of voices — including those directly affected by exploitation — towards identifying solutions and assets that can help individuals and communities to flourish. We can illustrate this in more depth through considering a case study of the development of place-based antislavery action and research in Nottinghamshire, a county in the Midlands of the UK.
Topic:
Governance, Identity, and Stateless Population
Political Geography:
Global Focus

17. Climate governance and International Civil Aviation: Brazil's policy profile

Author:
Veronica Korber Gonçalves and Marcela Anselmi
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:
Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:
After almost 20 years, states agreed at the ICAO on the creation of Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). The article aims at analyzing the Brazilian role in the negotiations and presenting the debate about CORSIA in Brazil. CORSIA may encourage the expansion of offset projects in Brazil, changing local political dynamics and resulting in different environmental impacts.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, Governance, and Aviation
Political Geography:
Brazil, South America, and Global Focus

18. Global Governance of Terrorism and Transnational Organized Crimes: Challenges and Complexities | Terrörizm ve Ulusötesi Organize Suçların Küresel Yönetişimi: Zorluklar ve Karmaşıklıklar

Author:
Halil Peçe
Publication Date:
04-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Novus Orbis: Journal of Politics & International Relations
Institution:
Department of International Relations, Karadeniz Technical University
Abstract:
In recent years, with the globalising world, countries are trying to obtain too many military equipment such as nuclear weapons, continental rockets, and high-tech armours. On the other hand, every service is becoming more private which used to belong to the government in history. After the cold war era, security details such as border security, presidential protection, abroad activities, intelligence, and security strategy are provided by private organisations. This study tries to explain what is ‘cold war? , what is a private military company? What is the change for the private military industry after cold war?’ | Küreselleşme nedeniyle artık bir yerel sorundan bahsetmek zor olmaktadır. Bunun yanında, teknolojik gelişmeler erişim kolaylığı ve sosyal medya gibi yeni imkânlar sunmaktadır. Bütün bunlar göz önüne alındığında, terörist gruplar daha önce görülmemiş bir kolaylıkla propaganda yapıp, takipçilerini yönlendirebilmektedirler. 11 Eylül saldırılarından bu yana, terörizm tartışmaları ve çalışmaları üzerine yoğunlaşma devam etmektedir. Terörizme karşı tek taraflı çabalar meşruiyet eksikliği ve meselelere çözüm bağlamında uzlaşma olmaması dolayısıyla küresel yönetişimi daha karmaşık hale getirmektedir. Güncel küresel meselelerin daha iyi anlaşılabilmesi adına terör ve sınır aşırı organize suçların etraflıca analiz edilmesi gerekmektedir. Oluşabilecek otorite boşluklarına çözüm üretme adına uluslararası örgütler harekete geçmek zorundadır. Aksi halde, yeni terörist örgütlerin tartışmalı bölgelerden ortaya çıkacak ve sınır aşırı organize suçlar dolayısıyla elde edilen gelirlerin bu örgütlerin eylemlerini finanse edecektir. Her ne kadar Birleşmiş Milletlerin küresel problemlere çözüm üretmesi gereken kurum olduğu düşünülse de, BM organlarının terörizm ve sınır aşan suçlar özelinde etkili olduğunu söylemek zor olacaktır. Bunun ötesinde, terörizm tanımının ne olduğu noktasında netliğin olmaması, egemen devletlere çıkarlarına göre bir terörizm tanımı yapmalarına imkân sağlamaktadır. Genellikle devletler çözümün parçası olmak yerine problemin bir parçası olma eğilimindedirler. Böylece, küresel yönetişim çatışmaların çözüme kavuşması noktasında ciddi zorluklarla karşılaşmaktadır. Bu çalışma bu zorluklar üzerine odaklanmaktadır.
Topic:
Terrorism, United Nations, Governance, Transnational Actors, and 9/11
Political Geography:
Global Focus

19. Local Self-Government as a Problem of Political Theory

Author:
Łukasz Swieciki
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
The article aims at restoring local self-government as a research problem of political theory. In contemporary political science literature, local self-government is not treated as one of its normal, standard research problems. The main obstacle of its ambiguous position within political theory is, as I argue, the forced and imposed apolitical character of local self-government considered as a part of public administration. Despite some degree of organizational, especially institutional and legal, self-determination, the local self-government is not a political, i.e. sovereign entity. However, its non-sovereign status, which is legally established, does not exclude the existence of political potency in it.
Topic:
Sovereignty, Political Theory, Governance, Legitimacy, and Local
Political Geography:
Global Focus

