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461. Corruption, Democracy, and Investment in Ukraine

Author:
Adrian Karatnycky and Jan Neutze
Publication Date:
10-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
Ukraine is facing a considerable challenge from corruption, which our research showed is present in nearly all levels of government and politics, the judiciary, and business. It is the view of the Task Force that corruption has become so severe that it has the potential to threaten Ukraine's political and economic stability as well as the country's European Union membership aspirations. While Ukraine has made progress since the Orange Revolution in areas such as developing an independent media and a more active civil society, its political leaders have failed to fulfi ll the core promise of the Revolution by effectively addressing corruption. Instead, our research revealed that public suspicions about corruption at the highest reaches of political power are widespread in Ukraine.
Topic:
Corruption, Democratization, Government, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
Ukraine and Eastern Europe

462. Can German Locomotive Drive the European Economy?

Author:
Jan Neutze and Frances G. Burwell
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
During the second half of 2006 and in early 2007, the German economic engine seemed to gain speed, moving into recovery after several years of stagnation. Whether this recovery is sustainable is still unclear, however. With its reliance on exports, Germany remains vulnerable to any downturn in the global economy. Nor is it yet clear that the recent upswing will result in long term job growth and increased consumer spending. To reinforce this recovery, the chancellor should go beyond an economic policy based on balancing the budget and reducing corporate taxes. She should focus now on creating more flexible conditions of employment, so that more workers can be hired and companies can expand, and should work with German business to develop the successor industries to today's export champions. Her government must also rethink the failed policy of subsidizing the eastern Länder, and take steps to deal with the long term challenges of an aging workforce and an education system that does not produce workers with the right skills. Chancellor Merkel knows that coping with globalization will require a liberalized economy with more freedom and flexibility for its workers and its companies.
Topic:
Economics, Political Economy, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Germany

463. Unequal Development in the 1990s: Growing Gaps in Human Capabilities

Author:
Sakiko Fukuda-Parr and David Stewart
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The New School Graduate Program in International Affairs
Abstract:
This paper assesses poverty trends by using human development outcomes rather than by using income measures alone. It shows that the decade of the 1990s was a decade of prosperity and progress for the world but also of development disaster for many of the world's poorest countries where key indicators of human development not only failed to progress but began to register reversals based on both income and capability indicators. The paper goes on to identify the poorest performing countries and examines their characteristics. These characteristics suggest common constraints that they face, constraints that merit attention in the fight against global poverty.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Political Economy, and Poverty

464. Evaluating the Costs and Benefits of the US War on Terror

Author:
David Gold
Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The New School Graduate Program in International Affairs
Abstract:
In October of 2003, then Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld wrote a memo to his top advisers asking how we would know whether the US was winning the Global War on Terror. This question may have been mistimed but it was perfectly appropriate. In this paper, I use the framework of cost-benefit analysis to identify some of the issues that would need to be addressed in order to answer Rumsfeld's question. The most difficult issue is that there is no accepted definition as to what constitutes victory, or success, so there is no way to identify the ultimate benefits. Available evidence does suggest that while there are numerous identifiable sources of costs, it is far less clear where the benefits are located. The conclusion, necessarily qualitative in nature, is that the costs have been many and the benefits few.
Topic:
National Security, Political Economy, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States and Middle East

465. Shared Knowledge, Joint Pursuits: International Relations Beyond the Age of Information

Author:
Sean Costigan and Christopher Pallaris
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The New School Graduate Program in International Affairs
Abstract:
This paper offers an initial attempt to examine international relations (IR) in light of the ongoing information revolution and recent developments in knowledge sharing and educational instruction. Chiefly, it argues for a greater appreciation of the way in which knowledge and learning are shaping the security agenda and the course of international affairs. It urges the IR and security community to make greater use of open learning environments and open source methodologies as a means of knowledge creation, acquisition and delivery. Finally, it advocates the teaching and cultivation of new skills for individuals working in international affairs.
Topic:
International Relations, National Security, Political Economy, and Science and Technology

