What is Shock Therapy? What Did it Do in Poland and Russia?

A prominent theorist of Soviet and East European economics critiques the vision of political and economic processes implicit in shock therapy, defending an alternative, evolutionary approach. The critique of shock therapy rests on both theoretical reasoning and examination of evidence from recent cases. An intensive study of economic change in Poland and Russia since the late-1980s concludes that, in both countries, shock therapy failed in its goal of implementing top-down reforms that by-pass existing political and social forces. The evolutionary approach, it is argued, holds the better prospect of generating economic progress that will be sustained over the long term. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: E61, L33, P21, P51.     

The EU and Asia Within an Evolving Global Order: What is Europe? Where is Asia?

The papers in this special edition are a very small selection from those presented at the EU-NESCA (Network of European Studies Centres in Asia) conference on "the EU and East Asia within an Evolving Global Order: Ideas, Actors and Processes" in November 2008 in Brussels. The conference was the culmination of three years of research activity involving workshops and conferences bringing together scholars from both regions primarily to discuss relations between Europe and Asia, perceptions of Europe in Asia, and the relationship between the European regional project and emerging regional forms in Asia. But although this was the last of the three major conferences organised by the consortium, it in many ways represented a starting point rather than the end; an opportunity to reflect on the conclusions of the first phase of collaboration and point towards new and continuing research agendas for the future.     

What About Syria?

The following is the edited text of the presentations at the September 30, 1999, meeting of the Sadat Forum at Brookings, cohosted by Richard Haass, vice-president and director of Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution, and Shibley Telhami, the Anwar Sadat Chairfor Peace and Development at the University of Maryland.     

‘What is Africa to me’ now?: African-American heritage tourism in Senegambia

This article scrutinises how Afro-diasporic tourists exemplify concepts of liminality, historical memory, and racial construction while engaging in heritage tourism, and how these concepts inform the host community's perception of the visitors. It includes the results of extensive interviews with African Americans who engaged in roots or heritage tourism in Senegal and/or Gambia in 2010, and who visited the Maison des Esclaves in Gorée Island and/or Juffureh Village in The Gambia. The research shows that African American tourists emerge from these encounters with various conceptions of self. Some felt more ‘African’ following their pilgrimage, while others felt a stronger attachment to their American identity. Some preferred an unfinished combination of the two, asserting a newfound appreciation for their ‘African American’ identities. Corresponding with the latter point, I revisit the ‘Double-Consciousness’ theory proposed by W.E.B. Dubois, revealing how some tourists reexamine their diasporic identit(ies) as ‘Africans’ and ‘Americans’ during their sojourns.     

What is to be Done? WTO,Globalisation and State‐Labour Relations in China

China as a nation benefits from entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) but the effects are neither immediate nor uniform. Significant long-term benefits from WTO entry can be realised only if WTO entry acts as a catalyst for further and deeper systemic reform of the economy. Some workers benefit from the opening of foreign markets to Chinese goods but others are affected adversely by the increase in foreign competition in Chinese markets. This paper examines the impact of globalisation and WTO entry on China and how they affect state-labour relations.     

What Makes the USA So Innovative?

The word “innovation” tends to bring to mind the USA, rather than Europe or Japan. In the ICT industry, in particular, revolutionary companies such as Apple, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft have succeeded in bringing about numerous innovations. Because of this, it has become second nature to think of innovation as a US phenomenon. What, then, gives rise to so much innovation in the USA? In this article, the author will first provide an overall view of innovation from the perspectives of economics and of management theory and examine the ways in which innovation has been interpreted and defined. Then, the author will consider the question of why the USA is so innovative as a nation from the three perspectives of its historical background, national character, and systems supporting innovation. It will be demonstrated that one of the characteristics of innovation—discontinuity—is well entrenched in the USA, as is a national character that stresses individualism and a culture that forgives failure. The author will suggest that new innovations will continue to be the driving force of US economic growth into the future.     

What Drove Syria Back into the Arab Fold?

After more than a decade of brutal civil war, which is still not resolved and has left Syria divided in thirds, regional states welcomed President Bashar al-Assad back into the fold in May 2023. The Arab League's decision to reinstate Damascus's membership was the culmination of a slow and fitful process that accelerated when Saudi Arabia took the lead. Still, it is too soon to know whether and how Syrian normalization will evolve beyond its Arab core, especially due to the West's continued sanctions regime. This article analyzes how the evolution of the Syrian crisis, the changing calculus of Arab powers, and American inaction have contributed to Assad's rehabilitation. In conclusion, we consider four areas that will determine the next phase of the normalization process.     

What Actually Matters? Understanding Attitudes toward Immigration in Switzerland

On 9 February 2014, the Swiss people accepted the popular initiative “against mass immigration” launched by the national‐conservative Swiss People's Party (SVP). This voting outcome has triggered wide‐ranging debates about both the policy on immigrants as well as the future of Switzerland within the European context. Against this background, we evaluate attitudes toward immigration in Switzerland. Using hitherto unexplored survey data of MOSAiCH, our empirical analyses show that already in the year 2013, before the debate about the initiative on mass immigration was in full swing, roughly 53 percent of the 1011 interviewed Swiss citizens stated that immigration should be reduced. Moreover, our estimations indicate that the threats and fears induced by immigration and the will to maintain sovereignty and autonomy are particularly relevant for attitudes toward immigration. By contrast, education and national or personal economic conditions are only weakly related to the immigration issue.     

What Does China Want? Discerning the PRC's National Strategy

Abstract

Debates about China's national strategy have surprisingly overlooked an important source: the national strategy as formulated by China's leaders themselves. This article explains how the ruling Communist Party of China formulates its equivalent of a national strategy – defined as the nation's desired end state and guidance on supporting objectives, ways, and means. It explores the current national strategy as published in widely available official documents such as the Communist Party Constitution and Party Congress Work Report, the most recent version of which dates from the 17th Party Congress in 2007. The article considers some implications for observers and policymakers.