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1741. One size to fit all? Setting standards for European defence

Author:
Daniel Fiott
Publication Date:
04-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Union Institute for Security Studies
Abstract:
While the crisis in Ukraine may contribute to a revision of defence expenditures in a number of European countries, the task of finding the right balance between cost-effective and strategicallyrelevant defence spending in Europe is still critical. As defence expenditure generally remains in decline across Europe, a range of innovative measures to ensure that defence budgets are spent more efficiently and effectively are being devised.
Topic:
Defense Policy and Economics
Political Geography:
Europe and Ukraine

1742. Anti-Muslim Violence in Burma/Myanmar and the Responsibility to Protect

Publication Date:
01-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Abstract:
After more than fifty years of military rule, in 2011 Burma/Myanmar embarked upon a historic transition with the new civilian government, led by President Thein Sein, undertaking a series of political and economic reforms. Burma/Myanmar has been congratulated by the international community for its attempt to end gross human rights abuses and establish a more tolerant and peaceful society.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Cooperation, Islam, Regional Cooperation, Governance, Minorities, and Reform
Political Geography:
Asia, Burma, and Myanmar

1743. Wildlife Poaching: Africa's Surging Trafficking Threat

Author:
Bradley Anderson and Johan Jooste
Publication Date:
05-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Abstract:
Spikes in the prices of ivory and rhino horn have propelled an escalation in killings of African elephants and rhinoceroses. Without urgent corrective measures, extinction of these populations is likely. This is not just a wildlife poaching problem but part of a global illicit trafficking network that is empowering violent groups and co-opting some elements of Africa's security sector. An immediate bolstering of Africa's wildlife ranger network is needed to slow the pace of elephant and rhino killings and buy time. Addressing this threat over the longer term will require dramatically reducing the demand for these animal parts, especially within Asian markets.
Topic:
Security, International Trade and Finance, Regional Cooperation, and Law Enforcement
Political Geography:
Africa and Asia

1744. See No Evil: South Korean Labor Practices in North Korea

Author:
Marcus Noland
Publication Date:
04-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
Economic engagement between South and North Korea is often justified as a means of encouraging economic and social evolution in North Korea, with the ultimate goal of national unification. The South has invested heavily in the North, and firms have employed more than 50,000 workers. Yet expectations of a transformational impact rest on unexamined assumptions. The North recognizes the Trojan horse nature of the engagement policy: results of an original survey of South Korean employers show that the North Korean government has largely circumscribed the exposure of its citizens to both South Koreans and market-oriented economic practices, in the process violating labor rights defined by covenants to which both countries belong. The problem seems intractable, given that South Korea's diplomatic commitment to engagement with North Korea trumps labor rights concerns and South Korean firms perceive that the North Korean status quo confers benefits. As the experience of labor rights movements elsewhere shows, conditions will likely improve only if an aroused citizenry—here, the South Koreans—demands change.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Economics, Human Rights, Bilateral Relations, and Reform
Political Geography:
Asia, South Korea, and North Korea

1745. Rubber Plantations Expand in Mountainous Southeast Asia: What Are the Consequences for the Environment?

Author:
Jefferson M. Fox, Jean-Christophe Castella, Alan D. Ziegler, and Sidney b. Westley.
Publication Date:
05-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
For centuries, farmers in the mountainous region of mainland Southeast Asia have practiced shifting cultivation, with plots of land cultivated temporarily and then allowed to revert to secondary forest for a fallow period. Today, more than one million hectares have been converted to rubber plantation. By 2050, the area under rubber trees in the montane regions of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and China's Yunnan Province is predicted to increase fourfold. Preliminary research suggests this massive land-use change could lead to drier conditions at the local level plus surface erosion, loss of soil quality, sedimentation and disruption of streams, and risk of landslides. And it appears that when primary or secondary forests are converted to rubber, carbon emissions are likely to increase. Despite environmental concerns, both local farmers and outside entrepreneurs are likely to continue expanding rubber plantations because of high economic returns. Production systems that provide the best balance between economic return and environmental sustainability are needed to improve the long-term outlook for the region.
Topic:
Agriculture and Environment
Political Geography:
Asia and Southeast Asia

1746. Perspectives on topical foreign direct investment issues

Author:
Rainer Geiger
Publication Date:
04-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
Launched in July 2013 by the European Union and the United States, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) represents an important effort to reach a comprehensive economic agreement between two major trading partners. As has been pointed out, the project offers great opportunities for liberalizing trade and investment and regulatory convergence. Its level of ambition implies high risks, but despite negotiators' initial optimism, its success is far from certain. This Perspective focuses on the project's investment chapter, drawing lessons from the failed negotiations on a Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), which was meant to consolidate the results of liberalization in the OECD area, establish new disciplines and introduce protection and dispute settlement.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Europe and North America

1747. Which host country government actors are most involved in disputes with foreign investors?

Author:
Nathan M. Jensen and Jeremy Caddel
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
Foreign direct investors increasingly use investment dispute-settlement mechanisms to resolve investment disputes and reduce political risk. Using data from the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the major forum of international investment arbitration, we cataloged the government actors involved in disputes and the actions that led to arbitration. Existing case-based studies of investment arbitration have provided general inferences about the actors involved, but we contribute to the literature in political science and economics by systematically documenting these patterns of behavior.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Foreign Direct Investment, and Governance

1748. China needs to complement its "going-out" policy with a "going-in" strategy

Author:
Karl P. Sauvant and Victor Z. Chen
Publication Date:
05-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
China's rising outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) faces rising skepticism abroad. This is partly the result of the leading role of state-owned enterprises in her OFDI (and the fear that it serves non-commercial purposes), the speed with which this investment has grown, the negative image of the home country in some quarters, and the challenges it poses to established competitors. Moreover, Chinese multinational enterprises (MNEs) may not always keep in mind that host countries see FDI as a tool to advance their own development and hence seek maximum benefits from it.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:
China and Asia

1749. Cyber technology at war: Challenges to international regulations

Author:
Kenneth B. Moss
Publication Date:
05-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Cyber technology could change not only the conduct of war itself; it could alter the way governments and others initiate hostilities and war. Existing international laws need to be reviewed to make sure they address the capabilities and accountability of cyber operations in conflict and war, and the participation of China, Russia and other states in negotiations is critical.
Topic:
International Law and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
Russia and China

1750. The United Nations "Peacebuilding Architecture": Past, Present and Future

Author:
Sarah Hearn, Alejandra Kubitschek Bujones, and Alischa Kugel
Publication Date:
05-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
There is a broad agreement that the United Nations' "Peacebuilding Architecture" (PBA) has failed to live up to the high hopes that existed when the 2005 World Summit agreed to establish the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) and its related entities, the Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) and the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF).
Topic:
International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, United Nations, and Peacekeeping