Suchergebnisse

The Lisbon reforms were aimed in particular at making the EU a more coherent and capable foreign policy player. Yet, in the face of the upheavals in its southern neighborhood, the EU and its Member States have not succeeded in crafting a common response nor have they jointly addressed the resulting challenges. To the contrary: in responding to the conflict in Libya, EU Member States have publicly taken opposing positions, bypassed High Representative Ashton and plunged the EU into another crisis. To prevent the ongoing erosion of the Union's security and defense policy, decisive policy measures are urgently needed. Here, the cooperation of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom will play a key role. Paris and London will only agree to strengthen the EU framework, however, if policy makers in Berlin are willing to make a substantial contribution to the military dimension of the CSDP

"Three events dominated Croatia's foreign policy in 2007 and 2008: the accession to NATO, the election into the UN Security Council, and the negotiations an EU accession. Regional policy has been dominated by Croatia's recognition of Kosovo's independence and political disputes with Slovenia concerning the Adriatic Sea border. The most important national event was the parliamentary election of 2007. Macroeconomic stability has been maintained by the monetary policy of the Croatian National Bank (HNB). Domestic policy has been dominated by anti-corruption campaigns in government institutions, the universities, the national healthcare system, local governments and other institutions. Organized crime groups have become more active. The government has responded by enacting 'anti-mafia' laws and measures, as well as by establishing new law-enforcement agencies to enable the institutions of the state to deal more efficiently with violence and crime." (author's abstract)

This study examines the impact of role prescriptions by international organisations on small state foreign and security policies. Focusing on Portugal, NATO and the EU, the study analyses primary sources (official documents) and blends role theory with insights of sociological institutionalism, finding empirical evidence of policy roles informed by prescribed appropriate standards of behaviour. The study uses a) sociological institutionalist views about the logic of appropriateness as a guiding frame, and b) international socialisation to account for internalisation of policy behaviour. This approach helps to validate a general set of conditions selected from the literature on international role prescriptions, in relation to NATO and the EU¿s CFSP (i.e., international position of these organisations, and prominence, endurance and concordance of the roles prescribed), and in relation to national role incorporation (national political rhetoric, policy planning and policy action).

This book is one of the principal outputs of the IFPRI Eastern Africa Food Policy Network. The Network, known then as the IFPRI 2020 Vision Network for Eastern Africa, was launched in 1998, in response to requests by several eastern African countries for assistance in generating policy-relevant information. Covering Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda, the Network engages in a range of activities in policy research, capacity strengthening, and outreach (policy communication), with a view to contributing to efforts to reduce poverty, improve food and nutrition security, increase agricultural productivity, and promote sustainable use of natural resources in the region. Beginning in 2000, the Network supported several research projects under its Competitive Grants Program. A total of 30 projects were supported across all 6 Network countries. This book summarizes the outputs of 11 of the best projects.1 ; PR ; IFPRI1; KMPO ; DSGD; ISNAR

Traditional theories of welfare state development divide into two camps: societal accounts and institutional accounts. The aim of the present article is to amend and enrich the institutional approach to US social policy by reconsidering key aspects of the genesis of the American welfare state: 1) showing that concepts such as 'policy feedback' and 'path dependence' need to be extended to encompass the effect of private social policies; and 2) taking policy paradigms and agenda setting more seriously than is the norm in institutional scholarship. The empirical analysis is divided into two parts. The first part explores the activities of the American Association for Labor Legislation (AALL) in the decade beginning in 1910 and the genesis of Social Security in the 1930s, while the second part examines the effect of the private benefit developments on policy choices between 1935 and 1965.

This book outlines challenges to the effective operation of regional economic communities (RECs) with regards to peacebuilding in Africa. Critically examining these issues from an interdisciplinary perspective, with a focus on comparative analysis of the status, role, and performances of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), it examines particular constraints to their effective participation in regional initiatives. Focussing on inadequate technical capabilities, the complicity of state and non-state actors in conflicts within a region, the domestic politics of member states, it additionally addresses related theories and practices of peacekeeping, security, development, and the peacebuilding nexus. It also engages provisioning, regionalism, and regional peacekeeping interventions, the legal and institutional framework of RECs, and civil society and peacebuilding. Fundamentally, the book asks how effective the alliances and partnerships are in promoting regional peace and security and how much they are compromised by the intervention of external powers and actors, exploring new ideas and actions that may strengthen capacities to address the peacebuilding challenges on the continent effectively. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of African politics and studies, peace and security studies, regionalism studies, policy practitioners in the field of African peacebuilding, and more broadly to international relations.

