Facts on International Relations and Security Trends (FIRST) is a free-of-charge service for politicians, journalists, researchers and the interested public. FIRST is a joint project of the International Relations and Security Network (ISN) and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). |
In a wide-ranging new report (A/60/871) presented to the General Assembly on Tuesday, Secretary-General Kofi Annan stressed that international migration, supported by the right policies, could be highly beneficial for the development both of countries of origin and destination, and proposed the establishment of a permanent forum for the sharing of experiences and ideas on the issue (full statement).
Khanna, Parag; Mohan, C. Raja
GETTING INDIA RIGHT (Policy Review, No. 135, February/March 2006, pp. 43-61)
http://www.policyreview.org/135/khanna.html
Bowman, Bradley L. REALISM AND IDEALISM: US POLICY TOWARD SAUDI ARABIA, FROM THE COLD WAR TO THE PRESENT DAY(Parameters, vol. 35, no. 4, Winter 2005-06, pp. 91-105)
http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/parameters/05winter/bowman.htm
Legislator Behavior--Gender
Source: Yale University Economic Growth Center (via SSRN)
Female Socialization: How Daughters Affect Their Legislator Fathers' Voting on Women's Issues
"Economists have long concerned themselves with environmental influences, such as neighborhood, peers and family on individuals' beliefs and behaviors. However, the impact of children on parents' behavior has been little studied. Parenting daughters, psychologists have shown, increases feminist sympathies. I test the hypothesis that children, much like neighbors or peers, can influence adult behavior. I demonstrate that the propensity to vote liberally on reproductive rights is significantly increasing in a congress person's proportion of daughters. The result demonstrates not only the relevance of child to parent behavioral influence, but also the importance of personal ideology in a legislator's voting decisions as it is not explained away by voter preferences."
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=904001
Several options available to retrieve full paper (PDF; 250 KB).
Voting--Behavior
Source: Yale University Economic Growth Center (via SSRN)
Sticking with Your Vote: Cognitive Dissonance and Voting
"In traditional models, votes are an expression of preferences and beliefs. Psychological theories of cognitive dissonance suggest, however, that behavior may shape preferences. In this view, the very act of voting may influence political attitudes. A vote for a candidate may lead to more favorable interpretations of his actions in the future. We test the empirical relevance of cognitive dissonance in US Presidential elections. The key problem in such a test is the endogeneity of voter choice which leads to a mechanical relationship between voting and preferences. We use the voting age restrictions to help surmount this difficulty. We examine the Presidential opinion ratings of nineteen and twenty year olds two years after the President's election. Consistent with cognitive dissonance, we find that twenty year olds (who were eligible to vote in the election) show greater polarization of opinions than comparable nineteen year olds (who were ineligible to vote). We rule out that aging drives these results in two ways. First, we find no polarization differences in years in which twenty and nineteen year olds would not have differed in their eligibility to vote in the prior Presidential election. Second, we show a similar effect when we compare polarization (for all age groups) in opinions of Senators elected during high turnout Presidential campaign years with Senators elected during low turnout non-Presidential campaign years. Thus we find empirical support for the relevance of cognitive dissonance to voting behavior. This finding has at least three implications for the dynamics of voting behavior. First, it offers a new rationale for the incumbency advantage. Second, it suggests that there is an efficiency argument for term limits. And finally, our results demonstrate that efficiency may not be increasing in turnout level."
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=904000
Several options available to retrieve full paper (PDF; 431 KB).
HIV/AIDS--Business Community
Source: Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS
The State of Business and HIV/AIDS (2006): A Baseline Report
"The 2006 BPAS baseline indicates that there is a very high level of business engagement and willingness to do more. There is an increasing role for business to partner with governments and the international community and enhance joint efforts in fighting HIV/AIDS."
