Suchergebnisse

It is sometimes necessary in serious interstate disputes for a party to unilaterally accommodate an opponent's demands or claims. Such unreciprocated or one-sided accommodation, however, does not only pose political and psychological risks, it also seems to conflict with the basic bargaining norm of reciprocity. Yet the imperative of ending deadlocks that can degenerate into belligerent conflicts demands such unreciprocated accommodation. This imperative also calls for a positive and principled concept for understanding unreciprocated accommodation. With the perhaps unjustified and continuing discrediting of appeasement as a legitimate accommodative bargaining strategy, this article highlights the notion of concession as a valuable, non-pejorative concept of accommodation. The article offers a framework of concession that helps determine when/why a strong state would undertake the unreciprocated accommodation of an opponent. The argument is empirically illustrated using the Anglo-American conflict over Venezuela at the end of the nineteenth century.

Mit der weltwirtschaftlichen Integration verstärken sich die Interdependenzen zwischen den institutionellen Regelwerken einzelner Länder. Der nationale Wirtschaftspolitiker wird zunehmend zum globalen Wirtschaftspolitiker. Um Freihandel zu sichern, muß der globale Wirtschaftspolitiker verstärkt auf die interne Marktöffnung drängen, während Handelsbarrieren an der Grenze zusehends an Bedeutung verlieren. Die Etablierung einer internationalen Wettbewerbspolitik stellt die konsequente Fortsetzung der Handelspolitik dar. Als ersten Schritt sollte der globale Wirtschaftspolitiker die Durchsetzung eines internationalen Kartellverbots anstreben. Der globale Wirtschaftspolitiker sollte der Versuchung widerstehen, die Handelspolitik mit der Umwelt- oder Sozialpolitik zu verquicken. Der Internationale Währungsfonds kann heute kaum noch maßgeblich zur Beilegung internationaler Währungskrisen beitragen. Der globale Wirtschaftspolitiker sollte ihn aus seiner Rolle als Kreditgeber in Krisensituationen entlassen und ihm statt dessen die Ausgestaltung und Überwachung einer transparenten internationalen Finanzarchitektur übertragen. Der globale Wirtschaftspolitiker sollte darauf verzichten, eine Tobin- Steuer auf internationale Kapitalbewegungen einzuführen, da sie lediglich die Transaktionskosten im regulären Kapitalyerkehr erhöhen würde, während sie gegen tiefgreifende Währungskrisen völlig wirkungslos wäre. Internationale Regeln sollten stets als Minimalregeln ausgestaltet sein, damit sie den internationalen Systemwettbewerb nicht unnötig beschränken. Internationale Politikkoordination darf nicht als Kartell der Wirtschaftspolitiker gegen den Systemwettbewerb mißbraucht werden.

"Different activities conducted by armed forces and their personnel are governed by different branches of international law, in particular international humanitarian law, international criminal law and human rights law. In recent times, the growing number and jurisprudence of international jurisdictions have also addressed the activities of military personnel engaged in different scenarios, including the internal organisation of armed forces and forms of violation of different rules of international law. Relevant decisions include, for instance, the international ad hoc criminal Tribunals, special courts, and truth and reconciliation commissions, as well as human rights courts and the International Court of Justice. This book explores the relationship between armed forces and international tribunals, courts and non-judicial bodies, taking into consideration the case-law developed by those jurisdictions"--Back cover

[Zusammenfassung der wichtigsten Ergebnisse] Im Zuge der Bundestagswahl 2013 gab es eine breite öffentliche Diskussion um die Wiedereinführung der 1996 letztmals erhobenen Vermögensteuer in Deutschland. Die damalige Diskussion wurde im Jahr 2013 in einer Studie des ZEW für die Stiftung Familienunternehmen aufgegriffen, indem zunächst die qualitative Entwicklung der Nettovermögensbesteuerung im internationalen Vergleich von 1990 bis 2012 untersucht und die Bedeutung von vermögensbezogenen Steuern für das Gesamtsteueraufkommen anhand des Jahres 2010 nachvollzogen wurde. Anschließend wurden die Auswirkungen der damals diskutierten Reformkonzepte auf die effektive Steuerbelastung von Unternehmen und ihren Anteilseignern quantifiziert. Auch mit Blick auf die Bundestagswahl 2017 sehen erste Programmentwürfe einzelner Parteien die Wiedereinführung einer Vermögensteuer vor, allerdings wurden bislang keine konkreten Vorschläge vorgelegt. Ziel dieser Studie ist es, die Entwicklung der Nettovermögensbesteuerung im internationalen Vergleich bis zum Jahr 2016 zunächst fortzuschreiben und anhand einer Zeitreihenanalyse die Bedeutung der Vermögensteuern für das Gesamtsteueraufkommen näher zu untersuchen. Mangels aktueller detaillierter politischer Vorschläge zur Wiedereinführung einer Vermögensteuer erfolgen daran anschließend keine vermögensteuerspezifischen Belastungsrechnungen, sondern eine Einordnung der weitgehend unveränderten steuerlichen Rahmenbedingungen in Deutschland seit der Unternehmensteuerreform 2008 in einem EU-weiten Kontext. Abschließend wird näher untersucht, ob neben einer Wiedereinführung einer Vermögensteuer auch eine Schließung bestehender Steuerlücken eine Alternative zur Generierung von Steuermehreinnahmen darstellen könnte, die auch für Umverteilungszwecke zur Verfügung stünden. (…)

The image of Sweden is one of a small, democratic and peace-loving country without the moral burden of a colonial past. However, in this Current African Issues publication, the notion that Sweden lacks a colonial past in Africa is brought into question. At the Berlin Conference 1884–85, the rules for colonisation of Africa were agreed upon among a handful of white men. With the blessing of King Oscar II, the united kingdoms of Sweden-Norway participated in the Berlin conference, ratified the resulting convention and signed a trade agreement with King Leopold's International Congo Association. Thereafter, hundreds of Swedish militaries, seamen and missionaries took an active part in the brutal colonial project in the Congo. What was Sweden-Norway really doing at the Berlin Conference and in the ensuing Scramble for Africa? Is it now time to re-assess Swedish identity in relation to Africa, an identity so far centered on colonial innocence? Dr DAVID NILSSON is a researcher at the Division of History of Science, Technology and Environment, Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden. His research focuses on global longterm perspectives on sustainable development in Africa. ; CONTENTS: The scramble for Africa from a Nordic perspective -- The United Kingdoms of Sweden-Norway in the run-up to Berlin -- The Berlin Conference from the perspective of Sweden-Norway -- Discussion: What was Sweden doing in Berlin? -- Conclusions: a "new" colonial past for Sweden? -- Literature -- Appendices ; Sweden and the Origins of Natural Resources Colonialism

This paper argues that critical realism conceived as a meta-theory for scientific activities offers a consistent set of helpful philosophical resources from which a potentially fruitful position of economic methodology may be developed. When fully developed, a critical realist-inspired economic methodology may in turn underlabour for more concrete scientific undertakings, economic theorising and applied analyses. Adopting such a strategy for further advancement of the critical realist project would prove a much needed supplement to, or perhaps even substitute for, the currently dominating strategy of grand scale philosophical underlabouring aimed at reorienting more or less the whole discipline of economics. The main trust of the argument made then, is that critical realism comes with a constructive and practical potential that goes beyond critiques of mainstream economics and philosophical underlabouring for already existing schools of thought within economics and that it is time for this potential to be actualised.

A historical overview of federal-local relations is provided. Presidential initiative is considered to address the relationship between the different levels of the American system of government, & to examine reorganization objectives. Strengthening the partnership between federal & local government should be one of the Carter administration's principle goals as government reorganization & policy development are stressed. Three basic reforms are proposed: (1) shifting certain local government costs to the state & federal levels; (2) infusing new capital into central cities for Ur development; & (3) adjusting the tax structure at all levels to make living & business opportunities in cities more attractive. These reforms are premised on a juridical concept of equality advocated as the necessary guiding principle in federal-local relations & indispensable to the revitalization of the Ur US. Modified HA.

Environmental deterioration, driven by human activities, poses a critical global challenge. Its far-reaching consequences are a threat to the planet and future generations. Economic development brought about by rapid industrialisation, increased economic activities, and globalisation has not only improved gross domestic product (GDP) and material well-being globally but consequently increased the emission of greenhouse gases, which in no doubt has far-reaching catastrophic impacts on society in the short-term and long term. Climate change, deforestation, pollution, natural resource depletion, food shortage and biodiversity loss are interconnected problems of environmental deterioration. Climate change harms ecosystems and food security, increases global inequality, and brings about more frequent and severe weather events - deforestation results in habitat loss - destabilising ecosystems and reducing biodiversity. Pollution from industries, agricultural activities, and urban sources endanger ecosystems and harm human health. Like never before, harmonising the concepts of people (society), profit (economy) and the planet (Environment) to achieve a sustainable solution has been more crucial.For this reason, this study examines the impact of economic development on environmental sustainability - empirically examining 15 randomly selected African countries. Fixed Effect (FEM) method regression model was employed for the panel data. The analysis revealed that the coefficient of GDP growth rate is positive and statistically significant. However, the GDP growth rate squared is negative and statistically significant. These coefficients suggest that economic growth contributes positively and significantly to environmental degradation through the emission of greenhouse gases but substantially declines as the economy grows further. Thus, these coefficients show that we have an inverted U-curve, which supports the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) Hypothesis. Per capita income must grow to a certain level to promote environmental sustainability.On the other hand, agricultural value-added (AVA), manufacturing value-added (MVA), and foreign direct investment (FDI) have negative and significant impacts on greenhouse gas emissions, hence promoting environmental sustainability. In contrast, trade openness had positive but insignificant effects on greenhouse gas emissions. The study urges policymakers across Africa to be benevolent in crafting economic policies - considering the environmental and social impact to protect people's well-being today and future generations. Appropriate sensitisation and policy initiatives such as taxes and subsidies should be effectively employed to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to the barest minimum while also promoting eco-investing and eco-friendly initiatives.