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China's rapid development over the last few decades could almost be described as an 'economic miracle'. However, the trajectory of its economic development has also led to rising demand for energy resources, particularly oil. This has created significant problems for China- specifically, a reliance on imported oil, which is only going to increase. Thus, the Chinese government has turned to investing in Africa's vast, untapped resources in order to diversifY and secure its oil supplies. As these resources will need to be transported via critical sea lines of communication, China has turned its interests to developing an energy security strategy that will enable China's growth to continue, Simultaneously, it has been pursuing a program of naval modernisation, and is in the process of transforming it into a 'blue-water' navy. Together, these developments have attracted some international criticism that China is a military and economic threat that will ultimately destabilise the region. However, both China's investment strategies in Africa and navy modernisation efforts are motivated by energy security concerns and domestic political desires for increased international influence. The Chinese government seems to have staked their legitimacy on improving living standards for their people, and as China faces considerable domestic development challenges, maintaining a stable and peaceful international environment is absolutely integral to its national interests. China's engagement in Africa is dominated by resource extraction activities, as part of its energy security strategy to ensure China's development continues unimpeded, but is also a product of the changes in its foreign policy making and its desire to have a greater role in the international system. China's historical and political narratives are crucial to understanding its international engagement, and the discourse that China suffered a 'Century of Humiliation' at the hands of colonialist powers continues to influence contemporary China, driving its desire to establish a capable navy to 'erase' the legacy of national humiliation. China's navy modernisation efforts are principally to defend China's sea lines of communication from both traditional and non-traditional security threats, although some have suggested that it is expanding influence in the Indian Ocean. However, China's growing maritime cooperation in multilateral and bilateral suggests that it will tread carefully to avoid triggering international hostility, which is not in China's development interests. Finally, while the future cannot be predicted, it seems likely that the 'China threat' thesis will continue to promulgate suspicion of China's motives, while China's hedging strategy will ensure it continues to modernise its navy while presenting a benign image to the world. However, as some theorise, China's gradual 'socialisation' into global institutions, norms, and rules may ensure it becomes a cooperative member of the international community. Certainly its current involvement in maritime cooperation with other nations may indicate that China will be a 'golden opportunity' for cooperation and further global prosperity. However, the only thing for certain is that China is now becoming an central player in the international system and will be for some years to come.

Is there a strategically beneficial time for political leaders to make international environmental commitments? Based on the political cycles theory we argue that leaders have incentives to delay costly ratification of international environmental agreements to the post-electoral period. However, the cost of participating in these agreements are often lower for developing countries, and they may benefit from indirect gains, which may make them more prone to ratifying in the pre-electoral period. These hypotheses are empirically assessed by studying the ratification process of 48 global environmental agreements censused in the ENTRI database from 1976 to 1999. We use a duration model in which time is measured on a daily basis, enabling us to precisely identify pre- and post-electoral periods -- a significant challenge in political cycles studies. Our investigation reveals the existence of political ratification cycles that are of substantial magnitude and non-linear over the pre- and post-electoral years.

Is there a strategically beneficial time for political leaders to make international environmental commitments? Based on the political cycles theory we argue that leaders have incentives to delay costly ratification of international environmental agreements to the post-electoral period. However, the cost of participating in these agreements are often lower for developing countries, and they may benefit from indirect gains, which may make them more prone to ratifying in the pre-electoral period. These hypotheses are empirically assessed by studying the ratification process of 48 global environmental agreements censused in the ENTRI database from 1976 to 1999. We use a duration model in which time is measured on a daily basis, enabling us to precisely identify pre- and post-electoral periods -- a significant challenge in political cycles studies. Our investigation reveals the existence of political ratification cycles that are of substantial magnitude and non-linear over the pre- and post-electoral years.