Executive Summary (PDF; 271 KB)http://www.businessfightsaids.org/atf/cf/{4AF0E874-E9A0-4D86-BA28-96C3BC31180A}/Exec%20Summary%20StateofBA.pdf
Full Report (PDF; 1.7 MB)
http://www.businessfightsaids.org/atf/cf/{4AF0E874-E9A0-4D86-BA28-96C3BC31180A}/StateofBusinessandAIDS.pdf
The Memory Hole: Reports From the Future of Iraq Project
Scanned versions of over 1,200 pages of reports about Department of State planning for a post-Saddam Iraq. The papers were released in February 2006. "Starting in October 2001... the State Department spearheaded an effort called the Future of Iraq Project. ... Within the project, seventeen working groups covered such areas as the justice system, local government, agriculture, media, education, and oil." From the author of several books on disinformation.
URL: http://www.thememoryhole.org/state/future_of_iraq/
Source: LII.ORG
International Relations
Source: Bertelsmann Stiftung
Who Rules the World? World Powers and International Order:
"The USA's status as a world power will be substantially weakened in the next 15 years. This is the result of a representative international survey by the German Bertelsmann Stiftung. According to this study, only 57% of the 10,000 people surveyed worldwide still see the USA as a world power in the year 2020. Today, 81% of people worldwide reckon the USA is a world power, followed by China with 45%, Japan with 37%, Great Britain with 33%, the EU with 32% and Russia with 27%. However, expectations shift considerably for the year 2020. Then, 55% of those surveyed expect China to be a world power, followed by Japan with 32%, the EU with 30%, Russia with 27% and India with 24%."
Press Release (PDF):
http://en.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/media/press_release.pdf
Conclusions (PDF):
http://de.sitestat.com/bertelsmann/stiftung-de/s?english.pdf.conclusions&ns_type=pdf&ns_url=[http://en.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/media/conclusions_representative_survey.pdf
Survey (PDF):
From The Resourceshelf's Docuticker
Precaution Against Terrorism
Source: Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, Faculty Research Working Paper Series
"Stunned by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the Bush administration adopted a new National Security Strategy in September 2002. The UK government took a similar stance. This new strategy calls for anticipatory attacks against potential enemies with uncertain capacities and intentions, even before their threat is imminent. Rather than wait for evidence of weapons of mass destruction, it shifts the burden of proof, obliging 'rogue' states to show that they do not harbor weapons of mass destruction or terrorist cells, or else face the possibility of attack. This new strategy amounts to the adoption of the Precautionary Principle against the risk of terrorism. We offer two main conclusions about precaution against terrorism. First, any action taken to reduce a target risk always poses the introduction of countervailing risks. Moreover, a precautionary approach to terrorism is likely to entail larger, more expensive interventions, so the expected opportunity costs are likely to be higher. While considering worst-case scenarios is important for the development of sound policy, taking action based only on worst-case thinking can introduce unforeseen dangers and costs. We argue that a better approach to managing risk involves an assessment of the full portfolio of risks - those reduced by the proposed intervention, as well as those increased. We argue that decision makers developing counterterrorism measures need mechanisms to ensure that sensible risk analysis precedes precautionary actions. Such a mechanism currently exists to review and improve or reject proposed precautionary measures against health and environmental risks, but not, so far, for counterterrorism and national security policies. We urge the creation of such a review mechanism."
Full Paper (PDF; 893 KB):
http://ksgnotes1.harvard.edu/Research/wpaper.nsf/rwp/RWP06-019/$File/rwp_06_019_stern.pdf
From The Resourceshelf's Docuticker
Yale
http://www.ycsg.yale.edu/center/index.html
The study of globalization has gained great currency over the past decade, and a number of private organizations and institutions of higher learning have moved to create centers and institutes where individuals can come together to discuss and research this phenomenon and process. The
From The Scout Report
The UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) has released a new report on its investigation of complaints of crimes and human rights violations, The Human Rights Situation in April 2006. According to the report, DR Congo's own soldiers were responsible for the majority of the nearly seven dozen complaints. Acts of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment against civilians by the Presidential Guard and the national police were also reported in five provinces, while armed militias raped and abducted a number of people in three provinces. In a landmark blow against impunity, however, a local military tribunal, applying the Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court (ICC) that qualifies rape as a crime against humanity convicted seven soldiers of that crime, the mission said.
