Publication Year: within 25 Years / Topic: Development

3501. After Doha: II. Is globalisation history?

Author:: Mark P Thirlwell
Publication Date:: 12-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:: For some observers, the announcement in late July of the indefinite suspension of the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations signalled the beginning of the end for globalisation. The fear was that history would repeat itself; just as an earlier era of globalisation came to a bad end, so too could the current episode.
Topic:: Development, Globalization, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:: Africa

3502. After Doha: I. The search for Plan B

Author:: Mark P Thirlwell
Publication Date:: 09-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:: On 24 July, the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations was suspended indefinitely, due to irreconcilable differences over the liberalisation of agricultural trade. While the suspension of negotiations may or may not turn out to mark the death of the Doha Round, it will almost certainly mark a watershed for the future of the international trading system. With even a 'good' outcome for the faltering trade round likely to deliver little in terms of new market access when set against the scale of negotiating resources devoted to Doha, the appetite of the world's trade ministers for any repeat performance will be limited. As a result, the era of giant, set piece trade rounds like Doha and its predecessor the Uruguay Round may well be over.
Topic:: Development, International Trade and Finance, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:: Africa

3503. The next UN Secretary-General

Author:: Dr. Michael Fullilove
Publication Date:: 07-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:: This Issues Brief assesses the relationship between the United Nations and Asia – both the UN's activities in Asia and the behaviour of Asian states at the UN. Dr Michael Fullilove, Program Director for Global Issues, reviews the current stances of the three major regional powers — China, India, and Japan — towards the UN, previews the September World Summit on UN reform, and examines the prospects for an Asian Secretary-General, which has the potential to thicken Asia's interactions with the UN.
Topic:: Development, Politics, and United Nations
Political Geography:: United States and Asia

3504. The testament of Solomons: RAMSI and international state-building

Author:: Dr. Michael Fullilove
Publication Date:: 03-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:: The phenomenon of state failure and its remedies constitute a growth area of international politics, partly because of the recognition that state failure generates security threats and partly because it is so very difficult. This Lowy Institute Analysis identifies the critical elements of one small but significant case, about which there is growing international interest: the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). The background to the mission was the long-standing tension between the peoples of the two main islands, Guadalcanal and Malaita, which developed in the period 1998-2002 into militant violence which then mutated into widespread criminality and thuggery. Acting on a request from Honiara, the Australian Government and its regional partners elected to lead a new kind of statebuilding intervention.
Topic:: International Relations and Development
Political Geography:: Australia/Pacific

3505. China: Toward a Consumption-Driven Growth Path

Author:: Nicholas R. Lardy
Publication Date:: 10-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:: In December 2004 China's top political leadership agreed to fundamentally alter the country's growth strategy. In place of investment and export-led development, they endorsed transitioning to a growth path that relied more on expanding domestic consumption. Since 2004, China's top leadership, most notably Premier Wen Jiaobao in his speech to the National People's Congress in the spring of 2006, has reiterated the goal of strengthening domestic consumption as a major source of economic growth. This policy brief examines the reasons underlying the leadership decision, the implications of this transition for the United States and the global economy, and the steps that have been taken to embark on the new growth path.
Topic:: International Relations, Development, and Economics
Political Geography:: United States, China, and Asia

3506. The Doha Round after Hong Kong

Author:: Gary Clyde Hufbauer and Jeffrey J. Schott
Publication Date:: 02-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:: Trade ministers from member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) convened in Hong Kong in December 2005 to jump-start the flagging Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations. The Hong Kong ministerial was not a complete bust. But ministers accomplished only the minimum necessary to keep the Doha Round moving forward—toward an undetermined and probably distant conclusion.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:: Asia

3507. The United States Needs German Economic Leadership

Author:: Adam S. Posen
Publication Date:: 01-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:: On January 13, Germany's new chancellor, Angela Merkel, will have her first official visit with US President George W. Bush. Washington, or at least the part of Washington that still pays attention to transatlantic issues, not just the Bush administration, will be glad to see her given that she is not her US-bashing predecessor Gerhard Schroeder. Though this change in atmosphere is welcome, no one should make too much of it. It is unlikely to make much difference on security issues, where Iran's own actions are forcing the United States and Germany to come together, where German public opinion will keep the governments apart on Iraq, and where neither country is prepared to make major changes to defense budgets and approaches. The Masri case will certainly limit Merkel's interest in appearing too chummy with Bush on security matters.
Topic:: Development and Economics
Political Geography:: United States, Iraq, Europe, Iran, Washington, and Germany

3508. What Could Go Wrong?

Author:: Harry Harding
Publication Date:: 01-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Atlantic Council
Abstract:: China has done remarkably well in its development over the last twenty-five years. It has achieved and sustained high rates of economic growth, lifting millions out of poverty. It has achieved a significant place in the international economy. It is widely regarded as a major power, not only in Asia but also increasingly on a global stage. Looking ahead, however, things could go wrong – possibly quite seriously wrong – for China, and if China experiences serious problems, its size and its expanded role in the world mean that there could be serious consequences for the broader international community as well.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:: China and Asia

3509. China Succeeding Beyond Expectations

Author:: Albert Kiedel
Publication Date:: 01-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Atlantic Council
Abstract:: What are the implications if China sustains nine-percent growth through 2010? This is the basic question posed by conference organizers. The relevant time frame is what matters most. If China merely maintains nine-percent growth until the year 2010, the implications are not great. Too much is left unknown about what comes after 2010. Even with nine-percent growth over the next five years, China in 2010 will still be at a relatively low level of performance, both overall and in per-capita terms. But if sustaining nine-percent growth to 2010 means that China has launched on-going reforms that will continue to engineer institutional changes needed for a market economy's successful commercial and political management, then the resulting successful development trajectory in the rest of the century will generate profound and, from today's perspective, unexpected consequences.
Topic:: International Relations, Development, and Economics
Political Geography:: China and Asia

3510. Transatlantic Transformation: Building a NATO-EU Security Architecture

Author:: David C. Gompert, Jan M. Lodal, Leslie S. Lebl, Walter B. Slocombe, and Frances G. Burwell
Publication Date:: 03-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Atlantic Council
Abstract:: Since 1989, the security environment facing the United States and its European allies has changed beyond recognition. The Soviet Union has disintegrated, as has the division of Europe between East and West, and new threats have arisen. The disintegration of Yugoslavia in the 1990s demonstrated that instability and war emerging from failing states could affect the peace and security of Europe. After 2001, global terrorism became the priority threat, especially when linked with the prospect of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Topic:: Security, NATO, and Development
Political Geography:: United States, Europe, Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia

3511. Markets As Conversations: Markets' Contribution To Civility, The Public Sphere And Civil Society At Large

Author:: Victor Pérez-Diaz
Publication Date:: 12-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Abstract:: The author restates a traditional, broad and composite view of civil society, of increasing relevance at a time of ever greater complexity in a non-state centered world; and he explores the relations between markets, associations and politics as parts of that interconnected whole. Markets as conversations shape people's dispositions and help developing a set of civil and civic virtues, bracketed together under the rubric of civility. The paper examines the scope and limits of these civilizing effects on politics and the public sphere.
Topic:: Civil Society, Development, Economics, and Markets

3512. The European Union as a "Green Normative Power"? EU Leadership in International Biotechnology Regulation

Author:: Robert Falkner
Publication Date:: 11-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Abstract:: This paper examines the transformation of the European Union (EU) from a laggard to a leader in the international politics of biotechnology regulation. The emergence of EU leadership in global environmental politics during the 1990s seems to support recent arguments about the distinctive nature of the EU as a "normative power" in international relations. However, as this paper argues, this perspective lacks historical depth and fails to capture tensions between competing principles and conflict among domestic interest groups in Europe. The paper calls for a more critical reading of the normative power argument and identifies shifts in the domestic political economy of agricultural biotechnology as the key factors behind the EU's support for a precautionary international regime on trade in genetically modified organisms.
Topic:: International Relations, Development, and Politics
Political Geography:: Europe

3513. Democratization in Postcommunist Europe: Illiberal Regimes and the Leverage of International Actors

Author:: Milada Anna Vachudova
Publication Date:: 10-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Abstract:: The European Union (EU) may be presiding over the most successful democracy promotion program ever implemented by an international actor. Among postcommunist states with a credible EU membership perspective, we can see a significant – though far from complete – convergence toward liberal democracy. This is all the more interesting since ten years ago many of these states had illiberal or authoritarian regimes. I focus in this article on the sources of political change in previously illiberal regimes before and after "watershed elections," especially in the Western Balkans. I argue that over time the EU's leverage strengthened the hand of liberal forces against illiberal ones by way of four mechanisms: creating a focal point for cooperation, providing incentives for adapting, using conditionality, and serving as a credible commitment for reform. Consequently, most political parties have eventually changed their agenda to make it compatible with the state's bid for EU membership. I investigate the domestic conditions that have caused these mechanisms to function only weakly in Serbia and Bosnia.
Topic:: Democratization and Development
Political Geography:: Bosnia and Serbia

3514. From Competition to Constitution: Races to Bottoms and the Rise of "Shadow" Social Europe

Author:: Éloi Laurent
Publication Date:: 08-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Abstract:: In this paper, I examine how the specific nature of economic integration in the European Union has affected member states' redistribution policies over the last two decades. More precisely, I attempt to detail the effect of social-tax competition between member states within social models, processes that I label “races to bottoms.” In this framework, I identify the emergence of an informal set of rules effectively constraining national redistribution policies in different ways, given the diversity of tax-social compacts in the EU. Because these rules are implicit and their effect generally underestimated, I gather them under the notion of “shadow” social Europe. Having empirically assessed the impact of this dynamic on the “continental,” the “Nordic,” the “eastern” and the “liberal” social-tax compact, I finally try to present a normative perspective and some policy options on this matter.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:: Europe

3515. Natural Unemployment, the Role of Monetary Policy and Wage Bargaining: A Theoretical Perspective

Author:: Stefan Collignon
Publication Date:: 05-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Abstract:: This paper models unemployment as a general equilibrium solution in labor and capital markets, while the natural rate hypothesis explains unemployment simply as a partial equilibrium in the labor market. It is shown that monetary policy can have long-run effects by affecting required returns on capital and investment. If monetary policy is primarily concerned with maintaining price stability, the interaction between wage bargaining and the central bank's credibility as an inflation fighter becomes a crucial factor in determining employment. Different labor market institutions condition different monetary policy reactions. With centralized wage bargaining, a central bank mandate focusing primarily on price stability is sufficient. With an atomistic labor market, the central bank must also consider output as a policy objective.
Topic:: Civil Society, Development, Economics, and Markets
Political Geography:: United States, United Kingdom, and Europe

