Suchergebnisse

A paraître in : Anna Bozzo Pierre Jean Luizard, Actes du colloque « "Les transitions arabes. La place de l'islam dans les polarisations politiques et confessionnelles" Paris 26 Mars 2014, RomatrEpress, 2014 ; How could the perception and, partlyso, the reality of an initiallysecular and democraticprotestmobilization have been misused, misguided, or merely concealed under the guise of radical and sectarian tension assigned to only one of the components of the Syrian national fabric? How could the « sectarianization » of Syrian society's internal fractures gradually come to resonatewithold and deeplines of tension, between the Sunni and Shiaatregionallevel, first and foremost, but, even more insidiously, between Islam and Christianity – at national minorities' level first, then on the international scene? ; Comment la perception et, en partie, la réalité d'une mobilisation protestataire initialement laïque et démocratique a-t-elle pu être détournée, dévoyée, ou seulement masquée sous les oripeaux de la crispation radicale et sectaire attribuée à une seule des composantes du tissu national syrien ?Comment la confessionnalisation des fractures internes de la société syrienne est-elle progressivement entrée en résonance avec de vieilles et profondes lignes de tension,sunnite -chiite à l'échelon régional, d'abord et surtout mais, plus insidieusement encore, entre Islam et Christianité, à l'échelon des minorités nationales d'abord, sur la scène internationale ensuite ?

What is the 'Women, Peace and Security agenda' and why is it relevant now for Australia? During 2013-14, Australia is a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and, with a growing foreign military, peacebuilding and aid presence around the world, the country must play a role in preventing conflict, in protecting women and girls from violence before, during and after conflict, and in encouraging the participation of women in these peace and security decisions in order to create the structural, gender-equal conditions for lasting peace. This article highlights the promises made by Australia during the campaign for the Security Council seat. It evaluates the credibility of the campaign commitments by assessing Australia's foreign policies and overseas aid spending on women and peacebuilding in Asia and the Pacific; exploring the avenues for government-funded research on women, peace and security issues to influence government policies and programs; and taking stock of the government's record of engaging with civil society in developing and carrying out its National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security. The article suggests concrete actions that would allow Australia to fulfil its promises and progress its international leadership on the major pillars of the Women, Peace and Security agenda. © 2014 © 2014 Australian Institute of International Affairs.

This volume was prepared by Sebastian Benz while he was working at the Ifo Institute. It was completed in December 2013 and accepted as a doctoral thesis by the Department of Economics at the University of Munich. It includes five self-contained chapters. All chapters discuss different implications of the growing importance of trade in intermediate inputs. The first chapter compares the impact of international trade in intermediate inputs (offshoring) on wage inequality in two distinct but similar frameworks. In the first framework the profitability of offshoring is based on increasing returns to scale on the task-level, whereas the second framework relies on differences in relative factor endowments of the two countries involved in offshoring. The second chapter provides a theory of offshoring under imitation risk that explains optimal dynamic adjustments of firms' offshoring decisions and yields two new channels by which offshoring affects wage inequality. Chapter 3 studies the impact of intellectual property rights and of offshoring costs on the rate of innovation and on the offshoring intensity. In chapter 4 I estimate knowledge spillovers through outsourcing relationships between German firms, measured by the number of those firms' successful patent applications. The last chapter describes sector-level input-output relationships in eleven European economies and estimates the importance of international trade in intermediate inputs and internationally mobile capital for the interdependence of output shocks in those countries.

This paper reconsiders the link between welfare state provision, globalisation and competitiveness empirically. We challenge the conventional wisdom that welfare states, large-scale public provision of social insurance and progressive systems of redistributive taxation are incompatible with economic globalisation. Our empirical analysis is motivated by recent theoretical work that looks at the effects of redistribution policies in open economies models that capture the interconnectedness of welfare states, production structures and international economic integration when goods and factor markets are imperfectly competitive and countries possess specific characteristics e.g. demographic structure, institutional features of labour markets, and government's preference structure. Hence, contrary to the conventional view, the efficiency gains stemming from increasing international openness strengthen the positive feed-back effects between redistribution policies and the exploitation of aggregate scale economies. We find some evidence in line with the theory, suggesting that there is indeed a positive interaction between vertical linkages and social expenditure in raising competitiveness. We also look at an important aspect of globalisation, namely the activities of multinational companies, and investigate whether social expenditure, which arguably contributes to a stable and more attractive social and economic environment for the operations of businesses, hinders or attracts inward investors. We find that social expenditure may be attractive to inward FDI and may also act to anchor firms in the home country.

