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651. Governing Multinationals: The Role Of Foreign Direct Liability

Author:
Halina Ward
Publication Date:
02-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
The business of global governance is set to become one of the key international policy issues of the twenty-first century. The governance of global business is one of the most difficult action points in this agenda. New issues are still emerging, not least among them a discussion on whether there is a need for tougher transnational regulation of multinational corporations. This Briefing Paper outlines the implications of one way of enforcing corporate environmental, social and human rights standards across borders: 'foreign direct liability'.
Topic:
International Law, International Political Economy, and International Trade and Finance

652. A Recruiting Tape of Osama bin Laden: Excerpts and Analyses

Author:
Richard W. Bulliet and Fawaz A. Gerges
Publication Date:
10-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Columbia International Affairs Online
Abstract:
For several months prior to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, a videotape calling Muslims to a holy war against forces described as Crusaders and Jews circulated underground in the Arab world. Produced on behalf of Osama bin Laden and prominently featuring his image, words, and ideas, the tape is designed to recruit young Arab men to journey to Afghanistan and train for a war in defense of Islam.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Diplomacy, Ethnic Conflict, Government, International Cooperation, International Law, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, United Kingdom, Middle East, and Arabia

653. Rough Waters in the South China Sea: Navigation Issues and Confidence-Building Measures

Author:
Ji Guoxing
Publication Date:
08-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
In the wake of a collision between a U.S. spy plane and a Chinese jet fighter off the coast of Hainan in April 2001, verbal skirmishing between the United States and China revealed sharply different conceptions of jurisdictional and navigational principles. These differences persist and will likely be the cause of future conflicts; they have already caused strife among countries ringing the South China Sea. Central to these conflicts are the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) that extend 200 nm into the sea from coastal nations' baselines. Created by the UN Law of the Sea Convention, these zones attempt to accommodate coastal states' interest in controlling offshore resources and maritime powers' interests in maintaining freedom of navigation. But ambiguities in the Convention's language combined with coastal states' proliferating EEZ claims have created a tinderbox. The situation will remain volatile as long as the focus remains on jurisdictional disputes. But confidence-building efforts aimed more narrowly on practical navigation issues and managing “incidents at sea” offer a starting point for first bilateral and then multilateral agreements. In the wake of a collision between a U.S. spy plane and a Chinese jet fighter off the coast of Hainan in April 2001, verbal skirmishing between the United States and China revealed sharply different conceptions of jurisdictional and navigational principles. These differences persist and will likely be the cause of future conflicts; they have already caused strife among countries ringing the South China Sea. Central to these conflicts are the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) that extend 200 nm into the sea from coastal nations' baselines. Created by the UN Law of the Sea Convention, these zones attempt to accommodate coastal states' interest in controlling offshore resources and maritime powers' interests in maintaining freedom of navigation. But ambiguities in the Convention's language combined with coastal states' proliferating EEZ claims have created a tinderbox. The situation will remain volatile as long as the focus remains on jurisdictional disputes. But confidence-building efforts aimed more narrowly on practical navigation issues and managing “incidents at sea” offer a starting point for first bilateral and then multilateral agreements.
Topic:
Security, Energy Policy, and International Law
Political Geography:
United States, Japan, and China

654. The Situation of Minorities in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: Towards an Implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities

Author:
Matthias KÖNIG
Publication Date:
06-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues
Abstract:
On 11 May 2001 the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) acceded to the Council of Europe's FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES (FRAMEWORK CONVENTION hereinafter). The new government in Belgrade, in power since the democratic revolution in October 2000, has thereby declared its political intention to improve the situation of minorities by revising its legislation in accordance with the normative standards of the FRAMEWORK CONVENTION. By identifying general patterns of minority treatment in both legal standard-setting and factual practice in the FRY over the past decade, this study contributes to an analysis of primary concerns to be considered in the implementation of the FRAMEWORK CONVENTION.
Topic:
Democratization, Development, Ethnic Conflict, International Law, and Nationalism
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe and Yugoslavia

655. ECMI Civil Society Project in Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Role of Annex 8 in Bridging Communities, Promoting Reconciliation, and Developing a Unique Identity in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Author:
Valery Perry
Publication Date:
12-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues
Abstract:
On Saturday, 15 December 2001, over 30 people gathered in Sarajevo to discuss the policy development and challenges of implementation related to Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace (GFAP). The participants came from a broad range of relevant backgrounds, including the museum, culture, preservation, history, archaeology, architecture, civil society, and academic, governmental, and diplomatic fields. While full representation of the relevant government officials from the Federation of BiH (FbiH), Republika Srpska (RS), and Brcko District was expected, on the day before the workshop the representatives from the RS cancelled, and the representatives from Brcko failed to appear the day of the meeting.
Topic:
Civil Society, International Law, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe

656. Constitutional Problems with Enforcing the Biological Weapons Convention

Author:
Ronald D. Rotunda
Publication Date:
09-2000
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The 1972 Biological Toxins and Weapons Convention—often called the Biological Weapons Convention, or BWC—requires the signatories to renounce the development, employment, transfer, acquisition, production, and possession of all biological weapons listed in the convention.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Diplomacy, International Law, and Terrorism

657. Opening Up to the World: India's Pharmaceutical Companies Prepare for 2005

Author:
Sean Eric Smith
Publication Date:
05-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
Abstract:
In 2005, India will implement new intellectual property (IP) laws that recognize product patents on pharmaceuticals. Because India's 1970 Patent Act only recognizes process patents, Indian drug companies have been free to copy molecules from multinational companies (MNCs), to sell within India and other nonpatent conforming markets. New laws, such as the Exclusive Marketing Rights amendment to the 1970 Patent Act (ratified on April 19, 1999), will substantially alter this practice. This paper discusses what companies are doing to prepare for 2005 and beyond. As is the case today, Indian and MNCs alike will figure prominently in the future of the pharmaceutical sector, albeit in somewhat altered form. Although the new patent regime has the potential to reward MNCs at the expense of Indian firms, local companies will likely benefit from stricter laws. In fact, it is plausible that the 2005 laws will vault some Indian pharmaceutical companies into globally prominent positions.
Topic:
Industrial Policy and International Law
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

658. All Possible Wars? Toward a Consensus View of the Future Security Environment, 2001-2025

Author:
Sam J. Tangredi
Publication Date:
11-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
There was a legend in ancient Rome about a fabulous set of nine books which contained a predestined history of the Roman people and — in particular — details of all future wars and crises which would beset them. These oracles, the property of Amalthaea ؏ the sibyl or prophetess of Cumae — were proffered to the Roman government. In a tale of greed, chauvinism, and intrigue worthy of a melodrama, the Romans decided not to pay the sibyl's price for the books and to bargain for a better deal. Upon learning of their decision, an angry and incredulous Amalthaea threw the first three books into a fire where they burnt to ashes. She thereupon asked for the exact same price for the remaining six books.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, and International Law
Political Geography:
Rome

659. The Revenge of the Melians: Asymmetric Threats and the Next QDR

Author:
Kenneth F. McKenzie
Publication Date:
11-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
In 416 B.C., the Athenian-led Delian League, then the dominant naval power of the Hellenic World, was locked in a death struggle with its rival, Sparta, and its Peloponnesian allies. In the wake of the battle of Mantinea, and on the eve of the ill-fated naval expedition to Syracuse, the small island of Melos in the northern Cretan Sea had become an object of strategic concern to Athens which south to force Melos to join the Delian League and pay tribute. The Melians refused and claimed the moral right of a state to remain neutral. "Right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power," answered the Athenians; The strong do what they wish and the weak suffer what they must."
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, and International Law

660. Public Versus Private Initiative in Arctic Exploration: The Effects of Incentives and Organizational Structure

Author:
Jonathan M. Karpoff
Publication Date:
06-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Independent Institute
Abstract:
From 1818 to 1909, 35 government and 57 privately-funded expeditions sought to locate and navigate a Northwest Passage, discover the North Pole, and make other significant discoveries in arctic regions. Most major arctic discoveries were made by private expeditions. Most tragedies were publicly funded. By other measures as well, publicly-funded expeditions performed poorly. On average, 5.9 (8.9%) of their crew members died per outing, compared to 0.9 (6.0%) for private expeditions. Among expeditions based on ships, those that were publicly funded used an average of 1.63 ships and lost 0.53 of them. Private ship-based expeditions, in contrast, used 1.15 ships and lost 0.24 of them. Of public expeditions that lasted longer than one year, 47% were debilitated by scurvy, compared to 13% for private expeditions. Although public expeditions made some significant discoveries, they did so at substantially higher cost (as measured by crew size or vessel tonnage) than private discoveries.
Topic:
Environment, International Law, and Sovereignty