China Railways Corporation (CRC) is considering new ways to attract capital to support the strategic development of the railway sector. Currently, government is the predominant equity financier, with debt being supplied by domestic bank credits and limited amounts borrowed from International Financial Institutions such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. Considering its high level of accumulated debt and liabilities (RMB 3.7 trillion on an asset base of 5.7 trillion), CRC wishes to explore equity investment mechanisms, to increase cash flow from its core and non-core activities, and to use different financing channels as a way to leverage the value of its assets and introduce market-based business models to the sector. CRC is seeking to attract investment from both the private sector and from public sources such as local governments and state owned enterprises. It refers to these sources of capital as 'social capital.' This report examines how companies in China and railways in seven other countries, China, France, India, Japan, Poland, Russia, United Kingdom, United States, have attracted capital and made capital budgeting decisions to support their strategic development.
Very small enterprises (VSEs) in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) represent a broad and heterogeneous segment, often underserved by formal financial institutions. They are generally informal and often family businesses. The financial needs of these enterprises are typically overlooked by "downscaling" banks, which find larger and often more formal small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to be a more natural market for their products and services. Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) are starting to move upmarket to serve SMEs, and in particular, VSEs within this segment. However, they use varying definitions, methodologies and products to do so and to date there has been little research or documentation of their experiences. This report highlights the results of a recent study of the existing practices in Latin America of MFIs serving VSEs, where VSEs are considered to be those businesses with financing needs of between US$7,000 and US$30,000. It is a starting point for an institution considering entering the segment, or for one that finds itself having grown into the segment "organically" but with a view to strengthen its position. It includes several checklists for MFIs interested in expanding upmarket into the VSE space, as well as more detailed discussions and examples of the most relevant points.
The main impetus for this report (and for the reports prepared for the other six growth poles) is a request received from the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration. The request came within the context of on-going preparations for the 2014-2020 programming period, with energy efficiency being one the major themes of the Europe 2020 strategy, and a critical priority for all EU member countries. Within Romania, local authorities that will want to access energy efficiency funds under the 2014-2020 Regional Operational Program will need to first prepare energy efficiency strategies. The TRACE tool is specifically targeted at local authorities, and is a good instrument for drafting such strategies after the 1989 Revolution; Romania began its transition from a centralized system to a market-run economy. Today the country is a member of the European Union (EU) and NATO. After more than a decade of economic restructuring and political change, the country has taken significant steps to catch up with the economic performance of more developed EU countries. Although radical reforms brought about significant changes, the standard of living of Romanians is still behind the EU average. Cluj-Napoca (Cluj) is one of cities where such disparities are less pronounced, as the region is more developed and prosperous than most regions in the country. Cluj has developed quite well in the past few years, and it has become one of the most flourishing cities in the country, having a good growing potential. At present, the city is an important economic center, home to several local brands that have become famous nationwide as well as in Europe. Moreover, Cluj is known today as the 'capital' of the IT sector in the country, due to an aggressive expansion of this field in recent years.
The debt market in Thailand has made important strides since the financial crisis of 1997. The Thai government has made significant progress in building an orderly yield curve and is beginning to establish some benchmarks. However, more needs to be done if the government is to achieve its objective of enhancing liquidity in the market. In particular, liquidity in the secondary market would be enhanced by reducing the frequency of auctions, while increasing the size of each individual offering. Such a change will require primary dealers to change their mode of operation from effectively a broking operation to the provision of greater underwriting and market making services; consequently a review of the primary dealer system is warranted. Nevertheless, prospects for development of the government securities market will be constrained overall by the likely limited financing need going forward, unless the authorities can secure some additional flexibility to restructure the existing portfolio or otherwise establish more meaningful benchmarks. The corporate debt market suffers from too few issuers of corporate debt and too little diversity of debt offerings. This reflects, in part the limited corporate need for long-term financing, the ready availability of alternative financing by commercial banks at competitive rates, and regulatory policies that emphasize investor protection by imposing substantial limitations on the ability of institutional investors to purchase anything but investment grade debt, which effectively precludes issuance of below investment grade debt.
A 2018 report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, in partnership with computer security company McAfee, estimated that cybercrime costs the world almost $600 billion or .8% of the global Gross Domestic Product (CSIS, 2018, p. 4). In response to this booming element of transnational crime, states, private sector entities, non-governmental organizations, and individual citizens have sought to implement systems for the investigation, prosecution, and restitution of these crimes. One such solution is the development and enactment of international law. On December 27, 2019, the General Assembly of the United Nations passed Russia-led resolution A/74/401, entitled "Countering the use of information and communications technologies for criminal purposes (United Nations, 2019, Countering the use)." Vehemently opposed by Western states such as the United States, the resolution approved the establishment of a committee of experts to evaluate the potential for an international cybercrime treaty (United Nations). While international cooperation of this kind is commendable, Western states and human rights groups have professed concerns that the vague language of the resolution has the potential to erode the human rights protections afforded to citizens under international law (Hakmeh & Peters, 2020). The purpose of this paper is to identify the human rights concerns of Russia's proposed United Nations resolution and analyze the obligations the international community has to uphold relevant human rights protections while balancing international cooperation necessitated by international law and legal norms. The first section of this paper provides historical background on the relationship between cyber issues like cybercrime and international law. ; Winner of the 2020 Friends of the Kreitzberg Library Award for Outstanding Research in the College of Graduate and Continuing Studies Graduate category. ; Running head: INTERNATIONAL LAW & THE CYBER DOMAIN 1 International Law & the Cyber Domain: Assessing the Human Rights Concerns of Cyber Legislation GD520 International Law and the International System Dr. John Becker Norwich University College of Graduate and Continuing Studies Kathryn R. Lamphere 23 May 2020 Running head: INTERNATIONAL LAW & THE CYBER DOMAIN 2 Introduction A 2018 report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, in partnership with computer security company McAfee, estimated that cybercrime costs the world almost $600 billion or .8% of the global Gross Domestic Product (CSIS, 2018, p. 4). In response to this booming element of transnational crime, states, private sector entities, non-governmental organizations, and individual citizens have sought to implement systems for the investigation, prosecution, and restitution of these crimes. One such solution is the development and enactment of international law. On December 27, 2019, the General Assembly of the United Nations passed Russia-led resolution A/74/401, entitled "Countering the use of information and communications technologies for criminal purposes (United Nations, 2019, Countering the use)." Vehemently opposed by Western states such as the United States, the resolution approved the establishment of a committee of experts to evaluate the potential for an international cybercrime treaty (United Nations). While international cooperation of this kind is commendable, Western states and human rights groups have professed concerns that the vague language of the resolution has the potential to erode the human rights protections afforded to citizens under international law (Hakmeh & Peters, 2020). The purpose of this paper is to identify the human rights concerns of Russia's proposed United Nations resolution and analyze the obligations the international community has to uphold relevant human rights protections while balancing international cooperation necessitated by international law and legal norms. The first section of this paper provides historical background on the relationship between cyber issues like cybercrime and international law. International Cyber Law Background The cyber domain is often presented as another realm, a world that exists outside of the mostly tidy borders the international community has used to separate themselves. Aligning with Running head: INTERNATIONAL LAW & THE CYBER DOMAIN 3 this view is the notion that cyberspace cannot be regulated because it expands beyond the traditional idea of territorial sovereignty (Kanuck, 2010, p. 1573). These ideas raise two concerns over the identification and prosecution of cybercrime. The first concern is the conflict between "cybercrime, which is global in scale, and police activities that are confined to national borders (Cangemi, 2004, p. 166)." The conflict arises in the very structure of the Internet, which "can be characterized as a multitude of individual, but interconnected, electronic communications networks (Zekos, 2008, p. 30)." This interconnectedness has created a grey area within the legal system, where no one entity has regulatory control over what happens in that area. The second concern is far more technical and highlights the transient nature of information and data (Cangemi, 2004, p. 166). The source of information can be easily masked to hide its actual location, and data "may be amended, moved, or altered in a few seconds (p. 166)." The speed in which data travels presents a significant hurdle to the legal and law enforcement mechanisms typically used to investigate crimes. As Cangemi notes, this creates "an appreciable risk that the evidence of cyber-offences will disappear" long before implementing the required resources (p. 166). Nevertheless, despite these concerns, "nation-states do strive to exercise their sovereignty over cyberspace (Kanuck, 2010, p. 1573)." The physical elements of cybercrime, such as the location of the people perpetrating the crimes or the location of the hardware used to execute the crimes, are used as a connecting link to allow governments "to address cyber conflicts involving both state and nonstate actors as matters to be resolved by sovereign powers under their respective legal systems (p. 1573)." When evidence moves beyond territorial borders, states seek to invoke bilateral or international action to further pursue the crime. This model follows the same formula that society developed over time, whether it be in stopping crimes such as international drug trafficking or heinous acts of terrorism. The international community is well-Running head: INTERNATIONAL LAW & THE CYBER DOMAIN 4 versed in this cycle, and the "nature of the international legal system affords this sovereign-centric approach primacy under the United Nations (U.N.) Charter regime (p. 1573)." If the international community is content in continuing to use this cycle, then "international legislation and action are essential to combat the phenomenon" of cybercrime (Pocar, 2004, 27). The essential requirement of international involvement and negotiation has rung true in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, as the international community takes steps to evolve international law to include cyber issues, specifically cybercrime. The 1980s introduced international consultation on cybercrime by multiple organizations. In 1983, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) commissioned a two-year study focusing "on the possibility of harmonizing and internationalizing national cybercrime laws (Brenner, 2012, p. 133)." OECD later published a report in 1986 summarizing the results of the study and recommending countries criminalize certain cybercrimes. In 1985, the Council of Europe convened its own study, which involved a four-year focus on "the legal issues raised by cybercrime (p. 133)." In 1997, the Council of Europe convened another study tasked with "the drafting of a cybercrime treaty that would harmonize national laws dealing with cybercrime offenses and investigations (p. 133). In 2001, the study's efforts came to fruition in the creation of the Convention of Cybercrime. Also referred to as the Budapest Convention, the international treaty entered into law in July 2004 with the principle objective of "pursuing a common criminal policy aimed at the protection of society against cybercrime, especially by adopting appropriate legislation and fostering international co-operation (Council of Europe, 2001, Preamble)." As of 2018, 29 states have ratified the treaty, but the rapid development of technology has resulted in the convention becoming outdated, leaving governments and organizations calling for a new treaty (Murphy, 2018, p. 549) (Shackelford, 2014, p. 312). Russia's 2019 United Nations resolution is the latest attempt to modernize international cyber Running head: INTERNATIONAL LAW & THE CYBER DOMAIN 5 law and has received much adulation despite its vague, concerning language and human rights implications. The next section of this paper addresses human rights and provides an overview of states' obligations to this arena as members of the international community. Human Rights & the International Community Modern international human rights law begins with the first article of the Charter of the United Nations (UN), which dictates that one of the purposes of the UN is to "achieve international cooperation…in promoting and encouraging "respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion (Buergenthal, 2006, p. 785)." While the Charter provided minimal specificity as to what "respect for human rights" entailed, this provision and others within the Charter catalyzed a new international perspective on human rights. In joining the United Nations, members inherently accepted "the proposition that the Charter had internationalized the concept of human rights (p. 787)." Furthermore, the Charter insinuated that "states were deemed to have assumed some international obligations relating to human rights (p. 787)." Articles 55 and 56 of the Charter cemented the beginnings of these obligations, requiring member states to "take joint and separate action in co-operation with the Organization for the achievement of purposes" such as promoting "universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all (United Nations, 1945, Article 55, 56)." The specificity of human rights became more overt when the United Nations devoted the UN Commission on Human Rights to the task of drafting non-legally-binding human rights instrument. In December 1948, the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (Murphy, 2018, p. 402). Composed of thirty articles, the declaration instituted vital human rights and eventually "served as a template for numerous subsequent treaties on human rights (p. 404)." As a result, the Running head: INTERNATIONAL LAW & THE CYBER DOMAIN 6 Universal Declaration on Human Rights "has come to be accepted as a normative instrument in its own right (Buergenthal, 2006, p. 787)." Both documents uphold two pedestals of traditional international law as it pertains to human rights. The first pedestal retains responsibility for "the treatment by one state of another's nationals, an area known as state responsibility for injury to aliens (p. 389)." Although addressed at the state level, this notion asserts that individuals are afforded certain protections when in another state. The second pedestal, advanced by scholars such as Hugo Grotius, focuses on "the protection of persons against the acts of their own governments (p. 389)." It is this pedestal that introduces what is now known as humanitarian intervention, or the "idea of state intervening to protect the other state's nationals (p. 389)." Together, both the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration are "considered to spell out the general human rights obligations of all UN member states," of which there are now 193 (Buergenthal, 2006, p. 787) (Murphy, 2018, p. 59). Each international legal instrument has lent itself to the creation of international institutions dedicated to monitoring "compliance by the states parties with the obligations imposed by these instruments (Buergenthal, 2006, p. 788)." Such institutions include entities like the UN Human Rights Council and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (p. 788). Together, the instruments and institutions "laid the normative foundation of the contemporary international human rights revolution" and "influenced, in part at least, the contents of the legal norms under which international criminal tribunals operate today (p. 791)." The criticality of these elements to the international system, particularly as it pertains to international law, is justification for using each as measuring tools with which to judge the new UN cyber-focused resolution objectively. The third section of this paper will assess the purpose of the resolution and explain the supporting argument for its contents. Supporting Arguments & Analysis of A/74/401 Running head: INTERNATIONAL LAW & THE CYBER DOMAIN 7 In order to truly understand the intent of international laws, it is crucial to develop an understanding of the stances actors take concerning the specific issues at hand. This understanding is of particular importance when discussing Resolution A/74/401 and the underlying views of cyberspace. Two opposing perspectives lie at the heart of debates surrounding the cyber domain and Internet governance and center around the notion of sovereignty. The first perspective is that "many governments are attempting to exert sovereignty in cyberspace in the same way as they do in physical domains (Nocetti, 2015, p. 111)." For these governments, the dominance of private sector institutions within cyberspace and "the unfettered internet access of their fellow citizens" are causes of concerns (p. 111). This sentiment is particularly true within the Russian government. Under its traditional views of governance, Russia "conceives of cyberspace as a territory with virtual borders corresponding to physical state borders, and wishes to see the remit of international laws extended to the internet space (p. 112)." Furthermore, Russia's domestic fears of an open Internet fuel its international concerns. Russia sees the Internet as "politically disruptive because it enables citizens to circumvent government-controlled 'traditional media (p. 113).'" It aligns this perspective "with the inherently authoritarian nature of the Russian regime (p. 114)." Russia's negative perception of the Internet as it is today ultimately lends itself to Russia's ideal mechanism of perpetuating its belief that "global internet governance is envisioned as an issue of high politics in which states - and the interstate balance of power-play – play an essential role (p. 116, 117)." Under this mechanism, it is little wonder that Russia has led international legal initiatives to refine control over the Internet since the Council of Europe's enactment of its Convention on Cybercrime. In a Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release following the General Assembly's adoption of Resolution A/74/401, Russia proclaimed that the "resolution shows that the world community urgently needs to develop a universal, comprehensive, and open-ended convention Running head: INTERNATIONAL LAW & THE CYBER DOMAIN 8 on countering cybercrime (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2019)." The adopted resolution's language appears to align with this projected intent from Russia. The resolution stresses "the need to enhance coordination and cooperation among States in combating the use of information and communications technologies for criminal purposes" and notes "the importance of the international and regional instruments in the fight against cybercrime (United Nations, 2019, Countering the Use)." In order to fulfill these objectives, the resolution establishes an "intergovernmental committee of experts, representative of all regions" that will "elaborate a comprehensive international convention on countering the use of information and communications technologies for criminal purposes (United Nations, 2019)." Remarks of supporting nations support this appearance of cohesion. The representative from Nicaragua indicated the resolution would address cybercrime "in a more representative, democratic and transparent manner, taking into account the individual circumstances of developing and developed countries (Third Committee, 2019, Meetings Coverage)." China echoed this support, stating the resolution "is conducive to filling legal gaps in international cooperation (Third Committee)." At the same time, Belarus declared that "international cooperation is vital in investigating and combating cybercrime (Third Committee)." At face value, the resolution is a gesture of goodwill, a written contract to pursue options to disrupt cybercrime that will benefit all states. However, Russia's press release takes these notions a step further, realigning its message to its traditional view of international politics. It notes, "the resolution proposed by Russia essentially enhances states' digital sovereignty over their information space and ushers in a new page in the history of global efforts to counter cybercrime (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2019)." Furthermore, the press release dictates that the "convention must be based on the principles of respecting state sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs (2019)." There are two Running head: INTERNATIONAL LAW & THE CYBER DOMAIN 9 essential points within this statement that require further analysis. The first is the reassertion of the authoritarian construct with which Russia chooses to view cyberspace. In a press release initially dedicated to lauding the necessity of international cooperation, Russia simultaneously defaults to its traditional views of the international community and advocates for a "digital Westphalia (Nocetti, 2015, p. 117)." In recognizing sovereignty, Russia insinuates that the