The Other Side of the Coin: Reading the Politics of the 2008 Financial Tsunami

In the spring of 2009, long months after the September 2008 financial tsunami had begun its destructive journey around the financial machineries of the global system, the governing party of the United Kingdom, one of two countries whose financial centres had precipitated all the trouble, is still in place, notwithstanding the almost audible sound of a population tapping its collective foot as it awaits an electoral opportunity to wreak a measure of revenge. But the electorate is condemned to wait upon the convenience of the government and administrative machineries that are responsible for the debacle. This seems unreasonable. One might ask how is this possible and what—speculatively—could happen to improve matters; that is, one can ask how the elite's insulating machineries might be reduced in order to bring them more routinely within the reach of the judgements of the electorate.     

Managing Money Online

正Internet financial products have enjoyed huge success,but will they change the landscape of China’s financial sector?Wang Kang,27,works for a Beijing branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China(ICBC),a major state-owned commercial bank in China and the largest bank     

学前教育财政投入立法的思考

当前,学前教育已成为我国整个教育体系的"短板"。社会对"入园难、入园贵"反映强烈,而其根本症结在于学前教育财政投入不足。加快学前教育财政投入立法,明确政府投入的责任和规范政府投入行为尤为必要。学前教育财政投入立法是依法治国、依法治教的必然要求,是保障学前教育健康发展的客观需要,也是规范政府投入行为的现实需求。同时,我国学前教育财政投入立法具有充分的宪法、法律和政策依据,立法的社会基础和经济基础相对成熟。借鉴国外立法经验,我国学前教育财政投入立法大体上应包括总则、学前教育财政投入的来源、学前教育财政投入的分配和使用、学前教育财政投入的执法和监督、学前教育财政投入经费管理和审计、学前教育财政投入的法律责任、附则等基本框架。     

农村金融与农村经济协调发展中的政府行为—基于广西田东县农村金融改革的视角

农村经济是农村金融发展的基础,农村金融是农村经济发展的核心,二者协调发展是农村金融改革的出发点和归宿.但在当前改革农村金融实践过程中,仍存在着二者互不协调、互相抑制的现象.对此,政府应当采取以下措施给予解决:优化农民投融资环境,强化协调发展的农村经济功能;优化农贷政策,强化协调发展的农村金融功能;优化金融生态环境,强化协调发展的良性循环;规范地方政府行为,强化协调发展的宏观环境     

Old bottle new wine? The evolution of China’s aid in Africa 1956–2014

Abstract

China’s aid is frequently portrayed as a challenger to established Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) norms, but it is unclear when the distinct ‘Chinese-model’ of aid emerged and how it has evolved over time. Using new historical data on Chinese aid in Africa and the case of Ethiopia, we have three main findings. First, China developed a distinct model of mixing ODA-like aid and commercial forms of economic engagement only after the mid-1990s, reflecting institutional reforms for allocating and managing foreign official finance. Second, social sectors have played a much greater role in China’s aid programme than is commonly perceived. Finally, Chinese aid to productive sectors has changed substantially whereas in social sectors it is relatively consistent.     

An Information Model to Present Proposals to Increase Taxes: Two Examples in the Context of American Values

This article offers an information model for educating the public on the rationale for a tax increase. It argues that citizens exposed to two types of information—a need narrative and an anchor value—are more willing to support a tax increase. The applicability of the model is illustrated with two examples in which the model was used to structure the presentation of information. In both situations, exposure to the specific types of information suggested by the model is associated with support for a tax increase. The conclusion relates the model to the findings of previous research on the attributes of successful referenda campaigns for tax increases.     

Shaping the Future of Mid-range Northern ngdos: ten challenges,ten proposals

In recent years the financial crisis in traditional donor countries, the aid effectiveness debate and the approaching end of the Millennium Development Goals agenda have opened the door to new goals, instruments and actors in development. This is shaping a new and more complex global aid system. As a consequence, traditional actors like mid-range Northern ngdos (nngdos), born and raised in an oda-based development system, face a challenging scenario. This paper has two aims. First, it aims to summarise the 10 most important challenges nngdos face today. As will be shown, such a complex landscape calls for adaptation, especially if nngdos want to keep playing a key role in the development aid system. The second aim therefore is to present 10 proposals which could help nngdos to overcome these threats, shaping the future this relevant actor could play in the new global aid system.     

The States' Role in U.S. Local Government Fiscal Crises: A Theoretical Model and Results of a National Survey

Abstract

This article hypothesizes four potential roles that states may play in dealing with local government fiscal crises: predict, avert, mitigate and prevent the recurrence of local fiscal crises. Based on a 50‐state telephone survey administered by the author to members of the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers in 2002, this article presents detailed information on states' roles in dealing with actual local government fiscal crises. The research found that ten states had formal definitions of local government fiscal crises while the remainder varied between having a working definition, having no definition, or leaving it to local authorities to define a fiscal crisis for themselves. Although the majority of states lacked a rigourous, legal definition of what constitutes a local government fiscal crisis, 36 states reported that they had had such crisis in recent history in their states. Seven overlapping categories of state approaches emerged: the directive approach, the proactive approach, the ad hoc approach, the special legislation approach, the reform approach, the takeover approach, and the responsive approach. States reported a wide range of activities under each of the hypothesized roles. In general, states tended to get involved after a crisis rather than before one occured.     

From Finances to Transnational Mobility: Searching for the Global Jihadists' Achilles Heel

ABSTRACT

This article seeks to uncover a primary source of vulnerability in the global Jihadist terrorist network. It offers a critical examination of the traditional money lead for countering global Jihadist terrorism, and concludes that in this case, it is not the most effective method. Rather, the concept of transnational mobility, both as it relates to socialization into and professionalization within the Jihadist network, is identified as the lifeblood of the network, and thus an arguably more appropriate focus for countering strategies. Issues surrounding travel document security are analysed within an overarching dichotomous framework of offensive/defensive counter-terrorism strategies, emphasizing the need for active penetration by intelligence forces into the terrorist networks and relevant mobility-related realms.     

The 2008 Russian–Georgian war via the lens of Offensive Realism

Abstract

The Russian intervention in Georgia's breakaway republic of South Ossetia in August 2008, Moscow's first-ever use of military force against a sovereign state in the post-cold war period, deserves a theoretical explanation. By following the tenets of Offensive Realism, this article will argue that the US–Russian competition in the South Caucasus is the main cause of the 2008 Russian–Georgian war. During the 1990s, the USA passed the buck to Turkey to contain Russian influence in the South Caucasus. In the early to mid-2000s, however, the Russian–Turkish relations were improved so rapidly that the USA opted, through NATO expansion, to step in as an offshore balancer. Following Bush administration's decision to support the Georgian candidacy for NATO membership and Georgia's ill-fated attempt to seize South Ossetia, Moscow went to war to re-establish hegemony in the South Caucasus. In this way, as the theory of Offensive Realism claims, the Kremlin believes that Russian state will enhance its chances of survival in the anarchical international system.