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2492. State land policy in Ukraine: standing and development strategy
- Author:
- Maryna Melnyk
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- National Security and Defence
- Institution:
- Razumkov Centre
- Abstract:
- Ukraine possesses vast land resources. As of January 1, 2009, its land stock amounted to 60,354.8 thousand hectares, or almost 6% of the European territory1 . In particular, farming land accounted for nearly 19% of the European, arable land – almost 27%. Per capita area of farming land in Ukraine is the highest among the European countries – 0.9 hectares, including 0.7 hectares of arable land (against the European average of 0.44 and 0.25 hectares, respectively). Black soil in Ukraine, according to different estimates, occupies from 15.6 to 17.4 million hectares, or nearly 8% of the world stock. By and large, at the beginning of 2000s, the standard monetary value of land resources in Ukraine was estimated at UAH 330 trillion2 . Meanwhile, the structure of the land resources and land use shows rather serious disparities whose deepening may pose a threat to the quality of the natural and life environment, and the effectiveness of the business activity, i.e., sustainable development of the national economy. For instance, Ukraine demonstrates an extremely high rate of development of the life environment: over 92% of its territory is involved in economic circulation, and only some 8% (4.5 million hectares) is in its natural state. The tillage rate of the territory is similarly high – over 54% (in developed European countries – no more than 35%). The actual forest rate of the Ukrainian territory is only 16%, which is insufficient for the environmental balance (European average – 25-30%). The territory under surface waters steadily goes down (from 1991 – by 12.5 thousand hectares), further aggravating the problem of shortage of water resources in Ukraine. There are problems in land relations, whose reformation, commenced in 1991, is not over. Respectively, creation of the land legislation, registers and databases necessary to ensure land ownership rights and effective control of observance of the norms and rules of proper land use remain unaccomplished. In such situation, the quality of the state land policy, its effectiveness, professionalism, correspondence to principles of proper management of the national land resources acquire particular importance. Discussed below are some features of the state land policy and its main problems hindering effective use of the main national wealth – land, free access to that wealth for individuals and legal entities, unconditional respect for ownership rights.
- Topic:
- Development, Natural Resources, Governance, Land Rights, and Land
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Ukraine
2493. Between Discipline and Discretion: Policies Surrounding Senior Subnational Appointments
- Author:
- Martine Van Bijlert
- Publication Date:
- 05-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
- Abstract:
- Over the years the calls for improved governance in Afghanistan have become increasingly urgent. Understanding the various ways in which governors and district governors are appointed, and the different influences that affect the process, is important if ways are to be found to improve overall governance in Afghanistan. This new discussion paper from AREU explores this issue, examining existing appointment practices and suggesting a number of ways that the process could be improved, along with the shifts in emphasis needed to make them happen.
- Topic:
- Governance, Leadership, State Formation, and State Building
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Middle East
2494. Deliberation and Global Governance: Liberal, Cosmopolitan, and Critical Perspectives
- Author:
- William Smith and James Brassett
- Publication Date:
- 03-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- This paper develops a critical analysis of deliberative approaches to global governance. After first defining global governance and with a minimalist conception of deliberation in mind, the paper outlines three paradigmatic approaches: liberal, cosmopolitan, and critical. The possibilities and problems of each approach are examined and a common concern with the scope for "deliberative reflection" in global governance is addressed. It is argued that each approach, to varying degrees, foregrounds the currently underdetermined state of knowledge about global governance, its key institutions, agents, and practices. In doing so, the question "What is global governance?" is retained as an important and reflective element of ongoing deliberative practices. It is suggested that this constitutes the distinctive and vital insight of deliberative approaches to global governance.
- Topic:
- Governance
2495. The Resurgent Idea of World Government
- Author:
- Campbell Craig
- Publication Date:
- 07-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- The idea of world government is returning to the mainstream of scholarly thinking about international relations. Universities in North America and Europe now routinely advertise for positions in ''global governance,'' a term that few would have heard of a decade ago. Chapters on cosmopolitanism and governance appear in many current international relations (IR) textbooks. Leading scholars are wrestling with the topic, including Alexander Wendt, perhaps now America's most influential IR theorist, who has recently suggested that a world government is simply ''inevitable.'' While some scholars envision a more formal world state, and others argue for a much looser system of ''global governance,'' it is probably safe to say that the growing number of works on this topic can be grouped together into the broader category of ''world government''—a school of thought that supports the creation of international authority (or authorities) that can tackle the global problems that nation-states currently cannot.
