Democracies only: When do IMF agreements serve as a seal of approval?

Conditional lending by the IMF is predicated, in part, on the belief that IMF programs are associated with increased capital inflows to participating countries. This belief is generally consistent with theoretical arguments in the academic literature (e.g., Bird and Rowlands 1997; Bordo et al. 2004) but the empirical literature often finds otherwise (e.g., Jensen 2004). This paper argues that the effect of IMF agreements on a country’s access to foreign direct investment (FDI) depends on its domestic institutions. Access to FDI depends on a country’s ability to credibly commit to implementation, and this ability varies systematically across regime type. The theory is empirically tested using a treatment effects model with a Markov transition in the treatment equation in a dataset covering 142 countries from 1976 to 2006. We find that in democracies IMF program participation has a strong positive effect on FDI inflows and in autocracies participation has a weak negative effect.     

After the banquet: Japan’s power elite revisited

The demise of Japan’s iron triangle, consisting of the LDP’s parliamentary party, the central ministries and the keiretsu conglomerates ruling Japan conjointly, has been diagnosed since some time now (Thayer, 1993; Blechinger, 2001). After more than one decade of an unprecedented crisis in Japan’s political economy which severely tested the competences and the legitimacy of Japan’s ruling classes it is about time to resume and to take stock of changes and continuities in her power structures. In a nutshell it appears that (1) the political system after serious shifts and jolts during the 1990s has reverted to the old one-and-a-half party system—with the conservative democrats (DPJ) displacing the Socialists of old as the main opposition party-and with the LDP remaining firmly in the lead role, exercising increased zoku control over the ministries and continuing hereditary pork barrel oriented constituency politics as its power base. The role of the party’s factions appears as somewhat diminished. (2) the central bureaucracy suffered a gradual erosion of functions and legitimacy, affecting notably the lead ministries MOF, MITI (METI) and MFA. This was however compensated in part by the large discretionary spending volumes disbursed by the merged Infrastructure Ministry (MLIT), the supervisory functions of the new Financial Services Agency (FSA), and the strengthened competences of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). (3) the prolonged economic crisis and asset deflation affecting city banks as keiretsu lead managers consequent to a series of bank mergers has seen some keiretsu disintegrate or amalgamate. Yet it appears that other keiretsu, like Sumitomo (having taken over Mitsui) and Mitsubishi remain consolidated, while some of the previously less integrated banking keiretsu continue in a fairly oversized and loosely merged fashion. Thus the keiretsu system’s micro-economic importance may have eroded somewhat compared to their heydays in the 1980s. Still keiretsu affiliated companies continue to dominate organized zaikai business interests, like the merged Keidanren–Nikkeiren.Note that the article only reflects the personal views of the author, and none of his institution.

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Japan and the European Union: shared foreign policy interests

Background  Japan and the European Union (Reiterer (2004b) 2:33–42) are both interested in enhancing their international standing in order to overcome their perceived status as economic giants but political dwarfs. While the reasons for this endeavour as well as the inherent characteristics of the actors involved—a traditional nation state as compared to the most advanced integration structure world-wide—are quite different, both entities see themselves primarily as civilian powers (Whitman (2006) 11(1):1–15) without neglecting the need to endow themselves with a military capacity in order to be more effective and credible on a world-wide scale. The ‘EU is emerging as a key regional actor in certain global affairs, particularly in such areas as finance, trade, environment and development, and current policy is directed towards enhancing the role of the European Union in the global governance system. To this end, the European Commission is actively engaged in such issues as the global governance of trade, the protection of human rights, the promotion of democracy, strengthening of regional and global security communities, and encouraging regional integration in other parts of the world.’ (Farrel (2005) 10(4):452–453)—all areas, except the latter task, where the EU and Japan could potentially cooperate closely.Objectives  Before identifying shared foreign policy interests between the EU and Japan, I will first bring to light some of the interests the EU has in East Asia in general; secondly I will chart the major Japanese foreign policy interests which will allow me to map out areas of potential common interest and concern.Adjunct Professor for International Politics, University of Innsbruck; Minister and Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to Japan; the author expresses his own views which should not be attributed to the European Commission. The author whishes to recognize the research assistance of Ms. Sachi Claringbould.

