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I've been reading a lot of macro lately. In part, I'm just catching up from a few years of book writing. In part, I want to understand inflation dynamics, the quest set forth in "expectations and the neutrality of interest rates," and an obvious next step in the fiscal theory program. Perhaps blog readers might find interesting some summaries of recent papers, when there is a great idea that can be summarized without a huge amount of math. So, I start a series on cool papers I'm reading. Today: "Tail risk in production networks" by Ian Dew-Becker, a beautiful paper. A "production network" approach recognizes that each firm buys from others, and models this interconnection. It's a hot topic for lots of reasons, below. I'm interested because prices cascading through production networks might induce a better model of inflation dynamics. (This post uses Mathjax equations. If you're seeing garbage like [\alpha = \beta] then come back to the source here.) To Ian's paper: Each firm uses other firms' outputs as inputs. Now, hit the economy with a vector of productivity shocks. Some firms get more productive, some get less productive. The more productive ones will expand and lower prices, but that changes everyone's input prices too. Where does it all settle down? This is the fun question of network economics. Ian's central idea: The problem simplifies a lot for large shocks. Usually when problems are complicated we look at first or second order approximations, i.e. for small shocks, obtaining linear or quadratic ("simple") approximations. On the x axis, take a vector of productivity shocks for each firm, and scale it up or down. The x axis represents this overall scale. The y axis is GDP. The right hand graph is Ian's point: for large shocks, log GDP becomes linear in log productivity -- really simple. Why? Because for large enough shocks, all the networky stuff disappears. Each firm's output moves up or down depending only on one critical input. To see this, we have to dig deeper to complements vs. substitutes. Suppose the price of an input goes up 10%. The firm tries to use less of this input. If the best it can do is to cut use 5%, then the firm ends up paying 5% more overall for this input, the "expenditure share" of this input rises. That is the case of "complements." But if the firm can cut use of the input 15%, then it pays 5% less overall for the input, even though the price went up. That is the case of "substitutes." This is the key concept for the whole question: when an input's price goes up, does its share of overall expenditure go up (complements) or down (substitutes)? Suppose inputs are complements. Again, this vector of technology shocks hits the economy. As the size of the shock gets bigger, the expenditure of each firm, and thus the price it charges for its output, becomes more and more dominated by the one input whose price grows the most. In that sense, all the networkiness simplifies enormously. Each firm is only "connected" to one other firm. Turn the shock around. Each firm that was getting a productivity boost now gets a productivity reduction. Each price that was going up now goes down. Again, in the large shock limit, our firm's price becomes dominated by the price of its most expensive input. But it's a different input. So, naturally, the economy's response to this technology shock is linear, but with a different slope in one direction vs. the other. Suppose instead that inputs are substitutes. Now, as prices change, the firm expands more and more its use of the cheapest input, and its costs and price become dominated by that input instead. Again, the network collapsed to one link. Ian: "negative productivity shocks propagate downstream through parts of the production process that are complementary (\(\sigma_i < 1\)), while positive productivity shocks propagate through parts that are substitutable (\(\sigma_i > 1\)). ...every sector's behavior ends up driven by a single one of its inputs....there is a tail network, which depends on \(\theta\) and in which each sector has just a single upstream link."Equations: Each firm's production function is (somewhat simplifying Ian's (1)) \[Y_i = Z_i L_i^{1-\alpha} \left( \sum_j A_{ij}^{1/\sigma} X_{ij}^{(\sigma-1)/\sigma} \right)^{\alpha \sigma/(\sigma-1)}.\]Here \(Y_i\) is output, \(Z_i\) is productivity, \(L_i\) is labor input, \(X_{ij}\) is how much good j firm i uses as an input, and \(A_{ij}\) captures how important each input is in production. \(\sigma>1\) are substitutes, \(\sigma<1\) are complements. Firms are competitive, so price equals marginal cost, and each firm's price is \[ p_i = -z_i + \frac{\alpha}{1-\sigma}\log\left(\sum_j A_{ij}e^{(1-\sigma)p_j}\right).\; \; \; (1)\]Small letters are logs of big letters. Each price depends on the prices of all the inputs, plus the firm's own productivity. Log GDP, plotted in the above figure is \[gdp = -\beta'p\] where \(p\) is the vector of prices and \(\beta\) is a vector of how important each good is to the consumer. In the case \(\sigma=1\) (1) reduces to a linear formula. We can easily solve for prices and then gdp as a function of the technology shocks: \[p_i = - z_i + \sum_j A_{ij} p_j\] and hence \[p=-(I-\alpha A)^{-1}z,\]where the letters represent vectors and matrices across \(i\) and \(j\). This expression shows some of the point of networks, that the pattern of prices and output reflects the whole network of production, not just individual firm productivity. But with \(\sigma \neq 1\) (1) is nonlinear without a known closed form solution. Hence approximations. You can see Ian's central point directly from (1). Take the \(\sigma<1\) case, complements. Parameterize the size of the technology shocks by a fixed vector \(\theta = [\theta_1, \ \theta_2, \ ...\theta_i,...]\) times a scalar \(t>0\), so that \(z_i=\theta_i \times t\). Then let \(t\) grow keeping the pattern of shocks \(\theta\) the same. Now, as the \(\{p_i\}\) get larger in absolute value, the term with the greatest \(p_i\) has the greatest value of \( e^{(1-\sigma)p_j} \). So, for large technology shocks \(z\), only that largest term matters, the log and e cancel, and \[p_i \approx -z_i + \alpha \max_{j} p_j.\] This is linear, so we can also write prices as a pattern \(\phi\) times the scale \(t\), in the large-t limit \(p_i = \phi_i t\), and \[\phi_i = -\theta_i + \alpha \max_{j} \phi_j.\;\;\; (2)\] With substitutes, \(\sigma<1\), the firm's costs, and so its price, will be driven by the smallest (most negative) upstream price, in the same way. \[\phi_i \approx -\theta_i + \alpha \min_{j} \phi_j.\] To express gdp scaling with \(t\), write \(gdp=\lambda t\), or when you want to emphasize the dependence on the vector of technology shocks, \(\lambda(\theta)\). Then we find gdp by \(\lambda =-\beta'\phi\). In this big price limit, the \(A_{ij}\) contribute a constant term, which also washes out. Thus the actual "network" coefficients stop mattering at all so long as they are not zero -- the max and min are taken over all non-zero inputs. Ian: ...the limits for prices, do not depend on the exact values of any \(\sigma_i\) or \(A_{i,j}.\) All that matters is whether the elasticities are above or below 1 and whether the production weights are greater than zero. In the example in Figure 2, changing the exact values of the production parameters (away from \(\sigma_i = 1\) or \(A_{i,j} = 0\)) changes...the levels of the asymptotes, and it can change the curvature of GDP with respect to productivity, but the slopes of the asymptotes are unaffected....when thinking about the supply-chain risks associated with large shocks, what is important is not how large a given supplier is on average, but rather how many sectors it supplies...For a full solution, look at the (more interesting) case of complements, and suppose every firm uses a little bit of every other firm's output, so all the \(A_{ij}>0\). The largest input price in (2) is the same for each firm \(i\), and you can quickly see then that the biggest price will be the smallest technology shock. Now we can solve the model for prices and GDP as a function of technology shocks: \[\phi_i \approx -\theta_i - \frac{\alpha}{1-\alpha} \theta_{\min},\] \[\lambda \approx \beta'\theta + \frac{\alpha}{1-\alpha}\theta_{\min}.\] We have solved the large-shock approximation for prices and GDP as a function of technology shocks. (This is Ian's example 1.) The graph is concave when inputs are complements, and convex when they are substitutes. Let's do complements. We do the graph to the left of the kink by changing the sign of \(\theta\). If the identity of \(\theta_{\min}\) did not change, \(\lambda(-\theta)=-\lambda(\theta)\) and the graph would be linear; it would go down on the left of the kink by the same amount it goes up on the right of the kink. But now a different \(j\) has the largest price and the worst technology shock. Since this must be a worse technology shock than the one driving the previous case, GDP is lower and the graph is concave. \[-\lambda(-\theta) = \beta'\theta + \frac{\alpha}{1-\alpha}\theta_{\max} \ge\beta'\theta + \frac{\alpha}{1-\alpha}\theta_{\min} = \lambda(\theta).\] Therefore \(\lambda(-\theta)\le-\lambda(\theta),\) the left side falls by more than the right side rises. Does all of this matter? Well, surely more for questions when there might be a big shock, such as the big shocks we saw in a pandemic, or big shocks we might see in a war. One of the big questions that network theory asks is, how much does GDP change if there is a technology shock in a particular industry? The \(\sigma=1\) case in which expenditure shares are constant gives a standard and fairly reassuring result: the effect on GDP of a shock in industry i is given by the ratio of i's output to total GDP. ("Hulten's theorem.") Industries that are small relative to GDP don't affect GDP that much if they get into trouble. You can intuit that constant expenditure shares are important for this result. If an industry has a negative technology shock, raises its prices, and others can't reduce use of its inputs, then its share of expenditure will rise, and it will all of a sudden be important to GDP. Continuing our example, if one firm has a negative technology shock, then it is the minimum technology, and [(d gdp/dz_i = \beta_i + \frac{\alpha}{1-\alpha}.\] For small firms (industries) the latter term is likely to be the most important. All the A and \(\sigma\) have disappeared, and basically the whole economy is driven by this one unlucky industry and labor. Ian: ...what determines tail risk is not whether there is granularity on average, but whether there can ever be granularity – whether a single sector can become pivotal if shocks are large enough.For example, take electricity and restaurants. In normal times, those sectors are of similar size, which in a linear approximation would imply that they have similar effects on GDP. But one lesson of Covid was that shutting down restaurants is not catastrophic for GDP, [Consumer spending on food services and accommodations fell by 40 percent, or $403 billion between 2019Q4 and 2020Q2. Spending at movie theaters fell by 99 percent.] whereas one might expect that a significant reduction in available electricity would have strongly negative effects – and that those effects would be convex in the size of the decline in available power. Electricity is systemically important not because it is important in good times, but because it would be important in bad times. Ben Moll turned out to be right and Germany was able to substitute away from Russian Gas a lot more than people had thought, but even that proves the rule: if it is hard to substitute away from even a small input, then large shocks to that input imply larger expenditure shares and larger impacts on the economy than its small output in normal times would suggest.There is an enormous amount more in the paper and voluminous appendices, but this is enough for a blog review. ****Now, a few limitations, or really thoughts on where we go next. (No more in this paper, please, Ian!) Ian does a nice illustrative computation of the sensitivity to large shocks:Ian assumes \(\sigma>1\), so the main ingredients are how many downstream firms use your products and a bit their labor shares. No surprise, trucks, and energy have big tail impacts. But so do lawyers and insurance. Can we really not do without lawyers? Here I hope the next step looks hard at substitutes vs. complements.That raises a bunch of issues. Substitutes vs. complements surely depends on time horizon and size of shocks. It might be easy to use a little less water or electricity initially, but then really hard to reduce more than, say, 80%. It's usually easier to substitute in the long run than the short run. The analysis in this literature is "static," meaning it describes the economy when everything has settled down. The responses -- you charge more, I use less, I charge more, you use less of my output, etc. -- all happen instantly, or equivalently the model studies a long run where this has all settled down. But then we talk about responses to shocks, as in the pandemic. Surely there is a dynamic response here, not just including capital accumulation (which Ian studies). Indeed, my hope was to see prices spreading out through a production network over time, but this structure would have all price adjustments instantly. Mixing production networks with sticky prices is an obvious idea, which some of the papers below are working on. In the theory and data handling, you see a big discontinuity. If a firm uses any inputs at all from another firm, if \(A_{ij}>0\), that input can take over and drive everything. If it uses no inputs at all, then there is no network link and the upstream firm can't have any effect. There is a big discontinuity at \(A_{ij}=0.\) We would prefer a theory that does not jump from zero to everything when the firm buys one stick of chewing gum. Ian had to drop small but nonzero elements of the input-output matrix to produces sensible results. Perhaps we should regard very small inputs as always substitutes? How important is the network stuff anyway? We tend to use industry categorizations, because we have an industry input-output table. But how much of the US industry input-output is simply vertical: Loggers sell trees to mills who sell wood to lumberyards who sell lumber to Home Depot who sells it to contractors who put up your house? Energy and tools feed each stage, but don't use a whole lot of wood to make those. I haven't looked at an input-output matrix recently, but just how "vertical" is it? ****The literature on networks in macro is vast. One approach is to pick a recent paper like Ian's and work back through the references. I started to summarize, but gave up in the deluge. Have fun. One way to think of a branch of economics is not just "what tools does it use?" but "what questions is it asking? Long and Plosser "Real Business Cycles," a classic, went after idea that the central defining feature of business cycles (since Burns and Mitchell) is comovement. States and industries all go up and down together to a remarkable degree. That pointed to "aggregate demand" as a key driving force. One would think that "technology shocks" whatever they are would be local or industry specific. Long and Plosser showed that an input output structure led idiosyncratic shocks to produce business cycle common movement in output. Brilliant. Macro went in another way, emphasizing time series -- the idea that recessions are defined, say, by two quarters of aggregate GDP decline, or by the greater decline of investment and durable goods than consumption -- and in the aggregate models of Kydland and Prescott, and the stochastic growth model as pioneered by King, Plosser and Rebelo, driven by a single economy-wide technology shock. Part of this shift is simply technical: Long and Plosser used analytical tools, and were thereby stuck in a model without capital, plus they did not inaugurate matching to data. Kydland and Prescott brought numerical model solution and calibration to macro, which is what macro has done ever since. Maybe it's time to add capital, solve numerically, and calibrate Long and Plosser (with up to date frictions and consumer heterogeneity too, maybe). Xavier Gabaix (2011) had a different Big Question in mind: Why are business cycles so large? Individual firms and industries have large shocks, but \(\sigma/\sqrt{N}\) ought to dampen those at the aggregate level. Again, this was a classic argument for aggregate "demand" as opposed to "supply." Gabaix notices that the US has a fat-tailed firm distribution with a few large firms, and those firms have large shocks. He amplifies his argument via the Hulten mechanism, a bit of networkyiness, since the impact of a firm on the economy is sales / GDP, not value added / GDP. The enormous literature since then has gone after a variety of questions. Dew-Becker's paper is about the effect of big shocks, and obviously not that useful for small shocks. Remember which question you're after.My quest for a new Phillips curve in production networks is better represented by Elisa Rubbo's "Networks, Phillips curves and Monetary Policy," and Jennifer La'o and Alireza Tahbaz-Salehi's "Optimal Monetary Policy in Production Networks," If I can boil those down for the blog, you'll hear about it eventually. The "what's the question" question is doubly important for this branch of macro that explicitly models heterogeneous agents and heterogenous firms. Why are we doing this? One can always represent the aggregates with a social welfare function and an aggregate production function. You might be interested in how aggregates affect individuals, but that doesn't change your model of aggregates. Or, you might be interested in seeing what the aggregate production or utility function looks like -- is it consistent with what we know about individual firms and people? Does the size of the aggregate production function shock make sense? But still, you end up with just a better (hopefully) aggregate production and utility function. Or, you might want models that break the aggregation theorems in a significant way; models for which distributions matter for aggregate dynamics, theoretically and (harder) empirically. But don't forget you need a reason to build disaggregated models. Expression (1) is not easy to get to. I started reading Ian's paper in my usual way: to learn a literature start with the latest paper and work backward. Alas, this literature has evolved to the point that authors plop results down that "everybody knows" and will take you a day or so of head-scratching to reproduce. I complained to Ian, and he said he had the same problem when he was getting in to the literature! Yes, journals now demand such overstuffed papers that it's hard to do, but it would be awfully nice for everyone to start including ground up algebra for major results in one of the endless internet appendices. I eventually found Jonathan Dingel's notes on Dixit Stiglitz tricks, which were helpful. Update:Chase Abram's University of Chicago Math Camp notes here are also a fantastic resource. See Appendix B starting p. 94 for production network math. The rest of the notes are also really good. The first part goes a little deeper into more abstract material than is really necessary for the second part and applied work, but it is a wonderful and concise review of that material as well.
Publisher's version (útgefin grein) ; Background In an era of shifting global agendas and expanded emphasis on non-communicable diseases and injuries along with communicable diseases, sound evidence on trends by cause at the national level is essential. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) provides a systematic scientific assessment of published, publicly available, and contributed data on incidence, prevalence, and mortality for a mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive list of diseases and injuries. Methods GBD estimates incidence, prevalence, mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) due to 369 diseases and injuries, for two sexes, and for 204 countries and territories. Input data were extracted from censuses, household surveys, civil registration and vital statistics, disease registries, health service use, air pollution monitors, satellite imaging, disease notifications, and other sources. Cause-specific death rates and cause fractions were calculated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model and spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression. Cause-specific deaths were adjusted to match the total all-cause deaths calculated as part of the GBD population, fertility, and mortality estimates. Deaths were multiplied by standard life expectancy at each age to calculate YLLs. A Bayesian meta-regression modelling tool, DisMod-MR 2.1, was used to ensure consistency between incidence, prevalence, remission, excess mortality, and cause-specific mortality for most causes. Prevalence estimates were multiplied by disability weights for mutually exclusive sequelae of diseases and injuries to calculate YLDs. We considered results in the context of the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a composite indicator of income per capita, years of schooling, and fertility rate in females younger than 25 years. Uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated for every metric using the 25th and 975th ordered 1000 draw values of the posterior distribution. Findings Global health has steadily improved over the past 30 years as measured by age-standardised DALY rates. After taking into account population growth and ageing, the absolute number of DALYs has remained stable. Since 2010, the pace of decline in global age-standardised DALY rates has accelerated in age groups younger than 50 years compared with the 1990-2010 time period, with the greatest annualised rate of decline occurring in the 0-9-year age group. Six infectious diseases were among the top ten causes of DALYs in children younger than 10 years in 2019: lower respiratory infections (ranked second), diarrhoeal diseases (third), malaria (fifth), meningitis (sixth), whooping cough (ninth), and sexually transmitted infections (which, in this age group, is fully accounted for by congenital syphilis; ranked tenth). In adolescents aged 10-24 years, three injury causes were among the top causes of DALYs: road injuries (ranked first), self-harm (third), and interpersonal violence (fifth). Five of the causes that were in the top ten for ages 10-24 years were also in the top ten in the 25-49-year age group: road injuries (ranked first), HIV/AIDS (second), low back pain (fourth), headache disorders (fifth), and depressive disorders (sixth). In 2019, ischaemic heart disease and stroke were the top-ranked causes of DALYs in both the 50-74-year and 75-years-and-older age groups. Since 1990, there has been a marked shift towards a greater proportion of burden due to YLDs from non-communicable diseases and injuries. In 2019, there were 11 countries where non-communicable disease and injury YLDs constituted more than half of all disease burden. Decreases in age-standardised DALY rates have accelerated over the past decade in countries at the lower end of the SDI range, while improvements have started to stagnate or even reverse in countries with higher SDI. Interpretation As disability becomes an increasingly large component of disease burden and a larger component of health expenditure, greater research and development investment is needed to identify new, more effective intervention strategies. With a rapidly ageing global population, the demands on health services to deal with disabling outcomes, which increase with age, will require policy makers to anticipate these changes. The mix of universal and more geographically specific influences on health reinforces the need for regular reporting on population health in detail and by underlying cause to help decision makers to identify success stories of disease control to emulate, as well as opportunities to improve. Copyright (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. ; Research reported in this publication was supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; the University of Melbourne; Queensland Department of Health, Australia; the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia; Public Health England; the Norwegian Institute of Public Health; St Jude Children's Research Hospital; the Cardiovascular Medical Research and Education Fund; the National Institute on Ageing of the National Institutes of Health (award P30AG047845); and the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health (award R01MH110163). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funders. The authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this Article and they do not necessarily represent the views, decisions, or policies of the institutions with which they are affiliated, the National Health Service (NHS), the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), the UK Department of Health and Social Care, or Public Health England; the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the US Government, or MEASURE Evaluation; or the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). This research used data from the Chile National Health Survey 2003, 2009-10, and 2016-17. The authors are grateful to the Ministry of Health, the survey copyright owner, for allowing them to have the database. All results of the study are those of the authors and in no way committed to the Ministry. The Costa Rican Longevity and Healthy Aging Study project is a longitudinal study by the University of Costa Rica's Centro Centroamericano de Poblacion and Instituto de Investigaciones en Salud, in collaboration with the University of California at Berkeley. The original pre-1945 cohort was funded by the Wellcome Trust (grant 072406), and the 1945-55 Retirement Cohort was funded by the US National Institute on Aging (grant R01AG031716). The principal investigators are Luis Rosero-Bixby and William H Dow and co-principal investigators are Xinia Fernandez and Gilbert Brenes. The accuracy of the authors' statistical analysis and the findings they report are not the responsibility of ECDC. ECDC is not responsible for conclusions or opinions drawn from the data provided. ECDC is not responsible for the correctness of the data and for data management, data merging and data collation after provision of the data. ECDC shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data. The Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) study is an international study carried out in collaboration with WHO/EURO. The international coordinator of the 1997-98, 2001-02, 2005-06, and 2009-10 surveys was Candace Currie and the databank manager for the 1997-98 survey was Bente Wold, whereas for the following surveys Oddrun Samdal was the databank manager. A list of principal investigators in each country can be found on the HBSC website. Data used in this paper come from the 2009-10 Ghana Socioeconomic Panel Study Survey, which is a nationally representative survey of more than 5000 households in Ghana. The survey is a joint effort undertaken by the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) at the University of Ghana and the Economic Growth Centre (EGC) at Yale University. It was funded by EGC. ISSER and the EGC are not responsible for the estimations reported by the analysts. The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics granted the researchers access to relevant data in accordance with license number SLN2014-3-170, after subjecting data to processing aiming to preserve the confidentiality of individual data in accordance with the General Statistics Law, 2000. The researchers are solely responsible for the conclusions and inferences drawn upon available data. Data for this research was provided by MEASURE Evaluation, funded by USAID. The authors thank the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey, conducted by the National Research University Higher School of Economics and ZAO Demoscope together with Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Institute of Sociology, Russia Academy of Sciences for making data available. This paper uses data from the Bhutan 2014 STEPS survey, implemented by the Ministry of Health with the support of WHO; the Kuwait 2006 and 2014 STEPS surveys, implemented by the Ministry of Health with the support of WHO; the Libya 2009 STEPS survey, implemented by the Secretariat of Health and Environment with the support of WHO; the Malawi 2009 STEPS survey, implemented by Ministry of Health with the support of WHO; and the Moldova 2013 STEPS survey, implemented by the Ministry of Health, the National Bureau of Statistics, and the National Center of Public Health with the support of WHO. This paper uses data from Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) Waves 1 (DOI:10.6103/SHARE. w1.700), 2 (10.6103/SHARE.w2.700), 3 (10.6103/SHARE.w3.700), 4 (10.6103/SHARE.w4.700), 5 (10.6103/SHARE.w5.700), 6 (10.6103/SHARE.w6.700), and 7 (10.6103/SHARE.w7.700); see Borsch-Supan and colleagues (2013) for methodological details. The SHARE data collection has been funded by the European Commission through FP5 (QLK6-CT-2001-00360), FP6 (SHARE-I3: RII-CT-2006-062193, COMPARE: CIT5-CT-2005-028857, SHARELIFE: CIT4-CT-2006-028812), FP7 (SHARE-PREP: GA N degrees 211909, SHARE-LEAP: GA N degrees 227822, SHARE M4: GA N degrees 261982) and Horizon 2020 (SHARE-DEV3: GA N degrees 676536, SERISS: GA N degrees 654221) and by DG Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion. Additional funding from the German Ministry of Education and Research, the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science, the US National Institute on Aging (U01_AG09740-13S2, P01_AG005842, P01_AG08291, P30_AG12815, R21_AG025169, Y1-AG-4553-01, IAG_BSR06-11, OGHA_04-064, HHSN271201300071C), and from various national funding sources is gratefully acknowledged. This study has been realised using the data collected by the Swiss Household Panel, which is based at the Swiss Centre of Expertise in the Social Sciences. The project is financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation. The United States Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study is a supplement to the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), which is sponsored by the National Institute of Aging (grant number NIA U01AG009740). It was conducted jointly by Duke University and the University of Michigan. The HRS is sponsored by the National Institute on Aging (grant number NIA U01AG009740) and is conducted by the University of Michigan. This paper uses data from Add Health, a program project designed by J Richard Udry, Peter S Bearman, and Kathleen Mullan Harris, and funded by a grant P01-HD31921 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, with cooperative funding from 17 other agencies. Special acknowledgment is due to Ronald R Rindfuss and Barbara Entwisle for assistance in the original design. Information on how to obtain the Add Health data files is available on the Add Health website. No direct support was received from grant P01-HD31921 for this analysis. The data reported here have been supplied by the United States Renal Data System. The interpretation and reporting of these data are the responsibility of the authors and in no way should be seen as an official policy or interpretation of the US Government. Collection of data for the Mozambique National Survey on the Causes of Death 2007-08 was made possible by USAID under the terms of cooperative agreement GPO-A-00-08-000_D3-00. This manuscript is based on data collected and shared by the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) from an original study IVI conducted. L G Abreu acknowledges support from Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (Brazil; finance code 001) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq, a Brazilian funding agency). I N Ackerman was supported by a Victorian Health and Medical Research Fellowship awarded by the Victorian Government. O O Adetokunboh acknowledges the South African Department of Science and Innovation and the National Research Foundation. A Agrawal acknowledges the Wellcome Trust DBT India Alliance Senior Fellowship. S M Aljunid acknowledges the Department of Health Policy and Management, Faculty of Public Health, Kuwait University and International Centre for Casemix and Clinical Coding, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Malaysia for the approval and support to participate in this research project. M Ausloos, C Herteliu, and A Pana acknowledge partial support by a grant of the Romanian National Authority for Scientific Research and Innovation, CNDS-UEFISCDI, project number PN-III-P4-ID-PCCF-2016-0084. A Badawi is supported by the Public Health Agency of Canada. D A Bennett was supported by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre. R Bourne acknowledges the Brien Holden Vision Institute, University of Heidelberg, Sightsavers, Fred Hollows Foundation, and Thea Foundation. G B Britton and I Moreno Velasquez were supported by the Sistema Nacional de Investigacion, SNI-SENACYT, Panama. R Buchbinder was supported by an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Senior Principal Research Fellowship. J J Carrero was supported by the Swedish Research Council (2019-01059). F Carvalho acknowledges UID/MULTI/04378/2019 and UID/QUI/50006/2019 support with funding from FCT/MCTES through national funds. A R Chang was supported by National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases grant K23 DK106515. V M Costa acknowledges the grant SFRH/BHD/110001/2015, received by Portuguese national funds through Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia, IP, under the Norma Transitaria DL57/2016/CP1334/CT0006. A Douiri acknowledges support and funding from the National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care South London at King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the Royal College of Physicians, and support from the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre based at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London. B B Duncan acknowledges grants from the Foundation for the Support of Research of the State of Rio Grande do Sul (IATS and PrInt) and the Brazilian Ministry of Health. H E Erskine is the recipient of an Australian NHMRC Early Career Fellowship grant (APP1137969). A J Ferrari was supported by a NHMRC Early Career Fellowship grant (APP1121516). H E Erskine and A J Ferrari are employed by and A M Mantilla-Herrera and D F Santomauro affiliated with the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research, which receives core funding from the Queensland Department of Health. M L Ferreira holds an NHMRC Research Fellowship. C Flohr was supported by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre based at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. M Freitas acknowledges financial support from the EU (European Regional Development Fund [FEDER] funds through COMPETE POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029248) and National Funds (Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia) through project PTDC/NAN-MAT/29248/2017. A L S Guimaraes acknowledges support from CNPq. C Herteliu was partially supported by a grant co-funded by FEDER through Operational Competitiveness Program (project ID P_40_382). P Hoogar acknowledges Centre for Bio Cultural Studies, Directorate of Research, Manipal Academy of Higher Education and Centre for Holistic Development and Research, Kalaghatagi. F N Hugo acknowledges the Visiting Professorship, PRINT Program, CAPES Foundation, Brazil. B-F Hwang was supported by China Medical University (CMU107-Z-04), Taichung, Taiwan. S M S Islam was funded by a National Heart Foundation Senior Research Fellowship and supported by Deakin University. R Q Ivers was supported by a research fellowship from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia. M Jakovljevic acknowledges the Serbian part of this GBD-related contribution was co-funded through Grant OI175014 of the Ministry of Education Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia. P Jeemon was supported by a Clinical and Public Health intermediate fellowship (grant number IA/CPHI/14/1/501497) from the Wellcome Trust-Department of Biotechnology, India Alliance (2015-20). O John is a recipient of UIPA scholarship from University of New South Wales, Sydney. S V Katikireddi acknowledges funding from a NRS Senior Clinical Fellowship (SCAF/15/02), the Medical Research Council (MC_UU_12017/13, MC_UU_12017/15), and the Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office (SPHSU13, SPHSU15). C Kieling is a CNPq researcher and a UK Academy of Medical Sciences Newton Advanced Fellow. Y J Kim was supported by Research Management Office, Xiamen University Malaysia (XMUMRF/2018-C2/ITCM/00010). K Krishan is supported by UGC Centre of Advanced Study awarded to the Department of Anthropology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India. M Kumar was supported by K43 TW 010716 FIC/NIMH. B Lacey acknowledges support from the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre and the BHF Centre of Research Excellence, Oxford. J V Lazarus was supported by a Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities Miguel Servet grant (Instituto de Salud Carlos III [ISCIII]/ESF, the EU [CP18/00074]). K J Looker thanks the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Evaluation of Interventions at the University of Bristol, in partnership with Public Health England, for research support. S Lorkowski was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (nutriCARD, grant agreement number 01EA1808A). R A Lyons is supported by Health Data Research UK (HDR-9006), which is funded by the UK Medical Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, NIHR (England), Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates, Health and Social Care Research and Development Division (Welsh Government), Public Health Agency (Northern Ireland), British Heart Foundation, and Wellcome Trust. J J McGrath is supported by the Danish National Research Foundation (Niels Bohr Professorship), and the Queensland Health Department (via West Moreton HHS). P T N Memiah acknowledges support from CODESRIA. U O Mueller gratefully acknowledges funding by the German National Cohort Study BMBF grant number 01ER1801D. S Nomura acknowledges the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan (18K10082). A Ortiz was supported by ISCIII PI19/00815, DTS18/00032, ISCIII-RETIC REDinREN RD016/0009 Fondos FEDER, FRIAT, Comunidad de Madrid B2017/BMD-3686 CIFRA2-CM. These funding sources had no role in the writing of the manuscript or the decision to submit it for publication. S B Patten was supported by the Cuthbertson & Fischer Chair in Pediatric Mental Health at the University of Calgary. G C Patton was supported by an aNHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellowship. M R Phillips was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, number 81371502 and 81761128031). A Raggi, D Sattin, and S Schiavolin were supported by grants from the Italian Ministry of Health (Ricerca Corrente, Fondazione Istituto Neurologico C Besta, Linea 4-Outcome Research: dagli Indicatori alle Raccomandazioni Cliniche). P Rathi and B Unnikrishnan acknowledge Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal. A L P Ribeiro was supported by Brazilian National Research Council, CNPq, and the Minas Gerais State Research Agency, FAPEMIG. D C Ribeiro was supported by The Sir Charles Hercus Health Research Fellowship (#18/111) Health Research Council of New Zealand. D Ribeiro acknowledges financial support from the EU (FEDER funds through the Operational Competitiveness Program; POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029253). P S Sachdev acknowledges funding from the NHMRC of Australia Program Grant. A M Samy was supported by a fellowship from the Egyptian Fulbright Mission Program. M M Santric-Milicevic acknowledges the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia (contract number 175087). R Sarmiento-Suarez received institutional support from Applied and Environmental Sciences University (Bogota, Colombia) and ISCIII (Madrid, Spain). A E Schutte received support from the South African National Research Foundation SARChI Initiative (GUN 86895) and Medical Research Council. S T S Skou is currently funded by a grant from Region Zealand (Exercise First) and a grant from the European Research Council under the EU's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement number 801790). J B Soriano is funded by Centro de Investigacion en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias, ISCIII. R Tabares-Seisdedos was supported in part by the national grant PI17/00719 from ISCIII-FEDER. N Taveira was partially supported by the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership, the EU (LIFE project, reference RIA2016MC-1615). S Tyrovolas was supported by the Foundation for Education and European Culture, the Sara Borrell postdoctoral programme (reference number CD15/00019 from ISCIII-FEDER). S B Zaman received a scholarship from the Australian Government research training programme in support of his academic career. ; "Peer Reviewed"
The increasing emissions from the transport sector have become a global concern as these emissions contribute to climate change. One way to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the transport sector is to replace fossil fuels with biofuels. The diesel engine is important for transports in society, especially since it is more efficient and more powerful compared with the gasoline engine. Therefore, replacing fossil diesel with biodiesel is one feasible option for achieving short and long-term emission targets. Fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) and hydrotreated vegetable oils (HVO) are the two kinds of biodiesel being used in Sweden. The raw materials are vegetable and animal oils and fats and the production method is esterification for FAME and hydrotreatment for HVO. HVO is more similar to fossil diesel and higher blends can be used in existing diesel engines if the vehicle manufacturer has approved it whereas FAME requires vehicle modifications when used in higher blends. Both HVO and FAME can be used as drop-in fuel with fossil diesel, but only up to 7% for FAME according to regulations. The Swedish consumption of HVO has increased rapidly in recent years. In 2017 it was more than 20% of the total globally produced HVO that year. Furthermore, the dependence on imported raw materials is heavy. Only 3% of the raw materials for FAME and only 5% of the raw materials for HVO sold in Sweden were of Swedish origin in 2017. Since the feedstocks used for biodiesel production are of limited availability and have competing uses, it is important to increase the knowledge of local resources. The County of Gävleborg has many large forest-related industries. The actors at different levels of the supply chain have important roles in the challenges to reduce fossil fuel dependence. The overall aim of this report is to investigate the current status and future prospects of biodiesel feedstocks and production technologies for FAME and HVO from a regional perspective. This is achieved by two separate approaches. First, a literature review is done through which potential feedstocks and production processes are described. The feedstocks are categorized into different generations. Second, ongoing and upcoming activities related to biodiesel production in Gävleborg County are explored through interviews with regional actors. The interviewees are representatives from companies with activities in Gävleborg County: Setra, BillerudKorsnäs, Iggesund, Rottneros and Colabitoil. Raw materials belonging to the first generation compete with food production. For biodiesel these raw materials are different types of vegetable oils. The main ones worldwide are palm oil, soybean oil, rapeseed oil and sunflower oil. These raw materials can be used as feedstock for both FAME and HVO. In Sweden the agricultural activity is relatively low and even lower in Gävleborg County. The extensive use of land and competition with food production makes these type of raw materials for biodiesel production questionable. But arguments can be made that the vegetable oils have good traceability and this can lead to better control to ensure a sustainable biodiesel value chain. Second-generation raw materials are non-food based. There are a variety of different types. Some are already being used and some are potential biodiesel feedstocks for the future. The ones presented in this report are animal fats, fish oils, waste cooking oils (WCO), pyrolysis oil, lignin and crude tall oil (CTO). Animal fats and fish oils can also be considered first-generation raw materials since they might be edible. There are strict health regulations for human food and the fats and oils that do not live up to the regulations can be used for other purposes. Animal fats and fish oils can also be used as animal feed and production of different chemicals. It is not obvious which use is best, but generally it seems that biodiesel and other energy uses are regarded as the least valuable in comparison. An important issue to consider is that the availability of animal fats and fish oils depends on the demand for meat. WCO is a feedstock for biodiesel which is currently used by Colabitoil in their pilot plant for HVO. It seems that the profitability of using WCO is dependent on the production capacity of the WCO producers and the distance between them since these two factors affect the fuel consumption during collection. It is optimal to have one big WCO producer in order to minimize the collection costs. In theory, there could be a situation in which there are so many small producers that more fuel is required for collection than is gained in biodiesel production. Pyrolysis oil from biomass is an interesting future source for biodiesel. It is a heterogeneous mixture of compounds and contains a lot of oxygen. Pyrolysis oil is definitely a raw material that needs catalytic hydrotreatment for upgrading. It is therefore considered an HVO feedstock and not feasible for FAME. This study did not clarify how much pyrolysis oil will end up as diesel fuel and how much will end up as gasoline or other products. A pyrolysis plant for production of pyrolysis oil from sawdust might be built at Setra's sawmill Kastet in Gävle. The pyrolysis oil will then be used as a feedstock for diesel and gasoline fuels in Preem's refinery. Lignin is one of the main components of wood. In the production of pulp by the sulfate process lignin is separated from the pulp as a component in the black liquor. The lignin is then primarily burned for energy purposes in the recovery boiler. The three pulp mills within Gävleborg County all use the sulfate process. At the pulp mill owned by Rottneros in Vallvik a plant for extraction of lignin and a plant for conversion into a lignin oil might be built. This pulp mill has a surplus of energy and therefore a potential to extract some of the lignin. The lignin will be processed together with a bio-based carrier oil to the lignin oil. This lignin oil will then be used as a feedstock for gasoline and diesel fuel in Preem's refinery. It was not clarified in this study what the source of the bio-based carrier oil will be. Additionally, the composition of the lignin oil was not revealed and therefore it could not be determined what share of it can be used for biodiesel production. Lignin oil is very interesting as a feedstock due to the large amount of lignin that is available in the forests. However, the interviews with the two other pulp mills (i.e., Iggesund and BillerudKorsnäs) showed that the availability is limited by other factors. These two pulp mills are integrated with production of paper products and therefore they have no surplus of energy. If lignin is extracted the energy has to be replaced by other sources. An eventual extraction of lignin is associated with reconstruction of different parts of the plant and thereby large investment costs. CTO is a by-product from pulp mills that use the sulfate process. It is of limited availability and consists mainly of fatty acids and rosin acids. The fatty acids can be converted to biodiesel. One way to utilize the components of CTO is to fractionate it into different product streams through distillation. These product streams include one stream with fatty acids, one stream with rosin acids and one stream called pitch. The pitch can be seen as a residue. There are two main refineries to which the three pulp mills in Gävleborg County deliver their CTO: Sunpine in Piteå and Kraton in Sandarne. Sunpine produces tall oil diesel and other products from the CTO, and the tall oil diesel is used for HVO production by Preem. Kraton produces different chemicals from the CTO. For all three pulp mills an important factor is to get tall oil pitch back from Sunpine and Kraton to be used for energy purposes. A potential source of lipids for biodiesel production was mentioned in the interview with Colabitoil. This was the conversion of lignocellulosic material into lipids by microbes. A particularly suitable feedstock for the microbes would be waste fibers from pulp and paper industries. This still appears to be at the research stage, but it will be interesting to follow the development since it has promising opportunities if it can be achieved at a commercial scale. Third-generation feedstocks for biodiesel are oils obtained from microalgae. Microalgae are potentially superior to the other raw materials. Biodiesel from microalgae is not commercially available so it is up to the future to determine its destiny. Due to the cold climate of Gävleborg County it is questionable if it is a good place for large-scale cultivation of microalgae. The optimal feedstock for FAME are triglycerides. Therefore, first-generation raw materials are wanted. Catalytic hydrotreatment can handle more complex raw materials and the feedstock range can thereby be increased to second-generation feedstocks. There is no producer of FAME in Gävleborg County, but there is a company (Colabitoil) that distributes HVO produced by Neste. Colabitoil also has a pilot plant for HVO production and might build a large-scale production plant in the future. The activities in Norrsundet, which Colabitoil is part of, has a potential to provide synergy effects if different companies settle there. There can then be knowledge-sharing and utilization of different by-products between the companies. There are two aspects about the limitations of the report that should be mentioned. First, the environmental performance of the different raw materials and production technologies is not considered. This is an important issue since the main purpose of biofuels is to reduce the environmental impact of fossil fuels. Second, it cannot be ruled out that there could have been intentional or unintentional bias in the interviews, even though there is no reason to suspect this. Additionally, it is very tricky to assess the certainty behind different statements from different persons since they have different backgrounds and different expectations about the future. Apart from this, the aim of the report was met to a large extent by shedding light on the future prospects of biodiesel through the challenges, uncertainties and success factors related to projects that the different actors described in the interviews. The challenges are technical and financial. The uncertainties are related to political stability but also to the environmental permit and future availability of raw materials. The success factors are the high demand for transport fuels and cooperation with other companies. ; De ökande utsläppen från transportsektorn har blivit en global angelägenhet, eftersom dessa utsläpp bidrar till klimatförändringen. Ett sätt att minska koldioxidutsläppen från transportsektorn är att ersätta fossila bränslen med biobränslen. Dieselmotorn är viktig för transporter i samhället, speciellt eftersom den är effektivare och mer kraftfull jämfört med bensinmotorn. Att ersätta fossil diesel med biodiesel är därför ett möjligt alternativ för att uppnå korta och långsiktiga utsläppsmål. Fettsyrametylestrar (FAME) och vätebehandlade vegetabiliska oljor (HVO) är de två typerna av biodiesel som används i Sverige. Råvarorna är vegetabiliska och animaliska oljor och fetter och produktionsmetoden är förestring för FAME och vätgasbehandling för HVO. Sammansättningen hos HVO är mer lik fossil diesel och högre inblandningsnivåer kan därmed användas i befintliga dieselmotorer om fordonstillverkaren har godkänt det. FAME däremot kräver modifiering hos dieselmotorsystemet vid användning i högre blandningar. Både HVO och FAME kan användas som drop-in bränsle med fossil diesel, men bara upp till 7 procent för FAME enligt föreskrifter. Den svenska konsumtionen av HVO har ökat snabbt de senaste åren. År 2017 var den över 20 procent av den totala globala produktionen det året. Det finns ett starkt beroende av importerade råvaror. Endast 3 procent av råvarorna för FAME och endast 5 procent av råvarorna för HVO som säljs i Sverige var av svenskt ursprung 2017. Eftersom råvarorna som används för biodieselproduktion har begränsad tillgänglighet och konkurrerande användningsområden är det viktigt att öka kunskapen om lokala resurser. Gävleborgs län har många stora skogsrelaterade industrier. Aktörerna på olika nivåer i försörjningskedjan har viktiga roller i utmaningen att minska beroendet av fossila bränslen. Det övergripande syftet med denna rapport är att undersöka nuvarande status och framtidsutsikterna för biodieselråvaror och produktionsteknologier för FAME och HVO ur ett regionalt perspektiv. Detta uppnås genom två separata tillvägagångssätt. För det första görs en litteraturöversikt där potentiella råvaror och produktionsprocesser beskrivs. Råvarorna kategoriseras i olika generationer. För det andra undersöks pågående och kommande aktiviteter relaterade till biodieselproduktionen i Gävleborgs län genom intervjuer med regionala aktörer. Intervjuerna är gjorda med representanter för företag med aktiviteter i Gävleborgs län: Setra, Billerud, Korsnäs, Iggesund, Rottneros och Colabitoil. Första generationens råvaror konkurrerar med livsmedelsproduktionen. För biodiesel är dessa råvaror olika typer av vegetabiliska oljor. De vanligast förekommande i världen är palmolja, sojabönsolja, rapsfröolja och solrosolja. Dessa råvaror kan användas till produktion av både FAME och HVO. I Sverige är jordbruksverksamheten relativt låg och i Gävleborgs län är den lägre än det Svenska genomsnittet. Den omfattande användningen av mark och konkurrensen med livsmedelsproduktionen gör att denna typ av råvaror för biodieselproduktion kan ifrågasättas. Men det kan argumenteras att vegetabiliska oljor har bra spårbarhet vilket kan leda till bättre kontroll för att säkerställa en hållbar biodieselvärdekedja. Andra generationens råvaror är icke-livsmedelsbaserade. Det finns en mängd olika typer. Vissa används redan och vissa är potentiella biodieselråvaror. De som presenteras i denna rapport är animaliska fetter, fiskoljor, spilloljor (WCO), pyrolysolja, lignin och råtallolja (CTO). Animaliska fetter och fiskoljor kan också betraktas som första generationens råmaterial eftersom de kan vara ätbara. Det finns höga hälsokrav för livsmedel och de fetter och oljor som inte uppfyller kraven kan användas för andra ändamål. Animaliska fetter och fiskoljor kan också användas som foder och produktion av olika kemikalier. Det är inte uppenbart vilken användning som är bäst, men i allmänhet verkar det som biodiesel och annan energianvändning anses vara den minst värdefulla. En viktig fråga att beakta är att tillgången på animaliska fetter och fiskoljor är beroende av efterfrågan på kött. WCO är ett råmaterial för biodiesel som för närvarande används av Colabitoil i deras pilotanläggning för HVO. Det verkar som om lönsamheten för att använda WCO är beroende av produktionskapaciteten hos WCO-producenterna och avståndet mellan dem, eftersom dessa två faktorer påverkar bränsleförbrukningen vid insamling. Det är optimalt att ha en stor WCO-producent för att minimera insamlingskostnaderna. Teoretiskt sett kan det uppstå en situation där producenterna är så små och så många att mer bränsle krävs för insamling än som uppnås i biodieselproduktionen. Pyrolysolja från biomassa är en intressant framtidskälla för biodiesel. Det är en heterogen blandning av föreningar och den innehåller mycket syre. Pyrolysolja är definitivt en råvara som behöver katalytisk vätgasbehandling för uppgradering. Den anses därför vara en råvara för HVO och inte för FAME. Denna studie klargör inte hur stor del av pyrolysoljan som kan omvandlas till dieselbränsle och hur mycket som kan omvandlas till bensin eller andra produkter. En pyrolysanläggning för produktion av pyrolysolja från sågspån kan komma att byggas vid Setras sågverk Kastet i Gävle. Pyrolysoljan kommer då att användas som råvara för diesel- och bensinbränsle i Preems raffinaderi. Lignin är en av huvudkomponenterna i trä. Vid framställning av massa genom sulfatprocessen separeras lignin från massan som en komponent i svartluten. Lignin bränns sedan i första hand för energianvändning i samband med återvinningen av kokningskemikalierna. De tre massafabrikerna i Gävleborgs län använder alla sulfatprocessen. Vid massabruket som ägs av Rottneros i Vallvik kan en anläggning för utvinning av lignin och en anläggning för omvandling till ligninolja komma att byggas. Denna massafabrik har ett överskott av energi och därmed en potential att extrahera en del av ligninet. Ligninet kommer att processas tillsammans med en biobaserad bärar-olja till ligninoljan. Denna ligninolja kommer då att användas vid produktion av bensin och dieselbränsle i Preems raffinaderi. Det framgår inte i denna studie vad källan till den biobaserade bäroljan kommer att vara. Dessutom avslöjas inte ligninoljans sammansättning och därför kan det inte fastställas hur stor del som kan användas för biodieselproduktion. Ligninolja är mycket intressant som råmaterial på grund av den stora mängd lignin som finns i skogen. Intervjuerna med de två andra massafabrikerna (dvs Iggesund och BillerudKorsnäs) visade emellertid att tillgängligheten är begränsad av andra faktorer. Dessa två massafabriker är integrerade med produktion av pappersprodukter och har därför inget överskott av energi. Om lignin extraheras måste energin ersättas med andra energikällor. En eventuell extraktion av lignin är förknippad med ombyggnad av olika delar av fabriken och därmed med stora investeringskostnader. CTO är en biprodukt från massafabriker som använder sulfatprocessen. Den är av begränsad tillgänglighet och består huvudsakligen av fettsyror och hartssyror. Fettsyrorna kan omvandlas till biodiesel. Ett sätt att utnyttja komponenterna i CTO är att fraktionera den till olika produktflöden genom destillation. Dessa produktflöden innefattar en ström med fettsyror, en ström med hartssyror och en ström som kallas beckolja, som kan ses som en restprodukt. Det finns två raffinaderier till vilka de tre massafabrikerna i Gävleborgs län levererar sin CTO: Sunpine i Piteå och Kraton i Sandarne. Sunpine producerar talloljediesel och andra produkter från CTO. Talloljediesel används för HVO-produktion av Preem. Kraton producerar olika kemikalier från CTO. För alla tre massabruken är det viktigt att få tillbaka beckolja från Sunpine och Kraton. En potentiell källa till lipider för biodieselproduktion nämns i intervjun med Colabitoil. Detta är omvandling av biomassa till lipider av mikrober. Ett särskilt lämpligt råmaterial för mikroberna skulle vara en typ av restprodukt från massa- och pappersindustrin som kallas fiberslam eller nollfiber. Intrycket är att detta fortfarande är i en forskningsfas, men det kommer att vara intressant att följa utvecklingen eftersom det finns lovande möjligheter om detta kan nå kommersiell skala. Tredje generationens råvaror för biodiesel är oljor erhållna från mikroalger. Mikroalger är potentiellt överlägsna de övriga råvarorna. Biodiesel från mikroalger är inte kommersiellt tillgänglig så framtiden avgör dess öde. På grund av det kalla klimatet i Gävleborgs län är det tveksamt om detta är ett bra ställe för storskalig odling av mikroalger. Den optimala råvaran för FAME är triglycerider. Därför är första generationens råvaror önskade. Katalytisk vätgasbehandling kan hantera mer komplexa råvaror och råvarubasen kan därmed ökas till andra generationens råvaror. Det finns ingen producent av FAME i Gävleborgs län, men det finns ett företag (Colabitoil) som distribuerar HVO producerat av Neste. Colabitoil har även en pilotanläggning för HVO-produktion och kan i framtiden komma att bygga en storskalig produkt-ionsanläggning. Verksamheten i Norrsundet, som Colabitoil ingår i, har potential att ge synergieffekter om olika företag etablerar sig där. Det kan då ge förutsättning för kunskapsdelning och utnyttjande av olika biprodukter mellan företagen. Det finns två aspekter kring rapportens begränsningar som bör nämnas. För det första beaktas inte miljöpåverkan från de olika råmaterialen och produktionsteknologierna. Detta är en viktig fråga eftersom biobränslenas huvudsakliga syfte är att minska miljöpåverkan jämfört med fossila bränslen. För det andra kan det inte uteslutas att intervjuerna kan vara avsiktligt eller oavsiktligt partiska, även om det inte finns anledning att misstänka detta. Dessutom är det väldigt svårt att bedöma säkerheten i uttalanden från olika personer eftersom de har olika bakgrund och olika förväntningar på framtiden. Bortsett från detta, uppnåddes i stor utsträckning målsättningen med rapporten att bedöma framtidsutsikterna för biodiesel genom belysning av utmaningar, osäkerhetsfaktorer och framgångsfaktorer relaterade till de projekt som de olika aktörerna beskrev i intervjuerna. Utmaningarna är tekniska och finansiella. Osäkerheten är relaterad till politisk stabilitet, men också till miljötillstånd och framtida råvarutillgång. Framgångsfaktorerna är den höga efterfrågan på drivmedel och samarbete mellan olika företag. ; Forskningsfinansiärer: Europeiska regionala utvecklingsfonden (ERUF), Region Gävleborg, Högskolan i Gävle
Un viejo proverbio chino señala que "la puerta mejor cerrada es aquella que puede dejarse abierta". Efectivamente la transformación de China durante la segunda mitad del siglo XX grafica este dicho. De manera impensada para muchos, luego de casi tres décadas de férreo control estatal sobre la economía bajo el liderazgo de Mao Zedong, la dirigencia china que lo sucedió en el poder decidió hacia fines de los setenta "abrir una puerta bien cerrada" y emprender un ambicioso proceso de modernización, liberalización y apertura económica. De la mano de Zhou Enlai primero y Deng Xiaoping después, el Estado chino se embarcó en la tarea de modernizar dentro del país su sector agrícola, su estructura productiva, la ciencia y tecnología y la defensa nacional. El interés central detrás de esta transformación radicaba en acortar la brecha de desarrollo existente con los países más avanzados, situación que se reflejaba en el éxito económico de "vecinos" como Japón, Corea del Sur, Taiwán y Hong Kong. Para Deng, China sólo podría convertirse en una gran potencia a través de una política sistemática de modernización, con énfasis en el desarrollo económico y manteniendo la estructura de control político del Partido Comunista (Wilhelmy y Soto, 2005: 52). El desafío a superar consistía en dejar atrás una empobrecida, cerrada y estancada economía planificada y avanzar en la configuración de una economía competitiva. En la opinión del periodista Li Datong (2009), la política de reformas contó a grandes rasgos con dos etapas bien claras. En la primera, que se extendió de 1978 a 1989, el ímpetu de cambio fue puesto en la reducción de la pobreza rural y urbana. En la segunda, iniciada en 1992 con el famoso viaje de Deng al sur del país y culminada en el 2001 con el ingreso de China a la Organización Mundial de Comercio, el gobierno en estrecha alianza con sectores empresariales concentró esfuerzos en impulsar el crecimiento económico.Las principales medidas adoptadas consistieron en: la descolectivización de la agricultura y la autorización del uso privado de las tierras comunales (household responsibility system); el levantamiento de la prohibición para realizar actividades empresariales de índole privada; la apertura por primera vez desde la Revolución de 1948 al ingreso de capitales extranjeros; la creación de zonas económicas especiales y de apertura (existen actualmente una veintena, entre ciudades, provincias y áreas costeras); la privatización de numerosas empresas (a excepción de algunos grandes monopolios vinculados a energía y al sistema bancario); la descentralización del control estatal nacional hacia los gobiernos provinciales; la reducción general de aranceles y barreras comerciales; y el reconocimiento legal en 2005 de la propiedad privada.Estas reformas hicieron posible el denominado "milagro chino", la gran performance económica desatada a partir de 1978. Entre aquel año y el 2006 China mantuvo un promedio anual de crecimiento del 9,7%, tendencia que sólo se interrumpió tras los incidentes de la Plaza de Tiananmen en 1989 y que apenas se redujo en 1997 y 1998 durante la dura crisis asiática (Zhao, 2006: 3). Asimismo, mientras en los objetivos iniciales se esperaba cuadruplicar el PIB para comienzos del siglo XX, el desempeño real arrojó un impresionante crecimiento de trece veces del PIB de 1978 hacia el año 2006. En materia comercial, su comercio exterior se ha quintuplicado en los últimos diez años, mientras que su participación en el comercio mundial en ese mismo período se ha más que duplicado, llegando en 2007 al 9% de las exportaciones y al 6,8% de las importaciones globales. Además, China incrementó su penetración en los mercados de las economías desarrolladas y simultáneamente se transformó en un importante destino de exportación, especialmente para las economías de la región asiática, convirtiéndose en un nuevo eje del comercio mundial –segundo exportador y tercer importador en 2007–, disputando así el papel de Estados Unidos, la Unión Europea y Japón (D'Elía et al., 2008: 67-8). Una de las principales fuentes de esta expansión comercial ha sido el creciente emplazamiento de firmas extranjeras en el país, las que se valen de los bajos costos de producción para sus operaciones. La participación de dichas firmas en las exportaciones chinas aumentó del 10% en 1990 a casi un 60% en 2004 (Blonigen y Ma, 2010: 475). Este fenómeno denominado "processing trade"explica que China se haya convertido en el principal receptor entre los países en desarrollo de inversión extranjera directa por primera vez en 1993 y uno de los tres primeros a nivel mundial entre 2003 y 2005 (Cheng y Ma, 2010: 545). Conjuntamente, el doble éxito comercial y en atracción de capitales apuntaló también las reservas internacionales. Mientras que en 1992 se registraron reservas por 19 mil millones de dólares, equivalente a un 4% del PIB, tan sólo quince años después éstas alcanzaron 1,4 billones, correspondiente al 50% del PIB (Truman, 2008: 169).A nivel doméstico, la principal transformación ha consistido en el establecimiento gradual de una "economía de mercado socialista". Su avance se evidencia en que hacia 1979 la totalidad de las industrias eran estatales o "colectivas" y el Estado controlaba los precios del 97% de los productos en circulación, mientras que hacia fines de la década de los noventa, menos del 30% de las empresas seguían siendo estatales y las fuerzas del mercado fijaban ya el 97% de los precios. Desde el 2001 estos márgenes se han mantenido mayormente constantes. Pero este ascenso económico posee una contracara de obstáculos, desafíos y debilidades bien marcados que pondrán a prueba la potencialidad de crecimiento a futuro. Por un lado, China es todavía un país pobre en términos de su ingreso per capita, estimado en aproximadamente U$S 3.000 anuales, lo que equivale sólo al 10% de los ingresos registrados en Estados Unidos y Europa. Este bajo registro se conjuga con una mayor desigualdad y una aguda concentración de los ingresos, siendo el 90% de la riqueza acaparada por el 1% más rico de la población (Datong, 2009). La razón detrás de éste pasivo social yace en las privatizaciones, la liberalización y el marcado contraste entre el interior del país y las más dinámicas zonas costeras e industriales —el 57% del PIB se produce en el este de China, un 26% en la región central y apenas el 17% en el oeste (D´Elía et al., 2008: 69). Consecuentemente, ello explica que el crecimiento de la economía esté principalmente impulsado por las exportaciones y la inversión más que por el consumo doméstico. Por el otro lado, los problemas ambientales se han vuelto verdaderamente acuciantes de la mano de este crecimiento. China ha reemplazado recientemente a los Estados Unidos como principal emisor mundial de gases de efecto invernadero. A causa del creciente parque automotriz, las industrias contaminantes y las numerosas plantas procesadoras de carbón, la calidad del aire se ha deteriorado en las principales ciudades. Así, por ejemplo, la concentración de partículas tóxicas inhalables en Beijing en el año 2008 superó en un 80% el estándar tolerable fijado por la Organización Mundial de la Salud (Jacobs, 2010). En las zonas rurales, la masificación del uso de fertilizantes y agrotóxicos para apuntalar la productividad de la agricultura ha contaminado buena parte de las cuencas hídricas.En el plano de los desafíos, debe sumarse que China no es una democracia. El sistema de gobierno es esencialmente autoritario, regido por actores que se imponen en contiendas intrapartidistas y burocráticas libradas a puertas cerradas en Beijing (Wilhelmy y Soto, 2005: 53). Lejos de ser China una "sociedad armónica", se han registrado al compás de las transformaciones importantes conflictos sociales con base en diferentes reclamos: mayor democratización, mejores condiciones de vida, reconocimiento de autonomía política en el caso del Tíbet, etc. Desde los años de Deng, la regla ha sido la aplicación de una política de "mano dura" para contener el disenso interno —como se evidenció en la plaza de Tiananmen en 1989. No obstante, este disenso ha ido en ascenso. En septiembre de 2003, Human Rights Watch informó que más de tres millones de personas se movilizaron en distintas protestas en sólo un mes y que, en más de cien casos a lo largo del país, los reclamos escalaron en violentos choques con las fuerzas de seguridad locales y la destrucción de edificios gubernamentales (Becker, 2006: 169). Por tanto, resta ver cómo el sistema político logra adaptarse a las radicales modificaciones sociales en curso y da cabida a nuevos actores en la lucha por el poder. A pesar de estos desafíos por resolver, existe un fuerte consenso mundial sobre el actual proceso de ascenso de China al status de gran potencia. La célebre predicción de Napoleón —"Let China sleep, for when she wakes, she will shake the world"—, parece estar siendo confirmada (Kynge, 2006). En efecto, "China is reemerging as a major power after one hundred and fifty years of being a weak player on the world stage—a brief hiatus in China's long history", de acuerdo con Susan Shirk (2007: 4), máxima responsable en el Departamento de Estado de las relaciones con China durante la administración Clinton. Si se considera su situación estructural, una estimación reciente del poder comprehensivo de China comparada con las otras grandes potencias del sistema internacional arroja los siguientes resultados. Allí se advierte que China es la única potencia con un status fuerte de poder en cada una de las dimensiones contempladas y por tanto la principal competidora estratégica detrás de la superpotencia estadounidense. Pero el nuevo protagonismo chino también se percibe de una manera más dinámica. Crecientemente el país empieza a desempeñar roles críticos en distintos asuntos de interés mundial, desde la no proliferación hasta el cambio climático, además de ser materia de controversia en Occidente en asuntos relacionados con la pérdida de empleos, déficits comerciales y derechos humanos. En la última década, además, China ha combinado su dinamismo económico con políticas pragmáticas de seguridad y defensa y un fuerte activismo diplomático, gracias a lo cual ha empezado a establecer sólidas relaciones no sólo en toda Asia sino también en Europa, África y Sudamérica, aprovechando en buena medida los "espacios" generados por la focalización de los Estados Unidos en las guerras de Afganistán e Irak y la lucha contra el AlQaeda (Gill, 2007: 1).En el caso particular de América Latina, el carácter actual de los vínculos con China se remonta a la finalización de la Guerra Fría. Fue entonces cuando la desideologización de la política exterior del gigante asiático y el auge del proceso de globalización brindaron un marco propicio para una fuerte expansión económica de las relaciones sino-latinoamericanas (Cesarín, 2006: 52). Algunas cifras ilustran el fenómeno. Las exportaciones de América Latina y el Caribe a China aumentaron en forma súbita desde los US$1.500 millones en 1990, a los casi US$3.000 millones en 1995 y US$5.400 millones en 2000, para crecer posteriormente un 42% anual entre 2000 y 2004 hasta llegar a superar los US$21.000 millones en 2004. En 2003, los recursos primarios representaban el 45,5% de la canasta (Davy, 2008: 4). Por su parte, las exportaciones chinas a la región durante la década de los 90 crecieron más de cinco veces, logrando un superávit comercial global que perduró hasta el 2002. Sin embargo, con los países ricos en recursos naturales como Brasil, Argentina, Chile y Perú, la balanza mercantil resultó deficitaria para Beijing (Cheng, 2006).El interés chino en los países del subcontinente se ha vuelto desde entonces más claro: América Latina constituye un importante reservorio de materias primas, alimentos y recursos naturales necesarios para la prosecución de su crecimiento —no debe perderse de vista que China importa el 30% del petróleo que consume, el 45% del mineral de hierro, el 44% de otros metales no ferrosos y una proporción cada vez más alta de productos agrícolas. El patrón de intercambio comercial y de inversiones en los últimos años refleja dicho interés: minería y forestación (Perú y Chile), pesca, agroalimentos y petróleo (Argentina y Venezuela), mineral de hierro y acero (Brasil), producción de alimentos (Brasil, Chile, Argentina y Perú) y minería (Perú, Colombia, Chile). (Cesarín, 2006: 52-3.) En efecto, la relativa bonanza económica latinoamericana de comienzos de siglo —en parte— se debe a la fuerte demanda china de este tipo de bienes y commoditiesque traccionó al alza los precios internacionales. Para algunos, esto representa una importante oportunidad de optimizar los procesos subregionales de integración e impulsar cambios en las estructuras productivas nacionales mediante la participación inversora de firmas chinas (Cesarín, 2005: 3). Pero esta situación, en principio favorable, amerita una reflexión cautelosa en la medida en que "el auge de los commodities encubre los riesgos inherentes de depender de un sector volátil y en gran medida poco calificado para el sostenimiento de un crecimiento económico a largo plazo y la prosperidad" (Davy, 2008: 2). En este sentido, China ofrece a la región oportunidades pero también desafíos: detrás de los cantos de sirena, se esconde el peligro de un comercio asimétrico que conduzca a la reedición de lazos de dependencia y a una inserción internacional de América Latina subordinada a los dictados de una gran potencia distante. Precisamente, el profesor Julio Sevares (2007: 12) ve en la relación económica Latinoamérica-China no una relación Sur-Sur, sino más bien el clásico esquema comercial Norte-Sur y el patrón inversor de tipo extractivo británico del siglo XIX.Con respecto estrictamente al plano político-estratégico, dos cuestiones deben considerarse. La primera es que China resulta para muchos de los liderazgos latinoamericanos un simpático ejemplo de éxito en materia de reformas dado el importante rol estatal en la conducción de la transformación económica. Representa así un exitoso experimento, distinto de las propuestas neoliberales que fracasaron en América Latina (Cesarín, 2010: 8). Y la segunda, es que la irrupción de China en la región plantea interrogantes sobre la eventual reacción de los Estados Unidos ante un eventual socavamiento de influencia en su "patio trasero". Se trata de un escenario que desde comienzos del siglo XXI se sigue con atención en las usinas de pensamiento estratégico en Washington. Allí se distinguen al menos dos posiciones: una, la de los decisores estadounidenses más temerosos que entienden a la nueva presencia china en la región como la movida inicial de una ofensiva diplomática a gran escala de Beijing para desafiar a los Estados Unidos en su propio hemisferio; y la otra perspectiva, más benigna, que percibe los crecientes vínculos como una oportunidad antes que una amenaza y como una manifestación natural de las necesidades energéticas y de recursos del país asiático sin miras explícitas de choque con la superpotencia (Roett y Paz, 2008: 1). Esta última visión es la que acepta la idea del ascenso pacífico ("peaceful rise") que ha publicitado Hu Jintao. De acuerdo con Zheng Bijian, uno de sus principales ideólogos, "China no tiene la intención ni de desafiar ni de subvertir el orden internacional político y económico ya existente (…). No buscamos la hegemonía ni en el pasado, ni ahora, ni nunca jamás en el futuro cuando hayamos alcanzado el desarrollo. Hemos convertido ya en una premisa básica de nuestro Estado la de no pretender nunca la hegemonía" (Bijian, 2005).La reemergencia histórica de China debe por tanto discurrir a través de la integración a las reglas de juego internacionales, a través del multilateralismo, la resolución pacífica de las disputas y la tolerancia hacia el resto de las naciones. En última instancia, la evolución hacia un abierto desafío estratégico entre los Estados Unidos y China o hacia una convivencia respetuosa entre superpotencias, dependerá del factor que prime en la interacción mutua: un juego de suma cero producto de las transformaciones estructurales en el sistema político internacional, o bien un juego de suma positiva resultado de intereses y percepciones convergentes.(1) El presente artículo es un fragmento de un capítulo de libro en elaboración sobre la inserción internacional de la Argentina entre el 2003-2007. *Candidato doctoral, Universidad Nacional General San Martín (UNSAM).Referencias bibliográficasBecker, Jasper (2006): Dragon Rising. An inside look at China today (Washington D.C.: National Geographic). Bijian, Zheng (2005): "Diez puntos de vista sobre el ascenso pacífico de China y sobre las relaciones entre China y Europa", Real Instituto Elcano, disponible en:«http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/analisis/867/867_DiscursoZheng.pdf».Blonigen, Bruce A. y Alyson C. Ma (2010): "Please Pass the Catch-Up. The Relative Performance of Chinese and Foreign Firms in Chinese Exports", en Feenstra, Robert C. y Shang-Jin Wei: China's Growing Role in World Trade (Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press).Cesarín, Sergio (2005): "Ejes y estrategias del desarrollo económico chino: enfoques para América Latina y el Caribe", en Cesarín, Sergio y Carlos Moneta: China y América Latina. Nuevos enfoques sobre cooperación y desarrollo. ¿Una segunda ruta de la seda? (Buenos Aires: BID-INTAL).Cesarín, Sergio (2006): "La relación sinolatinoamericana, entre la práctica política y la investigación académica", Nueva Sociedad, N° 203, Mayo/Junio, pp. 48-61.Cheng, Joseph Y. S. (2006): "Latin America in China's Contemporary Foreign Policy", Journal of Contemporary Asia, Vol. 36, No. 4, pp. 500-528.Cheng, Leonard K. y Zihui Ma (2010): "China's Outward Foreign Direct Investment", en Feenstra, Robert C. y Shang-Jin Wei: Op. Cit.Datong, Li (2009): "China's stalled transition", Open Democracy (February 19), disponible en «http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/chinas-stalled-reforms». Accedido 16/09/2010. Davy, Megan (2008): "¿Qué presagia el crecimiento de China para América Latina?",Panorama del Desarrollo Internacional del American Enterprise Institute, N° 2, julio.D´Elía, Carlos, Carlos Galperín y Néstor Stancanelli (2008): "El rol de China en el mundo y su relación con la Argentina", Revista del CEI, N° 13, pp. 67-89.Gill, Bates (2007): Rising Star. China's New Security Diplomacy (Washington D.C.: Brookings Institution Press).Jacobs, Andrews (2010): "In China, Pollution Worsens Despite New Efforts", The New York Times (July 28), disponible en «http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/29/world/asia/29china.html?_r=1»(accedido 18/9/10). Kynge, James (2006): China Shakes the World: A Titan's Rise and Troubled Future - and the Challenge for America (New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).Roett, Riordan y Guadalupe Paz (eds.) (2008): China's expansion into the Western Hemisphere (Washington D.C.: The Brookings Institution).Sevares, Julio (2007): "¿Cooperación Sur-Sur o dependencia a la vieja usanza?", Nueva Sociedad, N° 207, enero-febrero, pp. 11-22.Shirk, Susan L. (2007): China. Fragile Superpower (New York: Oxford University Press).Truman, Edwin M. (2008): "The Management of China's International Reserves: China and a Sovereign Wealth Fund Scoreboard", en Goldstein, Morris y Nicholas R. Lardy (eds.):Debating China's Exchange Rate Policy (Washington: Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics).Wilhelmy von Wolff, Mandfred y Augusto Soto (2005): "El proceso de reformas en China y la política exterior: de Deng Xiaoping a Hu Jintao", en Cesarín, Sergio y Carlos Moneta: Op. Cit.Xuetong, Yan (2006): "The Rise of China and its Power Status", Chinese Journal of International Politics, Vol. 1. Zhao, Min (2006): External Liberalization and the Evolution of China's Exchange System: an Empirical Approach (Final Draft, The World Bank Beijing Office), disponible en «http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INDIAEXTN/Resources/events/359987-1149066 764594/Paper_MinZhao.pdf».
