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501. 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

502. Access to Data on Children in Turkey: An Evaluation Based on the Urban95 Project Experience

Author:
Bürge Elvan Erginli and Gizem Fidan
Publication Date:
03-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
Nowadays, the need for the use of data in developing an accurate, effective and measurable urban policy is being voiced by many local administrations and civil society organizations, and as a matter of fact, some local administrations have already increased their efforts for data production and use. However, organizations face with certain problems in regard to accessing, obtaining and generating systematic data. The purpose of this report is to put forward these problems along with their reasons and to offer solutions by focusing specifically on data regarding early childhood period.
Topic:
Civil Society, Governance, Children, Urban, and Data
Political Geography:
Turkey, Middle East, and Mediterranean

503. Data-Driven Strategy Development for Children’s Play in the City

Author:
Bora İyiat
Publication Date:
03-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
When we consider which areas in the city children use to explore, socialize and play, the first ones coming to mind are school gardens, parks, green areas and playgrounds that are reserved for them with the intent to support their development. These areas which have an important place in the daily urban life of children are designed and planned by local governments. All urban and green spaces, including playgrounds which are areas created especially for children in the city, should be based on spatial planning and quality factors that include children’s needs and preferences. And planning requires the use of data.
Topic:
Governance, Children, Urban, Sustainability, Data, and Urban Planning
Political Geography:
Turkey, Middle East, and Mediterranean

504. COVID-19 and Data-Driven Urban Resilience Policies

Author:
Bahadir Keşan and Ayşe Yetiş Bayraktar
Publication Date:
04-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
The process of COVID-19 pandemic has once again revealed the significance of urban resilience in the face of sudden crises. As the pandemic process has taken longer, urban life has been seriously affected in economic, social and environmental terms; local governments have also begun to develop new policies to restructure the cities so as to adapt to the changes faced. In this brief, Strategy Development Directors of Sultanbeyli and Maltepe Municipalities share their collaboration experience for data driven urban resilience policies during the pandemic.
Topic:
Governance, Sustainability, Pandemic, Resilience, COVID-19, and Urban Planning
Political Geography:
Turkey, Middle East, and Mediterranean

505. Sürdürülebilir Kent İçin Veriye Erişim: Afet ve Bina Verisi Üzerinden Bir İnceleme (Access To Data For Sustainable City: An Overview on Disaster and Building Data)

Author:
Bilge Kobaş, Bürge Elvan Erginli, Can Sucuoğlu, and Murat Tülek
Publication Date:
11-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
This report aims at improving innovation, urban data collection and analysis, and open data capacities in democratic civic governance in Turkey. “Access to Data for Sustainable City: An Investigation on Disaster and Building Data” focuses on (1) status quo of open data movement and ongoing studies, (2) data up-to-dateness and quality, and (3) access to data through disaster and building data in Istanbul, New York and Munich. Inspired by the experiences in the cities of New York and Munich, the report presents policy recommendations fro improved access to data regarding disaster management in Istanbul.
Topic:
Governance, Cities, Sustainability, Data, and Urban Planning
Political Geography:
Turkey, Germany, and United States of America

506. Building a Climate-Ready Indian State: Institutions and Governance for Transformative Low-Carbon Development

Author:
Aditya Valiathan Pillaj, Navroz K. Dubash, and Parth Bhatia
Publication Date:
06-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:
This brief lays out a new approach to Indian climate governance. We suggest India’s institutional structure should be aimed at generating and adopting low-carbon development pathways. Doing so implies going beyond energy and emissions policies to also look at deeper economic structures such as patterns of urbanisation, industrialisation, and job creation. We propose a new, independent, non-executive, multi-stakeholder Low-Carbon Development Commission backed by law, to bring both analytical credibility and mechanisms to ensure policy relevance. We further propose the Commission interface with an enhanced set of bodies within the executive branch, interacting through a set of annual reporting requirements and incentives for climate action. By laying out a set of principles, institutions, and mechanisms for interaction, we suggest a path to analytical credible and policy relevant Indian climate governance.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, Governance, Institutions, and Carbon Emissions
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