This article focuses, first, on the moral legitimacy, leadership, and capacity of public service, and their potential role in considerations of ethics in international relations, in general, and corruption, in particular. Second, arguing that real politic has attenuated our analysis of corruption and our ability to oppose it on moral grounds, a case is made for linking the scholarly work on corruption and the scholarly work on morality in international relations, in order to enrich our understanding of corruption as a key moral concern of global governance, and to enable us, as well, to design and deliver effective anti-corruption initiatives across the globe. Finally, the article concludes with a call for morally independent and resilient public administrators as key players in competent states, as well as collaboration between practitioners and scholars in the development of new skills and strategies to advance democratic discourse and decision making at all levels of governance. ; Straipsnyje analizuojami moralės teisėtumo, lyderiavimo ir korupcijos bei viešosios tarnybos gebėjimų ir jos potencialaus vaidmens, apibrėžiant etikos nuostatas tarptautiniuose santykiuose, aspektai. Akcentuojama, kad korupcija išlieka svarbus mokslinių tyrimų objektas, analizuojant globalaus valdymo problemas ir ieškant būdų pasaulinio masto antikorupcinėms priemonėms. Nurodoma, kad ugdant moraliai nepriklausomus ir jautriai į aplinką reaguojančius šiuolaikinius valstybės tarnautojus, sugebančius dirbti įvairiuose valdymo lygmenyse, būtinas glaudus praktikų ir mokslininkų bendradarbiavimas.

International audience ; This paper summarises workshop discussions at the 5th international MYCORED meeting in Ottawa, Canada (June 2012) with over 200 participants representing academics, government and industry scientists, government officials and farming organisations (present in roughly equal proportions) from 27 countries. Workshops centred on how mycotoxins in food and feed affect value chains and trade in the region covered by the North American Free Trade Agreement. Crops are contaminated by one or more of five important mycotoxins in parts of Canada and the United States every year, and when contaminated food and feed are consumed in amounts above tolerable limits, human and animal health are at risk. Economic loss from such contamination includes reduced crop yield, grain quality, animal productivity and loss of domestic and export markets. A systematic effort by grain producers, primary, transfer, and terminal elevators, millers and food and feed processers is required to manage these contaminants along the value chain. Workshops discussed lessons learned from investments in plant genetics, fungal genomics, toxicology, analytical and sampling science, management strategies along the food and feed value chains and methods to ameliorate the effects of toxins in grain on animal production and on reducing the impact of mycotoxins on population health in developing countries. These discussions were used to develop a set of priorities and recommendations.

The transatlantic security relationship is built on strong and enduring shared values. Americans and Europeans share, on the whole, similar perceptions about the nature of power, the norms that should guide relations among states, as well as a desire to promote democracy and basic human rights. The US and Europe also share most of their security objectives, this being particularly true when speaking of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and tackling state weakness around the world. Not surprisingly, therefore, our elite survey revealed that elites across the Atlantic are supportive of each other's role in maintaining international security, and wish to remain partners through NATO. However, the partnership is exposed to a serious risk of fragmentation driven by changes in the international landscape, mainly the rise of multipolarity and the emergence of China as a major security player in East Asia, and by events with significant internal implications such as the financial crisis that started in 2007 and the subsequent Eurozone crisis and the emergence or multiplication of crises from Libya and Mali to the Middle East and Ukraine. These developments could easily pull the transatlantic partners in different directions, perhaps more so than any other change of the past half-century, creating tensions between the two, and bringing into question the usefulness of their alliance.

A paraître in : Anna Bozzo Pierre Jean Luizard, Actes du colloque « "Les transitions arabes. La place de l'islam dans les polarisations politiques et confessionnelles" Paris 26 Mars 2014, RomatrEpress, 2014 ; How could the perception and, partlyso, the reality of an initiallysecular and democraticprotestmobilization have been misused, misguided, or merely concealed under the guise of radical and sectarian tension assigned to only one of the components of the Syrian national fabric? How could the « sectarianization » of Syrian society's internal fractures gradually come to resonatewithold and deeplines of tension, between the Sunni and Shiaatregionallevel, first and foremost, but, even more insidiously, between Islam and Christianity – at national minorities' level first, then on the international scene? ; Comment la perception et, en partie, la réalité d'une mobilisation protestataire initialement laïque et démocratique a-t-elle pu être détournée, dévoyée, ou seulement masquée sous les oripeaux de la crispation radicale et sectaire attribuée à une seule des composantes du tissu national syrien ?Comment la confessionnalisation des fractures internes de la société syrienne est-elle progressivement entrée en résonance avec de vieilles et profondes lignes de tension,sunnite -chiite à l'échelon régional, d'abord et surtout mais, plus insidieusement encore, entre Islam et Christianité, à l'échelon des minorités nationales d'abord, sur la scène internationale ensuite ?