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Comparing event flows— The New York Times and The Times of London: Conceptual Issues And Case Studies†

This paper examines two newspapers, The New York Times and The Times of London, to test the similarities and differences in the collection of events interaction data over a three‐year time interval (from 1969–71). Two divergent approaches are taken—one involving gross aggregation over the “ who did what to whom about what” format and the other investigating specific studies of conflicts. The conflict studies included in the paper are those of India‐Pakistan, Jordan‐Palestinian guerillas and the general Middle East and Vietnam arenas. It was found that both sources have different reporting styles during non‐conflict periods. However, the central and most important point in this study is that events data are of a consistent and comparable nature over different sources when they are of a conflict orientation. Thus, the events data gathered from The New York Times and The Times of London are essentially conflict indicator data which represent similar patterns of of interactions.     

The Australian journalism vs cultural studies debate: implications for South African media studies

ABSTRACT

This article describes an investigation into factors required for a development programme in intercultural business communication amongst the personnel of a South African company operating in the Japanese market. Drawing from items that were identified in the literature, and amongst individuals who operate in the Japanese market, a set of criteria was identified that could be included in a South African-Japanese intercultural business communication course. These criteria were used in a structured questionnaire, which was pre-tested in interviews and a focus group, and then administered to a group of company managers who had travelled to Japan on business. The results of the research are a set of items ranked in terms of salience within three categories. The first comprises degree of knowledge of important aspects of Japanese life, the second consists of factors that lead to culture shock, and the third includes aspects that are deemed to be important in a course on South African–Japanese intercultural business communication.     

Environmental issues as a ‘strategic’ key in EU–China relations

EU–China relations face some troubled areas, notably their differing views on human rights and a widening trade imbalance in China’s favour, compounded by the still weak foreign policy coherence on the part of the EU. This raises problems for the EU–China strategic partnership announced in 2003. This paper argues that, in contrast to such problematic political-trade areas, there is some substantive convergence over environmental and energy issues. Convergence is evoked in the EU–China Partnership on Climate Change announced in 2005, and manifested in various cooperative programmes currently operating. In a practical sense, environmental issues are not only important in themselves but are ones where easier confidence and pragmatic cooperation can be more readily established between the EU and China. However, questions of appropriate environmental technology, the commercial/altruistic basis for technology transfer and outcomes of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in December 2009 remain as issues to settle between them.     

The EU in the peace process for Aceh

For generations, the majority of Acehnese have suffered cruelties and lived in fear even since the last quarter of the 19th century. Albeit it immediately supported Indonesia’s independence in 1945, the armistice in the special province was short-lived. Even the regime change in Jakarta in 1998 has insignificantly contributed to a betterment. In recent years, international mediations for peace settlement had eventually failed. Like a blessing in disguise, the tsunami that hit the region at the end of 2004 increased the chance for a political solution. Within this atmosphere the EU saw a window of opportunity. Through the latest initiative by the [Crisis Management Initiative (CMI) (2005) Memorandum of understanding between the Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement], the Union’s decision to facilitate the peace process in Aceh was based on political, economic, geopolitical and strategic interests. This paper investigates the motives behind those aspects. It also suggests that amidst concerns in certain circles in Indonesia on the process, Jakarta has been very positive toward the Union’s involvement. Although there are potential risks for Indonesia; however, it simultaneously creates new opportunities to both sides.

