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This book suggests the importance of examining alternative discourses in the social sciences, in this case economics, beyond western-centric cultural milieu. The account attempts to unveil the existence of a post Second World War economic approach developed in Latin America. The perspective questioned the dominant economic science disseminated within and outside the Anglo-Saxon or Eurocentric countries (western-centric academia) during the 1950´s. Today, after the appalling cataclysms in welfare and equality generated by neoclassical economics, an alternative economics seems order in the Northern and Southern hemisphere. The rebirth of Latin American Structuralism within the developing countries, and the widely publicized names of Raúl Prebisch, Celso Furtado among others, within the western-centric audiences requires an up to date of the vocabulary and concepts. Retrospectively these authors discussed can be examined as the original sources in Latin America among those who developed the basis of decolonial thought. The book problematizes the domestication of Latin American Structuralism in the Northern or Southern hemisphere alike and discusses its potential similarities to Post-Keynesian perspectives related to power asymmetries among countries, firms, and heterogenous agents.

This paper examines whether foreign exchange black markets have eroded the effectiveness of capital controls and contributed to an increase in the effective degree of capital mobility in a sample of Asian countries. Comparing the uncovered interest parity forecast errors between the official and black market exchange rates suggests that in those countries with more stringent capital controls, foreign exchange black markets have reached a maturity level to threaten the effectiveness of those controls.

Why have some former enemy countries established durable peace while others remain mired in animosity? When and how does historical memory matter in post-conflict interstate relations? Focusing on two case studies, Yinan He argues that the key to interstate reconciliation is the harmonization of national memories. Conversely, memory divergence resulting from national mythmaking harms long-term prospects for reconciliation. After WWII, Sino-Japanese and West German-Polish relations were both antagonized by the Cold War structure, and pernicious myths prevailed in national collective memory. In the 1970s, China and Japan brushed aside historical legacy for immediate diplomatic normalization. But the progress of reconciliation was soon impeded from the 1980s by elite mythmaking practices that stressed historical animosities. Conversely, from the 1970s West Germany and Poland began to de-mythify war history and narrowed their memory gap through restitution measures and textbook cooperation, paving the way for significant progress toward reconciliation after the Cold War

"In this comparative work of sociology, Adjepong examines the aspirations of a diverse group of Ghanaians who moved to the United States; those who returned to Ghana after years in the United States, Western Europe, or the United Kingdom; and those who have always made their lives in Ghana. In doing so, Adjepong provides a new way to understand how a select group of upwardly mobile Africans collectively and individually demonstrate their belonging as global citizens. The author takes care to place an emphasis on intersectionality, with a particular focus on sexuality, sexual politics, and popular culture, which opens up space for an engagement with African lives as complex and complicated--a correction to the simplistic Western view of Ghanaians and Africans writ large. Adjepong's examination of class-privileged Africans brings this understudied cohort to the forefront by acknowledging their experiences and, in turn, offers a more fully realized understanding of the diversity of African lives"--

This is a clear, comprehensive and authoritative introduction to the institutional regimes of countries in Western Europe written by an outstanding group of political scientists.

Seaford explores the changing conception of childhood in GB, & contends that the changes affecting the construction of childhood include communication technology; putting children in the same cultural space as adults; the pressures of consumerism; & the extension of education, keeping children in dependency relationships with parents for longer periods of time. Seaford concludes that all these trends have in common the fact that the child is being valued as a mini-adult or future adult, rather than as a child. She proposes rethinking the public space as a place for children as well as adults. Reconceptualizing public space with an eye toward valuing children would eliminate some of the pressures posed by technology, consumerism, & dependency. It is also suggested that more public spending should be targeted toward issues relating to children & young people. 2 Graphs. J. Backman

Covers relations with the US, the USSR and other Eastern European countries, Western Europe, Japan and the Pacific region, and the Third World.

In many European countries mayors are local political leaders. Dutch mayors, however, are neither local nor political, as national government appoints them. Their office is subject to serious changes. While it still carries a lot of 'natural' authority, its content has changed rather drastically. In this article, the researchers first of all give an overview of the mayoral office in Western Europe and sketch the Dutch mayorship. The next step is to discuss recent developments: councils gaining influence on the actual mayoral selection, mayors getting more legal capacities and responsibilities, and society demanding stronger leadership. They will explore the ways present mayors cope with the emerging tensions between these developments, and between the responses to them. The focus is on tensions between the various developments and the risks the mayorship runs. Adapted from the source document.

The long road to maternal death has been well delineated (Fathalla 1987); however, the diverse pathways down the road to women"s health have yet to be traced. The health of Palestinian women is shaped by the context in which they are living, their experience of the past, and their hope for the future. Based on the assumption that all women have the right to adequate and safe health care, this overview of women"s health will explore some of the social, political and biomedical factors which affect women"s health and the provision of health services in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). Presenting a portrait of Palestinian women"s health, the provision of care, and the external and internal challenges faced in the provision of effective and equitable health care, this review aims to promote local and international dialogue to improve the well-being of Palestinian women and their families, in line with the goals of the International Conference on Population and Development. While the Millenium Development Goals in low income countries show trends in key universal indicators of women"s health, they do not depict the quality or experience of care, or how the conditions in which women live affect their physical and psychological health. Rather, over-reliance on quantifying women"s health care through coverage indicators can deflect attention away from what has been called the "structural violence" (Farmer 2003) of poor women"s everyday life, that goes unnoticed or ignored. A broader approach to women"s health is needed for a better understanding of how to improve the lives of Palestinian women and how to go beyond emergency aid to develop a vision and plan for sustainable development based on and emanating from the local context. Palestinian women"s health and well-being has been shaped by the interplay of different factors over the years of Israeli military occupation. Over one-half (57%) of households were living under the poverty line in 2007,1 with increasing socioeconomic and regional inequalities (Mataria et al 2009). Most critically in the past year, women in Gaza are suffering from the casualties and the destruction of the Israeli attacks in December 2008- January 2009, and the continuing siege of the Gaza Strip, prohibiting reconstruction and daily subsistence. Within the context of deteriorating living conditions, this review will present the research data available on women"s health status throughout the life cycle and how women"s health care has evolved over the recent decades. Finally, it will investigate the quality, safety and gaps in the provision of health care. Understanding the process of care and its systemic deficiencies may contribute to improving the quality, safety and efficiency of care and its responsiveness to women"s needs both locally and regionally, where similar challenges to quality care have been identified (UNDP 2009)

