Towards formulating effective research and development national strategies in Arab countries

Extremely weak R&D has a negative impact on growth and development in Arab countries. Developing a better R&D strategy could enhance capacity and effectiveness of R&D. The failure of the previously developed strategies in Arab countries was due to lack of vision, incorrect identification of R&D priorities, and disregard consulting stakeholders. This article discusses the challenges of developing R&D national strategies in Arab countries including identifying R&D priorities, managing stakeholders, assessing the current situation of R&D, and defining objectives of the strategies.     

Science and the media in South Africa: Reflecting a ‘dirty mirror’

Abstract

The public understanding of science is vital in any society, to counter pseudoscientific claims and quackery. The relationship between scientists and the media (the latter often the only channel through which scientific findings reach the public) was studied within a South African framework. An empirical survey was conducted by means of a comprehensive questionnaire sent to 740 South African scientists and researchers and 360 journalists. Because the media are important in the public understanding of science, the survey tried to establish the depth of and possible reasons for distrust between the two professions and what structures could be put in place to overcome this. This study found some significant differences in the views of scientists and journalists about the role of science in society, how it could be communicated to the public, and the reasons for this dichotomy. Finally, proposals to bridge the gap between scientists and the media are made: the media should give serious attention to raise the standards of science reporting by establishing science desks headed by properly trained science editors and well-trained science reporters. On the other hand, scientists should be trained to communicate better with the media and, therefore, the public.     

Science and technology in the South Atlantic: minding the gaps

The notion of a geopolitical system known as the South Atlantic is severely tested when it comes to science and technology (S&T), especially given the enormous disparities between (and sometimes within) countries of the region. The essay attempts to characterise the S&T policy pursuits of these countries by dividing them into the most advanced (Brazil and South Africa) versus the poorer remainder, and identifying the most powerful drivers for S&T investment for each group. The practical needs of social and economic development for the latter group are self‐evident. Rather more subtle are the multifaceted initiatives of the two more developed countries, with drivers ranging from prestige and national security to economic competitiveness and growth. The increasing complexity of policy making in Brazil and South Africa is driving analysis of their behaviour more towards the model of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. A major restraint on better research is the parlous state of data on research and development in all of the countries of the region; finding a remedy for that weakness would not only benefit policy researchers but also the policy makers themselves, who lack adequate feedback mechanisms for their investment paths in S&T.     

俄罗斯的科技资源及对外科技合作政策研究

俄罗斯科技资源丰富,拥有数目庞大的高素质科研人员队伍,并在众多科技领域保持着世界领先的地位。世界各国对俄罗斯的科技资源都非常重视,通过给予优厚报酬、提供良好科研条件等种种方式,吸引俄罗斯科技人员到本国工作。俄罗斯的科技优势主要表现在基础研究与高新技术领域,在军工与航天技术方面,处于世界领先地位,近几年在医药与生物技术以及民用技术等方面都有很大发展。研究俄罗斯的科技资源及对外科技合作政策对于加强中俄之间的科技合作与发展意义重大。     

Political institutions and FDI inflows in autocratic countries*

ABSTRACT

Why do some autocratic countries attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) than others? Surprisingly, few studies have explored the considerable variation in FDI inflows to non-democratic countries. In this article, I argue that non-democratic countries with seemingly democratic political institutions, such as elected legislatures, attract more FDI inflow than others. This is because these institutions can (1) reduce the transaction costs of investment activities due to the relative transparency of the policy-making process, and (2) act as veto players, making the existing market-friendly policy changes difficult, and thus, promising a more stable investment environment. My empirical results support the main expectation that autocratic countries with legislatures attract more FDI than other autocratic countries, and the institutions’ effects are conditionally modified by the quality of market protecting institutions.     

因势利导:化解非传统安全困境的东盟路径

非传统安全困境存在吗?这种安全困境为何产生?以东盟为中心的东亚区域合作能否将其化解?既往研究通常一分为二地看待国家在传统安全与非传统安全议题中的行为逻辑,用安全困境的理论解释前者,安全化与和合主义等概念描述后者,认为后者更易导向国际合作。新冠肺炎疫情是一次非传统安全危机,然而世界各国却在应对过程中合作乏力、对立加深,这是一种非传统安全困境,各国政策和行为意图的不确定性是其主要原因。冷战后,以东盟为中心的区域合作架构在非传统安全议题上因势利导,增强各国对安全威胁的共同认识,依托既有地区合作机制凝聚共同利益,形成了增强政策和行为意图确定性的“威胁—利益”转化机制,在一定程度上化解了这种非传统安全困境。2020年4月,为应对疫情而召开的“10+3”特别峰会即为例证。东盟国家与中日韩三国对安全利益的共识虽有待增强,但对安全威胁的预估已趋于一致,是化解当下全球性非传统安全困境的一个地区性积极表征。     

Studying small states in international security affairs: a quantitative analysis

Todays’ international security architecture composed of international security treaties and international security norms has been established and formalized by negotiations. Owing to the great importance of international security negotiations for international security practices, this paper sheds light on negotiation activities. A study of 100 different international security negotiations shows that states vary considerably with respect to their negotiation activity. Some countries voice positions very often, while others remain completely silent. This is puzzling, as active negotiation participation is an expression of state sovereignty and a means to influence the shape of the international security architecture. The article distinguishes between capacity and incentives as driving forces of state activity in international security negotiations. The analysis reveals that, next to political and financial capacities, states that place high priority on military matters are more active, while smaller and poorer states are more likely to shelter under the security umbrella of larger counterparts.     

