Search

Begin New Search Content Type Journal Article

9551. Urfan Khaliq. Ethical Dimensions of the Foreign Policy of the European Union. A Legal Appraisal

Author:
Helmut Philipp Aust
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
It is a perennial question what role law has to play in the conduct of foreign policy. Urfan Khaliq asks this question for the European Union (EU). The starting point of his analysis is the commitment of the EU to a certain set of 'ethical values', namely the promotion of human rights, the rule of law, and democracy. While these values are central to the identity of the EU (Article 6 of the Treaty Establishing the EU), it is open to debate whether they play an equally important role in the conduct of its foreign policy. Other studies have been devoted to this issue or have analysed the discrepancy between the way the constitutional principles of the EU apply internally and externally. The monograph under review is not so much interested in a doctrinal assessment of these issues. Rather, Khaliq raises the point to what extent the foreign policy of the EU is conducted in a coherent manner, whether it can fulfil its objectives, and, most importantly, what role international law in general and the internal law of the EU in particular has to play in this regard.
Political Geography:
Europe

9552. Peter Van Elsuwege. From Soviet Republics to EU Member States

Author:
Dimitry Kochenov
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
There is indeed an extremely long way from Soviet Republics to EU Member States. Although fitting into one and a half decades, the complexity of this transformation is truly stunning and concerns all spheres of life of the Baltic States.
Political Geography:
Europe and Soviet Union

9553. Constantin Stefanou and Helen Xanthaki (eds). Towards a European Criminal Record

Author:
Ilias Bantekas
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
If anyone were best suited to writing a book on the European criminal record (ECR) it would certainly be the current editors. The EC Commission commissioned them to study and analyse the potential of creating an ECR, and it is on the basis of their reports that the matter has generally progressed within the legislative committees of the Union. Moreover, their studies have been used as benchmarks in relevant Commission discussions. It is therefore no accident that they have compiled the essays which are incorporated in this book in such a manner that reflects a very significant practical as well as theoretical expertise by means of an insider's viewpoint.
Political Geography:
Europe

9554. Christian Reus-Smit and Duncan Snidal (eds). The Oxford Handbook of International Relations

Author:
James Upcher
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
The establishment of International Relations (IR) as a discrete field of inquiry led to a rupture with legal and historical discourses. What followed was an almost unchallenged focus on explanatory and predictive analysis, and ethical questions were laid aside. The Oxford Handbook of International Relations is driven by the editors' conviction that the segregation of the empirical from the normative is untenable: both aspects permeate IR theories. The volume is more than a survey of the dominant approaches to the study of IR; it seeks to bring the tensions between empirical and normative dimensions to light and thereby to advance debate on the direction of the discipline.

9555. Twenty Years After: from Fall to Fall?

Author:
Alfio Cerami
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Romanian Journal of Political Science
Institution:
Romanian Academic Society
Abstract:
This article provides a brief description of the main systemic problems (strukturprobleme) of post-communist capitalism(s), as well as exploring the main changes occurring in the socio-economic structure and the subsequent new social risks emerging. It shows that post-communist societies are characterized by more intense strukturprobleme, which are resulting in the materialization of broader social risks types and groups. As a consequence of a difficult and still uncompleted process of recalibration (functional, distributive, normative and institutional), the welfare states in Central and Eastern Europe and in the Russian Federation are called to face a double burden of responsibilities: they must ensure protection against old and new social risks for a larger proportion of citizens than those in the West, while, simultaneously, dealing with the most serious social, economic and political challenges stemming from the transition.
Political Geography:
Russia and Europe

9556. Guest Editor's Preface

Author:
Heather Xiaoquan Zhang
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Despite the initial success of the post-Mao rural reforms, by the end of the twentieth century China's agriculture faced serious challenges and rural areas were in crisis. This crisis was manifested, for example, in constantly re-emerging rural poverty; alarmingly widening inequalities between urban and rural areas, and between industrial and agricultural sectors and coastal and inland regions; and the many pressing issues related to migrant workers (nongmingong) in respect of the recognition of their equal rights and citizenship. Since the mid-1990s the term “three rural issues” (sannong wenti), referring to problems related to agriculture (nongye), the countryside (nongcun) and farmers (nongmin), has entered the lexicon of ordinary Chinese, catching the attention of researchers, policy makers, and the general public alike.

9557. Revisiting a Dramatic Triangle: The State, Villagers, and Social Activists in Chinese Rural Reconstruction Projects

Author:
Stig Thøgersen
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
As part of the movement to “construct a new socialist countryside”, Chinese officials and social activists are experimenting with transforming rural social and economic relations. They often draw on discourses dating back to the Rural Reconstruction Movement of the 1920s and 1930s, which saw urban intellectuals making similar efforts to modernize the villages and their inhabitants. This paper analyses the different types of relationships between the state, social activists, and villagers in a number of rural reconstruction projects. The state is still the major player in this field, but traditional top-down procedures are often perceived to be unproductive when it comes to micro-level community building, so state actors are forced to find allies among village elites and social activists.

9558. "Building a New Socialist Countryside" – Only a Political Slogan?

Author:
Anna L. Ahlers and Gunter Schubert
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
In March 2006, China's National People's Congress officially promulgated the central government's intention to “build a new socialist countryside”, a new policy initiative and approach to rural development. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in two Chinese counties in 2008 and 2009, this article investigates how the new policy is being substantiated and implemented at the local level. It argues that by combining China's new fiscal system of transfer payments to poor local governments with administrative reforms, intensified internal project evaluation, and efforts to increase the rural income through a mixture of infrastructural investment, agricultural specialization, the expansion of social welfare, and accelerated urbanization, “building a new socialist countryside” constitutes more than a political slogan and has the potential to successfully overcome rural poverty and the rural-urban divide.
Political Geography:
China

9559. The Centrality of Actors and Interfaces in the Understanding of New Ruralities: A Chinese Case Study

Author:
Norman Long and Jinlong Liu
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
This paper aims to demonstrate the advantages of adopting an ethnographic, actor interface approach to understanding the ongoing dynamics of rural development and policy intervention processes. It does so through the discussion of an EU-fun ded project orientated to introducing village-level forest-management practices in north-west China. The case highlights the ongoing everyday struggles over livelihoods and resources and focuses on the negotiations that take place between the various social actors involved. The case analysis is preceded by a broad- sweep overview of the rise of new ruralities and a discussion of the key elements of an actor interface analysis. The article concludes with a call for more cross-country and cross-regional studies of this kind.
Political Geography:
China

9560. Social Security for China's Migrant Workers – Providing for Old Age

Author:
Andrew Watson
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
The concept of “migrant workers” derives from the house- hold registration system of China's planned economy period. The continued existence of that system conflicts with the development of an integrated labour market. The current social security system, based on household registration and a large number of local pools, discriminates against migrant workers because of their mobility and the lack of mechanisms to transfer benefits between pools. As a result, migrants have made major contributions to China's economic development but do not get the same benefits as urban residents. Faced with this challenge, China's government has begun to introduce policy reforms to improve social security for migrants. This article explores this development through a focus on old-age insurance. It analyses the special needs of migrants, the obstacles facing policy development and the proposed solutions. It argues that social justice and social equity require the development of a system that treats all citizens equally, and that the logic of an integrated labour market will ultimately require a unified national system of old-age insurance.
Political Geography:
China