Who shall live when not all can live? Intellectual property in accessing and benefit-sharing influenza viruses through the World Health Organisation

This article addresses the development of the World Health Organisation's (WHO) arrangements for accessing viruses and the development of vaccines to respond to potential pandemics (and other lesser outbreaks). It examines the ongoing "conflict" between the United Nations' Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the World Trade Organisation's Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in the context of the debates about the paramountcy of intellectual property, and the potential for other (equity and development) imperatives to over-ride respect for intellectual property and TRIPS. The article concludes that the same intellectual property fault lines are evident in the WHO forum as those apparent at the CBD and the WTO fora, and an ongoing failure to properly address questions of equity and development. This poses a challenge for the Australian Government in guaranteeing a satisfactory pandemic influenza preparation and response.     

资本主义与新兴世界秩序

西方长达两个世纪之久的霸权正在走向终结,曾经推动西方崛起的现代化革命,如今已惠及所有国家。因此,19世纪发展起来并为中心——边缘世界秩序（core-periphery international order）奠定了基础的国家间实力差距（power gap）正在缩小。这一变化带来的结果是世界由有中心的全球体系（centred globalism）向去中心的全球体系（decentred globalism）转变。与此同时,当权力变得越来越分散的同时,主要国家之间意识形态上的分歧程度也正在缩小。事实上,当代世界中所有大国在某种形式上走的都是资本主义道路,在兴起中的世界新秩序中,意识形态上的差异比它在过去一个世纪里所呈现的要小得多。问题是：意识形态上的相对同质性是否将在四种主要的资本主义国家治理类型（自由民主主义体制、社会民主主义体制、竞争性威权主义体制和国家官僚主义体制）中引起地缘经济或者地缘政治上的竞争？民主主义与威权主义类型的资本主义之间政治上的分歧是否会超越它们之间的共同利益？还是它们之间存在的共同利益消弭了彼此的分歧？当代世界会出现像20世纪初那种不同类型而互为冲突的资本主义模式吗？或者会产生某种形式的“协和资本主义”？在未来一段时间里,我们很有可能仍然会处在一个政治上分化的多种类型的资本主义世界。由此,对于决策者来说所面临的重要任务就是要确保地缘经济竞争将不会导致地缘政治冲突的发生。     

Commodity concentration and export fluctuations: A comment

The method of analysis used in a recent paper on trade diversification and export fluctuations is reviewed. The derivation of certain results is shown to be incorrect, and the validity of the suggested measure of predictability is questioned.