international community will successfully legislate mechanisms that will reduce cybercrime. A quick review of the supporting states in favor of the resolution upholds Russia's authoritarian views (United Nations, 2019, Countering the Use). In addition to China, Nicaragua, and Belarus, countries like Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea are only some of the 88 Member States of the General Assembly who voted to adopt the resolution. Unsurprisingly, these states also abide by similar authoritarian perspectives on international law and sovereignty. China, for example, maintains a "comprehensive, multidimensional system that governs Internet infrastructure, commercial and social use as well as legal domains (Liang & Lu, 2010, p. 105)." This system supports "Internet censorship" and "China's single-party political system and its heavy intervention in Internet development (p. 105)." Given the nature and history of these states' political systems and methods of governance, the sudden focus on international cooperation generates questions of the underlying goals that may hide behind the official demands of the resolution. The second point requiring acknowledgment is the additional re-emphasis of sovereignty while also emphasizing non-interventionist beliefs in discussing non-interference in internal affairs. The resolution itself makes no mention of sovereignty or internal affairs beyond assisting countries with improving "national legislation and frameworks and build the capacity of national authorities" to deal with cybercrime (United Nations, 2019, Countering the Use). Despite the lack of language on this topic, the leading state on this initiative, Russia, felt the need Running head: INTERNATIONAL LAW & THE CYBER DOMAIN 10 to emphasize its sovereignty in a press release about the resolution (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2019). Once again, Russia gives the impression that there may be a hidden desire layered within the words of the resolution. Additionally, the concept of non-interference within the international system is not without exceptions. The most critical exception being suspicion of human rights violations. As previously stated, humanitarian intervention and protecting citizens from their own government is a staple of international human rights law (Murphy, 2018, p. 389). Therefore, while non-interference in domestic matters is undoubtedly an essential tenet of international law, the resolution cannot call for international cooperation to combat cybercrime and simultaneously ignore the international cooperation required to maintain peace and security (United Nations, 1945, Charter of the United Nations). The next section of this paper will address these obligations to cooperation as it pertains to human rights while also highlighting the opposing arguments against Resolution A/74/401. Opposing Arguments for A/74/401 & Analysis of Human Rights Concerns The first perspective at the heart of the cyber domain debates, as described previously, is modeled after authoritarian beliefs and government control. The second perspective, modeled after a more Western approach to governance, is the belief of a free and open Internet that should remain decentralized and that "the best regulatory system is one that develops organically (Shackelford, 2013, p. 53)." A free Internet is more firmly the belief of the United States. This idea introduces the initial context necessary to understand the United States' opposition to the Russian-led cybercrime resolution. Even before the rapid development of the Internet, American foreign policy internalized the notion of "free flow of information internationally as an important element of national security (McCarthy, 2011, p. 92)." Former Secretary of State George Schultz argued that the free flow of information "undermined the Soviet Union and authoritarianism (p. 92, 93)." At its earliest beginnings, the Internet was a product of American ingenuity and, as a Running head: INTERNATIONAL LAW & THE CYBER DOMAIN 11 result, built with a bias for "American libertarianism (p. 93)." In the present, the West has developed this concept in the "context of freedom expression, protection of intellectual property rights, and national security (Powers & Jablonski, 2015, p. 3)." As former Secretary of State Clinton asserted, the United States and other Western nations support the "freedom to connect" in opposition to efforts by states such as China, Iran, and Russia to create state-level information infrastructures designed for censorship (p. 3). The historical rivalry and disagreement between the two states on information, particularly as it pertains to cyberspace, only further roots the United States' opposition to the new United Nations cybercrime resolution. In its statement to the United Nations during the 49th & 50th meetings of the Third Committee, the United States expressed disappointment "with the decisions of the sponsors of this resolution to bring it to the Third Committee (United States Mission to the United Nations, 2019)." Contrary to the resolution's focus on cooperation, the United States' proclaimed the resolution would "drive a wedge between Member States and undermine international cooperation to combat cybercrime at a time when enhanced coordination is essential (United States Mission to the United Nations)." Furthermore, the United States asserted Russia's actions in introducing the resolution essentially bypass the "expert-driven, consensus-based process and therefore is not in line with their precedent (United States Mission to the United Nations)." Other Western states appear to agree with the United States assertions, as states such as the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Republic of Korea, and Germany composed part of the 58 Member States who opposed the adoption of the resolution (United Nations, 2019, Countering the Use). In a manner similar to the states in favor of the adoption, some opposed states made remarks in agreement with those of the United States during the Third Committee. Finland, on behalf of the European Union, remarked that "there is no consensus on the need for a new international instrument to fight cybercrime" and that the draft "represents a duplication of resources (Third Running head: INTERNATIONAL LAW & THE CYBER DOMAIN 12 Committee, 2019, Meetings Coverage). Canada and Australia presented similar sentiments, remarking that "the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime is an important baseline for international cooperation" and that the new resolution "seeks to undercut consensus and will diminish existing global efforts that are already delivering results (Third Committee, 2019)." There is one remaining argument against the new cybercrime resolution: the potential that the document's vague language will create an environment where human rights will be more easily violated if left unchecked (Hakmeh & Peters, 2020). In a letter to the United Nations General Assembly, 37 organizations and six individuals expressed their concern for human rights protections as they pertain to the cybercrime resolution (Association for Progressive Communications (APC), 2019, Open Letter, p. 4). The first concern is a lack of clarity surrounding the scope of the "use of information and communications technologies for criminal purposes (APC, p. 1)." If left undefined, the language in the resolution arguably "opens the door to criminalising ordinary online behaviour that is protected under international human rights law (APC, p. 1)." If steps to do so were taken as a result of the new resolution, they would be in direct violation of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights; who stated in 2011 that "human rights are equally valid online as offline (Shackelford, 2019, p. 168)." The second concern offered by non-government entities is the increasing trend in "criminalising ordinary online activities of individuals and organisations through the application of cybercrime laws (APC, 2019, Open Letter, p. 1, 2)." The letter even goes so far as to quote the UN Special Rapporteur over these concerns, that the "surge in legislation and policies aimed at combating cybercrime has also opened the door to punishing and surveilling activists and protestors in many countries around the world (APC, p. 2)." If used in such a manner, these initiatives, in addition to the UN cybercrime resolution, are in direct violation of the Charter of United Nations and the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. Within the Charter of the United Nations, efforts to Running head: INTERNATIONAL LAW & THE CYBER DOMAIN 13 restrict or punish opposition elements such as activists or protestors violates Articles 55 and 56, which requires states to cooperate with the UN in achieving the organizations' purposes such as promoting human rights (United Nations, 1945, Article 55, 56). The Universal Declaration on Human Rights provides more specific language with which to attribute potential violations. The open letter notes that legislation of this kind is used to "criminalise legitimate forms of online expression, association and assembly through vague and ill-defined terms that allow for arbitrary or discretionary application (APC, 2019, Open Letter, p. 2)." Immediately, legislation that allows for criminalization of these elements is in direct violation of Articles 18, 19, and 20, which declare "all persons have a right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, and assembly (Murphy, 2018, p. 402)." Furthermore, violations such as these also violate article two, which guarantees people "the right to life, liberty, and security" and dictates that "these rights are to be held without discrimination of any kind (Murphy, p. 402, 403)." Upholding these rights within cyberspace continues to fall in line with the Western perspective on the Internet. As McCarthy quotes, "the Internet is arguably the greatest facilitator for freedom of expression and innovation in the world today (McCarthy, 2011, p. 94)." The status of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights as "legitimate norms within the international system" permits this interpretation and application of international law to future resolutions (p. 94). If states are signatories to the declaration, any future adoption of any resolution must adhere to the principles and freedoms guaranteed by it. Resolution A/74/401 does refer to human rights protections, "reaffirming the importance of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in the use of information and communication technologies (United Nations, 2019, Countering the Use)." However, the resolution's open language is in direct contradiction to this promise, if not clarified. As the open letter indicates, "simply reaffirming the importance of respect for human rights" is "insufficient to safeguard human rights while Running head: INTERNATIONAL LAW & THE CYBER DOMAIN 14 countering cybercrime (APC, 2019, Open Letter, p. 2)." The final section of this paper recommends additional actions that may further unify opposing entities on this resolution while simultaneously addressing all human rights concerns. Recommendations The Russian-led supporters of the resolution and the United States-led opposition are unified in one common element, at least in writing. The element is that consensus and international cooperation are vital in addressing cybercrime (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2019) (United States Mission to the United Nations, 2019). This notion is in concert with the Council of Europe, who remains the only entity to successfully orchestrate an international cybercrime treaty (Council of Europe, 2004, Convention on Cybercrime). In 2001, the Council of Europe postulated that "solutions to the problems posed must be addressed by international law, necessitating the adoption of adequate international legal instruments" that can "ensure the necessary efficiency" required to combat cybercrime (Pocar, 2004, p. 28). If the international community determines that another cybercrime treaty is required within the intergovernmental committee of experts authorized by Resolution A/74/401, then the new treaty should consider the aims of the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime (United Nations, 2019, Countering the Use). In doing so, the United Nations should strive to create a "basic framework for the establishment by contracting states of domestic substantive and procedural laws" in a manner that allows states to "cooperate expeditiously with one another (Pocar, 2004, p. 30)." If successful, the United Nations will be able to "establish procedures for relevant international relations" and provide "forms of cooperation between national judicial authorities as many interact with each other both swiftly and efficiently (p. 31)." Furthermore, the necessity of these requirements is supported by the very nature of the "the world-wide dimension of the Internet," Running head: INTERNATIONAL LAW & THE CYBER DOMAIN 15 which "implies that its illegal use and related offenses must prompt responses and concerted efforts from all relevant domestic and international authorities (p. 34)." The non-governmental organizations' open letter to the United Nations supports the need for cooperation but takes it one step further than the states themselves. In its current structure, the Internet is a public-private endeavor, with private entities dominating cyberspace (Nocetti, 2015, p. 111). The present language of the United Nations cybercrime resolution allows for an intergovernmental committee of experts. However, it does not expand on the actual composition of the committee (United Nations, 2019, Countering the Use). Noting that Russia and other authoritarian regimes prefer non-government entities to use the government as a proxy for communication, it can be inferred that a Russia-led resolution intends the committee to be comprised of only government entities (p. 117). The open letter rightly points out that collaboration on cyber issues must expand beyond state cooperation. Addressing cybercrime is "necessarily a multi-stakeholder endeavour" that "requires government officials and experts, members of the technical community, civil society, the private sector, and scientific and research institutions (APC, 2019, Open Letter, p. 4)." An assessment of this viewpoint reveals that a committee dedicated to combatting cybercrime cannot rely on government expertise alone. In order to accurately reflect the composition and requirements of a private-public Internet, all discussions surrounding this resolution should involve both private and public entities. Therefore, the committee should be reformed to more accurately reflect the Internet's users. In doing so, the United Nations breaches the divide between authoritarian and more democratic governments, further increasing cooperation on this resolution. However, increased cooperation through a broader, inclusive committee and implementation of lessons learned from the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime will not ensure that the future convention successfully resolves the resolution's weaknesses. In Running head: INTERNATIONAL LAW & THE CYBER DOMAIN 16 modern-day, the international system emphasizes international human rights more than ever before, as "this branch of international law has experienced phenomenal growth over the past one hundred years (Buergenthal, 2006, p. 807)." This growth has contributed to the "growing political impact of human rights on the conduct of international relations and the behavior of governments (p. 807)." If real success is desired within international governance, then the committee established under the "Countering the use of information and communications technologies for criminal purposes" resolution must account for human rights protections when determining the requirements of the "comprehensive international convention (United Nations, 2019, Countering the Use)." As the representative from Costa Rica during the 49th and 50th meetings of the Third Committee, "the international community must protect and observe fundamental freedoms, including the right to privacy (Third Committee, 2019, Meeting Coverage)." Until there is consensus on "sensitive topics such as…State responsibility to prioritize and protect human rights," the future proposed convention will fall short of its goal of achieving complete international ratification (Third Committee). Conclusion As cyberspace expands in conjunction with the rapid advancement of technology, the fear of the unknown drives further division between already opposing states in the international system. Resolution A/74/401 is the latest testament to the evolution of politicization within Internet governance. In addressing a topic that impacts every Internet-accessible region of the world, the resolution simultaneously magnifies the opposing perspectives of states as it pertains to sovereignty within the cyber domain. Furthermore, it reignites the protracted debate over whether or not human rights obligations addressed in such documents as the Charter of the United Nations or Universal Declaration on Human Rights are legally binding. Preventing further polarization requires both an acknowledgment of a fracturing international system of Running head: INTERNATIONAL LAW & THE CYBER DOMAIN 17 governance and a proposed solution to address the issue. While state-centric governance provides legitimacy and the potential for a higher allocation of resources dedicated to protecting the Internet, increased sovereignty also "risks sacrificing innovation, complicates the regulatory environment of cyberspace, and may threaten a positive vision of cyber peace (Shackelford, 2013, p. 50)." These risks are why an alternative method to an intergovernmental committee must develop in response to the resolution. This method should integrate a multi-stakeholder construct to more fully recognize the competing impacts of cybercrime and fairly address the allegations of human rights infringement. One such method is polycentric governance, a system composed of "diverse organizations and governments working at multiple levels" in order to "increase levels of voluntary cooperation or increase compliance with rules established by governmental authorities (p. 330)." Individually, each organization or type of government faces its own unique hurdles. Together, they "contribute to a governance regime that is multi-level, multi-purpose, multi-type, and multi-sectoral in scope that could complement the top-down governance model increasingly favored" by states such as Russia or China (p. 331). Implementing polycentric governance to more equitably debate the appropriate response to international cybercrime will create an international community willing to consider the developing convention. In doing so, the environment will be better suited to determining whether or not the international system can leverage international law to investigate and prosecute cybercrime. Running head: INTERNATIONAL LAW & THE CYBER DOMAIN 18 References Association for Progressive Communications (APC). (2019). Open Letter to UN General Assembly: Proposed international convention on cybercrime poses a threat to human rights online. Retrieved from https://www.apc.org/sites/default/files/Open_letter_re_UNGA_cybercrime_resolution_0.pdf Brenner, S. (2012). Cybercrime and the Law: Challenges, Issues, and Outcomes. Northeastern University Press. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/norwich/reader.action?docID=1085118&ppg=124 Buergenthal, T. (2006). The Evolving International Human Rights System. The American Journal of International Law, 100(4), 783-807. Retrieved from https://www-jstor-org.library.norwich.edu/stable/pdf/4126317.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3Ae4ea9f31648cbd83f8f97bc7dae8e67a Cangemi, D. (2004). Procedural Law Provisions of the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime. International Review of Law Computers & Technology, 18(2), 165-171. Retrieved from https://norwich.on.worldcat.org/oclc/5272830680 Center for Strategic & International Studies & McAfee. (2018). Economic Impact of Cybercrime – No Slowing Down. Retrieved from https://www.csis.org/analysis/economic-impact-cybercrime Council of Europe. (2004). Convention on Cybercrime. Retrieved from https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list/-/conventions/treaty/185 Hakmeh, J. & Peters, A. (2020). A New UN Cybercrime Treaty? The Way Forward for Supporters of an Open, Free, and Secure Internet. Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved from https://www.cfr.org/blog/new-un-cybercrime-treaty-way-forward-supporters-open-free-and-secure-internet Kanuck, S. (2010). Sovereign Discourse on Cyber Conflict Under International Law. Texas Law Review, 88, 1571-1597. Retrieved from https://www.law.upenn.edu/institutes/cerl/conferences/cyberwar/papers/reading/Kanuck.pdf Running head: INTERNATIONAL LAW & THE CYBER DOMAIN 19 Liang, B., & Lu, H. (2010). Internet Development, Censorship, and Cyber Crimes in China. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 26(1), 103–120. Retrieved from https://norwich.on.worldcat.org/oclc/5322181473 McCarthy, D. (2011). Open Networks and the Open Door: American Foreign Policy and the Narration of the Internet. Foreign Policy Analysis, 7(1), 89-111. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. (2019, December). Press Release on the UN General Assembly Vote on the Russian Draft Resolution on Countering Cybercrime. Retrieved from https://www.mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/-/asset_publisher/cKNonkJE02Bw/content/id/3988579 Murphy, S. (2018). Principles of international law (3rd edition). West Academic Publishing. Nocetti, J. (2015). Contest and Conquest: Russia and Global Internet Governance. International Affairs, 91(1), 111-130. Retrieved from https://norwich.on.worldcat.org/oclc/5721220595 Pocar, F. (2004). New Challenges for International Rules Against Cyber-Crime. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 10(1), 27-37. Retrieved from https://norwich.on.worldcat.org/oclc/5649374698 Powers, S. & Jablonski, M. (2015). The Real Cyber War: The Political Economy of Internet Freedom. University of Illinois Press. Retrieved from https://norwich.on.worldcat.org/oclc/903245891 Shackelford, S. J. (2013). Managing Cyber Attacks in International Law, Business, and Relations: In Search of Cyber Peace: Vol. Revised Edition. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from https://norwich.on.worldcat.org/oclc/882104883 Shackelford, S. (2019). Should Cybersecurity Be a Human Right? Exploring the "Shared Responsibility" of Cyber Peace. Stanford Journal of International Law, 55(2), 155–184. Retrieved from https://norwich.on.worldcat.org/oclc/8185136062 United Nations General Assembly. (1945). Charter of the United Nations. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/en/charter-united-nations/index.html United Nations General Assembly. (2019). Countering the use of information and communications technologies for criminal purposes. Retrieved from https://www.undocs.org/A/74/401 United Nations Third Committee. (2019, November). Meetings Coverage Seventy-Fourth Session, 49th & 50th Meetings. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/press/en/2019/gashc4284.doc.htm United States Mission to the United Nations. (2019, November). Statement on Agenda Item 107 'Countering the use of information and communications technologies for criminal purposes.' Retrieved from https://usun.usmission.gov/statement-on-agenda-item-107-countering-the-use-of-information-and-communications-technologies-for-criminal-purposes/ Running head: INTERNATIONAL LAW & THE CYBER DOMAIN 20 Zekos, G. (2008). Electronic State Sovereignty. The Icfai University Journal of Cyber Law, 7(4), 30-60.
