A Euro Breakup: Cardiac Arrest for Europe

Three years into the protracted Eurocrisis “all choices are ugly,” as former British prime minister Tony Blair comments. Indeed, the high cost of bad options is prompting some to question whether Europe is worth saving the euro. Along with Tony Blair, the former Italian prime minister Romano Prodi as well as two of the best financial minds around—Nouriel Roubini and Mohamed el‐Erian—warn of the dire consequences of a euro breakup. One of France's most prominent philosophers, André Glucksmann, wonders whether the idea of a united Europe—a reaction to the horrors of World War II—can hold everyone together in the future when peace is the norm.     

PARALLEL STRUCTURES IN THE EGYPTIAN GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRACY: A PROBLEMATIC QUICK FIX

This paper investigates the proliferation of parallel structures – also known as project implementation units (PIUs) and technical offices (TOs) – within the Egyptian public administration system and the pressures since the 1990s that have led to their increasing numbers, including the current political turmoil. To determine whether these structures are a viable tool for the implementation of reform in Egypt, the paper examines international experience, analyses the literature, and assesses the results of a brief survey of staff working in the traditional bureaucracy and those in parallel structures. The paper concludes that while PIUs may sometimes be necessary for initiating reform in the short term, long term sustainable reform requires genuine commitment of both donor and recipient governments to improve governance, build capacity within the traditional national institutions, apply performance management with a focus on policy impacts, and adopt alternative mechanisms in implementing development projects such as general budget support.     

A Vibrant Post‐Revolutionary Egypt Needs World Support

Just as the Arab Spring blossomed, the al‐Qaeda‐led era of terrorism came to an end with the killing of Osama Bin Laden in his Pakistani lair by American special forces. We asked two of the most contentious experts on all things Islamic—Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Tariq Ramadan—to assess the meaning of these historic moments on the future. Amr Moussa, the leading candidate for Egypt's presidency, and Ehud Barak, Israel's defense minister, also offer their views. Two top former intelligence agents from MI6 and the CIA look at the next turn of events—the Saudi counter‐revolution.     

The BRICS – a paradigm shift in global health?

To what extent does the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) bloc constitute a paradigm shift in global health and development? This paper interrogates the concept of paradigm shift with the help of a framework familiar to scholars working in the field of International Relations. It distinguishes between the BRICS' material capabilities, institutions and ideas, and assesses the extent to which the BRICS contribution represents ‘a potentially transformative’ source of new resources and innovation for global health and development. It has been argued that the BRICS bloc champions a qualitatively different development discourse from industrialised countries that has made possible a progressive set of development practices. The BRICS discourse and praxis gives weight to the claim that a paradigm shift in global health is underway. However, the extent to which such discourse will be effective in improving global health will depend on the bloc making greater use of institutions and further deploying its material capabilities.     

Domestic intelligence and German military leaders, 1914–18

The top of the German domestic intelligence system was taken over by the military during World War I. The rest of the system for collecting and reporting remained in local and regional political police hands. The military leaders did not make good use of the information they received, especially about labour and Social Democracy. The essay presents the ways that the system of gathering and reporting information functioned, including its wartime changes under the state of siege. Three specific issues are followed up with the reporting system for 1917–18. Then the essay shows how the military leaders responded to raw and filtered information before exploring why they made such inadequate use of the very thorough reports which they received.