3516. The Socioeconomic Diversity of European Regions

Author:: JoãoOliveira Soares, Carlos M.F. Monteiro, and Cristina del Campo
Publication Date:: 05-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Abstract:: It is well-known that there are significant differences among the European Union regions, which have been heightened due to the most recent enlargement in 2004. This paper aims to analyze this diversity and propose a classification of European Regions (EU) that is adjusted to the different axes of socioeconomic development and, simultaneously, is useful for European regional policy purposes. The data used in this paper were published by the European Union Statistical Office (Eurostat) and correspond to the main statistical indicators of NUTS2 (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics) regions in the EU. Multivariate statistical techniques allowed the identification of clusters of socioeconomic similarity, which are contrasted with the classes considered in the financial proposal of the European Commission (EC) for the period 2007-2013. It was found that each of the two main groups of the EC classification – convergence regions and competitiveness and employment regions – comprises at least two significantly different groups of regions, which differ not only in their average income but also in other indicators associated with their particular weaknesses. Also, it has been revealed that two other groups–phasing-in regions and phasing-out regions –, beyond their inexpressive denomination, lack homogeneity, being spread throughout different clusters.
Topic:: Demographics, Development, and Economics
Political Geography:: Europe

3517. Unbalanced Growth: Why Is Economic Sociology Stronger in Theory Than in Policies?

Author:: Carlo Trigilia
Publication Date:: 02-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Abstract:: The aim of this article is to discuss the relationship between economic sociology and economic policies. In the last decades, economic sociology has made significant achievements in terms of theory and research, but that its influence on policies has remained weak. While this was inevitable in earlier decades, when scholars had to concentrate most of their effort on defining the role and contribution of economic sociology, it has since become a constraint for the institutionalization and recognition of the discipline. The return to economic sociology, since the 1980s, has brought about important theoretical achievements, especially in the analysis of economic organization at the micro level in terms of social and cultural embeddedness. The role of social relations in contemporary economy has clearly emerged, but its implications for policies to promote economic development have remained more latent so far. Although a weaker institutionalization and a poorer connection to policy-making certainly affect the political influence of economic sociology in comparison to economics, the paper focuses on the research perspective. A shift of the research focus from the statics to the dynamics of economic organization could be useful. In this framework, particular attention is drawn to the study of local development and innovation through a closer relationship of economic sociology with comparative political economy. A separation between these two approaches does not favor a full exploitation of the potential contribution of economic sociology to policies.
Topic:: Civil Society, Development, Economics, and Political Economy
Political Geography:: Germany

3518. Big Cuts, Little Time: Welfare State Retrenchment in Sweden

Author:: Carl Dahlström
Publication Date:: 02-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Abstract:: When harsh cuts were introduced in the Swedish welfare state in an agreement between the centre-right government and the opposition Social Democrats in 1992, there were astonishingly few disagreements between the political parties as to which social groups should carry the burdens of the cuts. The conventional wisdom on welfare state retrenchment would lead us to expect a clash of interests, especially considering the strength of interest groups in Sweden and the different constituencies of the five parties included in the agreement. This paper explains why that did not happen. It argues that the role that key officials played in shaping the 1992 retrenchment agreement in Sweden was decisive in averting potential political conflicts. In a crisis, politicians depend on advice from officials as politicians need complex information, often under pressure of time. This paper argues that key state officials, through their advice, defined both the character of the crisis and the range of possible solutions. As the number of options was restricted, key officials were able to define what cuts were reasonable. Within this framework, politicians looked for practical solutions and, to a large extent, disregarded conflicts of interest. This paper also suggests that the content of such advice depends on what is called the loyalty of key officials, which depends on the terms of their employment.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:: Europe

3519. Institutional Change in Industrial Relations: Coordination and Common Knowledge in Ireland, Italy and Australia

Author:: Pepper D. Culpepper
Publication Date:: 01-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Abstract:: When should we ever expect to see durable moves toward greater wage bargaining coordination? Moving to sustained coordinated wage bargaining presupposes that unions and employers can both be convinced that wage bargaining is in fact a game in which both actors prefer coordination. This can only happen when these social actors come to accept as true an idea of the economy in which their coordination through wage bargaining institutions will give them better outcomes than would bargaining through decentralized institutions. This paper argues that the process of developing common knowledge changes institutional preferences among employers. It was the development of common knowledge that changed employer preferences about the attractiveness of institutions for wage coordination in Ireland in Italy. In both cases, the development of common expectations required the emergence and joint ratification of a common set of references, in what I call common knowledge events. These events led organized employers to change their previous position about acceptable institutions of wage bargaining. This change made possible the institutionalization of coordinated wage bargaining in both countries. As demonstrated through counterfactual analysis of the Australian case, the emergence and ratification of such a common view is the necessary condition for the emergence and survival of coordinated wage bargaining institutions.
Topic:: Development and Economics
Political Geography:: Europe, Australia/Pacific, and Ireland

3520. Skill formation in Britain and Germany: Recent developments in the context of traditional differences

Author:: Steffen Hillmert
Publication Date:: 01-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Abstract:: This paper proposes a comparison of skill formation in Germany and Britain over the last decades. Taking historical trends into account, the two cases can be regarded as representing different types of skill production regimes. Institutional features include a relatively low degree of standardization of training and a larger amount of on-the-job training in Britain. In Germany, post-compulsory training has been conducted predominantly within the dual system of vocational training, underlining the vocational specificity of a large part of the labor market. As a consequence, international differences in individual skill investments, transitions from school to work and other life-course patterns can be observed. At least in Britain, however, the situation seems to have changed considerably during the 1990s. The paper argues that the divergence in more recent developments can still be understood as an expression of historical path dependency given the traditional connections between the post-compulsory training system and the broader societal context in which it is embedded. These concern, in particular, links with the system of general and academic education as the basis for – and also a possible competitor with – vocational training; links with the labor market as they are indicated by specific skill requirements and returns to qualifications; and, links with the order of social stratification in the form of the selective acquisition and the social consequences of these qualifications. The links manifest themselves as typical individual-level consequences and decisions. Founded on the basis of these distinctions, the aim of this paper is to investigate the preceding conditions for recent developments in the qualification systems of Britain and Germany, which have adapted to specific challenges during the last decades.
Topic:: Development and Economics
Political Geography:: United Kingdom, Europe, and Germany

3521. Low Intensity Conflict and Nation - Building in Iraq: A Chronology

Author:: Sara B. Moller and Eric M. Brewer
Publication Date:: 03-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:: May 1, 2003 President George W. Bush declares an end to major combat operations in Iraq. The U.S. lost 138 soldiers during the war. Seven U.S. soldiers are wounded when grenades are thrown at an American base in Fallujah, a stronghold for Saddam Hussein loyalists. Earlier, U.S. troops killed 15 civilians at a protest in the city.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, International Relations, and Development
Political Geography:: United States, Iraq, Middle East, and Maryland

3522. American Strategic, Tactical, and Other Mistakes in Iraq: A Litany of Errors

Author:: Anthony H. Cordesman
Publication Date:: 04-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:: Wartime is scarcely the easiest time for demanding self criticism, but the recent exchanges between the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense over the mistakes the US did or did not make in Iraq have highlighted the fact that the US must both admit its mistakes and learn from them to win in Iraq and successfully engage in the “long war.” The full chronology of what happened in US planning and operations before, during, and immediately after the fight to drive Saddam Hussein from power is still far from clear. It is now much easier to accuse given US leaders than it is to understand what really happened or assign responsibility with credibility.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, and Development
Political Geography:: Iraq, America, and Middle East

3523. Iraqi Economic Reconstruction and Development

Author:: Onur Ozlu
Publication Date:: 04-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:: The US aid effort in Iraq has not accomplished most of its sectoral goals, and more importantly, has not effectively initiated the reconstruction of the country's economy. After three years of struggle, the expenditure of more than $ 20 billion US aid funds, $ 37 billion Development Fund for Iraq (DFI) - UN accumulated from the oil for food program's revenues and the seizure of bank accounts- and death of thousands of US and other coalition soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis, Iraq is producing less oil, has less electricity and less water than it did during the Saddam period. After studying the modern Iraqi economic history as a background, this work analyzes why.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and Humanitarian Aid
Political Geography:: Iraq, Middle East, and Maryland

3524. The Rule of Law in China: Incremental Progress

Author:: Jamie P. Horsley
Publication Date:: 04-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:: Western media reporting on China does not give the impression of a rule of law country. We read of frequent corruption scandals, a harsh criminal justice system still plagued by the use of torture, increasingly violent and widespread social unrest over unpaid wages, environmental degradation and irregular takings of land and housing. Outspoken academics, activist lawyers, investigative journalists and other champions of the disadvantaged and unfortunate are arrested, restrained or lose their jobs. Entrepreneurs have their successful businesses expropriated by local governments in seeming violation of the recently added Constitutional guarantee to protect private property. Citizens pursue their grievances more through extra-judicial avenues than in weak and politically submissive courts. Yet China's economy gallops ahead, apparently confounding conventional wisdom that economic development requires the rule of law.
Topic:: International Relations, Development, and Economics
Political Geography:: United States, China, and Asia

3525. The Five Best Resource Decisions in National Security

Author:: Anthony H. Cordesman
Publication Date:: 05-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:: I was originally asked to address the five areas where our country has the most need to invest more for its security. This, however, is not the approach I would currently take to either issues involving national security or federal spending. In fact, my approach is almost the opposite. I am not a “spend without taxing” Republican, and I don't find much to celebrate in a President and Congress that have done the worst job of fiscal management in our nation's post-World War II history, if not our nation's entire history.
Topic:: International Relations, Security, Defense Policy, and Development

3526. Dividing Iraq: Think Long and Hard First

Author:: Anthony H. Cordesman
Publication Date:: 05-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:: I was originally asked to address the five areas where our country has the most need to invest more for its security. This, however, is not the approach I would currently take to either issues involving national security or federal spending. In fact, my approach is almost the opposite. I am not a “spend without taxing” Republican, and I don't find much to celebrate in a President and Congress that have done the worst job of fiscal management in our nation's post-World War II history, if not our nation's entire history.
Topic:: Conflict Prevention and Development
Political Geography:: Iraq, Middle East, and North Africa

3527. Why do some countries produce so much more output per worker than others?

Author:: Camelia Minoiu and Emmanuel Pikoulakis
Publication Date:: 10-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy at Columbia University
Abstract:: To explain differences in output per worker across countries, we test for the workings of a learning-by-doing hypothesis and the hypo thesis that the effectiveness of human capital depends on the laws and institutions that promote workplace practices that allow skills to develop. The quality of laws and institutions in the workplace is measured by an index of economic security (ESI). We find that ESI is a good proxy for human capital whilst educational attainment is not. We also find that countries with high ESI use more effectively the skills of the workforce and are better at exploiting profitable opportunities in capital markets.
Topic:: Development, Economics, Industrial Policy, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Political Economy