Neorealism,Security Cooperation,and Europe's Relative Gains Dilemma

Most neorealists argue that relative decline constitutes a systemic incentive for European security cooperation. Although this claim is broadly accepted, I argue that the relationship between relative decline and European security cooperation is complicated by a number of factors. First, European calculations about relative decline bear both a global and a regional (that is, intra-European) component. If a European country is to effectively mitigate relative decline, cooperation is not sufficient. It is just as important that cooperation develops in a way that underscores that country's comparative strengths and minimizes its weaknesses. In this regard, European countries are often in direct competition with each other. Secondly, when Europeans are thinking about their relative power position, some countries matter more than others: a given European country may accept to incur a relative loss vis-à-vis another country (European or otherwise) but not others. These calculations are further complicated by issue linkage. Some countries may accept relative losses on some issues (for example, security) in exchange for gains on others (economic). This article examines how intra-European considerations of relative gains affect the way in which Europe's main powers seek to cope with relative decline and assesses how those considerations affect security cooperation in a European Union (EU) framework. In doing so, it aims to unpack the otherwise vague notions of relative decline and European security cooperation.     

Russia and the USA: The virtual games of superpowers

An analysis of the rapid and dramatic changes in the politics and economics of the world during the twentieth century reveals that the role of science and high technology becomes extremely important for international development, security and cooperation. The consequences of fundamental research become critical for mankind, and they determine and define preventive security. International scientific and technological cooperation, coupled with the financial power of the dollar, will make it possible to avoid an ‘end of history’ or a ‘clash of civilizations’, as well as to resolve many world conflicts. The importance that science and technology hold for the future of humanity must be added to the current definition of ‘democracy’.     

Pro-poor values in agricultural research management: PETRRA experiences in practice

PETRRA was an agricultural research-management project which used a values-based approach in project design, planning, and implementation. Through an experiential learning process, agricultural research and development (R&D) institutes, NGOs, private agencies, and community-based organisations rediscovered and improved the understanding of their strengths in meeting development commitments. The project successfully showed how values-based research can meaningfully be implemented and a sustainable pro-poor impact achieved.     

Blurring the Dividing Line: The Convergence of Internal and External Security in Western Europe

Abstract

A distinctive feature of the security landscape in western Europe of the post-Cold War era is that the dividing line between internal and external security has become increasingly obsolete—mainly as a consequence of the growing importance of transnational as well as other challenges to security which defy the distinction between domestic and international security. This article examines this convergence of internal and external security agendas from the perspective of the coercive apparatus of western European countries, pointing to a militarisation and externalisation of policing, and an internalisation and ‘policisation’ of soldiering: while police forces are taking on military characteristics, and are extending their activities beyond the borders of the state, military forces are turning to internal security missions, and are adopting certain police features. Moreover, agencies which have traditionally been located at the interface between police and military forces, i.e. gendarmerie-type or paramilitary forces, are assuming an increasingly important role.     

Global diffusion,policy flexibility,and inflation targeting

ABSTRACT

A diverse group of over 30 countries located all over the world—such as the UK, Colombia, and Ghana—introduced inflation targeting, which is a monetary policy that seeks to control inflation through a pre-announced target. Fully institutionalized democracies adopted the policy first because the core features of inflation targeting are consistent with the principles of a liberal democracy. But why was inflation targeting also introduced by less-democratic countries? This article develops the argument that decision makers of less-democratic countries became more likely to adopt inflation targeting when they observed that nearby countries increased the flexibility of the policy. The statistical analysis of data from 76 countries between 1989 and 2013 supports this hypothesis. The finding that the change of a policy toward a more flexible framework drives its global spread addresses a blind spot in the more recent policy diffusion literature.     

The US–Russian security ‘reset’: implications for Central-Eastern Europe and Germany

Abstract

The article examines the reactions of selected European states to the US-performed ‘reset’ in relations with Russia and explores the ways in which they have been adapting to the new set-up. The article is divided into three parts: after the discussion of the substantive continuity and limited change in US foreign and security policy (USFSP), the multilateral and bilateral dimensions of USFSP procedure are examined through John Ruggie's theoretical observations. The second part of the article deals with implications of the USFSP for Central-Eastern European countries. This part begins with a discussion of Russian attempts to wheedle Europe into embracing its plans for new European security architecture. The next section sheds light on the unexpected process of strategic realignment of the region (USA/NATO/EU/CSDP) and simultaneous transformation of the special relationship with the USA into ‘normal life’. The third part of the article tackles the implications of heightened US–Russian bilateralism for Germany. Authors' findings, many of them based on conducted elite interviews, suggest the contrary process, namely Germany's strengthened multilateral commitment to the EU and specifically to European Security and Defence Policy, limiting the bilateral option to energy trade with Russia. What follows are concluding remarks.     

