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122. A call for action: Young people's views on climate change - Vietnam
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- “World leaders all over the world can work together to find the best solutions for our green globe in the UN summit on climate change this coming December” is the key message that young people in Vietnam wish to say to the Heads of State joining COP15 in Copenhagen in December 2009.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Environment, and Youth Culture
- Political Geography:
- Vietnam and Southeast Asia
123. The Political Economy of Successful Reform: Asian Stratagems
- Author:
- Dennis Arroyo
- Publication Date:
- 06-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
- Abstract:
- Major economic reforms are often politically difficult, causing pain to voters and provoking unrest. They may be opposed by politicians with short time horizons. They may collide with the established ideology and an entrenched ruling party. They may be resisted by bureaucrats and by vested interests. Obstacles to major economic reform can be daunting in democratic and autocratic polities alike.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- China, India, Asia, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, and Thailand
124. Key Points from "Memo to the President Elect: How We Can Restore America's Reputation and Leadership"
- Author:
- Madeleine Albright
- Publication Date:
- 03-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Council of American Ambassadors
- Abstract:
- America's next president will face an array of problems more daunting than any since the Vietnam era and will be constrained to do so with US assets—military, economic and political—under severe strain. Our new leader must therefore arrive in the Oval Office equipped not only with the right programs, but also the right temperament to handle the world's most challenging job. Qualifications include analytical skill, an understanding of global strategy, a willingness to recognize and correct mistakes, and a gift for persuading others to do—and even more important to want—what we want.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, Development, Diplomacy, and War
- Political Geography:
- America and Vietnam
125. What is in it for the Poor? Evidence from Fiscal Decentralization in Vietnam
- Author:
- Hoang-Phuong Nguyen
- Publication Date:
- 05-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Woodrow Wilson School Journal of Public and International Affairs
- Institution:
- Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University
- Abstract:
- Like other developing countries, Vietnam has attempted to push for greater fiscal decentralization in the hope of a more efficient delivery of social services to targeted citizens. The fiscal decentralization initiative is encouraging and merits pursuit, but the present study however, shows that a misstep in the decentralization process can discriminate disproportionately against the poor. Specifically, an increase in the sub-provincial share of the total provincial expenditures is predicted to bring about an appreciable decrease in the lowest-quintile average monthly income. We suggest that the Vietnamese government require provinces to adopt pro-poor allocation norms rather than reclaiming its control over the provincial expenditure assignment. This paper's empirical findings sound a note of considerable caution that other developing countries should exercise in their fiscal decentralization efforts to avoid creating unintended consequences for the poor.
- Political Geography:
- Vietnam
126. Drought Management Considerations for Climate Change Adaptation
- Publication Date:
- 10-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Cambodia is one of the most disaster-prone countries in East Asia, with its vulnerability to annual floods and droughts. One of the reasons why it is vulnerable to natural disasters is that the livelihoods of the majority of people depend directly upon natural resources, with a large proportion of its population occupied in agriculture and related sectors, including animal husbandry. Extreme poverty, which limits access to food, water, and other basic amenities, increases vulnerability. These characteristics heighten Cambodia's exposure to the impacts of climate change too. The Mekong region has recently been showing signs of climate change, as illustrated in our previous report on VietNam ('Drought-Management Considerations for Climate-Change Adaptation: Focus on the Mekong Region – Report (VietNam)', October 2007). There is evidence of greater climatic extremes: both declining rainfall in the dry season and more violent rainfall in the wet season, causing flash floods. Increasingly powerful typhoons also appear to be occurring.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Development, Energy Policy, Environment, and Non-Governmental Organization
- Political Geography:
- East Asia, Asia, Vietnam, and Cambodia
127. Vietnam: Climate Change, Adaptation and Poor People
- Publication Date:
- 11-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Vietnam is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change. The government's impressive achievements in pulling millions of people out of poverty are seriously jeopardised by the likely increase in extreme weather events such as severe rainfall and drought, and by slow climate changes like sea level rises and warming temperatures. Poor men and women are particularly at risk.A team of Oxfam researchers travelled to the two provinces of Ben Tre and Quang Tri in May 2008 to take a snapshot of how poor families are experiencing the changing climate, and how they might deal with this in the future.
- Topic:
- Climate Change and Human Welfare
- Political Geography:
- Asia and Vietnam
128. War and Peace in Early Modern East Asia: Hierarchy and Legitimacy in International Systems
- Author:
- David C. Kang
- Publication Date:
- 10-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Peace and Security Studies
- Abstract:
- Between 1368 and 1841 – almost five centuries – there were only two wars between China, Korea, Vietnam, and Japan. These Sinicized states crafted stable relations with each other, and most of the violence and instability arose between these states and the nomadic peoples to the north and west of China and Korea. Building on the “new sovereignty” research in international relations, I argue that the status quo orientation of China and established boundaries created a loose hierarchy within anarchy that had much to do with the period of peace. Built on a mix of legitimate authority and material power, the China-derived international order provided clear benefits to secondary states, and also contained credible commitments by China not to exploit secondary states that accepted its authority. Korean, Vietnamese, and even Japanese elites consciously copied Chinese institutional and discursive practices to craft stable relations with China, not to challenge it. International systems based on legitimacy and hierarchy are not unique to early modern East Asia, and incorporating these insights into our theories of international society has implications for the contemporary world as well.
- Topic:
- Conflict Prevention, International Relations, Regional Cooperation, Treaties and Agreements, War, and International Security
- Political Geography:
- Japan, China, Israel, Asia, and Vietnam
129. Accountability and Inequality in Single-Party Regimes: A Comparative Analysis of Vietnam and China
- Author:
- Regina Abrami, Edmund Malesky, and Yu Zheng
- Publication Date:
- 07-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- Over the past two decades, no two economies have averaged more rapid economic growth than China and Vietnam. But while China's income inequality has risen rapidly over that same time frame, Vietnam's has only grown moderately. Structural and socio-cultural determinants fail to account for these divergent pathways. Existing political variables are also unhelpful. China and Vietnam are coded in exactly the same way, even in the path-breaking work on authoritarian regimes. In this paper, we take a deeper look at political institutions in the two countries, demonstrating that profound differences between the polities directly impact distributional choices. In particular, we find that Vietnamese elite institutions require construction of broader coalitions of policymakers, place more constraints on executive decision making, and have more competitive selection processes. As a result, there are stronger political motivations for Vietnamese leaders to provide equalizing transfers that limit inequality growth.
- Topic:
- Government
- Political Geography:
- China, Israel, Asia, Vietnam, and Southeast Asia
130. Winning the Next War
- Author:
- William Wunderle and Gabriel Lajeunesse
- Publication Date:
- 09-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Journal of International Security Affairs
- Institution:
- Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
- Abstract:
- The United States has conducted irregular warfare and counterinsurgency campaigns since its inception. In fact, part of America's war of independence was an insurgency against the British. Since its independence, the U.S. has fought counterinsurgency campaigns against the Native Americans, against the South during the Civil War, in the Philippines, and, of course, in Vietnam. The experiences of America's friends and allies are similar. Among others, the British fought counterinsurgencies in Malaya and Northern Ireland, the French in Indochina, Algeria, and Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Israelis conducted counterinsurgency operations during the two major Palestinian uprisings (1987-1993 and 2000-2005) in the West Bank and Gaza. Yet, America's ability to conduct counterinsurgency has been more ad hoc than institutionalized.
- Topic:
- War
- Political Geography:
- United States, United Kingdom, Israel, Vietnam, Gaza, Algeria, and North Ireland