Suchergebnisse

Uhlin, A. Transnational Corporations as Global Political Actors: A Literature Review. Cooperation and Conflict, XXIII, 1988, 231-247. The primary aim of this research note is to present an inventory of propositions and findings concerning TNCs as global political actors. As a framework for this analysis I will classify the literature into three main groups and some subgroups. The three main theoretical schools compared are liberal theory, mercantilist theory and theories of imperialism. Several aspects of the autonomy and power of TNCs, as proponents of different theoretical schools see it, are analysed. The domain and scope of TNC power are discussed and several power bases are listed. Constraints that prevent the potential power of TNCs from being implemented are discussed and TNC instruments for exercising power are listed as well. The scope of the theoretical perspectives used to study TNCs varies. There is need for a synthesis between the actor-oriented liberal approaches and the structural and system-oriented theories of imperialism.

Uhlin, A. Transnational Corporations as Global Political Actors: A Literature Review. Cooperation and Conflict, XXIII, 1988, 231-247. The primary aim of this research note is to present an inventory of propositions and findings concerning TNCs as global political actors. As a framework for this analysis I will classify the literature into three main groups and some subgroups. The three main theoretical schools compared are liberal theory, mercantilist theory and theories of imperialism. Several aspects of the autonomy and power of TNCs, as proponents of different theoretical schools see it, are analysed. The domain and scope of TNC power are discussed and several power bases are listed. Constraints that prevent the potential power of TNCs from being implemented are discussed and TNC instruments for exercising power are listed as well. The scope of the theoretical perspectives used to study TNCs varies. There is need for a synthesis between the actor-oriented liberal approaches and the structural and system-oriented theories of imperialism.

DIRECT ELECTIONS TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT HAVE A TRANSNATIONAL AS WELL AS A NATIONAL DIMENSION. UP TO THE PRESENT, THE NATIONAL DIMENSION CLEARLY DOMINATES, HOWEVER. IN THE COURSE OF THE 1984 ELECTION CAMPAIGN, ISSUES CONCERNING THE STRUCTURE, FUNCTIONING AND DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY'S POLITICAL SYSTEM GENERALLY WERE OF MINOR IMPORTANCE. THE SAME CAN BE STATED FOR TRANSNATIONAL ACTORS AND THEIR ACTIVITIES. IN SPITE OF THE VARIOUS CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMISSION OF THE EC, THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT WITH ITS POLITICAL GROUPS AND THE EUROPEAN PARTY FEDERATIONS, THE DOMINANT PART OF THE CAMPAIGN WAS PLAYED BY NATIONAL ACTORS. IT IS ARGUABLE THAT THE 1984 ELECTION, COMPARED TO 1979, EVEN SAW AN ACTUAL 'RENATIONALIZATION' OF POLITICS, A FURTHER DIMINUTION OF THE ALREADY MODEST IMPORTANCE OF THE TRANSNATIONAL DIMENSION.

Two consequences of the internationalization of economic activities that has taken place since the early 1960s have been that, within the international trading system, participant states have become more vulnerable and sensitized to the economic conditions obtaining in other countries; and economic actors have, in general, become more transnational and universal in their orientation and more aware of worldwide business possibilities. Consequently, visible trade flows have been progressively transformed through global raw material sourcing, production location and marketing; and invisible trade has been restructured by global deposit sourcing and lender servicing. Both types of international exchange required extensive external production networks which had to be newly created by international capital transfers and institutional migration. Despite the outward manifestation of these infrastructures, international exchange tensions nevertheless remained because of 'the continued existence of still mainly nationally based political systems' and the conflicts of interest and uncertainties created by the asserted extra-territorial orientation of national tax and legal system's, These problems were largely untouched by the harmonization and liberalization processes attempted by industrial nations under the aegis of GATT and other international institutions. As a result, the transnational operations of multinational companies have often had to be channelled to parts of the world where their activities are least frustrated by obstructive interventionist policy in order to secure particular objectives.

The international system is experiencing a growing amount of terroristic violence. During the past five years there has been a marked increase in the yearly number of politically inspired assassinations of prominent public figures. This study presents the results of a seven-year, cross-national survey of political assassinations. An analysis of 721 events reported in 123 nations for the period concludes that there are definite trends and patterns of political assassinations that may provide important lessons for public policymakers. Certain nations, targets, and terrorist actors account for a large portion of all assassination activity. Statistical analysis suggests that the academic community may have to rethink its ideas about assassination behavior in general and its relationship to the issue of development in particular. No evidence could be generated by the study to link terrorist-inspired assassinations to the developing world nor was any international network of assassins discovered. The findings point to growing levels of separatist-inspired violence and a distinct shift in target selection toward the international business community and the diplomatic corps. Terrorists appear to be increasingly successful because they are targeting relatively unprotected public individuals.

