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1531. American hegemony: A dangerous aspiration?

Author:
James L. Richardson
Publication Date:
05-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Australian National University Department of International Relations
Abstract:
The Bush administration's foreign policies have sparked off a round of new debates on America's power and its international role. At the core of these debates are ideas of empire and hegemony, but these terms are used in many senses and often interchangeably. The paper first distinguishes among these usages and spells out its own concepts. As understood here, a hegemonic power is one that plays a leading role in shaping and maintaining a certain international order, exercising its dominant power in such a way as to win broad acceptance and legitimacy. It is argued that the discussion of hegemony can best be advanced by distinguishing among the various domains of power: military, economic, ideological and political, to follow Michael Mann's breakdown. The US is closest to hegemony in the international economic domain, but in each domain its hegemony is at best partial and qualified. Nonetheless, it remains the preponderant power, with aspirations to hegemony and empire. The benefits of American preponderance are widely acclaimed in the West and infrequently questioned in the international relations discipline, but its dangers merit far greater attention than they normally receive. In particular, beyond the short-term context, the specifically American version of liberal ideology renders the US ill-suited to respond to some of the foreseeable challenges of the twenty-first century. Consequently there is a need for others to engage a great deal more actively than heretofore with the construction of a more viable international order.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Development
Political Geography:
United States and America

1532. Blair, Brown and the Gleneagles agenda: Making poverty history, or confronting the global politics of unequal development?

Author:
Anthony Payne
Publication Date:
05-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Australian National University Department of International Relations
Abstract:
Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, the United Kingdom Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer respectively, set out a highly ambitious 'development' agenda for 2005 when it was the UK's turn to hold the Presidency of the Group of 8 and thus host than annual summit, held on this occasion in Gleneagles in Scotland. This agenda embraced issues of aid and debt, trade and climate change. It was given additional prominence by the activities of the Making Poverty History campaign. However, the G8 could never have worked to 'make poverty history' because such an achievement was not remotely within its compass. The details of the agreements reached at Gleneagles and at subsequent international meetings reveal a much less impressive record than the initial hyperbole suggested. The global politics of development is not animated any longer—if indeed it ever was—by what the 'North' is willing to do for the 'South'. It is driven instead by a complex 'global politics of unequal development' into which Blair and Brown's Gleneagles agenda has been swept up. The outcome may represent significant change in some of the patterns of global politics, but it will not mark the ending of poverty.
Topic:
International Relations, Globalization, Human Rights, and Poverty
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Scotland

1533. Regional Powers in International Relations: Analytical Concepts and Research Approaches

Author:
Detlef Nolte
Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
El artículo toma como punto de partida el pronóstico presentado en parte de la literatura científica respecto a que conflictos para imponer o impedir una hegemonía regional se tornarán más virulentos en el futuro. En ese contexto se discute el papel y la importancia que corresponde a las potencias regionales según diferentes enfoques de análisis en las relaciones internacionales. Se presentan algunas teorías que tienen como objeto las jerarquías de poder en la política internacional. El artículo expone la diferenciación conceptual entre potencias regionales y potencias medianas tradicionales. Se propone un concepto analítico de potencia regional. Además, en el estudio se aborda el tema de la integración regional y el papel de las potencias regionales y se discute el valor analítico del concepto de hegemonía cooperativa para el estudio de las potencias regionales.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, International Relations, Politics, and Regional Cooperation

1534. Power and Power Hierarchies in International Relations: Towards an Analytical Concept for the Study of Regional Powers

Author:
Detlef Nolte
Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Much of recent international relations literature argues conflicts to achieve or to frustrate regional dominance will become more virulent in the future. In this context we examine different approaches in international relations theory regarding the role and importance which they attribute to regional powers. We discuss diverse concepts of power and theoretical approaches that address the topics of power relations and power hierarchies in international politics. Marking differences as well as common grounds with the more traditional concept of “middle powers”, we sketch an analytical concept of regional powers adequate for contemporary international relations research. The paper concludes with reflections on the relationship between regional powers and regional integration and a short discussion of the analytical value of the concept of cooperative hegemony for the study of regional powers.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, Politics, and Sovereignty