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Regional integration and conflict management. The case of Vietnam

This paper is examines the process of regional integration of Vietnam into the framework for regional co-operation under the umbrella of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN). The main focus is on the process leading to Vietnams admission into ASEAN in 1995. The relative importance of key factors – economic, political and security – in the process leading to Vietnams admission into ASEAN is assessed. Particular attention is devoted to the conflict management dimension of the regional integration of Vietnam both in process leading to membership in ASEAN and in the management of border disputes between Vietnam and other ASEAN members.This study is based the authors on-going research on Vietnams foreign policy and on regional collaboration is Southeast Asia including ASEANs expansion with a focus on conflict management.This article is an edited version of a paper with the same title presented at Paper prepared for Session 1: Lessons to be learnt, success stories of peaceful reconciliation, At the 3rd Asia-Europe Roundtable: Peace and Reconciliation Success Stories and Lessons. Organised by Asia-Europe Foundation, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, The Institute for International Relations, and Singapore Institute of International Affairs, Hanoi, 20-21 October 2003.     

Islamist moderation in perspective: comparative analysis of the moderation of Islamist and Western communist parties

What forms do Islamist moderation take, and which factors underlie each form of moderation? Although a prevalent question in recent years, less is known about the causes and forms of Islamist moderation in a systematic fashion. By building on the findings of Communist moderation literature, we introduce a two-stage framework to explain variation in Islamist party moderation over time and across space: tactical vs. ideological moderation. Tactical moderation refers to the kind of moderation where radical parties make a decision on whether to accept electoral democracy as a means to achieve ideological goals without compromising their platforms. Structural factors such as political liberalization, international factors and state repression are causes of tactical moderation. Ideological moderation pertains to shifts in a platform from a radical niche to more moderate lines to respond to societal changes (economic liberalization, economic growth, electoral loss and changing voter preferences) to gain greater popular support. Empirically, we analyse the Italian Communist Party and the Party for Justice and Development in Morocco in a comparative perspective. In providing evidence through structured comparisons and field interviews, we hope to advance a more universal, generalizable theory of radical party moderation.     

Mind the gap: the importance of local institutional development in peace-building-funded security interventions

In this paper, the authors analyse current spending priorities of the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF)-funded security sector reform (SSR) programmes. They conclude that these spending priorities do not appear to support traditional components of SSR and underfund programmes needed for the development of local public administration and civil society. This is observed despite the published commitments of UN PBF funding priorities to include the strengthening of national institutions in the context of support to the wider security and justice sectors.1 ?1. See UNPBSO, Strategy 2012–2013. The underfunding of civil society and local administration has been shown to undermine PBF's goals for the type of liberal democratic reform upon which peace-building, conflict management and conflict prevention rests. Focusing on the importance of accountability, the authors build on the scholarship of the rule of law literature to explore wider concerns associated with limited support to local public institutions and civil society. Drawing on empirical research on the peace-building experience in Sierra Leone, the authors reflect on concerns with the effects of past and current funding priorities and expose a number of ‘capacity deficits’ which have emerged in the wake of PBF funding patterns. The article concludes with several recommendations for a contextual approach to the development of local institutions and civil society in PBF-recipient countries more generally, and in Sierra Leone more specifically. This work contributes to the growing literature that seeks to link security sector reform with the need for a more nuanced approach to peace-building.     