Annual Report: The State of the World's Human Rights
Source: Amnesty International
Complete text:
http://web.amnesty.org/report2006/index-eng
"This Amnesty International Report documents human rights abuses in 150 countries around the world. It highlights the need for governments, the international community, armed groups and others in positions of power or influence to take responsibility. It also reflects the vitality of human rights activists globally, whether in local initiatives, international summits or mass demonstrations."
Regional Summaries
+ Africa
+ Americas
+ Asia and the Pacific
+ Europe and Central Asia
+ Middle East and North Africa
(More)
Psephos Adam Carr's Election Archive
Electionguide gives world wide coverage of national elections, both current and past elections.
International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) Electionguide.org gives election dates, information and results for elections world-wide, back to 1998.
Richard Kimber's Elections and Electoral Systems Around the World has links to a wide variety of election-related web sites. Included is Adam Carr’s excellent coverage of recent elections; the Proportional Representation Society of Australia; The Global Initiative to Enfranchise People with Disabilities; the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems; The Electoral Reform Society; the Center for Voting and Democracy; and voter turnout around the world since 1945.
The University of British Columbia Library - Elections, Political Parties and Parliaments gives an academic approach to elections and political parties. Here you will find links to information on electoral behaviour, an in-depth look at Australian, British, Canadian and American elections, manifestos, platforms, speeches and political thought.
The Political Studies Association is a United Kingdom based organisation and provides a gateway to election portals, links to the Centre for Research into Elections and Social Trends (CREST), the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). There is also information on internet voting, constitutions, gender and politics and electronic journals.
Dual Dilemmas:
Source: The Brookings Institution,
"American influence will strongly determine whether Israel's West Bank disengagement is conducted in a manner that facilitates a later negotiated settlement, is simply consistent with that possibility, or at worst undermines it. Similarly, while rejecting Hamas as an appropriate interlocutor, America's attitude toward the PA and its interactions with other segments of Palestinian society will strongly influence the possibilities of promoting alternative Palestinian leadership that will enjoy the ability and legitimacy to negotiate effectively with Israel and to implement agreements."
UNAIDS' Editors' Notes for authors
http://data.unaids.org/pub//InformationNote/2006/EditorsNotes_en.pdf
The Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) is a subsidiary body of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The Commission provides the General Assembly and ECOSOC with high-level advice on relevant science and technology issues.
http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Page.asp?intItemID=2696&lang=1
"Bridging the Technology Gap between and within Nations",
9th Session of of CSTD, 15th-19thMay, 2006.
The ninth session will examine the extent of the technology gap between and within nations, draw on policy lessons from countries that have successfully moved up the technological ladder and elaborate policy frameworks for developing countries to build up technological capabilities.
During the Session, a panel will be held to discuss the role of CSTD. in the UN system-wide follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). The outcome of the deliberations will be submitted to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
http://www.unctad.org/Templates/meeting.asp?intItemID=1942&lang=1&m=11157
Informational Lobbying and Political ContributionsSource: Journal of Public Economics, Forthcoming (via SSRN)
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=901759
"Interest groups can potentially influence political decision-makers by offering contributions and by providing relevant information that sways the decision in the group's favor. What mix of these two instruments should an interest group choose, and how does the use of one instrument affect the effectiveness of the other? In this paper we identify an information externality that raises the cost of offering contributions and show that this indirect search cost reduces the group's incentive to gather information when contributions are allowed. Furthermore, we analyze how competition among lobby groups as providers of information and contributions affect the choice and effectiveness of the instruments. We show that the information externality rewards the group that can abstain from information search and focus its influence on contributions." Several options for retrieving full paper (PDF).