507. Responding to COVID: a Mobility Based Surge Capacity Framework

Author:
Shamindra Nath Roy, Partha Mukhopadhyay, Jishnu Das, and Yamini Aiyar
Publication Date:
06-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:
It would appear, based on the experience over the past year, that at a given point in time, CoVID-19 affects a part of the country and not the whole nation. What does this imply for the sharing of resources between more affected areas and less affected areas? What does it imply for where reserves of resources need to be maintained to meet sudden surges in caseload? This note looks at these questions, by examining the spatial pattern of the epidemic over time and the nature of the resources, i.e., the extent to which their supply can be increased, the ease with which they can be moved, etc., including, where possible and necessary, the movement of patients in addition to mobile resources. Our analysis based on current transmission dynamics, points out that there are a small set of areas permanently at risk for repeat surges. These are areas where health infrastructure may need to be augmented locally. For other areas, while increases in health infrastructure would be needed, inter-district and interstate coordination can ensure that additional critical services can be made available through resource sharing. However, such a mobility-based surge capacity framework, as we have proposed, requires enabling governance structures that builds trust and facilitates coordination across district and state administrations, based on real time data analysis as well as formal institutional structures.
Topic:
Health, Infrastructure, Governance, Institutions, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

508. Renewing India’s Air Quality Management Strategy in the Shadow of COVID-19

Author:
Santosh Harish
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:
This framing paper aims to provide an overview of the current state of knowledge and the governance framework on air quality management in India. Air pollution is the second largest risk factor for public health in India, behind only child and maternal malnutrition. Although there has been an increase in the visibility of the issue in the media, public concern and government response, a coherent national policy strategy remains in its nascent stages. How could the ecosystem of actors engaging with air quality in India work towards a collective strategy that leads to sustained improvements throughout the country? This paper outlines the contours of such a strategy here, and has been written keeping a diverse audience in mind, along with pointed suggestions for domestic and global philanthropies working on air quality in India.
Topic:
Governance, Public Health, COVID-19, and Air Pollution
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

509. Compensatory climate governance in Indian federalism

Author:
Aditya Valiathan Pillai and Navroz K. Dubash
Publication Date:
04-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:
It is on the precarious and ever-shifting terrain of Indian federalism that a modern edifice of climate governance must be built. Where is the firm ground? Are there enduring characteristics of centre-state relations that let us arrive at a relatively stable description of Indian climate governance? In this working paper, we arrive at a synthetic account of the constant forces shaping climate governance in India’s federal architecture, building on descriptions of environmental federalism and state actions in climate policy. We argue that the highly asymmetric nature of Indian federalism — a federal government holds the reins of state finances and constitutes the bulk of planning and bureaucratic capacity — makes compensatory relations between centre and states inescapable in climate governance. Emergent practices have involved the use of institutional channels of fiscal transfer and federally mandated planning processes to help catalyse climate activity across India’s states. States have taken fragments of the national agenda and adapted them to local political contexts that are hitherto innocent of ‘climate’ politics phrased as such. They play the role of marrying broader mitigation and adaptation concerns to local development. In the process, they contribute to the compensatory dynamic by creating a stream of policy ideas that then come to define the national response through channels of federal diffusion.
Topic:
Climate Change, Governance, and Federalism
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

