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72. Midcourse Manoeuvres: An overview of community strategies and remedies for natural resource conflicts in India, Indonesia & Myanmar
- Author:
- Manju Menon
- Publication Date:
- 06-2018
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Centre for Policy Research, India
- Abstract:
- Land transformation has been at the centre of economic growth of post-colonial, Asian nation-states. While their political reforms and economic policies have focused on land governance, the outcomes have resulted in promoting privatisation and speculative business interest in ecologically sensitive landscapes that are also under diverse forms of common use by resource-dependent communities. A three-year study undertaken to understand community-level responses to land use transformation in India, Indonesia and Myanmar shows that the current scale and approach of land–intensive development in these large democracies is facilitated by fast-paced, top down policy changes. These policies are ‘stacked’ (when multiple layers of current and revoked laws are simultaneously in use) rather than integrated and their implementation is the responsibility of various authorities and agencies that overlap. Growing private investments in land that has remained within varying degrees of state control have changed the way land is managed. Land has become increasingly securitised and ‘out of bounds’ for small farmers and other land-users with or without recognised forms of ownership and use rights. Land conflicts are caused due to coercive acquisition processes or land grabs, unlawful operations of projects and long pending remedies to social and environmental impacts. In many instances, these conflicts begin even before the final decisions on projects are taken and persist for years. Highly capitalised land use change brings powerful investors and corporations, governments and local communities in unequal and precarious arrangements of negotiation and confrontation. Citizens and communities affected by land use change, use varied strategies such as administrative complaints, protests, litigation, media campaigns and political advocacy, and engage in improving project design and implementation, increase compensations, restore community access to resources and get a review on the operations of harmful projects. These are done under conditions of political intransigence and criminalisation of those who speak up. While all three countries have recognised land conflicts and their impact on development plans and proposals, they are yet to give affected people a formal and effective role in land and natural resource governance. This is the overview of the study's methodology and findings.
- Topic:
- Development, Privatization, Natural Resources, Business, Economic growth, Land Law, Conflict, and Land Rights
- Political Geography:
- Indonesia, India, Asia, Southeast Asia, and Myanmar
73. Midcourse Manoeuvres: Community strategies and remedies for natural resource conflicts in Indonesia
- Author:
- Meenakshi Kapoor, Manju Menon, and Vidya Viswanathan
- Publication Date:
- 06-2018
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Centre for Policy Research, India
- Abstract:
- Land transformation has been at the centre of economic growth of post-colonial, Asian nation-states. While their political reforms and economic policies have focused on land governance, the outcomes have resulted in promoting privatisation and speculative business interest in ecologically sensitive landscapes that are also under diverse forms of common use by resource-dependent communities. A three-year study undertaken to understand community-level responses to land use transformation in India, Indonesia and Myanmar shows that the current scale and approach of land–intensive development in these large democracies is facilitated by fast-paced, top down policy changes. These policies are ‘stacked’ (when multiple layers of current and revoked laws are simultaneously in use) rather than integrated and their implementation is the responsibility of various authorities and agencies that overlap. Growing private investments in land that has remained within varying degrees of state control have changed the way land is managed. Land has become increasingly securitised and ‘out of bounds’ for small farmers and other land-users with or without recognised forms of ownership and use rights. Land conflicts are caused due to coercive acquisition processes or land grabs, unlawful operations of projects and long pending remedies to social and environmental impacts. In many instances, these conflicts begin even before the final decisions on projects are taken and persist for years. Highly capitalised land use change brings powerful investors and corporations, governments and local communities in unequal and precarious arrangements of negotiation and confrontation. Citizens and communities affected by land use change, use varied strategies such as administrative complaints, protests, litigation, media campaigns and political advocacy, and engage in improving project design and implementation, increase compensations, restore community access to resources and get a review on the operations of harmful projects. These are done under conditions of political intransigence and criminalisation of those who speak up. While all three countries have recognised land conflicts and their impact on development plans and proposals, they are yet to give affected people a formal and effective role in land and natural resource governance. This is the study report on Indonesia.
