Suchergebnisse

Anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBMs) are thought by many to be a "game-changer" for the People's Republic of China (PRC) in future military conflicts with the United States around Taiwan, but critics refute this "game-changer" notion. The arguments on both sides are myths. Missile defense cannot be one hundred percent effective in intercepting incoming ASBMs, and an aircraft carrier is bound to be spotted if it is going to be a usefulwar-fighting machine. Nonetheless, ASBMs do not change the game in the PRC's favor. Carriers are not crucial to a U.S. intervention. Other assets immune to ASBMs can stop a military takeover of Taiwan. Sinking U.S. carriers would also be counterproductive for the PRC, as it would escalate a conflict which Beijing has little chance of winning. (Issues Stud/GIGA)

This study seeks to address Taiwan's security in general & to investigate the variation of Taiwan's military spending in particular. Previous research has shown that Taiwan's military security is affected by both the People's Republic of China's military buildup & the US military pipeline. This study investigates whether the ongoing US-China relationship also affects the island's security. Three major findings are derived from the statistical analyses. First & foremost, the level of conflict between the US & China has a positive effect on the increase of Taiwan's military spending. Second, the volatility of US-China relations has a negative effect on Taiwan's military spending; this finding suggests that instability in US-China relations will prompt Taiwan to decrease its military spending due to a higher amount of perceived security on the one hand, with Taiwan also desiring to avoid further provocation of China on the other. Third, analyses indicate that an error correction model (ECM) fares better than a simple budgetary incremental model (BIM) in explaining the re-equilibrating effects of GNP growth on Taiwan's military spending. 3 Tables, 5 Figures, 4 Appendixes. Adapted from the source document.

Traces the history of US military relations with Taiwan & the People's Republic of China & the latter two's relations globally. US-Taiwan military relations are marked by arms sales to Taiwan. Taiwan's foreign relations program is relatively low key given its lack of official recognition globally. US-China relations from the late 1970s to the present are described. China's foreign relations program is viewed as growing & expanding despite fluctuating relations with the US. At issue is the US ability to maintain a balanced relationship with the other two principals. I. Sharp

Since 1980, as part of the worldwide trend toward regional economic co-operation, a number of proposals have appeared concerning the economic integration of Taiwan, Hongkong, Macao and the Chinese mainland. The author considers the political implications of these proposals and the political obstacles the creation of such an entity might face. (DÜI-Sen)

After a brief overview of mainland China's technological development, the author considers what mainland China can offer to Taiwan in respect of technology transfer. He believes that although the time of technology transfers from the mainland is not ripe yet, there are great potentialities for two sides of the Taiwan Strait to undertake vertical work division in scientific and technological development if their economic and political relations can be further improved. (DÜI-Sen)

This paper analyzes the business cycle characteristics of the economies of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States using a model of a small open economy subject to interest rate and fiscal expenditure shocks and financial frictions. The paper shows that macroeconomic aggregates in this region are quite volatile, with consumption exhibiting higher volatility than gross domestic product. The analysis also finds that in these economies real interest rates are highly volatile and strongly countercyclical with gross domestic product and other macroeconomic aggregates. Similarly, fiscal expenditures show significant volatility, but are pro-cyclical with gross domestic product. The results suggest two major directions for designing policies to help reduce the volatility experienced by the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States economies. First, Organization of Eastern Caribbean States countries should seek a greater openness to international financial markets, which could help them smooth out the effects of fundamental shocks, such as shocks to technology and terms of trade, and shocks associated with natural hazards. However, this removal of international financial barriers needs to be accompanied by improvements in domestic financial conditions, as this would reduce the vulnerability of these economies to country risk premium shocks. Second, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States region should try harder to move toward a countercyclical fiscal policy stance, as this could help to stabilize the domestic risk premium and cushion the negative effects of interest rate shocks on economic activity, hence reducing volatility.

The scope and nature of humanilarian emergencies generaled by civil conflicts and wars in Africa exceed the continental capacity to adequately and effectively respond to them. With the founding of the African Union and the drafting of the Responsibility to Protect doctrine, the basis for collective action against genocide, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, it is a critical time to reflect how best to address issues of regional peace and conflict. New regional conflicts around health, water, land and food security in the world's pooresl and most socially fragmented continent strengthen the need for this volume to assess African regional security arrangements, and provide new policy recommendations. -- back cover.

