Complexities in natural-resource management: irrigation infrastructure in Bihar

All over Gaya District in Bihar, irrespective of a person's caste or economic status, irrigation is the overriding topic of concern on public platforms and in private conversations. In the absence of adequate government action, different kinds of community endeavour are emerging to answer the need, some supported by radical political movements, others by organisations of a religious persuasion, and still others primarily by prominent local citizens.     

Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers and the rhetoric of participation

The World Bank and IMF have proposed the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) framework for all poor countries as a condition of receiving unconditional debt relief under the HIPC Initiative. The PRSPs will also be the key vehicle for the World Bank and IMF and other donors for various assistance packages, including loans. Like its predecessors, the PRSP framework promotes the ideas of ‘participation’ and ‘ownership’. This article argues that ownership of such a grand framework cannot possibly rest with the poor countries or their people if the whole idea is the product of World Bank and IMF think-tanks. It discusses participation in the development of Bangladesh's PRSP and argues that neither participation nor ownership was the target in preparing a national poverty-reduction strategy: they were merely necessary components of a document required for the continuation of debt and lending relationships with the World Bank and IMF.     

Repositioning urban bias: Non-state providers' use of spatialised networks in Bangladesh

Urban bias theory predicts urban areas of developing countries receive disproportionately more resources than rural areas due to their concentration of numerically large, politically important “vote banks.” This has not been the case in Bangladesh. This study finds that this variation occurs due to non-state providers (NSPs) changing the landscape of resource allocation. Operating on the premise that state control leads to more services in urban areas, urban bias fails to account for NSPs as critical service providers. Employing a grounded theory strategy to explore urban-rural dynamics in service provision and to build on urban bias theory, this research highlights interactions between state and non-state actors. It argues that spatialized political networks, networks of formal and informal leadership more difficult to access in urban areas, influence the locality of service provision. Though NSPs recognize increased need in urban areas of Bangladesh, their interventions in those areas remain peripheral due to differing structures of government accountability and differing levels of community acceptance facilitating these networks. The need for NSPs to adapt their activities to restrictive governance mechanisms reflects the changing space for NSPs in the context of semi-democratic regimes.     

Effect of financial sector development and FDI inflow on employment rate in South Asia: New empirical evidence from ARDL approach

The current analysis aims to explore the empirical nexus between financial development, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow, and employment rate. To attain this aim, we collect 30 years of annual data over the period 1990 to 2019 from South Asian economies and employ the autoregressive dynamic least square (ARDL) model for regression analysis. The implication of the ARDL model was subject to the mixed stationarity status of the series as assessed by unit root testing. The robustness of the analysis was checked by employing the fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) models. The statistical analysis infers that both financial development and FDI inflow enhance the employment rate in the South Asia region. In addition, the empirical analysis infers that the gross capital formation, economic growth, and export volume have a positive while the population growth rate has a negative effect on the employment rate. The impact of underlying explanatory variables was found significant only in long run. The estimated coefficient values in the case of FMOLS and DOLS models support the direction of the relationship between explanatory variables and employment rate, implying the robustness of the analysis. The findings of the current analysis can be used to devise efficient economic policies to cope with the encroaching issue of unemployment in the South Asia region. This study offers the robustness to existing literature and complements the literature by exploring the underlying arrangement of study to the whole South Asia group.     

Coordination of Legal Systems by the Recognition of Foreign Judgments — Rethinking Reciprocity in Sino-Japanese Relationships

In the era of globalization, commercial transactions readily gain international dimensions and are increasingly delocalized. With a view to establishing effective dispute resolution mechanisms, it is desirable that judgments rendered in one state be recognized and enforced in other states. This is especially important in East Asia, as cross-border business activities are rapidly expanding along with its economic growth. This paper aims to examine the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters in East Asia with a focus on Sino–Japanese relationships, where the establishment of a reciprocal relationship has posed a considerable challenge. It is worth considering how we can gradually pave the way towards the mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments to achieve coordination among legal systems.     

民族主义与区域主义--论后冷战时代东北亚安全观念建构的双重困境

在后冷战时代,东北亚“混合型区域主义”的矛盾性、复杂性和流变性要求人们不要以西方的经验来评估和判定东北亚的区域主义,而在逻辑上和事实上呈现出多重张力的东北亚民族主义又使东北亚的安全现实日益严峻。对后冷战时代的东北亚安全观念建构而言,二者之间的张力构成了现实和理论上的双重困境。这种困境也昭示了后冷战时代东北亚安全观念建构所面临的复杂性、紧迫性和脆弱性。突破和超越这种双重困境的关键在于:东北亚各国如何消融国内日益增强的民族主义情绪,东北亚的知识界如何应对西方主导的全球主义意识形态和学术话语霸权的挑战以及东北亚社会如何汲取传统的东亚体系的合理因子,以避免新的帝国观念和帝国体系的出现。     

构建东北亚IT共同体的设想及影响其制度化的因素

如果能够在东北亚地区建立IT产业的共同体,将很有可能带动其他产业的联合,最终走向全面地联合,从而提升东北亚地区合作的层次。东北亚国家已经开始在IT领域进行了一定程度的合作,但是在东北亚地区建立IT共同体的道路不会是一帆风顺的,有许多因素会影响到东北亚IT共同体的最终形成。     

论东北亚地区新海洋秩序与我国的对策

“联合国海洋法公约”的生效 ,极大地推动了国际新海洋秩序的建立。随着中国、韩国、日本等东北亚各沿海国对“公约”的批准和 2 0 0海里专属经济区的宣布 ,新海洋秩序在东北亚地区逐渐形成并完善 ,这对我国既是机遇又是挑战 ,它既扩大了我国的海洋管辖领域 ,又加剧了各国竞相争夺各自海洋权益的矛盾。根据“海上圈地运动”及其东北亚的新形势 ,现提出我国海洋事业所面临的、包括海洋国土观念在内的现代海洋观念薄弱等问题和相应对策     

东北亚能源问题变数分析

石油安全是东北亚各国面临的共同问题。以俄远东油气资源的开发利用为核心 ,东北亚各国出于维护各自的国家利益 ,或合作、或竞争 ,展开了多方博弈。在远东能源格局中 ,中国利用远东能源资源的道路将是曲折的。     

集体行动的逻辑与东南亚反恐合作的困境

"9.11"事件后,东南亚成为全球反恐的第二战场。该地区恐怖主义的国际化与地区网络化趋势的发展,形成了整个地区范围内采取集体行动打击恐怖主义的必要性。本文从奥尔森的集体行动理论出发,认为集体行动的逻辑导致了东南亚反恐合作的困境。