510. Union Action and Protests in Iraq: A Problematic Relationship - Case Study on the National Union of Journalists

Author:
Ali Taher Alhammood
Publication Date:
11-2021
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
Abstract:
he overthrow of the dictatorial regime in Iraq on 9 April 2003 raised many questions about the prospects for change, which did not occur in the country by internal will, but rather by foreign intervention. External powers left the country war-torn and without a clear internal social base to manage and organize the process of change. The collapse of institutional structures, the need for new institutions, and the strong desire to break free from the constraints of the past motivated protesters and civil movements to take over Iraqi streets. These protests began since the very first days of political change after 9 April 2003. For instance, hundreds of military personnel who were discharged held protests in Baghdad; thousands protested against the American occupation in Najaf; and dozens demonstrated in support of the Personal Status Law, rejecting its amendment by the Islamists who joined the government for the first time after the dictatorial era had come to an end. Intellectuals, journalists, and activists played a leading role in mobilizing people and shaping public opinion, as well as in defending individual and collective freedoms since the first years following a regime change. These continuous activities, which lasted for an entire decade after 2003, led to the formation of a parallel union to the official Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, which was established in 1959. This experience contributed to successes that have had an impact on Iraqi media, culture, and society overall. The trajectory of this union also offered profound lessons about collective volunteer work, which is essential to the establishment of any similar union in the early stages. The importance of this paper lies in the fact that the National Union of Journalists is the first union to demonstrate continuity and lasting influence over an extended period, not to mention that it has had a significant impact on the political process, the lives of journalists, and the experience of collective work. The importance of delving into the experience of the national union also stems from the fact that it challenged the prevailing obedience to the State as the historically dominant employer and sole economic rent provider. As such, the emergence of the national union was a breakthrough, as the overall context discouraged such experiences. It was not in the interest of citizens, most of whom were State employees, to adopt projects that challenged its policies. This study aims to explore a unique experience of union action led by young independent journalists. It explores the difficulties of establishing unions in Iraq – not only because of the limited margin of freedom – but also because of the ongoing economic, legal and political problems that have lasted for several decades.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Governance, Protests, and Unions
Political Geography:
Iraq and Middle East

511. Ennahda or the cost of recognition

Author:
Thierry Brésillon
Publication Date:
11-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
Abstract:
The political earthquake that rocked Tunisia on 25 July 2021 and its following 25 September aftershock – which resulted in a loss of power and dissent over contested leadership – had closed a cycle for Ennahda and ushered in a moment of existential uncertainty. It became unclear if the organization could reinvent itself to regain the role it had played since 2011. In one form or another, it was also unclear if the party still had something to offer Tunisians. This is essentially the recurring uncertainty surrounding the relevance of political Islam as a party and its potential to bring about specific solutions to contemporary problems created in the wake of the turmoil of the past few weeks. In this context, this paper will provide a retrospective glance at Ennahda’s trajectory since 2011.
Topic:
Politics, Natural Disasters, Governance, and Leadership
Political Geography:
Africa and Tunisia

512. China's Belt and Road Initiative in Italy: An Analysis of Financial Cooperation

Author:
Nicola Bilotta
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
Financial cooperation is essential to boosting bilateral economic ties, providing firms with more effective instruments to operate in foreign markets. It should come as no surprise, then, that financial cooperation was a pillar of the 2019 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) reached between Italy and China in support of the latter’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). However, a preliminary analysis of BRI-related commercial agreements between Italian financial institutions and their Chinese counterparts shows that they have not resulted in any ground-breaking development. These Memoranda have apparently just added a “BRI” badge to pre-existing trends of collaboration. The BRI-related MoUs in the field of financial cooperation do not, for the time being at least, justify concerns that China may gain an economic foothold in Italy large enough to win it much political influence. A more realistic risk is that these MoUs may undermine a common European approach to China, weakening the negotiating stance of the European Union’s. Paper prepared in the framework of the IAI project “When Italy embraces the BRI”.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Political Economy, Governance, Finance, and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
Political Geography:
China, Europe, Asia, and Italy

513. CBDCs for Dummies: Everything You Need to Know about Central Bank Digital Currency (And Why You Shouldn’t Be Afraid of It)