20. The State and Local Self-Government. Territorial Organization of the State

Author:
Radoslaw Kaminski
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
Local self-government constitutes a part of executive power in the state, with the state’s law underlying its functioning. Local government remains under the state’s supervision, representing a form of the political system within the decentralized public administration. 2018 marks 20 years of the functioning of local self-government based on a three-tier structure. The aim of the paper is an attempt at finding the answer to the question whether or not the organizational solutions adopted by the legislator and established in practice need to undergo reforms and if so, to what extent? The question thus formulated relates directly to the argument that the organization of local government system is not sound while the criteria assumed in the territorial breakdown of the local government organization do not correspond to the conditions in which those units operate, and therefore what appears necessary is for the system to be reorganized and the number of units at individual tiers to be reduced. The paper presents selected problems of the local administration in the context of a systemic organization and suggest possible (or necessary) changes which, in the author’s view, should become a subject of discussion (and in practice are such) between local selfgovernment and government administration.
Topic:
Governance, Reform, Local, Decentralization, Federalism, and Territory
Political Geography:
Global Focus

21. Local Self-Governments as New Actors in the International Stage. The Scope of the Issue

Author:
Stanisław Falinski
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
The aim of the article is to present, in a short and a synthetic form, self-governments as new actors on the international arena. Discussed are the genesis and the development of this new international activities being undertaken by local residential areas such as the “twinning movement” and the programme for establishing “sister cities”. Briefly described are the key international organizations focused on the local self-governance. Discussed is also, in a relative detail, is the cooperation of the Polish self-governance entities with local self-governance partners within the international sphere. The author concludes by attempting to define the scope and importance of the international cooperation of local self-governance entities in general and its impact on the individual participating partners.
Topic:
International Cooperation, Governance, Local, Decentralization, and Federalism
Political Geography:
Global Focus

22. Saving Democracy Abroad

Author:
Robert M. Perito and Donald J. Planty
Publication Date:
10-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
PRISM
Institution:
Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
Abstract:
Democratic governments are under siege around the world from forces that threaten the basic principles of representative government—freely elected leaders, democratic institutions, and the rule of law. In countries as diverse as Azerbaijan, Cambodia, and Egypt, authoritarian leaders have “snuffed out civil society, suborned or faked elections, asphyxiated free expression, and repressed human rights.” Populist regimes are consolidating power in Europe and Latin America where citizens have lost faith in political institutions and rejected conventional leaders. Centralized authoritarian governments in Russia and China have put forward an alternative autocratic governance model and are striving for world leadership. Meanwhile, democracy in the United States has taken a dangerous turn.
Topic:
Corruption, Governance, Authoritarianism, Elections, Democracy, and Leadership
Political Geography:
Global Focus

23. The Conditions of 'Savages'? Statelessness, Politics, and Race in Hannah Arendt’s The Origins of Totalitarianism

Author:
Michiel Bot
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Statelessness & Citizenship Review
Institution:
Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, Melbourne Law School
Abstract:
This article explores the ways in which race enters our analyses of statelessness when we build those analyses (partly) on Hannah Arendt’s arguments in ‘Imperialism’. Through close readings of Arendt’s ambivalent use of race in this text, the article demonstrates that critically confronting Arendt’s repeated comparison of stateless people to ‘barbarians’ and ‘savages’ is useful for confronting the connections between statelessness, politics and race in the present. The article argues that such a critical confrontation can yield three things. First, the realisation that thinking through the politics enacted by de jure or de facto stateless people who have been forced to live in the conditions of ‘savages’ requires that we situate this politics within the history of imperialism and post-colonialism. Second, an awareness of the need to consider the connections between the political production of statelessness and the political production of race. And third, the realisation that an effective politics of people who have been forced into de jure or de facto statelessness must include a politics of anti-racism.
Topic:
Governance, Authoritarianism, Totalitarianism, and Stateless Population
Political Geography:
Global Focus

24. Brazil in the global anticorruption regime

Author:
Marcos Tourinho
Publication Date:
12-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:
Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:
Brazilian anticorruption law and institutions were significantly transformed in recent decades. This article traces those transformations and explains how the international anticorruption and money laundering regimes contributed to their development. It argues that those international regimes were internalised in the Brazilian system through three mechanisms: inspiration and legitimation, coercion, and implementation support, and were critical to the transformation of Brazilian institutions.
Topic:
Corruption, Governance, and Financial Crimes
Political Geography:
Brazil, South America, and Global Focus