3528. National Accountability Strategies for Developing Countries

Author:: Terry F. Buss and F. Stevens Redburn
Publication Date:: 01-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The National Academy of Public Administration
Abstract:: The National Planning Department (NPD), Office of the President, Republic of Colombia, contacted the Academy seeking technical assistance in crafting a national accountability strategy for Colombia under President Uribe.The Academy worked with NPD on the strategy which is being tested in Colombia as 2005. This paper is a review of the issues prepared for NPD.
Topic:: Democratization, Development, Governance, and Reform
Political Geography:: Colombia

3529. A Socioeconomic Evaluation of Alternative Development in the Tropics of Cochabamba, Bolivia: Findings, Observations and Policy Recommendations

Author:: Maggie Ball, Ramón Escóbar, Steven Grin, and Leslie MacKeen
Publication Date:: 05-2006
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:: School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:: The coca plant, from which the narcotic cocaine is derived, has been at the core of a destabilizing and often violent national debate in Bolivia for more than two decades. Between July and September 2005, a Columbia University research team conducted an evaluation of the Bolivian government’s Alternative Development programs in the Tropics of Cochabamba. The team’s fi ndings reveal that Alternative Development, which aims to eliminate coca production, has inadequately planned and developed viable markets for alternative goods, and has been implemented in a divisive manner that has provoked further tensions in this unstable region. This paper provides specifi c policy recommendations that aim to address defi ciencies in the current Alternative Development agenda and offer concrete suggestions for future development programs in the Tropics of Cochabamba.
Topic:: Development, Socioeconomics, and Destabilization
Political Geography:: South America and Bolivia

3530. Turning Pirates Into Proprietors: How and Why to Make Software Intellectual Property Work in Developing Countries

Author:: Steven Yarger
Publication Date:: 05-2006
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:: School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:: Intellectual property (IP) assets are of paramount importance in the developed world. Yet the regulations used to protect these assets artifi cially limit their application in developing countries that could benefi t from the ideas these assets utilize. In the software industry, and because of distinct characteristics of software IP, this paper offers a solution that shares the value of these assets among various parties to improve outcomes for all. Through a partnership between local government and software IP owners, the labor enhancing benefi ts of software can be spread throughout the developing world legally and effi ciently
Topic:: Development, Intellectual Property/Copyright, Regulation, and Software
Political Geography:: Global Focus

3531. Challenges Facing Africa's regional Economic Comunities in Capacity Building

Author:: Soumana Sako
Publication Date:: 01-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Abstract:: The concern for regional cooperation and integration in Africa predates independence. The period 1960-1980, however, witnessed the emergence of the major regional integration schemes that pushed forward the Continent’s economic integration agenda. Post-independence regional economic integration and cooperation efforts resulted in a variety of initiatives with overlapping membership and mandates, making Africa the region with the highest density of economic integration and cooperation arrangements. Yet, these arrangements failed to impact positively on the Continent’s economic performance. Inadequate political will and commitment to the process; high incidence of conflicts and political instability; poor design and sequencing of regional integration arrangements; multiplicity of the schemes; inadequacy of funding; and exclusion of key stakeholders from the regional integration process are factors accounting for the ineffectiveness. Despite Africa’s unsatisfactory track record in regional integration over the decades, the case for cooperation and integration has become much stronger in recent years, due to the fact that the continent is facing a number of major challenges, notably globalization and the changing global economic and political environments, to which enhanced cooperation and integration constitute an appropriate response.
Topic:: Development, Globalization, Regional Integration, Community, and Regional Economy
Political Geography:: Africa

3532. Export Diversification: Is it Really Necessary for Botswana?

Author:: Joel Sentsho
Publication Date:: 12-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis
Abstract:: Even though Botswana gained independence as a very poor country in 1966, over the last three decades the country has risen to the level of a middle income developing country. The country’s GDP growth averaged about 9 percent over the fi rst three decades of independence and was thus comparable to that of the East Asian Tigers. Perhaps the only disadvantage with this impressive growth is that it was and continues to be fuelled by the primary sector, particularly diamond mining, although copper/nickel and beef were also important in the earlier years. As early as 1982, the Government of Botswana recognized that dependence on a narrow range of exports was undesirable and could have adverse long-term consequences, and that export diversifi cation was necessary. However, despite numerous policies aimed at achieving export diversifi cation, it appears that there has not been much success, and while sustained high rates of economic growth have been achieved this has remained dependent upon the primary export sector, mainly diamonds. This raises fundamental questions: Is export diversification really necessary for Botswana? Could Botswana not continue into the future and achieve the ideals of Vision 2016 through continued primary export growth? These questions will form the focus of this policy brief. The main objective of this Policy Brief is to explore the reasons why Botswana continues to pursue the export diversifi cation strategy in spite of its limited success over the years. The Policy Brief is based on the BIDPA-World Bank study entitled “Diversifying Botswana’s Exports: An Overview”, fi nalized in July 2005, which argues strongly that export diversifi cation still needs to be pursued by Botswana. This policy brief will summarise the reasons advanced by the study for the pursuit of export diversification and make recommendations on the way forward.
Topic:: Development, Economy, Diversification, and Exports
Political Geography:: Africa and Botswana

3533. Stadium Architecture and regional economic development: International experience and the plans of Durban

Author:: Wolfgang Maennig
Publication Date:: 01-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Chair for Economic Policy, University of Hamburg
Abstract:: For the FIFA World Cup 2010, South Africa plans to invest heavily. The positive economic effects that the country is hoping for stand in contrast to almost all statistical ex-post studies. This contribution emphasises that these results, usually from research under-taken in the USA, can only be generalised to a limited degree. The density of sports venues in developed countries is so high, that the marginal effects of new stadia are necessarily limited. We also emphasise that stadium design around the world was not hitherto adequately targeted towards positive economic effects. The example of Durban and its plans for a new “iconic” stadium is used to illustrate fundamental principles of stadium design and their embedding in a re-urbanisation process that have to be undertaken in order to consciously achieve positive regional economic effects.
Topic:: Development, Economics, Sports, Architecture, World Cup, Regional Economy, and Soccer
Political Geography:: Africa, South Africa, and Global Focus

3534. Violence and Insecurity: The Challenge in the Global South

Author:: Diane E. Davis
Publication Date:: 11-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:: It does not seem that long ago that optimism flowered about prospects for Democracy and sustained economic development on a worldwide scale. But hopes for the future have dimmed over the last several years, as problems of violence, crime, and insecurity have emerged with a vengeance in many parts of the global south. Forget big ideas about democracy; forget the aspirations for a globally competitive development strategy. Growing numbers of citizens in the global south are turning to demands for basic needs and human rights, as reflected in the accelerating desire for security and a life without violent conflict.
Topic:: Development, Human Rights, Democracy, and Conflict
Political Geography:: Global South

3535. Labor Mobility in Bolivia: On-the-Job Search Behavior of Public and Private Sector Employees

Author:: Lykke E. Andersen and Bent Jesper Christensen
Publication Date:: 01-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
Abstract:: Labor market frictions are even more pervasive in developing countries than in Western industrialized economies. In spite of this, stochastic models of frictional markets have rarely been applied to developing countries. In this paper, we estimate structural parameters of both a simple and an extended job separation model with the purpose of understanding constraints in the labor market in Bolivia. The results confirm the hypothesis that skilled labor is scarce in Bolivia, while unskilled labor is abundantly available. This implies that skilled employees shop around for alternative employment opportunities and quit their jobs when a better opportunity arises. The quit rate among skilled employees in the private sector is much higher than the quit rate among skilled employees in the public sector. The reverse is true for the lay-off rate, and together this suggests that the private sector has difficulties maintaining its skilled labor. The private sector might try to improve its capacity to retain skilled employees by increasing wages, but the wage sensitivity parameters estimated in this paper suggest that this is not going to work – skilled employees in the private sector do not seem to reduce their on-the-job search in response to higher wages.
Topic:: Development, Employment, Mobility, and Labor Market
Political Geography:: South America and Bolivia

3536. Derechos Humanos y Gobernabilidad Democrática. Oportunidades para la Cooperación Canadiense en el Perú

Author:: Carmela Chávez Irigoyen
Publication Date:: 01-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:: Recientemente, Canadá ha anunciado que el Perú se encuentra entre los 20 países en los cuales va a enfocar su ayuda al desarrollo. Se contará con mayores recursos financieros y humanos y se continuará trabajando para un mayor enfoque programático y geográfico orientándolo a lograr una mayor efectividad de la ayuda en respuesta a los principios de la Declaración de París. Así mismo ACDI ha priorizado un enfoque de derechos humanos en el campo de la governanza del sector de industrias extractivas y continuar con los programas de mejoramiento de la calidad en la educación formal, con énfasis en educación intercultural. Así mismo, continuará siendo un importante donante para el fortalecimiento de la Defensoría del Pueblo.
Topic:: Development, Human Rights, Governance, and Democracy
Political Geography:: South America and Peru

3537. Indo-US Relations: Where Are They Headed?

Author:: Ronen Sen
Publication Date:: 12-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for the Advanced Study of India
Abstract:: I am Francine Frankel, director of the Center for the Advanced Study of India. It is a very special pleasure to extend a warm welcome to all of you for this special occasion. We are honored to welcome Ambassador of India Ronen Sen for a very unusual event. This is the opportunity to participate in a dialogue with India's most distinguished diplomat and active participant in ongoing discussions of the potential for changing the direction of India-US relations and potentially the future great power balance in Asia.
Topic:: International Relations and Development
Political Geography:: United States, India, East Asia, and Asia

3538. From Estrangement to Engagement: U.S. - India Relations since May 1998

Author:: Strobe Talbott
Publication Date:: 02-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for the Advanced Study of India
Abstract:: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you very, very much for coming. My name is Peter Geithner. I have the privilege of welcoming you this afternoon, but I have to confess that I'm standing in for the Chairman of the International Advisory Board of CASI, Marshall Bouton. To his great regret, Marshall has had to lead a delegation from the city of Chicago, chaired by the mayor, on an overseas trip that he simply could not change in order to be here, but he sends his warmest regards and again expresses his great regrets at not being able to be part of this event this afternoon.
Topic:: International Relations and Development
Political Geography:: United States, South Asia, India, and Chicago

3539. "Qui a le bâton, a le buffle". Le corporatisme économique de l'armée pakistanaise

