Security cooperation in Northeast Asia: Problems and prospects

During the past five years there have been a growing number of proposals for dialogue, “regimes” and other cooperative institutions designed to enhance regional security. This article critically evaluates the key proposals and notes the objections that have been raised against them. It goes on to argue that many of these objections are without validity. The article contrasts the considerable progress in this area, which has been achieved in Southeast Asia with the absence of progress in Northeast Asia — and suggests some reasons for the difference. The article concludes with an analysis of some of the contradictory elements of such concepts as “cooperative security,” “security cooperation” and “common security,” which are gaining increasing currency in the region.     

Japan as America’s global partner: Problems and prospects

The concept of global partnership remains a central theme in the conduct of U.S.-Japan relations in the post-Cold War world. This article critically evaluates Japan’s performance and potential as a global partner for the United States. It notes the qualified outcomes to Japan’s extended quest for a world role, its inability to lead by example in world trade and its preference for international status and contributions as a substitute for international political leadership. On the other hand the article recognizes the increasing significance of Japan’s human contribution to international peacekeeping, its willingness to tackle global problems in cooperation with the United States, and its potential to reduce security costs in Asia by means of foreign aid allocations, increased host-nation support for American forces and by promoting regional security dialogue. The article highlights Japan’s emerging identity as an Asian power and the problem of diverging U.S. and Japanese perspectives on democracy in the region. At the same time, it acknowledges the crucial importance Japan attaches to the continued American military presence in Asia and its desire to insulate the U.S.-Japan security relationship from economic and trade friction. The article concludes with the observation that Japan’s ability and willingness to operate as a global partner of the United States is much greater in some areas than in others. She is the co-author ofThe Political Economy of Agricultural Protection in Northeast Asia: East Asia in International Perspective (Allen and Unwin, 1986).     

Foreign aid,debt relief and Africa's development: problems and prospects

In recent years, the Paris club granted a number of African countries, including Nigeria, debt relief. This elicited widespread celebration in the capital cities of affected countries, where it was portrayed as a veritable launch-pad to Africa's development. This paper takes a critical look at the debt relief, with emphasis on its problems and prospects for Africa's development. It is argued that while debt relief does offer some prospects for development, there is little or no evidence to suggest that such an outcome is automatic. The conditions that precipitated the debt crisis in the first instance, including an inequitable international economic order and political conditions tied to aid, are still very present in the debt relief regime. Corruption of the foreign aid regime by both internal and external actors has been compounded by the recent global economic crisis, posing further constraints on the effectiveness of foreign aid in Africa. If debt relief must yield the desired result, it has to be accompanied by a sustainable campaign to fundamentally reform the world order to make it more equitable, together with a drive for good governance that is not only democratic, but also efficient and development-oriented in Africa.     

Political parties in MENA: their functions and development

Abstract

This article provides an overview of the development of parties and party systems in the MENA region from early oligarchic pluralism to the mass single-party systems of the populist era and the limited multi-party experiments of the 1990s era of political liberalization. The survey shows how parties develop in parallel with the deepening of politicization and become nearly indispensable adjuncts in the construction of political order. The article then examines parties in the post-2010 period, with case studies of Turkey, Egypt, and Tunisia demonstrating how very different configurations of party development dramatically impact on regime trajectories, ranging from democratization to hybrid regimes.     

下诺夫哥罗德州政治状况与地区发展前景

下诺夫哥罗德州一度是俄罗斯改革的前沿阵地和代名词,在俄罗斯的政治经济版图中有着特殊的地位。目前,该州是伏尔加河沿岸联邦区的行政中心,其政治经济进程值得关注。从联邦中央与地方的关系来看,莫斯科成功地规范着下诺夫哥罗德州的政治进程,地方政府依赖中央的政治和财政支持。从下诺夫哥罗德州内部的政治发展来看,历任州长面临的都是大致类似的复杂局面:联邦中央、总统派驻伏尔加河沿岸联邦区全权代表、地方政治经济精英、联邦层面的大型企业、地方层面的商业利益,等等诸多方面的相互影响与竞争。由此,州长在联邦层面的工作经历和影响力,在地区层面的协调手段和整合力,即,同时得到中央和地方的支持和认可,并在中央与地方同时具有关键影响力,是地方政治经济良性发展的重要保障。下诺夫哥罗德新任州长格列布·尼基京,年富力强,是俄罗斯新生代州长的代表,也大致具有上述品质,其在下诺夫哥罗德州的执政状况,值得关注。     

Socialist development: The political economy of agrarian reform in Vietnam

Abstract

Since reunification in 1976, Vietnam's faltering economy has produced a crisis of grave proportions, the causes of which are not yet fully understood. The drawn-out consequences of 45 years of war and international isolation are obviously important elements affecting the Vietnamese economy, but the crisis has continued—if not worsened since the end of the war. Grain production—16.2 million tons in 1983—has not kept pace with consumption needs. Official figures indicate that during 1983 per capita food production was 296 kg., up from a 1978 low of 243 kg., but still well below war-time levels.     