Die Nachfrage nach Holz wird im Zeitraum der nächsten 15 Jahre bis 2030 sowohl in der EU als auch global zunehmen. Bedarfsabschätzungen zeigen Nachfrageüberhänge in der EU von jährlich 300 Mio. m³, eine Prognose spricht sogar von Holzfehlmengen von 430 Mio. m³. Der Anstieg der Weltbevölkerung bei wachsender Wirtschaft wird den Holzbedarf erhöhen, auch wenn derzeit weltweit in etwa ein Gleichgewicht zwischen Angebot und Nachfrage besteht. Die Nachfrage nach Holz unterliegt vielen Treibern. Die Langfrist-Prognosen bis zum Jahre 2030 sagen vor allem bei der energetischen Holznutzung eine permanente, über den Verbrauch von Holz zur stofflichen Nutzung liegende, hohe Nachfragesteigerung voraus. Der Trend der Bioökonomie mit der sukzessiven Reduktion des Anteils der fossilen Energieträger beim Primärenergieverbrauch zur Reduktion der Emissionen von Treibhausgasen wurde durch das Paris-Abkommen, das 2015 durch die internationale Gemeinschaft mit dem Ziel des Klimaschutzes verabschiedet wurde, noch verstärkt. Auch die Tendenz zur dezentralen Energieversorgung vor allem in den Kommunen, die besonders die Nachfrage nach Energieholz und schwachen Sortimenten wachsen lässt, das Bestreben zur Verringerung von nationalen Abhängigkeiten zu Russland als Lieferant bei Erdgas und Erdöl haben auf eine steigende zukünftige Nachfrage ebenso einen bedeutenden Einfluss wie die Substitution des Rohstoffes Erdöl durch Holz bei der Herstellung von Chemikalien und Treibstoffen. In den Wäldern der Mitgliedstaaten sind nach Einschätzung der EU größere stehende Holzvorräte vorhanden, die mobilisiert werden müssten, um das Ziel der EU, 20 % der Primärenergie aus erneuerbaren Energien bis zum Jahre 2020, zu erreichen. Die Produktion und die Nutzung von Holz im Rahmen einer nachhaltigen Forstwirtschaft hat über den gesamten Lebenszyklus eine ausgeglichene CO2 Bilanz. Durch die erhöhte Nutzung von Holz im Energiemix vermindert sich die CO2 Belastung der Atmosphäre. Wald-Inventuren, wie z.B. die in Deutschland vorliegenden Ergebnisse der 3. Bundeswaldinventur, bestätigen die Einschätzung der EU über die bestehenden Ressourcen. Die Verwendbarkeit dieser Ressourcen wird allerdings in zunehmendem Maße durch die Herausnahme von Wäldern aus der Produktion aus ökologischen oder sozioökonomischen Gründen beeinträchtigt. Unternehmer, deren Geschäftsmodell die Produktion von Holz auf landwirtschaftlichen Flächen ist, evaluieren mögliche Standorte zur Produktion von Holz im Kurzumtrieb nach der politisch-rechtlichen Sicherheit, nach der Verfügbarkeit von Ressourcen und den Faktorpreisen. Günstige Voraussetzungen für die Anlage von Baumplantagen für die Produktion von Holz bestehen im Baltikum. In den drei Staaten sind die wesentlichen Parameter für den Holzanbau in Plantagen auf landwirtschaftlichen Flächen gegeben: Gesichertes Rechtssystem mit dem Schutz des Eigentums, barrierefreier Zugang zu den Märkten innerhalb der EU, keine Währungsrisiken, günstige klimatischen Bedingungen mit ausreichend Niederschlag und freie Ressourcen bei Arbeit und Boden. Die EU-rechtliche Klassifizierung einer KUP als landwirtschaftliche Tätigkeit auf landwirtschaftlicher Fläche und als landwirtschaftliche Dauerkultur eröffnet die grundsätzliche Möglichkeit der Teilnahme der Kurzumtriebswirtschaft an den EU-Förderprogrammen der Direktförderung, der 1. Säule, und der Förderung der Entwicklung des ländlichen Raumes, der 2. Säule. KUP ist in das Ziele-Cluster Europa 2020/GAP 2020 der EU einbezogen. Für die KUP-Bauern sind auf nationaler Ebene die in das jeweilige Recht der baltischen Staaten transformierten EU Bestimmungen und die jeweils dazu gehörende Verwaltungsauffassung maßgebend. Der Umweltleistung der Dauerkultur "Niederwald im Kurzumtrieb" wurde in den rechtlichen Bestimmungen der EU grundsätzlich Rechnung getragen. KUP sind von der Greening-Verpflichtung befreit. Es überrascht allerdings, dass KUP als "gleichwertige Methode zur Flächennutzung im Umweltinteresse" bei der Anrechnung auf eine ökologischen Vorrangfläche nur mit Faktor 0,3, hingegen die Agroforstsysteme mit Faktor 1,0 Berücksichtigung fanden. Der KUP-Landwirt kann nur, wenn er Abweichungen beim Verwaltungshandeln zu den übergeordneten nationalen Gesetzen oder EU-Regeln zu seinem Nachteil erkennt, sein Recht im Widerspruchsverfahren suchen. Sowohl bei der Direktförderung wie auch bei der Strukturförderung wurden in allen drei baltischen Staaten Verwaltungsauffassungen identifiziert, die KUP im Vergleich zur Förderung der herkömmlichen Landwirtschaft mit annuellen Feldfrüchten benachteiligen oder weitgehend von der Förderung ausschließen. Im Bereich der Direktförderung gilt dies im besonderen Maße bei meliorierten Flächen. Die Detailanalyse zeigt, dass die Etablierung von KUP auf solchen Böden entweder, wie in Lettland, zur Versagung der Direktförderung führt, oder, wie in Estland und Litauen mit Auflagen verbunden ist, die die Bereitschaft der Landwirte für die Anlage einer KUP stark hemmen. Bedeutend ist dies vor dem Hintergrund, dass in Estland rund 54 %., in Lettland rund 62 % und in Litauen rund 78 % der landwirtschaftlich nutzbaren Flächen mit Drainagen versehen sind. Im Bereich der Förderung nach der 2. Säule, insbesondere die Gewährung von Zuschüssen bei Auf- und Ausbau der Hofstelle sowie beim Ankauf von Maschinen und anderen Ausrüstungen, ist der KUP-Landwirt von der Förderung ausgeschlossen. Die Festlegung der Rotationszeiten verursacht ein weiteres Hemmnis. Die Produktion von Holz in KUP wird dadurch in den baltischen Staaten in Richtung bestimmter Holzsortimente, nämlich hauptsächlich Energieholz und schwache Sortimente, gelenkt. Die Bestimmungen legen in der Regel fünf Jahre als Umtriebszeit fest. Versuche, diese restriktiven Vorgaben aufzuweichen, waren bisher erfolglos. Zusätzliche Lenkungsimpulse in Richtung bestimmter anderer, stärkerer Holzsortimente gehen auch durch die Förderung der Aufforstung im Rahmen der Strukturförderung aus. Auf den baltischen Faktormärkten stehen für die Holzproduktion auf landwirtschaftlichen Flächen im Kurzumtrieb Boden und Arbeitskräfte zu günstigen Preisen in ausreichendem Umfang zur Verfügung. Restriktionen beim Bodenerwerb in den ab dem Jahre 2014 geltenden nationalstaatlichen Bodenverkehrsrechtssystemen können für die Neu-Etablierung eines KUP-Betriebes hinderlich sein. Zu den realen Holzerträgen liegen für die baltischen Staaten noch keine Ernteergebnisse aus KUP auf größeren Flächen vor. Abschätzungen der Erntemengen waren deshalb anhand von Vergleichszahlen für KUP in klimatisch ähnlichen Regionen, anhand von Wuchsleistungen gängiger Klone und unter Einbeziehungen von Messungen auf Versuchsplantagen in Estland, Lettland und Litauen vorzunehmen. Die so taxierten realen Holzerträge liegen bei einem Durchschnitt von 10,00 tatro ha-1 a-1. Das Niveau der Marktpreise für das im Kurzumtrieb produzierte Hauptsortiment Hackschnitzel deutet auf einen aufnahmebereiten Markt mit für die Wirtschaftlichkeit der Produktion ausreichenden Preisen hin. Vergleiche mit längeren Zeitreihen, bei denen aktuelle Preisschwankungen geglättet sind, für Estland zwischen 2003 bis 2013, für Lettland zwischen 2009 bis 2014 und für Litauen zwischen 2008 bis 2014, bestätigen diese Aussage. Durch die Ermittlung der Annuitäten wird die Wirtschaftlichkeit einer KUP am Beispiel eines Betriebes in Lettland untersucht. Auf der Aufwandsseite konnten tatsächliche Kosten-Größen für eine Fläche von 100 ha in die Berechnungen einbezogen werden. Damit steht für eine Wirtschaftlichkeitsberechnung eine Datenbasis zu den Kosten zur Verfügung, die nicht ausschließlich für kleine Versuchsflächen in Estland, Lettland und Litauen erhoben wurde. Auf der Marktseite kann auf aktuelle Marktpreise für Hackschnitzel, bestätigt durch langfristige Zeitreihen, zurückgegriffen werden. In dieser, mit realen Zahlen fundierten Berechnung sind die Zahlungsströme dargestellt. Nicht in diese Kalkulation wurden wegen der Unsicherheit eines positiven Bescheides durch den LAD die Fördergelder einbezogen. Die Berechnungen zeigen positive Annuitäten, dem Indikator für den profitablen Betrieb einer KUP. Eine Sensitivitätsanalyse mit Veränderungen aller Kosten- und Ertragsfaktoren um jeweils 10 % bestätigt die Ertragsstabilität. Schließlich wird durch den Vergleich des Ergebnisses der Annuitätenberechnung mit einem landwirtschaftlichen Betrieb, der als Hauptkultur Weizen produziert, aufgezeigt, dass die Produktion von Holz auf landwirtschaftlichen Flächen mittels KUP die wirtschaftlich sinnvollere Alternative ist. Als agrarpolitischer Ausblick für die EU lässt sich aus der Gesamtanalyse resümieren, dass eine "Arbeitsteilung", Feldfrüchte in den Mitgliedsländern zu erzeugen, in denen die Produktionsbedingungen aufgrund von klimatischen Aspekten und Standortparametern optimal sind, nicht gefördert, sondern eher gebremst wird. Wenn die Betriebsergebnisse aus der Produktion von Holz in KUP weiter zunehmen, wird der Markt durch die Aussicht auf höhere monetäre Erträge die Strukturanpassung, auch gegen die restriktive nationale Auslegung der EU-Förderrichtlinien in Estland, Lettland und Litauen bewirken.:Danksagung I Inhaltsverzeichnis III Abbildungsverzeichnis VII Tabellenverzeichnis VIII Abkürzungsverzeichnis XII 1 Einleitung 1 1.1 Diskrepanz bei der Abschätzung der zukünftigen Holznachfrage und der tatsächlichen Entwicklung 1 1.2 Tendenzen bei der Nachfrage und dem Angebot von Holz in der Europäischen Union 4 1.3 Positive Voraussetzungen für die Produktion von Holz in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 7 2 Zielstellung der Arbeit 11 3 Vorgehensweise 14 4 Stand des Wissens 17 4.1 Europarechtliche Bestimmungen für die Holzproduktion auf landwirtschaftlichen Flächen 17 4.1.1 Begriffsabgrenzungen 18 4.1.1.1 Abgrenzungen des Begriffs der Kurzumtriebsplantage von Wald 18 4.1.1.2 Waldbegriff der Europäischen Union 19 4.1.2 Kurzumtriebswirtschaft als landwirtschaftliche Tätigkeit 19 4.1.2.1 Erlaubte Baumarten für den Kurzumtrieb in der Europäischen Union 20 4.1.2.2 Agroforstsysteme im Vergleich zu Kurzumtriebsplantagen in der Terminologie der Europäischen Union 20 4.1.3 Gemeinsame Agrarpolitik 2020 21 4.1.3.1 Organe der Gemeinsamen Agrarpolitik auf Ebene der Europäischen Union und der Verwaltungsunterbau in den Mitgliedstaaten 21 4.1.3.2 Ziele der Gemeinsamen Agrarpolitik 2020 im Rahmen des Zielsystems Europa 2020 24 4.1.3.3 Instrumentarien der Gemeinsamen Agrarpolitik 2020 26 4.1.3.4 Finanzmittel zur Agrarstrukturförderung im Rahmen der Gemeinsamen Agrarpolitik 2020 36 4.2 Kurzumtriebsplantagen auf landwirtschaftlichen Flächen in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 37 4.2.1 Derzeitiger Bestand und Betrieb von Kurzumtriebsplantagen in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 37 4.2.2 Entwicklung der Plantagenflächen zur Produktion von Holz im Kurzumtrieb in Estland, Lettland und Litauen bis 2014 40 4.2.2.1 Estland 40 4.2.2.2 Lettland 41 4.2.2.3 Litauen 41 5 Analyse der rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen in Estland, Lettland und Litauen zur Holzproduktion in Kurzumtriebsplantagen 43 5.1 Begriffs-Präzisierungen als Ausdruck der nationalen Verständnisse der Vorschriften der Europäischen Union 43 5.1.1 Waldbegriff in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 43 5.1.1.1 Waldbegriff in Estland 43 5.1.1.2 Waldbegriff in Lettland mit der Besonderheit der Forstplantage nach dem lettischen Waldgesetz 44 5.1.1.3 Waldbegriff in Litauen 50 5.1.2 Umtriebszeiten bei Kurzumtriebsplantagen in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 51 5.1.3 Zugelassene Baumarten für Kurzumtriebsplantagen in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 52 5.1.4 Unbestimmte Rechtsbegriffe für Nachhaltigkeit in den Waldgesetzen von Estland, Lettland und Litauen 53 5.2 Umsetzung der Förderbestimmungen nach der Gemeinsamen Agrarpolitik 2020 in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 55 5.2.1 Direktförderung (Säule 1) in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 56 5.2.1.1 Ausgestaltungen der Voraussetzungen für die Direktförderung 57 5.2.1.2 Instrumentarien der Direktförderung 60 5.2.2 Strukturförderung (Säule 2) in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 69 6 Wirtschaftliche Rahmenbedingungen für die Produktion von Holz in Kurzumtriebsplantagen auf landwirtschaftlichen Flächen in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 74 6.1 Parameter zur Definition der Angebotsseite: Verfügbare Produktionsfaktoren 74 6.1.1 Verfügbarkeit der Ressource Arbeit 74 6.1.2 Verfügbarkeit der Ressource Boden 77 6.1.2.1 Eignung von Flächen in Estland, Lettland und Litauen zur Produktion von Holz in Kurzumtriebsplantagen 77 6.1.2.2 Möglichkeit des Bodenerwerbs 79 6.1.2.3 Maßnahmen zur Erhöhung des Flächenangebotes auf den Bodenmärkten in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 82 6.1.2.4 Entwicklung der Preise für landwirtschaftliche Flächen in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 84 6.1.3 Verfügbarkeit der Ressource Kapital 85 6.1.3.1 Infrastruktur als maßgebliche Größe des volkswirtschaftlichen Sozialkapitals 85 6.1.3.2 Betriebliches Privatkapital als Investitionsvoraussetzung 86 6.2 Marktsegment für in Kurzumtriebsplantagen erzeugtem Holz in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 87 6.2.1 Potenzialabschätzungen für die Holzmärkte in Estland, Lettland, Litauen und für die Europäische Union 87 6.2.2 Nachfrage nach Holz in der Zielplanung für die Energiebedarfsdeckung in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 91 6.2.2.1 Planerische Ansätze zur Energieversorgung in Estland 94 6.2.2.2 Planerische Ansätze zur Energieversorgung in Lettland 95 6.2.2.3 Planerische Ansätze zur Energieversorgung in Litauen 96 6.3 Business Case für ein reales Unternehmen in Lettland 97 6.3.1 Naturale und monetäre Erträge von Weidenplantagen 98 6.3.1.1 Mengenerträge in Kurzumtriebsplantagen 99 6.3.1.2 Preisniveaus auf dem Markt für Hackschnitzel in Lettland 104 6.3.1.3 Preisniveauvergleich für Litauen und Estland 107 6.3.2 Kosten der Bewirtschaftung von Kurzumtriebsplantagen 108 6.3.3 Ermittlung der Annuitäten als Entscheidungsgrundlage 113 6.3.4 Betrachtung von Veränderungen von Parametern anhand einer Sensitivitätsanalyse 118 6.3.5 Betrachtung des Ergebnisses der Business Case-Berechnung 120 7 Diskussion der Ergebnisse 126 7.1 Hypothese: Das Regelwerk und die darin enthaltenen Fördermaßnahmen der Gemeinsamen Agrarpolitik 2020/Europa 2020 begünstigen die Produktion von Holz in Kurzumtriebsplantagen in Estland, Lettland und Litauen. 126 7.2 Hypothese: Die nationalen Ausgestaltungen der Bestimmungen der EU favorisieren nicht die Anlage und Nutzung von Kurzumtriebsplantagen in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 135 7.3 Hypothese: Die Produktionsfaktoren Arbeit, Boden und Kapital stehen in Estland, Lettland und Litauen in ausreichendem Maße zur Verfügung. 143 7.4 Hypothese: Die Märkte für in Kurzumtriebsplantagen erzeugtem Holz sind zu Preisen aufnahmefähig, die einen rentablen Betrieb von Kurzumtriebsplantagen in Estland, Lettland und Litauen erlauben. 145 7.5 Hypothese: Die Holzproduktion auf Kurzumtriebsplantagen führt zu höheren monetären Erträgen als der Anbau von annuellen Feldfrüchten in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 149 8 Zusammenfassung 152 9 Abstract 157 10 Literaturverzeichnis 161 10.1 Quellennachweis nach Autoren 161 10.2 Rechtsquellen 194 10.2.1 Völkerrechtliche Verträge 194 10.2.2 Rechtsquellen der Europäischen Union 194 10.2.2.1 Grundlagen für die Europäische Union 194 10.2.2.2 Verordnungen der Europäischen Union in chronologisch-numerischer Reihenfolge 194 10.2.2.3 Richtlinien der Europäischen Union in chronologisch-numerischer Reihenfolge 197 10.2.2.4 Delegierte Verordnungen der Europäischen Union in chronologisch-numerischer Reihenfolge und Entscheidungen 197 10.2.3 Rechtsquellen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland 199 10.2.4 Rechtsquellen der Republik Estland 199 10.2.5 Rechtsquellen der Republik Lettland 200 10.2.6 Rechtsquellen der Republik Litauen 201 ; The demand for timber will rise over the prognosis timeframe of the next 15 years until 2030. For Europe, demand forecast shows a deficit of supply of 300 mio. m³ per year; one study even states the amount at 430 mio. m³. The growth of the world population in combination with a growing economy will further increase the demand for wood, despite the current situation of equilibrium between demand and supply as shown by figures regarding the actual wood production. The demand is driven by many factors. Long-term prognoses to the year 2030 predict a permanent rise in demand for energetic use, which is above the rise of wood for material use. The bio economic trend, including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through the gradual reduction of fossil energy sources as a primary energy supply, has been reinforced through the Paris Agreement, adopted by the international community in 2015 with the aim of climate protection. Also other factors will strengthen future demand: the tendency towards decentralised energy production, especially within municipalities, which will particularly grow the demand for fuel wood and weak assortments; the tendency towards reducing dependence on Russia as a supplier of natural gas and oil; and the substitution of fossil energy sources for wood in the production of chemicals and fuel. The EU sees in the forests of its member states a large standing wood supply, which would need to be activated to reach the goal of substituting 20% of primary energy with renewable energy sources by 2020. Wood production and use has a neutral CO2 footprint throughout its lifecycle; if produced sustainably, it only emits as much CO2 as it had previously bound within itself through photosynthesis. Increasing the use of timber in the energy mix reduces the pollution of the atmosphere with CO2 Forest-inventories like the recently published 3rd German National Forest Inventory underline this assumption of the EU regarding the reserves. However, not all of the stock in the forests can be activated, as some forests are taken out of production due to ecological and socio-economic reasons. Entrepreneurs whose business model is determined by the production of wood on agricultural land evaluate possible locations for the production of wood in short rotation according the political and legal security, the availability of resources and the factor prices. The Baltic States offer favorable preconditions. All three states fulfill the major parameters for wood production on coppices on agricultural land: protection of the liberal order; secured legal system with the protection of property; barrier-free access to the markets within the EU; no currency risks; favorable climatic conditions with sufficient precipitation; and large amounts of resources in land and labor. The classification as agricultural activity on agricultural land and as an agricultural permanent crop makes SRC principally entitled to EU funding programs through direct support, the so-called 1st pillar, as well as though the funding of the agricultural structures, the so-called 2nd pillar. SRC are included in the goal cluster of Europe2020/CAP2020. For the SRC farmers on a national level, the applicable legislation derived from the EU-regulations and their administrative interpretations are crucial. The environmental performance of SRC was especially recognised, while excluding them from the Greening-Commitment. Surprisingly however, SRC is recognised with the factor 0.3 as a substitute for the compulsory creation of ecological compensation conservation areas, whereas argoforest systems with a lower soil regeneration period are recognised with the factor 1. The SRC agriculturist can request an appeal proceeding only if he feels there are discrepancies between the administrative acting and the superior national laws or EU rules. In comparison to the funding of traditional agriculture with annual crops, interpretations were identified in both pillars which discriminate against SRC by diminishing it or excluding it all together. In the direct funding sector this is especially applicable to meliorated land. A detailed analysis has shown that the establishment of SRC on such land leads to the complete denial of direct funding, like in Latvia, or subjection to strict conditions which hinder any SRC, like in Estonia and Lithuania. This is significant because in Estonia roughly 54%, in Latvia roughly 62% and in Lithuania roughly 78% of agricultural land has a drainage system. Within the 2nd pillar, the SRC farmer is excluded from support, especially in granting subsidies for building construction, acquisition of machines and other equipment. The definition of the rotation periods is causing another hurdle. The production of wood on SRC is steered towards certain market segments, mainly fuel wood and weak assortments, through the predefined rotation periods within the different Baltic States. These are generally set to five years. Efforts to soften this restrictive rule have so far been unsuccessful. Further stimulus guiding towards certain segments comes from the subsidies provided for reforestation by the structural funding. In the Baltic factor market, land and labour for wood production in SRC on agricultural land are available for reasonable prices and in sufficient quantities.Restrictions in purchasing land could arise from the "land-mobilisation" legal systems valid from 2014 for the new establishment of SRC. There are no authoritative figures available for the harvest yields on large scale SRC in the Baltic States. Estimations of the crop volume had to be made in comparison to regions with similar climatic conditions and the growth performance of common clones, taking into account measures from test facilities in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Assessed like this, the average wood production lies at 10.00 tovd ha-1 a-1. The price levels for the wood sales in the market segment of SRC wood is robust for the internal market, as is the export demand. This is confirmed by a time-series analysis in which price fluctuations are evened out, for Estonia between 2003 and 2013, for Latvia between 2009 and 2014 and for Lithuania between 2008 and 2014. By calculating the annuity, the profitability of a SRC is evaluated using the example of an enterprise in Latvia. On the expenses side, real cost-figures for an area