The Mission of the United Nations Public-Private Alliance (UNPPA) for Rural Development is to identify, highlight, and promote replication of successful business policies and practices that are both profitable and promote social and economic advancement of poor people in rural areas. It emphasizes promotion of pro-poor business, stimulation of entrepreneurial capacity-building, encouragement of investments and commerce, and related support domestically and internationally. Results of this win-win approach will be brought to the attention of the international community through the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
Jumping into the Political Fray: Academics and Policy-Making (PDF; 136 KB)
Source: Institute for Research on Public Policy (Canada)http://www.irpp.org/pm/archive/pmvol7no3.pdf
"Daniel Cohn examines the role academics can play in the policy-making process. In looking at the impact academics have had on policy in areas such as the environment and social and economic issues, Cohn reaches several conclusions. He argues that academics have substantial opportunities to influence public policy, but that this influence is usually indirect and is best achieved by convincing those with power to advocate for and/or act on their ideas."
On the Divergent American Reactions to Terrorism and Climate Change
Source: AEI-Brookings Joint Center
"Two of the most important sources of catastrophic risk are terrorism and climate change. The United States has responded aggressively to the risk of terrorism while doing very little about the risk of climate change. For the United States alone, the cost of the Iraq war is now in excess of the anticipated cost of the Kyoto Protocol. The divergence presents a puzzle; it also raises more general questions about both risk perception and the public demand for legislation. The best explanation for the divergence emphasizes bounded rationality. Americans believe that aggressive steps to reduce the risk of terrorism promise to deliver significant benefits in the near future at acceptable cost. By contrast, they believe that aggressive steps to reduce the risk of climate change will not greatly benefit American citizens in the near future – and they are not willing to pay a great deal to reduce that risk. This intuitive form of cost-benefit analysis is much influenced by behavioral factors, including the availability heuristic, probability neglect, outrage, and myopia. All of these contribute, after 9/11, to a willingness to support significant steps to respond to terrorism and to relative indifference to climate change. It follows that Americans are likely to support such steps in response to climate change only if one of two conditions is met: the costs of those steps can be shown to be acceptably low or new information, perhaps including a salient incident, indicates that Americans have much to gain from risk reduction in the relatively near future."
Full Paper (PDF; 372 KB):
http://www.aei-brookings.org/admin/authorpdfs/page.php?id=1275
Debt Relief for the Poorest: An Evaluation Update of the HIPC Initiative
Source: World Bank Group
"This update builds on IEG's 2003 evaluation of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative. About $50 billion has been committed in nominal debt service relief under the Enhanced HIPC initiative to decision point countries, of which $15.4 billion has been committed since the previous evaluation. This evaluation finds that debt relief has become a significant vehicle of resource transfer to HIPC countries. But debt reduction alone is not a sufficient instrument to affect the multiple drivers of debt sustainability, which also requires improvements in repayment capacity. Maintaining policy performance is essential for countries not yet at completion point to reap the benefits of debt reduction."
Executive Summary (PDF; 72 KB) :
http://www.worldbank.org/ieg/hipc/docs/executive_summary.pdf
SELDA http://www.selda.org.za/index.htm
SELDA aims to exchange information and provide a basis for knowledge circle generation with a focus on local government and local development issues throughout Africa.
It is hoped that in time we will be able to focus on the local government system and local development issues in every African country. The web-site serves as a resource for lodging material, allowing it to be easily
accessed and disseminated, and will provide a source of contact details for local government throughout Africa.
SELDA is managed as non profit organization. Its founding Trustees are Dr Alastair McIntosh and Dr Felicity Kitchin.
