The seductive discourse of development: The Cape Town 2004 Olympic bid

Research on how the decision to bid for the Olympics is made, the resources and processes involved in the bidding process and how a country responds to a failed bid is important. These aspects are embedded in a range of political and economic processes from the local to the global level. The Olympic Games is the ultimate mega-event. This article uses the case study of the Cape Town 2004 Olympic Bid (CTOB) to examine the above aspects, highlighting the global dimensions of bidding for major events. The CTOB illustrates that contemporary sport associations and structures are strongly influenced by emergent global forces such as global capital and dominance by certain regions. This often results in countries being disadvantaged from one of two sides. Either they cannot afford to participate in the bidding process or they cannot lobby sufficiently to influence the international sport associations.     

Rectification at three: Impact on the Cuban economy

Since 1986, Cuba has been engaged in a national effort to redirect its polity and economy; this effort, spearheaded by President Castro, is generally known as the “rectification” campaign. Although occurring at roughly the same time as reforms in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the Cuban process—which emphasizes dismantling market-oriented mechanisms and enhancing economic centralization—differs radically from the others. An impressionistic assessment of the economic effects of rectification after its first three years (focusing on the behavior of macroeconomic indicators and of the construction sector) suggests that rectification has not turned the Cuban economy around. Moreover, it is questionable that rectification could do so in the medium term, considering the reforms that are taking place in Cuba's main trading partners, the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Jorge F. Pérez-López is an international economist with the Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor. This article presents only his personal views. He has written on different aspects of the Cuban economy, including economic growth, the sugar industry, international trade and energy balances. His book,Measuring Cuban Economic Performance, was published by the University of Texas Press in 1987.     

Civil society knowledge networks: how international development institutions reshape the geography of knowledge

What role have the processes and institutions of international development played in creating and propagating ideas around the world? This paper demonstrates that networks of development-focused civil society institutions can form global epistemic bridges even where communication technology, global markets, infrastructure, or state services do not reach. Given the penetration of these ‘civil society knowledge networks’ throughout the world, it is crucial to understand how these networks form, and how they create and spread ideas, mediating between global discourses and local needs. This paper builds on a multi-sited case study of one such civil society knowledge network, which includes an international foundation, its partner non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Kenya, and one village where these NGOs run a forest conservation project. The case study provides a closely textured analysis of the mechanisms of knowledge production and consumption in the network, including personality politics, language, technology, political connections and the power dynamics of knowledge flows. It demonstrates the ways remoteness and disconnection are overcome through the epistemic reach of institutional networks involved in development interventions.     

Vietnam Rising Dragon: Contesting Dominant Western Masculinities in Ho Chi Minh City's Global Sex Industry

Scholars have produced a substantial body of literature on the lives of female sex workers in the commercial sex industry in developed and developing countries around the world. This literature on heterosexual relations has focused overwhelmingly on the experiences of female sex workers, neglecting to examine the significance of male clients (Chapkis 1997; Prasad Sociological Perspectives 42(2):181–213, 1999; Weitzer Annual Review of Sociology, 35(1), 213–234, 2009). The limited studies that do address male clients focus exclusively on Western men who participate in romance or sex tours. No study has examined sex work as a site for the performance and production of specific masculinities for the increasing number of local, non-Western, business elites in the new global economy. Drawing on 15 months of ethnographic research conducted between 2009 and 2010 and informal interviews with 25 clients, 25 sex workers, and three madams in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, I illustrate how local Vietnamese and Asian businessmen enact their masculinity in relation to other men through the medium of hard cash. Local elites' participation in local hostess bars allows them to capitalise on Vietnam's rapid economic restructuring in the context of the 2008 global economic crisis in order to assert their place as major players in the world order. In doing so, wealthy local Vietnamese and Asian businessmen deconstruct dominant Western ideals to assert their place in the global order.     

The extraterritorial dimensions of biofuel policies and the politics of scale: live and let die?

Despite criticism, global biofuel production continues to rise, using primarily food crops. Between 2001 and 2012 it increased nearly six-fold, driven primarily by domestic policies, yet raising strong international concerns, eg over impacts on global food prices. Nevertheless, little international biofuel governance has emerged. This article examines the various extraterritorial dimensions of domestic biofuel policies and investigates why international biofuel governance has remained vague, despite its controversial nature. It uses the politics of scale to analyse why countries may wish to frame it as a global or domestic issue. Three extraterritorial dimensions are identified: global environmental impacts, global socioeconomic impacts, and attempts at extraterritorial control over biofuel production abroad. While major producers have successfully avoided liability for impacts by preventing the scaling up of much biofuel governance to the international level, major importers have tried to fill perceived governance gaps using policies aimed at extraterritorial control. We show that both the rise of nationally oriented development policies with extraterritorial impacts and of unilateral sustainability rule making primarily affect weaker countries, making global inequalities more pronounced. It is essential that adaptation governance take into account both environmental and global socioeconomic changes, such as higher agricultural commodity prices.     

