January 17

Bringing The Billions Back : Illicit Capital Flight From Africa

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- How Africa and Europe can end illicit capital flight

Every year huge unreported flows of money are leaving developing countries, ending up in rich countries or tax havens. If properly reported this illicit capital flight would generate at least US$160 billion per year in tax revenue - more than one and a half times the total annual aid to the developing world. These are resources that could be crucial in the fight to combat poverty.    

 

Contrary to popular belief, only a small share, three to five percent, of illicit capital flight stems from corruption. Instead, almost two thirds originate from multinational companies evading to pay tax, and one third is a result of criminal activities such as trade with humans, drugs and weapons. Despite the fact that illicit capital flight has severe consequences for developing countries – it cancels investment, undermines trade, hurts competition, worsens income gaps and drains hard-currency reserves – awareness of the measures needed to end it is low.  

 

As a percentage of GDP, capital flight from Africa is larger than from other parts of the world. But Africa cannot stand alone to end it, cooperation and political will is required by decision makers in Europe as well as in Africa.    

 

This new report is a part of Forum Syd's publication series Global Studies. It explains illicit capital flight, how it happens, its magnitude, its consequences for the poor, and measures needed to end it. It also presents illustrative case studies from Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania.

 

To read the entire report, click here

 

From : FORUM SYD IN AFRICA.

Forum Syd is a Swedish democracy and rights organization with the aim to strengthen the role of civil society in its efforts to bring about global justice and sustainable development.

March 14

Council Of Europe, The European Union, Shengen, The Eurozone, The European Economic Area, And The European Trade Association.

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This handy Venn diagram illustrates the relationship between the Council of Europe, the European Union, Shengen, the Eurozone, the European Economic Area, and the European Trade Association.From Boing Boing
February 23

Fall Of Communist States In Europe, 1989

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Making the history of 1989: the fall of communism in Eastern Europe
Making the History of 1989 is an excellent online resource for teaching history at undergraduate level, focusing on the collapse of communism across the GDR and Eastern Europe. Created by the Center for History and New Media with input from historians and political scientists, it makes available diverse primary source material with detailed guidance on how to use it for teaching purposes. Clear and easy to use, the site comprises: a lengthy introductory essay covering events across East Germany, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Albania, Romania and Yugoslavia, setting them in historical, political and geographical context; primary sources (translated documents and images) organised by country and tagged for effective searching; video interviews with scholars who personally experienced these events, in thematic sections with transcripts; teaching modules and case studies for classroom use. Modules include: the Catholic Church in Poland; nationalities in the USSR; economies in transition; everyday life in Eastern Europe; Solidarity; the unique experience of Romania. Each module provides: selected primary sources; teaching strategies; lesson plans; source-based questions; an annotated bibliography. Case studies use selected primary sources to explore themes such as: consumerism in Poland; memory in East Germany; remembering Tiananmen Square; surnames and nationality; women in Romania; humour as resistance; Soviet health posters. Seminal moments such as: Reagan's speech at the Brandenburg Gate; President Havel's Czech Independence Day speech and the Bratislava protest on the anniversary of the Warsaw Pact invasion are also used as case studies with video and documentary source material. From Intute.ac.uk
http://chnm.gmu.edu/1989/
February 11

Wall Street Journal : Europe Edition

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Wall Street Journal : Europe edition
Wall Street Journal : Europe edition provides a European filter on the financial news, articles, comment and information provided by the US newspaper, the Wall Street Journal. It includes the latest European financial news, market data and headlines. Some of the content is only available to subscribers, but other articles are freely available and those behind the payment firewall still provide headlines / summaries. Information is presented chronologically and by broad subject area, such as the financial crisis, markets, business, tech and opinion pieces. Users can view the most popular stories, sign up for email alerts and subscribe to RSS feed to keep up-to-date with the site. From Intute.ac.uk
http://europe.wsj.com/
February 04

Invisible Victims Of Immigration Restrictions In Europe: Children

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Undocumented children in Europe: invisible victims of immigration restrictions
This site provides free access to the full text of a 115 page report published by PICUM, Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants. ISBN 9789080781399 in 2008. It surveys the current situation of migrant children in Europe. Topics covered include: access to education, healthcare, housing and other civil and human rights. From Intute.ac.uk
http://www.picum.org/HOMEPAGE/Daphne%20Conference/Undocumented%20Children%20in%2
January 08

Testing Regimes: “Issues Of Language, Migration And Citizenship”

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Testing regimes
This website describes an AHRC-funded research project into “issues of language, migration and citizenship”. Specifically, the project aims to develop a more complete conceptual and theoretical understanding of the issues surrounding the linguistic and cultural requirements used as ‘gate-keeping’ elements in EU states in the face of increased migration and the pressure to promote social inclusion and integration. The project - a collaboration between academics in the UK, Netherlands and Belgium - involved three research workshops which took place in 2006-2007, abstracts and a report of which are available. The website also includes a detailed list of resources relevant to the subject. From: Intute.ac.uk
http://www.testingregimes.soton.ac.uk/
November 18

