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472. Learning and Change in Twentieth-Century British Economic Policy
- Author:
- Michael J. Oliver and Hugh Pemberton
- Publication Date:
- 05-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- Despite considerable interest in the means by which policy learning occurs, and in how it is that the framework of policy may be subject to radical change, the “black box” of economic policymaking remains surprisingly murky. This article utilizes Peter Hall's concept of “social learning” to develop a more sophisticated model of policy learning; one in which paradigm failure does not necessarily lead to wholesale paradigm replacement, and in which an administrative battle of ideas may be just as important a determinant of paradigm change as a political struggle. It then applies this model in a survey of UK economic policymaking since the 1930s: examining the shift to “Keynesianism” during the 1930s and 1940s; the substantial revision of this framework in the 1960s; the collapse of the “Keynesian-plus” framework in the 1970s; and the major revisions to the new “neo-liberal” policy framework in the 1980s and 1990s.
- Topic:
- Economics, Industrial Policy, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom and Europe
473. Networking the Networks: Supporting Regional Peace and Security Agendas in Africa
- Author:
- Ann M. Fitz-Gerald and Anicia Lala
- Publication Date:
- 07-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform
- Abstract:
- The Mozambique Security Network Symposium was held in Maputo on 30 June-1 July 2003. The meeting gathered approximately sixty participants from government, regional and sub-regional organisations and civil society. The event was made possible through the support of the UK Government's African Conflict Prevention Pool and was facilitated by the Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform (GFN-SSR), a project funded by the United Kingdom that seeks to unite all actors and agencies in this field of study. Through the generous support of the United Nations Foundation, a number of representatives from Latin American countries also attended the meeting to draw on lessons learned and shared experiences from another southern region.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, and Regional Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Africa, United Kingdom, United Nations, and Latin America
474. How Many Third Ways? Comparing the British, French and German Left in Government
- Author:
- Eckhard Schröter
- Publication Date:
- 02-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute of European Studies
- Abstract:
- In the late 1990s, the European Left seemed to be once more in the ascendancy with Social Democratic-led governments in power in the majority of EU countries, including the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. At the same time, the debate about the socalled 'Third Way' — as an icon of the apparent electoral revitalization of European Social Democracy — rose to become the most important reform discourse in the European party landscape.
- Topic:
- International Relations and Government
- Political Geography:
- Britain, United Kingdom, Europe, France, and Germany
475. Special Policy Forum Report: Iraqi Kurdistan and the Transition, Post-Coalition Provisional Authority
- Author:
- Barham Salih
- Publication Date:
- 01-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
- Abstract:
- The current situation in Iraq constitutes a unique moment in the history of the Islamic Middle East. For the first time, Arabs, Kurds, Turkmens, and Assyrians of the same nation have an opportunity to cooperatively evaluate the task of shaping their shared future. The challenge between now and June 30, 2004 -- when the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq is scheduled to hand over power to the local authorities -- is to articulate a transitional law through which a sovereign provisional government can be elected. Naturally, there is significant debate as to how this goal can be achieved. Although significant challenges lie ahead, the progress made following the liberation of Iraq has been incredible, particularly in light of the country's numerous complicating factors. Iraq's leaders now have the opportunity to build on this unique situation by creating a viable state.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution
- Political Geography:
- United States, United Kingdom, Middle East, and Arab Countries
476. The Hinge to Europe: Don't Make Britain Choose Between the U.S. and the E.U.
- Author:
- Anatol Lieven
- Publication Date:
- 08-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- The vital U.S. relationship with Britain is much more fragile than many Americans think. Thanks to the Bush administration policy on a range of issues, hostility to the United States among the British public is higher than it has been since the Vietnam War. Only the personal commitment and moral courage of Tony Blair made British participation in the Iraq War possible—and the result has been seriously to endanger his leadership at home. Above all, Americans must understand that the strategy of this British government, and of the British foreign policy establishment in general, is to avoid having to make a definitive choice between Britain's alliance with the United States and its place in the European Union. If Washington forces Britain to choose between the two, it may not choose the United States, and a collapse of the relationship with Britain would leave the United States without a single major Western ally. The consequences for U.S. power and influence in the world would be nothing short of disastrous.
- Topic:
- International Cooperation and Peace Studies
- Political Geography:
- Britain, United States, United Kingdom, America, Europe, and Vietnam
477. Contested Case: Do the Facts Justify the Case for War in Iraq?
- Author:
- David Cortright, Alistair Millar, George A. Lopez, and Linda Gerber
- Publication Date:
- 02-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame
- Abstract:
- The United States, the United Kingdom, and other nations claim that Iraq poses an imminent threat to international security because it has weapons of mass destruction and operational connections to the Al Qaeda terrorist network. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell asserted in his presentation to the Security Council on 5 February that Iraq has made no effort to disarm and is concealing efforts to redevelop weapons of mass destruction. Powell restated old allegations that the United States had made prior to the 8 November passage of Resolution 1441. He presented new intelligence about Iraqi efforts to conceal its weapons capabilities, and he reiterated previous information about the likely existence of chemical and biological agents from the 1990s, but he did not prove that there is a grave new threat from Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. Nor did he show a link between Iraq and September 11, or an operational connection between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda.
- Topic:
- Terrorism, United Nations, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, United Kingdom, and Middle East
478. Contagion: An Empirical Test
- Author:
- Jon Wongswan
- Publication Date:
- 09-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
- Abstract:
- Using the conditional Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), this paper tests for the existence and pattern of contagion and capital market integration in global equity markets. Contagion is defined as significant excess conditional correlation among different countries' asset returns above what could be explained by economic fundamentals (systematic risks). Capital market integration is defined as the situation in which only systematic risks are priced. The paper uses a panel of sixteen countries, divided into three blocs: Asia, Latin America, and Germany-U.K.-U.S., for the period from 1990 through 1999. The results show evidence of contagion and capital market integration. In addition, contagion is found to be a regional phenomenon.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Economics, Globalization, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United States, United Kingdom, Asia, Germany, and Latin America
479. Security Sector Reform Policy Brief
- Author:
- Hilary Benn, Baroness Symons, and Adam Ingram
- Publication Date:
- 11-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform
- Abstract:
- With the end of the Cold War, a new understanding of the concept of peace and security has emerged. A broader focus on the nature of sustainable peace and its building-blocks, such as social and economic development, good governance and democratisation, the rule of law and respect for human rights, is supplementing the traditional concept of collective security. Security is necessary for people to go about their lives without fear or harassment and it is the responsibility of the state to provide this security. Security sector reform (SSR) describes the process for developing professional and effective security structures that will allow citizens to live their lives in safety.
- Topic:
- Security, Civil Society, and Government
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom and Europe
480. Disenchanted Conscription: A Military Recruitment System in Need of Justification
- Author:
- Anna Leander
- Publication Date:
- 06-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- The Economist's point of view is a widely shared one. It also seems warranted by current trends in policy-making in developed democracies. The US, the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Spain, and Portugal have abolished or are phasing out conscription. Even France, mother of citizens armies through the revolutionary levée en masse, just saw (literally as the event was broadcasted as a main feature of the evening television news) its last conscript leave the armed forces. The Nordic countries and Germany have not abolished conscription, but conscripts make up a shrinking share of the armed forces, which governments plan to shrink even further. For many observers this confirms that they simply lag behind. They will soon be brought to reason and abolish conscription. But this is a simplistic understanding of what determines the fate of conscription.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Government, and Peace Studies
- Political Geography:
- United States, United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, and Portugal