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1921. Relations between Ukraine and the Republic of Belarus the present conditions, status quo and perspectives

Author:
Andrzej Szeptycki
Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Polish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
Ukraine and the Republic of Belarus are two important neighbours of Poland and the European Union, naturally separating them from Russia. After gaining independence in 1991, they faced the choice between re-integration with Russia or strengthening their own statehood and position in the international arena. In the mid-1990s, Belarus decided to choose the first option, whereas Ukraine, though it did not resign from cooperation with Russia, strove to develop an independent foreign policy and tighten its contacts with the Euro-Atlantic structures. Over the last 14 years, the two states have not attached excessive importance to bilateral relations, also researchers have not shown much interest in the issue.
Topic:
Foreign Policy and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:
Russia and Ukraine

1922. Organization Design and Frontline Service Improvement in Government: The Case of Performance Targets in the United Kingdom

Author:
Steven J. Kelman
Publication Date:
05-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
Over the last decade there has been a dramatic expansion in use of non-financial performance measures for government organizat ions (Talbot 2005). Often, governments have limited themselves to what may be called “performance measurement” -- choosing measures and reporting performance against them. In this situation, the words typically associated with the effort are “accountability” and “transparency.” Political overseers are made aware of performance, and may then react based on a judgment about whether performance is good or bad. Other times, government organizations have gone beyond measurement to “performance management” – using measures as a tool to improve performance along dimensions measured, not just record performance levels assumed to be unchanging. The basic idea is that various non-financial performance measures serve a role analogous to the profit measure in firms for encouraging better performance. Performance management is thus seen as a potentially powerful tool to remedy underperformance in government.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Government
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

1923. Is there a Human Right to Free Movement? Immigration and Original Ownership of the Earth

Author:
Michael Blake and Mathias Risse
Publication Date:
04-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
One of the most striking features of the political arrangements on this planet is the fact that it is divided in to sovereign states. The earth is carved into territories ruled by governments whose accountability to those who do not live there continues to be rather limited. This is striking because life chances depend significantly on the state into which one happens to be born. To be sure, in recent times, globalization has woven together, in highly complex systems, the fates of communities, households, and individuals in distant parts of the world; it is partly for this reason that hardly anybody now champions a notion of sovereignty that insulates a state from extern al criticism, or limits liability for how that state's actions affect foreign nationals. Nevertheless, state sovereignty persists as a political fact. The number of independent states has increased enormously through the major political upheavals of the 20 th century, and it is not clear that there is anything wrong in principle with states – or so, at any rate, we will assume in this study.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Migration, and Politics

1924. The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy

Author:
John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt
Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
U.S. foreign policy shapes events in every corner of the globe. Nowhere is this truer than in the Middle East, a region of recurring instability and enormous strategic importance. Most recently, the Bush Administration's attempt to transform the region in t o a community of democracies has helped produce a resilient ins urgency in Iraq, a sharp rise in world oil prices, and terrorist bombings in Madrid, London, and Amman. With so much at stake for so many, all countries need to understand the forces that drive U.S. Middle East Policy.
Topic:
Security and Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
Middle East

1925. An International Architecture for the Post-Kyoto Era

Author:
Robert Stavins and Sheila Olmstead
Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
In February, 2005, the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change came into force, but without participation by the United States. Its impacts on emissions of greenhouse gases — including carbon dioxide (CO) , the primary anthropogenic driver of climate change — will be trivial; but scientific (Robert T. Watson 2001) and economic analyses (Charles D. Kolstad and Michael A. Toman 2001) point to the need for a credible international approach.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Environment, and Politics
Political Geography:
United States

1926. What to Say about the State

Author:
Mathias Risse
Publication Date:
02-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
In a little-known 1677 essay by Leibniz, two diplomats wonder about the status of princes of the Holy Roman Empire. These princes obtained a great deal of independence in the Treaty of Westphalia, but nonetheless remained subject to the Emperor. Were they, at least those with sizeable territories, “sovereign” or not? While the Treaty of Westphalia is considered the Magna Charta of the state system, its historical purpose was to keep the Empire functioning politically. Conceptual clarification was not a priority. In response, Leibniz offered an account of sovereignty meant to shed light on the Empire's confusing political realities.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Globalization, and Politics
Political Geography:
Westphalia

1927. The Economic Costs of the Iraq War: An Appraisal Three Years after the Beginning of the Conflict

Author:
Linda Bilmes and Joseph Stiglitz
Publication Date:
02-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
Three years ago, as America was preparing to go to war in Iraq, there were few discussions of the likely costs. When Larry Lindsey, President Bush's economic adviser, suggested that they might reach $200 billion, there was a quick response from the White House: that number was a gross overestimation. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz claim e d that Iraq could “really finance its own reconstruction,” apparently both underestimating what was required and the debt burden facing the country. Lindsey went on to say that “The successful prosecution of the war would be good for the economy.”
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Economics
Political Geography:
Iraq, America, and Middle East

1928. What's So Special About China's Exports?

Author:
Dani Rodrik
Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
The phenomenal performance of China constitutes the great economic miracle of the last quarter century. China's economy has expanded by leaps and bounds, at historically unprecedented rates that few economists would have found plausible or feasible ex ante. More importantly, this growth has lifted hundreds of millions of people from deep poverty and has helped improve health, education, and other social standards. China has accomplished all this using its own brand of experimental gradualism--increasingly relying on markets and on price signals, yet until very recently doing so within the boundaries of a highly unorthodox set of institutions.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Economics
Political Geography:
China and Asia

1929. Japan-China Relations: Four Fallacies Masquerading as Common Sense

Author:
Kazuo Ogoura
Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:
To gain insight into the future of the Sino-Japanese relationship, we need to clear up the misconceptions, misunderstandings, and errors that beset the two countries' relations and take an intellectual scalpel to their source. Some of the errors are related to the way people think about or perceive themselves, while others stem from the thinking or attitudes of the other party; still others are linked to the history of Japan-China relations. Here, in four questions and answers, are errors currently regarded as virtually self-evident truths.
Topic:
International Relations and Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
Japan and China

1930. Is Iran's Reform Movement Dead?

Author:
Fatemeh Haghighatjoo
Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:
The surprise victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the Iranian Presidential election last June brings up the question of whether the reform movement is dead in Iran. Does Ahmadinejad's success imply that Iranians have economic demands only? Who now are the supporters of reform?
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Democratization
Political Geography:
Iran