Suchergebnisse

This article on Varoufakis's book, Adults in The Room: My Battle with Europe's Deep Establishment (2017) and about what happened in Greece in 2015 is a guide for left-leaning readers who are not happy with the dominant narrative meted out by the mainstream media and the Troika-controlled governments. These readers are also dissatisfied with the former Greek Finance Minister's version. As a counterpoint to Varoufakis's story, I have highlighted events that he is silent about, and I have expressed different views on what he should have done and what he did instead. My story runs parallel, and not opposite, to his. It is crucial to thoroughly analyse the policy implemented by the Varoufakis-Tsipras government because, for the first time in the 21st century, a radical left-wing government was elected in Europe. If we want to avoid another disaster, it is absolutely vital to identify the flaws and understand what went wrong. This critique of the Greek government's policy in 2015 is not primarily meant to point out the respective responsibilities of Tsipras or Varoufakis as individuals. It is imperative to analyse the politico-economic orientation that was followed, so that we can ascertain the causes of failure, understand what could have been tried instead, and learn what a radical left-wing government can do in a country in the periphery of the Eurozone.

This chapter critically assesses Africa–Europe collaborations on climate change research and innovation. Its authors argue that the complexity of research and innovation challenges on this topic calls for subtler collaborative and evaluation programmes. More importantly, they emphasise the need for greater harmonisation between scientific and political priorities on climate change, and point out that project goals should be more precisely defined, so as to ensure that results can be measured concretely and solutions can be progressively improved. In the absence of this clarity, they argue, climate change research and innovation programmes run the risk of being reduced to mere rhetorical statements.

This paper argues that the institution of the Missione Archeologica Italiana a Malta in 1963 is the offspring of the archaeological policies endorsed by the Nationalist Party (PN) that guided Malta to Independence. By looking at the archaeological debate in 1950s - early 1960s Malta this paper suggests that the revival of post-prehistoric studies by the Italians suited the cultural aspirations of the PN government and provided an effective answer to the colonial control of the discipline set out earlier by the British with the Malta Ancient Monuments Survey. ; peer-reviewed

The purpose of this thesis is to identify residency patterns and neighborhoods for Savannah-Irish immigrants in the mid-nineteenth century. Using a multimethod approach, this thesis explores historical, social, and economic factors that influenced settlement patterns and cultivated the conditions for an Irish-American identity, particularly in two neighborhoods, Old Fort and Yamacraw. Guided by Yancey et al.'s (1976) emergent ethnicity theory, this study uses archival materials, as well as chi-square tests for association, and the 1860 Federal Census of Chatham County, Georgia, to geolocate Irish immigrants. With an emphasis on County Wexford, Ireland, the results suggest residency was associated with Irish county of origin and occupation; patterns of residency based on ethnicity did exist in mid-nineteenth century Savannah.

The use of incentives to attract investment is connected to and impacts the most pressing challenges facing us today, including climate change, corruption, employment, development, harmful competition, and public spending efficiency. How, when, where, and why governments use incentives to attract investment is therefore critically important to whether and how society benefits from investments and to other public policy decisions and trade-offs. It is increasingly apparent, however, that the use of incentives is not well understood – including by the policy makers who use them – which necessitates a closer look and, in many cases, a policy response. In that context, this book explores the use of incentives by governments worldwide, illustrating current trends relating to a diverse range of incentives. It also discusses current and possible future efforts at the sub-national, national, and international level to address the policy and governance challenges that are both driving, and driven by, the use of incentives. By linking economic analysis, development impacts, regulatory issues and policy options, this book is a key resource for understanding what the increasing mobility of capital means for the cities, states, nations and regions that seek to attract, direct, and retain investments. As an overall conclusion, this volume suggests that careful investment policies are particularly crucial to guide the strategic and efficient mobilization of public and private resources for improved economic, social and environmental outcomes. Investment incentives may play a useful role, if they are strategically and thoughtfully designed and are based on a robust cost-benefit analysis. ; https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/sustainable_investment_books/1003/thumbnail.jpg

The EU is in the midst of completing one of its most delicate negotiations to date – the talks on the "EU Reform" with which British Prime Minister David Cameron hopes to persuade the British to vote to stay in the Union. The heart of his vision for the EU is flexibility. Britain should be given the opportunity to cut loose from further EU integration and concentrate its membership on a deepened internal market. As such, Cameron is proposing to consolidate his nation's existing special position within an increasingly differentiating Union. Concrete political considerations aside, the EU states must therefore find answers to two central questions in the negotiations: How much differentiation, how many opt-outs, can the European Union withstand? And how can a single market of 28, a Eurozone of 19 and more permanent differentiation be better managed? (author's abstract)

In their concise introduction, the two editors of this volume point not only to the causes of the crisis in Greece but also to the immense efforts the country made in 2010-2012 to recover.

"The Belarusian regime is under pressure economically and socially. The Minsk metro bombing on April 2011, which caused 14 deaths, showed the new instability of the country. High inflation and small foreign currency reserves have led to a deeper dependency on loans from Russia. Since the rigged elections and the violent crackdowns on demonstration in December 2010, EU-Belarus relations are at a low point. To develop a new EU strategy toward Belarus, the EU should take a closer look at the structural developments in the country and approach two groups for a new cooperation: the young pro-European society and the disappointed elite." [author's abstract]

The goal of this handbook is to enhance the practice of mediation by showing how lessons from individual mediators can be identified and made available both to their home organization (e.g., a foreign ministry, intergovernmental organization, or nongovernmental organization) and to a wider practitioner audience. More particularly, the handbook gives guidance to staff debriefing mediators who are or have been directly involved in peace negotiations. The focus here is not on self-assessments by the mediators themselves, nor on evaluations of the mediator's performance by external donors, nor on political or psychological debriefing. Instead, this handbook examines methodological debriefing: that is, interviews conducted with the goal of learning lessons about the mediation method from the experience of a specific mediator that are useful for future mediation processes. Methodological debriefing is typically conducted by individuals who have not been directly involved in the mediator's work and who do not seek to judge it but who want to learn the mediator's perspective on what was done and why it was done. Ideally, the mediator will also benefit from the interview by discovering something new through the questions posed, by having the opportunity to recount a challenging experience, or at least by having her or his experiences documented in a structured and objective manner.

Das Policy Paper entstand im Vorfeld der Durban-Review-Konferenz, die im April 2009 in Genf stattfand. Diese Konferenz der Vereinten Nationen beschäftigte sich mit der Umsetzung der auf der 3. Weltkonferenz gegen Rassismus in Durban 2001 beschlossenen Maßnahmen. Die Durban-Review-Konferenz stand im Brennpunkt heftiger Auseinandersetzungen, die in Forderungen nach Boykott kulminierten. Das (englischsprachige) Policy Paper zeigt die Hintergründe auf, ohne die eine angemessene Einschätzung der Streitfrage nicht möglich ist.