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Cultures of Uneven and Combined Development seeks to explore and develop Leon Trotsky's concept of uneven and combined development. In particular, it aims to adapt the political and historical analysis which originated in Trotsky's Russia for use within the contemporary field of world literature. As such, it draws together the work of scholars from both the field of international relations and the field of literature and the arts. This collection will therefore be of particular interest to anyone who is interested in new ways of understanding world literary texts, or interested in new ways of applying Trotsky's revolutionary politics to the contemporary world order. 0Contributors: Alexander Anievas, Gail Day, James Christie, Kamran Matin, Kerem Nisancioglu, Luke Cooper, Michael Niblett, Neil Davidson, Nesrin Degirmencioglu, Robert Spencer, Steve Edwards

AbstractThe objective of this study is threefold. First, we present a review of the international studies that have investigated the link between firm‐level governance scores and performance. To our knowledge, this study is the first to provide a comprehensive review of this recent and growing literature. Second, we discuss potential methodological shortcomings of using governance indexes. Third, we propose directions for future research. Overall, a clear positive relation is found between governance ratings and performance in Europe and in emerging economies, whereas studies conducted in the US and Canada have generated mixed evidence. The empirical problems related to measurement, substitution between governance arrangements, endogeneity, and optimization across governance choices are discussed. Solutions are proposed to alleviate these concerns. Copyright © 2011 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

AbstractSince the late 19th century many Chinese leaders have studied abroad, mostly in Japan, the US or the former Soviet Union. Recently, thousands are returning from studying overseas. Is this new cohort of returnees more internationalist than Chinese who do not study abroad? If their values differ and they join China's elite, they could influence China's foreign policy. Drawing on surveys of returnees from Japan and Canada over the past 15 years, we compare their views on "co-operative internationalism" and "assertive nationalism" with the attitudes of China's middle class drawn from a nationwide survey in 2006. Our returnees are both more "internationalist" than the middle class and less nationalistic. So they are likely to support China's increasing international role and perhaps constrain China's growing nationalist sentiment.

Helmut Schmidt led West Germany from 1974 to 1982 amid a world economic crisis and one of the frostiest phases of the Cold War. At home in both security and economics, Schmidt became the supreme 'strategist of balance' and earned the nickname of 'world economist'. It was during his chancellorship that West Germany came of age on the global stage

This article examines the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in the context of the complex geopolitical landscape of Central Asia and the Caucasus. It aims to assess its potential in economic, strategic, and social dimensions within international and regional systems. Employing an eclectic theoretical framework, this study looks at the multifaceted factors that influence the OTS's potential to foster cooperation and solidarity among Turkic states. The research examines this mechanism in interconnected strategic, economic, and social structures. The strategic dimension encompasses defense alliances and security arrangements, the economic dimension focuses on cooperation and trade, and the social dimension emphasizes cultural and normative aspects. Overall, one of the most important rationales behind the OTS is the idea that it serves as a cohesive force enabling Turkic states to navigate the intricate geopolitical environment of Central Asia and the Caucasus where multiple great powers are vying for influence. This research sheds light on the nuanced interplay of economic, strategic, and soft power activities, providing valuable insights into the OTS's position and influence in Central Asia and the Caucasus. Aside from its contribution to the literature, this article also aims to assist policymakers wishing to explore the potential and limitations of OTS's increasing influence.

The study raises the question of whether it is necessary to recognize language rights, and responds with a series of philosophical, theoretical and anthropological arguments - sometimes quoting judicial formulations in favor of the recognition of language rights, especially minority language rights. It is a serious dilemma that, for historicalpolitical reasons, states often give priority to linguistic homogenization and consider multilingualism, the use of minority languages, as outdated or even dangerous, incompatible with the modern nation-state model. The article discusses the two fundamental principles which best underpin the international recognition of minority language rights: the protection of diverse communities and their equal rights. The study points out that in the practice of the UN Human Rights Committee and the ECtHR discrimination in the use of minority languages is recognized only in a very narrow sense. It means that the minority language sub-rights of general human rights may be interpreted too narrowly, and that recognition of these sub-rights may be denied, and this leads to the conclusion that explicit safeguards are needed to secure that minority language rights, and the corresponding state obligations arising from them are precisely defined.

The collapses of the interwar and Bretton Woods monetary regimes have been understood as evidence that international monetary regimes fail when sudden economic shocks destabilize the political coalitions or shared ideas underpinning them. But while these histories are important, other monetary regimes, such as the Sterling Area and Latin Union, disintegrated over long periods of time. If exogenous shocks do not account for varied patterns of destabilization, what does? Using the tools of comparative-historical analysis, I argue that these patterns are the result of strategic choices made by hegemonic powers, choices that are in turn governed by the historical-structural foundations of regimes. From these foundations emerge alternative leadership strategies and membership behaviors responsible for endogenous macro-institutional effects that drive the observed regime trajectories. Regime leaders may establish visibly unequal collective arrangements that maintain their positions but leave a system vulnerable to overt internal resistance and sudden breakdown. Or leaders may reject collective arrangements in order to secretly discriminate among members, slowly building dysfunction into a system, driving its gradual abandonment by members and institutional decline. The analysis both suggests that more equal state power may improve long-run regime performance, and also locates structural vulnerabilities in contemporary regimes.

