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22. Institutional design and UNEP reform: historical insights on form, function and financing
- Author:
- Maria Ivanova
- Publication Date:
- 05-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- Large-scale environmental problems captured the world's attention in the early 1970s, as countries recognized the close links between environmental integrity and economic prosperity. In response to these problems, states created a system of international environmental governance, with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), established at the 1972 Stockholm Conference, at its core. Since then, the institutional framework has grown in size and complexity, with a steady increase in the number of institutions, agreements, meetings, reports, and actors; yet global environmental concerns remain largely unresolved. In the absence of clear goals, a shared vision, and effective communication and coordination among international institutions, a gap between a growing body of policies and decreasing implementation has become ever more evident.
- Political Geography:
- United States and China
23. Politics and the London 2012 Olympics: the (in)security Games
- Author:
- Barrie Houlihan and Richard Giulianotti
- Publication Date:
- 07-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- Concerns with security and risk have been prominent themes at the modern Olympic Games since at least the 1960s. However, a heightened perception of insecurity and risk has emerged as the leitmotiv of the Olympic Games in recent years, especially since 2001. Insecurity became the dominant discourse of the 2012 Games when the announcement in July 2005 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that London had been selected as the host city was over shadowed by the '7/7' terrorist attacks on the London transport system the following day. The hosting by London of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012 brings into sharp relief two significant developments: first, the consolidation of the Olympic Games as a significant arena for national and global politics; and second, the extent to which cities have re-emerged as major targets for hostile attack.
- Political Geography:
- China, Taiwan, and London
24. India's rise in Africa
- Author:
- Ian Taylor
- Publication Date:
- 07-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- The holding of the second Africa–India Forum summit in Addis Ababa in May 2011 highlighted the burgeoning political and economic ties between New Delhi and the African continent. It also reflected the growing significance of interest in Africa on the part of a diverse group of developing nations, of which China and India are perhaps the most noteworthy. China's increasing involvement in Africa has been well analysed and discussed; India's connections with the continent have by comparison been relatively overlooked. Yet the increasing salience of India's interest in Africa has important implications, representing a further diversification of Africa's international relations away from 'traditional' North–South linkages and arguably contributing to a greater range of options for the continent. In the light of these considerations, this article seeks to provide an insight into some of the main implications of the growing Indian relationship with Africa.
- Political Geography:
- Africa, China, India, and New Delhi
25. Economic statecraft in China's new overseas special economic zones: soft power, business or resource security?
- Author:
- Deborah Bräutigam and Tang Xiaoyang
- Publication Date:
- 07-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- China's rapid expansion of economic and political ties with other developing countries has aroused deep concern in the West and Japan. Much of this apprehension focuses on China's search for natural resources and its 'no-political-strings-attached' stance on official finance. Yet despite the popular unease provoked by China's growing outward engagement, scholars have done relatively little research on the Chinese government's strategic employment of its economic instruments overseas.
- Political Geography:
- Japan and China
26. Review article: The effectiveness of UN and EU sanctions: lessons for the twenty-first century
- Author:
- Alex Vines
- Publication Date:
- 07-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- This decade has been a difficult time for the United Nations. Splits among the dominant powers in an increasingly divided Security Council have stymied its efforts to resolve acute global problems. The UN global system, built more than 60 years ago, is finding today's challenges overwhelming. Many issues that the United Nations should lead on are being resolved through world capitals or by regional power blocs, leaving the UN at risk of being marginalized.
- Political Geography:
- China and United Nations
27. China: New Incentives?
- Author:
- Su Hsing Loh
- Publication Date:
- 06-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- The People's Republic of China's twelfth five-year plan, which provides the overarching guidelines for its domestic policies from 2011- 2015, was officially adopted on March 14 of this year.
- Political Geography:
- China
28. Can Asia lead? Power ambitions and global governance in the twentyfirst century
- Author:
- Amitav Acharya
- Publication Date:
- 07-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- Is the much hyped 'rise of Asia' translating into global public good? The leading Asian powers, China, India and Japan, demand a greater share of the decisionmaking and leadership of global institutions. Yet, they seem to have been more preoccupied with enhancing their national power and status than contributing to global governance, including the management of global challenges. This is partly explained by a realpolitik outlook and ideology, and the legacies of India's and China's historical identification with the 'Third World' bloc. Another key factor is the continuing regional legitimacy deficit of the Asian powers. This article suggests that the Asian powers should increase their participation in and contribution to regional cooperation as a stepping stone to a more meaningful contribution to global governance.
- Topic:
- Governance
- Political Geography:
- Japan, China, India, and Asia
29. Asia's century and the problem of Japan's centrality
- Author:
- Brendan Taylor
- Publication Date:
- 07-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- Japan has long been regarded as a central component of America's grand strategyin Asia. Scholars and practitioners assume this situation will persist in the face of China's rise and, indeed, that a more 'normal' Japan can and should take on anincreasingly central role in US-led strategies to manage this power transition. Thisarticle challenges those assumptions by arguing that they are, paradoxically, beingmade at a time when Japan's economic and strategic weight in Asian security isgradually diminishing. The article documents Japan's economic and demographicchallenges and their strategic ramifications. It considers what role Japan mightplay in an evolving security order where China and the US emerge as Asia's twodominant powers by a significant margin. Whether the US-China relationshipis ultimately one of strategic competition or accommodation, it is argued thatJapan's continued centrality in America's Asian grand strategy threatens to becomeincreasingly problematic. It is posited that the best hope for circumventing thisproblem and its potentially destabilizing consequences lies in the nurturing of anascent 'shadow condominium' comprising the US and China, with Japan as a'marginal weight' on the US side of that arrangement.
- Topic:
- Security and Economics
- Political Geography:
- United States, Japan, China, and America
30. How Japan matters in the evolving East Asian security order
- Author:
- Evelyn Goh
- Publication Date:
- 07-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- This article argues that Japan matters crucially in the evolving East Asian security order because it is embedded both in the structural transition and the ongoing regional strategies to manage it. The post-Cold War East Asian order transition centres on the disintegration of the post-Second World War Great Power bargain that saw Japan subjecting itself to extraordinary strategic constraint under the US alliance, leaving the conundrum of how to negotiate a new bargain that would keep the peace between Japan and China. To manage the uncertainties of this transition, East Asian states have adopted a three-pronged strategy of: maintaining US military preponderance; socializing China as a responsible regional great power; and cultivating regionalism as the basis for a long-term East Asian security community. Japan provides essential public goods for each of these three elements: it keeps the US anchored in East Asia with its security treaty; it is the one major regional power that can and has helped to constrain the potential excesses of growing Chinese power while at the same time crucially engaging with and helping to socialize China; and its economic and political participation is critical for meaningful regionalism and regional integration. It does not need to be a fully fledged, 'normal' Great Power in order to carry out these roles. As the region tries to mediate the growing security dilemma among the three great powers, Japan's importance to regional security will only grow.
- Topic:
- Security and Cold War
- Political Geography:
- United States, Japan, China, and East Asia