AbstractThis study analyzes the intergenerational transmission of education in nine Sub‐Saharan African countries, using nationally representative household survey data on parents of adult individuals. It provides the levels and trends of intergenerational persistence of years of schooling over 50 years, and it also ranks the nine countries relative to other nations. There is a declining cohort trend in the intergenerational persistence of education, particularly after the 1960s. Nevertheless, the education of parents remains a strong determinant of the educational outcomes of children. The analysis also documents country heterogeneity (intergenerational educational mobility varies significantly across countries) and a marked gender effect: daughter's education attainment is more correlated with her parents' education than that of sons. From a policy perspective, our result points to the importance of targeted redistributive policies and the expansion of secondary education to improve mobility.

Well-functioning political parties are essential components of democracy. They organize voters, aggregate and articulate interests, craft policy alternatives, recruit and socialize new candidates for office, set policy-making agendas, integrate disparate groups and individuals into the democratic process, and provide the basis for coordinated electoral and legislative activity. But political parties in many developing democracies remain weak and underdeveloped, often being based around personal, ethnic or regional ties rather than national interests. Today, with more states deciding their leaders through multiparty elections than ever before, many developing democracies seek to shape the development of political parties and party systems by regulating the way parties can form, organize and behave. Most of these ambitious initiatives and innovations emanate from new democracies rather than established Western examples. This volume examines this growing trend in conflict-prone societies towards promoting stable and inclusive political parties via political party regulation and engineering in developing democracies around the world.

After Iraq's military defeat in 1991, many in the West & in Arab states hoped that changes in the world & region would produce a new Middle East of pragmatism, reform, democracy, & peace. Given the Soviet Union's collapse, growing democracy elsewhere, & U.S. emergence as sole superpower, a better world seemed imminent. A generation of Arabs had experienced defeat, tragedy, & stagnation. Surely, they would recognize what had gone wrong & choose another path. But, increasingly, they show they have not. The euphoria of the 1990s -- in light of Saddam's defeat in Kuwait, the Oslo process, & the growth of Arab civil society -- was short-lived. For much of the current decade, events have pointed to a backward trend. First, there was Palestinian & Syrian rejection of peace with Israel in 2000 & then re-embrace of terrorism in the intifada. This was followed in quick succession by the fallout from the September 11 attacks, glorifying insurgency & terrorism in Iraq, crushing of internal liberal reform movements, & electoral advances by Hamas, Hezbollah, & the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Adapted from the source document.

SINCE THE PROCLAMATION OF UKRAINE'S INDEPENDENCE IN DECEMBER 1991, WESTERN ATTENTION HAS FOCUSED PRIMARILY ON THE MILITARY AND POLITICAL PROBLEMS ATTENDANT ON THE EMERGENCE OF A NEW, POPULOUS, AND POTENTIALLY POWERFUL STATE IN SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE. GENERALLY LOST IN THE EXCITEMENT HAS BEEN THE CONDITION OF THE UKRAINIAN ECONOMY, WHICH HAS REGRESSED FROM BAD TO WORSE AND COULD POSSIBLY COLLAPSE, LEADING TO THE BREAKDOWN OF THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORDER AND, ULTIMATELY, TO THE LOSS OF INDEPENDENCE. THE CURRENT WOES OF THE ECONOMY CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO TWO SEPARATE BUT INTERRELATED CAUSES: (2) A STUBBORN REFUSAL TO INTRODUCE MEANINGFUL ECONOMIC REFORMS AND (2) THE LACK OF FUEL RESOURCES NEEDED TO POWER THE ECONOMY. THIS STUDY FOCUSES ON THE SECOND PROBLEM, KYIV'S EFFORTS TO SECURE THE REQUIRED FUEL FROM ITS TRADITIONAL SUPPLIERS -- RUSSIA AND TURKMENISTAN -- AS WELL AS FROM THE MIDDLE EAST, PRIMARILY IRAN. FOREIGN POLICY ISSUES AND QUESTIONS OF NATIONAL INTEREST HAVE COMPLICATED UKRAINE'S QUEST FOR FUEL AS RUSSIA, IN PARTICULAR, BENEFITS FROM A WEAK UKRAINE.

The paper examines the activities of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), which has an extensive network of socio-economic development agencies in Central Asia. The purpose of the research was to study the soft power tools of the AKDN in three countries of the Central Asia region: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The authors point out that the AKDN projects on socio-economic development play the role of soft power tools through which the organization promotes Western values and the interests of Western structures. The article concludes that the AKDN poses a threat to Russia's interests in the countries of Central Asia.