Author:
Nicola Bilotta
Publication Date:
06-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
“No cash accepted in this store”. What might seem to some like science fiction is on its way to becoming reality. The rise of non-cash payments is a global phenomenon, although moving at different speeds around the world. To keep up with the digitalisation of payments (and of the economy), many central banks are exploring the development of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), a digital form of cash. Despite being confined to a technical discussion among experts, when (rather than if) launched, CBDCs concerns us all. Thus, raising awareness of what CBDCs are, and of their key economic and political dimensions, is crucial to ensure that citizens are not only passive spectators. This paper has the ambition to provide (non-expert) readers with straightforward and simple answers to some of the many questions they may have around CBDCs. It sets the ground to better understand what CBDCs are (and are not), their drivers and their possible design. It will explore the impact of CBDC systems on privacy, the geo-strategic drivers of CBDCs and the possible rivalry between public and private money. Paper prepared in the framework of a research effort on the risks and the opportunities related to Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) with the support of Intesa Sanpaolo and the Bank of Italy.
Topic:
Political Economy, Governance, European Union, Finance, Currency, and Digital Policy
Political Geography:
China, Europe, and United States of America

514. An International Digital Yuan: (Vane) Ambitions, (Excessive) Alarmism and (Pragmatic) Expectations

Author:
Nicola Bilotta
Publication Date:
07-2021
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
Days after the European Central Bank (ECB) publicly disclosed its roadmap for a digital euro project on 24 July, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) published a white paper describing the advancements of its plan for a digital yuan (e-CNY). While the EU roadmap outlines an investigation phase which will end in five years, China has already introduced several pilot experiments for its e-CNY. In June 2021, the e-CNY was employed in more than 70.7 million transactions for a value of 34.5 billion yuan by 20.8 million retail users and 3.5 million corporate users.
Topic:
International Political Economy, Political Economy, Governance, Finance, Currency, and Digital Policy
Political Geography:
China and Asia

515. The Italian G20 Presidency: A Post-Summit Assessment

Author:
Ettore Greco
Publication Date:
11-2021
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
Was Prime Minister Mario Draghi correct in describing the G20 Rome Summit held under the Italian presidency a “success”? Or, rather, was UN Secretary-General António Guterres right to highlight his dissatisfaction with the Summit’s outcome? Assessments of the Italian G20 presidency depend on where the bar is set, what terms of reference are adopted and what relevance or urgency is given to each individual dossier. At the same time, the evolving international context also has to be taken into consideration.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, International Political Economy, Governance, and G20
Political Geography:
Europe and Italy

516. If you Can't Beat Them, Join Them: Should States Embrace Bitcoin?

Author:
Jesse Colzani
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
Bitcoin – the most secure and well-established technology to store value[1] – was created in 2008 to challenge the state’s centralised monopoly on money. It is a digital currency worth 1 trillion US dollars that knows no boundaries and is not controlled by any central authority. Although it is considered a threat to the established order, countries and institutional actors are gradually realising Bitcoin can also be a tool to advance their economic and geopolitical interests. Today, governments find themselves in the difficult position of having to decide whether Bitcoin should be integrated into their economies and governance structures or if they should continue to oppose, block or seek to co-opt the digital currency. But to understand Bitcoin and make an informed decision, one has to first appreciate the different components of its ecosystem.
Topic:
Political Economy, Governance, Currency, Digital Policy, and Bitcoin
Political Geography:
Global Focus

517. The Era of German Chancellor Angela Merkel: What Was and What Remains?

Author:
Thomas Brey
Publication Date:
08-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO)
Abstract:
After the general election in Germany at the end of September, Angela Merkel will step down as Chancellor at the age of 67. She held this most important political office in Germany for almost exactly 16 years (2005-2021). She will thus equal the record of her former political mentor and Chancellor Helmut Kohl (1982- 1998). In 2021, she was named “Most PowerfulForbes for the tenth time in a row. In 2015, the US magazine Time named her “Person of the Year” on its cover. Merkel has received the highest state honors from Italy to Peru, from Portugal to Israel. In 2011, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom - one of the two highest state decorations in the USA. The world’s honorary doctorates are legion. Merkel had a picture-perfect professional career, although by today’s standards she became politically active for the first time relatively late, at the age of 35. In the final phase of the GDR, she became involved in the opposition. As “Kohl’s girl” (“Kohls Mädchen”) she became Minister for Women’s Affairs as early as 1989, then Minister for the Environment (1994-1998), CDU General Secretary (1998-2000) and finally Party Chair (until 2018). She completed her studies in East Germany with a highly praised dissertation. When she became Chancellor in 2005, she was the first woman to hold the office and the first Chancellor from East Germany.
Topic:
Security, Governance, Hegemony, and Leadership
Political Geography:
Europe and Germany

