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242. The War in Sinai: A Battle against Terrorism or Cultivating Terrorism for Future?
- Author:
- Ismail Alexandrani
- Publication Date:
- 09-2015
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
- Abstract:
- It is not yet clear what narrative will be told by history, but a dominant media narrative, the official one, has already been found for the on-going turbulence in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. It appears that social media in the Nile Valley has preceded its counterpart in the Sinai Peninsula in developing this narrative due to geographical and demographic factors which are out of the control of the security and military authorities in Egypt. The main bridge connecting the northern Sinai with the Nile Valley has been closed since 30 June, 2013 (setting transport links back to the time when ferries made their way across the Suez Canal between great sea ships) and the military and security authorities have, to a great extent, succeeded in concealing whatever is happening on the ground that contradicts their narrative
- Topic:
- War and International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Egypt
243. Does Lean Improve Labor Standards? Management and Social Performance in the Nike Supply Chain
- Author:
- Greg Distelhorst, Jens Hainmueller, and Richard M. Locke
- Publication Date:
- 08-2015
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University
- Abstract:
- This study tests the hypothesis that lean manufacturing improves the social performance of manufacturers in emerging markets. We analyze an intervention by Nike Inc. to promote the adoption of lean manufacturing in its apparel supply chain across eleven developing countries. Using difference-in-differences estimates from a panel of over three hundred factories, we find that lean adoption was associated with a 15 percentage point reduction in noncompliance with labor standards that primarily reflect factory wage and work hour practices. However, we find a null effect on factory health and safety standards. This pattern is consistent with a causal mechanism that links lean to improved social performance through changes in labor relations, rather than improved management systems. These findings offer evidence that capabilitybuilding interventions may reduce social harm in global supply chains.
- Topic:
- International Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
244. The Political Foundations of State Effectiveness
- Author:
- et al Miguel Centeno
- Publication Date:
- 08-2015
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University
- Abstract:
- Starting from the assumption that the aim of development is to increase human flourishing, this paper develops an analytical perspective on how effective states are built. Modern theories of development see the state as the key agent for delivering the most critical forms of productive investment – investment in capability expanding collective goods. Accomplishing this requires bureaucratic capacity, as earlier analyses of state effectiveness have argued, but state-society relations are equally crucial. We focus on the “Sen-Ostrom” model – deliberative mechanisms to specify goals plus engagement of communities as “co-producers” of services – as the key elements of effective state society relations. Our effort to identify institutions and strategies that might lead to the efficacious engagement of the broadest possible cross-section of the populace led us to a re-engagement with left social democracy. But, resuscitating traditional models of left social democracy is not sufficient; different contexts require new conceptualizations. Patrick Heller’s “state-civil society model” and Cheol-sung Lee’s “embedded cohesiveness/political network model” gave us tools for revising, deepening and extending the basic party-union dynamics of the traditional left social democratic model. Putting the Huber-Stephens analysis of left social democracy together with the Heller and Lee models offers a promising platform for future debate on the general political logic of state-society relations
- Topic:
- International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
245. The Political Economy of International Migration: Three Important Perspectives
- Author:
- Mojúbàolú Olufúnké Okome
- Publication Date:
- 06-2015
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Ìrìnkèrindò: a Journal of African Migration
- Abstract:
- The publication of this issue is foreshadowed by the tragic drowning of hundreds of migrants, including Africans, in the Mediterranean Sea (BBC News 2015, Rosen 2015, Walsh, Almasy and Botelho 2015, Traynor 2015, Fottrell 2015). The sheer size of these drownings have once again caused popular horror and contemplation on causes and consequences of migration. The projection by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) that these deaths could increase to over 30,000 just in 2015 is anxiety provoking and shocking (AlJazeera News 2015, Brian and Laczko 2014). The drownings have also caused increased focus on the policies of popular destination countries and regions and critiques of the harshness of these regimes as well as calls for more humane migration policies, research and documentation of the root causes of migration, and heartrending accounts of migrants’ motives and harrowing experiences (Clegg 2015, Barker 2014, Kassam 2014). As well, they have caused intensified media attention to the circumstances that propel migration from various African countries and the choice of destinations in Europe. These conditions and circumstances are hardly new. Neither are the tales of woe that attend the serious decision to abandon familiar misery of migrants’ homelands in hopes of somehow experiencing the miracle of success in unknown climes (Sy 2006, Ndege 2006, Morris 2005, Bailey 2005, Travis August, Kingsley 2015).