The State of the World's Refugees 2006 [pdf] issued by the United Nations Refugee Agency
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/template?page=publ&src=static/sowr2006/toceng.htm
Released in April 2006, The State of the World's Refugees annual report (issued by the United Nations Refugee Agency) contains a great deal of helpful information on the contemporary state of refugee populations and their movements. The report does contain a number of positive observations, including the fact that the current number of refugees is at a 25-year low. Unfortunately, there are a number of equally troubling observations and developments, including the fact that there are millions of internally displaced people and widespread confusion over migrants and refugees. The entire report can be viewed here, and visitors are most welcome to view individual sections at their leisure. All told, there are eight chapters, and they include those titled "Addressing refugee security" and "Safeguarding asylum". Buttressed by highly legible graphs and charts, this report is quite timely, and rather essential reading for anyone interested in this subject. [KMG]
From The Scout Report
Jihad, War, Terrorism, and Peace in Islamhttp://www.uga.edu/islam/jihad.html
Table of Contents:
From:Islam, Islamic Studies, Arabic, and Religion", the website of Professor Alan Godlas of the Department of Religion at the University of Georgia
Center for Nonproliferation Studies: Iran Special Collection
Series of policy papers and reports on Iran's nuclear program. Discusses safeguards, involvement of other countries (such as Russia), and treaties. Also includes maps, satellite photos, and links to related websites. From the Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), Monterey Institute of International Studies.
URL: http://cns.miis.edu/research/iran/
From LII.ORG
Deadly Maps
This site provides images of "the complete collection of maps from Carnegie's, 'Deadly Arsenals: Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Threats'. ... The first five maps reflect the worldwide proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and their missile delivery systems. The country maps show the major nuclear installations, both civilian and military, in each country." Includes maps of Iran, North Korea, China, Russia, Pakistan, Libya, Israel, and other countries. From the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
URL: http://www.carnegieendowment.org/static/npp/deadlymaps.cfm
From LII.ORG
Country Reports on Terrorism
Annual reports from the Secretary of State about "developments in countries in which acts of terrorism occurred, countries that are state sponsors of terrorism, and countries determined by the Secretary to be of particular interest in the global war on terror." Includes reports back
to 1996. (Prior to 2004, these reports were known as "Patterns of Global Terrorism.") From the U.S. Department of State Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism.
URL: http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/
From LII.ORG
Council on Foreign Relations: Iran
Articles, background, opinion pieces, interviews, and other documents on government and politics in Iran. Publication topics include Iran's nuclear program, U.S.-Iran relations, Iran-Iraq relations, and Iranian leaders. Browse by date, publication type, or issue. From the Council on Foreign Relations, "a nonpartisan and independent membership organization."
URL: http://www.cfr.org/region/404/iran.html
From LII.ORG
The implementation of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) will be in focus at the Sixth Africa Governance Forum in Kigali, Rwanda this week. The Africa Governance Forum (AGF) initiative was launched in 1997 as a UNDP-Regional Bureau for Africa/UNECA joint initiative within the framework of the UN System-wide Initiative on Africa (UNSIA). The forum brings together African leaders, donors, civil society and the private sector to deliberate the challenges of promoting good governance in Africa. See the agenda.
Permanent Link to UN Pulse:
http://unhq-appspub-un.org/LIB/DHLRefWeblog.nsf/dx/03052006111239AMNGRKUH
Failed States Index | |
Description: The Failed States Index has been compiled annually since 2005 by Fund for Peace using their the Conflict Assessment System Tool (CAST). It is published in Foreign policy Magazine and aims to analyse trends in state instability worldwide, the impact of wars on state structures and the ability of individual nations to cope with conflict. The web site provides access to information on methodology and the FSI scores and country risk assessments. |
Impact of Electoral Systems on Womens Representation | |
Description: This site provides access to the full text of the article by Poppa Norris which was published in Acta Politica in 2006. It contains a survey of the effect of the electoral system on the political representation of women in parliaments worldwide. It then considers whether the reform of the electoral system in the Netherlands will reduce the number of women representatives in the House of Representatives. The paper is in pdf format. |
The Use of the Internet by Islamic Extremists (PDF; 0.2 MB)
Source: RAND Corporation
http://www.rand.org/pubs/testimonies/2006/RAND_CT262.pdf
"Testimony presented to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, on May 4, 2006."
