A European global "security" strategy: offering seven-league boots to become a global actor. Security Policy Brief No. 45, March 2013

In mid-2012 the Foreign Ministers of Italy, Poland, Spain and Sweden took the initiative to launch the debate on a “European Global Strategy” and invited think tanks to set up a dialogue leading to the delivery of a report by May 2013.

Does ASEM work? CEPS Policy Brief No. 321, 14 October 2014

This CEPS Policy Brief is based on a larger study for the EEAS and European Commission, written by the same authors in the run-up of the Milan ASEM summit of 16-17 October 2014. The main idea of the study is to assess whether ASEM works and how, by verifying the factual evidence in detail. After all, ASEM has no institutions, no budget and no treaty, whilst dialogues and a loose improvement over time in Asia-Europe relations refer to process much more than genuine ‘results’. The stocktaking covers all ASEM activities since the 2006 Helsinki summit. Summit and foreign ministers’ declarations and ASEM calendar of activities (and interviews) are used to trace ASEM activities in the three ASEM pillars (political, economic, and peoples-to-peoples/cultural). All the ‘regular’ ASEM meetings at ministerial and other levels (many of which are only known to relatively few) have been mapped. Also the ASEM working methods, based on the 2000 AECF framework and many subsequent initiatives, have been scrutinised, including whether they are actually implemented or not or partially. Such methods refer to how to work together in areas of cooperation (beyond the typical ASEM dialogue), organisation, coordination and ASEM visibility. The main conclusion is that ASEM works reasonably well, once one accepts the ASEM of today, although some inefficiencies still characterise the ‘system’. There is a host of secondary conclusions on the three pillars, the foreign ministers, the strong government-to-government nature of ASEM and the working methods. We recommend that today’s ASEM needs no reform and that not having ASEM would entail political and diplomatic costs. We emphasise that ASEM is well placed to stimulate exchange of information between the mega-FTAs such as TPP, RCEP and TTIP. However, the ASEM of tomorrow might be different, given the great changes in geo-political and economic conditions since ASEM began in the mid-1990s. Moreover, the size of ASEM has become such that classical ways of operating with (after Milano) 53 countries (including the EU and ASEAN) cannot possibly be effective all the time. We suggest that, in the run-up to the 20th ASEM birthday (2016), EU and Asian independent think-tanks get together to write an ‘options report’ reconsidering options for a new ASEM, as the basis for a profound and wide debate how to get more value-added out of ASEM.

The EU deal to avoid Brexit: Take it or leave. CEPS Special Report No. 131/February 2016

Beyond the drama of the European Council summit of 18-19 February 2016, what became clear was the fundamental desire on the part of the leaders of all 28 EU member states to agree a deal on the British government’s demands for a renegotiated settlement on the UK’s relationship within the European Union. The deal has provided David Cameron with the political capital he needed to call a date for the in/out referendum and to lead a campaign for the UK to stay in the EU. Yet, for all the technical reforms packed into it, the deal is neither a crowd pleaser nor a vote winner. It does, however, mark a watershed acknowledgement that EU integration is not a one-directional process of ‘ever closer union’. In this CEPS Special Report, Stefani Weiss and Steven Blockmans analyse the substance of the “Decision of the Heads of State or Government, meeting within the European Council, concerning a New Settlement for the United Kingdom within the European Union” and shed light on its legal character. They contextualise this EU deal to avoid Brexit, and draw on the conclusions reached in a simulation of European Council negotiations between representatives of think tanks in the European Policy Institutes Network (EPIN), conducted by CEPS and the Bertelsmann Stiftung in October 2015.

Information Guide: The EU Referendum, 23 June 2016. The United Kingdom and the European Union. A guide to information sources July 2016

A guide to information sources on the 'Brexit Debate' in the United Kingdom - the decision to hold a referendum in the United Kingdom on the 23 June 2016 as to whether the country should remain or leave the European Union. The guide is a structured listing of information sources from the EU, the UK government, UK Parliament, the main campaigning groups, think tanks, news sources and other sources on this important topic. Note that the images within the guide are all hyperlinks to the full text of the sources. The guides is being constantly updated during 2016.

