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Brexit negotiations were always going to be incredibly tough given the complexity of issues and the deep political divides among UK citizens in the wake of the EU referendum. Theresa May's government compounded these challenges with a poorly executed negotiation strategy: the UK government embarked on negotiations with other EU countries without a clear set of negotiating objectives; it was unable to represent itself as a unified negotiating team; it often found itself on the back foot, responding to EU proposals on both sequencing and content; and UK politicians pursued an ill-judged strategy that did not reflect the nature of the underlying negotiating problem or the UK's relative power position. These weaknesses were the result of ongoing political divides within the UK cabinet, the wider Conservative Party, and UK Parliament. Domestic divisions impeded negotiations with the EU and ultimately led to the rejection of the Withdrawal Agreement by the UK Parliament. The Brexit negotiations are a powerful illustration of how failure by a government to effectively navigate domestic politics can derail international negotiations.

"Lack of moral fibre" (LMF), a term introduced by the Royal Air Force in April 1940, was designed to stigmatize aircrew who refused to fly without a medical reason. This article explores the justification for this uncompromising policy, research by neuropsychiatrists into the psychological effects of aerial combat, and their attempts to modify LMF procedures. The reasons why the British Army and Royal Navy did not formally adopt the policy are analyzed in relation to the military context. What happened to airmen subjected to LMF assessment and treatment programs is also discussed in relation to recent British initiatives.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Original Title Page -- Original Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Editor's Introduction -- The Background -- The Springs of Agricultural Productivity -- General -- Advances in Husbandry Technique -- Improvements in Agrarian Organitation -- Contributions to Economic Development -- The Supply of Food and Raw Materials -- The Release of Factors of Production -- Income Effects of Agricultural Change and Development of a Market for Industrial Goods -- Conclusions -- 1 Obstacles to Progress -- 2 Agricultural Progress in Open-Field Oxfordshire -- 3 Agriculture and the Brewing and Distilling Industries in the Eighteenth Century -- 4 Enclosure and Labour Supply in the Industrial Revolution -- 5 The Cost of Parliamentary Enclosure in Warwickshire -- 6 Agriculture and Economic Growth in England, 1660-1750: Agricultural Change -- 7 Agricultural Productivity and Economic Growth in England 1700-1760 -- Select Bibliography.

Though designed by a selective group of regulators from the world's largest financial centres, Basel banking standards are being implemented far beyond the financial core, and this is often seen as confirmation of their global relevance. Yet, we show that the implementation of Basel II and III is shallow and highly selective in most countries outside of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. Drawing on primary and secondary sources and regression analysis, we attribute shallow and highly selective adoption to the sheer complexity of the standards, and the fact that they need substantial modification before they can be fully implemented, particularly in developing countries. Implementation challenges are compounded by gaps in the financial market infrastructure, notably credit rating agencies, as well as shallow capital markets. Beyond this, we attribute cross-country variation in implementation to differences in the underlying political economy of the banking sector. Countries are likely to pursue relatively high levels of Basel II and III implementation when large foreign and internationally active domestic banks operate in their jurisdiction and when they have a market-oriented approach to the financial sector. Conversely, countries are likely to pursue relatively low levels of implementation when they have few internationally active banks and a more interventionist approach.

Purpose: In this study, we contribute to the existing literature by examining the relationship between military spending changes and economic growth in China over the period 1995 to 2018 using Granger causality test. We would also explore short and long run relationship between GDP growth and military expenditure of China. Approach/Methodology/Design: Data used in this study are yearly data covering the period of 1995 to 2018 and the variables are Gross Domestic product (GDP) and Military Expenditure (ME). Data were collected from World Bank. GDP is at 2010 constant US prices and ME is expressed as a percentage of economic growth. All variables are transformed into the natural logarithmics to obtain growth effects. Findings: Using causality test, the causal relationship between the variables revealed that the alternative hypothesis should be accepted which is lagged GDP variable (proxy of economic growth) does not cause ME in our first VAR Granger causslity Wald test model. However, we discover and verified that there is one-way causality from economic growth to military spending, but no causality from military spending to economic growth is observed in this study. China's positive economic growth can finance its military expenditure. Practical Implications: The study will contribute positively to the understanding of influence of GDP on military expenditure for emerging and developed ecconomies. Originality/value: This study innovates by using Cointegration, E-granger and Granger causality test to find out economic growth causing military expenditure in developing economies like China. ; peer-reviewed

We currently face several interlinked environmental crises, including climate change, habitat destruction and biodiversity loss. However, many governments seem unwilling to take strong and immediate action to address these threats, preferring to promote neoliberal approaches to allow consumers and the general public to make environmentally friendly choices. This is despite neoliberal approaches being much less likely to be successful than government leadership, taxation, subsidies, and legislation in addressing environmental issues. In this study, we examine public perception of environmental threats and solutions to these threats in a survey mainly completed in the UK. Climate change is seen as the biggest issue, likely due to recent activist campaigns and subsequent media attention on the issue. Neoliberal attitudes, such as green consumer choices to environmental concerns, do still dominate in a series of possible presented solutions, and they score more highly than lifestyle changes, such as changing diet. However, when questioned specifically about plastic pollution, government intervention to ban all unnecessary plastic scored very strongly, indicating a shift from a consumer-driven response. Furthermore, most participants think they are at best only partly "doing their bit" to protect the environment. The results demonstrate that the public is aware that not enough is happening to protect the environment and provide evidence that there is willingness for stronger government intervention to address environmental issues; however, there is potential resistance to major lifestyle changes.

Mexico, Venezuela and Brazil contribute about 30 percent of world production of heavy and extra heavy crude oil, estimated at around 15 mb/d in 2012. Each of these three countries has a distinctive future production profile. Latin America will continue to run a surplus of heavy crude, but the supply of these types of grade will be increasingly restricted, either as a result of the natural decline in its fields, lack of investment, limited access to technology, political uncertainties or particular strategies in the energy sector leading to increasing domestic demand. This article explores some of the reasons behind the supply slowdown of heavy crude oil expected in each of these Latin American countries and some consequences in the international oil market over the next few years.