The transition in the political economy of South Korean development

This article analyzes the current transition in the political economy of South Korea in the context of political democratization and economic development. Because South Korea can be regarded as a case in which successful economic growth preceded political democratization, the article reviews the advantage and the disadvantage of late industrialization and its limitations. It discusses rising conflicts of interest among economic agents, labor disputes, and the erosion of international competitiveness. The article also reviews the sociopolitical reform program advanced by the new administration and its ramifications for the economic prospects. The article concludes that the Korean economy will continue to grow but not as fast as it had grown in the past and that the new political environment will play a critical role in determining the characteristics of capitalism in South Korea. The success of future economic development will depend on the stability of the political system and the national capacity to resolve conflict of interests.     

Problems of Russian economic reforms and prospects for economic cooperation between the Russian Far East and Northwest pacific countries

This article was originally prepared for a roundtable conference on “Perspectives on Economic Issues in the Northwest Pacific in a Dramatically Changing World,” held February 28–March 1, 1992, in Oiso, Japan. The cosponsors of the conference were Mitsui Marine Research Institute, the Japan Economic Foundation, and The American Council on Asian and Pacific Affairs.     

Patrolling the Boundaries of Politics: Collingwood, Political Analysis and Political Action

Debates over whether a certain thing is (or ought to be) construed as 'political' are frequent and frequently interminable. This article argues that approaches to the proper understanding, scope and application of political concepts should recognise that they are both normative and contestable and also that, because they are employed by both theorist and theorised, they can never be sharply defined. It is argued that many debates achieve no theoretical closure because the terms of discussion are confined by a certain understanding of concepts as empirical and classificatory. This article examines these issues by using the work of R.G. Collingwood to suggest that conceptual overlap is inevitable and also that the theoretical analysis of politics should distinguish between the empirical and the theoretical phase of the concept. Philosophically, politics is not a separate sphere of activity but a dimension of all activity, and the correct way to understand politics is to understand it as activity, not as substance. For certain empirical purposes we categorise some things as political and others as non-political, but in doing so we should be careful whether we are doing so philosophically, historically or through stipulative definition. This article does not seek to cover all ramifications of the debate or its later literature, but to suggest that Collingwood's approach has something to contribute to the analysis of political concepts.     

Arrested development? Sub-Saharan Africa in the stratified world economy 1965–2015

ABSTRACT

The central concern of this paper is with Sub-Saharan Africa's (SSA) standing in the stratified world economy. Country standings are determined for the period 1965 through 2015, based on the Arrighi and Drangel method of calculating world-system position. We find that the region as a whole remained in the bottom of the global economic hierarchy and was particularly sensitive to macroeconomic-historical changes and pressures. Of note too is the clear link between the SSA countries that are performing well in the semiperiphery of the global economic hierarchy and those with a concentration of natural resources.     

South Korea-China economic relations: Trends and prospects

Since the establishment of official diplomatic ties in 1992, bilateral economic relations between Korea and China have rapidly improved. The economic dynamism in China is expected to continue in the future. As continued economic development of China gains momentum, the economic relationship between the two countries will further be strengthened. However, future bilateral economic cooperation will take a path that differs significantly from the past. Both the quantity and quality of economic relations will increase and improve. In particular, Korea’s investment in China, which tends to be concentrated in the manufacturing sector, will broaden out to nonmanufacturing sectors, with the strategic motive of gaining access to China’s huge domestic market. His publications includeNortheast Asian Economic Cooperation: Perspectives and Challenges (KIEP, 1991).     

Looking beyond the economy: Pussy Riot and the Kremlin's voting coalition

The arrest of the protest punk band Pussy Riot (PR) in March 2012 and the subsequent prosecution of three band members pose a significant puzzle for political science. Although PR's performances presented a coherent alternative to the Putin regime's image of Russian reality, it was unlikely that the discordant music and crude lyrics of their art protest would inspire Russian society to take to the streets. Yet, the regime mounted a very visible prosecution against the three young women. We argue that the trial marked a shift in the Kremlin's strategy to shape state–society relations. In the face of declining economic conditions and social unrest, the PR trial encapsulated the Kremlin's renewed focus on three related mechanisms to insure social support: coercion, alliance building, and symbolic politics. The PR trial afforded the Kremlin an important opportunity to simultaneously redefine its loyal constituency, secure the Church–state relationship, and stigmatize the opposition.