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54702. The U.S. - Korea Alliance: Past, Present and Future
- Author:
- Hakjoon Kim
- Publication Date:
- 03-2003
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Journal of Korean Studies
- Institution:
- International Council on Korean Studies
- Abstract:
- Half a century has passed since the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States concluded a mutual defense treaty. Despite occasional disharmonies and even conflicts, cooperation as well as friendship has prevailed in their bilateral relations, and the alliance has proved to be one of the most successful ones in the post World War II period. However, since the advent of the George W. Bush administration in January 2001, the rift between the two allies has become highlighted to the extent that the alliance is seen as being seriously weakened or even irrevocably damaged.
- Political Geography:
- United States and Korea
54703. Chinese-North Korean Relations at a Crossroads
- Author:
- Samuel S. Kim
- Publication Date:
- 03-2003
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Journal of Korean Studies
- Institution:
- International Council on Korean Studies
- Abstract:
- At the locus of the "last glacier of the Cold War," there is a double paradox at work on the Korean peninsula, structured and symbolized by two competing alliances forged during the heyday of the Cold War: North Korea with China (1961) and South Korea with the United States (1954). The peninsula is currently experiencing an unprecedented crisis of alliance maintenance, even survival. For better or worse, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), or North Korea, is the only country with which the People's Republic of China (PRC) "maintains"—whether in name or in practice—its 1961 Cold-War pact. Yet amidst Chinese worries that the U.S.-DPRK nuclear confrontation may spiral out of control, in March 2003 Beijing established a leading Group on the North Korean Crisis (LGNKC), headed by President Hu Jintao. The LGNKC's mission is to improve assessment of the intelligence "black hole" over Pyongyang's nuclear capabilities and intentions and to formulate a cost-effective conflict management strategy.
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, Beijing, North Korea, and Korea
54704. Russia's Response To The 2002-2003 North Korean Nuclear Crisis
- Author:
- Peggy Falkenheim Meyer
- Publication Date:
- 03-2003
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Journal of Korean Studies
- Institution:
- International Council on Korean Studies
- Abstract:
- Since he became president of Russia, Vladimir Putin has played an active role on the Korean peninsula, pursuing ties with both North and South Korea. Putin's engagement with both Korean states has contributed to a perception by some that Russia could play an influential role in helping to resolve the second North Korean nuclear crisis that began in October 2002 when a North Korean official admitted that his country has been pursuing a secret uranium enrichment program.
- Political Geography:
- Russia, South Korea, North Korea, and Korea
54705. Nuclear Issues in U.S.-Korea Relations: An Uncertain Security Future
- Author:
- Young Whan Kihl
- Publication Date:
- 03-2003
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Journal of Korean Studies
- Institution:
- International Council on Korean Studies
- Abstract:
- The security dynamics on the Korean peninsula are changing with the uncertain future associated with the North Korean claim that it now has nuclear weapons and an active program of building a "powerful deterrence force". This dramatic reversal of Pyongyang's nuclear stance, which is more than rhetorical but action-driven, followed its announced withdrawal from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty early in 2003 and its nullification of the 1992 North-South Korean non-nuclear agreement.
- Political Geography:
- United States, South Korea, Korea, and Pyongyang
54706. Brain Drain and Economic Development in the Context of U.S.-Korea Alliance
- Author:
- Sunwoong Kim and Ju-Ho Lee
- Publication Date:
- 03-2003
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Journal of Korean Studies
- Institution:
- International Council on Korean Studies
- Abstract:
- Most people would acknowledge that the military and economic alliance between the U.S. and South Korea (Korea hereafter) has played a very important role in shaping the modern history in Korea. Among other things, many have pointed out that Korea's savings in military spending in order to deal with the North Korean threat since the Korean War is one of the major benefits of the strong alliance, because the savings that should have been diverted to military expense could be invested for improved economic development. Also, under this security arrangement, Korea has successfully implemented the strategy of export-as-anengine- for-economic-growth by borrowing heavily from the international financial market. Without the U.S.'s security guarantee, international borrowing would have been much more costly. Another important aspect of the strong alliance is that the U.S. has been the major market for Korean exports for several decades.
- Political Geography:
- United States, South Korea, North Korea, and Korea
54707. Can Neo-classical Principles be an Appropriate Paradigm for the Future Economic Development in Korea?
- Author:
- Jong Won Lee
- Publication Date:
- 03-2003
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Journal of Korean Studies
- Institution:
- International Council on Korean Studies
- Abstract:
- The Korean economy experienced a dramatic transition from one of an unprecedented rate of economic growth to one under the IMF bailout package program. The recent currency crisis has vitiated in a way the success of rapid economic growth in the past, and brought about hardship and agony to Koreans as well, which they have never experienced in recent decades.
- Political Geography:
- Korea
54708. U.S. Services Trade and Investment In South Korea Under The U.S.-ROK Alliance
- Author:
- Martin H. Sours
- Publication Date:
- 03-2003
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Journal of Korean Studies
- Institution:
- International Council on Korean Studies
- Abstract:
- The Republic of Korea (ROK), hereafter referred to as South Korea or simply Korea, was traumatically introduced to the modern, soon to be globalized, world as a result of the Korean War. One of the lasting effects of this forced modernization was a South Korean national imperative to develop economically as rapidly as possible. This was operationalized by the Park Chung Hee government which signed a peace treaty with Japan in 1965 after Park seized power.
