Presence on the Ground: Expectations,Resources and Tactical Moves in the Negotiation of a UN Peacekeeping Operation in the Central African Republic

ABSTRACT

How do local situations matter? It is tempting to explain the creation of a new peacekeeping operation (PKO) by the willingness to solve a local security problem. However, main contributor countries to UN and EU PKO in the Central African Republic in 2014, have sent hundreds of troops without a genuine interest in the local situation. Thus, how, why and when links to the ground are made? Having presence on the ground gave some actors levers in the negotiations. The contact with the ground impact the construction of expectations. It is a resource for pressuring on hesitating countries.     

ASEAN: Nucleus of Asia-Pacific Commnnity

I congratulate the Chinese Association for International Understanding for all it has been able to accomplish-during its 30 years of public diplomacy-in its mission to "Let the world understand China, and let China understand the world."     

Fragmented Government Effects on Fiscal Policy: New Evidence

Using a panel of 22 OECD countries over the 1971–1996period, this paper extends previous literature on the effectsof fragmented government on fiscal policy outcomes in variousdirections. First, we focus on data relating to centralgovernment as alltheories refer to central government. Second, we also examinegovernment's position vis-à-vis parliament andgovernment's political fragmentation. We find evidence thatmore fragmented governmentshave higher deficits, while governments that have a largemajority in parliament have lower deficits. Right-winggovernments appear to have been fiscally more responsible inthe seventies. Political fragmentation does not affect agovernment's budget deficit.     

Who will guard the guardians? Amartya Sen's contribution to development evaluation

An Action Learning process integrated with Sen's Capability Approach can support development agencies to formulate interventions that enhance freedom. The authors show that putting this approach into practice has important implications for the manner in which ‘development’ is undertaken as an ideological project. It may help to examine and challenge those who hold power in development: the guardians. This finding is the result of an emergent Action Learning process that was initiated by applying Sen's principles to focus-group interviews with women who care for people affected by HIV and AIDS. One of the findings of these focus groups was that the participants valued the process because it opened a space for them to influence the work of the implementing NGO. Essentially, they could hold the implementing agency to account. Reflection on this outcome by the agency led to important shifts in processes that are more supportive of freedom.     

Die Vereinbarkeit der Gebietsdifferenzierung der Geruchsimmissions-Richtlinie (GIRL) mit den Vorgaben des BauGB/BauNVO

Die Geruchsimmissions-Richtlinie (GIRL) wurde letztmalig im Jahr 2004 von einer Expertenkommission überarbeitet und am 21.9.2004 vom LAI den L?ndern zur Anwendung und Umsetzung in Verwaltungsvorschriften empfohlen. Mit der überarbeitung sollten zahlreiche zu Tage getretene Schwachstellen und M?ngel der Richtlinie behoben werden. Insbesondere wurde das bislang angewandte Ausbreitungsrechenmodell Faktor 10 Modell der TALuft 1986 durch das Ausbreitungsrechenprogramm AUSTAL 2000 G ersetzt. Ferner wurden sogenannte Polarit?tenprofile zur hedonischen Klassifikation von Anlagengerüchen eingeführt. Gleichwohl weist die Richtlinie nach wie vor zahlreiche M?ngel und Ungereimtheiten insbesondere auch in rechtlicher Hinsicht auf. Eine dieser Unzul?nglichkeiten betrifft die von der GIRL vorgenommene Gebietsdifferenzierung und damit letztlich das Kernstück des Regelwerks.     

Die Vereinbarkeit der Gebietsdifferenzierung der Geruchsimmissions-Richtlinie (GIRL) mit den Vorgaben des BauGB/BauNVO

Zusammenfassung Die Geruchsimmissions-Richtlinie (GIRL) wurde letztmalig im Jahr 2004 von einer Expertenkommission überarbeitet und am 21.9.2004 vom LAI den L?ndern zur Anwendung und Umsetzung in Verwaltungsvorschriften empfohlen. Mit der überarbeitung sollten zahlreiche zu Tage getretene Schwachstellen und M?ngel der Richtlinie behoben werden. Insbesondere wurde das bislang angewandte Ausbreitungsrechenmodell Faktor 10 Modell der TALuft 1986 durch das Ausbreitungsrechenprogramm AUSTAL 2000 G ersetzt. Ferner wurden sogenannte Polarit?tenprofile zur hedonischen Klassifikation von Anlagengerüchen eingeführt. Gleichwohl weist die Richtlinie nach wie vor zahlreiche M?ngel und Ungereimtheiten insbesondere auch in rechtlicher Hinsicht auf. Eine dieser Unzul?nglichkeiten betrifft die von der GIRL vorgenommene Gebietsdifferenzierung und damit letztlich das Kernstück des Regelwerks.     

The Criminal Justice Approach: Case Examples

The article presents a special form of a European comparative synopsis. For this case examples have been chosen ranging from administrative or minor (criminal) offences to increasingly serious offences and offenders. In this way it can be comparatively demonstrated how the criminal justice systems studied handle specific cases and whether they do so in a similar or different way.     

Tax Fraud and Selective Law Enforcement

This article presents a new conceptual framework for research into tax fraud and law enforcement. Informed by research approaches from across tax law, public economics, criminology, criminal justice, economics of crime, and regulatory theory, it assesses the effectiveness, and the legitimacy, of current approaches to combating tax fraud, bringing new dimensions to previously identified trends in crime control. It argues that, whilst the last decade has witnessed a significant intensification of measures that purportedly target tax fraud, preference has been consistently given to enforcement measures that maximize revenue gains rather than combat the fraud itself, even where the effect is to aggravate the non-revenue costs of tax fraud. These developments demonstrate a significant shift from tax fraud suppression to tax fraud management. The article concludes that this shift not only undermines tax equity and overall tax compliance, but also leads to selective tax enforcement, thus representing a significant risk to the rule of law.