of 100ha could be used for the calculation, thus providing a data base which does not derive from only small experimental areas in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. On the market side, actual current market prices, backed up with long-term data series regarding the price level of wood chips, could be resorted to. In this calculation based on real figures, the cash-flow was illustrated. Money from the 1st and 2nd pillar was not added into the calculation due to the uncertainty of a positive decision by the LAD. The calculations show a positive result, indicating that a profitable management of a KUP is possible. A sensitivity analysis in which all cost and dendromass production figures where changed by 10% shows the stability of the calculation. Finally, a comparison of the annuity results to the income of a large company which produces annual field crops in crop rotation shows that the production of wood on agricultural land with SRC is the more economically sound alternative. Considering the agricultural outlook for the EU, one can draw from the overall analysis that a "division of labor" in which field crops are produced in the member states in which the climate aspects and the soil parameters are optimal is not supported, but rather inhibited. When the profits from the production of wood on agricultural land rise further, the market will, driven by the higher return of investment, cause that structural adjustment, despite EU subsidies.:Danksagung I Inhaltsverzeichnis III Abbildungsverzeichnis VII Tabellenverzeichnis VIII Abkürzungsverzeichnis XII 1 Einleitung 1 1.1 Diskrepanz bei der Abschätzung der zukünftigen Holznachfrage und der tatsächlichen Entwicklung 1 1.2 Tendenzen bei der Nachfrage und dem Angebot von Holz in der Europäischen Union 4 1.3 Positive Voraussetzungen für die Produktion von Holz in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 7 2 Zielstellung der Arbeit 11 3 Vorgehensweise 14 4 Stand des Wissens 17 4.1 Europarechtliche Bestimmungen für die Holzproduktion auf landwirtschaftlichen Flächen 17 4.1.1 Begriffsabgrenzungen 18 4.1.1.1 Abgrenzungen des Begriffs der Kurzumtriebsplantage von Wald 18 4.1.1.2 Waldbegriff der Europäischen Union 19 4.1.2 Kurzumtriebswirtschaft als landwirtschaftliche Tätigkeit 19 4.1.2.1 Erlaubte Baumarten für den Kurzumtrieb in der Europäischen Union 20 4.1.2.2 Agroforstsysteme im Vergleich zu Kurzumtriebsplantagen in der Terminologie der Europäischen Union 20 4.1.3 Gemeinsame Agrarpolitik 2020 21 4.1.3.1 Organe der Gemeinsamen Agrarpolitik auf Ebene der Europäischen Union und der Verwaltungsunterbau in den Mitgliedstaaten 21 4.1.3.2 Ziele der Gemeinsamen Agrarpolitik 2020 im Rahmen des Zielsystems Europa 2020 24 4.1.3.3 Instrumentarien der Gemeinsamen Agrarpolitik 2020 26 4.1.3.4 Finanzmittel zur Agrarstrukturförderung im Rahmen der Gemeinsamen Agrarpolitik 2020 36 4.2 Kurzumtriebsplantagen auf landwirtschaftlichen Flächen in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 37 4.2.1 Derzeitiger Bestand und Betrieb von Kurzumtriebsplantagen in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 37 4.2.2 Entwicklung der Plantagenflächen zur Produktion von Holz im Kurzumtrieb in Estland, Lettland und Litauen bis 2014 40 4.2.2.1 Estland 40 4.2.2.2 Lettland 41 4.2.2.3 Litauen 41 5 Analyse der rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen in Estland, Lettland und Litauen zur Holzproduktion in Kurzumtriebsplantagen 43 5.1 Begriffs-Präzisierungen als Ausdruck der nationalen Verständnisse der Vorschriften der Europäischen Union 43 5.1.1 Waldbegriff in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 43 5.1.1.1 Waldbegriff in Estland 43 5.1.1.2 Waldbegriff in Lettland mit der Besonderheit der Forstplantage nach dem lettischen Waldgesetz 44 5.1.1.3 Waldbegriff in Litauen 50 5.1.2 Umtriebszeiten bei Kurzumtriebsplantagen in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 51 5.1.3 Zugelassene Baumarten für Kurzumtriebsplantagen in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 52 5.1.4 Unbestimmte Rechtsbegriffe für Nachhaltigkeit in den Waldgesetzen von Estland, Lettland und Litauen 53 5.2 Umsetzung der Förderbestimmungen nach der Gemeinsamen Agrarpolitik 2020 in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 55 5.2.1 Direktförderung (Säule 1) in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 56 5.2.1.1 Ausgestaltungen der Voraussetzungen für die Direktförderung 57 5.2.1.2 Instrumentarien der Direktförderung 60 5.2.2 Strukturförderung (Säule 2) in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 69 6 Wirtschaftliche Rahmenbedingungen für die Produktion von Holz in Kurzumtriebsplantagen auf landwirtschaftlichen Flächen in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 74 6.1 Parameter zur Definition der Angebotsseite: Verfügbare Produktionsfaktoren 74 6.1.1 Verfügbarkeit der Ressource Arbeit 74 6.1.2 Verfügbarkeit der Ressource Boden 77 6.1.2.1 Eignung von Flächen in Estland, Lettland und Litauen zur Produktion von Holz in Kurzumtriebsplantagen 77 6.1.2.2 Möglichkeit des Bodenerwerbs 79 6.1.2.3 Maßnahmen zur Erhöhung des Flächenangebotes auf den Bodenmärkten in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 82 6.1.2.4 Entwicklung der Preise für landwirtschaftliche Flächen in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 84 6.1.3 Verfügbarkeit der Ressource Kapital 85 6.1.3.1 Infrastruktur als maßgebliche Größe des volkswirtschaftlichen Sozialkapitals 85 6.1.3.2 Betriebliches Privatkapital als Investitionsvoraussetzung 86 6.2 Marktsegment für in Kurzumtriebsplantagen erzeugtem Holz in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 87 6.2.1 Potenzialabschätzungen für die Holzmärkte in Estland, Lettland, Litauen und für die Europäische Union 87 6.2.2 Nachfrage nach Holz in der Zielplanung für die Energiebedarfsdeckung in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 91 6.2.2.1 Planerische Ansätze zur Energieversorgung in Estland 94 6.2.2.2 Planerische Ansätze zur Energieversorgung in Lettland 95 6.2.2.3 Planerische Ansätze zur Energieversorgung in Litauen 96 6.3 Business Case für ein reales Unternehmen in Lettland 97 6.3.1 Naturale und monetäre Erträge von Weidenplantagen 98 6.3.1.1 Mengenerträge in Kurzumtriebsplantagen 99 6.3.1.2 Preisniveaus auf dem Markt für Hackschnitzel in Lettland 104 6.3.1.3 Preisniveauvergleich für Litauen und Estland 107 6.3.2 Kosten der Bewirtschaftung von Kurzumtriebsplantagen 108 6.3.3 Ermittlung der Annuitäten als Entscheidungsgrundlage 113 6.3.4 Betrachtung von Veränderungen von Parametern anhand einer Sensitivitätsanalyse 118 6.3.5 Betrachtung des Ergebnisses der Business Case-Berechnung 120 7 Diskussion der Ergebnisse 126 7.1 Hypothese: Das Regelwerk und die darin enthaltenen Fördermaßnahmen der Gemeinsamen Agrarpolitik 2020/Europa 2020 begünstigen die Produktion von Holz in Kurzumtriebsplantagen in Estland, Lettland und Litauen. 126 7.2 Hypothese: Die nationalen Ausgestaltungen der Bestimmungen der EU favorisieren nicht die Anlage und Nutzung von Kurzumtriebsplantagen in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 135 7.3 Hypothese: Die Produktionsfaktoren Arbeit, Boden und Kapital stehen in Estland, Lettland und Litauen in ausreichendem Maße zur Verfügung. 143 7.4 Hypothese: Die Märkte für in Kurzumtriebsplantagen erzeugtem Holz sind zu Preisen aufnahmefähig, die einen rentablen Betrieb von Kurzumtriebsplantagen in Estland, Lettland und Litauen erlauben. 145 7.5 Hypothese: Die Holzproduktion auf Kurzumtriebsplantagen führt zu höheren monetären Erträgen als der Anbau von annuellen Feldfrüchten in Estland, Lettland und Litauen 149 8 Zusammenfassung 152 9 Abstract 157 10 Literaturverzeichnis 161 10.1 Quellennachweis nach Autoren 161 10.2 Rechtsquellen 194 10.2.1 Völkerrechtliche Verträge 194 10.2.2 Rechtsquellen der Europäischen Union 194 10.2.2.1 Grundlagen für die Europäische Union 194 10.2.2.2 Verordnungen der Europäischen Union in chronologisch-numerischer Reihenfolge 194 10.2.2.3 Richtlinien der Europäischen Union in chronologisch-numerischer Reihenfolge 197 10.2.2.4 Delegierte Verordnungen der Europäischen Union in chronologisch-numerischer Reihenfolge und Entscheidungen 197 10.2.3 Rechtsquellen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland 199 10.2.4 Rechtsquellen der Republik Estland 199 10.2.5 Rechtsquellen der Republik Lettland 200 10.2.6 Rechtsquellen der Republik Litauen 201
Máster Universitario en Ingeniería Industrial ; El sector de la automoción engloba un mercado muy exigente, donde los clientes poseen expectativas de calidad muy altas y donde las empresas proveedoras de vehículos están sometidas a grandes presiones y regulaciones. En los años ochenta, las empresas conocidas como "The Big Three", Ford, Chrysler y General Motors (en aquel momento entre las tres se repartían la gran mayoría de la cuota del mercado de la automoción), unieron sus fuerzas en busca de un objetivo común, y nominaron a una comisión de expertos para hacer frente a la amenaza que suponía la creciente expansión de la industria automovilística japonesa. Además, estas tres empresas crearon el AIAG ('Automotive Industry Action Group'), una asociación sin ánimo de lucro que se compone de un diverso grupo de profesionales y actores interesados de este sector, que incluye, por ejemplo, proveedores de todos los tamaños de piezas y material, fabricantes, proveedores de servicios, e incluso el mismo gobierno, además de las propias empresas automovilísticas. Esta asociación vela por la existencia de un trabajo colaborativo entre todos los miembros, buscando sinergias y apoyos mutuos para que todas las partes salgan beneficiadas. En el contexto actual, las empresas proveedoras del sector de la automoción deben cumplir con los estándares definidos por el AIAG con relación al APQP. El APQP ('Advanced Product Quality Planning'), es, como su propio nombre indica, una planificación avanzada de la calidad del producto. Se trata de un proceso que sigue una metodología totalmente estructurada, orientada hacia el cumplimiento de los requisitos del cliente sobre el producto final, involucrando para ello en el proceso a proveedores y al cliente final. La estructura del proceso se basa en cinco grandes etapas, que incluyen entradas y salidas en cada una de ellas. Las salidas se generan a partir de una combinación de las entradas, y en ocasiones directamente a partir de otras salidas. La clave reside en que se trata de un ciclo sin fin de mejora continua, donde se busca en todo momento mantener la calidad del producto fabricado por encima de unos mínimos, que corresponden siempre a los requisitos especificados por el cliente. Al ser un ciclo, las salidas de una etapa, son las entradas de la siguiente, y cuando se llega a la última etapa se vuelve a comenzar (de ahí el término de mejora continua). De esta manera, se consigue establecer un proceso estándar y reproducible, mediante el cual se asegura cierto rigor en cuanto a la calidad del producto, que es aplicable a cualquier proceso de producción de cualquier producto (en este caso vehículos), donde lo único que cambia de uno a otro es la particularización de las entradas para cada caso en concreto, siendo los factores los mismos. El APQP se basa en el 'ciclo de Deming', también conocido como 'círculo PDCA' (de sus siglas en inglés, 'plan, do, check, act'). O lo que es lo mismo, "planear, hacer, verificar y actuar". En el caso del APQP, este ciclo se divide en cinco etapas, ya que la fase de "do" se parte en dos. Las etapas son las siguientes: 1) Planificación y definición del programa: se produce la traducción de las necesidades y expectativas del cliente en especificaciones y objetivos de calidad del producto. 2) Diseño y Desarrollo del Producto: se produce una revisión crítica de los requisitos de diseño y de la información técnica del producto. Tiene lugar el desarrollo y verificación del diseño, evaluando los problemas potenciales de éste en relación a la posterior fabricación y su factibilidad. 3) Diseño y Desarrollo del Proceso: se asegura que el proceso será efectivo de cara a cumplir con las necesidades y expectativas del cliente. 4) Validación del Producto y del Proceso: el proceso de fabricación es validado mediante la evaluación de una tirada de producción piloto de prueba. 5) Retroalimentación, Evaluación y Acciones Correctivas: etapa final, en la cual se recoge todo lo analizado y aprendido en las etapas anteriores, y se hace uso de ese conocimiento adquirido para corregir las partes que han dado un resultado negativo y han hecho que el rendimiento del producto no sea el óptimo y el requerido, así como para añadir los detalles y partes que faltan para conseguir un mejor resultado final. Es la etapa más importante y en la que reside el sentido del APQP. El problema es que la implementación y aplicación del APQP es una tarea ardua y muy complejo, que conlleva numerosos retos que deben ser superados y donde las herramientas tradicionales no sirven, ya que su uso para la gestión del APQP provocaría retrasos y bloqueos en el proceso de producción y en el suministro. Sin el uso de una herramienta tradicional que dé soporte al APQP, las empresas proveedoras son incapaces de hacer un buen seguimiento del proceso para así reutilizar y aprovechar datos del producto en el paso de un programa al siguiente. La consecuencia es que los beneficios del APQP se ven reducidos o incluso eliminados. Es en este contexto precisamente donde nace la aplicabilidad, utilidad y practicidad del sistema PLM. PLM ('Product Lifecycle Management') es un enfoque estratégico de negocio para la gestión eficaz y el uso del capital intelectual corporativo (CIC). El CIC es la suma de todo el conocimiento que una organización acumula a lo largo de sus actividades para alcanzar sus objetivos. Esto incluye: la definición del producto, el historial del producto y la experiencia adquirida por la organización respecto al producto. el PLM es una solución informática a nivel empresarial que busca implementar una estrategia de gestión de toda la información que se genera a lo largo de la vida de un producto, también denominada CIC. No obstante, es importante destacar que, en esencia, PLM no es un sistema informático o una tecnología, sino más bien la estrategia que hay detrás, que se apoya en esa tecnología para poder ser aplicada. De manera muy sintetizada, se puede decir que existen dos funciones que son implícitas al PLM: 1) Gestión eficaz del CIC: Garantizar la precisión, integridad y seguridad de toda la información. 2) Uso eficaz del CIC: Hacer que la información esté disponible de forma inmediata en el lugar y formato adecuados, para los usuarios adecuados (ya sean personas o programas), y para las tareas adecuadas. Un sistema PLM se basa en un flujo de información global y común a todos los actores que intervienen en el proceso, de forma que todos puedan interactuar entre ellos en tiempo real y de manera segura y práctica. El pilar de la estructura que hace esto posible es una base de datos en la que cada persona que interviene en el desarrollo del producto puede volcar la información que considere que debe quedar registrada para que otros puedan hacer uso de ella. Esta idea es una de las bases de todo sistema PLM: la reutilización del conocimiento. En esencia, lo que se está consiguiendo a través del uso de un sistema PLM es optimizar el proceso. Esta es la meta que se persigue en todo momento y el objetivo final que subyace en cada acción de PLM: que con menos esfuerzo y menos tiempo invertido se alcancen mejores resultados. En este documento se ha estudiado la aplicabilidad y utilidad de emplear un sistema PLM para la gestión del proceso APQP. Estos son los beneficios principales que se han observado: Se proporciona un excelente cimiento para cualquier empresa automovilística a través de flujos de trabajo integrados, una base de datos común, accesible y de gran capacidad, la gestión eficaz de proyectos, la creación de informes y de la capacidad de integración con otras herramientas. Es una solución "todo en uno", que sustituye la necesidad de la coexistencia de varias herramientas. Se llega a mejores tomas de decisión, al tener visibilidad de las tareas en proceso y de los ítems asociados, por ejemplo, el conocimiento de los múltiples proyectos donde es empleada una misma pieza. Se puede gestionar el desarrollo de productos complejos para vehículos y de todos los requisitos de documentación asociados a ellos. Reducir los costes de los cambios de diseño, gracias a detectar antes los cambios necesarios e implementarlos con un efecto más positivo y generando menos coste. También poder comunicar esos cambios a los distintos departamentos y equipos, mejorando así la calidad del producto y, consecuentemente, la satisfacción del cliente. Aumentar o posibilitar la reutilización del conocimiento a través del acceso rápido y sencillo a proyectos previos APQP. Se consigue la introducción de nuevos productos en el mercado en el tiempo programado y respetando el presupuesto disponible. Por tanto, se puede concluir que una solución PLM que dé apoyo al proceso APQP y a todos sus requisitos, es una poderosa herramienta de negocio que conlleva numerosos e importantes beneficios, los cuales ya han sido probados en el sector de la automoción. Sin embargo, se debe puntualizar que el PLM no debería de ser el fin en sí. El uso de un sistema PLM suele actuar de catalizador para un cambio en el negocio de manera conceptual y profunda. Para poder aprovechar todo el potencial del PLM y su máximo beneficio, deben revisarse todos los procesos y estructuras de la organización, y aplicar cambios que impulsen la tecnología PLM allí donde se necesiten. Esto hará que se optimicen a nivel global los procesos internos del negocio, así como la forma en la que las empresas automovilísticas se relacionan con sus socios, proveedores y clientes. En el mundo actual y el sector de la automoción, donde el entorno empresarial es cada vez más global, exigente y hostil, la tecnología PLM es el vehículo necesario para crear y mantener un negocio innovador que pueda competir eficazmente en todos sus mercados. ; The automotive industry involves a very demanding market, where the clients possess very high expectations regarding quality and where the supplying companies of vehicles are under big pressures and have to follow strict regulations. During the 1980s, the companies known as "The Big Three", Ford, Chrysler and General Motors (at that moment they shared between them most part of the automotive market share), joined their strengths in the search for a common target, and they nominated an expert committee to face the threat that the increasing expansion of the Japanese industry represented. Moreover, there three companies created the AIAG ('Automotive Industry Action Group'), a nonprofit association made up of a diverse group of professionals and stakeholders of this sector, which includes, for example, suppliers of materials and parts of all sizes, manufacturers, service providers, and sometimes, even the government itself, as well as the automotive companies. This association supports the existence of a collaborative environment within all members, searching for synergies and mutual support so that every party can benefit from this alliance. In the actual context, the supplying companies of the automotive sector must comply with the standards defined by the AIAG with respect to APQP. APQP is, as its names states for itself, a way of anticipating a plan for the product's quality. It consists of a process which follows a highly structured methodology, focused on the compliance of the client's requirements over the final product, involving the suppliers and the final client in this process. The structure of the process is based on five big phases, which include inputs and outputs in each one of them. The outputs are generated by a combination of the inputs, and occasionally directly from other outputs. The key resides on the fact that it is never-ending cycle of continuous improvement, where the target is always to maintain the product's quality over certain minimum level, which always corresponds to the requirements specified by the client. As it is a cycle, the outputs of a phase are the inputs of the next one, and once you fulfill the last phase, you start over again from the beginning (that is why it is said to be a continuous improvement). This way, standard and repeatable procedure is successfully established, through which certain level of rigor is assured in terms of the product's quality, which is applicable to any kind of production process of any kind of product (vehicles in this case), where the only thing that changes from one to another is the group of inputs for that case in particular (the factors remain constant). APQP is based on the Deming cycle, also known as the PDCA circle (Plan, Do, Check, Act). In the case of APQP, this cycle is divided into five phases, since the second phase ("do") is split into two. These are the APQP phases: 1) Program planning and definition: translation of the client's expectations and needs into the product's specifications and objectives. 2) Product design and development: there is a critical revision of the designing requirements and the technical information of the product. The design's verification takes place, evaluating its potential issues towards the future manufacturing and its viability. 3) Process design and development: it is assured that the process will be effective regarding the compliance of the client's needs. 