Information Guide: The Brexit Debate

A guide to information sources on the 'Brexit Debate' in the United Kingdom - the decision to hold a referendum in the United Kingdom on the 23 June 2016 as to whether the country should remain or leave the European Union. The guide is a structured listing of information sources from the EU, the UK government, UK Parliament, the main campaigning groups, think tanks, news sources and other sources on this important topic. Note that the images within the guide are all hyperlinks to the full text of the sources. The guides is being constantly updated during 2016.

Corporate coalitions and policy making in the European Union:how and why British American tobacco promoted "better regulation"

Over the past fifteen years, an interconnected set of regulatory reforms, knownas Better Regulation, has been adopted across Europe, marking a significant shift in theway that European Union policies are developed. There has been little exploration of the origins of these reforms, which include mandatory ex ante impact assessment. Drawing on documentary and interview data, this article discusses how and why large corporations, notably British American Tobacco (BAT), worked to influence and promote these reforms. Our analysis highlights (1) howpolicy entrepreneurs with sufficient resources (such as large corporations) can shape the membership and direction of advocacy coalitions; (2) the extent to which "think tanks" may be prepared to lobby on behalf of commercial clients; and (3) why regulated industries (including tobacco) may favor the use of "evidence tools," such as impact assessments, in policy making. We argue that a key aspect of BAT's ability to shape regulatory reform involved the deliberate construction of a vaguely defined idea that could be strategically adapted to appeal to diverse constituencies.We discuss the theoretical implications of this finding for the Advocacy Coalition Framework, as well as the practical implications of the findings for efforts to promote transparency and public health in the European Union.

International cooperation against climate change: institutions, policies and their efficiency

In the 20th century nature of the world economy has started to change significantly, and the former state-centric constellation disappeared. Several development factors that induced the change are still active and nowadays we live in a much different world. The world economy consists of transnational networks; these complicated systems have a great impact on the world of states. The transnational actors’ (multinational corporations, non-governmental organizations etc) influence became very essential as they are able to mobilize the society, have high expertise (think tanks), but it is also important to note their financial strength and moral effects (norm entrepreneurs).

Political strategy, leadership, and policy entrepreneurship in Japanese defense policy and politics: A comparison of three prime ministerships

Since the end of the Cold War, Japan's defense policy and politics has gone through significant changes. Throughout the post cold war period, US-Japan alliance managers, politicians with differing visions and preferences, scholars, think tanks, and the actions of foreign governments have all played significant roles in influencing these changes. Along with these actors, the Japanese prime minister has played an important, if sometimes subtle, role in the realm of defense policy and politics. Japanese prime ministers, though significantly weaker than many heads of state, nevertheless play an important role in policy by empowering different actors (bureaucratic actors, independent commissions, or civil actors), through personal diplomacy, through agenda-setting, and through symbolic acts of state. The power of the prime minister to influence policy processes, however, has frequently varied by prime minister. My dissertation investigates how different political strategies and entrepreneurial insights by the prime minister have influenced defense policy and politics since the end of the Cold War. In addition, it seeks to explain how the quality of political strategy and entrepreneurial insight employed by different prime ministers was important in the success of different approaches to defense. My dissertation employs a comparative case study approach to examine how different prime ministerial strategies have mattered in the realm of Japanese defense policy and politics. Three prime ministers have been chosen: Prime Minister Hashimoto Ryutaro (1996-1998); Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro (2001-2006); and Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio (2009-2010). These prime ministers have been chosen to provide maximum contrast on issues of policy preference, cabinet management, choice of partners, and overall strategy. As my dissertation finds, the quality of political strategy has been an important aspect of Japan's defense transformation. Successful strategies have frequently used the knowledge and accumulated personal networks of bureaucrats, supplemented bureaucratic initiatives with top-down personal diplomacy, and used a revitalized US-Japan strategic relationship as a political resource for a stronger prime ministership. Though alternative approaches, such as those that have looked to displace the influence of bureaucrats and the US in defense policy, have been less successful, this dissertation also finds theoretical evidence that alternatives may exist.