Introducción: La población de Santiago del Estero, asciende a 874.006 habitantes según INDEC (2010). En este último censo, se pudo determinar que existe un 4% de la población con analfabetismo y un 70% con analfabetismo digital, por no tener acceso a una computadora. Las familias santiagueñas del interior, envían a sus hijos a escuelas públicas rurales, es decir, 1 de cada tres alumnos en la provincia, concurre a una escuela rural. Estás instituciones son primordiales, ya que tienen grandes connotaciones sociales, como servicio público básico y elemento de reunión de la población; donde se generan vínculos entre alumnos, padres, docentes y autoridades comunales. Además de su valor formativo, es un espacio de encuentro e intercambio. El Censo Nacional de Infraestructura Escolar (CeNIE:1998) reveló que las escuelas públicas del estado, carecían de buenos niveles de servicios de infraestructura; donde no contaban: el 85% con gas natural, un 38% con electricidad y el 74% de agua corriente de la red. Al mismo tiempo, el 47% de estos edificios escolares, no tenían un buen estado de mantenimiento, en la conservación general de los edificios, específicamente: el 58% con sanitarios en estado regular a malo y un 56%, no cuenta con tamaño adecuado de aulas. Sin embargo, desde 2005 hasta la fecha, es evidente un registro dinámico de acciones con planificación previa, de programas nacionales y provinciales para la renovación y construcción de nuevas escuelas, en la capital y en el interior de Santiago del Estero, que permitieron concluir las obras paralizadas e iniciar otras nuevas, de acuerdo con las urgencias y limitaciones de la infraestructura escolar. Desde la reactivación de las obras de infraestructura escolar hasta el año 2015, no existían antecedentes de escuelas con eficiencia bioambiental y energética. Por lo ello, el presente trabajo de investigación (iniciado en el año 2014), consistió en analizar y evaluar, la producción estatal de tres casos de escuelas rurales, en diferentes zonas bioclimáticas y de distintas tipologías, para poder proponer soluciones apropiadas y apropiables a las problemática local en cuestión, que permitan el fortalecimiento de escuelas rurales en áreas geográficas desfavorables; ya que estas contribuyen a promover igualdad de oportunidades educativas y una mejor educación, se refleja en una mejor sociedad. Propósito y Objetivos:Los resultados de este estudio, tienen como propósito guiar futuras intervenciones en las instituciones públicas, responsables de la producción de distintas tipologías de edificios en Santiago del Estero y en particular del tipo arquitectónico estudiado en el presente trabajo; contribuyendo a la optimización de la eficiencia energética, mediante el mejoramiento de las condiciones de confort higrotérmico interiores, favoreciendo al proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje en aulas y a la calidad de vida de las comunidades educativas. El objetivo general del trabajo, es desarrollar propuestas superadoras de edificios escolares estatales rurales de la provincia, logrando rediseños que verifiquen, las recomendaciones de pautas de adecuación bioambiental y el mejoramiento térmico-energético de las envolventes según normativas nacionales; con uso racional y eficiente de la energía convencional e integrando arquitectónicamente tecnologías sustentables para el aprovechamiento de energías renovables. Por lo cual, para alcanzar este objetivo principal, se plantearon los siguientes objetivos específicos: 1) Identificar particularidades climáticas, geográficas, arquitectónicas, constructivas, entre otras; de prototipos escolares estatales rurales característicos de la provincia; definiendo pautas bioambientales adecuadas, a cada zona bioambiental a la que corresponden; 2) Estimar el grado de confort higrotérmico de los usuarios, a través de evaluación subjetiva, de encuestas socio-ambientales y evaluación objetiva, de monitoreos higrotérmicos y simulaciones térmicas; 3) Desarrollar propuestas de rediseños bioambientales con integración arquitectónica de tecnologías sustentables, evaluando en forma comparativa, los prototipos propuestos junto a los casos de estudio, para estimar la optimización de la eficiencia energética, mediante programas de cálculos y simulaciones computacionales en relación a valores Normados; 4) Calcular el costo económico de los prototipos estatales y rediseñados, verificando su factibilidad económica. Hipótesis de trabajo: 1) En Santiago del Estero, las obras nuevas, remodelaciones y ampliaciones de edificios escolares con antigüedad menor a 15 años, evidencian hoy en su mayoría, un estado de mantenimiento regular, por reducción de los costos invertidos, en materiales y mano de obra local especializada. Esta situación, conduce a una reducción de la calidad de la envolvente; la cual, es posible de evaluarse en relación a valores de referencia mínimos, de la serie de normativas IRAM sobre confort higrotérmico y eficiencia energética. 2) Esta baja calidad de las envolventes, ocasiona que los usuarios realicen un mayor consumo de energía convencional para calefaccionar o refrigerar los espacios escolares, y poder mantener un nivel de confort higrotérmico óptimo. Sin embargo, en la mayor parte de los casos, los edificios escolares no cuentan con artefactos adecuados para ello, ni disponen de energía suficiente para su funcionamiento. 3) Una alternativa viable para contribuir a la eficiencia energética en la construcción de estos espacios educativos, sería la obligatoriedad en etapa de diseño, de aplicar las reglamentaciones nacionales, específicamente de IRAM y de Infraestructura Escolar; que posibilitarían bases para poder estimar antes de la etapa de su construcción, óptimos niveles de confort higrotérmico y de ahorro energético; buscando racionalidad en uso de la energía convencional y la incorporación de energía renovable. 4) Es factible contribuir a generar alternativas sustentables para el hábitat escolar rural, incrementando el valor del costo estándar del prototipo, a un mínimo costo superior de inversión económica, para las etapas proyectuales de diseño y de ejecución; mediante una organización interdisciplinar comprometida, involucrando a los sectores: científico-académico, gubernamental-estatal, emprendedor-privado facilitando acciones concretas de gestión y autogestión en las comunidades rurales, mejorando su calidad habitabilidad y vida, dentro de los espacios educativos. Metodología y Resultados: Se combinaron las siguientes metodologías: analítica, descriptiva, inductivo-deductiva, correlacional y aplicada al estudio de casos. En las primeras tres etapas de trabajo, se definieron prototipos escolares rurales, como objeto de estudio; se analizaron las condicionantes geográficas y climáticas de las localidades correspondientes, en cada zona bioambiental (según Norma IRAM N°11603:1996); además se realizó, un análisis arquitectónico y tecnológico de los prototipos estatales en su estado actual y del grado de cumplimiento de pautas biambientales. Se estimó, el grado de confort higrotérmico de los usuarios, mediante evaluación subjetiva de encuesta socio-ambiental y evaluación objetiva, con registros higrotérmicos, simulaciones térmicas, simulaciones del asoleamiento y cálculos de la eficiencia térmico-energética de la envolvente de los prototipos estatales. Con los datos obtenidos en las primeras etapas de trabajo, se iniciaron otras tres etapas, para completar seis, donde se desarrollaron los proyectos de rediseños bioambiental con integración arquitectónica de tecnologías sustentables. Posteriormente, estos proyectos alternativos fueron evaluados en forma comparativa con los prototipos estatales, calculando y verificando los valores obtenidos, en relación a los valores recomendados por la serie de normas IRAM, referidas a la habitabilidad higrotérmica y racionalidad energética: transmitancia térmica, refrigeración, calefacción y etiquetados de eficiencia energética. Por último, se calculó el costo de las obras de los prototipos estatales y rediseñados. Conclusión: A partir de la evaluación térmico-energética, de prototipos de escuelas estatales rurales representativas de la provincia, se evidenció la baja calidad higrotérmica y de eficiencia energética, en la materialización de las envolventes e instalaciones edilicias en general, en Santiago del Estero. Las evaluaciones subjetivas y objetivas, determinaron en todos los casos, que los estudiantes en época estival, no logran condiciones de confort en las aulas, ya que las temperaturas interiores -monitoreadas y simuladas- superaron la mayor parte del tiempo, los valores del rango de confort considerado adecuado para esa estación (entre 20 a 27ºC). Por ello, se efectuaron propuestas de rediseños, de cada edificio escolar con pautas bioambientales: favoreciendo a orientaciones adecuadas, diseñando protecciones para cada orientación y con una reconfiguración adecuada de masa y aislación térmica en sus envolventes; utilizando materiales y métodos constructivos tradicionales y accesibles a cada sitio. Seguidamente, se propusieron medidas para el ahorro de la energía convencional y el aprovechamiento de energía renovable, mediante el diseño sistemas fotovoltaicos con integración arquitectónica. Se verificó el mejoramiento, de niveles de condiciones de confort higrotérmicas en aulas, debido a los justes térmico-energéticos efectuados, en las envolventes de los edificios escolares rediseñados. Los mismos, fueron valorados en relación a cada prototipo estatal; donde en cada caso, se estimó la disminución de valores de transmitancia térmica en muros y techos rediseñados; escalando de nivel "mínimo C" en prototipos estatales, a "medio B o recomendado A" en los rediseñados (según Norma IRAM N° 11605:1996). Al mismo tiempo, los valores de cargas térmicas de refrigeración ?QR? y coeficientes volumétricos de refrigeración ?GR? obtenidos de forma comparativa, fueron corroborados con el valor ?GR? admisible de la Norma IRAM 11.659:2007, comprobando su optimización en los prototipos rediseñados. Además, con la Norma IRAM 11.604:2001, se cotejó la disminución de las pérdidas de calor ?G? y de cargas térmicas de calefacción anual ?Q?, logrando mejora en los prototipos rediseñados. Por último, a través de la Norma IRAM Nº 11.900:2010, se comprobó que es posible optimizar la eficiencia energética de calefacción, ya que en los prototipos estatales se partió de etiquetados del tipo ?H y G?, de menor eficiencia; hacia los casos de rediseños donde se avanzó, hacia la maximización de la eficiencia energética, a mayores niveles ?verdes?, con etiquetados del tipo ?C?. Se propuso una disminución, de consumos eléctricos excesivos estatales, a consumos eficientes en rediseños; ajustando los items de mayor incidencia: iluminación, refrigeración y calefacción; lo cual fue verificado de manera comparativa. A los valores ajustados, se planteó energizarlos con sistemas fotovoltaicos arquitectónicamente integrados, autónomos o conectados a red según el caso; los que fueron, dimensionados y diseñados al detalle. Finalmente, se calculó la factibilidad económica de las propuestas, ya que se obtuvieron, porcentajes totales de sobrecosto mínimos de entre un 10 a 15%. De esta manera, se buscó generar antecedentes, de edificios escolares bioambientales en la provincia, que permitirán elevar la calidad de la infraestructura educativa; sabiendo que el punto de partida relevante, en lo que respecta a la igualdad de oportunidades, es el mejoramiento de la calidad de las condiciones edilicias y del nivel de confort higrotérmico de todas las comunidades educativas y en especial de los sectores sociales más desprotegidos. Palabras Clave: Escuelas Estatales Rurales, Eficiencia Energética, Santiago del Estero ; The population of Santiago del Estero, amounts to 874,006 inhabitants (INDEC Census, 2010). It registered, 4% of the population with illiteracy and 70% with digital illiteracy, for not having access to PC. The families of the interior of Santiago send their children to rural public schools, that is, 1 out of every three students in the province attends a rural school. These institutions are paramount, since they have great social connotations, as a basic public service and as a gathering element for the population; where links are generated between students, parents, teachers and community authorities. In addition to its formative value, it is a space for meeting and exchange. The National School Infrastructure Census (CeNIE: 1998) revealed that public schools in the state lacked good levels of infrastructure services; where they did not count: 85% with natural gas, 38% with electricity and 74% of mains water. At the same time, 47% of these school buildings, did not have a good state of maintenance, in the general conservation of buildings, specifically: 58% with toilets in regular to bad state and 56%, does not have adequate size of classrooms. However, from 2005 to date, a dynamic record of actions with prior planning, national and provincial programs for the renovation and construction of new schools, in the capital and inland of Santiago del Estero, was evident. paralyzed works and start new ones, according to the urgencies and limitations of the school infrastructure. Since the reactivation of school infrastructure works until 2015, there was no record of schools with bioenvironmental and energy efficiency. Therefore, the present research work (started in 2014), consisted of analyzing and evaluating the state production of three cases of rural schools, in different bioclimatic zones and of different typologies, in order to propose appropriate and appropriable solutions to the local problems in question, which allow the strengthening of rural schools in unfavorable geographical areas; since these contribute to promote equal educational opportunities, and a better education, it is reflected in a better society Purpose and objectives The general objective of the work is to develop proposals to overcome rural state school buildings in the province, achieving redesigns that verify, the recommendations of bioambiental adaptation guidelines and the thermal-energetic improvement of the enclosures according to national regulations; with rational and efficient use of conventional energy and architecturally integrating sustainable technologies for the use of renewable energy. Therefore, to achieve this main objective, the following specific objectives were proposed: 1) Identify climatic, geographical, architectural, constructive particularities, among others; of rural state school prototypes characteristic of the province; defining appropriate bio-environmental guidelines, to each bio-environmental zone to which they correspond; 2) To estimate the degree of hygrothermal comfort of the users, through subjective evaluation, socio-environmental surveys and objective evaluation, hygrothermal monitoring and thermal simulations; 3) Develop bioenvironmental redesign proposals with architectural integration of sustainable technologies, evaluating in a comparative way, the prototypes proposed together with the case studies, to estimate the optimization of energy efficiency, through calculation programs and computational simulations in relation to Normative values; 4) Calculate the economic cost of state prototypes and redesigned, verifying their economic feasibility. Hypothesis 1) In Santiago del Estero, the new works, remodeling and extensions of school buildings with less than 15 years old, show today, mostly, a state of regular maintenance, by reducing the costs invested in materials and local labor specialized This situation leads to a reduction in the quality of the envelope; which, it is possible to evaluate in relation to minimum reference values, of the series of IRAM regulations on hygrothermal comfort and energy efficiency. 2) This low quality of the enclosures, causes that the users realize a greater consumption of conventional energy to calefaccionar or refrigerate the scholastic spaces, and to be able to maintain a level of confort hygrothermal optimum. However, in most cases, school buildings do not have adequate devices for this, nor do they have enough energy for their operation. 3) A viable alternative to contribute to energy efficiency in the construction of these educational spaces, would be the mandatory design stage, to apply the national regulations, specifically IRAM and School Infrastructure; that they would allow bases to be able to estimate before the stage of its construction, optimal levels of hygrothermal comfort and energy saving; looking for rationality in the use of conventional energy and the incorporation of renewable energy. 4) It is feasible to contribute to generate sustainable alternatives for the rural school habitat, increasing the value of the standard cost of the prototype, at a minimum cost of economic investment, for the design and execution design stages; through a committed interdisciplinary organization, involving the following sectors: scientific-academic, governmental-state, entrepreneur-private, facilitating concrete actions of management and self-management in rural communities, improving their quality of living and life, within educational spaces. Methodology The following methodologies were combined: analytical, descriptive, inductive-deductive, correlational and applied to case studies. In the first three stages of work, rural school prototypes were defined as an object of study; the geographic and climatic conditions of the corresponding localities were analyzed in each bioenvironmental zone (according to IRAM Norm N ° 11603: 1996); In addition, an architectural and technological analysis of the state prototypes in their current state and the degree of compliance with environmental guidelines was carried out. The degree of hygrothermal comfort of the users was estimated through subjective evaluation of the socio-environmental survey and objective evaluation, with hygrothermal registers, thermal simulations, solar simulations and calculations of the thermal-energetic efficiency of the envelopes of the state prototypes. With the data obtained in the first stages of work, three other stages were initiated, to complete six, where bioenvironmental redesign projects were developed with architectural integration of sustainable technologies. Subsequently, these alternative projects were evaluated in a comparative manner with state prototypes, calculating and verifying the values obtained, in relation to the values recommended by the IRAM series of standards, referring to hygrothermal habitability and energy rationality: thermal transmittance, cooling, heating and labeled energy efficiency. Finally, the cost of the works of the state and redesigned prototypes was calculated. Conclusion From the thermal-energetic evaluation, of prototypes of representative rural schools of the province, the low hygrothermal quality and of energetic efficiency was evidenced, in the materialization of the envelopes and building facilities in general, in Santiago del Estero. The subjective and objective evaluations, in all cases, determined that students in summer do not achieve comfort conditions in the classrooms, since indoor temperatures -monitored and simulated- exceeded most of the time, the values of the range of Comfort considered adequate for that station (between 20 to 27oC). For this reason, redesign proposals were made for each school building with bioenvironmental guidelines: favoring appropriate orientations, designing protections for each orientation and with an adequate reconfiguration of mass and thermal insulation in its envelopes; using traditional materials and construction methods accessible to each site. Next, measures were proposed for the saving of conventional energy and the use of renewable energy, through the design of photovoltaic systems with architectural integration. It was verified the improvement of levels of hygrothermal comfort conditions in classrooms, due to the thermal-energetic adjustments made in the envelopes of the redesigned school buildings. They were valued in relation to each state prototype; where in each case, the decrease in thermal transmittance values in walls and ceilings redesigned was estimated; climbing from "minimum C" level in state prototypes, to "medium B or recommended A" in the redesigned ones (according to IRAM Norm N ° 11605: 1996). At the same time, the values of thermal loads of refrigeration "QR" and refrigeration volumetric coefficients "GR" obtained comparatively, were corroborated with the admissible "GR" value of IRAM 11.659: 2007, verifying their optimization in the prototypes redesigned. In addition, with the Norm IRAM 11.604: 2001, the reduction of the heat losses "G" and thermal loads of annual heating "Q" was checked, achieving improvement in the redesigned prototypes. Finally, through the IRAM Norm 11.900: 2010, it was found that it is possible to optimize the energy efficiency of heating, since in the state prototypes it started with labeling of type "H and G", of lower efficiency; towards the cases of redesigns where progress was made, towards the maximization of energy efficiency, to higher "green" levels, with labeling of type "C". A reduction was proposed, from excessive state electric consumption, to efficient consumption in redesigns; adjusting the items with the highest incidence: lighting, cooling and heating; which was verified in a comparative manner. At the adjusted values, it was proposed to energize them with architecturally integrated photovoltaic systems, autonomous or connected to the network, as the case may be; those that were, sized and designed in detail. Finally, the economic feasibility of the proposals was calculated, since total percentages of minimum cost overruns of between 10 and 15% were obtained. In this way, it was sought to generate antecedents of bio-environmental school buildings in the province, which will raise the quality of the educational infrastructure; knowing that the relevant starting point, with regard to equal opportunities, is the improvement of the quality of the building conditions and the hygrothermal comfort level of all the educational communities and especially of the most unprotected social sectors. ; Fil: Giuliano Raimondi, Gabriela María del Carmen. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán; Argentina
n/a ; Timeline of key events: March 2011: Anti-government protests broke out in Deraa governorate calling for political reforms, end of emergency laws and more freedoms. After government crackdown on protestors, demonstrations were nationwide demanding the ouster of Bashar Al-Assad and his government. July 2011: Dr. Nabil Elaraby, Secretary General of the League of Arab States (LAS), paid his first visit to Syria, after his assumption of duties, and demanded the regime to end violence, and release detainees. August 2011: LAS Ministerial Council requested its Secretary General to present President Assad with a 13-point Arab initiative (attached) to resolve the crisis. It included cessation of violence, release of political detainees, genuine political reforms, pluralistic presidential elections, national political dialogue with all opposition factions, and the formation of a transitional national unity government, which all needed to be implemented within a fixed time frame and a team to monitor the above. - The Free Syrian Army (FSA) was formed of army defectors, led by Col. Riad al-Asaad, and backed by Arab and western powers militarily. September 2011: In light of the 13-Point Arab Initiative, LAS Secretary General's and an Arab Ministerial group visited Damascus to meet President Assad, they were assured that a series of conciliatory measures were to be taken by the Syrian government that focused on national dialogue. October 2011: An Arab Ministerial Committee on Syria was set up, including Algeria, Egypt, Oman, Sudan and LAS Secretary General, mandated to liaise with Syrian government to halt violence and commence dialogue under the auspices of the Arab League with the Syrian opposition on the implementation of political reforms that would meet the aspirations of the people. - On October 26, the Ministerial Committee held discussions in Damascus with President Assad. - The establishment of the Syrian National Council (SNC) in Istanbul, the first opposition coalition of different groups, but failed to gain international recognition because of deep divisions. November 2011: Syrian government agreed to implement a new Arab Action Plan (attached) endorsed by LAS Ministerial Council to end all acts of violence, release detainees, withdraw Syrian military and armed forces from cities, and ensure freedom of movement for journalists and observers throughout the country. -LAS Ministerial Council suspended the membership of Syria (November 16), and imposed economic sanctions (November 27) and some member states withdrew their ambassadors from Damascus, as it failed to comply with the Action Plan. December 2011: Negotiations with Damascus were resumed and an agreement is finally reached on the implementation of the Action Plan. LAS Observer Mission was deployed in Syria to monitor the implementation of the plan (December 24). - The Mission later submitted a report (attached) covering the period from 24 December 2011 to 18 January 2012 in accordance with the mandate conferred by the protocol concluded between the Syrian government and LAS. The report was divisive among the members of the Arab League, as it blamed both the regime and the opposition for the violence. January 2012: LAS Ministerial Council adopted resolution 7444 (attached) which called on the Syrian President to immediately hand over power to his deputy in order to begin the process of a political transition, which would include negotiations with the opposition, the formation of a national unity government, and the holding of elections. The resolution also, requested the Chair of the Arab Ministerial Committee and the Secretary General to brief the United Nations Security Council on the developments and get it to endorse the plan. - On January 22, Saudi Arabia withdrew its monitors, followed by the other GCC members on January 24. - On January 28, the Secretary-General of LAS announced the suspension of the activities of the observer mission, given the serious deterioration of the security situation. - On January 31, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar, Chair of the Arab Ministerial Committee and Dr. Nabil Elaraby, Secretary General of the League of Arab States briefed the Security Council (attached) on Arab efforts and called on the council to adopt a draft resolution submitted by Morocco, supporting Arab League resolution 7444 (which called on the Syrian President to hand over power to his deputy) February 2012: - On February 4, Russia and China vetoed a draft Security Council resolution (attached), tabled by Morocco (the Arab member of the Security Council) and others. - On February 12, the Arab League adopted its resolution 7446 (attached), practically "transferring the file" to the United Nations Security Council. - On February 16, the issue was taken to the General Assembly, which adopted its Resolution 66/253, calling-among other things- for the appointment of a Special Envoy. - On February 23, former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan was appointed as the Joint Special Envoy (JSE) of the United Nations and the League of Arab States on the Syrian crisis, to facilitate a peaceful Syrian-led and inclusive political solution. - On February 24, and upon the initiative of President Sarkozy of France, the first meeting of the Group of Friends of the Syrian People was held in Tunis, with the participation of more than 60 countries and representatives from the United Nations, the League of Arab States, the European Union, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Arab Maghreb Union and the Cooperation Council for the Arab Gulf States to discuss the worsening situation in Syria. The group noted the Arab League's request to the United Nations Security Council to issue a resolution to form a joint Arab-UN peacekeeping force following a cessation of violence by the regime, and called on LAS to convene a meeting of all disparate opposition groups to agree on a clear statement of shared principles for a transition in Syria. The meeting recognized the SNC as a legitimate representative of Syrians seeking peaceful democratic change. Text of the Conclusions of the Meeting. March 2012: The SNC formed a military council to organize and unify all armed resistance. - The JSE, Kofi Anan, submitted a six-point peace plan to the UN Security Council (which the council adopted in April in its resolution 2042), that called for commitment to a Syrian-led political process, achieve an effective United Nations supervised cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties, ensure provision of humanitarian assistance, intensify the release of arbitrarily detained persons, ensure freedom of movement for journalists and respect the freedom of demonstrating peacefully. It was later approved by the Syrian government, and the opposition remained skeptical. April 2012: United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) was established by United Nations Security Council resolution 2043 (attached) initially for a 90-day period, to monitor a cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties and to monitor and support the full implementation of the Joint Special Envoy's six-point plan on ending the conflict in Syria. June 2012: The Action Group for Syria, with the participation of the Secretary Generals of the United Nations and the League of Arab States, the Foreign Ministers of China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States, Turkey, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and the European Union High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, chaired by the JSE, met in Geneva and adopted the Geneva Final Communique (attached) which called for the establishment of a transitional governing body, with full executive powers, as part of the agreed principles and guidelines for a Syrian-led political transition. July 2012: The Syrian Opposition meeting was held under the auspices of LAS in Cairo, and reached an agreement on a national compact and a detailed transition plan. The two documents complemented the guidelines and principles laid out by the Action Group in Geneva. August 2012: UNSMIS mandate came to an end owing to an intensification of armed violence and use of heavy weapons. - Prime Minister Riad Hijab defected, and US President Obama's first direct threat of force against Syria, if Assad's regime deploys or uses chemical or biological weapons, calling such action a "red line" for the US. - Joint Special Envoy, Kofi Annan announced his resignation because of the Security Council failure to reach binding resolutions; Lakhdar Brahimi succeeded Annan as the Joint Special Representative of the United Nations and the League of Arab states for Syria (JSR). September 2012: Egypt hosted the high level preparatory meeting of the regional Quartet on Syria on September 10, which included Turkey and Saudi Arabia key backers of the Syrian Revolution, and Iran the major supporter of al-Assad regime, in an initiative to bring together regional powers to voice their positions on how to end the Syrian conflict. - On September 17, the Quartet's ministerial meeting took place in Cairo; Saudi Arabia opted out while Iran proposed a peace plan which called on all parties to cease violence and stop all financial and military support to the opposition, and suggested the deployment of observers from the quartet's nations to Syria. The participants failed to reach an agreement. October 2012: a four-day ceasefire attempt was announced towards late October, in respect to Eid al-Adha Holiday, which was breached on the first day in Homs, Aleppo and Damascus. November 2012: National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (SOC) was formed in Qatar, responding to repeated calls from their Western and Arab supporters to create a cohesive and representative leadership, it excluded Islamist militias. December 2012: US, Britain, France, Turkey and Gulf states formally recognized SOC as "legitimate representative" of the Syrian people. January 2013: the Emir of Kuwait hosted the first pledging conference on Syria, international donors pledged more than $1.5bn to help civilians affected by the conflict in Syria. March 2013: LAS Ministerial Council adopted resolution 7595 (attached) to recognize SOC as the "sole legitimate representative" of the Syrian people and called on the SOC to establish an executive body to take up Syria's seat. April 2013: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State, released a recorded audio message announcing Jabhat al-Nusra as an extension of al-Qaeda in Iraq and Syria. The leader of al-Nusra, Abu Mohammad al-Joulani, refused the merger. Divisions among the jihadists emerged. - Hezbollah's involvement deepened when it led the ground assault on Al-Qusayr, a Sunni town in Homs province by the Lebanese border. August 2013: The Assad regime was accused of using chemical weapons in Eastern Ghouta to kill hundreds of civilians. The government denied using chemical weapons. President Obama sought congressional authorization for the use of force. September 2013: UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2118 (attached) requiring the Syrian regime to dismantle its chemical weapons arsenal by mid-2014, and avoid military strikes. December 2013: US and Britain suspended "non-lethal" support for rebels in northern Syria after reports Islamist rebels seized some bases of Western-backed Free Syrian Army. January 2014: the Geneva II Conference on Syria was held in Montreux on January 22, and attended by 37 states, 4 organizations and both Syrian parties. Iran was invited by SG Ban Ki- Moon on January 19, the Opposition declared its refusal to attend if Iran was not excluded, the US viewed Iran's invitation "as conditioned on Iran's explicit and public support for the full implementation of the Geneva Communique"; Iran refused any preconditions to the talks, and refused to endorse the Geneva Communique specially the transitional governing body. February 2014: two rounds of negotiations to discuss: 1- ending violence and 2-combating terrorism, 3-transitional governing body, national institutions, and 4- national reconciliation and national debate. The Syrian government refused to discuss a transitional government and insisted on discussing combating terrorism. The talks came to a halt. May 2014: JSR Brahimi announced his resignation because of the lack of progress and failure to agree on an agenda. - Iran proposed a political settlement of four points; a comprehensive cease-fire at national level, forming a national unity government consisting of the regime and the internal Syrian opposition, by transferring presidential powers to the government whereby the government will enjoy wide-ranging powers in years to come, and preparation for presidential and parliamentary elections. - Syrian rebels withdrew from the Old City of Homs, under an Iranian brokered deal and facilitated by the UN, after three years of Syrian government bombardment and siege. June 2014: President Assad held presidential elections, he was re-elected for another seven-year term allegedly winning 88.7% of the votes. July 2014: UN Secretary-General announced the appointment of Staffan de Mistura as his Special Envoy for Syria (SE)- NOT as a joint envoy with LAS. August 2014: US-led coalition began its airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and expanded its strikes to Syria the following month, focusing on the city of Raqqa. September 2014: SE held his first round of consultations with concerned capitals, since taking up his office, it included his a visit to Damascus where he met with President Assad, senior officials and the tolerated internal Syrian opposition. October 2014: SE focused on establishing a series of local ceasefires, "freeze zones", starting with Aleppo, which aimed at the de-escalation of violence and allowance of the return of normalcy to it. February 2015: SE briefed the Security Council members on the 17th, announcing Syria's willingness to halt all aerial bombardment over Aleppo for a period of six weeks. It was not clear when would the freeze go into effect, reporting that a date would be announced from Damascus. June 2015: Egypt hosted the second Syrian Opposition meeting in Cairo, which excluded the National Coalition and announced a new road map to resolve the crisis which did not abolish Assad's government. July 2015: SE announced that his office would facilitate intra-Syrian working groups to generate a "Syrian-owned framework document" on the implementation of the Geneva Communiqué. Main themes of the groups were Safety and Protection for All, Political and Constitutional Issues, Military and Security Issues, and Public Institutions, Reconstruction and Development. September 2015: Russia conducted its first airstrikes against IS in Syria. The US and the Syrian Opposition claim it is targeting rebel-held areas instead. October 2015: First meeting of International Syria Support Group (ISSG) took place in Vienna, it included China, Egypt, the EU, France, Germany, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United Nations, and the United States. They agreed on a nine-point plan, but still had substantial divisions on the future of Assad. It was the first time Iran and Saudi Arabia were brought to the same table. November 2015: Second meeting of the ISSG was held in Vienna adding LAS to its members. They set a time frame to prepare for a parallel ceasefire and political process by January 2016 that would lead to credible, inclusive and non-sectarian governance within six months, followed by the drafting of a constitution and elections within 18 months. Jordan was tasked to develop a list of groups and individuals identified as terrorists, and Saudi Arabia to hold a meeting to unify the Syrian opposition and prep for the talks with the government. December 2015: - Syrian political and armed opposition factions met in Riyadh, to agree on a common position to negotiate with Syrian government, and resulted in the formation of the High Negotiating Committee (HNC). The main Kurdish group was excluded, while Islamist hardliners such as Jaysh Al-Islam and Ahrar Al-Sham were present. - The Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) joined the follow-up meeting of the ISSG in New York, Saudi Arabia and Jordan briefed the group on their tasks. There was no agreement on the list of identified terrorists, especially with Russia's insistence on adding Ahrar Al-Sham to the list, which is considered pivotal to the unified Opposition bloc. - UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2254 (attached) which reaffirmed the road map set out by the ISSG and urged the Support Group to apply pressure on the Syrian parties to put an immediate end to the indiscriminate use of weapons against civilians, and allow unimpeded access to humanitarian aid convoys. January 2016: the SE sent out invitations to the Syrian participants, in accordance with the parameters outlined in Security Council resolution 2254, to start on the 25th with proximity talks and had expected to last for six months. The HNC requested assurances of goodwill from the government as precondition to beginning of talks, such as release of prisoners or lifting of sieges. February 2016: Talks were delayed and lasted two days before they were suspended for three weeks. - The ISSG met on the margins of the Munich Security Conference and decided that humanitarian access will commence same week of meeting to besieged areas, and an ISSG task force would elaborate within one week modalities for a nationwide cessation of hostilities. - The US and Russia announced the adoption of the terms for a cessation of hostilities in Syria, and proposed that the cessation of hostilities commence at 00:00 (Damascus time) on February 27, 2016. The cessation of hostilities does not apply to "Daesh", "Jabhat al-Nusra", or other terrorist organizations designated by the UN Security Council. - The Security Council endorsed the announcement in its resolution 2268 (attached). March 2016: SE announced March 9 set as target date of resumption of talks in Geneva. On March 14, SE resumed the intra-Syrian proximity talks in Geneva, which mainly discussed procedural matters to reach a shared list of principles and relied on Security Council resolution 2254 as its agenda. - SE briefed the Security Council on the cessation of hostilities which lowered overall levels of violence and more than 238,000 people had been reached with humanitarian aid. - On the same day, President Putin announced the withdrawal of most Russian forces from Syria, after it had largely fulfilled their objectives in Syria, and SE stated that it would have a positive impact on the negotiations. - On March 17, the PYD announced the establishment of a federal system in Kobane, Afrin and Cizire cantons in northern Syria, and its Constituent Assembly of the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria-Rojava (DFNS) announced its final declaration. Both the Syrian government and other opposition affiliates denounced the plan, as well as the United States. - On March 24, the SE ended the first round by submitting a paper on the commonalities between the Syrian sides regarding the future of Syria and would help structure the next round that would address political transition. - Syrian government forces retook Palmyra from the Islamic State, with Russian air assistance. April 2016: The SE paid visits to Amman, Beirut, Damascus and Tehran ahead of the new round of talks. - The third round of proximity talks were set to start on April 13, which coincided with the parliamentary elections in the government-controlled areas in Syria. The SE met with the High Negotiations Committee delegation (Syrian Opposition) in Geneva and was expected to meet with the Syrian Government delegation within the following days. - During the 13-27 April round of negotiations, the SE developed a Mediator's Summary that identified eighteen points necessary to move forward on political transition arrangements. - on April 28, airstrikes in Aleppo on al-Quds hospital supported by both Doctors Without Borders and the International Committee of the Red Cross, which killed dozens of civilians and medical personnel. May 2016: The Security Council adopted unanimously resolution 2286 (attached) which called for the protection of civilians and medical facilities during armed conflict. - On May 4, the US-Russia brokered a 48-hour ceasefire in which helped reduce the violence, and was later extended for another 72 hours. - On May 9, France held a ministerial Friends of Syria meeting in "Paris Format", attended by the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, the European Union, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Jordan, and issued a statement that called on the resumption of negotiations, unimpeded access of humanitarian assistance and the implementation of international law obligations to the protection of civilians. - Later on the same day, the United States and Russia issued a joint statement on Syria to reconfirm their commitment to intensify their efforts to implement a nationwide ceasefire and promote humanitarian assistance in accordance to security council resolution 2254. - On May 17, the fourth meeting of the ISSG took place in Vienna and reaffirmed its determination to strengthen the cessation of hostilities, to ensure full and sustained humanitarian access in Syria, and to ensure progress toward a peaceful political transition. Australia, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands and Spain joined the group. June 2016: The SE announced that the time is not yet right for a resumption of the intra-Syrian talks because of the escalation of violence in Aleppo, Idlib, Latakia and other rural areas around Damascus, but the intention is to begin an official third round as soon as possible. - Riad Hijab, the Coordinator of the Opposition High Negotiations Committee, proposed a nationwide truce throughout the month of Ramadan. - On June 16, Jan Egeland Advisor to the Special Envoy for Syria announced that 16 of the 18 besieged areas have been reached since the humanitarian taskforce started in late February. - On June 21, the SE briefed the United Nations General Assembly on the situation in Syria regarding the cessation of hostilities and humanitarian assistance access, as for the resumption of talks, it is yet to be decided and the OSE currently holds technical meetings with the parties on core issues. July 2016: - On July 6, the Syrian army declared a three-day nationwide "regime of calm" in respect to Eid al-Fitr holidays nonetheless pro-regime forces continued to engage in clashes and airstrikes across the country, particularly near the flashpoints of Damascus and Aleppo City. - On July 14, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss a proposal for bilateral military cooperation in the Syria; The proposal calls for the establishment of a 'Joint Implementation Group' (attached) based in Amman, Jordan to "support deliberate targeting" of Syrian Al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra and "maximize independent but synchronized efforts" against ISIS in Syria, according to a draft memorandum leaked by the Washington Post. - On July 25, Stephen O'brien, the Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, briefed the security council (attached) on the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Aleppo due to the escalation of violence over the Castello Road, the last access route in and out of eastern Aleppo, and the continuous attacks on medical facilities. O'brien called on the security council not to allow turning Aleppo into another besieged area where 250,000 to 275,000 people reside, and called to establish a weekly, 48-hour humanitarian pause to enable humanitarian aid deliveries across borders. - On July 28, the Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu announced, right after the Syrian government announced it has cut off the Castello Road and encircled the city of Aleppo, setting up three humanitarian corridors in Aleppo City to allow in food and medical aid, and help people flee the besieged city; the fourth corridor would be established in northern Aleppo near the Castello Road to allow the withdrawal of armed insurgents, and appealed to the Syrian government to provide guarantees to the amnesty provided to rebels to lay down their weapons. - On the same day, Abu Mohammed al-Julani, Jabhat al-Nusra's Leader announced split from al- Qaeda and mentioned that its new name would be Jabhet Fateh al-Sham, in order to get the group off the terrorist list and "to remove the excuse used by the international community – spearheaded by America and Russia – to bombard and displace Muslims in the Levant: that they are targeting al-Nusra Front, which is associated with al-Qaida". - On July 29, the SE commented on the Russian initiative in a press stakeout, that it should take into consideration a few improvements such as putting the 48-hour humanitarian pause into place on a sustainable basis irrespective of the humanitarian corridors; and suggested "to actually leave the delivery of aid through corridors to the UN and its partners"; and stressed that civilians should leave voluntarily, and given the option of leaving to areas of their own choice. August 2016: - On August 1, a Russian helicopter was downed near Saraqeb, in rebel-held Idlib province, on its way back to Russia's main air base in Hmyeim in the western province of Latakia, killing the five Russian military personnel on board. The downing of the helicopter marked the single deadliest event for Russia since its air campaign began in Syria on September 29, 2015. No group claimed the shooting down of the helicopter. - Since then, Russian warplanes conducted retaliatory airstrikes against several small opposition-held areas in the vicinity of Saraqeb. Syrian rebels accuse Russia of using incendiary munitions while conducting airstrikes against Idlib City on August 7, suggesting that Russia intended to achieve punitive and deterrent effects against opposition forces in the province. - In the early weeks of August, rebel forces launched a major assault, known as the "battle for Aleppo", on government-held southwestern towns of Aleppo City, to break the siege, and control supply lines in the south connected to eastern Aleppo. They claimed breaking the siege and capturing Ramouseh Artillery Academy, parts of the cement plant and Khan Touman-Ramouseh road. Intense fighting between warring parties continues to claim control over previously lost vicinities. - On August 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan in St. Petersburg, after the Turkish President officially apologized for the downing of a Russian military aircraft on June 27, 2016, and announced during a press conference that they discussed lifting of Russia's ban on imports of Turkish products, resumption of charter flights, the Turkish Stream project, Syrian settlement, and anti-terrorism efforts. - On August 10, Lieutenant-General Sergei Rudskoi, a senior Russian Defence Ministry official, announced a daily three-hour ceasefires in Aleppo, starting August 11, to allow humanitarian convoys enter the city safely, and would run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. local time. - On August 16, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that Russian aircrafts took off from Iranian airbase Hamedan to carry out airstrikes on ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra-held facilities in the provinces of Aleppo, Idlib and Deir ez-Zour. - On August 18, the SE adjourned the HTF meeting as humanitarian convoys could not reach any of the besieged towns during the month, and called for at least a 48 hour humanitarian pause in Aleppo to deliver UN humanitarian assistance, through the Castello Road, to all parts of Aleppo City. - Also, on August 18, the Syrian government forces, unprecedentedly, launched strikes against Kurdish forces in Hasakeh in Northern Syria, after pro-government National Defense Forces (NDF) were engaged in clashes with the military wing of the Kurdish Workers Party, known as Asayish. The Syrian government claimed that "Asayish had escalated their acts of provocation attacking state establishments, stealing oil and cotton, disrupting examinations, carrying out abductions, and causing a state of chaos and instability, in addition to targeting positions of the Syrian Arab Army which required a suitable response by the Army as it targeted the sources of artillery fire and the gatherings of armed elements responsible for these criminal actions." - On August 19th, while the Kurdish fighters pushed back government forces and their allies, the Pentagon threatened to shoot down Syrian government aircrafts as they pose a threat to the US Special Forces deployed in the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) area. - On August 21, it was announced that a truce agreement had been reached between YPG and NDF, through Russian mediation, to start on August 21, 2016 at 17:00, which involved evacuating the wounded and transporting them to hospitals in Qamishli, and restore the situation to how it was prior to the clashes and hold talks on August 22 to resolve the remaining unresolved issues. - On August 22, most likely the ceasefires agreement failed as fighting escalated. - On August 24, Turkey and the International Coalition Air Forces launched "Operation Euphrates Shield" offenses to support the Free Syrian Army aligned with U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces SDF against IS militants in Jarablus, in northern Syria. - On August 26, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, addressing a joint press conference after their meeting in Geneva, announced that they failed to reach a breakthrough deal on military cooperation and a nationwide cessation of hostilities in Syria, saying they still have issues to resolve before an agreement could be announced. - On August 27, Kurdish militias targeted Diyarbakir airport in southeast Turkey, near the borders with Syria. Turkey retaliated by warplanes and artillery on targets held by Kurdish-backed forces the following day, despite US pentagon's criticism of the fighting. September 2016: - On September 4, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildrim announced that Turkish military forces and Ankara-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) had successfully purged the border region, from Azaz to Jarablus, from "terrorist organizations." - On September 9, the US and Russia reached a deal which called for a nationwide ceasefire in Syria, and unimpeded humanitarian access to all besieged areas starting on September 12th. If sustained for seven continuous days, the U.S. and Russia would establish a Joint Implementation Center (JIC) in order to share intelligence and coordinate airstrikes against both ISIS and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra). - On September 21, the cessation of hostilities deal was implemented with regular violations, while the Syrian government continued to block humanitarian access to opposition-held districts of Eastern Aleppo City despite the agreement. - On September 17, the US-led coalition accidentally launched an air strike on Syrian government forces in Deir ez-Zour. - On September 19, a UN humanitarian convoy was shelled near Urum al-Kubra near Aleppo, killing 20 humanitarian aid workers and drivers, and destroying 18 out of 31 trucks. The US blamed Russia and the Syrian government for the attack; the latter declared unilaterally the end of the ceasefire agreement. - On September 20, the UN temporarily suspended its humanitarian aid to Syria after the attack, while international powers failed to reach a consensus to restore the ceasefire during an acrimonious UN Security Council Meeting on September 21st as well as two separate meetings of the International Syria Support Group on September 20 and September 22. - On September 22, the Syrian government announced a new military offensive in the rebel-held eastern Aleppo, and further escalation in a bombing campaign by Russian and Syrian airstrikes that had already intensified the day before. - On September 25, the Security Council Meeting discussed the recent escalation of violence in Aleppo after the Syrian government announced its intention to retake all of Aleppo City, and the SE called on the Security Council to "to press for a cessation of violence, and for the protection of civilians, and the civilian infrastructure; secondly to press for weekly 48-hour pauses in the fighting to ensure that the United Nations and its partners can reach eastern Aleppo, without preconditions from either the Government or the Opposition; and thirdly to press for medical evacuations of urgent cases." - On September 27, the Syrian government launched a large scale ground offensive in eastern Aleppo, and state media announced that it recaptured the central district of Al-Farafirah northwest of the Aleppo Citadel. - On September 29, the YPG set conditions to participate in operations to seize IS-held Raqqa City: the US provides arms to the YPG, recognizes its autonomy of the Federation of Northern Syria, and ensures that the Syrian Kurds are officially invited to participate in peace talks. October 2016: - On October 1, continuous airstrikes in eastern Aleppo damaged a major hospital codenamed M10, which was partially closed because of the raids. - On October 2, Stephen O'brien, the Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, urged warring parties and their supporters to bring about a cessation of all hostilities, a medical evacuation system for eastern Aleppo, and regular unimpeded humanitarian access to eastern Aleppo, and he reiterated his plea to the Security Council for a 48-hours weekly humanitarian pause in fighting, at the very least. - In an official statement, the Syrian Army offered amnesty to fighters and their families to leave Aleppo under guarantee of safe passage to other rebel-held areas, after the Syrian regime forces recaptured strategic areas on the northern outskirts of the city. - On October 3, the EU announced an emergency humanitarian initiative for Aleppo, in cooperation with the United Nations and civil society organizations, in order to facilitate the urgent delivery of basic life-saving assistance to civilians in eastern Aleppo, and ensure medical evacuations with focus on women, children and the elderly. The EU has mobilized 25 million euros to support its humanitarian partners' response to cover medical, water and sanitation, and food assistance in Aleppo. The HNC issued a statement welcoming the European initiative to protect civilians in Aleppo. - The Security Council began negotiations over a draft resolution, circulated by France and Spain, which demanded all parties to the Syrian conflict "implement and ensure full implementation of cessation of hostilities, including an end to all aerial bombardments", and called on the US and Russia to "undertake joint efforts to stabilize the situation in Syria, with special measures for the Aleppo region", as well as the UN Secretary-General to propose options for a UN-supervised monitoring mechanism of the ceasefire and to "take further measures" in case of non-compliance of any party, without invoking chapter 7 of the UN Charter. The French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault headed to Moscow and Washington to push for a vote on the draft resolution. - The United States suspended talks with Russia on trying to end the violence in Syria and accused Moscow of not complying with its commitments under the ceasefire agreement and would withdraw all personnel that were dispatched to prepare for military cooperation with Russia. - On October 4, Prince Zeid Ra'ad, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, warned over the use of incendiary weapons in Syria, and demanded bold initiatives such as limiting the use of the veto by the permanent members of the Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Russia rejected Zeid's call. - The Russian Defense Ministry declared its deployment of S-300 missile system to its Tartus naval base in Syria. - On October 6, the SE offered in a press conference to escort up to 1000 al-Nusra fighters to bring an end to the bombardment by Russian and Syrian forces to Idlib or anywhere else of their choice. While the Russian Defense Ministry announced it would shoot down US-led coalition jets if the US launches airstrikes against pro-government forces in Syria, after American officials had discussed using limited airstrikes to force government forces to halt its raids on Aleppo. - On October 7, Russia called for a Security Council emergency meeting to hear the SE's briefing (attached) on the situation in Aleppo, while the Russian Parliament ratified Moscow's deal with Syria on its "indefinite" deployment of forces. - On October 8, the Security Council held a meeting on Aleppo, and voted on the Russian-drafted resolution calling for the revival of the ceasefire deal, without mention of ending military fights in the city, and on the French-drafted resolution. The French draft received eleven votes in favor, China and Angola abstained, while Russia and Venezuela voted against. The Russian text only received four votes in favor of China, Egypt and Venezuela, Angola and Uruguay abstained, while the remaining nine council members voted against. - On October 9, France announced its intention to call the ICC for war crimes investigation in Syria, and shall contact the ICC Prosecutor on how to launch these investigations, putting into consideration that the only way is through the Security Council referral, which had been vetoed before by Russia in May 2014. - On October 13, the Deputy Special Envoy for Syria Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy confirmed the Syrian Government's approval of the October aid plan and for convoys to reach 25 of 29 besieged and hard-to-reach areas across Syria, but not to eastern Aleppo and three parts of the rural Damascus province. - On October 15, US Secretary of State John Kerry hosted a meeting on Syria in Lausanne, with the participation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and seven foreign ministers from the region, from Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt, with the presence of the SE. The meeting failed to reach a joint statement on how to end the bombardment of Aleppo or on the aid delivery to the besieged towns. - On October 16, the UK's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson held a meeting with his US, French and German counterparts and "like-minded" Gulf Arab states on the Syrian conflict in London. The UK and the US announced their consideration of imposing more sanctions against Russia and the Syrian Government to halt their ongoing raids on Aleppo. - On October 17, the European Council condemned the Syrian regime and Russia for their deliberate and indiscriminate bombardment of civilians and infrastructure in Eastern Aleppo, and called for a monitored cessation of hostilities, lift of sieges, and a nationwide sustainable humanitarian access. - On October 18, the Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu announced the cease of Russian and Syrian airstrikes on Aleppo to hold an 8-hour humanitarian pause on October 20th, in order to allow civilians and medical evacuations through six humanitarian corridors, and expected militants would withdraw with their weapons through two corridors, one via the Castello Road and the other near the souq al-Hai area in the south of the city. It was later announced that the eight-hour pause will be extended to eleven hours for four days. The armed opposition groups (AOGs) rejected the proposal in a joint statement claiming that "the initiative came at the same time as forced displacement operations are being carried out by the Assad regime in the Damascus suburbs of al-Mouadamiya, Qudsiya and al-Hama, and before that in Daraya." - On October 20, in conclusion of the EU summit, the EU failed to reach an agreement on imposing sanctions on Russia for the escalation of violence in Aleppo, and stated that "the EU is considering all available options should the current atrocities continue." The unilateral ceasefire took effect, and the Syrian Army declared that it would last for three days while artillery exchanges erupted around a crossing point near the rebel-controlled Bustan al-Qasr district shortly after the pause began. The Secretary-General and the SE briefed the General Assembly in an informal session on the situation in Syria, in response to an initiative led by Canada, after the Security Council failed to take action to end the aerial bombardment on Aleppo and revive peace efforts. - On October 21, the United Nations Human Rights Council held a special session on the deteriorating situation of human rights in Aleppo, upon the request of Britain (letter attached) that was submitted on behalf of a core group of 11 Western and Arab states. The Council adopted a resolution by a 24 in favor vote, seven against and 16 abstentions. It urged "the immediate implementation of the cessation of hostilities, and demanded that the regime and its allies put an immediate end to all aerial bombardments of and military flights over Aleppo city. The Council demanded that all parties, in particular the Syrian authorities and its supporters, promptly allowed rapid, safe, unhindered and sustained humanitarian access, including across conflict lines and borders." The Council further "requested the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic to conduct a comprehensive, independent special inquiry into the events in Aleppo, and identify all those responsible for alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law. It further requested the Commission of Inquiry to support efforts to ensure that perpetrators of alleged abuses and violations be held accountable, and to provide a full report of the findings of its special inquiry to the Human Rights Council no later than its thirty-fourth session." - On October 22, the humanitarian pause expired without any evacuations made and without further renewal despite the UN request. No medical evacuations had been made as no security guarantees had not been granted as requested by the UN. - On October 23, Turkey intensified its strikes targeting IS militants and Kurdish YPG forces in the town of al-Bab, in an attempt to sweep them away from its borders. The Turkish-backed FSA gained control over three areas of Tuways, al-Gharz and Tlatinah south of Akhtarin in northern Aleppo two days later. - On October 25, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov stated Moscow's willingness to restore the ceasefire in Aleppo and that the Western-backed opposition forces should be separated from terrorist groups in order to be able to move forward; after the UN had blamed all parties for the failure of evacuating injured people in Eastern Aleppo during the three-day ceasefires and called for "a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire so that life-saving humanitarian activities, including medical evacuations, can resume," meanwhile the Syrian Ambassador to Moscow ruled out any opportunity to restore the ceasefires. - On October 26, a school in the village of Haas, in rebel-held Idlib, was hit by a raid of airstrikes, causing the death of twenty-two children and six teachers. The UN Secretary-General called for an immediate investigation on this attack, as it could amount as war crimes if deliberate. Russia denied its responsibility and claimed that the damage was not consistent with an airstrike. - On October 27, Virginia Gamba, the head of the UN-OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism, presented the mechanism's findings to the Security Council. The report indicated that of the nine cases the JIM investigated, the Syrian regime used chlorine gas against civilians in three cases and the IS used mustard gas in one case. In the remaining five cases, the JIM investigated allegations that the government dropped chlorine bombs in rebel-held areas. While the JIM could not make a conclusive determination in three of these five cases, it was able to establish that government airstrikes had occurred and the presence of a toxic substance, but it was unable to fully determine the link between the two, or the actors responsible. Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin questioned the JIM's findings, and expressed reservations over the US-draft resolution to extend the mandate of the mechanism for another year, which would end on 31 October 2016. - The EU added ten top Syrian officials to its sanctions list who are held responsible for "violent repression against the civilian population in Syria." - On October 28, Syrian rebels relaunched Aleppo counter-attack aiming to break the siege imposed on Eastern Aleppo. The factions included the FSA and Jaish al-Fath targetting government-held Western Aleppo. - Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem met with his Russian and Iranian counterparts in Moscow to discuss counterterrorism, the cessation of hostilities and improvement of humanitarian operations, and the resumption of the intra-Syrian talks. The three ministers held a joint press conference following their meeting. - On October 30, SE condemned Syrian rebels for the indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas in Western Aleppo, raising the number of casualties in the last 48 hours. - On October 31, the Security Council extended the mandate of the UN-OPCW JIM until November 18, 2016. November 2016: - On November 1, in a teleconference with the leaders of the Russian Armed Forces, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu mentioned that Russia had halted air strikes on eastern Aleppo for 16 days, following western criticism over a Russian-Syrian government assault that killed civilians and destroyed infrastructure. - On November 2, DM Shoigu announced that it would enforce a 10-hour humanitarian pause in Aleppo on November 4, to allow civilians and fighters to exit the city through eight safe corridors. - On November 4, despite the announced unilateral ceasefire in Aleppo, there were no sign of civilians or fighters leaving the city, and opposition fighters vowed to continue fighting to break the siege. - On November 6, the SDF declared the launch of Operation "Wrath of the Euphrates" in the IS capital of Raqqa, which aimed at surrounding and isolating the city as an initial phase, in coordination with the US-led coalition airstrikes. The SDF had rejected any Turkish role to liberate the city. - On November 8, the Russian Defense Minister Shoigu announced that the first attack from the Admiral Kuznetsov, the aircraft carrier, and heavily armed escort ships were to bomb rebel positions in Aleppo. - On November 10, Jan Egeland, Advisor to the Special Envoy for Syria, declared in a press stakeout following the weekly HTF meeting that Eastern Aleppo had run out of food rations, and that the UN had proposed an initiative of four elements which included delivery of food and medical supplies, medical evacuations and access for health workers. - On November 11, the OPCW Executive Council condemned all parties for the use of chemical weapons in Syria, after voting on a US-tabled text in a closed session. The text was supported by 28 members, including Germany, France, the United States and Britain; it was opposed by Russia, China, Sudan and Iran, and there were nine abstentions. - On November 15, Russia launched its "major operation" targeting the IS and Jabhat al-Nusra's positions in Idlib and Homs provinces. Heavy airstrikes and barrel bombs pounded Eastern Aleppo after the pause declared by Russia and the Syrian Government on October 18. It is considered the first mission operated from the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov. - The Third Committee of the UN General Assembly adopted a draft resolution tabled by Saudi Arabia on the human rights situation in Syria, by a vote of 116 in favor, to 15 against with 49 abstentions. It called upon the Syrian regime and the IS to cease using chemical weapons, and stop their attacks on civilians. - On November 17, the UN Security Council adopted the US-draft resolution to extend the mandate of the UN-OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism to 18 November 2017. - On November 20, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem held talks with the SE in Damascus, on the latest escalation of violence, the targeting of medical facilities and infrastructure, and the humanitarian initiative in Eastern Aleppo. The UN proposal of the withdrawal of al-Nusra fighters while maintaining the opposition's local administration of Eastern Aleppo; the proposal was rejected by the Syrian Government and called it a violation of "national sovereignty". - On November 23, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean Ayrault announced that France would hold a meeting on Syria early December 2016. - On November 24, Jan Egeland Advisor to the Special Envoy for Syria briefed the press on the HTF meeting and the assistance deliveries of the month of November, not being able to reach besieged areas because of the absence of government approvals for convoys to enter and the escalation of violence. Egeland stated that the UN had received written approvals of the AOGs in eastern Aleppo and Russian support of the UN four-point plan, and still waiting for the government's approval. - On November 27, the rebels in Khan al-Shih town, in the outskirts of Damascus, handed in their weapons, as part of a local agreement with the Syrian government to withdraw to rebel-held Idlib province, so as government siege would be lifted. It was the only town not under government control on a major supply route from Damascus to Quneitra, in southern Syria. - On November 29, Egypt, New Zealand and Spain put in blue their draft resolution calling to put an end to all attacks on Aleppo, and allow unimpeded humanitarian access for the period of 7-days with consideration of further extension. The draft was later vetoed on 5 December by Russia and China, Venezuela voted against, and Angola abstained. It is Russia's sixth veto on a Syria draft resolution, and China's fifth veto. - After the Acting High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Kim Won-soo briefed Council members during Syria's chemical weapons consultations; the P3 announced they would circulate a draft resolution to impose sanctions on Syria for its use of chemical weapons against its own population. - On November 30, upon the request of France and the UK to hold an emergency meeting on Aleppo, SE Staffan de Mistura, USG Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O'brien and UNICEF Regional Director Geert Cappelaere briefed the Security Council on the situation in Aleppo, who agreed on the growing number of civilians fleeing eastern Aleppo and the dire need for safe humanitarian access. December 2016: - On December 1, ten AOGs announced the formation of 'Jaysh Halab' in Eastern Aleppo, in an attempt to unite their efforts to lift the siege and restore the districts where the pro-government militias took over in northeast and east Aleppo. It was led by Abu Abdul Rahman Nour, a senior commander in 'Jabhat al-Sham'. While Jan Egeland, Advisor to the Special Envoy for Syria, and the SE briefed the press on the humanitarian situation in Aleppo after the HTF meeting; they mentioned that over 400,000 IDPs are in west Aleppo, and UN convoys reached reached all towns under the Four-Towns Agreement, including Madaya, al-Foua and Kafraya, and Zabadani, and that the December Plan was yet to be approved by the Syrian government. - On December 3, the Syrian armed forces and its supporting militias advanced into east Aleppo, taking over 60 percent of the city that was once under rebel control since mid-2012. More than 80,000 civilians fled the area since the beginning of the regime's offense on November 15. - On December 7, AOGs called for a five-day ceasefire in Aleppo, and medical and civilian evacuations without mentioning the withdrawal of their fighters as demanded by Moscow and Damascus. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Germany to discuss the evacuation of opposition-held districts of Eastern Aleppo, and no agreement was reached. While leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the UK and the United States released a joint statement on the situation in Aleppo calling for an immediate ceasefire and the resumption of political negotiations. - On December 8, the SE briefed the Security Council in closed consultations after the Russian announcement that it paused its operations in eastern Aleppo to allow the evacuation of civilians. Jan Egeland had said, after the weekly HTF meeting, that the co-chairs are "poles apart" on a united humanitarian diplomacy. IS launched a major offensive on Palmyra, seizing a number of gas fields in the north and few mountains in the south. - On December 9, the General Assembly adopted the Canadian-drafted resolution A/RES/71/130, which calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the implementation of resolutions 2268 and 2254. The resolution passed by a vote of 122 to 13, with 36 abstentions. Russia, Iran and China opposed the resolution. - On December 10, Paris hosted a meeting of "like-minded" counterparts on Syria; it brought together US Secretary of State John Kerry, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, along with Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. They discussed the humanitarian situation, and called for a ceasefire and a post Aleppo plan, as Syrian government forces neared victory over rebels there. - On December 11, ISIS recaptured the city of Palmyra in Eastern Homs Province forces despite heavy air support provided by Russia. - On December 13, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon briefed the Security Council on the situation in Aleppo, the growing number of IDPs and allegations of torture and executions. Meanwhile, AOGs agreed to evacuate their remaining positions in eastern Aleppo after the Syrian government recaptured the city and following an agreement between Russia and Turkey. The evacuation was initially scheduled to take place on 14 December, but was delayed after Iran called for simultaneous evacuations from the besieged Shi'a-majority towns of Fu'ah and Kafraya in Idlib Province. - On December 15, the LAS held an emergency meeting at the level of representatives, based on Qatar's request, and adopted resolution 8105 condemning the attacks on civilians in Eastern Aleppo. - On December 19, the Security Council unanimously adopted the French-drafted resolution 2328 which demanded that the UN and other relevant agencies to carry out adequate and neutral monitoring of evacuations from eastern Aleppo, ensure the deployment of staff members for this purpose, and emphasized that the evacuations of civilians must be voluntary and to final destinations of their choice. Also, the LAS Ministerial Council welcomed resolution 8106 reiterating the necessity to establish a full cease-fire in Aleppo in accordance with the Security Council resolution 2328, and condemned terrorism in all its forms and crimes committed against civilians by ISIS, Fateh al- Sham Front, and that actions of both the Syrian regime and other militant groups may amount to war crimes. - Following the adoption of resolution 2328, the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria announced "the intention of the United Nations to convene the intra-Syrian negotiations mandated by Security Council resolution 2254 in Geneva on 8 February 2017." - On December 20th, the foreign and defense ministers of Russia, Turkey and Iran held parallel trilateral meetings in Moscow, despite the assassination of the Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov on December 19, and adopted the "Moscow Declaration" by which they agreed to act as guarantor powers for a peace accord between the Syrian government and the opposition. - On December 21, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution establishing a mechanism to assist in the investigation of serious crimes committed in Syria since 2011. The resolution received 105 votes for, with 52 abstentions, and 15 votes against (Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Burundi, China, Cuba, DPRK, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Nicaragua, Russia, South Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe). The UN Secretary-General submitted the report of the UN Headquarters Board of Inquiry that was established to investigate the humanitarian convoy incident in Urum al-Kubra on 19 September 2016., which stated that there is no enough evidence to conclude that the convoy was deliberately attacked. - On December 22, the Syrian army announced its full control over Aleppo, after the evacuations of the remaining rebel fighters. Evacuations had faced many delays because of Iran's demands to evacuate 1500 individuals from the opposition-besieged towns of Zabadani and Madaya. On the following day, the Russian military deployed a battalion to clear the city from improvised explosive devices. - On December 23, USG Stephen O'brien briefed the Security Council, upon the request of France, "on the modalities of the evacuation of civilians and delivery of humanitarian aid in East Aleppo." Meanwhile, Syrian government forces bombed the water pumping station during its raid on opposition-held Wadi Barada, disrupting water supply to Damascus. - On December 26, Kazakhstan accepted the Russian proposal to host peace negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition forces to find a solution to the Syrian crisis, in January 2017. - On December 27, the Russian and Turkish foreign ministers agreed to implement a nationwide ceasefire in Syria, separate moderate opposition groups from UN designated terrorist groups, and prepare for the Astana talks. - On December 28-30, the DFNS met in the city of Rmeilan to approve the draft constitution, known as the social contract, which was adopted on January 29, 2014 to form its administrative system and prepare for elections. Kurdish leaders voted to drop the word "Rojava" from the official name to include other ethnic and religious components in northern Syria. - On December 29, Russia and Turkey submitted the countrywide ceasefire plan to the warring parties, which had taken effect at midnight on 30 December 2016 Damascus time. - On December 31, the UN Security Council adopted resolution 2336 in support of the Russian- Turkish agreement and the meeting to be held in Astana on 23 January 2017. January 2017: - On January 2, the Russian and Turkish air raids targeted IS militants in northern Syrian city of al-Bab; while 10 rebel factions threatened they would suspend talks regarding Astana until the ceasefire is fully implemented because of "major and frequent violations" in the rebel-held areas of Wadi Barada and Eastern Ghouta near Damascus. - On January 5, the SE welcomed the nationwide ceasefire, and the Security Council resolutions on Aleppo and Astana talks, in a press briefing after the weekly HTF meeting. Jan Egeland Advisor to the Special Envoy for Syria, voiced disappointment over the government's denied aid access to 5 out 21 locations including places in Rural Damascus, Homs and Hama. - On January 6, the Russian military started to cut down on its presence in Syria, Military Chief Valery Gerasimov mentioned that the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov would be the first to withdraw from the Mediterranean. - On January 8, Syrian government airstrikes resumed on Wadi Barada after failing to reach an agreement with opposition groups to repair the damaged water springs. Later on January 14th, the retired army officer Ahmad al-Ghadban who negotiated the deal to restore the water was killed amid heavy clashes between rebels and pro-regime forces. Both sides accused each other. - On January 12, the US imposed sanctions on 18 senior Syrian officials who were connected to the development and use of chemical weapons including chlorine gas against civilians. It marked the first time the US sanctioned Syrian military officials. While Russia and Turkey signed an agreement to coordinate their airstrikes against terrorists in Syria. - On January 13, the Syrian state television accused Israel of targeting Mezzeh Airbase outside of Damascus. - On January 14, IS launched a major offensive against pro-regime forces (Hezboallah) in Deir al-Zor Province, cutting the communication between the military base and the city. - On January 16, the High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini will host an international conference on the future of Syria in Brussels, which "aims to identify with regional partners common ground on the post-conflict arrangements and examine the scope for reconsciliation and reconstruction of Syria." - On January 19, an agreement was reached in Wadi Barada, allowing regime maintenance teams to enter the area to fix the water pipes and grant rebels amnesty or safe passage to opposition-held Idlib. - On January 20, IS militants destroyed Palmyra's Tetrapylon with only four of sixteen columns still standing, and the facade of its Roman Theatre. The UNESCO condemned the act as a new war crime. - Russia and Syria concluded a bilateral agreement on expanding and modernizing of the Russian Naval Facility in Tartus. The agreement extends the current lease for the next forty-nine years with automatic extensions and permits the simultaneous deployment of up to eleven warships to the port. - On January 23-24, indirect talks between the Syrian government and opposition were held in Astana; the delegations refused to sign the joint declaration issued by Russia, Turkey and Iran, on setting up a "trilateral mechanism" to monitor and enforce the ceasefire. The new US administration was invited, despite Iran's objection, and was represented by its ambassador to Kazakhstan. The UN SE was present, and hoped Astana talks would support the intra-Syrian negotiations to be held in Geneva in February. - On January 24, the Russian delegation shared its draft of the Syrian Constitution with the Syrian delegations, and advocated the creation of a Constitutional Committee consisting of members of both delegations. - On January 23-24, Finland and UN agencies hosted the Helsinki Conference on Supporting Syrians and the Region, which launched the 2017-2018 Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP). - On January 25, the US President Donald Trump called for establishing safe zones for refugees in Syria, after suspending visas for Syrians and other middle eastern states. President Trump later held telephone conversations with Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz and United Arab Emirates Armed Forces Deputy Supreme Commander Mohammed bin Zayed on January 29 to seek their support for his unidentified initiative. - On January 28-30, 1100 opposition fighters and 750 civilians evacuated Wadi Barada to Idlib Province, after reaching a reconciliation deal with pro-regime forces. The Syrian Forces reached Ain Fijeh spring to restore water to Damascus. - On January 30, the US delivered armored vehicles, medium and heavy weapons to SDF, in an attempt to isolate IS in al-Raqqa City. - On January 31, the SE briefed the Security Council in a closed session on the outcomes of the Astana talks and the upcoming intra-Syrian talks in Geneva, which was pushed to February 20. He mentioned if the Syrian opposition could not form an inclusive delegation by 8 February, he would select its representatives himself. The Council members welcomed the International Meeting on Syria in Astana, in a press statement. February 2017: - On February 6, high-level experts from Russia, Iran, Turkey, Jordan and the UN held their first technical meeting in Astana to discuss the implementation of the ceasefire mechanism, and cooperation on humanitarian issues; they agreed on the Concept Paper on the Joint Group. The Joint Group held its first meeting and managed to identify all areas controlled by IS and Jabhat Fatah al-Sham; the participants received two draft documents prepared by the Russians to be discussed in future Joint Group meetings, which are the Protocol to the Agreement on the mechanism to record violations of the cessation of hostilities in Syria announced on December 30, 2016 and the Procedure for imposing sanctions on violators, as well as the Regulation on Reconciled Areas. - On February 7, Amnesty International released its report (attached) on mass executions of as many as 13,000 detainees at Saydnaya Military Prison. Syrian authorities rejected the accusations. - On February 9, Russian airstrikes mistakenly kill three Turkish soldiers and injured eleven others near al-Bab city held by Turkish Armed Forces as part of Operation Euphrates Shield. Both sides agreed to strengthen their coordination. - On February 10-11, the HNC met in Riyadh and formed a delegation of 21 members, headed by Nasr al-Hariri; it included one representative each from the Cairo and Moscow groups. The HNC stated (Arabic statement attached) that the goal of the negotiations was a political transition under U.N. auspices in which Assad had no role in the future of the country. - On February 12, Turkish President Recep Erdogan stressed that the Operation Euphrates Shield aims to establish a five-thousand square kilometer 'safe zone' that includes Al-Bab, Manbij, and al-Raqqa City in Northern Syria. The safe zone would require the implementation of a no-fly zone, mentioning that he had discussed the issue with both the U.S. and Russia. - On February 13, the SE sent out invitations to the Syrian delegations for the intra-Syrian negotiations set to begin on February 23. - On February 15-16, the second round of talks took place in Astana a day later than scheduled; the opposition delegation was represented by only 9 armed groups from 14 groups which attended the first meeting; no direct meetings between the Syrian delegations were held and it ended without a final statement. The three guarantor states agreed to the Concept Paper on the Joint Group of the trilateral mechanism to observe the ceasefire, share information regarding the investigation of violations and promote confidence-building measures such as the release of detainees and abductees. - On February 17, a meeting between the "like-minded" states on Syria was held on the margins of the Bonn G20 Summit, and discussed Syria peace talks in Geneva. - On February 18, Turkey offered the US two proposals for an offensive against IS in al-Raqqa City that excludes the YPG. The preferred proposal calls for the insertion of opposition groups backed by Turkey into Tel Abyad in Northern al-Raqqa Province in order to advance against al- Raqqa City through a twelve-mile-wide corridor through terrain currently held by the SDF. The second proposal calls for opposition groups in Operation Euphrates Shield to advance more than one hundred miles from Northern Aleppo Province to Western al-Raqqa Province. - On February 21, the US CIA froze assistance to the FSA and its affiliated factions fighting in Northwestern Syria, after they came under an attack from Hay'at Tahrir al-sham HTS (successor of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham) in January. The aid included salaries, training, ammunition and in some cases guided anti-tank missiles. - On February 23, a fourth round of the intra-Syrian talks commenced in Geneva with no expectations of a breakthrough; the SE reiterated that that resolution 2254 sets the framework of the negotiations, which calls for the establishment of credible, inclusive and non-sectarian governance, and sets a timeline for drafting a new constitution and holding free and fair elections within 18 months. A day before in the ISSG Ceasefire Task Force meeting (CTF), Russia had called on the Syrian Government to halt aerial bombings during the discussions. - The Opposition groups backed by the Operation Euphrates Shield fully seized al-Bab in Northern Aleppo Province, after three months of clashes. - On February 24, the SE shared a paper on procedural issues, in bilateral meetings with the Syrian parties. The HNC held the Cairo and Moscow platforms responsible for the delay of direct talks, as they participated separately. - While Iraq conducted its first cross-border airstrikes against IS in Deir ez-Zour Province on the Syrian-Iraqi Border. The F-16 airstrikes were coordinated with the Syrian Government through a joint intelligence-sharing unit in Baghdad that includes Iraq, Syria, Russia, and Iran. Also, The U.S. provided intelligence in support of the operation. - On February 25, HTS claimed responsibility of a suicide attack on the State Security and Military Intelligence Offices in Homs City, killing at least forty pro-regime officers including Military Intelligence Branch Chief Brig. Gen. Hassan Dabul, so as to undermine the ongoing peace talks. The attacks prompted heavy airstrikes on al-Waer District, the Opposition's last strong-hold in the city. The HNC condemned the terrorist attack as per the Government's ultimatum. - On February 28, the UN Security Council voted on the French-British draft resolution which sought to ban the sale or supply of helicopters to the Syrian Government, and to blacklist 10 government and related entities involved in the production of chemical weapons. Nine countries voted in favor; Bolivia voted against the text, while Ethiopia, Egypt and Kazakhstan abstained. Russia casted its sixth veto backed by China. Britain and France had circulated the text in mid- December 2016, in response to the OPCW report findings proving government use of chlorine gas in three cases of the nine investigated cases. It was put on hold to asses US policy on Syria, the US later became a co-penholder after its unilateral sanctions on 18 Syrian senior officials on January 12. March 2017: - On March 1, the Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria issued its report on the violations committed by warring parties in the last battle of eastern Aleppo, and considered the targeting of vital civilian infrastructure, withholding the distribution of humanitarian aid, and the use of civilians as human shields and forced evacuation agreements amount to war crimes. - On March 2, the Syrian forces backed by Russian airstrikes and Shi'a militias recaptured the city of Palmyra for the second time after heavy clashes. - On March 3, the fourth round of talks concluded with a political agenda for the upcoming round, which comprises of three baskets addressing the establishment of credible, inclusive and non-sectarian governance, drafting a new constitution, and holding free and fair elections within 18 months. A fourth basket was added upon the request of the Syrian Government to address "strategies of counter terrorism, security, governance and also medium-term confidence building measures." - On March 6, Russia announced a ceasefire in Eastern Ghouta until March 20, despite the continuation of airstrikes and mutual shelling. - On March 7, the US-allied SDF agreed to handover six villages near Manbij, on the frontline with Turkey-backed rebels to Syrian government control, under a Russian-brokered deal, in an attempt to stop further Turkish incursion. - On March 8, the SE de Mistura briefed the Security Council on the course of the talks, which aims to address the aforementioned baskets in parallel, and concluded that "nothing is agreed until everything is agreed unless the sides decide otherwise." The Syrian groups are invited to resume talks on March 23. - Meanwhile, Russian, US, Turkish high-level military officials met in Antalya to discuss additional coordination measures and "operational de-confliction of military operations" in northern Syria. - On March 13, a Russian-brokered agreement was reached to evacuate rebel fighters from Homs city, which would be carried out within six to eight weeks, between 10,000-15,000 people were expected to leave Homs in weekly batches. The neighborhood was besieged by regime forces since 2013. - On March 14, the EU unveiled its plan in Syria "in contributing to a lasting political solution under the existing UN-agreed framework and in helping to build resilience and stability in the country, as well as supporting post-agreement reconstruction once a credible political transition is underway." - On March 14-15, the third round of talks was held in Astana, even though the AOGs had called for the postponement of the meeting to assess the commitment to the declared ceasefire in Eastern Ghouta. Invitations were sent to the United Nations, the United States and Jordan. On March 14, preliminary consultations were held while a plenary meeting was due on March 15. The results of the intra-Syrian consultations were expected to be discussed. Talks failed to reach any significant agreement, and the three guarantor states issued a joint statement, and scheduled the next high-level meeting in Astana on May 3-4, 2017 and agreed to hold preliminary expert consultations on April 18-19, 2017 in Tehran. - On March 15, two suicide bombs targeted Damascus on the sixth war anniversary; one of them hit the main judicial building, and both killed 74 people and wounding a hundred other. It was later claimed by Fateh al-Sham Front. - On March 18, rebels began to evacuate al-Waer neighborhood in Homs City, to the opposition-held northern town of Jarablus on the borders with Turkey. - On March 20, the EU imposed sanctions against four Syrian high-ranked military officials related to the use of chemical weapons. The ban includes assets freeze and travel ban, and it is considered the first time the EU blacklists military officials. - On March 21, the US-led coalition dropped the SDF fighters on the southern side of the Euphrates to to cut the Aleppo - al-Raqqa Highway. the SDF launched an operation to seize the Tabqa Dam west of al-Raqqa City on March 22 with extensive support from the US. - On March 22, a US-led coalition strike on a center for displaced families in al-Mansoura town held by ISIL in northern Raqqa, killed 33 people. Earlier this month, the coalition declared that its raids in Syria and Iraq unintentionally killed at least 220 civilians. - On March 23-31, the fifth round of talks in Geneva was held despite of the escalation of fighting in Damascus and Hama; the SE shared non-papers with all Syrian sides with some political principles reached during the five rounds, and received their comments and amendments. - On March 24, Russia proposed a draft resolution on the use of chemical weapons in Syria and Iraq, that was reviewed in April 2016 and the UN Security Council did not support it. It was co-authored by China and Russia. Meanwhile, the Human Rights Council adopted a resolution condemning the indiscriminate attacks against civilians, forced displacement of populations, and called to hold all those responsible to account. - On March 27, the second phase of evacuations from al-Waer neighborhood took place, moving 466 citizens and 129 fighters. Meanwhile, the UN SE briefed the LAS Ministerial Council on the recent developments of the Geneva intra-Syrian talks and the Astana process. - On March 28, Russia condemned the US-led coalition airstrikes on the Tabqa Dam, and accused it of trying to "completely destroy critical infrastructure in Syria and complicate post-war reconstruction as much as possible." It further claimed that the coalition destroyed four bridges over the Euphrates river. - On March 29, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addressed the annual Arab Summit, which was held in the Dead Sea, Jordan. He appealed to the Arab leaders to set aside differences and end the Syrian war. - An agreement was brokered by Iran and Qatar to swap Shi'ite citizens from the two pro-government towns of al-Foua and Kafraya, in the northwestern province of Idlib besieged by rebel fighters, with Sunni fighters and their families from the opposition-held towns of Zabadani and Madaya besieged by pro-government forces. The agreement was due to start on April 4 and would last 60 days; it included a ceasefire in the areas south of Damascus, aid deliveries, and the release of 1,500 prisoners held by the government. - On March 31, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson disclosed during his visit to Ankara that "longer-term status of President Assad will be decided by the Syrian people" and defeating ISIL is its priority, while U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said the priority was no longer "getting Assad out"; it was later reiterated by the White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer's briefing. April 2017: - On April 3, the European Foreign Affairs Council chaired by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini took place in Luxembourg, and adopted the EU Strategy on Syria. It held the Syrian regime responsible for the violations against human rights, and reaffirmed that "there can be no lasting peace in Syria under the current regime." - On April 4-5, the EU and its co-sponsors hosted the Brussels Conference on Supporting the future of Syria and the region. The co-chairs declaration took note of UN appeals requesting $8 billion in 2017 to cover the required needs inside Syria and its neighboring countries, and announced pledges raised worth about $11 billion for humanitarian aid programs. - On April 4, an alleged chemical attack on Khan Shaykhun in the province of Idlib was carried out during a Syrian government air raid on the city, which claimed the lives of at least 72 civilians. Russia denied its responsibility and claimed that Syrian airstrikes targeted a rebel chemical weapons warehouse which leaked poisonous gas. While the implementation of the evacuation deal of 30,000 people from the four towns of Kafraya, al-Foua, Madaya and Zabadani was delayed because of reservations of their residents. All 16,000 residents of al-Foua and Kafraya are expected to leave under the deal. - On April 5, the UN Security Council was briefed on the attack by the Acting High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Kim Won-soo on the reported use of chemical weapons in Khan Shaykhun. The US, UK and France had informally circulated a draft resolution which demands that the Syrian government must provide the JIM and the FFM with flight plans and logs of April 4, the names of all helicopter squadron commanders and provide access to air bases where investigators believe chemical attacks may have been launched. Russia criticized the text, and produced its own draft; it did not condemn neither the attack nor the Syrian government, but rather expressed deep concern over the alleged "incident with chemical weapons" and called for a full-scale investigation. Later on April 6, the ten elected members (E10) of the Security Council met at ambassador level to express their frustration for not being included in the negotiating process and discussed an alternative text which would substitute language in the P3 draft on the Syrian government's obligation to provide information on its activities with agreed language from resolution 2118. Neither resolution were tabled for a vote. - On April 6, the US waged retaliatory airstrikes against al-Shayrat airbase outside of Homs, where the chemical attack was launched. 