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1161. China's Economic Policy in the Time of the Global Financial Crisis: Which Way Out?

Author:
Margot Schüller and Yun Schüllerr-Zhou
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
This contribution analyses the impact of the global financial crisis on the Chinese economy and the policies implemented by the Chinese government to cope with it. We argue, first, that China has not been able to decouple its economic performance from that of the U.S. and other developed countries. Second, although economic growth in the second quarter of 2009 showed that the stimulus package is working, the current development does not seem to be sustainable. In order to avoid another round of overheating, the government needs to adjust its stimulus policy. Third, the current crisis offers opportunities to conduct necessary structural adjustments in favour of more market-based and innovative industries, more investment by private companies and a stronger role of private consumption in economic growth. Fourth, with the external demand from the OECD countries declining, Chinese export companies need to further diversify their international markets and re-orient their production and sales strategies to some extent towards the domestic market.
Topic:
Economics, Government, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
United States and China

1162. Japanese governance reform: Daybreak in the land of the rising sun?

Author:
Alexandru Luta
Publication Date:
10-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
The recent elections for the lower house of Japan's Diet herald the end of the Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) domination of Japanese politics. The winner, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), aims to thoroughly reform the way the country is governed. The strategic goals of the DPJ's reform agenda are to shift the locus of policy-drafting away from civil servants to the legislature, and to bring the latter firmly under the control of the Prime Minister's Cabinet. In order to be able to work towards its strategic goal, the DPJ needs tactical victories to maintain its popularity with the electorate. The climate negotiations' high profile makes domestic climate policy a natural area for the DPJ to differentiate its political brand from that of the LDP. Just as with governance reform, the DPJ has time and again asserted its commitment to pro-active climate goals both in pre-and post-electoral speeches, at home and abroad. Therefore it is very likely to continue pouring political capital into this policy area. The division between major ministries about how to formulate Japanese climate policy presents a willing Cabinet with structural advantages to assert its leadership successfully. The wider reforms currently being implemented further strengthen the new government's position. There are some factors that might limit the ability of Japan's new leadership to fight climate change. These include how their relationship with domestic media outlets shapes their approval ratings, how the positions of other stakeholders develop, how other electoral promises conflict with the new climate platform, and how the climate negotiations progress on the international level.
Topic:
Democratization, Government, Politics, and Governance
Political Geography:
Japan, Israel, and Asia

1163. From the Editor

Author:
Craig Biddle
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Objective Standard
Institution:
The Objective Standard
Abstract:
Merry Christmas readers! And welcome to the Winter 2009-10 issue of The Objective Standard.
Topic:
Government
Political Geography:
United States

1164. Letters and Replies

Author:
Craig Biddle
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Objective Standard
Institution:
The Objective Standard
Abstract:
Michael Dahlen's article "The Rise of American Big Government" [TOS, Fall 2009] is a clarifying survey, in essentials, of the interventionism that has eroded freedom in America for more than a century. But as to the alleged economic successes of Reagan and Clinton, weren't these funded with deficit financing and inflation? I'd like to hear Mr. Dahlen's thoughts on this.
Topic:
Government
Political Geography:
America

1165. The California Coastal Commission: A Case Study in Governmental Assault on Property Rights

Author:
Paul Beard
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Objective Standard
Institution:
The Objective Standard
Abstract:
Imagine the following: 1. A couple improves their oceanside backyard with tables and benches, a barbecue pit and kitchenette, an outdoor shower and restroom, and a beautiful flower garden. Thirty years later, government officials inspect the yard and declare that the amenities are ugly and out of character with the surrounding area, and that, because the amenities underscore the fact that the yard is private, they have a detrimental psychological effect on the public traversing the adjacent beach. The government orders the couple to clear out their yard and restore it to its "natural" condition, or face stiff penalties. 2. A man purchases a vacant lot along the Pacific coast with the dream of building his residence there, but when he submits his building plans to the local government, he is told that the size and location of his structure would sully boaters' views of the coastline. The government demands that he reduce the size of his proposed home to one-quarter its planned size and place it in a geologically hazardous corner of the lot. 3. A family that has been cramped for years in a mobile home on their 143-acre ranch wants to build a house large enough to accommodate them, but when they apply for a building permit, the government tells the family that, in exchange for permission to build, they must agree to a perpetual agricultural easement over almost all of their land-an "agreement" that would force the family and future generations to farm the property forever. Unfortunately, we need not imagine any of these scenarios, because they are true stories of real people suffering at the hands of a real tyrant. Even as you read, these and other such abuses are occurring in California. The tyrant in question is the California Coastal Commission, a state bureaucracy with near-limitless authority over people's property and, thus, their lives. Although the Commission's power to dictate how property owners may use their property is limited to certain regions in California, similar commissions exist in other states, and the Commission's endeavors provide an ideal case study regarding how and why governmental bodies at all levels across America are increasingly violating property rights. Let us begin our study by looking at the history and nature of the Commission. . . . To read the rest of this article, select one of the following options:Subscriber Login | Subscribe | Renew | Purchase a PDF of this article
Topic:
Government
Political Geography:
California

