Search

Begin New Search Political Geography Asia

2721. Pyongyang 1, Bush 0

Author:
John Feffer
Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Foreign Policy In Focus
Abstract:
Five years ago, when George W. Bush took office, North Korea didn't claim membership in the nuclear club. Its plutonium reprocessing facilities were frozen. It was even willing to negotiate away its missile program.
Topic:
International Relations and Nuclear Weapons
Political Geography:
United States, Asia, and North Korea

2722. North Korea and the Politics of Famine

Author:
Jeff Feffer
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Foreign Policy In Focus
Abstract:
This paper was produced under the auspices of a research project sponsored by the Sejong Institute. It will be published in book form later this year. The author would like to thank the following people for their helpful suggestions on earlier drafts: Ruediger Frank, Sang-jin Han, Chuck Hosking, Karin Lee, Wonhyuk Lim, Marcus Noland, and Kie-duck Park. He would also like to thank Randy Ireson, Erica Kang, Rajiv Narayan, Richard Ragan, and Sun-song Park for agreeing to be interviewed.
Topic:
International Relations, Government, and Human Rights
Political Geography:
Asia and North Korea

2723. Continuity and change in Italy's foreign policy under the Prodi government. The cases of Iraq and Afghanistan

Author:
J.C. Mahncke
Publication Date:
08-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
“I see that under the Prodi government Italy already now has and even more in future will be able to have a big role in Europe, and that as a result of this role will be able to take on an important function in relation to the United States and the Arab world […] I believe that in the course of one month Italy has succeeded to launch a strategic rearrangement of its foreign policy.”1 These are the words of Massimo D'Alema, Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs since May 2006. Indeed, the measures taken by the new Italian government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi indicate, if not a completely new orientation, a revised concept behind Italian foreign policy in contrast to that of his predecessor Silvio Berlusconi. Most striking is the withdrawal of Italian troops from Iraq, to be completed by autumn of this year. But Prodi wants to maintain Italian involvement in Afghanistan, and the government seems eager to uphold the traditionally good relations with the United States, despite the withdrawal from Iraq. While Prodi and D'Alema are in favour of a more important role of Italy in Europe and of the European Union in the world, close ties are to be kept with the United States. According to D'Alema: “The foreign policy of the government intends to favour the growth of an autonomous European actor but tied to the United States by solid and mature understanding within the alliance.”
Topic:
International Relations and Security
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, Iraq, Middle East, Asia, and Italy

2724. China's Rise in Asia and South Korea: A test case for the purported China-centered order marginalizing the United States in Asia

Author:
Robert Sutter
Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Journal of Korean Studies
Institution:
International Council on Korean Studies
Abstract:
This article assesses recent developments and the current state of play in China's relations with South Korea in order to test the widely publicized proposition that China's rise in Asia is being accompanied by an emerging China-centered regional order that is marginalizing the influence of the previous regional leader, the United States. A careful analysis of China's relations with its various neighboring countries in recent years shows that China has made the most significant gains in relations with South Korea, and these gains have coincided with a decline in US influence in South Korea brought on by major difficulties in the South Korean-US alliance relationship. Thus, if China's rise is leading to a China-centered order in Asia that marginalizes the influence of the United States, the trends in the South Korean- China relationship in the context of South Korean-US developments should provide important evidence and indicators.
Political Geography:
United States, China, Asia, and South Korea

2725. China and the Multilateral Trading System

Author:
Robert Z. Lawrence
Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
This paper reviews China's multilateral and preferential trade policies. It reviews the demanding terms of China's WTO accession, its current tariff and trade regime and its participation in the Doha Round negotiations and the institution's regular activities. The analysis concludes that China's trade policies are broadly supportive of a rules based multilateral trading order and its behavior at the WTO is that of a status quo power rather than one seeking major systemic changes. The discussion then turns to China's regional trade initiatives. China has been extremely active in negotiating these and their implications remain uncertain. Concerns about an East Asian fortress, though, appear misplaced. Directly, and through their impact in inducing others to respond, these FTAs could provide a powerful impetus to the process of competitive global liberalization. Countries that do implement agreements with China will find it relatively easy to open their markets to other developing countries. There is also a risk however that the proliferation of FTAs will lead to web of overlapping agreements that could make the trading system unnecessarily complex.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
China and Asia

2726. Caste Embeddedness and Microfinance: Savings and Credit Cooperatives in Andhra Pradesh, India

Author:
Guy Stuart
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
This paper examines how the introduction of a new set of institutional practices through the creation of new organizations bump up against, but also build on, the existing social structure and practices of the setting in which they are introduced. In this case, the new practices were cooperative governance and financial accounting practices introduced through the medium of cooperative organizations into villages in Andhra Pradesh, by the Cooperative Development Foundation (CDF) during the 1990s. The paper demonstrates how the CDF both built on and challenged the existing social structure of the villages in which their cooperatives developed. In particular, the paper shows that the new institutional rules the cooperatives implemented interacted with the existing caste and gender structure in a variety of ways that included direct conflict, mutual support, and in difference.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, and International Political Economy
Political Geography:
India, Asia, and Andhra Pradesh

2727. China and the Global Economy: Medium-term Issues and Options - A Synthesis Report

Author:
Ricardo Hausmann, Edwin Lim, and Michael Spence
Publication Date:
07-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
China's economic and social achievements since the beginning of reform and opening are unprecedented in global history. Managing the growth process in this continuously changing environment has required great skill and the use of unconventional economic policy. Now China has entered a new era in its development process with a set of challenges largely different from those of the recent past. Some problems - such as growing internal and external structural imbalances, increasing income and regional inequality – have arisen from, or been exacerbated by, the very pattern and success of high growth since reforms began. Others are newly posed by rapid changes in the global economy. These challenges can best be tackled in an integrated and coordinated fashion. This report, supported by the China Economic Research and Advisory Programme (CERAP), identifies the primary challenges facing China today and presents options for meeting them.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and Globalization
Political Geography:
China and Asia

2728. What's So Special About China's Exports?

Author:
Dani Rodrik
Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
The phenomenal performance of China constitutes the great economic miracle of the last quarter century. China's economy has expanded by leaps and bounds, at historically unprecedented rates that few economists would have found plausible or feasible ex ante. More importantly, this growth has lifted hundreds of millions of people from deep poverty and has helped improve health, education, and other social standards. China has accomplished all this using its own brand of experimental gradualism--increasingly relying on markets and on price signals, yet until very recently doing so within the boundaries of a highly unorthodox set of institutions.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Economics
Political Geography:
China and Asia

2729. Economic Survey of the Russian Federation, 2006

Publication Date:
11-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
The Russian economy has been enjoying a period of robust growth, thanks largely to steadily rising terms of trade. The challenge confronting policy-makers is to facilitate Russia's transition into a period of self-sustaining, investment- and innovation-led growth. This will require a sound macroeconomic policy framework to manage the economy's adjustment to sustained high oil prices and a range of structural reforms aimed at creating better framework conditions for business.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Markets
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Asia

2730. Challenges for China's Public Spending

Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
China's evolution from a centrally-planned to a market-based economy is leading to major transformations of its public expenditure policies. Much progress has been made in raising infrastructure spending to a level more in line with China's development needs and in modernising mechanisms for budget planning and implementation. Nevertheless, significant challenges remain.
Topic:
Development, Government, and Markets
Political Geography:
China and Asia