Recent developments in the philosophy of science: its relevance for the social sciences

SUMMARY

This article reviews developments in the philosophy of science which occurred during the past two decades. It begins with a discussion of the orthodox positivist view of science, concentrating on its logicist conception of theory assessment. This is followed by an exposition of the historicist critique of positivism as primarily worked out in Thomas Kuhn's The structure of scientific revolutions. It is well known that Kuhn's book led to a resurgence of interest in relativist and subjectivist positions in the philosophy of science. The main opponent to historicism, scientific realism, is discussed in some detail in the third section of the article. In the final section, the relevance of these debates to the social sciences is examined. The section begins with a brief outline of the Marxist version of realism which have recently been defended by people such as Bhaskar, Keat and Urry and Sayer. In the final pages of the article, it is argued that a realist theory of the social sciences is possible. It is also argued, however, that such a theory need not necessarily be cloaked in the guise of Marxism.     

日本企业研发机构的组织特征和运作方式分析

日本企业研发机构经过不断改编重组 ,逐步趋向完善 ,形成了研究人员知识多样、职历多方面、地位较高等显著特点。在运作方式上 ,尊重自由、自主 ,重视意会型知识的作用 ,做法独特。     

From “partnership” to “principled pragmatism”: tracing the discursive practices of the High Representatives in the EU’s relations with the Southern Mediterranean

ABSTRACT

The EU’s relations with countries in the Southern Mediterranean have a long history as the region is of great strategic importance for the Union and its member states. The High Representatives of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy have been highly involved in shaping these relations, and this role has been officially strengthened with institutional changes brought about with the Lisbon Treaty. This article analyses the role of the HR/VPs in shaping the EU's foreign and security policy towards the region with an analytical focus on discursive practice. Drawing on insights from practice theory in IR and EU studies, the analysis traces continuity and change in how the Southern Mediterranean is described in the drafting of key strategic documents. The main finding is that EU foreign and security policy towards the Southern Mediterranean shows a high degree of continuity despite several crises and institutional changes, although the discursive practices have evolved. The article ends by highlighting a conundrum that the EU can be said to implicitly acknowledge: if authoritarian states in the Southern Mediterranean are inherently unstable, yet stable enough to quench the democratic aspirations of their people, then what should be the basis for EU actions?     

EU police and judicial cooperation before the Treaty of Lisbon: strengthening of the weakest link?

Abstract

Three key questions arise from the encroachment of the European Union (EU) on national prerogatives in the administration of justice: What factors contribute to the weakest link collective action problem attending police and judicial cooperation within the EU? What were the substantive and institutional goals of the EU in this policy domain? What accounts for the rising level of police and judicial cooperation despite the persistence of barriers to cooperation and incentives to defect? This article first establishes the fundamental incentives and obstacles to cooperation in matters of transnational security threats in post-Westphalian Europe. It then proceeds to explore the evolution of police and judicial cooperation in Justice and Home Affairs between 1999 and 2009, to assess national contributions to police and judicial cooperation, and to consider the potential impact that the changes introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, Stockholm Programme and European Investigation Order. A final question is considered in the conclusion: Did the level and extent of police and judicial cooperation that emerged between 1999 and 2009 give rise to a community of practice that in turn fostered a nascent community of identity resilient enough to mitigate the weakest link technology of public goods production endemic to this policy domain?     

Popular perceptions of political regimes in East and Southeast Asia

Political regimes in East and Southeast Asia run the full spectrum from liberal democracy through various hybrid democratic-authoritarian types and on to full-blown authoritarianism and totalitarianism. While political scientists have invested much effort and ingenuity in creating typologies of regimes to better understand the empirical diversity of political structures and processes, much less attention has been paid to what the citizens think. How do people in East and Southeast Asian countries perceive their own institutions and performance of governance? This article uses public opinion data derived from the AsiaBarometer 2006 and 2007 Surveys of 12 East and Southeast Asian countries to map what citizens actually think about their structures, processes, and outcomes of governance and compare these with the regime classifications of political scientists. The results revealed universal commitment to elections but disillusionment with political practice, positive estimations of the institutions of governance in Southeast Asia but much less enthusiasm in East Asia, and a preference for moderate opinions. There is no clear overall correlation between regime type and popular perception.     

Does Russia need a general staff?

The institutional arrangements and mechanisms for preventing and managing conflicts will determine the future of European security and the balance of power in a wider Europe. Russian policy and Russia‐NATO relations are anaylsed within the context of the ongoing changes at Russia's southern periphery. The embryos of three distinct security systems are developing ‐ a Russia‐led, a NATO‐led and one led by the international community. The article suggests that instability in the southern periphery in the future will require security cooperation and a joint approach by Russia and NATO countries.