4) Product and process validation: the manufacturing process is validated through the evaluation of a test production run. 5) Feedback, evaluation and corrective action: final phase in which everything that has been analyzed and learnt from the previous phases, and that acquired knowledge is used in order to correct the parts which have performed negatively and which have avoided the performance form being the optimal and expected, as well as to add the details which are missing, so as to achieve a better result. This is the most important phase and on which the purpose of APQP lies. The problem is that APQP's implementation and application are very arduous and complex tasks, which involves multiple challenges which must be overcome and where traditional tools are not enough, since their use for APQP would cause serious delays and even blockades in the production and supplying process. Without the use of a tool which supports APQP, the supplying companies are incapable of satisfactorily monitoring the process, in order to reuse the product's information from one program to the next. The consequence is that the benefits of APQP are seriously reduced or even eliminated. It is in this context precisely in which the PLM system becomes applicable, practical and very useful. PLM ('Product Lifecycle Management') is a strategic approach of the business for the effective management and use of the corporative intellectual capital (CIC). The CIC is the sum of all the knowledge that an organization accumulates throughout its activities in order to reach its targets. This includes: the product's definition, the product's history and best practices. PLM is a technological solution at a business level that tries to implement a management strategy for all the information which is generated throughout the whole product's lifecycle, also called CIC. However, it is important to point out that, essentially, PLM is not a computing system or a technological tool, but the strategy which lies beyond, which finds in that technology the path in order to be applied. In a very summarized way, it can be said that two main functions are implicit to PLM:1) Effective management of CIC: guaranteeing the precision, integrity and safeness of all the information. 2) Effective use of CIC: making the information be readily available, at the right place and format, for the right users, and for the right tasks. A PLM system is based on a global information flow, common to all actors who take part in the process, so that all of them can interact among themselves in real time and in a practical and safe manner. The structure's pillar which makes this possible is a data base into which each person who intervenes in the product's development can enter the information which they consider should be registered so that other can make use of it. This idea is one of the basis of every PLM system: the recycling of knowledge. Essentially, what is being achieved through the use of a PLM system is the optimization the process. This is the goal that is pursued at all time and the final target which lies under every action of PLM: achieving better results with less effort and less time waste. In this document, the applicability and usefulness of implementing a PLM system for the management of the APQP process have been studied. These are the main benefits which have been observed: An excellent basis is provided towards any automotive company throughout the use of integrated workflows, a common data base, accessible and of great capacity, the effective management of projects, reports creation and the capacity of integration with other tools. It is an "all in one" solution, which substitutes the need for the coexistence of several tools. There is better decision making, having better visibility of the tasks in process and the associated items, for instance, the knowledge of the multiple projects in which a same component is being used. It is possible to manage the development of complex products for vehicles and all of its associated documentation requirements. Minimizing the costs caused by changes in the design, by detecting earlier the necessary changes and implementing them with a more positive effect. Also being able to communicate those changes to the different departments and teams, improving thus the product's quality and, consequently, the client's satisfaction. Increasing or making it possible to reuse the knowledge through quick and simple access to previous APQP projects. The introduction of new products into the market respecting the planned schedule and the available budget. Henceforth, it can be concluded that a PLM solution which supports the APQP process and all its requirements, is a powerful business tool which involves multiple and significant benefits, which have already been proved in the automotive industry. However, it must be remarked that PLM should not be the end itself. The use of a PLM system usually acts as a catalyzer for a change in the business in a conceptual and transcendent way. To be able to make the best use of PLM's potential and its maximum benefit, all of the processes and the organization's structures must be revised, so that the necessary changes to boost PLM technology can be applied. This will optimize the internal business processes, as well as the way in which the automotive companies interact with their partners, their suppliers and their clients. Nowadays, in the automotive industry, where the business environment is each time becoming more globalized, demanding and hostile, PLM technology is the necessary tool in order to create and maintain an innovative business which will be able to compete effectively in all its markets.
In: Decision analysis: a journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences, INFORMS, Volume 8, Issue 4, p. 322-327
ISSN: 1545-8504
Ali E. Abbas (" From the Editors: Probability Scoring Rules, Ambiguity, Multiattribute Terrorist Utility, and Sensitivity Analysis ") is an associate professor in the Department of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. He received an M.S. in electrical engineering (1998), an M.S. in engineering economic systems and operations research (2001), a Ph.D. in management science and engineering (2003), and a Ph.D. (minor) in electrical engineering, all from Stanford University. He worked as a lecturer in the Department of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford and in Schlumberger Oilfield Services, where he held several international positions in wireline logging, operations management, and international training. He has also worked on several consulting projects for mergers and acquisitions in California, and cotaught several executive seminars on decision analysis at Strategic Decisions Group in Menlo Park, California. His research interests include utility theory, decision making with incomplete information and preferences, dynamic programming, and information theory. Dr. Abbas is a senior member of the IEEE and a member of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). He is also an associate editor for the Decision Analysis and Operations Research journals of INFORMS. Address: Department of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, 117 Transportation Building, MC-238, 104 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801; e-mail: aliabbas@illinois.edu . J. Eric Bickel (" From the Editors: Probability Scoring Rules, Ambiguity, Multiattribute Terrorist Utility, and Sensitivity Analysis ") is an assistant professor in both the Graduate Program in Operations Research (Department of Mechanical Engineering) and the Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. In addition, Professor Bickel is a fellow in both the Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy and the Center for Petroleum Asset Risk Management. He holds an M.S. and Ph.D. from the Department of Engineering–Economic Systems at Stanford University and a B.S. in mechanical engineering with a minor in economics from New Mexico State University. His research interests include the theory and practice of decision analysis and its application in the energy and climate-change arenas. His research has addressed the modeling of probabilistic dependence, value of information, scoring rules, calibration, risk preference, education, decision making in sports, and climate engineering as a response to climate change. Prior to returning to academia, Eric was a senior engagement manager for Strategic Decisions Group. He has consulted around the world in a range of industries, including oil and gas, electricity generation/transmission/delivery, energy trading and marketing, commodity and specialty chemicals, life sciences, financial services, and metals and mining. Address: Graduate Program in Operations Research, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, C2200, Austin, TX 78712-0292; e-mail: ebickel@mail.utexas.edu . Vicki M. Bier (" From the Editors: Probability Scoring Rules, Ambiguity, Multiattribute Terrorist Utility, and Sensitivity Analysis" and "Target-Hardening Decisions Based on Uncertain Multiattribute Terrorist Utility ") is a full professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she is currently department chair and also directs the Center for Human Performance and Risk Analysis. She is also the president of the Decision Analysis Society. Her research interests include applications of operations research, risk analysis, and decision analysis to problems of homeland security and critical infrastructure protection. Address: Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Mechanical Engineering Building, Room 3270A, 1513 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706; e-mail: bier@engr.wisc.edu . David V. Budescu (" From the Editors: Probability Scoring Rules, Ambiguity, Multiattribute Terrorist Utility, and Sensitivity Analysis ") is the Anne Anastasi Professor of Psychometrics and Quantitative Psychology at Fordham University. He held positions at the University of Illinois and the University of Haifa, and visiting positions at Carnegie Mellon University, University of Gotheborg, the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, the Hebrew University, and the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion). His research is in the areas of human judgment, individual and group decision making under uncertainty and with incomplete and vague information, and statistics for the behavioral and social sciences. He is on the editorial boards of Applied Psychological Measurement; Decision Analysis; Journal of Behavioral Decision Making; Journal of Mathematical Psychology; Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory & Cognition (2000–2003); Multivariate Behavioral Research; Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes (1992–2002); and Psychological Methods (1996–2000). He is past president of the Society for Judgment and Decision Making (2000–2001), fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, and an elected member of the Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychologists. Address: Department of Psychology, Fordham University, Bronx, New York, NY 10458; e-mail: budescu@fordham.edu . John C. Butler (" From the Editors: Probability Scoring Rules, Ambiguity, Multiattribute Terrorist Utility, and Sensitivity Analysis ") is a clinical associate professor of finance and the academic director of the Energy Management and Innovation Center in the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, and he is the secretary/treasurer of the INFORMS Decision Analysis Society. Butler received his Ph.D. in management science and information systems from the University of Texas at Austin in 1998. His research interests involve the use of decision science models to support decision making, with a particular emphasis on decision and risk analysis models with multiple performance criteria. Butler has consulted with a number of organizations regarding the application of decision analysis tools to a variety of practical problems. Most of his consulting projects involve use of Visual Basic for Applications and Excel to implement complex decision science models in a user friendly format. Address: Energy Management and Innovation Center, McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712-1178; e-mail: john.butler2@mccombs.utexas.edu . Stephen P. Chambal (" A Practical Procedure for Customizable One-Way Sensitivity Analysis in Additive Value Models ") earned a Ph.D. from Arizona State University in industrial engineering and is vice president for the Perduco Group responsible for strategic business development for federal services. The Perduco Group provides high-end operations research and business intelligence support to the Department of Defense. Dr. Chambal recently retired from the U.S. Air Force after more than 24 years of honorable service. Most recently, he served as the director of Operational Analysis for the Air Force Institute of Technology. Dr. Chambal enlisted in the Air Force in 1986 and obtained his commission from the Air Force Academy in 1993. He held various assignments within the scientific analysis career field, including test, space, and special programs and has authored or coauthored numerous articles, white papers, and conference presentations. Address: 256 Earlsgate Road, Dayton, OH 45440; e-mail: stephen.chambal@theperducogroup.com . Philippe Delquié (" From the Editors: Probability Scoring Rules, Ambiguity, Multiattribute Terrorist Utility, and Sensitivity Analysis ") is an associate professor of decision sciences at the George Washington University and holds a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Professor Delquié's teaching and research are in decision, risk, and multicriteria analysis. His work addresses behavioral and normative issues in preference assessment, value of information, nonexpected utility models of choice under risk, and risk measures. Prior to joining the George Washington University, Delquié held academic appointments at INSEAD, École Normale Supérieure, France, and the University of Texas at Austin, and visiting appointments at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. Address: Department of Decision Sciences, The George Washington University, Funger Hall, Suite 415, Washington, DC 20052; e-mail: delquie@gwu.edu . Alex J. Gutman (" A Practical Procedure for Customizable One-Way Sensitivity Analysis in Additive Value Models ") is a research associate for the Air Force Institute of Technology's (AFIT) Center for Operational Analysis. He holds an M.S. and B.S. in mathematics from Wright State University and is currently a Ph.D. student at AFIT. His research interests include decision analysis, algorithm design, and design of experiments. He is a member of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), the Military Operations Research Society (MORS), and the International Test and Evaluation Association (ITEA). Address: Department of Operational Sciences, Air Force Institute of Technology, Dayton, OH 45433; e-mail: agutman@afit.edu . David J. Johnstone (" Tailored Scoring Rules for Probabilities ") is the National Australia Bank Professor of Finance at the University of Sydney. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Sydney. His research is primarily in the statistical foundations of financial markets and financial decisions. His professional activities involve more conventional subjects in finance, particularly business valuation and capital budgeting. Address: Discipline of Finance H69, University of Sydney Business School, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia; e-mail: david.johnstone@sydney.edu.au . Victor Richmond R. Jose (" Tailored Scoring Rules for Probabilities ") is an assistant professor of Operations and Information Management in the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. His main research interests lie in decision analysis and the use of Bayesian statistical methods in management science, operations research, and risk analysis. Address: Operations and Information Management Department, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057; e-mail: vrj2@georgetown.edu . Yucel R. Kahraman (" A Practical Procedure for Customizable One-Way Sensitivity Analysis in Additive Value Models ") is a recent graduate of the Air Force Institute of Technology, where he received his M.Sc. in operations research. He graduated from ISIKLAR Military High School in Bursa in 1985 and entered the Turkish Air Force Academy in Istanbul. He graduated in 1993 with a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering. He completed pilot training at Laughlin AFB in Del Rio, Texas, and has flown fighter aircraft for the Turkish Air Force for 10 years. Address: Department of Operational Sciences, Air Force Institute of Technology, 2950 Hobson Way, WPAFB, Ohio 45433-7765; e-mail: yucelrkahraman@gmail.com . L. Robin Keller (" From the Editors: Probability Scoring Rules, Ambiguity, Multiattribute Terrorist Utility, and Sensitivity Analysis ") is a professor of operations and decision technologies in the Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine. She received her Ph.D. and M.B.A. in management science and her B.A. in mathematics from the University of California, Los Angeles. She has served as a program director for the Decision, Risk, and Management Science Program of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Her research is on decision analysis and risk analysis for business and policy decisions and has been funded by NSF and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Her research interests cover multiple attribute decision making, riskiness, fairness, probability judgments, ambiguity of probabilities or outcomes, risk analysis (for terrorism, environmental, health, and safety risks), time preferences, problem structuring, cross-cultural decisions, and medical decision making. She is currently Editor-in-Chief of Decision Analysis, published by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). She is a Fellow of INFORMS and has held numerous roles in INFORMS, including board member and chair of the INFORMS Decision Analysis Society. She is a recipient of the George F. Kimball Medal from INFORMS. She has served as the decision analyst on three National Academy of Sciences committees. Address: Merage School of Business, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-3125; e-mail: lrkeller@uci.edu . Kenneth C. Lichtendahl Jr. (" From the Editors: Probability Scoring Rules, Ambiguity, Multiattribute Terrorist Utility, and Sensitivity Analysis ") is an assistant professor who teaches quantitative analysis courses in Darden's MBA program at the University of Virginia. His research focuses on eliciting, evaluating, and combining expert probability forecasts for use in dynamic decision situations. His current research projects include the performance of inference in Bayesian models of dynamic expert forecasts and the formulation optimal strategies in forecasting competitions. Lichtendahl joined the Darden faculty in 2006. Previously, he served as a visiting instructor in the economics department at Duke University. Currently, he also serves as a business consultant and director for the Tradewinds Beverage Company, which he cofounded in 1992. Address: Darden School of Business, University of Virginia, 100 Darden Boulevard, Charlottesville, VA 22903; e-mail: lichtendahlc@darden.virginia.edu . Jason R. W. Merrick (" From the Editors: Probability Scoring Rules, Ambiguity, Multiattribute Terrorist Utility, and Sensitivity Analysis ") is a professor in the Department of Statistical Sciences and Operations Research at Virginia Commonwealth University. He has a D.Sc. in operations research from George Washington University. He teaches courses in decision analysis, risk analysis, and simulation. His research is primarily in the area of decision analysis and Bayesian statistics. He has worked on projects ranging from assessing maritime oil transportation and ferry system safety, the environmental health of watersheds, and optimal replacement policies for rail tracks and machine tools. He has received grants from the National Science Foundation, the Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard, the American Bureau of Shipping, British Petroleum, and Booz-Allen-Hamilton, among others. He has also performed training for Infineon Technologies, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, and Capital One Services. He is an associate editor for Decision Analysis and Operations Research. He is the information officer for the Decision Analysis Society. Address: Department of Statistical Sciences and Operations Research, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284; e-mail: jrmerric@vcu.edu . Ahti Salo (" From the Editors: Probability Scoring Rules, Ambiguity, Multiattribute Terrorist Utility, and Sensitivity Analysis ") is a professor of systems analysis in the Department of Mathematics and Systems Analysis at Aalto University. His research interests include topics in portfolio decision analysis, multicriteria decision making, risk management, efficiency analysis, and technology foresight. He is currently president of the Finnish Operations Research Society (FORS) and represents Europe and the Middle East in the INFORMS International Activities Committee. Recently, he has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of the EURO Journal on Decision Processes, launched by the Association of European Operational Research Societies (EURO). Professor Salo has been responsible for the methodological design and implementation of numerous high-impact decision and policy processes, including FinnSight 2015, the national foresight exercise of the Academy of Finland and the National Funding Agency for Technology and Innovations (Tekes). Address: Systems Analysis Laboratory, Aalto University, P.O. Box 11100, 00076 Aalto, Finland; e-mail: ahti.salo@aalto.fi . Chen Wang (" Target-Hardening Decisions Based on Uncertain Multiattribute Terrorist Utility ") is currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She holds a master's degree in industrial engineering also from the same department. Chen works as a research assistant in the Center for Human Performance and Risk Analysis, under the supervision of Professor Vicki M. Bier. Her research interests include application of operations research and decision analysis in security problems and critical infrastructure protection. Address: 3239 Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin–Madison, 1513 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706; e-mail: cwang37@wisc.edu . Jeffery D. Weir (" A Practical Procedure for Customizable One-Way Sensitivity Analysis in Additive Value Models ") is an associate professor in the Department of Operational Sciences at the Air Force Institute of Technology. He has a Ph.D. in industrial and systems engineering from Georgia Tech. He teaches courses in decision analysis, risk analysis, and multiobjective optimization. His research interests are in the areas of decision analysis and transportation modeling. A former officer in the U.S. Air Force, he has worked on a wide variety of projects ranging from scheduling and routing aircraft, determining the value of future intelligence information, assessing the impact of FAA regulation changes to passenger and aircrew safety, and mode selection for multimodal multicommodity distribution networks. He has received grants from the Defense Intelligence Agency, U.S. Transportation Command, Air Force Material Command, the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, Air Force Research Laboratory, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, among others. Address: Department of Operational Sciences, Air Force Institute of Technology, Dayton, OH 45433; e-mail: jweir@afit.edu . Robert L. Winkler (" Tailored Scoring Rules for Probabilities ") is James B. Duke Professor in the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and also holds an appointment in the Department of Statistical Science at Duke. His primary research areas include decision analysis, Bayesian statistics, probability forecasting, competitive decision making, and risk analysis. Address: Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, 100 Fuqua Drive, Box 90120, Durham, NC 27708-0120; e-mail: rwinkler@duke.edu . George Wu (" From the Editors: Probability Scoring Rules, Ambiguity, Multiattribute Terrorist Utility, and Sensitivity Analysis ") has been on the faculty of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business since September 1997. His degrees include A.B. (applied mathematics, 1985), S.M. (applied mathematics, 1987), and Ph.D. (decision sciences, 1991), all from Harvard University. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Chicago, Professor Wu was on the faculty at Harvard Business School. Wu worked as a decision analyst at Procter & Gamble prior to starting graduate school. His research interests include descriptive and prescriptive aspects of decision making, in particular, decision making involving risk, cognitive biases in bargaining and negotiation, and managerial and organizational decision making. Professor Wu is a coordinating editor for Theory and Decision, an advisory editor for Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, and an associate editor of Decision Analysis. He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Behavioral Decision Making and is a former department editor of Management Science. Address: Booth School of Business, University of Chicago, 5807 South Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, IL 60636; e-mail: wu@chicagobooth.edu . Alexander Zimper (" Do Bayesians Learn Their Way Out of Ambiguity? ") is a professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Pretoria and holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Mannheim. He started out as a specialist on iterative solution concepts for strategic games, but his current research interests concern topics in economic theory in the broadest sense. He does not believe that there is one big truth out there but rather that classical as well as bounded-rationality approaches provide us with structures that may improve—within their respective limits—our understanding of reality. His most recent work is on plausible refinements of Roy Radner's rational expectations equilibrium, existence and uniqueness of an equilibrium price function in a Lucas fruit-tree economy with ambiguous beliefs, overreaction and underreaction in asset markets, and optimal liquidity provision under demand deposit schemes. His work in decision theory mainly concerns dynamically inconsistent behavior arising from ambiguity attitudes and, in particular, Bayesian learning modeled within nonadditive probability spaces. Address: Department of Economics, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield 0028, South Africa; e-mail: alexander.zimper@up.ac.za .
Comentario del artículo de John J. Mearsheimer, "Imperial by Design", The National Interest, No. 111 (Jan/Feb 2011), pp. 16-34.Desde el fin de la Guerra Fría, Estados Unidos se ha visto envuelto en un continuo proceso de búsqueda, re-definición, y autocrítica con respecto a los lineamientos fundamentales de su conducta internacional. En un mundo ya sin la presencia de la Unión Soviética, la identificación de las amenazas a la seguridad nacional estadounidense se ha vuelto una tarea mucho más compleja, aunque aún muy necesaria. En paralelo a todo este proceso, las diversas perspectivas teóricas de nuestra disciplina juegan un rol fundamental en tanto que brindan herramientas analíticas no sólo para quienes debaten los asuntos políticos internacionales, ya sea en un aula o públicamente, sino también para aquellos que deben diseñar políticas y tomar decisiones en nombre del estado. Por medio de la colocación de ciertos acentos y de diversos niveles de enfoque, cada una de las grandes teorías de relaciones internacionales permite navegar el turbio mar del día a día de los asuntos internacionales; y en definitiva, ayudan a separar la hojarasca y lo anecdótico, de aquello que es más relevante.En el último número de The National Interest, John J. Mearsheimer, profesor de la Universidad de Chicago en los EE.UU. y exponente destacado de la vertiente más dura del realismo estructural, realiza una muy necesitada revisión, actualización y crítica del tradicional debate sobre las opciones estratégicas futuras de EE.UU. En principio, Mearsheimer logra captar magistralmente los aspectos centrales fundamentales de cada estrategia y relacionarlas con las distintas corrientes teóricas de la disciplina. Más importante aún, consigue destilar en cada caso las implicancias políticas a largo plazo de perseguir o no ciertas estrategias y explicaciones teóricas. Esto constituye, luego, la materia prima con la cual Mearsheimer moldea sus críticas al liberalismo y al neoconservadurismo estadounidense.En su artículo, John J. Mearsheimer plantea una lectura mordaz y contundente sobre el debate en torno a cada una de estas preguntas. Haciendo eco de sus credenciales realistas, Mearsheimer dedica gran parte de su trabajo a desbancar el "profundo sentimiento de optimismo acerca del futuro" (p.16) que ha llegado a predominar en EE.UU. desde el fin de la Guerra Fría. Este optimismo, Mearsheimer explica, puede verse con claridad tanto en el discurso político de estadistas como Clinton o Albright, como también en la prédica de pensadores, escritores y académicos como Francis Fukuyama y Charles Krauthammer. Ambos grupos por igual, según Mearsheimer, son los responsables por la instauración de un "consenso" liberal político y económico que, además de un "peligroso optimismo", buscan implantar de la democracia por el mundo, la profundización del proceso de globalización y la consolidación definitiva de un sentido de "fin de la historia". Según el autor, sin embargo, "los resultados han dejado al país en una situación desastrosa" (p.16).En lo que respecta a la política exterior estadounidense, Mearsheimer sostiene que existe un ya conocido conjunto de opciones estratégicas o diseños de "grand strategy" (Posen & Ross 1996/97; Kohout III et al. 1995; Nacht 1995) que emanan de la rica historia política del país, que se entremezclan con elementos de su cultura política, y que alimentan el actual debate sobre qué rumbo debe tomar el país de cara al siglo XXI (cfr. Russell-Mead 2002; Jentleson 2010; Dueck 2006). En resumidas cuentas, sostiene el autor, existen tres grandes tipos de estrategias identificadas por la literatura especializada: en primer lugar, y tal vez la más venerada por quienes ven en los Padres Fundadores valores y principios aún aplicables a la actualidad, existe la opción del aislamiento. Los elementos principales de esta primera alternativa son, según algunos de sus exponentes actuales (Tucker 1972; Nordlinger 1995; Gholtz et al. 1997), la concentración casi exclusiva en el Hemisferio Occidental como la zona prioritaria de los intereses vitales estadounidenses y la adopción de una actitud neutral y prudente frente a las posibilidades de expansión más allá de estos límites, en busca de ganancias económicas o poder. Una segunda opción estratégica es el involucramiento selectivo, la cual incorpora (además del Hemisferio Occidental) a Europa, Noreste de Asia y al Golfo Pérsico como áreas vitales donde EE.UU. debiera mantener una presencia militar clara y contemplar el uso de la fuerza llegado el caso extremo de ser ello necesario (Art 1991; Chase et al. 1995).En tercer lugar, la favorita de casi todos los realistas en EE.UU. (incluyendo a Mearsheimer): el equilibrio extra-continental. Esta tercera opción estratégica también pone el énfasis en las regiones de Europa, Noreste de Asia, Golfo Pérsico y, por supuesto, el continente Americano, pero con la importante diferencia de que la presencia militar en tales regiones debe hacerse de una manera más indirecta. En otras palabras, mientras que el involucramiento selectivo plantea para los EE.UU. un rol de sheriff o "policía internacional", patrullando estas regiones estratégicas y manteniendo una presencia vigilante constante "en las calles" de la política mundial, por su parte el equilibrio extra-continental plantea un rol ya no de policía sino algo más cercano al de "bombero internacional". A diferencia de un rol de policía mundial, un bombero no patrulla sino que permanece preparado en su cuartel de bomberos a la espera de la llamada de auxilio. Gracias a esta analogía, es posible observar que este otro rol planteado por la estrategia del equilibrio extra-regional, no obstante, demanda dos elementos cruciales: uno, que en cada una de las regiones consideradas vitales haya "tomas de agua" listas para ser utilizadas (es decir, presencia de aliados, bases militares, despliegue de flotas en los océanos cercanos, etc.), y dos, vecinos dispuestos a intentar "apagar el fuego" por sí solos de forma que, sólo una vez agotados todos sus recursos regionales, sea EE.UU. quien recurra a solucionar los problemas en dicha región. Puesto en términos más académicos, EE.UU. actuaría sólo como equilibrador de último recurso. Como se puede notar, la diferencia entre ambos roles no es menor ya que generan consecuencias políticas muy disímiles.Las tres opciones estratégicas mencionadas hasta aquí han sido comúnmente identificadas y discutidas en profundidad durante los últimos quince o veinte años por quienes estudian la política exterior estadounidense. En su artículo, sin embargo, Mearsheimer incorpora a la discusión dos nuevas estrategias: por un lado, la búsqueda de la construcción de un orden liberal internacional, y por el otro, la búsqueda de la construcción de un "imperio" norteamericano. La primera estrategia, netamente liberal, plantea una alternativa más viable y "americana", acentuando la promoción de la democracia (sobre todo en el Oriente Medio) y la defensa de las instituciones internacionales liberales. Dentro de este esquema, EE.UU. juega un rol central en tanto que representa el primer estado hegemónico en la historia de corte liberal, lo cual lo convierte, según el argumento, en un líder internacional benévolo y más pacífico. A su vez, y dado esto último, se vuelve posible la construcción de un orden mundial apoyado en el liderazgo estadounidense, a través de instituciones globales, que limiten y amplifiquen según el caso el poder de los estados. También central para esta corriente es la idea más reciente de la conformación de una "coalición de democracias" que aceleren y comanden la construcción de este orden liberal global (Ikenberry 2001; Slaughter 2004; Ikenberry & Slaughter 2006).La segunda de estas otras estrategias, la del "imperio", que en realidad posee una larga historia, durante los últimos años ha tomado una nueva relevancia gracias al resurgimiento del pensamiento neoconservador en EE.UU. durante la última administración Bush (Halper & Clarke 2004). Compartiendo ciertas premisas elementales con el liberalismo, como por ejemplo la idea de la promoción de la democracia (Kagan 2008), o el foco en Oriente Medio como objetivo central de aplicación (Kaplan & Kristol 2003), pero distanciándose principalmente en temas concernientes al rol y uso de las instituciones y del poder militar (Kagan & Kristol 2000), los neoconservadores proponen que EE.UU. haga uso directo de su preeminencia militar para pacificar la política internacional, construyendo una suerte de pax americana que solidifique este status quo particular en el tiempo. En definitiva, mientras la visión liberal de orden coloca a EE.UU. en el rol de líder, dentro de una coalición de potencias liberales, bajo un contexto de promoción de la democracia y con una autolimitación al poder emanada de instituciones internacionales estables; la visión neoconservadora, en cambio, coloca a EE.UU. en un rol más bien de imperio benévolo, ávido y listo para hacer uso de su preeminencia militar, y en total descreimiento de la utilidad de las instituciones internacionales en la consecución de este tipo de orden global.Al incorporar estas dos "nuevas" estrategias, debe reconocerse que Mearsheimer no sólo ha logrado enriquecer el debate sobre las opciones estratégicas estadounidenses, ampliándolo y actualizándolo aún más, sino que también ha permitido hacer una más clara y honesta (re)evaluación sobre los elementos teóricos detrás de cada una de ellas, y sobre las implicancias políticas reales de seguir ciegamente uno u otro camino. Frente a las más cruciales interrogantes de momento para quienes deben tomar decisiones en EE.UU., como por ejemplo: ¿Cuál es la mejor manera de solucionar el problema del terrorismo internacional?; ¿Cómo reaccionar política y económicamente al raudo ascenso de China en la escena internacional?; ¿Cómo administrar los vastos intereses globales estadounidenses con la actual crisis económica nacional e internacional?, Mearsheimer sugiere que la opción del equilibrio extra-continental u off-shore balance es la mejor manera no sólo de dar una respuesta a estas cuestiones, sino también al más acuciante dilema de cómo sostener el rol de preeminencia global de cual goza EE.UU. desde el derrumbe soviético. Y es aquí desde donde, tal vez, se pueda criticar a Mearsheimer desde una perspectiva sudamericana, si se quiere.Para Mearsheimer, la opción del equilibrio extra-continental se encuentra en una categoría única en sí misma, separado del resto de las demás (inferiores) estrategias. En principio, permitiría minimizar costos, maximizar beneficios, y volver más segura (y no más insegura) la actual posición de primus inter pares de EE.UU. Sin embargo, en palabras de Mearsheimer y de otros realistas contemporáneos (Posen 2007, Walt 2005), pareciera ser como si el equilibrio extra-continental realizara proclamas de superioridad tanto prácticas como morales en lo que respecta a la política exterior de la superpotencia que, en realidad, son altamente debatibles. A los ojos de Mearsheimer, esta estrategia permitiría no sólo solucionar el problema del terrorismo internacional, sino también los profundos desequilibrios fiscales estructurales del país y –más sencillo aún– la cuestión de la mala imagen estadounidense en el mundo. No obstante, existe un conjunto de serios problemas con la magnitud de estos alegatos: el caso de China y la paradoja del declive hegemónico.En lo que concierne al ascenso de China en la escena internacional, tanto Mearsheimer como otros realistas (Mearsheimer 2006; Layne 2008) se ven enfrascados en un dilema. Por un lado, son conscientes que China puede, o puede que no, llegue a desafiar la preeminencia estadounidense. En parte, uno u otro resultado se deberán a las decisiones de los líderes y estados involucrados en el proceso histórico. Sin embargo, como buenos neorrealistas, el particular énfasis que estos académicos ponen en la estructura no les deja muchas opciones a elegir más allá de la "inevitabilidad estructural" de un conflicto con China (Mearsheimer 2010). Esto, entonces, plantea una suerte de profecía de auto-cumplimiento desde la cual es difícil escapar desde el neorrealismo duro, y que, conjugado con la idea del equilibrio extra-continental, genera serias dudas sobre realmente cuán seguro haría a EE.UU. el perseguir tal camino. Asimismo, en lo que respecta a la durabilidad de la hegemonía estadounidense, la estrategia de equilibrio extra-continental plantea grandes ambigüedades.En su versión original (Layne 1997), el off-shore balancing era visto como la mejor estrategia para "administrar el declive hegemónico". Después de todo, la idea misma de esta estrategia fue repensada a partir de la experiencia británica en el siglo XIX y de cómo ésta potencia "administró" su propio declive con maestría y pericia. En manos de Mearsheimer, sin embargo, el equilibrio extra-continental es presentado como la mejor estrategia para prolongar la primacía de EE.UU. En otras palabras, para Mearsheimer esta estrategia se vuelve no una suerte de receta para superpotencias de la tercera edad, sino más bien una píldora para permanecer siempre joven. Con esto, también, Mearsheimer genera no sólo que sus enérgicas críticas a los "imperialistas liberales" y a los "imperialistas neoconservadores" se tornen más ambiguas, sino que también el respeto por la venerable tradición realista hacia el equilibrio extra-continental se esfume rápidamente, si no por desencanto, entonces por impracticabilidad. Si el foco más duro de la crítica de Mearsheimer hacia las demás estrategias se centra en que, al defender una forma de "imperio americano" éstas generan todos los problemas de seguridad actuales (como el terrorismo, la bancarrota financiera por el excesivo gasto de sostener un involucramiento activo permanente en el mundo, etc.), pierde sentido el proponer una estrategia "alternativa" que, de fondo, posee los mismos objetivos: permanecer en la cumbre. Al final del día, pareciera ser que no hay tantas diferencias entre liberales y "liberales con esteroides" (o neoconservadores), y quienes se dicen "realistas". En manos de Mearsheimer, el realismo deja de apoyarse en la idea del equilibrio como una herramienta de estabilidad internacional, y adquiere el potencial de convertirse en un medio alternativo para el mismo fin liberal y neoconservador de congelar la historia. En definitiva, la interpretación de Mearsheimer convierte la discusión en algo más banal; en un simple debate sobre distintos medios para alcanzar un mismo fin.En conclusión, la gran pregunta, que atraviesa transversalmente a toda la discusión sobre las opciones estratégicas de EE.UU. luego del fin de la Guerra Fría, al parecer sigue siendo ¿cómo pretender sostener una posición de preeminencia internacional sin devenir en un proyecto imperial en el largo plazo? Si la idea del equilibrio extra-continental ha de retener cierto valor y utilidad, es sólo en su versión moderada, proponiéndose un único y simple rol, más humilde y prudente, de ayudar a las superpotencias a declinar con dignidad. Es, en última instancia, una receta para las potencias en declive; una forma suave, gentil y honorable de dar paso a la historia. En cualquiera de sus otras formas, el equilibrio extra-continental no es más que la búsqueda de perpetuar la primacía estadounidense por otros medios. *Profesor, Universidad Abierta Interamericana (UAI), Buenos Aires.Maestría en Estudios Internacionales,Universidad Torcuato di Tella.Referencias bilbiográficas:Art, Robert (1991): "A Defensible Defense: America's Grand Strategy After the Cold War", International Security, Vol. 15, No. 4 (Spring), pp. 5–53.Chase, Robert S.; Emily B. Hill & Paul Kennedy (1996): "Pivotal States and U.S. Strategy," Foreign Affairs, Vol. 75, No. 1 (January/February), pp. 33-51.Dueck, Colin (2008): Reluctant Crusaders: Power, Culture, and Change in American Grand Strategy (Princeton University Press).Gholtz, Eugene; Daryl G. Press & Harvey M. Sapolsky (1997): "Come Home America: The Strategy of Restraint in the Face of Temptation", International Security, Vol. 21, No. 4 (Spring), pp. 5-48.Halper, Stefan & Jonathan Clarke (2004): America Alone: The Neo-Conservatives and the World Order (Cambridge University Press).Ikenberry, G. John & Anne-Marie Slaughter (2006): Forging a World of Liberty Under Law. U.S. National Security in the 21stCentury, Final paper of the Princeton Project on National Security, September 27, pp. 1-96.Ikenberry, G. John (2001): After Victory (Princeton University Press).Jentleson, Bruce W. (2010): American Foreign Policy: The Dynamics of Choice in the 21st Century (W. W. Norton & Company, 4th edition).Kagan, Robert & William Kristol (2000): Present Dangers: Crisis and Opportunity in America's Foreign and Defense Policy(Encounter Books).Kagan, Robert (2008): The Return of History and the End of Dreams (Alfred. A. Knopf).Kaplan, Lawrence F. & William Kristol (2003): The War Over Iraq: Saddam's Tyranny and America's Mission (Encounter Books).Kohout III, John J.; Steven J. Lambakis; Keith B. Payne; Robert S. Rudney; Willis A. Stanley; Bernanrd C. Victory & Linda H. Vlahos (1995): "Alternative Grand Strategy Options for the United States", Comparative Strategy, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 361-420.Layne, Christopher (1997): "From Preponderance to Offshore Balance. America's Future grand Strategy", International Security, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Summer), pp. 86-125.Layne, Christopher (2008): "China's Challenge to U.S. Hegemony", Current History, Vol. 107, No. 705 (January), pp. 13-18.Mearsheimer, John J. (2006): "China's Unpeaceful Rise", Current History, Vol. 105, No. 690 (April), pp. 160-162.Mearsheimer, John J. (2010): "The Gathering Storm: China's Challenge to U.S. Power in Asia", The Chinese Journal of International Politics, Vol. 3, pp. 381–396.Nacht, Alexander (1995): "U.S. Foreign Policy Strategies", The Washington Quarterly, Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 195-210.Nordlinger, Eric A. (1995): Isolationism Reconfigured (Princeton University Press).Posen, Barry R. & Andre L. Ross (1996/1997): "Competing Visions for U.S. grand Strategy", International Security, Vol. 21, No. 3 (Winter), pp. 5-53.Posen, Barry R. (2007): "The Case for Restraint", The American Interest, Vol. 3, No. 1 (November/December), pp. 6-33.Russell-Mead, Walter (2002): Special Providence: American Foreign Policy and How It Changed the World (Routledge).Slaughter, Anne-Marie (2004): A New World Order (Princeton University Press).Tucker, Robert W. (1972): A New Isolationism: Threat or Promise? (Universe Books). Walt, Stephen M. (2005): "In the National Interest. A grand new strategy for American foreign policy", Boston Review, Vol. 30, No. 1 (February/March), pp. 6-23.