The presence of large semisettled foreign populations in Western societies is at once a symptom of & an exacerbating factor in the problematic governance of these states. Domestic & international constraints preclude the reversal of most of the unforeseen & undesirable social, economic, & political consequences that have flowed from the narrowly conceived, short-sighted policies that gave rise to the migrants' presence. The nature of the state in the host societies & the political structures & policy processes that characterize their governments account for the miasma in most of them. The nature of the less modern, less democratic state that typifies the countries of origin contributes to their present & future policy problems & the difficult life conditions of many of the migrants. While it is expedient for each of the three classes of actors -- receiving states, sending states, & migrants -- to nurture the myth of return, learning to live with the resulting indeterminacy presents great challenges to all & may require, in particular, rethinking what modern democratic states are about. Modified HA

The presence of large semi-settled foreign populations in Western societies is at once a symptom of and an exacerbating factor in the problematic governance of these states. Domestic and international constraints preclude the reversal of most of the unforeseen and undesirable social, economic, and political consequences that have flowed from the narrowly conceived, short-sighted policies that gave rise to the migrants' presence. The nature of the state in the host societies and the political structures and policy processes that characterize their governments account for the miasma in most of them. The nature of the less modern, less democratic state that typifies the countries of origin contributes to their present and even greater prospective policy binds and the problematic life conditions of many of the migrants. While it is expedient for each of the three classes of actors—receiving states, sending states, and migrants—to nurture the myth of return, learning to live with the resulting indeterminacy presents great challenges to all and may require, in particular, rethinking what modern democratic states are about.

The revolution in Nicaragua and the situation bordering on civil war that reigns in El Salvador and Guatemala has provoked the intervention of numerous national and transnational actors. The overlap of the North-South conflict with the East-West conflict is so clear that it is essential to thoroughly analyze the interests and alliances existing in the Central American region that is in crisis. These conflicts have been caused by the underdevelopment and exploitation of each of these countries by their own elites and not by the presence or the political interests of international actors. In this paper, we focus on the analysis of the situation in Central America regarding the collapse of its political structures, the change the policy of the United States from Carter to Reagan, and the interests of regional powers (Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela and Colombia) and extra-regional powers in the subcontinent. ; La revolución en Nicaragua y la situación rayana en guerra civil que reina en El Salvador y Guatemala han provocado la intervención de numerosos actores nacionales y transnacionales. La superposición del conflicto Norte-Sur con aquel Este-Oeste es tan clara que resulta imprescindible analizar a fondo los intereses y las alianzas existentes en la región centroamericana que se encuentra en crisis. Estos conflictos han sido causados por el subdesarrollo y la explotación de cada uno de esos países por sus propias élites y no por la presencia o la política de intereses de actores internacionales. En este trabajo se centra en el análisis de la situación de América Central respecto al desmoronamiento de sus estructuras políticas, el cambio de la política hacia esta de los Estados Unidos de Carter a Reagan y los intereses de las potencias regionales (México, Cuba, Venezuela y Colombia) y extrarregionales en el subcontinente.

Der rasche technische Wandel und die amerikanische und japanische Herausforderung in der Telekommunikation bereiten den Mitgliedstaaten der EG erhebliche Probleme. Wegen der engen Verflechtung von Nationalstaat und ökonomischen Akteuren sowie der Existenz von internationalen Organisationen und Regimes, die transnationale Kommunikation ermöglichen und organisieren, scheinen die Handlungsmöglichkeiten der EG gerade in diesem Politikfeld besonders eingeschränkt zu sein. Dennoch gewinnt sie hier zunehmend an Einfluß. Dies läßt sich nur erklären, wenn die EG nicht nur als ein Regime, sondern auch als ein durch das Regime selber hervorgebrachter korporativer Akteur mit eigenen Machtinteressen verstanden wird. ; The rapid changes in technology as well as the American and Japanese challenge in telecommunications pose considerable problems for the member states of the EC. Because the state and economic actors are so closely intertwined, and because international organizations and regimes exist which make transnational communication possible and organize it, the EC's options for taking action seem to be particularly limited in this policy field. Despite this, the EC's influence in this sector is increasing. This can only be explained by viewing the EC not only as a regime but also as a corporate actor with its own power interests which has developed out of the regime.

Development policy is analyzed by liberal models in terms of bargaining transactions between interest-maximizing actors and by the dependency perspective in terms of the internalized requirements of worldwide capital accumulation. Both approaches assume the working of capitalist rationality in dependent nations. In contrast, a focus on productive relations, class alliances, and political coalitions reveals the constraints on developmental policies in nations built around the partial development of capitalist productive forces and occupying a subordinate role in the international division of labor. Analysis of the Venezuelan auto policy during the Pérez administration (1974–79) shows the relations constituting socially defined actors and the structures underlying the policy bargaining process. It posits that in Venezuela there is a growing disjuncture between the internationally conditioned requirements of capital accumulation and the locally based demands of social reproduction; that the common interest of state and bourgeoisie in maintaining the rentier basis of the economy shapes the direction and extent of industrial development; and that circulation of petrodollars has absorbed production as a phase of circulation. The struggle between state and transnational corporations over local engine manufacture, and the tension between import substitution and export promotion, concealed an underlying conflict between rent appropriation and capital accumulation.