Journal articles:
Hyslop, J. 2000. Why did apartheid's supporters capitulate? : whiteness, class and consumption in urban South Africa, 1985-1995. Society in transition, Vol 31, Issue 1 Pages: p.36-44
301.05 SOU
Jansen van Rensburg, A. 2001. The government of national unity (19941996): its influence on South African party politics. Politeia, Vol 20, Issue 2, p.38-58.
SA ePublications database: [Full-text] Also in print: 320.05 POL
Track two, Vol 11, Issue 3, May 2002. [Whole issue]
320.96805 TRA
BA 320.96805 TRA
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Evans, G. 1992, "The struggle for power in
Glad, B. & Blanton, R. 1997, "F. W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela: a study in cooperative transformational leadership", Presidential Studies Quarterly, vol. 27(3), pp. 565-590.
Electronic full-text accessible through Infotrac database
Hudson-Allison, D.K. 2000, "The role of non-violent resistance in
LINK to electronic full-text:
http://www.princeton.edu/~jpia/pdf2000/Vol11_Spring00_10.pdf
Schwartzman, K. &.Taylor, K.A. 1999. What caused the collapse of Apartheid ? Journal of Political & Military Sociology, vol. 27, no.1, pp. 109-139.
Uys, S. 1996, "Pressing the ANC to take power", World Today, vol. 52, pp. 129-132.
Essay 1 due
The transition from the ‘apartheid’ government to the democratically elected government of national unity can be seen as a major watershed in South African political development. There are a number of theoretical explanations that would account for this regime change. Drawing on your readings of political theory with regard to power, authority and legitimacy, and other concepts, explain the causes of the change to the new government in
Useful Reference books:
R 916.7005 AFR
The chapter on
R 320.56 CHRI
The Atlas of Changing
R 323.16805 SUR
Race Relations Survey [the volumes for1990, 1991, 1992 ,1993 & 1994]
There is a chapter on constitutional change/constitutional negotiations.
Some other books that may be of help:
BA 320.968 DAVI [African Studies Library]
Davidson, Alex
The path to democracy: a background to the constitutional negotiations in
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BA 320.968 DUTO [African Studies Library]
Du Toit, P. van der P. (
State-building and democracy in southern
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303.620968 GAST [on loan]
BA 303.62 GAST [African Studies Library]
Gastrow, Peter, 1947-
Bargaining for peace:
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320.968 GLAS [on loan]
BA 320.968 GLAS [African Studies Library]
Glaser, Daryl
Politics and society in
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320.968019 GUEL [2 copies on Short Loan]
BA 320.968 GUEL [African Studies Library]
Guelke, Adrian.
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BA 968.18 HARV [African Studies Library]
Harvey, Robert, 1953-
The fall of apartheid: the inside story from Smuts to Mbeki / Robert Harvey.
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320.968019 BOLD [On Loan]
BA 320.968 BOLD [African Studies Library]
The Bold experiment:
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320.968018 SOUT
BA 968 SOUT [BA copy transferred to Short Loans; now has shelf number 320.968018 SOUT]
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320.968019 MARA [2 copies on Short Loan]
BA 320.968 MARA [African Studies Library]
Marais, Hein
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BAP 321.8 COMP(NATT) [African Studies Library]
Nattrass, Nicoli.
Economic factors and the transition to democracy in
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BA 320.968 NYAT [African Studies Library]
Nyatsumba, Kaizer Mabhilidi, 1963-
All sides of the story: a grandstand view of
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324.268083 RANT [3 copies on Short Loan]
BA 322.42 RANT [African Studies Library]
Rantete, Johannes Mutshutshu
The African National Congress and the negotiated settlement in
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968.18 SPAR
BA 968 SPAR [BA copy transferred to SHORT LOANS; shelf number: 968.18 SPAR]
Sparks, Allister Haddon.
Tomorrow is another country: the inside story of
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320.968018 SPIT [On Short Loan]
BA 320.968 SPIT [BA copy transferred to Short Loans; shelf number: 320.968018 SPIT ]
Spitz, Richard.
