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271. After Mecca: Engaging Hamas

Publication Date:
02-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
It has been a year since Hamas formed its government – and what a dismal year it has been. The Islamists thought they could govern without paying an ideological price, Fatah that it could swiftly push them aside and regain power. By imposing sanctions and boycotting the government, the Quartet (U.S., European Union (EU), Russia and UN) and Israel hoped to force Hamas to change or persuade the Palestinians to oust it. Washington promised security and economic aid to encourage Fatah to confront Hamas and help defeat it. The illusions have brought only grief. The 8 February 2007 Saudi-brokered Mecca Agreement between the Palestinian rivals offers the chance of a fresh start: for Hamas and Fatah to restore law and order and rein in militias; for Israelis and Palestinians to establish a comprehensive ceasefire and start a credible peace process; and for the Quartet (or at least those of its members inclined to do so) to adopt a more pragmatic attitude that judges a government of national unity by deeds, not rhetoric. The adjustment will not be comfortable for anyone. But the alternative is much worse.
Topic:
Development, Government, and International Organization
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Washington, Middle East, and Israel

272. Merry Sisterhood or Guarded Watchfulness? Cooperation Between the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank

Author:
Michael Fabricius
Publication Date:
12-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
Since their inception at the end of the Second World War, the sister organizations of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have aimed to consistently speak with one voice vis-à-vis their member governments. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that they often do not speak in one voice. Fabricius draws on field research conducted in Ghana, Pakistan, Peru, and Vietnam to identify the conditions that determine whether or not the organizations are indeed on the same page and to address whether their traditional plea for consistency is always desirable. He recommends which measures seem crucial to ensure Bank-Fund consistency. At the same time he argues that under certain conditions, this consistency may lead to policy choices that are only second-best. He proposes that the Bank and the Fund pursue a case-specific approach in deciding whether they should take the same stance. A more flexible approach may increase not only the ownership of borrowing countries but also the sustainability of policy choices.
Topic:
Development, Economics, International Organization, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Vietnam, Peru, and Ghana

273. Building the Rule of Law under UN Transitional Administration

Author:
Carolyn Bull
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
For international actors seeking to consolidate peace and democracy in disrupted states, the importance of establishing the rule of law is well-recognised. Yet this goal has proven frustratingly elusive. In the hostile intervention environment of the post-conflict disrupted state, international actors in the UN system and elsewhere have struggled to build legitimate state structures to redress disputes peacefully. They have found it even more challenging to instil principles of governance that promote accountability to the law, protect against abuse and generate trust in the state. This brief examines the difficulties faced by UN peace operations in attempting to build the rule of law, with reference to UN transitional administrations in Cambodia, Kosovo and East Timor.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Development, Government, International Law, and International Organization
Political Geography:
Kosovo and Cambodia

274. Neopatrimonialism Revisited - Beyond a Catch-All Concept

Author:
Ulf Engel and Gero Erdmann
Publication Date:
02-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
The article provides a critical discussion of the literature on “patrimonialism” and “neopatrimonialism” as far as the use in Development Studies in general or African Studies in particular is concerned. To overcome the catch-all use of the concept the authors present their own definition of “neopatrimonialism” based on Max Weber's concept of patrimonialism and legal-rational bureaucracy. However, in order to make the concept more useful for comparative empirical research, they argue, it needs a thorough operationalisation (qualitatively and quantitatively) and the creation of possible subtypes which, in combination, might contribute to a theory of neopatrimonial action.
Topic:
Development, Government, and International Organization
Political Geography:
Africa

275. Towards a Dynamic Model of the Interplay Between International Institutions

Author:
Howard Loewen
Publication Date:
02-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
International institutions increasingly affect each other's development, maintenance and effectiveness. Research so far has merely focused on the issue of effectiveness and broader consequences. The paper argues firstly that theoretical progress could be promoted by integrating variables explaining the formation and maintenance of international institutions into a dynamic model of institutional interplay. Secondly, research ought to be extended to institutions governing issue areas like trade, finance, and security as well as their respective interactions. Thirdly, East Asia is a highly interesting region regarding regime interaction, since regional cooperation is slowly but steadily evolving in different issue areas as a reaction to institutional operations on the global level of governance.
Topic:
Government, International Organization, and International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Israel and East Asia

