Reclassifying Chinese Nationalism: the geopolitik turn

This article assesses the rise of China by exploring a number of recent popular Chinese political texts to go beyond explanations that take the international system as the level of analysis. It proposes that a merging of nationalism and geopolitical thinking is taking place, resulting in the emergence of a new form of nationalism that can be categorised as ‘geopolitik nationalism’ because it deploys many of the themes evident in the political thought of Germany and Japan before the two world wars. By considering the impact of such ideas, it is possible to gain new insights into recent assertive actions in Chinese foreign policy.     

A mobility strategy for improving opportunity

Abstract

Postwar changes in the metropolitan settlement structure have profoundly altered the geography of opportunity in the older cities of the Northeast and Midwest. Poverty is concentrated in once‐central cities, while employment continues to deconcentrate to the suburbs. In the face of these changes, antipoverty policy has become a geographic exercise of moving people and resources from certain places to other places.

The three main strategies for confronting inner‐city poverty are dispersal, development, and mobility. These strategies are discussed and compared, with particular emphasis on the mobility approach. The article argues that the mobility approach—which connects poor inner‐city residents to suburban employment opportunities without changing the location of households or firms—is the most promising near‐term strategy for combating urban poverty.     

Ghana: A donor success story

Ghana's long engagement with the multilateral institutions has made the country a success although the downside is the continuing dependence on them. This article analyses the relationship and outlines Ghana's more recent democratic and economic gains following a period of near collapse.     

Conflict diamonds and the Kimberley process: Mission accomplished—or mission impossible?

The Kimberley Process, which seeks to eradicate the sourcing and sale of conflict diamonds, underwent a three‐year review in 2006, which highlighted the success of the initiative to date and the challenges that remain.     

Political institutions and debt crises

This paper shows that political institutions matter in explaining defaults on external and domestic debt obligations. We explore a large number of political and macroeconomic variables using a non-parametric technique to predict safety from default. The advantage of this technique is that it is able to identify patterns in the data that are not captured in standard probit analysis. We find that political factors matter, and do so in different ways for democratic and non-democratic regimes, and for domestic and external debt. In democracies, a parliamentary system or sufficient checks and balances almost guarantee the absence of default on external debt when economic fundamentals or liquidity are sufficiently strong. In dictatorships, high stability and tenure play a similar role for default on domestic debt.     

Entre cohérence et efficacité: la Suisse dans les négociations bilatérales avec l'Union Européenne

Comment conduire la politique extérieure suisse? Cet article s'intéresse aux négociations bilatérales entre la Suisse et l'Union européenne et cherche à évaluer la “cohérence” et “l'efficacité” des choix stratégiques du gouvernement suisse. A l'aide d'un cadre d'analyse incorporant des outils de la théorie des jeux, nous examinons les options et stratégies mises en oeuvre par le Conseil fédéral afin de concilier contraintes internes et contraintes internationales – ce que nous nommons la “cohérence” – ainsi que les liens entre cette recherche de cohérence et la capacité du Conseil fédéral à conclure un accord avec l'UE – ce que nous nommons “l'efficacité”. Nous nous concentrons sur les deux volets les plus sensibles des négociations bilatérales: les transports terrestres et la libre‐circulation des personnes. Dans le cadre des contraintes internes existantes, la difficulté première du Conseil fédéral a consisté à trouver une cohérence d'action basée sur des perceptions réalistes de la situation externe. Face à cette difficulté, le Conseil fédéral a globalement fait preuve d'habileté stratégique, en particulier dans le cas des transports terrestres. Dans ce cas, sa redéfinition de l'espace de négociation a permis de surmonter le dilemme existant entre cohérence et efficacité.