1535. Saving and Demographic Change: The Global Dimension

Author:
Barry Bosworth and Gabriel Chodorow-Reich
Publication Date:
11-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
This paper uses a panel data set of 85 countries covering 1960-2005 to investigate the macroeconomic linkages between national rates of saving and investment and population aging. The issue takes on added significance because of the recent suggestion that the decline in global interest rates has been driven by demographic changes in the industrial economies. We do find a significant correlation between the age composition of the population and nations' rates of saving and investment, but the effects vary substantially by region. They are very strong for the non-industrial economies of Asia, but weak in the high-income countries. We also find evidence demographic effects on both the public and private components of national saving. Furthermore, we conclude that the demographic effects on saving will be less disruptive than sometimes believed because of offsetting declines in investment. However, the effects on saving are stronger than those for investment, implying that most aging economies will ultimately be pushed in the direction of current account deficits.
Topic:
International Relations, Demographics, and Economics
Political Geography:
Asia

1536. Central Asia Human Development Report

Author:
Johannes F. Linn
Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Increased cooperation among the Central Asian republics stands to produce big gains for the people of the region. The benefits from reducing trade costs, increasing remittances from migrant workers, and more efficient use of water and energy resources could generate a regional economy twice as large and well off 10 years from now. The price of non-cooperation could also be large, a heavy toll extracted from the spread of disease, lost economic opportunities, natural disasters and environmental destruction, as well as conflict and insecurity. Both costs and benefits will be felt most among the region's poorer populations.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:
Central Asia

1537. International Volunteering: Smart Power

Author:
Lex Rieffel and Sarah Zalud
Publication Date:
06-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The face of America that has been welcomed most enthusiastically in the rest of the world for decades has been the face of a volunteer: assisting with disaster relief, building houses for poor families, teaching English to university students, and so much more.
Topic:
International Relations, Education, and Humanitarian Aid
Political Geography:
United States

1538. Pragmatic Reform of Global Governance: Creating an L20 Summit Forum

Author:
Johannes F. Linn and Colin I. Bradford Jr.
Publication Date:
04-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The global challenges confronting political leaders today—whether the stalemate of global trade negotiations, the threat of Avian flu, the struggle over Iran going nuclear, or the fight against global poverty—cannot be solved by yesterday's institutions. They demand new approaches to global governance that are more inclusive, more representative, and thus more effective. The G8 summit, in particular, is a forum of the eight industrialized countries that were the dominant powers of the mid-twentieth century. By excluding the emerging powers of the twenty-first century, it has become increasingly ineffective, unrepresentative and illegitimate. U.S. global interests are best served by increasing the inclusiveness and effectiveness of the global steering process rather than sticking with the obsolete, overly formalized and unrepresentative G8.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, Politics, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
United States

1539. Building Automatic Solvency into U.S. Social Security: Insights from Sweden and Germany

Author:
James C. Capretta
Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Although Social Security reform appears to be off of the national agenda for now, real funding problems remain for America's popular retirement program that policymakers need to address. The payroll taxes that support Social Security's “pay–as-you-go” system will begin to fall short of outlays in 2017 and will be sufficient to finance only 74 percent of scheduled annual benefits by 2041, when the Social Security trust fund is projected to be exhausted.
Topic:
International Relations and Economics
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, Germany, and Sweden

1540. Living with Palestinian Democracy

Author:
Nathan J. Brown
Publication Date:
05-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
By electing a parliament dominated by Hamas, Palestinians have sharply challenged U.S. policy. The initial American reaction—undermining the new government—will leave the population in chaos, with various Palestinian groups vying for influence. Political constraints preclude anything but a Hamas government in the short term. But the Hamas victory should not be viewed as a defeat for the American vision of reform—which, indeed, may offer a path out of the current deadlock. The United States should develop a policy for the longer term to continue calming the Israeli- Palestinian conflict; maintain the Palestinian Authority; and work for political reform by focusing on the judiciary, media, and other institutions that are independent of the current regime.
Topic:
International Relations, Democratization, and Government
Political Geography:
United States, America, Middle East, Israel, and Palestine