1166. Representative versus Responsible Government

Author:
Peter Mair
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
Abstract:
The changing circumstances in which parties compete in contemporary democracies, coupled with the changing circumstances in which governments now govern, have led to a widening of the traditional gap between representative and responsible government. Although it is generally seen as desirable that parties in government are both representative and responsible, these two characteristics are now becoming increasingly incompatible. Prudence and consistency in government, as well as accountability, require conformity to external constraints and legacies. This means more than just answering to public opinion. While these external constraints and legacies have become weightier in recent years, public opinion, in its turn, has become harder and harder for governments to read. Hence we see the growing incompatibility. Meanwhile, because of changes in their organizations and in their relationship with civil society, parties are no longer in a position to bridge or “manage” this gap, or even to persuade voters to accept it as a necessary element in political life. This growing incompatibility is one of the principal sources of the democratic malaise that confronts many Western democracies today.
Topic:
Democratization, Government, Politics, and Governance

1167. In the Quicksands of Somalia

Author:
Bronwyn Bruton
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Foreign Affairs
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
Washington's repeated attempts to bring peace to Somalia with state-building initiatives have failed, even backfired. It should renounce political intervention and encourage local development without trying to improve governance.
Topic:
Government
Political Geography:
United States, Washington, Middle East, and Somalia

1168. The Emergence of the 'Government's Perspective on the Kurdish Issue

Author:
Ümit Cizre
Publication Date:
10-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
The AK Party's chronic 'political insecurity' may have passed a threshold as the ruling party resurfaces as an actor taking advantage of its pro-European Union sentiments to begin a 'grand negotiation' with Turkey's thus-far publicly shunned Kurdish leaders after decades of bloodshed. This new window of opportunity could not have emerged without the explosion of the Ergenekon incident, which has offered a persuasive critique of the closed, dark, intolerant and secret communities friendly with the military bureaucracy and state officials but insidiously devoted to destroying the government. In the post-Ergenekon era, the new democratic opening represents a significant departure from a military solution to the Kurdish issue which has blocked civilian imaginations by declaring the Kurdish identity demands as a security threat to the officially proscribed Turkish identity. The real issue at stake now for the AK Party government is a redefinition of the locus and space where the phenomenon of real political power takes place in Turkey.
Topic:
Government and Politics
Political Geography:
Turkey and Kurdistan

1169. The Kurdish Question: The Reasons and Fortunes of the 'Opening'

Author:
Cengiz Çandar
Publication Date:
10-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
This commentary reflects on the Turkish government's recent 'opening' to address the Kurdish problem and the domestic, regional and international conditions that created a conducive environment for this initiative. It maintains that although the Turkish leadership has grasped the new dynamics of the regional and domestic developments and changed its conventional perception of the problem, the initiative is constrained by the fact that it is motivated by a concern to remove the violent aspect of the Kurdish question, i.e., terminating the Kurdish insurgency once and for all. It also suggests that despite the optimism generated by the opening to solve the Kurdish problem, the achievement of its ultimate objective is far more complex than seen at the first glance. The commentary places a special attention on the dilemmas encountered by the Democratic Society Party as it seeks to represent the demands of its predominantly Kurdish constituency.
Topic:
Government and Insurgency
Political Geography:
Turkey

1170. "On Torture" Edited by Thomas C. Hilde

Author:
Karen Greenberg
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Carnegie Council
Abstract:
This edited collection is an excellent addition to the literature on the torture policy of the Bush administration during its war on terror. The contributors explore the history and practice of torture beyond the U.S. and what these non-American examples say about the U.S role in this area.
Topic:
Government
Political Geography:
United States and America