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9561. China's Urban-Rural Integration Policies

Author:
Ye Xingqing
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
The analysis presented here is based on the keynote speech discussing the most recent development s in rural policy on urban-rural integration in China delivered in Chinese by Professor Ye Xingqing at the Ninth European Conference on Agriculture and Rural Development in China (ECARDC9) held at the University of Leeds in the UK on 3-5 April 2009. Professor Ye's paper provides a comprehensive overview of the main initiatives, their rationale and their context, including some of the debates surrounding them. Professor Ye, who is an invited keynote speaker of ECARDC9 and the director-general of the Department for Rural Economy, Research Office of the State Council, People's Republic of China, has been personally involved in the process of formulating these policy initiatives. This translation of his paper seeks to convey properly the author's meanings and to strike a balance between documenting the official perspective and rationales, including the use of concepts, on the one hand and ease of comprehension on the other. The translator's notes are intended only for the clarification of, not commentary on, the content.
Political Geography:
China

9562. Reorganizing Rural Public Finance: Reforms and Consequences

Author:
John Q. Tian
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
This article examines recent reforms to restructure rural public finance in China and their impact on local-government finance. The focus is on how fiscal income and financial expenditure are managed by local-level governments, particularly at the county and township levels, and how rural public and social services are financed. The article also looks at the development of intergovernmental transfers, ongoing administrative reform, more recent initiatives to extend public finance to cover rural residents as part of the comprehensive rural reform, and a new campaign to build a new socialist rural China.
Political Geography:
China

9563. Message From the Editor

Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
Fueled by a seismic shift in global wealth, the emergence of new power structures have altered the dynamics of the international system, giving rise to new priorities that will require innovative ideas and a new approach. Rising to the forefront of policy concerns are global financial stability, nuclear non-proliferation, energy, and the environment. While these issues have been prevalent in the policy realm for decades, recent crises have proven that the stakes are greater than ever, heightening the need for collective action and strong leadership.

9564. Tony Blair: Address to Seton Hall University

Author:
Tony Blair
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
It is a real honor to be here at the John C. Whitehead School. Thank you so much for that kind introduction. What I'm going to do is give you my world view in about twenty minutes. You can guess its depth and profundity from that. For me it is very inspiring, but also very thought provoking to reflect on the United States at this moment with a new president in charge. I know something of the feeling of coming to power, as I did in 1997 after eighteen years of opposing a conservative government. It was a moment of enormous euphoria. I will always remember being in that position.
Political Geography:
United States

9565. Economic Crisis Ex-Post

Author:
Amity Shlaes
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
The extent to which government should intervene in the market is much more than an academic question. By altering incentives, redistributing wealth, and providig safety nets, the government influences living standards and economic expectations of both businesses and individuals. Since the Great Depression, the precise role that the government should play in regulating the economy and furthering the welfare state has been an issue of contentious debate and intense convictions precisely because it strikes at the heart of what a society's priorities are and how they should be organized. The current financial crisis has revitalized this debate, recasting it onto a globalized world where different characteristics require a perspective that judiciously incorporates lessons learned from the past with a thorough understanding of the unique features of the present.

9566. Thinking the Future

Author:
James Jay Carafano
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
America's problem in a nutshell is that we do not think very well. The last quarter century has seen an explosion in the human capacity to create and manipulate new knowledge. Despite that fact, the instruments used to inform public policy choices are as creaky as ever. Washington makes policy largely by intuition shaped by an orthodox adherence to tired interpretations of international relations and public choice theory—ideas that have barely evolved since the Cold War. Our minds are behind the times. All this needs to change if America wants to out-think its enemies and help its friends in the world secure a safe, free, and prosperous future.
Political Geography:
America

9567. Scarcity, Abundance, and Conlflict: A Complex New World

Author:
Ravi Bhavani
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
Memories of Lagos from the early 1980s are replete with striking contrasts. Private tennis lessons, a dip in the Ikoyi Club's vast side-by-side pools, and the grilled red-pepper crusted Suya treat that followed are pitted against the burned image of a rotting corpse on the Badagary expressway, the eerie silence and emptiness which characterized the coup overthrowing Shaghari's civilian regime, and the chaos accompanying the expulsion of over a million migrant workers from the country in 1983—our entire Ghanaian household staff included. These contradictions resonate even more powerfully today, as the country's abundant oil wealth is siphoned and squandered, leaving Lagos' millions to eke out an existence in slum-dwelling depravity.

9568. Viewing Global Futures Through Rural Transformations: Lessons from India

Author:
Pratyusha Basu
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
The most dramatic economic and political upheavals in today's world are linked to rural areas. The two most prominent examples of this phenomenon are the shocks experienced due to rising food and oil prices and the development of social movements against the privatization of rural resources. In Asia, the future of rural populations is an especially pressing concern because a majority of the people are directly dependent on the agricultural sector for their livelihoods. Within Asia, rural India provides a significant illustration of the promises and pitfalls of contemporary rural change. As an emerging economy that is linked to global networks of information technologies, India is also characterized by a deepening urban-rural divide. The economic disparities inherent in these two broad trends have important implications for both national and global development.
Political Geography:
India and Asia

9569. The Future of Global Water Scarcity: Policy and Management Challenges and Opportunities

Author:
J.C. Padowski and J.W. Javitz
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
Water is a ubiquitous natural resource covering approximately three-quarters of the Earth's surface. However, almost all of the water on the planet (over 97 percent) is saline ocean water, unusable by most terrestrial organisms. Of the remaining three percent, more than two-thirds is sequestered as ice and snow at high elevations or latitudes and is functionally unavailable, leaving less than one percent of global water as both fresh and potentially available for meeting human needs. While this fraction of available fresh water is small compared to the overall volume of water on the planet, this supply has been sufficient to meet historic needs. During the past century, water availability has become a prominent global concern, particularly as demands for fresh water have grown beyond our capacity to meet them.

9570. Water Crisis in the Middle East: An Opportunity for New Forms of Water Governance and Peace

Author:
Joshka Wessels
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
The Middle East and North Africa Region (MENA) is the most water scarce region in the world. Worldwide, the average water availability per person is close to 7,000 m3/person/year, whereas in the MENA region, only around 1,200 m3/person/year is available. The region also has the highest variability of precipitation in the world. Moreover, with the population expected to grow from around 300 million today to around 500 million in 2025, per capita availability is expected to halve by 2050-Worldbank, 2009.
Political Geography:
Middle East and North Africa