- Topic:
- Migration, Political Economy, and Global Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Europe
246. Cultural Differences and the Economic Performance of Minorities and Immigrants
- Author:
- Gil S. Epstein and Erez Siniver
- Publication Date:
- 06-2015
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Ìrìnkèrindò: a Journal of African Migration
- Abstract:
- The economic outcomes of a minority group may be adversely affected by the cultural differences between it and the majority group. On the other hand, cultural differences may lead a minority group to concentrate in enclaves, which can offset to some extent the negative effect of cultural discrimination. We examine how the relative size of a minority group and cultural differences between groups can affect economic outcomes. We begin by specifying a simple theoretical framework and then characterize an economy with four ethnic groups that differ culturally and in size. We then test the effect of these differences on economic outcomes. The results indicate that the difference in earnings between native Jews and Ethiopian immigrants and between native Jews and Israeli Arabs is due to taste-based discrimination.
- Topic:
- Migration, Political Economy, Immigration, Culture, and Immigrants
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Israel, and Ethiopia
247. Women’s Voices from the Zimbabwean Diaspora: Migration and Change
- Author:
- Elaine McDuff
- Publication Date:
- 06-2015
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Ìrìnkèrindò: a Journal of African Migration
- Abstract:
- The increasing feminization of Zimbabwean migration is part of an overall increase in migration from Zimbabwe since 1990 – primarily to destinations in South Africa and the UK, though Zimbabweans now live in countries throughout the world. There are currently three to four million Zimbabwean cross-border migrants, or about 25 percent of Zimbabwe’s total population of twelve million. Most Zimbabweans leaving the country in the last two decades have been forced to do so because of economic and political instability, and it is women who have experienced the most dramatic changes in patterns of migration. Based on interviews with twenty-three Zimbabwean women migrants, this study seeks to explain the dramatic increase in the number of women who have migrated to work outside of Zimbabwe, and the impact of women’s migration on family structures and gender roles.
- Topic:
- Migration, Diaspora, and Women
- Political Geography:
- Africa, United Kingdom, South Africa, and Zimbabwe
248. A BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE: THE DIMENSIONS OF SOMALI SECONDARY MIGRATION
- Author:
- Jay L. Newberry
- Publication Date:
- 06-2015
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Ìrìnkèrindò: a Journal of African Migration
- Abstract:
- The purpose of this study is to identify the dimensions associated with the early wave of Somali secondary migration. Many contemporary refugee groups embark on secondary migrations, but it is the Somali who receive more attention than most – primarily because of false allegations circulating at the destination of state shopping and welfare (or government provided financial and nonfinancial support) hunting. This study subjected several socioeconomic variables to a principal component analysis/regression which empirically revealed that, while welfare was a factor, its influence was nominal and last behind several dimensions associated with a better quality of life.
- Topic:
- Migration
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Somalia
249. Let’s Make a Deal: Public Backs Iran Talks
- Author:
- Dina Smeltz
- Publication Date:
- 11-2014
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Chicago Council on Global Affairs
- Abstract:
- As talks over the future of Iran’s nuclear program enter a critical stage, the 2014 Chicago Council Survey reveals that the American negotiators come to the table backed by the US public: majorities of Americans favor the interim agreement and support a diplomatic approach, but they are prepared to use military force if necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
- Topic:
- Diplomacy and Nuclear Weapons
- Political Geography:
- America and Iran
250. American Views of the United Nations
- Author:
- Dina Smeltz
- Publication Date:
- 09-2014
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Chicago Council on Global Affairs
- Abstract:
- The 69th session of UN General Assembly is being held against the backdrop of international crises that include the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, ISIS military gains in Iraq and Syria, and continuing negotiations with Iran. According to the recently released 2014 Chicago Council Survey of American opinion on foreign policy, majorities are confident in the UN’s ability to carry out humanitarian efforts and peacekeeping. They are more skeptical, however, of the UN’s effectiveness when it comes to preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, resolving international conflicts, and sanctioning countries that violate international law.
- Topic:
- International Relations and International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus