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4371. Russians Go West

Author:
Khristina Narizhnaya
Publication Date:
03-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
MOSCOW—A seven-story cube of glass, concrete, and solar panels rises out of a grassy field on the outskirts of Moscow. Dubbed "the Hypercube," it's the first completed building of the Skolkovo Innovation Center, intended to serve as Russia's version of Silicon Valley. In less than two years, throngs of creative workers are expected to fill the Hypercube's offices, ice rink, and nearby cafes. The original plan even provided for a weather-controlled dome rising over the complex, though it was eventually deemed too expensive and scrapped.
Political Geography:
Russia and Moscow

4372. Nearer, My God, to Thee

Author:
Damaso Reyes
Publication Date:
03-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
BARCELONA—Los Pentecostales de Barcelona is located on a nondescript street near the city's convention center. Twenty minutes before the evening service, the sounds of prayer and soft singing waft down from the second floor sanctuary. The lights have been dimmed, and some two dozen congregants are scattered throughout the large room, some on their hands and knees whispering prayers at their seats. Others hold hands in small groups and sing joyously.
Political Geography:
Africa, America, and Asia

4373. Global Libra

Author:
David A. Andelman
Publication Date:
03-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
PARIS—As a New Year's gift to those who elected him, France's new president, François Hollande, mired in a seemingly intractable economic malaise and about to embark on a war in an old colonial territory of Francophone Africa, made an announcement, which the French daily Le Monde carried as an urgent bulletin. He would put an end to the practice of every ex-president becoming a David A. Andelman Global Libra member of the Conseil Constitutionnel, the final judicial appeal of French citizens. Beginning with himself, though not extending to his hated predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, no exiting president would have the inalienable right to a seat on France's highest court. It was a campaign promise, one of 60 that Hollande made, as French presidents are wont to make in the heat of battle but rarely expected to remember, let alone keep.
Political Geography:
Canada, Paris, and France

4374. Doğu Toplumlarında ve Türkiye'de Birlikte Yaşama Arayışı: Çokkültürlülük Mü? Yoksa Yeni Bir Model Mi?

Author:
Ertan Özense
Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Sakarya University (SAU)
Abstract:
Günümüz dünyasında farklılıkların bir arada barış ve huzur içinde içine ya - şaması en önemli problemlerden birisidir. Birlikte yaşama konusunda id - dialı bir model olarak “çokkültürlülük”, gündemdeki yerini korumaktadır. Fakat çokkültürlülüğün uygulandığı ülkeleri göz önüne aldığımızda (başta Kanada olmak üzere) sosyal, kültürel, tarihi, coğrafi vb. koşullar açısından Doğu toplumlarından ve ülkemiz koşullarından oldukça farklı özelliklere sa - hip olduklarını görürüz. Bu bağlamda Türkiye'nin yeni bir modele ihtiyacı olduğu görülmektedir. Türkiye'nin dünyadaki ve bölgedeki sosyo-kültürel, siyasal ve ekonomik koşulları göz önüne alındığında “model ülke” olması ya da olma yolunda önemli mesafeler kaydettiğine şahit olmaktayız. Nite - kim Türkiye'nin farklı etnik ve dinsel kökene sahip topluluklara yönelik son yıllarda gerçekleştirdiği “açılım” politikaları model ülke olma konusunda önemli mesafeler aldığını göstermesi açısından da oldukça ümit vericidir. Ayrıca geliştirilecek “yeni bir modelin”oluşturması toplumsal barış, adalet ve ülke bütünlüğünü koruma açısından da önemli bir çabadir.

4375. Editorial

Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:
The Crimean crisis represents one of diplomacy's greater challenges in recent history. The demeanor of the parties involved raises numerous questions of international law already extensively commented on in respective blogs. Furthermore, the superpowers' pursuit of evident political and geo-strategical interests exposes yet again what may be perceived as the powerlessness of public international law.