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles had hit the airfield in Syria. The missiles were aimed at Syrian fighter jets and other infrastructure. - On April 7, Bolivia called for a Security Council briefing after the US airstrikes, and Russia announced its suspension of "the Memorandum of Understanding on Prevention of Flight Safety Incidents in the course of operations in Syria signed with the US." - On April 11, the White House released a declassified report drawn up by the National Security Council which confirmed that the Assad regime used sarin gas on its own people, and accused Russia for shielding for its allies. - On April 12, the Security Council held a meeting to vote on the P3 revised draft resolution (4th draft), which incorporated the language from resolution 2118 proposed in the E10 draft; after the SE had provided the council with his monthly briefing on the assessment of the intra-Syrian talks held in Geneva. Ten members voted in favor of the text, China, Ethiopia and Kazakhstan abstained, while Bolivia joined Russia in voting against it. It is Russia's eighth veto against a Syria-related resolution. - On April 14, the evacuation of residents from the Shi'ite towns of al-Foua and Kafraya (besieged by opposition groups) began and their convoys headed towards the government-held Aleppo; meanwhile rebel fighters and their families left the town of Madaya (besieged by government forces) and headed towards Idlib. While the evacuation from Zabadani was delayed and expected to begin later the day. The four towns agreement began with the exchange of thirty prisoners and nine bodies on April 12. The evacuations resumed after a suicide attack that targeted a government loyalties convoy killing some hundred people including women, children and rebel fighters on April 15. - On April 19-20, over 2000 opposition fighters and civilians were evacuated from the besieged towns of Zabadani and Madaya in exchange for the evacuation of nearly 8000 pro-regime fighters and civilians from the besieged towns of al-Foua and Kafraya in Idlib Province. - On April 24, the US sanctioned 271 Syrians employed by the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center, related to the development of chemical weapons. The sanction froze the individuals' assets and prohibited US companies to conduct business with them. May 2017: - On May 3-4, military experts from the three guarantors held technical consultations ahead of the two-day fourth round of the Astana process, with the participation of the Director of the UN Mine Action Service Agnes Marcaillou. The SE de Mistura and Nawaf Uasfi Tel, Political Adviser to Jordan's Foreign Minister attended as observers, and the US was represented at a higher-level (for the first time) by US Assistant Secretary of State for Middle East Affairs Stuart Jones. - Despite the Syrian Opposition delegation suspended their participation in opposition to the ongoing bombardments across Syria, the three guarantors signed the Memorandum on the creation of de-escalation areas in Syria, setting up four "de-escalation zones" in Idlib, parts of Homs, Eastern Ghouta, and parts of Deraa and al-Quneitra provinces in southern Syria. The Syrian government welcomed the Russian initiative while the Opposition rejected Iran's involvement as a guarantor. - On May 5, Russia sought UN endorsement to the agreement reached in Astana, and circulated a draft resolution calling on member states to contribute to the implementation of the Memorandum on the creation of de-escalation zones in Syria. The resolution failed to pass for a vote on May 8, as western member states had reservations on the draft. - On May 6, Riad Seif was elected as the sixth president of the SOC, beating Khaled Khoja with 58 votes from the 102 member coalition. He would replace the current head Anas al-Abdeh, who was elected in March 2016. Also, Abdulrahman Mustafa and Salwa Ktaw were elected as vice presidents. - On May 8, the evacuation process of the government-besieged Damascus suburb of Barzeh began, around 1,022 people, including 568 rebels, headed towards Idlib and northern town of Jarablus near the Turkish borders; the second convoy of 700 rebels moved on May 12. While Walid al-Muallem, the Syrian Foreign Minister, rejected any international forces under UN supervision to monitor the de-escalation zones deal. Meanwhile, the White House approved providing arms to Kurdish fighters as support to their operation to retake al-Raqqa City, despite Turkey's strong opposition. - On May 16, the FFM's report confirmed the use of sulfur mustard in the attack on Aleppo on Sept. 16, 2016, and was made public. The report was raised to the UN Security Council on May 5. The FFM, also, confirmed in its report, regarding its investigation of the April 4 attack on Khan Shaykhun, the use of sarin-gas or a sarin-like substance. The FFM is only mandated for indicating whether chemical weapons were used, while the JIM is mandated to determine responsibility for the attacks. - While the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned ten additional entities for providing support to the Syrian regime. - On May 16-19, the UN SE held the sixth round of the Intra-Syrian talks in Geneva, which ended without covering the four baskets of the agenda, only focusing on the constitutional issues. The SE shared a proposal with the parties to establish "a Technical Consultative Mechanism on Constitutional and Legal Issues;" the proposal would identify "options for the process of constitutional drafting, and for the conduct of a national conference/national dialogue, and identify for review specific options for ensuring a sound constitutional and legal basis for any framework agreed in Geneva embodying a package and including providing for credible, all-inclusive, non-sectarian governance," and that is through UN-facilitated expert-level meetings with both Syrian sides. - On May 18, while the EU Parliament adopted a resolution pertaining the EU Strategy on Syria, which the European Council for Foreign Affairs had passed on 3 April 2017; the US-led coalition's airstrikes destroyed a pro-Syrian regime convoy of the Iraqi Shi'ite militia of Kata'ib Imam Ali, that advanced along the Damascus-Baghdad Highway towards al-Tanf base (where the US, UK and Jordan train fighters of Jaysh Mughawir al-Thawra against IS in Eastern Syria). - On May 20-21, the evacuation of nearly 3000 people, some 700 fighters and their families, was completed from al-Waer district, the last opposition-held district in the province of Homs. According to Talal Barazi, Governor of Homs, more than 14,000 people had left al-Waer in several phases since the "reconciliation deal" began to be implemented in March. Among them were some 3,700 rebels, allowed to leave with their light weapons. Russia later deployed 50 to 150 Military Police into the district. - On May 22, the SE briefed the Security Council on the latest developments, and on the last round of the Intra-Syrian talks. He commended the Astana process for the reduction of violence in the agreed de-escalation areas, and urged its guarantors to finalize their agreement addressing the subjects of detainees, abductees and humanitarian demining. The SE asserted that the rounds' focus on legal and constitutional issues does not rule out "the principle of parallelism" in addressing the agenda, and that a new consultative process at a technical level was introduced to discuss relevant constitutional and legal matters. - On May 25, NATO leaders agreed in Brussels to become full members of the Global Coalition against ISIS; the organization would not engage in combat operations, but would provide air refueling to the Coalition's aircrafts, capacity building through the deployment of special forces to train local partners, and would establish an intelligence information cell to ensure information-sharing on foreign fighters. - On May 29, the final convoy of fighters and their families moved from the opposition-held besieged district of Barzeh in Damascus to Idlib Province; estimately more than 4000 fighters and civilians were evacuated from Barzeh and Eastern Ghouta under the Russian-brokered deal. - On May 30, the US delivered its first shipment of arms to the Kurdish-led SDF, which had advanced against IS in the eastern outskirts of al-Raqqa, seizing eight villages and taking control over the Ba'ath Dam. - On May 31, Russia's Grigorovich-Class Frigate Admiral Essen and Kilo-Class Submarine Krasnodar launched four cruise missiles targeting IS near Palmyra; it targetted arms depots of fighters relocating from al-Raqqa to Eastern Homs. Russia had notified the US, Turkey, and Israel of the strikes-On June 2, EU High Representative Federica Mogherini met with newly-elected President of the Syrian Opposition Council (SOC), Riad Seif, and Syrian Interim Government (SIG) Prime Minister, Jawad Abou Hatab, to discuss the political process and EU support for Syrian resilience. Both parties reiterated their commitment to the UN-led Geneva process. June 2017: -On June 4, pro-government forces gained control of Maskanah city, the last remaining ISIS stronghold in Aleppo governorate. The advances brought pro-government forces within 10 km of Raqqa's provincial border. -US-backed SDF captured a hydroelectric facility (Baath Dam) from ISIS militants, securing the final of three major dams along the Euphrates river. -On June 5, pro-government forces captured the areas of al-Alb, Bir Dahlon and Sharot Dahlon in Eastern Homs governorate, reportedly capturing over 6,000 sq km of ISIS-held territory. -On June 6, US-backed SDF announced the launch of the fifth phase of the campaign to capture Raqqa, ISIS' self-declared capital, with forces advancing from the north, east and west and the US-led Coalition supporting the offensive with air and artillery strikes. - The US-led Coalition conducted airstrikes against pro-government forces advancing near al- Tanf, a de-confliction zone in southeastern Syria. This marks the second strike in the area in less than a month, amid escalating tensions between the US and Iran-backed forces over control of Syria's southeastern frontier. - On June 8, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with the UNSE de Mistura in Moscow to discuss "the consolidation of the cessation of hostilities, the fight against terrorism, the continuation of the political settlement on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 2254," according to the Russian Presidential Envoy for the Middle East and North Africa and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. The consultations were held prior to the fifth round of the Astana Process, which was set to take place in June, but was later postponed till the month of July. -On June 9, during a press briefing in Geneva at the conclusion of a meeting of the humanitarian task force set up by the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), the SE declared that the time was not right to resume the UN-led intra-Syrian talks. -On June 13, the WFP delivered food to more than 80,000 displaced people in seven hard-to-reach areas in Raqqa and Deir Ezzor governorates in northern Syria, where regular deliveries of humanitarian assistance had been suspended for over three years. -On June 14, Chairman of the CoI, Paulo Pinheiro, expressed concern for the "staggering loss of civilian life" caused by US-led Coalition airstrikes as part of the Raqqa campaign, stating that airstrikes had led to the displacement of 160,000 civilians. He also stressed that the Astana agreement had led to a reduction in violence in just one of the four zones outlined in the memorandum. -On June 15, during a briefing to Council members, UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, noted that "some progress" had been made in the implementation of resolution 2118 (2013) on the elimination of chemical weapons in Syria. However, she highlighted the continued lack of safe access to two above-ground stationary facilities scheduled for destruction under OPCW supervision. -Pro-government forces targeted the opposition-held neighborhoods of Jobar and Eastern Ghouta in the first major attack since the announcement of four "de-escalation zones" at the Astana talks in May. Syrian Armed Forces seized the Arak gas field in the region of Badiya, which had been captured by IS since 2015; the SAF declared that it recaptured 20 percent of the Badiya region. -On June 16, the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria declared that it had facilitated a meeting of technical experts from three opposition groups: the High Negotiating Committee, the Cairo Platform and the Moscow Platform as part of a technical consultation process announced at the end of the sixth round of intra-Syrian talks. The meetings focused on the timeline and process for drafting a new constitution. -On June 17, the SE announced that the seventh round of intra-Syrian talks would begin in Geneva on July 10, with further rounds tentatively planned for August and September. -The Syrian government declared a 48-hour ceasefire in the southern city of Daraa. The agreement, reportedly brokered by Russia, the US and Jordan, comes after an escalation in violence between pro-government forces and AOGs in Daraa. -On June 18, US-led coalition forces shot down a piloted Syrian government aircraft in southern Raqqa province. According to the Coalition statement, the aircraft was downed after it displayed hostile intent and advanced on coalition forces. The Russian Ministry of Defense (MOD) released a statement following the incident claiming that the US shot down the Syrian jet while it was conducting an offensive against ISIS, and accusing the US of failing to use the "de-confliction channel". The MOD statement announced that Russia was cutting off participation in the de-confliction channel pending an investigation and that all kinds of airborne vehicles operating in combat mission zones west of the Euphrates River would be tracked by Russia as air targets. -Iran launched several ballistic missiles targeting ISIS positions in eastern Syria, reportedly carried out in retaliation for a terrorist attack in Tehran two weeks prior. This was Iran's first missile attack abroad in 15 years and its first in the Syrian conflict, representing an escalation of its role. -On June 19, the Syria Institute and PAX published the Sixth Quarterly Siege Watch Report, covering events from February to April 2017. -On June 20, an American fighter jet downed an "Iranian-made" armed drone in southern Syria after it "displayed hostile intent" when it approached coalition forces stationed at a base located in a de-escalation zone. It marked the second time in a month that the US had shot down an armed drone near Tanf camp. -On June 21, after opening a new front to the south of Raqqa, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) came within several kilometers of fully encircling the city after having already surrounded Raqqa to the north, east and west. - Turkey deployed reinforcements to the towns of Azaz and Marea in northern Syria, held by turkey-backed Syrian opposition forces, in preparation of anticipated battles with its rival Kurdish forces. - French President Emmanuel Macron, contradicting previous French policy, that France sees "no legitimate successor" to Assad and no longer considers his departure as a precondition to resolve the ongoing conflict. On July 5, the president met with Riad Hijab, Head of the HNC, to reiterate France's support to the Syrian Opposition. -On June 22, Turkish and Russian troops were deployed to Syria's northern Idlib province as part of a de-escalation agreement brokered by Russia, Turkey and Iran in May. - WFP announced that the first aid convoy had reached 15000 civilians in the city of Qamishli by land route, since it had been inaccessible in 2015, and humanitarian aid was sent through air drops instead. -On June 24, the Syrian government released 672 detainees in a move it said was aimed at bolstering the reconciliation process. -On June 27, the SE briefed the Council on the situation in Syria, expressing his readiness to facilitate direct talks between the Syrian government and opposition either at a formal or technical level. -On June 28, OPCW-JIM published its sixth report updating the SC on the status of its review of two cases identified by the FFM concerning incidents reported in Umm Hawsh in Aleppo Governorate in September 2016 and Khan Shaykhun in Idlib Governorate on April 4, 2017. -On June 29, OCHA head Stephen O'brien briefed the Council on the humanitarian situation in Syria, noting that despite a reduction in violence in some areas of the country, humanitarian convoys remained unable to reach civilians in besieged and hard-to-reach places due to bureaucratic restrictions. O'brien also detailed the Secretary-General's monthly report on the situation in Syria, released June 23, that highlighted the Astana memorandum signed by Iran, Russia and Turkey in May and the escalation of anti-ISIS operations in Syria. -The OPCW released a report on progress in the elimination of the Syrian chemical weapons program, verifying the destruction of 25 of the 27 chemical weapons production facilities previously declared by the Syrian government. However, the OPCW continues to express consideration that the initial declaration was incomplete. July 2017: -On July 1, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) launched a strike against pro-government positions near al-Baath in Quneitra governorate in response to two stray artillery shells fired from Syria that landed in the Golan Heights. This is the fifth Israeli strike on pro-government positions near the area of al-Baath within a week. -On July 3, the UNSC appointed Catherine Marchi-Uhel to head the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism, the UN legal team tasked with collecting and preserving evidence of the most serious crimes committed in Syria since 2011 to be used by national courts or an international tribunal. The Mechanism was established by the General Assembly on December 21, 2016 despite fierce resistance from Russia, which had previously used its veto status to block criminal investigations into the conflict. -The Syrian Army announced the suspension of all combat operations in the southern governorates of Daraa, Suweida and Quneitra for four days ahead of upcoming peace talks in Astana, Kazakhstan. It is the second unilateral ceasefire by the Syrian Army; it had announced a ceasefire in Daraa along the border with Israel on June 17. -On July 4-5, the fifth round of Astana talks co-sponsored by Russia, Iran and Turkey, convened in the Kazakh capital. The talks failed to finalize details on the boundaries and monitoring mechanisms of the four safe zones agreed to during the fourth round of Astana talks in May. In a joint statement, the guarantors welcomed the establishment of an expert-level joint working group tasked with finalizing the operational and technical parameters of the de-escalation zones, and scheduled the next Joint Working Group meeting in Tehran, on August 1-2. -On July 6, Edmond Mulet, head of the three-member leadership panel of the OPCW-JIM briefed Security Council members on the June 28 report of its investigations into the culpability for chemical attacks in Syria and urged the international community to allow the Mechanism to conduct its work in an independent and impartial manner. -On July 7, the United States, Russia and Jordan reached a ceasefire and "de-escalation" agreement for southwestern Syria to take effect July 9. The specificities of an enforcement mechanism and the precise boundaries of the ceasefire zone. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the ceasefire would cover the areas of Daraa, al-Suweida and Quneitra governorates without providing exact boundaries. The ceasefire agreement in southwestern Syria is separate from the Astana memorandum, and was reached during the meeting between US President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg. The SG welcomed the ceasefire announcement, calling it a significant step towards reducing violence and humanitarian access in Syria; while Israel voiced its objections on the deal. -On July 10, the seventh round of UN-led intra-Syrian talks convened in Geneva. The UN-sponsored talks were scheduled to focus on four points: drafting a new constitution, combating terrorism, governance and elections. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed hope that the talks would help solidify de-escalation zones created through the Astana process. The SE stated that de-escalation zones can be beneficial but must only be interim measure to avoid the partition of Syria. The Geneva talks ended July 14 with no apparent progress. Representatives of the HNC accused the Syrian government of refusing to enter into serious negotiations. The SE noted that there had been "no breakthrough, no breakdown" during the talks and expressed hope that recent international momentum would push the parties face-to-face for substantive discussions. -On July 11, SOHR reported that it had "confirmed information" that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al- Baghdadi had been killed in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor. US-led Coalition Spokesperson Colonel Ryan Dillon could not confirm the report, nor could various media sources or Iraqi or Kurdish officials. -On July 12, following the opening of a land route connecting Aleppo to Hasakah governorate, WFP announced that it had successfully delivered food aid to two locations in the Raqqa governorate for the first time in three years. -On July 13, Brett McGurk, US Special Envoy for the Global Coalition fighting ISIS, revealed that Russia had expressed willingness to deploy military police to monitor compliance and prevent violations of the recently implemented ceasefire in southwestern Syria. -On July 14, Russia's parliament approved an agreement between Russian and Syrian officials that provides for the long-term deployment of Russian aircraft and personnel to Syria. Defense Minister Nikolay Pankov said the deal will help legalize Russia's military activities in Syria "within an international framework". -France proposed the creation of a contact group comprised of permanent members of the UN Security Council and regional actors to support UN efforts to formulate a political road map after the conflict ends. -On July 17, the EU added 16 scientists and military officials to the list of those targeted by sanctions against the Syrian regime due to their suspected involvement in a chemical attack against civilians in April. - The Syrian army, backed by Iranian-militias managed to seize oil fields of Wahab, al Fahd, Dbaysan, al-Qseer, Abu al Qatat and Abu Qatash and several other villages in the southwest of Raqqa province, while Russian strikes targeted the town of Sukhna, the gateway to Deir ez-zour. - The Turkish state-run Andalou Agency exposed ten US military locations in northern Syria, giving exact numbers of US and French special forces stationed there. The US-led Coalition against ISIS condemned Turkey for "leaking sensitive military information shared between two allies." -On July 19, it was made public that President Donald Trump ended a covert CIA program that provided arms and training to Syrian rebel groups. The program was a central feature of the Obama Administration's policy in Syria. -On July 20, 150 fighters from the Turkey-backed Euphrates Shield operation had crossed from Turkey through Bab alhawa to support Ahrar al-Sham in its fight against Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), dominated by the Fateh al-Sham faction formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, in Idlib. -On July 21, the SG submitted to the Security Council the forty first report on the humanitarian situation in Syria for the period from 1 to 30 June 2017, highlighting the approximately 20,000 people displaced across northeast Syria in June due to the Raqqa offensive. According to the report, the Syrian government removed medical supplies sufficient for more than 84,000 treatments. -Hezbollah and the Syrian Army launched a joint offensive against militant groups in the town of Arsal and the western Qalamoun mountain range along the Lebanon-Syrian border, an area purported to hold over 3,000 militants, including al-Qaeda-linked insurgents and members of ISIS. -On July 24, 14 heads of mission in Geneva signed a letter addressed to Security Council President, Chinese Ambassador Liu Jieyi, raising "serious concerns" about the implementation of seven Security Council resolutions on humanitarian access and urging Liu to raise the issue at the upcoming Council meeting. The signatories include the United States, Saudi Arabia, Britain, France Turkey, Qatar, Japan, Australia, the European Union, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Canada and Italy. -General Sergei Rudskoi, chief of the Russian General Staff, announced the deployment of Russian military police to monitor compliance after a ceasefire, mediated by the Egyptian government, was declared in the Eastern Ghouta area of Damascus on July 22. Despite the reported ceasefire, part of the four proposed "de-escalation zones" outlined in the Astana memorandum, Syrian government forces continued to attack several towns in Eastern Ghouta. -On July 26, fighting on the Syrian-Lebanese border near the town of Arsal halted after a ceasefire agreement was reached between Hezbollah and HTS. The cessation of hostilities ended a six-day campaign to drive al-Qaeda-linked militants from the border region, which is also home to tens of thousands of refugees. The agreement included the evacuation of some 1000 HTS fighters, along with more than 6000 Syrians (in nearby refugee camps) from the Lebanese border town of Arsal to rebel-controlled Idlib province, as well as exchange of prisoners between Hezboallah, HTS and the Lebanese Armed Forces, which later took place on August 1. -On July 27, Ursula Mueller, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, briefed Council members on the humanitarian situation in Syria, noting that despite reduced violence, there had not been a noticeable increase in areas reached for aid delivery. -The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates addressed two letters to the UNSG and the Security Council calling for immediate action in the militant-besieged towns of Kefraya and al-Foua. -The US-led coalition fighting ISIS told its local Syrian allies that they must exclusively fight ISIS, a directive that prompted Shohada al-Quartyan to depart a joint coalition base in Southern Syria to carry out independent operations against Syrian regime forces. -On July 28, the OPCW released its monthly report, noting that the security situation now allows safe access to confirm the condition of the final two above-ground facilities with planning underway to verify their destruction. -On July 30, for the first time in five years, UN aid was delivered to almost 7,2000 people in besieged al-Nashabiye located in Eastern Ghouta, a rebel-held area on the outskirts of Damascus. August 2017: -On August 2, the evacuation of at least 7,000 people, including al-Qaeda-linked fighters and refugees, from Lebanese border enclave of Arsal for rebel-controlled Idlib province commenced. The transfer agreement, the largest formal repatriation of refugees to Syria since 2011, was carried out without the involvement of aid groups generating concern about the welfare of the refugees. -On August 3, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced a ceasefire in northern Homs and southern Hama, in what is being billed as the third of four planned ceasefires agreed to under the Astana memorandum. Russia deployed police military to several checkpoints in northern Homs, later on August 4. Opposition groups called for a guarantor role for Turkey. According to SOHR, the ceasefire, which covered territory populated by more than 147,000 people, held for the first 10 hours before experiencing repeated violations by pro-government and rebel forces. -The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria of the Human Rights Council (CoI) called on the international community to recognize the crime of genocide being committed against the Yazidis in Iraq. -On August 8, experts from the guarantor states met in Tehran to discuss ways to strengthen the de-escalation zones and determine the agenda for the upcoming sixth round of Astana talks. -On August 8-11, twenty-four FSA-affiliated groups formed new group "Liwa Tahrir Deir ez- Zour" to liberate the province of Deir ez-Zour from IS; the new faction welcomed any cooperation with local and international parties, ruling out the SDF. -On August 9, OCHA expressed concern about the safety and protection of an estimated 10,000- 25,000 people trapped inside Raqqa without access to safe drinking water for 48 days. Due to the fighting on the ground, the UN has currently no access to Raqqa city. - Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya briefed the Security Council on the progress of establishing de-escalated zones in Syria, behind closed doors, and called on the UN to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance in those areas. -On August 10, SDF US-backed forces encircled ISIS militants in central Raqqa, effectively cutting off ISIS' last remaining route to the Euphrates. -On August 12, the Syrian government captured al-Sukhna, the final ISIS stronghold in Homs governorate, as part of its multi-pronged campaign to take eastern Syria. The recent gains position the pro-government coalition 50 km (30 miles) away from Deir ez-Zour province, the last major ISIS foothold in Syria. -On August 14, approximately 300 FSA-affiliated Saraya Ahl al-Sham fighters and 3,000 refugees began evacuating the Lebanese border town of Arsal as part of a repatriation agreement brokered in early August between Lebanese and Syrian officials. Lebanon's Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, who is overseeing the transfer, said that civilians will head to the government held area of Assal al-Ward. The rebel fighters and their families are destined for the rebel-held town of al- Ruhaiba in the Eastern Qalamoun region where, according to Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV, they have been granted amnesty by the Syrian government. Their departure leaves the Islamic State as the last militant force straddling the border near Arsal. -Nearly 50,000 people remain stranded on the Jordanian border, in an area known as the berm, and are facing an increasing scarcity of food, healthcare and other basic services. The UN stressed that it will continue to support Jordanian authorities in the protection of affected Syrians. -On August 17, the UNSC adopted a presidential statement, read by Council President for August and Ambassador of Nigeria, Joy Ogwu, in support of a political transition process in Syria in accordance with the principles of the Geneva Communique. The adoption of the text signals, for the first time in two years, the consensus of the Council and its five permanent members on the need to establish a transitional government. -On August 17-20, Damascus hosted the 59th International Trade Fair, for the first time since 2011, and involved hundreds of delegations and private companies from at least forty-three states including Russia, Iran, China, and Egypt. -On August 20, President Assad announced in a speech before Syrian diplomats that Syria would not work with any Western nations until they ended their support for opposition and insurgent groups. -On August 21, UN experts launched an investigation into purported weapons deals between Syria and North Korea after two shipments to a Syrian government agency responsible for its chemical weapons program, the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC), were intercepted. -Saudi-based High Negotiations Committee (HNC) met with delegations from the moderate Cairo and Moscow camps in Riyadh in an effort to establish a unified front for upcoming peace talks. Despite pressure from international allies calling for a more pragmatic approach, the HNC refused to accept a transition scenario in which Assad retained power. -On August 22, the next round of Astana talks was pushed back from late August to mid- September to allow the guarantor states to hold a technical meeting to set the meeting agenda. -On 23 August, a joint monitoring center was established in Amman for the southwestern de-escalation zone, which is located in the provinces of Daraa and Quneitra. The center is tasked with ensuring ceasefire compliance, ensuring humanitarian access and other forms of civilian assistance. -On August 24, the UN called for a humanitarian pause in US-led Coalition airstrikes on Raqqa to permit civilians to leave the city. This comes after the release of an Amnesty International report calling for greater protection efforts for the estimated 20,000 remaining civilians in Raqqa. -On August 25, the Russian army announced that it had dismantled the two remaining Syrian chemical weapons facilities targeted for destruction by OPCW. The OPCW has not confirmed the Russian report. -On August 28, hundreds of ISIS fighters and their families were evacuated from the Lebanese- Syrian border to militant-held eastern Syria following simultaneous Lebanese army and Hezbollah campaigns against ISIS positions. The transfer marks the first time ISIS agreed to a forced evacuation from territory it held in Syria. - The Secretary-General presented his monthly report on the situation in Syria, highlighting the recent efforts to reduce violence through de-escalation agreements and expressing hope that the Astana guarantors will reach an agreement on the finalization of operational and technical modalities for all de-escalation areas. -On August 30, Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura briefed the Security Council on the political path forward which includes a new round of Astana and Geneva talks. The SE highlighted the important role Syrian opposition allies stand to play in fostering cohesion and unity among the AOGs. - In his final address to the Council after two years as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O'Brien appealed to members of the Council to take action to end the civil war in the name of common humanity, calling for a referral to the International Criminal Court. -On August 31, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, stressed that the protection and assistance of citizens must take priority before defeating the Islamic State, citing reports of heavy civilian casualties in Raqqa as evidence of the threat the remaining 20,000 civilians face. -US airstrikes stalled a convoy of 300 ISIS fighters and their families in a government-controlled part of the Syrian desert in an effort to prevent their advancement into ISIS-held territory near the Iraqi border. The convoy was traveling from the Syrian-Lebanese border to Syria's eastern province as part of an evacuation deal brokered between ISIS, Hezbollah and the Syrian Army. -Pro-government forces captured strategic al-Bishri mountain overlooking ISIS-controlled Deir Ezzor province, bringing government coalition forces within close range of ISIS positions. September 2017: On September 1, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian rejected a role for Assad in a political transition in Syria. -The Syrian Islamic Council called for Syria's AOGs to end their fragmentation and unite as one armed body under the Ministry of Defense in the Syrian Interim Government. Ahrar al-Sham, Failaq al-Sham, Liwa Ansar al-Sunnah and Jabha al-Shamiya supported the initiative. -SDF spokesperson, Jihan Ahmad, announced that the SDF had gained control over an estimated 65 percent of Raqqa city after capturing the Old City, the Great Mosque and al-Dariya neighborhood. SOHR reported that the SDF were still fighting to gain control over pockets of the Old City but added that the US-backed opposition forces held more than 90 percent of the surrounding area. -On September 2, Russian Aerospace Forces reported they had destroyed a convoy of 12 ISIS trucks carrying ammunition and weapons in Deir Ezzor province. -It was made public that the British Ministry of Defense had quietly halted its FSA training program and called back its training forces from Syria in late June 2017. -On September 3, pro-government coalition forces gained control of the remaining ISIS stronghold in Hama Governorate after capturing the town of Uqayribat and its surrounding areas. -On September 4, Syrian Interim Government Prime Minister Jawad Abu Hatab was appointed interim Defense Minister as part of a unification initiative launched by the Syrian Islamic Council in early September. Free Syrian Army factions formed a committee to select a Chief of Staff in consultation with the Prime Minister. -On September 5, the Secretary-General submitted the OPCW's forty seventh monthly report on the progress to eliminate chemical weapons in Syria to the Security Council. The report highlighted the preparations underway to confirm the status of the two remaining stationary above-ground facilities now that the security situation allows safe access and the upcoming high- level consultations with Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister, Dr. Faisal Mekdad, to clarify outstanding issues regarding the Syrian government's initial declaration. -Pro-government coalition forces reached the western perimeter of Deir Ezzor city, breaking a three-year ISIS siege of the government-held areas that had impacted 93,500 people. In support of the offensive, a Russian warship located in the Mediterranean Sea launched cruise missiles at ISIS positions near Deir Ezzor. -On September 6, SE Mistura said he expects a national ceasefire to follow shortly after ISIS has been pushed from its strongholds in Raqqa and Deir Ezzor. Although he stressed that the government "cannot announce victory", he called on opposition forces to accept defeat and focus on winning the peace through negotiations in October. -The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria released a report on the major human rights and humanitarian law violations committed between March and July 2017. The Commission accused the Syrian government of using sarin gas in the April 4 Khan Sheikhoun attack and found US forces culpable of not taking "all feasible precautions" to protect civilians in the March 16 attack on al-Jinah Mosque. -According to Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, experts from Russia, Iran and Turkey made progress towards an agreement "on the parameters, configuration and methods of ensuring security in the de-escalation zone in the Idlib province" in Syria. -On September 7, Israel conducted airstrikes on the Scientific Studies and Research Center, a facility believed to house a chemical weapons manufacturing center, and a military base storing surface-to-surface missiles near government-stronghold Masyaf in Hama province. The Syrian Foreign Ministry called on the Security Council to denounce the airstrikes. -US-led coalition forces fighting ISIS announced that airstrikes had killed two ISIS leaders near Mayadin in the Deir Ezzor province on September 4, 2017. -The Head of the High Negotiations Committee, Riyad Hijab, rejected the SE Mistura's call for the opposition to accept defeat, declaring the UN mediation process a failure and calling on Syrians to demonstrate in support of the continuation of the revolution. On September 8, a convoy of 42 trucks carrying humanitarian aid for 80,000 people reached Deir Ezzor for the first time by land in three years. -US-led coalition surveillance aircraft departed its position monitoring an 11-bus convoy of ISIS fighters and their families after attempting to prevent its advance into ISIS-held territory in Deir Ezzor since August 29. The surveillance aircraft departed the airspace at the request of Russian military officials who were conducting an operation with pro-government forces close to the convoy's position. -The Syrian National Coalition (NCSRF) condemned calls from "regional and external parties" for Western-backed opposition groups Ahmed Al-Abdu and Ussoud Al-Sharqiya to cease fighting government forces in southeastern Syria and withdraw to Jordan. Both groups refused the request. -On September 9, pro-government forces broke a years-long siege of Deir Ezzor airbase and captured the Damascus-Deir Ezzor highway from ISIS. -SDF launched Operation Jazeera Storm to liberate Deir Ezzor province from ISIS. -On September 10, SDF reached the industrial zone to the east of Deir Ezzor city putting the US-backed coalition within 15 km (10 miles) of pro-government forces positioned to the west of the Euphrates river. -On September 11, the Jordanian Foreign Minister, Ayman Safadi, and Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, declared the ceasefire brokered by Jordan, Russia and the United States in the southern Syrian provinces of Daraa, Quneitra and Suweida on July 9 a success and reiterated their commitment to the establishment a de-escalation zone in the area as a step towards achieving a comprehensive cessation of hostilities and a political solution to the crisis. On September 12, pro-government coalition forces continued their push into ISIS-held territory in Deir Ezzor city. Russia and Syria warplanes conduct heavy bombardment in support, killing an estimated 69 people over the course of 72 hours. -Hezbollah leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, declared the war in Syria over, referring to the remaining fighting as "scattered battles". -ISIS defectors have massed in Syria's Idlib province with many planning to cross into Turkey before continuing to other parts of the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. -Iran and Syria sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in Syria's electricity sector. The arrangement, part of a series of bilateral deals formalizing Iran's role in Syria's reconstruction process, provides for the establishment of a new power generation station in Latakia and the rehabilitation of gas units and power generating plants in Damascus, Aleppo, Deir Ezzo and Homs. -On September 13, the remaining buses of the convoy of ISIS fighters and their families stranded for over two weeks in the Syrian desert reportedly reached Mayadin, in militant-held Deir Ezzor province, following the withdrawal of US surveillance aircraft on September 8 in respect of de-confliction arrangements with Russia. -The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that pro-government coalition forces controlled 85 percent of Syrian territory. SOHR disputed the claim, saying government forces held 48 percent of Syria. -Experts from Russia, Iran and Turkey met ahead of the sixth round of talks in Astana, Kazakhstan to "lay the groundwork" for negotiations on the establishment of de-escalation zone in Idlib province. -On September 14, Col. Ryan Dillon, spokesperson for the US-led coalition fighting ISIS, said SDF forces will not enter Deir Ezzor city, and will instead focus operations on areas south of the city along the Euphrates river. He also said US-backed SDF was in control of 63 percent of Raqqa city. -On September 15, Ahmad Abu Khawla, commander of the SDF-affiliated Deir Ezzor Military Council, declared that it will not allow government forces to cross to the eastern banks of the Euphrates river. -Representatives from Russia, Iran and Turkey reached an agreement on the delineation and monitoring mechanism for the implementation of a de-escalation zone in Idlib province and agreed to position observers in "safe zones". Russia circulated a draft resolution among the permanent members of the Council to welcome the outcome of the Astana talks. -On September 16, the SDF and US Coalition officials accused pro-government forces of attacking one of their positions in the industrial zone east of Deir Ezzor city, injuring 6 SDF fighters. According to US Coalition sources, Russia conducted the airstrike after the United States had denied its request to target the area. Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov rejected the allegations, saying warplanes carried out "pinpoint strikes only on Islamic State targets that have been observed and confirmed through several channels." -High-level consultations commenced between the Syrian government and the OPCW aimed at clarifying all outstanding issues regarding Syria's initial declaration of its chemical weapons facilities. -On September 17, a convoy of 80 Turkish military vehicles deployed to Turkey's southern border, close to the Bab Al-Hawa and Rihaniyah crossings with Syria's Idlib Governorate, ahead of the implementation of a de-escalation zone agreement brokered at the recent Astana talks. -On September 18, pro-government coalition forces crossed to the eastern bank of the Euphrates river to within five kilometers of SDF positions. In the first sign of direct contact between the SDF and the pro-government forces, US-led coalition spokesperson Col. Ryan Dillon said "open lines" of communication were being maintained to prevent clashes between the two forces as they converge on ISIS positions. -After capturing the Deir Ezzor Military Airporst from ISIS fighters, pro-government forces began operating combat and supply missions from the airport. -The World Food Programme (WFP) reached formerly besieged parts of Deir Ezzor city by land for the first time since May 2014. WFP has discontinued its high-altitude airdrop operations in favor of road deliveries which will allow for more affordable, sustainable humanitarian access. -In a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Members of the "Friends of Syria" Group agreed they will not support reconstruction in Syria until there is a political transition "away from Assad." -During its 36th session, the Human Rights Council held an interactive dialogue with the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria to discuss the continued targeting of civilians and the use of chemical weapons in the conflict, appealing to all parties to redouble their efforts to protect civilians and preserve civilian infrastructure. -On September 19, AOGs led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), the Turkistan Islamic Party and Free Syrian Army affiliates launched an offensive against pro-government forces in northern Hama province in an effort to dismantle the de-escalation zone agreement on Idlib province brokered at the recent Astana talks. The offensive sparked intense Russian and Syrian bombardment of opposition-held territory in Hama and Idlib Governorates. Syrian government forces claimed the airstrikes targeted "terrorist supply lines" but SOHR alleged the strikes hit hospitals and towns, killing civilians. -The Syrian government asserted it will not accept Turkish forces on Syrian soil, effectively contradicting
Why did Wilsonian ideals influence AEF actions in the First World War, and how did that affect the United States' involvement in the nation's first large-scale coalition operation? Wilsonian ideals influenced the AEF's actions in the First World War because most American leaders and soldiers shared Wilson's concepts of Progressivism and believed that the United States should play a role in saving Europe. Even if some did not agree with Wilson's politics, most doughboys shared his ideas of American Exceptionalism, and these views affected United States involvement in the nation's first large-scale coalition operation. In merging the two topic areas of Wilson's ideologies and AEF involvement in the war, this essay will attempt to answer how the American doughboy found motivation in the same principles that guided President Wilson. ; Master of Arts in Military History ; Week 11 Final Paper Wilsonianism in the First World War: Progressivism, American Exceptionalism, and the AEF Doughboy Brian P. Bailes A paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts in Military History Norwich University MH 562B Dr. John Broom August 16, 2020 Bailes 2 While the duration of American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) involvement in First World War combat operations remained short compared to the armies of the European powers, the experience had a lasting impact on the United States' status as a global power. President Woodrow Wilson's mediation in the European affair throughout American neutrality, his integration of the AEF into Allied operations, and his contribution to the post-war peace process cast him as a central figure of the conflict as well as a harbinger of United States interventionist foreign policy. Through the more than a century since the end of the war, historians have analyzed and debated various facets of United States belligerency. Historians have explored President Wilson's ideologies and the decision making that ultimately led to him making his April 1917 appeal to Congress for American belligerency. Additionally, historians have expanded on AEF actions in Europe and argued how General Pershing's adamancy on maintaining an independent American command created tension with the Allied leaders. Historians have not connected these two topics to analyze how a reader can conceptually link Wilson's ideas and doughboy exploits in Europe. Why did Wilsonian ideals influence AEF actions in the First World War, and how did that affect the United States' involvement in the nation's first large-scale coalition operation? Throughout the historiography of United States involvement in the First World War, specific themes reoccur as significant areas of consensus. The historiography presents two primary arguments in which historians agree. Historians agree that Wilson's peace objectives drastically differed from those of the Allies, and historians agree that these differences motivated Wilson's decisions regarding how the United States would enter the war. Historians also agree that friction existed between General Pershing and the Allied Commanders once the AEF arrived in Europe and began combat operations. These two commonalities in the historiography remain Bailes 3 relatively constant throughout the past 50 years of historical research, and even when portraying more positive sentiments expressed between AEF and Allied soldiers, historians still note some tension between Pershing and the Allied commanders. Historians agree that Wilson's peace objectives differed significantly from those of the Allies. David Woodford argues that the gap between British imperial interests and Wilson's peace objectives affected the alliance between the United States and England throughout the war.1 William Widenor argues that Wilson failed in achieving his goals during the Versailles Peace Settlement because he attempted to make too many concessions for enduring peace, and he claims that Wilson grew at odds with the Allied leaders at the peace conference.2 George Egerton argues that British policymakers were closely monitoring the dispute within the United States Senate during the Treaty of Versailles conference, and he suggests that British leadership remained skeptical of Wilson's League of Nations.3 Historians capture Wilson's opposing peace aims throughout the European conflict, and they seemingly agree on how these aims influenced Wilson's policies and actions. Some historians cite the most significant gap in peace aims as existing between the United States and France. David Stevenson argues that French leaders were continually at odds with Wilson throughout the war as the French war aims focused much more on their national security, which they saw as requiring the destruction of Imperial Germany.4 Stevenson points out that while Wilson's peace aims differed from England as well as France, many French objectives 1 David R. Woodward, Trial by Friendship: Anglo-American Relations, 1917-1918 (Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 1993), 7-25, 35-43, 77-80, 125-9, 208-20. 2 William C. Widenor, "The United States and the Versailles Peace Settlement," Modern American Diplomacy, eds. John M. Carroll and George C. Herring (Lanham: SR Books, 1996), 46-59. 3 George W. Egerton, "Britain and the 'Great Betrayal': Anglo-American Relations and the Struggle for United States Ratification of the Treaty of Versailles, 1919-1920," The Historical Journal 21, no. 4 (December 1978): 885-911, https://www.jstor.org/stable/2638973. 4 David Stevenson, "French War Aims and the American Challenge, 1914-1918," The Historical Journal 22, no. 4 (December 1979): 877-894, https://www.jstor.org/stable/2638691. Bailes 4 were more aggressive against Germany as they involved reclaiming land lost to Germany in previous wars, specifically the 1870 Franco-Prussian War.5 Stevenson highlights the fact that Wilson could not get French officials to see the "two Germanys" concept that prevailed in American thinking at the time. While the American public generally saw two Germanys – the autocratic ruling party dominated by the Prussian elite and the German people living under that oppressive regime – Stevenson argues that France only saw Imperial Germany as a total enemy.6 Robert Bruce explains that during the post-war occupation period, the American doughboys perceived Frenchmen as distrustful and hateful toward German soldiers, and this sullied the alliance between France and the United States.7 In line with Wilson's ideology, historians cite Wilson's desire for Europe to achieve a "peace without victory" as he attempted to serve as a mediator during the United States period of neutrality. These historians ultimately conclude that Wilson believed any of the European powers achieving their aims through victory would lead to a continuation of balance of power politics in Europe. They argue that Wilson thought merely putting an end to the fighting would be the only way to achieve lasting peace. Ross Gregory argues that Wilson acted as a persistent mediator throughout the war as he strove for a "peace without victory."8 Arthur Link explains that Wilson believed a "peace without victory" and a "draw in Europe" proved the best solution for establishing a new system to replace the broken power structure in Europe.9 Ross Kennedy portrays Wilson as advocating the United States as a neutral mediator striving for a "peace 5 Stevenson, 884, 892-4. 6 Stevenson, 885. 7 Robert B. Bruce, A Fraternity of Arms: America & France in the Great War (Lawrence: The University Press of Kansas, 2003), 286-95. 8 Ross Gregory, The Origins of American Intervention in the First World War (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1971), 115-6. 9 Arthur Link, "Entry into World War I," Progress, War, and Reaction: 1900-1933, eds. Davis R.B. Ross, Alden T. Vaughan, and John B. Duff (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, Inc., 1970), 141. Bailes 5 without victory" before the U.S. entered the war, then as an advocate of "just peace" after they entered the war.10 Kennedy argues that Wilson blamed the international system that led to power politics and wanted to have a separate voice in the peace process to shape a new diplomatic and global political order.11 Historians point to Wilson's ideology as a reason for his differing peace objectives, and historians point to Wilson's Christian faith as a significant motivation for his progressive philosophy. Lloyd Ambrosius highlights Wilson's four tenets of national self-determination, open-door economic globalization, collective security, and progressive history as the framework in which he envisioned a global order shaped by American democratic ideals that would bring the world to peace.12 Ambrosius examines Wilson's embrace of "American Exceptionalism" and looks at how his Anglo-American bias clouded his vision and prevented him from seeing the various cultural factors throughout the world.13 Ronald Pestritto examines Wilson's progressive form of history while arguing that Wilson saw democracy emerging within society as a phenomenon only natural to specific groups of people, and he only saw a few civilizations as "progressed."14 Pestritto notes Wilson's Christian inspiration, referencing early manuscripts written by Wilson titled "Christ's Army" and "Christian Progress."15 William Appleman Williams argues that Wilson maintained a Calvinist idealism that intensified the existing doctrine 10 Ross A. Kennedy, "Woodrow Wilson, World War I, and American National Security," Diplomatic History 25, no. 1 (Winter 2001): 15, 29, https://doi.org/10.1111/0145-2096.00247. 11 Kennedy, "Woodrow Wilson, World War I, and American National Security," 2-3. 12 Lloyd E. Ambrosius, Wilsonianism: Woodrow Wilson and His Legacy in American Foreign Relations (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002), 2-47. 13 Ambrosius, Wilsonianism, 125-34; Lloyd E. Ambrosius, Woodrow Wilson and American Internationalism (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017), 33-49; Lloyd E. Ambrosius, "World War I and the Paradox of Wilsonianism," The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era 17 (2018): 5-22, https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537781417000548. 14 Ronald J. Pestritto, Woodrow Wilson and the Roots of Modern Liberalism (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2005), 6-61. 15 Pestritto, Woodrow Wilson and the Roots of Modern Liberalism, 23, 40. Bailes 6 based on God's supposed ordination of American influence and expansion in the world.16 Richard Gamble explains that Wilson's vision and rhetoric nested with many of the Christian messages of progressive religious leaders in the United States during the First World War who saw the war as a Christian crusade to spread American ideals.17 Historians seem in unanimous agreement that Wilson's separate peace aims formed the primary impetus for him seeking an independent American presence in the war effort. David Esposito argues that Wilson wanted to have an American presence in the war because he realized that to establish a dominant American voice in the post-war peace talks, the United States needed to make a significant contribution to Allied victory.18 Edward Coffman details the United States' experiences in the First World War by explaining Wilson's desire to gain an independent voice in the peace process.19 David Trask maintains that Wilson wanted to "remain somewhat detached from the Allies" in defeating Imperial Germany to provide Wilson leverage so that he could directly influence the post-war peace process.20 Arthur Link explains that Wilson did see the benefit of not joining the Entente but keeping the United States independent of "any political commitments" with the Allies as providing a chance to ensure an American presence at the peace conference.21 Thomas Knock argues that Wilson faulted the "balance of power" politics of Europe and saw the United States as the actor to save Europe and create a new system of 16 William Appleman Williams, The Tragedy of American Diplomacy (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1959; New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2009), 67-112. Page references are to the 2009 edition. 17 Richard M. Gamble, The War for Righteousness: Progressive Christianity, the Great War, and the Rise of the Messianic Nation (Wilmington: ISI Books, 2003), 22-3, 86-208, 254-5. 18 David M. Esposito, "Woodrow Wilson and the Origins of the AEF," Presidential Studies Quarterly 19 no. 1 (Winter 1989): 127-38, https://www.jstor.org/stable/40574570. 19 Edward M. Coffman, The War to End All Wars: The American Military Experience in World War I (Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 1968), 5-8. 20 David F. Trask, The AEF & Coalition Warmaking, 1917-1918 (Lawrence: The University Press of Kansas, 1993), 2-6. 21 Link, "Entry into World War I," 141. Bailes 7 diplomacy.22 Overall, historians agree that President Wilson desired very different peace outcomes for a post-war Europe, and this influenced him as he made decisions regarding United States actions throughout the war. In addition to the agreement that Wilson's peace aims differed from the Allies, historians also agree that once the United States did enter the war and the AEF arrived in Europe, friction quickly developed between General Pershing and the Allied commanders. David Trask argues many instances of "increasing friction" existed between Pershing and the French and British command. Trask includes a case where the Allies "attempted to bypass Pershing" by working directly with Wilson even though Wilson had appointed Pershing as Commander in Chief of the AEF.23 Trask argues that Pershing believed that the preceding few years of trench warfare had "deprived the French and even the British of offensive spirit," and he maintains that with Pershing's "open warfare" tactics, his methods of training drastically differed from the Allies.24 Michael Adas cites disagreement between Pershing and the Allied commanders immediately after Pershing arrived in France due to Pershing's unwillingness to listen to the experienced French and British leaders as they tried to suggest ways to employ the AEF.25 Adas argues that Pershing's desire to pursue "open warfare" did not take into account the realities of trench warfare and resulted in costly casualties.26 Russell Weigley cites frequent tensions between Pershing and the Allied commanders, including an example in September of 1918 in which AEF 22 Thomas J. Knock, To End All Wars: Woodrow Wilson and the Quest For a New World Order (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992; Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2019), 30-69. 23 Trask, AEF & Coalition Warmaking, 38-9. 24 Trask, AEF & Coalition Warmaking, 19. 25 Michael Adas, "Ambivalent Ally: American Military Intervention and the Endgame and Legacy of World War I," Diplomatic History 38 no. 4 (September 2014): 705-7, http://doi.org/10.1093/dh.dhu032. 26 Adas, "Ambivalent Ally," 710. Bailes 8 "traffic congestion" caused a significant disturbance in a visit from Georges Clemenceau.27 Weigley explains that Pershing's belief in "open warfare" would not work due to the enormous American divisions built for the trenches, arguing that Pershing would need "smaller, maneuverable divisions" if he wanted his open warfare to work.28 All historians agree that the issue of AEF amalgamation with the French and British forces served as the primary reason for the friction between the military leaders. David Woodford cites the notion that AEF amalgamation would "undermin[e] the significance of the American military role." Hence, Pershing remained adamant in his stance not to let the Allies use American soldiers to fight under French or British flags.29 Woodward notes that Pershing felt his AEF superior to the Allies as he "believed that the Americans had almost nothing to learn from French and British officers."30 Woodford explains that war aims and peace objectives formed the basis of a fractured Anglo-American relationship that finally crumbled during the peace conference.31 Mitchell Yockelson argues that despite tension between Pershing and the Allied leaders regarding the question of amalgamation, the 27th and 30th Divisions contributed significantly to the Allied effort under British command. Yockelson highlights a fascinating illustration of Pershing's stubbornness in noting that Pershing did not follow the exploits of these divisions even though they proved instrumental in the offensive against the Hindenburg Line.32 As an enduring theme throughout the amalgamation debate, historians point to Pershing's desire for the United States to deliver the decisive blow against Germany with an independent 27 Russell F. Weigley, "Strategy and Total War in the United States: Pershing and the American Military Tradition," Great War, Total War: Combat and Mobilization on the Western Front, 1914-1918, eds. Roger Chickering and Stig Förster (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000), 333. 28 Weigley, "Pershing and the American Military Tradition," 341-2. 29 Woodward, Trial by Friendship, 57-8. 30 Woodward, 88. 31 Woodward, 7-80, 112-220. 32 Mitchell A. Yockelson, Borrowed Soldiers: Americans Under British Command, 1918 (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2008), 92-228. Bailes 9 American army. Allan Millett argues that Wilson gave Pershing the explicit directive to keep the AEF separate from the Allies and allowed Pershing the freedom to make decisions on how to integrate the AEF.33 Millett cites Pershing's initial plan to use an AEF offensive on Metz as the critical blow that would decide the war and establish an American contribution to defeating Imperial Germany. Pershing would not have his AEF ready to carry out this offensive until 1919, and his stubbornness in dealing with the requests for amalgamation in the interim "frustrated the Allies."34 Bullitt Lowry narrates Pershing's attempt to shape the post-war peace terms by arguing that Pershing wanted to force Germany into an "unconditional surrender." While Lowry concludes that Pershing's effort to influence the political realm failed, he believed that the only way to "guarantee victory" would be to crush Germany in battle.35 David Woodward argues that Pershing believed that the AEF would decide the war by becoming "the dominant role in the war against Germany."36 Woodward cites Pershing's ideas regarding "the aggressive American rifleman, whose tradition of marksmanship and frontier warfare" could rid the Western Front of trench warfare and execute a great offensive against Germany.37 Historians cite the notion throughout the ranks of the AEF that the United States should remain independent from the Allies, and historians point to the fact that many doughboys saw themselves as superior soldiers to the Allies. Robert H. Zieger argues that "virtually the entire military establishment" agreed with Pershing's desire to have an independent American 33 Allan R. Millett, "Over Where? The AEF and the American Strategy for Victory, 1917-1918," Against All Enemies: Interpretations of American Military History from Colonial Times to the Present, eds. Kenneth J. Hagan and William R. Roberts (Westport: Greenwood Press, Inc., 1986), 237. 34 Millett, "Over Where?," 239. 35 Bullitt Lowry, "Pershing and the Armistice," The Journal of American History 55 no. 2, (September 1968): 281-291, https://www.jstor.org/stable/1899558. 36 Woodward, Trial by Friendship, 81. 37 Woodward, 89, 207. Bailes 10 command.38 Still, Zieger does note that this separate American command relied heavily on the Allies for logistics support, and the AEF "misunderstood the military dynamics of the Western Front."39 Richard Faulkner argues that Pershing's doctrine rested on his belief that the "superior American rifle marksmanship, aggressiveness, and skilled maneuvering" could win the fight for the Allies.40 Faulkner argues that American soldiers saw themselves as intervening in the war effort to help the failing French and British, taunting their British partners by claiming AEF stands for "After England Failed." He devotes a chapter named as such to explain the AEF belief in the superiority of the American fighting man.41 Harold Winton argues that Pershing believed that the United States soldier was superior to his European counterpart.42 Jennifer Keene argues that issues such as the treatment of African-American soldiers and disagreements about which nation contributed the most to the Allied victory created rifts between the two allies.43 In her full text, Keene narrates AEF interactions with their French Allies, and she claims that doughboys saw themselves as superior fighters who could help turn the tide of war.44 Michael Neiberg explains that United States citizens and soldiers came away from the conflict with the belief in the "inherent superiority" of the American system over that of Europe.45 38 Robert H. Zieger, America's Great War: World War I and the American Experience (Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2000), 92-102. 39 Zieger, America's Great War, 96. 40 Faulkner, Pershing's Crusaders: The American Soldier in World War I (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2017), 285. 41 Faulkner, 281-304. 42 Harold Winton, "Toward an American Philosophy of Command," The Journal of Military History 64, no. 4 (October 2000): 1059, https://www.jstor.org/stable/2677266. 43 Jennifer D. Keene, "Uneasy Alliances: French Military Intelligence and the American Army During the First World War," Intelligence and National Security 13, no. 1 (January 2008): 18-36, https://doi.org/10.1080/02684529808432461. 44 Jennifer D. Keene, Doughboys, the Great War, and the Remaking of America (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001), 105-11. 45 Michael S. Neiberg, The Path to War: How The First World War Created Modern America (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016), 23. Bailes 11 Even when historians convey a more positive relationship between the AEF and their Allied counterparts, they still address the tension between Pershing and Allied leadership. Robert Bruce portrays a much more positive partnership between the doughboy and his French ally. Bruce documents Marshal Joseph Joffre's visit to the United States after Congress declared war against Germany to muster American support for the French. By comparing France's visit to Britain's, Bruce argues that Joffre established the framework for an intimate Franco-American partnership.46 Bruce maintains that the French respected the American soldier and viewed the entry of the AEF into the war as the saving grace of the Allies. Bruce narrates a bond between doughboys and French troops that increased as they trained and fought together.47 Despite this positive portrayal by Bruce of the French and AEF bond, Bruce still highlights the tension in Pershing's interactions with French commanders as well as noting the general perception amongst French commanders that Pershing thought "he knew everything there was to know about modern warfare."48 Bruce adds that different peace aims and post-war sentiments towards Germany created disagreements amongst American and French soldiers that fractured the relationship built during the war.49 Of note, Bruce suggests that the doughboys harbored what they saw as a "perceived lack of aggressiveness in the French."50 After synthesizing the historiography, the question remains regarding how these two arguments can be linked. Why did Wilsonian ideals influence AEF actions in the First World War, and how did that affect the United States' involvement in the nation's first large-scale 46 Robert B. Bruce, "America Embraces France: Marshal Joseph Joffre and the French Mission to the United States, April-May 1917," Journal of Military History 66 no. 2 (April 2002): 407-441, http://doi.org/10.2307/3093066; Bruce, A Fraternity of Arms, 32-59. 47 Bruce, A Fraternity of Arms, 86-121. 48 Bruce, A Fraternity of Arms, 128, 143. 49 Bruce, A Fraternity of Arms, 286-95. 50 Bruce, A Fraternity of Arms, 122. Bailes 12 coalition operation? Wilsonian ideals influenced the AEF's actions in the First World War because most American leaders and soldiers shared Wilson's concepts of Progressivism and believed that the United States should play a role in saving Europe. Even if some did not agree with Wilson's politics, most doughboys shared his ideas of American Exceptionalism, and these views affected United States involvement in the nation's first large-scale coalition operation. In merging the two topic areas of Wilson's ideologies and AEF involvement in the war, this essay will attempt to answer how the American doughboy found motivation in the same principles that guided President Wilson. Perhaps a reader will identify that the AEF demonstrated trends in Europe that highlight an "American way of war" that still resonates in United States coalition operations today. When President Wilson brought the United States into the First World War in April of 1917, he sold it as an effort to make the world safe for democracy. In Wilson's war address to Congress, Wilson called Imperial Germany's resumption of their unrestricted submarine campaign "warfare against mankind."51 Wilson maintained that Imperial Germany had given the United States no other choice but to declare war when they resumed their submarine attacks on merchant ships in the early spring of 1917. Still, Wilson furthered his justification for war by appealing to the broader ideal of fighting to defeat the Imperial German autocracy. Wilson described the "selfish and autocratic power" against which a free people needed to wage war.52 Later in his address, Wilson stated that he found hope in what he saw as the restoration of power to the people demonstrated in the Russian Revolution. Wilson saw a pre-Lenin revolution as 51 Woodrow Wilson, "Address to a Joint Session of Congress Calling for a Declaration of War" in "President Wilson," Essential Writings and Speeches of the Scholar-President, ed. Mario R. DiNunzio (New York: NYU Press, 2006): 399, https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qfgbg.15. 52 Wilson, "Declaration of War," 400. Bailes 13 bringing democracy to the people of Russia, and it opened the door for the realization that the Allies fought because "the world must be made safe for democracy."53 Arthur Link comments on Wilson's initial optimism on hearing of the Russian Revolution overthrowing Czar rule.54 While the Russian Revolution took a different turn in the following years, the initial news of the Russian people revolting against the Czar gave Wilson confidence that democracy could spread in Europe since now the Allies truly represented a democratic system. Wilson had spent the first years of the war trying to mediate peace in Europe through United States neutrality, and he tried to negotiate an end to the fighting without a victory for any of the imperial belligerents. Wilson did not see a lasting peace coming to Europe if any of the imperial powers achieved their peace objectives, so he attempted to mediate a truce. Kendrick Clements narrates how Wilson's desire to keep the United States neutral grew at odds with his economic support for the Allies. War for the United States rose to be more likely as Imperial Germany became increasingly aggravated with the United States for supplying aid to France and Britain while professing neutrality.55 Fraser Harbutt argues that at the initial outbreak of war in Europe, leaders as well as citizens of the United States concerned themselves with the economic impacts of the war primarily, and the United States benefited economically by supporting the Allies, specifically in the steel trade.56 Imperial Germany's resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare, as well as the capture of Germany's Zimmerman Telegram in January 1917, soliciting an alliance with Mexico, prompted Wilson to support waging war on Imperial Germany. Now American entry into the conflict presented Wilson with some new options for shaping the post- 53 Wilson, "Declaration of War," 401-2. 54 Link, "Entry into World War I," 122-3. 55 Kendrick A. Clements, "Woodrow Wilson and World War I," Presidential Studies Quarterly 34, no. 1 (March 2004: 62-82, https://www.jstor.org/stable/27552564. 56 Fraser J. Harbutt, "War, Peace, and Commerce: The American Reaction to the Outbreak of World War I in Europe 1914," An Improbable War? The Outbreak of World War I and European Political Culture Before 1914, eds. Holger Afflerbach and David Stevenson (New York: Berghahn Books, 2007), 320-1. Bailes 14 war world. Thomas Knock describes how even though the United States entry into the war meant the essential failure of Wilson's "Peace Without Victory," the international community had seemingly bought into Wilson's concept of "collective security."57 In the previous few years of American neutrality, Wilson had advocated for creating a collection of democratic nation-states to band together to prevent war, and by 1917 the international community seemed interested. Wilson would use American belligerency to shape his new world order for peace. Russia's withdrawal from the war in March of 1918 made the need for a United States presence all the more significant for the Allies. The American soldier would be a crusader of sorts, attempting to cure Europe of the diplomacy of old that had brought her to destruction. The European July crisis of 1914 that erupted in a full-scale war the following month proved to be the culmination of decades of the European balance of power diplomacy that led to rival alliances and an armament race between the feuding dynasties.58 European power politics had dominated the continent for centuries, which inevitably escalated into a world war, and the United States soldier would have the opportunity to save the nations from which most of their ancestors had descended. Michael Neiberg argues that by 1917, the American people felt an obligation to enter the war to save Europe. While the people of the United States supported neutrality initially, Neiberg explains that public opinion swayed over time toward a desire to save Europe from the terror of Imperial Germany.59 The United States Secretary of War from 1916-1921, Newton Baker, published a text almost two decades after the armistice in which he maintained that the United States went to war to stop Imperial Germany and make the world safe for democracy. Baker took issue with the 57 Knock, To End All Wars, 115. 58 James Joll and Gordon Martel, The Origins of the First World War, 3rd ed. (New York: Routledge, 2013), 9-291. 59 Neiberg, The Path to War, 7-8, 31-3, 235. Bailes 15 historians of the 20s and 30s who claimed that economic interest influenced the United States entry into the war, and he argued they ignored the necessity of U.S. involvement to stop Germany. Baker explained that the American public remained overwhelmingly critical of the German autocracy and desired to intervene to save the European people.60 Private Alexander Clay of the AEF's 33rd Division demonstrated this sense of duty as he wrote regarding his 1918 deployment to France. As Clay's ship passed the Statue of Liberty while leaving the New York harbor, he thought to himself of the French leader Lafayette's role in securing United States victory during the American Revolution. He wrote that the AEF went to France to "repay the debt of our gratitude to your country for your country's alliance with our country in obtaining liberty from an oppressor England."61 For the United States to effectively reshape the world, there needed to be an independent American command that would ensure the United States contributed to the victory over Imperial Germany, which would give Wilson his seat at the post-war peace talks. In a January 22, 1917 address to the Senate in which he articulated his vision for peace in Europe, Wilson claimed that the warring European nations could not shape a lasting peace. While Wilson still did not advocate for United States intervention at this point, he did state that to achieve peace "[i]t will be absolutely necessary that a force be created as a guarantor of the permanency of the settlement so much greater than the force of any nation now engaged or any alliance hitherto formed or projected that no nation, no probable combination of nations could face or withstand it."62 In this speech, Wilson advocated for a "peace without victory" because he did not envision a peaceful 60 Newton D. Baker, Why We Went to War (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1936), 4-10, 20, 160-3. 61 Private Alexander Clay in American Voices of World War I: Primary Source Documents, 1917-1920, ed. Martic Marix Evans (Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2001; New York: Routledge, 2013), 19, Kindle. 62 Woodrow Wilson, "Essential Terms for Peace in Europe" in "President Wilson," Essential Writings and Speeches of the Scholar-President, 393. Bailes 16 outcome if any of the imperial powers achieved victorious peace terms.63 Wilson reiterated his stance that the United States should play a decisive role in shaping post-war Europe and ensuring that "American principles" guided the rest of the world.64 When the United States declared war against Imperial Germany a few months after this speech, it essentially put Wilson's vision into motion. Diplomatic historian William Widenor argues that Wilson realized that the United States needed to participate in the war "rather than as an onlooker" to achieve his visions for peace.65 Widenor notes Wilson's desire for the United States to enter the war as an "associate" to the Entente as opposed to an "ally," and Widenor maintains that Wilson desired to change the world and "democratize and also, unfortunately, to Americanize it."66 The late international historian Elisabeth Glaser captures the Wilson administration's balancing between maintaining an economic relationship with the Entente powers while attempting to remain "an independent arbiter in the conflict."67 Wilson appointed General Pershing to lead the American effort, and Wilson gave him the simple instruction to keep the American Expeditionary Forces as a command separate from the Allies. In 1928, the Army War College published The Genesis of the American First Army, which documented the details surrounding how the War Department created an independent army of the United States. The text includes a caption from Secretary of War Baker's memorandum to Pershing. Baker informed Pershing of Wilson's order to "cooperate with the forces of the other countries employed against the enemy; but in so doing the underlying idea must be kept in view that the forces of the United States are a separate and distinct component of 63 Wilson, "Essential Terms for Peace in Europe," 394. 64 Wilson, 396-7. 65 William C. Widenor, "The United States and the Versailles Peace Settlement," 42. 66 Widenor, 42-3. 67 Elisabeth Glaser, "Better Late than Never: The American Economic War Effort, 1917-1918," Great War, Total War: Combat and Mobilization on the Western Front, 1914-1918, eds. Roger Chickering and Stig Förster (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000), 390. Bailes 17 the combined forces, the identity of which must be preserved."68 The President did give Pershing the authority to decide how the AEF would integrate into Allied operations. Upon Pershing's June 13, 1917 arrival in Paris, he began making decisions regarding AEF employment as it pertained to logistics, training, and an initial American area of operations on the Western Front. With a plan of achieving a force of 1,328,448 men in France by the end of 1918, Pershing needed to ensure his troops were able to build combat power and prepare for war while simultaneously ensuring that he maintained a distinct American command.69 The following 17 months of conflict with American boots on the ground in Europe saw significant political and diplomatic friction between Pershing and the Allied commanders. Pershing attempted to keep his AEF intact while satisfying Allied requests for American soldiers to replace French and British casualties, especially when Germany launched their Spring 1918 offensives. Pershing described in his memoirs that the French and British requested American soldiers to fill their gaps on the front lines when they had each sent diplomatic missions to America shortly after the United States entered the war. Pershing maintained his adamancy against the United States "becoming a recruiting agency for either the French or British," and he recounted that the War Department retained his position as well.70 While Allied leaders ostensibly supported having an independent American army participate in the war effort, the need to replace casualties in the trenches proved to be their immediate concern. Russia withdrawing from the conflict allowed Germany to reinforce their strength on the Western Front and mount a series of offensives. Germany knew they had a limited window of time for victory 68 Army War College (U.S.) Historical Section, The Genesis of the American First Army (Army War College, 1928), Reprints from the collection of the University of Michigan Library (Coppell, TX, 2020), 2. 