Ukraine crisis is a manifestation of acute geopolitical rivalry between the West and Russia for inluence in Ukraine. A particular, bilateral aspect of this crisis is the limited conlict between Russia and Ukraine, in which the latter has lost Crimea and combats separatism in its eastern oblasts, Donetsk and Lugansk. The classical theories of political realism represented by Hans Morgenthau and Frederick Hartmann as well as offensive realism of John Mearsheimer are used to conduct the analysis of international aspect of this crisis. From this research perspective the article presents a brief history of the crisis and the motives of engaged parties, the West – including the United States, Poland and the European Union, as well as the motives of Russia. The paper highlights the rivalry level: geopolitical area over the spheres of influence, moreover military-strategic area as well as economic one. The author presents the consequences of the crisis for Ukraine, Poland and international order. And finally reflects on the key question – how out of the crisis? He presents proposals that suggest more restraint in the position of all parties involved in the crisis, and concludes that the crisis has shown that without cooperation with Russia is not possible an extension of Western influence and to realize the dream of Ukrainians of joining the European Union.

1ères lignes : Regardless of the attention it attracts, the notion of "a country's place in the world" is generally held to designate its economic power and political influence. And yet, in this age of benchmarking3, it seems every domain is the subject of one international ranking or another. From traditional areas such as economics to education and innovation, more and more sectors are becoming the object of measurement, evaluation and, naturally, rankings. These league tables are typically compiled by consulting firms or analysts commissioned to carry them out, or by international agencies which evaluate all entities included in the ranking through the lens of a standardized set of metrics. One point that most have in common is that they leave to one side the question of how suitable a "single" metric – conceived in a particular country, but applied to radically diverse local contexts – is for evaluating perceptions as subjective as "quality of urban living" or the "liveability" of a city. Nevertheless, we might also argue that since they are based on the measurement of the salary levels rankings and occupational ranks of men and women in each individual country, gender equality rankings provide a useful starting point for comparisons and debate on why a given country scores so well – or so poorly – in the ranking4.

Self-help doctrines pervade the law. They regulate a legal subject's attempts to cure or prevent a perceived wrong by her own action, rather than through a mediated process. In their most acute form, these doctrines allow subjects to take what international lawyers call countermeasures – measures that would be forbidden if not pursued for redressive ends. Countermeasures are inescapable and invaluable. They are also deeply concerning, prone to error and abuse and to escalating cycles of vengeance. Disciplining countermeasures becomes a central challenge for any legal regime that recognizes them. How does American constitutional law meet this challenge? This Article contends that a robust set of unwritten, quasi-legal norms shapes and constrains retaliation as well as cooperation across the U.S. government, and it explores how these conventions of self-help correspond to regulatory principles that have emerged in public international law. Re-envisioning intragovernmental conflict through the lens of self-help gives us new descriptive and critical purchase on the separation of powers. By attending to the theory and practice of constitutional countermeasures, the Article tries to show, we can advance familiar debates over legislative obstruction and presidential adventurism, and we can develop richer models of constitutional contestation within and beyond the branches.

Currently in Curaçao, mangroves are not protected by law and are destroyed by human activities such as clearing for land reclamation, tourist resorts, and pollution. This capstone project explores the importance of mangroves, explaining the possible values gained and opportunity costs if the government took advantage of this valuable natural resource (mostly through tourism). Tourism is a major source of revenue for Curaçao, with most people being attracted to Curaçao for their nature and beautiful coral reefs. However, without the mangroves, the reefs would likely suffer, and therefore tourism could also suffer. This report details the definition of mangroves, their global distribution, how they are specially adapted to their unique intertidal habitat, as well as describing the fauna that live there. In addition, the critical ecosystem services that mangroves provide to the island, and the economic benefits of mangroves, are discussed. Recommendations given include: (1) creating legislation that prohibits the damage and destruction of all mangroves on the island (2) expanding eco-tourism to mangroves as well as creating education programs on mangrove ecosystems (3) joining more international treaties, such as the Ramsar Convention, will give the people a sense of pride of being a part of the international community that also protects their nature

