Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'International economic relations Case studies'
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Chen, YuJane. "The economic security of Taiwan : a case study of cross-strait relations between Taiwan and China, 2000-2004." Thesis, University of Hull, 2007. http://hydra.hull.ac.uk/resources/hull:11083.
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This thesis aims to demonstrate that economic security is also a significant pillar of safeguarding national security. Aside from military security measures, adopting peaceful economic engagement and economic measures can be an alternative security policy choice through which a state may achieve its national security agenda. To facilitate an understanding of economic security, this thesis submits a working definition of economic security, which has been delineated as 'the protection of a core value from all forms of potential or actualised threat by using economic measures and policies'. The core value refers to national interests and security Objectives. With this framework, the current thesis takes Taiwan as a case study to assess Taiwan's effort of implementing economic security strategy to accomplish its national security agenda within the context of the complex and hostile cross-Strait relations yet growing economic integration. This research intends to answer three categories of questions. Firstly, how large is the cost to Taiwan of pursuing economic security vis-a-vis China, and what is Taiwan's capability to afford such cost? Secondly, what factors would contribute to or undermine Taiwan's efforts in practising economic security, and to what extent? Thirdly, do cross-Strait economic ties strengthen or weaken Taiwan's economic security with respect to its economic performance, and to what extent? From three perspectives, this study analyses the above questions. Firstly, it analyses how Taiwan has employed economic power to construct its national security within the international system. Secondly, it examines how Taiwan has utilised economic measures to resist China's political and economic influence. Thirdly, from an economic perspective, it examines whether Taiwan's economic security objectives, in the context of its capability of sustaining economic prosperity, have been enhanced when it has engaged in economic exchange with China.
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Habiyakare, Evariste. "A long way to the rainbow country : understanding the foreign market expansion process of Finnish corporations into the Republic of South Africa between 1990 and 2005 /." Åbo : Åbo Akademis förlag, 2009. http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-765-472-2.
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Nepgen, Arnold. "The impact of globalisation on trade unions : Cosatu’s present and future engagement in international issues." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/1951.
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Thesis (MA (Political Science. International Studies))--Stellenbosch University, 2008.The effects of ‘accelerated globalisation’ can not be denied when observing modern innovations shaping human life. Its development and consequent revolutionary impact is unlike any other in modern history. The last half of the twentieth century witnessed changes in exponential terms, such as informational and technological innovations that constantly redefine the way people function. This study focuses on the effect of globalisation on trade unions, paying particular attention to the formation of liberal economic conditions, the rise of global capital flows, and the diversification of workers, working conditions and employment patterns. Globalisation has led to the formation of new social, economic, and political conditions which have made it increasingly difficult for trade unions to function in traditional ways. At the heart of this lies the fundamental opposition of capital to labour, and increasingly so under conditions of global competition. Trade unions, are organisations that represent worker interests through solidarity and strength in numbers, traditionally at the national level but increasingly they are being challenged on a global level. Thus, due to various internal and external factors, the situation many unions find themselves in is one of survival instead of growth and influence. The case study of Cosatu was chosen due to the benefit of analysing the organisation’s past success as well as present situation. Although it has not been unaffected by the problems facing unions worldwide, it has managed to achieve some notable successes in the process. The practice of social movement unionism has been highly effective in mobilising under-represented groups, and is found to still be effective in South Africa, although at a diminished scale. It is imperative for all unions to restructure the way they function so as to incorporate previously marginalised groups, to utilise technology and globalisation to their advantage, and to educate potential new entrants to the labour market.
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Westerlund, Olivia Banks. "The Effectiveness of Foreign Aid on Corruption Eradication in Developing Countries’ Institutions. : A Qualitative Case Study Related to International Relations Studies with A Focus on A West African Country: Nigeria." Thesis, Karlstads universitet, Institutionen för samhälls- och kulturvetenskap (from 2013), 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-82554.
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Abstract. Foreign aid's effectiveness on eradicating corruption is a fragile yet complex topic to research in International Relations. Some scholars argue that economic aid should not be given without specific conditions, while some argue that aid should be given with strict or specific rules to recipient countries. Par contra my research is aimed at examining one recipient country: Nigeria, as a case study which is considered amongst the most corrupt countries in the world yet are highly enriched in natural resources, such as being the major oil-producing country in Africa that boosts the country's GDP per capita through the export trade with foreign countries. And most foreign donor countries allocate economic aid to Nigeria because they are dependent on the country's trade on natural resources. In this research, I used two conceptualised variables of corruption; bribery and facilitate payment, which is considered the most common corruption trends in the Nigerian society, with the aim of analysing the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime's (UNODC) twelve-month survey report conducted in December 2019 in Nigeria. Alongside with the London 2016 Anti-Corruption Summit report, the current agenda agreed by forty countries with over six hundred commitments, which Nigeria participated in—hence creating the national anti-corruption programmes that the current President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari implemented as a commitment to the Summit. Consequently using legitimacy and governance perspectives to analyse the efficacy of aid in Nigeria's institution, and evaluating the country's alliance of economic aid in combating corruption, whilst identifying the state's level of governance towards anti-corruption policies to eradicate corruption. The findings show that the level of corruption in Nigeria is still very much high within the public sectors and shows that three in four citizens encounter a form of corruption such as bribery, daily with a civilian who demands a bribe in exchange for their services. And facilitation payment is considered a common activity of Nigerian citizens to speed up legal procedures with the governmental institutions. Even though the Nigerian government claims that the national anti-corruption policies are effective, the survey still shows that there less amount of reported official persons in the conduct of corruption and also the policies doesn't show a trend that the official persons do abide by the policies because the rate of transparency within the institutions is very much low. Yet these official persons intend to be in denial of collecting bribes or participating in any form of corruption.
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Magwaza, Mayibuye Matthew. "South Africa and Japan - a bureaucratic policy analysis." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/85570.
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Thesis (MA)-- Stellenbosch University, 2013.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study applies a modified bureaucratic policy process model to analyse contemporary South African – Japanese relations, particularly in regards to a proposed Economic Partnership Agreement, and the experiences of Japanese agencies within South Africa. South Africa and Japan are major trade partners, and the Japanese government has a significant presence in the African aid scene via the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), and through the works of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). South African – Japanese relations have been documented in a modest but respectable fashion by a range of researchers, including Alden, Skidmore and Osada. The bureaucratic policy process model has been used in an array of studies on international relations and decision making, notably by Graham Allison. However, it has not been previously applied to South African – Japanese relations. As a result, there is a dearth of information on how bureaucratic dynamics affect Japanese – South African relations. In response to this, a modified bureaucratic policy process model is used to analyse contemporary South African – Japanese governmental relations. A literature review of primary and secondary sources is undertaken, consisting of a historical review of South African – Japanese relations. Following this, a brief overview of contemporary literature on South African – Japanese relations is performed. This includes both secondary sources and primary sources relating to government bureaucracies current priorities and strategies. Material on TICAD is included in this section. Interviews with government officials from both the Japanese and South African governments are carried out using a modified snowball sampling system. The interviews provide insights into the different bureaucratic organization’s priorities and programmes, as well as their relationships with other organizations. From this data, two emergent themes are addressed: the failure of a contemplated Free Trade Agreement / Economic Partnership Agreement and the way in which Japanese agencies, particularly JICA, operate within the South Africa context. It is found that the FTA failed due to welfare concerns from the South African Department of Trade and Industry, as well as greater complications relating to trade agreements in general. These greater complications stem from the involvement of regional bodies such as the South African Customs Union. Japanese agencies are found to be constrained within South Africa by a lack of resources as well as by the independent and somewhat sceptical attitude of South African government agencies towards Japanese aid efforts. It is proposed that the relevance of extra national bureaucracies to the decision making process surrounding the FTA has implications for deploying the bureaucratic policy process model, which has generally only considered national bureaucracies in discussing how decisions are made. It is further suggested that South African trade deals are complicated by the country’s location within the South African Customs Union and the South African Development Community, and the consequent need to consult and negotiate with third parties who are likely to be impacted by such deals. Finally, it is suggested that because both South Africa and Japan face significant, but different economic challenges, they should prioritise improving their economic relations.