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1881. Rising Spatial Disparities and Development

Author:
Ravi Kanbur and Anthony J. Venables
Publication Date:
09-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Amidst a growing concern about increasing inequality, the spatial dimensions of inequality have begun to attract considerable policy interest. In China, Russia, India, Mexico, and South Africa, as well as most other developing and transition economies, there is a sense that spatial and regional disparities in economic activity, incomes and social indicators, are on the increase. Spatial inequality is a dimension of overall inequality, but it has added significance when spatial and regional divisions align with political and ethnic tensions to undermine social and political stability. Also important in the policy debate is a perceived sense that increasing internal spatial inequality is related to greater openness of economies, and to globalization in general.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Demographics, and Development
Political Geography:
Russia, China, India, South Africa, and Mexico

1882. Eurasian Alternative in Turkish Foreign Policy

Author:
Erel Tellal
Publication Date:
03-2005
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
One of the constant fundamental principles of Turkish foreign policy during the republican era has been its “Western orientation”. In spite of this fact Turkey faced an “Eurasian alternative” in the last decade. Turkey, after negligence for 70 years, has tried to develop (to have friendly relations) with Central Asian and southern Caucasian states after they had acquired independence. The attempt of the last ten years can be called as failure of the last ten years. Since the State and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs remained ineffective in the process of determining policy and implementing it, this vacuum was filled by extreme nationalists who are inclined to see themselves as “big brother” and also by religious fundamentalists. Moreover, reasons stemming from the region and international environment played a role in the failure of Turkish policies as well. In the second decade Turkey should determine the related factors and head toward to cooperate with regional countries and Russia in order to become successful in the region.
Topic:
Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Central Asia, Eurasia, Turkey, and Asia

1883. Turkish – Armenian Relations in the Aftermath of the USSR

Author:
Ali Faik Demir
Publication Date:
03-2005
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
Following the collapse of the USSR, Turkey acquired a new opportunity concerning its foreign policy: Caucasus. In this whole region and especially in the southern Caucasus composed of three independent states, Armenia occupied the most critical and the most sensitive issue. Turkey, despite the historical negative legacy, tried to establish a different base for its relations with Armenia, succeeding the dissolution of the Soviet Union. According to this, it is possible to observe positive steps undertaken by the two sides under the presidency of Petrosian, but the Nagorno-Karabakh question became the decisive factor of the bilateral relations during this same period. During the presidency of his successor Kocharian, other than Nagorno-Karabakh problem, Diaspora communities gained influence. This led the so-called “genocide” issue to constitute an important subject of the international agenda in bilateral relations as well as in other international platforms. Despite the Kocharian's hawkish rhetoric in the beginning, which caused the deterioration of the bilateral relations, during the second term of his presidency, a certain détente has been observed. Apart from official relations and negotiations, the Turkish-Armenian Peace Commission, founded in 2001 with the intention to establish a positive, peaceful and free of prejudice platform constitutes an important step.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Genocide
Political Geography:
Russia, Turkey, Caucasus, and Armenia

1884. Turkish-Tajik Relations After the Independence

Author:
Pinar Akçali
Publication Date:
03-2005
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
This article aims to analyze the relations between Turkey and Tajikistan in the aftermath of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The relations between these two countries remained rather limited in the period of 1991-1994 because Tajikistan was not Turkic, faced negative economic conditions, went through a civil war, and had closer ties with Iran and Russia. Between 1995 and 2003, however, these relations improved as Turkey better realized the fact that Tajikistan was both an inseparable part of Central Asian geography and critical for regional stability. Furthermore, in this period, Tajik Civil War ended with an important political reconciliation. It is concluded that although there has been a relative improvement in Turkish-Tajik relations since Tajikistan's independence, it has not yet reached to a satisfactory level.
Topic:
International Relations, Economics, and War
Political Geography:
Russia, Iran, Central Asia, Turkey, Asia, and Tajikistan

