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4821. The Implications of China's Rise for Asia and Europe

Author:
Linda Jakobson
Publication Date:
05-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
China has in a very short time span embraced multilateral mechanisms to address a broad range of issues and avoided confrontation with the United States. Both stances have shaped Asian and European views of a rising China. At present, Asian and European leaders take China's word regarding its peaceful intentions as a rising power. However, Asian and European policy-makers tend to refrain from confronting China too strongly on issues sensitive to Beijing (poor implementation of intellectual property rights, disregard for human rights, etc). The more prosperous China grows, the less influence any other country will have over Beijing's policies. A rising China is a challenge to others because of its sheer size, its great need for imported energy, and the environmental degradation it causes due to its ongoing industrialization. The troubled relationship between China and Japan is one of increasing concern and could lead to aggravated tensions in East Asia.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, and International Political Economy
Political Geography:
United States, China, Europe, and Asia

4822. Making a Difference - Why and how Europe should increase its engagement in Ukraine

Author:
Arkady Moshes
Publication Date:
06-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
The fate of the transformation in Ukraine is important for Europe. If successful, Ukraine could positively affect the prospect of the systemic change in Russia and would serve as a linchpin of democratization and stabilization in the region stretching from Belarus to the Caspian Sea. A reformed and economically transparent Ukraine could play a significant role in Europe's strategy of diversifying its energy supplies. Since the Orange revolution, Ukraine has demonstrated progress in its reforms. The parliamentary elections in March 2006 confi rmed that the majority of the population remained supportive of further change. All in all, the country has a fair chance of succeeding. At the same time, the challenges are many and the transformation could still fail or stall, particularly if in Europe the reforms are viewed predominantly as a domestic Ukrainian issue, a “homework” rather than as a joint endeavour. European engagement in Ukraine should increase further. Europe could do more to transfer its expertise in transition and adaptation, to help Ukraine address its energy concerns and to make sure that the bilateral relations go beyond cooperation and develop into an integration pattern. Depending on the progress made, the question of Ukraine's EU membership might have to be addressed sooner or later as it has proved to be the most powerful tool for transformation.
Topic:
Diplomacy
Political Geography:
Europe and Ukraine

4823. Human Security on Foreign Policy Agendas. Changes, Concepts and Cases, INEF-Report 80

Author:
Tobias Debiel and Sascha Werthes
Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Development and Peace
Abstract:
When the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) published its 1994 report, nobody expected that the human security concept outlined within it would attract so much attention from politicians and academics alike. This is all the more astonishing as the concept has provoked a lot of criticism ever since its first appearance due to its excoriated analytical ambiguity and its disputed political appropriateness.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Human Rights, International Political Economy, and United Nations
Political Geography:
United States, Japan, Europe, and Asia

4824. Nigeria-Related Financial Crime and its links with Britain

Author:
Michael Peel
Publication Date:
11-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
Financial crime linked to Nigeria is a large and pressing problem for the British authorities, which are short of the information and resources needed to deal with it. Nigeria-related financial crime has grown in significance partly because it is not seen as a priority area. Private-sector fraudsters and corrupt public officials and British companies have profited from the general Western focus on terrorist financing, drugs and people-trafficking. Other types of corruption and money-laundering, some of which involve British business people, have often been neglected.
Topic:
Government
Political Geography:
Britain, Africa, Europe, and Nigeria

4825. EU and NATO: Co-operation or Competition?

Author:
Dr Paul Cornish
Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
There is a compelling case for closer collaboration in matters of security and defence between the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. The merits and necessity of such collaboration have become an enduring theme in speeches and statements concerning transatlantic security. This paper tests the rhetoric of security co- operation against the reality of NATO-EU relations, in five area.
Topic:
NATO and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

4826. Contemporary Indian Views of Europe

Author:
Karine Lisbonne-de Vergeron
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
India was one of the first countries to establish a diplomatic relationship with the European Union (EU), with a visit of several European-based Indian diplomats to the then EEC in 1961. However, the first summit between India and the EU – held in Lisbon in June 2000 – marks the true start of serious bilateral relations. Until then, exchanges had been primarily defined by the accord signed in 1994, which barely took matters beyond general trade points. Lisbon saw the issuance of a Joint Declaration and the signature of the EU–India Civil Aviation Cooperation Agreement, extended until the end of 2006. This wider agenda has expanded over the past five years. Particular progress was made on mutual recognition of regulations at the Hague Summit on 8 November 2004, culminating in the approval of a plan mapping out the so-called 'strategic partnership' in the course of the summit under the British presidency, in Delhi, on 7 September 2005. This consisted of a political declaration and a joint action strategy, advocating reinforced collaboration in a number of fields, including a 'dialogue on democracy', a commitment to 'multilateralism', security issues, cultural exchanges, enhanced cooperation in education within the framework of the Erasmus Mundus programme for higher education, an 'economic policy dialogue', and the encouragement of business-to-business relations. The EU further acknowledged India's role since 2004 in addressing crisis situations in its neighbourhood, especially in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Topic:
Security and International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Europe, India, Asia, and Sri Lanka

4827. Iran, its Neighbours and the Regional Crises

Publication Date:
08-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
The Middle East is bedevilled by crises. The war between Hizbullah and Israel, the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, the instability in Iraq and the dispute over Iran's nuclear programme create a climate of deep unease. Iran is involved in all these crises, to a greater or lesser degree, and its regional role is significant and growing.
Topic:
Nuclear Weapons
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, Europe, Iran, Middle East, Israel, and Asia

4828. Advancing Economic Growth: Investing in Health

Author:
Rifat A Atun and Susan Fitzpatrick
Publication Date:
02-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
The traditional view of the relationship between economic growth and health had emphasized the impact of economic growth on improved health. However, from the beginning of the 'human capital' revolution in economics, there was a conceptual base that health is a core contributor to an individual's human capital, while health care is clearly a desired consumption good. Now, there is strong empirical evidence from both developing and developed countries which demonstrates the two-way relationship: that economic growth improves health but improved health also significantly enhances economic productivity and growth. In fact, it is not an exaggeration to say that no society has seen sustained economic progress when it has neglected investment in its people's education and health.
Topic:
Economics and Health
Political Geography:
Europe

4829. Turkey and the EU - Four Scenarios: From Train Crash to Full Steam Ahead

Author:
Kirsty Hughes
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
Security of natural gas supplies has resurfaced on the European energy agenda because of concerns about an anticipated rapid increase in dependence on imports from non-European suppliers–from one-third to two-thirds of demand–over the next 20 years. On a national basis, European import dependence is already an established fact: nine out of 33 European countries are more than 95% dependent on imports; only five are self-sufficient or net exporters.
Topic:
Diplomacy
Political Geography:
Europe, Turkey, and Middle East

4830. Spaghetti Politics

Author:
Peter Bearman and Paolo Parigi
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy at Columbia University
Abstract:
This article describes the impact of the Italian electoral reforms of 1993 on the structure of political alliances. The reform, which moved Italy from a pure proportional representation system to a mixed largely majoritarian system, was designed to increase transparency, reduce corruption, limit the number of political parties, and create the conditions for a politics of interests, rather than a politics of influence. Paradoxically, moving to a mixed electoral system had the opposite effect. In this article, the authors demonstrate this impact, by modeling the structure of political alliances at multiple levels (municipal, provincial, and regional) of the Italian polity from 1986 to 2001, from data on roughly 441,000 persons elected to serve in almost 3 million positions.
Topic:
Democratization, Political Economy, and Politics
Political Geography:
Europe and Italy