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie het ’n aangepaste burokratiese beleidsprosesmodel gebruik om die hedendaagse betrekkinge tussen Suid-Afrika en Japan te ontleed, veral wat betref ’n voorgestelde ekonomiese vennootskapsooreenkoms tussen die twee lande en die ervarings van Japannese agentskappe in Suid-Afrika. Suid-Afrika en Japan is groot handelsvennote, en die Japannese regering handhaaf ’n beduidende teenwoordigheid op die Afrika-hulptoneel deur middel van die Tokiose Internasionale Konferensie oor Afrika-ontwikkeling (TICAD) en die werk van die Japannese Internasionale Samewerkingsagentskap (JICA). Verskeie navorsers, waaronder Alden, Skidmore en Osada, het die betrekkinge tussen Suid-Afrika en Japan al op beskeie dog aansienlike wyse beskryf. Die burokratiese beleidsprosesmodel is al in ’n rits studies oor internasionale betrekkinge en besluitneming gebruik, in die besonder deur Graham Allison. Tog is dit nog nooit voorheen op betrekkinge tussen Suid-Afrika en Japan toegepas nie. Dus bestaan daar weinig inligting oor hoe burokratiese dinamiek die betrekkinge tussen hierdie twee lande raak. In antwoord hierop is ’n aangepaste burokratiese beleidsprosesmodel dus gebruik om die hedendaagse staatsbetrekkinge tussen Suid-Afrika en Japan te ontleed. Eerstens is ’n literatuuroorsig van primêre en sekondêre bronne onderneem wat uit ’n historiese oorsig van betrekkinge tussen Suid-Afrika en Japan bestaan het. Daarná is ’n oorsig van kontemporêre literatuur oor die verhoudinge tussen die twee lande onderneem. Dít het sowel sekondêre as primêre bronne met betrekking tot die huidige prioriteite en strategieë van staatsburokrasieë ingesluit. Hierdie afdeling sluit ook materiaal oor TICAD in. Onderhoude met staatsamptenare van die Japannese sowel as die Suid-Afrikaanse regerings is met behulp van ’n aangepaste stelsel van sneeubalsteekproefneming gevoer. Die onderhoude bied insig in die verskillende burokratiese organisasies se prioriteite en programme, sowel as hul verhoudings met ander organisasies. Twee temas wat uit hierdie data na vore gekom het, is vervolgens bespreek: die mislukking van ’n beoogde vryehandel-/ekonomiese vennootskapsooreenkoms, en die funksionering van Japannese agentskappe, veral JICA, in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks. Daar word bevind dat die vryehandelsooreenkoms misluk het weens welsynsbesware van die Suid-Afrikaanse Departement van Handel en Nywerheid, sowel as groter komplikasies met betrekking tot handelsooreenkomste in die algemeen. Hierdie groter komplikasies hou verband met die betrokkenheid van streeksliggame soos die Suider-Afrikaanse Doeane-unie. Voorts blyk Japannese agentskappe in Suid-Afrika aan bande gelê te word deur ’n gebrek aan hulpbronne, sowel as Suid-Afrikaanse staatsagentskappe se onafhanklike en effens skeptiese houding jeens Japannese hulppogings. Die studie doen aan die hand dat die relevansie van bykomende nasionale burokrasieë in die besluitnemingsproses oor die vryehandelsooreenkoms bepaalde implikasies inhou vir die gebruik van die burokratiese beleidsprosesmodel, wat meestal slegs rekening hou met enkele nasionale burokrasieë se rol in besluitneming. Voorts blyk dit dat Suid-Afrikaanse handelstransaksies bemoeilik word deur die land se lidmaatskap van die Suider-Afrikaanse Doeane-unie en die Suider-Afrikaanse Ontwikkelingsgemeenskap, en die gevolglike behoefte om oorleg te pleeg met derde partye wat waarskynlik deur sulke transaksies geraak sal word. Laastens word aangevoer dat aangesien Suid-Afrika en Japan met beduidende dog verskillende ekonomiese uitdagings te kampe het, die verbetering van ekonomiese betrekkinge tussen die twee lande nou voorrang behoort te geniet.
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Jalota, Annie. "India: Subsidy State or Developmental State?" Scholarship @ Claremont, 2013. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/645.
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India does not fit easily into existing models of thought on the nature of a state and defies ease of understanding. Though India is most often considered to be a subsidy state, I show in this thesis the notion of the subsidy state does not capture the true nature of the Indian state. Chapter two of the paper looks at various models of understanding the nature of the Indian state and draw out three essential features: competing interest groups, how economic liberalization facilitates corruption and works against India’s aim of equalizing the capabilities and freedoms of all its citizens, and the role of the Indian state in development and how the failure to engage its citizens in the process has resulted in the current system. Chapter three looks at subsidies and cash transfers, discussing the problem of targeting and the design of programs. The fourth chapter, I share the methodology I used to categorize 581 centrally sponsored schemes. I did this to be able to disaggregate centrally sponsored schemes. For each scheme, I identified the state associated with each scheme, the target groups (intended beneficiaries) of each scheme, the types of benefits delivered, whether the receipt of the benefits were conditional or not, and the relevant policy areas of each scheme. I concluded that a closer look at the Indian state reveals that India may actually be more accurately identified as a developmental state which facilitates the enhancement of its citizens’ capabilities and freedoms.
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Mabuza, Linda Tengetile. "The influence of organisational culture on a high commitment work system and organisational commitment : the case of a Chinese multinational corporation in South Africa." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017768.
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Chinese presence in Africa has been rapidly increasing in the past few years and has been speculated to be mainly due to China seeking Africa’s political alliance and access to Africa’s natural resources and growing consumer markets. The growing presence of Chinese organisations in Africa, however, has not been without its challenges. In particular, Chinese multinational corporations (MNCs) in search of consumer markets in Africa have been cited as facing human resource (HR) challenges which may affect their organisational performance. In this regard, literature on human resource management has already established the important role of organisational culture, HR practices and organisational commitment in enabling organisations to achieve superior organisational performance. Given the fact that there is currently little research knowledge of Chinese presence in Africa at the organisational level, this research aimed to contribute empirical knowledge to the growing body of research in this area. Specifically, the main purpose of this research was to examine how the organisational culture of a Chinese MNC’s South African subsidiary has shaped the nature of its high commitment work system (HCWS) and to assess the consequences thereof on organisational commitment. In alignment with the phenomenological paradigm, the research applied a descriptive and explanatory case study methodology in order to generate rich, qualitative data which was required for in-depth descriptions and to uncover the underlying interactions of the researched phenomena at the subsidiary. The selected case for the research was, therefore, a Chinese MNC operating in the personal computer (PC) industry, which had expanded its operations to South Africa in order to reach Africa’s growing consumer markets. In particular, the South African subsidiary served as a PC sales and distribution organisation for the Chinese MNC. There were about 40 employees at the subsidiary who were all South African employees. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with twelve employees from different job functions and across different job levels. Data collection was guided by the theoretical frameworks by Cameron and Freeman (1991) for organisational culture and Xiao and Bjorkman (2006) for the HCWS and organisational commitment. The data collected from interviews was then analysed through a qualitative, content analysis process. The findings of the research thus pointed to the market culture as the dominant organisational culture type at the South African subsidiary of the Chinese MNC; characteristics of the adhocracy and clan cultures were also discovered. The externally oriented market culture was found to be the most relevant for the high performance and market leadership aspirations of the subsidiary. The market culture also appears to be the most appropriate organisational culture that would enable the subsidiary to deal with the competitive nature of the PC industry. Furthermore, it was found that certain cultural values emphasised by the Confucian and Ubuntu value systems could have had a part to play in the formation of the subsidiary’s organisational culture. The market culture was also found to have had the greatest influence in shaping the primarily performance oriented HCWS practices. Of the investigated HR practices at the subsidiary, all were found to be consistent with HCWS practices, with the exception of ownership practices and the performance appraisal system. Finally, although there were generally high levels of organisational commitment reported at the subsidiary, other job and organisational context factors besides the HCWS practices were found to be the major contributors to those feelings of organisational commitment. By investigating the organisational culture, HCWS and organisational commitment of a Chinese MNC in South Africa, this research has added to the body of knowledge concerning the growing presence of Chinese organisations in Africa. Based on the empirical findings of this study, several recommendations have been made in an attempt to assist the Chinese MNC manage the organisational commitment of its South African employees towards superior organisational performance.
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Bester, Juan. "The political economy of the intellectual property rights regime : Aids and the generic medicine debate in South Africa." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/53144.
