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1391. The Carter Center News Fall 2007

Publication Date:
09-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Carter Center
Abstract:
My original concept for The Carter Center was a place for mediation, a place where leaders of countries or regions in conflict could come to resolve their differences. Looking at the work of the Center today, with programs that have touched lives in more than 70 countries promoting peace and good health, it is safe to say that the Center has far exceeded Rosalynn' s and my initial dreams.
Topic:
International Relations, Human Rights, and Poverty
Political Geography:
Africa

1392. The Carter Center News Spring 2007

Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Carter Center
Abstract:
Six-year-old Ruhmam Issah cries as a health worker slowly removes a long, spaghetti-like worm from her swollen ankle. Beside Issah, here in dusty Savelugu, Ghana, is former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, providing comfort to the girl by way of gentle pats and kind words. President Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, visited the hospital in northern Ghana where Issah was being treated to meet with dozens of Guinea worm disease patients receiving care in a national effort to eradicate the disease by this time next year.
Topic:
International Relations and Human Rights
Political Geography:
Africa and Democratic Republic of the Congo

1393. Will India Emerge as an Eastern or Western Power?

Author:
Kishore Mahbubani
Publication Date:
02-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for the Advanced Study of India
Abstract:
Founded in 1992, the Center for the Advanced Study of India at the University of Pennsylvania is the only research institution in the United States dedicated to the study of contemporary India. A national resource, it fills an urgent need for objective knowledge of India's rapidly changing society, politics and economy, and the processes of transformation underway in an ancient civilization emerging as a major power.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, and Sovereignty
Political Geography:
United States, India, East Asia, and Asia

1394. After the MFA, the CCAs (China Containment Agreements)

Author:
O.G. Dayaratna-Banda and John Whalley
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
The post-Multi Fiber Agreement (MFA) trade regime in textile and apparel appears to be emerging in ways which are quite different from what had been widely anticipated before the termination of Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC). Since the end of ATC, there has been growing and spreading set of trade restrictions targeted primarily at China, the largest shipper of textile and apparel, through a series of agreements that we term China Containment Agreements. We discuss the evolution of these agreements, their behavioural responses, and then draw their parallels to those under the older MFA. We argue that there is potential for these restrictions to prolong and grow, as well as spread to other products through the product-specific safeguards mechanism included in the conditions of China's World Trade Organization accession.
Topic:
International Relations, Economics, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
China and Asia

1395. Sustainability of Economic Growth in India

Author:
Rajiv Kumar, Amitendu Palit, and Karan Singh
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
The robust performance of the Indian economy in recent years, with economic growth averaging 8.5%, has generated intense debate regarding India's future economic prospects. Indeed, the future of more than a billion people, many of whom still exist in degrading and unacceptable poverty and deprivation, depends critically on India's ability to grow fast at high rates. This paper, while examining the issue, argues that India's recent economic performance is a result of it's entering a virtuous circle of growth generated by some key structural drivers. The latter include a dynamic private sector, benign external environment and a wellfunctioning democracy. The paper also points out that high growth can be sustained only if necessary policies are adopted for removing binding constraints like poor infrastructure, stagnant agriculture and lack of fiscal space. The paper identifies education as the most critical sector requiring reforms, followed by public goods delivery and labour markets.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, and Economics
Political Geography:
India and Asia

1396. Technology Upgrading and China's Growth Strategy to 2020

Author:
John Whalley and Weimin Zhou
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
It is widely believed in China that in order to meet the target of tripling gross domestic product (GDP) per capita between 2005 and 2020, as set out in China's 11th five-year plan in 2005, a change in China's growth strategy from FDI promotion and export-led growth towards technology upgrading and higher productivity growth in manufacturing needs to occur. This paper seeks to evaluate the potential effectiveness of recent government initiatives to be taken to achieve these ends. In particular, plans these include increased educational spending, tax incentives, large research and development (R) projects, and changes to the regulatory environment. In measuring China's economic growth potential towards 2020, this paper employs an economic analysis of Total Factor Productivity and identifies the importance of continued domestic technical innovation.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
China and Asia

1397. Summitry from G5 to L20: A Review of Reform Initiatives

Author:
Peter I. Hajnal
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
Pressures to reform the Group of Eight (G8) have come from a variety of sources and perspectives, including academic analysts, practitioners, civil society, leaders of non-G8 countries, and even some of the G8 leaders themselves. Over its 32-year history, this elite forum of democratic industrialized countries has shown its ability to accommodate change, but it is rooted in an earlier era, and the growing power shift in global relations toward emerging market countries has not been reflected in either its scope or its membership. In recent years there has been a plethora of proposals to reform the club, from narrowing its brief to having it to coexist with a new and more representative body, and from membership expansion to complete abolition. To appreciate the full extent of this set of debates, this paper looks back at the origins of the summit and its intended architecture. It then reviews and analyses actual and proposed reforms over the summit's history, from early pressures to modify the original G5 through current attempts to move beyond the G8 to an Leaders' 20 (L20) or perhaps a group of 14.
Topic:
International Relations, Civil Society, Development, and Emerging Markets

1398. Ambitious New Initiative on Preventive Diplomacy

Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
EastWest Institute
Abstract:
The EastWest Institute (EWI) organized an informal roundtable discussion with the goal of presenting the Conflict Prevention Program's flagship project, the International Task Force on Preventive Diplomacy (ITFPD) to the international community based in Brussels. The roundtable also aimed to engage the Brussels community in a brainstorming exercise that would generate constructive feedback on the project. The roundtable convened 15 participants from NGOs based in Brussels, European institutions and foreign governments – all of whom attended in their personal capacities as specialists in the fields of conflict prevention and/or preventive diplomacy.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, International Relations, Diplomacy, and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe and Brussels

1399. Engaging India: Ambassador Ortwin Hennig's visit to Delhi and Mumbai

Author:
Sahiba Trivedi
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
EastWest Institute
Abstract:
Ambassador Ortwin Hennig is the Vice President and the Head of Conflict Prevention Program of the East West Institute at Brussels. His previous assignments include the Commissioner for Civilian Crisis Prevention, Conflict Resolution and Post-Conflict Peace Building in the German Government; diplomatic postings in Afghanistan, Russia, German Representation at the European Commission and the OSCE in Vienna. He has also served the Office of the German Federal President as a Foreign Policy Advisor. Ambassador Hennig is an alumnus of the NATO Defense College in Rome having specialized in arms control and security policy matters.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, International Relations, and Development
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Russia, India, Asia, Germany, and Vienna

1400. Advancing a Constructive Agenda for US-Russia Relations: Insights and Recommendations from Leading Experts

Author:
Jeff Procak
Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
EastWest Institute
Abstract:
On April 25, 2007, the EastWest Institute, together with the Kennan Institute, organized in Washington DC a two-hour roundtable discussion on the current state and outlook for US-Russia relations. The roundtable used President Putin's speech presented to the 43rd Conference on Security Policy in Munich on February 10, 2007 as a point of reference. The purpose of this gathering was to examine strategies and approaches to reverse the significant decline in Russian-American relations over the last several years. The seminar was attended by 20 prominent experts from the US and Russia, including foreign policy advisors, representatives of the academic, business, and NGO communities, and mass media. Topics discussed included the most important issues on the US-Russia geostrategic agenda: arms control and nuclear non- proliferation, international energy, Russia's WTO accession, trade and economic cooperation, mutual perceptions and role of the media.
Topic:
International Relations and Security
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Europe, Washington, and Asia