25. Economic and Energy Aspirations of the Middle East

Author:
Carole Nakhle
Publication Date:
07-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Fletcher Security Review
Institution:
The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Abstract:
The Middle East has several features that distinguish it from the rest of the world. Apart from sitting on the largest proven oil and gas reserves, the region is famous for its complicated politics, challenging demographics and fragile economic structures. ​ For oil- and gas-rich states, limited economic diversification is acute; this is where we find government dependence on hydrocarbon revenues reaching as high as 95 percent in countries like Iraq. This is also where we find a poorly diversified primary energy mix, which is heavily reliant on oil and gas, in a sharp contrast to the norm elsewhere where local energy needs are met by diverse sources of energy, mainly oil, gas, coal, nuclear, and renewable energy. ​ The lack of diversification – both in terms of the economy and energy mix – brings serious challenges for the region. The economic performance of the oil- and gas-rich states has simply mimicked the volatile and unpredictable movement in oil prices: when oil prices are high, these economies grow rapidly, but when oil prices go in the other direction, they shrink in tandem. Additionally, the dependence on oil and gas to meet local energy needs has caused two problems: first, the trade-off between the more lucrative exports and the highly subsidized domestic market, and second, the higher carbon footprint because of the absence of greener sources of energy. ​ In a world where international competition for global market share in oil and gas and the fight against climate change intensify, the region’s leaders seem to be increasingly convinced that the old model of governance is simply not sustainable...
Topic:
Climate Change, Energy Policy, International Trade and Finance, Oil, Governance, and Economy
Political Geography:
Middle East, Global Focus, and Gulf Nations

26. The Undemocratic Dilemma

Author:
Yascha Mounk
Publication Date:
04-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Democracy
Institution:
National Endowment for Democracy
Abstract:
Over the past decades, the ability of liberal democracies around the world to translate popular views into public policy has declined. This is a result of two major developments: Legislatures have become less reflective of popular opinion because of the growing role of money in politics. At the same time, they have also become less powerful because of the growing importance of bureaucratic agencies, central banks, judicial review, free trade, and international institutions. But there are no easy solutions, since some of these institutions are needed to meet high expectations on government performance. The “technocratic dilemma” thus poses a real threat to liberal democracy’s ability to meet the public’s twin demands of responsiveness and performance.
Topic:
Economics, Governance, Democracy, and Liberal Order
Political Geography:
Global Focus

27. Why States Fail

Author:
John H.S. Aberg
Publication Date:
09-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Conflict Trends
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
he tentative argument made in this article is that “failed states” have failed to develop successful projects of internal colonialism. Yet, in the present era, human rights norms and world society governance models denounce states that pursue internal colonial projects. This paradox highlights the great challenge of state making in the present age. Internal colonialism can be defined in terms of a failed state concept that conceives of the state along a strong-weak state continuum, based on three core factors: the monopoly of the legitimate use of force, effective institutions and national consensus.1 In that order, they relate to coercive power, administrative and infrastructural power, and cultural hegemony. Succeeding with these three core aspects of state making has historically been an internal colonial process – that is, it involved (1) pacification and subduance of enemies of the state; (2) dismantling of the existence of parallel institutions; and (3) suppression of rival cultural frameworks. The campaign of the Argentine state to establish dominance over Patagonia, known as the Conquest of the Desert, is an example of this internal colonial process, which had catastrophic effects for the indigenous people who inhabited the area. This was in line with the dominant understanding of the Westphalian ideal of the state where authority is one, bureaucracy is one and nation is one – and together they make up the trinity of the modern state. The fundamental contradiction between internal and external sovereignty inherent in the modern Westphalian system is evident.2 States gained external sovereignty through recognition before they gained internal sovereignty within their territories. Therefore, to establish internal sovereignty, states needed to engage in internal colonialism – that is, processes of organised violence, bureaucratic expansion and cultural assimilation. States that fail these processes thus fail in their projects of internal colonialism and, hence, fail in their state making project as conceived by the Westphalian ideal of the state.
Topic:
Governance, Fragile States, Colonialism, and State Building
Political Geography:
Global Focus