China: The New Global Model for Development

Globalization may yet repeal the Biblical adage that the poor will always be with us. But for now there are enough losers to go along with the winners that a slide back toward fragmentation and protectionism is a distinct possibility, as was also the case at the turn of the 20th century. Our contributors in this section offer their advice on how to make globalization work for everyone.     

The wto in Bali: what mc9 means for the Doha Development Agenda and why it matters

The conclusion of the World Trade Organization’s (wto) ninth ministerial meeting – held in Bali 3–7 December 2013 – is at one and the same time momentous, marginal and business-as-usual. It is momentous because it marks the first multilateral agreement reached in the wto since the organisation began operations on 1 January 1995; it is marginal because the deal reached will have only a limited impact on the global trading system; and it is business as usual because the Bali package will be of disproportionally greater value to the industrial states than to their developing and least developed counterparts. We examine what happened in Bali, covering the principal issues at stake and the content of the outcome, what this means for the wto and for the Doha Development Agenda (dda), and why it all matters. We argue that, while the Bali ministerial is significant and the agreements reached important, the conclusion of the meeting and the package agreed represent only a limited movement forward in addressing the fundamental problems and inequities of the wto system.     

The Politics of Debt and Development in the New Millennium: an introduction

This article serves as an introduction to this special issue of twq on ‘Debt and Development in the New Millennium’. It highlights the gaps in our knowledge about debt that the following contributions seek to fill and why this is important, both analytically and politically. In doing so, it discusses two core objectives of the special issue: first, to examine the role(s) that debt plays in mediating the underlying tensions of neoliberal-led development and its emphasis on market-led growth and poverty reduction schemes; and, second, to interrupt, contest and deconstruct the dominant economic representations and meanings of debt. Although the contributions draw on different theoretical frames to explore different features of debt across a variety of social spaces, a core hypothesis running through each article is that that there are additional complex and paradoxical dimensions to debt beyond what is represented by its common-sense economic meaning as an amount of money borrowed, voluntarily, by one party from another. This introductory article concludes by providing the reader with an overview of each contribution comprising the special issue.     

Toward a New Decade:Research on the Sustainable Development of FOCAC

FOCAC is a successful and pioneering cooperation model jointly explored by China and Africa.The Forum has become an important platform for facilitating China-Africa relations since its founding 10 years ago.Within this framework the two sides have achieved great accomplishment through cooperation,and have created new development areas.Currently,the international system is experiencing deep adjustments,and the international political,economic and security situation is becoming increasingly complicated.Within such a context,the Forum continues to embrace new development opportunities as well as face new challenges.This paper will evaluate the achievements and the experiences of the Forum,and offer some proposals on promoting the sustainable development of FOCAC within the new context.     

The Political Economy of Institutions,Stability and Investment: A Simultaneous Equation Approach in an Emerging Economy. The Case of South Africa

The modern theory of investment identifies the importance of uncertainty to investment. A number of empirical studies have tested the theory on South African time series, employing political instability measures as proxies for uncertainty. This paper verifies that political instability measures are required in the formulation of the investment function for South Africa. It also establishes that there are distinct institutional factors that influence the uncertainty variable such as property rights and crime levels. We find that rising income and property rights lower political instability, and that rising crime levels are positively related to political instability. The inference is that political instability in South Africa may not represent uncertainty directly, since it is systematically related to a set of determinants. Instead, uncertainty would have to be understood as being related to a broader institutional nexus that in concert may generate uncertainty for investors. The paper highlights the significance of getting institutions right to ensure that uncertainty is kept to a minimum by providing a predictable long-term environment. Stability at a systemic level appears crucial if investment rates are to rise in South Africa and this paper demonstrates that stability in turn is driven by a sound institutional environment that has multiple dimensions.     

The Early Cold War and American Political Development: Reflections on Recent Research

This paper is a review essay of three books representing new research into the relationship between Cold War mobilization and postwar American political development: Michael Hogan, A Cross of Iron: Harry S. Truman and the Origins of the National Security State, 1945–1954 (Cambridge University Press, 1998); Guy Oakes, The Imaginary War: Civil Defense and American Cold War Culture (Oxford University Press, 1994); and Peter Trubowitz, Defining the National Interest: Conflict and Change in American Foreign Policy (University of Chicago Press, 1998).     

State-centered vs. Class-centered perspectives on international politics: The case of U.S. and British participation in the 1953 coup against premier Mosaddeq in Iran

Two alternative perspectives—state-centered and class-centered—on state actions 01 are considered. The explanatory power of each of these perspectives is examined by analyzing the behavior of three major political actors in the Iranian oil disputes—the Iranian, the British, and the U.S. governments—using the existing historical evidence. The article supports a class-centered explanation by demonstrating the significance of the International Petroleum Cartel in determining U.S. and British policy towards Iran in this period and the failure of the Iranian bourgeoisie to continue their support of Mosaddeq in the face of economic difficulties resulting from the nationalization of the oil industry. Partial support for a state-centered explanation is also noted. For future research, the utility of considering the state and class as interdependent actors with the specification that the nature of this interdependence is asymmetrical is suggested.     

New Institutional Arrangements for Rural Development: The Case of Local Woolgrowers' Associations in the Transkei Area,South Africa

Until recently, smallholder farmers in the Transkei area had very limited access to a profitable market outlet for their wool. In response, the South African wool industry built shearing sheds, managed by a local association that sells directly to the brokers. This article investigates the effect of joint wool marketing through the shearing shed on the farmers' revenue from wool. A three-step regression model of the revenue from wool indicates that the farmers selling through the shearing shed obtain better financial results as compared to those who use alternative channels. This analysis shows how new institutional arrangements may contribute to economic development.     

Persuasion and Predation: The Effects of U.S. Military Aid and International Development Aid on Civilian Killings

ABSTRACT

Powerful states frequently employ foreign aid to pursue international security objectives. Yet aid's effectiveness will be undermined if it exacerbates the effects of conflict on civilians within recipient states. This article investigates how international development aid and U.S. military aid influence recipient governments' incentives and ability to target civilians. U.S. military aid has a persuasion effect on state actors, which decreases a recipient state's incentives and necessity to target civilians. Development aid flows, however, trigger a predation effect in some environments, exacerbating civilian targeting. An analysis of aid flows in 135 countries on civilian killings between 1989–2011 provides support for both the persuasion and predation effects associated with aid.