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10731. Britain's Food Supply: Lunch as a Strategic Issue

Author:
Kate Bailey
Publication Date:
12-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
The days when the consumer could command ample supplies of ever-cheaper delicacies from around the world may be over for ever. Food prices are rising dramatically, and probably permanently, hitting the world's leading economies. In developing countries, there have been queues for wheat in Pakistan, a shortage of rice in Bangladesh and Afghanistan has appealed for international help with supplies. Mealtime is about to become an important international issue for everyone.
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Britain, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh

10732. Choosing Strategic African Partners: How Heavy are the Anchors?

Author:
Alex Vines
Publication Date:
12-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
A televised post-election crisis in Kenya demands a government response, but where are the west's partners in Africa and what are the strategic interests? And as several more states prepare to vote, which are the ones to watch?
Political Geography:
Kenya and Africa

10733. National Security Strategy: Winning on Wicked Issues

Author:
Charlie Edwards
Publication Date:
12-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
Faced with the risks of organised crime, terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the public likes to believe that government is doing all it can to protect them. The idea that there might be inertia, or turf wars between departments charged with keeping them safe, is deeply disturbing. Now, the British government is publishing its first national security strategy, a chance to assess the threats and how best to respond.

10734. Diplomacy: Foreign Office Futures

Author:
William Wallace
Publication Date:
12-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
Foreign ministries are more used to reporting on revolutions than being caught up in them. But now longstanding diplomatic practice faces its biggest challenge for generations. In an increasingly electronic environment, foreign services are squeezed between ambitious presidents and prime ministers who seek the limelight and the way domestic issues have become increasingly international.

10735. Russia - The Presidency: Opaque as Always

Author:
Malcolm Rifkind
Publication Date:
12-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
The new man has arrived in the Kremlin as unexpectedly as his predecessor, who made the selection this time. With the Russian political season only half over – the formal presidential election is next month – thoughts are already focused on the decisions ahead.
Political Geography:
Russia and Kremlin

10736. Chinese Competition - Learning From Japan: China Challenge

Author:
Simon Collinson and Bridgette Sullivan-Taylor
Publication Date:
12-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
IN THE 1970S AND 1980S THERE WAS a widespread fear in the west of Japanese economic superiority. Unprecedented growth in its gross domestic product (GDP), exports and outward foreign direct investment suggested an alternative model of market capitalism that was out-performing the United States and European economies. High-profile articles and books fed this fear and research efforts tried to identify what was different about Japan and how such differences might convey sustained competitive advantages.
Political Geography:
United States, Japan, and China

10737. Buying Time in Afghanistan

Author:
Carl Robichaud
Publication Date:
06-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
Afghanistan is increasingly seen as Iraq in slow motion. It is not. The headlines of car bombs and casualty tolls echo each other, but mask deep differences in each society and in the dynamics of each insurgency. As Iraq has descended into civil war, Afghanistan's center has held. The government remains weak, but power holders and the public show no appetite for a return to internecine fighting. The insurgency remains solvent because of safe havens across the border in Pakistan, but has been unable to expand upon its toehold in Afghanistan or offer a compelling alternative to the status quo.
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq

10738. Iraq's Oil Law: Parsing the Fine Print

Author:
Kamil Mahdi
Publication Date:
06-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
In May 2007, a draft Oil and Gas Law was sent by the Iraqi cabinet to Parliament, and according to government plans, it was to have been passed into law by the end of May. The law faces strong popular, technocratic, and political resistance—indeed in early June, the new Iraqi military was in the southern oilfields with a warrant to arrest leaders of the Iraq Federation of Oil Unions who oppose core sections of the law and who demand that no law is passed without consultation with civil society and themselves as principal elements within it. Parliament subsequently went into summer recess without considering the draft.
Political Geography:
Iraq

10739. An American in Paris? A Guided Tour of Sarkoland

Author:
Mira Kamdar
Publication Date:
06-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
The boundless jubilation on this side of the Atlantic over the recent election of Nicholas Sarkozy as the new president of France says more about the American malaise than it does about the French. True, a record number of voters turned out to help Sarkozy handily beat his opponent, Socialist candidate Segolene Royal, by a margin of 53 percent to 47 percent in the second round of the presidential election in May. But, the legislative elections held about one month later demonstrate that French voters may be more wary of Sarkozy than are American observers. Though Sarkozy's party, the Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (UMP), maintained a solid majority in the National Assembly, it unexpectedly lost 45 seats. The Socialists, still in the minority, picked up 36 seats. This still leaves the UMP with 314 out of a total of 577 seats, versus the Socialist's 185, and Sarkozy has underlined the fact that he considers himself to have no less of a strong mandate for this disappointing result. However, the legislative elections did produce one major casualty for Sarkozy: the man he had named to run the ambitiously titled new Ministry of Environment, Transportation and Energy, Alain Juppe, lost his seat in Bordeaux and had to resign his post. Sarkozy was forced, under the rules of France's democracy, to dissolve his brand new government and reshuffle his cabinet. This cast an embarrassing shadow over what might otherwise have been a thorough rout, and gave hope to France's Left that not all had been lost.
Political Geography:
America, Paris, and France

10740. Italy: red, black, and blue

Author:
Mark Gilbert
Publication Date:
06-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
Back in the pre-history of the early Cold War, Italy's politics used to be bitterly divided along ideological lines. On the one side, there were the Christian Democrats, strong from the support of the Catholic Church, and its centrist allies. On the other side, there were the Communists. When the Cold War ended, the party system collapsed, but the hope was raised that Italy might become a "normal country."
Topic:
Cold War
Political Geography:
Italy