1885. Economic Prospects for Kaliningrad: Between EU Enlargement and Russia's Integration into the World Economy

Author:
Evgeny Vinokurov
Publication Date:
06-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
The Kaliningrad oblast of Russia is currently an important focal point of discussions between the European Union and Russia. Although small in terms of geography and population, Kaliningrad has grown in importance due to the EU enlargement process. Since the break–up of the Soviet Union, the oblast has become an exclave of Russia, and it is now set to also become an enclave within the EU. This paper examines the state of Kaliningrad's economy and trade. The economic crisis that took place in Russia in the 1990s had severe consequences for Kaliningrad, as old patterns of production and trade were disrupted. Since 1999, however, the regional economy has grown with impressive speed. Kaliningrad's Special Economic Zone (SEZ) status has played a crucial role in determining its new patterns of production and trade specialisation. The paper argues that the SEZ regime has made the region's economic growth faster but also vulnerable.
Topic:
Economics and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Asia

1886. European Homeland Security Post-March 11th and Transatlantic Relations

Author:
Didier Bigo, Jeremy Shapiro, and Andrei Fedorov
Publication Date:
10-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
In the oral presentation of their papers, Didier Bigo, Jeremy Shapiro and Andrei Fedorov generally highlighted their respective region's specificities rather than dwelling on the elements of commonality. Although this was in part a consequence of the European Security Forum's modus operandi – with its differentiated European, American and Russian perspectives, rarely in our meetings has the contrast been so clearly highlighted.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Europe, and Asia

1887. The Russian Debate on the Nonproliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Delivery Vehicles

Author:
Vladimir Dvorkin
Publication Date:
04-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
In the first paragraphs of their declaration at the Evian Summit in early June 2003, the G8 leaders stated, .We recognize that proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their means of delivery poses a growing danger to us all. Together with the spread of international terrorism, it is the pre-eminent threat to international security.
Topic:
Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Asia

1888. If Not Balancing, What? Forms of Resistance to American Hegemony

Author:
Jeremy Pressman
Publication Date:
03-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
While traditional understandings of international affairs would predict the formation of a balancing coalition against the dominant U.S. position in world affairs, some analysts now contend that the U.S. advantage is so comprehensive and so unprecedented that we have not seen and will not see balancing behavior on the part of second tier powers like China, Russia, Japan, and Germany. It would be a mistake, however, to assume that the absence of balancing means the United States will not face any meaningful opposition in the international arena. Though in the short term a bloc of states is unlikely to form a counter-coalition. the historical form of resistance to dominant powers other states still find important ways to resist U.S. dominance.
Topic:
International Relations and Defense Policy
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Japan, China, and Germany

1889. Well Being and Unemployment in Russian in the 1990's: Can Society's Suffering Be Individuals' Solace?

Author:
Andrew; Gaddy Eggers
Publication Date:
04-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
This paper studies the effect of regional unemployment rates on subjective well-being in post-Soviet Russia. Research conducted in Europe and the United States has documented that higher unemployment rates lead to lower reported life-satisfaction. By contrast, our Russian study finds a small but significant effect in the other direction. We estimate that du ring the period of our study (1995-2001), each percentage point increase in the local unemployment rate was correlated with the average well-being of people in the region increasing by an amount equivalent to moving 2% of the population up one level in life satisfaction measured on a five-point scale. Our intuition is that the so-called comparison effect drives this result: when individuals observe their peers suffering in a troubled economy, they lower their standards of what is good enough. All else equal, they thus perceive themselves to be better off in worse times. In highlighting the dependence of subjective well-being scores on expectations and reference groups, we sound a note of caution against using happiness data from economies in crisis to draw macroeconomic policy conclusions.
Topic:
Economics and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Europe, Asia, and Soviet Union

1890. E.U.—RUSSIA RELATIONS: Interests and Value—A European Perspective

Author:
Rolf Schuette
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
Russia easily comes first in the time and energy that the E.U. has devoted to developing relations with outside partners, both in the economic field and regarding the political dialogue within the context of the E.U.'s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP). Russia has been the subject of many fundamental policy documents, policy implementation instruments, and internal discussions during the past decade. The density and frequency of the bilateral dialogue between Russia and the E.U. are unique.
Topic:
Democratization and Politics
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Asia