- Topic:
- Development, Privatization, Natural Resources, Business, Land Law, Conflict, and Land Rights
- Political Geography:
- Indonesia, Asia, and Southeast Asia
74. Midcourse Manoeuvres: Community strategies and remedies for natural resource conflicts in India
- Author:
- Kanchi Kohli, Meenakshi Kapoor, Manju Menon, and Vidya Viswanathan
- Publication Date:
- 06-2018
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Centre for Policy Research, India
- Abstract:
- Land transformation has been at the centre of economic growth of post-colonial, Asian nation-states. While their political reforms and economic policies have focused on land governance, the outcomes have resulted in promoting privatisation and speculative business interest in ecologically sensitive landscapes that are also under diverse forms of common use by resource-dependent communities. A three-year study undertaken to understand community-level responses to land use transformation in India, Indonesia and Myanmar shows that the current scale and approach of land–intensive development in these large democracies is facilitated by fast-paced, top down policy changes. These policies are ‘stacked’ (when multiple layers of current and revoked laws are simultaneously in use) rather than integrated and their implementation is the responsibility of various authorities and agencies that overlap. Growing private investments in land that has remained within varying degrees of state control have changed the way land is managed. Land has become increasingly securitised and ‘out of bounds’ for small farmers and other land-users with or without recognised forms of ownership and use rights. Land conflicts are caused due to coercive acquisition processes or land grabs, unlawful operations of projects and long pending remedies to social and environmental impacts. In many instances, these conflicts begin even before the final decisions on projects are taken and persist for years. Highly capitalised land use change brings powerful investors and corporations, governments and local communities in unequal and precarious arrangements of negotiation and confrontation. Citizens and communities affected by land use change, use varied strategies such as administrative complaints, protests, litigation, media campaigns and political advocacy, and engage in improving project design and implementation, increase compensations, restore community access to resources and get a review on the operations of harmful projects. These are done under conditions of political intransigence and criminalisation of those who speak up. While all three countries have recognised land conflicts and their impact on development plans and proposals, they are yet to give affected people a formal and effective role in land and natural resource governance. This is the study report on India.
- Topic:
- Development, Privatization, Natural Resources, Business, Economic growth, Land Law, Conflict, and Land Rights
- Political Geography:
- South Asia, India, and Asia
75. The Big Takedown
- Author:
- Mary Margaret Ewens
- Publication Date:
- 04-2018
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for Contemporary Arab Studies
- Abstract:
- In an era marred by a barrage of fake news, sensational reporting, and corrupt business practices, the work of investigative journalists like MAAS alumna Dorothee Myriam Kellou (’12), who exposed one of the biggest cases of corporate greed and exploitative war-zone practices seen in recent years, is more important than ever. Kellou’s groundbreaking investigation, which began in 2014, found that French cement giant Lafarge-Holcim not only endangered employees at its Syrian branch, but also paid concessions to armed groups in Syria, including ISIS. Kellou’s work, published in 2016 in a three-part report by Le Monde and on the television station France 24, led to an ongoing judicial inquiry of Lafarge, the resignation of Lafarge’s CEO and criminal investigations of several top executives, and an overhaul of the company’s corporate practices.