- Political Geography:
- United States, South Korea, and Korea
54709. North Korea's Unofficial Market Economy and its Implications
- Author:
- Sungwoo Kim
- Publication Date:
- 03-2003
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Journal of Korean Studies
- Institution:
- International Council on Korean Studies
- Abstract:
- Amidst the rigid command economy of North Korea, there exists an unofficial yet flourishing market economy, currently operated through Jung Ma Dung, or literally a market place. Of course, a market place is a common feature of even the poorest country in the world and does not require special scrutiny. Yet to North Koreans who have been hitherto completely accustomed to government rationing for all their economic necessities, an economic activity for personal profit is a completely new and almost revolutionary concept. More importantly, the market place in the north has been gradually developed, with strenuous public oppression at the beginning, by a dire need for physical survival of its ordinary people. Without precedence and knowledge, they established, purely through trial and error, every aspect of the market place best suited for the existing peculiarities and constraints of its economy. Now the market place is so widely and firmly established, with the participation of practically everybody in North Korea, ranging from high government officials to common soldiers, that no power, including the leadership itself, can completely shut it down without causing a major revolt, especially by starving and desperate soldiers with weapons to wield, reminiscent of the October Revolution in czarist Russia.
- Political Geography:
- Russia, North Korea, and Korea
54710. Perspectives on the Economic Role of Korea and Korean-Americans in U.S.-Korea Relations
- Author:
- Yoon-Shik Park
- Publication Date:
- 03-2003
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Journal of Korean Studies
- Institution:
- International Council on Korean Studies
- Abstract:
- Since the end of World War II, the United States and Korea have enjoyed a very close relationship in many important areas. Such a relationship started with the liberation of Korea in 1945 by U.S. troops from the Japanese occupation of almost four decades and also included the shedding of blood by Americans for the defense of South Korea from the North Korean and Chinese invasion during the bitter Korean War of 1950-53. Most Koreans, especially those older Koreans who personally experienced the tumultuous years of the Japanese occupation and the Korean War, still harbor such goodwill and sense of gratitude towards America and Americans that perhaps no other country has earned nearly as much in Korea's long history. Even now, the United States is maintaining a significant military presence, including its ground troops, in order to assist the Korean government in repelling any potential military threats from the heavily-militarized North Korea.
- Political Geography:
- United States, America, South Korea, North Korea, and Korea
54711. Toward a More Secure America: Grounding U.S. Policy in Global Realities
- Author:
- David Cortright, Alistair Millar, George A. Lopez, and Linda Gerber
- Publication Date:
- 11-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame
- Abstract:
- In just two years the Bush administration has squandered the sympathy our country received from the rest of the world in the wake of the September 11 attacks, when the French daily Le Monde declared "We are all Americans now." Without reducing the threat of international terrorism, the administration has pursued a bullying form of unilateral militarism, which has belittled the United Nations, lampooned traditional allies, and offended Muslims around the globe. These actions have made Americans less secure and the world a more dangerous place. In Iraq, the unauthorized invasion and ill-conceived occupation have broadened the recruitment base for extremist organizations, created a magnet for terrorist infiltration, and increased the risks of terrorist attack at home and abroad. U.S. troops face continuous attack there and in Afghanistan. The enormous military, economic, and political costs of occupying Iraq are depleting American power and global leadership.
- Topic:
- Security and Foreign Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, America, and North America
54712. Unproven: The Controversy over Justifying War in Iraq
- Author:
- David Cortright, Alistair Millar, George A. Lopez, and Linda Gerber
- Publication Date:
- 06-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame
- Abstract:
- The failure of U.S. and British forces in Iraq to find evidence of weapons of mass destruction has sparked controversy on both sides of the Atlantic and in the wider international community. Two contending explanations have been offered for why the Bush administration made apparently questionable claims about weapons of mass destruction. The first alleges an intelligence failure. The best analysts in the CIA simply had no foolproof way of discerning what Saddam had. They gave the administration a wide-ranging set of estimates, from benign to worst-case, and, given the way bureaucracies behave, the president's advisors adopted the worse case scenario. The second claim, more odious in form and substance, is that the administration inflated and manipulated uncertain data, possibly even requesting that material sent to it be redone to fit preconceived notions. The Bush administration has gone to great pains to reassert that it stands by its previous pronouncements that prohibited weapons will be located in due time.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, and Middle East
54713. End Game? Removing Sanctions in Iraq
- Author:
- David Cortright, Alistair Millar, George A. Lopez, and Linda Gerber
- Publication Date:
- 05-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame
- Abstract:
- The Anglo-American proposal now before the Security Council calls for an immediate end to UN sanctions. The lifting of sanctions is necessary to clarify procedures for the resumption of Iraqi oil exports and to remove trade and investment barriers that impede Iraq's economic recovery. The stakes in this debate go far beyond the question of freeing trade, however. Fundamental issues of international law also hang in the balance. The verification of Iraq's disarmament, the UN role in Iraq's reconstruction and political transition, the prospects for restraining weapons proliferation in the region, and the fate of hundreds of billions of dollars of debt and compensation claims—all hinge on how sanctions are lifted.
