Search results

Abstract
This article considers certain aspects of the reality and efficacy of ihl. It looks at problems concerning the scope of ihl, including the question of what constitutes an armed conflict, the difficulties of disentangling international and non-international elements in some armed conflicts and debates about the application of ihl in United Nations peacekeeping. The article also examines whether ihl has acquired detail at the expense of practicality and calls for training of military personnel aimed at the development of a humanitarian reflex. It discusses the relationship between ihl and human rights law. Finally, it considers some of the problems in securing compliance with ihl.

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this paper is to explore how strategic tariff policy and welfare are affected by the consumer‐friendly initiative of foreign exporting firms. We define a firm that is consumer‐friendly or non‐profit‐based if it considers both its own profit and consumer surplus. This paper extends Brander and Spencer by taking the consideration of consumer‐friendly firms into an international duopoly, and within such context examining the tariff policy and welfare. The consumer‐friendly initiative that leads to trade liberalization is a 'Win‐Win‐Win' solution in the sense that it is not only beneficial for foreign exporting firms, but also for the government and consumers of the importing country.

The main objective of this study of the European Migration Network is to provide objective and reliable information about the usage of detention and alternatives to detention in international protection and return procedures in Luxembourg. Luxembourgish legislation, namely the amended Law of 29 August 2008 on Free Movement of Persons and Immigration (Immigration Law) and the Law of 18 December 2015 on International Protection and Temporary Protection (Asylum Law), foresees three alternatives to detention: - Alternative 1: Reporting obligations, which includes the obligation to surrender a passport, travel document or identity document; - Alternative 2: Home custody (+ electronic monitoring, if necessary); - Alternative 3: Deposition of a financial guarantee of 5.000€. In principle, the assessment between detention or alternatives to detention is made at the same time as when the grounds for detention are considered, as long as the Directorate of Immigration, as the responsible authority, has all the necessary information to decide if an alternative to detention can be ordered. Furthermore, the possibility to impose an alternative to detention is in principle systemically considered, as both relevant laws foresee that the detention decision is ordered in writing by the Minister on the basis of a case-by-case assessment, where necessary and if other less coercive measures cannot be effectively applied. Grounds for detention are generally rejected in favour of an alternative to detention if the person concerned falls within the category of vulnerable groups and if person is able to proof effective guarantees of representation to prevent the risk of absconding. This latter obligation on the third-country national to revert the legal presumption that there is a risk of absconding remains the main challenge because effective guarantees of representation are not defined by law. This is particularly challenging in the context of return procedures, where this legal presumption exists in nearly all cases where a third-country national has no valid identity, travel or residence documents. In the absence of such effective guarantees of representation, the Minister in charge of Immigration and Asylum generally does not make the decision to apply an alternative to detention. Consequently, the research in the context of this study has shown that alternatives to detention are only rarely used in Luxembourg, with the important exception of home custody in the Emergency Housing Structure of Kirchberg ('Structure d'hébergement d'urgence Kirchberg' – SHUK). The SHUK serves as a semi-open return facility for applicants for international protection and irregularly staying third-country nationals whose fingerprints have already been registered in Eurodac by another Member State and are therefore likely to be transferred to that Member State, in accordance with the Dublin III Regulation. A placement at the SHUK corresponds to home custody. The rare use of alternatives to detention also results in the fact that there is generally not much data available in this regard, with the important exception of home custody in the SHUK, which is more widely used.

Many policy and academic debates focus on the extent to which Russia is a revisionist power challenging the 'liberal world order'. However, there is little agreement on the primary motives explaining the behaviour of Russia, some pointing to her unsatisfied great power ambitions and neo-imperial ideologies, and others to genuine security concerns. Adjudicating those claims is important because of their policy implications for engagement and/or deterrence towards Russia. This article contributes to this debate through a theoretical contribution to practice-based approaches to International Relations. Using De Certeau's understanding of practices, it analyses Russian diplomatic practices in multilateral security organisations and illustrates how this helps infer foreign policy motives, contrary to the field-specific relationalism of Bourdieu-inspired practice approaches. Empirically, it builds on 126 interviews and participant observation in three multilateral security organisations (the United Nations, the NATO–Russia Council and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe). The article shows that at least since 2014, Russian diplomats in the three organisations consistently defend policies and use narratives that reveal more interest in status recognition, sometimes at the expense of security concerns.