- Topic:
- Crime, Media, Business, and Journalism
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Middle East, France, and Syria
76. Global Issues and Business in International Relations: Intellectual Property Rights and Access to Medicines
- Author:
- Yoshiko Kojo
- Publication Date:
- 01-2018
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
- Institution:
- Japan Association of International Relations
- Abstract:
- In international relations, globalization transfers the location of governance from nation-states laterally to such private actors as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and multinational firms, as well as vertically to local governments and supranational organizations. The purpose of this article is to clarify how the competitions among firms affect the problem of global issues by examining the case of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and public health. This study shows why most of least developed countries implemented the TRIPS despite the warning of NGOs not to implement earlier for the sake of access to medicines. In order to understand the positive attitude of least developed countries toward the TRIPS, we have to examine how the distribution of pharmaceutical firms capacities in developing countries affect the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement. The existence and different capacities of generic pharmaceutical companies in developing companies are important elements of state policy toward the TRIPS.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, Intellectual Property/Copyright, Business, and Medicine
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
77. Can We Prevent A Full-Blown Trade War Speech Delivered at CF40-PIIE Conference
- Author:
- Yu Yongding
- Publication Date:
- 05-2018
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Abstract:
- On March 8, President Trump fired the first shot of a trade war by threatening to impose 25 percent of tariff on steel imports. On March 22, the Trump administration released the report of Section 301 investigation into China’s trade practices, and on the same day President Trump signed a memo slapping China with tariffs on some1300 Chinese products, totaling about $50 billion. On April 4, US Trade Representative (USTR) published the list of 1333 Chinese products of $50 billion that will be subject to the additional 25% tariffs. On April 16, US Ministry of Commerce declared a ban on U.S. companies selling goods and software to Chinese telecommunication equipment maker ZTE for 7 years. Trade friction has been a serious problem between China and the US for long time. But few people had expected that the friction would escalate to a trade war. So how did we get to this point, and can we turn back before it’s too late? This is the biggest question currently we are facing.
- Topic:
- International Trade and Finance, Business, Tariffs, and Trade Wars
- Political Geography:
- China, Asia, North America, and United States of America
78. Looking for a Platform in North America: Taiwan, Mexico, and Cross-Strait Relations
- Author:
- Fabricio A. Fonseca
- Publication Date:
- 01-2018
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
- Institution:
- Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
- Abstract:
- This article compares the approach followed by Mainland China and Taiwan in their economic relations with Mexico. Both sides of the Taiwan Strait have developed an interest in Mexico as an export platform to North America and the Western Hemisphere. The Mexican influence over Central America is also valued by both Beijing and Taipei. However, due to their disparities in economic and political development, the authorities and businessmen in the mainland and Taiwan have chosen different paths to conduct their interactions with Mexico. On the other hand, the deep economic integration between China and Taiwan, particularly the important investments made by Taiwanese firms in the mainland during the past three decades, have had a considerable impact on their trade with Mexico. The latter’s trade deficit with the PRC cannot be explained without the role played by enterprises from Taiwan, who continuously seek to remain competitive internationally.
- Topic:
- Business, NAFTA, Investment, and Trade
- Political Geography:
- China, Taiwan, Central America, and Mexico
79. Digital Transformation
- Author:
- Aspen Institute
- Publication Date:
- 07-2018
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Aspen Institute
- Abstract:
- The digitalization of the U.S. economy will transform the products businesses sell and the ways they can interact with customers. Thank you for registering to download our white paper on the changing U.S. economy.
- Topic:
- Digital Economy, Economy, Business, and Digitalization
- Political Geography:
- United States and North America
80. The Development Dimension of the Czech Foreign Policy
- Author:
- Jan Werner
- Publication Date:
- 12-2017
- Content Type:
- Book
- Institution:
- Institute of International Relations Prague
- Abstract:
- Following the European Year for Development 2015 and the transitional year 2016, 2017 promised to be the year when the Czech development agenda would find a new direction thanks to the introduction of a comprehensive sustainable development framework, new strategic documents, increases in funding and the evolution of the development institutions. Looking back, however, we can safely say it did not happen. While the new framework and strategies have been put in place and the institutions are evolving accordingly, most of the political scene seems to have once again lost interest in the agenda, or even question its utility. Amid growing pragmatism and polarisation, the main question increasingly faced by the Czech development policy is not whether and how it should relate to other dimensions of foreign policy (be it security, migration or business promotion), but rather whether, and to what extent, it will remain one of the country’s pursuits and priorities.
- Topic:
- Security, Foreign Policy, Development, Migration, Business, and Institutions
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Czech Republic