Developments in international relations and military doctrines after the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States and the subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have raised a number of issues related to the production, transfer and use of military technology. Part of the response to asymmetric or other threats depends on the exploitation of relevant skills in support of research, development and production; on the efficient organization of such activities at the national and multinational levels; and on sharing the outputs with friendly states and allies. Military research and development (R&D) is the most expensive and basic phase in the creation of a new weapon platform. The 'revolution in military affairs', which some see as more of a constant evolution, is a process that today is identified with 'network-centric' military solutions, of which the war in Iraq in 2003 has been called the first operational test. The Iraq war effort benefited from the breakdown of the barrier between civil and military technology in the fields of communications, information technology and sensors. There has been a shift in emphasis from traditional military R&D of defined weapon platforms towards greater military exploitation of science and technology (S&T). This is referred to as 'S&T-based military innovation', implying cooperation with as well as direct and long-term military support -- through defense ministries, armed services and related research organizations -- for basic research, applied research and exploratory technology development to achieve and support future military capabilities. The USA and the UK are examples of nations with a national S&T-based military innovation policy. Despite their differences, both policies reflect the overlap between what are considered civil and military S&T areas. In the USA the implementation of S&T-based military innovation has been standard procedure at least since World War II. The UK is a major European military producer and the one where a new emphasis on S&T-based military innovation has been most clearly demonstrated. In spite of the European Security and Defense Policy, there is no coordinated European S&T-based military innovation policy. This is partly because the inclusion of defense as an EU task is only recent and partly because of the overlapping and unclear boundaries between the pillars of the organization. Another difficulty is national competition within Europe and attempts to preserve national skills rather than pool them. However, there are changes under way that might constitute steps towards the establishment of a more coordinated European, or even EU, S&T-based military innovation policy. Should such a policy be formulated, the enlargement of the EU in 2004 may bring both S&T benefits and competitive drawbacks. It is also open to question whether European S&T will be sufficient to meet EU capability ambitions. Exploiting foreign S&T for EU military innovation would enhance national S&T-based military innovation and multinational research programs. There are three long-term implications of a shift towards EU S&T-based military innovation: for data and transparency; for research ethics; and for finding a political balance between cooperation, competition and technology controls among both friends and foes. The data and transparency problem -- a general problem in military and security studies -- is further complicated by S&T-based military innovation. The ethical problem is basically an individual problem mainly for non-military actors involved in S&T-based military innovation. The neutral aspect of S&T and the many uncertainties with regard to its potential military use will involve difficult considerations for actors, especially if transparency remains low. The problem of finding an acceptable political balance between the free sharing of S&T results and trying to gain commercial and technological advantages over military competitors -- both friends and foes -- while at the same time implementing technology transfer controls in order to prevent or delay military innovation by potential enemies is likely to become an increasingly delicate task. Adapted from the source document.

Ist Industrialisierung nur ein Nebenprodukt ökonomischer Entwicklung oder der Schlüssel für wirtschaftlichen Erfolg? Welche Besonderheiten weist das verarbeitende Gewerbe auf und besitzen diese auch empirische Gültigkeit in den afrikanischen Volkswirtschaften? Ist ein dienstleistungsgetriebenes Wachstum die passende Antwort auf die Herausforderungen der Globalisierung? Ziel der Arbeit ist es, die Rolle des verarbeitenden Gewerbes für die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung Afrikas herauszustellen. Ein vergleichender, historischer Blick lässt einen positiven Zusammenhang zwischen Industrialisierung und dem wirtschaftlichen Aufstieg von Nationen erwarten. Die Anwendbarkeit dieses Musters wird in dieser Arbeit für die Volkswirtschaften Afrikas überprüft. Im Anschluss wird dargestellt, welche theoretischen Argumente, die für das verarbeitende Gewerbe sprechen, auch empirische Gültigkeit auf dem afrikanischen Kontinent besitzen.