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Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2002.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis is a descriptive and interpretive study into the political economy of intellectual property rights, the conceptual and practical implications for the phenomenon of global governance, and how developing countries experience problems with the implementation of national policies that infringe on international intellectual property rights. The specific area of interest is the generic medicine debate that ensued in South Africa after the alleged violation of patent rights of anti-HIV/Aids drugs by the Department of Health. The research question that is addressed is to what extent has the existing international intellectual property rights regime been influenced and/or undermined by South Africa's intended application of WTO regulations in terms of compulsory licensing and parallel imports of "essential" medicines. In doing so, the paper examines the roles of the important states, international organisations, institutions, and private sector firms within the sphere ofthe political economy of intellectual property and how they impede upon or improve the functioning of the intellectual property rights regime. The methodology entails analytical inquiries into documentary evidence on the nature of the international intellectual property rights regime. Areas that are examined are the agendas of the important actors, namely states and their respective departments; individuals and firms; and international organisations. The concept of intellectual property is examined to determine its dynamic role within the generic medicine debate. The thesis concludes that the agendas of pharmaceutical firms and states are exploiting current political stalemates in the negotiations for a fair intellectual property rights regime. National health agencies, and specifically the South African Department of Health, are under enormous pressure to provide affordable health services. Specifically, the US Government and US pharmaceutical firms are dominating discussions on the architecture of the international intellectual property law regime. By using an analysis incorporating systemic, domestic interest, institutional, and ideational perspectives, it is argued that South Africa's drive for a more distributive intellectual property rights regime has placed the issue of health, Aids and generic medicine firmly within the sphere of the political economy of trade agreements.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis is 'n deskriptiewe en 'n interpretiewe studie oor die politieke ekonomie van intellektuele eiendomsregte, die konseptuele en praktiese implikasies vir die verskynsel van globale regering, en hoe ontwikkelende lande probleme ervaar met die implimentering van nasionale beleid wat internasionale intellektuele eiendomsregte aantas. Die spesifieke area van belang is die generiese medisyne debat wat onstaan het na die beweerde skending van patentregte van anti-HIVNigs medisyne deur die Departement van Gesondheid. Die navorsingsvraag wat beantwoord word behels die omvang van die impak van Suid- Afrika se voorgenome toepassing van WTO bepalinge, met betrekking tot die verpligte lisensiering en parallelle invoer van "essensiele" medisyne, op die bestaande internasionale intellektuele eiedomsreg regime. Hierdie tesis ondersoek vervolgens die rol van state, internasionale organisasies, instellings, en privaat sector firmas binne die sfeer van die politieke ekonomie van intellektuele eiendom en hoe hulle afsonderlik die funksionaliteit van die intellektuele eiendomsregte regime beïnvloed. Die metodologie behels 'n analitiese ondersoek van die literatuur oor die aard van internasionale intellektuele eiendomsreg regimes. Areas wat ondersoek word, is die agendas van belangrike akteurs, naamlik die staat en sy onderskeie departemente; individue en firmas; asook internasionale organisasies en instellings. Die konsep van intellektuele eiendom word ondersoek om die dinamiese uitwerking daarvan op die generiese medisyne debat te verstaan. Hierdie tesis voer aan dat die agendas van firmas, spesifiek farmaseutiese firmas en state die huidige politieke dooiepunt in die onderhandeling rondom 'n regverdige intellektuele iendomsregte-regime, uitbuit. Nasionale instellings, soos die Suid-Afrikaanse Departement van Gesondheid, is onder groot druk om bekostigbare gesondheidsdienste te lewer. Die VSA en farmaseutiese firmas domineer onderhandelinge vir 'n nuwe struktuur vir die internasionale eiendomsregte-regime. Deur gebruik te maak van 'n analitiese raamwerk wat sistemiese, interne belange, institusionele, en ideologies perspektiewe inkorporeer, word daar geargumenteer dat Suid-Afrika se pogings om 'n meer distributiewe intellektuele eiendomsregte regime te verseker, die probleem van gesondheid, Vigs, en generiese medisyne binnne die sfeer van die politieke ekonomie van handelsooreenkomste, plaas.
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Woldemariam, Kasahun Reta. "A comparative case study of private investment and economic development in Ethiopia and Tanzania, 1986-1996." DigitalCommons@Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center, 2000. http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/dissertations/482.
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This study examined the contribution of foreign direct investment to economic development in Ethiopia and Tanzania from 1986 to 1996. Data for this study were obtained from the Ethiopian Investment Authority in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and the Tanzanian Investment Promotion Centre in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Other publications including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the United Nations Human Development Programme were also consulted. Using exploratory research method, this undertaking compared and contrasted foreign investment flows and the conditions under which the transfer of capital and technology help achieve the development objectives of the two countries. It also analyzed the investment policies and the role ofthe state in the transformation of the economies of Ethiopia and Tanzania. The results of the study suggest that the expectation that foreign technology and capital are necessary to transform the economies of Ethiopia and Tanzania is not fully confirmed. Moreover, the results of the study suggest that the investment policies were not reflective of the countries’ unique economic conditions. Additionally, the transformation of these economies from underdevelopment to development may be enhanced by strengthening the capacity of the state to build the human capital stock, provide reliable communication systems, and regulate anti-competitive practices.
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Saqer, Ali. "The visible power of the transnational capitalist class : the case of the World Economic Forum." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2015. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/79438/.
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This thesis examines the role of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the rule-making of 21st century global governance. If offers a critique of existing accounts on the transnational capitalist class (TCC) and the WEF, as a site of this class, that are based on an artificial differentiation between state and market actors. Such artificiality assumes a power relationship that allows market actors to discipline state managers and shape the state’s policy-making along their accepted principles and norms. Thus, the involvement of the state in the WEF’s activities is viewed as a manifestation of this disciplinary power. The thesis argues that the state participates in such activities in response to the imperative of managing capital-labour relations at a global level necessary to reproduce the capitalist social relations of production within its jurisdictions. From an Open Marxist perspective, it argues that the state is a political manifestation of class struggle and an inherent feature of the social relations of capital accumulation. Whilst this indicates that state managers pursue policies that favour the reproduction of the social relations of production, this imperative is not deterministic or a reflection of the disciplinary power of the market. This thesis shows that the argument that the WEF has an influence over the state’s social and economic policy-making is not supported by evidence. It presents a substantial, archive-based, re-assessment of the influence of the WEF’s discourse of international competitiveness over the state. It shows through studying the institutionalisation of competitiveness in the UK how the country has responded selectively to the imperative of state competitiveness. It demonstrates that the engagement of state managers with the discourse of competitiveness is an attempt to secure the circulation of global capital within the economy in order to help reproducing capital accumulation that drives economic growth, employment and living standards.
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Liebman, Benjamin H. "Three empirical studies on the political economy of U.S. trade protection /." view abstract or download file of text, 2003. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/uoregon/fullcit?p3095259.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2003.Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-106). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.
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Zamuee, Zanata Clarence. "International economic integration and financial contagion vulnerability : the case of South Africa." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/6409.
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Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--Stellenbosch University, 2008.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The phenomenon of globalisation has seen the closer integration of the world's countries and people. The result of this, is that overall, the world economy has grown substantially. On the flip side, globalisation has greatly increased the exposure of individual countries to occurrences elsewhere in the world. This latter statement is witnessed by the events such as the spread of financial crises from source countries to third party countries that do not seem to have any obvious ties with the crisis-source countries. This has been termed financial contagion. This study seeks to break new ground by focussing on trade-related issues of contagion rather than presenting the usual macro-economic, financial, and political perspectives. A model that considers the trade pattern of countries as linkages tying together countries around the world as a whole (network) is used. This study uses the network approach to international trade as an integration measure and ascertains the occurrence of contagion in South Africa. These parameters will then be used to establish whether trade network integration can be used to explain financial contagion affecting South Africa (and extended to other countries). Two hypotheses are designed and tested in order to establish this. Two measures are used to determine the level of integration of the four study countries. The two measures are country centrality and country importance index. Comparative analysis done showed that all four countries are relatively highly integrated and are in close proximity for both degree centrality and importance. A summary of both indicators of integration measures relative to other countries in the trade network indicate that Mexico, Russia, South Africa and Thailand are well integrated in the network. Secondly the difference in ranking amongst these countries is not significant. Three financial crises are used namely, the Mexican Tequila (1994), the Asian Flu (1997) and the Russian Virus (1998). The contagion testing methodology applied uses the cross-market correlation coefficients between crisis-country and test-country. It is shown that there is no evidence to suggest that South Africa (JSE) was contagiously affected by any of the three financial crises. Only interdependence seems to have existed between the South African market and the crises countries. Evidence shows that countries that are, relatively, highly integrated with the crisis epicentre in terms of the international trade are more immune to episodes of contagion. It is shown further that the relative position of the crisis-suspect country to the crisis epicentre countries, in terms of integration in the international economic landscape, can provide susceptibility indications of that particular country.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die fenomeen van globalisering het gelei tot 'n groter integrasie van die wereld se lande en mense. Die gevolg hiervan is, dat oor die algemeen die wereld ekonomie beduidend gegroei het. Aan die ander kant het globalisering gelei tot die toename in blootstelling van individuele lande aan gebeurtenisse elders in die wereld. Die laasgenoemde stelling getuig van die gebeure, soos die verspreiding van finansiele krisisse vanaf die land van oorsprong tot 'n derde party land wat op die oog af geen ooglopende bande met die krisis-bron lande gehad het nie. Hierdie verskynsel word finansiele besmetting genoem. Hierdie studie beoog om nuwe lig te werp op die saak deur om te fokus op handelsverwante kwessies van besmetting eerders as om die gewone makro-ekonomiese, finansiele en politieke perspektiewe voor te le. 'n Model word gebruik wat die handelspatrone van lande voorstel as 'n samesnoering van lande dwarsoor die wereld as 'n netwerk. Hierdie studie gebruik die netwerk uitgangspunt vir internasionale handel, as 'n integrasie maatstaf en stel vas wat die voorkoms van besmetting in Suid-Afrika is. Hierdie parameters sal dan gebruik word om vas te stel handelsnetwerk integrasie gebruik kan word om die finansiele besmetting wat Suid Alrika (en verspreiding na ander lande) affekteer. Twee hipotese (veronderstellings) word ontwerp en getoets om bogenoemde te bewys. Twee maatstawwe word gebruik om die vlak van integrasie van die vier studie-lande te bepaal. Die twee maatstawwe is 'n land se sentralisasie en die land se belangrikheidsindeks. Vergelykende analise het gewys dat al vier lande relatief hoogs geintegreer is en parallel is in beide sentralisasie en belangrikheid. 'n Opsomming van beide aanduidings t.o.v. integrasie maatstawwe, relatief tot ander lande in die handelsnetwerk, toon dat Meksiko, Rusland en Thailand goed geintegreer is in die netwerk. Tweedens die verskil in rang tussen die lande is nie beduidend nie. Drie finansiele krisisse word gebruik naamlik die Meksikaanse Tequila (1994), die Asiatiese Griep (1997) en die Russiese Virus (1998). Die besmettings waarnemings metodologie gebruik die krisismark korrelasie medewerkende faktore tussen die krisisland en die toets-land. Dit wys dat daar geen getuienis is wat te kenne gee dat Suid Afrika (JSE) besmet is deur enige van die drie krisisse nie. Slegs onderlinge afhanklikheid kom voor tussen die Suid Afrikaanse mark en die krisislande. Dit is bewys dat lande, wat relatief hoog geintegreer is met die krisis episenter, in terme van internasionale handel, meer immuun teen episodes van besmetting is. Verder het dit bewys dat die relatiewe posisie van die krisis-vermeende land tot die krisis episenter lande, in terme van integrasie in die internasionale ekonomiese landskap, vatbare indikasies vir daardie spesifieke land kan verskaf.