Authors' introductionAlthough Latinas/os have a long history in the United States and represent a growing percentage of the population, they remain largely invisible or stereotyped in popular images and discourses. Ahistoric, fragmented, and individual‐level perspectives often frame Latina/o migration, education, and activism and thus negatively influence public perceptions and policy. Fortunately, over the past 30 years, scholars in disciplines such as sociology, history, Chicana/o–Latina/o Studies, and Latin American Studies have done much to remedy these gaps and misperceptions. However, for a broad and inclusive approach to understanding the structures influencing Latina/o lives and communities, we believe that more work is needed to connect these scholarly developments which are often separated by academic divisions. Thus, we recommend the following materials that together offer a multidisciplinary and multifaceted framework that highlights the significance of global capitalism and white supremacy on Latina/o immigration, education, and activism. Key to this framework is a movement away from individual‐level arguments and assimilationist perspectives to an emphasis on US imperialism, economic exploitation, and schooling within capitalism. By broadening the frameworks for analysis and linking together the factors shaping Latina/o migration, education, and activism, we emphasize the systems of power and inequality that influence the lives of marginalized communities, without losing sight of the legacy of resistance in Latin America and the United States.Suggested textsTomas Almaguer, Racial Fault Lines: The Historical Origins of White Supremacy (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1994).Using primary and secondary sources, this book traces the distinct racialized experiences of Native Americans, Mexican Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and European Americans in late‐19th century California. Almaguer focuses on the material and ideological basis of group placement and delivers one of the few theoretical works on the factors shaping the multiracial hierarchy that characterizes the history of California.Antonia Darder, Reinventing Paulo Freire: A Pedagogy of Love (Boulder, CO: Westview, 2002).This engaging book roots contemporary schooling to global capitalism and racism. In it, Darder draws on the legacy of renowned Brazilian educator Paulo Freire to offer powerful reflections and examples from today's teachers who are practicing liberatory education in the struggle for social and economic justice.Gilbert G. Gonzalez, Chicano Education in the Era of Segregation (Philadelphia, PA: Balch Institute Press, 1990).This foundational book is devoted to the history of Chicana/o education and traces the roots of inequality in education from the early 1900s to Mendez v. Westminster, the landmark desegregation case in 1947. Gonzalez uses historical documents and dissertations to detail the historical relationships between capitalism, sociological theories, and school practices in reproducing a classed, raced, and gendered labor market. He placed particular attention on Americanization Programs, segregated schooling, vocational education, and the political economy. The book ends with an analysis of the role of parents, community, and various organizations in the eventual elimination of de jure segregation for Mexican American students in schools.Juan Gonzalez, Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America (New York, NY: Penguin Books, 2001).Employing a hemispheric approach, journalist Juan Gonzalez analyzes the close connection between US imperial expansion and Latino/a migration. As part of the harvest of empire, Gonzalez examines migration from various countries, including Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba, focusing on the macro‐structural factors that have led to migration.'History and Critical Pedagogies: Transforming Consciousness, Classrooms, and Communities', Radical History Review, 102 (Fall 2008).This special journal issue explores how scholars and activists have used critical pedagogies to challenge unequal power relations in classrooms and communities. A number of articles provide concrete reflections and strategies such as drama‐based pedagogies, service‐learning, and community‐based projects. Interviews with scholars and activists demonstrate how praxis has the power to transform society and popular education employs an asset‐based approach to education.Pierrette Hondagneu‐Sotelo, Doméstica: Central Americans Cleaning and Caring in the Shadow of Affluence (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2001).This qualitative study focuses on the lives and experiences of domestic workers and the people who employ them. After beginning with an important overview of the historical, economic, and political context shaping Central American migration and the service industry, Hondagneu‐Sotelo provides an in‐depth and nuanced analysis of domestic work and employee‐employer relationships. She ends the book with crucial strategies for improving the occupation and examples of labor organizing among Los Angeles‐area domestic workers.Enrique C. Ochoa and Gilda L. Ochoa, eds., Latino Los Angeles: Transformations, Communities, and Activism (Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 2005).This collection of articles examines diverse Latina/o communities in the greater Los Angeles regions and their formations and activism in the context of global capitalism. The first section examines how migration is connected to macro factors including US foreign policy and capitalist restructuring. The second section explores community and identity (re)formation. The final section examines multiple forms of activism, with articles on the struggle for Chicana/o Studies at UCLA, Justice for Janitors, and labor and community alliances with day laborers.Suggested videos El Norte (1983)This now‐classic feature length film by Gregory Nava traces the harrowing experiences of a young brother and sister as they migrate from Guatemala to the United States. Along with capturing their trying experiences crossing multiple borders, the film also details the struggles they encounter as they try to adjust to the hardships of life in the United States, including their distinct gendered experiences. We recommend combining this film with a discussion of the increased border deaths accompanying the growing criminalization of immigrants and the militarization of the Guatemala–Mexico and the Mexico–United States borders. Fear and Learning at Hoover Elementary (1997)In this documentary, Director Laura Angelica Simon details the contemporary impact of anti‐immigration policies and debates on students and teachers at a Los Angeles elementary school. The documentary was made during the 1990s when California was in the midst of an economic recession and citizens were voting on Proposition 187, an initiative that sought to deny social services to undocumented immigrants. It is a powerful teaching tool that includes students' voices and experiences; however, we suggest combining the video with some historical background on US military, economic, and political involvement in Latin America. Viewers might also be encouraged to deconstruct some of the director's images, interview questions, and racially loaded language. Made in L.A. (Hecho in Los Angeles) (2007)This documentary follows the lives of three inspiring Latina garment workers originally from Mexico and El Salvador and their participation in the 3‐year struggle for labor rights. In the process of organizing through the Garment Worker Center for basic labor protections from the trendy clothing retailer Forever 21, the women become increasingly empowered – resulting in one who separates from her husband and another who becomes an organizer. Woven throughout their narratives are the historical struggle of garment workers, the role of nation‐states in dividing families, and the power of coalition building. Salt of the Earth (1954)This feature‐length move is based on an actual labor struggle of the era. It examines the intersections of class, race/ethnicity, and gender as a primarily Mexicana/o community goes on strike and struggles with historic patriarchy to unify against the large mining company that dominates their lives. The movie deals with the legacy of US conquest of the Southwest and capitalist expansion in the region, while showing how communities have struggled to challenge inequalities. Salt of the Earth was made by artists shunned during the McCarthy era and the movie was not played widely in the United States. Much of the cast were not professional actors but were workers and union activists involved in the strike. Taking Back the Schools (1996)This documentary focuses on the 1968 Chicana/o School Blowouts where over 10,000 East Los Angeles students walked out of their high schools demanding bilingual‐bicultural education, more Mexican American teachers, relevant curriculum, accurate textbooks, and the end of curriculum tracking and prejudiced teachers who steered Mexican Americans into vocational classes. It uses original footage from the walkouts and contemporary interviews with the student organizers. It also highlights the precursors to the walkouts such as a history of Spanish language repression and de jure and de facto segregation in schools. Voces inocentes/Innocent Voices (2005)Set in 1980s El Salvador, the movie follows the life of a young boy during the Civil War. It deals with the impacts of war and US intervention on youth.Suggested websites David Bacon, 'Uprooted and Criminalized: The Impact of Free Market on Migrants,'Backgrounder The Oakland Institute (Autumn 2008) http://www.oaklandinstitute.org/pdfs/backgrounder_uprooted.pdf Renowned journalist and activist David Bacon provides a lively analysis of the link between free trade policies and migration. Drawing on his years of activism and journalism, Bacon underscores the human toll of free trade and migration while laying bare the system that undergirds it. Several powerful photographs complement the report. In Motion Magazine‐Education Rights Section http://www.inmotionmagazine.com/er.html In Motion Magazine is a multicultural progressive on‐line magazine dealing with democracy. Harvard education professor Pedro Noguera co‐edits the Education Rights section to provide 'a forum for activists, educators, parents and students who are searching for alternative ideas to the challenges confronting education today.' Mexican Labor News and Analysis (MLNA) http://www.ueinternational.org/Mexico_info/mlna.php MLNA publishes the latest news on labor and social justice issues in Mexico. It emphasizes labor and working class struggles and does an excellent job of tracking strikes, demonstrations, and demands for social justice. MLNA is published in conjunction with the Authentic Labor Front in Mexico and the United Electrical Workers in the United States. ICED (I Can End Deportation) http://www.icedgame.com This an educational game deals with combating deportation. It focuses on several New York City youth and their struggles. Players must answer a series of questions on immigration and avoid ICE agents. Background lesson material is provided and is aligned with the New York State Standards. Rethinking Schools http://www.rethinkingschools.org/ Rethinking Schools is a monthly publication committed to educational equality and the vision of the public school as foundational in a democratic society. Articles are published by teachers, activists, parents, and students on a wide range of issues affecting schools. In addition to the monthly magazine, it publishes a broad range of progressive educational materials dealing with educating working class students of color.Sample syllabusMost general courses should include materials on Latinas/os especially given the historical presence and the contemporary growth of the population. For example, the following sections, topics, and reading could be incorporated into any of the following courses: Introduction to Sociology, Sociology of (Im)Migration, Sociology of Education, Race and Ethnicity, Social Movements, and Chicanas/os‐Latinas/os in the United States.Section 1: Chicana/o‐Latina/o Identities in the U.S.Topics: Latina/o Heterogeneity; Pan‐ethnicity; Identity Formation; Multiple Identities; Racial FormationReadings:Aurora Levins Morales, 'Child of the Americas,' in Race, Class, and Gender in the United States, ed. Paula Rothenberg (New York, NY: St. Martin's Press 2001), 660–661.Pat Mora, 'Legal Alien' in Making Face, Making Soul, Haciendo Caras: Creative and Critical Perspectives by Feminists of Color, ed. Gloria Anzaldúa (San Francisco, CA: Aunt Lute Foundation, 1990), p. 376.Martha E. Gimenez, 'Latino/Hispanic – Who Needs a Name?' in Latinos and Education: A Critical Reader, eds. Antonia Darder, Rodolofo D. Torres, and Henry Gutiérrez (New York, NY: Routledge, 1997), 225–238.Gilda L. Ochoa, ' "This is Who I Am": Negotiating Racial/Ethnic Constructions' in Becoming Neighbors in a Mexican American Community: Power, Conflict, and Solidarity (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2004), 70–97.Anulkah Thomas, 'Black Face, Latin Looks: Racial‐Ethnic Identity among Afro‐Latinos in the Los Angeles Region' in Latino Los Angeles: Transformations, Communities, and Activism (Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 2005), 197–221.Bernadete Beserra, 'Negotiating Latinidade in Los Angeles: The Case of Brazilian Immigrants' in Latino Los Angeles: Transformations, Communities, and Activism (Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 2005), 178–196.Cherrie Moraga, 'La Güera' in Loving in the War Years (Boston, MA: South End Press, 1983), 50–59.Nicholas De Genova and Ana Y. Ramos‐Zayas, Latino Crossings: Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and the Politics of Race and Citizenship (New York, NY: Routledge, 2003).Section 2: Theorizing and (De)Constructing Popular Conceptions of Latinas/os and Latin AmericaTopics: White Supremacy; Manifest Destiny; The Social Construction of Race; Dominant Conceptions of Immigration; Linking Migration, Education, and ActivismReadings:Tomás Almaguer, Racial Fault Lines: The Historical Origins of White Supremacy (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1994).Clara E. Rodríguez, Changing Race: Latinos, the Census, and the History of Ethnicity in the United States (New York, NY: New York University Press, 2000).Leo R. Chavez, Covering Immigration: Popular Images and the Politics of the Nation (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2001).Gilda L. Ochoa and Enrique C. Ochoa, 'Framing Latina/o Immigration, Education, and Activism', Sociology Compass. 1/2 (2007), 701–719.Section 3: US Imperialism and Capitalist Expansion in Latin AmericaReadings:Gilbert G. Gonzalez, Culture of Empire: American Writers, Mexico, Mexican Immigrants (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2003).Laura Briggs, Reproducing Empire: Race, Sex, and Science and U.S. Imperialism in Puerto Rico (Berkeley, CA: UC Press, 2002).Robert G. Williams, Export Agriculture and the Crisis in Central America (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1988).Juan Gonzalez, Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America (New York, NY: Penguin Books, 2001).Greg Grandin, Empire's Workshop: Latin America, The United States, and the Rise of the New Imperialism (New York, NY: Metropolitan Books, 2006).Walter LaFeber, Inevitable Revolutions: The U.S. in Central America (New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 1993).Héctor Tober, Tattooed Soldier (New York, NY: Penguin Books, 2000).Judith Adler Hellman, Mexican Lives (New York, NY: The New Press, 1995).David Bacon, Illegal People: How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants (Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2007).Video: Voces inocentes/Innocent Voices (2005)Section 4: Politics, Economics, and Latin American Migration to the U.S.Topics: The 'Revolving Door Strategy;' Economic Restructuring; Transnational Ties; Gender and Migration; Undocumented MigrationReadings:Saskia Sassen, Globalization and Its Discontents: Essays on the New Mobility of People and Money (New York, NY: New York University Press, 1998).Maria Cristina García, Seeking Refuge: Central American Migration to Mexico, the United States, and Canada (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2006).Jonathan Fox and Gaspar Rivera‐Salgado. Indigenous Mexican Migrants in the United States (San Diego, CA: Center for Comparative Immigration Studies, 2004).Joseph Nevins, Dying to Live: A Story of U.S. Immigration in an Age of Global Apartheid (San Francisco, CA: City Lights Publishers, 2008).Robert Courtney Smith, Mexican New York: Transnational Lives of New Immigrants (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2006).Cecilia Menjívar, Fragmented Ties: Salvadoran Immigrant Networks in America (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2000).Pierrette Hondagneu‐Sotelo, Doméstica: Central Americans Cleaning and Caring in the Shadow of Affluence (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2001).Leon Fink, The Maya of Morgantown: Work and Community in the New South (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2003).Gloria González‐Lopez, Erotic Journeys: Mexican Immigrants and their Sex Lives (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2005).Video: El Norte (1983)Section 5: Latinas/os and Education: Schools as Reproducers of InequalityTopics: Americanization Programs; De Jure and De Facto Segregation; Curriculum Tracking; Education and Globalization; Raced and Gendered Experiences; Undocumented YouthReadings:Gilbert G. Gonzalez, Chicano Education in the Era of Segregation (Philadelphia, PA: Balch Institute Press, 1990).Antonia Darder, Reinventing Paulo Freire: A Pedagogy of Love (Boulder, CO: Westview, 2002).Michael W. Apple, Educating the 'Right' Way: Markets, Standards, God, and Inequality (New York, NY: Routledge Falmer, 2001).Gilda G. Ochoa, Learning from Latino Teachers (San Francisco, CA: Jossey‐Bass Publishers, 2007).Angela Valenzuela, Subtractive Schooling: U.S.‐Mexican Youth and the Politics of Caring (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1999).Nancy Lopez, Hopeful Girls, Troubled Boys: Race and Gender Disparity in Urban Education (New York, NY: Routledge, 2003).Gabriela Madera, Angelo A. Mathay, Armin M. Najafi, et al. Underground Undergrads: UCLA Undocumented Immigrant Students Speak Out (Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education, 2008).Videos:The Lemon Grove Incident (1986)Mendez v. Westminster (2004)Taking Back the Schools (1996)Fear and Learning at Hoover Elementary (1997)Section 6: Latina/o Resistance and ActivismTopics: Responses to U.S. Imperialism; union and grassroots activism; school integration; cross‐border organizingWillia V. Flores and Rina Benmayor, Latino Cultural Citizenship: Claiming Identity, Space, and Rights (Boston, MA: Beacon, 1997).Mary Pardo, Mexican American Women Activists: Identity and Resistance in Two Los Angeles Communities (Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1998).Ruth Milkman, L.A. Story: Immigrant Workers and the Future of the Labor Movement (New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation, 2006).Milagros Peña, Latina Activists Across Borders: Women's Grassroots Organizing in Mexico and Texas (Duke University Press, 2007).Guadalupe San Miguel Jr., Brown, Not White: School Integration and the Chicano Movement in Houston (College Station, TX: Texas A.M. Press, 2001).Kara Zugman, 'Autonomy in a Poetic Voice: Zapatistas and Politics Organizing in Los Angeles', Latino Studies. 3 (2005): 325–46.Videos:Salt of the Earth (1954)Bread and Roses (2000)Made in L.A. (2007)Focus questionsWhat are the dominant images of Latina/o migration, education, and activism? From where do these images emerge? Why do they exist? Who benefits from them? How have they changed over time? What are their impacts? How are these images being challenged?What connections can be made between Latina/o migration, education, and activism? What theoretical frameworks can be used to understand each one individually and the three of them collectively? What are the relationships between Latina/o migration, education, and activism?Discuss the value of adopting a historical, economic, and political framework of Latina/o migration, education, and activism. Assess the value of applying a similar framework to other contemporary topics.Compare and contrast the similarities and differences that exist among Latinas/os in the United States.How does centering the history and experiences of Latinas/os enhance your understanding of race/ethnicity, class, and gender?Looking toward the future, what do you think will be the state of Latina/o migration, education, and activism in the next ten years? What led you to these hypotheses? What do you need to know to address this question? What do you hope will be the state of Latina/o migration, education, and activism in the next 10 years? Why? How does your desire compare with the desires conveyed in the videos or readings? What might account for these shared or different hopes?Note * Correspondence address: Pomona College. Email: glo04747@pomona.edu
In: Lange , K S G 2006 , ' Deutsche Biotech-Unternehmen und ihre Innovationsfähigkeit im internationalen Vergleich : eine institutionentheoretische Analyse ' , Doctor of Philosophy , University of Groningen .