- Topic:
- Security, Political Economy, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- Iraq and Middle East
54714. Contested Case: Do the Facts Justify the Case for War in Iraq?
- Author:
- David Cortright, Alistair Millar, George A. Lopez, and Linda Gerber
- Publication Date:
- 02-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame
- Abstract:
- The United States, the United Kingdom, and other nations claim that Iraq poses an imminent threat to international security because it has weapons of mass destruction and operational connections to the Al Qaeda terrorist network. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell asserted in his presentation to the Security Council on 5 February that Iraq has made no effort to disarm and is concealing efforts to redevelop weapons of mass destruction. Powell restated old allegations that the United States had made prior to the 8 November passage of Resolution 1441. He presented new intelligence about Iraqi efforts to conceal its weapons capabilities, and he reiterated previous information about the likely existence of chemical and biological agents from the 1990s, but he did not prove that there is a grave new threat from Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. Nor did he show a link between Iraq and September 11, or an operational connection between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda.
- Topic:
- Terrorism, United Nations, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, United Kingdom, and Middle East
54715. UN Weapons Inspections in Iraq: A Progress Report
- Author:
- Alistair Millar, George A. Lopez, Linda Gerber, and David Cortwright
- Publication Date:
- 01-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame
- Abstract:
- In their first two months of activity inspectors with the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have received unfettered access to Iraqi facilities and have been able to conduct more than 350 on-site inspections. To date no weapons of mass destruction have been discovered. UNMOVIC chairman Dr. Hans Blix told the Security Council on 9 January, "If we had found any 'smoking gun' we would have reported it to the Council . . . We have not submitted any such reports." IAEA director general Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei was more explicit in reporting that 'no evidence of ongoing prohibited nuclear or nuclear-related activities has been detected.
- Topic:
- United Nations and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- Iraq and Middle East
54716. The Dignity of Difference: A Salute to Jonathan Sacks
- Author:
- Fred Dallmayr
- Publication Date:
- 12-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame
- Abstract:
- In the teeth of its modern despisers, religion has made a comeback in our time — for good or ill. Too often, the negative side is in the limelight. What Gilles Kepel has called the “revenge of God” on inspection usually turns out to be the ill will and vengefulness of religious communities and their leaders. The litany of contemporary religious clashes — or conflicts in good part spawned by religious motives — is long and depressing: Christians pitted against Muslims in Africa and the Balkans; Jews against Palestinians in the Near East; Hindus against Muslims in India and Kashmir; Hindus against Buddhists in Sri Lank, not to forget the old feud between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland.
- Topic:
- Conflict Prevention, Globalization, Peace Studies, and Religion
- Political Geography:
- Africa, India, Kashmir, Sri Lanka, Palestine, Balkans, and North Ireland
54717. What Shall We Build?
- Author:
- Daniel R. Lynch
- Publication Date:
- 02-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame
- Abstract:
- There is no shortage of pronouncements that we are now at a key point in history. This critical moment has four defining characteristics: industrialization, the explosion in scientific and technical knowledge, globalization, and a missing emphasis on the public good.
- Topic:
- Democratization
- Political Geography:
- United States and Middle East
54718. Imbalance of Powers: How Changes to U.S. Law and Security Since 9/11 Erode Human Rights and Civil Liberties
- Publication Date:
- 05-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Human Rights First
- Abstract:
- This report examines a wide range of actions taken by the United States government over the last six months in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. It updates our report entitled “A Year of Loss” published in September 2002, on the first anniversary of the attacks.
- Topic:
- Government, Human Rights, and National Security
- Political Geography:
- United States
54719. Living at the Edge: America's Low–Income Children and Families
- Author:
- Hsien-Hen Lu, Julian Palmer, Younghwan Song, Mary Clare Lennon, and J. Lawrence Aber
- Publication Date:
- 10-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy at Columbia University
- Abstract:
- By analyzing data from the Current Population Survey March Supplements, Living at the Edge explores the following questions about children in low-income families in the United States: What are the overall changes in the low-income and poverty rates for children over the past quarter century? How has the population of children in low-income families changed over the past decade? Which children are more likel to live in low-income famlies? How have changes in parental employment status affected the likelihood children living in low-income families? What are the state by state variations in child low-income and poverty rates, and how have these changed in the last decade? How does a more inclusive definition of family income and expenses affect our understanding of the poverty and near-poverty rates of children in low-income families?
- Topic:
- Economics, Human Welfare, and Industrial Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States
54720. When Will Russia Really Enter Northeast Asia?
- Author:
- Gilbert Rozman
- Publication Date:
- 08-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, Princeton University
- Abstract:
- Russia needs to open the Russian Far East for regional integration and make use of its dynamism and vast natural resources. Initiatives of the past decade have demonstrated great sensitivity to the dangers of foreign presence, but little forward thinking on their positive contributions. Putin has advanced beyond Yeltsin, but there is still no vision of regionalism. A reorientation of Sino-Russian relations from strategic goals associated with multipolarity to economic cooperation in a multilateral context offers hope that a new approach is coming. Under the umbrella of globalization including closer relations with the U.S., Putin can more easily pursue regional integration as well. In 2002-03, the nuclear standoff between North Korea and the U.S. put regionalism on hold, while energy security achieved a new profile that gave Putin the opportunity to weigh offers from China, Japan, and the U.S., while asserting control over oligarch Mikhail Khodorovsky and his oil behemoth Yukos. Clearly, Putin planned to take firm charge of managing all dimensions of regionalism, but it was less clear if he would encourage market forces.