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Cordeiro, Neto Jacinto Rangel Lopes. "The international dimensions of poverty relief : a comparative case study of Angola and Zambia." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/53653.
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Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2003.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This report seeks to investigate the extent and success of multilateral foreign aid aimed at poverty alleviation in two countries, Angola and Zambia. Links between aid, economic growth, and poverty alleviation are also investigated. It is found that aid alone cannot create economic growth in order to alleviate poverty, and growth from aid alone is not sustainable - as the case study of Zambia shows. In Zambia, aid did not have enough impact to change the legacy of unsound economic polices, as the institutions that led these processes lacked the capacity to design sound policies to manage the aid projects. In the case of Angola, the whole process of using aid for poverty alleviation was seriously retarded by the civil war. The war is clearly one of the major causes of the poverty that exists in Angola - unlike in the case of Zambia where poverty is a chronic situation. As poverty alleviation is critical to both these countries, they should concentrate on empowering the poor with capacity-building skills, and multilateral aid should promote this. In terms of aid agreements with multilateral institutions, conditions must be in place before aid is granted to promote the interests of the poor. Well-designed aid can be successfully implemented, and can be sustainable. However, this will work only if all stakeholders from the bottom to the top are actively involved in the planning through to the implementing stages. Apart from empowering the poor, government and multilateral agencies also need to encourage the growth of the private sector in these two countries.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie verslag stelondersoek in na die omvang en sukses van multilaterale hulpverlening aan Zambië en Angola wat gemik is op die verligting van armoede. Die verband tussen hulpverlening, ekonomiese groei en armoedeverligting word ook ondersoek. Daar word bevind dat hulpverlening nie outomaties aanleiding gee tot groei -plus-armoedeverligting nie, en dat ekonomiese groei wat op hulpverlening gebaseer is, onvolhoubaar is, soos Zambië illustreer. In Zambië kon hulpverlening nie daarin slaag om swak ekonomiese beleid reg te ruk nie, vanweë die gebrek aan institusionele kapasiteit. In die geval van Angola was pogings om hulp te benut vir armoedeverligting ernstig in die wiele gery deur die burgeroorlog, een van die hoofoorsake van armoede in Angola. Aaangesien armoedeverligting "n kritiese uitdaging vir albei state is, moet die armes bemagtig word deur kapasiteitsbou, en multilaterale hulp moet daarvoor geoormerk word. Dit impliseer dat hulpverleningsooreenkomste aan voorwaardes wat die armes bevoordeel, onderworpe moet wees. Goed-ontwerpte hulp kan suksesvol toegepas word, en kan volhoubaar wees. Dit voorveronderstel egter dat alle belangegroepe aktief betrek word. Naas die bevordering van die belange van die armes, moet die privaatsektor in albei state ook verder uitgebou word.
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Williamson, Martin Charles. "How has the United States leveraged economic crises into its hegemony? : a case study of the Bretton Woods regime's demise and replacement, 1969-76." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10871/33282.
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International monetary and financial crises have punctuated US hegemony since 1945. With US hegemony likely to endure and crises likely to recur, we need to understand how the US reacts to such events: benevolently or exploitatively? Using a case study of US behaviour during the 1969-76 international monetary crisis, this thesis challenges narratives that interpret events in terms of the concentration or deconcentration of power in the US hegemon, and favours an explanation of US behaviours based on the interplay of US domestic politics and international security imperatives. Using a Constructivist definition of hegemony and a neoclassical realist theoretical framework, I analyse the crisis from the perspectives of the international monetary order and system, respectively. I introduce a novel division of Strange’s concept of structural power into its negative and positive components (the power to disrupt or create international structures, respectively). Using these analytical tools, I analyse documents held in the UK and US National archives, President Nixon’s White House tapes and the Bank of England archive. Key and original findings include: - US tactics veered between hegemony by consent and, when that failed to yield the desired results, hegemony through domination; - domination tactics could be brutal, as when President Nixon and his National Security Advisor, Kissinger, tried to wreck European integration by destroying its first attempt at monetary union. Their intention was to advance the US’ security agenda by weakening EEC states; - Kissinger intervened in the Committee of Twenty’s negotiations to delay agreement on international monetary reform (despite the US being on the verge of achieving its objectives) until European states had acceded to what he wanted on security in the “Year of Europe” negotiations. Delay killed US plans to return to fixed exchange rates; - hegemonic stability theory-based explanations of events are challenged by the US terminating its Bretton Woods regime, persuading follower states to introduce generalised floating and blocking international monetary reform; - structural Realist and Marxist narratives of the crisis are challenged, inter alia, by President Ford abandoning Nixon’s attempts to strengthen US hegemony in favour of a laissez-faire solution to the international monetary crisis; - the decisions creating the basis of a neoliberal international monetary order (the introduction of floating exchange rates and free capital mobility) were taken for US international security or domestic political reasons, as neoclassical realism theory would predict. These decisions had profound economic consequences, but were not taken for economic reasons.
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Pham, Gia Son. "A political economy approach to the impact of the WTO's accession process on Vietnam's economic reform : a case of compliance?" Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2013. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/3499/.
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This research examines the impact of the WTO accession process on the economic reform process of Vietnam. The WTO accession provided a decisive external force to accelerate and lock-in domestic reforms. Accession acted as a template to inform and structure the reform process. The process was utilised by reformers help rescue Vietnam from economic crisis. With the extensive reform of economic institutions, the opening up to the market economy and the input of foreign capital, the Vietnamese economy showed rapid growth, moving from being the poorest country in the world to a middle ranking economy by 2013. In the first and second chapters the objectives of the thesis are explained and the contextual framework and research design are presented, with the focus being on the economic reform of Vietnam. A literature review is followed by a comparative analysis of China’s accession to the WTO. In the third and fourth chapters, both the Vietnam political and economic systems and processes are presented in the context of Vietnam’s transition from a centrally commanded economy to a market economy. A full examination is made done of the Communist Party and its governance mechanisms. Chapters five, six and seven concentrate on three case studies that evaluate the impact of the WTO on three Vietnam economic sectors; Agriculture, Banking and Textiles. The conclusion demonstrates that the thesis research provides a unique new contribution to the literature as it revealed limits to the reach of WTO accession in accelerating domestic reforms. It identified the structural impediments to the fullfledged transformation of what was an insulated command economy into a globally integrated market economy. Endemic corruption, a growing debt burden and the influence of a powerful and wealthy elite interest group now threaten the Vietnam economy with a severe financial crisis. The reforms have failed to provide the necessary tools to avert the impending crisis. How and why this is the case is explained in the thesis.
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Coe, Andrew. "Economic Origins of War and Peace." Thesis, Harvard University, 2012. http://dissertations.umi.com/gsas.harvard:10633.
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Why do wars happen, and what do societies fight over? Why are international relations sometimes fearful and aggressive and other times harmonious? I show that these questions can be fruitfully explored by importing some basic economic theory into the existing bargaining theory of war. A separate essay analyzes the interactions between the United States and countries that may be pursuing nuclear weapons. "Costly Peace: A New Rationalist Explanation for War" posits a new explanation for war: sometimes peace is more costly (in the sense of leaving both sides worse off in expectation) than war. This means that some wars improve overall welfare relative to peace. I develop models for three common sources of costly peace tailored to particular wars and analyze them to expose the common underlying logic for war. The costs of: arming explain the Iraq War; imposition explain the civil conflicts within Iraq after the earlier Gulf War; and predation explain the American War of Independence. "The Modern Economic Peace" develops a theory of the origins of international disputes, in which the economic conflict of interests between two states is determined by the benefits and costs of transferring wealth from one state's economy to the other's. Whether such a transfer happens depends on the military situation between the two states and also the characteristics of their economies and governments. Nations with sensitive, integrated ("modern") economies of comparable size and representative governments have little to fight over. This might explain not only the puzzling comity of the West, but also long-run global patterns in organized violence, economic liberalization, and democratization. "A Model of Arms Proliferation and Prevention" is co-authored with Muhammet Bas. We develop a formal model of bargaining between two states, where one can invest in developing nuclear weapons and the other imperfectly observes its efforts and progress over time, and use it to analyze the occurrence of proliferation and war, the viability of non-proliferation agreements, and the role of intelligence-gathering and estimates. The model explains some of the complex phenomena that occur in these interactions, such as mistaken wars, cyclical crises, and the failure of non-proliferation deals.Government
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Rodriguez, Pardo Luis Roberto. "The political economy of state-oil relations : institutional case studies of Venezuela and Norway." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.326943.
