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2341. Governance through Civil Society Engagement in Asia

Author:
Vesselin Popovski, G Shabbir Cheema, Cameron Lowry, and Mark Notaras
Publication Date:
10-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Scholars and development practitioners recognize the centrality of governance capacity to achieve sustainable peace and development objectives, including the eradication of extreme poverty, access to services and livelihoods, promotion of economic growth, environmental protection and gender equality among others. With these in view, developing countries are emphasizing the need to improve governance systems and processes to promote people-centered sustainability. The United Nations, development banks, bilateral donors and private sector foundations have been supporting these efforts through governance assistance programs.
Topic:
Civil Society, Politics, United Nations, Non State Actors, and Governance
Political Geography:
Asia

2342. How to Exercise Europe's Power

Author:
Jan Zielonka
Publication Date:
06-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The International Spectator
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
In order to make it more effective as an actor on the international scene, the European Union is being urged to reverse its foreign policy priorities. EU enlargement policy has fallen out of grace and many want to see Europe acquire a "normal" foreign policy with a global rather than merely regional reach, significant military means and centralised governance. Management of various conflicts in Africa and Asia is also in vogue. Such a policy shift will define the nature of Europe's actorness. It is argued that, with all its defects, the EU performs quite well as a civilian regional power and efforts to transform it into a traditional military power with a global reach could make things worse rather than better.
Topic:
Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, and Asia

2343. Europe's Dependence on Russian Natural Gas: Perspectives and Recommendations for a Long-term Strategy

Author:
Richard J. Anderson
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies
Abstract:
The European Union 27 currently rely on Russia for almost 38% of their imported natural gas; this dependency will become significantly greater if European states implement their currently formulated energy policies. With plans to phase out nuclear power in several European countries, the EU goal to reduce coal consumption thereby lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and the depletion of domestic sources of gas, reliance on Russia will rise to 50 to 60% of all gas imports within the next two decades if different energy policies are not adopted. The EU and greater Europe will soon find themselves in an extremely dangerous position due to the everincreasing dependence on Russian natural gas. These countries must work together now to produce a coherent diversification strategy.
Topic:
International Trade and Finance and Natural Resources
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Asia

2344. Business as Usual: An Assessment of Donald Rumsfeld's Transformation Vision and Transformation's Prospects for the Future

Author:
Mark G. Czelusta
Publication Date:
06-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies
Abstract:
Donald Rumsfeld's vision of a transformed United States military has been discussed by many and understood by few. It is no surprise that this lack of understanding has resulted in both significant simplifications and sweeping generalizations, to include the Reuters headline noted above. Even the term, “Rumsfeld's Transformation,” accounts for neither the historical influences that led to his vision, nor the multiple components of this transformational effort.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, and War
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, Iraq, Middle East, and Asia

2345. Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Afghanistan

Author:
Markus Gauster
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies
Abstract:
Since the beginning of the US-led intervention in Afghanistan and the fall of the Taliban-regime in Kabul, the international community has focused on the implementation of security, the political transformation and the economic (re-)construction of the country. Through resolutions of the UN Security Council, civil and military Stability/Reconstruction (S/R) operations have been set up to provide assistance to the weak Afghan government. The efforts of ICM in Afghanistan have led to a surge in civilian activities provided by the armed forces and have caused an increased debate on the legitimacy , principles, range and rules of civil-military interaction.
Topic:
Security, NATO, and War
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and Asia

2346. Introduction to the special issue of International Relations of the Asia-Pacific

Author:
Takashi Inoguchi
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
Peter J. Katzenstein (2006) calls the AsiaBarometer Survey (ABS) a treasure-trove. It systematically digs many under-investigated aspects of daily lives of 29 Asian societies (Inoguchi et al., 2005, 2006; Inoguchi, 2007a, b, 2008). It is near-comprehensive in terms of the number of those societies surveyed in Asia. They are: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. It covers East, Southeast, South, and Central Asia. Timor-Leste and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea have not yet been surveyed. Nevertheless, no other survey has achieved this comprehensiveness before (Inoguchi and Fujii, forthcoming; also see Appendices 1, 2, and 3: 'Appendix1: List of the Participants of the Asiabarometer Workshops 2003–2007', 'Appendix 2: The Literature on the AsiaBarometer classified by country', and 'Appendix 3: The Literature on the AsiaBarometer Survey' available at the AsiaBarometer website: https: //www.asiabarometer.org/en /publications.
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Japan, Indonesia, India, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Asia, Cambodia, Asia-Pacific, and Bhutan

2347. Anti-Americanism in Asia? Factors shaping international perceptions of American influence

Author:
Matthew Carlson and Travis Nelson
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
Against the backdrop of 9 / 11 and the Bush administration's subsequent invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, many have argued that international perceptions of the United States are growing more negative and that 'anti-Americanism' is going to be a problem for American foreign policy in the decades to come. We examine the debate over anti-Americanism by using survey data collected in more than 26 countries that span East, Southeast, South, and Central Asia, with a focus on two empirical questions. First, to what extent do citizens in Asia believe that the United States has a negative (or positive) influence on their country? Second, what factors, at both the individual and national level, shape the perceptions of American influence? Although we uncover little evidence of pervasive anti-Americanism, the results of our multilevel model generally confirm the theoretical importance of three explanations for international perceptions of the United States—interest theories, cultural and political similarities, and increased information and contacts.
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, America, South Asia, Central Asia, and Asia

2348. Malaysia's 2005–2006 refugee stand-off with Thailand: a security culture analysis

Author:
Peter Hourdequin
Publication Date:
05-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
In September of 2005, Malaysia–Thailand relations were stressed by an incident in which 131 Thai Muslims fled across the Southern Thai border to seek refuge in Malaysia. The Malaysian government initially refused to return these 'asylum seekers,' and eventually chose to internationalize the situation by calling on the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR). Malaysia's decision to internationalize the issue points to potential instability in Malaysia-Thailand bilateral relations and reflects several internal political problems faced by United Malays National Organization (UMNO) central decisions makers. This paper seeks to explain the Malaysian central government's security perspective on the northern border region. To do this, I employ Muthiah Alagappa's framework for security culture analysis in an attempt to understand Malaysian security culture from the perspective of that culture's central decision makers themselves. (Alagappa, M ed., (1998) Asian Security Practice: Material and Ideational Influences. Stanford: Stanford University Press.)
Topic:
Security and Government
Political Geography:
Malaysia, Asia, and Thailand

2349. Japanese Strategic Thought toward Asia

Author:
Hiroshi Kimura
Publication Date:
05-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
This well-constructed work starts from a rather lengthy, detailed 'Overview' written by three editors to enable readers to clearly understand the purpose and structure of the volume. This part includes a summary of the four periods of Japanese strategic thinking that comprise the main body of the book: the 1980s, the first half of the 1990s, the second half of the 1990s, and the Koizumi era. The volume, published in 2007, even covers the first few months of Abe Shinzo in office. In Part 1, 'Chronology', the afore-mentioned four periods are examined. Part 2, 'Geography', focuses on Japan's strategic thought toward five countries/areas in Asia: China, Taiwan, Korea, Russia, and Central Asia. The final chapter deals with Japan's strategic thinking on regionalism. The chronological and geographical approaches taken in the book give readers a complete picture of the topic. Editors and contributors consist of ten leading experts in Asian studies residing in the United States and other major Asian countries. Most of the contributors are university professors, but there was also a significant contribution from some people with a background in diplomatic services.
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Japan, China, Taiwan, Asia, and Korea

2350. Monetary and financial cooperation in Asia: taking stock of recent ongoings

Author:
Ramkishen S. Rajan
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
Ever since the currency crisis of 1997–98, there has been a great deal of interest in enhancing regional economic cooperation in Asia. It is important to keep in mind that economic regionalism is of multidimensional nature. The focus of this paper is on policy initiatives underway in Asia to enhance monetary and financial regionalism and the analytical bases for these initiatives, rather than on examining the de facto level of financial and monetary links that already exists (which may or may not have been facilitated via regional policy mechanisms). There are many gradations of monetary and financial regionalism, ranging from the weak form involving regional policy dialog and surveillance, on the one hand, to exchange rate and monetary coordination, on the other. To maintain focus, this paper concentrates more narrowly on 'medium forms' of monetary and financial regionalism, broadly defined as the development of regional liquidity arrangements and regional financial markets.
Topic:
Markets
Political Geography:
Asia