The study presents a comparative analysis of model standards for project development and explores forward-looking options for voluntary peatland carbon engagement, including through integration into regulated carbon markets, notably the emerging offset market for international aviation ("CORSIA"), and the flexibility instruments enshrined in the Paris Agreement. The study is structured in a context chapter; a detailed comparative assessment of different standards that permit (or may permit) the implementation of peatland projects; in terms of environmental integrity and transaction and market aspects; recommendations for voluntary standards concerning the creation of a model peatland standard and for governments to support voluntary peatland developments; as well as an option assessment for the integration of a model peatland standard into the regulated schemes of the International Organization of Civil Aviation (ICAO) and of the Paris Agreement. Recommendations for peatland standards focus on simplification options within the carbon cycle, implementation methods for small and micro-scale projects, design options that allow project implementation for short- and mid-term durations, and robust instruments to address double counting issues. Recommendations for governments focus on the development of domestic support mechanisms for voluntary carbon project development as well as on the option to create international action groups on peatland and climate engagement, taking existing action groups in other mitigation sectors as a model.

The negotiations which led to the adoption of the International Criminal Court Statute in Rome in July 1998 owe much to non-governmental organisations' (NGOs) activism. These non-state actors developed professional skills enabling them to match state diplomats and experts. They developed particular strategies of mobilisation and thereby achieved a double goal: not only does the Rome Statute bear their mark but also their role is consecrated both within the text itself and in their relations with institutional actors. Although one has to nuance the scope of the participation of non-state actors in international negotiations and to balance it in the light of the interlocutors they have to face, this case study analyses the expertise gained by NGOs and their growing role in law-making processes. Adapted from the source document.

This paper is composed of two parts. First, using international data, I corroborate that union density in the U.S. declined because of asymmetric growth between the union and nonunion sectors. I show union density to increase in countries experiencing strong manufacturing growth, and to decline in countries undergoing large women?s increases in nonagricultural employment. Second, I borrow from international relations research on war and peace to develop a cogent reason why union density differs by sector. In this vein, I apply a model primarily used to describe bilateral political interactions to figure out why workers often engage in hostile activities such as strikes. In doing so, I look at the contentious rather than the cooperative ?face? of unions.

Since the publication of Nudge by Thaler and Sunstein (2008) behavioural public policies and nudge units have been widely adopted right across the world, which has resulted in many improvements to the delivery of public policies, such as better tax collection, increased access of young people to education opportunities, and more charitable giving. This paper asks what explains the adoption of nudge units and related initiatives. In particular, are Anglo–American or West European countries the focus for adoption? Are these interventions more likely to appear under left, right, or centre-dominated governments? Ascertaining the origins of nudge can adjudicate the extent to which nudge is partial project, based on the dominance of liberal economies and the preferred programme for centre governments and/or right political ideologies, or whether it has more universal appeal. Using data from OECD and OECD-partner countries, event history models reveal Anglo–American countries to be the drivers, with nudge not favoured by left-controlled governments. Nonetheless, with the interest and level of policy transfer not abating, in future years nudge is likely to appear in a wide variety of contexts, including China.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the determinants of career satisfaction of professional accounting returnees who have studied and/or worked abroad and then returned to work in different types of international workplaces in their home country.Design/methodology/approachA survey of professional accounting returnees in Vietnam was undertaken and multiple regression analysis was applied to test the proposed relationships.FindingsThis study finds that career satisfaction is affected by career fit, career sacrifice, types of international workplaces (domestically headquartered firms versus globally headquartered firms) and cross-cultural work readjustment. Further, cross-cultural work readjustment partially mediates the effect of career fit and career sacrifice on career satisfaction.Practical implicationsThe research provides the basis for designing career-related employee experiences to support career satisfaction of professional accounting returnees.Originality/valueThis study integrates dimensions of career embeddedness with cross-cultural work readjustment and employee experiences, which are normally studied separately, in different types of international workplaces. It contributes to the limited research on contributors to well-being in the form of career satisfaction among professional returnees in an emerging economy.