The Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement—economic potentials and policy perspectives

After more than 4 years of negotiations, Japan and the EU have reached an agreement for bilateral free trade. The intended liberalization of trade in goods, agriculture, and services would create the world’s largest free trade area. Japan and Europe are sending a strong signal against protectionism and in favor of free trade and modernizing global trade rules. While free trade in the transatlantic and the transpacific context will remain an illusion for some time to come, the Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (JEEPA) is a realistic option for trade partners at the western and eastern side of the Eurasian continent. The expected overall positive effects of JEEPA should not obscure the limitations and risks of the intended trade integration. There will be economic losers of the agreement both in Europe and in Japan. There is plenty of fuel for political and social conflict. And in light of the many informal barriers, market access to Japan will remain extremely difficult for European companies. Beyond trade policy, JEEPA has a political dimension, too. It shows the political will to counteract economic disintegration and the loss of political substance in the bilateral relationship. The aim is to intensify cooperation, which would benefit both sides economically and politically.     

An innovative approach to metropolitan management in the philippines

The paper describes the historical development of metropolitan planning and administration in Metro Manila, and identifies five major problems: the sectoral isolation of planning; the inadequate involvement of local government; inadequacies in planning methods; weaknesses in the system of resource management; and institutional fragmentation. The development of the Capital Investment Folio process, its institutional framework and the main characteristics and results of applying the approach are described. The benefits and lessons which have emerged are then set out and their possible application elsewhere discussed. The main achievements of CIF are progress towards a rational system of urban planning; the generation of consensus within government about Manila's investment strategy; a more widespread appreciation of opportunity costs; and a new understanding of how to plan under conditions of uncertainty. It remains for CIF to be integrated into the national resource allocation process, and to be fully accepted by national government agencies. Local government still needs to be positively involved in the planning process.     

The precarious state of international order: Assessment and policy implications

The international order is becoming increasingly precarious as a result of the pressures of globalisation and inadequate policy responses by many states, most importantly the United States, which still holds a pivotal role in building and sustaining international order. The present state of affairs in global governance is characterised by 1) an overwhelming concentration of power at the level of interstate relations but 2) a diffusion of power if we look at the totality of international relations, 3) the erosion of state authority and political legitimacy, 4) the growing importance of markets and of 5) fundamentalist ideologies, 6) the declining utility and the paradoxical impact of force on political order, and 7) by the still indispensable but increasingly fragile base of international order in functioning statehood at the national level. Overall, this situation reflects a mismatch between political demands on and the actual supply of international order whose present state leaves much to be desired. By way of conclusion, the article offers some policy recommendations about how to change the present precarious situation.     

The unknown depths of political theory: The case for a multidimensional concept of corruption

Defining corruption has proven to be such a difficult challenge that many contemporary analysts pass over the question as quickly as possible. But while definitions are too important to be dismissed as an analytical concern, a single one-dimensional definition that will satisfy all observers will never be found. Rather than proposing yet another definition, this article explores five dimensions of the concept: corruption as social decline, as deviant behavior, as a logic of exchange, as a system of measurable perceptions, and corruption as shadow politic. All help us view corruption within actual social settings; all lend further detail to the sorts of contrasts among concepts and usages that Arnold Heidenheimer explored in his work. In the end one of the most important aspects of the issue is that of trust, which not only helps us understand how corruption functions in actual cases but also underscores the reasons why we must continue to fight it.     

Reconstruction of a real car-pedestrian-accident. Part 2: Modelling and simulation

A real pedestrian-car-crash was reconstructed by use of a multi-body simulation. The main aspect was the use of an individual body surface for the human body model and the car. The simulation allowed a plausible reconstruction of the accident. A good correlation of the contact-pairs in the model and the real forensic data was achieved by variation of the hypothetical szenario.     

Relevance of "psychopathy"-- concepts from the Hare measure for preventive detention

Preventive detention can be ordered, if a person falls back into crime repeatedly and shows a "disposition to commit substantial offences". In the trial and at subsequent points of time expert opinions supporting this personal disposition have to be obtained. However up to now it is not clear on which basis such statements should be made. On the basis of a retrospective investigation of the author's own expert opinions the paper discusses the relevance of Hare's psychopathy concept for opinions on criminal disposition.