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16732. The Politics of Employment Policy Reform in the Gulf States (Les enjeux des réformes des politiques de l’emploi dans les monarchies du Golfe)
- Author:
- Laurence Louer
- Publication Date:
- 05-2012
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales
- Abstract:
- During the first decade of the 21st century the Gulf States undertook reforms of their social policies based on the generous redistribution of hydrocarbon profits. One of the elements of the redistribution was to guarantee of employment. Beginning in the 1990s rising unemployment indicated that the traditional employment policies were ineffective, generating social tensions as evidenced in the "Arab spring". The goal of the reforms is to move nationals into salaried jobs in the private sector, currently held largely by foreign workers. The change is strongly opposed by business executives and local entrepreneurs. Having become accustomed to inexpensive foreign workers they object to the increased costs entailed by the reforms. The royal families are thus obliged to negotiate between the interests of the private sector, often aligned with their own, and the dissatisfaction of the young, the group most impacted by unemployment and the key players in the protests that erupted in 2011 in Bahrain, Saudi-Arabia and Oman.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Political Economy, Labor Issues, Arab Spring, Social Policy, Identities, State, and Multinational Corporations
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and United Arab Emirates
16733. Selling the Future in DC. Marketing Stability for International Security
- Author:
- Ariel Colonomos
- Publication Date:
- 02-2012
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales
- Abstract:
- What kind of future worlds do experts of international security envision? This paper studies the role of experts in DC's think tanks, a relatively small world socially and culturally highly homogeneous. It underlines the characteristics of this epistemic community that influence the way its analysts make claims about the future for security. The DC's marketplace of the future lacks diversity. The paradigms analysts use when they study international politics are very similar. Moreover, the range of issues they focus on is also relatively narrow. The paper highlights three main features of the relation between those who make claims about the future of security and those to whom these claims are addressed (mainly policymakers). First, it shows that, for epistemic but also for political reasons, the future imagined in think tanks is relatively stable and linear. This future also contributes to the continuity of political decisions. Second, the paper shows that think tanks are also "victims of groupthink", especially when they make claims about the future. Third, it underlines a paradox: scenarios and predictions create surprises. Claims about the future have a strong tunneling effect. They reinforce preexisting beliefs, create focal points, and operate as blinders when, inevitably, the future breaks away from its linear path.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Terrorism, War, International Security, and State
- Political Geography:
- North America, United States of America, Washington, and D.C.
16734. Can Latin American Oil Companies Free Themselves from the Legacy of Nationalization? (Les compagnies pétrolières latino-américaines peuvent-elles s'affranchir de l'héritage de la nationalisation ?)
- Author:
- Isabelle Rousseau
- Publication Date:
- 01-2012
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales
- Abstract:
- Latin America's national oil companies, created at various times during the twentieth century, have each evolved in a different way. The two main companies – Petroleos de Mexico (Pemex) and Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) – provide excellent illustrations of the rich diversity of organizational and industrial development. Many factors – such as the importance of earth quakes – explain the diversity. Nevertheless, the role of governments during the period of nationalizations is key. It was then that the relationships between the owners of natural resources, public operators, regulators, the finance ministries, and international operators were defined. This process shaped the companies' institutional structures (path dependency) and set the parameters for future entrepreneurial dynamism. The path by which each of these enterprises developed continues to affect their culture as evidenced by the recent reforms which attempted to restructure Pemex and PDVSA.
