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3481. European Union recovery funds: strings attached, but not tied up in knots

Author:
Jean Pisani-Ferry
Publication Date:
10-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Bruegel
Abstract:
The European Union’s plan for aiding recovery in member states hit by the coronavirus crisis has been rightly hailed as a major breakthrough for the bloc. But there is much less clarity on the plan’s economic aims, its priorities and the content of the contractual arrangements it should entail between the EU and member countries. The plan’s main plank, the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) is widely seen as a short-term Keynesian stimulus. The EU debt is expected to be repaid through contributions from member states, but this has not stopped the resulting transfers as being seen, including by national governments, as money from heaven. There has also been controversy over the conditions attached to grants and loans. Such fuzziness over objectives and overloaded procedures can derail the RRF. The EU needs to make an effort to provide clarity from the outset and put the plan on the right track. It should acknowledge and emphasise that the main goal of the RRF is not to contribute to immediate relief or a Keynesian stimulus, but to foster structural transformation, especially in less-advanced and harder-hit member states. The EU should hold back from trying to impose through overall policy conditionality its reform agenda on the member states. Instead, there should be a narrow-conditionality approach in which reforms that strongly complement intended investments should be identified and bundled with that investment. A grant aimed at encouraging decarbonisation in the transport sector, for example, would, be made conditional on the elimination of transport fuel subsidies. Therefore, in national recovery and resilience plans, each bundle of investments and reforms should be focused on the limited set of policy measures that need to be implemented to maximise the impact of EU-financed investment. Meanwhile, complementarity across objectives should be addressed through a dialogue with each member state on the sectoral allocation of EU funding and the overall architecture of their recovery and resilience plans. And the EU should emphasise when relevant the cross-border dimension of investment plans and find ways to encourage member states to cooperate on the design and the implementation of their plans.
Topic:
Governance, Budget, European Union, Macroeconomics, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Europe

3482. Tibet Leadership in Exile and the Indo-Pacific Strategy

Author:
Ellen Bork
Publication Date:
09-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Project 2049 Institute
Abstract:
In this publication, Ellen Bork, Visiting Fellow at the Project 2049 Institute, examines the historical basis for Washington’s Tibet policy to demonstrate that America’s position on Tibet originates from misguided strategic assumptions about the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its ambitions in Tibet, the Indo-Pacific region, and the liberal world order. The author asserts that the time has come for Washington to revise the United States’ policy toward Tibet and its democratic government-in-exile, as a critical component of America’s free and open Indo-Pacific strategy. Leading the way, Bork provides a roadmap of recommendations for Washington, including the adoption of democratic legitimacy as the basis of Tibet policy, the enlistment of supportive democracies in establishing a unified position, prioritizing the issue at international organizations, and engaging Tibetan leadership, among others.
Topic:
Sovereignty, Diaspora, Territorial Disputes, Democracy, Leadership, and Chinese Communist Party (CCP)
Political Geography:
China, Nepal, Tibet, United States of America, and Indo-Pacific

3483. Emerging from COVID: Policy Responses to the Pandemic

Author:
Ben Bland, Alexandre Dayant, John Edwards, Stephen Grenville, Natasha Kassam, Herve Lemahieu, Alyssa Leng, Richard McGregor, Shane McLeod, Alex Oliver, Jonathan Pryke, Roland Rajah, Sam Roggeveen, and Sam Scott
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:
The fight against COVID-19 has been the greatest challenge the world has faced since the middle of last century. As countries have fought to control the disease, they have closed borders, quarantined their citizens, and shut down economies almost entirely. The ramifications will reverberate for years, if not decades, to come. In April 2020, the Lowy Institute published a digital feature in which twelve Institute experts examined the ways in which the COVID crisis would affect Australia, the region and the world. In this new feature, Lowy Institute experts provide policy recommendations for Australia to address issues that are critical to our nation’s — and the world’s — successful emergence from the pandemic. Countries have turned inwards in an attempt to fend off the threat of an infection that is oblivious to borders. Some have seen globalisation as the cause of the crisis, and have focused on solving problems without recourse to the international institutions of global security and prosperity, including the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and the G20. Yet global problems require international solutions. As the world emerges from the crisis, cooperation between nations will be more important than ever. Nation states cannot revive their economies purely through national solutions. They cannot address global threats, including the possibility of further pandemics, alone. Australia’s achievements in managing the COVID crisis have been exemplary. It has handled the health and economic emergency with great competence. But this is just the beginning of our crisis recovery. The challenges in our region, and the global problems that existed before COVID, have only been exacerbated by the pandemic. Australia has already done much to address the domestic economic and health issues from the COVID crisis. But to shape a prosperous and secure future, it will also need to work in cooperation with other nations, large and small, allies and partners, on a much broader array of international issues ranging from the economic disruption across the region, pressure from China on trade, and development challenges in the Pacific, to increasingly competitive relations between the United States and China, the weakening of the World Health Organization, and the declining utility of the G20.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Economics, Health, World Health Organization, G20, Geopolitics, COVID-19, and International Order
Political Geography:
China, Indonesia, Australia, and United States of America