69 The Genesis of the American First Army, 2-9. 70 John J. Pershing, My Experiences in the World War, vol. 1 (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1931), 30-3. Bailes 18 with the United States continuing to build combat power, so they surged in the early months of 1918. Pershing faced a strategic dilemma of trying to support the Allies and get his troops in the fight while simultaneously attempting to build an independent American army. Ultimately, Pershing gave the Allies some of his army divisions as much needed replacements, and he made an effort to ensure that these divisions remained as intact as possible. Pershing endeavored to organize these divisions under a U.S. corps level command, but this corps command proved mostly administrative rather than tactical.71 By the time Pershing activated his independent American First Army, it only spent a few months in combat. The temporarily amalgamated doughboys Pershing gave to the Allies to meet their requests had contributed more to the defeat of Imperial Germany than Pershing's independent army. Mostly because Pershing had interspersed his divisions throughout the French and British fronts to meet the Allied requests for replacements, the American First Army did not activate until August of 1918. The September 20-25 Meuse-Argonne offensive would be the first significant operation for Pershing's independent army.72 David Trask concludes his critique of Pershing by recognizing the contribution that the American soldier played in providing manpower to the Allies. Trask commends the bravery of the American doughboy, but he argues that the amalgamated U.S. divisions contributed more to victory than the American First Army.73 In a similar vein, Mitchell Yockelson contends that the 27th and 30th Divisions who remained under British command throughout the war benefited over the rest of the AEF from extensive training led by the experienced British troops, and they contributed significantly to the Allied 71 The Genesis of the American First Army, 9-46. 72 John J. Pershing, Final Report of Gen. John J. Pershing: Commander-in-Chief American Expeditionary Forces. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1919), 37-8; The Genesis of the American First Army, 45-58. 73 Trask, The AEF & Coalition Warmaking, 174-7. Bailes 19 victory.74 Pershing detailed his plans to capitalize on the initiative gained with his Meuse-Argonne offensive to deliver his decisive blow against Germany. The November 11 armistice came before he could achieve his grand vision.75 While the American doughboy played a critical role in providing an Allied victory over Imperial Germany, Pershing never realized his concept of an independent American command autonomously crushing the German army. The American soldier contributed most significantly to the Allied victory by taking part in offensives planned and conducted under the control of French and British Generals. Understanding American motivation during the war effort requires understanding the Progressive Movement taking place in the early-twentieth-century United States. Michael McGerr writes a detailed account of the cause and effect of the Progressive Movement. McGerr describes the wealth disparity brought about by Victorian society and the Gilded Age, and the class conflict emerging from this gave birth to a social and political movement that attempted to enact massive change in the American system.76 McGerr claims that the Progressive Movement attempted such major reform that no social or political action since has tried "anything as ambitious" due to the adverse reactions of such massive change.77 The Progressive Movement engulfed American society and brought about changes in family structures, race relations, and governmental powers. Herbert Croly illustrated the drive for monumental change rooted in the Progressive Movement with his text Progressive Democracy. In his narrative, Croly advocated for a complete overhaul of the American system to achieve freedom and alleviate wealth disparity. Croly saw governmental reform as the method for spreading democracy to all 74 Yockelson, Borrowed Soldiers, 213-23. 75 Pershing, My Experiences in the World War, vol. 2, 355-87. 76 McGerr, A Fierce Discontent, 3-146. 77 McGerr, 315-9. Bailes 20 citizens.78 In describing American public opinion during the time of United States entry into World War I, David Kennedy argues that for those Americans who championed progressive ideals, "the war's opportunities were not to be pursued in the kingdom of commerce but in the realm of the spirit."79 While the United States maintained a formidable economic link with the Allies throughout American neutrality, Wilson appealed to American ideals to garner public support for the war. United States entry into the war did not come as the natural development of the Progressive Movement. Still, the American public's reason for supporting the war certainly borrowed progressive sentiments. Wilson championed progressive initiatives that had ingrained themselves in the national mood of early-twentieth-century America. Wilson ran for President in 1912 on the principles he codified the following year in his text The New Freedom. Wilson argued that the Jefferson era of United States democracy had long ended. Wilson maintained that because of the new complexities found in American society, a "reconstruction in the United States" needed to occur to achieve real economic and social freedom.80 Ronald Pestritto articulates Wilson's vision for a governmental system as it relates to a society's history and progress. According to Wilson, the method of government that works for people depends on how far that population has progressed. In that manner, the government should always change to reflect the progression of its people best.81 Pestritto argues that a major theme found in Wilson's 1908 text Constitutional Government in the United States rests in the idea that: [T]here are four stages through which all governments pass: (1) government is the master and people are its subjects; (2) government remains the master, not through 78 Herbert Croly, Progressive Democracy (New York: Macmillan, 1914; New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers; Second printing 2006), 25, 103-18. 79 David M. Kennedy, Over Here: The First World War and American Society (New York: Oxford University Press, 1980; New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 39. 80 Woodrow Wilson, The New Freedom: A Call for the Emancipation of the Generous Energies of a People (New York and Garden City: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1913), www.philosophical.space/303/Wilson.pdf. 81 Pestritto, Woodrow Wilson and the Roots of Modern Liberalism, 34-42. Bailes 21 force but by its fitness to lead; (3) a stage of agitation, when leaders of the people rise up to challenge the government for power; and (4) the final stage, where the people become fully self-conscious and have leaders of their own choosing.82 Wilson epitomized the Progressive Movement's ideals regarding the government adapting to the changes of the people to create a more representative system of government. He would appeal to these principles in advocating for United States intervention in Europe. An underlying sentiment existed within the Progressive Movement that sought to bring about massive change, and this energy extended into the war effort. Lloyd Ambrosius explains the rise of the United States as an imperial power during the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. The outcome of the American Civil War created a more powerful central government, and economic growth during the following decades allowed more opportunity for global expansion.83 As the United States extended its global presence, the ideals that formed the nation began to influence foreign policy. David Kennedy writes about the shift in prominent progressives toward support of the war effort. Kennedy references John Dewey as a significant advocate for utilizing the war to satisfy progressive initiatives. According to Kennedy, progressives found appeal in Wilson's reasons for American belligerency in Europe as "a war for democracy, a war to end war, a war to protect liberalism, a war against militarism, a war to redeem barbarous Europe, a crusade."84 Michael McGerr states that the First World War "brought the extraordinary culmination of the Progressive Movement."85 Regardless of the typical progressive view of war, progressives could find merit in Wilson's justification for United States involvement. 82 Pestritto, 37. 83 Ambrosius, Woodrow Wilson and American Internationalism, 26-32. 84 Kennedy, Over Here: The First World War and American Society, 50-3. 85 McGerr, A Fierce Discontent, 280. Bailes 22 Even though a vast segment of the United States population did not support going to war in Europe, the notion of saving Europe still permeated throughout American society. In a series of essays published in the July 1917 edition of The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, multiple thinkers of the time expressed the necessity of the United States entering the war to save Europe. Miles Dawson argued the importance of the United States' mission in the war by documenting the five "fundamentals" that made the United States unique, and he explained the importance of spreading those principles globally. Dawson advocated for the spreading of American ideals throughout the rest of the world.86 George Kirchwey argued that the United States must go to war to defeat Imperial Germany and secure peace. Kirchwey suggested that the war was a fight against an autocratic empire and a crusade to make the world safe for democracy. Kirchwey maintained that the United States needed to lead the effort in creating a world order for peace.87 Samuel Dutton saw the purpose of the United States as transcending party lines. Dutton suggested that the aim of defeating autocratic Imperial Germany needed to be a united American mission.88 Emily Greene Balch wrote that the United States "enters the war on grounds of the highest idealism, as the champion of democracy and world order."89 Walter Lippman argued that once the United States entered the war, they were obligated to fight to make the world safe for democracy. Lippman placed the blame for the war squarely on Germany and their aggression in Belgium and unrestricted submarine warfare. Similar to Wilson in his war address, Lippman drew parallels to the Russian Revolution and the 86 Miles M. Dawson, "The Significance of Our Mission in This War," The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 72 (July 1917): 10-13, http://www.jstor.com/stable/1013639. 87 George W. Kirchwey, "Pax Americana," Annals, 40-48, http://www.jstor.com/stable/1013645. 88 Samuel Dutton, "The United States and the War," Annals, 13-19, http://www.jstor.com/stable/1013640. 89 Emily Greene Balch, "The War in Its Relation to Democracy and World Order," Annals, 28-31, https://www.jstor.org/stable/1013643 Bailes 23 importance of it signaling that the Allies truly represented democracy.90 Wilson's reasons for war had found a voice in the academic circles of the United States, and they nested well with the progressive message. Wilson's goals for peace illustrate how Progressive initiatives manifested into the global sphere. In his August 18, 1914 address advocating for the American population to remain neutral during the European conflict, Wilson maintained that the United States held a responsibility "to play a part of impartial mediation and speak the counsels of peace and accommodation, not as a partisan, but as a friend."91 Similarly, when addressing the Senate over two years later communicating his persistent intent of mediating peace in Europe through American neutrality, Wilson criticized the demands for peace submitted by the Entente that sought revenge over Imperial Germany rather than a lasting peace. Wilson instructed that "peace must be followed by some definite concert of power which will make it virtually impossible that any such catastrophe should ever overwhelm us again."92 In line with his progressive ideology, Wilson believed in United States intervention in the European conflict that would fundamentally improve their diplomatic system entirely. The United States would intervene in Europe to not only end the conflict but restructure the political climate in a more peaceful, progressive manner. Kendrick Clements argues that Wilson's economic and diplomatic decisions throughout United States neutrality drew him into the war gradually as he continued to side with the Allies. Wilson attempted to maintain his ideals for peace as the United States continued to get closer to belligerency.93 When the United States entry into the war proved virtually inevitable, Wilson 90 Walter Lippman, "The World Conflict in Its Relation to American Democracy," Annals, 1-10, https://www.jstor.org/stable/1013638. 91 Woodrow Wilson, "An Appeal for Neutrality in World War I," 390. 92 Woodrow Wilson, "Essential Terms for Peace in Europe," 392. 93 Clements, "Woodrow Wilson and World War I," 63-81. Bailes 24 ensured that the reasons for fighting aligned with the progressive energy that moved within American society. A religious vigor inspired military action that can be seen as a product of the Progressive Movement as well. Richard Gamble narrates the origin of the opinion that the United States represented a light for the rest of the world, and he describes how this concept brought the nation into the war. Gamble argues that these Christian ideals drove the political climate as Wilson's vision echoed the religious sentiment, and they prompted men to fight.94 Gamble describes the "social gospel" movement that had energized progressive Christians in the United States as extending into the international realm. The same energy that had influenced Christians to enact domestic change had transcended into a desire to improve the world, and Wilson ensured these sentiments carried over into United States foreign policy.95 Ronald Pestritto argues Wilson's religious conviction and explains that Wilson linked his faith with his duty to help shape the rest of the world. Pestritto explains the belief that "America was a key battleground in the victory of good over evil."96 Richard Gamble's mention of literature such as Washington Gladden's 1886 "Applied Christianity" highlights the popular message of progressive faith that nests with Pestritto's argument.97 Wilson illustrated the linkage of religion and progressive reform when he spoke in Denver, Colorado, in a 1911 build-up to his run for the Presidency. Wilson commented that "liberty is a spiritual conception, and when men take up arms to set other men free, there is something sacred and holy in the warfare."98 Wilson went on to champion the necessity of finding truth in the Bible's message, and he concluded by warning against believing "that 94 Gamble, The War for Righteousness, 5-87. 95 Gamble, 69-87. 96 Pestritto, Woodrow Wilson and the Roots of Modern Liberalism, 40-3. 97 Gamble, The War for Righteousness, 49-67. 98 Woodrow Wilson, "The Bible and Progress" in "On Religion," Essential Writings and Speeches of the Scholar-President, https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qfgbg.7, 54. Bailes 25 progress can be divorced from religion."99 To Wilson, Christianity taught the spiritual duty of working toward social progress, and most progressive men of faith believed in these same sentiments which carried over toward United States actions in France. At the core of this Progressive energy and Wilson's peace aims were the sentiments surrounding an idea of American Exceptionalism. Many of the same ideas found in the religious aspect of the need to work for social progression catered to a sense of American Exceptionalism. In the same May 7, 1911 address in Denver, Colorado, Wilson spoke of the greatness of the United States as a direct correlation to the religious zeal and Biblical principles with which the founders had established the nation. According to Wilson, "America has all along claimed the distinction of setting this example to the civilized world."100 Wilson believed that the United States should serve as the model of Christian values for the rest of the world as "America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from the revelations of Holy Scripture."101 In his text In Search of the City on a Hill, Richard Gamble describes how the United States narrative utilized an interpretation of divine providence to create an image of a nation built on religious principles that should serve as an example for the rest of the world.102 Lloyd Ambrosius describes the prevalent belief in the early twentieth-century United States that considered the United States a "providential nation" as citizens attempted to justify global expansion.103 If the United States existed as a providential manifestation of God's will, then that could rationalize the spread of the American system into the international realm. 99 Wilson, "The Bible and Progress," 53-9. 100 Wilson, 56. 101 Wilson, 59. 102 Richard M. Gamble, In Search of the City on a Hill: The Making and Unmakng of an American Myth (London: Continuum International Publishng Group, 2012), 6-119. 103 Ambrosius, Woodrow Wilson and Ameriam Internationalism, 33. Bailes 26 Men of faith found a divine message in the need for the United States to intercede in the global sphere to mold the world in her image. Wilson's brand of progressive history nested well with his idea of American Exceptionalism. Lloyd Ambrosius explains Wilson's fundamental belief that "primitive peoples moved toward greater maturity over the generations."104 Wilson applied this to the history of the United States. As Ronald Perstritto describes, Wilson believed that "the history of human progress is the history of the progress of freedom."105 As people progressed, they, in turn, developed a governmental system that allowed for more representation for its citizens. According to Ambrosius, Wilson believed that "the United States represented the culmination of progressive historical development."106 The American people had achieved real progression in Wilson's historical model, and democracy achieved through the American Revolution solidified his theory. Wilson certainly made this point evident in his writings regarding history. Wilson suggests that "the history of the United States demonstrates the spiritual aspects of political development."107 The United States embodied the ideal form of Wilson's progressive history. Wilson saw it as the responsibility of the United States to spread its exceptional personification of progressive history with the rest of the world. Wilson acknowledged his views on the uniqueness of the United States in his New Freedom. While arguing for progressive reform in the states, Wilson stated that "[t]he reason that America was set up was that she might be different from all the nations of the world."108 Indeed, Wilson believed in the providential nature of the United States, and he desired to shape the rest of the world. 104 Ambrosius, Woodrow Wilson and American Internationalism, 236. 105 Pestritto, Woodrow Wilson and the Roots of Modern Liberalism, 37. 106 Ambrosius, Woodrow Wilson and American Internationalism, 236. 107 Woodrow Wilson, "The Historian," Essential Writings and Speeches of the Scholar-President, 216, https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qfgbg.10. 108 Wilson, The New Freedom, 16. Bailes 27 Early in the war during the period of United States neutrality, Wilson's reasons for remaining neutral stemmed from his belief in the exceptional nature of the American system and his desire for the United States to stay clear of European affairs. Even in American neutrality, Wilson still sought to mediate a peace in Europe because he perceived a chance to spread the democracy of the United States to Europe. Wilson believed that he needed to mediate in the European conflict because "mere terms of peace between the belligerents will not satisfy even the belligerents themselves," and he questioned whether the Entente and Central powers fought "for a just and secure peace, or only for a new balance of power."109 Wilson's peace aims were in sharp contrast to the Allied leaders, which illustrated his emphasis that the United States should mold a post-war Europe, and this tied directly to American Exceptionalism. While the British leadership concerned themselves with imperial interests, the French sought revenge on Germany from the 1870 Franco-Prussian War. Wilson made it clear in his war address that the United States had "no quarrel with the German people."110 Wilson's vision for a post-war world remained focused on a lasting peace rather than what he perceived as selfish imperial gains or senseless revenge. American Exceptionalism formed the foundation for the interventionist foreign policy of the Progressive Era, and it profoundly motivated Wilson as well as the bulk of American society. Diplomatic historian William Appleman Williams details the rise of the United States as a global power. Williams argues that most Americans in the early twentieth-century United States agreed not only with "Wilson's nationalistic outlook," but they also agreed that the nation should serve as an example for the rest of the world.111 As mentioned previously, Miles Dawson contributed 109 Woodrow Wilson, "Essential Terms for Peace in Europe," 393. 110 Woodrow Wilson, "Declaration of War," 401. 111 Williams, The Tragedy of American Diplomacy, 86. Bailes 28 to the July 1917 The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science to voice the justification of United States intervention in France. In his text, Dawson defined the five uniquely American fundamentals as: 1. The inalienable right of every man to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – not as a mere dead saying, but as a living reality. 2. The right of local self-government, within territories possessing or entitled to claim such right, embracing every power of government not expressly granted to the union. 3. The guaranty to each state of a forum for the redress of grievances of one state against another with full power to enforce the verdict of that forum. 4. The guaranty of a republican form of government to each constituent state. 5. The right and duty to maintain the union.112 To thinkers like Dawson, this unique set of traits not only provided United States citizens with a system of government that separated them from the rest of the world, but it inherently gave them a duty to spread the American ideology to the rest of the world. Fundamentally, the idea that the world should take the lead from the United States exemplified the broad theme of American Exceptionalism inspiring AEF actions in the war. With Progressivism and American Exceptionalism at the root of the war effort, the citizen-soldier of the AEF found inspiration in the same rhetoric. Nelson Lloyd described the "melting-pots" of the army cantonment areas in which soldiers who were born outside of the United States "have become true Americans. They have learned the language of America and the ideals of America and have turned willing soldiers in her cause."113 Michael Neiberg argues that a lasting legacy of United States involvement in the war became a unified American mission superseding any cultural allegiance, and "disagreements would no longer be based on ethnicity 112 Dawson, "The Significance of Our Mission in This War," 11. 113 Newson Lloyd, How We Went to War (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1922), 58, https://archive.org/details/howwewenttowar00lloyrich/page/n7/mode/2up. Bailes 29 or religion."114 United States entry into the war gave the American citizen-soldier a reason for fighting to preserve a democratic system in Europe, and Wilson's belief that the United States would play a central role became widespread amongst the ranks of the AEF. Lieutenant Willard Hill of the Transport Division and 94th Aero Pursuit Squadron claimed when hearing of the United States entry into the war "that this war is not over yet and that the U.S. troops will play a very decisive factor."115 The purpose of United States entry into the war inspired an idealism that would unify soldiers and champion a belief that the AEF would save Europe from the autocracy of Imperial Germany. Private Willard Newton of the 105th Engineers, 30th Division, exclaimed his joy during the September offensives by stating, "[a]t last we are at the beginning of a real battle between Prussianism and Democracy! And we are to fight on the side of Democracy that the world may forever be free from the Prussian peril!"116 The sentiments of these soldiers expressed a voice that echoed Wilson's desire to utilize an American army to bring peace to Europe, and Pershing dutifully followed his instructions. Pershing's stubbornness in not giving in to the Allies' request to amalgamate troops remained the most significant source of friction between him and the Allied military leaders. Still, Pershing's belief that the doughboy remained a superior warrior to the French and British soldier intensified Pershing's negative feelings toward his Allied counterparts. Pershing did not hide his views regarding coalitions when he wrote early in his memoirs that "[h]istory is replete with the failures of coalitions and seemed to be repeating itself in the World War."117 Russell Weigley argues that Pershing believed "that only by fighting under American command would 114 Michael S. Neiberg, "Blinking Eyes Began to Open: Legacies from America's Road to the Great War, 1914-1917," Diplomatic History 38, no. 4 (2014): 812, https://doi:10.1093/dh/dhu023. 115 Lieutenant Willard D. Hill (Cleburne, Texas) in American Voices of World War I, 47. 116 Private Willard Newton (Gibson, North Carolina) in American Voices of World War I, 140. 117 Pershing, My Experiences in the World War, vol. 1, 34. Bailes 30 American soldiers retain the morale they needed to fight well."118 This assertion proved incorrect as those American doughboys who fought under French and British command performed extraordinarily.119 David Trask maintains that Pershing's "presumption that the American troops were superior to others in the war helps explain his stubborn insistence on an independent army even during the greatest crisis of the war."120 Although the German Spring Offensives of 1918 put the Allies in desperate need of replacements, Pershing held his ground in resisting amalgamation. He only agreed to temporary amalgamation after much deliberation. Pershing's plan required maintaining a separate and distinct American force if the United States was to play a critical role in defeating Imperial Germany. This plan did not always synchronize with General Foch's overall plan for the Allied strategy for defeating Imperial Germany. Mitchell Yockelson describes an instance in late September 1918 in which a newly established AEF officers' school near Pershing's headquarters pulled a bulk of American officers from the front lines, which "affected the AEF First Army divisions that were about to attack in the Meuse-Argonne operation."121 United States political leadership back home undoubtedly noticed the friction between Pershing and the Allied leaders. David Woodward mentioned that at one point, Wilson and Secretary Baker intervened to plead with Pershing to be more accommodating to the Allies. According to Woodward, "Pershing proved as immovable as ever when it came to wholesale amalgamation and introducing Americans to trench warfare before he deemed them ready for combat."122 118 Weigley, "Pershing and the U.S. Military Tradition," 335. 119 Weigley, 335. 120 Trask, The AEF & Coalition Warmaking, 61. 121 Yockelson, Borrowed Soldiers, 127. 122 Woodward, Trial by Friendship, 168-9. Bailes 31 Pershing's doctrine of "open warfare" proved predicated on a firm belief in the exceptional quality of the American fighting man. In his memoirs, Pershing documented his view that the results of the Battle of the Marne had placed the opposing forces in a trench defensive that had taken away their aggression and ability to fight an offensive battle. Pershing maintained that "victory could not be won by the costly process of attrition, but it must be won by driving the enemy out into the open and engaging him in a war of movement."123 Sergeant-major James Block of the 59th Infantry, 4th Division, wrote after an offensive near Belleau Wood that his troops "had proven to ourselves that we were the Hun's master, even in our present untrained condition. The Hun could not stand before us and battle man to man."124 David Trask argues that Pershing's reliance on the rifle and bayonet under his open warfare doctrine limited the AEF's ability to adapt to the combined arms fight as quickly as did the French and British.125 In his Final Report, Pershing praised the Allied training system that prepared his inexperienced troops for combat on the Western Front. Although he admitted that his soldiers needed to learn from the experiences of the combat tested French and British, he stated that "[t]he long period of trench warfare had so impressed itself upon the French and British that they had almost entirely dispensed with training for open warfare."126 Pershing relied heavily on his infantrymen, and he saw the rifle and the bayonet as the superior weapon. He did not factor advances in the machine gun, tanks, and artillery to integrate all lethal assets onto the battlefield. According to Richard Faulkner, Pershing planned on using his troops – who he believed were 123 Pershing, 151-4. 124 Sergeant-major James W. Block (Marquette, Michigan) in American Voices of World War I, 108. 125 Trask, The AEF & Coalition Warmaking, 19. 126 Pershing, Final Report, 13-5. Bailes 32 better suited for offensive warfare – to "force the Germans from their trenches into open terrain where the Allies' greater resources would then destroy the unprotected enemy army."127 Perhaps nothing exhibited Pershing's obtuse attitude toward his Allied counterparts more than his desire to beat the French in seizing Sedan from the Germans. Pershing outlined his wishes that his "troops should capture Sedan, which the French had lost in a decisive battle in 1870."128 Russell Weigley comments on Pershing's intent "to try to snatch from the French army the honor of recapturing the historic fortress city of Sedan, where the Emperor Napoleon III had surrendered to the Prussians on September 1-2, 1870."129 Sergeant-major Block described the fierce German resistance during the late September Allied offensives. Still, he claimed that "[o]nce the Americans penetrated that line, their advance northward would be comparatively easy. Sedan would fall next."130 The AEF performed well during the offensives in early November, and the crumbling Imperial German army made Sedan easily attainable for either Pershing's Second Army or the Franco-American armies.131 David Trask points out the diplomatic issue that would ensue if Pershing were to "deprive the French army of this honor."132 The new commander of the American First Army, General Liggett, ultimately did not carry out the attack, which undoubtably prevented a political and diplomatic disaster.133 Russell Weigley maintains that Liggett changed plans after "the offended French" updated him of Pershing's plans on November 7.134 The idea that Pershing wished to take away French retribution by giving 127 Faulkner, Pershing's Crusaders, 285. 128 Pershing, My Experiences in the World War, vol. 2, 381. 129 Weigley, "Pershing and the U.S. Military Tradition," 342. 130 Sergeant-major Block in American Voices of World War I, 135. 131 Bruce, A Fraternity of Arms, 282-3. 132 Trask, The AEF & Coalition Warmaking, 174. 133 Trask, 174, 134 Weigley, 343. Bailes 33 his troops a decisive victory and morale boost demonstrated his disconnect from the sentiments of his Allied counterparts. Pershing's belief in the superiority of the American soldier to his French and British counterpart extended to the lower ranks of the AEF. While perhaps sensationalizing his account, Scout Corporal Edward Radcliffe of the 109th Infantry, 28th Division wrote regarding actions around St Agnon "that the French of the 10th or 6th army had fallen back, their officers being shot by our men when they ordered them to retreat."135 In a post-World War I survey, Sergeant Donald Drake Kyler of the 16th Infantry, 1st Division answered a question about what he learned about America and Americans from the war. Sergeant Kyler stated that "Americans are inclined to brag about their systems and accomplishments which may or not be superior to those of other peoples or cultures."136 In many of the accounts of AEF actions in Europe, General Pershing and his doughboys showcased American Exceptionalism. Richard Faulkner devotes a chapter of his text to argue that most of the AEF doughboys perceived inferiority in the French way of life compared to the United States. The majority of white AEF soldiers came away from the war, believing that, in terms of technology as well as general health and welfare, American society remained superior to that of France and England.137 Faulkner makes note that "with the notable exception of the African Americans, the soldiers generally believed that their society was markedly superior to anything they encountered in Europe."138 Sergeant-major Block wrote a letter home to his parents during the post-war occupation period. He wrote of the perception that "Paris makes up for the backwardness of the rest of France."139 135 Corporal Edward Radcliffe in American Voices of World War I, 94. 136 Sergeant Donald Drake Kyler (Fort Thomas, Kentucky) in American Voices of World War I, 196. 137 Faulkner, Pershing's Crusaders, 188-93. 138 Faulkner, 189. 139 Sergeant-major Block in American Voices of World War I, 191. Bailes 34 While the bond formed between the French and British soldiers and the AEF doughboy proved strong, there still seemed to be a sentiment of American superiority amongst the AEF ranks. Tasker H. Bliss, who served as Army Chief of Staff from September 1917 to May 1918, documented the challenge of absent unified Allied command in a 1922 essay. Bliss wrote a detailed piece in which he criticized the lack of a unified Allied mission while praising General Foch and championing his eventual selection as "Allied Commander-in-Chief."140 Bliss condemned the Allied leaders for waiting so long before establishing any sort of unified command, and he argued that for the first years of the war, they fought for their national goals only. Bliss maintained that this hindered United States integration into the war effort as well.141 Charles Pettit wrote an account of his time on the Western Front. Initially serving in the British army, Pettit joined the AEF once they arrived and concluded his 42 months of combat with the Rainbow Division. Pettit commented that "[w]e know why the French and English didn't win the War. They was waiting for us."142 Robert Bruce expands on the relationship between the American and French soldiers during the post-war occupation period. The doughboys believed that the Allied victory had eliminated the threat of autocratic Imperial Germany. At the same time, the French soldiers still demonstrated distrust of the German for fear of a future war. According to Bruce, "Americans did not want to hear about the need to prepare for a future war with Germany. They believed that victory in the Great War and the conversion of Germany to a democracy was enough to end the menace; Americans were unwilling to do more."143 For the AEF doughboy, the United States' actions in the war had saved Europe from the threat of the 140 Tasker H. Bliss, "The Evolution of the Unified Command," Foreign Affairs 1, no. 2 (December 1922): 1-30, https://www.jstor.org/stable/20028211. 141 Bliss, 7-30. 142 Charles A. Pettit in Echoes From Over There: By the Men of the Army and Marine Corps who Fought in France, eds. Craig Hamilton and Louise Corbin (New York City: The Soldiers' Publishing Company, 1919), 107-9. 143 Bruce, A Fraternity of Arms, 289. Bailes 35 Imperial German autocracy. United States' involvement in its first large-scale coalition operation had solidified the dominance of the American soldier and the system for which he fought. The American doughboy contributed significantly to the Allied victory over Imperial Germany. Without American boots on the ground in France, Imperial Germany may have defeated the Allies. Allan Millett argues that Pershing's independent army did not achieve all that Pershing had hoped. Still, Millett maintains that an accurate assessment of the war would be that the "Allies might have lost the war without the American Expeditionary Forces."144 With the Russian withdrawal from the war and Germany's surge in the Western Front in the Spring of 1918, the Allies desperately needed more boots on the ground. AEF actions in Cantigny, Belleau Wood, and the attack on the Hindenburg line proved the value of the doughboys to the Allied victory over Imperial Germany and the Central Powers. Acknowledging the contribution of the American soldier to the Allied victory should remain a critical focus of any study of United States involvement in the war. While the presence of American troops on the ground benefited the Allies and did give Wilson his seat at the post-war peace talks, Pershing did not realize his grand vision of an independent American army crushing Imperial Germany. Bullitt Lowry documents Pershing's desire to capitalize on increasing the United States combat power to continue pressing a weakening German army and deliver a crushing blow.145 The Germans signed the armistice before Pershing could make this happen. While Wilson gained his seat at the peace conference and Pershing did not get his chance to win a tactical victory, the French and British still received their original desires and delivered Germany "harsh armistice terms."146 144 Millett, "Over Where?," 251. 145 Lowry, "Pershing and the Armistice," 286-91. 146 Lowry, 291. Bailes 36 With the eventual collapse of the League of Nations, Wilson never achieved his vision of a new world order for peace. Still, the United States government had established its importance and commenced its entry into the realm of global powers. United States involvement in the First World War helped solidify a national identity as well as establish an American presence on the international stage. Theodore Roosevelt Jr. wrote a letter on May 15, 1919, in which he documented the benefit of the war and what he saw as "Americanizing and democratizing" the soldiers through military service.147 Roosevelt commented that through service in support of the war effort, "love of the men for their country has been deepened, that their sense of real democracy has been sharpened and steadied and that insofar as any possible bad effect goes, the men are more than ever ready and determined to see order and fair play for all."148 In a similar vein, Italian born AEF Sergeant Morini wrote that the war provided him a chance "to make good on my Americanism."149 To Morini, fighting in the war provided him with "the right to the name Yankee all right."150 While the United States' efforts in the war were in support of the Allies, the war became a chance for the nation to claim its identity. A country that had been torn apart by civil war half a century before utilized the war effort to continue to unify and recover its self-proclaimed providence. The war ostensibly became an effort to Americanize its own citizens. The historiography of United States involvement in the First World War presents various arguments. Some historians such as David Trask and Russell Weigley remain critical of General Pershing and his decision making. While some scholarly history shows a narrative less scathing of Pershing, most of the description found in popular history showcases valiant actions of 147 Theodore Roosevelt in Echoes From Over There, 95. 148 Roosevelt, 95. 149 Sergeant Morini in Echoes From Over There, 115. 150 Morini, 115. Bailes 37 Pershing and his efforts in maneuvering the American Expeditionary Forces to achieve victory for the Allies against Imperial Germany. The fact remains that while the doughboys contributed significantly to the Allied victory, they helped the most when they were not fighting Pershing's fight. In his Final Report, Pershing highlights the benefit that the Allies provided to the American forces. In terms of training as well as logistics, the Allies provided the doughboys with the resources they needed to defeat Imperial Germany and the Central Powers effectively.151 Pershing recognized what the Allies had supplied him and his men, but his stubbornness and arrogance still clouded his vision to a degree. While Pershing did build a trusting relationship with the Allied commanders, and his troops were efficient, he did not always operate per their same vision. At times, Pershing's desire to maintain an independent American army superseded his desire to enable the Allied strategy. Pershing strived to meet Wilson's intent of keeping a distinct American command. The question remains if, in carrying out his President's instructions, Pershing prolonged the war and delayed the defeat of the Central Powers. Secondary and primary source literature from the First World War showcases both Wilson's peace aims – which were shaped by his ideology – as well as General Pershing and AEF actions while attempting to remain an independent command in the war. When war broke out in August 1914 in Europe, Wilson tried to mediate a peace while maintaining United States neutrality. When continued trade with the Allies brought the United States into the war in April of 1917, he seized the chance to shape a new world order by establishing an independent American command to defeat Imperial Germany. Primarily because of the Progressive Movement in the United States and the concepts surrounding American Exceptionalism, the American soldier embraced Wilson's ideologies for fighting and fought valiantly to defeat the 151 Pershing, Final Report, 90. Bailes 38 Imperial German autocracy. The Progressive Movement had established itself in American society by the time the citizen-soldier went to war in France, and the principles of American Exceptionalism permeated in virtually every facet of American culture. The American doughboy carried both of these concepts with him to France. Despite Pershing not attaining his decisive blow against the German army, and Wilson not achieving his vision for a new world order, the United States still met a significant amount of Wilson's original intent for entering the war. Wilson's ideologies influenced how the AEF fought in France. As the First World War shaped the United States standing as a global power, it also demonstrated the critical nature of maintaining relationships with coalition partners. Hew Strachan begins the conclusion to his history of the war by stating that "[t]he First World War was a coalition war."152 The American doughboy established a positive relationship with his French and British counterparts. The ability of the American soldier to learn from the experiences of the combat tested Allies, to adapt to the rigors of trench warfare, and to perform well in battle fighting beside his international partners shows the success of the AEF's performance in the nation's first large-scale coalition operation. Despite these successes, the AEF doughboy exhibited American Exceptionalism in the First World War. As the United States built its presence in the international realm over the following century, and the need for maintaining partnerships with allied nations continued to increase, the precedent set by the AEF in the nation's first large-scale coalition operation would be essential. 152 Hew Strachan, The First World War (New York: Viking Penguin, a member of Penguin Group, 2004; New York: Penguin Group, 2013), 303. Bailes 39 Bibliography Secondary Sources Adas, Michael. "Ambivalent Ally: American Military Intervention and the Endgame and Legacy of World War I." Diplomatic History 38 no. 4 (September 2014): 700-712, http://doi.org/10.1093/dh.dhu032. Ambrosius, Lloyd E. Wilsonianism: Woodrow Wilson and His Legacy in American Foreign Relations. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002. Ambrosius, Lloyd E. Woodrow Wilson and American Internationalism. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017. Ambrosius, Lloyd E. "World War I and the Paradox of Wilsonianism." 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Criterio Libre magazine has played an important role in promoting scientific dissemination as a fundamental mechanism in the transformation processes of our Latin American nations towards better formed societies, with a healthy balance between the necessary growth of the production of tangible and intangible goods and a more fair distribution of wealth, for the benefit of all its populations, which seek to eradicate poverty, which is the greatest scourge that humanity has not yet been able to overcome. Therefore, we rely on criteria of the development of science that contribute to these ideals, choosing then the best articles, subjected to rigorous evaluation processes by recognized national and international researchers, who have also contributed to raise the scientific quality of them through his thoughtful observations and also to develop scientific thinking and the use of the best style for their communication, enriching the social scientific thought in our nations. We can summarize these principles as follows: the development of science and technology as an expression of given sociocultural and valorative systems, the development of science at the service of productive transformation for the benefit of society, the awareness of the role of science and technology in the definition of power relations at the national and international levels and its insertion in development policies, the use of science and technological innovation as instruments of autonomy, openness to novel approaches in the consolidation of social science, the freedom of critical thinking at all levels of scientific knowledge management, among others. In this sense, we have tried to strengthen the analysis and critical development of economic, administrative, financial and accounting sciences, opening a space for the discussion and development of the epistemology of these social sciences, which increasingly becomes the central axis of our magazine. The present edition of Criterio Libre includes two articles that enrich this epistemological discussion: in the first one the researcher José J. Ortiz B. poses a dilemma that accompanies the development of accounting science, "The crisis of accounting representation: problems of science social or power politics?", which seeks to clarify the factors that originate the problem of accounting representation from a reflection on the theoretical foundations that support this important topic and the empirical references that show this problem, factors that have been seen as an epistemic obstacle in the consolidation of this young science and to which the author intends to contribute in his epistemological clarification and in the proposal of alternative solutions, which he proposes for discussion to the scientific community with an interdisciplinary approach and from the paradigm of complexity. In the second article, Professor Jean Paul Sarrazin poses an interesting dissertation on "Religion: do we know what we are talking about? Examination on the feasibility of an analytical category for the social sciences". The objective of this review was to find an analytical category that is precise, clear and sufficiently broad to study empirically the vast range of sociocultural phenomena that can be or have been considered as "religious". It concludes that in spite of the absence of a unified analytical category, some of the most prominent elements in the different definitions can constitute, by themselves, useful analytical categories for empirical research. It can be deduced that this section has been faithful to the principles that we exposed at the beginning of this editorial and that we hope will continue to become an open forum for the scientific development of our disciplines. A second section, devoted to accounting and finance, defines topics that have become of substantial interest due to the strong theoretical development that these disciplines have reached, arriving to a phase in which the disputes of the paradigms that support different approaches have been decanted, and it is in this field where contributions arise that consolidate important theoretical schemes or that, on the other hand, discard hypotheses that allow debugging systems that, in the manner of the layers of an onion, are grouped by levels, which contributes to the consolidation of the social sciences. In this section we find two important articles oriented under this philosophy: the first one analyzes the effects on the accounting information of public companies in the Colombian electricity sector of the implementation of Resolution 743 of 2013 regarding the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for some public companies. This topic is one of the applications of the important advances in the development of accounting theory for the financial economy, which in spite of this does not manage to establish solid roots for the conditions of the developing countries, as this article proves that the transformations assumed are the result of a change in the organizational economic model, where, rather than attending to the international regulation model, it responds to a process of concentration of strategic assets by actors that have the ability to capture regulation, demonstrating that the interdisciplinary approach is a fertile ground to explain in a better way the reality of these countries in the globalizing environment that characterizes the current economy of these countries. The second article, about the "Impact of self-financing on the innovation of micro, small and medium-sized Colombian companies," allows us to delve into an aspect that has not been explicitly studied and that is located at the frontiers of knowledge between economics, finance and the administration, especially directed at an important sector of the economy of the developing countries, that of the MSME companies, which despite their great contributions to the economic well-being of the population, occupying 80% of it in these countries, no intellectual effort has been devoted by our researchers, wasting a space of potential development of autonomy that will clear the way for the true socioeconomic development of our region. The descriptive results show that Colombian MSMEs use their own resources as a priority for their investments, and inferential results obtained through linear regressions indicate that internal financing has a positive and significant influence on their overall innovation, as well as on their products/services, productive processes and management. This is a variable of fundamental importance to be involved in the development policies for the Latin American industry and that very little is taken into consideration until now, in what has been called the Orange economy, which countries like Colombia want to promote. The reality is that internal or own resources are still the main source of funding for the investment projects of these companies, and while this is consistent with the postulates of the theory of financial hierarchy, everything seems to indicate that the reasons for this are mainly the barriers they encounter to access the external financial market. The next section, dedicated to economic discipline, shows us an important article focused on the analysis of the relationship between "Good governance and effectiveness of development aid", a topic of high relevance for our economies. The article aims to deepen the origin and changes experienced by the notion of good governance; analyzes the constituents and determinants of it, as well as its relationship with close concepts such as institutional quality, and above all, the ideas and evidence created on the relationship between good governance and the effectiveness of development aid. Finally, it concludes that there is no general consensus that aid has been effective in promoting economic growth, and there are both supporters and opponents of this idea. Reflectively, it paves the way for empirically verifying the true effects of economic aid and the conditions under which better results would be possible for the benefit of large masses of the population. This edition closes with two sections: the first one, traditional on topics of administration as a discipline that is structurally integrated with the economic, accounting and financial, and where two articles are developed: the first of these is entitled "Co-creation and new challenges of generating value that organizations face". This matter is very topical and marks a trend in modern administrative theory, which is revolving around the new approaches to the generation of value. It is concluded that, in order to generate a sustained value in organizations, the focus of the managers' actions must be the creation of joint value with their clients and not the exclusive goal of increasing the sales of their products or services usually designed internally and closed. The second article, under the title "Model to analyze the incidence of social capital in human development in Bogotá, DC", focuses on identifying whether there is a type of relationship between social capital and human development in the endogenous context of the city of Bogota. For this purpose, it is proposed to conduct a descriptive investigation, based on multiple regression analysis, which facilitates the proposal of a model that determines the level of incidence of social capital in human development, based on the calculation of the Human Development Index and the Index Decomposed social capital in cognitive capital index, ICSC, structural social capital index, ICSE, social representation index of social capital, IRSCS, components of the integral calculation of the social capital index. Based on these calculations, it is verified that the scope and use of social capital are unknown in the city, which generates a society with a high level of atomization and disinterest about the problems of citizenship. Being able to verify these assertions has the utmost importance to adopt policies of social and human development in the D.C., taking into account the different analytical components that were used in the study. In the last section, dedicated to knowledge management, the issue of bullying is analyzed pedagogically by sexual orientation among male students in the environment of secondary education, which seeks to contribute to the prevention of bullying behaviors, due to the effects that this has in the welfare of a population that tends to segregate in an undemocratic manner and that is already part of the educational models that should be oriented towards the formation of values. As pedagogues, we believe that education can and should create environments of respect and appreciation of difference, where everyone can access it, regardless of sexual orientation, gender or other social or cultural constructions. The set of the eight articles that we put at the disposal of the academic community, organized in the sections oriented according to the principles that support the scientific philosophy and the editorial policy of the magazine, is configured in a new effort that we are sure will contribute to the strengthening of the scientific and technological development of our disciplines in an environment that is ours, but that dialogues with the universality of knowledge at a global level, and that progressively will become the great pillars of our human and social development ; La revista Criterio Libre ha venido desempeñando un rol importante en la promoción de la divulgación científica como mecanismo fundamental en los procesos de transformación de nuestras naciones hispanoamericanas hacia sociedades mejor conformadas, con un sano equilibrio entre el necesario crecimiento de la producción de bienes tangibles e intangibles y una más justa distribución de la riqueza, en beneficio de todas sus poblaciones que buscan la erradicación de la pobreza, el mayor flagelo que la humanidad aún no ha podido superar. En ese orden de ideas, nos hemos fundamentado en criterios del desarrollo de la ciencia que contribuyan a esos ideales, seleccionando los mejores artículos, sometidos a procesos rigurosos de evaluación por reconocidos investigadores nacionales e internacionales, quienes también han contribuido a elevar la calidad científica de los mismos con sus atinadas observaciones y también a desarrollar el pensamiento científico y la utilización del mejor estilo para su comunicación, enriqueciendo el pensamiento científico social en nuestras naciones. Dichos principios los podemos sintetizar de la siguiente manera: El desarrollo de la ciencia y la tecnología como expresión de sistemas valorativos y socioculturales dados, el desarrollo de la ciencia al servicio de la transformación productiva en beneficio de la sociedad, la concientización del papel que tienen la ciencia y la tecnología en la definición de las relaciones de poder en los niveles nacional e internacional y su inserción en las políticas de desarrollo, la utilización de la ciencia y de la innovación tecnológica como instrumentos de autonomía, la apertura a enfoques novedosos en la consolidación de la ciencia social, la libertad del pensamiento crítico en todos los niveles de la gestión del conocimiento científico, entre otros. En tal sentido hemos querido fortalecer el análisis y desarrollo crítico de las ciencias económicas, administrativas, financieras y contables, abriendo un espacio para la discusión y desarrollo de la epistemología de estas ciencias sociales, que cada vez más se convierte en columna vertebral de nuestra revista. En el presente número se incluyen dos artículos que enriquecen dicha discusión epistemológica: en el primero de ellos el investigador José J. Ortiz B. nos plantea un dilema que acompaña el desarrollo de la ciencia contable, "La crisis de la representación contable: ¿problemas de la ciencia social o de la política del poder?", en donde busca dar claridad a los factores que originan la problemática de la representación contable a partir de una reflexión sobre los fundamentos teóricos que sustentan este importante tópico y los referentes empíricos que muestran dicha problemática, factores que necesariamente se han expresado como un obstáculo epistémico en la consolidación de esta joven ciencia y al que el autor pretende aportar tanto en su esclarecimiento epistemológico, como en la propuesta de alternativas de solución, que pone para discusión a la comunidad científica con un enfoque interdisciplinario y desde el paradigma de la complejidad. En el segundo artículo el profesor Jean Paul Sarrazin nos plantea una interesante 18 Universidad Libre disertación alrededor del concepto "Religión: ¿sabemos de lo que estamos hablando? Examen sobre la viabilidad de una categoría analítica para las ciencias sociales". El objetivo de esta revisión fue encontrar una categoría analítica precisa, clara y suficientemente amplia para estudiar empíricamente la vasta gama de fenómenos socioculturales que pueden ser o han sido considerados como "religiosos". Se concluye que a pesar de la ausencia de una categoría analítica unificada algunos de los elementos más destacados en las diferentes definiciones pueden constituir, en sí mismos, categorías analíticas útiles para la investigación empírica. Se puede deducir que esta sección ha sido fiel a los principios que expusimos al comienzo de este editorial y que esperamos se siga convirtiendo en tribuna abierta para el desarrollo científico de nuestras disciplinas. Una segunda sección, dedicada a la contabilidad y las finanzas, define temáticas que se han tornado de interés sustancial dado el fuerte desarrollo teórico que han venido alcanzado esas disciplinas, llegando a una fase en que las disputas de los paradigmas que sustentan diversos enfoques se han venido decantando y es en ese terreno donde florecen aportes que consolidan esquemas teóricos importantes o que, por otro lado, descartan hipótesis que permiten depurar sistemas que, a la manera de las capas de la cebolla, se van agrupando por niveles, lo cual contribuye a la consolidación de las ciencias sociales. En esta sección encontramos dos importantes artículos orientados bajo esa filosofía: el primero de ellos analiza los efectos que sobre la información contable de las empresas públicas del sector eléctrico colombiano tuvo la implementación de la Resolución 743 de 2013, la cual se refiere a la adopción de Normas Internacionales de Información Financiera (NIIF) para algunas empresas públicas, siendo este tópico uno de los aplicativos de los avances importantes del desarrollo de la teoría contable para la economía financierista, que a pesar de ello no logra asentar sólidas raíces para las condiciones de los países en desarrollo, como lo comprueba este artículo que encuentra que las transformaciones asumidas son el resultado de un cambio de modelo económico organizacional, en donde más que atender el modelo de regulación internacional, responde a un proceso de concentración de activos estratégicos por parte de actores que tienen la capacidad de capturar la regulación, demostrando que es el enfoque interdisciplinario un campo fértil para explicar de una mejor manera la realidad de estos países en el entorno globalizador que caracteriza la economía actual de dichos países. El segundo artículo acerca del "Impacto del autofinanciamiento sobre la innovación de las micro, pequeñas y medianas empresas colombianas", permite profundizar en un aspecto que no ha sido explícitamente estudiado y que se ubica en las fronteras del conocimiento entre la economía, las finanzas y la administración, dirigido especialmente a un sector importante de la economía de los países en desarrollo, el de las empresas Mipymes, que a pesar de sus grandes aportes al bienestar económico de la población al ocupar 80% de la misma en estos países, no se le ha dedicado un esfuerzo intelectual por parte de nuestros investigadores, desaprovechando un espacio de potencial desarrollo de la autonomía que permitirá desbrozar el camino del verdadero desarrollo socioeconómico de nuestra región. Los resultados descriptivos muestran que las Mipymes colombianas utilizan prioritariamente recursos propios para sus inversiones, y los resultados inferenciales obtenidos mediante regresiones lineales señalan que el financiamiento interno influye positiva y significativamente en su innovación global, así como en la de sus productos/servicios, procesos productivos y gestión. Esto es una variable de importancia fundamental para ser involucrada en las políticas de desarrollo para la industria latinoamericana y que muy poco se toma en consideración hasta ahora, en lo que se ha venido denominando la economía naranja, que países como Colombia quieren fomentar. La realidad es que los recursos internos o propios siguen siendo la principal fuente de financiación para los proyectos de inversión de estas empresas y si bien ello es coherente con los postulados de la teoría de la jerarquía financiera, todo parece indicar que las razones de esto son principalmente las barreras que encuentran para acceder al mercado financiero externo. Nuestra siguiente sección, dedicada a la disciplina económica, nos muestra un importante artículo enfocado al análisis de la relación entre "Buen gobierno y eficacia de la ayuda al desarrollo", tema de altísima pertinencia para nuestras economías. El artículo se propone profundizar en el origen y los cambios experimentados por la noción de buen gobierno; analiza los constituyentes y determinantes del mismo, así como su relación con conceptos cercanos como el de calidad institucional, y sobre todo, las ideas y la evidencia creada sobre las relaciones entre el buen gobierno y la efectividad de la ayuda al desarrollo. Finalmente llega a la conclusión de que no existe un consenso general en cuanto a que la ayuda haya sido eficaz para promover el crecimiento económico, y existen tanto defensores como detractores de esta idea. De manera reflexiva deja abierto el camino para verificar empíricamente los verdaderos efectos de la ayuda económica y las condiciones bajo las cuales se harían posibles unos mejores resultados en beneficio de grandes masas de la población. Cerramos este número con dos secciones: la primera, tradicional sobre temas de administración como disciplina que se integra estructuralmente con la económica, la contable y financiera, y donde se desarrollan dos artículos: el primero de estos se titula "La co-creación y los nuevos retos de generación de valor que enfrentan las organizaciones", siendo esta temática de gran actualidad y que marca una tendencia en la moderna teoría administrativa, que está girando sobre los nuevos enfoques de la generación de valor. Se concluye que, para generar un valor sostenido en las organizaciones, el foco de las acciones de los gestores debe ser la creación de valor conjunta con sus clientes y no la exclusiva meta de aumentar las ventas de sus productos o servicios habitualmente diseñados de manera interna y cerrada. El segundo artículo bajo el título "Modelo para analizar la incidencia del capital social en el desarrollo humano en Bogotá, D.C.", se centra en identificar si existe un tipo de relación entre el capital social y el desarrollo humano en el contexto endógeno de la ciudad de Bogotá. Para tal fin, se propone hacer una investigación descriptiva basada en análisis de regresión múltiple que facilita la proposición de un modelo que determina el nivel de incidencia del capital social en el desarrollo humano, partiendo del cálculo del Índice de desarrollo humano y del Índice de capital social descompuesto en índice 20 Universidad Libre de capital cognitivo, ICSC, índice de capital social estructural, ICSE, Índice de representación social del capital social, IRSCS, componentes del cálculo integral del índice de capital social. Con base en esos cálculos se llega a comprobar que en la ciudad se desconocen el alcance y uso del capital social, lo que genera construir una sociedad con alto nivel de atomización y desinterés por los problemas de la ciudadanía. Poder comprobar estos asertos es de suma importancia para adoptar políticas de desarrollo social y humano en el D.C., atendiendo los diferentes componentes analíticos que se utilizaron en el estudio. En la última sección, dedicada a la gestión del conocimiento, se analiza pedagógicamente el tema del bullying por orientación sexual entre estudiantes masculinos en el ambiente de la educación media, que busca contribuir a la prevención de comportamientos de bullying, por los efectos que ello tiene en el bienestar de una población que tiende a segregarse de manera antidemocrática y que ya hace parte de los modelos educativos que deben orientarse a la formación de valores. Como pedagogos, creemos que la educación puede y debe crear ambientes de respeto y valoración de la diferencia, en donde todos puedan acceder a ella, sin importar la orientación sexual, el género u otras construcciones sociales o culturales. El conjunto de los ocho artículos que ponemos a disposición de la comunidad académica, organizados en las secciones orientadas según los principios que fundamentan la filosofía científica y la política editorial de la revista, se configura en un nuevo esfuerzo que estamos seguros contribuirá al fortalecimiento del desarrollo científico y tecnológico de nuestras disciplinas en un entorno que nos es propio, pero que dialoga con la universalidad del conocimiento a nivel global, y que progresivamente se constituirán en los grandes pilares de nuestro desarrollo humano y social. ; La revue Criterio Libre a occupé un important rôle en promouvoir la divulgation scientifique comme mécanisme fondamental dans les procès de transformation de nos nations latino-americaines vers sociétés meilleure conformées, avec un sain équilibre entre la nécessaire croissance de la production de biens tangibles et intangibles et une plus juste distribution de la richesse, au profit de toutes ses populations, que cherchent éradiquer la pauvreté, qu'il est le majeur fléau que l'humanité encore n'a pas pu surpasser. Par l'antérieur, nous basons sur des critères du développement de la science qu'ils contribuent à ces idéals, en choisissant alors les meilleurs articles, soumis à des rigoureux procès d'évaluation par des reconnus chercheurs nationaux et internationaux, qui ont aussi contribué à élever la qualité scientifique des mêmes par leur sages observations et aussi à développer la pensée scientifique et l'utilisation du meilleur style pour sa communication, en enrichissant la pensé scientifique sociale dans nos nations. Nous pouvons résumer dits principes: le développement de la science et la technologie comme expression de systèmes d'évaluation et socio-culturelles donnés, le développement de la science au service de la transformation productive au profit de la société, la prise de conscience du rôle de la science et la technologie dans la définition des relations de pouvoir en les niveaux nationaux et internationaux et son insertion dans les politiques de développement, l›utilisation de la science et de l›innovation technologique comme des instruments d›autonomie, l›ouverture à nouvelles approches dans la consolidation de la science sociale, la liberté de la pensée critique en tous les niveaux de la gestion de la connaissance scientifique, entre autrui. Dans ce sens, nous avons essayé fortifier l'analyse et développement critique des sciences économiques, administratives, financiers et comptables, en ouvrant un espace pour la discussion et développement de l'epistemologie de ces sciences sociales, que de plus en plus se convertit dans l'axe central de notre revue. La présente édition comprend deux articles qu'ils enrichissent dite discussion epistémológique: en le premier d'ils le chercheur José J. Ortiz B. pose un dilemme qu'accompagne le développement de la science comptable, "La crise de la représentation comptable: ¿problèmes de la science sociale ou de la politique du pouvoir?", dans lequel cherche éclaircir les facteurs qu'ils causent la problématique de la représentation comptable à partir d'une réflexion sur les fondements théoriques qu'ils soutiennent cet important question et les référents empiriques qui montrent cette problématique, facteurs qui ont été considérés comme un obstacle épistémique à la consolidation de cette jeune science et aux quels l›auteur entend contribuir dans sa clarification épistémologique et dans la proposition de solutions alternatives qu›il donne à lacommunauté scientifique avec une approche interdisciplinaire et du paradigme de la complexité. Dans le deuxième article, le professeur Jean Paul Sarrazin fait une thèse intéressante sur "Religion: savons-nous de quoi nous parlons? Examen de la faisabilité d›une catégorie analytique pour les sciences sociales". L'objectif de cette revue était de trouver une catégorie analytique précise, claire et suffisamment large pour étudier empiriquement la vaste gamme de phénomènes socio-culturelles qui peuvent être ou ont été considérés comme "religieux". Il conclut qu'en dépit de l›absence d›unecatégorie analytique unifiée, certains éléments les plus saillants des différentes définitions peuvent euxmêmes constituer des catégories analytiques utiles à la recherche empirique. On peut déduire que cette section a été fidèle aux principes que nous avons énoncé au début de cet éditorial et que nous espérons qu'ils continuera à devenir une plateforme ouverte pour le développement scientifique de nos disciplines. Une deuxième section, consacrée à la comptabilité et à la finance, définit les sujets qui sont devenus d›un intérêt substantiel en raison du fort développement théorique que ces disciplines ont atteint, atteignant une phase dans la quelle les différends des paradigmes qui soutiennent diverses approches ont été réglés et c'est dans ce domaine que les contributions surgissent qui consolident des schémas théoriques importants ou qui, d'autrepart, écartent les hypothèses qui permettent des systèmes purifiants qui, à la façon des couches d›oignons, sont regroupés par niveaux, contribuant ainsi à consolider les sciences sociales. Dans cette section, nous trouvons deux articles importants orientés selon cette philosophie: le premier analyse les effets sur l›information comptable des entreprises publiques du secteur de l'électricité colombien de la mise en oeuvre de la résolution 743 de 2013 concernant l'adoption des normes internationales d›information financière (IFRS) pour certaines entreprises publiques. Ce sujet est l›une des applications des avancées importantes dans le développement de la théorie comptable pour l›économie financieriste qui malgré cela ne parvient pas à établir des racines solides pour les conditions des pays en développement, comme enté moigne cet article qui constate que les transformations supposées sont le résultat d›un changement du modèle économique organisationnel, où, plutôt que de s›intéresser au modèle de réglementation internationale, répond à un processus de concentration des actifs stratégiques par des acteurs qui ont la capacité de saisir la réglementation, démontrant que l'approche interdisciplinaire est un terrain fertile pour mieux expliquer la réalité de ces pays dans l'environnement mondialisant qui caractérise l›économie actuelle de ces pays. Le deuxième article, intitulé "Impact de l›autofinancement sur l'innovation dans les micro, petites et moyennes entreprises colombiennes», donne un aperçu d'un aspect qui n›a pas été explicitement étudié et qui se situe aux frontières de la connaissance entre économie, finance et administration, en particulier dans un secteur important de l›économie des pays en développement, celle des MPME, qui malgré leur grande contribution au bien-être économique de la population, occupant 80% de la population de ces pays, n'a pas fait l›effort intellectuel de nos chercheurs, gaspillant un espace de développement potentiel d'autonomie qui ouvrira la voie à un véritable développement socioéconomique de notre région. Les résultats descriptifs montrent que les PMI colombiennes utilisent principalement leurs propres ressources pour leurs investissements, et les résultats inférentiels obtenus par régression linéaire indiquent que le financement interne a une influence positive et significative sur leur innovation globale, ainsi que sur celle de leurs produits/services, processus de production et gestion. Il s›agit d'une variable d›une importance fondamentale à impliquer dans les politiques de développement de l'industrie latino-américaine et que trèspeu de choses sont prises en considération jusqu›à présent, dans cequ›on a appelé l'économie orange, que des pays comme la Colombie veulent promouvoir. En réalité, les ressources internes ou propres restent la principale source de financement des projets d'investissement de ces entreprises et, bien que cela soit conforme aux postulats de la théorie de la hiérarchie financière, tout semble indiquer que les raisons en sont principalement les obstacles qu›elles rencontrent pour accéder au marché financier extérieur. Notre prochaine section, consacrée à ladiscipline économique, nous présente un article important centré sur l'analyse de la relation entre "La bonne gouvernance et l'efficacité de l'aide"; un sujet de la plus haute pertinence pour nos économies. Il analyse les composantes et les déterminants de la bonne gouvernance, ainsi que sa relation avec des concepts étroitement liés tels que la qualité institutionnelle et, surtout, les idées et les preuves créées sur la relation entre bonne gouvernance et efficacité de l'aide au développement. En fin, il conclut qu'il n'y a pas de consensus général sur l'efficacité de l'aide dans la promotion de la croissance économique, et qu'il y a à la fois des défenseurs et des détracteurs de cette idée. D'une manière réfléchie, elle laisse ouverte la voie à la vérification empirique des effets réels de l'aide économique et des conditions dans les quelles de meilleurs résultats seraient possibles pour le bénéfice de larges masses de la population. Nous clôturons ce numéro avec deux sections : la première, traditionnelle sur les thèmes de l›administration en tant que discipline structurellement intégrée à l'économie, la comptabilité et lafinance, et où deux articles sont développés: le premier d'entre eux estintitulé "Co-création et lesnouveaux défis de création de valeur aux quels les organisations font face. Ce sujet est d›actualité et marque une tendance de la théorie administrative moderne, qui s›articule autour de nouvelles approches de la création de valeur. Il est conclu que, pour générer une valeur durable dans lesorganisations, les actions des gestionnaires doivent être axées sur la création de valeur conjointe avec leurs clients et non sur l›objectif exclusif d'augmenter les ventes de leurs produits ou services habituellement conçus en interne et de façon fermée. Le deuxième article, intitulé "Modèle d'analyse de l'incidence du capital social sur le développement humain à Bogotá, D.C.", vise à identifier s›il existe un type de relation entre capital social et développement humain dans le contexte endogène de la ville de Bogotá. Cette fin, il est proposé demener une recherche descriptive, fondée sur une analyse de régression multiple, qui facilite la proposition d'un modèle qui détermine le niveau d'incidence du capital social dans le développement humain, à partir du calcul de l'indice de développement humain et de l'indice de capital social répartis en composantes du calcul intégral de l'indice de capital social, soit l'indice de capital cognitif, l'ICSE, l'indice de capital social structurel, l'ICSC et l'IRSCS, et de l'indice de représentation du capital social. Sur la base de ces calculs, on constate que l'ampleur et l'utilisation du capital social dans la ville sont inconnues, ce qui engendre la construction d'une société avec un haut niveau d'atomisation et un désintérêt pour les problèmes de citoyenneté. Pouvoir vérifier ces affirmations a une importance capitale pour l'adoption de politiques de développement social et humain à Bogotá, D.C., en tenant compte des différentes composantes analytiques qui ont été utilisées dans l'étude. Dans la dernière partie, consacrée à la gestion des connaissances, le sujet des brimades dues à l'orientation sexuelle chez les élèves de sexe masculin estanalysé pédagogiquement dans l'environnement de l'enseignement secondaire, qui cherche à contribuer à la prévention des comportements debrimades, en raison des effets que cela a sur le bien-être d'une population qui tend à se séparer de manière antidémocratique et qui fait déjà partie des modèles éducatifs qui doivent être orientés vers la formation des valeurs. En tant que pédagogues, nous croyons que l'éducation peut et doit créer des environnements de respect et de valorisation de la différence, où chacun peut y accéder, indépendamment de son orientation sexuelle, de son sexe ou d'autres constructions sociales ou culturelles. L'ensemble des huit articles que nous mettons à la disposition de la communauté académique, organisés en sections orientées selon les principes qui sous-tendent la philosophie scientifique et la politique éditoriale de la revue, s'inscrit dans un nouvel effort qui, nous en sommes sûrs, contribuera à renforcer le développement scientifique et technologique de nos disciplines dans un environnement qui nous est propre mais qui dialogue avec l'universalité du savoir à un niveau global et qui deviendra progressivement les grands piliers de notre développement humain et social. ; A revista Critério Livre tem desempenhado um importante papel em promover a divulgação científica como um mecanismo fundamental nos processos de transformação de nossas nações latino-americanas para sociedades melhor formadas, com um equilíbrio saudável entre o necessário crescimento da produção de bens tangíveis e intangíveis e uma mais justa distribuição da riqueza, em benefício de todas as suas populações, que buscam erradicar a pobreza, que é o maior flagelo que a humanidade ainda não conseguiu superar. Pelo exposto, nos baseamos em critérios do desenvolvimento da ciência que contribuam para esses ideais, escolhendo então os melhores artigos, submetidos a rigorosos processos de avaliação por renomados pesquisadores nacionais e internacionais, que também contribuíram para elevar a qualidade científica dos mesmos através de seus atinadas observações,e também a desenvolver o pensamento científico e a utilização do melhorestilo para sua comunicação, enriquecendo o pensamento científico social em nossos países. Podemos resumir esses princípios assim: o desenvolvimento da ciência e da tecnologia como expressão de sistemas valorativos e socioculturais dados, o desenvolvimento da ciência a serviço da transformação produtiva em benefício da sociedade, a conscientização sobre o papel da ciência e da tecnologia na definição das relações de poder nos níveis nacional e internacional e sua inserção nas políticas de desenvolvimento, a utilização da ciência e da inovação tecnológica como instrumentos de autonomia, a abertura a abordagens inovadoras na consolidação da ciencia social, a liberdade do pensamento crítico em todos os níveis da gestão do conhecimento científico, entre outros. Neste sentido, tentamos fortalecer a análise e o desenvolvimento crítico das ciências econômicas, administrativas, financeiras e contábeis, abrindo um espaço para a discussão e desenvolvimento da epistemologia de estas ciências sociais, que cada vez mais torna-se o eixo central de nossa revista. A presente edição inclui dois itens que fazem parte desta discussão epistemológica: no primeiro deles, o pesquisador José J. Ortiz B. planta um dilema que acompanha o desenvolvimento da ciência contábil, "A crise da representação contábil: problemas da ciência social ou política do poder?", em que busca esclarecer os fatores que originam a problemática da representação contábil a partir de uma reflexão sobre os fundamentos teóricos que sustentam este importante tema e os referentes empíricos que mostram esta problemática, fatores que foram vistos como um obstáculo epistémico na consolidação dessa jovem ciência e o que o autor pretende contribuir para seu esclarecimento epistemológico e a proposta de alternativas de solução, que propõe para discussão com a comunidade científica com uma abordagem interdisciplinar e a partir do paradigma da complexidade. No segundo artigo, o profesor Jean Paul Sarrazin levanta uma interessante dissertação sobre "Religião: nós sabemos do que estamos falando? Análise da viabilidade de uma categoria analítica para as ciências sociais". O objetivo desta revisão foi encontrar uma categoria analítica, precisa, clara e suficientemente ampla para estudar empiricamente a vasta gama de fenômenos sócio-culturais que podem ser ou foram considerados como "religiosos". Conclui que, a pesar da ausência de uma categoria analítica unificada, alguns dos elementos mais destacados nas diferentes definições podem constituir, em si mesmos, categorias analíticas úteis para a investigação empírica. Pode-se deducir que esta seção tem sido fiel aos princípios que expusemos no início deste editorial, e que esperamos que continue transformando em uma tribuna aberta para o desenvolvimento científico de nossas disciplinas. Uma segunda seção, dedicada à contabilidade e as finanças, define temáticas que se tornaram de interesse substancial devido ao forte desenvolvimento teórico que atingiram essas disciplinas, chegando a uma fase em que as disputas dos paradigmas que sustentam várias abordagens foram decantado e é nesse terreno onde surgem contribuições que consolidam os importantes esquemas teóricos ou que, por outro lado, descartam hipótese que permitem depurar sistemas que, à maneira das camadas duma cebola, serão agrupadas por níveis, o que contribui para a consolidação das ciências sociais. Nesta seção encontramos dois importantes artigos orientados sob desta filosofia: o primeiro analisa os efeitos que sobre a informação contabilística das empresas públicas do setor elétrico colombiano teve a implementação da Resolução 743 de 2013, relativa à adopção de Normas Internacionais de Informação Financeira (NIIF) para algumas empresas públicas. Este tópico é um dos aplicativos de importantes avanços do desenvolvimento da teoria contábil para a economia financierista, que apesar disso não consegue establecer sólidas raízes para as condições dos países em desenvolvimento, como o comprova este artigo que encontra que as transformações assumidas são o resultado de uma mudança de modelo econômico, organizacional, onde, mais que atender o modelo de regulação internacional, responde a um processo de concentração de ativos estratégicos por parte de atores que têm a capacidade de capturar a regulação, demonstrando que a abordagem interdisciplinar é um campo fértil para explicar de uma maneira melhor a realidade destes países no ambiente globalizador que caracteriza a economía atual de tais países. O segundo artigo, sobre "o Impacto do autofinanciamento sobre a inovação das micro, pequenas e médias empresas colombianas", permite aprofundar um aspecto que não tem sido explicitamente estudado e que se situa na fronteira entre a economia, as finanças e a administração, dirigido especialmente a um setor importante da economia dos países em desenvolvimento, as empresas Mipymes, que apesar de suas grandes contribuições para o bem-estar económico da população, ao ocupar 80% da mesma em cada um destes países, não lhe foi dedicado um esforço intelectual por parte dos nossos investigadores, desaprovechando um espaço potencial de desenvolvimento da autonomia que permite desbrozar o caminho do verdadeiro desenvolvimento sócio-econômico de nossa região. Os resultados descritivos mostram que as Mipymes colombianas utilizam prioritariamente os recursos próprios para os investimentos, e os resultados inferenciales obtidos através de regressões lineares indicam que o financiamento interno influencia positiva e significativamente na inovação global, assim como a de seus produtos/serviços, processos produtivos e de gestão. Esta é uma variável de importância fundamental para ser envolvida nas políticas de desenvolvimento para a indústria latino-americana e que muito pouco se leva em consideração até agora, no que se tem denominado a economía laranja, que países como a Colômbia querem promover. A realidade é que os recursos internos ou próprios continuam sendo a principal fonte de financiamento para os projectos de investimento destas empresas, e se bem que isso é coerente com os postulados da teoria da hierarquia financeira, tudo parece indicar que as razões são principalmente as barreiras que encontram para acessar o mercado financeiro externo. A nossa seguinte secção, dedicada à disciplina económica, mostra-nos um importante artigo focado à análise da relação entre "Bom governo e eficácia da ajuda ao desenvolvimento", tema de altísima pertinência para as nossas economias. O artigo propõe-se aprofundar na origem e as mudanças experimentadas pela noção de bom governo; analisa os constituintes e determinantes do mesmo, bem como a sua relação com conceitos próximos como a qualidade institucional, e sobretudo, as ideias e a evidência criada sobre as relações entre o bom governo e a efetividade da ajuda ao desenvolvimento. Finalmente chega à conclusão de que não existe um consenso geral quanto a que a ajuda seja eficaz para promover o crescimento económico, e existem tanto defensores como detratores desta ideia. De maneira reflexiva deixa aberto o caminho para verificar empiricamente os verdadeiros efeitos da ajuda económica e as condições baixo as quais seriam possíveis uns melhores resultados em benefício de grandes massas da população. Fechamos esta edição com duas secções: a primeira, tradicional sobre temas de administração como disciplina que se integra estruturalmente com a económica, a contável e financeira, e onde se desenvolvem dois artigos: o primeiro destes se titula "A co-criação e os novos reptos de geração de valor que enfrentam as organizações". Esta temática é de grande atualidade e marca uma tendência na moderna teoria administrativa, que está a girar sobre as novas focagens da geração de valor. Conclui-se que, para gerar um valor sustentado nas organizações, o foco das ações dos gestores deve ser a criação de valor conjunta com os seus clientes e não a exclusiva meta de aumentar as vendas dos seus produtos ou serviços habitualmente desenhados de maneira interna e fechada. O segundo artigo, baixo o título "Modelo para analisar a incidência do capital social no desenvolvimento humano em Bogotá, D.C.", centra-se em identificar se existe um tipo de relação entre o capital social e o desenvolvimento humano no contexto endógeno da cidade de Bogotá. Para tal fim, propõe-se fazer uma investigação descritiva, baseada em análise de regressão múltipla, que facilita a proposição de um modelo que determina o nível de incidência do capital social no desenvolvimento humano, partindo do cálculo do Índice de desenvolvimento humano e do Índice de capital social decomposto em índice de capital cognitivo, ICSC, índice de capital social estrutural, ICSE, Índice de representação social do capital social, IRSCS, componentes do cálculo integral do índice de capital social. Com base nesses cálculos chega-se a comprovar que na cidade se desconhecem o alcance e o uso do capital social, o que gera construir uma sociedade com alto nível de atomização e desinteresse pelos problemas da cidadania. Poder comprovar estes asertos é de soma importância para adotar políticas de desenvolvimento social e humano no D.C., atendendo os diferentes componentes analíticos que se utilizaram no estudo. Na última secção, dedicada à gestão do conhecimento, analisa-se pedagógicamente o tema do bullying por orientação sexual entre estudantes masculinos no ambiente da educação média, que procura contribuir à prevenção de comportamentos de bullying, pelos efeitos que isso tem no bem-estar de uma população que tende a segregarse de maneira antidemocrática e que já faz parte dos modelos educativos que devem orientar à formação de valores. Como pedagogos, achamos que a educação pode e deve criar ambientes de respeito e valoração da diferença, em onde todos possam aceder a ela, sem importar a orientação sexual, o género ou outras construções sociais ou culturais. O conjunto dos oito artigos que pomos ao dispor da comunidade académica, organizados nas secções orientadas segundo os princípios que fundamentam a filosofia científica e a política editorial da revista, se configura em um novo esforço que estamos seguros contribuirá ao fortalecimiento do desenvolvimento científico e tecnológico das nossas disciplinas em um meio que nos é próprio, mas que dialoga com a universalidade do conhecimento a nível global, e que progressivamente constituir-se-ão nos grandes pilares do nosso desenvolvimento humano e social.