Author:: Amélie Blom
Publication Date:: 12-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales
Abstract:: "He who has the stick, has the buffalo". This Punjabi proverb applies well to Pakistan's armed forces, a majority of which, in fact, hail from this province. They have gradually formed an economic interest group with many industrial and commercial activities that have become an integral part of Pakistan's everyday life. Oddly enough, this patent fact has been neglected by the academic research on Pakistan or, at best, has only been addressed in a descriptive manner. The present study attempts to explain the transformation of Pakistan's armed forces into a significant economic actor by reinterpreting Charles Tilly's thesis about the dependent militarization of Third World states. It emphasizes the crucial role played by local capital, especially land. It also stresses how endogenous historical factors (the colonial legacy) and political factors (the delicate civil-military balance of power) have helped the army to consolidate itself institutionally. Yet, since the 1980s, the expansion of military economic corporatism has provoked increased tensions between the army and its civilian partners, primarily the bureaucracy, which is the main loser in this unfair competition for state property. It also produces social resistance: unprecedented civil disobedience movements have appeared, and old grievances emanating from ethnic groups under-represented within the army have been reawakened. The phenomenon also creates friction within the armed forces themselves. Nevertheless, these tensions do not seriously undermine a corporatist rationale that is far too effective and functional to disappear. Paradoxically, the military's "privatisation" contributes to its internal cohesion. Indeed, military patrimonialism in Pakistan can usefully be analysed as one of the many processes that has helped the armed forces maintain a strong "esprit de corps" and which has given rise to what can be termed "military syndicalism".
Topic:: Development, Economics, and Politics
Political Geography:: Pakistan and Asia

3540. CERI: "Shadow States"? State building and national invention under external constraint in Kosovo and East Timor (1974-2002)

Author:: Raphaël Pouyé
Publication Date:: 02-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales
Abstract:: Kosovo and East Timor have often been jointly considered for their common experience of new 'international protectorate'. These two territories were 'liberated' in 1999 by multilateral interventions' and thereafter ruled by United Nations transitional administrations. This feature is at the core of nearly all comparative exercises about the two territories to this day. However, another less obvious set of resemblances calls for renewed attention: it was indicated by the post-liberation resilience of indigenous institutions that had emerged during the 20 to 25 years of resistance. From this initial observation, I spent months in the field between 2000 and 2003 and uncovered a wider array of similarities. Three main parallels appeared. In both, the clandestine resistance networks, described here as 'crypto-states' have directed their strategic choices on the resort to violence according to perceived international opinion, while remaining a hybrid association of anti-state kinship groups and 'modern' urban elites, with the result of producing a dual discourse on nationhood: exclusive and militant on the one hand, inclusive and 'liberal' on the other.
Topic:: International Relations, Development, Politics, and United Nations
Political Geography:: Eastern Europe and Kosovo

3541. Adding 3Ns to the 3Ds: Lessons from the 1996 Zaire Mission for Humanitarian Interventions

Author:: Andrew F. Cooper
Publication Date:: 12-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:: This paper examines the 3D (defence, diplomacy, and development) framework for humanitarian interventions in weak states and/or conflict situations. It accepts that there are some considerable strengths built into this strategic concept for it privileges both a “whole of government” approach and the need to emphasize capacity building in all areas of governance. It argues, however, that the 3D framework remains too narrow in its logic and mode of application. The paper asserts that the 3D approach needs to be complemented by another configuration termed the 3Ns - niches, norms, and networks. In suggesting that the framework guiding humanitarian interventions needs to be extended in this fashion, this work considers both evolving cases (Afghanistan, Haiti, and potentially Darfur) and offers a detailed examination of the pivotal Canadian rescue mission to Zaire at the end of 1996. At the core of the paper is the contention that Canada needs to cast its involvement in humanitarian interventions through a less bureaucratically driven approach. What is required instead is a fuller appreciation of contextual considerations.
Topic:: Defense Policy, Development, Diplomacy, and Humanitarian Aid
Political Geography:: Afghanistan, Canada, and Haiti

3542. BRICSAM and the Non-WTO

Author:: Agata Antkiewicz and John Whalley
Publication Date:: 10-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:: We discuss recent regional trade and economic partnership agreements involving the large population, rapidly growing economies (BRICSAM: Brazil, Russia, China, India, South Africa, ASEAN, and Mexico). Perhaps 50 out of 300 agreements that exist worldwide involve BRICSAM countries; most are recently concluded and will be implemented over the next few years. Along with extensive bilateral investment treaties, mutual recognition agreements, and other country to country (or region) arrangements they are part of what we term the non-WTO. This paper aims to document and characterize the agreements and analyze their possible impacts. Agreements differ in specificity, coverage and content. In some treaties there are detailed and specific commitments, but these also co-exist with seemingly vague commitments and (at times) opaque dispute settlement and enforcement mechanisms. Whether these represent a partial replacement of the World Trade Organization (WTO) process for newly negotiated reciprocity based on global trade liberalization or largely represent diplomatic protocol alongside significant WTO disciplines is the subject of this paper.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:: Russia, China, India, Asia, South Africa, Brazil, and Mexico

3543. Stretching the Model of "Coalitions of the Willing"

Author:: Andrew F. Cooper
Publication Date:: 10-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:: Two models may be draw up of coalitions of the willing. The first model is epitomized by the group of countries assembled by the United States for the mobilization of the 2003 Iraq war. The second model is the form of coalition associated with the anti-personnel landmines campaign and the initiative on the International Criminal Court in the mid to late 1990s. This paper will explore the relationship between these different types of coalitions. The former type is characterized by a top-down, state-centric, and coerced/opportunistic strategic form. The latter type by way of contrast takes a bottom-up, voluntary, mixed actor, diplomatic approach. Yet, along side these differences are some striking, but unanticipated similarities. Most dramatically, both types have been assembled on an intense stylistic basis with an eye to avoiding the frustrations associated with working via established institutions. By looking more closely at the external expression and inner workings of these modes of activity, the model of coalitions of the willing is stretched out in terms of their motivations, sense of ownership, and future trajectory.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Development, and Government
Political Geography:: United States, Iraq, and Middle East

3544. Building Effective and Accountable Security Institutions in Africa

Author:: Jeffrey O. Isima
Publication Date:: 04-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform
Abstract:: This report is a product of a three-day workshop on Security Sector Governance in Africa, held in Cotonou, the Republic of Benin, in April 2005. The Workshop, titled Building Effective and Accountable Security Institutions in Africa: A Dialogue on Governance, was organised by the African Security Sector Network (ASSN) in collaboration with the Group on the Democratic, Economic and Social Development of Africa (GERDDES – Africa) and the African Security Dialogue Research (ASDR), and facilitated by the Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform (GFN-SSR).
Topic:: International Relations, Security, and Development
Political Geography:: Africa

3545. How to Negotiate Over Trade: A Summary of New Research for Developing Countries

Author:: John S. Odell and Antonio Ortiz Mena L.N.
Publication Date:: 01-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas
Abstract:: Developing country governments frequently negotiate with other governments over trade issues. Most developing countries are now members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and many of the rest are negotiating to join it. In the Doha Development Agenda, members find themselves facing multilateral talks of daunting complexity. The issues range from established ones such as market access, to the revision of WTO rules on antidumping, subsidies, and dispute settlement, to controversies over proposed new rules on investment and competition policies. Sometimes governments also negotiate to settle legal disputes about members' compliance with existing rules. Many are simultaneously negotiating new regional and bilateral pacts as well. This paper provides an advance summary of a research project developed by a group of scholars in 2003 to address the need of many developing countries to improve their capacity to participate effectively in trade negotiations.
Topic:: Development, Economics, Government, and International Trade and Finance

3546. Las bases internas de la política exterior: realidades y retos de la apertura económica y la democracia

Author:: Guadalupe González González
Publication Date:: 12-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas
Abstract:: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the links between economic liberalization, democratization and foreign policy using the Mexican experience as a case study. The paper revolves around three major concerns: a) the change in the role and place of foreign policy in the context of an open economy and a democratic regime, compared with the previous period of a closed economy and an authoritarian regime; b) the impact of economic liberalization and democratization on the formulation, agenda and orientation of foreign policy; c) the effects of the new economic, political and social internal configuration on the international position of Mexico and its negotiating capacity vis a vis the world. This work documents an increase in the level of activity and interest shown by numerous social, governmental and bureaucratic actors in foreign policy issues as a consequence of economic openness and democratization of the political regime, which leads towards a greater politization of the issue area. The main argument is that the deficits in economic and social development, democratic consolidation and governability, negatively affect the country's credibility and its negotiating capacity vis a vis the world.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Democratization, Development, and Economics
Political Geography:: Mexico

3547. Tendencias y patrones de la cooperación internacional para el desarrollo económico

Author:: Arturo C. Sotomayor
Publication Date:: 08-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas
Abstract:: This paper provides a literature review and explores the evolution of official development aid (ODA) in the past decade. The main empirical puzzles that guide this research are: how has foreign development aid or ODA evolved historically within the broader framework of international cooperation? Who are the main ODA contributors? What countries provide more foreign aid in terms of their gross domestic product? What motivations drive ODA contributions? Which developing countries benefit the most from foreign aid?
Topic:: Development, Economics, Humanitarian Aid, and Politics

3548. Getting to “No”: Defending Against Demands in NAFTA Energy Negotiations

Author:: Antonio Ortiz Mena L.N.
Publication Date:: 06-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas
Abstract:: How can a developing country defend itself against unwanted demands in international economic negotiations, especially when the demandeur is a stronger state? Such defense can be a necessary component of any strategy, not only a distributive one but also a mixed strategy aimed at a wider agreement that benefits both sides. Sometimes what looks like an unwelcome demand turns out, after exploration and exchanges of concessions, to be an acceptable element in a beneficial package deal. But some demands are unwelcome in the stronger sense that one's government places an infinite reservation value on that particular issue. The government would prefer no agreement. In the case of a deal breaker, the delegation can walk away from the entire negotiation, but this could have large costs in opportunities foregone and even possible penalties imposed. What are the alternatives short of walking away? Mexico's negotiators faced such situation in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations with the United States and Canada (1990-1992), specifically in the energy sector. In general the three states sought a mutual-gains agreement, and in general each employed a mixed strategy. In energy, however, Washington made demands--regarding investment and supply commitments--which Mexico found unacceptable. At the end of the day the Mexican team managed to attain its main offensive negotiation aims in NAFTA (significantly improved market access, faster tariff reductions in the U.S. and Canada than in Mexico, and an effective dispute settlement mechanism), as well as the main defensive ones in energy. How did they do it? Structural conditions, such as being a neighbor of the U.S., gives Mexico certain leverage in negotiations, for the U.S. will typically take into account non-economic considerations when negotiating over economic issues. Nonetheless, many lessons derived from Mexico's negotiation strategy in energy negotiations during NAFTA can be applied across a range of cases.
Topic:: Development, Economics, Energy Policy, and Government
Political Geography:: United States, Washington, Canada, North America, and Mexico