466. The Political Economy of Environmentally Related Taxes

Publication Date:
02-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Preserving the environment is high on the agenda for both governments and society. Governments in OECD countries are using a variety of instruments to change environmentally harmful behaviour, and taxes have proved a useful string to their bow. Using taxes to achieve an environmental objective, such as reducing emissions of a particular pollutant, is efficient from an economic point of view and offers flexibility to adapt for those affected. Direct regulation of polluting activities, for example by setting legal limits on the emission level of certain pollutants, forces immediate compliance regardless of the comparative cost for different businesses and individuals, and can be more difficult and costly for some than for others. Environmental taxes leave more flexibility for those affected, because they can essentially “buy time” to make changes which will mean they do not have to pay the tax in the future. Thus, a tax on polluting activities or products allows those who can cut emissions cheaply to do so first, while allowing those with higher pollution control costs to pay the tax while taking time to make technological adjustments. This means that the economy as a whole will meet the same environmental objective more cheaply than by using direct regulation. While using taxes to achieve environmental objectives is clearly efficient for the economy as a whole, however, in practice individual businesses or sectors may resist because they will be “losers” in the equation. Governments need to address such concerns about the negative impacts of environmental taxes on sectoral competitiveness and on income distribution if environmentally related taxes are to be a useful tool. This Policy Brief looks at the political economy of environmental taxes and how governments can use them in conjunction with other policy instruments to achieve their environmental objectives.
Topic:
Civil Society, Environment, Government, and Political Economy

467. The Political Economy of IMF Surveillance

Author:
Ngaire Woods and Domenico Lombardi
Publication Date:
02-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
This paper investigates the political economy foundations of International Monetary Fund (IMF) surveillance by developing a taxonomy that accounts for its differential impact across the membership and examine its rationale in light of how surveillance has historically affected members' economic policies. With powerful member countries now pressing for the IMF to strengthen surveillance, we identify the factors that would enable it to affect the policies of its member countries, exploring the impact that IMF's internal governance has on the effectiveness of both bilateral and multilateral surveillance and contrasting it with the experience of select international organizations.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Development, International Trade and Finance, and Political Economy

468. India Country Risk Report

Publication Date:
12-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
The Indian National Congress party, which heads the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, is doing relatively well in the opinion polls and may be tempted to call an early general election within the next six months (the poll must take place by May 2009). However, the outcome of the election is likely to be another coalition government. Major reform-oriented policy changes are unlikely to be pushed through in the run-up to the election, particularly given the rift between the UPA and its leftist political allies. Monetary policy will be put on hold in 2008 while inflationary pressures abate. Real GDP growth is forecast to moderate slightly, to 7.9% in fiscal year 2008/09 (April-March) and 7.2% in 2009/10. Strong domestic demand will lead to a widening of the merchandise trade deficit over the forecast period, but surpluses on the services and transfers accounts will limit the current-account deficit to an annual average of 1.5% of GDP in 2008-09.
Topic:
Economics, Political Economy, and Privatization
Political Geography:
India and Asia

469. How to Capture Non-Western Forms of Governance: In Favour of an Equivalence Functionalist Observation of Governance in Areas of Limited Statehood

Author:
Draude Anke
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700
Abstract:
This article problematises the idea of the Western concept of governance being applied to areas outside the OECD world. The aim of this article is to develop a research approach which is appropriate for these areas. To this end the article first of all casts light on Eurocentric premises of the concept of governance. It deals with the central dichotomy between state and private actors. The omnipresence of this differentiation is then explained with the help of Foucault's, Luhmann's and Derrida's (de-)constructivist theories. Assuming that Eurocentrism is inevitable, but that it has a varying degree of influence on the observer, the author then outlines an equivalence functionalist approach to governance research, which poses questions about the nature of a task performed, about the “way” in which it is performed and by “whom”. In this way, European dichotomies with regard to actors and modes of action in governance can be avoided.
Topic:
Democratization, Development, International Cooperation, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
Europe

470. Roots of Terror

Author:
Corinna Johnson
Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
Abstract:
The Women in International Studies (WIIS), Georgetown University, in cooperation with the Strategic Studies Institute (SSI), U.S. Army War College, conducted a colloquium, “The Roots of Terror: Understanding the Evolving Threat of Global Terrorism,” on February 12, 2007. This colloquium brought together over 150 U.S. and international government officials, academic experts, think tank members, and college faculty. The moderators and speakers were outstanding scholars and practitioners from an impressive array of universities, think tanks, and government and private agencies. The speakers' goals were to examine (1) recruitment and support strategies used by terrorist organizations, (2) the environments that enable terrorism, and (3) implications for the future of counterterrorism. A panel was devoted to each of these goals. Media coverage included C-SPAN live broadcast and rebroadcast and a talk-radio interview with an SSI participant. The colloquium addressed timely strategic issues, supported the research and publication missions of both the U.S. Army War College and Georgetown University, and promoted mutually beneficial relationships with universities, national security research institutes, and government agencies.
Topic:
International Relations, Political Economy, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States