Criterio Libre magazine has played an important role in promoting scientific dissemination as a fundamental mechanism in the transformation processes of our Latin American nations towards better formed societies, with a healthy balance between the necessary growth of the production of tangible and intangible goods and a more fair distribution of wealth, for the benefit of all its populations, which seek to eradicate poverty, which is the greatest scourge that humanity has not yet been able to overcome. Therefore, we rely on criteria of the development of science that contribute to these ideals, choosing then the best articles, subjected to rigorous evaluation processes by recognized national and international researchers, who have also contributed to raise the scientific quality of them through his thoughtful observations and also to develop scientific thinking and the use of the best style for their communication, enriching the social scientific thought in our nations. We can summarize these principles as follows: the development of science and technology as an expression of given sociocultural and valorative systems, the development of science at the service of productive transformation for the benefit of society, the awareness of the role of science and technology in the definition of power relations at the national and international levels and its insertion in development policies, the use of science and technological innovation as instruments of autonomy, openness to novel approaches in the consolidation of social science, the freedom of critical thinking at all levels of scientific knowledge management, among others. In this sense, we have tried to strengthen the analysis and critical development of economic, administrative, financial and accounting sciences, opening a space for the discussion and development of the epistemology of these social sciences, which increasingly becomes the central axis of our magazine. The present edition of Criterio Libre includes two articles that enrich this epistemological discussion: in the first one the researcher José J. Ortiz B. poses a dilemma that accompanies the development of accounting science, "The crisis of accounting representation: problems of science social or power politics?", which seeks to clarify the factors that originate the problem of accounting representation from a reflection on the theoretical foundations that support this important topic and the empirical references that show this problem, factors that have been seen as an epistemic obstacle in the consolidation of this young science and to which the author intends to contribute in his epistemological clarification and in the proposal of alternative solutions, which he proposes for discussion to the scientific community with an interdisciplinary approach and from the paradigm of complexity. In the second article, Professor Jean Paul Sarrazin poses an interesting dissertation on "Religion: do we know what we are talking about? Examination on the feasibility of an analytical category for the social sciences". The objective of this review was to find an analytical category that is precise, clear and sufficiently broad to study empirically the vast range of sociocultural phenomena that can be or have been considered as "religious". It concludes that in spite of the absence of a unified analytical category, some of the most prominent elements in the different definitions can constitute, by themselves, useful analytical categories for empirical research. It can be deduced that this section has been faithful to the principles that we exposed at the beginning of this editorial and that we hope will continue to become an open forum for the scientific development of our disciplines. A second section, devoted to accounting and finance, defines topics that have become of substantial interest due to the strong theoretical development that these disciplines have reached, arriving to a phase in which the disputes of the paradigms that support different approaches have been decanted, and it is in this field where contributions arise that consolidate important theoretical schemes or that, on the other hand, discard hypotheses that allow debugging systems that, in the manner of the layers of an onion, are grouped by levels, which contributes to the consolidation of the social sciences. In this section we find two important articles oriented under this philosophy: the first one analyzes the effects on the accounting information of public companies in the Colombian electricity sector of the implementation of Resolution 743 of 2013 regarding the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for some public companies. This topic is one of the applications of the important advances in the development of accounting theory for the financial economy, which in spite of this does not manage to establish solid roots for the conditions of the developing countries, as this article proves that the transformations assumed are the result of a change in the organizational economic model, where, rather than attending to the international regulation model, it responds to a process of concentration of strategic assets by actors that have the ability to capture regulation, demonstrating that the interdisciplinary approach is a fertile ground to explain in a better way the reality of these countries in the globalizing environment that characterizes the current economy of these countries. The second article, about the "Impact of self-financing on the innovation of micro, small and medium-sized Colombian companies," allows us to delve into an aspect that has not been explicitly studied and that is located at the frontiers of knowledge between economics, finance and the administration, especially directed at an important sector of the economy of the developing countries, that of the MSME companies, which despite their great contributions to the economic well-being of the population, occupying 80% of it in these countries, no intellectual effort has been devoted by our researchers, wasting a space of potential development of autonomy that will clear the way for the true socioeconomic development of our region. The descriptive results show that Colombian MSMEs use their own resources as a priority for their investments, and inferential results obtained through linear regressions indicate that internal financing has a positive and significant influence on their overall innovation, as well as on their products/services, productive processes and management. This is a variable of fundamental importance to be involved in the development policies for the Latin American industry and that very little is taken into consideration until now, in what has been called the Orange economy, which countries like Colombia want to promote. The reality is that internal or own resources are still the main source of funding for the investment projects of these companies, and while this is consistent with the postulates of the theory of financial hierarchy, everything seems to indicate that the reasons for this are mainly the barriers they encounter to access the external financial market. The next section, dedicated to economic discipline, shows us an important article focused on the analysis of the relationship between "Good governance and effectiveness of development aid", a topic of high relevance for our economies. The article aims to deepen the origin and changes experienced by the notion of good governance; analyzes the constituents and determinants of it, as well as its relationship with close concepts such as institutional quality, and above all, the ideas and evidence created on the relationship between good governance and the effectiveness of development aid. Finally, it concludes that there is no general consensus that aid has been effective in promoting economic growth, and there are both supporters and opponents of this idea. Reflectively, it paves the way for empirically verifying the true effects of economic aid and the conditions under which better results would be possible for the benefit of large masses of the population. This edition closes with two sections: the first one, traditional on topics of administration as a discipline that is structurally integrated with the economic, accounting and financial, and where two articles are developed: the first of these is entitled "Co-creation and new challenges of generating value that organizations face". This matter is very topical and marks a trend in modern administrative theory, which is revolving around the new approaches to the generation of value. It is concluded that, in order to generate a sustained value in organizations, the focus of the managers' actions must be the creation of joint value with their clients and not the exclusive goal of increasing the sales of their products or services usually designed internally and closed. The second article, under the title "Model to analyze the incidence of social capital in human development in Bogotá, DC", focuses on identifying whether there is a type of relationship between social capital and human development in the endogenous context of the city of Bogota. For this purpose, it is proposed to conduct a descriptive investigation, based on multiple regression analysis, which facilitates the proposal of a model that determines the level of incidence of social capital in human development, based on the calculation of the Human Development Index and the Index Decomposed social capital in cognitive capital index, ICSC, structural social capital index, ICSE, social representation index of social capital, IRSCS, components of the integral calculation of the social capital index. Based on these calculations, it is verified that the scope and use of social capital are unknown in the city, which generates a society with a high level of atomization and disinterest about the problems of citizenship. Being able to verify these assertions has the utmost importance to adopt policies of social and human development in the D.C., taking into account the different analytical components that were used in the study. In the last section, dedicated to knowledge management, the issue of bullying is analyzed pedagogically by sexual orientation among male students in the environment of secondary education, which seeks to contribute to the prevention of bullying behaviors, due to the effects that this has in the welfare of a population that tends to segregate in an undemocratic manner and that is already part of the educational models that should be oriented towards the formation of values. As pedagogues, we believe that education can and should create environments of respect and appreciation of difference, where everyone can access it, regardless of sexual orientation, gender or other social or cultural constructions. The set of the eight articles that we put at the disposal of the academic community, organized in the sections oriented according to the principles that support the scientific philosophy and the editorial policy of the magazine, is configured in a new effort that we are sure will contribute to the strengthening of the scientific and technological development of our disciplines in an environment that is ours, but that dialogues with the universality of knowledge at a global level, and that progressively will become the great pillars of our human and social development ; La revista Criterio Libre ha venido desempeñando un rol importante en la promoción de la divulgación científica como mecanismo fundamental en los procesos de transformación de nuestras naciones hispanoamericanas hacia sociedades mejor conformadas, con un sano equilibrio entre el necesario crecimiento de la producción de bienes tangibles e intangibles y una más justa distribución de la riqueza, en beneficio de todas sus poblaciones que buscan la erradicación de la pobreza, el mayor flagelo que la humanidad aún no ha podido superar. En ese orden de ideas, nos hemos fundamentado en criterios del desarrollo de la ciencia que contribuyan a esos ideales, seleccionando los mejores artículos, sometidos a procesos rigurosos de evaluación por reconocidos investigadores nacionales e internacionales, quienes también han contribuido a elevar la calidad científica de los mismos con sus atinadas observaciones y también a desarrollar el pensamiento científico y la utilización del mejor estilo para su comunicación, enriqueciendo el pensamiento científico social en nuestras naciones. Dichos principios los podemos sintetizar de la siguiente manera: El desarrollo de la ciencia y la tecnología como expresión de sistemas valorativos y socioculturales dados, el desarrollo de la ciencia al servicio de la transformación productiva en beneficio de la sociedad, la concientización del papel que tienen la ciencia y la tecnología en la definición de las relaciones de poder en los niveles nacional e internacional y su inserción en las políticas de desarrollo, la utilización de la ciencia y de la innovación tecnológica como instrumentos de autonomía, la apertura a enfoques novedosos en la consolidación de la ciencia social, la libertad del pensamiento crítico en todos los niveles de la gestión del conocimiento científico, entre otros. En tal sentido hemos querido fortalecer el análisis y desarrollo crítico de las ciencias económicas, administrativas, financieras y contables, abriendo un espacio para la discusión y desarrollo de la epistemología de estas ciencias sociales, que cada vez más se convierte en columna vertebral de nuestra revista. En el presente número se incluyen dos artículos que enriquecen dicha discusión epistemológica: en el primero de ellos el investigador José J. Ortiz B. nos plantea un dilema que acompaña el desarrollo de la ciencia contable, "La crisis de la representación contable: ¿problemas de la ciencia social o de la política del poder?", en donde busca dar claridad a los factores que originan la problemática de la representación contable a partir de una reflexión sobre los fundamentos teóricos que sustentan este importante tópico y los referentes empíricos que muestran dicha problemática, factores que necesariamente se han expresado como un obstáculo epistémico en la consolidación de esta joven ciencia y al que el autor pretende aportar tanto en su esclarecimiento epistemológico, como en la propuesta de alternativas de solución, que pone para discusión a la comunidad científica con un enfoque interdisciplinario y desde el paradigma de la complejidad. En el segundo artículo el profesor Jean Paul Sarrazin nos plantea una interesante 18 Universidad Libre disertación alrededor del concepto "Religión: ¿sabemos de lo que estamos hablando? Examen sobre la viabilidad de una categoría analítica para las ciencias sociales". El objetivo de esta revisión fue encontrar una categoría analítica precisa, clara y suficientemente amplia para estudiar empíricamente la vasta gama de fenómenos socioculturales que pueden ser o han sido considerados como "religiosos". Se concluye que a pesar de la ausencia de una categoría analítica unificada algunos de los elementos más destacados en las diferentes definiciones pueden constituir, en sí mismos, categorías analíticas útiles para la investigación empírica. Se puede deducir que esta sección ha sido fiel a los principios que expusimos al comienzo de este editorial y que esperamos se siga convirtiendo en tribuna abierta para el desarrollo científico de nuestras disciplinas. Una segunda sección, dedicada a la contabilidad y las finanzas, define temáticas que se han tornado de interés sustancial dado el fuerte desarrollo teórico que han venido alcanzado esas disciplinas, llegando a una fase en que las disputas de los paradigmas que sustentan diversos enfoques se han venido decantando y es en ese terreno donde florecen aportes que consolidan esquemas teóricos importantes o que, por otro lado, descartan hipótesis que permiten depurar sistemas que, a la manera de las capas de la cebolla, se van agrupando por niveles, lo cual contribuye a la consolidación de las ciencias sociales. En esta sección encontramos dos importantes artículos orientados bajo esa filosofía: el primero de ellos analiza los efectos que sobre la información contable de las empresas públicas del sector eléctrico colombiano tuvo la implementación de la Resolución 743 de 2013, la cual se refiere a la adopción de Normas Internacionales de Información Financiera (NIIF) para algunas empresas públicas, siendo este tópico uno de los aplicativos de los avances importantes del desarrollo de la teoría contable para la economía financierista, que a pesar de ello no logra asentar sólidas raíces para las condiciones de los países en desarrollo, como lo comprueba este artículo que encuentra que las transformaciones asumidas son el resultado de un cambio de modelo económico organizacional, en donde más que atender el modelo de regulación internacional, responde a un proceso de concentración de activos estratégicos por parte de actores que tienen la capacidad de capturar la regulación, demostrando que es el enfoque interdisciplinario un campo fértil para explicar de una mejor manera la realidad de estos países en el entorno globalizador que caracteriza la economía actual de dichos países. El segundo artículo acerca del "Impacto del autofinanciamiento sobre la innovación de las micro, pequeñas y medianas empresas colombianas", permite profundizar en un aspecto que no ha sido explícitamente estudiado y que se ubica en las fronteras del conocimiento entre la economía, las finanzas y la administración, dirigido especialmente a un sector importante de la economía de los países en desarrollo, el de las empresas Mipymes, que a pesar de sus grandes aportes al bienestar económico de la población al ocupar 80% de la misma en estos países, no se le ha dedicado un esfuerzo intelectual por parte de nuestros investigadores, desaprovechando un espacio de potencial desarrollo de la autonomía que permitirá desbrozar el camino del verdadero desarrollo socioeconómico de nuestra región. Los resultados descriptivos muestran que las Mipymes colombianas utilizan prioritariamente recursos propios para sus inversiones, y los resultados inferenciales obtenidos mediante regresiones lineales señalan que el financiamiento interno influye positiva y significativamente en su innovación global, así como en la de sus productos/servicios, procesos productivos y gestión. Esto es una variable de importancia fundamental para ser involucrada en las políticas de desarrollo para la industria latinoamericana y que muy poco se toma en consideración hasta ahora, en lo que se ha venido denominando la economía naranja, que países como Colombia quieren fomentar. La realidad es que los recursos internos o propios siguen siendo la principal fuente de financiación para los proyectos de inversión de estas empresas y si bien ello es coherente con los postulados de la teoría de la jerarquía financiera, todo parece indicar que las razones de esto son principalmente las barreras que encuentran para acceder al mercado financiero externo. Nuestra siguiente sección, dedicada a la disciplina económica, nos muestra un importante artículo enfocado al análisis de la relación entre "Buen gobierno y eficacia de la ayuda al desarrollo", tema de altísima pertinencia para nuestras economías. El artículo se propone profundizar en el origen y los cambios experimentados por la noción de buen gobierno; analiza los constituyentes y determinantes del mismo, así como su relación con conceptos cercanos como el de calidad institucional, y sobre todo, las ideas y la evidencia creada sobre las relaciones entre el buen gobierno y la efectividad de la ayuda al desarrollo. Finalmente llega a la conclusión de que no existe un consenso general en cuanto a que la ayuda haya sido eficaz para promover el crecimiento económico, y existen tanto defensores como detractores de esta idea. De manera reflexiva deja abierto el camino para verificar empíricamente los verdaderos efectos de la ayuda económica y las condiciones bajo las cuales se harían posibles unos mejores resultados en beneficio de grandes masas de la población. Cerramos este número con dos secciones: la primera, tradicional sobre temas de administración como disciplina que se integra estructuralmente con la económica, la contable y financiera, y donde se desarrollan dos artículos: el primero de estos se titula "La co-creación y los nuevos retos de generación de valor que enfrentan las organizaciones", siendo esta temática de gran actualidad y que marca una tendencia en la moderna teoría administrativa, que está girando sobre los nuevos enfoques de la generación de valor. Se concluye que, para generar un valor sostenido en las organizaciones, el foco de las acciones de los gestores debe ser la creación de valor conjunta con sus clientes y no la exclusiva meta de aumentar las ventas de sus productos o servicios habitualmente diseñados de manera interna y cerrada. El segundo artículo bajo el título "Modelo para analizar la incidencia del capital social en el desarrollo humano en Bogotá, D.C.", se centra en identificar si existe un tipo de relación entre el capital social y el desarrollo humano en el contexto endógeno de la ciudad de Bogotá. Para tal fin, se propone hacer una investigación descriptiva basada en análisis de regresión múltiple que facilita la proposición de un modelo que determina el nivel de incidencia del capital social en el desarrollo humano, partiendo del cálculo del Índice de desarrollo humano y del Índice de capital social descompuesto en índice 20 Universidad Libre de capital cognitivo, ICSC, índice de capital social estructural, ICSE, Índice de representación social del capital social, IRSCS, componentes del cálculo integral del índice de capital social. Con base en esos cálculos se llega a comprobar que en la ciudad se desconocen el alcance y uso del capital social, lo que genera construir una sociedad con alto nivel de atomización y desinterés por los problemas de la ciudadanía. Poder comprobar estos asertos es de suma importancia para adoptar políticas de desarrollo social y humano en el D.C., atendiendo los diferentes componentes analíticos que se utilizaron en el estudio. En la última sección, dedicada a la gestión del conocimiento, se analiza pedagógicamente el tema del bullying por orientación sexual entre estudiantes masculinos en el ambiente de la educación media, que busca contribuir a la prevención de comportamientos de bullying, por los efectos que ello tiene en el bienestar de una población que tiende a segregarse de manera antidemocrática y que ya hace parte de los modelos educativos que deben orientarse a la formación de valores. Como pedagogos, creemos que la educación puede y debe crear ambientes de respeto y valoración de la diferencia, en donde todos puedan acceder a ella, sin importar la orientación sexual, el género u otras construcciones sociales o culturales. El conjunto de los ocho artículos que ponemos a disposición de la comunidad académica, organizados en las secciones orientadas según los principios que fundamentan la filosofía científica y la política editorial de la revista, se configura en un nuevo esfuerzo que estamos seguros contribuirá al fortalecimiento del desarrollo científico y tecnológico de nuestras disciplinas en un entorno que nos es propio, pero que dialoga con la universalidad del conocimiento a nivel global, y que progresivamente se constituirán en los grandes pilares de nuestro desarrollo humano y social. ; La revue Criterio Libre a occupé un important rôle en promouvoir la divulgation scientifique comme mécanisme fondamental dans les procès de transformation de nos nations latino-americaines vers sociétés meilleure conformées, avec un sain équilibre entre la nécessaire croissance de la production de biens tangibles et intangibles et une plus juste distribution de la richesse, au profit de toutes ses populations, que cherchent éradiquer la pauvreté, qu'il est le majeur fléau que l'humanité encore n'a pas pu surpasser. Par l'antérieur, nous basons sur des critères du développement de la science qu'ils contribuent à ces idéals, en choisissant alors les meilleurs articles, soumis à des rigoureux procès d'évaluation par des reconnus chercheurs nationaux et internationaux, qui ont aussi contribué à élever la qualité scientifique des mêmes par leur sages observations et aussi à développer la pensée scientifique et l'utilisation du meilleur style pour sa communication, en enrichissant la pensé scientifique sociale dans nos nations. Nous pouvons résumer dits principes: le développement de la science et la technologie comme expression de systèmes d'évaluation et socio-culturelles donnés, le développement de la science au service de la transformation productive au profit de la société, la prise de conscience du rôle de la science et la technologie dans la définition des relations de pouvoir en les niveaux nationaux et internationaux et son insertion dans les politiques de développement, l›utilisation de la science et de l›innovation technologique comme des instruments d›autonomie, l›ouverture à nouvelles approches dans la consolidation de la science sociale, la liberté de la pensée critique en tous les niveaux de la gestion de la connaissance scientifique, entre autrui. Dans ce sens, nous avons essayé fortifier l'analyse et développement critique des sciences économiques, administratives, financiers et comptables, en ouvrant un espace pour la discussion et développement de l'epistemologie de ces sciences sociales, que de plus en plus se convertit dans l'axe central de notre revue. La présente édition comprend deux articles qu'ils enrichissent dite discussion epistémológique: en le premier d'ils le chercheur José J. Ortiz B. pose un dilemme qu'accompagne le développement de la science comptable, "La crise de la représentation comptable: ¿problèmes de la science sociale ou de la politique du pouvoir?", dans lequel cherche éclaircir les facteurs qu'ils causent la problématique de la représentation comptable à partir d'une réflexion sur les fondements théoriques qu'ils soutiennent cet important question et les référents empiriques qui montrent cette problématique, facteurs qui ont été considérés comme un obstacle épistémique à la consolidation de cette jeune science et aux quels l›auteur entend contribuir dans sa clarification épistémologique et dans la proposition de solutions alternatives qu›il donne à lacommunauté scientifique avec une approche interdisciplinaire et du paradigme de la complexité. Dans le deuxième article, le professeur Jean Paul Sarrazin fait une thèse intéressante sur "Religion: savons-nous de quoi nous parlons? Examen de la faisabilité d›une catégorie analytique pour les sciences sociales". L'objectif de cette revue était de trouver une catégorie analytique précise, claire et suffisamment large pour étudier empiriquement la vaste gamme de phénomènes socio-culturelles qui peuvent être ou ont été considérés comme "religieux". Il conclut qu'en dépit de l›absence d›unecatégorie analytique unifiée, certains éléments les plus saillants des différentes définitions peuvent euxmêmes constituer des catégories analytiques utiles à la recherche empirique. On peut déduire que cette section a été fidèle aux principes que nous avons énoncé au début de cet éditorial et que nous espérons qu'ils continuera à devenir une plateforme ouverte pour le développement scientifique de nos disciplines. Une deuxième section, consacrée à la comptabilité et à la finance, définit les sujets qui sont devenus d›un intérêt substantiel en raison du fort développement théorique que ces disciplines ont atteint, atteignant une phase dans la quelle les différends des paradigmes qui soutiennent diverses approches ont été réglés et c'est dans ce domaine que les contributions surgissent qui consolident des schémas théoriques importants ou qui, d'autrepart, écartent les hypothèses qui permettent des systèmes purifiants qui, à la façon des couches d›oignons, sont regroupés par niveaux, contribuant ainsi à consolider les sciences sociales. Dans cette section, nous trouvons deux articles importants orientés selon cette philosophie: le premier analyse les effets sur l›information comptable des entreprises publiques du secteur de l'électricité colombien de la mise en oeuvre de la résolution 743 de 2013 concernant l'adoption des normes internationales d›information financière (IFRS) pour certaines entreprises publiques. Ce sujet est l›une des applications des avancées importantes dans le développement de la théorie comptable pour l›économie financieriste qui malgré cela ne parvient pas à établir des racines solides pour les conditions des pays en développement, comme enté moigne cet article qui constate que les transformations supposées sont le résultat d›un changement du modèle économique organisationnel, où, plutôt que de s›intéresser au modèle de réglementation internationale, répond à un processus de concentration des actifs stratégiques par des acteurs qui ont la capacité de saisir la réglementation, démontrant que l'approche interdisciplinaire est un terrain fertile pour mieux expliquer la réalité de ces pays dans l'environnement mondialisant qui caractérise l›économie actuelle de ces pays. Le deuxième article, intitulé "Impact de l›autofinancement sur l'innovation dans les micro, petites et moyennes entreprises colombiennes», donne un aperçu d'un aspect qui n›a pas été explicitement étudié et qui se situe aux frontières de la connaissance entre économie, finance et administration, en particulier dans un secteur important de l›économie des pays en développement, celle des MPME, qui malgré leur grande contribution au bien-être économique de la population, occupant 80% de la population de ces pays, n'a pas fait l›effort intellectuel de nos chercheurs, gaspillant un espace de développement potentiel d'autonomie qui ouvrira la voie à un véritable développement socioéconomique de notre région. Les résultats descriptifs montrent que les PMI colombiennes utilisent principalement leurs propres ressources pour leurs investissements, et les résultats inférentiels obtenus par régression linéaire indiquent que le financement interne a une influence positive et significative sur leur innovation globale, ainsi que sur celle de leurs produits/services, processus de production et gestion. Il s›agit d'une variable d›une importance fondamentale à impliquer dans les politiques de développement de l'industrie latino-américaine et que trèspeu de choses sont prises en considération jusqu›à présent, dans cequ›on a appelé l'économie orange, que des pays comme la Colombie veulent promouvoir. En réalité, les ressources internes ou propres restent la principale source de financement des projets d'investissement de ces entreprises et, bien que cela soit conforme aux postulats de la théorie de la hiérarchie financière, tout semble indiquer que les raisons en sont principalement les obstacles qu›elles rencontrent pour accéder au marché financier extérieur. Notre prochaine section, consacrée à ladiscipline économique, nous présente un article important centré sur l'analyse de la relation entre "La bonne gouvernance et l'efficacité de l'aide"; un sujet de la plus haute pertinence pour nos économies. Il analyse les composantes et les déterminants de la bonne gouvernance, ainsi que sa relation avec des concepts étroitement liés tels que la qualité institutionnelle et, surtout, les idées et les preuves créées sur la relation entre bonne gouvernance et efficacité de l'aide au développement. En fin, il conclut qu'il n'y a pas de consensus général sur l'efficacité de l'aide dans la promotion de la croissance économique, et qu'il y a à la fois des défenseurs et des détracteurs de cette idée. D'une manière réfléchie, elle laisse ouverte la voie à la vérification empirique des effets réels de l'aide économique et des conditions dans les quelles de meilleurs résultats seraient possibles pour le bénéfice de larges masses de la population. Nous clôturons ce numéro avec deux sections : la première, traditionnelle sur les thèmes de l›administration en tant que discipline structurellement intégrée à l'économie, la comptabilité et lafinance, et où deux articles sont développés: le premier d'entre eux estintitulé "Co-création et lesnouveaux défis de création de valeur aux quels les organisations font face. Ce sujet est d›actualité et marque une tendance de la théorie administrative moderne, qui s›articule autour de nouvelles approches de la création de valeur. Il est conclu que, pour générer une valeur durable dans lesorganisations, les actions des gestionnaires doivent être axées sur la création de valeur conjointe avec leurs clients et non sur l›objectif exclusif d'augmenter les ventes de leurs produits ou services habituellement conçus en interne et de façon fermée. Le deuxième article, intitulé "Modèle d'analyse de l'incidence du capital social sur le développement humain à Bogotá, D.C.", vise à identifier s›il existe un type de relation entre capital social et développement humain dans le contexte endogène de la ville de Bogotá. Cette fin, il est proposé demener une recherche descriptive, fondée sur une analyse de régression multiple, qui facilite la proposition d'un modèle qui détermine le niveau d'incidence du capital social dans le développement humain, à partir du calcul de l'indice de développement humain et de l'indice de capital social répartis en composantes du calcul intégral de l'indice de capital social, soit l'indice de capital cognitif, l'ICSE, l'indice de capital social structurel, l'ICSC et l'IRSCS, et de l'indice de représentation du capital social. Sur la base de ces calculs, on constate que l'ampleur et l'utilisation du capital social dans la ville sont inconnues, ce qui engendre la construction d'une société avec un haut niveau d'atomisation et un désintérêt pour les problèmes de citoyenneté. Pouvoir vérifier ces affirmations a une importance capitale pour l'adoption de politiques de développement social et humain à Bogotá, D.C., en tenant compte des différentes composantes analytiques qui ont été utilisées dans l'étude. Dans la dernière partie, consacrée à la gestion des connaissances, le sujet des brimades dues à l'orientation sexuelle chez les élèves de sexe masculin estanalysé pédagogiquement dans l'environnement de l'enseignement secondaire, qui cherche à contribuer à la prévention des comportements debrimades, en raison des effets que cela a sur le bien-être d'une population qui tend à se séparer de manière antidémocratique et qui fait déjà partie des modèles éducatifs qui doivent être orientés vers la formation des valeurs. En tant que pédagogues, nous croyons que l'éducation peut et doit créer des environnements de respect et de valorisation de la différence, où chacun peut y accéder, indépendamment de son orientation sexuelle, de son sexe ou d'autres constructions sociales ou culturelles. L'ensemble des huit articles que nous mettons à la disposition de la communauté académique, organisés en sections orientées selon les principes qui sous-tendent la philosophie scientifique et la politique éditoriale de la revue, s'inscrit dans un nouvel effort qui, nous en sommes sûrs, contribuera à renforcer le développement scientifique et technologique de nos disciplines dans un environnement qui nous est propre mais qui dialogue avec l'universalité du savoir à un niveau global et qui deviendra progressivement les grands piliers de notre développement humain et social. ; A revista Critério Livre tem desempenhado um importante papel em promover a divulgação científica como um mecanismo fundamental nos processos de transformação de nossas nações latino-americanas para sociedades melhor formadas, com um equilíbrio saudável entre o necessário crescimento da produção de bens tangíveis e intangíveis e uma mais justa distribuição da riqueza, em benefício de todas as suas populações, que buscam erradicar a pobreza, que é o maior flagelo que a humanidade ainda não conseguiu superar. Pelo exposto, nos baseamos em critérios do desenvolvimento da ciência que contribuam para esses ideais, escolhendo então os melhores artigos, submetidos a rigorosos processos de avaliação por renomados pesquisadores nacionais e internacionais, que também contribuíram para elevar a qualidade científica dos mesmos através de seus atinadas observações,e também a desenvolver o pensamento científico e a utilização do melhorestilo para sua comunicação, enriquecendo o pensamento científico social em nossos países. Podemos resumir esses princípios assim: o desenvolvimento da ciência e da tecnologia como expressão de sistemas valorativos e socioculturais dados, o desenvolvimento da ciência a serviço da transformação produtiva em benefício da sociedade, a conscientização sobre o papel da ciência e da tecnologia na definição das relações de poder nos níveis nacional e internacional e sua inserção nas políticas de desenvolvimento, a utilização da ciência e da inovação tecnológica como instrumentos de autonomia, a abertura a abordagens inovadoras na consolidação da ciencia social, a liberdade do pensamento crítico em todos os níveis da gestão do conhecimento científico, entre outros. Neste sentido, tentamos fortalecer a análise e o desenvolvimento crítico das ciências econômicas, administrativas, financeiras e contábeis, abrindo um espaço para a discussão e desenvolvimento da epistemologia de estas ciências sociais, que cada vez mais torna-se o eixo central de nossa revista. A presente edição inclui dois itens que fazem parte desta discussão epistemológica: no primeiro deles, o pesquisador José J. Ortiz B. planta um dilema que acompanha o desenvolvimento da ciência contábil, "A crise da representação contábil: problemas da ciência social ou política do poder?", em que busca esclarecer os fatores que originam a problemática da representação contábil a partir de uma reflexão sobre os fundamentos teóricos que sustentam este importante tema e os referentes empíricos que mostram esta problemática, fatores que foram vistos como um obstáculo epistémico na consolidação dessa jovem ciência e o que o autor pretende contribuir para seu esclarecimento epistemológico e a proposta de alternativas de solução, que propõe para discussão com a comunidade científica com uma abordagem interdisciplinar e a partir do paradigma da complexidade. No segundo artigo, o profesor Jean Paul Sarrazin levanta uma interessante dissertação sobre "Religião: nós sabemos do que estamos falando? Análise da viabilidade de uma categoria analítica para as ciências sociais". O objetivo desta revisão foi encontrar uma categoria analítica, precisa, clara e suficientemente ampla para estudar empiricamente a vasta gama de fenômenos sócio-culturais que podem ser ou foram considerados como "religiosos". Conclui que, a pesar da ausência de uma categoria analítica unificada, alguns dos elementos mais destacados nas diferentes definições podem constituir, em si mesmos, categorias analíticas úteis para a investigação empírica. Pode-se deducir que esta seção tem sido fiel aos princípios que expusemos no início deste editorial, e que esperamos que continue transformando em uma tribuna aberta para o desenvolvimento científico de nossas disciplinas. Uma segunda seção, dedicada à contabilidade e as finanças, define temáticas que se tornaram de interesse substancial devido ao forte desenvolvimento teórico que atingiram essas disciplinas, chegando a uma fase em que as disputas dos paradigmas que sustentam várias abordagens foram decantado e é nesse terreno onde surgem contribuições que consolidam os importantes esquemas teóricos ou que, por outro lado, descartam hipótese que permitem depurar sistemas que, à maneira das camadas duma cebola, serão agrupadas por níveis, o que contribui para a consolidação das ciências sociais. Nesta seção encontramos dois importantes artigos orientados sob desta filosofia: o primeiro analisa os efeitos que sobre a informação contabilística das empresas públicas do setor elétrico colombiano teve a implementação da Resolução 743 de 2013, relativa à adopção de Normas Internacionais de Informação Financeira (NIIF) para algumas empresas públicas. Este tópico é um dos aplicativos de importantes avanços do desenvolvimento da teoria contábil para a economia financierista, que apesar disso não consegue establecer sólidas raízes para as condições dos países em desenvolvimento, como o comprova este artigo que encontra que as transformações assumidas são o resultado de uma mudança de modelo econômico, organizacional, onde, mais que atender o modelo de regulação internacional, responde a um processo de concentração de ativos estratégicos por parte de atores que têm a capacidade de capturar a regulação, demonstrando que a abordagem interdisciplinar é um campo fértil para explicar de uma maneira melhor a realidade destes países no ambiente globalizador que caracteriza a economía atual de tais países. O segundo artigo, sobre "o Impacto do autofinanciamento sobre a inovação das micro, pequenas e médias empresas colombianas", permite aprofundar um aspecto que não tem sido explicitamente estudado e que se situa na fronteira entre a economia, as finanças e a administração, dirigido especialmente a um setor importante da economia dos países em desenvolvimento, as empresas Mipymes, que apesar de suas grandes contribuições para o bem-estar económico da população, ao ocupar 80% da mesma em cada um destes países, não lhe foi dedicado um esforço intelectual por parte dos nossos investigadores, desaprovechando um espaço potencial de desenvolvimento da autonomia que permite desbrozar o caminho do verdadeiro desenvolvimento sócio-econômico de nossa região. Os resultados descritivos mostram que as Mipymes colombianas utilizam prioritariamente os recursos próprios para os investimentos, e os resultados inferenciales obtidos através de regressões lineares indicam que o financiamento interno influencia positiva e significativamente na inovação global, assim como a de seus produtos/serviços, processos produtivos e de gestão. Esta é uma variável de importância fundamental para ser envolvida nas políticas de desenvolvimento para a indústria latino-americana e que muito pouco se leva em consideração até agora, no que se tem denominado a economía laranja, que países como a Colômbia querem promover. A realidade é que os recursos internos ou próprios continuam sendo a principal fonte de financiamento para os projectos de investimento destas empresas, e se bem que isso é coerente com os postulados da teoria da hierarquia financeira, tudo parece indicar que as razões são principalmente as barreiras que encontram para acessar o mercado financeiro externo. A nossa seguinte secção, dedicada à disciplina económica, mostra-nos um importante artigo focado à análise da relação entre "Bom governo e eficácia da ajuda ao desenvolvimento", tema de altísima pertinência para as nossas economias. O artigo propõe-se aprofundar na origem e as mudanças experimentadas pela noção de bom governo; analisa os constituintes e determinantes do mesmo, bem como a sua relação com conceitos próximos como a qualidade institucional, e sobretudo, as ideias e a evidência criada sobre as relações entre o bom governo e a efetividade da ajuda ao desenvolvimento. Finalmente chega à conclusão de que não existe um consenso geral quanto a que a ajuda seja eficaz para promover o crescimento económico, e existem tanto defensores como detratores desta ideia. De maneira reflexiva deixa aberto o caminho para verificar empiricamente os verdadeiros efeitos da ajuda económica e as condições baixo as quais seriam possíveis uns melhores resultados em benefício de grandes massas da população. Fechamos esta edição com duas secções: a primeira, tradicional sobre temas de administração como disciplina que se integra estruturalmente com a económica, a contável e financeira, e onde se desenvolvem dois artigos: o primeiro destes se titula "A co-criação e os novos reptos de geração de valor que enfrentam as organizações". Esta temática é de grande atualidade e marca uma tendência na moderna teoria administrativa, que está a girar sobre as novas focagens da geração de valor. Conclui-se que, para gerar um valor sustentado nas organizações, o foco das ações dos gestores deve ser a criação de valor conjunta com os seus clientes e não a exclusiva meta de aumentar as vendas dos seus produtos ou serviços habitualmente desenhados de maneira interna e fechada. O segundo artigo, baixo o título "Modelo para analisar a incidência do capital social no desenvolvimento humano em Bogotá, D.C.", centra-se em identificar se existe um tipo de relação entre o capital social e o desenvolvimento humano no contexto endógeno da cidade de Bogotá. Para tal fim, propõe-se fazer uma investigação descritiva, baseada em análise de regressão múltipla, que facilita a proposição de um modelo que determina o nível de incidência do capital social no desenvolvimento humano, partindo do cálculo do Índice de desenvolvimento humano e do Índice de capital social decomposto em índice de capital cognitivo, ICSC, índice de capital social estrutural, ICSE, Índice de representação social do capital social, IRSCS, componentes do cálculo integral do índice de capital social. Com base nesses cálculos chega-se a comprovar que na cidade se desconhecem o alcance e o uso do capital social, o que gera construir uma sociedade com alto nível de atomização e desinteresse pelos problemas da cidadania. Poder comprovar estes asertos é de soma importância para adotar políticas de desenvolvimento social e humano no D.C., atendendo os diferentes componentes analíticos que se utilizaram no estudo. Na última secção, dedicada à gestão do conhecimento, analisa-se pedagógicamente o tema do bullying por orientação sexual entre estudantes masculinos no ambiente da educação média, que procura contribuir à prevenção de comportamentos de bullying, pelos efeitos que isso tem no bem-estar de uma população que tende a segregarse de maneira antidemocrática e que já faz parte dos modelos educativos que devem orientar à formação de valores. Como pedagogos, achamos que a educação pode e deve criar ambientes de respeito e valoração da diferença, em onde todos possam aceder a ela, sem importar a orientação sexual, o género ou outras construções sociais ou culturais. O conjunto dos oito artigos que pomos ao dispor da comunidade académica, organizados nas secções orientadas segundo os princípios que fundamentam a filosofia científica e a política editorial da revista, se configura em um novo esforço que estamos seguros contribuirá ao fortalecimiento do desenvolvimento científico e tecnológico das nossas disciplinas em um meio que nos é próprio, mas que dialoga com a universalidade do conhecimento a nível global, e que progressivamente constituir-se-ão nos grandes pilares do nosso desenvolvimento humano e social.
In this dissertation, we are mainly interested in the interactions between poverty and one of its greatest dimensions1, namely health. More specifically, we will focus on their inequalities: does poverty inequality have more effect on poverty than health level? Does health inequality matter to poverty? Poverty and health are two related concepts that both express human deprivation. Health is said to be one of the most important dimensions of poverty and vice-versa. That is, poverty implies poor health because of a low investment in health, a bad environment and sanitation and other living conditions due to poverty, a poor nutrition (thus a greater risk of illness), a limited access to, and use of, health care, a lower health education and investment in health, etc2. Conversely, poor health leads inevitably to poverty due to high opportunity costs occasioned by ill-health such as unemployment or limited employability (thus a loss of income and revenues), a lower productivity (due to loss of strength, skills and ability), a loss of motivation and energy (which lengthen the duration of job search), high health care expenditures (or catastrophic expenditures), etc3. But what are the degree of correlation and the direction of the causality between these two phenomena? Which causes which? This is a classic problem of simultaneity that has become a great challenge for economists. Worst, each of these phenomena (health and poverty) has many dimensions4. How to reconcile two multidimensional and simultaneous events? 1 Aside the income-related material deprivation. 2 Tenants of the ?Absolute Income? hypothesis for instance show that absolute income level of individual has positive impact on their health status (Preston, 1975; Deaton, 2003). Conversely, lack of income (and the poverty state it implies) leads unambiguously to poor health. For other authors, it is not the absolute level per se, but the relative level (i.e. comparably to others in the society) that impacts most health outcomes. This is the ?Relative Income? hypothesis (see van Doorslaer and Wagstaff, 2000, for a summary). 3 See Sen (1999) and more recently Marmot (2001) for more information. 4 Poverty could be seen as monetary poverty, human poverty, social poverty, etc. Identically, one talks of mental health, physical health, ?positive? and ?negative? health, etc. So a one-on-one causality could not possibly exits between the two, or will be hard to establish. We?ve chosen the first way of causality: that is, poverty (and inequality) causes poor health. As justification, we consider a life-cycle theory approach (Becker, 1962). An individual is born with a given stock of health. This stock is supposed to be adequate enough. During his life, this stock is submitted to depreciation due to health shocks and aging (Becker?s theory, 1962). We could think that the poorer you are, the more difficult is your capacity to invest in your health5. Empirically, many surveys (too numerous to be enumerated here) show that poor people6 do have worse health status (that is, high mortality and morbidity rates, poor access to health services, etc.). It has been established that poor children are less healthy worldwide, independently of the region or country considered. It is generally agreed that the best way to improve the health of the poor is through pro-poor growth policies and redistribution. Empirically, one of the major achievements of these last two decades in developing countries is the improvement in health status of populations (notably the drop in mortality rates and higher life expectations) following periods of (sustained) economic growth. However, is this relation always true? In some countries as we will see later in this thesis, while observing an improvement in the population?s welfare, the converse is observed in its health status, or vice versa. If health and poverty are so closely related, they should theoretically move in the same direction. But the fact that in some countries we observe opposite trends suggests that some dimensions of health and poverty are not or may not be indeed so closely related, as postulated, and that they may depend of other factors. 1. The Purpose of the Study. 5 Another justification is that many authors have studied the problem the other way. Schultz and Tansel (1992, 1997) for instance showed that ill-health causes a loss of revenues in rural Cote d?Ivoire. Audibert, Mathonnat et al. (2003) also showed that malaria caused a loss of earnings of rural cotton producers in Cote d?Ivoire. 6 Usually defined from some income or expenditure-related metric or some assets-based metric. The ultimate goal of our dissertation in its essence is to measure inequality in health7 in developing countries using mainly Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS, henceforth)8. It deals with interactions between poverty and one of its greatest dimensions, putting aside the income-related material deprivation, namely health. It therefore measures inequality in health status and access to health and discusses which policies should be implemented to correct these inequalities. That is, it aims to see how much rich people are better off and benefit from health interventions, as compared to the poor, and how to reduce such an inequality. The present dissertation contains four papers that are related to these questions. Our main hypothesis (that will be tested) is that poverty impacts health through inequality effects9. Graphically, we can lay these simple relationships as: The dashed line in the figure above suggests that income inequality could impact health directly. But we consider that this direct effect is rather small or negligible, as compared to the indirect effect through inequality in health. Therefore, inequality in health is central to our discussion. To measure inequalities in health, we face three challenges: 7 And corollary health sanitation (access to safe water, toilet and electricity). Though electricity is more a measure of economic development that health measure per se, we add it here as a control for sanitation and nutrition: for example women could read more carefully the drugs? notices, or warm more quickly foods; more generally, electricity often improves the mental and material wellbeing of households. It also conditions health facility?s performance. 8 And potentially other surveys. In this case, we mention explicitly the survey(s). 9 The other important factor that could impact health is the performance of the health system. This is discussed in the Chapter 3. Health Assets Inequality Health Inequality Poverty (Assets Index) - measuring welfare (income metric) and subsequently inequality in welfare, - measuring health, - and measuring inequality in health. The measurements can be conducted using two approaches (Sahn, 2003): - Directly by ranking the households or individuals vis-à-vis their performance in the health indicator; we thus have a direct measure of inequality in health. This is suitable when the health indicator is continuous (such as weight, height or body mass index). According to Prof. David E. Sahn, that approach ?which has been referred to as the univariate approach to measuring pure health inequality, involves making comparisons of cardinal or scalar indicators of health inequality and distributions of health, regardless of whether health is correlated with welfare measured along other dimensions?. - Indirectly by finding a scaling measure such as consumption or income or another indicator (assets index for instance)10 that would help ranking the households or individuals (from the poorest to the richest), and see what are their performance in the health variable of interest. We are therefore measuring an indirect health inequality. The indirect method is mostly suitable when the health indicator is dichotomous (for example whether the individual has got diarrhoea last 2 weeks, or ?have the child been vaccinated?, or ?place of delivery?) or is a rate (such as child mortality). Again, quoting Prof. Sahn, ?making comparisons of health across populations with different social and economic characteristics is often referred to in the literature as following the so-called `gradient? or `socioeconomic? approach to health inequality. Much of the motivation for this work on the gradient approach to health inequality arises out of fundamental concerns over social and economic justice. The roots of the gradient will often arise from various types of discrimination, prejudice, and other legal, social, and economic norms that may contribute to stratification and fragmentation, and subsequently inequality in access to material resources and various correlated welfare outcomes?. While the first method would appear quickly limited for dummy or limited categorical health variables because of the small variability in the population, the second approach could also be 10 Or more generally any other socioeconomic gradient such as education, gender or location. impossible when no information is available to scale the units of observation in terms of welfare. We?ll be mostly focusing on the second approach, as did many health economists, and also due to the nature of the DHS datasets in hand and the indicators that we are investigating. 2. Strategy, Methods and Structure. Measuring wealth-related inequality in health implies in the first stage defining and characterizing the poor. Who are indeed the poor? Traditionally, monetary measures (income or consumption) have been used to distinguish households or people into ?rich? and ?poor? classes. Indeed, it is agreed that the ?incomemetric? approach is one of the best ways to measure welfare11. However, it sometimes, if not often, happens that we lack this essential information in household survey datasets. Especially in our case, the DHS datasets do not have income nor consumption information. Then, how to characterize the poor in this situation? For a long time, economists have eluded the question. But soon, it became evident that an alternative measure is needed to strengthen the ?poverty debate?. In the first part of our dissertation, we start by providing a theoretical framework to find a proxy for wellbeing, in the case where consumption or income-related data are missing, namely by discussing the use of assets as such a proxy. The first part of this thesis is relatively long, as compared to the second. However, this is justified, due to its purpose. The goal of the first part of the dissertation is to participate to the research agenda on poverty. It attempts to measure it in a ?non traditional?12 way. 11 There is a consensus in the economic literature that income is more suitable to measure wealth or welfare in developed countries while consumption is more adequate for developing ones due to various reasons such as irregularity of incomes for informal sector, seasonality, prices, recall periods, trustworthy, etc. (see Deaton 1998 for detail). 12 i.e. a non monetary way. The main rationale for this first part therefore is thus to find a new, non monetary measure to characterize in best, life conditions, welfare and then the poor. This measure is referred to as the ?assets index?. Indeed, as the majority of developing countries are engaged more and more in fighting poverty, inequality and deprivation, more and more information on the state of poverty13 is needed. If in almost all these countries, many household surveys have been implemented to collect information on socioeconomic indicators, the major indicator that is needed to analyze poverty (namely income or consumption data) is unfortunately not often collected due to various reasons (time, cost, periodicity, etc.). Even, if they were collected, the quality of the data is often poor. Therefore, economists tend to rely more on other indicators to compensate for the absence of monetary measures. One of the indicators often used are the assets owned by households. The question arose then how to use these assets to characterize the poor in this context? How to weight each of them? In a first attempt, many economists built a simple linear index by assigning arbitrary weights to the assets14. In a seminal paper, Filmer and Pritchett (2001) propose to construct the so-called ?assets index? which could be used as a proxy for consumption or income. It is commonly agreed that their methodology follows a ?scientific? approach, thus is more credible. In their case, they use a Principal Component Analysis (PCA, henceforth) to build their assets index. Since, many other economists have followed in their footsteps which we label in our dissertation, the ?material? poverty approach (as opposed to the monetary one) since it is based on materials (goods and assets) owned by the households or individuals. Because of the importance of the subject (poverty) and because the method is pretty new and original, this first part of our thesis is as said quite long as compared to the second one and has two papers which focus mainly on poverty and inequality issues and their connections with economic growth. In this part, we start by presenting a methodology of measuring non monetary (material) poverty, when a consumption or income data is not available. We show how one can obtain robust results using assets or wealth variables. Once the method is clearly 13 And more generally welfare. 14 For example a television is given a weight of 100, a radio 50, and so on. But this is clearly not a `scientific? way to proceed, as there is no rational ground in giving such weights. tested and validated, it is then confronted to real data. We show that the index shares basically the same properties with monetary metrics and roughly scales households in the same way as does the consumption or income variables. We discuss the advantages and also the limitations of using the assets index. The important thing to bear in mind is that, once it is obtained, it could be used to rank the observational units by wealth or welfare level. - The first chapter defines in a first section poverty and how it is usually measured (by the income metric approach). We discuss the limitations of the use of income/expenditure and what could be alternative measures. We then propose in section 2 the assets metric as a proxy for poverty measurement and test the material poverty approach on international datasets collected by the DHS program. We explore the material poverty and inequality nexus in the world and how Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)15 compares with other regions. We show, using that index and DHS data, that poverty, at least from an assets point of view, was also decreasing in SSA as well as in other regions of the world. This result contrasts with other findings such as Ravallion and Chen (2001) or Sala-i-Martin (2002) that show that, while other regions of the world are experiencing a decline in their (monetary) poverty rates, SSA is lagging behind, with rates starting to rise over the last decade. Therefore, two different measures of welfare could yield opposite results and messages in terms of policies to implement to combat poverty. Moreover, the method we use not only allows observing changes over time for each country, but also provides a natural ranking among countries (from the poorest to the richest). In this chapter, aside the measure of welfare and poverty, we also discuss in a final section the impact of demographic transition on economic growth and therefore on poverty. Indeed, demographic transition is a new phenomenon that is occurring in developing countries, especially African ones. Its negligence could lead to underestimating poverty measures (both material and monetary) by underestimating real economic growth rates. We show that changes in the composition and the size of households put an extra-pressure on the development process. While traditional authors have not considered the impact of these 15 SSA countries are Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Republic of Congo, Côte d?Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The ?rest of the world? is represented by Armenia, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Yemen. changes, we show that taking this into account implies higher economic growth rates than those actually observed or forecasted. - Once the assets index approach is established and tested on international data, the question arose how it performs as compared to the monetary metric. Indeed, if monetary measures remain the reference, then our assets index should share some common properties with them. The second chapter assesses the trends in material poverty in Ghana from the assets perspective using the Core Welfare Indicators Questionnaires Surveys (CWIQ). It then compared these trends with the monetary poverty over roughly the same period. We show that the assets index could be used and yields the same consistent results as using other welfare variable (such as income, consumption or expenditure). Therefore, using two consecutive CWIQ surveys, we find that material poverty in Ghana has decreased roughly by the same magnitude as monetary one, as found in other studies by other authors such as Coulombe and McKay (2007) using Ghanaian GLSS16 consumption data. Thus, this chapter could thus be viewed as providing the proof that the material and the monetary approaches could be equivalent. The second part of our dissertation seeks how to define and measure health and inequality in health. While the definition of health is not obvious, we propose to measure it with child mortality rates. Our main rationale in doing so is that low child mortality generates, ceteris paribus, higher life expectancy17, thus is an adequate measure of a population?s health. This may not be true in areas devastated by wars, famines, and HIV and other pandemics where child mortality could be high (in this case, the best measure should be life expectancy by age groups). Also, the reader should bear in mind that in fact, child mortality could be itself is a good indicator for measuring the (success of the) economic development level of a society as a whole (Sen, 1995), mainly because in developing countries, child mortality is highly correlated to factors linked to the level of development such as access to safe water, sanitation, vaccination coverage, access to health care, etc. - In the third chapter, we focus on measuring overall population?s health. For this, we estimate child mortality in SSA and compare it to the rest of the world. We explore the 16 Ghana Living Standard Surveys. 17 By construction, life expectancy at birth is highly correlated and sensitive to child mortality (it is based on child mortality rates for various cohorts). Lower child mortality rates lead to higher life expectancy and vice versa. determinants of child mortality using mainly a Weibull model and DHS data with socioeconomic variables18 as one of our major covariates. The use of the assets index information is to see how these quintiles behave in a multivariate regression framework of child mortality (i.e. how they affect child mortality). We find, among others, that mother?s education and access to health care and sanitation are one of the strongest predictors for child survival. Controlling for education and other factors, family?s wealth and the area of residency do not really matter for child survival in SSA, contrasting with results found elsewhere. - The fourth and last chapter answers the ultimate goal of this dissertation, that is, the scope of health inequalities in the developing world, particularly in SSA. It uses the factor analysis (FA) method of Chapter 1 to rank household according to their economic gradient status19 and then studies inequalities in various health indicators in relation with these groups. The intention is to analyze inequality rates between rich and poor for various health variables. In this chapter, we concentrate solely on inequality issues in health and health-related infrastructures and services. Mainly, we analyze inequality in access to sanitation infrastructures (water and electricity20) and various health status and access to health indicators (such as child death, child anthropometry, medically assisted delivery and vaccination coverage) using a Gini and Marginal Gini Income Elasticity approach (GIE and MGIE, henceforth) on one hand, and the Concentration Index (CI) approach on the other. Results show that, while almost all countries have made great efforts in improving coverage in, and access to, these indicators, almost all the gains have been captured by the better-offs of the society, especially in SSA. We extend the analysis to compare GIE estimates to those of CI and find consistent results yielding quite similar messages. 18 Quintiles groups derived from an assets index. 19 By grouping usually households in 5 quintiles from poorer to richer ones. 20 On the rationale of using electricity, see footnote 7 above. 3. Results and Policy Implications. As said above, the major goal in conducting this thesis research is to analyze inequality in health status, health care and health-related services using DHS data. To reach our objective, we follow two intermediate steps: - For assets poverty, results show that assets poverty and inequality are decreasing in every region of the world, including Sub-Saharan Africa. This tends to support our hypothesis that, contrary to common beliefs, African households use assets and building ownerships as saving tools and buffer to economic shocks. The first paper also shows however that the demographic transition actually occurring in developing countries could impede on economic growth and trigger a bullet on policies aiming at combating poverty. - Our third paper shows that child mortality is decreasing in all parts the world. However, the 1990s and early 2000s have been a lost decade for the African continent where many countries have witnessed an increase in rates that is mostly attributable among other factors to the economic and financial turmoils of the 1990s and early 2000s and the HIV epidemic. Our hypothesis is that these phenomena have destabilized the organization of the health care system, cut its funding and hampered its performance. High levels of health inequality can also be part of the puzzle. Coming back to the particular case of HIV/AIDS, the reader should observe that it affects more and more the less poor so that it can also lead to a decline in assets inequality (richer people are dying) along with an increase in child mortality and thus explain in great part our paradox. This setback (the rise in mortality over recent periods despite poverty reduction) will make impossible for these countries to reach the millennium development goals, at least for child mortality. The conclusion to this is that African population?s health has been stagnant over the period 1990-2005. Regression analysis reveals no strong correlation between our measure of welfare (assets index) and child mortality. More important are mothers? education and access to health care and sanitation services. - Finally, our inequality estimates show that they are quite high for all indicators considered. For ill-health indicators (child malnutrition and death), rates are excessively concentrated in poor and rural groups. Concerning access to health care services, rich and urban groups tend to be more favoured than poor and urban ones. But the high level of inequality tends to be reducing at the margin over time, as the poor have increasing access. Finally for access to sanitation services, results show that while the majority of countries have made substantial efforts to increase coverage on the first two periods, the rich and urban classes have benefited more and inequality (which is at high levels) tends to rise at the margin over time, especially for the poor. More preoccupying is the fact that rates are falling between 1995-2000 and 2000-2005, probably because of the privatization of these services and the new costs they impose on households. Overall, inequality in all variables considered is more pronounced in SSA than the rest of the world (expect for death and malnutrition). The sub-continent is still disadvantaged in terms of access to services or ill-health. Where to go from here? In the African sub-continent, we have the following picture: a decreasing (material) poverty and inequality but coupled with a stagnant child mortality situation, a stagnant or increasing malnutrition. This is mostly due to high levels of, and an increasing inequality at the margin in access to sanitation and electricity services coupled with a decreasing access to these services. Thus, despite the fact that we observe a decreasing inequality at the margin in access to health care (even though the average level of inequality is still high) the missing link in health-related services coupled with an overall high inequality in these two types of services hugely impact child health and survival. Therefore, as access to health care services and health-related sanitation services is essential to child survival, our findings call for vigorous policies to promote access of the poor groups and rural areas to these services. African Governments should continue to favour access of the poor to health care and reverse the inequality trends in access to water, sanitation and electricity. This is vital for the health of the population and for the development of Africa. Funding can come from various sources: the Government Budget, International Assistance but also from households themselves (since the first part of our thesis has demonstrated that they are getting richer (and various surveys show that they are willing to pay for quality health care), an adequate fees policy could benefit to the health care system). Measures should be put in place to strengthen the performance of the health system and to mitigate the negative effects of macroeconomic imbalances, economic crises and HIV/AIDS. Only on these conditions the Sub-Continent could hope to eradicate poverty and promote health for all. 4. Contribution of this Thesis. This thesis seeks to analyze empirically the inequality in health and access to health in SSA and how this region compared to the rest of the world. To do so, it develops a new method to characterize poor households and to analyze assets-based poverty, when the monetary measure is unavailable. Such a method is indeed necessary as almost all developing countries have collected many surveys that lack the consumption or income information. Once a poverty measure and a correct measure of health have been found, and their core determinants clearly established, we then proceed to the health inequality analysis, along with its determinants, using two methodologies: the traditional CI and the more recent GIE approaches. These approaches have been the mostly used to explore the inequality in health and access to health these last years. Though already studied in the literature, and sometimes applied on DHS or some groups of DHS datasets, our dissertation differs in its purpose and scope and its large scale. No paper to our knowledge used the totally to-date freely available DHS datasets to study poverty and inequality topics and provide basic statistics. Our main contribution is to shed a new light on the welfare-inequality-health nexus in Africa, how it evolves over time and how it compares to other regions around the world, using all available information. It also put numbers on various important socioeconomic indicators such as poverty, inequality, child health and mortality, access to health-related infrastructures, etc., for developing countries, especially African ones. As we sometimes lack these important information, this thesis proves finally to be a very useful exercise. ; Cette thèse part d'un postulat simple : « l'amélioration du niveau de vie s'accompagne de l'amélioration de l'état de santé générale d'une population » et teste sa validité dans le contexte de l'Afrique au Sud du Sahara (ASS). Si cette hypothèse se vérifie en général dans le contexte de l'ASS en ce qui concerne le niveau (plus le pays est riche, plus sa population est en bonne santé), il l'est moins en ce qui concerne les dynamiques, du moins à court et moyen terme. Notamment, les pays qui connaissent une amélioration tendancielle de bien-être matériel ne connaissent pas forcément une amélioration de la santé de leurs populations. Ceci constitue un paradoxe qui viendrait invalider notre postulat. En écartant tout effet de retard ou de rattrapage qui pourrait l'expliquer car nous travaillons sur une période de 15 ans réparties en 3 sous-périodes (1990-1995, 1995-2000 et 2000-2005), nous expliquons ce paradoxe, toutes choses égales par ailleurs, par deux canaux principaux qui peuvent interagir : - la performance du système de santé et - l'inégalité en santé. Si le premier est plus évident mais aussi plus difficile à prouver empiriquement du fait du manque de données sur des séries longues, ou du fait que ces données sont trop agrégées et éparses, le second canal est testable avec des bases de données adéquates qui, elles, sont disponibles au niveau microéconomique (ménages). Les bases de données que nous avons privilégiées sont les Enquêtes Démographiques et de Santé (EDS) du fait de leur comparabilité dans l'espace et le temps (mêmes noms de variables standardisées, même méthodologie d'enquête, mêmes modules, etc.). Ces atouts sont d'autant plus importants que les comparaisons de pauvreté et de bien-être basées sur les enquêtes de revenus ou de consommation butent sur de sérieux problèmes à savoir la comparabilité de ces enquêtes (méthodologies différentes, périodes de rappel différents, prix souvent non collectés de la même manière, etc.). Pour montrer ces effets de l'inégalité de santé sur les niveaux et les tendances de la santé des populations et la pauvreté et le bien-être, nous avons axé notre recherche autour de 3 axes principaux : 1- Comment mesurer le niveau de richesse et donc le bien-être des ménages en l'absence d'information sur la consommation et le revenu ? Les chapitres 1 et 2 de notre thèse se penchent sur cette question. Nous avons privilégié, à l'instar de plus en plus d'économistes, l'utilisation des biens des ménages et les méthodes de l'analyse factorielle et d'analyse en composantes principales pour construire un indice de richesse. Cet indice de richesse est pris comme un substitut du revenu ou de la consommation et sert donc de proxy pour la mesure du bien-être. Bien qu'il comporte quelques lacunes (notamment le fait qu'il ne concerne que les biens matériels et durables du ménage alors que la consommation ou le revenu sont des concepts plus globaux de bien-être, il ne prend pas en compte les préférences des ménages, il ne comporte aucune notion de valeur car le prix n'est pas pris en compte, de telle façon qu'une petite télévision en noir blanc vieille de vingt ans est mise au même niveau qu'un grand écran plasma flambant neuf, etc.), il n'en demeure pas moins que d'un côté, avec les EDS, il n'y a pas moyen de faire autrement en l'état actuel des choses, mais aussi et surtout parce que ces données permettent d'éviter les problèmes évoqués plus haut, notamment celui de la comparabilité des données pour faire de la comparaison spatiale et inter-temporelle des données en matière de pauvreté. Dans le premier chapitre, en nous basant sur cet indice et une ligne de pauvreté définie a priori à 60% pour la première observation dans notre échantillon (Benin, 1996), et en utilisant les données EDS et une analyse en composantes principales (ACP), nous avons pu mesurer la tendance de la pauvreté dite « matérielle » (en opposition à la pauvreté monétaire, basée sur la métrique monétaire). Cette méthode qui est privilégiée par des auteurs comme Sahn et Stifel est d'autant plus intéressante qu'elle donne non seulement les tendances de la pauvreté dans chaque pays, mais elle permet aussi une classification naturelle de ces pays par ordre de grandeur de pauvreté. Cependant, dans la mesure où les biens des ménages et la dépenses de consommation sont disponibles, l'analyste devrait estimer les deux types de pauvreté (matérielle via l'indice de richesse et monétaire via le revenu ou la consommation) car les études montrent souvent que les biens matériels et la consommation ou le revenu ne sont pas très bien corrélés, et donc le choix de l'indicateur de bien-être est crucial en termes de politiques économique et de santé. En effet, si l'indicateur sous-estime le vrai niveau de pauvreté ou d'inégalité (ou les surestime), les dépenses publiques qui en résultent peuvent être plus ou moins surévaluées, de même que les réponses apportées se révéler inadéquates. Donc dans la mesure du possible, il conviendrait de se pencher sur la question du choix de l'indicateur. Les résultats de notre méthodologie montrent que l'ASS reste la région la plus pauvre du monde en termes de possession d'actifs. La région orientale de l'ASS est la plus pauvre au monde (75%) suivie de l'Asie du Sud (64%), le Sud de l'ASS (61%), l'Afrique Centrale (57%), l'Afrique de l'Ouest (55%), l'Asie de l'Ouest (40%), l'Asie du Sud-Est (19%), l'Amérique Latine (18%), les Caraïbes (17%), l'Afrique du Nord (6%), l'Asie Centrale (2%) et l'Europe de l'Est (1%). Notre analyse nous montre que la pauvreté baisse dans l'ensemble des pays Africains au Sud du Sahara (sauf la Zambie), à l'instar des autres pays du monde dans l'échantillon. En effet, en considérant les trends, nous voyons que la moyenne de l'ASS passe de 63% de pauvreté matérielle entre 1990-1995 à 62% en 1995-2000 et 58% entre 2000 et 2005. La baisse est modeste et lente mais non négligeable et surtout, elle est en accélération sur les 2 dernières périodes. Mais elle demeure toutefois beaucoup plus marquée dans le reste du monde. Concomitamment à la baisse de la pauvreté, nous observons aussi une baisse de l'inégalité. Nous terminons ce chapitre par une réflexion sur l'effet de la transition démographique sur la croissance économique et la pauvreté en ASS et dans les autres pays en développement. En effet, la chute de la fertilité et de la mortalité couplées à un exode rural font que le nombre de famille se démultiplie du fait de la transition vers des tailles plus réduites. Ceci impose plus de contraintes (et donc peut avoir un impact négatif) sur la croissance économique et risque de sous-estimer le niveau réel de pauvreté. Il convient, une fois que la pauvreté matérielle et ses tendances ont été bien calculées avec les biens durables (et la transition économique prise si possible en compte), de tester la validité de cette méthode en la confrontant avec les résultats issus de l'analyse monétaire de la pauvreté. Les EDS ne comportant pas données d'information sur la consommation, nous nous sommes tournés vers une autre source de données. Dans le chapitre 2, nous avons testé la robustesse de notre méthode dans le cas particulier du Ghana, en utilisant les enquêtes du Questionnaire Unifié sur les Indicateurs de Base de Bienêtre (QUIBB), et en confrontant les résultats issus de la méthode ACP avec ceux issus de la méthode traditionnelle monétaire et trouvons grosso modo les mêmes résultats (10% de baisse avec la méthode monétaire traditionnelle et 7% avec notre méthode sur la période 1997- 2003). Ceci valide donc le fait que la méthode que nous proposons (à savoir, mesurer le bienêtre et la pauvreté par les biens durables des ménages) est tout aussi valide que la méthode plus traditionnelle utilisant des métriques monétaires. Une analyse fine dans le cas du Ghana montre que la baisse de la pauvreté est due à une croissance économique particulièrement pro-pauvre mais aussi à des dynamiques intra et intersectorielles (réallocation des gens des secteurs moins productifs vers ceux plus productifs) et aussi une forte migration des campagnes vers les villes. Nos simulations montrent que les migrants ruraux ont aussi bénéficié de cette croissance dans les villes où ils trouvent plus d'opportunités. 2- Une fois établie que la pauvreté est en recul en ASS, nous avons voulu mesurer la tendance de la santé de sa population (approximée par les taux de mortalité infantile et infanto-juvénile). Nous discutons dans le chapitre 3 de trois méthodes pour estimer et comparer les taux de mortalité des enfants : - la méthode des cohortes fictives (sur laquelle l'équipe de l'EDS se base pour estimer les taux « officiels » de mortalité), - la méthode non paramétrique (Kaplan et Meier) que privilégient un certain nombre d'économistes et - la méthode paramétrique (Weibull) de plus en plus utilisée pour sa souplesse et sa robustesse. Les deux premières méthodes ont tendance à sous-estimer le vrai niveau de mortalité et de ce fait nous avons privilégié le Weibull. De plus, avec cette dernière, nous pouvons évaluer l'effet de chaque variable spécifique (comme l'éducation ou l'accès à l'eau) sur le niveau de mortalité. Une étude des déterminants de cette mortalité montre qu'outre l'effet attendu de l'éducation des mères, l'accès aux infrastructures de santé (soins médicaux et surtout prénataux durant et lors de l'accouchement) et sanitaires (accès aux toilettes et dans une moindre mesure à l'eau potable) en sont les principaux facteurs. L'effet de richesse joue peu en ASS (mais pas dans le reste du monde), une fois que nous contrôlons pour le lieu de résidence (urbain) et le niveau d'éducation. Ce résultat nous surprend quelque peu, même s'il a été trouvé dans d'autres études. Ensuite, nous avons calculé la mortalité prédite des enfants. De toutes les régions du monde, l'ASS a le niveau de mortalité le plus élevé (par exemple en moyenne 107 décès pour la mortalité infantile contre 51 pour le reste du monde, soit plus du double). Ce résultat était toutefois attendu. Par contre nous avons été quelque peu surpris en ce qui concerne les tendances. Le constat est que sur les 15 ans, la mortalité des enfants a très peu ou pas du tout baissé dans le sous-continent africain (et est même en augmentation dans certains pays, alors qu'ils enregistrent une baisse de la pauvreté matérielle sur la même période). En moyenne, considérant les enfants de moins d'un an, les taux sont passés de 95%o à 89.5%o pour remonter à 91.5%o pour les 3 périodes 1990-1195, 1995-2000 et 2000-2005. Ainsi sur 15 ans, la mortalité infantile n'a baissé que de 3 points et demie en moyenne et surtout, elle remonte sur la période 1995-2005. Un examen des taux de malnutrition des enfants confirme ces tendances. On pourrait dire que ces résultats sont plutôt encourageants et normaux si on fait une analyse d'ensemble du sous-continent. En effet pour l'ensemble de l'ASS, cette légère baisse semble en conformité avec la baisse de 5 points des taux de pauvreté matérielle (63% en 1990-1995 à 58% en 2000-2005). Mais l'ordre de grandeur est faible en termes de magnitude, et surtout si compare au reste du monde où on observe une baisse de la mortalité beaucoup plus conséquente. Mais c'est l'arbre qui cache la forêt. Une analyse plus fine par pays montre en effet une situation plus contrastée. Notre postulat de départ nous dit que sur une période suffisamment longue, une amélioration de bien-être s'accompagne d'une amélioration de la santé. Or on constate que certains pays qui connaissent une baisse de la pauvreté matérielle connaissent également une recrudescence de la mortalité des enfants. Pour une même année, ce résultat peut être normal, traduisant un simple décalage pour que l'amélioration de bien-être se traduise par un meilleur état de santé de la population. Mais à moyen terme (période de 5 ans), nous observons la même absence d'effet. Nous sommes donc face à un paradoxe qu'il nous faut comprendre et tenter d'expliquer. Une des pistes pour comprendre ces résultats est d'analyser la performance des systèmes de santé en Afrique. Les facteurs qui expliquent notamment cette performance sont : des facteurs « classiques » comme la performance économique des périodes passées, les montants et l'allocation des dépenses de santé, l'organisation des systèmes de santé, la baisse de la fourniture de services de soins de santé (vaccination, assistance à la naissance, soins prénataux, soins curatifs, .), la malnutrition, le SIDA, les guerres, la fuite des cerveaux notamment du personnel médical, etc., à côté de facteurs plus « subtils » ou ténus car moins saisissables comme les crises financières des années 1990s qui ont plombé certaines des économies de la sous-région, la qualité des soins, la corruption et les dessous-de-table, l'instabilité de la croissance économique (même si elle est positive), etc. La seconde voie que nous examinons pour expliquer le manque de résultat en santé dans certains pays concerne l'inégalité en santé et ceci fait l'objet de notre dernier chapitre. 3- Expliquer l'absence de lien entre santé et pauvreté dans certains pays de l'ASS : l'effet de l'inégalité en santé. Dans le chapitre 4, nous émettons l'hypothèse que le fort niveau d'inégalité dans l'accès aux services de santé et d'assainissement couplé à la faible performance du système de santé (avec en toile de fond l'impact du Sida) peuvent servir à expliquer en partie notre paradoxe. Nous considérons deux types de services : - soins de santé (vaccination, assistance médicale à la naissance et traitement médical de la diarrhée) et - hygiène et assainissement (accès à l'eau potable et à l'électricité, accès aux toilettes propres). Le choix de ces services est motivé par le fait que le modèle Weibull dans le chapitre 3 nous montre que toutes choses égales par ailleurs, ils sont cruciaux pour la survie des enfants, en particulier en Afrique. Les niveaux d'accès montrent une baisse tendancielle des taux pour les services de santé (surtout pour la vaccination) et une légère augmentation de l'accès à l'électricité et dans une moindre mesure à l'eau potable. L'accès aux toilettes propres demeure un luxe réservé à une petite fraction de la population. Pour les calculs d'inégalité, nous considérons deux indicateurs: - l'indice de concentration (pour mesurer le niveau moyen d'inégalité) - et l'élasticité-revenu du Gini (inégalité « à la marge » quand le revenu d'un individu ou d'un groupe augmente d'un point de pourcentage). Globalement, les pays d'ASS ont un niveau d'inégalité beaucoup plus élevé comme on s'y attendait par rapport au reste du monde. Pour les tendances, nous remarquons que l'inégalité marginale s'accroît pour les services d'assainissement (eau, toilette et électricité), mais qu'elle diminue pour les soins de santé. En ce qui concerne l'inégalité moyenne, elle indique une disproportion dans l'accès des classes riches par rapport à celles pauvres. Même si les groupes pauvres « rattrapent » ceux riches dans la provision de certains services, cela se fait de façon trop lente. De fait, le haut niveau d'inégalité couplé à une recrudescence de cette inégalité à la marge pour certains services tendent à annihiler les effets positifs de la croissance économique et de la réduction de la pauvreté et maintiendraient la mortalité, la malnutrition et la morbidité des enfants en Afrique à des niveaux relativement élevés et plus particulièrement concentrées dans les groupes les plus pauvres. Tout ceci appelle à des politiques économiques, sociales et sanitaires pour renverser fortement les tendances de la mortalité des enfants. En particulier, nos résultats suggèrent qu'il faudrait que les pays Africains puissent entre autres : - accroître les services de soins de santé, notamment les soins préventifs comme les services essentiels à la santé de l'enfant dès sa naissance (vaccination, services prénataux et assistance à la naissance), les soins curatifs et les campagnes de sensibilisation. - renverser la tendance baissière dans la provision des services sanitaires (eau, électricité, environnement et assainissement, prise en charge des déchets, etc.). - améliorer la nutrition et l'environnement immédiat de ces enfants et les comportements des ménages (espacement des naissances, éducation des mères en matière de santé, etc.). - plus généralement comme le montrent d'autres études, il faudrait aussi améliorer la performance globale de leur système de santé en empêchant la fuite des cerveaux, en allouant un budget suffisant à la santé, en organisant mieux les différents organes, de même que les ciblages des politiques de santé, en empêchant la corruption, en améliorant la qualité (accueil, propreté des centres de soins, etc.), en équipant les centres en médicaments, vaccins, moyens de transport et de communication, etc. Intégrer si possible les systèmes plus traditionnels de soins (comme les matrones et les guérisseurs) et le secteur privé, de même qu'une meilleure organisation du système pharmaceutique. Ces politiques constituent un tout et doivent être mise en oeuvre rapidement, ou renforcées le cas échéant. A cette seule condition les pays Africains pourraient espérer rattraper leur retard dans les Objectifs du Millénaire.
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Kimberly Hutchings on Quiet as a Research Strategy, the Essence of Critique, and the Narcissism of Minor Differences
As a job, International Relations requires carving out one's position by being vocal. Being vocal entails making oneself heard, forwarding identifiable 'contributions'. But what if the biggest contribution one might make would actually consist of quieting down?
In a provocative and wide-ranging Talk, Kimberly Hutchings—amongst others—challenges us to take postcolonialism seriously as an invitation to hush, and provides compelling suggestions as to what critique means in a time of proliferating criticality.
Print version of this Talk (pdf)
What is (or should be), according to you, the biggest challenge / principal debate in current International Relations? What is your position or answer to this challenge / in this debate?
In my view, the main challenge for IR right now is to deal with postcolonialism and decoloniality, which would entail a kind of decentering of the standpoint of judgment within the study of international politics. Essentially, we should move away from the kind of common-sense starting points of Western theory, Western history and all the rest of it. To be sure, this does not necessarily mean disregarding them. Instead, we should avoid always seeing them as the authoritative, and find a way to keep them at a distance in order to make space for the inclusion of other voices. Practicing this inclusion, answering 'what would you do about it', or 'where do you stand' I find more difficult; I have discussed questions of decoloniality and postcolonialism with my colleagues and we all find it very tough to do something different or to suggest alternatives. Especially since we are—or at least I am—educated and structured within a particular (eg. Western) realm of understanding. Because it is so difficult for 'us' to do so, our starting point should therefore exactly be to start from the empirical and theoretical engagement of the political actors on the periphery. By doing so we can begin to decenter our work and the debates. There is an enormous amount of really brilliant decolonial and postcolonial work our there. Here, I think the work of people like Arlene Tickner has been great in attempting to do carve out this space. This goes to prove that scholars are suggesting alternative ways and that it can be done differently.
So perhaps paradoxically, I would summarize my central contribution as a hush—scholars like I have to dampen down our voices in order to allow other voices to be heard. Keeping this is mind can prove to be a really important lesson for theorists. At least I attempt to do so within my particular subfields of theory.
How did you arrive at where you currently are in your thinking about International Relations?
During my route through academia I have been inspired by a number of theorists, books and historical events and I continue to be. However, there are two or three specific points of inspiration that I can draw out; some more philosophical or theoretical ones and others almost accidental to how my thinking has progressed.
Largely, I have arrived at where I am today because I started my PhD on the philosophies of Kant and Hegel. This has set up certain parameters for my way of thinking; for thinking about ethics and about critique, and this has influenced my way of thinking and ultimately my work ever since. Another factor was my time as a young scholar working at the Wolverhampton Polytechnic where I met Steve Gill. He suggested I attended the BISA conference to present a paper on war in relation to Kant and Hegel. He knew this was my field of interest and in the end I accepted. The first panel I attended was okay, though only two people participated. The second panel was far more interesting and featured amongst others Rob Walker. Walker talked about bringing Foucault's insights and ideas about critique to bear on thinking about international politics. This made me realize that my purely philosophical way of thinking in relation to Kantian critique and the problems of Kantian critique were already being worked through within the domain of International Relations as a field of study. It spurred my initial interest as I came to think of IR as a kind of case study of applied political philosophy more generally. In some ways, you could say that the questions I was asking from a political philosophy perspective were being addressed more progressively in IR. Certainly, I caught on to IR when they were being very consciously addressed. The timing and shift in IR spoke directly to me and, in my view, pushed me to think about questions of judgment and argument shifts. Here, one should attempt to genuinely relate to an international or global frame of reference rather that simply taking for granted a kind of methodological nationalism, which, I suspect, up till then had been. In this sense IR pushed my thinking.
It is interesting how it often is the texts you read early on that shape you as a scholar. To me it was the texts I read in the late 1980s, early 1990s, when critical IR was really getting off the ground, which were formative for me. Initially, it has been Kant's political thought and Hegel's philosophy of rights. Additionally, there has been a range of theorists within critical writing; retrospectively the work of Hannah Arendt and The Origins of Totalitarianism in particular. Moreover, Foucault has also been essential to my work; particularly Discipline and Punish and The History of Sexuality have been really crucial in terms of me looking at a kind of 'fate of critique', if you like, in Western thought in the 20th century. Within IR Andrew Linklater's work is really important, especially his book on Men and Citizens, and afterwards his postcolonial community book from the late 1990s. They are important as a sort of interlocutors, which I in fact reacting against, because I saw them as carrying through this very Habermasian line of thought, with which I did not agree. Obviously also the work of feminists scholars amongst others Cynthia Enloe (TheoryTalk #48) and Christine Sylvester, whose books were very important to me. Again, they enabled me to widen my scope and see how broader themes of feminist philosophy were being addressed in IR.
What would a student need to become a specialist in International Relations or understand the world in a global way?
In order to become a specialist in IR a student's main qualities should be intellectual curiosity, openness, and willingness to engage with ideas. However, it is importing not to insist on 'you must know your Foucault backwards' or 'you must know your Hegel backwards'. To me this is not essential; instead, the focus should be on one's interests and curiosity, and to locate yourself in terms of where you are 'thinking from'. In this way, you are able to relate your ideas and arguments to a specific problematique—perhaps one concerning the political contexts you derived from yourself, and maybe because of the particular intellectual trajectory that you have taken.
Then again, knowing your classic theorists as Foucault and Hegel is definitely beneficial when engaging with IR. When I entered the field of IR, it meant I was already loaded with a set of intellectual parameters, interests and political commitments. Ultimately, this enabled my participation and outcome of conversations with different trajectories within IR. Therefore, what are most important to me are intellectual curiosity, openness, willingness to listen, and a sense of where you are coming from to the conversation. Yet, the great thing about IR is that you do not have to be trained in IR, in any straightforward way. In my view IR is a cross-disciplinary field, where many disciplines and arguments merge; students from law, political science, sociology, who all can have lots to say to IR, and IR can in return have lots to say to you.
The key to combining academia with your own starting point lies to me in education; if you get a good education, there should be space for the individual engagement. Particularly if you are interested in antiracism or in feminism, I would assume, an IR scholar speaking to those areas would encourage you to make space for independent thought. However, all academic work is at the same time a discipline, which at times can be painful to adjust to and actually take on board. Academia is not for everyone; to some it ends up being a waste of time and they long for something different, which is completely fine as well. But in my view it is sign of a poor university education if it closes things down to an extent where you cannot find the space to articulate your views or relate them to the things that you are learning. And that is a fault of the education, not of the student.
You fall squarely among 'critical' IR scholarship. What does it mean, for you, to be critical?
First of all, the term 'critical' is highly contested and in a way it can become a useless label. In my view one of the problems with critical IR is you tend to get into the sort of narcissism of minor differences, which also involves getting into a kind of competition for philosophical antecedence, in which scholars argue either through Marx, through Heidegger or through Foucault. The second problem of critical IR, which I have discussed in my work at various points, is the suspension of judgment forever. Since you can never find the ground, the sort of desire to find the authority in some sense ends up paralyzing judgments. I would argue that when there is a kind of risk that comes with people's willingness to make claims that it can ultimately suspend judgment. Yet, there is still dynamism, and the fact that your claim-making can be precisely deconstructed as in fact a reinforcement of what you are trying to undermine is part of the excitement and the interest of doing critique. The neverendingness of it is challenging in itself. In a sense we would like to be sort of God and in a sense we say 'well, I know that this is right and it just is'. Critique stops you doing it. That is why it is healthy, even though it at the same time can be quite frustrating.
My own personal understanding of what 'critique' and 'critical' means, comes out of my engagement with ideas of Kantian critique. The Kantian critique represent a foundational moment in the sense that both Marxist critique and post-Marxist critique refer back to Kant. In this way, the Kantian critique becomes a very rich starting point, as it has been able to branch out in all kinds of directions, from the sort of Hegelian/Marxist direction to other very different ones. The sort of typical critique is about questioning the assumptions or the authoritative basis of any kinds of claims. In doing so, critique is largely about disturbing the conditions or possibility of a claim that is made, and this is basically what Kant's transcendental move is about. This means that critique can go in lots of directions, some of them more helpful than others. Critique can also end up as a claim to a new authority and in my view, certain forms of post-Kantian critique have done that. I would also argue that there are aspects of Kant's work, where he did the same; in particular in how he moves from one possible ground to another to attempt to underpin some kind of authority for his claims. This might be contentious, but this is my reading of Kant, whereas others probably would argue he construes the space of critique very openly. Put simply, my reading of Kant is in line with Foucault's: critique is the admission that you are always in a tentative position in which any claim to authority is going to be questionable. Within any argument, you are always going to be holding something steady in order to question other parts, which mean you cannot ever escape from having to claim some sort of authority in the arguments you make. However, this does not mean that arguments become an overweening or foundational kind of ground. In a sense it is about keeping things moving, and I quite like the Foucauldian expression of it being an ethos, an attitude, a way of being, rather than a set of techniques or a claim to a moral high ground, which then enables you to show how everybody else is wrong. That is how I think of the concept of 'critical'.
Classical theory plays a big part in your work. If bygone thinkers spoke to the issues they saw in their times, then what do the minds of bygone eras have to say to contemporary issues?
I am never quite sure what the answer to that is. There is a tradition of thinking about canonic thought in the UK, Quentin Skinner is one of them, that is really dubious about talking about Kant or Heidegger in relation to contemporary problems or trying to suggest you can have a philosophical conversation across time and space. I have spent some time on this argument and in my view they are to a great extent right, at least if you think of a conversation with the 'real Hobbes' or someone else. However, there is a sense in which I start from a position in which there is no 'real' whoever. Instead, it should be viewed as a text with arguments and ideas, which you read and interpret in the light both of your time and place, but also the course of a whole set of secondary engagements with that. When reading such texts you are dealing with two hundred years of interpretation of Kant and Hegel. In this sense one must note that the voices of those philosophers as highly mediated in many different ways. If you can still engage with them and find useful insights, then sort of 'why not' seems reasonable. A second argument in terms of philosophers as Kant and Hegel is, the time they wrote in was obviously radically different. Meanwhile, it also had features in terms of the shape the state were taking, the beginnings of what we would now recognize as the modern capitalist market state. They were there, they were before that, and they were looking at the beginnings. They were around during the Napoleonic wars, mostly Hegel but also Kant was at point when the European colonialism or imperialism took off in particular ways. Here, a lot of the categories of race, culture etc. took shape under their noses. In this sense we are still within a frame that they were a part of, rather than excluded from. If you look at Machiavelli, he was speaking in a radically different time and space. There is an argument there about occupying a world that in some sense we still recognize or perhaps of Kant and Hegel trying to construct ways of understanding and judging a world that still has links to the world we inhabit today. That is another reason why they are still useful today. We all get our ideas from somewhere; as long as we do no argue that referring to Kant, Hegel, Foucault or Arendt makes it right. Instead, use ideas as they come and mix and match them, it is reasonable to be eclectic, depending on what kinds of claims you are making. If you attempt to do a solid reading of Kant, then you must know both the texts and the context, but if you wish to discuss critique in IR you can, in my view, take some elements of Kant or the post-Kantian legacy and use them to illuminate a contemporary debate.
The encounter between the West and the non-West is an important theme running through your work, and you liberally engage with post-colonial theory. So how does that work in practice?
The problem to someone who is trying to critique Eurocentrism or get away from it is that you cannot do it in an isolated way. One of the ways in which people try to think about the inclusion of other voices was in terms of the notion of dialogue. This was actually why I ended up writing about dialogue. My problem here was that some of the ways of thinking about dialogue seemed to me to simply confirm the centrality of the West and the position of the non-West as other. The big question is then how do you articulate the non-West? In my view the thing is that you simply do not; instead one must think constructively about how you quiet down, how you moderate dominant voices and create spaces for others. Sometimes it may just be a question of just being quiet, it may be about encouraging other work, it may be about encouraging theoretical investment in other places.
I am talking to you now, but in some sense what I am doing is enforcing the position of the privileged white, Western, middle-class woman. In my position talking about Eurocentrism and critique is merely by the fact of doing it, I am reinforcing a certain privilege and a certain sense of it. And this is not to say that you therefore you do not do it. Sometimes it is not useful to have someone like me on a panel; it is a much better thing to have somebody else, somebody younger or somebody from a different part of the world. To me this is what you have to think about, and as a scholar you have think about how you can contribute to creating spaces within which other voices can be included. To be honest, I do not think I have done a very good job of doing that. To quiet yourself down is really difficult; especially since there is so many institutional and other incentives for you to try and occupy the center stage. In my view it is something that maybe feminist scholarship has been better at.
In this sense it relates to a much bigger set of issues that social science is about; social sciences were and are kind of an imperialist project in their foundation. Whether or not you can ever make them to anything else, I doubt. It might be that you cannot, in which case the move to aesthetics, for example, which you see in some bits of IR, is understandable. It is difficult in the sense that we cannot do what we want to do by staying within the vocabularies of social science. We have to move to another kind of discourse in order to do what we think we need to do.
So here we navigate the space between scholarship and activism. I remember this picture of you delivering a lecture on a road blocking an arms convoy.
Yes, my very minor piece of activism, except it was the people that were being handcuffed on the road who were the real activists, not me. I think it is really important to be clear that doing critical theory as an IR scholar does not make you a political activist, and I think it is important, because it can sometimes feel really good to make a gesture of whatever, you know, 'being critical'. And that's all great, but actually it's all within an incredibly privileged forum and you're not really making any difference to anything. So, I'm a bit I think Hegelian in the sense that I think that philosophy or academic work is about understanding more, trying to understand and to think, and it may well generate frameworks and ideas that make it useful in various ways, and it may well not, but if you want to have revolution, go out and start organizing. You know, don't think that you can somehow do it by being on ISA panels. Marx was a political activist, he didn't just sit around writing, he was part of the movement, part of an organization, and that's the only way you really can help bring fundamental change, and quite often it'll go wrong. Being a political activist is much more scary and difficult than being a critical IR thinker.
Kimberly Hutchings is Professor of Politics and International Relations at Queen Mary University of London. She is a leading scholar in international relations theory. She has extensively researched and published on international political theory in respect to Kantian and Hegelian philosophy, international and global ethics, Feminist theory and philosophy, and politics and violence. Her work is influenced by the scholarly tradition that produced the Frankfurt School and Critical Theory. She is the author of Kant, Critique and Politics, International Political Theory: rethinking ethics in a global era, Hegel and Feminist Philosophy and Time and World Politics: thinking the present. Her current focus is on the areas of global ethics, assumptions about time and history in theories of international relations, and the conceptual relationship between politics and violence in Western political thought.
Related links
Faculty Profile at Queen Mary's
Read Hutchings' Ethics, Feminism and International Affairs (2013) here (pdf) Read Hutching's What is Orientation in Thinking? On the Question of Time and Timeliness in Cosmopolitical Thought (2011) here (pdf) Read Hutching's World Politics and the Question of Progress (2004) here (pdf)
Iceland s population of approximately fifty thousand inhabitants did not change appreciably from the end of the settlement period in the late twelfth century until the mid-nineteenth century because of the climate and limited technology in agriculture and fisheries. In fact, periodic decreases resulted from climatic fluctuations, natural disasters and epidemics, since this was a primitive rural community of farmers and fishermen. The weakness of the urban community was so apparent that when the royal monopoly on domestic trade was abolished by law in 1788, new migrants from selected villages to urban communities1 were offered public subsidies, such as free lots and tax dispensation for twenty years. Despite this government intervention, the growth of the urban population, especially in the capital city, did not manifest until early in the twentieth century following technological developments, such as the advent of motor vessels, banks, and certain infrastructure investments. That is probably because the Danish authorities and Icelanders were not unanimous in their policies and actions. The growth of the urban population was followed by a decline in the rural population. This trend increased after World War II, and at the beginning of the 1980s, the population of the urban areas outside the capital area2 began to decline as well, especially those populations that were farthest away from Reykjavík and Akureyri, the second-largest urban community outside the capital area. The present research s objective is to investigate whether transportation improvements affect inter-regional migration in Iceland. This thesis is divided into three main parts. First, a brief introduction describes the development of the transportation system in Iceland, especially the road network, and geographic population patterns in the twentieth century. The second part covers fundamental theories of transportation economics and spatial economics, especially regarding transport demand, the geographic pattern of housing prices, theories of industrial location, and interregional migration. The third part reports on an empirical investigation that is in line with the objective of the thesis. Many factors motivate migration. Geographic differentials in labour market conditions were among the first factors addressed by economic theory in the context of spatial economics and were still among the central factors when amenities, local factors of value offered free or relatively inexpensively to the local population, were included several years ago. Amenities include natural resources, public services and social activities, while negative amenities or dis-amenities include local phenomena, attributes, incidents or threats, including crime and pollution that decrease the welfare of the local population without compensation. One theory has suggested amenities compensate for lower wages; since people tend to like places with good weather conditions, beautiful scenery, and other amenities, these places tend to generate an excess supply of labour, and wages decrease, while wages are higher where amenities are more limited. The New Economic Geography is the most recent theory covering interregional migration, where the core-periphery model is central. According to the model, the agglomeration economies are among the main reasons for rural-to-urban migration, through higher real wages. Moreover, lifetime earnings instead of present wages are addressed as more relevant. Uncertainty is included as well. One version of the core-periphery model includes social capital and traffic congestion. Transportation economics is a large field within economics. Here, transport demand is relevant to the study topic so the theoretical presentation of transportation economics will be devoted to that only. Unlike many others types of demand, transportation demand is a derived demand since it is the demand for any other goods that is, people travel to work, trade, and go shopping. Otherwise, transportation demand is comparable to demand for other values or goods where price, income, and the price of supplementary and complementary goods play a central role. The dissertation s empirical contribution will be divided into three parts and therefore classified into three separate chapters. First, we investigate the relationship between transportation improvements and local housing prices because housing prices reflect the value of locations. Second, we measure whether and to what degree rural residents value agglomeration and access to a central business district (CBD)3. Finally, we examine whether transportation improvements affect interregional migration. The empirical part of the study is based on data from Iceland that covers annual averages for Iceland s 79 municipalities for nearly two decades the period from 1981-2006. Many municipalities were merged during this period with the result that the relevant data for all the years were classified according to the number of municipalities in the year 2006 in order to maintain comparability of data. Panel data models are implemented for analysis. They combine the analysis of cross section and time series simultaneously that is an analysis of number of individuals or municipalities over time. One can choose between fixed and random effect in the analysis of panel data, where the coefficients of the fixed effect model include a variation within municipalities, while coefficients of random effect include both within and between variations. The estimation of the relationship between transportation improvements and housing prices is based on a relatively new interpretation of Johan Heinrich von Thünen s (1783-1850) theory regarding land rent: housing prices tend to be highest in the centre of a CBD because of the significance of the market, and they decrease for every unit of distance from the centre. However, the theory also suggests that transportation improvements between a CBD and a rural area increase housing prices in the rural areas because of easier access to the CBD. Where the variation of transportation improvements is to be found between all municipalities and Reykjavík, a model of fixed effect was found to be relevant. The analysis of Iceland confirms that the relationship between transportation improvements and housing prices is non-linear that is, the marginal impact, which is largest in the municipalities adjacent to the CBD, decreases as the distance between the municipality and the CBD increases. This result shows that the impact of transportation improvements on local housing prices increases marginally as the distance between a district and a CBD decreases. Several other known factors, such as the supply of housing, had an expected negative impact on housing prices, while the number of rooms, balconies, garages, and parking had positive impacts. Until the present study, an analysis of this theory had not been implemented on an entire country. Along with heterogeneous marginal impact, these were the major contributions of this particular empirical study. The value of access was estimated by testing whether the spatial disparity of housing prices in Iceland, especially the difference between CBDs and rural areas, had changed during the past two decades. If it had changed, we tested whether the change was a result of increased agglomeration of economies or a result of changing preferences for access over amenity values. Again, the analysis is based on a modern version of von Thünen s theory concerning the forces behind the spatial disparity of housing prices, along with theories of agglomeration economies. Now, a model of random effect, returning coefficients including both within and between variations, was relevant since local amenities have to be considered in an evaluation of access and agglomeration economies. The results suggest that the spatial disparity of housing prices changed in favour of CBDs in Iceland and that changed preferences in favour of access over amenities were responsible that is, access became relatively more valuable. These changes were also due to increased agglomeration economies, but further inspection shows that the differences in housing prices between Reykjavík and the closest neighbouring municipalities decreased, despite previous findings. Weak evidence suggests that this decreased difference could be due to counter-urbanisation, a relatively new phenomenon in which certain types of urban citizens move from urban areas to rural areas within a 120-kilometre radius. This phenomenon has been detected both in North America and Europe. The many reasons for this phenomenon can generally be classified into economic factors and changed preferences such as proximity to wild nature (absence of pollution) and traditional farming. In the present study, as in the previous one, several other known factors have had an expected impact on housing prices. These factors include labour income, supply of housing, housing age, dwelling size, number of rooms per dwelling, balconies, garages, parking, and number of dwellings in the same house. Finally, the impact of transportation improvements on interregional migration was tested. The empirical model is based on the neo-classical Harris-Todaro model. The results suggest that geographic differentials in labour market conditions, such as wages and unemployment, play a leading role in explaining interregional migration, but the supply of housing and transportation improvements also affects interregional migration. While the supply of housing seemed to have had a positive impact on interregional migration, transportation improvements between the rural and urban areas did not have a homogeneous impact on interregional migration in the relevant regions, where it was negative towards its closest regions of the rural area and positive towards regions farther away. The first result is in line with the theory of the New Economic Geography (or the Core-Periphery Model), suggesting that a transportation improvement between two different regions would result in a net flow of residents from the smaller to the larger region, due to better market access and agglomeration economies. Certain types of industries (firms in monopolistic competition) will disappear from the smaller region and grow in the larger region. The latter is in line with the Disequilibrium and Harris-Todaro models, suggesting that transportation improvements lead to positive net inflows of migrants because of higher real wages following lower transport costs. Since the overall results indicate that selected factors are missing in the model, the analysis was repeated for men and women separately. The results then showed that the model was better in explaining the migration behaviour of women rather than men. The condition of the labour market seemed to matter more to women than men. This is a logical result to some extent, since it has been shown in other studies that the gender wage gap is larger in rural areas of Iceland than in urban areas. The supply of housing was affecting the migration patterns of both genders, while travel time, surprisingly, did not show any significance. Weak results for the migration pattern of men fuelled the idea that it should be tested against the migration pattern of women. Thus, if women would leave for better income, according to Gary Becker s results that show singles are generally less well off than married people and other couples, the expected future welfare of single men would be lowered. With this in mind, the most logical response by single men would be to follow single women, since men are indifferent regarding other potential factors affecting migration. A new variable for reflecting changes in the local gender ratio (number of women divided by number of men) in the previous period was added to the model and confirmed the hypothesis. Moreover, travel time also became significant for men, and the overall robustness of the model increased. Therefore, travel time seems to impact the interregional pattern of men but not women. ; Hin mikla fjölgun íbúa á höfuðborgarsvæðinu og fækkun til sveita á Íslandi var tilefni þessarar rannsóknar. Þjóðinni fjölgaði lítið fram á miðja 19. öld, en íbúafjöldi sveiflaðist öldum saman í kringum 50.000. Miðað við ríkjandi tæknistig virðast landbúnaður og sjávarútvegur ekki hafa geta brauðfætt fleiri íbúa og sveiflur í veðurfari, náttúruhamfarir og farsóttir lögðu grunninn að sveiflum í fjölda íbúa þannig að ekki var stór munur á íbúafjölda frá lokum landnámsaldarinnar fram á miðja 19. öld, eftir því sem komist verður næst. Þetta var frumstætt sveitasamfélag og mikill meirihluti bjó í strjálbýli. Myndun þéttbýlis var svo veik á Íslandi að sett voru lög árið 1788, þegar verslun var gefin frjálsari4, um styrki til þeirra sem settust að í völdum kaupstöðum þ.e. Reykjavík, Grundarfirði, Ísafirði, Akureyri, Eskifirði og Vestmannaeyjum. Styrkirnir fólust í ókeypis lóðum og 20 ára undanþágu frá sköttum svo eitthvað sé nefnt. Það var samt ekki fyrr en snemma á 20. öldinni eftir vélvæðinguna, fjárfestingu í innviðum, stofnun banka og annarra stofnana, að fólki fer að fækka til sveita og fjölga í þéttbýli um land allt en mest á höfuðborgarsvæðinu. Það kann að vera vegna þess að framan af voru ráðandi öfl ekki einhuga um eflingu þéttbýlis. Vöxtur þess varð síðan mjög ör eftir lok seinni heimstyrjaldarinnar og í upphafi 9. áratugarins fór íbúum að fækka í þéttbýlum utan höfuðborgarsvæðisins, einkum þeim sem fjærst voru Reykjavík og Akureyri. Rannsóknin er í þremur megin hlutum. Fyrst er stuttur inngangur sem varpar ljósi á hvernig samgöngukerfið, þó aðallega vegakerfið, íbúaþróun einstakra landsvæða og búferlaflutningar á Íslandi þróuðust á 20. öldinni. Þar á eftir kemur stór kafli um helstu kenningar og líkön innan samgönguhagfræði og svæðahagfræði. Innan svæðahagfræði er einkum horft til landfræðilegs breytileika á fasteignaverði, staðsetningar fyrirtækja og búferlaflutninga. Að lokum kemur hluti sem segir frá þremur mismunandi reynslurannsóknum (e. empirical studies). Samkvæmt kenningum hagfræðinnar hefur margt áhrif á búferlaflutninga. Oftast eru aðstæður á vinnumarkaði nefndar en skynvirði verður áberandi á síðari tímum. Skynvirði (e. amenity value) felst í staðbundnum gæðum sem auka velferð almennings án þess að hann borgi fyrir það markaðsvirði. Ýmis náttúrugæði, niðurgreidd og endurgjaldslaus þjónusta eða hreinlega félagsstarf hefur verið flokkað undir skynvirði. Þá hafa fræðimenn talað um neikvætt skynvirði (e. disamenity). Það eru staðbundnir þættir sem draga úr velferð íbúanna án þess að þeir fái fyrir það bætur. Glæpir og mengun hafa verið taldir þar á meðal. Athyglisverðar eru kenningar sem gengið hafa út á að laun séu almennt lægri á stöðum þar sem skynvirði er hátt. Það er útskýrt þannig að fólk laðist að stöðum sem bjóða upp á gott veðurfar eða önnur endurgjaldslaus gæði. Það eykur framboð vinnuafls og laun lækka. Að sama skapi eru laun óvenju há þar sem skynvirði er lágt. Nýjastar eru kenningar nýju- svæðahagfræðinnar (e. New Economic Geography), en þaðan er kjarna- jaðarlíkanið ættað. Þar á borgarhagræði stóran þátt í að laða íbúa úr sveit til borgar með hærri launum. Þá er einnig lögð meiri áhersla á ævitekjur fremur en laun á hverjum tíma. Einnig er svigrúm fyrir áhættu. Öll óvissa um afkomu dregur íbúa til svæða þar sem afkomuöryggi er meira. Í einu þessara líkana er félagsauði og umferðarþunga fundinn staður. Samgönguhagfræði er stórt svið. Hér er það eftirspurn eftir samgöngum sem tengdist viðfangsefni ritgerðarinnar og fræðilegum bakgrunni hennar því gerð skil. Það sem einkennir eftirspurn eftir samgöngum er að hún er afleidd þ.e. hún er afleiðing af eftirspurn eftir öðrum gæðum. Fólk ferðast í þeim tilgangi að versla og sækja vinnu og afþreyingu svo eitthvað sé nefnt. Að öðru leyti lýtur eftirspurn eftir samgöngum sömu lögmálum og eftirspurn eftir öðrum gæðum þar sem eigið verð, verð stuðnings- og staðkvæmdarvara og tekjur neytenda spila stórt hlutverk. Í þessari rannsókn var ætlunin að mæla hvort samgöngubætur hefðu áhrif á búferlaflutninga og hvernig. Þetta var gert í þremur skrefum. Fyrst með því að skoða áhrif samgöngubóta á fasteignaverð, þar sem fasteignaverð endurspeglar virði staða og staðsetninga. Í öðru lagi að meta þróun landfræðilegs breytileika fasteingaverðs og hvort í því fælist þróun á borgarhagræði og virði aðgengis að höfuðborginni. Að lokum meta áhrif samgöngubóta á búferlaflutninga með beinum hætti. Reynslurannsóknir ritgerðarinnar byggðu á gögnum frá Íslandi yfir öll sveitarfélög á landinu (79) í nærri tvo áratugi. Reiknuð voru ársmeðaltöl fyrir öll sveitarfélögin. Mörg sveitarfélög voru sameinuð á þessu tímabili en til að gæta samræmis voru allar tölur reiknaðar upp fyrir 79 sveitarfélög líkt og á síðasta ári í gagnasafninu, árið 2006. Líkönum fyrir tvívíð gögn (e. panel data) var beitt við greiningarnar. Þau greina líkön með þversniðs- og tímaraðagögn samtímis þ.e. yfir fjölda einstaklinga eða sveitarfélaga í mörg ár. Í greiningum tvívíðra gagna er í megin atriðum hægt að velja á milli líkans með föstum áhrifum annars vegar og tilviljunarkenndum áhrifum hins vegar. Líkan með föstum áhrifum skilar stuðlum sem endurspegla breytileika innan sveitarfélaga eingöngu, meðan líkan með tilviljunarkenndum áhrifum skilar breytileika innan sveitarfélaga og milli þeirra samtímis. Við mat á áhrifum samgöngubóta á fasteignaverð var stuðst við kenningu og líkan þýsks hagfræðings, Johan Heinrich von-Thünen (1783-1850), um landfræðilegt mynstur fasteignaverðs, þar sem það hefur tilhneigingu til að lækka út frá borgarmiðju vegna mikilvægis markaðarins. Þar sem breytileika á samgöngubótum var að finna á milli allra sveitarfélaga og Reykjavíkur skilaði líkan með föstum áhrifum niðurstöðum sem svöruðu rannsóknarspurningunni. Niðurstaða greiningarinnar staðfesti að samgöngubætur milli landsbyggðarinnar og höfuðborgarinnar hafa áhrif á fasteignaverð á landsbyggðinni til hækkunar. Sérstaða rannsóknarinnar fólst einkum í tvennu: Þessari greiningu hefur aldrei verið beitt á heilt land með þessum hætti og sýnt var fram á að áhrifin væru ekki einsleit. Þau voru mest næst höfuðborginni en fjara síðan smám saman út eftir því sem fjær dregur. Það gefur til kynna að áhrif samgöngubóta eru líklegastar til hafa mest áhrif á fasteignaverð ef þær eru sem næst höfuðborgarsvæðinu. Ýmsir aðrir vel þekktir þættir höfðu áhrif á fasteignaverð eins og búist var við. Þeir helstu voru að framboð íbúða hafði neikvæð áhrif á verð íbúða á meðan stærð þeirra, fjöldi herbergja, svalir, bílskúr og bílastæði höfðu marktæk jákvæð áhrif á verð þeirra. Þá var aðgengi dreifbýlis að borgum metið. Það var gert með því að kanna hvort munur á fasteignaverði í Reykjavík og annarra landsvæða hafi aukist á síðastliðnum 20 árum. Ef það var tilfellið, var ætlunin að meta hvort það fælist í auknu virði á aðgengi vegna breyttra óska almennings um aukið aðgengi að fjölbreyttu úrvali þjónustu og atvinnu eða aukins þéttbýlishagræðis (e. agglomeration economies) vegna aukinnar almennrar hægræðingar af nábýli við annað fólk og fyrirtæki. Að þessu sinni var stuðst við nútíma útfærslu á kenningum von-Thünens um drifkrafta á landfræðilegum breytileika fasteignaverðs og kenninga um þéttbýlishagræði. Nú var líkan með tilviljunarkenndum áhrifum viðeigandi, þar sem aðgengi togast á við skynvirði en slík verðmæti mælast aðallega með breytileika gagnanna milli sveitarfélaga og breytileiki innan þeirra er síðan nauðsynlegur til að gefa fullnægjandi mynd af virði borgarhagræðis. Í greiningunni kom fram að munurinn á fasteignaverði í Reykjavík og Akureyri gagnvart öðrum sveitarfélögum hafði aukist á síðustu árum. Sýnt var fram á að óskir almennings um búsetukosti höfðu verið undirliggjandi þáttur og breyst stóru þjónustukjörnunum tveimur í hag þ.e. aðgengi sem borgir veita hefur orðið hlutfallsega verðmætara heldur en skynvirði sem dreifbýlið hefur í ríkara mæli. Þá kom fram vísbending um að þéttbýlishagræði hafði átt sinn þátt í þróuninni. Við nánari skoðun kom í ljós að munurinn á fasteignaverði í Reykjavík og nálægum sveitarfélögum hafði verið að minnka á sama tíma, þrátt fyrir áðurnefnda þróun. Vísbendingar komu fram um að búferlaflutningar úr borg í sveit hafi verið undirliggjandi áhrifaþáttur þess. Það er almenn tilhneiging til flutnings borgarbúa aftur til sveitar eða smærri bæja í nágrenni borganna, eða í u.þ.b. 120 kílómetra radius frá miðju hennar sem orðið hefur vart bæði annars staðar í Evrópu og einnig í Bandaríkjunum. Ástæður hennar eru ýmist af efnhagslegum hvötum eða af breyttri forgangsröðun í lífi fólks eins og óskir um meiri nálægð við náttúruna eða nánari tengsl við lífið í sveitinni. Í þessari rannsókn komu fram ýmsir aðrir áhrifaþættir fasteingaverðs, margir þeir sömu og í fyrri rannsókninni. Þar má nefna atvinnutekjur, framboð íbúða, aldur og stærð þeirra, fjöldi herbergja, svalir, bílastæði og bílskúr, fjöldi íbúa. Að lokum voru áhrif samgöngubóta á búferlaflutninga metin með beinum hætti. Stuðst var við klassískt búferlaflutningalíkan. Niðurstaða rannsóknarinnar benti til að aðstæður á vinnumarkaði, atvinnutekjur og atvinnuleysi, skiptu mestu máli varðandi búferlaflutninga milli sveitarfélaga á Íslandi. Einnig sást að framboð íbúða laðaði fólk að. Þá skipti aðgengi að sterkum þjónustukjörnum nokkru máli og þess vegna geta samgöngubætur milli höfuðborgarsvæðsins og landsbyggðar hægt á eða jafnvel snúið óhagstæðri íbúaþróun við. Það gæti líka magnað óhagstæða íbúaþróun vegna þess að áhrifin voru þau sömu allsstaðar; því nær sem samgöngubótin var Reykjavík því líklegri var hún til að valda óhagstæðum búferlaflutningum í nærliggjandi sveitarfélagi. Í ákveðinni fjarlægð snérist þetta við þannig að samgöngubætur milli Reykjavíkur og fjarlægari sveitarfélaga stuðluðu að hagstæðum búferlaflutningum til þeirra. Fyrra samhengið er í samræmi við kenningar nýju- svæðahagfræðinnar (kjarnajaðarslíkansins) og kveður á um að samgöngubótin leiði til þess að ákveðin framleiðsla og þjónusta leggist af vegna nálægðar við sterkan kjarna. Hið seinna í samræmi við ójafnvægislíkanið þar sem samgöngubótin hefur tilhneigingu til að auka kaupmátt launa (raunlaun) utan borgarinnar vegna lækkandi verðlags í kjölfar lægri flutningskostnaðar og draga þannig úr brottflutningi eða jafnvel draga fólk að vegna hærri launa. Þar sem niðurstöðurnar gáfu til kynna að ennþá vantaði mikilvæga áhrifaþætti inn í líkanið var gerð tilraun til að meta það á ný og skipta gagnasafninu upp á milli karla og kvenna. Þá kom í ljós að líkanið skýrði miklu betur út búferlaflutninga kvenna heldur en karla. Aðstæður á vinnumarkaði virtust skipta konur miklu meira máli en karla. Það er á vissan hátt rökrétt niðurstaða þar sem sýnt hefur verið fram á að launamunur kynja er minni á höfuðborgarsvæðinu en utan þess. Framboð á íbúðum hafði áhrif á bæði kynin, en ferðatími engin áhrif. Þar sem þetta líkan virtist vera óvenju lélegt í að skýra búferlaflutninga karla vaknaði sú hugmynd að kanna hvort brottflutningar kvenna hefðu áhrif á brottflutning karla. Sú tilgáta vaknaði á grundvelli kenninga Gary Beckers um að hagsæld fólks í sambúð eða hjónabandi sé meiri heldur en einhleypra; þar með ef konur flyttu brott þá dragi úr líkum karla á að komast í sambúð. Það var gert með því að kanna hvort karlar flyttu í kjölfar kvenna til þess að auka líkurnar á sambúð/hjónabandi. Það var staðfest þegar líkanið var keyrt aftur með viðeigandi breytingum. Við þetta hafði ferðatími marktæk áhrif á búferlaflutninga karla og niðurstaðan almennt áreiðanlegri. Það virðist því vera þannig að samgöngubætur hafi frekar áhrif á búferlaflutninga karla en ekki kvenna.
Untersuchungen zur Rohstoffeffizienz der Forst-Holz-Kette vor dem Hintergrund der Forstreform in Ghana Im Jahr 1994 wurde in Ghana eine Forstreform durchgeführt, mit dem Ziel, das Artenspektrum der kommerziell nutzbaren Bäume zu vergrößern, den Holzverlust in der Forst-Holz-Kette zu reduzieren sowie die Verarbeitungsprozesse in der Holzindustrie zu optimieren. Um den Erfolg dieser politisch motivierten Ziele sicherzustellen, wurden ein Exportverbot für Rundholz und Mindestpreise für den Verkauf von Holz auf dem Stock erlassen, die an die internationalen Marktpreise angepasst waren. In dieser Arbeit soll die Effizienz dieser Maßnahmen genauer beleuchtet werden. In einem ersten Abschnitt werden die Auswirkungen des Exportverbots von Rundholz (LEB=log export ban) ab 1995 auf die weiter verarbeitende Industrie, die Preisentwicklung auf nationaler und internationaler Ebene sowie die Nutzung des vorhandenen Artenspektrums mit statistischen Methoden untersucht. Dafür standen zwei Zeitreihen der Timber Industry Development Division (TIDD), einer Abteilung der Forstkommission von Ghana, zur Verfügung. Der erste Datensatz umfasst den Zeitraum von 1984 bis 2005, während der zweite, detailliertere Datensatz die Periode von 1995 bis 2005 abdeckt. Im zweiten Abschnitt der Arbeit wurde die bei Holzerntemaßnahmen erzielte Rundholzausbeute analysiert. Dazu wurden im Rahmen von Fallstudien Holzerntemaßnahmen mit detaillierten Untersuchungen begleitet. Verglichen wurden die aufgrund der Dimension und der Qualität der eingeschlagenen Bäume verwertungstechnisch objektiv nutzbaren Holzmengen mit denjenigen Rundholzmengen, die tatsächlich zur Verarbeitung gelangten. In die Untersuchung wurde die Kontrolle und Ausführung der Arbeit miteinbezogen. Aus den Ausbeutedaten wurden Modelle zur Berechnung eines angemessenen Stockpreises sowohl für einzelne Baumarten als auch als Durchschnittswerte entwickelt. Ein weiterer Arbeitsschritt befasste sich mit der Schnittholzausbeute im Sägewerk. Ebenfalls im Rahmen von Fallstudien wurden das eingesetzte Rundholz und das daraus erzeugte Schnittholz hinsichtlich Volumen und Qualität verglichen und die Gründe für Ausbeuteunterschiede analysiert. Die Analyse des Produktionsprozesses deckte dabei auf, welche Faktoren bei welchen Arbeitsschritten zu den beobachteten Verlusten bei der Schnittholzausbeute beitragen. Dabei wurden sowohl technische Faktoren als auch Motivation und Ausbildungsstand der Arbeiter berücksichtigt. Auswirkungen des Exportverbots – Entwicklung der Exportmengen In dem Zeitraum vor Inkrafttreten des Rundholzexportverbots in den Jahren 1984 bis 1985 betrug das Gesamtexportvolumen von Holz und Holzprodukten ca. 5,7 Mio. m³. Daran hatten Rundholz- und Sägeholzexporte einen Anteil von 55% bzw. 39%, während die Anteile von veredelten Produkten deutlich niedriger waren: Furnier 4,1%, Sperrholz 0,4% und Fertigwaren aus Holz 1,4%. In den Jahren zwischen 1996 und 2005, in denen sich das Rundholzexportverbot auswirkte, betrug das exportierte Gesamtvolumen von Holz und Holzprodukten 4,5 Mio. m³. Daran hatte das Sägeholz einen Anteil von 54%, während der Anteil weiterverarbeiteter Produkte deutlich zunahm: Furnier 21,3%, Sperrholz 10,5% und Hobelware bzw. Holzprodukte 14,2%. Die Analyse der Wirkung des Exportverbots für Rundholz aus Ghana zeigt, dass durch diese Maßnahme ein deutlich höherer Anteil der Wertschöpfung im Land verbleibt. Vor allem die Herstellung von Furnieren, Sperrholz und veredelten Holzprodukten stieg deutlich an. In dieser Hinsicht wird die Hypothese gestützt, dass ein Exportverbot von Rundholz die Produktion von höherwertigen Waren im Inland fördert. Weitere Faktoren für die beobachtete quantitative Zunahme und den Wertzuwachs bei den verarbeiteten Produkten dürften auch die Verknappung des Rundholzangebots, die hohen Exportzölle auf Halbfertigwaren (Sägeholz) und finanzielle Investitionsanreize seitens des Staates sein. Preisentwicklung für Exportprodukte Die Untersuchung zeigte, dass der aggregierte Preisindex für alle Holzprodukte, die vor Inkrafttreten des Rundholzexportverbots exportiert wurden, in der Zeit von 1984 bis 1995 inflationsbereinigt um 129% anstieg, während der aggregierte Preisindex nach Inkrafttreten des Rundholzexportverbots im Zeitraum von 1996 bis 2005 um 3% fiel. Dabei stiegen die Exportpreise für die verschiedenen Produkte in unterschiedlichem Ausmaß: Sägeholz um 109%, Furnier um 238%, Sperrholz um 142% und verarbeitete Holzprodukte um 102%. Im Zeitraum nach Eintreten des Rundholzexportverbots ergaben sich demgegenüber folgende Veränderungen in den Preisen: Sägeholz +14,8%, Furnier -21,9%, Sperrholz -47% und verarbeitete Holzprodukte -31,7%. Während die Exportpreise für Furnier an stärksten anzogen, fielen die Preise von Sperrholzprodukten aus tropischen Hölzern, da billige Sperrhölzer auf Nadelholzbasis den Markt eroberten. Auch der stetig ansteigende Einsatz von Holzwerkstoffen wie MDF und OSB im Möbelbau und im konstruktiven Bereich verdrängen tropische Sperrhölzer aus dem Markt. Ein weiterer Grund ist schließlich der starke Konkurrenzdruck auf diese Produkte durch Sperrholz aus chinesischer Produktion. China war bis vor kurzem noch ein wichtiger Importeur von tropischem Sperrholz, ist heute aber bereits einer der größten Exporteure. Die Ursachen für die Preisrrückgänge sind vermutlich auch in globalen Ereignissen zu sehen, wie beispielsweise dem Zusammenbruch der asiatischen Märkte in den Jahren 1997 und 1998, sowie der schwachen Nachfrage nach Waren auf internationalen Märkten zwischen 2000 und 2001, die u. a. aus der wirtschaftlichen Rezession der drei stärksten Volkswirtschaften (USA, Japan, Deutschland) resultierte. Anteil weniger genutzter Baumarten (LUS) Der Anteil der weniger genutzten Baumarten (LUS – lesser used species in Ghana, auch als "Pink" und "Green"-Baumarten bezeichnet) an der Exportmenge blieb auch während des Exportverbots für Rundholz relativ gering. An der Gesamtexportmenge (ca. 4,1 Mio. m³) der sechs Hauptprodukte, die zwischen 1995 und 2005 aus Gahana ausgeführt wurden, betrug der Volumenanteil der "Pink" und "Green" Baumarten nur 12,5% bzw. 1,3%. Die marktgängigen "Scarlet" und "Red"-Baumarten nahmen dagegen einen Mengenanteil von 49% bzw. 29,4% ein, während sonstige Baumarten zu 7,7% beitrugen. Detaillierte Analysen der Statistiken zeigen, dass veredelte Produkte wie Fußböden und Paneele nahezu vollständig aus "Scarlet" und "Red"-Baumarten hergestellt wurden. Der Anteil dieser Baumarten macht bei diesen Produktgruppen 87% bzw. 90% aus. Beide Produktgruppen gehören zu den höchstbezahlten Exportprodukten. In der Regel fordern Kunden und Verbraucher die spezifischen Holzeigenschaften dieser Holzartengruppen, woraus die hohen Anteile bei den hochwertigen Produkten zu erklären sind. Es steht zu erwarten, dass diese Holzarten auch in Zukunft in Produktgruppen dominieren. Wie erwartet, hat der Mengenanteil von luftgetrockneten Sägeholz aus "Scarlet" Baumarten von 83 % im Jahr 1995 auf etwa 6 % im Jahr 2005 abgenommen, während luftgetrocknetes Schnittholz aus den weniger genutzten "Pink"-Baumarten gegenläufig von 6 % im Jahr 1995 auf 22 % in 2005 anstieg. Die Substituierung von "Scarlet" durch "Pink" Baumarten spiegelt die zunehmende Knappheit dieser verwertungstechnisch geschätzten Baumarten wieder. In den letzten Jahren wurden durch die Forstverwaltung erhöhte Abgaben auf einfaches, luftgetrocknetes Schnittholz erhoben, welches aus den zunehmend knapper werdenden Hauptbaumarten hergestellt wird. Auch darin könnte die wachsende Bevorzugung der weniger genutzten Baumarten in diesem Produktbereich erklärt werden. Entgegen der Erwartungen blieb jedoch der hohe Anteil der Hauptbaumarten im Bereich des kammergetrockneten Sägeholzes stabil. Die Bevorzugung der "Scarlet" Baumarten für diese Produkte ist nicht zuletzt auf deren deutlich besseres Verhalten bei der künstlichen Trocknung zurückzuführen. Forschungsvorhaben und verbesserte praktische Erfahrungen über die technische Trocknung der bisher weniger genutzten Baumarten könnten dazu beitragen, dass auch in diesem höherwertigen Bereich zunehmend eine Substitution stattfindet. Ausbeuteverluste und mögliche Ursachen in der Forst- Holz-Kette Die Frage der Ausbeuteverluste und ihrer möglichen Ursachen entlang der Forst-Holz-Kette wurde methodisch im Rahmen eines Fallstudien-Ansatzes untersucht. Dazu wurden die Nutzungsgebiete von drei unterschiedlichen Konzessionären (A, B, D) ausgewählt, die von ihrer geographischen Lage und ihrer Struktur her für die primäre Holzverarbeitung durch die Industrie in Ghana typisch sind. Insgesamt 135 Bäume aus neun Baumarten wurden für diese Studie ausgewählt. Dabei handelt es sich um die für die Vermarktung bedeutendsten Baumarten. Das theoretisch holzindustriell verwendbare Volumen aller Bäume in dieser Studie belief sich auf 2.177 m3, d. h. im Durchschnitt 16 m3 je Baum. Tatsächlich aufgearbeitet und zum Sägewerk transportiert wurden jedoch nur 1.638 m3 oder 12 m3 je Baum. Damit betrug die durchschnittliche Ausbeutequote 75+/-11,82%, während gut 25% (539 m3) des an sich industriell verwendbaren Holzes als Hiebsreste im Wald verblieben. Sowohl der Zopfdurchmesser als auch die Länge dieser Reststücke, wie auch ihre Qualität wären durchaus für eine weitere Bearbeitung im Sägewerk geeignet gewesen. Während der Feldaufnahmen konnten ungenügende Arbeitstechniken und mangelhafte Überwachung als die wichtigsten Gründe für diese geringe Rundholzausbeute identifiziert werden. Dabei spielt auch die herrschende Praxis, nach der der Stockpreis ermittelt wird, den die Firmen an den Staat entrichten müssen, eine Rolle: Da nur für das tatsächlich aus dem Wald exportierte Holz gezahlt werden muss, ergibt sich für die Konzessionäre kein finanzieller Anreiz dafür, die gefällten Bäume möglichst vollständig industriell zu nutzen. Aus diesem offensichtlichen Missstand wurde die Notwendigkeit abgeleitet, Modelle zu entwickeln, die zur Bestimmung der gesamten potentiell vermarktbaren Holzmenge eines stehenden Baumes herangezogen werden können, um so den Stockpreis (stumpage fee) rechnerisch zu bestimmen. Auf der Basis der Versuchsergebnisse wurden drei allometrische Funktionen berechnet, die für eine Schätzung des nutzbaren Volumens herangezogen werden können. Für die Bildung von baumartenspezifischen Modellen wurden drei in Ghana vom Mengenaufkommen her wichtige und markgängige Baumarten herangezogen: Akasaa (Chrysophyllum albidum), Wawa (Triplochiton scleroxylon) und Ofram (Terminalia superba). Darüber hinaus wurden auch generelle Modelle ohne spezifischen Bezug auf einzelne Baumarten entwickelt. Als Datengrundlage dafür wurden neben den drei genannten Hauptbaumarten die Arten von neun weiteren Baumarten herangezogen. Im Allgemeinen hatten artenspezifische Modelle eine bessere Vorhersagbarkeit als gemischte Modelle. Der Grund könnte in der höheren Homogenität der beobachteten und der vorhergesagten Variablen bei den artenspezifischen Modellen liegen. Die Modelle, die auf der Basis der Variablen Brusthöhendurchmesser (DBH) und kommerziell nutzbarer Schaftlänge (L) die nutzbare Holzmenge schätzen, waren jenen Modellen überlegen, die als Variable lediglich den DBH heranziehen. Allerdings ist eine zutreffende Ermittlung der kommerziell nutzbaren Schaftlänge stehender Bäume in der Praxis schwierig. Auch die nur auf dem DBH basierenden Modelle konnten die sägefähigen Stammholzanteile einschließlich stärkerer Kronenanteile mit hinreichender Genauigkeit schätzen. Ein so genanntes Log-Tracking-System, das in Ghana eingeführt werden soll, könnte die Anwendung dieser Modelle in der Praxis begünstigen. Wenn mit ihrer Hilfe die tatsächlich genutzten Stammvolumina zuverlässiger als bisher ermittelt werden, kann mittels der entwickelten Modelle auf das reale, nutzbare Volumen der Bäume auf dem Stock zurückgeschlossen werden, und eine realistische Bestimmung des Stockgeldes (stumpage fee) wäre so möglich. Die Nutzung der entwickelten Modelle in der Praxis zur Festsetzung eines realistischen Stockpreises haben jedoch ihre Grenzen: Wenn sich im Zeitablauf die Ausbeuterelationen fundamental ändern, müssen durch aktuelle Untersuchungen die hier aufgestellten Modelle neu parametrisiert werden. Ausbeuteverluste und mögliche Ursachen im Sägewerk Um die Ausbeute von Schnittholz in der weiteren Bearbeitungsstufe zu bestimmen, wurden im Rahmen der Fallstudie in 4 Sägewerken (A, B, C, D) insgesamt 189 Stämme eingeschnitten. Dazu wurden folgende, für Ausbeute und Qualität ausschlaggebende Faktoren aufgenommen: • Dimension und Volumen des eingesetzten Rundholzes • Zeitraum zwischen Fällung und Verarbeitung der Stämme • Risse, Fäule, Pilzbefall und sonstige Fehler am Rundholz • Schnittbild • Einschnitttechnologien • Qualität des Einschnitts (Maßhaltigkeit) • Volumen und Qualität des erzeugten Schnittholzes Die durchschnittliche Schnittholzausbeute lag bei 28,3% und war damit deutlich niedriger als die in vergleichbaren Studien angegebenen Werte. Die Ausbeute schwankte zwischen nur 1,9% für die Baumart Otie (Pycnanthus angolensis), die im Sägewerk A eingeschnitten wurde, bis hin zu 52.6% für Mahagonie (Khaya ivorensis), eingeschnitten in Werk B. Es konnte festgestellt werden, dass die geringe Qualität und die hohen Materialverluste überwiegend auf die lange Lagerzeit zwischen Fällung und Einschnitt zurückzuführen waren. Alle Otie-Stämme (Pycnanthus angolensis) und die meisten der Wawa –Sägestämme (Triplochiton scleroxylon) zeigten tiefe Risse an der Stirnseite sowie starken Pilzbefall, was zu hohen Ausbeuteverlusten führte. Für die Baumart Otie (Pycnanthus angolensis) wurden durchschnittliche Zeiträume von 6 Monaten vom Einschlag bis zum Einschnitt ermittelt, für Wawa immerhin noch 4 Monate. Eine entscheidende Schwachstelle ist also die mangelhafte logistische Planung. Die unflexible Ausrichtung in der Schnittholzproduktion auf nur wenige exportgängige Liefermaße verursachte einen hohen Volumenanteil an Sägeresthölzern, die bei einer entsprechenden Einschnittgeometrie und Sortierung durchaus zu Fußböden, Paneelen oder anderen Produkten hätten weiterverarbeitet werden können. Um die Maßhaltigkeit der verwendeten Einschnitttechnologien zu bestimmen, wurden zusätzlich an 267 Brettern in sägefrischem Zustand Breite und Stärke ermittelt. Die Ergebnisse der Studie zur Maßhaltigkeit des Schnittholzes weisen darauf hin, dass veraltete und schlecht gewartete Sägentechnik für große Volumenverluste beim Einschnitt verantwortlich sind. Schwankungen der Maßhaltigkeit von 2 bis 17% innerhalb eines Brettes konnten bei der untersuchten Schnittware festgestellt werden. Die Streuung der Maßhaltigkeit zwischen den Brettern war signifikant höher, was wiederum eine schlechte Wartung bzw. Justierung der Einschnittaggregate bestätigt. Abschließend muss kritisch angemerkt werden, dass mit 4 Fallstudien der Stichprobenumfang bei der Bestimmung der Einschlagvolumina sowie der Ausbeuteuntersuchungen bei Schnittholz im Sägewerk keine statistisch repräsentativen und auf ganz Ghana verallgemeinerbare Aussagen zulassen. Dennoch sind die Ergebnisse insofern richtungweisend, als dass Ursachen und Faktoren für die hohen Material- und Wertverluste entlang der Forst-Holz-Kette in Ghana aufgezeigt werden. Damit können Lösungsansätze für die logistischen und technischen Probleme erarbeitet, ein effizientes Controlling konzipiert und innovative Ansätze für eine erweiterte Produktpalette entwickelt werden. Diese Maßnahmen sind dringend notwendig, um eine nachhaltige Bewirtschaftung der Naturwälder Ghanas sicherzustellen und den knappen Rohstoff Holz effizienter zu nutzen. ; SUMMARY: Assessment of raw material utilisation efficiency of the forest-wood chain as influence by the forest sector reform in Ghana. The 1994 forest sector reform in Ghana placed priority on downstream processing, utilisation of lesser-used species (LUS) and improvement of processing efficiency in the timber industry of Ghana. To ensure the success of these policy goals, a ban on exportation of logs was introduced and stumpage fees were adjusted to reflect the realistic timber prices on the international market. This thesis was designed to assess the raw material utilisation efficiency under the influence of the forest sector reform and forest-wood processing chain. The thesis set out to investigate the effects of the log export ban (LEB) policy on the downstream processing, the growth of volume and the prices of the export wood products, and the utilisation of the various timber species. Two sets of time series data as compiled by the Timber Industry Development Division (TIDD) of the Forestry Commission of Ghana were analysed with statistical regressions. The first set of data spanned from 1984 to 2005 whilst the second more detailed data set was compiled from 1995 to 2005. This thesis further assessed, on a case study basis, logging recovery and examined the effect of lax supervision on the logging recovery, and thus justifying the need to develop models to predict the total merchantable volume and logically, the realistic stumpage volume and fees. It continued to assess the sawnwood processing recovery and quantified the volume loss due to sawnwood thickness over-sizing and sawing variation and investigated other factors that contribute to the low sawnwood recovery so as to provide managers and operators with insight into their operation performance and identify ways to improve production. Export market- Volumes Before the LEB policy in the years from 1984 to 1995, the total export volume of wood and wood products was about 5.7 million cubic metres. Out of this volume, log and sawnwood exports accounted for about 55 % and 39 % respectively whilst the contributions from veneer, plywood, and processed wood exports were 4.1 %, 0.4 % and 1.4 % respectively. In the years between 1996 and 2005, the total volume of wood and wood products exported during the LEB policy was about 4.5 million cubic metres. Veneer, plywood, and processed moulding showed increasing shares in the export market, contributing respectively 21.3 %, 10.5 % and 14.2 % during this period, whilst sawnwood accounted for 53.9%. The results of the study showed that the implementation of the log export ban policy in Ghana caused increases in the volume shares of the value-added products such as veneer, plywood and processed wood, which is in agreement with the theory that an LEB policy stimulates the production of value-added products. However, important factors such as shortage of timber supply, high export taxes on the primary products (sawnwood), and investment incentives may have played significant roles in increasing the volume of these products. Export market- Prices The study found that the aggregate price index of all the wood products exported before the LEB policy increased by 129 % compared to the decline of the aggregate price index by -3.9 % during the LEB policy. The growth in the export prices of sawnwood, veneer, plywood and processed wood before the LEB policy were respectively 109 %, 238 %, 142 % and 102 % compared to the corresponding growths or declines of 14.8 %, -21.9 %, -47 % and -31.7 % during the LEB policy. Whilst the export prices of veneer appear to have been bolstered by the increasing market share of re-constituted panels such as MDF and OSB, those of plywood from the tropical forests were eclipsed by the increasing substitution of tropical plywood by softwood plywood and other panels such as MDF and OSB in furniture, millwork, and mouldings production. Another important contributing factor to the decline in the prices of plywood is the intense competition from China, which until recently was a major importer of tropical plywood, and is now a major exporter of plywood. The need to find new markets for tropical plywood could help revive its export trade. These decline in prices also appears also to have been caused by such global factors as the collapse of the Asian economy in 1997 and 1998, and the weak demand for international commodity in 2000 and 2001, resulting from the economic recession of the world's three largest economies (U.S.A., Japan and Germany). Export volume of the traditional (scarlet and red) and the Lesser-Used Species (LUS) (pink and green) species During the LEB policy, the export volume shares of the LUS (pink and green species) stayed relatively low. Out of the total export volume of 4,074,570 m³ of the six main products exported from 1995 to 2005, pink and green species (LUS) contributed only 12.5 % and 1.3 % respectively. Furthermore, scarlet and red species had a respective volume share of 49 % and 29.4 % whilst "other species" contributed 7.7 %. The results indicated that flooring and moulding products were almost exclusively produced from the traditional timber species. About 87 % of the flooring and 90 % of the moulding products were produced from both the scarlet and red species. These two products are among the highly-priced export products. The flooring and moulding products are generally used for decoration purposes and the traditional and highly-valued timber species such as the scarlet and red species are expected to dominate the choice of species for these products. This fact probably explains the high volume contribution of the traditional timber species to the production of flooring and moulding products. In the face of a limited supply of the primary timber species, scarlet and red species obviously should be reserved for the highly-priced products such as flooring and moulding. As expected, the trend in the volume share of air-dried (AD) sawnwood produced from the scarlet species showed a substantial decrease from 83 % in 1995 to about 6 % in 2005, whilst air-dried sawnwood from the pink species increased from about 6 % in 1995 to about 22 % in 2005. The substitution of the scarlet species by the pink species reflects the increasing shortage of supply of the former. Another reason could be the result of systematic efforts by the stakeholders in forest management in Ghana to substitute the LUS species for the scarlet in the production of sawnwood (AD) by imposing levies on sawnwood (AD) produced from the primary timber species. Contrary to expectation, kiln-dried (KD) sawnwood had the most stable volume share from the scarlet species, decreasing only marginally from about 86 % in 1995 to about 84 % in 2005. Technical difficulties in developing kiln-drying schedules for the LUS species may explain a higher percentage volume share of the scarlet species used to produce sawnwood (KD). The logging efficiency and the development of allometric models to predict the realistic stumpage volume In a case study approach, a total of 135 trees from nine timber species were sampled from three logging sites of mills A, B and D to allow for the assessment of logging recovery and the development of models to predict the total merchantable volume. The mills were selected according to the prevailing sawmill industry structure in Ghana. The main species were selected on the basis of their forest availability and economic importance. Wawa (Triplochiton scleroxylon), for example, constitutes about 21 % of Forest Inventory Project (FIP) class 1 volume greater than 70 cm in diameter (see Ghana Forestry Department 1989) and hence justifies its higher selection percentage. The merchantable volume of all the trees sampled from the three studied mills totalled 2,177 m³, averaging 16.0 m³ per tree. The logs that were extracted from this total merchantable volume by the mills amounted to 1,638 m³, averaging 12 m³ per tree. The average logging recovery rate of the three studied logging sites was 75±11.82 % whilst 25 % (539 m³) of the merchantable volume was left at the logging site as residues. On the basis of the small-end diameter and length values, the merchantable wood residues were of sufficient quality to warrant their utilisation. For example, the small-end diameter of the residues ranged from 41 cm for ofram (Terminalia superba) to 60 cm for wawa (Triplochiton scleroxylon) whilst the average length of the residues also varied between 4.2 m for sapele (Entandrophragma cylindricum) and 8.5 m for wawa (Triplochiton scleroxylon). The study identified insufficient working techniques and lax supervision as one of the major causes of low logging recovery and the existing practice of fixing stumpage fees gives only weak economical incentives to improve volume recovery. Therefore the need to develop models to predict the total merchantable volume as a basis for adjusted stumpage fee calculation, was justified. To fix realistic stumpage fees, which take into account the true potential of the harvested trees, three allometric equations were developed to allow for comparison in terms of predictive accuracy. Three main species, namely akasaa (Chrysophyllum albidum), wawa (Triplochiton scleroxylon), and ofram (Terminalia superba) were sampled for the construction of the species-specific based models. The mixed-species based models were developed from the three main species and six additional tree species. In general, the species-specific models had a better predictive power than the mixed-species based models and this could be attributed to the relatively higher homogeneity of both the observed and predictor variables of the species-specific based models. Among the mixed-species based models, those that predicted the total merchantable volume indirectly from the log volume had the highest predictive power. The log tracking system which is being introduced in Ghana could benefit from these models. When logging data are available (through the log tracking system) the models could be used to predict the realistic stumpage volume. These models however, were found to perform relatively better for small-sized trees than for large-sized trees over (20 m³). The models that predicted the total merchantable volume from DBH and the total merchantable length had better fits than those that used only DBH as a predictor variable. Nevertheless they have little practical importance because of difficulty in measuring the total merchantable length in the forest. These models have however theoretically showed that, by including the merchantable branches, the general form of allometric equation did not substantially change. DBH as a predictor of the total merchantable volume has several advantages. It is easier and simpler to use since forest inventories include DBH measurements. For the mixed-species based models that predicted the total merchantable volume from DBH only, the site-specific models had a higher predictive power than a single model developed for all-sites, indicating that for a higher accuracy, DBH may be a good predictor of the total merchantable volume of tree species at a specific site. The use of these models, however, presents a limitation. If logging efficiency of individual mills changes substantially over time, the model may have to be validated periodically before it could be applied. Sawmill efficiency In order to determine sawnwood recovery in a case study approach, a total of 189 saw logs were sampled from four mills (Mills A, B, C and D). In order to assess the factors that affect sawnwood recovery, the following inquiries and observations were made and recorded: • Log dimensions (length, diameter at both ends) • Time between felling and processing of logs, • Prior to processing, each sampled saw logs was inspected for defects such as end-splits, rots and fungal blue stain. • Log breakdown technique, • Edging and trimming techniques and • Quality of trimming off-cuts The average sawnwood recovery (28.3 %) found in this study was substantially lower than the reported average recovery rate in the previous studies. The sawnwood recovery ranged from 1.9 % for the otie (Pycnanthus angolensis) processed at mill A to 52.6 % for the mahogany (Khaya ivorensis) processed at mill B. The study found that the poor log quality, resulting mainly from long storage periods between felling and processing, had a substantial effect on the sawnwood volume recovery. All of the otie (Pycnanthus angolensis) saw logs and most of the wawa (Triplochiton scleroxylon) saw logs sampled had end-splits and were severely infested with fungal blue stain and thus their low recovery was expected. The low sawnwood recovery reported in this study could be mainly attributed to a lack of proper management of logs and a lack of adequate logistic planning. For example, the period between felling and processing of the otie (Pycnanthus angolensis) logs was about six months whilst due to logistical problems and poor planning the period between felling and processing of the wawa logs sawn at mill D was about three months. In addition, 267 green sawn boards were sampled from the mills to quantify the sawnwood volume loss due to thickness over-sizing and sawing variation. The results of this study indicated that the volume that could have been gained by reducing the sawnwood thickness over-sizing and sawing variation ranged from about 2 % to 17 % in volume of the sampled sawnwood. The study also found that between-board sawing variation was substantially higher than within-board sawing variation indicating that lack of setworks repeatability could be the major cause of the loss in volume. It was observed that the studied mills concentrated their production on sawnwood in export dimensions and grades. Therefore, off-cuts and trim ends that could have been processed further into mouldings, battens, floorings, and other products were discarded or sold at cheaper prices. The limited supply of timber resources give every reason for sawmills in Ghana to optimise fibre recovery from every tree that is felled. Even though this thesis studied only a limited number of cases, which represent a small fraction of the forest and sawmill industry in Ghana, there is a reason to believe that conditions prevailing in other operations are not very different from those observed in these case study mills. Ghanaian sawmills stand to benefit economically if they could improve their logistical planning and integrate production lines devoted to recovering fibre from off-cuts and trimmings.