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Aho, Kelsey B. "Transboundary agreement| Case studies of marine mammal management in the bering strait." Thesis, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10245619.
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The effectiveness of a state's natural resource management is rendered meaningless if the particular resource migrates into another state's jurisdiction. In the case of marine mammals, inadequate management of the species anywhere along their annual migration could make food insecure for the regional human populations. My research evaluates to what extent International Environmental Agreements have been able to manage transboundary challenges to food security. Two case studies, the Polar Bear Agreement (2000) and the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (1946), are analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively using Ronald Mitchell's four factors for describing variation of International Environmental Agreements' effectiveness: incentives, capacities, information, and norms. To ensure food security in the Bering Strait, this thesis stresses the importance of local concerns, norms and stakeholders. Transboundary management includes stakeholders at various scales to address a local challenge that is intersected by an international political boundary. The higher values of the Bowhead whale International Environmental Agreement's four factors, in the quantitative analysis, account for the higher level of food security for Bowhead whale. The qualitative analysis makes three recommendations for future International Environmental Agreements, in this case the draft U.S.-Russia agreement on Pacific walrus: 1) conservation of the Pacific walrus, 2) maintenance of Native self-determination and, 3) encouragement the flow of information between the local and federal stakeholders and between the United States and Russia. In order to ensure future food security in the Bering Strait Region, the management of the Pacific walrus depends on an effective International Environmental Agreement.
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Takawira, Caroline. "Is foreign aid's influence on economic growth of a country conditional on institutional quality? The case of Zimbabwe." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/97298.
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Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Does foreign aid contribute to economic growth? Is the impact of foreign aid conditional on the presence of quality institutions? This issue has attracted much attention over the years from both the donor community and recipient countries given that despite several years of foreign aid flows the increasing high poverty levels raise questions about the effectiveness of foreign aid. Despite several years of study on the relationship between foreign aid and economic growth results have remained inconclusive. Conclusions from various studies on this issue are varied. The conclusions thus far can be summarised as follows: there is a positive relationship between aid and economic growth; there is no relationship between aid and growth; the presence of good governance and institutions is a precondition for aid to have a positive influence on economic growth; and the presence of good governance and institutions is not a precondition for aid to have positive influence on economic growth. The research assignment sought to determine if there is any relationship between foreign aid, economic growth and institutional quality in Zimbabwe for the period 1980 to 2010 using the autoregressive distributed lag approach. In order to determine this relationship, the assignment also examined economic growth theories that have evolved over the years and reviewed existing empirical literature on the subject. An analysis of the economic growth theory revealed a shift from foreign aid being merely assumed to supplement savings to a new approach looking at conditions necessary for it to be effective, with a special focus on institutional quality. To date there has not been any agreement on the definition and institutional characteristics that create an environment conducive for foreign aid. Studies still use indicators that group together a wide range of social structures affecting economic outcomes such as political system, property rights, contract enforcement, and investor protection as measures of institutional quality The research assignment used quality of governance, polity iv and economic freedom of the world index as measures of institutional quality. The empirical results revealed there that there was a positive relationship between foreign aid and economic growth and that all the measures of institutional quality perform best when all are included in the model. This suggests that the effectiveness of aid in Zimbabwe was strongly influenced by the quality of institutions. It is therefore important for the government of Zimbabwe to maintain the rule of law, political stability and economic freedom. This is likely to attract economic agents who can make meaningful investment and resuscitate the Zimbabwean economy.
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Jones, Ian A. "Withering Iraq| A case-study of the history of state failure in Iraq under a constructivist lens." Thesis, Webster University, 2017. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10587521.
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The popular coined term "state failure," has been used in a variety of ways to explain states that may have not lived up to the Western model of statehood. Many theorists have concluded a variety of reasons for this occurrence, but have usually looked at it through one lens and failed to acknowledge others. This paper proposes that one lens is sufficient in analyzing state failure, that of constructivism. Iraq is a country frequently considered synonymous with state failure. This paper analyzes the history of Iraq based on constructivist ideas of identity and institutions to explain state failure and determine solutions that could benefit the state.
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Auguste, Bryon G. "The economics of international payments unions and clearing houses : theory, measurements and three case studies." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1993. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.335674.
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McGinnity, Ian J. "Selling its Future Short: Armenia's Economic and Security Relations with Russia." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2010. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/58.
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It is necessary and desirable for Armenia to retain close relations with Russia in both the short and long term. However, recent concessions to Russia for good relations in the short term may have potentially harmful repercussions for Armenia in the future. These concessions have in part resulted in the Russian dominance in the economic sector, over-dependence on Russia for Armenia’s energy needs, and the perpetuation of Armenian submissiveness to Russian interests. Armenia should, therefore, maintain good relations with Russia while simultaneously securing long-term paths that focus on actual strategic partnership and not dependence. In short, Armenia should return to a foreign policy of complementarism, which was first enacted under the Republic of Armenia’s first president, Levon Ter-Petrossian. Complementarism stresses the importance of pursuing Armenia’s best interest through the adoption of balanced policies and through minimal involvement or identification within regional blocs. The leveraging of Armenia’s long-term interests for close relations with Russia is possibly best exemplified in the state of Armenia’s economy. Like many former Soviet republics, the collapse of entangled Soviet trading patterns and the legacy of its centrally-planned economy still have negative implications for Armenian industry and trade.
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Roth, Antoine. "Conflict Dynamics in Sino-Japanese Relations| The Case of the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands Dispute." Thesis, The George Washington University, 2013. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1540566.
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This thesis analyzes the evolution of the Sino-Japanese conflict over ownership of the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands since the end of the Cold War. It argues that the 2012-2013 confrontation following the nationalization of the islands by Japan is the result of a process of conflict escalation that played out during repeated cycles of tensions over the previous two decades. Tensions reached a first peak in 1996 after Japanese activists built a lighthouse on one of the Senkaku/Diaoyu. Another confrontation would have erupted in 2004 after Chinese activists landed on one of the islands were it not for the intervention of Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro. After both events, nothing was done to prevent future confrontations, which allowed the conflict to fester and enter a downward spiral. This process resulted in worsening mutual perceptions and more assertive domestic audiences on both sides, which pushed Chinese and Japanese leaders towards increasingly confrontational attitudes, eventually resulting in two serious incidents in 2010 and 2012 that brought bilateral tensions to a new post-WWII high.
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McKee, Erin Leigh. "Conflict-Conditioned Communication: A Case Study of Communicative Relations between the United States and Iran from 2005-2008." PDXScholar, 2011. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/264.
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In protracted international conflicts, truth is often sacrificed in the name of victory. Political realists see international politics as a competition to win power, retain power, and demonstrate power; misleading the enemy in the name of strategy and misleading the public in the name of security are necessary elements of the game. A less obvious condition is that those caught in the cycle of intergroup conflict also withhold truths from themselves. This denial of truth and reality--to the Other, to the public, and to the self--is especially prevalent in the communicative relationship between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran. This study explores the communicative relationship between the United States and Iran via mass media with a particular focus on propaganda as "natural." The literature review explains how conflict-conditioned communication grows and operates within the context of intergroup conflict, including the significance of globalization and information technology. The communicative relationship between the United States and Iran is used as a case study to explore conflict-conditioned communication. A snapshot of the U.S.-Iran communicative relationship was taken from May 1, 2005 - May 1, 2008. Articles from three print and online media sources were combed and analyzed for examples and patterns of conflict-conditioned communication. The method is based on an approach to understanding conflict-conditioned communication that was developed by Dr. Harry Anastasiou, a conflict resolution professional and educator. The method additionally utilizes the work of Dr. William O. Beeman, an expert on misperceptions between the United States and Iran. The conflict-conditioned communicative relationship between the United States and Iran shows how legitimate concerns and human needs are filtered through collective psychology, history, and national identity and absorbed into misperceptions. These misperceptions are perpetuated through propaganda and lead to unyielding political positions. The dual phenomena of globalization and advanced information technology amplify these unyielding political positions by spreading propagandized misperceptions faster and farther than ever before. As the United States and Iran become more entrenched in unyielding political positions, communication reduces to competing systems of propaganda, thus making peaceful conflict resolution less likely.