3484. Keeping Indonesia's economy afloat through the COVID-19 pandemic

Author:
Roland Rajah and Stephen Grenville
Publication Date:
07-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:
The principal economic problem facing Indonesia amid COVID-19 is financing the budget deficit needed to respond to a once-in-a-lifetime shock. In a world of self-help, Indonesia has been right to turn to Bank Indonesia, which could establish a clear policy of yield curve stabilisation as a basis for providing a readily scalable amount of deficit financing. Key bilateral partners, such as Australia, could complement this by providing a large standby loan facility to help reduce some of the inherent risks of Indonesia relying on its central bank.
Topic:
Economics, Budget, Banks, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Indonesia, Australia, and Southeast Asia

3485. Avoiding a Pacific Lost Decade: Financing the Pacific's Covid-19 Recovery

Author:
Roland Rajah and Alexandre Dayant
Publication Date:
12-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:
The Pacific faces a potential ‘lost decade' owing to the economic devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and an inability to finance the scale of government largesse needed to limit the damage. A multi-year ‘recovery package’ of at least US$3.5 billion (A$5.0 billion) is needed for the Pacific to fully recover from the pandemic. This should be funded by the region’s official development partners. Australia should establish a US$1.4 billion (A$2 billion) COVID-19 Pacific recovery financing facility, and advocate for other parts of the international community to follow its lead in contributing to the Pacific’s economic recovery. Once Australia has stepped up its own Pacific recovery financing contribution, it will be in a much stronger position to call on other development partners to do the same.
Topic:
Finance, COVID-19, Economic Recovery, and Loans
Political Geography:
Asia-Pacific

3486. Russian grand Strategy and the COVID Crisis

Author:
Andrew Monaghan
Publication Date:
12-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
The sense of Great Power competition and challenge to the liberal international order that characterised the Euro-Atlantic commu- nity’s debate through the 2010s has become more acute in 2020. Government responses to the spread of COVID-19 have provided much ammunition for those who describe a weakening of the liberal order and the threat posed by authoritarian regimes. And the sense of competition between the powers was il- lustrated by the race to create a vaccine, redolent for many of the Cold War era, with Russia’s “Sputnik V” vaccine controversially being registered first in August. Yet the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic sug- gests a new stage, with a greater emphasis on emer- gent bipolarity in international affairs. If Russia was the original point of focus in the “New Cold War/ Cold War 2.0” of the 2010s, attention has now shift- ed to the rise of China. In September 2020, then-US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper stated that China is now the main concentration for his department, and that departmental attention would be on the Indo-Pa- cific region. Other senior officials consider Russia to be “bursts of bad weather”, while China represents “climate change”, the greater long-term adversary. China’s economic recovery – already returning in late 2020 to growth while the US, UK and Eurozone re- main in red and facing surging debt – is seen to be the foundation for a more assertive international activity.2 What, then, of Russia? What has the crisis meant for Russian strategy? Does the pandemic change Mos- cow’s view of international affairs and its international posture?
Topic:
Grand Strategy, Public Health, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Russia and Europe

3487. "NATO 2030. United for a new Era.": A Digest

Author:
Thierry Tardy
Publication Date:
12-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
On 25 November 2020 the independent Reflection Group, established by the NATO Secretary Gen- eral following the December 2019 London Lead- ers meeting, released its report titled “NATO 2030: United for a New Era”.1 Composed of ten leading personalities,2 the Group was mandated to look at NATO’s current and future role and suggest recommendations on how to rein- force Alliance unity, political consultation between Allies, and NATO’s political role. The initiative came implicitly as a response to the French President’s statement about NATO being “brain dead”, made in the context of the October 2019 US withdrawal from northern Syria and the subsequent Turkish operation there, both apparently carried out without consultation within NATO. The Report is divided into three parts, looking in se- quence at: the vision and main findings; the security and political environment; and recommendations.
Topic:
Security, NATO, Regional Cooperation, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:
Europe, North Atlantic, and North America

3488. Las mujeres y la construcción de paz: recomendaciones para la Comisión de Esclarecimiento de la Verdad en el proceso de inclusión de la perspectiva de género en el Caribe colombiano

