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71. José Ramos-Horta on Reconciliation in East Timor

Author:
Nermeen Shaikh
Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Asia Society
Abstract:
José Ramos-Horta, the Foreign Minister of East Timor, was a leading figure in the country's liberation movement. Mr Ramos-Horta lived in exile for the duration of the Indonesian occupation, during which time he also served as the Permanent Representative to the UN of the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (Fretilin). In 1996, Mr Ramos-Horta was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with his compatriot, Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo. In granting the prize, the Nobel Committee highlighted their 'sustained efforts to hinder the oppression of a small people', hoping that 'this award will spur efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict of East Timor based on the people's right to self- determination." The Committee considers José Ramos Horta "the leading international spokesman for East Timor's cause since 1975." Mr Ramos-Horta has been foreign minister since East Timor's independence in 2002
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Diplomacy
Political Geography:
Southeast Asia

72. Cambodia Blazes A New Path To Economic Growth and Job Creation

Author:
Sandra Polaski
Publication Date:
09-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
A UNIQUE AND SUCCESSFUL INTERNATIONAL POLICY EXPERIMENT has been under way in Cambodia for the last six years. In the country's export apparel factories, working conditions and labor rights are monitored by inspectors from the International Labor Organization (ILO), an international public organization. The results of the inspections are published in credible, highly transparent reports that describe in detail whether the factories are in compliance with national labor laws and internationally agreed basic labor rights. These reports are published on the Internet, and a range of Cambodian and international actors use them. The U.S. government uses the reports as a key input for decisions under an innovative scheme that allows Cambodian firms to sell more apparel in the U.S. market if they improve working conditions and respect workers' rights. Private retail apparel firms that buy from Cambodian factories also use the reports. These buyers, conscious of their brand reputations, use the reliable information they find in the reports to steer orders toward compliant factories and away from noncompliant ones.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Development, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:
United States, Cambodia, and Southeast Asia

73. Malaysia And The United States: Rejecting Dominance, Embracing Engagement

Author:
Helen E.S. Nesadurai
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:
This paper explains Malaysia-US relations in terms of national interests derived from the nature of the Malaysian political economy and the salience of Islam in Malay(sian) politics as they interact with US foreign policy postures derived from distinct US grand strategies. The paper compares Malaysia's responses to the US under the Clinton and the first George W. Bush Administrations in terms of the following: (a) instances of cooperation and non-cooperation on key US initiatives; (b) pursuit of alternative economic and defence/security relationships; and (c) construction of alternative discourses and coalitions aimed at challenging US initiatives and its hegemony more broadly. Malaysia's responses to the US can be summed up in the phrase, 'rejecting dominance, embracing engagement', evident during both the Clinton and the Bush Administrations and consistent under the Mahathir and the current Abdullah Badawi governments. The Malaysian government's attempts to develop coalitions to challenge US initiatives and its hegemony have not alwyas been successful. The government has, nonetheless, stood firm and rejected US initiatives and actions that directly threatened national interests. The US, on its part, has accommodated itself to Malaysia's positions on a number of occasions since September 11, reflecting Malaysia's valuable role in Washington's fight against terrorism. Both governments also cooperation extensively in economics, defence and transnational crime from which both parties draw benefits.
Topic:
Foreign Policy and Political Economy
Political Geography:
United States, Malaysia, and Southeast Asia

74. A Republic--if South Koreans Can Keep It

Author:
Nicholas Eberstadt
Publication Date:
03-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
With the impeachment of President Roh Mu Hyun on dubious grounds, South Korean democracy once again seems imperiled. Roh may be forced out, but the Constitutional Court may instead keep him in place, thereby leaving the public to decide whether to support a weak president or a corrupt national assembly.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Democratization, and Economics
Political Geography:
South Korea and Southeast Asia

75. Report on Indonesia

Publication Date:
05-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
Indonesia is a country in major transition. After 40 years of authoritarian rule, a fledgling democratic system has yet fully to take root. The country's first post - authoritarian president, Abdurrahman Wahid, was impeached after two years by the parliament on the grounds of incompetence and replaced by Megawati Sukarnoputri in July 2001. The economy, imbued with corruption during the decades of state control, collapsed in 1997 and has yet to recover. Accustomed to playing a central political and economic role, the Indonesian military remains reluctant to accept civilian control and accountability for its actions. The discontent of the people of several regions with incorporation into the Indonesian state was met for decades with harsh military repression, leaving the essential issues unsolved and, in some cases, aggravated.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Human Rights, and Religion
Political Geography:
United States, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia

76. Instability in the Philippines: A Case Study for U.S. Disengagement

Author:
Doug Bandow
Publication Date:
03-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
As the world becomes a less dangerous place for America, U.S. officials work more desperately to preserve America's pervasive international military presence. This policy is evident in the Philippines, with which Washington recently concluded a Visiting Forces Agreement.
Topic:
Foreign Policy and Politics
Political Geography:
United States, America, Washington, Asia, Philippines, and Southeast Asia

77. Instability in the Philippines: A Case Study for U.S. Disengagement

Author:
Doug Bandow
Publication Date:
03-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
As the world becomes a less dangerous place for America, U.S. officials work more desperately to preserve America's pervasive international military presence. This policy is evident in the Philippines, with which Washington recently concluded a Visiting Forces Agreement.
Topic:
Foreign Policy and Politics
Political Geography:
United States, Asia, Philippines, and Southeast Asia

78. President Clinton's Visit to Vietnam

Author:
Frederick Z. Brown
Publication Date:
11-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Asia Society
Abstract:
On November 17, 2000, President Bill Clinton begins a four-day state visit to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the first visit ever by an American president to the unified country of Vietnam. He will be accompanied by Mrs. Clinton, daughter Chelsea, and several cabinet secretaries, most likely state, commerce, health and human services, veterans affairs, and the United States Trade Representative (USTR). A congressional delegation is also planned.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Democratization, Economics, Human Rights, and Politics
Political Geography:
United States, America, Vietnam, and Southeast Asia

79. East Timor

Author:
Lynn Fredriksson
Publication Date:
12-2000
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Foreign Policy In Focus
Abstract:
The half-island nation of East Timor was a colony of Portugal for some 450 years. After the Portuguese dictatorship fell in April 1974, the Indonesian government began to intervene in the decolonization process. When it became clear that it had little political support in East Timor, the Indonesian regime launched a military offensive from West Timor and fomented a civil war in the summer of 1975.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, Human Rights, and Sovereignty
Political Geography:
United States and Southeast Asia

80. In Focus: Papua: Another East Timor?

Author:
Abigail Abrash
Publication Date:
10-2000
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Foreign Policy In Focus
Abstract:
Papua is a leading example of a failed decolonization process. Indonesian integration-cum-colonization of Papua—implemented with U.S. complicity—has amounted to an undeclared war against the indigenous population. Indonesia's military buildup and East Timor-style militia activities threaten to destabilize Papua and the region.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Environment, Ethnic Conflict, and Human Rights
Political Geography:
United States, Southeast Asia, and Papua