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Yu, Xiaomin. "Putting corporate codes of conduct regarding labor standards in a global-national-local context : a case study of Reebok's athletic footwear supplier factory in China /." View abstract or full-text, 2006. http://library.ust.hk/cgi/db/thesis.pl?SOSC%202006%20YU.
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Kanchana, Kamonphorn. "Studies on Energy Security and International Relations: The Case of Regional Cooperation in Southeast Asia." Kyoto University, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/2433/215646.
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Kettle, Louise. "Learning from history in British overseas security : case studies from intervention in the Middle East." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2015. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30575/.
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Recent problematic military interventions, as part of the Global War on Terror, have led to widespread criticism that British policy-makers have failed to learn lessons from history. At the same time as the accusations of not learning, the British government has repeatedly claimed that lessons have been learned, particularly from the disastrous war in Iraq. This thesis investigates these contradicting claims by analysing learning from the past in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ministry of Defence and the Intelligence Community across four case studies of British military intervention in the Middle East; 1958 in Jordan, 1961 in Kuwait, the 1990-1991 Gulf War and 2003-2009 Iraq War. It provides a fresh analysis of these highly significant events, using previously undisclosed documents, offers an assessment of learning processes and concludes by recommending practical suggestions for the improvement of learning from history in the future.
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Chen, Xi Ying. "Actions and constraints of the European Union as an international actor : the case of Former Yugoslav crisis." Thesis, University of Macau, 2011. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b2555595.
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Fiske, Eric James. "Cuban Medical Internationalism: A Case for International Solidarity in Foreign Policy Decision Making." Scholar Commons, 2011. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/3724.
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Since the beginning of the Revolutionary government in Cuba, a comprehensive foreign policy involving medical personal and equipment has been implemented worldwide. Known as medical internationalism, thousands of doctors have been sent to developed and less developed nations in the spirit of solidarity and humanitarian aid. Even more, thousands of students have been given free medical education in Cuba at its world renowned university, the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM). Often, no monetary or direct political gain is made by Cuba and the doctors simply receive their normal government salary. While the success of Cuba's medical internationalism is well documented (Feinsilver 1993, Kirk & Erisman 2009), the reasons and guiding forces behind it are much less understood. Based on a Cultural/Political Foreign Policy model created by Marijke Breuning to study foreign policy, this study aims to show that the concept of proletarian internationalism is the guiding principle in Cuba's medical internationalism programs.
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Legge, Mikaya Modi Lubajo. "Diplomatic relations and their impact on development: the case of South Sudan and Uganda." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/15365.
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Since Sudan’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed in 2005, its border with Uganda has become a hub of activities. These economic activities have been enhanced by ethnic and political relations, but also by diplomatic relations between the two countries. Contrasting developments on the Ugandan side of the border with those on the South Sudanese side, this research draws on empirical fieldwork to examine the impact of diplomatic relations on the development between both countries since 2005, with international trade as the main aspect of development. The study sets out to show how trade between both countries has been affected by the diplomatic relations between them. The post-CPA demand for goods and state-building processes created a range of economic opportunities for traders. This was particularly the case for Ugandan large-scale traders who, as a result, became an important and empowered group. These factors have further been enhanced by good diplomatic relations between both countries, and as a result South Sudan has become Uganda’s most important trading partner as well as a destination for many Ugandans to conduct their trade. Simultaneously, post-conflict problems have emerged in South Sudan such as insecurity, weak government institutions run by incompetent officials, corruption, high foreign exchange rate, cultural diversity, mistrust and poor infrastructure. These problems have emerged as major challenges to trade and investment by Ugandan traders in South Sudan with traders as well as government officials agreeing that these challenges present major setbacks to trade and investment in South Sudan. Ugandan small-scale traders in particular have become more vulnerable to expressions of authority on the part of South Sudan’s post-CPA state, in which state or individual military might is used effectively to control trade. The current conflict, which began in December 2013, has added a new dimension to the list of impediments to trade as insecurity and economic instability have precipitated an atmosphere of uncertainty among many traders and investors. Despite all those challenges, Ugandan traders as well as government officials still view South Sudan as a business destination of choice. Overall, the study confirms that diplomatic relations have enhanced international trade between South Sudan and Uganda by way of solving trade disputes, investment promotion and influencing leadership on policy matters.
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Cunha, Ricardo Sousa da. "Enmity and hegemony in the normative processes of international constitutionalism : the case of the international legal action against terrorism." Thesis, University of Macau, 2005. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b1637075.
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Alabbadi, Anas. "The role of culture in international negotiation| The Jordanian-Israeli peace negotiation as a case-study." Thesis, American University, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1569368.
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The world is becoming more interdependent. Governments and diplomats negotiate across cultures every day. Some argue that negotiators are professionals and share the common diplomatic culture, therefore their cultural backgrounds are irrelevant to international negotiation and in result culture has no significant influence on the process. The author argues that culture does matter and it could influence the different negotiation elements: individuals, process, and outcome — the larger the cultural gap between the parties, the larger the cultural influence. To substantiate his argument, the author uses a case-study analysis of the Jordanian-Israeli peace negotiation that led to the 1994 peace treaty. The author conducted eight semi-structured interviews with negotiators from the two countries who actively participated in the negotiation — including the heads of the two delegations. From this work, the author concludes that culture in the Jordanian-Israeli negotiation was manifested, and influenced the negotiators, the process, and the outcome in six different ways — culture was an enabler.
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Skuna, Jiraphan. "International joint venture negotiation behaviour outcome : the role of bargaining power, culture and trust : qualitative case studies." Thesis, City University London, 2000. http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/8224/.
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Most of the literature on joint ventures (JVs) in developing countries has been viewed from the perspective of the foreign partners, ignoring the strategic imperatives and goals of the host country partners. Additionally, there has been very little research on international joint ventures (IJVs) in Thailand. Therefore, a study of the relationships between bargaining power, trust and culture affecting negotiation behaviour and outcomes (JV performance) could clarify and complement the results of past studies. It could lead foreign and Thai investors to better understand what they should do before and after entering into JVs, so as to achieve an effective performance (outcome), the success of IJV, cost minimization and profit maximization. This study examines the variables mentioned above in the context of service industries (e.g. construction, leasing, gas distribution), within the confines of joint venture theory and negotiation theory. The data was gathered using both questionnaires and in-depth interviews with a number of MDs and senior managers of JV firms. Both Thai and foreign parents were interviewed where possible. The result of the study shows that relationships between bargaining power, trust, culture, negotiation behaviour and performance (outcome) exist. A significant external factor affecting JV performance was also identified. Case studies were used as a research strategy for this study. 'Pattern matching logic' and 'explanation building' techniques were used for the analysis of data. In addition, data display technique was added to offer a clear understanding and picture of the results of the study. Regarding JV management and negotiation, this study demonstrated that each JV partner should pay attention and time to support the development of mutual trust and cultural understanding in order to avoid conflict and enhance a successful JV performance. This study also revealed the effect of bargaining power, trust and culture on JV performance mediated by negotiation tactics. This has received little attention in previous studies.
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Valarde-Menary, Jennifer. "Small scale sport events and sustainability: A case study in Torres Del Paine National Park, Chile." Scholarly Commons, 2019. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/3581.
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Small-scale sport events have been argued to be sustainable form of tourism development for communities (Gibson, 1999). The purpose of this study was to analyze four small-scale sport events all operated by NIGSA (Nómadas International Group SA) in the Magallanes region of Chile. The four events at the core of this study were: Patagonian Expedition Race, Patagonian International Marathon, Ultra Trail Torres del Paine, and the Ultra Fiord which operate partially or completely inside the Torres del Paine National Park. As a biosphere reserve established by the United Nations, Torres del Paine National Park requires a sustainable perspective of event sport tourism. A 2011 alteration of biosphere reserve qualification criteria from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has heightened the need for protection, preservation, and responsible management of Torres del Paine National Park and the small-scale sport events being studied. This document includes sustainability and event sport tourism literature, a detailed methodology, findings and discussion from the data collected, and a few suggestions for the industry and event organizers. This study aimed to reveal development potential or lack thereof as a result of small-scale event sport tourism in the Torres del Paine National Park. Thus, this report addressed the main question: are the annual small-scale sport events hosted by the NIGSA a sustainable form of sport event tourism in a biosphere reserve and its extended host community?
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Sampson, Michael. "The strategic logic of international agreement design." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2016. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:5688f2b9-fc86-47c6-9a13-e38fdb181773.