Javanese culture as the source of legitimacy for Soeharto’s government

Since its independence on the 17th of August 1945, Indonesia has been governed consecutively by five presidents. Among them, Retired Army Great General Soeharto managed to be president for more than 32 years. There were many factors making him succeed in reaching, promoting, as well as maintaining power for these years. Despite his ability to place the military forces and police, the civilian bureaucracy, the Functional Group called Golkar, as well as the conglomerates under his own tight control, he also managed to manipulate Javanese cultural values as the source of legitimacy for his decisions and policies. As a puritan Javanese, Soeharto believed that a number of traditional Javanese thoughts in the forms of guidance and prohibitions, when practiced, would not only make individuals but also the Indonesian people in general have a noble and generous mind, or ber budi bawa leksana, that is: the ones who are really good as the essence of goodness, or becik sajatining becik. He claimed that it would not be difficult for the Indonesian people to improve their consciousness as the nation of Indonesia in their state, government and social life on the basis of Pancasila, if they understood Javanese cultural values properly (Rukmana 1993:xi). Based on this belief, Soeharto then tried to convince people that his all decisions and policies were socially just and philosophically correct because they had been based on very high Javanese philosophical values. As for example, when he treated his enemy or rival, such as ex-President Soekarno, or when he responded the critiques launched by his rivals or enemies, like Sawito Kartowibowo, Jailani Naro, Soeryadi, Megawati Soekarnoputri, Abdurahman Wahid, Permadi, Sri Bintang Pamungkas, and Amien Rais, challenging his position as the President or asking questions about presidential succession, Soeharto knew how to manipulate Javanese cultural values in order to justify or even legitimize his decisions and policies.

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Success in slow motion: The Europeanization of Romanian child protection policy

This paper analyzes the influence of the European Union (EU) through a qualitative case study of child protection policy in Romania. This is a particularly tough case for the growing “Europeanization” literature. Prior research has called attention to several factors that promote Europeanization, including the presence of a pro-reform domestic coalition, the clarity and consistency of the EU’s own legislative targets, a state’s own prior involvement in the setting of European standards, a strong consensus among EU member states backing the European position, and strong non-European support for EU initiatives. According to these propositions, Romanian child protection seemed to provide a worst case scenario for Europeanization, as initially none of these conditions held. And yet the paper shows that substantial Europeanization occurred anyway. We argue that the EU experienced a very slow start with Romania but that it cultivated an opposition that responded to EU initiatives when that opposition took power. Moreover, the EU found three “workarounds” to the obstacles just noted: it asserted legislative targets it did not possess itself, invented new policy tools, and drew protection for its most controversial policy from another international organization, the ECHR. Our central theoretical claim is that external pressure requires internal accommodation in order to have lasting effects. The claim has important implications for the diffusion and conditionality debates.

Building a strong nation, how does China perform in science and technology

A common perception is that China has relied on the expansion of labour-intensive industries and flooded the world market with cheap but low to medium level technology products. Although it has become the third largest exporting nation, China has failed to create a large number of big businesses that can compete with the world’s leading multinational companies (Nolan (2004)). The Chinese government has long been aware of the weakness of its development strategy and has been trying to improve its own technological capacity through investments in basic research, innovations and the application of new technologies, utility models and designs. China’s strategy on science and technology can be best described by the so-called ‘walking with two legs’ principle. The first leg is based on building up domestic research and innovative capacity. This is through investments in research institutes, universities and LMEs. China’s second leg has been to build up its technology capacity through its open policy and attracting FDI and technology. China has made significant advances in the following areas regarding science and technology.

How is the EU-ASEAN FTA viewed by ASEAN stakeholders?

Since April 2007, the EU Commission has been entrusted to start negotiating a FTA with ASEAN countries. Being enshrined in the logic contained in its ‘Global Europe strategy’, the proposed EU-ASEAN FTA finds its economic rationale in the expected overall positive impact found by most econometric studies on the topic. This article argues that although beneficial, these studies are limited conceptually and methodologically. In particular, they are unable to tackle the issue of differentiated effects on several groups of stakeholders. By analysing, through a questionnaire, the opinion of a number of ASEAN stakeholders, this article brings complementary information on the perception of the planned EU-ASEAN FTA by these different stakeholders. Whilst offering many opportunities, the FTA presents also a number of risks, the most critical one being the costs of adjustment, particularly for poorer ASEAN member countries. This paper draws partly on research work conducted jointly with F. Nicolas as part of a research contract for the European Commission DG Trade

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The relationship between peace building and development

