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821. On the Economic Determinants of Free Trade Agreements

Author:
Scott L. Baier and Jeffrey Bergstrand
Publication Date:
01-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The purpose of this study is to provide the first systematic empirical analysis of the economic determinants of the formation of free trade agreements (FTAs) and of the likelihood of FTAs between pairs of countries using a qualitative choice model. We develop this econometric model based upon a general equilibrium theoretical model of world trade with two factors of production, two monopolistically competitive product markets, and explicit intercontinental and intracontinental transportation costs among multiple countries on multiple continents. The empirical model correctly predicts, based solely upon economic characteristics, 83 percent of the 289 FTAs existing in 1996 among 1,431 pairs of countries and 97 percent of the remaining 1,142 pairs with no FTAs.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Treaties and Agreements

822. Italian Legal Framework

Author:
Federico Casolari
Publication Date:
06-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
On 1 April 2001 the first conventions between European Community and third Countries on the single currency entered into force. The agreements in question, as already mentioned, are the Monetary Agreement between the Italian Republic (I.R.), on behalf of the European Community, and the Republic of San Marino (29 November 2000), and the Monetary Agreement between I.R., on behalf of the European Community, and the Vatican City (29 December 2000).
Topic:
International Law and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

823. Economic Priorities for Peace Implementation

Author:
Susan L. Woodward
Publication Date:
10-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
There has been surprisingly little systematic analysis of how economic factors contribute to the success or failure of peace agreements. What is clear however, is that economic factors play a more significant role in the failure of peace agreements than they do in the success of such initiatives; Peace agreements are often very weak on economic aspects. This is problematic because the success of the first phase of peace implementation is largely dependent on three economic factors: sufficiently rapid economic revival to generate confidence in the peace process; adequate funding to implement key aspects of the peace agreement; and, for a sustainable peace, there must be sufficient funding to enable the establishment of government institutions and the transition to a peace-time economy; Five important lessons have emerged from experience in the area of peace implementation over the last decade: The need for broad-based impact assessments At present, assessments tend to measure whether an aid project was implemented as planned, not whether it contributed to a sustainable peace. As a consequence, important opportunities to make informed mid-course adjustments in long-term programs and to develop more effective programs are lost; An early emphasis on employment is critical Active employment is critical to redirecting behavior and encouraging support for the peace process. The success of crucial programs such as those for the demobilization and reintegration of former combatants and the return of refugees and internally displaced persons are also linked to the availability of employment; Invest in Building Institutional and Social Capital Conventional approaches to post-conflict economic recovery tend to emphasize macroeconomic stability at the expense of economic infrastructure. However, in post-conflict settings, the financial and legal institutions so necessary to implement economic policy and ensure good governance are either weak or nonexistent. More attention must be paid to financing the development of basic public sector capacities and social capital. Donor decisions about whom to assist and what to fund have lasting political impacts Donor monies influence government policy, whether directly through the imposition of explicit conditions or in more indirect ways. Lending decisions also influence the political landscape within the recipient county and the behavior of third-party implementers; An international presence introduces economic distortions It is seldom acknowledged that the economic impact of international peace missions runs contrary to the aims of self-government and economic and political sustainability. As a consequence, decisions about implementation and exit are extremely important; There is an urgent need for a new economic strategy that addresses the challenges of post-civil war environments.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Economics, Peace Studies, and Treaties and Agreements

824. The Adapted CFE Treaty and the Admission of the Baltic States to NATO

Author:
Zdzislaw Lachowski
Publication Date:
12-2002
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Abstract:
Twelve years after conventional arms control began in Europe, the process is about to enter a new, critical stage as it extends to cover the entire continent. This will eventually rid it of the cold war 'straitjacket' and consolidate political and military security in the space extending from the Atlantic to the Urals. Since the cold war, the situation in Europe and elsewhere has changed radically. The priorities, the rules of the game, and the groups and actors on the political stage are different. Consequently, ways of thinking about security and the options available are also changing. Military security has evolved and its role differs from that of the past. The conventional arms control regime, which was negotiated and agreed during the final stages of the cold war, needed to be modernized to adapt to the developments that have occurred since 1989–90. Consequently, in recent years momentous decisions have been taken regarding both the enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the adaptation of the conventional arms control regime.
Topic:
NATO and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Europe