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Conventional wisdom suggests that weak international actors should avoid concluding ambiguous agreements with much stronger partners because this increases their vulnerability to subsequent exploitation. Why then do we observe so many instances of just such agreements signed under conditions of extreme power asymmetry? I answer this question by emphasising an underappreciated factor shaping the agreement design strategies of actors: Power trajectory. Focusing on international trade, I develop a three-part framework which demonstrates first, that powerful but rising states gain from securing narrow agreements because as the scope of these agreements is broadened, they are provided with more opportunities to use their growing power to secure increasingly favourable deals. Conversely, powerful but declining states are incentivised to conclude broad agreements as a way to lock-in an advantage that will decline over time. Second, I demonstrate that because of the particular vulnerabilities faced by weak states as a result of these narrow agreements, strong but rising powers are often required to make up-front concessions in order to secure their preferred contract and overcome the fears of their weaker counterparts. Third, I show that powerful but rising states can reap the benefits of subsequent rounds of bargaining because the initial agreement has induced the weaker party to make transaction specific investments which serve to drastically reduce its exit options. In developing this framework, I make three contributions; first, from a theoretical standpoint I specify more precisely the conditions under which powerful states choose to tie their hands and so qualify both the liberal claim that powerful states must always do so, and the realist suggestion that they strive to maintain freedom of action. Second, I make an empirical contribution by placing the trade policies of four major economic powers in detailed comparative perspective. Finally, I make a substantive contribution by demonstrating yet another mechanism by which the strong secure their preferences at the expense of the weak in international affairs.
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Koza, Catherine M. (Catherine Marie). "Spoils of war : how international assistance can influence local processes of economic change : the case of Afghanistan." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/67727.
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Raphala, Mmapitsi Grateful. "A critique of the foreign policy of France towards Africa :case studies of Central African Republic and Ivory Coast, 2007-2014." Thesis, University of Limpopo, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/2010.
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Thesis (M. A. (International Politics)) --University of Limpopo, 2017Many Western and Central African countries were colonised by France from the early 17th century until the early 1960s. However, Africa has continued to be the private hunting ground for France in the post-independence period. This is because France still needs African resources, particularly its oil. In fact, Africa holds a strategic position for French foreign policy. Therefore, when France gave independence to its African colonies, it did not really mean it was completely disengaging from Africa. In essence, a package was imposed on Francophone African countries which tied them to the revitalised African states to preserve French colonial status. Moreover, France‟s heavy involvement in African countries has earned it a perception of being a police officer of the continent. Within this premise, due to protracted conflicts in French African countries, Francophone Africans bank their hope on France to assist in offering just and lasting solutions to the complex challenges facing their countries. This should be understood within the context that France maintained a significant colonial empire in the continent for almost a century and a half. Nevertheless, France attempts to uphold hegemonic foothold in Francophone Africa through political, economic and cultural connections while the security of Africans is threatened. With this in mind, this study critiques the French foreign policy towards Africa and it uses Ivory Coast and Central African Republic as case studies. These two countries are chosen given their recent conflicts and their assistance in critiquing the French position in African complex challenges. This study also adopted the use of document review and interviews to generate data.
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Robiolle-Moul, Tina. "Peace education in fragile states| A case study of the influence of global discussions of peace education in conflict settings on national education policy and local NGO efforts in Afghanistan." Thesis, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Tufts University), 2017. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10191417.
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This dissertation assesses the influence of international standards and guidance on peace education on education policy and practice at the national and local levels in a fragile state. It also explores the critical factors that affect this influence—or the lack thereof. Utilizing a vertical case study approach that draws comparisons across multiple levels, this research examines the case of Afghanistan from 2002 to 2015. The author explored the origins and content of these recommendations at the global level, investigated their influence at the national level, and assessed what then is implemented at the local level through the work of a local non-governmental organization (NGO).
While there has been a growing presence of peace education in international recommendations and instruments promulgated by the United Nations, this study demonstrates how challenging it is for the international community to coordinate and harmonize its discourse on peace education—let alone to influence significantly a fragile state’s national education policy and practice. The international community’s recommendations on peace education had only a limited influence on the Afghan government’s education policy and practice. At the local level, the global recommendations did influence the work of a local Afghan NGO, Help the Afghan Children, and its peace education program launched in 2002. The success of this program has triggered the interest of the Ministry in developing and testing a national school-based peace education curriculum that could be taught in all government schools in the country. However, the lack of resources and political will represent a great obstacle for the program to be scaled up at the national level. Overall, this vertical study underlined different potentials for the integration of peace education in schools at the national versus the local level.
As a critical case, Afghanistan provided sufficient positive conditions to implement some global recommendations on peace education, despite the complexity of the local context. The critical factors that explain the limits of this influence are not specific to Afghanistan and can be found in other fragile states. If they are not addressed, the international community will face similar obstacles to the integration of peace education in other fragile states.
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Bird, Annie. "US foreign policy on transitional justice : case studies on Cambodia, Liberia and Colombia." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2012. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/473/.
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The US has been involved in the majority of transitional justice measures established since the 1990s. This study explores this phenomenon by examining the forces that shape US foreign policy on transitional justice. It first investigates US influence on the evolution of the field, and then traces US involvement in three illustrative cases in order to establish what US involvement entails, why the US gets involved and how the US has impacted individual measures and the field as a whole. The cases include: the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Cambodia; the trial of Liberian President Charles Taylor and the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission; and the Justice and Peace Process in Colombia. These cases represent different transitional justice measures, transition types and geographic regions – all key dimensions in the field. These measures were also all established in the 2000s, a period which reflects a different historical moment in the field’s evolution. The cases shed light on the actors who play a key role in the field – from presidential administrations to Congress to the State Department and others. The study is based on nearly 200 interviews and archival research undertaken in the US, The Hague, Cambodia, Liberia and Colombia, providing a strong basis on which to draw conclusions about US foreign policy on transitional justice.
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Walker, James Paul. "The Effect of Neoliberalism on Capabilities: Evaluating the Case of Mexico." Scholar Commons, 2015. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/5589.
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The goal of this thesis is to examine the effect of neoliberalism on developing nations. Specifically it will look at how neoliberalism has affected Mexico via the North American Free Trade Agreement. Mexico was chosen because since its depression in 1982 it has adopted continuing neoliberal policy, which according to its leaders, United States leaders, and international governmental bodies, is the path to development and the improvement of the standard of living for all people. This work begins by examining the historical path of neoliberalism to provide context for choosing Mexico for the focal point of this thesis, as well as context for the situation occurring in Mexico. It then examines neoliberalism via its scholars who are in support of it and against it. This is followed by an evaluation method based off of Amarya Sen's capability approach to development. Then several previous studies are examined to prove qualitatively that there have been adverse effects experienced under NAFTA in Mexico, by all of the established evaluation parameters. Then this thesis turns to a discussion of some descriptive statistics relating to the approach set up by Sen. It concludes with quantitative approach showing over interesting correlations of neoliberalism, to other variables indicative of capabilities via linear regression.
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Verdonk, Tilda. "South-South Cooperation : A case study of Ethiopia’s political and economic relations with China and Turkey." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för samhällsstudier (SS), 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-76680.
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As the world system and the global political economy is under constant transformation, there is an increasing need for further research. Shifting from a North-South polarity towards a South-South-East relationship, the situation on the African continent is gaining more and more attention. The debate goes between the highly concerned alarmists warning for a new type of colonialism and those that are more opportunistic emphasizing the possibilities for underdeveloped countries to finally gain independence from Western predator claws. This thesis further explores the relationship between Ethiopia’s expanding partnerships with China and Turkey, aiming for analysis through the lens of the also highly debated dependency theory. China and Turkey both express and emphasize the economic and political rhetoric of solidarity and mutual win-win relationships. This thesis thus seeks to investigate if this can be considered the case or if instead, the driving forces behind Chinese as well as Turkish engagement in Ethiopia are to be viewed upon as purely strategical concerning political and economic self-interests. By applying a comparative case study approach when analysing the two relationships of China-Ethiopia and Turkey-Ethiopia, this thesis will examine statistics and numbers regarding the economic exchange in terms of trade, financial assistance and investment flows. The underlying driving forces behind the relationships will also be analysed before arriving at the conclusion that the relationships are indeed significantly uneven regarding power. The imbalances in the trade structures can be seen as an underlying factor of dependency. However, the characteristics of the of these South-South relations differ from the historically exploitative of North-South relations. Ethiopia can be seen to be given more room for self-determination and has gained benefits from its cooperation with both China and Turkey. Despite this, there is a need for the Ethiopian government to address its development needs and furthermore, increase its bargaining capacity in order to benefit further from trade agreements and foreign investment.
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Magwizi, Brenda Thandekha, and Rhodes University. "Exchange rate behavior in the cases of the Zambian Kwacha and Malawian Kwacha : is there misalignment?" Thesis, Rhodes University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002708.