4376. Non-Permanent Members of the United Nations Security Council and the Promotion of the International Rule of Law

Author:
Alejandro Rodiles
Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:
Non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council experience clear and well-known limits. Yet, there are certain tools at their disposal which, beyond lucky political constellations, allow them to exercise a more systemic influence on the Council's work and outcomes. These tools are of a juridical nature, often established and developed through the organ's practice, but their efficient use depends primarily on diplomatic expertise and imagination channeled through informal venues. The present article shows how said tools have been used in the case of the promotion of the 'international rule of law'. However contested the concept and restricted its practical consequences on the organ's functions, the evolution of its promotion within the Security Council is both a demonstration of and a further vehicle for non-permanent members' influence on this body. That this in turn serves to legitimate the Council under its current configuration can be seen critically. However, it seems important to underline that the UN Security Council's efficiency depends ever more on the legitimacy that non-permanent members can best imprint on it. In a non-polar world, this tendency can be expected to increase.
Political Geography:
United Nations

4377. "All's Well That Ends Well" or "Much Ado About Nothing"?: A Commentary on the Arms Trade Treaty

Author:
Marlitt Brandes
Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:
To date no international treaty comprehensively regulates the international trade in conventional arms. In 2012 and 2013, two conferences were convened under the auspices of the United Nations to adopt an 'Arms Trade Treaty' putting an end to this state of affairs. Both failed to reach consensus on the final treaty draft before them. Nevertheless, on 2 April 2013, the UN General Assembly adopted the final draft submitted by the President of the second conference and the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) is now open for signature and will enter into force after its fiftieth ratification. This article analyzes the legal value of the provisions enshrined in the ATT by concentrating on its scope, substantive obligations, and implementation. It concludes that while much criticism is in order with regard to ambiguous language and potential loopholes in the treaty, it still represents progress as it will provide for written obligations which States Parties must follow when deciding on arms transfer authorizations. Whether the treaty will actually help victims of violations of international human rights and humanitarian law on the ground, however, depends on its ratification by major supplier States and on how far States Parties will be willing to go when implementing and enforcing its provisions.

4378. The Lubanga Case of the International Criminal Court: A Critical Analysis of the Trial Chamber's Findings on Issues of Active Use, Age, and Gravity

Author:
MIchael E. Kurth
Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:
The author explores the International Criminal Court's (ICC) very first judgment in the case of Lubanga. He examines numerous contentious questions arising from the war crime of recruiting child soldiers, such as children's voluntariness of joining armed forces, the legal assessment of sexual slavery and 'active use', and the intricate task of proving the age of a child soldier. Notwithstanding certain blind spots, it is ultimately inferred that the ICC not only proved to be a functioning institution but also provided a ruling of precedential value, in respect of the issues of both child soldiering and general sentencing.

4379. Americanization of the BIT Universe: The Influence of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation (FCN) Treaties on Modern Investment Treaty Law

Author:
Wolfgang Alschner
Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:
Friendship, Commerce and Navigation (FCN) treaties are more than a historical precursor to international investment agreements (IIA) and continue to influence and inspire modern investment treaty design. Until the 1960s, FCN treaties were the American conceptual alternative to the European BIT Model. FCN treaties were comprehensive and complex agreements covering trade, intellectual property, and even human rights in addition to investment disciplines. BITs, in contrast, were short, simple, and focused on investment protection only. Furthermore, while FCN treaties were designed to govern symmetrical investment relations between like-minded developed countries, BITs targeted an asymmetrical relationship between developed capital exporting States and developing capital importers. Even after the U.S. shifted from FCN to BITs in the early 1980s, FCN treaties continued to impact investment policy-making. First, key FCN features such as pre-establishment commitments, non-conforming measures, and investor rights survived the U.S. policy-shift and have since found their way into IIAs around the world. Second, as a conceptual alternative to simple and specialized European BITs, FCN treaties have inspired a new generation of IIAs that are complex and comprehensive in nature, containing a fine-tuned mix of rights and obligations, and treating investment alongside other policy concerns. Third, the spread of FCN-inspired treaties coincides with the demise of European-style BITs. As policy-makers turn to the United States instead of Europe for investment policy innovation, we observe an Americanization of the IIA universe.
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

4380. The Possible Future of Promoting and Protecting European Investments in Sub-Saharan Africa

Author:
Lars Schonwald
Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) represents an interesting target market for European investors. However, the level of investment protection in SSA is rather outdated. Considering that Article 207 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union confers upon the European Union (EU) the exclusive competence to negotiate and conclude new investment treaties, the scope of this article is to determine what a possible future treaty aiming at protecting foreign investments concluded between the EU and SSA could look like. Following a brief introduction and after determining the potential parties of a new investment treaty between the EU and SSA, it will be examined whether the current standard clauses can be introduced into the new treaty as well, and to what extent new concepts can, should or even have to be included in a respective new agreement.
Political Geography:
Africa and Europe