Beyond royal politics: state transformation and foreign policy in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Saudi politics is commonly portrayed as reflecting a system of centralised personal rule in which decision-making power trickles down from the tightly knit power circles within the House of Saud. In contrast, this paper draws attention to the empowerment of quasi-autonomous state organisations in Saudi Arabia as a result of state transformation and regional integration. At its most extreme, state transformation in Saudi Arabia has created institutional and regulatory enclaves with vested interests and areas of competence that cross Saudi borders. This paper illustrates the foreign policy ramifications of transformed statehood in Saudi attempts to further Gulf regional integration in the context of the Gulf Monetary Union project.     

What do forensic analysts consider relevant to their decision making?

In response to research demonstrating that irrelevant contextual information can bias forensic science analyses, authorities have increasingly urged laboratories to limit analysts' access to irrelevant and potentially biasing information (Dror and Cole (2010) [3]; National Academy of Sciences (2009) [18]; President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (2016) [22]; UK Forensic Science Regulator (2015) [26]). However, a great challenge in implementing this reform is determining which information is task-relevant and which is task-irrelevant. In the current study, we surveyed 183 forensic analysts to examine what they consider relevant versus irrelevant in their forensic analyses. Results revealed that analysts generally do not regard information regarding the suspect or victim as essential to their analytic tasks. However, there was significant variability among analysts within and between disciplines. Findings suggest that forensic science disciplines need to agree on what they regard as task-relevant before context management procedures can be properly implemented. The lack of consensus about what is relevant information not only leaves room for biasing information, but also reveals foundational gaps in what analysts consider crucial in forensic decision making.     

美国工会对中美经贸关系的影响

近年来,美国工会对国际经贸乃至世界经济的影响日益凸现,我国政府和企业应积极采取相应措施积极应对。本文分析了美国工会的特点及对中美经贸活动的影响,并提出了一些应对之策。     

对建立健全劳动关系三方协商机制的思考

在我国建立健全劳动关系三方机制中充分认识三方协商机制的重要意义,规范三 方协商的内容、职责和企业方代表的主体地位,强化机制建设,提高工作水平。     

中国经济的内部平衡与外部平衡——从国民收入账户分析中国的贸易平衡

从国民收入账户的角度,围绕宏观经济的内部平衡与外部平衡问题,分析中国贸易平衡的成因及其内、外部影响,并用计量方法进行实证.结果表明从世界各国的情况看,平均消费倾向与贸易平衡存在明显的负相关性;中国的贸易平衡状况则与其低消费、高投资的内部平衡状况密切相关,这种内、外部平衡关系的模式存在着较大的风险,缺乏一定的持续性.基于这些分析结果,提出了若干针对性的政策建议.     

The evolution of European legal integration

This article contributes to the development of theories on European integration by testing and exploring statistical models on the long-term development of legislative activity of the European Commission. Drawing on legal information gained from the European Union’s PreLex database and analyzing it with the help of statistical analyses, we map out growth patterns of EU law between 1976 and 2003. We construct time-series models and models based on non-linear regression. While the performance of models based on the traditional theoretical approaches, intergovernmentalism and neo-functionalism, is rather poor, the analysis suggests that nonlinear dynamic models might be an interesting avenue for future conceptualizations of the EU integration process. This article is based on a paper presented at the ECPR Standing Group on the European Union Second Pan-European Conference on EU Politics, “Implications of a Wider Europe: Politics, Institutions and Diversity”, 24–26 June 2004, Bologna, Italy. We would like to thank the seminar participants for useful comments.     

Lanzhou Univ. of Tech., Lanzhou 730050

C square-wave pulse inverter controlled by DSP was introduced. TMS320-serial DSP produced by Texas Instruments Corp., its developing environment and program flow, and the use of the software CCS were also introduced. According to the requirement of output waveform, the main program of control system, interruption service routine, and subroutines were designed by using modularized software design method. Offline and online experimental results indicated t     

Competitive Liberalization,Competitive Imperialism,and Intellectual Property

Aggressive pursuit of free trade agreements (FTAs) and customs unions (CUs) by major and minor trading powers alike challenges the conventional wisdom in favor of such pursuit – competitive liberalization. An equally plausible explanation for an active bilateral and regional trade agreement policy, one which effectively de-emphasizes multilateralism, may be competitive imperialism. The protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights is one area in which new provisions, going beyond multilateral rules, are being negotiated and written into FTAs and CUs. Such provisions may yield insights into which characterization of bilateralism and regionalism – competitive liberalization or competitive imperialism – is more apt. Rice Distinguished Professor, The University of Kansas, School of Law, Green Hall, 1535 West 15th Street, Lawrence, KS 66045-7577, USA. Tel. +1-785-8649224. Fax. +1-785-8645054. www.law.ku.edu. J.D., Harvard (1989); M.Sc., Oxford (1986); M.Sc., London School of Economics (1985); A.B., Duke (1984). Marshall Scholar (1984-86). Member, Council on Foreign Relations, Royal Society for Asian Affairs, and Fellowship of Catholic Scholars. Author, Modern GATT Law (Sweet & Maxwell 2005), International Trade Law: Theory and Practice (2nd ed. 2000, 3rd ed. forthcoming 2007-08), and Trade, Development, and Social Justice (Carolina Academic Press 2003). I am thankful to my Research Assistant, Mr. David R. Jackson (B.A., George Mason University, 1992; J.D. Class of 2007, University of Kansas), for his indispensable help on this work. I also am grateful to Dr. Mohammed El Said, University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN), for his consistent support and friendship, and for what he has taught and continues to teach me about international trade and intellectual property.     

关于构建工会文化的认识与探讨

王兆国主席在全总十四届十三次主席团(扩大)会议上的讲话中指出,工会组织应在构建共同建设、共同享有和谐社会的进程中,充分发挥工人阶级和工会组织的积极作用,推动建设社会主义核心价值体系这个和谐文化的根本,大力推动和发展先进的工会文化,充分展现工人阶级的先进性。因此,我们应深刻认识到创建工会文化是现实的要求、是历史的选择、是未来的呼唤。创建工会文化还必须知晓工会文化的内涵、特征和作用,了解工会文化的核心,探索创建工会文化的路径,真正把共建共享的要求落到实处。