Issue 48.2 of the Review for Religious, March/April 1989. ; Ministry and Ministries On Becoming An Apostolic °Hermit Mid-Life Divorce And Alienation The Readmission of Former Members Volume 48 Number 2 March/April 1989 Revn~w t:or Rt~LIGIOUS (ISSN 0034-639X) is published bi-monthly at St. Louis University by the Mis-souri Province Educational Institute of the Soi:icty of Jesus; Editorial Office; 3601 Lindcll Blvd. Rm. 428: St. Louis. MO 63108-3393. Second-class postage paid at St. Louis MO. Single copies $3.00. Subscriptions: $12.00 per year: $22.00 for two years. Other countries: for surface mail. add U,S. $5.00 per year: for airmail, add U.S. $20.00 per year. For subscription orders or change of address, write: R~v~w t:oR Rt~t.~GOUS; P.O. Box 6070; Duluth. MN 55806. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to R~:v~:w ~'o~ R~:t.t~no~s; P.O. Box 6070; Duluth, MN 55806. David L. Fleming, S.J. Iris Ann Ledden, S.S.N.D. Richard A. Hill, S.J. Jean Read Mary Ann Foppe Editor Associate Editor "~"~ Contributing Editor ~% ~,~,¢~ Assistant Editors °"'~ March/April 1989 Volume 48 Number 2 Manuscripts, books for review and correspundence with the editor should be sent to R~:\'~:w ~'o~ R~:~.t~aot~s; 3601 Lindell Blvd.; SI. [a~uis, MO 63108-3393. Cnrrespondence about the department "Canonical Counsel" should be addressed to Rich-ard A. Hill, S.J.; J.S.T.B.; 1735 LeRoy Ave.; Berkeley, CA 94709-1193. Back issues and reprints should be ordered from R~:v~:w ~'on R~:t.~aot~s; 3601 Lindell Blvd.; St. la~uis, MO 63108-3393. "Out of print" issues are available from University Microfilms International; 300 N. Zeeb Rd.; Ann Arbor, MI 48106. A major portion of each issue is also available on cassette recordings as a service for the visually impaired. Write Io the Xavier Society for the Blind; 154 East 23rd Street; New York, NY 10010. PRISMS . Computers easily make available various readouts of statistical in-formation. While I was perusing the printout listings of our January- February 1989 issue, 1 began, to realize how much I take for granted the exchange of information in our contemporary world. This international exchange of information through a journal like REVIEW FOR REL~C~OtJS pro-vides one of the most valuable prisms which exist for expanding our worldview and our unders.tanding of religious life. I want to share with you a few of the statistics about the interriational readership. First, I should call attention to the fact that REVIEW has sub-scribers in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territo-ries, such as Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the North Mariana Islands, and the Canal Zone. Roughly this grouping takes in about sixty per cent of our subscription list. Our readers are also from all ten provinces of Canada, including the Yukon and the North-west Territories. Subscribers are also present throughout Mexico, six countries of Central America, ten countries of South America, and throughout the West Indies. REWEff FOR REt.~C~OUS has large numbers of subscribers in the English-speaking countries of Europe, such as England, Ireland, Northern Ire-. land, Scotland, and Wales. But its readership is spread throughout Aus-tria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Po-land, Portugal, Switzerland, Spain, Sweden, and West Germany. The subscription lists are large for India, the Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand, with a widespread distribution throughout the coun-tries. Africa, too, is well-represented, with subscribers from some twenty-two countries, such as Republic of Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, South Africa, Liberia~ Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, Sudan, Tanzania, Swaziland, Sierra Leone, Malawi, Cameroun, and Mauritania. REVIEW also serves readers in Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand, Ma-laysia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Israel, Jordan, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Sin-gapore, and Hong Kong. As editor, I think that I may want to take a win-ter trip to visit our subscribers from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Gilbert Is-lands, Solomon Islands, and Western Samoa. These listings do not exhaust all the places R~:w~:w FOR reaches, but perhaps this kind of enumeration can give all of us a greater 161 Review for Religious, March-April 1989 appreciation of the catholicity of the articles we read and the religious life we try better to understand and live. Of course, this international dimension is reflected in the authors who submit manuscripts and in the content matter of the articles submit-ted. For example, in this issue, Father Donald Macdonald, writing from England, reflects upon the situation of Church members in some com-munist- dominated countries of Eastern Europe. Brother Martin O'Reilly shares with us his vocation director's experience, working in Liberia and Sierra Leone in Africa. Father Robert Maloney calls our attention to an impressive lay-movement of young people who serve the poor in Italy. Reverend Paul Casper, who first went to Burma as missionary in 1952 and later served as the first American Dean of St. John's Cathedral in Hong Kong from 1982-1986, reflects on the influence of his fellow An-glican, C.S. Lewis, upon his experience of spiritual direction. As editor, I want to continue to welcome readers and writers from all over the world. REVIEW FOR RELigiOUS will continue to be enriched by the .reflections of people who come from different community, mission, and cultural life-experiences. Through this journal, we are being given a new window--varied prisms--upon our world and upon our religious iives.~ David L. Fleming, S.J. Ministry and Ministries John R. Sheets, S.J. Father John Sheets, S.J. is well known to our readers. His last article, "Spiritual Direction in the Church," appeared in the issue of July/August, 1987. Father Sheets may be addressed at Creighton University; California at 24th Street; Omaha, Ne-braska 68178. In the remarks which follow, I try to distinguish two related but radically different forms of ministry: that which is primordial, the ministry of pres-ence, and that which is functional, activities, some of which are institu-tionalized, others not, which serve to constitute and build up the Church. The ministry of presence is overlooked today. When people speak of ministry they tend to speak only of functional ministry, various ac-tivities which in one way or another build up the Church. However, they forget that the functional ministry is always built on and presupposes a primordial, or deeper form of ministry, the ministry of presence. Though it is risky to use masculine-feminine analogies today, I think that those who can bypass the loaded nature of such language, and re-gain a certain direct vision of those realities, without the prejudices of our times, can spontaneously recognize in the ministry of presence quali-ties which are feminine, and in the mini~stry of function, masculine char-acteristics. I do not mean, of course, that functional ministries belong only to men, and not to women, or that men cannot exercise qualities of presence. The distinction is aimed at calling attention to two related but different modalities of ministry: a mode of being in and with, which is presence; and a mode of being for, which is function. We live in an age which is centrifugal. The self is caught in a kind of cyclotron that empties the inner self as it pours itself into more and more things to do. For this reason in the remarks which follow there is an attempt to recapture the primordial ministry of presence, which alone 163 164 / Review for Religious,. March-April 1989 can vitalize, energize, the ministries of function. In a sense it is an at-tempt to see how the feminine principle of presence lies beneath all other activ.ities within the Church, providing the presence of the Spirit, who alone breathes life into those activities which are ordinarily called min-istry. Without the presence of the breath of the Spirit, ministry in the sense of activity is like those dry bones Ezekiel describes (Ezk 37), strewn about in a valley, lifeless skeletons that have a faint resemblance to a living person. Hans Urs von Balthasar in Elucidations (London: S.P.C.K., 1975, p. 70) describes what I have just spoken of as a kind of "masculiniza-tion" of the Church. "The Church since the Council has to a large ex-tent put off its mystical characteristics. It has become a Church of per-manent conversations, organizations, advisory commissions, congresses, synods, commissions, academies, parties, pressure groups, functions, structures and restructurings, sociological experiments, statistics; that is to say, more than ever a male Church . " General Reflections on the Meaning of Ministry Before going into some specifics in regard to ministry, I would like to give a working description of ministry that will include everything pre-sented in this article about various ways of speaking of ministry. Most of the time discussions on ministry begin with a description of various activities in the Church that are exercised for the good of others, either as individuals or as :a community. This approach is a valid one. But it also tends to play into models which belong to other forms of hu-man activity for the good of any society, not specifically the society we call the Church. Hence, it is possible that, without realizing it, what is secretly at work in discussion of ministry are models coming from hu-man social structures, such as civil society, instead of those that respect the uniqueness of the ministries that belong to the Church. One has to see Christian. ministry in terms of the complete newness of the forms of activity that the Christian calls ministry. The Church, on the other hand, does not exist only as a heavenly city coming downfrom above. It exists in the world in interaction with other societies. It also has similarities with other societies, especially the state, But the danger is to lose sight of the uniqueness of Christian ministry, and to reduce it to secular models. I want to speak of Christian ministry, then, by beginning from a slightly different perspective than is customary. Ordinarily discussion of ministry begins by talking about different activities in the Church as they are exercised by different members. But it might be more helpful to ap- Ministry and Ministries / 165 proach ministry in a reverse direction. Ministries come from awareness of needs that have to be taken care of within the Church. Ministries are always a response to specific kinds of needs. Ministries in the Church then are those activities which are generated within the Church in re-sponse to the needs of the community. In somewhat the same way, all "secular ministries," such as schools, hospitals, civil authority have to be understood primarily as response to needs within the community. There are no ministries that are simply there, self-evident, self-explanatory. Ministries.exist only because they are called forth as a re-sponse to certain needs. They are essentially relative then to the need that calls them forth. They come, go, remain as the needs either remain or come and go. Their importance ranges from fulfilling needs which are essential to the existence of the Church (for example, the ministry of holy ordi~rs), to those which are i, mportant for'its well-being, but not essen-tial tbqts very existence. This,is true both forthe secular notion of ministry, as well as the ec-clesial. But the needs in each case are radically different. Hence, the re-sponse, or the ministry will be radically different. To understand minis-try, then, one has, so to speak, to work backwards, from need to re-sponse. The respbnse in turn depends upon the particular gift, whether of grace or nature, to respond to the need. St. Paul always sees the gifts of ministry in this sense, as Spirit-evoked responses to community needs. Ministry t.hen is called forth by the particular needs of the organiza-tion as social whether the social body is sec.ular or religious. Some of these needs are practically identified.with the continued existence and Well-functioning of the.body; for example, in the state, different levels of auihority are 'called forth from the need to preserve the society so that it keeps its identity and reaches its goals. The importance of the minis-try varies. Its importance is relative to the nature of the need that has to be taken care of. But our question is concernedowith the society called the Church, not secular societies. Ministry in the Church is the Spirit-created response to the unique needs of the new kind of society' that came into the world-through the institutiofi' of Christ and the outpouring of the Spirit at Pen-tecost. The basic needs.to be responded to are those to which Jesus him-self responded. The Church exists only to carry out what Jesus intended in his life and redemptive death. The deepest need of humankind, then, is the.need for redemption. This is the need that Jesus came to fulfill. He had no other purpose. All ministries in the Church are relative to the one basic need, the need for redemption. "166 / Review for Religious, March-April 1989 The primary ministry in the Church, then, is that which he commu-nicated to his,,apostles. He breathed into them his own mission or his own ministry. " 'As the Father sent me, so I send you.' He then breathed on them saying, 'Receive the.Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins, they stand forgiven; if you pronounce them unforgiven, unforgiven th.ey remain' " (Jn 20:21-23). He creates a correlation between his ministry which comes from the Father, and the mission of the apostles, which comes from Jesus. They are to minister to the fundamental need of hu-mankind, reconciliation with God and with one. another. Thus th+ fundamental ministry of the Church which is poured into the Church is to respond to a need at the heart of the whole of humanity and even of the universe itself. If this ministry fails, then the mission of Ctiiist is aborted. The raw fundamental need of humankind remains un-touched. "We are still in our.sins" (see 1 Co 15:17). Within that fun-damental ministry, which makes die mission of Christ present, ,there are other subordinate ministries, each of them in one way or another a par-ticipation in the fundamental response to the need for redemption. All forms of ministry in the Church, therefore, are responses to the radical need of humankind, the need f+r redemption. They are not self-actuated responses like those belonging to other socie.ties. They are di-rectly evoked and sustained by the Spirit ~vhose intention is to carry out in the Church what he initiated in the life and death of Christ. St. Paul uses a striking metaphor to bring out ministry as response to need. He calls himself a debtor to everyone. What he owes them is the Gospel. This is the Spirit-evoked gift to answer the radical need in the human heart. M6re than health, money, food, or anything else, the radical need is for Christ. "I am in debt to Greek and to non-Greek, to learned and Simple" (Rm i : 14). The Need for the Presence of Christ: Ministry as a Mode of Being Present As I mentioned in the beginning, it i~ important at the outset to dis-tinguish, ministry according to two different modalities: (a) ministry as presence,, which is a mode of being-with, what I called above, the pri-mordial form of ministry, and (b) ministry as partiizular activities which are ways of doing that flow from being-for others. The latter has to do with activities which flow from and presuppose ministry in the first sense. Most often when people talk about ministry they refer only to doing something. They forget that ministry as we find it in the Church is situ-ated within what is deeper, the mystery of an existence that has been trans- Ministry and Ministries / 167 formed through grace. This transformed existence brings a new mode of presence into the world. I spoke above of ministry as the Spirit-created response to need. The great absence, and therefore, the deepest need, is that of the absence of God in the hearts of individuals and society. The first mode of "minis-try" then is not some particular kind of activity. Rather it is a mode of presence that penetrates a person's whole being. It is a kind of "glory," or radiance that end/elopes a person's whole life. It cannot be located within any one particular kind of activity. "We all reflect as in a mirror the glory of the Lord" (1 Co 3:18). Like a mirror, Christian existence reflects tothe world the presence of Christ. This is the primary mode of ministry. This "presence" or glory comes from the fact that, as Paul says, we are a "new creation." "When anyone is united to Christ, there is a new creation; the old order has gone, and a new order has already be-gun" (2 Co 5:17). He tells the Christians that in the midst of an evil world they are to "shine like stars in a dark world, and proffer the word of life" (Ph 2:13). All of Paul's exhortations about what to do as Chris-tians flow as corollaries from the mystery of their transformed existence as a new creation. The images that Jesus uses to describe the primary ministry of the Christian do not concern specific activities. He calls the Christian salt, light, leaven for the world. The Christian's pri(nary ministry to the world, then, is not some particular activity, but a kind of epiphany of the presence of the New Creation. The most fundamental ministry then is to live the Christian life in its fullness. It is a doing that is identified with their very being. How they live flows from who they are. Very sim-ply it is the call to be holy. It helps us understand this primary form of ministry if we reflect on the fact that all Christian ministry receives its meaning insofar as it takes on the.pattern of Christ's ministry. In Christ, we see the perfect expres-sion of "ministry." All that he does flows from who he is. The myste-rious interaction of Jesus with everyone came.from an awareness of a pres-ence in him Which eluded all categories and particular activities. Similarly his primary activity in the Church is not through specific ministries, for example, orders,.charisms, and so forth. It is the fullness of his presence filling the whole Church. "He put everything in subjec-tion beneath his feet, and appointed him as supreme head to the Church, which is his body and as such holds within it the fullness of him who himself receives the entire fullness of God" (Ep 1:22-23). "Be assured. Review for Religious, March-April 1989 I amowith you always, to the end of time" (Mt 28:20). At center of all particular ministries in the Church, then, is the mystery ~f presence. Christ's own ministry is the Si~irit-evoked response to the most radi-cal needs of humankind redemption, salvation, atonement. "I have a ba, ptism wherewith I am to be baptized, and how I am straitened until it be accomplished" (Lk, 12:50). His fundamental ministry then is to re-veal the Father's love. This love is not only an affective, but also an ef-fective love. The Father shows his love through the redemptive gift of his Son. Hence, the mode of being of Christ is a redemptive mode of being. He is from the beginning the? ',Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." His ministry then is identified with his whole being. No matter what he says or does, it is always the expression of his gift of himself: "This is my body given for you. This is my blood poured out for you." Christ's presence then is a special mode of presence: a re-demptive presence. All particular activities flow from his pervasive pres-ence as the Suffering Servant. The Church itself has only one primary ministry. It is the sacrament of the presence of Christ. It exists only to bring to the world what Christ accomplished through his ministry, to bring.~the world in touch with the mystery of Christ. All of the various particular ministries in the Church, ways of doing, flow from the primary ministry which is a mode of being present. Similarly, the primary mimstry of the Christian is that of pres-ence where God is absent, to be light in the darkness, leaven in a dead world, salt in a world which has lost its savor. The failure to recognize the primary ministry as that of presence has led to many ambiguities, in discussion of ministry today. One gets the im-pression that greater participation in ministry is only (or mainly) being able to participate in many activities which were closed to a person up to the present. But in reality the primary ministry is to respond by pres-ence to what is absence, or anti-presence. This has always been the pri-mary ministry of the saints, canonized and uncanonized. The m.inistry of presence creates an atmosphere that is broader, deeper, more pene-trating, both stronger and more delicate, and more effective while it is more self-effacing than what is brought about by particular ministries. Yet it has to be admitted that this primary notion of ministry is often neglected~ The activistic mentality that pervades our society sees minis-try mainly as involvement in more activities, o~ in activities associated with one form of ministry, that of Orders. But the ministry of presence is not a matter of this ministry or that. It takes in a whole constellation of activities that identify the New Creation. Th.ey are not so much spe- Ministry and Ministries cific activities as Christian modes of being. St. Paul describes this min-istry Of presence as the harvest of the Spirit: "lbve, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Ga 5:22). The ministry of presence, then, takes in all of those activities which are gr0upe~d under the names of the spiritual and corporal works of mercyL''When I was hungry., thirsty., a stranger., naked. ill . in prison" (Mt 25:31f). In particular, it takes on Christ's minis-try as the Suffering Servant. "I have set you an example: you are to do as I have done for you. In truth I tell you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor a messenger than the one who sent him" (Jn 13:!5-16). As Paul says, "Let your bearing toward one another arise out of your life in Christ" (Ph 2:5). All of these activities belong to the Christian qua Christian, not to the Christian as having a particular form of ministry. They are insepara-ble from the Christian identity itself. These activities form the primary ministry of,the Christian. I have spoken, then, of ministry as the Spirit-evoked response to needs. The primary ministry is the response to the need for the presence of Christ through the Christian in the world which still needs to be touched by the redemption. This is the ministry that flows from the pres-ence of the New Creation. Presence in torn is not one or other specific activity. It is a kind of epiphany that shows itself in the constellation of activities that irradiates from the New Creation. Ministry on this foundational level is related to specific forms of min-istry as the atmosphere is to thir~gs that breathe. The specific forms of ministry are lifeless unless they live out of this atmosphere that identi-fies the Neff Creation. Yet it has to be. admitted that popular ways of speal(ing of particular ministries in the Church isolate them from their roots in the primary form of ministry, which is a mode of being present as the New Creature to the Church and to the world. It is on the level of the ministry of presence that really important but unheralded ministry takes place in the Church. It is that which belongs to states of life, such as, for example, marriage. The "ministry" of ¯ mother or father is not this or that particular activity. It is a mode of lov-ing presence that creates a kind of a cosmos of relationships which we call the family. Others, for example, a baby sitter, can carry out particu-lar activities that a mother or father also do. But it is only when such particular activities are rfianifestation of the mystery of presence, the mys-tery of motherhood and fatherhood, that such activities create the mys-tery that we call the family. 170 / Review for Religious, March-April 1989 The Catholic lay person, like every other Christian, exercises the min-istry of presence. This presence obviously comes to the fore in ways of acting that are spe~:ifically Christian. But those particular activities have their power because they are witness to a presence that makes Christ pre-sent in the whole of one"s life. The p~resence is that of the New Crea-tion, in a quiet hut powerful way emitting signals that show the 'presence of Christ in the secular world. They are like beacohs of light sending rays out into the night, both illumining the darkness an~! attracting people to the light of Christ. Particular Ministries in the Church Finally, after this long buildup, we come to the place where most people usually begin discussions about ministry. They mean particular activities in the Church directed to building up the Church that have ec-clesial recognition. "Above we spoke mainly of ministry as the manifold group of activi-ties that flow from the new mod~ of being which St. Paul calls the New Creation. They are not activities in the same sense as the particularized m~nistries. In the particularized ministries one does something to accom-plish something else. But in the foundational ministry one is not "'do-ing" one thing to accomplish something else. Rather it is a ministry of transforming presence. "To crown all, there must be love to bind all to-gether and complete the whole" (Col 3: 14). "'I may dole out all I pos-sess, or even give my body to be burnt, but if I have no love, I am none the better" (1 Co 13:3). Ministry as a particular activity ~n the.Church presupposes and lives off the foundational ministry which is presence, the presence of the Holy Spirit in individuals making them the New Creation: The Holy Spirit, then, draws individuals into the love of Christ by givingthem gifts to respond to particular needs in the Church. St. Paul's description of.min-istry always presupposes the presence of the Holy Spirit in the individ-ual not simply as an individual but as a member of the Church. Gifts are given to individuals to enable them to fulfill a need within the Church. Presupposing, then, the fundamental ministry of presence, St. Paul speaks of various ministries which the Holy Spirit calls forth to respond to various needs. While each is izalled to the primary ministry of radiat-ing the presence of Christ to the whole (the fundamenthl ministry), there are particular functional-roles within the community called forth to re-spond to a whole range of different needs, some more essential than oth-ers. Paul describes some of these. "And these were his gif!s: some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teach- Ministry and Ministries / .17"1 ers, to the building up of the Body of Christ" (Ep 4:1 !-13). "Now you are Christ's body; but each of you is a different part of it. In the Church, God has given the first place to apostles, the second to prophets, the third to teachers. " (1 Co 12:18f). However, the primary ministry, the ministry of presence, with love as its animating principle, should animate all the particular ministries. "Be ambitious for the higher gifts. And I am going to show you a way that is better than any of them" (1 Co 12:31-13:1). Then he goes on to describe the ministry of all ministries, the mystery of love as the primary "ministry" to which we should aim. Ministries on this level have to do with the whole social unit, the whole Church. They reorientate a person's whole existence to take on a specific kind of relativity,from Chr.ist,for the Church. This reorienta-tion is such that it modifies in a new way the person's Christian iden-tity. There are three modes in which the presence of the New Creation is radicalized in an individual: the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and holy orders. Theologically the term "character" describes what St. Paul calls the metamorphosis, the change in the inner structure of a per-son's life (2 Co 3:18). This is the radical reorientation of a person's whole being, first of all, through baptism to become the New Creation, to respond to one's own radical need--the need-for redemption; then, through confirmation which takes presence to a new dimension, orien-tating the baptized person to the needs of the whole Church; then, through holy orders which radicalizes in a person Christ's own gift-presence, making a person "steward of the mysteries of God" (I Co 4:1), a person whose presence is to draw forth the New Creation. The traditional theological term, "character," then, describes three modes of the presence of Christ in the New Creation. Flowing from these modes of presence are different kinds of activity. I have commented briefly above on the mode of presence that comes through baptism and confirmation. These are modes of presence and ac-tivity which belong to all Christians by virtue of their baptism and con-firmation. It is what is specifically called the mini~stry of the laity. Within that mode of presence there are many kinds of activities, as, for exam-ple, that which belongs to those who are married, or to those engaged in secular occupations in the world. I shall comment briefly on the kind of presen.ce that belongs to the priest. It has two sides. The priest mediates to the Church and the world the presence of Christ. On the other side, the priest draws the whole of Review for Religious, March-April 1989 the Church into the presence of Christ. Like John the Baptist the priest is to introduce the Bride to the Bridegroom, and the Bridegroom to the Bride. Priestly ministry has a.single purpose: to bring about the New Crea-tion- to nourish, sustain, and guide the New Creation by word and sac-rament. All of priestly activity then is some form of transubstantiation, that is, to change the old reality into the new. The priest's whole being is to transform the world by touching it with the redemptive event of Christ. The priest lives from Christ, for the Churchl' But at the heart of all ministries in the Church is the radicalization that takes place through baptism which brings into being the New Crea-tion. Confirmation and orders have their roots in the new mode of pres-ence of Christ in the individual and the Church through baptism. Con-firmation draws out another aspect of the giftedness of the New Crea-tion, that is, the apostolic dimension to "let your light shine before oth-ers . " Orders is a gift of the Spirit presupposing baptism which em-powers individuals to draw forth from the "old creation" the New Crea-tion, through word and sacrament, and to direct the community in the ways to live out the implications of the New Creation. Problems Associated With Ministry St. Paul describes ministries as the work of the Holy Spirit in call-ing responses from within the New Creation to particular needs within the Church. The images he uses always suggest harmonics or coordina-tion. In a sense, the Holy Spirit is like a conductor calling .forth from each individual player in the symphony that which leads to the harmon-ics of the whole piece of music. One of St. Paul's favorite images to bring out the .sense of harmonics of ministries is that of the body, where the whole exists for each part, and each part exists for every other part, as well as for the whole. "There is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit; there are all sorts of service to be done, but always to the same Lord, working in all sorts of different people; it is the same God who is working in all of them" (1 Co 12:if). The words "same Spirit," or the "one Spirit" oc-cur about ten times in the passage to show that ministry is a Spirit-evoked response to different needs. The same emphasis is found in Ephe-sians 4: If. "Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit. , there is one Body, one Spirit . . . one Lord, one faith~ one baptism, one God." It is interesting that Paul's extensive description of the interplay of the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the good of the whole Church is found mainly in a community where there was the greatest.disharmony, the Ministry and Ministries / "17'3 Church at Corinth. He is therefore calling attention to a special kind of sin, the obstruction of the power of the Holy Spirit in the very persons who are called to build up the body of Christ. But the situation at Corinth does point to what have always been three problems with ministry in the Church: (1) the failure to see minis-try as the Spirit-evoked response to different needs within the Church; (2) the failure to see that each ministry has its meaning not in itself, but only insofar as the foundational ministry of presence animates it; (3) the adaptation of the uniqueness of Christian ministry to secular models. I shall comment on these briefly. (1) The problems in the Corinthian community that turned the sym-phonic movements of the Holy Spirit into groups of warring factions have always been part of the sinfulness of the Church. Basically it is the problem of what in Jungian psychology is called the "persona," the pub-lic image a person seeks before the eyes of others. The symphonic na-ture of ministry becomes discordant when one's attention turns from the ministry in itself to an awareness of the public image associated with dif-ferent ministries. The attention then is not on what the Holy Spirit is do-ing through one's ministry, but on the way ttiat one's own glory appears before others. Some even felt they got a better public image by the fact that they were baptized by a person associated with such an image-creating personality, for example, the eloquent and gifted evangelist, Apollos, in contrast to someone like Paul who apparently did not pro-ject such an image. (2) The second problem which has plagued the Church in her past history, as well as at the present, is tile dissociation of the ministry of doing from the primary ministry of being or of presence. For this reason Paul insists that though the Corinthian Community exercise all of the other ministries, even to the point of giving all they have to the poor, or giving their bodies to be. burnt, yet if they are isolated from th~ min-istry of presence, of being, that is love, (hen all activities are like activi-ties of a corpse. There might be much activity, very busy people, but it does not carry the life-giving power of the Spirit. It is dead. The lack of holiness in those who are supposedly the New Creation has been the biggest obstacle to the work of the Spi.rit during the whole of the history of the Church. (3) The third problem, related to the first two, comes from a failure to recognize the uniqueness of ministry in the Church. Ministry in the Church is a reversal of all notions of service that we find in societies that owe their existence to some natural cause, for example, the state or the 174 / Review for Religious, March-April 1989 family. In these societies, a person enters at a certain level, then makes every effort to move to the top, with increase of salary, prestige, power, and the expansion of the "public image" as one works to the top. In the process, whoever is above is a threat because the one above stands in the way. Those who are below are looked on as inferior. Judgments about the importance of different "ministries" are always made accord-ing to the ladder\of the upward-bound movement and then more specifi-cally to what rung of the ladder one is on. This problem has always been with the Church. It was practically im-possible for the apostles to put this new wine into old wineskins. They argued who was the most important. Then Jesus taught them, "If any-one wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and the servant of all" (Mk 9:35). The sons of Zebedee asked Jesus, " 'Grant us the right to sit in state with you, one at your right and the other at your left.' Jesus said to them, 'You do not understand what you are ask!ng. Can you drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism I am to be baptized with?' " Jesus tells them that if he as master and Lord has washed their feet, then they should wash one another's feet. This is a symbolic way of describing Christian ministry. Paul says, "Rivalry and personal vanity should have no place among you, but you should hum-bly reckon others better than yourselves" (Ph 2:3). I am sure there are many other problems that have to do with minis-try today. Some are organizational problems, others from many of the feminist questions. The ones I mentioned above are attitudinal. They have always been with us, and are with us today. They can be at work also in other problems such as organizational or the feminist issues. I can-not imagine people agitating for a job which, for example, would mean that they would take a salary cut, pay more taxes, have longer hou.rs, and work anonymously. The Christian notion of ministry~ is even more out-landish than that. Ministry and Religious Life In his Apostolic Exhortation on the religious life, The Gift of Redemp-tion (March 25, 1984), Pope John Paul II presents what is probably the most profound theology of religious life that has ever been thought out. He roots religious consecration in the New Creation that comes into be-ing through baptism. Religio6s life then has its primary ministry in what we spoke of above as the ministry of presence. It is foundational to all other particular forms of ministry. But the presence that forms the fundamental ministry of religious life takes on a particular paschal duality. It is to image forth the life of Jesus Ministry and Ministries as the Suffering Servant. It exists to show forth the duality that belongs to Christ's own paschal mystery. The paschal duality means that one and the same reality has two related aspects: the cross (sacrifice) and the res-urrection (the New Creation). The vowed life of the religious, then, is to bring into the world a particular modality of paschal presence. That is the fundamental ministry: the ministry of the paschal presence. But there are particular ministries which religious congregations ex-ercise for the good of the Church and society. When we look at the his-tory of the Church in our own country, these ministries are numerous. Some of the majors ones are education, hospitals, orphanages, care for the elderly, but there are many others, including the contemplative life of intercession for the Church. Other forms of particular ministries have emerged over the last twenty-five years. But it is the foundational ministry above all which must activate all particular ministries. To quote Pope John Paul: "It is precisely this wit-ness of love that the world today and all humanity need. They need this witness to the Redemption as this is imprinted upon the profession of the evangelical counsels" (no. 14). "From this witness of spousal love for Christ, through which the entire salvific truth of the Gospel becomes par-ticularly visible, there comes., as something proper to your vocation, a sharing in the Church's apostolate, in her universal mission . . ." (no. 15). He goes on to speak of the particular apostolates. Then, "And thus, even though the many different apostolic works that you perform are ex-tremely important, nevertheless the truly fundamental work of the apos-tolate remains always what (and at the same time who) you are in the Church. Of each one of you can be repeated, with special appropriate-ness, these words of Saint Paul: 'For you have died and your life is hid with Christ in God' " (no. 15). Conclusion Questions about ministry are very much with us today. Many of these questions were brought up in the recent synod on the laity. But the end results did not bring much clarification. Perhaps the most positive result was to bring an awareness of the need for a theology of ministry that relates ecclesiology, pneumatology, grace, sacraments, and voca-tion. I am sure that the synod wa~ an important step along the way to clarification. As the history of the theology and development of doctrine show, clarification of issues that touch the life of the Church very pro-foundly is a long process. .What I have tried to do above could be summed up as follows: (I) since ministry belongs to a unique reality, namely, the Church, which "176 / Review for Religious, March-April 1989 is, so to speak, held together 'from above,' through the Holy Spirit, min-istry in the Church is unique, and cannot be reduced to service as~we find it in any human society; (2) ministry is not self-initiated but originated by the Holy Spirit in order to respond to needs, some of which are con-stitutive of the Church, for example, sacrament of orders, and others which depend on historical, sociological factors; (3) the primordial min-istry is that of presence, which cannot be limited to presence of the Spirit "because God's love has flooded our inmost heart through the Holy Spirit he has given us" (Rm 5:5); (4) particular ministries address par-ticul~ ir needs within the Church or the w.ay the Church interfaces with the world; (5) three main problems were singled out: (a) the use of min-istry to glorify oneself; (b) the shift from primacy of presence ("the more excellent way" which Paul describes as love) to a primacy of par-ticular ministries; (c) the subtle adaptation of the gospel paradoxes about ministry ("Then if I, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you ought also to wash one another's feet" (Jn 13:14) to promotional mod-els taken from secular societies; (6) finally, I spoke of the particular min-istry of religious, whether active or contemplative: it is the ministry of a special mode of presence, a kenotic presence, which translates the words of Jesus, "this is my body given up for you . . . blood poured out for you" into the three evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty, obe-dience, creating a paschal presence which animates all particular minis-tries. Come and See: An Experiment in Vocation Discernment in Africa Martin O'Reilly, C.F.C. Brother Martin O'Reilly, C.F.C., does vocation counseling work in Liberia and Si-erra Leone. His address is Christian Brothers; P.O. Box,297; Monrovia, Liberia. ~lln unkind joke, certainly thought up with post-Vatican II religious life in mind, asks: how do you join a small religious congregation? Answer: join a big one and wait. It is, however, a joke that would not be under-stood in many parts of the Church, particularly in Africa. Let me explain. Between 1975 and 1985 the number of local priests rose in West Africa by a staggering 630%; local sisters increased by 280% and'brothers by 340% (Statistics compiled from L'Englise Catholique en Afrique, edited by Pere Perraud, Pontifical Missionary Union, France, 1987). T.he prob-lem for many seminaries and religious communities in the younger. churches is not so much trying to attract candidates, but to find ways in which to sort out the wheat from the chaff. This article will focus on the ways in which vocation counselors can effectively carry out their ministry in situations where the large numbers applying for entrance to religious communities, the newness of the ,~o-cation to many people, and the particular backgrounds of the applicants make it difficult to accurately assess the. seriousness of an application. If the postulancy is to really be a preparatory period for entry into the. novitiate, and not simply a sorting out of suitable candidates from the unsuitable, then there is need for some kind of system of deselection prior to that. A method for doing so is what is proposed here. It is the result of my own involvement over these past five years in vocation coun-seling in Liberia and Sierra Leone. 177 "17~1 / Review for Religious, March-April 1989 The Game Plan ~ Perhaps the best way to begin is by saying how I don't carry out my ministry: I don't advertise; I don't give talks in schools or churches; I don't have a telephone; I don't have my own means of transport; and I am not fulltime on the job. I prefer, rather, to spend a couple of weeks, five or six times a year on the road, covering some 3,000 miles or so, visiting those who have contacted me. I stay with them in their town or village, and meet their family and friends. Just as an ordinary friendship grows, so does mine with .those who have expressed interest in the life of a Brother. Through the people who have invited me to visit their homes, I have met others who want to know more about the religious vocation. Many people have joined our community through a friend or relative introducing them to me. Since b~ginning in my ministry in 1982 I have developed a network of contacts that r.uns into the hundreds. When my relationship with an applicant has developed past a cer-tain point, I then invite him to "come and see" where 1 live. I invite him to spend ten weeks with myself and the community. Apart from help-ing with his transport costs, he has to arrange his own travel documents and come under his own steam--just as any person would have to do, were he or she to travel and visit a friend in a far-off place. The idea behind the ten-week vocation discernment program is for candidates and the community to experience each other for a sufficient length of time, allowing both parties to get to know each other, and to see if they are compatible and willing to grow together in community, prayer, and service. :Who Is Invited? ~ There are fivemarkers I would look foi in a person suitable for ac-ceptance into the pre-postula.ncy program (I am presuming that an appli-cant is baptized and confirmed as a Catholic, has reasonable references and is in good health): (I) An applicant must have shown evidence of being able to commit him-self to a group within the Church (for example, The Legion of Mary, St. Vincent de Paul, Y.C.S., or a prayer group) for a substantial period of time. Simply "attending Mass'? regularly is not enough evidence of a commitment to the Church within the African context. (2) An applicant must have "nets to leave behind." The economic con-dition of many of the countries in West Africa is such that the vocation . of a priest or a religious can be a very attractive proposition. It offers a person security and status, to say nothing of sanctity! Those straight Come and See / "179 from school are not usually in a position to have ~proved their compe-tence in the art of living and providing for themselves. With few excep-tions school-leavers have the added problem of not seeing entrance to a religious community as anything more than pursuing "further stud-ies." Those who apply, and have no job, I advise to look elsewhere. (3) The family of an applicant must be able to understand what decision a young person is making in asking to join a religious community. There has to be some significant member of the family, not necessarily a par-ent, who supports his intention. The applicant, for his part, must explain to the family that all he is trying to do is to "find God's will." If he finds out that it is not God's intention forhim to be a religious, then he should tell them that he will return home a wiser person; but if it is, then he must explain thathe will be returning to join the community as a pos-tulant with, hopefully, the understanding and support of his family. (4) An applicant has to be able to see that there are difficulties for him in asking to join a religious community. His ability to talk of his'fears about the demands of a celibate life are as good an indicator as any of the degree of his seriousness. If he cannot see this as a tremendous chal-lenge, then I tell him that he probably has not thought enough about the vocation. (5) With regard to the intellectual ability of an applicant, it is essential that he be capable of tertiary education. A person's particular paper quali-fications do not always reflect his academic ability, so it is not appro-priate to apply the same rules for entry to everyone. A candidate should certainly have finished his secondary school education and not beqook-ing to resit exams at a later date. If I am unsure as to the suitability of a person applying for the pro-gram, I will give him the benefit of the doubt; but when it comes to en-try into the° six months postulancy, and I am s.t!ll unsure of his suitabil-ity, I give the benefit of the doubt to the community and ask him to look elsewhere for his vocation. The Rationale Behind The Program The pre-postulancy program, as outlined here, is conceived of as an extension of the vocation counselor work, .rather than the beginning of religious formation. Those selected for the prograrfi--never more than twelve--are fully aware of the temporary nature of the experience, and understand that at the end of the program they may, or may not, be in-vited to apply for admission to the postulancy program. For most of those entering the program, this will be their first expe-rience of living in a multi-cultural environment. Great care, therefore, 180 / Review for Religious, March-April 1989 is taken to make our candidates feel at home--if not, then they will prob-ably wish they were at home.! We have found that candidates, at this stage of the life in a religious community, prefer to share rooms and need ample opportunity for settling in ,and' being themselves. It goes without saying that the personnel involved in directing the program are comfort-able living with young people and are prepared to trust them. I have found that for a pre-postulancy program to work well, there must be a group of candidates with a specified program to follow. Sim-ply inviting young Africans to come and live with a religious commu-nity and to occupy themselves with some form of pastoral work is not a sufficient basis for helping them understand the meaning of religious life. Candidates need clear guidelines so as to help them negotiate the difficulties in living in a structured environment with others from differ-ent backgrounds and cultures. Growth in appreciation of the meaning of religious life will take place when candidates begin to experience the com-munity as sufficiently safe and supportive so that they can be themselves. However a person presents himself prior to joining the community, he cannot maintain a pretense for long when invited to participate in a strong community experience. Candidates, also, can be so concerned with try-ing to match our real or imagined expectations of them that they find it difficult not to think of themselves as playing the lead part in a drama scripted by others. As far as is possible I make the agenda of our daily living together the responsibility of all and try to foster a sense of ac-countability among them, a sense that "we are in this together." For people to encounter themselves, others, and God in a real way there has to be a ring of authenticity about the experience. I am espe-cially interested in exploring with those invited to join the program their notions about themselves, talents as well as weaknesses; the ways in which they handle questions relating to anger and misunderstanding~ sexu-ality and intimacy, and obligations towards family members--as well as the ways in which they enjoy praying. Matters spe(ifically related to the meaning of the vocation to the religious life, I leave for later on in the p6stulancy. Hopefully, as a result of this approach candidates come to build up their identity as members of the community and as people of prayer on more than the superficial foundations of rules and ritual. Sometimes formators can be afraid to get close to c.andidates, pre-ferring to treat them in h remote fashion. This is, 1 feel, wholly unac-ceptable within a cultural climate where tactile contact and verbal com-munication are so important.~Shaking hands, giving hugs and passing the time of day together are as natural to Africa as the sunshine. Most of Come and See 181 those applying to join us have encountered a good deal of opposition from their friends and family. They need to know from the outset that they are really welcome into the community, not simply for who they might become, (that is religious brothers), but for who.they actually are. That is not to say that there is no room for tough love, but simply that the most effective direction will be given by the formator who is capa-ble of sharing his or her affection for the candidates in concrete ways. A crucial element in thesuccess of the "Come and See" program has been the close presence of professed religious, actively involved in the mission of the congregation, and a novitiate community prepared to welcome candidates, albeit for only ten weeks, into the religious fam-ily. Both professed members and novices have provided a tangible ex-pression of the ideal and the possibility of becoming a religious candi-date. The director of the program is also supported by this in the com-plex business of evaluating applicants to the postulancy. Counseling and helping people discern their vocation is very much, at this stage, a group experience. The value of regular or weekly com-munity meetings, with the opportunity of bringing into the open any is-sue of concern to individuals or the group, cannot be overestimated. If something important to one or more of the candidates is being intention-ally avoided by the community, then nothing of importance will be ta~ked about either. Our weekly sessions start with a review of the pre-vious week and points arising from the reading of the community jour-nal take up the first part of the meeting. I have known that part of the meeting to go on for two hours. The principle of dialogue in Africa seems to be "to talk until you agree"! The length of the program--ten weeks--is long enough for both the candidates and the community to come to have a fair idea of one another, and yet short enough for a person to feel as though he has not burnt his boats by leaving home to enter into a religious community. Having a ter-mination point after ten weeks, instead of say six months, lessens the .chances of early drop-outs and an accompanying lowering of morale 'within the group. It also makes candidates feel free to reevaluate their own decision in the light of their experience of religious life and leave without recriminations, should they feel that such a life is not for them. Conclusion In the five years that the Brothers' Formation Center has been in op-eration in Gbarnga, Liberia, forty-two candidates have completed the "Come and See" program. To date, we have eight postulants, four nov-ices and ten junior professed. Most of those who have left us did so at 1~19 / Review for Religious, March-April 1989 the end of the pre-postulancy program, and left in good spirits. Those who entered the postulancy, and have stayed with the community, say thai the important thing about the pre-postulancy program was that it was religious life "small, small" and hence made them able to realize the importance of being themselves within a culture (religious life) vastly dif-ferent from the 6he they were used to. They were more able to relax and relate to the idea of becoming religious once they knew that they were accepted for who they were; and not who they might become. If those who enter the postulancy do so with some semblance of realism in terms of themselves, and the firm knowledge that "it. is indeed good when brothers dwell as one," then there is a reasonable chance that they can give themselves fully to the significant step of embarking upon the path of becoming members of the Congregation, and I as vocation counselor will have don~ my job. Assessing The "Moral Integrity" Of Candidates For Religious Life Charles Shelton, S.J. Father Charles Shelton, S.J., has a doctorate in clinica! psychology and is currently an Assistant Professor of psychology at Regis College in Denver, Colorado. A more detailed understanding of this theory of conscience is presented in his most recent book, Morality and the Adolescent: A Pastoral Psychology Approach. New York: Crossroad, 1989. His address is Regis College; 3539 West 50th Avenue; Denver, Colorado 8022 I. Over the past twenty years, it is safe to state that the application process for entering reli~ious life has radically changed. Gone are the days when a simple behavioral observation of the candidate's religious practice or the encouraging word of a religious who knows the candidate suffices for entrance. Instead, the application process for most orders and insti-tutes focuses on a thor~ough social history, detailed interviews, psycho-logical evaluations, and an overview of the candidate's sp!ritual life. Sur-prisingly, little has been written regarding one crucial aspect of the ap-plication process--that of the candidate's moral integrity. This article ad-dresses this issue by offering a theoretical yet practical view of the can-didate's capacity for moral growth. The linchpin which holds together the candidate's vocational aspirations with his or her moral integrity is "conscience." Accordingly, we will provide a model of conscience and suggest a practic,al approach which will be of use to vocation directors and interviewers of candidates. The thesis of this article is that the "moral integrity" of a candidate is a crucial area of assessment and that a perspective which utilizes an integrative understanding of conscience offers the best way for providing a thorough examination of the candi-date's capacity for living the moral life. 183 11~4 / Review for Religious,~ March-~April 1989 ,The Moral Life of the Candidate Perhaps one reason that little has been written about the candidate's moral life is that one simply "assumes" that anyone wishing to enter priestly ministry or a religious congregation possesses an upright moral character. Although understandable, such a position remains question-able. Any vocation director can readily provide stories about candidates who express interest .in religious life, many of whom are ill-suited for psychological reasons, as well as at times "moral" reasons, for proceed-ing with the application process. The question of the candidate's moral integrity, however, has taken on new significance over the past two decades. Several reasons can be offered why serious examination needs to be given in this area. First, many candidates seeking to enter religious life today are ~lder. This be-ing the case, the backgrounds and experience of the candidates provide an often admirable, yet at times puzzling, array of experiences. Many involved in the candidate selection process at times wonder what has re-ally gone on in the life history of the candidate. Secondly~ the psycho-logical nature of candidates often admits to a complex personality struc-ture which is threaded with a variety of motives and psychological ex-periences, not all of which are compatible with the demands of the re-ligious community.For example, I was once presented with a situation about a candidat~ to a diocesan seminary. The candid.at~e had. admitted to several questionable behaviors but now contended that a conversion experienc6 had resolved these issues. Since I did not know the candidate, I refused to offer an opinion regarding his suitability. I did suggest, though, that given the behaviors in question careful scrutiny must be given this person's motives. The capacity for rationalization is virtually limitless. Thirdly, the complexity of today's ministerial roles and struc-tures necessitates a well-developed and well-defined moral conscience Which allows flexibility, sustains insight, and fosters behaviOr~ which are~ healthy and which nurture moral integrity. The recent scandals surround~ ing sexual acting out among priests and religious necessitate a.well-integrated conscience which assists a person in reflecting 6n his or her own vocational commitment. All in all, conscience remains the single most vital human mechanism for assisting an individual's living of dis-cipleship. As a consequence, it becomes important to offer a view'of con- ~Cience that is'integrative and best captures the human desire to live the life of Christian discipleship. As a clinical psyChologiSt my own view is that for conscience to make sense it must be intimately rooted within the very human experience of life; indeed, conscience must arise from The "Moral Integrity" of Candidates / 185. the very depths of human experience as it responds to the self-commu-nicating presence of God's offer of grace. This perspective allows the very moral integrity of the person to be encapsulate~l within the reality of h.~uman life and surface in the very depths of human personhood. Ac-cordingly, I think that conscience is best explained as the decision for other-centered value in the concrete decision of everyday life. That is, conscience serves as the capacity to appropriate more and more the Chris-tian dynamic of love in the existential reality ot~ one's life. It is the one force .within life that serves to break through deceit and self-deception and challenges one to strive for a more authentic living of discipleship. In order to see this clearly, I would like to offer a model of con-science that incorporates seven dimensions. My thesis is that only an ex-amination of these seven features will allow a more complete and thor-ough understanding of a'person's capacity for moral int'egrity. As a way to assist the application process of candidates, I will offer specific com-ments and questions that are applicable for a candidate seeking to enter religious life. Through an eva, luation of these seven dimensions, a more adequate sense of the candidate's moral integrity can be ascertained.~ Evaluating for Moral Integrity Within a model of conscience, the following seven dimensions should be considered. Adaptive Psychic Energy. We are what we focus on and experience. Stated another way, what we give attention to offers insight into the type of person that we are. Psychic energy is required for all human endeav-ors. Indeed, perceptions, thoughts, emotions, attachments, and behav-iors ~all rely upon an adequate investment of psychic energy. At the same time, psychic energy is itself limited. One has only so much energy to invest. Thus, to tend to certain tasks and goals precludes, by necessity, investment in other ventures. Developmentally, psychic energy is best utilized in the successful resolution of developmental tasks. Applicants seeking to enter religious life require careful scrutiny of both their level of identity formation as well as their capacity for intimacy. Most likely, individuals who are without a sense of healthy identity or a balanced and mature sense of the demands, ambiguities, and feelings associated with intimacy are susceptible to the pull of a pervasive dependency or the un-due influence of others (or environmental situations) which deflect needed psychic energy for spiritual growth. Moral growth is most apt to take place when one can bring to one's evolving and (increasingly. con-solidated) ethical self the accumulated wisdom derived from a felt (yet evolving) sense of "who I am" and the felt attachment (yet continual 186 / Review for Religious, March-April 1989 self-discovery) that "I am loved and I do love." Some needed questions to consider in this regard include: To what extent does this ~:andidate know who he or sh~ is? How influenced is this candidate by his or her own needs or by the influence of others? With what degi'ee of self-awareness can the candidate speak of a sense of self-definitioh? Does there exist appropriate intimacy experiences in this per-son's life (or for yoUn(er candidates, the maturing capacity for inti-macy)? Has this candidate's sense of identity and intimacy allowed for greater self-awareness that is capable of dealing with increasing ambi-guity and the com, pl~xities of adult (and religious) life? Defensive Psychic Functioning. Healthy growth is dependent upon adap-tive psychic functioning which incorporates mature defense mechanisms. Defense mechanisms are psychic operations whose function is to allay anxiety and.p~rovide a more flexible and adal~table resPonse to reality. Healthy defenses include sublimation, a flexible and resourceful sense of humor, role flexibility, s~ppression's"(the conscious contro~l of im-pulses), and altruism. Needless to say, the living in community and the demands of the chaste life require wide use of these defenses in order that the religious might integrate and deal with sexual and aggressive urges. Community life, the constant demands of the apostolic life, and the need to continually appropriate the ideals of the vowed life require an adaptable and flexible approach to others. On the other hand, there exist a' wide variety of defense mechanisms which are apt to prove un-healthy for living and which in turn stunt moral growth. These include: projection (the attributing of unacceptable feelings to others); externali-zation (the blaming of one's difficulties on others); acting out (the ac-ceding to impulses); rationalization (the making of excuses); stereotyp-ing (theorefusal to allow and accept differences); and compartmentaliza-tion (the excluding of one area of life from self-examination). A classic example of this last defense is the person who lives a credible life as a religiousin most areas of life, yet refuses to look at one area such as sex-ual acting out. As the candidate becomes less able to marshal mature defenses, the inevitable result is a limit of self-knowledge and of reflective self-awareness needed for interior examination. Naturally, this form of lim-ited psychological functioning is bound to impact on the discerning of choices or a balanced and realistic reflection on personal life issues. Some pertinent questions are: Does the candidate rationalize'? exter-nalize? project? and so forth. What does personal responsibility mean for this candidate? How comfortable is the candidate with his or. her ira- The "Moral Integrity" of Candidates pulses? How does the candidate sublimate? How does the candidate deal with ambiguity? To what extent is creativity possible for this candidate? Empathy. Conscience is not only rational reflection; it includes emotional investment and attachment. Empathy best exemplifies this emotional ex-pression since it points to the capacity to bond and show sensitivity to others. Normally, empathic expression is not an issue for religious. How-ever, there exist several areas for scrutiny. Does the candidate overem-pathize? The person who cannot maintain healthy identity boundaries is apt to lose objectivity. Further, when empathizing how does the candi-date deal and integrate his or her empathic stirrings? How self-aware is he or she of emotional distress which arises from pastoral situations which often elicit intense internal feelings? This issue is critically im-portant because burnout (an ever present problem for members of caring professions such as those in religiousolife tend to be) often results from continual exposure of the self to empathic distress (experiencing the pain and hurt of others in pastoral situations) which, over time, wears down the religious both physically and emotionally. This burnout in turn less-ens the capacity for reflection, healthy objectivity, and discerning choice. Self~esteem. Adequate self-esteem is indispensable for maturation. S;~lf-esteem refers to a felt sense of inner goodness and a sense of self-competence. There are several ways self-esteem relates to the candidate's level of moral integrity. First, without a healthy sense Of Self-esteem, a person is psychologically limited in the capacity to admit personal fault and the seeking of forgiveness. Lack of self-esteem leads invariably to over-compensating behavior and desires for control; or, conversely, there exists denial~ of responsibility or rationalizations. Without self-esteem the religious who hurts a fellow community member is disinclined to view himself or herself as bearing responsibility for the hurtful action. An equally problematic behavior that is likely to surface from lack of self-esteem is over-dependency on the behaviors and thoughts of others. In other words, the religious who lacks a felt sense of "inner goodness" is vulnerable to being overly influenced by another. Consequently, such "neediness" is likely to evoke blindness regarding personal action and the rationalization of specific behaviors. Several questions come to mind that could be integrated into an as-sessment of the candidate. First, does the candidate genuinely "like" himself or herself? Is the candidate capable of independent and mature judgment which is open to input and guidance from others? At the same time, are there indications that this candidate is overly dependent on ob- Review for Religious, March-April 1989 taining a good impression from or the approval of others? Guilt. Feelfngs of guilt exact a tremendous toll on the psyche. They can be'the source of debilitation leading to weakened self-esteem, depres-sion, a sense of personal devaluation, and compensating behaviors which often take on a compulsive quality. Still, there is a vital, indeed neces-sary role for guilt in moral development. Healthy guilt serves as a vital linchpin'in orienting one to awareness of personal transgressions and the need for forgiveness. Furthermore, such guilt' experiences induce a re-sponse that is caring and sensitive to the concerns of others. Admittedly, the experience of guilt is one of the most difficult psychological tight-ropes to walk. If experienced too intensely, its effects can be crippling. On the other hand, to deny the experience of guilt deprives the self of' a naturally occurring psychic experience whose function nourishes increas-ing sensitivity and altruistic responding. My own impression is that many religious downplay the vital role that guilt exercisesin the experience of forgiveness, I suspect this is most likely due to many religious' own back-ground and difficult time with guilt feelings. Several questions are pertinent. How. has the candidate dealt with moral transgressions in his or her own life? Can he or she discuss them? Is there a sense of openness and also a healthy distance from these past experiences? What has the candidate learned from these experiences? Is the candidate still reacting to them? How does,the candidate speak of his. current limitatiohs? How does the ~candidate believe that he or she needs further growth? Note here the view of growth from a sense of positive integration as opposed to a compulsive sense of goals to be accom-plished. Idealization. The role of idealization is vital for the development of a healthy moral sell It is within our capacity for 'idealization that the can-didate 'is able to construct a view of the order or congregation and the personal desire"to enter religious life. Idealization speaks of dreams, hopes, desires and what the ca.ndidate wishes to become. It implies a mold~ ing process of gradual evolvement which is shaped from images and hopes yet to be realized. Idealizations indicate the quality of one's emo-tional investment and the underlying values to which the moral self is committed. Several questions are pertinent.~,How realistic is the candidate's view of self? religious life? It is to be expected th~at the view of both self and the order/congregation might be somewhat distorted; and the issue b'(- comes how open 'is the candidate to having his or her idealizations rfiodi-fled? A further question refers to the capacity of the candidate to deal The "Moral Integrity" of Candidates with disillusionment. Since idealizations are so valued, the failure of them to occur or be implemented can lead to tremendous hurt and an-ger. Behaviors emanating from such perceived slights and disappoint-ments include acting out, cynicism, passive-aggressive behavior, ration-alizations. In other words, the negative affect resulting from disil-lusionment can cloud healthy moral reflection and an authentic living of the vows. Teleology. A final dimension of the well-integrated conscience is a re-flective sense of purposive meaning. A teleological perspective is sim-ply one's capacity for rational reflection which provides reasons ("that for the sake of which") why one's behavior is carried out. Candidates to religious orders and congregations, of course, are capable of reasoned and reflective behaviors. The issue here is more the "style" of one's telic inclinations rather than the content of the reasoning. In other words, most people could give reasoned responses for their behaviors. The key for mature functioning, and most certainly for moral functioning, is the motivation behind such reflection. Tendencies to be observed include the following: Does the reasoning of this candidate contain a healthy per-sonal investment? Is there an emotional investment in his reasons? Con-victions are most apt to be lived out when they contain a mature blend-ing of reasoned reflection and emotional commitment. On the other hand, does the candidate isolate affect? Does he or she appear to sepa-rate reasons from the emotions which such content would naturally elicit? For example, a candidate who would,speak of a particularly disturbing experience in a cold and very intellectualized way might well not be aware of underlying emotional dynamics. On the other hand, the candi-date whose rationales are continually interspersed with an impulsive qual-ity or tinged with emotionally laden content might be too absorbed in de-veiopm+ ntal issues or underlying dynamic processes to offer healthy dis-tance and the requisite discerning that is needed for moral decision mak-ing. Conclusion This article has underscored the significance of exploring the moral integrity of applicants in any overall assessment of candidates. It is ar-gued that moral development is not simply a process of doing right or wrong. Rather, growth in the moral life is a complex event best exem-plified as an integrative process emanating within the rooted experiences of human living. In the assessment process itself, an exploration of the candidate's past life history is imperative. Equally important, though, is assessing some quality of the candidate's capacity for moral growth. This 190 / Review for Religious, March-April 1989 article argues that optimum moral growth for the candidate is most apt to take place when the following qualities are present: appropriate work-ing through of developmental issues, a realistic and adaptive view of self and others, a caring sensitivity, the capacity for admitting wrong, a healthy sense.of self-esteem, aspiring ideals that are realistic, and reflec-tive reasoning. Though no assessment procedure can accurately predict a candidate's ability to live consistently the moral life, it is well worth the efforts of those involved in the formation process to address every candidate's capacity for moral integrity. An Easter Prayer Love's force is stron.ger than the pull of dark: It can level mountains, raise the dead To a new life, and strengthen weary feet To walk on waters, piled rough waves of night. Its breath can blow the dying coals to light A tunnel black as pitch and radiate The way round pitfalls and sucking s~nds Even to the long, long corridor's end: Chain love's force in tomb with rock-seal tight, Beat it level on Friday's cross and still After three-days He rises above The morning sun in Tabor splendor. See how He moves unhindered through barred doors, All His glory sta.mped on hand and foot and side: Balm to festered sores of Calvary, Now free from binding shroud and fastening nails. Oh, Beacon Light at the end of the sea's corridor, Ointment spice for hurt eyes and wounded hands, Oh, Summoning Bell, buoyant to all our stumbling feet, Help us, Risen Christ, to walk life's dark waters! Marcella M. Holloway, C.S.J. 6400 Minnesota Avenue St. Louis, Mo. 63111 Comprehensive Counseling David Altman, O.C.S.O. Father David is a monk of Holy Trinity Abbey; Huntsville, Utah 84317. At one time or another during our lives, individuals will come to usfor the help they think we can give. Whether or not we find ourselves ex-pert in various kinds of problem-solving, we ought to be able to help them identify problems and be able to present recommendations. Perhaps the key to success in relating to and helping others is to see personal relationships as Christian ministry. The people we meet are, of course, Christ himself, in one of his many disguises. They are also our current pastoral assignments, to be met with faith and self-sacrifical love. Upwards of 85% of helping others consists.in listening: listening at-tentively with compassion and understanding. At times we will be called upon to respond, and this must not be done tritely, but intelligently and constructively. The Approach The secret, if there is one, of a good approach to solving personal problems is to meet each person-situation comprehensively, which is to say, completely. This simply means that we have to use a method which will ensure that problems are not permitted to get by undetected. We want to throw out a net, so to say, which will catch and identify all the difficulties from which a person is suffering. A way to do this is to realize that we human beings are basically three-fold in our makeup: we are physical beings, mental-psychologi~:al be-ings, and moral-spiritual beings, Obviously, then, we can have three gen-eral kinds of problems: physical, mental-psychological, and moral-spiritual. 