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611. Currency Wars?

Author:
William R. Cline and John Williamson
Publication Date:
11-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)
Abstract:
A widespread currency war is in prospect. The term was first introduced by Guido Mantega, the finance minster of Brazil. He envisaged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) developing an index that measures whether currencies are held artificially low to boost exports (popularly referred to as “currency manipulation”). If that IMF exercise did not lead to an easing of such exchange market intervention, he suggested that an undervalued exchange rate could eventually be considered a commercial subsidy.
Topic:
Economics, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
Brazil

612. Irresponsible Stakeholders?

Author:
Stewart Patrick
Publication Date:
11-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Foreign Affairs
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
A major strategic challenge for the United States in the coming decades will be integrating emerging powers into international institutions. To hold the postwar order together, the United States will have to become a more consistent exemplar of multilateral cooperation.
Topic:
Security
Political Geography:
United States, China, and Brazil

613. The Fertile Continent

Author:
Roger Thurow
Publication Date:
11-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Foreign Affairs
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
With one billion people already going hungry and the world's population rising, global food production must urgently be increased. The countries that managed such surges in the past -- Brazil, China, India, the United States -- cannot do so again. But Africa can -- if it finally uses the seeds, fertilizers, and irrigation methods common everywhere else.
Topic:
Agriculture
Political Geography:
Africa, United States, China, India, and Brazil

614. A New Global Player

Author:
Julia E. Sweig
Publication Date:
11-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Foreign Affairs
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
Brazil's rapid economic growth has transformed the country into a new global heavyweight, but Brazil must not let an overly ambitious foreign policy agenda distract it from lingering domestic challenges.
Topic:
Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
Brazil and Latin America

615. Knowing Left From Right: Ideological Identification in Brazil, 2002-2006

Author:
Barry Ames and Amy Erica Smith
Publication Date:
06-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Ideology, typically defined on a left-right spectrum, should provide a means of communication between elites and masses. After years of leftist party rule, have Brazilian voters internalized ideological divisions? Longitudinal surveys conducted from 2002 to 2006 reveal high nonresponse and instability in ideological self-identification. We find that the capacity to think ideologically is in part a function of political and social context. This capacity has real political consequences. A Heckman selection model reveals that those who refuse to take an ideological position or who exhibit high instability in self-identification tend to be latent rightists and to choose rightist presidential candidates. Moreover, they interpret the ideological spectrum differently from those who are more consistent in ideological self-placement. We thus make two contributions, showing how contextual factors influence ideological thinking and how low levels of ideological thinking affect the measurement of Brazilian public opinion.
Topic:
Public Opinion
Political Geography:
Brazil

616. The Ideological "Coherence" of the Brazilian Party System, 1990-2009

Author:
David Samuels and Kevin Lucas
Publication Date:
06-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
This paper contributes to the debate about the ideological coherence of the Brazilian party system. Using discriminant function analysis of 20 years of surveys of Brazilian legislators, we find that the party system now exhibits relatively little coherence. Though the Worker's Party (PT) is clearly distinct, no clear ideological differences exist between the placement of the system's three other main parties. Moreover, the spatial distance between the PT and the other parties is diminishing over time. Given the importance of a coherent ideological map to any consolidated party system, we question the notion that the Brazilian party system has gradually consolidated. Indeed, our results suggest the opposite: in recent years the Brazilian party system has become relatively more “inchoate.”
Topic:
Power Politics
Political Geography:
Brazil

617. Energy Innovation Policy in Major Emerging Countries

Author:
Ruud Kempener
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
Over the past decade, the six BRIMCS countries— Brazil, Russia, India, Mexico, China, and South Africa—have become important global players in political and economic domains. In 2007, they were collectively responsible for a third of the world's energy consumption, driven by China's growing energy use. Despite their increasing significance in the world's energy sector, very little systematic analysis of their energy investments, innovation institutions, and energy innovation policies has taken place. The International Energy Agency (IEA) is one of the few agencies that have been collecting data on ERD investments, but none of the BRIMCS countries are members.
Topic:
Emerging Markets, Energy Policy, Oil, and Natural Resources
Political Geography:
Russia, China, India, South Africa, Brazil, and Mexico

618. Uluslararası Güç Dengeleri Bağlamında Uluslararası Finans Sisteminin Yeniden Yapılandırılması: Disiplinlerarası Bir Değerlendirme

