The Repercussions of Brexit for CARICOM’s Cohesion

Abstract

Britain’s decision to leave the European Union has sent shockwaves not just within Europe but across the globe. In the Caribbean, it has heightened uncertainty about the Caribbean Community’s (CARICOM) ability to survive its own fissures, most recently expressed in Jamaica’s decision to review its membership of CARICOM. This article explores some of the challenges CARICOM is experiencing, in particular Jamaica’s dissatisfaction with and position within the group. It argues that despite parallels between Britain and Jamaica and their position in their respective groupings, the rationale for CARICOM is fundamentally different from that underlying the European integration experience. It concludes that CARICOM is unlikely to unfurl because the factors driving the process—small size, global marginality and common challenges—provide a strong impetus for their cohesion.     

Towards conflict or cooperation? The Ukraine crisis and EU-Russia relations

The Ukraine crisis and Russia’s contribution to it have raised numerous concerns regarding the possible emergence of a new ‘Cold War’ in Europe. At the same time, Ukraine’s popular choice and enthusiasm for European integration expressed clearly on the streets of Kyiv seem to have caused Russia to adopt a (neo)revisionist attitude. In this context, relations between Russia and the EU (and the West for that matter) have been limited, frozen and directed on path towards conflict. This article analyses how the traditional dichotomy between conflict and cooperation in EU–Russia relations was replaced by conflict in the context of the Ukraine crisis. The article contends that the breakdown of the symbolic and peaceful cohabitation between the EU and Russia has been influenced by the fact that both actors have chosen to ignore key tensions that characterized their post-Cold War interactions. The article identifies three such tensions: the first emphasizes divisions between EU member states and their impact on coagulating a common EU approach towards Russia; the second (geopolitical) tension highlights the almost mutually exclusive way in which the EU and Russia’s security interests have developed in the post-Soviet space; finally, the third contends that a clash of values and worldviews between the EU and Russia makes conflict virtually unavoidable.     

The twists and turns of institutional innovation in small island developing states: the case of Tuvalu

The question of institutional reform in small island developing states (SIDS) has so far attracted two general perspectives. The predominant approach prescribes neo-Weberian principles such as de-politicisation, neutrality, ‘professionalism', continuity and anonymity, and rational-bureaucratic structures. Critics highlight contextual specificities and maintain that Weberian principles are not plausible amid key constraints in SIDS including low human and logistical capacity, pervasive inter-personal and cross-cutting relations, and difficulty in attaining anonymity in public affairs. This debate remains largely intuitive, without the requisite empirical insights about the peculiar institutional trajectories and incentive structures driving change and continuity within SIDS. This paper provides a critical examination of the enduring quagmire of institutional development in SIDS based on a comprehensive account of the experience of Tuvalu.     

刑事政策演进视阈下的“破小案”

随着社会治安形势的发展，基本刑事政策由“惩办与宽大相结合”向“宽严相济”演进，随之具体刑事政策亦将由“严打”向“破小案”演进。考量法律的严肃性和执法的公正性，在刑事执法层面，警察机关应树立起“破小案”的工作理念。     

谈谈中小高新技术企业的人力资源管理

在知识经济时代，人才的竞争将更加激烈，中小高新技术企业人力资源管理的一项重要任务就是要吸引和留住优秀人才。文章介绍了我国中小高新技术企业人力资源管理的现状与特点，指出了目前我国中小高新技术企业人力资源管理所存在的主要问题，指出有效地组织高素质、高智力的人才，发挥人才的创新潜能，寻求一种科学有效的人力资源管理方法和体系，对于高新技术企业的长期生存和发展至关重要。     

构建中国式小额诉讼程序

小额诉讼程序和简易程序都是在第一审普遍程序基础上的简化，然而由于小额程序的独特性，使其简易的特点更为突出。为了追求诉讼经济及程序简便的目的，须尽快构建我国的小额诉讼程序。在构建该程序时，应明确其适用范围和管辖法院，同时应注意设立小额诉讼程序时的中国特色因素。     

中小企业改革与发展中面临的问题及对策

目前 ,大力发展中小企业已经成为全社会的共识 ,中小企业在一些方面有着大企业无法媲美的优势。本文针对中小企业在改革与发展中面临的问题 ,强调中小企业的发展 ,应该在放开中小企业的同时 ,给予相应的配套政策进行扶持     

Turning deserts into flowers: settlement and poppy cultivation in southwest Afghanistan

Abstract

Supply-side interventions are often criticised for reducing illicit drug crop cultivation in one location only for it to rise in another: the balloon effect. The balloon effect is generally seen as an inevitable consequence of attempts to reduce opium and coca cultivation. In Afghanistan, there is little evidence of this causal relationship and limited acknowledgement of the socio-economic, political and environmental processes that govern access to the factors of production such as land and labour. This paper examines the settlement of former desert areas in southwestern Afghanistan. It shows how the encroachment on this land and the rapid expansion of opium production since 2003 were supported by affordable deep-well technology, collapsed controls on the use of what is officially government land and the relatively high price of opium that endured long after the demise of the Taliban prohibition of 2000–2001. Finally, it reveals that the rate of settlement of these areas was affected by an opium ban imposed across the Helmand Food Zone from 2008 to 2011 and shows how this drug control effort ultimately helped transform the province, bringing new land under permanent settlement and thereby increasing Helmand’s capacity to cultivate more opium poppy than ever before.     

Bridging the divide between parent states and secessionist entities: a new perspective for conflict management?

This paper departs from the contested nature of the border that separates each side in secessionist conflict – the parent state considers this as an internal administrative line; the de facto state, conversely, sees this as an international border. The argument made builds upon the theoretical aspects of the bordering practices in the current literature, and then examines three cross-border cases – Mainland China-Taiwan, Cyprus-Northern Cyprus and Moldova-Transnistria, to demonstrate different patterns of cross-border interactions and their achieved outcomes. It questions why border-crossing practices have either brought about normalization in degrees, or with a questionable value? This paper makes the conclusion that although border-crossing practices have normalized relations between adversaries, they have also simultaneously brought along self-perpetuating separation as most of the divisions still persist today. Redefining borders and facilitating cross-border interactions has only had a limited contribution to conflict management.