Suchergebnisse

As the conception of and debates on regional powers have been led by political science, this paper aims to contribute to the discussion from an economics perspective. Based on the discussion of different concepts of economic power - such as those of Schumpeter, Perroux, Predöhl, or Kindleberger - concepts of technological leadership, and the global value chain approaches, the paper develops a research framework for the economics of regional powers. This framework is then tested using descriptive statistics as well as regressions analysis, with a focus on the four regional powers Brazil, China, India, and South Africa. As economic power is relational, the relationship of regional powers to other nations in the region is analyzed. According to the findings, only limited statements on the economics of regional powers are possible: a regional power can be described as an economy with a relatively large population and land area which plays a dominant role in trade within the region and in the regional governance. The regional power develops its technological capacities, and its businesses act regionally and globally with increasing strength. -- Brazil ; China ; economic geography ; economic leadership ; economic power ; growth ; India ; investment ; public goods ; regional powers ; regression analysis ; South Africa ; technological change ; value chain ; trade

Social criticism has been a pervasive element in modern Arabic literature since its beginnings. This book is concerned with social criticism in blog narratives against the background of a long tradition of criticizing society through literary expression in the Egyptian national framework. It is also about ways in which the Arabic literary heritage, classical and contemporary, is put to work and recycled in Egyptian Arabic-language blogs. Readers will become aware that a number of the same societal and political problems that have been and still are treated in literature are brought up in Egyptian blogs. While social criticism will be shown to be a common thread in literary expression and blogging in Egypt, a central question is how bloggers use their cultural and literary heritage to advance their goals of changing social and political reality. The bloggers give voice to core problems with which an early blogging generation was and continues to be concerned. Some were discontented with the inability of the government to provide them with the democratic liberties they requested. Others emphasized the necessity to solve the urgent problems of poor governance, corruption and poverty. The book concludes that if the root problems are not addressed and the old order not removed, real change cannot take place. The question is what picture literature and social media including blogs will present to us henceforth: one of a society taking steps towards real change, or one reflecting the status quo with circumscribed individual liberties and lack of social reform