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711. The United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement

Author:
Philip I. Levy
Publication Date:
10-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Bilateral free trade agreements have generally been analyzed as instances of preferential reciprocal tariff liberalization. Viewed through this lens, such agreements raise concerns both about new competition and about trade diversion. The United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement, an example of a serious North-South accord, demonstrates that new market access was not a principal Peruvian goal in the trade negotiations. Instead, the agreement was intended to encourage investment by locking in Peru's economic reforms. This motivation has very different implications for the global trading system than a quest for preferential access.
Topic:
International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
United States, Latin America, and Peru

712. From declaration to real protection: Biodiversity and local participation in the management of four protected areas in Nicaragua

Author:
Helle Munk Ravnborg
Publication Date:
10-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
This report presents the results of comparative research regarding local participation, floristic biodiversity and local knowledge of plants conducted in four protected areas in Nicaragua. The research has been financed as part of a Danish support programme for the environmental sector in Nicaragua, under the auspices of the programme management committee chaired by the Minister for Environment and Natural Resources.
Topic:
Environment
Political Geography:
Latin America, Nicaragua, and Dutch

713. The growth of Brazil's direct investment abroad and the challenges it faces

Author:
Luís Afonso Lima and Octavio de Barros
Publication Date:
08-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
The internationalization of Brazilian companies is a relatively recent phenomenon. From 2000 to 2003, outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) averaged USD 0.7 billion a year. Over the four-year period 2004−2008, this average jumped to nearly USD 14 billion. In 2008, when global FDI inflows were estimated to have fallen by 15%, OFDI from Brazil almost tripled, increasing from just over USD 7 billion in 2007 to nearly USD 21 billion in 2008 (annex figure 1 below). Central Bank data put the current stock of Brazilian OFDI at USD 104 billion, an increase of 89% over 2003. Caution is in order about these figures, however, as in Brazilian outflows it is difficult to separate authentic FDI from purely financial investment under the guise of FDI. According to the most recent data, 887 Brazilian companies have invested abroad.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:
Brazil and Latin America

714. Outward investment by Trans-Latin enterprises: reasons for optimism

Author:
Michael Mortimore and Carlos Razo
Publication Date:
08-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
Despite the global crisis, outward FDI by Latin American firms grew by more than 40% in 2008. The picture for 2009 is less clear, due to the expected regional GDP contraction, falling commodity prices, and tightening credit markets. Nonetheless, the authors argue that many countervailing factors make Latin American investment more resilient in the crisis than other regions may be.
Political Geography:
Latin America

715. Outward investment by Trans-Latin enterprises: reasons for optimism

Author:
Michael Mortimore and Carlos Razo
Publication Date:
08-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
Despite the global crisis, outward FDI by Latin American firms grew by more than 40% in 2008. The picture for 2009 is less clear, due to the expected regional GDP contraction, falling commodity prices, and tightening credit markets. Nonetheless, the authors argue that many countervailing factors make Latin American investment more resilient in the crisis than other regions may be.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:
Latin America

716. Land grab or development opportunity? International farmland deals in Africa

Author:
Lorenzo Cotula
Publication Date:
06-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
Over the past 12 months, large-scale acquisitions of farmland in Africa, Latin America, Central Asia and Southeast Asia have made headlines in a flurry of media reports across the world. Lands that only a short time ago seemed of little outside interest are now being sought by international investors to the tune of hundreds of thousands of hectares.
Topic:
Agriculture, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:
Africa and Latin America

717. President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of Argentina

Author:
Cristina Fernández
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Columbia University World Leaders Forum
Abstract:
This World Leaders Forum program features a keynote address by Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, President of Argentina, followed by a question and answer session with the audience.
Topic:
International Trade and Finance, International Affairs, and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:
Argentina and Latin America

718. Populism and Democracy in Latin America

Author:
Francisco Panizza and Romina Miorelli
Publication Date:
03-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Carnegie Council
Abstract:
The populism that is sweeping Latin America seeks, like democracy, to enact the sovereign rule of the people. Nevertheless, democrats and populists diverge over how to establish a just and enduring political order.
Political Geography:
Latin America

719. Report on the Selection Process for the Members of the Temporary Council on Citizen Participation and Social Control

Publication Date:
02-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Carter Center
Abstract:
In mid-December 2008, the Second Vice President of the Legislation and Oversight Commission (CLF) – the contact between the legislative body and international contacts and supporters – invited the Carter Center to serve as one of the international observers to monitor the process of selection, evaluation, appeal and appointment for the members of the temporary Council on Citizen Participation and Social Control (CPCCS).
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, and Governance
Political Geography:
Latin America

720. Jean d'Aspremont. L'Etat Non Démocratique en Droit International. Étude Critique du Droit International Positif et de la Pratique Contemporaine.

Author:
Christian Pippan
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
In 1992, shortly after the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union marked the formal end point of the Cold War, Thomas Franck, who sadly passed away this year, famously proclaimed the emergence of a global 'right to democratic governance'. Against the backdrop of the dramatic political changes in Central and Eastern Europe, the progressive consolidation of democratic government in Latin America, burgeoning democratic reforms in various parts of Africa, and a rapidly increasing pro-democratic activism by the United Nations and other international organizations, he asserted that 'both textually and in practice, the international system is moving toward a clearly designated democratic entitlement, with national governance validated by international standards and systematic monitoring of compliance'.1 As is well known, Franck's thesis – which is largely grounded in the peoples' right to (internal) self-determination and a new reading of participatory norms contained in international human rights treaties – had a significant resonance in international legal scholarship and ushered in what came to be known as the 'democratic entitlement school'. Though the debate over the sweeping claim that, in the post-Cold War era, democracy is becoming – or has already become – a universal norm probably saw its heyday in the 1990s, it has, to this day, lost neither attraction nor relevance. Indeed, the claim's provocative nature (in light of international law's traditional indifference towards domestic constitutional orders), its assumptions about the kind of democracy advanced by the international system, as well as its potentially far-reaching consequences for states deemed to be in violation of the emerging norm continue to inspire scholars of international law and fuel an ongoing controversial discussion.
Political Geography:
Europe and Latin America