Cut Loose in the Caribbean: Neoliberalism and the Demise of the Commonwealth Sugar Trade

This article focuses on the way the Anglophone Caribbean succumbed to the overhaul of the European Union sugar trade and how these countries have attempted to restructure their economies in its wake. We show how the protagonists of reform gave a sense of inevitability to the demise of the Commonwealth trade system and conveyed (unrealistic) strategies for how this should be managed for the benefit of the Caribbean. In this way we detail the hegemony of neoliberalism in contemporary trade politics and the need for alternative strategies for rural development in the Caribbean region.     

印俄战略伙伴关系的新发展

印俄战略伙伴关系是冷战时期印苏特殊关系的继承和演进。进入21世纪以后,随着俄罗斯的复兴和印度的崛起,双方重新审视对方在各自战略棋盘上的分量,决定建立"战略伙伴关系",加强在政治、经济、军事、科技、能源等领域的合作。由于俄罗斯与中国的"战略协作伙伴关系"不断深化,印度与中国"面向和平与繁荣的战略伙伴关系"正在推进,印俄战略伙伴关系对于中国具有某种积极意义。尽管印俄对中国的态度有一定区别,但是印俄战略伙伴关系对中国的良性作用值得肯定。     

Enabling collaborative synthesis in multi-partner programmes

Multi-partner consortia have emerged as an important modality for knowledge generation to address complex sustainability challenges. Establishing effective multi-partner consortia involves significant investment. This article shares lessons from the Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA), which aims to support policy and practice for climate change adaptation through a consortium model. Key lessons include the need to facilitate collaborative spaces to build trust and identify common interests, while accepting that this is not a guarantee of success; the importance of programmatic leadership to achieve synthesis; and the value of strategic planning in supporting motivation and alignment between partners.     

Trading in development: norms and institutions in the making/unmaking of European Union–African,Caribbean and Pacific trade and development cooperation

This paper offers a contribution to recent debates on European Union (EU) external trade and development policy, with a specific focus on the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of countries. The question asked is why the EU encountered such difficulties in the attempt to translate its normative preferences for freer trade and closer economic integration into a series of binding agreements? Drawing on both economic constructivist and historical institutionalist insights, it is argued that the case for reform initially rested on a strong convergence between institutions and ideas, enabling the EU to discursively present desired policy reforms as necessary to satisfy World Trade Organisation trade rules. However, in due course, the institutional dynamics behind the latter began to diverge from the EU's policy preferences and blunt its norm-based argument – thus creating the space for transnational coalitions to, first, question and, ultimately, undermine aspects the EU's trade and development prospectus for the ACP.     

The Governance of Cross-Border Data Flows in Trade Agreements: Is the Cptpp Framework an Ideal Way Out?

The regulations of cross-border data flows is a growing challenge for the international community. International trade agreements, however, appear to be pioneering legal methods to cope, as they have grappled with this issue since the 1990s. The World Trade Organization (WTO) rules system offers a partial solution under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), which covers aspects related to cross-border data flows. The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) have also been perceived to provide forward-looking resolutions. In this context, this article analyzes why a resolution to this issue may be illusory. While they regulate cross-border data flows in various ways, the structure and wording of exception articles of both the CPTPP and USMCA have the potential to pose significant challenges to the international legal system. The new system, attempting to weigh societal values and economic development, is imbalanced, often valuing free trade more than individual online privacy and cybersecurity. Furthermore, the inclusion of poison-pill clauses is, by nature, antithetical to cooperation. Thus, for the international community generally, and China in particular, cross-border data flows would best be regulated under the WTO-centered multilateral trade law system.     

Reproductive health services: “Business-in-a-Box” as a model social innovation

Access to reproductive health services and products in remote and rural communities is a critical area of concern for developing countries. This article considers a pilot intervention in three districts of Pakistan where “Business-in-a-Box” as a model of place-based social innovation is used to improve the socio-economic conditions of women in remote rural settings through socially responsible micro-franchising. It finds that such programmes help build a sense of community, ownership and grassroots capabilities and skills. The article also discusses the impacts of such actions on the individual and community life, and the need to upscale and sustain these initiatives.     

广域组织RCEP下我国货物贸易流量的影响因素——基于静态面板数据的贸易引力模型

在广域一体化组织RCEP的区域范围内,运用基于静态面板数据的贸易引力模型分析方法,对我国货物贸易流量影响因素的问题进行了研究。首先探讨了什么是RCEP及其发展历程,其次对我国与其他RCEP成员国间的货物贸易流量进行描述性统计,接着对货物出口流量与GDP等诸多影响因素间的关系进行实证研究,再通过对描述性统计和计量研究进行总结,认为我国与其他RCEP成员国间的货物贸易增长较快但增长率并不稳定,GDP和距离因素是影响相互间贸易的主要因素,人口数量、TPP及FTA是次要因素。     

对《合伙企业法（修订草案）》的思考与建议

合伙企业法修订草案出台后,针对其立法必要性、立法时机、制度设计、行文规范等存在一系列争议,毁誉杂陈。总体来看,合伙企业法的修订是必要的和适时的,修订草案的主要内容也符合经济社会发展的趋势。但是修订草案仍存在很多问题,本文从宏观和微观两个方面对修订草案进行了思考,给出了具体建议。     

“公私部门伙伴关系”模式下的开发区基础设施建设

开发区的建设在我国已经得到了蓬勃的发展,与此同时,其基础设施也正在逐步完善。开发区基础设施的完备程度直接决定了招商引资与产业孵化的效果,而基础设施的建设需要大量的资金投入。随着开发区数量和层级的不断提高,仅仅依靠政府自身的力量建设日显捉襟见肘。"公私部门伙伴关系"是公共部门与私营部门合作提供公共产品和公共服务的一种新模式,该模式在开发区基础设施建设领域的应用能弥补政府财政投入的不足,突破限制开发区自身发展的瓶颈。     

Involuntary Resettlement as an Opportunity for Development: The Case of Urban Resettlers of the Three Gorges Project, China

The restoration of livelihoods in the event of involuntary resettlementis commonly based on providing compensation to those who aredisplaced. This policy has led to a series of horror stories.For this reason, it is proposed that by conducting resettlementas a development project in its own right, the performance ofresettlements can be improved and the benefits will accrue tothe local population. The Three Gorges Project on the YangtzeRiver is the first project in China in which the policy of resettlementwith development was translated into practice. This paper usesthe results of a survey of urban resettlers in two countiesto demonstrate that development policies have been unevenlyapplied across the Three Gorges Region and that in some countiesthe policies have had some success in maintaining and raisingthe incomes of resettlers.