- Topic:
- Civil Society and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, Japan, China, Asia, and North Korea
54721. Societal Foundations for Self-Governance
- Author:
- Paul T. Christensen
- Publication Date:
- 08-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, Princeton University
- Abstract:
- Since the middle of the Gorbachev period, much has been written about the (re)emergence of civil society and the rapid appearance of social organizations in Russia and throughout the post-communist world. Of late, however, society and social organizations appear mainly as footnotes to the discussions of politics in the Russian Federation. This is not particularly surprising, given continuing struggles over “reform,” the ongoing war in Chechnya, the international community's preoccupation with terrorism, and not least given the absence of any dramatic social unrest or “mobilization from below.” This absence of discussion about society, however, is troubling for those interested in self-governance in Russia. Not only does this absence reflect the weak and threatened societal foundations for such governance, it also highlights the general lack of attention given to social conditions in Russia—by the Russian state, other states in the international system, and international institutions alike. Scholars who are concerned with social empowerment and democratization in the post-communist world have repeatedly noted the difficulty that civil society faces in carving out a space for itself across the region. Boris Kagarlitksy barely exaggerates when he writes that civil society in Russia “perished even before it had managed to appear,” and there is little doubt that Russian society remains largely excluded from politics.
- Topic:
- Civil Society and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Russia and Chechnya
54722. Russian Politics under President Vladimir Putin: Current State and Prospects
- Author:
- Andrei Ryabov
- Publication Date:
- 08-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, Princeton University
- Abstract:
- Not too long ago, the analysts studying the development of the Russian political process under Vladimir Putin attached foremost attention to efforts aimed to formulate the political priorities of Russia's second president and to ascertain his vision of the way the nation should develop. The actions and decisions made by Putin were analyzed primarily from that angle. For a long time, that way of analyzing today's Russian politics was regarded as perfectly operational: it is common knowledge that the political system in Russia is monocentric and the president is the principal political agent whose position largely determines the character and the thrust of political change. However, the two years that have elapsed since Putin's rise to power have compelled many experts to revise their attitudes. The reason is that despite the occasional changes in the system of government institutions made by the second president of the Russian Federation and his announcement of a continued market-oriented reform, what lies ahead remains uncertain. There are still doubts about the firmness of the stabilization attained under Putin, while the influence wielded by most of the key Russian political actors who arose back in Yeltsin's times has not diminished whatsoever. In this connection it has even been said that, in the final analysis, Putin will have to return to the policy pursued by his predecessor.
- Topic:
- Government and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Russia
54723. Russia's Diasporas: The Case of the Russian-speaking Community in Israel
- Author:
- Stefani Hoffman
- Publication Date:
- 08-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, Princeton University
- Abstract:
- The Greek term “diaspora” was first applied to the dispersion and settlement of the Jews outside of ancient Palestine. Subsequently, the term was extended to the Greek and Armenian dispersion and to other migratory phenomena, although scholars continue to refer back to the original meaning. Indeed, particularly since the fall of the Soviet bloc and the acceleration of globalization processes, governmental bodies, NGOs, and academic institutions have devoted considerable attention to defining and studying the various migratory processes and the effects of clusters of immigrant populations on countries in the developed world.
- Topic:
- Migration
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Middle East, Israel, Soviet Union, and Palestine
54724. Aleksandr Dugin's Foundations of Geopolitics
- Author:
- John B. Dunlop
- Publication Date:
- 08-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, Princeton University
- Abstract:
- One perceptive observer of the Russian political scene, Francoise Thom, noted as far back as 1994 that fascism, and especially its “Eurasianist” variant, was already at that time displacing Russian nationalism among statist Russian elites as a post-communist “Russian Idea,” especially in the foreign policy sphere. “The weakness of Russian nationalists,” she emphasized, “stems from their inability to clearly situate Russian frontiers. Euras[ianism] brings an ideological foundation for post-Soviet imperialism.”
- Topic:
- International Relations, Nationalism, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Russia and Eurasia
54725. National Missile Defense, Proliferation, Arms Control, Russia, and the United States
- Author:
- Joshua Handler
- Publication Date:
- 08-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, Princeton University
- Abstract:
- The history of anti-ballistic missile (ABM) defenses is long and controversial. From the late 1990s and until today, what to do about missile defenses and the 1972 ABM Treaty has been one of the central problems in U.S.-Russian relations. Several times the United States and Russia appeared to have been on the verge of a new Cold War over this question. This paper reviews the history of the missile defense debate and offers some observations on a way forward. On balance, it may be best for the international community to downplay the Bush administration's missile defense plans and instead focus on promoting diplomatic solutions to the missile proliferation problem. Moreover, the international community should examine the possibilities of banning long-range ballistic missiles. This would make U.S. plans for a national missile defense (NMD) redundant, while at the same time improving international security in general.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Nuclear Weapons, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- Russia and United States
54726. Islam And Politics in Present-Day Russia
- Author:
- Alexei Malashenko
- Publication Date:
- 08-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, Princeton University
- Abstract:
- Despite the interest for Islam in Russia, for the Islamic factor in the country's domestic and foreign policy, and despite the growing number of publications on the subject, the Russian Muslim community remains largely a thing in itself, an enigma. In other words, there are more questions than answers here.
- Topic:
- Government and Religion
- Political Geography:
- Russia
54727. International Dimensions of Corruption: The Russian Case
- Author:
- Louise Shelley
- Publication Date:
- 08-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, Princeton University
- Abstract:
- The globalization of the fruits of Russian organized crime and corruption have affected Russia's international image and undermined state capacity. The departure of illicitly gained billions quickly diminished the capacity of even a once formidable power. It deprived Russia of the resources it needs to rebuild the state infrastructure, service its debts and pay the salaries and pensions of its citizens. The failure of a former superpower to meet the basic needs of its citizens has served as a powerful lesson to the international community. This occurred, in part, because those who controlled the state's capital could move money abroad in enormous amounts and great rapidity.
- Topic:
- Government and International Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- Russia
54728. Putin's Russia: A Confusing Notion of Corruption
- Author:
- Virginie Coulloudon
- Publication Date:
- 08-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, Princeton University
- Abstract:
- One of the main difficulties in examining corruption both under the Soviet regime and in post-Soviet Russia lies in its definition. Ever since Yurii Andropov launched systematic anticorruption campaigns in the late 1970s and raised the level of awareness of this social disease, all Soviet and Russian leaders have emphasized the necessity of eradicating corruption without really clarifying what particular phenomenon they had in mind. When analyzing Russian corruption, one is surprised to see how many forms it takes: from rule evasion and bribe taking to rent-seeking, abuses of power, embezzlement, bureaucratic extortion, and insider dealing. Adding to this already complex picture, the causes of such infringements of the law and endemic corruption are perceived differently in different contexts – whether under the Soviet regime or in post-Soviet Russia, or if such actions were motivated by the necessity to survive in an economically and politically hostile environment or merely by a thirst for personal gain.
- Topic:
- Government
- Political Geography:
- Russia
54729. The Future of Russia: The Nuclear Factor
- Author:
- Oleg Bukharin
- Publication Date:
- 08-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, Princeton University
- Abstract:
- Two factors were of critical significance in shaping the international peace and security agenda after the Cold War: the emergence of nuclear security and proliferation dangers in the wake of the Soviet collapse, and the unprecedented level of cooperation between Russia and other countries to address these problems. As a result of cooperative international and Russia's domestic efforts, important progress has been made in recent years in reducing nuclear arsenals, protecting Russia's nuclear materials, and preventing proliferation of nuclear weapons expertise from Russia. Much work, however, remains to be done.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Defense Policy, and Nuclear Weapons
- Political Geography:
- Russia
54730. Autonomy and Ethnic Conflict: Experiences from the Caucasus
- Author:
- Svante Cornell
- Publication Date:
- 08-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, Princeton University
- Abstract:
- Ethnopolitical conflict has, especially since the early 1990s, been a growing source of concern in the international arena. Having grown since the 1960s, it culminated after the cold war with the eruption of conflict in the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. Ethnic mobilization among minority populations in multiethnic states has often led to demands for self-rule or to secession. Especially in defined geographical areas where minorities are compactly settled, the creation of a separate state is seen as a feasible goal and control over territory often becomes a chief issue of conflict. Many theorists have found that solutions involving regional autonomy are effective in dealing with ethnic conflict. Ted Gurr, for example, has argued that "negotiated regional autonomy has proved to be an effective antidote for ethnopolitical wars of secession in Western and Third World States." Regional autonomy implies the introduction of ethnoterritoriality - linking territorial control to ethnicity. This is the case either when a region is explicitly created as a homeland for an ethnic group or when a minority group constitutes a large majority of the population of an autonomous state structure and perceives it as its own. Advocates of ethnofederalism argue that autonomy solutions are effective conflict-resolving mechanisms and that further federalization of multiethnic states along ethnic lines will help prevent ethnic conflict. In some of the literature, ethnofederalism has been characterized as what David Meyer terms a "cure-all prescription" for ethnic tensions. There is, however, considerable reason to argue that the institution of territorial autonomy may be conducive not to interethnic peace and cooperation but may in fact foster ethnic mobilization, increased secessionism, and even armed conflict.
- Topic:
- Ethnic Conflict and Sovereignty
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Caucasus, Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia
54731. Biological Weapons Threats from the Former Soviet Union
- Author:
- Sonia Ben Ouagrham
- Publication Date:
- 08-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, Princeton University
- Abstract:
- Since September 11th, the American anthrax-laced letters and the war in Afghanistan have revived the interest of government officials, researchers and the general public to the state and security of former biological weapon (BW) facilities in the Former Soviet Union (FSU). In the popular press, reports of the general economic crisis and the political unrest that characterize FSU countries tend to emphasize the proliferation threat from these countries. Very little is said, however, about the nuances of this threat, its nature and degree of probability. Some reports tend to overestimate the number of employees at former BW facilities, thus inflating the risks of brain drain. While at the same time, other major sources of proliferation, such as the diversion of pathogens or the illicit transfer of specialized equipment are usually ignored. The present paper aims to characterize more precisely the threat stemming from former BW facilities in the FSU by determining what type of resources are available at former BW facilities and to what extent they are accessible to states of concern or terrorist groups. Although the existing open source information enables us to determine more clearly the categories of personnel, the type of equipment and material that pose the greatest proliferation threat, it does not measure properly the extent of the threat, i.e. an inventory of past and present facilities, expertise, equipment and material. Nevertheless, we can conclude that specialized knowledge, equipment and dangerous pathogens are available at former BW facilities in the FSU and can become accessible to state or non-state actors wishing to start or develop covert BW programs. This is particularly true in Central Asia, where economic and security factors, associated with the geographic characteristics of this region all converge to form a chain of proliferation: seekers of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their related technologies, potential suppliers and deliverers.
- Topic:
- Sovereignty and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Russia, America, and Central Asia
54732. Relics of Cold War: Europe's Challenge, Ukraine's Experience
- Author:
- Oleksiy Melnyk, Ian Anthony, and Alyson J. K. Bailes
- Publication Date:
- 11-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
- Abstract:
- In 1989, the year when the death knell sounded for the Communist bloc in Europe and for the 'cold war' which it had pursued with the West, a total of 6–7.6 million personnel depending on the method of counting (2.5–3.7 million from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, and 3.5–3.9 million from the Warsaw Treaty Organization, WTO) stood in arms within the European theatre. This included some 915 000 forces stationed outside their national borders inter alia from Canada, the Soviet Union and the United States. In the same area there were 80 400 main battle tanks, 76 300 armoured combat vehicles (ACVs), 67 700 heavy artillery pieces, 11 160 combat aircraft and 2615 attack helicopters—as well as many millions of smaller and lighter weapons. Aimed at each other as part of the East–West strategic confrontation, the USA and the USSR in 1990 deployed 10 563 and 10 271 strategic nuclear warheads respectively, while the United Kingdom possessed 300 and France 621. In addition, significant proportions of European territory (especially in the 'front-line' states such as the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, GDR) were taken up by military bases, exercise areas and other facilities such as airfields and pipelines. Large sectors of industry and of scientific, technological, and research and development (R) work were devoted to the needs of military defence. The resources involved were shut out from peaceful, civilian use more emphatically than would normally be the case today, because the bitterness of the strategic confrontation—and the associated risks of espionage and subversion—imposed a degree of secrecy often creating a situation where the citizens of a given state did not know what was happening on their own territory.
- Topic:
- NATO, Politics, and Sovereignty
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, and Ukraine
54733. Non–Compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention: Lessons from and for Iraq
- Author:
- Jean Pascal Zanders, John Hart, Frida Kulah, and Richard Guthrie
- Publication Date:
- 10-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
- Abstract:
- Since the end of military action in Iraq and the formation of the Coalition Provisional Authority in May 2003, most debate on the future of Iraq has focused on the short-term problems of governance, internal security and economic reconstruction in that country. In addition to the immediate problems, there is also a need to address long-term issues, such as what role Iraq will play in multilateral bodies. Although some issues can only be resolved in the long term, others will require initial decisions to be taken in the near future. In the very long term (measured in terms of decades) there is no option other than for Iraq to be involved in multilateral controls on chemical weapons (CW). However, in the medium term (measured in years) it is unclear what the best method would be to take Iraq from its current situation—as an occupied state with, at the very least, a past CW programme of which knowledge is incomplete—to a new situation where an Iraqi Government commits Iraq to membership of and adherence to multilateral disarmament regimes.
- Topic:
- Arms Control and Proliferation, Human Welfare, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- Iraq and Arab Countries
54734. The Future of the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms
- Author:
- Siemon T. Wezeman
- Publication Date:
- 08-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
- Abstract:
- In December 1991, in Resolution 46/36 L, the United Nations General Assembly established the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms (UNROCA), a 'universal and non-discriminatory Register of Conventional Arms' to which nations were invited to report annually, on a voluntary basis, their imports and exports of certain types of conventional weapons during the previous calendar year. The main purpose of the Register was stated as being 'to prevent excessive and destabilizing accumulations of arms'. Resolution 46/36 L also mentioned as goals: (a) implementing new confidence-building measures, (b) the reduction of arms transfers (which by the mid-1980s had reached their highest level since 1950), (c) addressing the problem of the illicit and covert arms trade, including its effects on human rights, (d) reducing the burden placed by arms acquisitions on countries' economies, and (e) the reduction of military expenditures. In practical terms, nations were to start reporting in 1992 on weapons delivered in 1991, and the process was to be reviewed periodically by a group of government experts to consider the need for improvement.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, Human Welfare, and United Nations
54735. Armament and Disarmament in the Caucasus and Central Asia
- Author:
- Zdzislaw Lachowski, Björn Hagelin, Sam Perlo-Freeman, Petter Stålenheim, Dmitri Trofimov, and Alyson J. K. Bailes
- Publication Date:
- 07-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
- Abstract:
- The international attention paid to the nations of the South Caucasus region and Central Asia—a group of post-Soviet states beyond Europe's conventional frontiers but included in the Conference on/Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE/OSCE)—has been fitful at best over the past decade. During the last years of the 20th and at the start of the 21st century, after the conflicts in Georgia and Nagorno-Karabakh became (at least partly) 'frozen', security concerns about the regions tended to decline and to become overshadowed both by 'oil diplomacy' and by concern about developments within Russia itself, in Chechnya and Dagestan. In 2002–2003 a constellation of changes in the outside world has started to reverse this pattern. Chechnya is no longer a regular topic of high-level political debate between Russia and the West, and President Vladimir Putin has played the anti-terrorist card with some success to secure his freedom to deal with it as an internal security matter. The factors prompting greater international attention to Russia's south-western and southern neighbours, by contrast, have the potential to undermine—perhaps for good—any Russian pretension to decisive influence or an exclusive droit de regard in these regions. At the time of writing, however, this latest shift could again be called in question by a new diversion of focus to the 'greater Middle East' following hostilities in Iraq.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy and Arms Control and Proliferation
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Iraq, Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, Middle East, Asia, and Soviet Union
54736. Anti-terrorism and Peace-building During and After Conflict
- Author:
- Ekaterina Stepanova
- Publication Date:
- 06-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
- Abstract:
- Since the tragic events of 11 September 2001, much has been said about potential links between the fight against terrorism and peace-building. In the meantime, the fight against terrorism and peace-building have, by and large, continued to be implemented separately and by different sets of actors. The events of 11 September might have led the world's leading states to reassess terrorism as a security threat, but could hardly fundamentally alter the nature of peace-building operations and tasks, from institution- and democracy-building to post-conflict recovery and reconstruction. It is not surprising that the way the threat of terrorism is addressed by actors involved in peace-building activities is often limited to its possible effect on the security environment for their operations. It is thus seen as a problem to be solved either by the security component of the mission, or by an ad hoc international security force, or by national security structures (if any). A certain reserve towards the fight against terrorism on the part of the peace-building community is not without foundation, and may be seen as a natural reaction to the declaration after 11 September 2001 of a global 'war on terrorism' which goes far beyond traditional anti-terrorist priorities and needs. In fact, many of the adverse effects of this global campaign stem precisely from a lack of clarity about its nature and operational goals.
- Topic:
- Security, Peace Studies, and Terrorism
54737. Policies that increase vulnerability to corruption
- Author:
- Dwight Ink
- Publication Date:
- 12-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)
- Abstract:
- My comments on donor policies that increase vulnerability to corruption grow out of experience of directing the Agency for International Development programs in the Western Hemisphere, as well as assessing USAID missions in Africa, the Near East, and Asia. Following this work, I headed a non-profit organization, the Institute of Public Administration, which has been heavily involved in the transition of countries in Europe and Asia from dictatorships to market economies and democratic societies. I should point out, however, that my background is in management, not banking or economics.
- Topic:
- Development, Non-Governmental Organization, Poverty, and Third World
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Europe, and Asia
54738. Microcredit and Households Coping with HIV/AIDS: A Case Study from Zimbabwe
- Author:
- Carolyn Barnes
- Publication Date:
- 12-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)
- Abstract:
- This study seeks to better understand the ways chronic illness and death, possibly associated with HIV/AIDS, negatively affect households and the impact of microcredit in helping affected households. This is achieved through analysis of data from clients of Zambuko Trust and non-client micro entrepreneurs, using proxy indicators of HIV/AIDS affected households. It also investigates the vetting of members by loan guarantee groups and the ways these groups deal with individuals affected by illness and death. Since members of loan groups serve as gatekeepers to loans, the internal dynamics of these groups as well as the MFI's policies and loan term s and conditions are important to understanding any push factors that might exclude HIV/AIDS infected and affected individuals. Suggestions from clients and other key stakeholders are provided on changes that might assist microfinance institutions and their clients to address the negative effects of HIV/AIDS.
- Topic:
- Economics, Human Welfare, and Poverty
- Political Geography:
- Zimbabwe
54739. An Assessment of the Imapct of Microfinance Services in Uganda
- Author:
- Carolyn Barnes and Gayle Morris
- Publication Date:
- 12-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)
- Abstract:
- Using three microfinance institutions (FINCA , FOCCAS, PRIDE) in Uganda, this paper focuses on the impact of microfiance program participation and profiles the clients who participate in these programs. The research covers clients and a non-client comparison group in rural Mbale district, the capital city of Kampala, and Masaka town and its periphery. The two-staged survey was conducted in late 1997 and repeated during the same months in 1999. The assessment conclude s that microfinance program participation has the following positive characteristics on client microenterprises: addition of new products and services, improved or expanded enterprise sites and markets, reduced costs of inventory purchases, and increases in sales volume. Household-level impacts include: began new enterprise, increased amount spent on durable assets and agricultural inputs, increased amount of cultivated agricultural land, and increased amount of household income from crops. The findings also suggest that microfinance programs help client households reduce their financial vulnerability through diversification of income sources and accumulation of assets.
- Topic:
- Development, Emerging Markets, and Third World
- Political Geography:
- Uganda, Kampala, and Masaka
54740. Expanding and Deepening Citizen Participation Process in HUD's CDBG Program
- Author:
- Marcela Tribble and Terry F. Buss
- Publication Date:
- 12-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)
- Abstract:
- Effective citizen participation processes are now regarded as critical in insuring the successful implementation of federal program s in local com m unities. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, a $4.4 billion community/economic development initiative serving more than 1,000 entitlement communities presents an as of yet unrealized opportunity to involve citizens much more in developing, planning, implementing and evaluating local projects. The Secretary of HUD could greatly expand and deepen citizen participation under CDBG by linking merit pay for federal officials to improved citizen participation efforts, providing entitlement com m unities better incentives, funding demonstration projects, and promoting best practices nation-wide; in short, moving citizen participation much higher up on the national agenda.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Government, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- United States
54741. Democratizing the Middle East: Are we up to the task?
- Author:
- Mumukshu Patel
- Publication Date:
- 11-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)
- Abstract:
- On November 6, 2003 in a speech at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), President George W Bush enunciated his Middle East Doctrine: democratization of the region as the first priority of U.S. strategy, irrespective of past policy considerations. It was the most ambitious policy overhaul for the region, since President Eisenhower's commitment to defend the Middle East against Soviet Communism. Following the Eisenhower doctrine all U.S. Middle East policy reflected strategic U.S. concerns: as long as states in the Middle East cooperated with the U.S., shunned Communism and later rejected theocratic regimes – at least nominally, the United States would ignore their domestic policies, and support them – via foreign aid, military technology and personnel etc. This was the status quo that characterized U.S. policy toward the Middle East.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy and Democratization
- Political Geography:
- United States, Middle East, and Soviet Union
54742. Containing Wildland Fire Costs: Improving Equipment and Services Acquisition
- Author:
- Frank Fairbanks, Allan V. Burman, Gail Christopher, Patrick J. Kelly, Lyle Laverty, Keith Mulrooney, Paul Posner, and Charles Wise
- Publication Date:
- 09-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)
- Abstract:
- Wildland fire - related acquisition management programs of the five federal land management agencies are big business. For example, Forest Service wildfire preparedness and suppression contracting costs reached almost $800 million in FY 2002. Even at a lower level, these costs significantly affect other land management programs and their funding. Thus, searching for and taking advantage of methods to achieve cost containment of escalating wildland fire acquisition programs take on added value. That is the basic premise of this Academy report.