Author:
Gökhan Özkan
Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
The global financial crisis triggered debate on restructuring international financial system. In this study, restructuring process of the international financial system is evaluated within the context of international balance of power. It is argued that it is insufficient to focus only on the economic dimension, but restructuring should be evaluated by taking into account international political dynamics. This work looks at how differences of opinion between the developed countries, particularly the G-7 countries and the developing (emerging?) countries, particularly Brazil, Russia, India and China shape the process. It is anticipated that the restructuring process will proceed at a modest pace because of the asymmetry of interests and the gap between the understandings of the developing and developed countries about reforming the decision-making mechanisms of the IMF and the World Bank and the diversification of the international monetary system. It is concluded that the new shape of the international financial architecture will depend on the international politics and balance of power as well as the evolution of the global crisis and the economic dynamics.
Topic:
International Trade and Finance, International Monetary Fund, Financial Crisis, and World Bank
Political Geography:
Russia, China, India, and Brazil

619. Russian-Iranian Relations in the Context of the Tehran Declaration

Author:
Ghoncheh Tazmini
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Iranian Review of Foreign Affairs
Institution:
Center for Strategic Research (CSR)
Abstract:
There has been a marked volte face in Russia's position toward the Islamic Republic. This was made clear when at a critical political juncture – namely the watershed agreement on fuel swapping between Brazil, Turkey and Iran – Russia expressed support for the US-led UNSC resolution to impose a fourth round of sanctions against Iran. This paper argues that Russia, a country that has traditionally shielded Iran and weighed down on the US from pressuring her, obstructed the initiative out of economic and geopolitical considerations. Prompted by the eternal quest to restore Russia's former status as a great power, the Kremlin has had to reevaluate its relationship with Tehran. Moscow in is in dire need of foreign investment, advanced technology, and even markets, which requires thawed relations with the US. Moscow is ostensibly dissatisfied with the NATO's eastward encroachment and also needs the US to turn a blind eye to it geopolitical aspirations in the former Soviet space. These considerations require that Russia warm up to the West in general and the US in particular. Incidentally, Obama is offering Russia a carrot – a diplomatic reset – and Moscow is biting the bait. Today, it appears that Russia needs the US more and the Islamic Republic less. However, Russia's about turn suggests that Moscow is conscious that if the nuclear impasse is resolved, Iran would be on its way to becoming a genuine regional power. Furthermore, the Iran- Turkey cooperation axis could also suggest diversification of energy supply routes, breaking Russia's monopoly on gas. With geopolitical considerations and energy politics in the balance, the stakes are higher, explaining why Russia has acted in an increasingly unfriendly manner than Iranians seem to have expected.
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Iran, Turkey, Brazil, and Moscow

620. The New Role of Latin America in Iran's Foreign Policy

Author:
Saideh Lotfian
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Iranian Review of Foreign Affairs
Institution:
Center for Strategic Research (CSR)
Abstract:
The present article intends to explore discernible shift in Iran's foreign policy toward Latin American countries in recent years. Iran's relations with Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Peru, and more recently, Brazil, have grown warmer in recent years. The ever-increasing scale and scope of diplomatic ties and bilateral economic cooperation agreements between Iran and these Latin American states, most of whom pursue generally radical, anti-US policies, demonstrate the changing orientation in the Iranian policy as well as in the dynamics of the Latin American politics. The emergence of an Iranian president in 2005 with a populist outlook and pronounced anti-US/Anti-Western rhetoric has facilitated the closer ties between Iran and the leftist Latin American governments. This aspect of the Iranian policy has drawn both domestic criticism and outside opposition, particularly from the United States. Given this, a major question that could be raised is whether the new trend will be a long term feature of Iranian foreign policy or a temporary, transient one, especially taking into account the major role played by the personality of these countries' leaders in their policymaking. A related question is whether these heads of states will be able to create the necessary institutions, processes, and coordination mechanisms to remain in place even after they leave office. The author looks at the recent developments in these politicoeconomic relations, and tries to examine the degree of long-term resilience of Tehran's current involvement in Latin America. The main conclusion of the paper is that for as long as the Islamic Republic of Iran feels the need to look for countervailing force in its ongoing conflict with the US and the West, the current policies in seeking close political and economic ties with the anti-Western and radical Latin American states, as part of a larger coalition of like-minded developing countries, will continue.
Political Geography:
Iran, Brazil, Cuba, Latin America, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia