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1751. Blair's Visit to Washington: British Politics and the Peace Process

Author:
Simon Henderson
Publication Date:
11-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
British prime minister Tony Blair arrives in Washington on November 11 -- the first foreign leader to visit following President George W. Bush's reelection. The visit confirms Britain's status as America's most supportive ally and Blair's status as the president's closest foreign confidant. But the British leader is likely to use the two days of talks to place distance between himself and Bush. Unless obscured by diplomatic platitudes, the public differences will be most acute over the pace and direction of the Middle East peace process.
Topic:
Security, Politics, and Religion
Political Geography:
America, Washington, Middle East, and Arab Countries

1752. Development Policy: An Introduction for Students

Author:
Tony Addison
Publication Date:
10-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
This paper discusses development policy objectives, noting how these have changed over the years, with a more explicit focus on poverty reduction coming recently to the fore. It also examines the relationship between economic growth and poverty reduction. The paper then discusses how to achieve economic growth, starting with the caveat that growth must be environmentally sustainable, and moves on to the big question of the respective roles for the market mechanism and the state in allocating society's productive resources. The paper next discusses how economic reform has been implemented, and the political difficulties that arise. It concludes that getting development policy right has the potential to lift millions out of poverty.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Politics
Political Geography:
United States

1753. Competition, Contracts and Privatization: Globalization and Public Administration in Developing Countries

Author:
Ahmed Shafiqul Huque
Publication Date:
09-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition, McMaster University
Abstract:
Public administration actors, institutions and processes came under severe criticism in most states, as they seemed to be increasingly inappropriate for performing the tasks expected of them. Western developed nations moved to alleviate the problems by introducing reforms in the public sector. Initially, the reforms aimed at cutting cost in the provision of public services and reducing the size of the bureaucracy. Subsequently, the reforms also attempted to usher in changes in the approach and attitude, and more radical solutions were considered, including the overhaul of public sector organizations and the introduction of market principles.
Topic:
Emerging Markets, Globalization, Politics, and Privatization

1754. Globalizing Hope: The Resonance of Zapatismo and the Political Imagination(s) of Transnational Activism

Author:
Alex Khasnabish
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition, McMaster University
Abstract:
“The new distribution of the world excludes 'minorities'. The indigenous, youth, women, homosexuals, lesbians, people of color, immigrants, workers, peasants; the majority who make up the world basements are presented, for power, as disposable. The new distribution of the world excludes the majorities.
Topic:
Globalization, Politics, and Political Theory
Political Geography:
Mexico

1755. What Happened to the Iraqi Marsh Arabs and their Land?

Author:
Hanne Kirstine Adriansen
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
In the aftermath of the 2003 war against Iraq, the newspapers are full of stories about the monstrosities of Saddam Hussein's regime. One example is the destruction of the Iraqi marshlands leading to severe consequences for the human and wildlife population. While the responsibility for the atrocity against the Marsh Arabs is Saddam Hussein's, the desiccation of the marsh environment can be ascribed to a number of the hydro-political decisions made in the catchment area of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. Based on an analysis of the discourses of the destruction, it is demonstrated how these have changed after the war and are used in the battle to legitimise the war. This has led to a simplified image of the marshes and the Marsh Arab way of life. As the paper shows, a more complex approach towards the processes leading to this human and environmental disaster is required, if repatriation and rehabilitation of the area are to stand a chance.
Topic:
International Relations, Environment, and Politics
Political Geography:
Iraq and Arabia

1756. Vernacular Security: Governmentality, Traditionality and ontological (In)Security in Indonesia

Author:
Nils Ole Bubandt
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Tracing the political history of the global concept of 'security' through a variety of national and regional inflections in Indonesia, this paper argues for the analytical usefulness of the concept of 'vernacular security'. Entailed in this is a proposal to treat the concept of security as a socially situated and discursively defined category that needs a politically contextualised explication rather than as an analytical category that needs refined definition and consistent use.
Topic:
Security, Globalization, and Politics
Political Geography:
Indonesia and Asia