3549. What Role for Learning? The Diffusion of Privatisation in the OECD and Latin American Countries

Author:: Covadonga Meseguer
Publication Date:: 06-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas
Abstract:: In this paper, I enquire whether 37 governments in industrial and in Latin American countries privatised as a result of learning from experience. Using a rational updating model, I examine whether the decision in the 1980s and 1990s to streamline the public sector was the outcome of a revision of beliefs about the effectiveness of privatisation or whether, alternatively, it was triggered by international pressures or mimicry. The results suggest that rational learning and especially emulation were two important factors in the decision to privatise. International pressures, here proxied by the presence or absence of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund and by European Union membership, are irrelevant to explanations of the decision to privatise. Finally, domestic political conditions appear relevant to the decision to launch privatisation but only when the analysis is carried out for each of the regional sub-samples. In the OECD countries, centre-left governments were more likely to privatise whereas in Latin American more repressive regimes were more willing to divest.
Topic:: International Relations, Development, and Government
Political Geography:: Latin America

3550. What is New in the Study of Policy Diffusion? A Critical Review

Author:: Fabricio Gilardi and Convadonga Meseguer
Publication Date:: 04-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas
Abstract:: This paper surveys what is new in the study of the international diffusion of policies and institutions. We critically review the most recent contributions on the topic, trying to identify the substantive and methodological novelties in this literature. Regarding mechanisms, we argue that whereas there is acknowledgement that they overlap, there is hardly any attention to the way in which they interact (either with other mechanisms of diffusion or with domestic factors). More generally, mechanisms are studied separately and are not integrated into a coherent model of diffusion. Regarding empirics, we argue that existing studies have concentrated on policies that seem to have diffused in an explosive way despite the fact that both theory and methods are appropriate to study any type of diffusion. We argue that new empirical work should tackle the difficult issue of how to better operationalize alternative diffusion mechanisms. More attention should also be given to modeling diffusion processes to account for the fact that causal patterns may be highly heterogeneous in time and space. Finally, we show that the last wave of studies on diffusion may have had the unintended consequence of opening up new questions. Some of these questions are about the mechanisms that initiate vs. accelerate the diffusion of policies and institutions, why policies diffuse in clusters rather than globally, why some policies diffuse faster than others and why some policies do not diffuse at all.
Topic:: International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Development

3551. Erez Industrial Estate Pilot Study: An Implementation Plan

Author:: Jocelyn Brooks
Publication Date:: 08-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: EastWest Institute
Abstract:: A previous study by the East West Institute in April 2005 concluded that industrial estates offer promising opportunities for economic rehabilitation, employment regeneration, the development of export-based industries, and provide a focal point for domestic and international investment in the Palestinian Territories.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:: Middle East and Palestine

3552. The Erez and Gaza Industrial Estates: Catalysts for Development

Author:: Aiman Mackie
Publication Date:: 05-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: EastWest Institute
Abstract:: The political and economic landscape in the Middle East is changing in ways that would have been hard to imagine months ago. With changes in governments, the near cessation of violence, the more active reengagement of the United States in the peace process, and various positive signals from both sides, including direct meetings between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the longstanding conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is entering a period of relative optimism. Recent indications are that the Palestinian Authority is ready to work jointly with five parallel working groups being set up by the Government of Israel to address different aspects of the planned disengagement from Gaza, and the Quartet Principals have appointed out- going World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn as Special Envoy for Gaza Disengagement. The Special Envoy is charged with leading, overseeing and coordinating the international community's efforts in support of the disengagement initiative.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:: United States, Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and Gaza

3553. Controlling Foreigners, Passengers, Citizens : Surveillance and Counterterrorism

Author:: Valsamis Mitsilegas
Publication Date:: 06-2005
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Cultures & Conflits
Institution:: Cultures & Conflits
Abstract:: Recent years witnessed calls for the intensification of surveillance and the monitoring of people globally. This article will examine this intensification of surveillance in the European Union, by analysing legislation requiring carriers to transmit to immigration authorities passenger data, an agreement between the Community and the US on the transfer of passenger name records (PNR) to US authorities, and EU plans to introduce biometrics in passports and visas and enhance the interoperability of EU databases (such as SIS and VIS). These developments, justified by a 'war on terror' discourse, widen the net of surveillance and raise a number of questions regarding legitimacy, democracy and the protection of fundamental rights in the EU. They also appear to be at odds with the concept of the EU as a borderless area. The article will address these issues by analysing the negotiations, content and implications of these initiatives. Ces dernières années les demandes d'intensification de la surveillance et des contrôles du mouvement des personnes au niveau mondial se sont développées. Cet article examine cette intensification de la surveillance au sein de l'UE en analysant la législation obligeant les transporteurs à fournir les données personnelles des passagers aux services d'immigration, un accord entre l'UE et les Etats-Unis sur le transfert des « passenger name records » (PNR) aux autorités américaines, et les plans européens d'introduction de données biométriques aux passeports et visas et d'amélioration de l'interopérabilité des bases de données européennes (SIS et VIS notamment). Ces développements, justifiés par un discours de « guerre au terrorisme », élargissent le réseau de la surveillance et soulèvent un certain nombre de questions sur la légitimité, la démocratie, et la protection des droits fondamentaux dans l'UE. Ils apparaissent également en décalage avec le concept de l'UE comme espace sans frontières. Ce texte abordera ces questions en analysant les négociations, le contenu et les implications de telles initiatives.
Topic:: Development
Political Geography:: Europe

3554. Foreword: Franco-Brazilian Dialogue on Violence and Democracy

Publication Date:: 09-2005
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Cultures & Conflits
Institution:: Cultures & Conflits
Abstract:: In France as in Brazil, violence and its modes of usage are thesubject of vivid and intense debates. The acts of violence inquestion have, however, little in common. The authors of this newissue of Cultures Conflits propose to examine the terms of thesedebates that feature and combine in complex shapes myths of nationaldemocracies, media representations, and the (in)abilities of thestate to effectively regulate the social sphere. These Franco-Brazilian dialogues on violence and democracy are part of a largercultural exchange linking since long Latin America and Europe - as Glauber Rocha and Roberto Rossellini remind us. An asymetricexchange, if any, marked by the feeling of being perpetually trappedin an unfinished development. This has, however, never prevented themto show significant inventive capacities, .Confllictual dialogue, useful when the (re)discovery of self isdeveloped through the mirror of the other.
Topic:: Development
Political Geography:: Europe and Brazil

3555. Organizational blindness: a methodological approximation of the functioning of organizations

Author:: Delphine Mercier
Publication Date:: 12-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:: This article analyzes organizational phenomena using the perspective of sociological theory, and in particular interactionist sociology. I demonstrate that traditional analysis in terms of power, professional culture, or autonomy regulation does not reveal the complexity of the dynamic of the interactions of an organizational structure. I construct an interpretative and methodological framework towards understanding the causes of organizational blindness and some possible resolutions. This argument is illustrated through the analysis of a case study that departs from the definition created by the organization's actors.
Topic:: Civil Society, Development, and Politics

3556. Radical conclusion and conflict in the formation of the people's populism

Author:: Sebastián Barros
Publication Date:: 12-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:: This article reviews the concept of populism as presented by Ernesto Laclau. I argue that Laclau's definition needs to clarify the reference to “the excluded” in order to isolate the specificity of populism. By bringing into the discussion an argument about the conflictive nature of politics, I contend that populism can be defined as the moment of the eruption of the excluded. In other words, the idea of radical inclusion means that populist discourse provokes the transformation of the institutional order.
Topic:: Civil Society, Development, Government, and Politics

3557. Elections in Mexico: restrictions, fraud, and conflicts

Author:: José María Infante
Publication Date:: 12-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:: The development of electoral processes in modern democracies has a long history of reconstructions that slowly lifted restrictive conditions. This development has not been without conflicts and many obstacles have had to be overcome to establish citizens' confidence in voting. In the case of Mexico, electoral transformation experienced many difficulties, and combined with the strong presence of the state machinery elections were unreliable until the end of the 20th century. Therefore, despite advances, there are still many problems with the electoral process. This article provides a summary of the principal electoral issues in the past decade in an attempt to unravel the causes.
Topic:: Civil Society, Democratization, Development, and Government
Political Geography:: Mexico

3558. Chilean Foreign Policy: Exceptionality or Continuity? A review of "profound forces" and tendencies

Author:: María Elena Lorenzini and Myriam Colacrai
Publication Date:: 12-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:: The purpose of this article is to explore how identity and profound forces shape the foreign policy of states. The author discusses how traditional Chilean foreign policy actions reveal its identity while also taking into account new external policy trends that seemingly operate within the construction of a new identity. With respect to profound forces, the article examines the following: institutional stability and democratic processes ( Pinochet's dictatorship is an exception here), presidentialism, territorial factors and regional balance, and the civic-pragmatic style of its diplomacy.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Development, and Government
Political Geography:: South America

3559. (In)accessibility of the knowledge society: a critical reading of the production of modern sociology

Author:: Daniel Muriel
Publication Date:: 12-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:: The purpose of this article is to develop an approximation of the concept of a society of knowledge while trying to avoid the risks that this implies when using a modernist perspective of sociology. The author reviews the different major phases of change described by modern sociologists since the second half of the 20th century. The article provides a critical review of modern sociological thought in relation to a plausible formulation of a knowledgable society as a conceptual tool that helps us to understand certain contemporary problems.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Civil Society, Development, and Education

3560. Communitarianism as the Official Politics of "Middle Earth"

Author:: Rafael Cuesta
Publication Date:: 06-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:: In this article, I analyze some political and philosophical references taken from the movie, The Lord of the Rings. This production was immensely popular at the end of the twentieth century (from a literary perspective as well as from a cinematography viewpoint) however it maintains many characteristics of epic poems and ancient legends such as the expressions of Beowulf. The article aims to establish the terms of a central debate in contemporary political theory by examining the representation of communitarianism and liberalism portrayed in J.R. Tolkien ́s work.
Topic:: Civil Society, Development, Education, and Politics

3561. Political Science or How to Engage in Politics by Other Means

Author:: Iaki Martnez de Albeniz
Publication Date:: 06-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:: This article is concerned with the scientific production of politics from a critical viewpoint. Using a constructivist perspective, it analyzes the so-called black box of political science, namely the essence of politics itself. Although protected from critique, because in principle a discipline cannot question the object of its analysis, it is precisely the definition of politics that is the most controversial and thus requires further analysis. Therefore, the central theme of political science is the definition of politics. I contend that once politics is defined, not as a certainty but as a scientific construction, it raises many questions: Why does the issue of the meaning of politics emerge? How does political science construct politics? What are the discursive effects of this construction in the political sphere? What does it mean to “do politics” and how do we define political action? It is these questions that I seek to address in this article.
Topic:: Development, Politics, and Science and Technology

3562. Ethics and Politics in the Democratic Society

Author:: María de los Ángeles Yannuzzi
Publication Date:: 06-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:: In this article I argue that the relationship between ethics and politics in modern democracy is tense and dangerous. In particular, it is dangerous because ethics introduces a strong moral relativism. Moreover, in complex societies this connection cannot be sustained in the field of politics. That is, when power enters the ethical dimension it distorts it because the discourse of ethics becomes a way of justifying power. It is this interweaving that causes constant tension between ethics and politics such that there is never a satisfactory resolution. Therefore, I purport that only the implementation of an argumentative logic that starts with the recognition of the precariousness and ambivalence of the relation between ethics and politics can serve as a protection against those distortions. Without this approach there is risk that the spaces of liberty will be limited by the power of the state in the name of ethics.
Topic:: Development, Government, Human Rights, and Politics

3563. Politicians of Global Governance

Author:: Philip Sebastian Mller
Publication Date:: 06-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:: Global governance offers an alternative perspective from which to imagine world order and is becoming a serious contender for explaining how we see the world and it is guiding us in legitimizing our actions in the world. Who are the politicians of global governance? What can we expect from them? What is their agenda? In order to address these questions, two things are necessary: We need to look at the structural and generative logic of global governance, identify its politics, and question the real people that are the politicians of global governance that have real-world impacts in a world order conceptualized as global governance.
Topic:: Development, Government, International Organization, and Politics

3564. Afghanistan: Old Problems, New Parliament, New Expectations

Author:: Emily Hsu and Beth DeGrasse
Publication Date:: 10-2005
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: With the September 18 parliamentary elections, Afghanistan completes its internationally mandated blueprint for democracy and enters a new phase of state building in uncharted waters. This transition occurs against the backdrop of rising threats to security and an economy dominated largely by illicit production and export of opium. On October 12, 2005, the U.S. Institute of Peace convened a meeting of the Afghanistan Working Group to review the recent parliamentary elections. The presenters at the meeting included Robert Varsalone, resident country director for Afghanistan for the International Republican Institute; Sam Zia-Zarifi, research director for the Asia Division of Human Rights Watch; Larry M. Sampler, former chief of staff for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan; and Barnett R. Rubin, chairman of the Afghanistan Working Group. The following USIPeace Briefing summarizes views expressed at the meeting. The views expressed here do not reflect those of the Institute, which does not take positions on policy issues.
Topic:: Democratization, Development, and Politics
Political Geography:: Afghanistan, United States, and Asia

3565. Belarus : Is a Peaceful Turn Towards Democracy Possible?

Publication Date:: 12-2005
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: Described as the last remaining dictatorship in Europe, Belarus is scheduled to have a presidential election in 2006 that could prove crucial to the future of the country. After nonviolent democratic revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine, questions arise about similar changes in Belarus: Is a peaceful transition to democracy in Belarus possible? And if so, what would be needed to make that happen?
Topic:: Democratization, Development, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:: Europe, Ukraine, and Georgia

3566. Syria and Political Change

Author:: Mona Yacoubian and Scott Lasensky
Publication Date:: 12-2005
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: This USIPeace Briefing , written by Scott Lasensky and Mona Yacoubian of the Institute's Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention, is based on discussions at a recent seminar. The views expressed do not reflect those of the Institute, which does not take policy positions. Syria is facing unprecedented pressure from the international community on issues ranging from Syrian meddling in Lebanon to its support for terrorist groups. The United Nations investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri will release its second report in mid- December 2005. The current crisis has increased speculation about prospects for political change in Syria. The opacity of Syrian politics means there are more questions than answers. Nonetheless, a number of key indicators suggest a changing political environment, in a country where political development has essentially been frozen for thirty-five years.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and Politics
Political Geography:: Middle East and Syria

3567. Iraq before the Election: Constructing a National Narrative

Author:: Courtney Rusin
Publication Date:: 12-2005
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: Iraq will elect a new parliament on December 15th. The new government—whatever its composition—will then be in a race to build a democratic order before the insurgency creates enough chaos to break it down. Whether or not the government succeeds depends on how political events of the past two years have set the stage for the December elections—and on the prospects of creating a national narrative that encompasses all of Iraq's main political and ethno-sectarian groups.
Topic:: Democratization, Development, and Politics
Political Geography:: Iraq and Middle East

3568. Strategies for Peace in the Niger Delta

Author:: Dorina Bekoe
Publication Date:: 12-2005
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: The Niger Delta, an area of dense mangrove rainforest in the southern tip of Nigeria, comprises nine of Nigeria's thirty-six states: Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo, and Rivers. The region's oil accounts for approximately 90 percent of the value of Nigeria's exports, but the Niger Delta remains one of Nigeria's least developed regions.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:: Africa and Nigeria

3569. Lessons for the Future of Civic Resistance: Georgia and Ukraine

Publication Date:: 11-2005
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: Following the successes of the peaceful revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine, experts are examining these movements for insights into future prospects for nonviolent civic resistance. They hope to find lessons in these successes that might hold significance for nonviolent political change in other non-democratic countries.
Topic:: Development, Government, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:: Ukraine, Eastern Europe, and Georgia

3570. The Long and Winding Road to Arab Democracy

Author:: Erik Boel
Publication Date:: 09-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: From Marrakesh to Cairo and from Ramallah to Riyadh, the Arabs debate and reflect on their own society as never done before. However, the road to democratisation in that region is long and winding. This paper analyses the experience the Americans have acquired regarding that goal which the US has placed on top of the international agenda. Experience, which can also be useful in a Danish context.
Topic:: Democratization, Development, and Government
Political Geography:: Middle East

3571. Migrant Remittances, Development and Gender

Author:: Ninna Nyberg Sørensten
Publication Date:: 07-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: Migration transforms not only the destiny of individual migrants but also the conditions of family members left behind, of local communities and of the wider society. Despite the fact that migratory processes are multidimensional and may generate a wide array of positive as well as negative consequences for development, remittances have lately become the single most emphasized evidence and measuring stick for the ties connecting migrants with their societies of origin.
Topic:: Civil Society, Development, Gender Issues, and Migration

3572. A Special Part of Europe: Nation, State and Religion among Orthodox Slavs

Author:: Biljana Vankovska and Håkan Wiberg
Publication Date:: 06-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: The paper studies how nation, state and religion – in particular: churches – are related among Orthodox South Slavs: Bulgarians, Serbs, Macedonians and Montenegrins. The close relations between (self-conceived) nations and churches go back to the Ottoman Empire, and seem to have been strengthened by the conflicts in Former Yugoslavia since 1990. The close relation between state and nation go back to how the Ottoman empire was dissolved and have also been strengthened by the same conflicts, even though all states proclaim themselves as non- discriminatory in this respect. The close relation between church and state also has long historical roots, but is more ambiguous today, with elements of competition as well as cooperation – and the latter is seen by many as having gone too far under communism. It is notable that where there are attempts to stabilise a separate identity – in Macedonia and Montenegro – establishing separate churches is a part of this on par with defining separate languages, rewriting history, etc. and the churches are seen as important national symbols even among quite secularised groups; and the same is true for the resistance against separation from the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Topic:: Development, Government, and Religion
Political Geography:: Europe, Eastern Europe, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Montenegro

3573. Can NEPAD succeed without prior reform?

Author:: Ian Taylor
Publication Date:: 06-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: The New Partnership for Africa's Development or Nepad has been enthusiastically pushed by a select number of countries in Africa, as well as by the G-8, as a means to stimulate what has been termed the "African Renaissance" (see www.uneca.org/nepad/nepad.pdf). Nepad was launched in Abuja, Nigeria, in October 2001; it arose from the mandate granted to five African heads of state (Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa) by the then Organization of African Unity (OAU) to work out a development program to spearhead Africa's renewal.
Topic:: International Relations, Development, and International Organization
Political Geography:: Africa, Egypt, Senegal, and Nigeria

3574. Trade in the Small-and Micro-Enterprise Sector in Kenya and other Countries in Eastern and Southern Africa

Author:: Poul Ove Pedersen
Publication Date:: 04-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: Since the famous ILO report on the informal sector in Kenya was published in 1972 the smallscale enterprises have been recognised to play an important role in the Kenyan economy as in other African countries. However, although often more than half of all the small enterprises are traders. Most small enterprise policies have focussed almost entirely on the small scale producers. The small-scale traders have generally been seen as unproductive activities with no positive role to play in development, a sign of poverty, although they are responsible for a large share of the national distribution system. The paper attempts to look at this paradox and investigate the role of the small scale traders in the small enterprise sector and in the development process.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and Third World
Political Geography:: Kenya and Africa

3575. The Development of the Informal Small-Enterprise Sector in Eastern and Southern Africa: From Import Substitution to Structural Adjustment

Author:: Poul Ove Pedersen
Publication Date:: 04-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: In spite of its growing importance in the African economies, the informal, small-enterprise sector still plays a dubious and little understood role in development. Due to lack of data it is often treated as if it was unrelated to the rest of the economy. However, a number og large surveys carried out in a number of African countries indicate that structure and development of the small-enterprise sector vary greatly both from country to country and over time, depending in a complex way on the national differences in socio-economic structures and policies.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and Industrial Policy
Political Geography:: Africa

3576. PRTs in Afghanistan: Successful but not Sufficient

Author:: Peter Viggo Jakobsen
Publication Date:: 04-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: The report analyses the contributions made by the provincial reconstruction teams (PRTs) on the ground in Afghanistan. It concludes that the PRTs are successful because they have helped to extend the authority of the Afghan government beyond Kabul, facilitated reconstruction and dampened violence. At the same time, it is equally clear that they cannot address the underlying causes of insecurity in Afghanistan. The PRTs only make sense as part of an overall strategy in which they serve to buy time while other instruments are employed to tackle the military threat posed by the Taliban and Al Qaida; the infighting between the warlords; the increased lawlessness and banditry; and the booming opium poppy cultivation and the drug trade. A comprehensive strategy that couples the deployment of more PRTs by NATO with determined action against these causes of instability is therefore required. Future PRTs should be based on the UK PRT model, which is generally considered the most successful. To heighten its profile in Afghanistan, Denmark should consider establishing a PRT of its own or contributing to the establishment of a joint Nordic PRT.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, NATO, and Development
Political Geography:: Afghanistan, United Kingdom, Middle East, and Denmark

