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16901. European Perceptions of Turkish Foreign Policy

Author:
Talip Küçükcan and Müjge Küçükkeleş
Publication Date:
04-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
As a staunch ally of NATO whose actions were easy to predict, Turkey did not attract much attention as a foreign policy actor until a decade ago. The increasing activism of Turkish foreign policy and the greater initiative taken by Turkish elites have raised interest in Europe. After overcoming the first wave of bewilderment and irritation at Turkey's independent foreign policy initiatives, Europeans have started to develop a more nuanced approach towards the specifics of Turkish foreign policy. Currently, debates over Turkey are not confined to EU accession discussion alone. Instead, they consider the implications of Turkey's more assertive foreign policy as well.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, NATO, and Islam
Political Geography:
Europe, Central Asia, and Turkey

16902. When Voicelessness Meets Speechlessness – Struggling for Equity in Chinese-Ghanaian Employment Relations

Author:
Karsten Giese and Alena Thiel
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
In this article Chinese-Ghanaian employment relations are analyzed using the concepts of foreignness, the psychological contract, equity, and cross-cultural communication. Based on a qualitative study conducted in Accra, Ghana, we discuss the labor market in general and introduce the conditions under which Chinese sojourners operate their family trade businesses in the city. After discussing the phenomenon of Ghanaian employment within Chinese trade companies from a theoretical perspective, we explain how Chinese employers' and Ghanaian employees' culturally based perceptions of employment relations are contradictory and prone to conflict. We then show how, under the condition of the employers' foreignness, Ghanaian employees perceive their psychological contracts as being violated and Chinese employers regard the equity of exchange relations as distorted. We discuss how Ghanaian employees cope with this situation by means of voice, silence, retreat or destruction, while Chinese employers, who lack both sufficient language skills and effective sanctions, choose to endure perceived distortions of equity and in some cases ultimately terminate employment relations when inadequate cross-cultural communication results in a failure to mediate conflicts.
Topic:
Industrial Policy, International Trade and Finance, Labor Issues, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:
Africa, China, and Ghana

16903. Institutional Conflict Settlement in Divided Societies: The Role of Subgroup Identities in Self-Government Arrangements

Author:
Alexander De Juan
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Institutions can contribute to regulating interethnic conflict; however, in many cases they fail to bring about lasting peace. The paper argues that their negligence of intraethnic factors accounts for some of this failure. Ethnic groups are often treated as unitary actors even though most consist of various linguistic, tribal or religious subgroups. This internal heterogeneity is often obscured by overarching collective ethnic identities that are fostered by interethnic conflict. However, when such interethnic conflict is settled, these subgroup differences may come back to the fore. This “resurgence” can lead to subgroup conflict about the political and economic resources provided through intergroup institutional settlements. Such conflict can in turn undermine the peace-making effect of intergroup arrangements. Different subgroup identity constellations make such destructive effects more or less likely. The paper focuses on self-government provisions in the aftermath of violent interethnic conflict and argues that lasting intergroup arrangements are especially challenging when they involve “contested” ethnic groups.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Political Violence, Ethnic Conflict, Religion, Governance, and Sectarian violence
Political Geography:
Africa and Iraq

16904. China's Economic Restructuring: Role of Agriculture

Author:
Zhang Hongzhou
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:
While China has achieved extraordinary economic success in the past decades, its economic structural risks have increased significantly as well. As Chinese top leaders have repeatedly emphasized, economic restructuring is a critical task facing China's economy. To restructure China's economy, the country needs to find a new engine for growth to replace the export and investment led growth model, address social inequality and protect the environment. The key approaches identified by the Chinese government include urbanization, upgrading the manufacturing sector and developing strategic industries. However, through in-depth analysis, this paper finds that the effectiveness of these measures remains in question as they fail to target at all the root causes of China's economic problems.
Topic:
Economics, Environment, Globalization, Industrial Policy, International Trade and Finance, and Social Stratification
Political Geography:
China and Israel

16905. Nonviolent Action Strategy: Lessons from Bahrain's Demonstration Movement

Author:
Loghman Fattahi
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
al Nakhlah
Institution:
The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Abstract:
From February 14 to March 16, 2011, a demonstration movement swept Bahrain employing nonviolent action strategy to effect political and economic change in country. The success of a nonviolent action strategy rests on the ability of organizers to maximize the participation of individual and collective actors in the demonstration process. Participation increases the probability of overcoming the state's pillars of power, chiefly its security forces. Maximizing and managing participation is best achieved by building upon and sustaining the three pillars of a nonviolent action strategy: nonviolent unity, planning, and discipline.
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

16906. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula through the Framework of International Humanitarian Law

Author:
Simon Henderson
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
al Nakhlah
Institution:
The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Abstract:
While Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has garnered significant media attention, its role in the Middle East raises legal issues that are not currently being explored. With AQAP having presences in Saudi Arabia and Yemen, questions arise as to which legal frameworks can be utilized: international humanitarian law, human rights law, or criminal law. This paper will discuss some of these issues, with a particular focus on international humanitarian law.
Political Geography:
Middle East, Yemen, Arabia, and Saudi Arabia

16907. A Regional Arms Race? Testing the Nuclear Domino Theory in the Middle East

Author:
Rizwan Ladha
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
al Nakhlah
Institution:
The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Abstract:
In November 2011, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released a much-anticipated report on the Iranian nuclear program, highlighting the fact that Iran has made significant progress on research and development toward a possible nuclear weapons program. Nonetheless, the report concluded that Iran's leaders had yet to make the decision to actively pursue the bomb.
Political Geography:
Iran and Middle East

16908. Islamic Project Finance: Shari'a Compliant Financing of Large Scale Infrastructure Projects

Author:
Rishad Sadikot
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
al Nakhlah
Institution:
The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Abstract:
Islamic finance has never seen greater appeal. Economically, Islamic finance is experiencing renewed interest due to growing dissatisfaction with the economic status quo and discredit suffered by conventional finance following the financial crisis. Politically, the Arab spring will ensure that Islamic finance plays a more extensive role in the economies of the region due to the fact that long repressed Islamist parties, which will now have a larger influence in the political landscape, have the promotion of Islamic finance as one of their top priorities. Furthermore, he success of post-revolutionary regimes depends on economic recovery.
Topic:
Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Arabia

16909. Editor's Note

Author:
James A. Dorn
Publication Date:
06-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
This special issue of the Cato Journal stems from the Cato Institute's 29th Annual Monetary Conference—Monetary Reform in the Wake of Crisis—held in Washington, D.C., November 16, 2011. At no time since the founding of the Federal Reserve nearly a century ago has it been more important to reconsider the role of monetary policy in a free society. In particular, as F. A. Hayek noted, “All those who wish to stop the drift toward increasing government control should concentrate their effort on monetary policy.”
Political Geography:
Washington

16910. The Eurozone Crisis and Global Monetary Reform: A Conversation

Author:
Robert B. Zoellick and Sebastian Mallaby
Publication Date:
06-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Sebastian Mallaby: We are here to talk to Bob Zoellick. I have been in Washington 16 years, Bob is the personification of the kind of silo busting polymathic energy which says, I am not just interested in international economics, I am not just interested in international relations, I am not just a U.S. government official, I am also going to do multilateral diplomacy. So Bob has been on all sides of those various divides. He has a voracious intellect, so it is always interesting to speak with him whether he is in office or out of office.
Topic:
International Relations
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, and Washington