German Biotech-Companies and their Innovativeness in International Comparison – an Institutionalist Analysis 1 Introduction In the mid-1990s, legal changes and policy initiatives in Germany led to the rapid emergence of a biotechnology industry. Initially, German biotech companies focused on the market segment of platform technologies, characterized by incremental innovations. In recent years however, many companies have shifted their strategic focus on the market segment of therapeutics, char-acterized by radical innovations. Since an active involvement in such a segment is untypical for German companies the central research question of this thesis was, if the German institutional framework allowed biotech companies to be internationally competitive in a radical-innovative market segment. The findings are particularly relevant for the literatures on "Varieties of Capi-talism", "National Innovation Systems" and for the sociology of technology. The British and the US biotech industry served as a comparison for the validation of the German case study. 2 Theory The fact that German biotech companies have become active in the field of therapeutics, where both financial and technological risks are extremely high, contradicts an essential assumption of the "Varieties of Capitalism" (abbr. VoC) literature. The proponents of the VoC classify Ger-many as a coordinated market economy, dominated by non-market institutions and long-term relationships. In addition, they presume that such a type of market economy is not compatible with competitiveness in a market segment characterized by radical innovations. Biotech-companies that are active in the field of therapeutics are in need of a large and professional ven-ture capital industry (abbr. VC industry) as well as a very flexible labour market for scientists and managers, given that most of the research projects fail. According to the VoC-approach, neither a flexible labour market for scientist and managers nor a professional VC industry is ex-istent in Germany. Instead, German biotech companies are predominantly financed by public or publicly subsidized venture capital. In contrast, the US and Great Britain are expected to be very competitive in high-risk segments like biotech-based therapeutics due to their institutional frameworks. They are classified as liberal market economies, dominated by market institutions and short-term relationships. Both a large and professional VC industry and a very flexible la-bour market are in place. Thus, the hypothesis of the VoC-approach is that liberal market economies like the US and Great Britain would clearly outperform the German coordinated market economy in the high-risk-segment of therapeutics. Unlike the "Varieties of Capitalism", proponents of the "National Innovation Systems" argue that German biotech-companies can compete with British biotech-companies in the high-risk segment of therapeutics because in recent years a professional VC industry has developed in Germany. At the same time, the flexibility of the labour market is not regarded as relevant for the competitiveness in high-risk segments. What is more, the two approaches have conflicting views concerning the competitiveness of the American and the British biotech industry. The main proponents of the VoC see both biotech industries as highly successful due to the existence of large capital markets as well as flexible labour markets. The representatives of the "National Innovation Systems" presume, in contrast, that the US-biotech industry clearly outperforms the British biotech-industry given the massive governmental funding it receives. Within the field of sociology of technology, Sorge suggested a relationship between the specific institutional configuration of the German society and its handling of technical innovation. He presumes that new technologies mature over time and hence the first phase of radical innova-tions is followed by a second phase of incremental innovations. According to Sorge, if there are first signs of the latter phase, German companies become involved in new fields of technology. Such an attitude towards new technologies originates from the professional socialisation of the German engineers where theory and practice is much more intertwined than in many other countries. As a consequence, we can deduce as a hypothesis that the development of biotech-based therapeutics has passed through a process of maturation and is now dominated by incre-mental innovations. Thus, German biotech-companies have shifted their focus to this market segment because it has proven to be of practical value. 3 Research Design The competitiveness of the German biotech-industry in the market segment of therapeutics was assessed by a comparison with the British biotech industry, as the largest industry in Europe and the second largest in the world. The key indicator for competitiveness was the amount of thera-peutics in clinical trials by biotech-companies in each country. Therefore, all biotech companies with therapeutics in clinical trials were surveyed. Moreover, to analyze the impact of national institutions on the competitiveness of therapeutics companies, more than 40 interviews were conducted with company representatives and experts. This was complemented by the evaluation of publicly available statistics. For the comparison with the US-biotech-industry, relevant litera-ture and publicly available sources were analysed. In addition, some interviews were conducted with venture capital managers investing internationally in biotech companies. 4 Competitiveness in the Market Segment of Therapeutics In a first step, the competitiveness of German and British biotech-companies in the segment of therapeutics was compared. The difference with regard to therapeutics in clinical trials is sub-stantial but far smaller than expected. According to Der Spiegel, in 2003 British biotech compa-nies had many more therapeutics in clinical trials than the German ones: 200 (GB) compared to 15 (GER). In contrast, my investigation showed that in 2004 British biotech companies had only 122 therapeutics in clinical trials and the German ones 68. Taking into consideration that the German biotech-industry emerged 15 years after the British biotech-industry and that the devel-opment of therapeutics is very time-consuming (12 years, until clinical trials about 5 years), I conclude that the British compared to the German biotech-companies are similarly competitive in the field of therapeutics. This interpretation is corroborated by the fact that the amount of bio-tech-companies with therapeutics in clinical trials is identical between Germany and Great Brit-ain (34). 5 Change of Strategy due to a Process of Maturation? The result of the empirical analysis was that hardly any of the German biotech companies which had therapeutics in clinical trials have shifted their strategic focus in recent years. Most of them were already founded with the intention of developing therapeutics. Nonetheless, there was a strategic shift in the biotech industry from platform technologies to therapeutics, not only in Germany but worldwide. But presumably, the therapeutics of the companies that changed their strategy are still in preclinical trials. A real process of maturation in the development of therapeutics has not taken place so far, there are only first steps which could lead to maturation in the future. Only a minority of the German biotech companies develop therapeutics that are incremental innovations. However, this was not due to technological breakthroughs in the bioscience but rather caused by the risk aversion of investors and could be observed internationally. But meanwhile, around 2000/2001, many ac-tors of the industry had the expectation that advances in the biosciences would significantly re-duce the percentage of therapeutics failing in development – even though this turned out to be a misguided expectation eventually. So for a certain period of time there was a perceived or sub-jective process of maturation. But nevertheless, it is rather unlikely that this subjective process of maturation was the main reason for a change of strategy since many industry experts have described the attitude of German biotech managers towards the development of therapeutics as totally naïve and not as precautious. It is more likely that changed preferences of global phar-maceutical corporations and investors were the driving force of the strategic change. 6 German and British Biotech Companies and their Access to Venture Capital and the Stock Exchange In the access to VC, British biotech companies have a small advantage. Since 2003, the VC in-vestments in the British biotech were approximately 250 Mio. Euro and the investments in the German biotech industry stabilized slightly above 200 Mio. Euro. For Great Britain the figures were startling given that it has a large venture capital industry. However, it turned out that only a small percentage is actually invested in the biotech industry. Besides, the German biotech in-dustry has seen a change in kind and origin of investors take place. After the worldwide slump of the valuation of biotech companies in 2001 most German investors withdrew from this indus-try. But to a considerable extent, this was offset by the influx of international investors. Since 2003, international investors have been in the majority in financing German biotech companies. Apart from that, it turned out that German biotech companies with therapeutics in clinical trials are predominantly funded by private and professional venture capital companies and not by public and inexperienced ones. In recent years, initial public offerings (IPOs) of biotech companies were easier to obtain at the London Stock Exchange (LSE) than at the Deutsche Börse. However, most of these IPOs in Britain were very small, so that the companies raised modest amounts of equity. Medium-sized IPOs of biotech companies succeeded in both countries, but were rare. Thus, no advantage of any country was observed. Finally and somewhat unexpectedly, the market capitalization of biotech companies at the Deutsche Börse slightly exceeded the LSE`s. Yet again, it was rather low in both cases. In sum, in the access to venture capital and the possibility of IPOs Great Brit-ain does have at the moment an advantage over Germany, but it is only a minor one. 7 Governmental Funding of British and German Biotech Firms In both countries, governmental funding of biotech companies exists and to a certain extent its level and kind has converged recently. In Germany, public funding declined after the downturn of the biotech industry in 2001. In Great Britain, in the end of the 1990s the government pro-vided some seed funds for young biotech companies to improve their financial situation. At the same time, public funding of biotech companies is still better developed in Germany than in Great Britain. This is also corroborated by a comparison of the therapeutic companies in both countries. However, it is important to note that the public funding German therapeutic compa-nies have received, is only a small percentage of their entire funding. So there is only a small competitive advantage for German biotech companies and it is hardly possible to argue that these companies develop therapeutics because of governmental funding. 8 The Labour Market for German and British Biotech Companies In the biotech-related disciplines there is abundance of highly qualified scientists in the biotech-related disciplines in both countries. An advantage for Great Britain is the larger pool of experi-enced biotech managers, which is not surprising since the British biotech industry emerged 15 years earlier. Apart from that, German biotech companies employ fewer managers with past ex-perience in the pharmaceutical industry for different reasons. Firstly, the long-term employment security in the German pharmaceutical industry reduces the incentives for managers to change to a biotech start-up whose long-term future is not assured. Secondly – and for Anglo-Saxon VC managers this reason was more relevant – a process of consolidation in the pharmaceutical in-dustry occurred in Great Britain ten years ago. As a consequence, many managers were re-leased. In Germany, this process has just started. Thirdly, and this is related to the first point, due to the head-start of the British biotech industry, there are more mature biotech companies in Great Britain. This implies in turn that mature biotech companies are more attractive to pharma-ceutical managers because these companies have on average a better viability. Irrespective of this mentioned, there is a notable amount of managers with a pharmaceutical background, espe-cially in strongly funded and advanced German biotech companies. Another difference between both countries is that lay-offs in German companies are slightly more expensive and bureau-cratic than in Great Britain. But again, it is only a minor difference. If a project has failed, Ger-man biotech companies are able to dismiss employees relatively easily. Finally, co-determination in the form of works councils or employee-representatives in the supervisory board is of no importance because of the small size of this industry but also the low interest of employees. 9 US and Great Britain – Liberal Market Economies Compared The overall conclusion of this comparison was that the US biotech industry is much more com-petitive than the British one. Only very few British biotech companies are of international im-portance, a finding that is transferable to different high-tech industries like semi-conductors or software. A central cause for the dominance of the US in the biotech-industry is the annual amount of invested venture capital which is more than ten times higher than in Great Britain. Even if we consider that the size of both market economies differ significantly this reveals an important advantage to the US. However, a lack of highly qualified scientists as a reason for the low venture capital investments in British biotech firms could be ruled out. Apart from that, a second central cause for the worldwide dominance of the US biotech-industry is the tremendous governmental funding not only of academic science but also of companies. There are strong in-dications that the massive funding of young biotech companies in the US attracts subsequent venture capital investments in these companies. The product development in the biotech indus-try – particularly in the segment of therapeutics – is very time-consuming and often exceeds the time-horizon of venture capital companies. Public funding of young companies makes it possi-ble for them to move their products forward, up to the point at which they become interesting for investors. The public funding of British biotech companies which has started only recently and is still on a low level, is probably a main reason for scarcity of venture capital in the British biotech industry. 10 Conclusion The central result of the British-German comparison was that the German biotech companies are internationally competitive in the market segment of therapeutics that is dominated by radi-cal innovations. This assessment is supported by the analysis of the institutional frameworks in which German and British biotech companies are embedded. Differences exist between the relevant national institutions in both countries – British biotech companies have easier access to venture capital and experienced managers, German biotech companies have better access to governmental funding - but these differences negligible. Moreover, some of these differences – like for example the lack of experienced biotech managers - are not a result of unfavourable in-stitutions at present but mirror a time-lag, that is, the delayed establishment of institutions, and they should diminish over time. This empirical result clearly contradicts the "Varieties of Capitalism" approach which maintains that companies in a coordinated market economy cannot be competitive in a market dominated by radical innovations. The institutional context in which German biotech companies operate differs in core respects: they have access to professional venture capital companies; only a small percentage of their total funding is from public sources; lay-offs due to failed projects are in-deed possible; many therapeutic companies employ former pharma-managers; co-determination is virtually non-existent. Also the comparison of the American and the British biotech-industry and their institutional embeddedness revealed weaknesses of the "Varieties of Capitalism" approach. The US biotech industry is much more competitive than the British one and one main cause for this is the mas-sive public funding, especially of young biotech companies, which does not fit the view that the US is a clear-cut liberal market economy. At the same time, despite these outcomes the proponents of the "Varieties of Capitalism" are not entirely wrong. Metaphorically speaking, the German biotech companies are not embedded in a coordinated market economy but rather located at their fringes. The German biotech com-panies can be successful in the high-risk segment of therapeutics because there is a relatively flexible labour market and access to professional venture capital companies. With a rigid labour market and bank loans it would not be possible and if the typical features of the coordinated market economy were interfering with the biotech industry, like for example the long-term dis-missal protection in the German pharmaceutical industry, the effect would be negative. By the same token, the dominance of the US biotech industry stems not only from public funding but also from a large capital markets and flexible labour markets. A process of maturation based on Sorge has not occurred yet in the biotech-based development of therapeutics even if there have been some advances that could lead to maturation in the fu-ture. The "National Innovations Systems" approach was confirmed for the most part: German biotech companies are internationally competitive in the high-risk segment of therapeutics and the institutional frameworks in which German and British biotech companies are embedded do not differ significantly. Besides, massive public funding explains to a considerable extent the superiority of the US to Great Britain in biotech. Notwithstanding, I argue that the "Varieties of Capitalism" is still the best approach for analysing the relations between institutions and innova-tions provided that three insights are taken into account: (1) the dominant institutions in a mar-ket economy do not have an effect on all sectors in a similar and decisive way; thus, radical in-novations can also be possible in a so-called coordinated market economy (2) one central pre-condition for the success of a market economy in a high-tech industry like biotech is massive public funding of young companies; (3) new technologies change over time in their innovative character due to processes of maturation and it is important to distinguish between subjective and objective processes of maturation. The "Varieties of Capitalism" approach is preferable to the "National Innovation Systems" ap-proach because the latter is not really a theoretical approach, as it does not strive for general conclusions and has an underdeveloped analytical framework. The strength of this approach emanates rather from the detailed empirical descriptions of specific innovation systems.