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452. "Building a New Socialist Countryside" – Only a Political Slogan?
- Author:
- Anna L. Ahlers and Gunter Schubert
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- In March 2006, China's National People's Congress officially promulgated the central government's intention to “build a new socialist countryside”, a new policy initiative and approach to rural development. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in two Chinese counties in 2008 and 2009, this article investigates how the new policy is being substantiated and implemented at the local level. It argues that by combining China's new fiscal system of transfer payments to poor local governments with administrative reforms, intensified internal project evaluation, and efforts to increase the rural income through a mixture of infrastructural investment, agricultural specialization, the expansion of social welfare, and accelerated urbanization, “building a new socialist countryside” constitutes more than a political slogan and has the potential to successfully overcome rural poverty and the rural-urban divide.
- Political Geography:
- China
453. The Centrality of Actors and Interfaces in the Understanding of New Ruralities: A Chinese Case Study
- Author:
- Norman Long and Jinlong Liu
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper aims to demonstrate the advantages of adopting an ethnographic, actor interface approach to understanding the ongoing dynamics of rural development and policy intervention processes. It does so through the discussion of an EU-fun ded project orientated to introducing village-level forest-management practices in north-west China. The case highlights the ongoing everyday struggles over livelihoods and resources and focuses on the negotiations that take place between the various social actors involved. The case analysis is preceded by a broad- sweep overview of the rise of new ruralities and a discussion of the key elements of an actor interface analysis. The article concludes with a call for more cross-country and cross-regional studies of this kind.
- Political Geography:
- China
454. Social Security for China's Migrant Workers – Providing for Old Age
- Author:
- Andrew Watson
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- The concept of “migrant workers” derives from the house- hold registration system of China's planned economy period. The continued existence of that system conflicts with the development of an integrated labour market. The current social security system, based on household registration and a large number of local pools, discriminates against migrant workers because of their mobility and the lack of mechanisms to transfer benefits between pools. As a result, migrants have made major contributions to China's economic development but do not get the same benefits as urban residents. Faced with this challenge, China's government has begun to introduce policy reforms to improve social security for migrants. This article explores this development through a focus on old-age insurance. It analyses the special needs of migrants, the obstacles facing policy development and the proposed solutions. It argues that social justice and social equity require the development of a system that treats all citizens equally, and that the logic of an integrated labour market will ultimately require a unified national system of old-age insurance.
- Political Geography:
- China
455. 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
456. 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
457. AIDS, Access to Medicines, and the Different Roles of the Brazilian and South African Governments in Global Health Governance
- Author:
- Christian von Soest, Jan Peter Wogart, Gilberto Calcagnotto, and Wolfgang Hein
- Publication Date:
- 09-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- The present article illustrates how the main actors in global health governance (GHG)—governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), intergovernmental organizations (IOs), and transnational pharmaceutical companies (TNPCs)—have been interacting and, as a result, modifying the global health architecture in general and AIDS treatment in particular. Using the concept of “power types” (Keohane/Martin) and “interfaces” (Norman Long), the authors examine the conflicts among major GHG actors that have arisen surrounding the limited access to medicines for fighting HIV/AIDS basically as a result of the Agreement on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), in force since 1995. They then analyze the efforts of Brazil and South Africa to obtain fast and low-cost access to antiretroviral medication against AIDS. They conclude that while policy makers in the two countries have used different approaches to tackle the AIDS problem, they have been able, with the support of NGOs, to modify TRIPS and change some WTO rules at the global level along legal interfaces. At the national level the results of the fight against AIDS have been encouraging for Brazil, but not for South Africa, where authorities denied the challenge for a prolonged period of time. The authors see the different outcomes as a consequence of Brazil's ability to combine discoursive, legal, administrative, and resource-based interfaces.
- Topic:
- Health, International Organization, and Non-Governmental Organization
- Political Geography:
- Africa, South Africa, Brazil, and South America
458. The 'Ambivalence of the Sacred' in Africa: The Impact of Religion on Peace and Conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Author:
- Matthias Basedau and Alexander De Juan
- Publication Date:
- 03-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- Particularly since 9/11 and the subsequent “war on terror” religion has been portrayed as a potential source of extremism and violence, predominately in the form of political Islam and Islamist terrorism. The ensuing debate has neglected the fact, however, that religion may also bring about “peace not war” (Smock 2006, see also Weingardt 2007). In this respect we can refer to religious values of peace as well as peacebuilding initiatives by religious actors. Despite today's widespread scholarly acknowledgement of this “ambivalence of the sacred” (Appleby 2000; Philpott 2007), the question remains as to which specific characteristics of the “religious landscape” and surrounding conditions in fact influence religion to either stimulate conflict or contribute to peace.
- Topic:
- Civil War and Religion
- Political Geography:
- Africa
459. China, Japan and the Quest for Leadership in East Asia
- Author:
- Dirk Nabers
- Publication Date:
- 02-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- The leadership of powerful states in processes of regional institutionalization is a significant, though still widely ignored topic in the field of International Relations (IR). This study asks about the theoretical conditions of effective leadership in international institution- building, using China's and Japan's roles in East Asian regionalism as an empirical test case. It addresses the question of what actually happens when states perform the role of leader. Specifically, it focuses on the process of negotiating leadership claims, and different hypotheses are presented as to the requirements of effective leadership in international affairs. The findings point to the fact that leadership is effective and sustainable when foreign elites acknowledge the leader's vision of international order and internalize it as their own. Leadership roles are often disputed and are constituted of shared ideas about self, other, and the world, relying on the intersubjective internalization of ideas, norms, and identities.
- Topic:
- International Relations, International Organization, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Israel and East Asia
460. Ethnic Coalitions of Convenience and Commitment: Political Parties and Party Systems in Kenya
- Author:
- Sebastian Elischer
- Publication Date:
- 02-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper analyzes the role of ethnicity in shaping the character of Kenya's political parties and its party system since 1992. Drawing on a constructivist conception of ethnicity, it uses a framework of comparison derived from Donald Horowitz and distinguishes between three party types: the mono-ethnic party, the multi-ethnic alliance type and the multi-ethnic integrative type. It shows that although Kenyan parties have increasingly incorporated diverse communities, they have consistently failed to bridge the country's dominant ethnic cleavages. Consequently, all of Kenya's significant parties represent ethnic coalitions of convenience and commitment and, thus, ethnic parties. The paper further states that the country's post-2007 political environment is a by-product of the omnipresence of this party type.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Ethnic Conflict, and International Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- Kenya and Africa