Austerity versus pragmatism: a comparison of Latvian and Polish economic policies during the great recession and their consequences ten years later

ABSTRACT

Despite many initial similarities, Latvia and Poland represent two opposite extremes in terms of practical and theoretical approaches to the economic crisis. The Polish government applied a ‘pragmatic’ approach to fight the recession, based on expansionary fiscal policies and currency devaluation. Conversely, the Latvian administration opted for the Austerity and internal devaluation strategy. Consequently, the objective of this paper is to analyze, from the perspective of political economy, the strategies chosen for the economic crisis management and their effects in Latvia and Poland, in light of the main EU narratives about its causes and responses. The research contends that the economic performance of both countries during the crisis was due to their respective economic structures. On the one hand, Poland is a bigger, more diversified and industrialized economy, with fewer channels of vulnerability and could apply expansionary policies effectively. On the contrary, the economic model established in Latvia generated a high exposure to external shocks, in particular, with a double vulnerability in the banking sector. In this context, due to internal and external motives, the Latvian government decided to apply the austerity and internal devaluation strategy, worsening the economic decline and the subsequent recovery.     

Rising Russian-Western Tensions in the Global Security Context

Tensions between Russia and the West have grown increasingly apparent in recent years. This can be demonstrated in Moscow＇s ideological confrontations with the West, the intensifying rivalry over military strategic force, the fierce geopolitical confrontation, and grave contentions over energy resources between the two. The author concludes that in short, rising Russia-US tensions can hardly be remedied. It is a matter of political significance that merits careful consideration by the international community.     

崛起的亚洲与世界——评《新亚洲半球:权力东移势不可挡》

21世纪是亚洲崛起的世纪,然而,西方人对亚洲的崛起持反感的态度,并感到恐慌,进而退化成保护主义.在<新亚洲半球:权力东移势不可挡>一书中,纪梭·马布巴尼以亚洲人的眼光,描述了亚洲的崛起及其对世界的影响,对世界权力重心的持续东移做出了深刻的分析.作者告诫西方,接受亚洲崛起的现实,并与之携手合作,才是明智之举.同时,他也告诉我们,当西方发生变化时,新亚洲应该如何响应.本文是对<新亚洲半球:权力东移势不可挡>的评论.     

从俄格冲突到国际金融危机的“危机政治经济学”——俄罗斯与大国关系的变迁及其对中国的启示

2008年发生的俄格军事冲突对俄罗斯与西方大国关系产生了重大影响.同一年金融危机的发生,也使得俄罗斯与西方关系受到巨大考验.这两场看似没有联系的重大危机都表现出俄罗斯在危机形势下不甘示弱的态度,也折射出俄罗斯与西方国家之间合作与竞争的复杂状况.所谓"危机政治经济学"强调的是,无论是摆脱军事冲突,还是金融海啸式的危机,大国间的合作将是一个决定性的因素.     

The sex industry,human trafficking and the global prohibition regime: a cautionary tale from Greece

Using the concept of global prohibition regimes as an analytical point of departure, this article interrogates the development and results of the agitation campaign that relayed the new global prohibition regime against trafficking for sexual exploitation in Greece after 1995. In line with the international trend towards the issue of trafficking in the 1990s, the Greek campaign has been successful in shaping perceptions of the change in the Greek sex industry on the basis of an equation of prostitution, trafficking and transnational organized crime, and it also successfully capitalized on transnational supports to induce changes in legislation and public policy. However, a critical examination of the Greek situation suggests that there is a considerable discrepancy between the above conceptualisation and the knowledge of the issue emerging from the activities of criminal justice agencies. The examination of the general conditions of economic exploitation and social marginalization of migrants in Greece in the 1990s and after reveals significant homologies between the social organization of the sex industry and other sectors of the economy that have depended on migrant labour. This result underscores the nature of the idea of organized crime as an ideological construct acting as a diversion from more substantive paths of inquiry into the structures of national economy that bear upon the exploitation of sexual labour.

Global principles for sustainable biofuel production and trade

This article examines international attempts to regulate the production of and trade in biofuels by establishing criteria and indicators and certification schemes. It focuses on the norms underlying the criteria and the community constructed on the basis of them. The theoretical approach here rests on a discussion of these norms and on their constitutive role. This role creates a community and gives an institutional basis for the global public domain. Accordingly, different norms create the network on which environmental governance is based. It is assumed that commonly accepted criteria form a common norm. The article analyses eleven criteria and indicator systems and compares the criteria adopted. Eight were created for biofuels and bioenergy and three are used in forest certification. Comparison reveals that the criterion aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is used in Northern systems, whereas commonly accepted environmental criteria are biodiversity and minimization of pollution. The web of norms on which biofuel production and trade is based comprises environmental norms together with the general norm of sovereignty and the norms of the market economy.

全球治理与国际立法模式的转变

本文以对全球治理基本特点的分析为基础,指出全球治理对国际法律规则的创制的数量和质量提出了更高的要求,而国际法律规由于立法模式的限制,以及调整对象的局限,严重滞后于全球治理的需要,进而提出必须改进国际法律规则的立法模式。最后,通过对目前关于国际法律规则创制变革主要理论的分析,提出全球治理中的国际法律规则创制必须以以民族国家和政府为中心,非国家行为适当参与,主次分明的多元式立法为立法模式。     

Resilience in Inner City Youth: Childhood Predictors of Occupational Status Across the Lifespan

The present prospective study has followed a cohort of inner city men from adolescence (14±2) until age 65. While previous studies of shorter duration have identified numerous childhood factors that powerfully influence outcomes in young adulthood, this study examined the effect of these well-documented prognostic factors on occupational status across the lifespan. Consistent with previous studies, childhood environmental protector factors and parental social class predicted occupational status at age 25 significantly, but showed progressively weaker prediction at ages 32, 47 and 65. Timely early childhood development proved over time to be a far more important predictor than childhood social environment in adulthood. Ana C. DiRago is a Psychology Ph.D. student in the Clinical Science and Psychopathology Research area. She is involved with the Minnesota Twin Family Study. Her research interests include resilience and behavioral genetics in mood and anxiety disorders. George E. Vaillant is a Professor at Harvard Medical School. He has spent the last 30 years as Director of the Study of Adult Development charting adult development and the recovery process of schizophrenia, heroin addiction, and alcoholism. George considers Dan Offer a friend and long distance teacher.     

Designing the United Nations Environment Programme: a story of compromise and confrontation

The role of the United Nations in global environmental governance was determined in 1972 when a new international body for the global environment was created as a programme within the United Nations rather than as an autonomous specialized agency. A set of political dynamics between developed and developing countries led to the decisions on the functions, form, financing, and location of the new intergovernmental organization—the United Nations Environment Programme. This article traces the historical roots of these choices and exposes the motivations behind them.