518. Sectarianism and Sectarianisation in Iraq: Ambassadorial Appointments as an Exemplar

Author:
Dlawer Ala'Aldeen
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Middle East Research Institute (MERI)
Abstract:
Sectarianisation of Iraq’s governance has already become a powerful driver of conflict. Left unaddressed, it can become irreversible. Here, ambassadorial appointments are used to underline the depth of sectarian divisions within the legislative and executive institutions, and offer ways forward.
Topic:
Governance, Sectarianism, Leadership, and Conflict
Political Geography:
Iraq and Middle East

519. State-Building in Iraq

Author:
Dlawer Ala'Aldeen
Publication Date:
07-2021
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Middle East Research Institute (MERI)
Abstract:
Following decades of authoritarian rule and highly centralised governing system, the people of Iraq adopted a democratic Constitution in 2005, designed to put Iraq on an evolutionary roadmap for democracy, rule-of-law and economic prosperity. The Constitution consists of 144 Articles which, together, define the main pillars of a democratic governance and provide frameworks and boundaries for their enactment, with or without mandating new legislations. However, translating the Constitution into reality proved extremely challenging. Over the past 16 years, the political and institutional leaders have engaged in overt sectarian political dynamics that proved detrimental to the state-building process. They were highly selective in enacting, key constitutional Articles. Many essential institutions and/or legislations that are mandated by the Constitution are awaiting establishment, some of which are critical for enhancing the rule-of-law, safeguarding the Constitution, streamlining the legislative cycle, institutionalising the centre-periphery relations, empowering the local government and optimising the management of national resources and assets. As a consequence, there are currently numerous structural and functional gaps or weaknesses in Iraq’s governing system, which have added to the country’s fragility and acted as independent drivers of conflict. In this report, attempts are made to: (a) Identify the key structural and functional gaps or weaknesses in the governing system that have arisen from inadequate implementation of the Constitution; (b) highlighting the relevant historical context and political barriers for progress; and (c) offer appropriate policy recommendations to stakeholders.
Topic:
Infrastructure, Governance, Leadership, and State Building
Political Geography:
Iraq and Middle East

520. Post-American Moments in Global Financial Governance in the New Millennium

Author:
Ilene Grabel
Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), University of Massachusetts Amherst
Abstract:
It is difficult to find much to celebrate about the current conjuncture, marked as it is by deeply destructive incoherence. The best that can be said is that we are in an interregnum. But I suggest that today’s incoherence also includes productive and even transformative moments. I argue that incoherence in global financial governance should be understood as productive in several respects. It is creating and widening alternative spaces in which some of the values, practices, tools, objectives, and goals associated with embedded liberalism can be rearticulated in a world in which there is no “order,” American-led or otherwise. The silver lining of incoherence is that it creates space for experimentation and innovation unconstrained by an overarching “ism.” Incoherence is creating exits or leakages from noxious national and global policy environments, rendering it less poisonous than it would be in the absence of ideational aperture and contestation, competing policies, institutions, networks, and poles of power. The abdication by the US of its traditional role of global coordination and discipline, as exerted under the post-war embedded liberal or the neoliberal American-led orders, is creating opportunities for more permissive and varied “reembededness” and diverse forms of economic integration. The emerging regime reflects neither your grandmother’s American-led order 1.0 or 2.0. In this morbid post-American interregnum there is no singular “ism” or “alternative order,” a fact that I do not mourn.
Topic:
Governance, Finance, Global Political Economy, and Neoliberalism
Political Geography:
Global Focus and United States of America