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9491. When CO2 Goes to Geneva: Taxing Carbon across Borders — Without Violating WTO Obligations

Author:
Maria Paniezi
Publication Date:
11-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
Carbon taxes become relevant for international trade when they are coupled with border tax adjustment (BTA) legislation for imported products. BTAs are intended to level the playing field between domestic and foreign products, but such tax schemes, if not designed properly, can be found to violate a country’s international commitments before the World Trade Organization (WTO). This paper argues that environmentally conscious governments can impose a WTO-compatible BTA to offset domestic CO2 legislation, and that federal governments need to engage in coordinated efforts to harmonize treatment of high CO2 emitters domestically, since domestic industries will not bear the burden of environmental regulation alone.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, International Trade and Finance, and World Trade Organization
Political Geography:
Global Focus

9492. Global Patent Pledges: A Collaborative Mechanism for Climate Change Technology

Author:
Bassem Awad
Publication Date:
11-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
Access to and timely diffusion of green technologies required for adaptation and mitigation are among the major challenges faced by the international community. The role of the patent system has become the subject of increased attention in climate change discussions on technology transfer. New mechanisms for collaborative innovation are required to foster the green technology sector.
Topic:
Climate Change, Economics, Environment, Markets, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
Global Focus

9493. G20 Monitor: G20 outreach to society in 2015

Author:
Tristram Sainsbury
Publication Date:
10-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:
The G20 engagement groups represent a cross-section of society at the G20. They have an important role in publicly holding the G20 to account, assessing the forum’s performance, and contributing to the G20 agenda. The groups have differing agendas and vastly different priorities ahead of the Antalya Leaders’ Summit in November. However, there are some areas of overlap, such as calls from several groups for G20 leaders to respond to the Syrian refugee crisis and be more active in addressing gender inequality. Open and effective outreach to broader society should be an important priority of the 2016 Chinese G20 Presidency. China should look to improve the efficiency of the engagement processes in 2016, so that engagement groups are more focused on recommending fewer, but more pragmatic and high-impact policy solutions.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, International Cooperation, International Organization, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
China

9494. Nuclear-Armed Submarines in Indo-Pacific Asia: Stabiliser or Menace?

Author:
Brendan Thomas- Noone and Rory Medcalf
Publication Date:
09-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:
India and China, rising powers in the Indo-Pacific, are moving from the test and design phase of sea-based nuclear weapon platforms to active deployment. In the long-term, these new ballistic missile-carrying nuclear submarines could lead to greater strategic stability in the region. But only once systems that ensure their safe and credible operation are put in place. The deployment of these weapons will also exacerbate existing regional tensions over the South China Sea and the Bay of Bengal, and drive the deployment of ballistic missile defence systems and enhanced anti-submarine warfare capabilities in the region.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, Power Politics, and Military Affairs
Political Geography:
China and India

9495. Melanesia New Voices: Investing in the Next Generation

Author:
Jenny Hayward-Jones
Publication Date:
06-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:
Melanesian countries need to better cater for their growing young populations, including through establishing youth centres and targeted programs. Prosperity and peace is achieved through embracing the dignity of Melanesian identity, which includes respecting the New Caledonian decolonisation process and acknowledging West Papuan aspirations for human rights and self-determination. Melanesian countries are making good use of technological innovation, but infrastructure gaps and limited access to finance constrain the development of innovative small businesses.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Human Rights, and Infrastructure
Political Geography:
Australia/Pacific

9496. The Perception Gap: Reading China's Maritime Objectives in Indo-Pacific Asia

Author:
Linda Jakobson and Rory Medcalf
Publication Date:
06-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:
Regional security is being adversely affected by a worsening perception gap between China and other regional powers in the Indo-Pacific. What China sees as the legitimate defence of its interests others in the region see as assertive behaviour. There are some real differences in interests between China and other regional players in the Indo-Pacific, but tensions can also be moderated by efforts to address the perception gap.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Defense Policy, and Arms Control and Proliferation
Political Geography:
China and Australia/Pacific

9497. Papua New Guinea in 2015: at a crossroads and beyond

Author:
Jenny Hayward- Jones
Publication Date:
05-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:
2015 is a significant year for Papua New Guinea. The country will mark 40 years of independence from Australia, host the Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ meeting and the Pacific Games. The Papua New Guinea economy will record the highest GDP growth rate in the world in 2015 but will also formally fail to meet any of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals in their deadline year. The Papua New Guinea government has introduced tuition fee free education and free healthcare but faces major challenges in improving the living standards of its population of over seven million people. The resources boom has helped drive investment in infrastructure but catering for the nation’s growing youth bulge is proving a particularly difficult policy problem. Changes to the way different levels of government are being administered could improve service delivery in rural areas but have the potential to undermine national development planning. The next generation of leaders will face an even more complex set of challenges.
Topic:
Development, Education, Health Care Policy, and Economies
Political Geography:
Australia/Pacific and Papua New Guinea

9498. Religion and Secularism in the Middle East: A Primer

Author:
Aaron Rock-Singer
Publication Date:
11-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Abstract:
Religion was a pillar of pre-modern political identity in the Middle East, arising out of Muslims’ understanding of Islam’s foundational moment and state institutions that developed with the spread of Islamic Empire. Beginning at the turn of the 19th century, European colonial powers and indigenous reformers questioned the centrality of religious identity; instead, it was to be the nation that defined the political community. Since then, the nationalist project has permeated 20th century ideological conflicts in the region, equally shaping the claims of secularists and Islamists. Today, advocates of religious change refer back to early Islamic history as they seek to place religious over national identity, yet they, like their competitors, are unmistakably shaped by the secular nationalist project.
Topic:
Islam, Nationalism, Post Colonialism, and Religion
Political Geography:
Middle East and Arab Countries

9499. Religious Minorities in the Modern Middle East

Author:
Lev Weitz
Publication Date:
11-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Abstract:
The majority of the Middle East’s population today is Muslim, as it has been for centuries. However, as the place of origin of a range of world religions – including Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and many lesser-known faiths – it remains a region of remarkable religious diversity. This article considers the place of religious minorities in the modern Middle East from three angles: their distinctive religious and communal identities, their place in the major transformations of the region’s political landscape from the nineteenth century to the post-World War I era, and the challenges of contemporary political conditions.
Topic:
Demographics, Islam, Religion, and Sectarianism
Political Geography:
Middle East and Arab Countries

9500. Identity in the Pre-Modern Middle East

Author:
Berkey Jonathan P.
Publication Date:
10-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Abstract:
We live in an age of identity politics. We define ourselves by one or more objective measures: measures of race, ethnicity, gender, politics, religion, sexual orientation, to name just a few. Those measures then define who we are to others. They determine our place in society, the communities with which we identify, our attitudes towards others and other communities. The politics of identity are fraught, and they interact in ways that both liberate and confine. On the one hand we prize diversity. On the whole, this is a good thing, since it reflects a larger transformation in American life. Like it or not, the fact is that we are becoming, have become, a “multi-cultural society.” No matter what terms we use to define diversity—racial, ethnic, religious, sexual, gender, whatever—we are more diverse now than we have ever been, and we are destined to grow more so. Multi-culturalism is not an option; it is the future. The only question is how, and how well, we are going to deal with it.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Islam, Religion, and Sectarianism
Political Geography:
Middle East