Implicating ‘fisheries justice’ movements in food and climate politics

Abstract

While much debate on climate change has emerged around food, forest and land politics, the fisheries sector has only recently become more visibly implicated in these discussions. Similarly, in comparison to food and agrarian movements, fishers’ resistance to intensified mitigation efforts and resource exclusion is still significantly understudied academically, and receives little attention in political spheres. This highlights a critical gap in both food and climate politics literature, which this paper aims to present a framework for addressing. To do so, it contextualises the emergence of overlapping processes of exclusion in global fisheries, and explores the implications global food system transformations have had in the fisheries sector, and the reactions this has spurred from South African fishers. It then traces the convergence of fishers’ movements with other resource justice movements, and how this has contributed to the rise of ‘fisheries justice’. Finally, it presents four interlinked propositions – highlighting food sovereignty, resource access and conflict, climate change and mitigation, convergences between movements, and alternatives proposed by fishers – as a framework for how incorporating fisheries and fishers’ movements can broaden our understanding of transnational social movements, and expand the depth and scope of food and climate politics.     

'It's Africa's turn!' The narratives and legitimations surrounding the Moroccan and South African bids for the 2006 and 2010 FIFA finals

African countries are increasingly engaging in bidding wars to host sport mega-events. To date, however, not much analysis has been done of African countries' involvement in the growing global mega-events enterprise. Little is also known of the broader political character and consequences of events and bid campaigns in the international system. This article investigates these aspects through a comparative analysis of the bid processes of South Africa and Morocco for the 2006 and 2010 Soccer World Cup. It explores the internal (domestic) and external (international) elements of their legitimating narratives and promotional rhetoric and how these played out in their international relations. Both countries made extensive use of an ideological and emotive posturing of 'Africa'. Against the background of the generally tenuous position the continent occupies in the wider international system, and of its overwhelmingly negative representation, the two countries' replication of neocolonial ties and use of postcolonial rhetoric both aided and hampered their bid campaigns. Overall, competitions to host mega-events occur on an unequal basis which, for African countries, is worsened by very unfavourable positioning in the international arena.     

CHANGING PATIERNS OF BUDGETING IN ENGLISH LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Worsening financial circumstances have prompted local authorities to review the appropriateness of traditional budgetary arrangements. Using Wildavsky's concept of incremental budgeting as a guiding framework this paper examines how and why authorities have altered their budgetary processes. Results indicate that underlying incrementalism is the assumption of growth, although certain aspects of incrementalism are more affected than others by declining revenues.     

Global and Local Health Governance: Civil society,human rights and hiv/aids

From the outset in the mid-1980s the international response to hiv/aids has been characterised by an emphasis on the human rights aspects of the pandemic, and on recognition of the pivotal role of civil society actors (csos). But how the rights-based conception of hiv/aids and the international legitimation of csos play out at the local level depends not only on the vertical coordination between global and local levels but also on government–cso relations and the understanding of the pandemic in individual countries. South Africa and Cambodia provide comparative examples of ‘glocalised’ responses to hiv/aids. Both countries were among the hardest hit in their respective regions. But, while the South African government was slow to acknowledge the severity of epidemic, the Cambodian leadership quickly initiated a comprehensive response to it. The two cases illustrate how opportunity structures at the international and national levels created different local responses to hiv/aids, with significant consequences for the epidemic over time.     

Catching the ‘Shanghai Spirit’: How the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Promotes Authoritarian Norms in Central Asia

This article examines how the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) seeks to undermine democratisation in Central Asia. Prior studies of the interplay between international organisations and democracy have tended to examine only one half of this relationship: whether, how, and under what circumstances do international organisations promote democracy? However, the opposite has been largely ignored: how do international organisations sustain autocracy? Authoritarian governments are increasingly adopting policies aimed at preserving their political power and the SCO represents an additional strategy in this regard: utilising multilateral cooperation to defend themselves against regional or global democratic trends. As such, the ‘Shanghai Spirit’ may be a sign of things to come as autocratic leaders become more bold in their rejection of democratic norms.     

Globalization and democratization: The response of the indigenous peoples of Sarawak

Globalization is a multi-layered and dialectical process involving two consequent tendencies - homogenizing and particularizing - at the same time. The question of how and in what ways these contending forces operate in Sarawak and in Malaysia as a whole is therefore crucial in an effort to capture this dynamic. This article examines the impact of globalization on the democratization process and other domestic political activities of the indigenous peoples (IPs) of Sarawak. It shows how the democratization process can be an empowering one, thus enabling the actors to manage the effects of globalization in their lives. The conflict between the IPs and the state against the depletion of the tropical rainforest is manifested in the form of blockades and unlawful occupation of state land by the former as a form of resistance and protest. In some situations the federal and state governments have treated this action as a serious global issue between the international NGOs and the Malaysian/Sarawak government. In this case globalization has affected both the nation-state and the IPs in different ways. Globalization has triggered a greater awareness of self-empowerment and democratization among the IPs. These are important forces in capturing some aspects of globalization at the local level.     

The transnational state and the BRICS: a global capitalism perspective

It is commonplace for observers to see the increasingly prominent role of the BRICS in international economic and political affairs as a Southern challenge to global capitalism and the power of the core Trilateral nation-states. Extant accounts remain mired in a tenacious realist debate over the extent to which the BRICS are challenging the prevailing international order. I suggest that we shift the paradigmatic focus in discussion of the BRICS phenomenon towards a global capitalism perspective that breaks with such a nation-state/inter-state framework. Global integration and transnational capitalist class formation has advanced significantly in the BRICS. BRICS protagonism is aimed less at challenging the prevailing international order than at opening up space in the global system for more extensive integration and a less asymmetric global capitalism. The article examines agricultural subsidies, US–China relations and international trade agreements as empirical reference points in arguing that the concept of the transnational state provides a more satisfying explanatory framework for understanding the BRICS phenomenon than the variety of realist approaches. By misreading the BRICS critical scholars and the global left run the risk of becoming cheerleaders for repressive states and transnational capitalists in the South. We would be better off by a denouement of the BRICS states and siding with ‘BRICS from below’ struggles of popular and working class forces.     

东盟跨境数据流动治理的机制构建

跨境数据流动是全球数字经济的重要基础,也是全球治理的新兴议题。在数字经济发展和东盟区域一体化的趋势下,东盟从统筹数字经济发展与数据保护入手,着眼于提升东盟国际竞争力和话语权,制定并完善跨境数据流动治理机制。这一机制的构建始于新加坡对数据保护规制的探索,基于东盟个人数据保护框架,在东盟数字一体化总体框架下制定数字管理框架,并以“东盟示范合同条款”和“东盟跨境数据流动认证”两大关键手段促进机制落实。该机制具有灵活性、包容性和指导性的特征,有利于促进东盟地区数字经济发展,降低谈判成本与合规成本,获得更多全球竞争优势。对于中国而言,在与东盟跨境数据流动治理机制合作对接方面具备可能性和可行性,需要充分认识和评估东盟机制对世界数字治理的影响、对地区数字经济秩序的挑战,推动中国与东盟之间的数字经济合作。     

Airbnb,technological change and disruption in Barbadian tourism: a theoretical framework

This paper focuses on how Airbnb, an internet platform which has created the possibility for mass participation in the tourism market, is resulting in class conflict between new entrants and the ‘traditional’ tourism industry. Specifically, it studies how traditional tourism interests in Barbados have responded to Airbnb by seeking to restrict participation in the industry and presents this as a microcosm of broader class transitions and conflicts associated with new technologies. The paper utilises a Marxist theoretical perspective buttressed by Joseph Schumpeter’s theory of ‘creative destruction’ – places emphasis on the process of destroying productive systems to understand how specific industries expand and survive – and Clayton Christensen’s notion of ‘disruptive innovation’ – a process by which a disruptive product transforms a market – for studying how transformations in technology are impacting the tourism industry in Barbados. Its aim is to provide an account of how the process of disruption is unfolding in Barbados by highlighting the reactions of the main hotel lobby group to Airbnb, while also applying the ideas of Marx, Schumpeter and Christensen as useful theoretical lenses through which to examine the unfolding of the process of disruption of settled class and historical control of a dominant economic sector by new technologies.     