The politics of transition: a hidden history of
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320.968 WALD [On Short Loan]
BA 320.968 WALD [BA copy transferred to Short Loans; shelf number: 320.968 WALD]
Waldmeir, Patti
Anatomy of a miracle: the end of apartheid and the birth of the new
CW
Updated 3/5/2006 CW
IPOC http://www.ipocafrica.org/
IPOC seeks to provide users with:
Center for Global Development [pdf]
http://www.cgdev.org/
A number of think-tanks and related organizations have sprung up in recent years with the intent of researching various development initiatives around the world. Founded in 2001, the Center for Global Development is just such an organization, and they are primarily concerned with offering “….practical, creative solutions to the challenges that global interdepen-dence poses to the developing countries, starting with debt.” So far, they have assembled an impressive list of research fellows and partners, a fact that is apparent upon visiting their homepage. Visitors would do well to start by looking through their “Initiatives” area, which offers brief introduction to their primary thematic areas of interest, which include debt relief and population dynamics. Along with this area, a nice complement is the section dedicated to providing access to their publications, which include working papers on infrastructure development in Africa and corruption and governance in public health care systems. Rounding out the site are areas where visitors can sign up to receive email updates and sections dedicated to their in-house blogs. [KMG]
Pew Global Attitudes Project [pdf]
http://pewglobal.org/
Most social scientists will tell you that it is fairly hard to get any type of meaningful sense of public opinion on any number of important issues, so it is with great interest that the Scout Report has found the website of the Pew Global Attitudes Project. With principal funding from The Pew charitable Trusts, the Global Attitudes Project was created with the intent to gauge public attitudes toward globalization, democracy, and a number of other crucial issues. To accomplish this task, they have conducted over 90,000 interviews in 50 countries over the past few years. So far, their work has yielded a number of intriguing reports which deal with subjects such as Islamic extremism, the war in Iraq, and prosperity in China. Visitors can view all of these reports on the site, and also take a look at the datasets used to craft each report. Finally, visitors can elect to sign up to receive email updates when new reports are released. [KMG]
Voting
This site explains how votes are interpreted when one political candidate does not win a majority in an election. Topics addressed include plurality, run-offs, and the Borda method (named after 18th century Jean-Charles de Borda), a ranking system which assigns a certain number of points to each place. Includes examples. From the Washington State University
Department of Mathematics.
URL: http://www.sci.wsu.edu/math/Lessons/Voting/
FairVote: IRV America
Website for an organization that advocates instant runoff voting (IRV) for elections in the U.S. Features an analysis of IRV and plurality election systems, the cost of runoff elections, and voter turnout issues. Also includes a FAQ about how IRV elections work, links to related legislation, animated teaching materials, and news about communities using IRV (such as San Francisco's ranked choice voting for supervisors in 2004). From the Center for Voting Democracy.
URL: http://www.fairvote.org/irv/
Iraq Memory Foundation
The goal of this Baghdad-based foundation is to provides a "view of the inner workings of the Ba'thist institutions of repression and social control that dominated ... Iraqi life between 1968 and 2003." The site includes a description of projects and selected items from collections. In Arabic and English. The foundation is an outgrowth of the Iraq Research and
Documentation Project (IRDP) founded at the Center of Middle East Studies at Harvard University.
URL: http://www.iraqmemory.org/en/
Beyond Abu Ghraib: detention and torture in
Source: Amnesty International
http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=ENGMDE140012006
"Amnesty International is calling on the Iraqi, US and UK authorities, who both operate detention facilities where persons detained by the MNF are held, to take urgent, concrete steps to ensure that the fundamental human rights of all detainees in Iraq are respected. In particular, these authorities must urgently put in place adequate safeguards to protect detainees from torture or ill-treatment. This includes ensuring that all allegations of such abuse are subject to prompt, thorough and independent investigation and that any military, security or other officials found to have used, ordered or authorized torture are brought to justice. It includes too ensuring that detainees are able effectively to challenge their detention before a court; the right to do so constitutes a fundamental safeguard against arbitrary detention and torture and ill-treatment, and is one of the non-derogable rights which states are bound to uphold in all circumstances, even in time of war or national emergency."