3577. Regional Histories of Development and Security: Seguridad a la Americana

Author:: Fiona Wilson
Publication Date:: 02-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: The argument of this paper is that there is nothing new about the political connection made between development and security. This has characterized US relations with Latin America grounded in the Monroe Doctrine (giving the US right to intervene) that dates back to 1823. The focus here is on the 1960's, the aftermath of the Cuban Revolution, when the securitydevelopment complex was put firmly in place through the build-up of the region's armed forces militaries and an aggressive, anti-communist ideology under the aegis of the US military. In this context, the paper revisits a visionary paper written by the Brazilian economist Celso Furtado in 1966 when in exile, giving his (Latin American) analysis of the securitydevelopment complex and need to react against US economic hegemony, an important strand in dependency theory.
Topic:: Security, Development, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:: United States, Brazil, Cuba, and Central America

3578. Peace, Aid Renewed Anti-Colonial Resistance: The Development of Secular Palestinian NGOs in the post-Oslo Period

Author:: Michael Irving Jensen
Publication Date:: 02-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: Soon after the signing of the Declaration of Principles (DoP) in Washington on September 13, 1993 some forty donor states and organisations met and pledged to donate US$ 2.4 billion over a five-year period (i.e. coinciding with the transitional five year (1994-1999) period of the Oslo process). As the peace process during the late 1990s was characterised by stalemate, the donor community in October 1998 (coinciding with the signing of the Wye River memorandum) decided to extend their aid and to support the Palestinians with another US$3.3 billion for the period of 1999-2004 (Sayigh Shikaki, 1999). Although not all the promised aid has been disbursed, the PNA has during the past decade become increasingly dependent on foreign aid, and today the Palestinians are among the most receiving entities per capita worldwide.
Topic:: Development, Human Welfare, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:: Washington, Middle East, and Palestine

3579. Development of African Freight Transport - the Case of Kenya

Author:: Patrick O. Alila, Meleckidzedeck Khayesi, Walter Odhiambo, and Poul Ove Pederson
Publication Date:: 02-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: The Kenyan transport system is still to a large extent structured by physical infrastructure, legislation and institutions developed during the colonial period, and by import-substitution policies which during the first decades after independence to a large extent allowed the transport system to deteriorate. However, since the late 1980s the structural adjustment policies have led to a renewed interest both from the government and the donors in developing the transport infrastructure. At the same time trade liberalisation, deregulation of domestic trade and privatisation of the parastatals have since the mid-1990s led to a reshaping of both trade and transport which is still ongoing. The so-called logistical revolution, which since the early 1970s has revolutionised transport in the industrialised and industrialising world, has with a delay of two decades also reached Africa. This is resulting in much closer integration of transport into production and trade which tend to shift the focus away from the physical transport infrastructure to the institutional structures and organisations which support and exploit the infrastructures. This paper tries to describe the resulting transformation of the Kenyan transport system.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:: Kenya and Africa

3580. Indigenous peoples, gender and natural resource management

Author:: Cæcilie Mikkelsen
Publication Date:: 02-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: It is generally assumed that both gender and ethnicity are decisive factors in natural resource management and that changes in access to natural resources have differing effects on men and women and on indigenous and non-indigenous peoples. The issues of ethnicity and gender are, however, rarely explored together in relation to natural resource management. The present paper seeks to provide an overview of the present state of research dealing with indigenous peoples, gender and natural resource management. It examines the position of indigenous women in 'women and environment' literature and the aspect of gender in literature dealing with indigenous peoples natural resource management. It reviews empirical literature specifically dealing with indigenous women's use and knowledge of natural resources, and the relationship between modernization, natural resource degradation and indigenous gender relations. The paper concludes that gender is indeed a relevant factor for understanding indigenous peoples' natural resource management and therefore also critical to consider in relation to planned development and conservation. However, the question of gender equality and equity in relation to indigenous peoples' natural resource management must be situated within the context of continued ethnic discrimination and indigenous peoples struggle for self determination.
Topic:: Civil Society, Development, Gender Issues, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:: Denmark

3581. Reforming from the Top - A Leaders' 20 Summit

Author:: Andrew F. Cooper, Ramesh Thakur, and John English
Publication Date:: 10-2005
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: This document is based on a forthcoming book that examines the feasibility of creating an institution known as the “L20”, a summit of twenty world leaders whose objective would be to break the international deadlock over some of the most pressing problems facing the world. In a climate of despondency over the achievements of existing global institutions such as the G7/8, the United Nations, the World Bank and others in dealing with these major issues—which include terrorism, HIV/AIDS, globalization and the “global apartheid” between the developed North and the developing South —this document asks what is new and unique about the L20 that might enable it to make the breakthrough where others are deemed to have failed. Is the L20 destined to be the defining institution of the 21st century, or is it doomed to remain merely an idea?
Topic:: Development, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, and United Nations

3582. Regulating Bioprospecting: Institutions for Drug Research, Access and Benefit-Sharing

Author:: Padmashree Gehl Sampath
Publication Date:: 04-2005
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: This policy brief summarizes the main arguments and conclusions of a forthcoming book by United Nations University Press, which examines the regulation of bioprospecting for drug research from an interdisciplinary law and economics perspective. Bioprospecting was once touted as a promising opportunity for collaborative ventures in biotechnology-based research and development (R) between the genetic resources-rich South and the technology-rich North, especially in the case of drug research. However this promise has yet to materialize. Understanding why this is so is a central policy question for countries in the South that wish to leverage their biodiversity endowments in the development process.
Topic:: Development, Environment, Health, and Science and Technology

3583. Rising Spatial Disparities and Development

Author:: Ravi Kanbur and Anthony J. Venables
Publication Date:: 09-2005
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: Amidst a growing concern about increasing inequality, the spatial dimensions of inequality have begun to attract considerable policy interest. In China, Russia, India, Mexico, and South Africa, as well as most other developing and transition economies, there is a sense that spatial and regional disparities in economic activity, incomes and social indicators, are on the increase. Spatial inequality is a dimension of overall inequality, but it has added significance when spatial and regional divisions align with political and ethnic tensions to undermine social and political stability. Also important in the policy debate is a perceived sense that increasing internal spatial inequality is related to greater openness of economies, and to globalization in general.
Topic:: International Relations, Foreign Policy, Demographics, and Development
Political Geography:: Russia, China, India, South Africa, and Mexico

3584. Extension of Saving and Investment Incentives

Author:: Eric Toder
Publication Date:: 06-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Urban Institute
Abstract:: Thank you for inviting me to testify today at this hearing on extension of the incentives for savings and investment that are scheduled to expire in the next few years. Major tax incentives enacted in 2001 and 2003 that are scheduled to expire and that the Congress may consider renewing include the special lower tax rates for capital gains and dividend income enacted in 2003, and the increase in the annual deduction amount for qualified section 179 property, the savers credit, and the above the line deduction for qualified post-secondary education expenses, all enacted in 2001. The education deduction and the increase in the section 179 deduction expire at the end of this year, the savers credit expires at the end of 2006, and the lower tax rates for capital gains and dividends expire at end of 2008.
Topic:: Development, Economics, Education, and Government

3585. State Building under Foreign Supervision: Intervention in Bosnia-Herzegovina 1996-2003

Author:: Senada Šelo Šabić
Publication Date:: 05-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Austrian National Defence Academy
Abstract:: This introductory chapter frames the ideas that have preoccupied me in relation to the nature of post-war re conciliation among the parties to the Bosnian conflict and the role of external actors in facilitating this reconciliation. This thesis is the result of my profound interest in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the doubts raised with regards to its fate: whether or not this newborn is a stillborn? My interest in the case in hand led me to explore several fascinating topics, most of which triggered new ideas and an ambition to research them more fully.
Topic:: Development, International Cooperation, International Organization, International Political Economy, and Political Economy
Political Geography:: Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Balkans

3586. After Intervention: Public Security Management in Post-Conflict Societies - From Intervention to Sustainable Local Ownership

Author:: Anja H. Ebnöther and Philipp H. Fluri
Publication Date:: 08-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Austrian National Defence Academy
Abstract:: The transition from interventionist (military) peace-keeping to local (civilian) ownership of public security management has proved not only to be a severe challenge for most peace-keeping operations and their civilian administrators, but also a reason for such operations being prolonged at tremendous cost. In many cases, peace-keeping operations and/or other international agents rapidly became part of the local economy, and thus contributed to the preservation of the status quo rather than to a sustainable process leading toward local governance; meanwhile local police organs - often remnants of the winning force in the antecedent conflict - remained tribal or clannish in their approaches and interests. They could thus hardly be seen as enforcement agencies of a law which remains equally applied to all citizens.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, Security, Development, International Organization, and War
Political Geography:: Iraq, Middle East, and Balkans

3587. Angola - Drivers of Change: An Overview

Author:: Alex Vines, Nicholas Shaxson, and Lisa Rimli
Publication Date:: 05-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Chatham House
Abstract:: Angola has undergone dramatic economic and political changes since independence from Portugal in 1975, and continues to face severe challenges three decades later. An open democratic process has not yet been established, the economy faces deep-rooted structural imbalances, and the country's international relations have undergone many shifts and changes, so that it is currently again in a major transitional era.
Topic:: Civil Society, Democratization, Development, Government, and Poverty
Political Geography:: Africa

3588. La Représentation Du Culte Musulman En France

Author:: Alain Boyer
Publication Date:: 03-2005
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: French Politics, Culture Society
Institution:: Conference Group on French Politics Society
Abstract:: Les musulmans se sont installés en France à cause et à la suite des deux guerres mondiales, essentiellement en provenance des pays sous domination française, à la fois comme recrues dans les armées françaises et comme force de travail. Ils ont ensuite participé à la reconstruction et au développement du pays, comme immigration de main d'oeuvre, durant les Trente Glorieuses. Ces flux migratoires se sont poursuivis, après la décolonisation et les indépendances, dans les années 1960. S'ils ont été freinés par l'arrêt de l'immigration en 1973, ils n'en ont pas pour autant totalement cessé, puisque l'on considère que sont entrés, depuis lors, en France, chaque année, environ 100 000 immigrés d'origines diverses. Bien plus, l'arrêt de l'immigration, en rendant très difficile la perspective d'un éventuel retour en France, et le regroupement familial ont concouru à l'installation durable en France de familles immigrées cherchant plus ou moins consciemment à s'intégrer dans la société française. Peu à peu se sont constituées des communautés musulmanes qui ont essayé de négocier, surtout pour obtenir des avantages individuels plus que collectifs, les modalités de leur intégration. Les populations immigrées ont souvent été reléguées dans les zones d'urbanisation récente, l'habitat social et les banlieues des grandes villes et ont été cantonnées, pour la première, et souvent pour la deuxième génération, dans des métiers peu qualifiés directement menacés par le chômage. Les immigrés et leurs enfants appelés à devenir français, dès lors qu'ils étaient nés en France, ont été victimes d'inégalités et d'exclusions par l'école, le travail et le logement.
Topic:: Development and Immigration
Political Geography:: France and West Africa