Torture And Intelligence In Western Democracies

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Torture and intelligence gathering in Western democracies
This site provides access to the full text of a paper by Calder Walton which was published as History and Policy paper 78 in November 2008. The use of torture during interrogation is a controversial aspect of the 'war against terrorism'. This paper provides an interesting historical perspective on the nature, extent and use of the practice. Topics covered include: British intelligence and the use of torture in the Second World War and the use of toruture against 'communist agents during the Cold War'. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.historyandpolicy.org/papers/policy-paper-78.html
November 12

European Portal For Action On Health Equity

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Determine : a European portal for action on health equity
Determine is an EU wide initiative running from 2007-2010 and made up of a consortium of European health organisations. Determine provides a portal site with information on the socio-economic determinants of health inequalities. It provides country profiles for the countries of the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area, with details of, and documents relating to, national health inequalities policies, a good practice database and links to publications, events and relevant EU policies. Determine seeks to identify effective national policy, innovative approaches to improving the health of disadvantaged groups and to develop awareness raising activities. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.health-inequalities.org/
October 29

World Economic Forum...Europe @ Risk Report

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World Economic Forum’s Latest Report Focuses on How Financial Turmoil Will Affect Real Economy
Source: World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum’s Global Risk Network launched today a new edition of its Europe@Risk report, which is published ahead of the World Economic Forum on Europe and Central Asia (Istanbul, Turkey, 30 October - 1 November 2008). The report examines the global risks most pertinent to Europe, Russia, Eastern Europe, Turkey and Central Asia.

The current financial crisis will have profound effects on the region and its consequences on the real economy are still unfolding. As the report was being prepared, the financial crisis that began in 2007 reached a critical point. Banks on both sides of the Atlantic were bailed out and rescue plans for the financial sector were put in place all over Europe.

The report highlights that the contagion effects of the financial meltdown will affect the real economy of the region. In Western Europe, growth prospects are being revised downwards, industrial production is decreasing in several countries and unemployment is likely to increase. In Central Asia, countries which have high levels of financing through international capital markets will be more vulnerable to the global financial turmoil.

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October 17

Eastern Europe : Post-Soviet Studies

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Ab Imperio: the network of empire and nationalism studies

Ab Imperio is an academic network of scholars specialising in post-Soviet studies which is sponsored by the Soros Foundation Open Society Institute. Key topics of interest include Eastern European culture, history and nationalisn, post communist societies, nationalism in the former Eastern Bloc nations, the role of Russia in the post-communist world. The site includes blogs, calendars of events, links to key email discussion forums and a database of relevant scholars. Intute.ac.uk
http://net.abimperio.net/

May 09

European Protest Movements: 1968 In Europe

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European Protest Movements: 1968 in Europe

Online teaching and research guide companion to a book about the history of European protest and activism in 1956-1977, with an emphasis on 1968 protests in Paris, Prague, Berlin, and Rome. Features chronologies for almost 20 European countries, bibliographies and suggested sources for individual countries, and links to related sites.
URL: http://1968ineurope.sneakpeek.de/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/26016

The May Events Archive
This online archive "documents this exciting historical moment with original leaflets, magazines, and newspapers" from 1968, "the climactic year of New Left protest all over the Western world, and especially in [Paris] France where in May of that year ten million workers transformed a student protest into a revolutionary movement by joining it in the streets." Search, or browse by type of material or author. Documents are in French. Simon Fraser University Library, Canada.
URL: http://edocs.lib.sfu.ca/projects/mai68/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/26015 

Annotations copyright LII.ORG 

April 02

1968 Political Uprisings. Radio 4 Season

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1968: myth or reality? Radio 4 season
This site was created by BBC Radio 4 to supplement its season of programmes on the 40th anniversary of the 1968 political and social uprisings. It includes a day to day timeline of key events, plus free access to radio broadcasts of some of the programmes. These include snippets of music, art and philosophy from 1968, plus discussion of its impact by participants, historians and social commentators. Topics covered include the Paris riots of 1968; Grosvenor Square riots,student protests and the Prague Spring uprising in Czechoslovakia. Copyright and technical information is displayed on the website. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/1968/

February 25

Foreign Relations Of The United States, 1969-1976: European Security

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Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Vol. XXXIX, European Security
Source: U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs
From press release:

The Department of State released today Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Vol. XXXIX, European Security. This volume documents U.S. efforts to negotiate multilateral agreements with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies and the Soviet Bloc, which would allow for greater European security. This volume has a broader scope than most, since it covers the entire span of both the Nixon and Ford administrations, 1969–1976. The volume is centered around two basic questions the U.S. Government faced: how best to achieve security and cooperation in Europe, and how to reduce both NATO and Warsaw Pact forces in Europe. While the general focus is on European security, the specific focus is on two overriding issues that faced the Nixon and Ford administrations: 1) whether to hold a conference on European security attended by the United States and its NATO allies, and the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies; and 2) whether the United States and its European allies would negotiate an agreement with the Soviet Union and its European allies on mutual and balanced force reductions (MBFR) in Europe, which would ensure security but reduce the costs of defending Europe.