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The exchange rate is the price of one currency against another currency or currencies of a group of countries. Real exchange rates are important because they show the external competitiveness of a country‟s economy. Thus, when the exchange rate of a country is misaligned, this will affect its trade, production and the welfare of people. This study analysed macroeconomic determinants of the real exchange rate and dynamic adjustment of the real exchange rate as a result of shocks to these determinants. The study also determined the extent of misalignment of the real exchange rate in Malawi and Zambia and identified variables that contributed to it. Such information is important to policy makers. Quarterly data were used for both countries from 1980:1-2008:4. The literature review identified those variables that determine the exchange rate and these include government consumption, foreign aid, net foreign assets, commodity prices, terms of trade, domestic credit, openness and the Balassa Samuelson effect (technological progress). To determine the long-run relationship between the exchange rate and its determinants, we employed the Johansen approach and the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM). For robustness check on the long-run and shortrun effects of determinants on the exchange rate, variance decomposition and impulse response analyses were used. Results in the study show that in Malawi for both models, an increase in LAID, LGCON and LTOT resulted in real exchange rate depreciation and increases in LDC, NFA and LNEER resulted in an appreciation. In Zambia, increases in LAID, LGCON, LOPEN and LTOT caused the real exchange rate to depreciate while increases in LDC, NFA and LCOPPER led to an appreciation. Lagged LREER and LNEER were found to have short run effects on the equilibrium exchange rate for Malawi and lagged LCOPPER and LDC for Zambia. Periods of exchange rate misalignment were found in both countries. It was also found that the coefficient of speed of adjustment in Malawi in models 1 and 2 indicate that 11% and 27% of the variation in the real exchange rate from its equilibrium adjust each quarter respectively. The speed of adjustment for Zambia in both models was 45% and 47% respectively, higher than that of Malawi. Foreign aid has proven to be important in exchange rate misalignment in both countries, though this was not really expected in the case of Zambia. Given these results, it may be of interest to policy makers to understand which variables impact most on the exchange rate and how misalignment due to these determinants can be minimised.
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Bayerl, Elizabeth. "USAID projects in the former Soviet Union: policy case studies." Thesis, Boston University, 2002. https://hdl.handle.net/2144/32740.
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Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston UniversityThe dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War are widely recognized as watershed events in the history of world affairs. Decision-makers and scholars in many fields are only beginning to understand the profound shifts and realignments in global political and economic relationships in a post-Cold War world. An important link between the United States and the former Soviet republics is the foreign assistance program in the region, since assistance efforts often serve as an important lens through which to view strategic relationships between nations. This evaluative policy research explores that link through qualitative case studies of three US Agency for International Development (USAID) projects in the region. Each qualitative case study represents a distinct approach to foreign assistance delivery in the region: classical technical assistance (represented by ZdravReform in contracts with Abt Associates), formal site partnership (in cooperative agreements with the American International Health Alliance), and experimental technology (a cooperative agreement with the former Selentec, Inc.). Three policy context chapters (Chapters I, II, and III) introduce the case studies, in which historical trends of the assistance effort and of the domestic foreign policy-making framework in Washington, DC, are highlighted. A final chapter (VII) examines the findings from the study and recommends a refocusing of the foreign assistance effort in the NIS toward more long-term developmental strategies. Theoretical and methodological assumptions in the study are informed by the constructionist approach to policy evaluation described by Guba and Lincoln (1989). This broad approach assumes that different constructions or interpretations exist concerning the nature and goals of projects. Unlike typical project evaluations, this approach does not assume that stakeholders in projects share common perceptions of the expected goals for and outcomes of their projects. Constructionist approaches to qualitative study fall within the interpretative stream of social science explored by theorists and researchers from a number of disciplines (Geertz, 1973; Denzin, 1992; Hammersley, 1989; Bruner, 1990). More specific conceptual assumptions also are explored in Chapter I, drawn from the literature on institutional research . Emphasis is placed in the evaluative analysis on how effectively conflicts that arose among the multiple stakeholders in each project were addressed.
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Agnoletto, Stefano. "Building an economic ethic niche : Italian immigrants in the Toronto construction industry (1950s-1970s) : a case study." Thesis, Kingston University, 2013. http://eprints.kingston.ac.uk/28226/.
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The focus of the thesis is on labour, business, social and cultural history of Italian immigration to post WWII Toronto. In particular, this study addresses fundamental issues such as ethnic niching, unionization, urban proletarianization and entrepreneurship. From this perspective, this investigation addresses and analyses a list of key questions. How did a mass of former peasants, unskilled workers, artisans and merchants become urban wage-earners or small business entrepreneurs in an urban and Capitalist society? How did the process of unionization work? How did an economic ethnic niche develop? What role did 'ethnicity' play in the processes of both urban proletarianization and unionization as well as entrepreneurship? What made immigrant unionization and entrepreneurship successful or a failure? What other factors impinged on these processes? Lastly, what impact did these processes have on the host society? In addressing these questions the thesis focuses on the role played by a specific industry in enabling immigrants to find their place in the new host society. More specifically, the research has looked at the construction industry that, between the 1950s and the 1970s, represented a typical economic ethnic niche for the Italian community. In fact, tens of thousands of Italian males found work in this sector as bricklayers, labourers, carpenters, plasterers and cement finishers, while hundreds of others became small employers in the same industry. The analysis of the cultural and structural factors that were at the origin of the Italian niche of the construction industry is the central point of this study.
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O'Neill, Thomas J. "Business, investment and revolution in Russia : case studies of American companies, 1880's - 1920's." Thesis, McGill University, 1987. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=76751.
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This study of the American business presence in Russia from the late 19th Century to the early Soviet period, focuses on more than twenty individual firms that operated there or otherwise conducted business with Russia. They are presented as primary and secondary case studies in three distinct groups: financial industries, manufacturing industries, and sales, services and light manufacturing industries.The primary cases, American Express, Case and Vacuum Oil Company, offer a detailed insight into: motives for opening installations in Russia, daily operations, the effects of war, revolution and nationalization as well as business relations under the early Soviet government. The secondary case studies include, Citibank, Chase Manhattan Bank, Morgan Guaranty and New York Life Insurance Company in the financial group; Western Electric, Westinghouse Airbrake and General Electric in the manufacturing group; and United Shoe, Otis, Moline Plow, Kodak, Parke, Davis & Co., Chesebrough-Pond's and Continental Gin in the sales, services and light manufacturing group.
Collectively these firms present a comprehensive account of the largely neglected and misunderstood role of private American business in Russia. The experiences of these companies help dispel conventional notions of U.S. commercial interests in Russia and place American involvement in proper perspective.
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Chbeir, Carl. "THE GEOGRAPHY OF REMITTANCES: A CASE STUDY OF LEBANESE AMERICANS IN CLEVELAND." Miami University / OhioLINK, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1455890041.
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Osoegawa, Taku. "Coping with Syria : international relations theory and the case of Lebanon from civil war to indirect rule (1975-2002)." Thesis, University of St Andrews, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/13847.
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This thesis is a study of international relations theory and the case of the Lebanese state's relations with Syria between 1975 and 2002. It aims to answer the following questions: (1) Why has Lebanon generally "bandwagoned" with Syria, a country which has managed to intervene in and subdue it at the expense of Lebanese sovereignty. (2) How have Lebanese state officials, along with other political actors, tried to manipulate Syria for their own interests, whether to defend Lebanese sovereignty, to maintain and increase their status, or to contain and appease their rivals and opponents. (3) Parallel to the discussions generated by these two questions, which kinds of theory are relevant to or best explain Lebanese relations with Syria. Specifically this study demonstrates that the behavior of a penetrated weak state, Lebanon, toward a regional middle power, Syria, cannot usefully be explained by simple realism's state-to-state power balancing model. Rather, it is necessary to differentiate the multitude of state (office-holders) and sub-state actors. In addition, their behavior can only be explained by a combination of factors identified in a variety of theories: reaction to an external threat (simple realism) which explain a very few cases; "omni-alignments" against interrelated threats (complex realism) which result from the weaknesses of the Lebanese state and which explain much more; still powerful transstate ties (constructivism) which themselves needed to be understood in terms of the contradiction between sovereignty and identity and which have some impact; and complex interdependence and shared interests (pluralism) which generally exist between Lebanese and Syrian elites.
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Gu, Fang Flora, and 顧芳. "Three studies on business-to-business relations: effects of fairness, guanxi, and national animosity on firmperformance in China." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2006. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B3625342X.
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Lee, Tae Joon. "Technological capabilities and international relations in developing countries : case studies of the nuclear fuel cycle in South Korea." Thesis, University of Sussex, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.390927.
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Manirajah, Sanggeet Mithra. "Looking Back, Moving Forward: The Role of Gandhian Economic Philosophy in India's Development." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2014. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/397.
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India has seen unrivaled economic growth since it embarked on its neoliberal reforms in 1990. However, accompanying this growth in income and wealth is an increase in social and economic inequalities among its population. This thesis will look at the impact of the neoliberal agenda on India’s population, particularly on its rural and marginalized poor, and show how this growth and development has been predatory in nature, benefitting a small minority at the expense of a large majority of the population who are experiencing poverty, unemployment and the loss of livelihoods as a result. This paper argues that Gandhian economic philosophy - in particular, the emphasis on localization and decentralization – has a central role to play in the development agenda of India, and is fundamental in correcting this imbalance. By drawing on Gandhi’s economic philosophy and present-day grassroots movements and initiatives that are echoing his core principles, this paper argues for the localization of power in the form of participatory governance to achieve rural revitalization, poverty eradication and radical empowerment. Fundamental for this to happen are appropriate forms and systems of governance at the local level; the creation of livelihoods through and within the local community; and incorporating local traditional and indigenous knowledge into development strategies.