EU Foreign Policy in the Italian Parliament: The Debates on China and Iran

Governments have always been more reluctant to accept parliamentary oversight in foreign policy than in any other domestic policy field. This examination of the recent performance of the Italian Parliament in Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) scrutiny and control in the two case studies of the EU's arms embargo against China and negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program shows that institutional arrangements concerning parliamentary control in this field have significant shortcomings. Although limited, the reforms under discussion in the new intergovernmental conference could contribute to improving the performance of parliaments and to creating a common awareness of the problem of democratic deficit in CFSP among the parliamentarians of EU member states.     

Still not in Force: Should States Support the 1997 UN Watercourses Convention?

On 21 May 1997, at the UN General Assembly, an overwhelming majority of States voted for the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses – a global overarching framework governing the rights and duties of States sharing freshwater systems. To date, the Convention counts 17 Contracting States – 18 short of the number required for entry into force. This article examines whether and why States should support the Convention towards ensuring its entry into force. We first look at the governance of international watercourses in order to illustrate the relevance of the Convention. The article also examines the Convention's drafting and negotiation process, the subsequent practice of States, some possible reasons slowing down ratifications and the likelihood of entry into force in the foreseeable future. Noting the widespread State support for the Convention in 1997, we conclude that, while various reasons have possibly prevented that support from translating into entry into force, the need for an effective UN Watercourses Convention has not diminished. In view of current human and environmental threats to the world's water resources, coupled with the poor governance of transboundary watersheds, the potential role that the Convention could play, once in force and widely ratified, as discussed, may in fact be more critical than ever.     

Do Changes in the Labour Market Take Families Out of Poverty? Determinants of Exiting Poverty in Brazilian Metropolitan Regions

Abstract

Using survival models, we test whether short-term changes in the labour market affect poverty duration. Data are from the Brazilian Monthly Employment Survey. Such a monthly dataset permits more accurate estimations of events than using annual data, but its panel follows households for a short period. Then methods that control for both right- and left-censoring should be used. The results are as follows: households with zero income are not those with the lowest chances of exiting; changes in aggregate unemployment do not affect poverty duration; and increasing wages in the informal sector has a negative effect on poverty duration.     

The Responsibility of Accomplices in the Case-Law of the Ad Hoc Tribunals

This article discusses complicity as a form of liability in international criminal law, in particular as interpreted and applied by the ad hoc Tribunals in their case-law. After a short introduction on the distinguishing features of complicity, in particular with respect to joint criminal enterprise, reference is made to the complicity doctrines which, it is argued, mostly exerted an influence on the international judges – namely those developed in the English and French criminal orders. Subsequently, a critical and thorough assessment of the international case-law is provided. Looking forward, some remarks are also made to the complicity model delineated in the ICC Statute. The author concludes with some general observations on the contribution made by the ad hoc judges in giving actual content to the notion of complicity.     

Fingerprints as evidence for a genetic profile: morphological study on fingerprints and analysis of exogenous and individual factors affecting DNA typing

Material recovered from 374 fingerprints left by eleven laboratory workers on three different substrates (glass, wood, metal) at a standard pressure time of 30 s, with and without preliminary handwashing, was submitted to morphological, quantitative, and type analysis. Morphological and agarose-gel electrophoresis analysis showed that a non-negligible amount of epidermal corneal cells presented apoptotic alterations. The quantity of DNA recovered from fingerprints ranged between 0.04 to 0.2 ng, and in a significant number of experiments no DNA was detected. Handwashing reduced the amount of DNA recovered from fingerprints. The "shedder status" of the donor was a very important factor, causing inter-individual variations in the amount of DNA left by fingerprints. Spurious alleles from laboratory-based and secondary transfer contamination, stutters, and other artifacts described when analyzing low-copy-number DNA and capable of affecting correct profiles were observed.     