Global Development
Source: The World Bank
"World Development Indicators (WDI) publication is the World Bank's premier annual compilation of data about development. The 2006 WDI includes more than 900 indicators in over 80 tables organized in 6 sections: World View, People, Environment, Economy, States and Markets, and Global Links. Data are shown for 152 economies with populations of more than 1 million, as well as for Taiwan, China, in selected tables. Table 1.6 presents selected indicators for 56 other economies—small economies with populations between 30,000 and 1 million and smaller economies if they are members of the World Bank."
+ Full Text (confusing Flash resentation)http://devdata.worldbank.org/wdi2006
WD 2006 data for selected indicators and years http://devdata.worldbank.org/data-query/
International Institute for Environment and Development [pdf]
Since its founding in 1971, the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) has committed itself to "working for more sustainable and equitable global development". Through a number of partnerships, the IIED continues to work in a cooperative fashion with national governments, regional non-governmental organizations, and other agencies. In terms of their thematic focuses, their work lies primarily in five areas, including climate change, human settlements, natural resources, and governance. New visitors to the site will want to explore these five areas through a series of clickable tabs featured prominently on the homepage. Within each area, visitors will find news updates on each topic, along with working papers and conference reports. For those looking for specific publications, a search engine offered here allows users to search by keyword, author, title, series, or region. (More)Amnesty International
Below the Radar: CIA rendition flights. Map [takes time to download]http://www.amnesty.org/resources/flash/torture/renditions/
USA: The secretive and illegal US programme of 'rendition'
http://web.amnesty.org/pages/stoptorture-050406-feature-eng
Council of Europe.Committee on Legal Affairs & Human Rights.
Map
http://assembly.coe.int/CommitteeDocs/2006/20060606_RenditionsMap_EN.jpg
Draft report.
http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?Link=/CommitteeDocs/2006/20060606_Ejdoc162006PartII-FINAL.htm
From: Project on Defense Alternatives [U.S.]
1. How much has terrorism increased since the "war on terrorism" began? Short article available for download or posting to blogs and websites:
"The wages of war: Global terrorism up since 9/11 attacks," by Carl Conetta, Project on Defense Alternatives,7 September 2006
HTML: http://www.comw.org/pda/0609br18excerpt.html
WordPerfect: http://www.comw.org/pda/fulltext/0609br18excerpt.wpd
PDF: http://www.comw.org/pda/fulltext/0609br18excerpt.pdf
MS Word: http://www.comw.org/pda/fulltext/0609br18excerpt.doc
2. Full report:
"Pyrrhus on the Potomac: How America's post-9/11 wars have undermined US national security," PDA Briefing Report #18, 05 September 2006. [First section offers 400 word summary of argument]
http://www.comw.org/pda/0609br18.html
http://www.comw.org/pda/fulltext/0609br18.pdf
3. Compendium of nine short articles assessing post-9/11 US security policy and offering alternatives: terrorism, Iraq war, budgetary aspects, military transformation, nuclear policy. Also critiques mainstream
Democratic "alternative":
"Are We Safer? Five Years After the September 11th Attacks." By the Security Policy Working Group.
http://www.proteusfund.org/spwg/collab/index.html
4. More to come: In the next few days the Project on Defense Alternatives will post additional overview articles assessing post-9/11 US security policy. Check back at http://www.comw.org/pda/
Look at top for:
* "Fighting on borrowed time: How current policy is depleting America’s armed forces"
* "Fanning the flames: The effect of America's post-9/11 wars on world opinion"
This report, from War on Want, is subtitled "The true cost of cheap clothes at Primark, Asda and Tesco" and is an exposé of the clothing industry and cheap labour...
Al Urdun Al Jadid Research Center
Al Urdun
Al Jadid Research Center is an important non-governmental organisation based in