Author:
Diana Gómez Correal, Angélica Arias Preciado, Mónica Durán Scott, Auris Murillo Jiménez, Angélica Bernal Olarte, Diana Montealegre Mongrovejo, Marina López Sepúlveda, and Yusmidia Solano Suárez
Publication Date:
03-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios sobre Desarrollo (CIDER), Universidad de los Andes
Abstract:
Este documento de política pública hace parte de la investigación “Inclusión de las afectaciones vividas por las mujeres y sus procesos de resistencia en las Comisiones de la Verdad de Perú y Colombia: miradas retro y prospectivas de la justicia transicional” liderada por la profesora Diana Gómez. Es producto de un trabajo colaborativo entre el Cider de la Universidad de los Andes, la Red de Mujeres del Caribe, la Colectiva Feministas Emancipatorias, la Universidad Nacional de Colombia sede Caribe, la Universidad del Atlántico y la Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano. El documento de política pública resalta la importante tarea que ha desarrollado la Comisión en la región Caribe con la puesta en marcha de toda la infraestructura institucional que le da forma a la macro-región, los esfuerzos por la implementación de la perspectiva de género y la inclusión de las vivencias de las mujeres en el mandato de la CEV, al tiempo que evalúa los logros y retos que existen en la incorporación de la perspectiva de género. El documento contiene recomendaciones producto de un trabajo de campo que hizo seguimiento a la implementación de la Comisión durante los primeros nueve meses en el Caribe colombiano. Las recomendaciones giran en torno a la inclusión del género y en especial de las vivencias de las mujeres en el mandato de la Comisión, y se estructuran en siete ejes de análisis: participación, esclarecimiento, sanación, reconocimiento de las mujeres como sujeto político, convivencia, funcionamiento de la CEV e informe final. Estos ejes de análisis alimentan los objetivos y mandatos de la CEV.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Women, Social Justice, and Truth
Political Geography:
Colombia and Latin America

3489. Análisis de las respuestas del estado colombiano ante el problema de violencia Intrafamiliar en Colombia

Author:
Jairo Santander Abril, Andrea del Pilar González Peña, and Sandra Rojas Barrero
Publication Date:
02-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios sobre Desarrollo (CIDER), Universidad de los Andes
Abstract:
El profesor del Cider Jairo Santander, la profesora Andrea del Pilar González Peña del Departamento de Economía de la Universidad Central y Sandra Rojas Barrero, investigadora de la Procuraduría General de la Nación, son los autores del Documento de Trabajo “Análisis de las Repuestas del Estado Colombiano Ante el Problema de Violencia Intrafamiliar en Colombia”.  Publicación que da cuenta de las discusiones actuales sobre la familia y la violencia intrafamiliar y examina las políticas públicas formuladas por el Estado colombiano para hacerle frente.  En su análisis, los investigadores se dan a la tarea de reflexionar acerca de la pertinencia de las políticas públicas contra este la violencia intrafamiliar, basándose en literatura sobre los factores causales de tal problemática, los cuales deberían ser el objetivo principal de tales intervenciones, y contraponiendo los resultados de este análisis con la realidad de las estrategias políticas que el Estado Colombiano ha asumido para contrarrestar el aumento de este tipo de violencia. Así, logran orientar este estudio a la proposición de mejoras de estas políticas públicas para que puedan articularse adecuadamente con la realidad social y la estructura causal del problema.
Topic:
Gender Based Violence, Violence, Public Policy, Family, Economic Development, and Domestic Violence
Political Geography:
Colombia

3490. ¿Cómo identificar hechos metropolitanos? Una aproximación para Bogotá y Medellín

Author:
Andrés Hernández, Ethel Segura, and Cristhian Molina
Publication Date:
02-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios sobre Desarrollo (CIDER), Universidad de los Andes
Abstract:
Esta publicación recoge los tres mejores trabajos de identificación de hechos metropolitanos elaborados en el curso de Métodos de análisis del territorio, ofrecido en el primer semestre de 2018 por el profesor Andrés Hernández, la catedrática Ethel Segura y el consultor Cristhian Molina. En una discusión interdisciplinaria que permitió la integración de distintas perspectivas, los estudiantes de la Maestría en Planificación Urbana y Regional del Cider usaron las tres técnicas usadas en el curso para desarrollar los estudios de caso: i) la metodología de hechos metropolitanos, ii) los mapas elaborados por ellos y iii) el análisis normativo y las fuentes de información. Sobre esta base, a lo largo del semestre los autores hicieron un ejercicio de análisis comparado de los hechos metropolitanos en Bogotá Región y en el área metropolitana de Medellín. Los casos de estudio fueron los siguientes: i) los servicios de provisión en los territorios que hacen parte del borde rural oriental de Bogotá, ii) la cuenca del Río Bogotá como estructurante de la nueva área metropolitana, iii) el tren de cercanías como detonante del área metropolitana de Bogotá y, iv) la segregación socioespacial en el área metropolitana del Valle de Aburrá. De esta manera, el nuevo Documento de Trabajo da cuenta de un análisis detallado desde ciertos hechos metropolitanos, el cual permite evidenciar la importancia del estudio de diferentes tipos de fenómenos que transforman los territorios en escala metropolitana y del territorio en su complejidad. Además, posibilita un mejor análisis de las dinámicas detrás de los mismos (oportunidades, tensiones y conflictos).
Topic:
Regional Cooperation, Economic Development, Territory, Metropolitanism, and Urban Planning
Political Geography:
Colombia and Latin America