- Topic:
- Energy Policy, Oil, Political Economy, and Multinational Corporations
- Political Geography:
- South America, Latin America, Venezuela, and Mexico
16735. China’s Search for Security
- Author:
- Andrew J. Nathan and Andrew Scobell
- Publication Date:
- 11-2012
- Content Type:
- Book
- Institution:
- Columbia University Press
- Abstract:
- Despite its impressive size and population, economic vitality, and drive to upgrade its military, China remains a vulnerable nation surrounded by powerful rivals and potential foes. Understanding China's foreign policy means fully appreciating these geostrategic challenges, which persist even as the country gains increasing influence over its neighbors. Andrew J. Nathan and Andrew Scobell analyze China's security concerns on four fronts: at home, with its immediate neighbors, in surrounding regional systems, and in the world beyond Asia. By illuminating the issues driving Chinese policy, they offer a new perspective on the country's rise and a strategy for balancing Chinese and American interests in Asia. Though rooted in the present, Nathan and Scobell's study makes ample use of the past, reaching back into history to illuminate the people and institutions shaping Chinese strategy today. They also examine Chinese views of the United States; explain why China is so concerned about Japan; and uncover China's interests in such problematic countries as North Korea, Iran, and the Sudan. The authors probe recent troubles in Tibet and Xinjiang and explore their links to forces beyond China's borders. They consider the tactics deployed by mainland China and Taiwan, as Taiwan seeks to maintain autonomy in the face of Chinese advances toward unification. They evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of China's three main power resources—economic power, military power, and soft power. The authors conclude with recommendations for the United States as it seeks to manage China's rise. Chinese policymakers understand that their nation's prosperity, stability, and security depend on cooperation with the United States. If handled wisely, the authors believe, relations between the two countries can produce mutually beneficial outcomes for both Asia and the world.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, Foreign Policy, and Geopolitics
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
- Publication Identifier:
- 9780231511643
- Publication Identifier Type:
- ISBN
16736. The Perception of Turkey in the Middle East 2012
- Author:
- Mensur Akgün and Sabiha Senyücel Gündoğar
- Publication Date:
- 12-2012
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
- Abstract:
- The report entails the findings of the fourth annual survey conducted by TESEV Foreign Policy Programme in collaboration with KA Research between August 3- 28, 2012. As in previous years, the public opinion survey reveals interesting insights into the recent Middle Eastern viewpoints, perceptions and expectations. 2800 Respondents from 16 countries of the region reflect on Turkey’s role and regional challenges in the light of current happenings.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Politics, Regional Cooperation, and Public Opinion
- Political Geography:
- Turkey, Middle East, Kuwait, Libya, Yemen, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, Tunisia, Oman, and UAE
16737. Sustainable Development Goals – a useful outcome from Rio+20?
- Author:
- Alex Evans and David Steven
- Publication Date:
- 01-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center on International Cooperation
- Abstract:
- Recent months have seen increasing interest in the idea that Rio+20 could be the launch pad for a new set of 'Sustainable Development Goals' (SDGs). But what would SDGs cover, what would a process to define and then implement them look like, and what would some of the key political challenges be? This short briefing sets out a short summary of current thinking the issue, followed by thoughts about the way forward.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Latin America
16738. Preparing for a Constructive 2012 Conference on the Middle East Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone
- Author:
- W.P.S. Sidhu (ed), Bruce Jones (ed), and Colette Jaycox
- Publication Date:
- 04-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center on International Cooperation
- Abstract:
- The consensus decision reached at the 2010 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) to convene a conference in 2012 on the establishment of a zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the Middle East was, perhaps, the most salient outcome of the quinquennium gathering.
- Topic:
- Conflict Prevention, Security, Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- Middle East and Arabia
16739. Rising Democracies and the Arab Awakening: Implications for Global Democracy and Human Rights
- Author:
- Ted Piccone and Emily Alinikoff
- Publication Date:
- 01-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center on International Cooperation
- Abstract:
- As the emerging global order takes shape, debate is growing more intense around the trajectory of the rising powers and what their ascendency to positions of regional and international influence means for the United States, its traditional allies, and global governance more broadly. Commentary about these rising powers— often referred to in a generic way as the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) but actually encompassing a dozen or so countries largely represented in the G-20—ranges from alarmist to sanguine. Pessimists argue that China, with its impressive economic growth and increasingly global reach, is well-positioned to challenge the United States' role of global superpower and to weaken the commitment of other rising powers, and various international organizations, to liberal values. More optimistic analysts insist that the rise of middle powers, most of which are democracies of varying stripes, bodes well for the world: millions are being lifted out of poverty, rule of law is taking hold and the international system is bound to be a more inclusive, representative one.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Development, Economics, Globalization, Human Rights, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Poverty, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, China, India, South Africa, Brazil, and Arabia
16740. Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon
- Author:
- Ban Ki-moon
- Publication Date:
- 04-2012
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Columbia University World Leaders Forum
- Abstract:
- This World Leaders Forum program, titled From Youth Explosion to Global Transformation: Unleashing the Power of Young People, will feature an address by Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations. The discussion will be followed by a question and answer session with the audience.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Development, Globalization, United Nations, and Youth Culture