In the summer of 1974, the Soviet Union first opened its borders to a large number of climbers from the west. In a special camp in the Soviet Pamir mountains, climbers from ten different Western nations, were to climb and live side by side with each other and with Soviet and Polish climbers nearby. Inscribed in the context of political détente, the Pamir camp allowed for more cultural contact across the Cold War divides. It can thus be seen as a microcosm of different climbing communities, sometimes overcoming, but sometimes also divided by the lines of nationality, language, political system, and last but not least by gender. From the camp, two all-women groups attempted to reach Pik Lenin: a Soviet team of eight women led by El'vira Shataeva, and a mixed international women's team composed of the Swiss Heidi Lüdi and Eva Isenschmid and the American Arlene Blum. Their attempts ended with the tragic death of all eight Soviet women and of Eva Isenschmid. This article looks at the camp as an intersectional place between political systems and gendered climbing by analyzing and comparing the women's climbing biographies, their interaction and the interpretations their all-women climbing parties were attributed.

The article discusses the problem of influence exerted by commercial actors in international trade disputes and consequences of this phenomenon for positions adopted by adjudicators. It explores the role of commercial stakeholders inasmuch as they comprise a driving force behind state action, and examines procedural options available to those stakeholders. The issue of adjudicatory independence and neutrality is considered in the context of involved industries and their interests as the non-party spiritus movens behind WTO dispute settlement processes. Related procedural aspects, such as confidentiality/transparency of proceedings and the possibilities for participation of non-party actors, are also examined. It is argued that WTO litigation is often only one track among several available to the stakeholders in the pursuit of their interests. As a consequence, the problem of forum shopping is also raised. In this vein, the standards of the WTO Appellate Body in the area under discussion are set against those of investment and commercial arbitration (as the institutions and rules designed for the latter are also being used for trade controversies, as evidenced in the Softwood Lumber LCIA arbitrations). Consequently, the problem of establishing standards of adjudicatory independence is deemed a significant factor in strategic selection of the most advantageous forum for dispute resolution.

This article revealed the essence of the concept of «property». Investigated value of real estate. The essence of real estate as a separate economic category, during which the disclosed dual nature of its operation, emphasizing its importance and greatly expands the scope of the study. Considered legislative and regulatory documents in Ukraine which disclosed the concept of «immovable». Exposed and systematic approach to the definition of real estate around the world with regard to the legal provision in the regulation of private relations. The study highlights the main features of immovable and determined its physical, economic, social and legal characteristics. Determined lack of communication on integrated management of international real estate market. Specifies that the regulation of the real estate market is separately in each country within its legal system. ; У статті з'ясовано сутність поняття «нерухомість». Досліджено значення об'єктів нерухомого майна. Обґрунтовано сутність нерухомості як окремої економічної категорії, у процесі чого розкрито подвійний характер її функціонування, що підкреслює її значущість і значно розширює сферу дослідження. Розглянутозаконодавчі та нормативні документи України, у яких розкрито зміст поняття «нерухомої речі». Досліджено й систематизовано підходи до визначення об'єктів нерухомості в різних країнах світу з урахуванням їх нормативно-правового забезпечення.

The recent spectacular surge in private collecting in Hungary – which began around the fall of Communism and abated only with the current financial crisis – can be seen as part of the steady expansion of private involvement in the art scene, with some of these developments pointing beyond local significance. This paper examines the historical roots and the current structural characteristics of this spread by looking at the motifs and the choices of collectors, their co-operation with commercial galleries and public museums, as well as the advantages and side-effects of blossoming art patronage. Based on ten years of research, including close to two-hundred interviews with the actors in the art world in Hungary, I argue that private collecting, which had already strongly benefitted from the cultural thaw of the last decades of the Communist regime in the country, has earned over the past quarter-century high social status, the promise of lucrative investment and the liberty of creative self-expression for buyers of modern and, subsequently, contemporary art. The paper aims briefly to place these multiple factors in an international context; further research into art collecting in Eastern Europe will be needed to yield a more complete comparative regional study.

AbstractThe purpose of this study is to formalize the optimal choice of market entry strategy for an individual multinational enterprise (MNE) from a dynamic perspective. It is argued that incorporating a suitable treatment of irreversibility, uncertainty and flexibility related to an MNE's investment decision gives further insights into the expansion, dissolvement, and optimal timing of international joint ventures (IJVs). In most cases, the initial entry strategy serves as a platform allowing the firm to make subsequent investments to exploit host‐country advantages and capabilities. We allow for this by taking a three‐step expansion strategy explicitly into account. The evolutionary process of the value of the foreign direct investment can be interpreted as a compound complex chooser option. The results suggest that uncertainty, size of equity share and future investment/divestment opportunities play an important role when it comes to transit from export to the first phase of the foreign direct investment commitment. The paper underscores the importance of modeling the dynamics of market entry and helps to refine the application of real options in the alliance context by providing a closed‐form solution in continuous time to value the overall strategic flexibility.