3589. On Being Religious: Patterns Of Religious Commitment In Muslim Societies

Author:: Riaz Hassan
Publication Date:: 06-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:: Using the analytical framework developed by the Berkley research programme in religion and society, this paper will report findings from a comparative study of Muslim piety of over 6000 respondents from Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Iran, Egypt, Turkey, and Kazakhstan. The findings show similarities as well as significant differences in patterns of religious commitments among the respondents in the study. This is probably the first attempt to compare and 'map out' Muslim religiosity in Muslim countries. The first part of the paper will report the findings and the analysis by gender, life cycle, education and social position. The second part of the paper will discuss the findings using analytical insights from Emile Durkheim and Mary Douglas' sociology of religion. In this section, the paper will also compare selected aspects of Christian and Muslim piety and offer sociological explanations of the significant differences in 'experiential religiosity' between Christians and Muslims. The Christian piety data will be drawn from primary and secondary sources. The paper will conclude with a discussion of the sociological implications of these findings for social political and religious trajectories of Muslim countries.
Topic:: Civil Society, Development, Government, and Religion
Political Geography:: Pakistan, Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, and Egypt

3590. A Presentation of Preliminary Findings and a Roundtable Discussion with Government and Civil Society Actors in Georgia

Author:: Denika Blacklock
Publication Date:: 08-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: European Centre for Minority Issues
Abstract:: The Meskhetian Turks are one of the last of the national groups of the Soviet Union deported by Stalin in 1943–44, who have not yet been able to return to their native region (in southwest Georgia). Currently numbering some 370–400,000 people, the Meskhetian Turks, following pogroms and multiple displacements, find themselves scattered across vast territories of Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and, most recently, the United States. In some of these countries, the Meskhetian Turks are exposed to ethnic persecution and discrimination, while Georgia, so far, has effectively blocked resettlement to their native region. International actors seeking to address these problems encounter severe difficulties in finding solutions, inter alia, due to a lack of consistent knowledge on the Meskhetian Turks' own perceptions of their displacement and their visions for future settlement.
Topic:: Civil Society, Development, and Government
Political Geography:: Russia, United States, Turkey, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Soviet Union, Azerbaijan, and Georgia

3591. Promoting security sector governance in the EU's neighbourhood

Author:: Heiner Hänggi and Fred Tanner
Publication Date:: 07-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: European Union Institute for Security Studies
Abstract:: With the European Union's enlargement eastwards and southwards, its neighbourhood now stretches from the Balkans to the south Caucasus, and from Russia to the southern Mediterranean. The EU's eastern and southern neighbourhood is composed of areas which, to a greater or lesser extent, have serious deficits in security, development and democracy. There are many types of security problems, ranging from weak states and rampant international crime to spoilers in post-conflict reconstruction and unpredictable authoritarian leaders who pursue regime security often at the expense of national or regional security. In terms of socio-economic development, most of the countries in the EU's neighbourhood are fragile, often struggling with the effects of black market economies and cronyism, and burdened by bloated defence and security sectors that escape any accountability. As regards political systems, the EU's neighbourhood is composed of regime types ranging from new but weak democracies to regimes with authoritarian features and limited political participation.
Topic:: Security, Development, and Government
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, Caucasus, and Balkans

3592. The European Union and the United Nations Partners in Effective Multilateralism

Author:: Sven Biscop, Francesco Francioni, Kennedy Graham, Tânia Felício, Jeffrey Laurenti, Thierry Tardy, and Jean-Marie Guéhenno
Publication Date:: 06-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: European Union Institute for Security Studies
Abstract:: In a famous speech to the United Nations General Assembly on 23 September 2003, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan launched a reflection process on the future of the organisation. He pointed out: we have come to a fork in the road. This may be a moment no less decisive than 1945 itself, when the United Nations was founded. At that time, a group of far-sighted leaders, led and inspired by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, were determined to make the second half of the twentieth century different from the first half. They saw that the human race had only one world to live in, and that unless it managed its affairs prudently, all human beings may perish. So they drew up rules to govern international behaviour, and founded a network of institutions, with the United Nations at its centre, in which the peoples of the world could work together for the common good. Now we must decide whether it is possible to continue on the basis agreed then, or whether radical changes are needed.
Topic:: Security, Development, and United Nations
Political Geography:: Europe

3593. The Challenges and Opportunities of Security Sector Reform in Post-conflict Liberia

Author:: Adedeji Ebo
Publication Date:: 12-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:: Liberia presents one of the most challenging contexts for post conflict reconstruction since the end of the Cold War, featuring a protracted civil war and the concomitant destruction of the state, society and economy. This Occasional Paper examines post conflict reconstruction in Liberia, with particular focus on the security sector. The paper argues that opportunities for security sector reform (SSR) are conditioned by the mutually reinforcing relationship between the state of security on the one hand, and the security of the state on the other. The prospects for stability and peacebuilding are enhanced by the extent to which SSR is predicated on the state of security broadly defined, as opposed to the narrower focus on the security of the state.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Security, and Development
Political Geography:: Africa and Liberia

3594. The OSCE Between Crisis and Reform: Towards a New Lease on Life

Author:: Victor-Yves Ghébali
Publication Date:: 11-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:: In the post-Cold War landscape of European security, four quite different type of multilateral institutions are operating with partially intersecting mandates: NATO, the European Union, the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). As a direct offspring of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), or the Helsinki process, the OSCE certainly illustrates a most original creation of multilateral security diplomacy. Its institutional identity is characterised by a number of features which actually represent proper assets.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Security, and Development
Political Geography:: Europe

3595. New Trends in Policing in Western Europe: The Challenges for Bosnia and Herzegovina

Author:: Dominique Wisler
Publication Date:: 02-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:: While there is a wide consensus today on the basic principles of democratic policing there is no blueprint of international standards of policing or internationally accepted organisational scheme to which a police in transition looking for guidance could simply seek to conform. Beyond many differences originating from history and political regimes, what exists instead - and can serve as guidance - are best policing practices as well as trends in organising a police service. In fact, as I would like to argue, Western police are experiencing dramatic changes since two decades, changes that affect the organization and the practices profoundly. Police services are indeed reorganized using the conceptual framework of “processes and services” rather than the traditional silos of exclusive competencies between various police branches. Starting from services such as local security, rapid intervention, crowd control and the fight against serious, complex and organized criminality, the architecture of police forces is being remodelled by reformers. Judiciary competencies have ceased to be the basis of a rigid division between the judiciary police and the uniformed police, but, as we will see below, the uniformed police are tasked today with new competencies as a result of a process-oriented reorganisation. This led to a 180 degree shift in the policing architecture: once conceived vertically in hermetic silos of competencies, services are conceptualized more horizontally, process-oriented, cross-cutting competencies.
Topic:: Security, Development, and Politics
Political Geography:: Europe, Bosnia, and Herzegovina

3596. The Process from Authoritarianism to Democracy in Spain: the Impact of the 1981 Failed Cup

Author:: José A. Olmeda
Publication Date:: 02-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:: It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things. For the reformer has enemies in all those who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the new (Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince, Chapter 6).
Topic:: Security, Development, and Politics
Political Geography:: Europe and Spain

3597. Increasing Military Influence in Danish Civil-Military Relations

Author:: Henning Sørensen
Publication Date:: 02-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:: This chapter pursues developments of Danish civil-military relations to identify changes in the degree of military influence. Two case studies are put forward. The first case deals with long-term change processes in the field of civil-military relations. In this case study, four major areas are investigated: the personnel composition of the Danish defence, its expenditures per capita, its organisational structure, and military participation in defence commissions. Changes in all four areas are pursued over the last-half century revealing increased military influence in Danish civil-military relations. A striking indicator of this development is the case of top military disobedience in 2001, which constitutes the second case study entitled 'Military disobedience of the Danish defence commander'. The consequences of the major military influence for three actors: 'politicians', 'media', and the 'armed forces' are discussed and it is argued that neither of them gains from the increased military influence, not even the professional soldiers. The reported extreme of military behaviour contrasts many examples of military respectful democratic decision-making. Reasons for the military disobedience may be explained by the distinction 'to have' or 'to exercise' democratic control, where the former is the proper type of democratic control of the armed forces and not the latter as wrongfully perceived by the former Danish Joint Chief of Staff (JCS).
Topic:: Security, Civil Society, and Development
Political Geography:: Europe

3598. Police and Gendarmerie Reform in Belgium: from Force to Service

Author:: Denis Bergmans
Publication Date:: 02-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:: It is for me, as a representative of the Gendar merie, the Belgian federal police, a great honour to be invited as a speaker for this seminar.
Topic:: Security, Development, and Education
Political Geography:: Europe and Belgium

3599. The power of norms in the transposition of EU directives

Author:: Antoaneta Dimitrova and Mark Rhinard
Publication Date:: 11-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: European Research Papers Archive
Abstract:: Transposition research provides an excellent opportunity to bring new data to bear on two of the most dominant theoretical approaches to European Union studies: rational choice institutionalism and sociological institutionalism. Yet the goal of comparable testing is hampered by the underspecified nature of the sociological perspective. This paper takes some steps towards identifying and operationalising a sociological explanation of the transposition of EU directives. Examining an array of alternatives, we single out an approach that focuses on the transmission of norms as a way to explain transposition delay and content changes, and on persuasion to help explain norm change over time. To probe the validity of our explanation, we apply it to a case study of the transposition of two anti-discrimination directives from 2000 in Slovakia. In short, our paper aims to move forward the search for a testable sociological framework in EU studies, while offering an operational approach to studying the process of transposing EU directives.
Topic:: International Relations, Development, and Government
Political Geography:: Europe and Slovakia

3600. The access of business interests to European Union institutions: notes towards a theory

Author:: Rainer Eising
Publication Date:: 11-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: European Research Papers Archive
Abstract:: The unequal access of interest organizations to the EU institutions is often associated with biased European politics. Nonetheless, systematic accounts of interest group access are rare. Rooted in the organizational theory of resource dependencies and drawing on a survey of 800 EU and national business associations, the article presents a broad conception of European political exchange to explain the contact patterns. Ordinal regressions indicate that three dimensions shape these patterns–organizational characteristics, sectoral-economic features, and national modes of interest intermediation. Nonetheless, EU interest intermediation displays only very few general traits–these are the division of labor among EU and national associations, the economic clout, the financial resources and the expertise of interest groups as well as their political mobilization when they face of EU regulation. Else, the interaction patterns vary along the EU institutions and their levels of decision-making underscoring the importance of the institutional opportunity structure.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and Politics
Political Geography:: Europe

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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS