Search

Begin New Search Publishing Institution Centre for International Governance Innovation

211. The Impact of the Dark Web on Internet Governance and Cyber Security

Author:
Michael Chertoff and Tobby Simon
Publication Date:
02-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
With the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers' contract with the United States Department of Commerce due to expire in 2015, the international debate on Internet governance has been re-ignited. However, much of the debate has been over aspects of privacy and security on the visible Web and there has not been much consideration of the governance of the “deep Web” and the “dark Web.”The term deep Web is used to denote a class of content on the Internet that, for various technical reasons, is not indexed by search engines. The dark Web is a part of the deep Web that has been intentionally hidden and is inaccessible through standard Web browsers. A relatively known source for content that resides on the dark Web is found in the Tor network. Tor, and other similar networks, enables users to traverse the Web in near-complete anonymity by encrypting data packets and sending them through several network nodes, called onion routers. Like any technology, from pencils to cellphones, anonymity can be used for both good and bad. Users who fear economic or political retribution for their actions turn to the dark Web for protection. But there are also those who take advantage of this online anonymity to use the dark Web for illegal activities such as controlled substance trading, illegal financial transactions, identity theft and so on. Considering that the dark Web differs from the visible Web, it is important to develop tools that can effectively monitor it. Limited monitoring can be achieved today by mapping the hidden services directory, customer data monitoring, social site monitoring, hidden service monitoring and semantic analysis. The deep Web has the potential to host an increasingly high number of malicious services and activities. The global multi-stakeholder community needs to consider its impact while discussing the future of Internet governance.
Political Geography:
United States

212. Sovereign Bond Contract Reform: Implementing the New ICMA Pari Passu and Collective Action Clauses

Author:
Gregory Makoff and Robert Kahn
Publication Date:
02-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
In August 2014, following an extensive consultative process, the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) published proposed standard terms for new, aggregated collective action clauses (CACs). Concurrently, ICMA released new model wording for the pari passu clause typically included in international sovereign bond contracts. These announcements and the commencement of issuance of bonds with these clauses are an important turning point in the evolution of sovereign bond markets. The new CACs will make it much harder for holdout creditors to disrupt future bond restructurings or to be paid in full after the other bondholders receive haircuts. Under the new contractual form, a supermajority of bondholders can vote to force non-participating creditors into a restructuring, subject to strong protections against the abuse of minority creditors by the majority. At the same time, the new pari passu clause is designed to prevent the kind of rulings that lead to a disruption in payments to investors, as was the recent case with Argentina. Neutralizing holdout creditors in this fashion is of immense economic importance. It should facilitate more predictable outcomes for debtors and creditors, and fairer outcomes among creditors in situations that require debt restructuring. However, even with the rapid issuance of bonds under the new ICMA framework, the potential for disorderly debt restructurings will remain until the vast majority of old bonds, already in the stock of debt of sovereign borrowers, have been converted to bonds that include the new clauses. This may take more than a decade. A strong case exists for the establishment of a coordinated public-private initiative that is focused on converting existing stocks of debt to the new format. While benefits to issuers and investors should provide a market force to drive the rapid uptake of the new clauses, the Group of Twenty (G20), working closely with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and creditor groups, is uniquely positioned to give legitimacy to discussions of accelerated adoption of the new clauses, as well as discussions of further mechanisms to facilitate orderly debt restructuring. This paper discusses the ICMA consultative process to develop the new clauses, explains the workings of CACs and the history of their adoption, analyzes the effect of the new clauses in reducing holdout activity and discusses the use of bondholder meetings and exchange offers to accelerate the conversion of outstanding debt stocks into the new format.
Topic:
Debt and International Monetary Fund
Political Geography:
Argentina

213. Canada's Coming Property Insurance Crisis

Publication Date:
03-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
In many areas across Canada, climate change will erode the conditions necessary for property insurance to remain available and affordable. This policy brief looks at the challenges facing the insurance system and presents policy recommendations aimed at sustaining and maximizing the insurance system and its benefits.
Topic:
Climate Change
Political Geography:
Canada

214. When Central Banks Surprise: Why It Is Important and What Policy Makers Need to Do about It

Author:
Domenico Lombardi, Pierre Siklos, and Samantha St. Amand
Publication Date:
01-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
There is a risk that positive developments in the US economy and in the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy stance could induce global financial volatility and further exacerbate global economic imbalances. Empirical evidence suggests that global asset prices are responsive not just to US policy actions, but to news events concerning developments in the US economy and to the tones of Federal Reserve statements. Central banks need to continue to be mindful about the potential repercussions of shocking markets through statements and policy actions. The Group of Twenty (G20) ought to work together to implement coordinated, mutually beneficial economic policies. This includes being cognizant of the spillover effects of domestic policies, and seeking to minimize them.
Topic:
Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
United States

215. Facing West, Facing North: Canada and Australia in East Asia

Author:
Leonard Edwards and Peter Jennings
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
Canada and Australia have shared interests in bolstering economic prosperity and security cooperation across East Asia. The focus of the world economy has shifted to Asia; Canada should follow the path Australia has taken for decades and orient itself — in economic and security terms — toward the emerging economies of East Asia. The risk of regional instability is growing, however, due to China's re-emergence, continued speculation about US strategic engagement in Asia and increased competition over disputed maritime boundaries. These developments provide opportunities for collaboration between countries like Canada and Australia. Non-traditional security threats, including natural disasters, climate change, food security and cyber security, point to a range of areas where the two countries can work more closely together.
Topic:
Security, Diplomacy, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Bilateral Relations, and Governance
Political Geography:
America, Canada, and Australia

216. Reforming Finance: Macro and Micro Perspectives

Author:
Pierre Siklos
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
Reforms of the financial system in the wake of the global financial crisis are incomplete. Beyond reforms, good judgment is essential in a crisis. Short-termism in finance cannot be completely controlled by regulation and supervision. Financial crises are inevitable but need not be as virulent at the global financial crisis. Central banks will have to rethink their policies and how they interact with other agencies partially responsible for maintaining financial system stability.
Topic:
Economics, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, Financial Crisis, Governance, and Reform
Political Geography:
Europe

217. Vertically Integrated Peace Building and Community Violence Reduction in Haiti

Author:
Timothy Donais and Geoff Burt
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
Gang-driven violence in the urban slums of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, has been a preoccupation of international peace-building efforts for the past decade, yet continues to pose a serious threat to peace and stability in the country. These communities have, in recent years, been the site of an ongoing series of experiments, involving a range of different actors, aimed at reclaiming them from armed gangs; however, the isolated and fragmented nature of these interventions has reduced their cumulative impact. This paper makes a case for greater coherence and coordination between bottom-up community violence reduction efforts and top-down police reform, based on a broader argument around the importance of "vertically integrated peace building." Based on field interviews with community leaders as well as officials from both the UN and the Haitian government, this paper suggests that, in the public security realm as elsewhere, the careful integration of top-down and bottom-up efforts represents an important avenue for strengthening state-society relations, increasingly recognized as a crucial component of any sustainable peace-building process.
Topic:
Security, Political Violence, Peace Studies, Fragile/Failed State, and Peacekeeping
Political Geography:
United Nations and Caribbean

218. More Inclusive Decision-making Processes in Foreign Land Leasing: Policy Insights from Kenya

Author:
DAVID JAKINDA OTIENO
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
Foreign land leases could help developing countries to acquire foreign direct investments (FDIs), including technical expertise and income necessary for economic transformation. A lack of local stakeholder consultation and involvement in the design of land leases leads to the rejection or disruption of such leases by local communities and wastes investors' resources due to disruptions. Local public stakeholders in Kenya are willing to accept and participate in leases, provided they include certain provisions: that leases do not exceed 15 years; are renewable subject to mutual negotiations; offer formal employment to landowners' household members; and provide adequate monetary compensation for the leased land. Effective and transparent management of land leases requires the formation of management committees comprising local stakeholders such as youth, women and land experts. To enhance lease transparency, regular consultative meetings should be held, negotiation records must be shared with local community members and landowners should receive direct payment, rather than being paid through intermediaries.
Topic:
Security, Agriculture, Development, Economics, Poverty, and Food
Political Geography:
Kenya and Africa

219. Reforming the International Monetary System in the 1970s and 2000s: Would an SDR Substitution Account Have Worked?

Author:
Robert N. McCauley and Catherine R. Schenk
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
This paper analyzes the discussion of a substitution account in the 1970s and how the account might have performed had it been agreed in 1980. The substitution account would have allowed central banks to diversify away from the dollar into the IMF's Special Drawing Right (SDR), comprised of US dollar, Deutschmark, French franc (later euro), Japanese yen and British pound, through transactions conducted off the market. The account's dollar assets could fall short of the value of its SDR liabilities, and hedging would have defeated the purpose of preventing dollar sales. In the event, negotiators were unable to agree on how to distribute the open-ended cost of covering any shortfall if the dollar's depreciation were to exceed the value of any cumulative interest rate premium on the dollar. As it turned out, the substitution account would have encountered solvency problems had the US dollar return been based on US treasury bill yields, even if a substantial fraction of the IMF's gold had been devoted to meet the shortfall at recent high prices for gold. However, had the US dollar return been based on US treasury bond yields, the substitution account would have been solvent even without any gold backing.
Political Geography:
United States and Asia

220. Promoting the International Use of Emerging Country Currencies: The Case of Local Currency Debt Issuance for Latin America and the Caribbean

Author:
Andrew Powell
Publication Date:
01-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
There are many dimensions to the international use of a nation's currency. These include the use of a currency for trade invoicing and settlement, the use of a currency to denominate assets to be held as a store of value, for example, as central bank reserves, and the use of a currency to denominate liabilities such as loans or bonds.
Topic:
Debt, Economics, and Governance
Political Geography:
Latin America and Caribbean