- Topic:
- Environment, Government, and Industrial Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States
54743. Lifting the Winner's Curse and Avoiding Buyer's Remorse: Lessons from HR Outsourcing Experiences
- Publication Date:
- 06-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)
- Abstract:
- As the title of this forum suggests, both the government and contractors can lose when outsourcing does not work. At the same time, the prevailing view expressed by the panelists was that outsourcing presents a promising opportunity for the public and private sectors to improve performance and minimize costs.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Government, and Industrial Policy
54744. Post Conflict Governance: From Rubble to Reconstruction
- Author:
- Ryan J. Watson
- Publication Date:
- 05-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)
- Abstract:
- Global debate and media awareness of the complex issues involved with post-conflict governance are at an all-time high. With the reconstruction of the Balkans still leaving much left undone, the United States and much of the international community are seeking to balance continued intervention in Afghanistan with the emerging challenge of rebuilding Iraq.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Democratization, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, Iraq, and Balkans
54745. Protecting the Homeland: Lessons from Prior Government Reorganizations
- Publication Date:
- 04-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)
- Abstract:
- This might well have been the greeting card on the desk of the nation's first Secretary of Homeland Security: Officially launched January 24, 2003 with 180,000 employees and a budget of nearly $40 billion, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is, at its inception, the third largest cabinet agency in the U.S. government. No U.S. government reorganization of this magnitude has been accomplished since the creation of the Department of Defense following World War II.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Government, and Industrial Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States
54746. A Breath of Fresh Air: Reviving the New Source Review Program
- Author:
- Don Kettl, Peter Harkness, Lisa Heinzerling, DeWitt John, Howard M. Messner, Robert Terrell, Christophe Tulou, and Alfred M. Zuck
- Publication Date:
- 04-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)
- Abstract:
- The New Source Review program (NSR) is a critic al tool enacted by Congress 25 years ago to protect public health and improve the nation's air quality. But, as applied to existing facilities, NSR is not working as Congress intended. Thus NSR should be fundamentally reformed and strongly enforced against past violations by existing facilities.
- Topic:
- Environment, Government, and Industrial Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States
54747. Powering the Future: High-Performance Partnerships
- Author:
- Camille Cates Barnett, Christine Becker, Peter Goldberg, Sandra J. Hale, Sara E. Melendez, and Michael Rogers
- Publication Date:
- 04-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)
- Abstract:
- A high-performance partnership is a mutually beneficial and reciprocal relationship among entities that share responsibilities, authority, and accountability for results. The partnership is high performance when it achieves goals and outcomes that are meaningful and could not be reached by an individual partner alone.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Government, Industrial Policy, and International Organization
54748. Modernizing Democracy
- Author:
- Terry F. Buss and Stevens F. Redburn
- Publication Date:
- 03-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)
- Abstract:
- Changes in society and emerging technologies offer new possibilities for meaningful citizen participation in public choices. A new set of computer-based processes will support sophisticated and game -like group decision-making. Advanced software design accompanied by sensitivity to the hum an/machine interactions that must be managed can lead to citizen-friendly software products and processes that ordinary people can use both individually and in a group setting to make complex choices.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Government, and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- United States
54749. The Caribbean Security Scenario at the Dawn of the 21st Century: Continuity, Change, Challenge
- Author:
- Ivelaw L. Griffith
- Publication Date:
- 09-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The North-South Center, University of Miami
- Abstract:
- The two epigraphs — one by a noted scholar and erstwhile policyactor and the other by a respected policymaker with intellectual acumen — capture core elements of the twin realities of continuity and change that define the security scenario of the contemporary Caribbean. Proximity, vulnerability, and instability are not new features of the Caribbean or of Caribbean-United States dynamics; they represent some of the continuity from times past. However, they assume special character because of the terrorism tragedy that has “cast a pall across the whole hemisphere,” to quote Barbados Prime Minister Arthur.
- Topic:
- Security and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- United States, Latin America, Caribbean, and North America
54750. NAFTA and Small Business Competitiveness in Mexico: The Impacts of Free Trade, Macroeconomic Policy, and Firm Management
- Author:
- Jerry Haar, Catherine Leroy-Beltrán, and Oscar Beltrán
- Publication Date:
- 04-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The North-South Center, University of Miami
- Abstract:
- Despite compelling evidence that, for the most part , benefits from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have exceeded its costs in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the policy debate continues in all three countries as to whether the accord has produced more “winners” or “losers.” In the case of Mexico, the focus country of this research project, both the Institutional Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Institucional — PRI) and the National Action Party (Partido Acción Nacional — PAN) have been supportive of NAFTA.
- Topic:
- Economics, Industrial Policy, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United States, Canada, North America, and Mexico