In Drechsel, Pay; Scott, C. A.; Raschid-Sally, Liqa; Redwood, M.; Bahri, Akissa (Eds.). Wastewater irrigation and health: assessing and mitigating risk in low-income countries. London, UK: Earthscan; Ottawa, Canada: International Development Research Centre (IDRC); Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). ; The volume and extent of urban wastewater generated by domestic, industrial and commercial water use has increased with population, urbanization, industrialization, improved living conditions and economic development. Most developing-country governments do not have sufficient resources to treat wastewater. Therefore, despite official restrictions and potential health implications, farmers in many developing countries use wastewater in diluted, untreated or partly treated forms with a large range of associated benefits. Aside from microbiological hazards, the practice can pose a variety of other potential risks: excessive and often imbalanced addition of nutrients to the soil; build-up of salts in the soils (depending on the source water, especially sodium salts); increased concentrations of metals and metalloids (particularly where industries are present) reaching phytotoxic levels over the long term; and accumulation of emerging contaminants, like residual pharmaceuticals. As these possible trade-offs of wastewater use vary significantly between sites and regions, it is necessary to carefully monitor wastewater quality, its sources and use for location-specific risk assessment and risk reduction.

Der Wert formaler Qualifikationen ist über den Lebenszeitraum hinweg längst nicht mehr stabil. Heute müssen sich die Menschen den veränderten Anforderungen der Arbeitsmärkte stellen und entsprechende Kompetenzen entwickeln. Formale Qualifikationen bilden tatsächliche Kompetenzen – was wir wissen, was wir können und wie wir kognitive, emotionale und soziale Fähigkeiten mobilisieren – nur zum Teil ab. Die OECD hat daher mit PIAAC (Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies) ein Instrument entwickelt, um die Kompetenzen Erwachsener zu messen. Die Bildungsforscherin Elke Gruber geht im Interview mit Andreas Schleicher, dem PIAAC-Verantwortlichen der OECD, der Frage nach, warum die PIAAC-Ergebnisse bisher so wenige bildungspolitische Reaktionen hervorrufen. Schleicher berichtet über die Hintergründe und die strategische Ausrichtung von PIAAC und wirft einen Blick in die Zukunft der Kompetenzmessungen. (DIPF/Orig.) ; The value of formal qualifications no longer remains stable over the course of a person's lifetime. Today people must meet the changed demands of labour markets and develop appropriate competencies. Formal qualifications describe actual competencies – what we know, what we can do and how we mobilize our cognitive, emotional and social abilities – only in part. With the PIAAC (Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies), the OECD has developed an instrument for measuring the competencies of adults. Educational researcher Elke Gruber interviews Andreas Schleicher, the PIAAC spokesperson of the OECD, and considers why the PIAAC findings have provoked so few reactions at the level of educational policy. Schleicher reports on the background to and strategic orientation of the PIAAC and provides a glimpse of the future of competence measurement. (DIPF/Orig.)

In dieser Ausgabe wird untersucht, unter welchen Bedingungen die Bemühungen externer Akteure zum Staatsaufbau (state-building) in Räumen begrenzter Staatlichkeit effektiv sind. Wir argumentieren, dass die Legitimität der extern geförderten Norm unter lokalen Akteuren wesentlich für den erfolgreichen Aufbau von Staatskapazitäten ist. Internationale Normen müssen anschlussfähig sein an dominante innerstaatliche Diskurse über politische Reformen. Empirisch untersuchen wir die Anti-Korruptions-Programme der Europäischen Union (EU) und ihre Implementation in einer der korruptesten Regionen der Welt, dem Südkaukasus. Wir zeigen, dass Legitimität erklären kann, warum die Bemühungen der EU in Georgien zur Verringerung von Korruption beigetragen haben, nicht aber in Armenien. In beiden Ländern konnten politische Eliten die Anti-Korruptions-Programme selektiv als Instrument gegen politische Gegner nutzen und mit Hilfe vergrößerter Staatskapazitäten das Regime stabilisieren. Allerdings wurde nur in Georgien die Korruptionsbekämpfung durch eine dauerhafte innerstaatliche Mobilisierung unterstützt, die zusätzlichen Druck auf politische Eliten zur effektiven Umsetzung institutioneller Reformen aufbaute. ; This paper asks under which conditions the state-building efforts of external actors in areas of limited statehood are likely to be effective. We argue that the legitimacy of the specific norms promoted by external actors among local actors is crucial for their success in strengthening state capacities. International norms need to resonate with the dominant domestic discourse on political reforms. To substantiate our argument, we focus on the European Union's (EU) anti-corruption programs and their implementation in one of the most corrupt regions in the world, the Southern Caucasus. We show that legitimacy can explain why the EU's fight against corruption helped reduce corruption in Georgia but not in Armenia. In both countries, political elites could selectively use anti-corruption programs as an instrument against ...