191 Review for Religious, March-April 1989 These categories are not mutually exclusive since they all pertain to one human person in each case. I have found them useful in my own coun-seling experience because they are complete: they are the net from which no problem need escape, provided that each category is kept in mind dur-ing communication with the person who is seeking help. Competency Few of us are competent to handle difficult cases of pathological na-ture. Of course, those with severe illnesses are to be directed to pro-fessionals with the appropriate expertise. Psychotics need psychiatrists or psychologists; seriously sick bodies require medical attention; and mor-ally ill people need men and women who can show them God's healing ways. Because we presumably are these men and women of God, we ought also to have a certain competency in identifying problems in the other two areas of each person: the physical and the psychological. The body-soul unity is the temple of God's Spirit, sharing intimately in the spiri-tual life of each of us. Therefore our desire to, help the suffering Christ in others ought to carry us beyond spiritual and moral interests alone. Though we may not have the professional training by which we can solve a probiem fully, our working knowledge of various problems en-ables us to provide reasons to a person of his (or her) need for another with more expertise. Simply remarking, "You need a doctor" can be a slap in the face for one who is in pain. We should be able to convince another of his need for help, and perhaps even supply a good name for reference. Difficulties One of the greatest difficulties in attempting to solve individual prob-lems in any of the three areas is to give a suffering person What we want instead of what he needs. When a medical doctor sees a patient, the as-sumption is that the patient has a medical problem. Tunnel vision can take over, and physical medicine is all the doctor can see, whereas the patient's main difficulty may be in a quite different area. It is not un-usual for doctors to listen to remarks such as "I'm not feeling well" and respond with great pastoral concern: "Here, let me give you something for your nerves." This is treating the, sympto.m rather than attempting to identify the underlying cause, the root problem. When a person sees a psychologist with a problem, the psychologist will usually presume that the problem lies within the bounds of psycho-logical expertise. This too may not be the case at all. Remember the story Comprehensive Counseling / 193 of the man who went to a psychologist with a physical ailment that was impinging on his nervous system. "I feel terrible," was the complaint. The doctor responded unwaveringly with talk therapy and persevered in missing the mark. There is little sense and even less success realized in forcing one kind of solution on an entirely different kind of problem. Equally futile and costly is the failure to address real problems in favor of their symptoms. Worse still is the failure of the health-care specialist torecognize a ~prob-lem, then write off the patient as a hypochondriac. This is no solution, only an excuse. When religious or priests are approached for counseling, we nor-mally presume, in our turn, that the person is simply looking for a closer relationship with God, and we proceed accordingly and unfortunately. I remember a person coming to see a religious for years, feeling terrible for a great deal of her time. The counselor came across very generously with saccharine exhortations to a deeper relationship with the Lord. The individual responded with nodding smiles as tears of pain continued to roll down her cheeks. The religious was giving what he wanted, not what the person needed. As it was, the individual had developed a severe case of hypogly-cemia, diagnosed laterby a physician. And, as counselors should know, fluctuating blood-sugar levels have very much to do with a person's emo-tional dispositions. As soon as the suffering person said, "I feel terrible," that was the tip-off for aphysicai condition. After all, we can only feel, bodily, through our nervous-system cells. When they are offended, they are go-ing to let us know about it, one way or another, In addition to hypoglycemia and diabetes, people today are subject to stress situations--and with widely varying nutritional needs. Medical science today knows that under these stress conditions the body gobbles up vitamins and minerals to an enormous degree. Since the B vitamins, vitamin C, and calcium predominantly nourish the human nervous sys-tem, a deficiency is going to show up with contributions toward various kinds of problems: mood swings, nervousness, anxiety, anger, irritabil-ity, depression, compulsive sexual problems, insomnia. Any nervous-system- related problem can be caused or made more burdensome by the severely deficient diets that are practiced today throughout our junk-food land. One person complained of not feeling quite herself: irritable, even biting toward others. I learned that she had just recovered from the flu, Review for Religious, March-April 1989 which is just one of the stress factors we experience. I suggested a vita-min- mineral supplement on an as-needed basis, and the problem was cleared up. A third physical difficulty, also masked as spiritual or psychologi-cal, is the problem of intolerances. Pioneer medical research has shown that all kinds of personal difficulties are really the human body's reac-tion to ~,arious environmental factors: food intolerances certainly, but also paints, finishing substances, and other chemicals, even artificial light-ing. PhysiCal problems are the first options to explore in c~unseling. They are the most quantifiable, and perhaps the easiest to identify, if not to solve. Relationships People have trouble with relationships, and each of us has three re-lationships in life: a relationship with God, with others, and with one-self. Problem areas are identified by determining the quality of these three relationships, and there are many tip-off statements that come your way as a~counselor. They come voluntarily to the listening ear, and they can be elicited .by asking the right questions. For example, a counselor can determine the quality of someone's re-lationship with God by asking for details about private and communal prayer-lives and: about fidelity to known moral obligations :in 'marriage and work-commitments. Listening to descriptions of interpersonal rela-tionships can reveal much. On one occasion I heard, "They're pickin' on me." This could be true, or it could be a defense. In this particular case, "they" were not the problem. I was talking to the problem. We all enjoy the forbidden luxury of finger-pointing, but we should be mos'e aware that whatever we do, whatever~we say, whatever we wil.l-fully think, we are always saying something about ourselves. We behave out of what we are. Often individuals will present their relational difficulties in terms of an impossible situation with absolutely no way out. The answer is the awareness of the great difference between a real relational situation, and the particular way it is described. Simply reframe the problematic situ- ¯ ation. Discard the impossible description, redescribing the circumstances yourself, so as to provide as many solutions as you can. This takes imagi-nation, and first attempts will result in grasping at straws. But hold on to the straws, as they lead to stronger, more promising answers. It should also be clear that principles of good counseling are appli-cable not only to others,,but also to ourselves. In this connection there Comprehensive Counseling / 195 is a check on the judgments we must make in order to help others: the golden rule, the virtue of empathy, placing oneself in the other's shoes. These principles demand questions such as: Would I follow this advice myself? How would I feel were this advice given to me? Would I bene-fit from the behavior I am planning to recommend? The measure of the quality of any relationship--with God, others, or oneself--is the answer to this question: How does the individual han-dle conflict? We are all fair-weather friends of God, of others, especially of ourselves. But the true measure of a person's strength of character and personal integration is how one stands up in adversity. Do we respond to challenges with virtue and resultant, growth, or with vice and rebel-lion in its many forms? : We cannot give what we do not have; we can only give what we have, so the personal problems we carry around are going to show up in relationships with others. Do they handle re!ational conflicts with at-tempts at reconciliation and peace, or are they inclined to antagonism, revenge, and consequent alienation? Vices In the course of counseling experience, we come across the problem of evil: evil circumstances, evil behavior. We are all sinners before God, and before each other, a fact which ought never to be discounted in problematic relationships. We meet people who sin against God, against others, against them-selves. One of the best favors we can do for them is to help them admit and own their own evil. It is a mistake to try to identify every problem medically or psychologically. Wrongdoing must be identified, owned, and corrected. We are admittedly honest and generous in assigning praise for vir-tue and for any good act; we must be just as honest in recognizing and assigning vice (evil habits)and sinful acts. How we speak about this to others is important, but the honesty must be there, because the only way to solve a problem is to' face it. The love of Christ is a challenging love, because it is only through challenges that people grow. We must often challenge others' behavior, challenge their sin, challenge our own sin. It is these challenges which are the cross-experiences of our lives and the meaning of suffering. We grow through challenges into the strength of character that we need, to live life well, and to die well. These challenges or crosses hurt, because growing pains always do hurt. But the rewards are well worth the perse-vering effort. Review for Religious, March-April 1989 After the apparently innocuous complaint "My life seems to have no direction or purpose," aofew questions were able to uncover a some-what profligate sex life, little or no prayer, and a difficult family back~ ground. Well, we are all products of our background, but we never need be slaves of our backgrounds: Psychotherapy can be of great healing bene-fit; so can a humble confession of guilt with attendant petitions for for-giveness and :mercy; so can the healing power of prayer: holding up bad memories in prayer, exposing them to divine remedies. Whatever difficulties we:have had to endure, they tend to force upon us burdens and pressures which are often channeled compulsively as they please. Kn~owing that our two main emotion-vices are anger and lust, we see that compulsions can spell big trouble. As a result~ people gravitate toward giving up dominion over their own beings:~They become slaves of various emotions and habits. Indi-viduals abdicate the kingship or queenship of their beings in favor of an-ger, lust, drive for power, vain ambitiow, money, prestige, or another person. Taking steps to become one's own man, one's own woman, elimi-nates this slavery, and the first and most important step is fidelity to God ~nd his laws governing human living. This is i'eal love, which will in-variably be returned in greater measure, because w'e love a God who will not be outdone in generosity. Conclusion This contribution has also been called comprehensive because it is only an overview. There is no substitutefor common sense in counsel: ing, and no substitute for prayer. The Jesus Prayer o~: another prayer,of aspiration before, during, .and after the counseling session deepens the session in God, exposing both parties to divine healing power and spe-cial graces. We are ourselves healed as we heal others, because with our love, our desire to give.God to others,' we find that the same generous God gives to us in response to our needs. We offer the gift of our lives to the suffering Jesus in others,', and he returns this gift with his own life and gifts: the graces we need to accomplish our healing task well, and the grace to grow through our own physical, psychological, and moral prob-lems into the personal sanctity ordained for us. The Power of Romantic Love William F. Kraft, Ph.D. William Kraft, Ph.D., is well known to our readers. Dr. Kraft is on the faculty of th~ Psychology Department of Carlow College where he may be addressed: 3333 Fifth Avenue; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213. ~1 don't know what's gotten into me, but I do know that I'vemever felt like this. I never thought I could feel so alive, so open, so good. Since becoming friends with Sarah, I feel more confident; it's as though prob-lems don't bother me like they used to. I function better, I'm more open, and life just seems to finally make more sense. Especially when I'm with Sarah, I feel light, energetic,optimistic. It's as if almost anything is pos-sible. "Some sisters label our relationship as exclusive, or God forbid: par-ticular. In some ways, I guess it is. I know I can hardly wait to see her, to spend the weekend with her, to go on vacation with her. And some-times, I think I yearn too much to be with her. And yet, how could some-thing as wonderful and good be bad? True: sometimes we get a bit too physical, but never genital. We really strive to be chaste, but it's diffi-cult at times. I would like to be more physical, to give all, but I know that would be going out of bounds. "Before my friendship with Sarah, I was sort of happy. I was a good teacher and got along okay in the community. But ! always had the feel-ing that I was missing something important, that life should be more than getting by or maintaining the status quo. And I was always kind of shy or constricted. It was as if I had all these flashing red and yellow lights in my mind, and now there are more green lights." This sister has fallen romantically in love--one of our most invigo-rating and seductive modes of love. She has been lured into and is en- 197 Review for Religious, March-April 1989 joying the experience where almost anything seems possible and almost nothing seems impossible. Feeling more courage and confidence, old problems seemed to have changed and new possibilities have emerged. And her friend seems to be the center of her life, the source of her new vision and strength. Her life is so much more alive than her relatively constricted past. Understandably, she wants more of this new life. Such is romantic love. Listen to this male religious. "Something incredible happened to me this summer. While finishing my master's degree, I fell in love. I met. Carol, and my life changed. It wasn't as if I had a game plan; it wasn't even on my mind. It just happened. "It's great. I've never been so open in my life, especially with a woman. I share everything, and it feels so good. We hold nothing back, and we seem to know what each other is thinking and feeling without even saying anything. It's magic. She's on my mind and in my heart all the time, and I can't wait to see her or at least call her. Thank God she lives in the same city. When we are together, time goes so quickly. A few hours seem like a few minutes. "I think others would say that I've been a good religious. I've done well in my ministry and have gotten along in my community. I am grate-ful to my fellow brothers and priests. So it is difficult to think about leav-ing the religious life, and neither is it an easy question for Carol. We love each other very much, but we also love the religious life. And it has been good to us. "When you asked me what is wrong with Carol, I was stumped. I know she is not perfect, but I don't see or feel anything wrong with her. And I feel so much better myself. I'll take your advice to wait until life settles, and not make a hasty decision that would change my entire life. True, I have known Carol for only four months, but it seems like I have known her all my life. "Why shouldn't I leave. True, it would be difficult to find a good job, and family life would certainly be different. But I could still do much of what I do now, and I feel that being married to Carol, I could even be closer to God. I will, with the help of you, my friends, and God discern my experience. But why would God give me such a beautiful gift and then expect me to reject it?" Indeed, romantic love is wonderful. Although this man has been a very rational, successful, and good community religious, he finds him-self in a serious dilemma: to leave or stay in religious life. His past has been good to him, and he to it, but his future seems to offer an even bet- The Power of Romantic Love / 199 ter life. Being immersed in the magic of love, he feels strongly drawn to this land of apparently unlimited possibilities. Both of these religious are enjoying and being inspired and chal-lenged by romantic love. Their love consumes them, embracing all their senses, mind, and spirit. Radically new horizons of meaning have opened up, pressuring them to restructure their lives. What should they do? In this article I will discuss the nature and dynamics of romantic love, its positive and negative possibilities and consequences in religious life, and ways to cope with oneself and others in service of healthy and holy growth. The Nature and Dynamics of Romantic Love Romantic love lures us into a world where there is nothing dull and mundane, a world that promises a new and better life. It offers us an ex-hilarating and inspiring unity of feeling intensely and of being strongly involved with the ideal. To experience transcendence passionately can be awe-fully seductive. Romantic love offers us an exhilarating and inspiring unity of feel-ing intensely and of being strongly involved with the ideal. As romantic lovers we yearn to be with each other, constantly think about and feel for each other, and so it seems touch each other even when we are physi, cally absent. Being without each other, we feel an intense void as well as presence in absence, and being with each other brings warmth, secu-rity, and fulfillment along with this sensuous enrapture. We initially ide-alize each other, feeling that we can do and share anything, and be our most perfect selves. We feel what love can be without its limits, and we want to give, to be,and to receive all that is possible. There is a special magic--a passionate affair with the ideal, an experience of heaven. What happens when we fall romantically in love? Initially we prob-ably feel as though we are walking on clouds, and that everything is pos-sible. We experience each other in terms of perfection, while our imper-fections are denied, minimized or rationalized. We may feel thatwe want to live together, to capture this love forever. This romantic time is one of the most exciting, pleasurable, and satisfying experiences. In the in-itial stages of friendship we may experience new possibilities in testing our limits, risking our vulnerability, feeling more alive than ever before, and willing to do almost anything. We may feel that everything is possi-ble and all right, and that life is radiantly alive. Our romantic friendship usually inspires us to become our best selves, and often new energy and courage provide the way. We can have romantic experiences in solitude. For instance, we may 200 / Review for Religious, March-April 1989 intensely feel the spiritual possibilities of contemplation. We may expe-rience a world of meaning that is transcendent and permanent. To ask ultimate questions and to be confronted with mysterious issues can be a peak experience. T° hear silent music can include the romantic. Romantic lovers--religious, single, or married--initially experience the unlimited potential of each other and concretely celebrate each other's perfection. However, paradise does not last; our romantic time is usually followed by one of imperfection. Sometimes suddenly, instead of experiencing each other as unlimited, we intensely experience our limi-tations. We find ourselves criticizing, obsessed with the other's imper-fections, or perhaps withdrawing from each other. Think of a sister and priest (or lay couple) who fall in love and get married. At first, they radiate with love and cannot stand to be without each other. But sooner than later they begin to test and question their love, and at times cannot stand to be with each other. Instead of diviniz-ing each other, they now demonize each other. For instance, minor hab-its may become irritating. One squeezes the tooth paste from the middle and the other from the ind. His snoring upsets her, while her hair curl-ers upset him. More seriously, she becomes frustrated and angry because he no longer shows his feelings as he apparently once did. He becomes confused and angry with constant complaining about his overworking and in general his unavailability. Whatever the focus of criticism, they focus on eacffother's limits, as contrasted with their past when they en-joyed their unlimitedness. Instead of heavenly, being with each other feels more hellish. Their magic has disappeared. Consider a novice who experiences religious life as a perfect way of living. Particularly in early formation when there is considerable personal affirmation, exploration, and direction, religious life offers extraordinary opportunities for individual and communal growth. However, "reentry problems" may be experienced when a new religious moves from the no-vitiate to living in an ordinary community. Community living seems rnuch~different than it was in the novitiate, or how it was ideally de-scribed. The inevitable imperfection of living with others may feel more like a burden than a joy. A danger is to identify religious life (or any life form or person) with its perfections and possibilities, or with its limits and obstacles to growth. Like any personal (and professional) life, there are more or less problems and opportunities. Positive and Negative Seduction As its etymology indicates, seduction conveys a negative meaning, namely, some thing, activity, or person that leads us astray or into The Power of Romantic Love / 201 trouble. And indeed, this can be the case. However, seduction can also have positive meaning in luring us to a better life. One reason romantic love is important is that it can be a prelude and invitation to a more committed love. Its strong attraction, gentle excite-ment, and erotic idealism make it easier, more enjoyable, and exciting for us to enter love. Since love, especially intimate love, is a risky ven-ture, romantic love makes the entry into love relatively easier, safer, and moi'e fun. It is a delicious taste of heaven. But like food, its satisfaction is temporary, and if we eat too much of that elixir, we can get sick. Ro-mantic love is an intense promise of a more permanent love that is both ideal and limited, erotic and transcendent, for the moment and forever, pleasurable and painful, divine and demonic--a love that embraces and dignifies all of us. If some of us knew the total picture of religious life, especially its hard times, before entering religious life, we may have had second or third thoughts about making a life commitment. Strictly from a rational-istic view, religious life may not have been as appealing. Fortunately our Holy Spirit called us with an alluring voice. Likewise, some of our friend-ships may never have occurred without romantic love's promise of an even .more balanced, wholly, and permanent love. To be sure, not all men and women entered religious life or friendship in a romantic aura. But many did, and few people live without any romanticism. Our spiritual journey with and toward God can also include romantic times. It is not unusual to go through a time--or times--of being roman-tically in love with God. We may suddenly feel that anything is possi-ble, that everything will turn out all right, that everything makes sense. We may bask in a divine light while minimizing, forgetting, or even re-pressing darkness. Although there is much truth in the vision, dark nights will come in service of a deeper and more realistic presence to God. Romantic love is not only a means toward an end. When immersed in romantic love, it is good to celebrate and proclaim our romantic stand in the world. Our experience is a witness to love and often promotes hap-piness for others. We can also build a precious source of memories that can help us gain perspective when going through difficult times. And in-deed as authentic lovers we can, though not constantly, congistently cele-brate times of romantic love. Helping Oneself and Others Think of two religious who care for each other and become close friends. Initially, they may idealize their relationship so that it is basi-cally exclusive. At first, they may wonder how they ever li.ved without 202 /Review for Religious, March-April 1989 each other. Especially if one or both persons have had restricted feelings of affection, now they can feel free to express themselves without re-straint. They feel liberated and more wholly alive. Their "particular" friendship, however, soon incorporates limits and obstacles. For in-stance, they discover that they can irritate and confuse each other, and :they can become hurt, angry, jealous, and perhaps guilty and ashamed. Instead of harboring resentment, or ending the friendship, both persons can step back--physically, psychosocially, and spiritually--and listen to themselves and each other, and hopefully return to renew and deepen their friendship so that it includes both their positive and negative dimen-sions. The challenging ideal is that both the light and dark sides of life be integrated, rather than absolutizing one of them. In fact, these experi-ences point to and affirm what life is--both divine and demonic, light and dark, life and death. When we experience a person as perfect, it is helpful to keep in mind that every person is imperfect. When there are disagreements, past agreements can be remembered as well as agreeing. to disagree. Our challenge is to see potential virtue where there is vice, strength where there is weakness, joy where there is sadness, love where there is hate, life where there is death. Courage and commitment are needed to move with and grow from life's paradoxical rhythm. Although romantic love is particularly enjoyable, the genuine desire to give one's self totally to another p~'esents challenging difficulties. Be-cause of the affective and ideal qualities of romantic love, we may nei-ther want nor perhaps experience any limits, and consequently may yearn to give unconditionally in every way pogsible. As religious we may yearn to celebrate our love in genital experiences, but we can say "no" in serv-ice of a "yes" to our love. What can superiors, friends, or other community members do when they observe religious in romantic love. Particularly when the exclusivity is causing little community I~arm, the wisest approach may be to do noth-ing, that is, to let romantic love run its course from the divine to the de-monic. However, when infatuation occurs or the dark, limited phase ap-pears, interveution may be called for. What you d6 depends on the kind and amount of power and responsibility your superior and others in re-sponsible roles have, as well as what you are willing and able to do, par-ticularly in being willing and able to invest the time and energy on con-fronting, processing, and following through with consequences. A superior may choose to confront a priest with his infatuous friend-ship. Confrontation means to state assertively and with concern what you The Power of Romantic Love / 203. observe in the other's behavior. It does not mean to interpret or analyze a person's behavior, nor does it include verbal oppression or emotional rape. We give feedback, and depending on our authority, we state natu-ral and logical consequences of one's behavior. For instance, if you con-tinue to date this woman as well as isolate yourself from the community, then counseling must be pursued or you will be transferred to another city, or you will be asked/told to leave. It is important to remember that although we impact on one another more or less positively and negatively, we cannot change anyone. We can give others opportunities, feedback, advice, consequences, and so forth, but only they can change themselves. We can only change and con-trol ourselves, and this is accomplished within varying degrees of lim-its. Authoritarian, codependent, and other well-intentioned and overly responsible people may find this fact difficult to accept. Ideally, a radical decision (for example, leaving religious life) or a life commitment (for example, vowed religious life) should not be made in either the so-called divine or demonic phases of love. When we are madly in love and experience no imperfections whatsoever, a life com-mitment is precarious. And we should be equally as prudent about mak-ing radical decisions, those that significantly irnpact on our lives, while in a demonic phase. When life is overwhelmingly dark, any light or re-lief can be tempting. It is better to wait until light emerges in our pre-sent situation--to wait until we make more sense of our struggle and be freer to choose. To paraphrase an old saying: the darkest and coldest time is right before dawn. Ideally, we should also not make a decision for life only out of ro-manticism or infatuation--when there are no limits or imperfections, but rather when we can be open to both the positive and negative factors of our past, present, and future situations. For instance, a brother who falls in love with a sister may be in the divinizing stage of romantic love. When asked what is wrong with his beloved, he may say nothing con-crete. Until he can point out experientially what is positive and negative about her and himself, it is probably better for him to wait before mak-ing such a radical decision such as leaving religious life to get married. A decision to leave, not because of romantic involvement, but be-cause nothing seems right and satisfying is quite tempting. When under enormous stress, we can be duped into feeling that a change in lifestyle will solve personal and interpersonal problems. It is more likely that we will take our problems with us and unconsciously seek a similar situ-ation. It is wiser to look at and deal with the dark side in ourselves and 204 / Review for Religious, March-April 1989 then make decisions. In short, authentic committed love is never perfect or divine, and nei-ther is it always imperfect or demonic. It is a combination of both. When on earth, life and love are matters of heaven and hell. If authentic love were perfect, commitment would not be necessary, there would be heaven, not earth. Because we are a unity of perfection and imperfec-tion, commitment is called for. Seed I .know interpretation has rules, But they should not freeze mystery. Why can't metaphors step between parables, And people and plots mingle? The sower, for instance, and the birds on the wayside who fed, the birds Who never fall unknown any more Than the bum thrown out of the bar And the starving, potbellied African baby. How wide is the wayside'? Past oceans And deserts and ranges and space to Ultimate doing of truth in love? And the rocks (poor Peter), are they always shallow? Have you seen those rock walls on roads Where, in spite of technology, a stubborn Wild shoot adorns the crazy face of An impossible height? or the sturdy Root that splits concrete apart and Frees the seed of a water main (prodigal spill)? Then There's the child who patiently pulls the Tufts from the cracks between bricks And scatters the clumps for the wind To sow next season's crop and chore. But the thistles--I don't know about them. I cringe at the vision of crowns And wonder if scarlet hands too Can drip the seeds of the realm That the sower went out to sow. Clarita Felhoelter, O.S.U. 3105 Lexington Road Louisville, Kentucky 4020'6 The Experience of Mid-Life Divorce and AlienationI David J. Hassel, S.J. Father David Hassel, S.J., is currently Research Professor of Philosophy at Loyola University of Chicago. The contents of this article will be part of his forthcoming book called The Ache of Alienation. His address is Loyola University; 6525 N. Sheridan Road; Chicago, Illinois 60626, Helen,s husband had confronted her a year ago after a very quiet dinner. "Helen," he had said, "there is something we have to talk about in the living room while the kids are out." They had sat there through a long silence before he said in a rush of words: "I want a divorce; I cannot go on living as we have been--distant, on parallel courses, never really meeting. The kids already suspect something and are old enough to han-dle this now. I've made a decision and no talking will change it. I don't want to hurt you anymore than I've already done. My lawyer has drawn up the legal papers; you'll be taken care of financially." Helen, her voice sounding like cracking ice, had said to him: "Joe, it's Anita, isn't it. That day down at the office I saw the glance you gave her--like the one you had once given me." "Yes," he said, "but we are not going into that." Helen could recall herself slowly getting up, slowly going up the stairs to her room, throwing herself on the bed and beginning to shudder with great dry heaves. No tears, only a terrible emp-tiness. When during the course of the following weeks, she had been alone with each of the children, she had received some additional shocks. Jim, the twenty-two year old just finishing college, put it simply: "Look, Mom, where have you been the past two years? Dad has been home less and less, and telling less and less what he has been doing. What have 205 206 / Review for Religious, March-April 1989 you been thinking?" The twins, Edith and Carol, high school seniors, were rather casual: "Morn, this is the way things go these days; you have to be ready for the worst and this is the worst, no doubt about it." Timothy, the twelve-year old, was inconsolable: "Dad's leaving us be-hind and it's unfair; I hate him now. But what can we do? I guess we just get used to it the way Jerry Kanz did when his Dad moved out." Helen, like many another to-be-divorced woman, had looked back over her life and wondered bitterly: Where did it start to go wrong? Where did I fail? Except for Timmy, the children seemed so casual about it all. Were they simply ungrateful, without any affection for her and Joe or were they covering up their anger and disappointment? Her telephone call to her mother had caused a flood of tears and a scalding anger-- more at Helen's stupidity than at Joe's two-timing. Her favorite brother had only said, "Well, the bastard finally owned upto it, did he?" Women friends had been properly shocked and consoling for some weeks; then the telephone calls became less frequent and one friend fi-nally said to her: "Honey, you have to stop lamenting and get your life together--without Joe; the sooner the better." All her doings had be-come meaningless: cooking meals, house-cleaning, shopping, bridge-clubbing, fulfilling the immediate needs of her children, attending Mass, telephoning friends, volunteering at the hospital, watching TV late into the night. Then the depressing guilt-fits began. Why were her children so un-feeling unless she had failed badly in their upbringing? Why had she not noticed sooner her husband's wandering and done something to woo him back? Had she become an insensitive creature herself? Were all her friend-ships superficial, revealing her own lack of depth? Was all her busyness merely a way to hide from herself who she really was: an empty shell of a woman? How could even God find time for her anymore? Actually her past seemed gutted, her present confused and her future dark with anxiety. The Woman Religious' Parallel Experience of "Divorce" Helen's experience, in one form or another, is that of thousands of wives and mothers as divorces continue to multiply across America. But is it so very different from the experience of not a few women religious who at mid-life review the past ten or twenty years of their own lives and wonder where their prayer-union with Christ has gone? The woman religious has been living the regular routines of a life consecrated to Christ: spending some time with him before breakfast and before heading to bed; taking care of his people in hospital, school, day- Mid-Life Divorce and Alienation care center, parish, and social work office; making some friends along the, way; watching TV and going for occasional walks; attending family gatherings, and centering her life in daily Eucharists. But in everything she feels hardly any feedback of gratitude or joy. If she is a social worker, she may have been called a meddler by the fam-ily whose children she has seen through hospitals, remedial reading courses, and angry bouts with their parents. The high school teacher of twenty-five years' experience may have been told by a lay colleague that she is twenty years behind the times in her teaching techniques and thirty years behind in her understanding of today's high schoolers. The sister-nurse may be overwhelmed with the ugly fact that her order's hospitals are now big business and that she had better play it safe with charity cases lest the hospital's budget-report show red ink. An almost exhausted sister may be informed by her superior that if she cannot take this job of religious coordinator at the disorganized St. Dismas parish, she had better find another job.to earn her way. Meaning seems to have drained out of her work. The once beautiful routines connected with teaching, nursing, administrating, catechizing, parish organizing, and social work-ing feel drab, spiritless, and unending. Meanwhile, because of her busy dedication to her order and its works, she has allowed her own brothers and sisters to fade out of her life as they moved to the distant coasts and as she wrote less and less ¯ often. Her parents have become elder.ly, somewhat absent-minded, eager for her presence but hardly able to carry on a relaxing conversation, and evoking melancholy in her at their decline and helplessness. Her sister-friends are as busy as she; glad to see her and to chat for a time, but al-ways on the move to another appointment: little time for long leisurely conversations, not many fun times." Because she is one of the few younger sisters in tier older community, she may have to assume greater responsibilities without any contemporary nearby in whom to confide and with whom to laugh at life's crazy antics. This is a new aloneness never felt in her initial formation. The simple joys of life seem few and far between during these periods of intensely felt alienation. She wonders: is all my past life for nothing? Have I lost the respect of my own family; those who first gave me life and hope? Have I missed out on community life? Or did it never exist and I pretended, that it did? Why has my ministry lost its zest? Have I begun to give up on it and, if so, will I ever find a second ministry and trust myself to its demands for a disciplined life of sacrifice? Do my superiors and fellow religious value me for myself or only for what I can do? Are we all just worker- Review for Religious, March-April 1989 bees in the religious hive? Where is the reality of my prayer life? God seems so distant, so uninterested in me, so unlike the intimate friend of my early religious life. Around me I seem to find so many happy fami-lies and fulfilled career women. Or am I just romanticizing their lives out of my own drabness? Then begin the guilt-fits. Mow did my life dissipate into merely con-stant duties, deadlines, hurried moments of leisure with friends, commu-nity tensions, and superficial moments with Christ? How could I have ¯ let it happen? Does all this mean that I never had a vocation to religious life or that religious life in my particular group is now ,antiquated and no longer viable in ou~ present culture? What is my future--if anything? Who but a recently divorced iaywoman could Fully appreciate these questions and feelings 0f the woman religious. The divorced man, hear-ing a man,religious venice similar questions and feelings, would surely resonate to these pains of the heart and mind. The Feel of Alienation from the Church Among the Divorced and the Alienated The suffering asked of divorced men and women and of alienated re-ligious is scandalous not only to them but to the people who love them dearly. The shock felt by the "divorced" is such that at times they do feel isolated from their family (blood or religious) and perhaps even from Christ's Church. Their great temptation is to cut loose from past ties; to be free from all the b~aggage of the past~ They ask themselves: "Why not just leave the family or the religious order and forget any service of the Church?" It seems so much easier simply to concentrate on a career and, if the occasion offers, to form a small manageable group of new friends. Later some of these "divorced" will leave the Church deliber-ately and others will slowly drift away complaining: "'I'm tiredof fight-ing Church bureaucracy and small-mindedness." There is no denying that, in the twentieth-century Church, the petty pride of place, the drift towards disorder, the trickery practiced in the name of the kingdom, the mechanical use of the sacraments, the eloquent extolling of poverty by comfortable clerics, andthe depreciation of women's ministry are all very much alive. In fact, Christ found them quite active in his first century Church: the women's announcement that they had met the risen Christ was called "women's gossip"; John and James used their mother to agitate for their occupying the seats of power next to Christ; Paul had to confront Peter about using different standards for Jewish and gentile converts; Jerusalem converts tried to saddle all gen-tile converts with the hea~y apparatus of Judaic Law; Ananias and Sa- Mid-Life Divorce and Alienation / 209 phira embezzled the common holdings of the Christian community; some of the apostles, notably Judas, deplored Mary Magdalen's ministry to Christ as frivolous. This is the kingdom, God's people, as Christ de-scribed them in the parables where the net is thrown into the sea to haul in both good and bad fish or where the wheat field is sown with weeds by the enemy. The problem is not that scandal is always in the Church but that faith-fulness is needed to live through the scandalous events amid feelings of alienation. Men and women religious suffering alienation from their com-munities need to share their lives with divorced laymen and laywomen if they are all to remain faithful to the Church and to their families, lay and religious. The pooling of experience, the companioning in common sorrows, the cooperative attempt to let the Church know their agony, the working together to build better futures for each other and for the Church, enable the divorced lay people to take heart and the alienated religious to remain loyal. One woman religious who has been offering a program for divorced women in her motherhouse found that the prayers of the retired sisters gave solace to the divorced women, while the faith of the divorced women amid severe mental suffering proved encouraging to elderly sis-ters, some of whoin felt~ intensely their seeming uselessness to the world and to their Church. One of the divorced women approached this woman religious directing the program and said to her: "Were you divorced be-fore you entered religious life? You seem to read us so well." Aloud the sister said: "No, I've never b~een married," but whispered inside her-self "But I have experienced divorce--from my congregation." Recently women and men religious groups have been welcoming some divorced into their communities and finding that these women and men bring in a dimension of life much needed by the religious order. The divorced woman or man has gone through devastating bereavement from all that once gave meaning t,o her or his life. Through this stripping, they have rediscovered their own personal worth, having learned how to dis-tinguish life-roles (mother or father, wife or husband, secretary or car-penter, daughter or son, sister or brother) from their own selves which play out these roles. The divorced woman, for example, no longer de-fines herself merely by what she can do, but by what she can be--first in herself and then for others. This, of course, affects her relationship with Christ. She is devoted to him, first of all, for his own sake; and she expects his affection to be directed towards her for herself and not sim-ply for her accomplishments. Neither God nor herself is made out to be 210 / Review for Religious~ March-April 1989 an heroic workaholic. Such a mature attitude can be benevolently conta-gious. On the other hand, women and men religious have something to of-fer divorced laywomen and laymen. After all many religious have had to deal with the mid-life transition.2 They have come to see that the "yes-terdays outnumber the tomorrows" and that they have to trim their ap-ostolic sails accordingly. Their eqergy is less, their talents are not quite as rich as they first thought, they must drop some projects totally, oth-ers partially, in order to do the central works. At this point envy of the younger, the more energetic, and the more talented can creep in. Amid these tensions, one becomes more aware of personal shortcomings, pre-tenses, sins of revenge .and cattiness, and suddenly vehement sex-drives. This discouraging aspect of life is often allied with a sense of being enmeshed in a great bureaucratic machine (at the job or in the congrega-tion o~in work with the local government) with which one must battle for personal values without destroying oneself or the organization. At this same t~me friendships take on greater importance and one must re-order one's commitments to people, work, and God. Here the man and woman religious~face bereavement from parents and older friends who die. They have moved away from pet projects, from. former work that gave much satisfaction, and from favorite attitudes or ideas that no longer fit the times.' Death, including their own,.seems at times to totally sur-round them. But at the same time, if the man and woman religious can ride all these waves with some gratitude and graciousness, the slower pace al-lows them to have time for more care of others. A warm Wisdom, the fruit of keeping a sense of humor amid much suffering, can pervade their every day. A new stability may take shape at the center of their being. In their lasting friendships, they may rediscover their faithful God. And all this they can offer to divorced laymen and laywomen out of the very alienations which they had felt towards their own congregations. How bountiful the divorced lay people and alienated religious can be towards each other and thus towards the people of God--even though at times they feel so utterly empty and find themselves walking laboriously as though in desert sands. This desert experience has been chronicled and deserves our attention since out of it can come a conversion which will reveal a new self, a new God, and a new world. The Desert Experience of Transition Before Conversion Two women have given us brutally honest yet sensitive accounts of Mid-Life Divorce and Alienation their transitions from one congregation to another. The great change seemed to them like a lay person's divorce and remarriage with its awk-wardness, periods of loneliness, and rediscovery of self and life.3 Sr. Marie Conn found the loneliness of transfer to a new religious commu-nityunique in its roots and in its intensity. For she left behind a vibrantly rich past with only a vague future in mind. Besides, those with whom she would live her present and future had little idea of her past and she, of their past. When one starts all over with new and slowly developing friendships, with fresh routines, and with no one able to enter into one's more precious memories, one is thrust into a new relati
Dottorato di ricerca in Storia d'Europa: Società, politica e istituzioni(XIX-XX Secolo) ; Una curiosa espressione di Jacques Delors, più volte utilizzata nel corso della sua carriera, definì le istituzioni comunitarie come un "O.P.N.I., oggetto politico non identificato". L'affermazione di Delors appare come un compromesso tra l'interesse a tutela dei diritti degli Stati e la necessità di attribuire al processo di integrazione europea istituzioni stabili e soprattutto autonome. In realtà, i caratteri di profonda instabilità mostrati dal modello di Comunità ne fecero scaturire due orientamenti interpretativi differenti. Il primo considerò il raggiungimento dell'obiettivo prefissato nella realizzazione di una unione politica; come sostiene Riccardo Perissich, "Ai limitati trasferimenti di sovranità già decisi, altri ne sarebbero seguiti, anche se sempre in modo graduale. Coerentemente con questo approccio, le istituzioni avrebbero dovuto evolvere verso un modello classico. La Commissione si sarebbe trasformata in un esecutivo federale; il Consiglio dei ministri in un "Senato degli Stati"; l'Assemblea parlamentare in un vero Parlamento federale"1. Il secondo orientamento si basò sull'idea che il principio di sovranità non potesse essere frammentato e che il conferimento di potere previsto dai Trattati fosse più di carattere tecnico che politico. Questa seconda interpretazione aumentò i dubbi e la diffidenza nei confronti della Commissione e ancor più del Parlamento. C'è da dire inoltre, che gli Stati firmatari dei Trattati si riconobbero più nella prima lettura del modello, con un necessario distinguo per la Francia che, all'epoca dell'entrata in vigore era presieduta dal generale Charles De Gaulle, fortemente contrario, come noto, all'idea di una qualsiasi minima cessione di potere a livello sovranazionale. A seguito della fusione di CECA, CEE ed EURATOM una sola Commissione unificò l'apparato amministrativo mentre al Parlamento europeo venne assegnato unicamente il compito di esercitare il potere in materia di bilancio, oltre ad una funzione meramente consultiva; l'elezione diretta del Parlamento fu contemplata nell'articolo n.138 del Trattato istitutivo della Comunità europea nel quale, oltre ad essere indicato il sistema di elezione dei parlamentari europei delegati come provvisorio, 1R. Perissich, L'Unione Europea una storia non ufficiale, Milano, Longanesi, 2008, p.54. venne previsto che il Parlamento avrebbe elaborato progetti volti alla realizzazione di una procedura di elezione uniforme per tutti gli Stati membri. Di fatto, negli anni che intercorsero tra il 1951 e il 1976, furono presentate numerose proposte orientate all'istituzione della procedura di elezione a suffragio universale diretto che, dopo molte difficoltà, trovarono soltanto nel 1979 la loro attuazione; questo risultato rappresentò l'inizio di una nuova era in cui l'importanza della comunicazione politico-istituzionale giocò un ruolo fondamentale per creare il necessario contatto con i cittadini, in previsione della loro partecipazione al voto europeo. Ricordiamo come nel 1974, al vertice francese presieduto da Valéry Giscard D'Estaing, venne adottata la decisione di istituire il Consiglio europeo e l'elezione diretta del Parlamento. L'evento avrebbe esercitato una notevole influenza nella dinamica istituzionale europea; nonostante il suo assetto di Assemblea diversa da quelle nazionali, il Parlamento europeo direttamente eletto avrebbe preteso un aumento della propria influenza politica così come del proprio peso istituzionale. Attraverso le elezioni, i cittadini europei avrebbero potuto accrescere progressivamente il loro interesse nei confronti dei temi comunitari riuscendo a percepire meglio l'esistenza di un'istituzione fino ad allora poco conosciuta. Su questo aspetto federalisti e "gradualisti" si collocarono su posizioni discordanti, in quanto i primi da sempre consideravano il Parlamento eletto come "Congresso del popolo europeo" e quindi come il potere costituente della futura Federazione europea. Personalità di spicco sui singoli piani nazionali, costantemente impegnate nella causa dell'integrazione europea (solo per citare alcuni nomi si ricordano Altiero Spinelli, Simone Veil, Helmut Kohl, Jacques Chirac), oltre ad esponenti politici ed intellettuali che interpretarono un ruolo di forte influenza all'interno dei loro partiti riguardo alla scelta europeista (per l'Italia ricordiamo Giorgio Amendola, Enrico Berlinguer, Mauro Ferri, Gaetano Arfè), si impegnarono con l'intento di legittimarne il ruolo rispetto alle altre istituzioni, in particolar modo la Commissione. I parlamentari eletti nel primo suffragio universale diretto si trovarono quindi ad affrontare temi che andavano dalla questione dei paesi comunisti ai rapporti con il Terzo mondo, alla progettazione di una televisione europea fino alla necessità di redigere una prima bozza di Costituzione europea. Il ricorso alle candidature di personalità politiche ben note all'opinione pubblica quali Enrico Berlinguer, Simone Veil, Willy Brandt, si pensò potesse offrire un maggiore potenziale all'organizzazione della propaganda. La campagna elettorale del giugno 1979, così come le altre due successive, fu tuttavia caratterizzata, soprattutto in Italia e Francia, da argomenti troppo spesso collegati alla dialettica politica della propria nazione. In ogni caso l'informazione data ai cittadini europei fu in grado di suscitare un inevitabile interessamento ai problemi comunitari, ma soprattutto alla realtà sovranazionale. L'affluenza al voto fu comunque inferiore rispetto alle elezioni nazionali. Nei motivi della scarsa partecipazione al voto, oltre l'assenza di dibattito propriamente europeo vi fu anche il fatto che le strategie dei partiti tesero ad una sorta di strumentalizzazione delle elezioni europee, puntando attraverso le campagne elettorali al perseguimento di obiettivi nazionali. Il primo scrutinio diretto fu in grado comunque di dare una ventata di novità al concetto di democrazia europea. La nuova legittimità consentì al Parlamento di consolidare nel tempo i propri poteri e di interpretare un ruolo all'interno del processo decisionale comunitario che all'epoca poteva dirsi quanto meno "nebuloso". Una volta fissato il periodo di svolgimento delle prime elezioni, le forze politiche nazionali dovettero sostenere una sfida che le avrebbe costrette a rimettersi in gioco, cercando di rinnovare gli argomenti e i temi individuati per le campagne elettorali nazionali. Una maggiore consapevolezza riguardo alla necessità di allargare l'orizzonte, senza trascurare tuttavia il contatto con i propri elettori e cercando le possibili somiglianze con gli altri partiti europei, avrebbe consentito di conciliare la propria ideologia in un contesto più ampio. Occorre tener presente come tra il 1975 e il 1979 si fossero create all'interno dell'Assemblea parlamentare non eletta, formazioni politiche rappresentative di partiti accomunati da un orientamento affine a quello nazionale. La diversità di ideologie, tuttavia rendeva queste coalizioni molto deboli, soprattutto per via della tanto difficile integrazione ostacolata dalla predominanza degli interessi nazionali anteposti a quelli comunitari. La primazia dei partiti nazionali ha sempre costituito un ostacolo all'autonomia di azione dei gruppi e delle federazioni lasciando, fino ad oggi, inattuata la costituzione di veri e propri partiti europei. All'indomani del primo suffragio universale diretto, tuttavia, il nuovo parlamentare europeo avrebbe assunto il ruolo di trait d'union tra il proprio elettorato, il proprio partito, la coalizione europea e il Parlamento stesso. I tratti caratterizzanti il percorso politico-istituzionale del Parlamento europeo sono stati oggetto di approfondimento nello studio dei casi relativi ai tre Paesi considerati rivelando le differenze che, per la natura stessa del ruolo giocato nel contesto sovranazionale, non hanno risparmiato il processo di integrazione e, nel caso specifico, la partecipazione alle elezioni dirette del Parlamento. Accomunando Italia e Francia, paesi fondatori della Comunità europea che si dimostrarono troppo intenti a trattare temi nazionali durante le campagne elettorali, nel Regno Unito l'idea di Europa si coniugò con la costante valutazione di tutti gli elementi che sarebbero risultati convenienti per partecipare, senza che tutto ciò costringesse a modificare o rinunciare a quanto già in possesso, atteggiamento che trovò nella linea di governo di Margaret Thatcher una perfetta interpretazione durata per l'intero decennio esaminato. Se per il primo suffragio universale diretto l'attività maggiore fu quella di approntare nuovi metodi organizzativi per le campagne elettorali, adatti alla ricerca di un consenso più ampio, diretto a legittimare l'istituzione sovranazionale, nella seconda e terza tornata le riflessioni delle forze politiche si resero necessarie per cercare di individuare le cause del progressivo calo partecipativo. I difetti di una comunicazione politica spesso basata su issues nazionali, soprattutto riguardo la Francia, ha di sicuro rappresentato una delle possibili cause, ma l'atteggiamento stesso dei partiti, apparso frequentemente poco incline a credere seriamente nell'importanza delle elezioni, ha lasciato percepire incertezza ai cittadini europei. Per altro verso, anche le campagne elettorali comunitarie, sebbene abbiano investito molte risorse per cercare di catturare il consenso dell'opinione pubblica, hanno mostrato la parziale efficienza dei mezzi messi in atto. Elezioni di second'ordine quindi? E' possibile parlarne ancora in questi termini? Da quanto emerso nel corso della ricerca condotta sul versante storico-politologico, il livello delle elezioni europee non risulta affatto secondario. Il dato partecipativo, anzi è inversamente proporzionale alla quantità di lavoro preparatorio sia dal punto di vista politico che amministravo-istituzionale, ben superiore a qualsiasi suffragio nazionale. Ci si chiede allora perché gli elettori non abbiano risposto con altrettanto entusiasmo. Qui le risposte trovano differenti possibilità da tenere nella giusta considerazione: la poca attenzione ai temi comunitari, la qualità della comunicazione, l'errore di propagandare l'evento troppo a ridosso delle date di svolgimento, l'eccessiva distanza tra istituzioni e cittadini, il livello culturale degli elettori, i giorni della settimana individuati per i suffragi spesso troppo vicini ad elezioni nazionali appena svolte, la classe politica poco convinta. In realtà tutti questi fattori rappresentano concause della scarsa partecipazione. Il cittadino europeo in mezzo a questo guazzabuglio è il personaggio principale di una performance in cui lui stesso determina la riuscita. Nonostante i numeri evidenzino una progressiva flessione nei dieci anni esaminati, i cittadini non sono rimasti indifferenti di fronte alle novità introdotte dal processo di integrazione europea. Spesso, soprattutto durante i sondaggi, accanto ad una percentuale di "indifferenti" o "euroscettici", molti intervistati hanno lamentato la poca autorità del Parlamento europeo nel contesto istituzionale comunitario2 confidando in ulteriori progressi strutturali. Il mancato raggiungimento di questo obiettivo, preannunciato già prima del 1979, insieme alle vicende politiche legate al proprio Paese, ha gradualmente provocato negli elettori reazioni di protesta attraverso il non voto o il voto negativo3, comportamenti capaci di delineare una partecipazione differente rispetto alla decisione di esprimere la propria scelta. Questo tipo di elettore ha mostrato di essere stato raggiunto dall'informazione diffusa durante le campagne elettorali e, sulla base di quanto appreso, ha deciso consapevolmente di non votare o di esercitare un voto diverso annullando o votando scheda bianca; quindi si è recato ai seggi, 2 Si vedano a questo proposito i risultati emersi nella pubblicazione della Commissione delle Comunità europee, Eurobarometro – L'opinione pubblica nella Comunità europea, Vol.1, 32/89, Direzione generale Informazione, comunicazione e cultura, Bruxelles, 1989. 3 Cfr. A. Gianturco Gulisano, La fenomenologia del non voto, in R. De Mucci (a cura di), Election day. Votare tutti e tutto assieme fa bene alla democrazia?, cit. non è rimasto inerte disinteressandosi di quanto stava accadendo. L'auspicio di un consolidamento istituzionale del Parlamento e di una maggiore coesione politica della Comunità europea non ancora raggiunti, anche per responsabilità delle politiche nazionali, ha posto l'elettore in condizione di negare il proprio contributo o protestare verso il mancato conseguimento dei risultati. L'accrescimento della conoscenza e del coinvolgimento, sebbene presenti, non sono andati di pari passo con la partecipazione. Elementi di insoddisfazione hanno caratterizzato il comportamento dell'elettore realmente europeista. I cittadini europei possono in realtà collocarsi in tre macro aree nelle quali si ritrovano gli europeisti, gli euro avversi e gli euroscettici. Se le aspettative degli europeisti sono rimaste deluse, gli euroavversi hanno parzialmente esercitato il diritto di voto alimentando quelle liste comunque presenti nella competizione europea. Gli euroscettici, invece hanno rappresentato il punto nevralgico dell'elettorato. Trovandosi in quella parte di popolazione attenta ad osservare quali e quanti cambiamenti sarebbero avvenuti a partire dal 1979 hanno avuto modo di consolidare la loro posizione continuando a percepire la Comunità ancora lontana e prevalentemente scomoda se non inutile. A differenza dell'europeista deluso che comunque ha continuato a partecipare, magari protestando, e dell'euroavverso che ha espresso il suo disappunto preferendo i partiti antieuropeisti, l'euroscettico ha proseguito nell'osservazione, affiancandosi agli incerti che sono rimasti a casa. A questo punto sono apparse inevitabili ulteriori valutazioni verso quegli elementi che caratterizzano le elezioni in genere. Ciò che attrae il cittadino ai seggi elettorali è prevalentemente il peso che le elezioni possono esercitare sui cambiamenti del governo nel proprio Paese. Il "less at stake" delle elezioni europee ha rappresentato sicuramente uno dei motivi scatenanti i sentimenti appena descritti; lo scenario si profila diverso, In such 'marker-setting' elections, voters have an incentive to behave tactically, but in a sense of the word 'tactical' that is quite different from what we see in National elections, where large parties are advantaged by their size. In a markersetting election the tactical situation is instead characterized by an apparent lack of consequences for the allocation of power, on the one hand, and by the attentiveness of politicians and media, on the other4. La mancanza di conseguenze sul livello nazionale garantita dalle elezioni europee ha "alleggerito" l'elettore della responsabilità di orientare con la propria scelta il corso della politica nazionale. Sebbene nel 1979 vi fu un'attività partitica a livello transnazionale, consentita anche dalla disponibilità di fondi in quel periodo, l'attenzione dell'elettorato fu minima. In termini di risultati transnazionali la percezione fu praticamente irrilevante; circa il cinquanta per cento dei votanti ammise di non aver idea di quali gruppi avessero ottenuto maggiori consensi. Altro aspetto da non sottovalutare si collega allo sproporzionato successo ottenuto dai partiti più piccoli rispetto ai grandi; è in questo caso che si può parlare di voto punitivo nei confronti della politica del governo nazionale. Molte le sfaccettature e tutte fondamentali per riuscire a capire il perché delle differenze comportamentali dell'elettorato, differenze che nei tre Paesi oggetto di studio si sono rivelate estremamente rappresentate. In linea con la tradizione, gli elettori dell'Italia e della Francia hanno mostrato una partecipazione considerevole, evidentemente legata alle vicende che hanno caratterizzato il dibattito politico nazionale negli anni 1979 – 1989. Il voto "pseudo-obbligatorio" dell'Italia ha mantenuto alta la percentuale dei votanti, ma i risultati hanno mostrato orientamenti variabili nelle tre tornate esaminate. Il caso francese ha mostrato una escalation della destra attraverso i consensi ottenuti dal Front National in risposta ad un importante declino del Partito comunista, anche in considerazione di una progressiva dispersione di voti dovuta alla presenza di numerose liste, in particolar modo nel 1989. Il caso anglosassone si colloca in una posizione particolare rispetto agli altri due Paesi, ma sarebbe più giusto dire rispetto a tutti gli altri. A fronte di un orientamento nazionale tendenzialmente contrario alla Comunità europea, fra le ideologie maggiormente rappresentative si è distinto un Partito conservatore desideroso di giocare un ruolo importante nel contesto europeo, consapevole quindi del significato che la competizione europea 4 C. Van der Eijk, M. Franklin, M. Marsh, What voters teach us about Europe-Wide Elections: what Europe-Wide Elections teach us about voters, in "Electoral Studies", vol. 15, n. 2, p. 157. avrebbe potuto assumere per la riuscita dell'intento. L'importanza del suffragio sovranazionale non fu invece immediatamente compresa dai Laburisti, che di fatto ottennero una pesante sconfitta nel corso del primo appuntamento con lo scrutinio europeo, ravvedendosi in seguito e riuscendo a superare i Conservatori anche grazie all'inizio del declino del governo Thatcher. Un elemento che ha accomunato tutti i Paesi della Comunità è stato rappresentato dalla progressiva affermazione dei Verdi. Lo studio effettuato attraverso una costante attenzione al dibattito politico di ciascun Paese, insieme alle strategie attuate dagli attori, consapevoli fin dall'inizio che la sfida europea li avrebbe impegnati non più o meno di quella nazionale, ma sicuramente in modo diverso, ha condotto ad un approfondimento verso il singolo cittadino che assumendo in sé il ruolo di attore principale ne ha determinato gli esiti. Le risultanze dei dati emersi dalle consultazioni avvenute negli anni 1979 – 1989 non possono considerarsi soltanto per il puro dato numerico. La molteplicità dei fattori che hanno influito sulla scelta di votare o meno ha mostrato un elettore che, pur appartenendo a paesi diversi e con differenti livelli culturali, è stato in grado di decidere basandosi su considerazioni affatto superficiali, operando un'attenta scelta dei numerosi elementi che avrebbero potuto favorire il rafforzamento politico-istituzionale europeo: una tacita selezione dell'elettorato, che inevitabilmente ha lasciato fuori tutti coloro che non hanno ritenuto importante impegnarsi per una consultazione ritenuta priva di un qualsiasi tornaconto. Classe politica poco convinta, informazione discutibile, scarsa conoscenza da parte dei cittadini riguardo al ruolo del Parlamento europeo, inefficacia della comunicazione, hanno contribuito a costruire un elettore diverso dal solito, più attento, in possesso di maggiore senso critico nei confronti di uno scenario nuovo e molto più complesso rispetto a quello nazionale5. Dalla pluralità di elementi emersi durante la ricerca attraverso il ricorso all'interdisciplinarietà per cercare di comprenderne maggiormente i significati, sono emersi dettagli che hanno stimolato ad ulteriori approfondimenti. 5 Cfr. Commissione delle Comunità europee, Eurobarometro – L'opinione pubblica e l'Europa, 9/89, Direzione generale Informazione, comunicazione e cultura, Bruxelles, 1989. Successivamente alle considerazioni storico – politiche , ciò che si è voluto sottolineare, attraverso l'analisi sociologica, riguardo alle elezioni europee nel loro complesso e nella loro perpetua considerazione di elezioni secondarie, è che tutti i fattori esaminati ne mostrano un'immagine differente, che non vuole assolutamente porsi in contrasto con l'interpretazione dei dati puri, ma vuole indurre a considerare maggiormente i numerosi fattori, che per la qualità e la quantità riscontrata permettono di ottenere un quadro più completo dei fatti, andando oltre al mero dato partecipativo sul quale, indubbiamente, la differenza con la partecipazione nazionale è di tutta evidenza. L'esame approfondito è apparso ancor più necessario alla luce del tortuoso processo di costruzione europea e del macchinoso assetto istituzionale comunitario, al fine di poter tenere nella giusta considerazione il maggior numero di elementi possibile, non tanto per giustificare i risultati, ma quanto, piuttosto, per riflettere su di essi cercando di distribuire una responsabilità policentrica a partire dalle forze politiche per finire al cittadino stesso. ; Jacques Delors used to talk about European institutions as an O.P.N.I Object Politique Non Identifié. His opinion appears a compromise between his interest to protect National rights and the need to give lasting and autonomous governance to the European integration process. Actually from the European Community model, two different ways of thinking the governance derived both influenced by the instability of the model itself. The first one aimed at a political union; as Riccardo Perissich says: "Ai limitati trasferimenti di sovranità già decisi, altri ne sarebbero seguiti, anche se sempre in modo graduale. Coerentemente con questo approccio, le istituzioni avrebbero dovuto evolvere verso un modello classico. La Commissione si sarebbe trasformata in un esecutivo federale; il Consiglio dei ministri in un "Senato degli Stati"; l'Assemblea parlamentare in un vero Parlamento federale"6. The second one tried not to neglect the sovereignty principle by transferring technical and political power according to the Treaties. This second view increased doubts and mistrust towards the European Parliament and Commission as well. European Member States agreed above all with the first view, except for the France of Charles De Gaulle who was still convinced of his idea of not giving power to supranational level. Following the unification between ECSC, EEC and EAEC there was a single Commission for the whole administrative system while the Parliament had competence on the European budget; direct election to European Parliament was referred to as "temporary" in Article 138 of the European Community Treaty; then the Parliament would plan the way for a single procedure election regarding all Member States. Between 1951 and 1976 there were many proposals to define a direct universal suffrage, but only in 1979 this target was achieved. This result meant a significant change also for the polical and institutional 6R. Perissich, L'Unione Europea una storia non ufficiale, Milano, Longanesi, 2008, p.54. communication that became fundamental to reach citizenship during the election campaign. In 1974, during the French summit chaired by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, were both established the European Council and the direct election of the European Parliament. The European Parliament finally elected by European citizens would require an increase in both political and institutional influence. The direct elections would enhance popular interest in European affairs as well as raise people's awareness of the Parliament itself. This last aspect emphasized the differences between the federalist and the "gradualist" trend. The first one considered the direct elected Parliament as a "Congress of European People", that is to say the constituent power of the future European Federation. Many famous people were constantly engaged in the European integration cause as politicians and intellectuals did by committing themselves to legitimizing the role of the European Parliament in relation to other institutions, particularly the European Commission. Reference can be made to Altiero Spinelli, Enrico Berlinguer, Simone Veil, Helmut Kohl, Jacques Chirac, just to mention some of them. Members of the European Parliament (MEP's) began their job by addressing many issues such as the question of communist nations or planning for a European TV or preparing a draft for the European Constitution. Appointing political celebrities such as Enrico Berlinguer, Simone Veil, Willy Brandt was a way to make the propaganda more effective. The 1979 election campaign as well as the other two following ones was, however, characterized by arguments too often associated with the national political discourse. All the information given to European citizens succeeded in generating interest in supranational reality above all. The turnout was lower than in national elections and the reason has to be found in the behaviour of political parties in discussing mostly national issues aiming at national targets. In spite of this, the first direct election to the European Parliament gave a breath of fresh air to the meaning of European democracy. The newly acquired legitimacy gave the European Parliament the opportunity to consolidate its power by acting a definite role inside the European decisional process that was, at that time, nebulous to say the least. Once the electoral date was scheduled all the national political parties had to face a challenge that forced them to renew their themes and topics previously chosen in national campaign. There was greater awareness of the necessity to broaden the horizon without loosing contact with voters by looking for similarities in other European political parties. This is what would allow single ideologies to merge in a wider context. We must to consider that between 1975 – 1979 inside the European Parliament there were representatives of parties sharing outlooks similar to the national ones, but different ways of thinking made these coalitions too weak, above all because of the predominant national interests. The primacy of national parties has always been an obstacle to the autonomy of groups and federations, neglecting the implementation of European parties. After the first direct European elections the new MEP's were a kind of "trait d'union" with their own electorates, their own party, the European coalition and the Parliament as well. The peculiar features of the political-institutional path of the European Parliament concerning the three countries studied showed differences that have characterized their participation in European elections. While Italy and France, founding members of EC, were too busy to deal with national issues during electoral campaign, the UK was more attentive to evaluate the benefits of participation and Margaret Thatcher, who was Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990 was particularly suited for such an attitude. While during the first direct election there was a need to bring some new element in organizing the electoral campaign in order to reach a wider consensus, the following two elections made political forces more reflective about the decline in turnout. Too many national issues made the communication weak, particularly for the French campaign. What citizens perceived was the little confidence of political parties and that was the reason for such a large incertitude among the people. On the other hand, the Community campaign too showed a partial efficiency. So what kind of elections are we talking about? Still "second order" elections? This is not the picture that emerged from my research conducted on the historical and political fields. Participation is inversely proportional to the preparatory work, both from a political point of view and from an administrative-institutional one, which was far superior to any national suffrage. So, why didn't voters participate so enthusiastically? Many answers are possible because many are the causes of such an odd behaviour: little attention to European issues, quality of communication, propaganda too close to the election date, distance between citizens and istitution, the cultural level of voters, election dates too close to those of national elections, lack of confidence of the political class were all contributing factors in low participation. In the middle of this mess the European citizen becomes the protagonist for the success of such a performance. Despite numbers reveal a gradual decline in the ten years examined, European citizens have not remained indifferent to the changes introduced by the European integration process. Many surveys showed that in addition to a percentage of "indifferent" or "eurosceptical" people, there were citizens who asked for a stronger Parliament hoping that this result would be reached sooner or later. The failure to achieve this goal as well as the political events of each nation have gradually caused an outcry against the vote expressed either in nonvoting or in negative-vote; these different behaviours show a different way of participating . The voter who, though informed by the electoral campaign, decided not to vote or to give a different vote by cancelling his vote or returning blank−voting ballot, went nevertheless to the polling station and didn't stay at home ignoring what was happening. The unfullfilled hope for an institutional strengthening of the Parliament and for greater political cohesion of the European Community, due to political responsibilities, didn't allow the voter to contribute or protest against the non-achievement of results. Citizens' increased knowledge and involvement did not keep pace with the participation; some elements of dissatisfaction have characterized the behaviour of the pro-Europe voter. The three main groups in which European voters may be included are pro- Europe, anti-Europe and eurosceptics. Whereas the pro-Europe voters' expectations have been disappointed, the anti-Europe voters have partially exercised the right to vote feeding this kind of lists in the European competition. Eurosceptics, on the other hand were the centerpiece of the electorate. Being careful observers of which and how many changes have occurred since 1979, citizens have been able to consolidate their position by continuing to perceive the Community as still too distant and mostly uncomfortable if not useless. They have continued their observation by standing together with those uncertain people who stayed at home. At this point it appeared inevitable to assess also those elements that characterized the elections in general. What attracts people to the polling station is mainly the weight that elections may have on the governmental changes in their own countries. The "less at stake" of European elections surely showed one of the reasons just described. We are therefore facing a different context, In such 'marker-setting' elections, voters have an incentive to behave tactically, but in a sense of the word 'tactical' that is quite different from what we see in National elections, where large parties are advantaged by their size. In a markersetting election the tactical situation is instead characterized by an apparent lack of consequences for the allocation of power, on the one hand, and by the attentiveness of politicians and media, on the other7. The lack of consequences on the national level where European elections are concerned lightened voters by taking away their responsibility in directing the national political course. Although in 1979 there was a political activity at the transnational level, the electorate's attention was very scarce. The result showed 50% of voters admitting to their disinformation about the groups that achieved greater consensus. 7 C. Van der Eijk, M. Franklin, M. Marsh, What voters teach us about Europe-Wide Elections: what Europe-Wide Elections teach us about voters, in "Electoral Studies", vol. 15, n. 2, p. 157. Another issue is the large success gained by smaller parties; in this case it is possible to talk about a "punishment vote" against the policy of the national government. The three cases studied showed different ways of participating. Italian and French voters showed a considerable participation according to their tradition also because in the 1979 – 1989 period there was an interesting political debate. The Italian "pseudo-compulsory" vote kept the percentage of voters high, but the outcome showed changing directions during the above mentioned period. Looking at the outcomes got by the Front National the French case showed an escalation of the Right next to to a significant decline of the Communist Party. There was also a substantial dispersion of voting because of so many rolls, particularly during the 1989 elections. The British case is a special one for the particular behaviour towards the European integration process. The Conservative Party wanted to play an important role in the European context and for this reason European elections were considered as a way to succeed in it. On the contrary the Labour Party did not immediately understand the importance of such a crucial opportunity; the outcome of the 1979 European elections was disastrous and they met an evident defeat that therefore was useful to understand many things for future elections. All three countries have seen the progressive growth of the Green Party. The present study has paid constant attention to to the political debate in each country, and to the strategies implemented by the actors, who were aware from the beginning that the European challenge would engage them in different ways. It was, moreover, focused on the individual citizen's ability to determine the election outcome. Considering the outcome through the mere numerical data gives a partial view of the whole context. There are so many aspects that influenced the decision to vote or not. There was a selection among voters that showed citizens who desired a more political union operating a political and institutional strengthening in opposition to those who did not want to engage themselves in an election without any gain. An unconvinced political class, questionable information, lack of knowledge among citizens about the role of the European Parliament have built a different voter, a more attentive one, with a greater critical sense towards a newer context different from the national one. The diverse elements which have emerged from this interdiciplinary study have led to further insights. After historical considerations, a sociological analysis has been carried out on European elections as a whole and their "second order" perception. From these considerations a new picture has emerged, which is not in absolute contrast with the interpretation of the raw data. The quality and the quantity of so many factors allow a more complete picture of the facts, going beyond the mere participation on which, undoubtedly, the difference with the national presence is quite evident. Detailed examination appeared necessary in the light of the tortuous European building process, in order to take into account as many elements as possible, not only to justify the results, but rather because, to reflect on them trying to deploy a polycentric responsibility from the political forces to the citizens themselves.