276. Governance in Räumen begrenzter Staatlichkeit: Neue Formen des Regierens?

Author:
Thomas Risse and Ursula Lehmkuhl
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700
Abstract:
Governance ist zu einem zentralen Thema sozialwissenschaftlicher Forschung geworden. Dabei besteht Übereinstimmung, dass politische Gemeinwesen bestimmte Leistungen in den Bereichen Herrschaft, Sicherheit und Wohlfahrt erbringen sollen. In den Debatten wird aber oft „eff ektive Gebietsherrschaft“ als Kernelement moderner Staatlichkeit stillschweigend vorausgesetzt, und die Forschung konzentriert sich auf die OECD-Welt. In globaler sowie historischer Perspektive sind autoritative Entscheidungskompetenz und Gewaltmonopol des Staates jedoch die Ausnahme, nicht die Regel. Ein Blick auf die Länder des Südens, „zerfallen(d)e Staaten“ in den Krisenregionen der Welt oder ehemalige Kolonien bestätigt dies. Hier wird politisch gesteuert, ohne dass die vielfältigen Verfahren demokratischer und rechtsstaatlich organisierter Wohlfahrtsstaaten verfügbar wären. Der SFB 700 fragt daher nach den Bedingungen von Governance in diesen Räumen begrenzter Staatlichkeit: Wie und unter welchen Bedingungen werden Governance-Leistungen in den Bereichen Herrschaft, Sicherheit und Wohlfahrt in Räumen begrenzter Staatlichkeit erbracht, und welche Probleme entstehen dabei? Die SFB-Teilprojekte untersuchen, wie dort regiert wird und welche Probleme dabei entstehen. Dabei gehen wir davon aus, dass sich in Räumen begrenzter Staatlichkeit „neue“ Formen des Regierens herausbilden, die vorwiegend „weiche“ Steuerungsformen nutzen, auf vielfältigen Kooperationsformen zwischen staatlichen und nicht-staatlichen Akteuren basieren und durch eine Verschränkung von globalen, nationalen und lokalen Ebenen charakterisiert sind.
Topic:
Democratization, Development, International Organization, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
Germany

277. Human rights cooperation between Russia and European intergovernmental organisations: a one-way transference of norms or a mutual process of adaptation?

Author:
Sinikukka Saari
Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
The European intergovernmental organisations such as the Council of Europe, OSCE and the EU have taken up the task to promote actively human rights in Russia. The organisations differ in methods, instrument s and over-all strategies but the goal of socialising Russia to common European human rights norms is the same for all these organisations. Socialisation means a process through which norms are transmitted from one party to another and they become firmly established domestic practices.
Topic:
Government, Human Rights, Human Welfare, and International Organization
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Asia

278. Towards an Organization Theory of International Integration

Author:
Morton Egeberg
Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Research Papers Archive
Abstract:
This paper outlines an organization theory of political integration among nationstates. If we assume there are existing shared institutions, political integration is here seen to take place to the extent that lines of conflict coinciding with national borders are complemented with cleavages cutting across such borders so that a multidimensional political space can be observed. I ask what difference organizational characteristics of international or supranational organizations (IOs) make in this respect, other things being equal. The scarce attention devoted to IOs over the last decades has to a certain extent focused on how their organizational resources might have been conducive to increased problem-solving capacity at the international level. A key argument advanced in this paper, however, is that only when international institutions are structured basically according to non-territorial criteria will they start to seriously challenge the intergovernmental logic of political behaviour. In addition, it is argued that only fragmented states and loosely coupled political systems can become profoundly integrated into a larger polity according to the criteria stated above. In order to illustrate the assumptions I look at some key reforms and changes of IOs over the last 200 years.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, International Organization, and Politics

279. Fifteen Proposal for Italy's European Policy

Author:
T. Padoa-Schioppa and E. Greco
Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
Despite the important achievements of the past years (the Euro, enlargement, the drafting of the Constitutional Treaty, interventions in the Balkans and the growing diplomatic role in the Middle East), Europe is at a standstill and experiencing scepticism which, combined with prolonged economic stagnation, could deteriorate into a serious crisis. In this difficult situation, Italy could suffer particularly negative consequences. At the same time, however, it could - as in the past - play a prominent role in providing the Union with new dynamism.
Topic:
Security and International Organization
Political Geography:
Europe and Middle East

280. Agricultural Policy Reform in South Africa

Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
With a surface area of 1.22 million km2 and a population of 46.9 million, South Africa is one of the largest countries on the African continent. It is also the largest African economy, with a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of USD 3 530, more than four times the African average.
Topic:
Development, Economics, International Organization, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
South Africa