This article considers the changing nature and needs of United Nations (UN) peace building in the post-Cold War era. The focus of the analysis is on the connection between peace building and development. Competing views exist regarding the links between these two areas. The exclusivist approach considers them two distinct stages of a phased process, undertaken separately and under different conditions. The inclusivist approach, meanwhile, argues that they are mutually reinforcing and capable of operating simultaneously. This paper demonstrates that the inclusivist approach is gaining ground in the literature, and it contends that it is a more appropriate way of addressing the problems of post-conflict societies. In support of this argument, the article looks initially at how development fits within the definitional ambit of peace building. Second, it provides a theoretical framework for the synthesis of peace building and development. Third, it considers the way in which the relationship between peace building and development has developed historically, and examines the three main manifestations of this relationship: disaster relief, macroeconomic reform and post-conflict reintegration.     

中越有关民族起源神话传说的对比

神话是人类社会幼年时期的产物，是原始社会最早的艺术形式之一。是古代劳动人民对社会和自然现象的美妙解释和奇特想象。远古时代，人们掌握的科学知识很少，有许多自然现象不能理解，如为什么会有风云雷电？为什么日月星辰都往西落？水为什么都向东流？他们把自然力神化、人格化，在幻想中不自觉地进行艺术加工，创造出许多神的故事，这就是神话传说。     

广西对越南机电产品出口贸易现状及对策分析

一、机电产品出口现状 广西与越南通商贸易传统由来已久,随着中国-东盟自由贸易区建设步伐的加快,双方经贸关系日益加强,贸易往来日趋红火.总体分析,越南是广西商品出口的一个广阔市场,广西对越南出口贸易额呈持续快速增长之势,贸易结构也逐步得以改善.     

France,Civil-Military Relations,and Nuclear Weapons

Robert S. McNamara, In Retrospect; The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam. New York: Random House, 1995. xviii, 414 pp./$27.50 cloth.     

The International Energy Agency after 35 years: Reform needs and institutional adaptability

Despite the mounting scholarly interest in processes of institutional change in international organizations, still very little is known about how and when such evolutionary dynamics occur. This article hopes to contribute to this young, yet growing body of literature by process-tracing the changes that have occurred in the institutional setup of the International Energy Agency (IEA). Founded during the first oil crisis of 1973–74, the IEA has had to deal with major environmental changes over its lifetime. In response, the agency has diversified away from its original raison d’être, namely managing an emergency oil sharing mechanism, to become a more proactive policy adviser guiding its member governments toward sustainable energy economies. The article seeks to explain the observed patterns of change and inertia, using a theoretic paradigm that builds on theories of “new institutionalism.” The paper argues that the agency’s institutional flexibility can only be fully explained by taking into account a combination of factors: (1) the member states’ choices, in particular the impulses of the G8-members of the IEA; (2) path dependency, especially the institutional link with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); and (3) agency by the secretariat and the executive bureau of the IEA.     

Cooperative learning vs Confucian heritage culture's collectivism: confrontation to reveal some cultural conflicts and mismatch

Asian countries with Confucian heritage culture (CHC) such as China, Vietnam, Singapore, Korea and Japan have been proven to share characteristics of a collectivist society. Researchers agree that this collectivist mentality strongly supports cooperation that CHC's learners/workers best perform in groups. However, little is known about the other side of the coin. Whilst applying a method born in one culture to another, cultural differences have been forgotten. The so-called global application has led to a situation in which a Western model is forced to launch in a completely new and different context. This new context and the existing cultural values are not always incorporated into the implementation of a Western concept of cooperative learning. Consequently, it does not necessarily follow that all forms of cooperative learning will surely succeed within a CHC environment. As a result of ignoring, stereotyping and underestimating cultural and educational characteristics, in CHC countries, the implementation of constructivism and one of its applications—cooperative learning—has ended up in failures, suspicion or resistance. The authors would like to question (1) the fixed assumption that “group-work surely works in CHC countries” and (2) the domination of developmentalism in education nowadays and its mismatch with cultural assets. With this paper, the authors contribute to the recent call for culturally appropriate pedagogy.