Securing Internet Society: Toward an International Regime for Information Assurance

The Internet is rapidly changing how states and international businesses operate and deliver services and goods to citizens and customers. This global information medium, however, has also become the vehicle for a new set of malicious activities carried out by hackers, terrorists, and rogue states. This article discusses a possible course of action to counter this growing international security threat: the development of an international regime for information assurance. Still, this regime cannot arise exclusively from the cooperative efforts of national government, but requires the active involvement of international businesses. This article, therefore, postulates that this regime can arise only if states and international businesses fully appreciate their respective interests in the areas of information security and assurance.     

全球公共产品视角下的中国国际发展合作

中国的对外援助事业随国际、国内形势而变化。近年来官方对国际发展合作的重视不仅促成中国对外援助指导思想的转变,也为对外援助向国际发展合作转型奠定了理念基础。中国为发展合作提供全球公共产品的实践不断丰富:一是基于本国成功经验而开展的减贫国际合作成为重要公共产品,二是通过创新农业技术合作方式为解决全球粮食安全问题提供更多公共产品,三是借助三方合作更好地创新公共产品供给模式,四是持续加强全球卫生公共产品供给。中国对外援助在取得积极成效的同时,也面临经济、技术实力有限、援助项目可持续性不足、受援国国家治理与互不干涉内政之间协调困难、国际发展合作的话语权有待提升等挑战。未来,中国应注重从制度建设、资金筹集、可持续性提升、受援国能动性发挥、国际话语权提升等方面做更充分准备。     

Can Tourism Promote Inclusive Growth? Supply Chains,Ownership and Employment in Ha Long Bay,Vietnam

Inclusive growth is contested yet adopted by the World Bank to reduce poverty and inequality through rapid economic growth. Research has tested inclusive growth in sectors including agriculture, but few studies apply it to tourism which is significant for many developing countries. The paper interrogates tourism-led inclusive growth: supply chains, economic linkages/leakage, ownership, employment and expenditure. It draws from fieldwork in Vietnam where tourism has rapidly developed with partial economic benefits for local communities, but does not appear to fall within the inclusive growth paradigm. It is unclear if tourism-led growth will become any more inclusive in the short-to-medium term.     

国际税收制度改革新进程及其影响

针对数字经济税基侵蚀和利润转移的国际税收制度改革于2013年被正式提上议程,并逐渐形成了以双支柱为核心的税改方案。2021年10月,改革取得突破性进展,正式获得大多数改革参与国同意,计划于2023年开始在全球范围内实施。国际税收制度改革未来将对全球税收治理、全球贫富差距、数字经济发展、资本流动和避税型离岸中心等产生持续影响,也将给中国完善税收体制、发挥大国优势、吸引中资跨国数字企业回归、推动自由贸易试验区改革与创新等带来机遇。但国际税收制度改革同时会收紧中资跨国企业的海外投资环境,对香港金融稳定也会造成影响。中国应以本轮国际税收制度改革为契机积极参与,并完善税收征管机制,加快市场化建设和金融开放进程,在自贸区对标高水平国际创新,以及提升香港内生增长动力和稳定性。     

Labour involvement in national and regional transformation processes: The case of Chile

This article argues that regionalisation should be analysed as a multi-layered process. Such an analysis shows the complexities of current transformation processes at the global, regional and national level. A perspective on labour issues is especially useful as it provides a focus on one of the most important aspects of globalisation-changes in production structures across borders. It also points to how labour movements are affected by these changes and how they readjust their strategies. The case of Chile is chosen as an early example of the so-called neoliberal model. Furthermore, regionalisation and strategies of integration into the world economy are central to Chile's economic model. This article intends to show the interconnections between national and regional processes of transformation in a global perspective, with a focus on the issue of labour and trade unions .     

Meet all changes with constancy: The dynamic adaptation process of county governments in China

As their task environments become more unstable, public organizations must build their adaptive capacities. Treating the organization as a problem-solving system, we constructed an institution-process framework to analyze how China's local governments use processes and mechanisms to adapt to the task turbulence from higher-up governments. Based on the experiences of three Chinese counties in dealing with the Targeted Poverty Alleviation task, we found that they built an institutionalized adaptation process that included attention allocation, decision-making system construction, and boundary work in a turbulent task environment. These processes were embedded in specific institutional structures. We define this institutionalized adaptation process as dynamic conservatism. In this adaptation mode, China's local governments rarely observe and manage the environment; instead, they integrate their existing structural and stable elements to cope with the task turbulence generated by higher-level governments.