The role of epistemic communities: local think tanks,international practitioners and security sector reform in Kosovo

ABSTRACT

Security sector reform (SSR) in Kosovo remains complex and challenging. The existing approach is heavily driven by international agencies. This article addresses the question: What role is played by local research in Kosovo’s SSR? This study focuses on the challenges that local research poses to internationally led SSR in Kosovo, and the contribution that local researchers make to the decision-making of international practitioners. In Kosovo, local research organizations produce research analysing and critiquing international SSR and offering alternative approaches. The study builds on existing studies of epistemic communities and research use in policy-making and new evidence based on the author’s interview survey of researchers and policy-makers in Kosovo. The article argues that focusing on the interaction between local researchers and international policy practitioners provides valuable insight into the construction of Kosovo’s SSR. The study deconstructs the structures, processes and agencies at the heart of the local/international relationship. It explains how local research on topics of security, justice and rule of law, and its interaction with international practitioners, challenges international SSR and contributes to international SSR decision-making.     

The target strikes back: explaining countersanctions and Russia’s strategy of differentiated retaliation

This article analyzes Russia’s retaliatory food embargo, explaining why the Russian government banned some imports from the West but refrained from banning a range of equally plausible others. I argue that Moscow was following a strategy of differentiated retaliation when selecting which imports to embargo. The countersanctions were not designed to mete out equal punishment on all members of the sanctioning coalition. Rather, Russia purposefully crafted the policy to inflict greater economic damage on some states than others. Utilizing an original data-set on all agricultural and food products that Russia imports, I demonstrate that, ceteris paribus, imports of sizeable commercial value to countries the Kremlin has long viewed as the mainstays of anti-Russian policies were far more likely to have been banned. In contrast, the evidence shows that Moscow stayed its hand in dealing with Europe’s major powers. This analysis both illuminates the policy objectives being pursued by a leading actor in world politics, as well as lays the groundwork for theoretically understanding the geostrategic, political, and economic drivers of countersanctions.     

Trade Unions and Employment Relations in Italy during the Economic Crisis

Abstract

Many of the usual assumptions about the impact of the economic crisis on trade unions and employment relations only partially fit the Italian case. Trade unions during the crisis showed resilience both organisationally and as important actors in economic and political life. Also, the national industry level reaffirmed itself as the key level in industrial relations. Explanations of these unexpected outcomes have to do with some features of all three actors of Italian employment relations. Trade unions have become over time a relevant actor not just in the industrial relations arena but in several other spheres of Italian society and politics. As to employers, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have tended to prefer national sectoral-level agreements and set rather low wage standards, while employers’ associations have shown an organisational interest in preserving centralised bargaining where they play a role. Finally, governments have been too weak and short-lived to follow a consistent strategy of unilateral decision-making.     

APEC与多边贸易体制

区域集团是世界贸易组织最惠国待遇的一个最大例外。区域集团由于其本身固有的排他性 ,势必会对多边贸易体制产生一定的冲击。但APEC却通过自己独特的合作机制将这种消极影响减少到最低限度 ,开创了区域合作的创新之路。本文在对当前主要区域经济组织进行比较研究的基础上 ,着重分析了APEC在制度创新及其与世界贸易体制的关系。接着分析了APEC在新形势下面临的挑战及我国的对策。在我国加入世界贸易组织之际 ,强调区域集团的作用具有深远的理论意义和现实意义 ,这将使我国经济在“区域集团”和“多边贸易体制”两个轮子上快速、健康、稳定地发展。     

Dynamics of Trade in Value-Added in “Factory Asia”

ABSTRACT

Trade patterns in East Asia are termed the “Factory Asia” model, whereby Asia functions as a “global factory” that imports intermediate goods from its regional networks and then assembles and exports them as finished goods to higher-income developed countries. In 2001, China’s accession into the World Trade Organisation consolidated this pattern by becoming the core economy in this model. However, is this pattern still valid after more than a decade of rapid development in East Asian countries? The main objective of this article is to examine the evolution of this pattern of trade in East Asian countries. Although the key findings of this study show that the Factory Asia model continues, it is changing as different East Asian countries capture more value in global value chains. The gaps in the rate of upgrading are identified and mainly attributed to differences in government policies and competition. However, the dependence on foreign inputs still remains an important part of high-technology production in East Asian countries. Hence, the idea that East Asia is evolving from a “factory” into a “Research & Development hub” remains far-fetched.     

Opting for Openness: Capital Mobility and Monetary Sterilisation in Malaysia

Malaysia gained attention for its use of capital controls in 1998, but since the early 2000s it has emphasised its commitment to an open capital account, despite experiencing volatile capital flows. As well as opting for financial openness, Malaysia chose to manage the value of its exchange rate after de-pegging from the US dollar in 2005. In a bid to escape the macroeconomic constraints that arise from capital mobility, Malaysia also chose to sterilise a large portion of capital inflows. It then made a further choice to use market-based sterilisation instruments more than regulatory sterilisation measures. These choices have carried costs and led to a build-up of economic risk. Three interrelated factors explain these choices: Malaysia’s strategy to manage the stigma arising from its imposition of controls in 1998, the increased level of financial integration that followed from this strategy, and the politically privileged position of groups that have benefitted from Malaysia’s commitment to capital openness.     

In search of international criminal justice in Africa: What role for the United Nations?

The International Criminal Court (ICC) ran into considerable controversy almost immediately after its creation. More than 10 years later, the tension between the court and the AU is palpable. The court’s perceived political prosecutions as well as procedural flaws in light of the power bestowed on the UN Security Council under Article 13(b) of the Rome Statute are some of the areas of contention. However, despite the obvious flaws of the ICC, there is also widespread scepticism that the AU can be trusted to mobilise sufficient political will to deliver justice on the continent, more so in cases where the perpetrators are sitting heads of state or government. In lieu of cooperation with the ICC and the UN, can the AU deliver justice to victims of gross human rights abuses? Are extraordinary African Chambers such as the one created in Senegal to try the former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre an alternative to the ICC? This article argues that it is only through a partnership of convenience between the AU and the UN that victims of human rights abuses on the continent can access justice. Furthermore, the article opines that calls for African states to withdraw from the ICC en mass must be vigorously opposed.     

The China–South Africa Bilateral Investment Treaty: National rule of law versus international rule of law

This article analyses the primary provisions of the China–South Africa Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) and illustrates that this BIT differs in many ways from South Africa’s BITs with Western countries. Given current shifts in international investment policy and law in both South Africa and China, this article suggests that it is necessary to carefully consider the future of the China–South Africa BIT, ultimately arguing that South Africa should adopt differential policies towards the China–South Africa BIT by maintaining or updating the existing BIT between these two nations. An updated BIT could act as a model for future South–South BITs and should integrate new elements which are in line with the development of international investment law, maintain a balanced interest between the host state and foreign investors, and conform to the fundamental realities of the partner countries.     

论涉台海事案件直接适用国际海事公约

中国涉台海事案件类比涉外案件处理。当中国为国际海事公约缔约国时,公约在涉台海事案件中有直接适用之余地。国际海事公约的直接适用以该公约与国内法存在冲突或者国内法缺失相关规定为前提,当公约与国内法规定相一致时,则适用国内法。同时,应区分私法和公法性质的国际海事公约,私法性质的国际海事公约能够直接适用,而公法性质的国际海事公约其直接适用的范围以技术条款为限。当中国为非公约缔约国之时,因国际海事公约的效力及于非缔约国,因此通过冲突规范的指引,国际海事公约也可以适用于涉台海事案件。     

对国家契约非稳定性的探讨

国家契约是调整各国能源开发和公用设施建设的重要法律工具。但由于国家契约中国家作为主体一方出现,公权力的影响涉及国家契约很多方面,使国家之间和私人主体之间利益平衡难以实现,尤其是近年来间接征收的出现更加剧了国家契约非稳定性,从契约中寻求非稳定性的救济途径难以达到预想效果。在当今各国依然以能源开发和公用设施建设为经济发展的重要目标背景下,以平等自由理念构建国内法制度对国家契约的稳定发展应有一定意义。