- Topic:
- Government and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Europe and North America
2496. Making Markets Work: A Review of CDM Performance and the Need for Reform
- Author:
- Charlotte Streck and Jolene Lin
- Publication Date:
- 04-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- The Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is the first global market mechanism in international environmental law. It has been much lauded for its success. However, doubts whether the CDM governance structure is robust enough to meet the challenges of regulating an international market mechanism in the long term are emerging. The Executive Board (EB)'s decision-making practice is often not predictable and many of its decisions have come as a surprise to project participants and technical project experts. Members of the EB often have multiple responsibilities which result in a complicated situation of conflicting interests. Finally, private sector participants in the CDM who have been aversely affected by EB decisions have no right of recourse and essentially little if any due process rights. This article argues that incorporating mechanisms to promote procedural fairness and creating an appeals process for aggrieved CDM participants will promote transparency and accountability in the CDM decision-making processes. This is essential for the sound operation of the CDM regulatory regime which will have a direct positive effect on the international carbon market. After conducting a comparative analysis of other regimes in which international bodies take decisions that directly affect individuals, most notably the system of targeted sanctions of the UN Security Council and the Anti-Doping Regime, as well as examining the World Bank Inspection Panel and the European Ombudsman as models of international review mechanisms, the authors set out proposals for reform of the CDM, including professionalizing the EB and the panels, securing better and more consistent funding, the elimination of political interference, and the introduction of administrative law-like processes.
- Topic:
- Security, Governance, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Europe
2497. La naissance d'un géant: Arcelor-Mittal (1948-2006)
- Author:
- Éric Godelier
- Publication Date:
- 06-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- In 2006 a terrible fight pitted two steel makers, Mittal and Arcelor, against each other. Understanding the dynamic of this enormous takeover requires a historical perspective. The structure, business strategy, and corporate governance of these groups evolved over a long period of time. This article explores the conflict in the context of the history of French steel industry. An examination of Usinor, moreover, as the ancestor and creator of Arcelor, can reveal a lot about the political, social and economical influence of steel makers in French society. Understanding the conflict also calls for an analysis of how a large company could change its corporate culture. Instead of reducing corporate culture to individual or collective “values,” as Edgar Schein did some time ago, this article explores Usinor's culture as a system of representations, material elements, technologies, products and ways of doing and thinking.
- Topic:
- Governance
- Political Geography:
- France
2498. Transitional Justice als Weg zu Frieden und Sicherheit. Möglichkeiten und Grenzen, SFB-Governance [Working Paper No. 15]
- Author:
- Susanne Buckley-Zistel
- Publication Date:
- 07-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700
- Abstract:
- Transitional Justice refers to ways of dealing with the past of violent conflicts or dictatorships in order to promote the transition to peace and security in a divided society. Against the backdrop of the concept's increasing popularity the objective of the working paper is to investigate whether its norms and instruments do indeed contribute to improving the relationship between the parties to the conflict. Central to the analysis is the impact of its normative cornerstones justice and truth, both conceptionally and practically, and the paper illustrates that their influence on post-conflict societies is rather ambivalent and by no means inevitably promoting peace. Based on these sobering insights the working paper concludes with the appeal to consider Transitional Justice as a political concept and to maintain a critical stance towards its application.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Germany
2499. Governance durch Interaktion nicht-staatlicher und staatlicher Akteure. Entstehungsbedingungen, Effektivität und Legitimität sowie Nachhaltigkeit
- Author:
- Marianne Beisheim and Harald Fuhr
- Publication Date:
- 08-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700
- Abstract:
- In Research Area D “Welfare and Environment” of the Research Center (SFB) 700 we investigate how governance services are provided in the production of respective collective goods in areas of limited statehood. Six different projects explore how governance arrangements evolve and how effective, legitimate, and sustainable they are in delivering governance services. During a workshop in January 2008, we discussed the preliminary results of the first phase of research. This working paper documents these first findings and seeks to raise the readers' interest in the projects' upcoming publications. For further information on the Research Area D of the SFB 700, see www.sfb-governance.de/en/teilprojekte/projektbereich_d/.
- Topic:
- Development, Government, and Governance
2500. Multi-Stakeholder Cooperation in Global Governance
- Author:
- Mikael Wigell
- Publication Date:
- 11-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA)
- Abstract:
- Over the past few decades, new forms of international cooperation have emerged that go beyond traditional intergovernmental multilateralism. In this new mode of global governance, “global public-private partnerships”, “multi-sectoral networks”, “multi-stakeholder arrangements”, “plurilateral coalitions”, and “global public policy networks” bring multiple stakeholders – public, private and not-for-profit – together in common forums to engage in consensus-oriented problem-solving. Today, such multi-stakeholder cooperation can be identified in a variety of issue-areas across global, regional and local levels, involving a broad set of actors ranging from governments and international organizations to NGOs and transnational corporations. As such, these are initiatives that try to respond to the new challenges of governance in the age of globalization.
- Topic:
- Development, Globalization, Government, International Cooperation, Non-Governmental Organization, and Governance