825. Maintaining the Effectiveness of the Chemical Weapons Convention

Author:
Jean Pascal Zanders, Frida Kuhlau, John Hart, and Ronald Sutherland
Publication Date:
10-2002
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Abstract:
On 28 April 2003 a Special Conference of the States Parties to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) will be convened to review the implementation of the 1993 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (Chemical Weapons Convention, CWC) and to take into account new, relevant, scientific and technological developments. Whatever specific points may be considered, this Conference needs to address two underlying issues: States Parties' long-term interests in continued participation in the OPCW regime; and how the treaty's effectiveness can be maintained and enhanced given the latest shifts in the security environment (including the new urgency of counter-terrorist efforts), current political and financial realities and the fast pace of technological change. These can best be tackled if the Conference focuses its attention on a small number of manageable, well-conceptualized issues. Otherwise there is a risk that the Conference could become bogged down in open-ended discussions on a myriad of unresolved operational implementation issues. This paper is intended to inform such a conceptualized approach. It was prepared at SIPRI by John Hart, Frida Kuhlau, Ronald Sutherland and Jean Pascal Zanders. It was edited by Andy Mash.
Topic:
Peace Studies, Treaties and Agreements, and Weapons of Mass Destruction

826. Structure as Process:The Regularized Intergovernmentalism of Franco-German Bilateralism

Author:
Ulrich Krotz
Publication Date:
10-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Abstract:
This article systematically scrutinizes the intergovernmental and administrative aspects of Franco-German relations with the 1963 Elysée Treaty at their core. This treaty, together with its various additions and extensions, has defined the basic processes of bilateral interaction between the French and German states. Recurrent tension in Franco-German relations notwithstanding, many observers and participants have viewed France and Germany to be connected particularly closely since the 1960s. This article explores key elements of what it is that links France and Germany. Thereby it clarifies the concept of regularized inter governmentalism, suggests viewing this specific set of international practices from a social-structural perspective, and evaluates the effects and limits of such regularized procedures. Its findings suggest that bilateral structures have complemented and undergirded a broadly multilateral post-World War II world and are likely to continue to do so.
Topic:
International Relations, Government, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Europe and Germany

827. Social Content of the International Sphere: Symbols and Meaning in Franco-German Relations

Author:
Ulrich Krotz
Publication Date:
08-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Abstract:
“The Franco-German friendship is rich in memories and gestures that are at once important and symbolic, and that characterize the exceptional nature of the relationship between our two countries,” reflects former French economics minister and European Commission President Jacques Delors. Such symbolic acts and joint memories are not primarily about cooperation in specific instances. Rather, more generally, they denote what it means to act together. They lend significance to a relationship; they signify what is “at stake,” or what it is “all about.” They are about a deeper and more general social purpose underlying specific instances of cooperation. They are about the value and intrinsic importance that social relations incorporate. Symbols contribute to the institutionalization of social meaning and social purpose in dealing with one another. In this paper I clarify the concept of “predominantly symbolic acts and practices among states,” systematically explore such acts for the bilateral Franco-German relationship between the late 1950s and the mid-1990s, and scrutinize the specific meaning and effects that these practices have helped to generate and perpetuate.
Topic:
International Relations, Government, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Europe and Germany

828. European Monetary Union: between the stakeholder and the stockholder models of capitalism

Author:
Carlos A. Rozo
Publication Date:
05-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Abstract:
From the mid-1980s on a new attitude towards self-determination appeared in Western European integration. With the Maastricht Treaty of 1992 and, later, with the Amsterdam Treaty of 1997 the member countries of the European Community manifested their determination to be active players in the new international order. Accepting and instituting the single market and monetary union constituted, however, a challenge of compatibility between the traditional model of welfare European capitalism and the impositions coming from globalization under the neo-liberal model of Anglo-Saxon capitalism. This issue is examined here under two perspectives. The first reviews the implications which globalization has had on the European model of capitalism and the second the complications for monetary management as Europe moves from a nationally regulated to a union regulated financial structure.
Topic:
International Relations, Economics, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Europe

829. The Global Nuclear Balance: A Quantitative and Arms Control Analysis

Author:
Anthony H. Cordesman
Publication Date:
02-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
Russia retains a significant strategic nuclear force capability, despite the decline in overall force size since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and despite apparent defense budgetary shortfalls and system aging. Russia also inherited sizeable biological and chemical warfare establishments from the FSU, and some components of these programs remain largely intact. Russian entities have exported various nuclear and ballistic missile technologies to states of proliferation concern, and Russia also remains a source for offensive biological and chemical warfare technologies and expertise.
Topic:
Nuclear Weapons and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, China, Europe, Middle East, and Asia

830. The Asian Balance of Weapons of Mass Destruction A Quantitative and Arms Control Analysis

Author:
Anthony H. Cordesman
Publication Date:
01-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
Beijing continues to emerge as an increasingly active player in the region. Therefore, it is focused on becoming a world - class industrialized power through a countrywide modernization effort, which includes economic, technological, and military components of national power. Beijing already wields significant international influence by virtue of its permanent membership on the United Nations (UN) Security Council and its economic influence. China's public support for nonproliferation regimes is motivated by several factors, including a desire to enhance its image as a responsible world power and support for nonproliferation objectives.
Topic:
Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Russia, China, Europe, South Asia, Beijing, and Asia