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762. Is South Asian Nuclear Politics Different?
- Author:
- Rajesh Basrur
- Publication Date:
- 05-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Social Science Research Council
- Abstract:
- The central question before us is whether it is appropriate for South Asians to learn from the US-Soviet experience of the Cold War. This raises other questions: Are the two sets of relationships comparable? Is there in South Asia a "cold war" essentially similar to the Cold War? Should the theoretical lenses we use for both sets be the same? Can we learn from the one about the other? Is the thinking and practice relating to nuclear weapons in the two sets comparable?
- Topic:
- Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- United States, South Asia, and Soviet Union
763. Intended Consequences of an Expanded U.S. Military Presence in the Muslim World
- Author:
- Paul G. Frost
- Publication Date:
- 05-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
- Abstract:
- The Schlesinger Working Group on Strategic Surprises in Spring 2003 took on the topic, "The Unintended Consequences of an Expanded U.S. Military Presence in the Muslim World", holding its first meeting March 18, literally on the eve of war against Iraq. Its second meeting was held May 27, after the war ended, and as the difficulties of post-war reconstruction were becoming clearer. Core members and area/subject experts met to examine benefits and drawbacks, as well as scenarios that could stem from an expanded American military presence in the Middle East, South Asia and North Africa.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, America, South Asia, Middle East, Arabia, and North Africa
764. Went for Cost, Stayed for Quality?: Moving the Back Office to India
- Author:
- Rafiq Dossani and Martin Kenney
- Publication Date:
- 07-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy
- Abstract:
- Will the next great wave of globalization come in services? Increasingly, components of back-office services, such as payroll and order fulfillment, and some front-office services, such as customer care are being relocated from the U.S. and other developed countries to English-speaking, developing nations especially India, but also other nations such as the Phillipines. Though moving service activities offshore is not entirely new, the pace has of late quickened. The acceleration of this offshoring is intertwined, though not synonymous, with another phenomenon, namely an increasing willingness by firms to outsource what formerly were considered core activities. The importance of the fact that a substantial number of service activities might move offshore is that it was service jobs that were thought to be the future growth area for developed country economies as manufacturing relocated to lower labor cost regions offshore. This is especially important, because these services commonly known as "business processes" (BPs) are among the fastest growing job categories in the US (Goodman and Steadman 2002). Should these jobs begin to move offshore, a new tendency may be underway in the global economy that will be as important or more important than the relocation of manufacturing offshore, and might necessitate a rethinking of government policies across a wide spectrum.
- Topic:
- Economics, Globalization, and Industrial Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States, South Asia, and India
765. Coercion and Risk-Taking in Nuclear South Asia
- Author:
- Verghese Koithara
- Publication Date:
- 03-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for International Security and Cooperation
- Abstract:
- The partition-bred conflict between India and Pakistan that began in 1947 went into remission in 1971 following India's emphatic victory in war that year. It reemerged in 1989 when serious disaffection in the Kashmir Valley gave Pakistan an opening to promote militancy. This created a dangerous situation because it was about the same time that both Pakistan and India also acquired nuclear weapons. There was a major confrontation between the two countries during March-May 1990. Since then there has been continuous tension with each attempting to coerce the other. In May 1998 both countries carried out several nuclear tests each. A year later, during May-July 1999, the two fought a two-month "limited war" in the Kargil region of Kashmir that caused over 1,200 fatalities. Kargil was a clear effort on Pakistan's part to test the deterrence value of its nuclear weapons. In December 2001 India resorted to an unprecedented military mobilization (Operation Parakram), holding out the clear threat of attacking Pakistan unless the latter stopped its sub-conventional operations.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, and Nuclear Weapons
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, South Asia, and India
766. Terrorist Threat to Energy and Infrastructure
- Author:
- Tamara Makarenko
- Publication Date:
- 06-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence, St. Andrews University, Scotland
- Abstract:
- Recent indications point to an increased risk of systematic attacks against the world's petroleum supply chain, particularly in South Asia and the Middle East. Tamara Makarenko examines the trends in terrorist attacks on the energy sector.
- Topic:
- Energy Policy and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and Middle East
767. Impact of Trade Liberalization on Returns from Land: A Regional Study of Indian Agriculture
- Author:
- Ghosh Nilabja
- Publication Date:
- 06-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- Trade liberalization, by aligning domestic prices with world prices, is envisaged to bring welfare gains to a country. In the case of Indian agriculture, owing to the vastness and diversity of the sector, the impact is likely to be profoundly unequal across regions especially when liberalization is double-edged, acting on both output and input sides. This paper views returns from land resource as a primary determinant of farmers' economic well-being and production incentive and considers paddy both as the dominant support for the rural population and as a product with comparative advantage, as most studies have demonstrated. Working with state and sub-state level data and taking account of the differences in technologies, productivities and transport costs, the paper finds that the gains vary regionally and may not be positive in all cases when both output and input prices are globally aligned.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India
768. Financial Sector Development — Futile or Fruitful? An Examination of the Determinants of Savings in Sri Lanka
- Author:
- George Mavrotas and Roger Kelly
- Publication Date:
- 02-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- This paper documents the financial and institutional developments of China during the past two decades, when China was successfully transformed from a rigid centralplanning economy to a dynamic market economy following its unique path. We empirically examine the relationship between financial development and economic growth in China by employing a panel sample covering 31 Chinese provinces during the important transition period 1986-2002. Our evidence suggests that the development of financial markets, institutions, and instruments have been robustly associated with economic growth in China.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- South Asia
769. Indian Elections 2004: An Early Preview
- Author:
- Pramit Mitra and Navin Vij
- Publication Date:
- 08-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- With five states scheduled to go to polls this fall, political activity is moving into high gear in India. The state elections will provide a good barometer of popular sentiment toward the government and are being treated as a 'test run' for the national elections due in 2004. The state elections will largely determine how the major contenders deal with the volatile issue of Hindu nationalism. How relations with Pakistan figure in the election depends largely on the outcome of current India-Pakistan peace efforts. But the key issue to watch is the ability of the current ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Congress party, its principal opponent, to hold together a coalition. This will not only be central to their electoral strategies, it will also determine the next government's freedom of action in making national policy.
- Topic:
- Government and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan and South Asia
770. Can India and Pakistan Seize the Moment?
- Author:
- Teresita Schaffer and Paul A. Longo
- Publication Date:
- 07-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- Two months after Indian prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's offer to extend “the hand of friendship” to neighboring Pakistan, the two countries are exchanging ambassadors and have begun restoring transport links, but discussions on their underlying dispute have yet to take shape. The next few months provide a crucial opportunity to begin a serious peace effort. Should this window of time pass by without progress, however, internal politics in both countries may rule out another try for a year or two.
- Topic:
- Government and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, South Asia, and Middle East