Suchergebnisse

China's foreign economic relations dipped sharply after Tiananmen. International agencies and governments suspended loan negotiations while foreign investors lessened new commitments. Tourism plunged. The net effect cut foreign exchange earnings. But retrenchment measures to cool the overheated economy reduced imports, as did the lessened availability of credit, while exports increased. The balance of trade markedly improved. By mid-1990 foreign economic sanctions had been eased or lifted altogether. Various measures favored special economic zones and coastal enclaves for foreign investment, especially from Taiwan and Japan. Conservative attacks on policy, the recentralization of foreign exchange control, and stagnation in economic reform cause concern abroad, however. The differential development of interior versus coastal areas affects marketing and competitiveness. A likely succession struggle and the possible emergence of popular unrest continue to cloud foreign views.

Competitiveness is not only an economic matter; it is also a foreign policy issue. It requires the coordinated action of the state, business community and civil society. Global economic institutions now confront a new challenge to design strategies and roadmaps for reform that will build on the achievements of the past, and cope with an increasingly new set of ripples that poses risks to the orthodox practice of development and ignite a search for a new kind of diplomacy. A global dialogue on competitiveness and economic development is in the making, and small economies have a vested interest to be part of that dialogue. While small states have fewer resources to devote to the tasks of diplomacy and effective interaction with other states, this shortcoming can be reduced by alliances and networks, given the large number of small states with common interests. Small states in Europe are strategically placed to recalibrate that continent's approach to regional and international diplomacy in its quest to promote competitiveness, and sustain growth and equity in its development goals. As such, it can bring important lessons to the attention of other small states in the world and add considerably to the expectations of this exercise in global analytical leadership. ; peer-reviewed

1. Portugal and Iceland: Foreign policy constructed by smallness? -- 2. Portugal, the European Union and Shelter Theory -- 3. A Reluctant European: Iceland and European integration -- 4. Portugal and NATO: enduring alliance or necessary shelter? -- 5. The Small State and the Superpower: Iceland's Relations with the United States -- 6. Iceland´s Relations with the Nordic States -- 7. Portugal's contemporary relations with Africa: a limited shelter? -- 8. Sino-Icelandic Relations -- 9. The many shades of shelter: Portugal and Iceland´s quest for political, economic and societal shelter.