Why do states cooperate bilaterally or multilaterally? This article addresses the issue using the example of international double tax avoidance. It is argued that double tax avoidance exhibits the strategic structure of a coordination game with a distributive conflict. The distribution of tax revenues depends on the asymmetry of investment flows between treaty partners. Since investment flows are defined dyadically, bilateral bargaining can best accommodate countries' concerns for the distribution of tax revenues and other economic benefits connected to the tax base. Moreover, because there are no serious externality problems with bilateral agreement, this solution is also viable. At the same time, there is a need for a multilateral organization to disseminate information and shared practices in the form of a model convention that provides a focal point for bilateral negotiations. This solution minimizes transaction costs. Since agreements are self-enforcing in coordination games there is no need for third-party enforcement. Instead, the Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP) is a device to address problems of incomplete contracting.

Colonial civil servant, Fabian socialist, and eminence grise of the Bloombury Circle, Leonard Woolf was one of the most prolific writers on international relations of the early to mid-Twentieth Century. His report for the Fabian Society, International Government , was influential on the creation of the League of Nations. He was co-founder of the popular pressure group, the League of Nations Society. He was a leading critic of empire. He helped to educate the British Labour Party on global issues, constructing, in 1929, its first credible foreign policy. With his wife, Virginia, he founded the celebrated Hogarth Press. He pioneered 'functionalist' and 'transnationalist' theory. He pioneered documentary journalism. He wrote towards the end of his long life one of the most insightful autobiographies of the Twentieth Century. This book examines the thought of this fascinating and relatively unknown political thinker. It thoroughly reassesses his ideas, for decades condemned as 'utopian', in the context of the much more fluid international scene of theTwenty-First century. In particular, it asks have his ideas about international government gained new pertinence in the post-Cold War world?.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey-listed Pakistan due to the latter's non-compliance to the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR)-1267. The FATF also demands Pakistan to put strict controls on money laundering and financial lifelines of terrorist organizations in Pakistan. The plan of action was reached between Pakistan and FATF to ensure sufficient action to enforce anti-money laundering policies and freeze assets of designated terrorist groups in Pakistan under UNSCR-1267 and UNSCR-1373. The NACTA in collaboration with FBR, State Bank of Pakistan, FIA, and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has mounted operations against illegal movement of money within Pakistan. It also has choked financial lifelines of terrorist organizations and curbed Hawala/Hundi methods of laundering money. Pakistan is struggling to stick to the 26-point action plan to address the necessary concerns of FATF. This paper put forth the ramifications for being blacklisted by FATF and also highlights the Trump administration's tough stance towards Pakistan. This paper also offers concrete recommendations to exclude Pakistan's name from the FATF grey-list.

Bibliography Entry
Amin, Musarat, Muhammad Khan , and Rizwan Naseer. 2020. "Pakistan in the FATF Grey-List: Challenges, Remedies and International Response." Margalla Papers 24 (1): 31-43.

International organizations (IOs) have developed into important policy venues beyond the state. Yet our understanding of the broader dynamics of IO policy-making is limited. This article offers the first comparative analysis of macro patterns in IO policy-making. Theoretically, we draw on punctuated equilibrium theory to develop hypotheses about stability and change in the orientation of IO policy agendas. Empirically, we examine novel data on the policy output of five general-purpose IOs between 1980 and 2015, combining statistical analysis and comparative case illustrations. The analysis yields two central results. First, the policy agendas of all five IOs display patterns of punctuated equilibria, with longer periods of stability interrupted by shorter periods of dramatic change. Second, the level of institutional friction in decision-making contributes to variation in punctuations across IOs and within IOs over time. The results suggest four broader implications: (1) punctuated equilibrium theory applies to a broader empirical domain than previously thought; (2) patterns of change in IOs are more complex than conventionally expected; (3) institutional friction matters for IOs' responsiveness to societal demands and problem pressures; and (4) deeper integration of punctuated equilibrium theory into the study of IOs can pave the way for a promising IR research agenda.