1757. Danish and British Euroscepticism Compared: A Sceptical Assessment of the Concept

Author:
Catharina Sørense
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The aim of the working paper is to examine similarities and differences between Danish and British sceptical or negative public attitudes towards the European Union. It looks at problems involved with defining and measuring the phenomenon of popular euroscepticism, before turning to characteristics specific for the case countries. The conclusion drawn from the comparison is that the phenomenon differs significantly even between two countries often associated for a discernible euroscepticism. In conclusion, the contemporary relevance of the study of popular euroscepticism is discussed with reference to the increasing use of referenda as a means to settle political questions in today's EU.
Topic:
International Relations and Politics
Political Geography:
Europe

1758. Russian Conservatism in the Putin Presidency

Author:
Sergei Prozorov
Publication Date:
10-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The article seeks to map the emergent discursive field of conservatism in Russian politics in the context of the reshapement of the political space in the Putin presidency. In the course of Putin's first presidential term 'conservatism' became a privileged mode of political selfidentification in the Russian discourse, functioning as the nodal point of the hegemonic project of the Presidency. Yet, in accordance with the Foucauldian understanding of discourse as a system of dispersion, the article demonstrates the way the conservative discourse is internally fractured into two antagonistic strands, identified by their practitioners as liberal and left conservatisms. While the liberal-conservative orientation supports and sustains the depoliticising project of the Putin presidency, which orders and stabilises the effects of the anti-communist revolution, left conservatism functions in the modality of radical opposition to the Putinian hegemony, thereby contributing to the pluralisation of political space in contemporary Russia. In the present Russian political constellation 'conservatism' is therefore less a name for a stable hegemonic configuration than a designator of the field of political struggle over the very identity of postcommunist Russia. The article concludes with a critical discussion of the relation the two strands of Russian conservatism establish to the period of the 1990s as the 'moment of the political' in the Russian postcommunist transformation.
Topic:
Democratization, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Asia

1759. Conflicting Motivations: The Private Sector and International Conflict

Author:
Luke A. Patey
Publication Date:
09-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Since the end of the Cold War, the world has been witness to a drastic increase in the number and magnitude of inter- and intra-state wars. These conflicts have predominately taken place within developing and underdeveloped countries and have led to substantial human, economic, and political costs at both local and international levels. The United Nations, along with international financial institutions and the global civil society, has recognized the need for curbing the violence and preventing further outbreaks. However, the political breadth and financial capacities of these organizations cannot ensure sufficient socio-economic recovery through peace-building operations alone. A more progressive approach is required. Responsible and committed engagement from private sector actors can provide a thrust towards reducing poverty in war-torn societies. Over the long term, the private sector in conjunction with international and non-governmental organizations can accelerate the process of postconflict reconstruction and encourage lasting peace through economic prosperity.
Topic:
Economics, Politics, Third World, and United Nations

1760. The Russian Northwestern Federal District and EU's Northern Dimension

Author:
Sergei Prozorov
Publication Date:
07-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The Northwestern Federal District of the Russian Federation has been particularly active in asserting itself as a macro-regional political subject, transcending the administrative borders of the subjects of the Russian Federation. This affirmation of the Northwest as a macro-region is also characterised by the explicit location of the Federal District within the international regional context and the linkage of the newly elaborated strategic development plans with EU policies in the region, particularly the Northern Dimension. This strategic policy discourse is grounded in the problematisation of the existing format of EU-Russian cooperation on the regional level as marked by the passivity of Russian regions vis-à-vis EU policies. The district-level strategies proceed, on the contrary, from the need to assume a more active and assertive position towards the EU that would allow to integrate the policies of the Northern Dimension with the domestic reform vision in Russia. The paper seeks to analyse the international dimensions of the strategic discourse of the Northwestern 'macro-region', elucidate the conflict episodes and conflict issues that are articulated in this discourse and address the wider implications of the emergence of the Northwestern Federal District for the EU-Russian regional cooperation in the border regions.
Topic:
Politics and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Asia