Interest in biofuels is growing worldwide as concerns about the security of energy supply and climate change are moving into the focus of policy makers. With the exception of bioethanol from Brazil, however, production costs of biofuels are typically much higher than those of fossil fuels.As a result,promotion measures such as tax exemptions or blending quotas are indispensable for ascertaining substantial biofuel demand.With particular focus on developing countries, this paper discusses the economic justification of biofuel promotion instruments and investigates their implications. Based on data from India and Tanzania, we find that substantial biofuel usage induces significant financial costs. Furthermore, acreage availability is a binding natural limitation that could also lead to conflicts with food production.Yet, if carefully implemented under the appropriate conditions, biofuel programs might present opportunities for certain developing countries.

Cover; Half-title; Title; Copyright; Contents; Preface; PART ONE. STUDYING THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT; FREEDOM THEN, FREEDOM NOW; PART TWO. LYNDON B. JOHNSON AND THE BLACK FREEDOM STRUGGLE; EXPLORING JOHNSON'S CIVIL RIGHTS POLICY; THE IMPROBABLE EMANCIPATOR; MIXING MODERATION WITH MILITANCY; PART THREE. CIVIL RIGHTS AND BLACK POLITICS; FROM BOYCOTTS TO BALLOTS; PRESERVING THE SECOND RECONSTRUCTION; THE UNMAKING OF THE SECOND RECONSTRUCTION; PART FOUR. FROM THE BOTTOM UP; FLORIDA'S LITTLE SCOTTSBORO; INVESTIGATIONS AND MASSIVE RESISTANCE; FROM SIT-IN TO RACE RIOT

1. Reform of central planning : orientation, methods, and limits (1991) -- 2. An economic analysis of housing reform (1991) -- 3. Moving toward an open economy (1992) -- 4. Fiscal and tax reform, and an overall economic analysis (1992) -- 5. Different paths toward achieving economic structural reform (1993) -- 6. The role of liberalized foreign trade in creating a more reasonable pricing system (November 1993) -- 7. Social security : economic analysis and systems engineering (1994) -- 8. Microeconomic concepts within the field of economics (March 1999) -- 9. Resolving to deal with the nonperforming loans of banks, and some pitfalls along the way (July 23, 1999) -- 10. Elevating our accounting standards (April 11, 2001) -- 11. Capital adequacy ratios and the need to take corrective action in time (September 12, 2003) -- 12. Several issues to do with reform of state-owned banks (April 16, 2004) -- 13. Promoting further development of capital markets by improving corporate governance (December 1, 2004) -- 14. Improving legal systems and reforming China's "financial ecosystem" (December 2, 2004) -- 15. China's corporate bond markets : experiences and lessons learned (October 20, 2005).

При формировании теоретической базы первейшей задачей является прояснение понятий и уточнение терминов. В практической деятельности социальной сферы набор базовых понятий ограничен, однако ни одно из них не имеет четкого, общепринятого понимания. Законодательное оформление регулирующего воздействия в любой сфере деятельности сознательно или неосознанно базируется на выработанных в науке представлениях, и законодатели оперируют набором терминов, принятых в соответствующей сфере знаний. Уточнение основных понятий в социальной сфере может способствовать расстановке приоритетов в государственной социальной политике, поскольку определение ключевых терминов связано с выбором модели социальной политики государства. Проблема выбора между «эффективностью» и «справедливостью» в социальной политике является актуальной для России в условиях проходящей экономической трансформации. ; Clarification of terms and definitions is the first item on the agenda when forming a theoretical base. The set of basic terms in social welfare is quite limited; however, none of them has a clear and generally accepted meaning or definition. The legal regulation in any sphere of social life is always based (knowingly, or unconsciously) on concepts and terms developed by theorists, and legislators utilize the set of terms and definitions agreed upon within a specific area of knowledge. Giving more precise definitions of the social welfare key concepts presumably facilitates priority-setting in the government welfare policy since the key terms are closely associated with the choice of the government welfare model. Under the current economic situation in Russia, the trade-off between efficiency and equity presents one of the major challenges in social policy.

This response to Rotte's (2004) critique of "End and Return of Keynesism" (2003) provides an opportunity to clarify misunderstandings & sharpen positions. The aim of the article was not the propagation of Keynesism, but rather clarification of the factual "renaissance of discretionary financing" & the increasing discrepancy between the words & acts of financial policy. Reality is a choice between the lesser of evils, where a return to discretionary financial policy gains time to prepare for the unavoidable & increasingly grave problem & its associated social conflicts. Rotte only provides cursory responses to the question of causes & economic & political alternatives in such a crisis. While Rotte is correct in warning that the social consequences of demographic structure shifts cannot be neglected, the problem is broader than only social security systems, & includes the economic growth that Rotte waits for. Since the mid-20th century the developed industrial nations have enjoyed uninterrupted exponential growth of fortunes, but the question remains as to how long this can go on. A central task for social theory & policy is to determine how this can end without crisis. 10 References. L. Kehl