Both President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger (Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and, after September 1973, Secretary of State) were skeptical that a conference on European security would achieve very much. They believed that the Europeans were overestimating its potential impact. Kissinger and Nixon were not convinced that proposals for humanitarian improvements and human rights—what came to be called “Basket III”—would compel the Soviets to change their domestic system. The Europeans were more optimistic.

Also covered in the volume are related issues, such as whether to combine the security conference with negotiations on force reductions. In addition, the question of negotiations with the NATO allies looms large in the volume, which includes many memoranda of conversation between U.S. officials and their NATO counterparts. Kissinger carried on parallel negotiations with Soviet officials on both a European security conference and MBFR, which are also documented in this volume.

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February 20

1968 Student Protests In Europe

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1968 in Europe: online teaching and research guide This site was created by an EU funded project headed by Dr. Martin Klimke of the Heidelberg University of Heidelberg and Dr. Joachim Scharloth of the University of Zurich. It provides an excellent teaching and learning guide for students studying the 1968 student and political protests in Europe. It includes a chronology of key events, links to online articles and web resources covering events in specific European nations, plus a bibliography to guide further reading. The teacher's section contains duggested syllabuses, film and reading lists. From Intute.ac.uk
http://1968ineurope.sneakpeek.de/index.php/contact
January 24

40th Anniversary: Student Protests Of May 1968

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1968 and All That This website was created to support an international conference and bookfair to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the social movements and student protests of May 1968. In addition to information about the conference (Saturday, 10 May 2008, Conway Hall, Red Lion Square London WC1) The website also includes a useful collection of essays, film clips and digitised posters from contributors. Topics covered by these include the Paris may 1968 protests, eye witness accounts of protests in London and discussion of the nature and impact of left wing politics of the late 1960s. From Intute.ac.uk
http://www.1968andallthat.net/
January 21

Europe And Islam

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Europe and Islam
Source: American Enterprise Institute

This pamphlet is the text of the 2007 Irving Kristol Lecture, delivered at the annual dinner of the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research in Washington, D.C., on March 7, 2007. The Irving Kristol Award, named for the eminent author and intellectual and longtime AEI senior fellow, is the Institute’s highest honor, bestowed annually by its Council of Academic Advisers. The Irving Kristol lectures (and their predecessors before 2003, the Francis Boyer lectures) are posted on the AEI website at www.aei.org/kristolaward/.

The 2007 Kristol Award was presented to Bernard Lewis, the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor of Near Eastern Studies Emeritus at Princeton University, and long the free world’s preeminent student and interpreter of Islam, the Ottoman Empire, and the modern Middle East. Professor Lewis earned his PhD from the School of Oriental Studies at the University of London in 1939 and taught there for thirty-five years, interrupting his academic pursuits only to serve during World War II in the British Army (Royal Armoured Corps and Intelligence Corps) and for a while with a department of the Foreign Office. In 1974 he moved to the United States to accept his initial appointment at Princeton and the Institute for Advanced Study. Among historians and other scholars, Professor Lewis’s stature was secured through such deep and luminous studies as The Arabs in History (1950), The Emergence of Modern Turkey (1961), The Muslim Discovery of Europe (1982), The Political Language of Islam (1988), and The Shaping of the Modern Middle East (1994).

Following the terrorist attacks of September 2001, Professor Lewis’s works attracted intense interest from a wider public seeking to understand the turmoil in the Muslim world that had exploded with such ferocity into the West. His prescient essay, “The Roots of Muslim Rage,” published in the September 1990 issue of The Atlantic Monthly, was widely reprinted and discussed. He lectured widely, counseled with top government officials, appeared on television, and wrote two new books. In What Went Wrong? The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Modern Middle East (2002), he analyzed the fall of Islamic civilization from superiority in almost every area of human knowledge to a “poor, weak, and ignorant” backwater dominated by “shabby tyrannies . . . modern only in their apparatus of repression and terror.” In The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror (2003), he assessed the prospects for liberal political institutions in the Middle East. “If freedom fails and terror triumphs, the peoples of Islam will be the first and greatest victims,” he wrote. “They will not be alone and many others will suffer with them.”

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January 08

Institute For The Study Of European Transformations

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ISET (Institute for the Study of European Transformations)

ISET is based at London Met University. "ISET aims to bring an interdisciplinary approach to research questions arising from transformations taking place across Europe and in Europe’s relations with the wider world." Research interests include migration, EU enlargement, demographics, post-communities; changing relationships between age groups, sexualities, genders and ethnicities, quality of life and environment. Details of research projects and research opportunities are given. From Intute.ac.uk
http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/research-units/iset/