Opening-up labor mobility? Rising powers' rulemaking in trade agreements

This article analyzes China's and India's role as emerging rulemakers in one of the most contested fields of international cooperation: labor mobility. It shows how both countries have seized the trade venue to negotiate labor mobility clauses that go well beyond the original preferences of established powers. Whereas India's more vocal claims have faced resistance, China's success in concluding far-reaching bilateral deals with Western countries is explained with stronger domestic regulatory capability and capacity. Maintaining a technocratic approach in trade negotiations, supported by the centralization of relevant competences in the trade ministry and consistently synchronizing external commitments with domestic reforms, China has been able to convey its market power into regulatory influence. As a result, the global standard for negotiating mobility in trade agreements has risen – notwithstanding the enduring stalemate at the multilateral level.     

‘Post-NPM’ by force or fiat? A comparison of administrative reform trajectories in Brazil and Mexico1

‘New Public Management’ (NPM) ideas gained widespread acceptance all over the world in the 1980s and 1990s. In developing countries, notable examples of its influence include the Brazilian ‘Master Plan for Reforming Public Administration’, launched in 1995 by president Cardoso, and the Mexican ‘Federal Public Administration Modernisation Programme’ created in the same year by president Zedillo. Both reflected NPM doctrine and advanced changes for the organisation of the Executive. This article explores the evolution of these two countries' managerial reforms and the extent to which they eventually continued converging (or not) around similar principles, such as those often referred to as ‘Post-New Public Management’ (Post-NPM). By applying quantitative textual analysis of official documents and an analysis of self-reported institutional changes, the article concludes that despite their governing parties' strong political differences Mexico and Brazil did converge during the 2000s, improving controls from the centre, and prioritising the adoption of transparency and participation tools. The comparison of the trajectories of the administrative reforms of these countries between 1995 and 2016 contributes to international debates on policy convergence and Post-NPM reforms.     

Pragmatic relevance/strength of lexico-grammar choices in EU legal documents

The present study focuses on the communicative relevance of lexical choices in the documents of the European Union Committee of the Regions （CoR） and of other related bodies within a pragmalinguistic perspective. The function of the Committee of the Regions is to issue opinions on proposals for Community legislation which are closest to the citizen interests - education, youth, culture, health. It is thus a voice at the heart of the EU which aims at increasing the participation of European regions in community life. Our corpus consists in 100 documents （Proposals and Opinions） whose lexico-grammatical aspects and communicative/ rhetorical strategies are here investigated. Our hypothesis is that such texts aim at creating a holistic we to construe a common ground of interests, within the constraints of legal intercourses, shared by both the sender and the receiver of the messages. Frequently occurring lexical items are： welcome, ensure, strengthen, aid. To stress urgency, generate empathy, emphasize needs and endorse value-positions are the recognizable perlocutionary effects of such semantic/pragmatic choices. Tools for analysis were taken from the domain of pragmalinguistics, from Evaluative/Appraisal Frameworks and, also, from social sciences. Particularly relevant appeared the notion of＇advocacy＇ （i.e., when researchers are asked to use their expertise to defend the subjects＇ interests in healthcare, education, political rights, and cultural autonomy）. This study will provide both qualitative and quantitative data to support our hypothesis, and will offer suggestions for further research.     

Politólogos on the Run: Contrasting Paths to Internationalization of Southern Cone Political Scientists

Political scientists from the Southern Cone have enriched the discipline with pioneering work. Many of them went into exile for political reasons, and thus produced part of their work abroad. Although Latin American political science has professionalized since the 1980s, many scholars still emigrate for study and employment. Argentines most numerously seek academic careers abroad, while Brazil has many more domestic doctorates and returns home after doctoral studies abroad. Uruguayans emigrate in proportionally high numbers and tend to settle in Latin American countries, while the number of Chileans and Paraguayans abroad is minimal. These contrasting patterns are explained by reference to factors such as the availability of high‐quality doctoral courses, financing for postgraduate studies, and the absorptive capacity of national academic markets. Paradoxically, the size and performance of the diasporas may increase rather than reduce the visibility and impact of national political science communities.