El Banco Mundial y su fetiche, la Educación Básica

A partir de la década del noventa, con la consolidación del Estado Neoliberal, se disipa el carácter de derecho social de la educación que había tenido en tiempos del Welfare State o Estado Providencia y, después de atravesar un proceso de metamorfosis, se convierte en un servicio o bien comercializable. En este contexto, la política educativa de los Estados que se inscriben dentro del capitalismo dependiente, es pérfidamente impuesta por los "think tanks" de los organismos de crédito y asesoramiento internacionales, entre ellos, el Banco Mundial. Esta entidad pretendidamente omnisciente plantea una nueva concepción de Educación Básica que constituiría aquel tramo en el que se imparten "lectura y escritura, aritmética básica y solución de problemas" a la que adhieren las burocracias ministeriales locales, con la implementación de los Núcleos de Aprendizaje Prioritarios (NAP). Con esta escueta provisión de saberes se lograría una fuerza laboral más apta, la adopción de prácticas neomalthusianas y sanitarias generales, lo que en conjunto acarrearía la reducción de la pobreza. En este sentido este dispositivo no introduce novedad alguna sino que implica el más llano reciclaje de la Teoría del Capital Humano emergida en la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Sin embargo, el aditamento dentro de estas "recomendaciones" estriba en la imposición de un nuevo artefacto de financiamiento donde la prioridad concedida a la Educación Básica implica la desinversión de los otros niveles educativos. Más allá de esta retórica, el sentido solapado es la conformación de un sujeto disciplinado y un orden social inmune a los conflictos generados por la desigualdad. Esta maquinaria de dominación se complementa con el empobrecimiento de la formación docente, reducida a la adquisición de un repertorio de técnicas de enseñanza. En consecuencia, se le enajena al educador la posibilidad de tomar decisiones autónomamente que involucra el trabajo con el conocimiento

El Banco Mundial y su fetiche, la Educación Básica

A partir de la década del noventa, con la consolidación del Estado Neoliberal, se disipa el carácter de derecho social de la educación que había tenido en tiempos del Welfare State o Estado Providencia y, después de atravesar un proceso de metamorfosis, se convierte en un servicio o bien comercializable. En este contexto, la política educativa de los Estados que se inscriben dentro del capitalismo dependiente, es pérfidamente impuesta por los "think tanks" de los organismos de crédito y asesoramiento internacionales, entre ellos, el Banco Mundial. Esta entidad pretendidamente omnisciente plantea una nueva concepción de Educación Básica que constituiría aquel tramo en el que se imparten "lectura y escritura, aritmética básica y solución de problemas" a la que adhieren las burocracias ministeriales locales, con la implementación de los Núcleos de Aprendizaje Prioritarios (NAP). Con esta escueta provisión de saberes se lograría una fuerza laboral más apta, la adopción de prácticas neomalthusianas y sanitarias generales, lo que en conjunto acarrearía la reducción de la pobreza. En este sentido este dispositivo no introduce novedad alguna sino que implica el más llano reciclaje de la Teoría del Capital Humano emergida en la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Sin embargo, el aditamento dentro de estas "recomendaciones" estriba en la imposición de un nuevo artefacto de financiamiento donde la prioridad concedida a la Educación Básica implica la desinversión de los otros niveles educativos. Más allá de esta retórica, el sentido solapado es la conformación de un sujeto disciplinado y un orden social inmune a los conflictos generados por la desigualdad. Esta maquinaria de dominación se complementa con el empobrecimiento de la formación docente, reducida a la adquisición de un repertorio de técnicas de enseñanza. En consecuencia, se le enajena al educador la posibilidad de tomar decisiones autónomamente que involucra el trabajo con el conocimiento

El Banco Mundial y su fetiche, la Educación Básica

A partir de la década del noventa, con la consolidación del Estado Neoliberal, se disipa el carácter de derecho social de la educación que había tenido en tiempos del Welfare State o Estado Providencia y, después de atravesar un proceso de metamorfosis, se convierte en un servicio o bien comercializable. En este contexto, la política educativa de los Estados que se inscriben dentro del capitalismo dependiente, es pérfidamente impuesta por los "think tanks" de los organismos de crédito y asesoramiento internacionales, entre ellos, el Banco Mundial. Esta entidad pretendidamente omnisciente plantea una nueva concepción de Educación Básica que constituiría aquel tramo en el que se imparten "lectura y escritura, aritmética básica y solución de problemas" a la que adhieren las burocracias ministeriales locales, con la implementación de los Núcleos de Aprendizaje Prioritarios (NAP). Con esta escueta provisión de saberes se lograría una fuerza laboral más apta, la adopción de prácticas neomalthusianas y sanitarias generales, lo que en conjunto acarrearía la reducción de la pobreza. En este sentido este dispositivo no introduce novedad alguna sino que implica el más llano reciclaje de la Teoría del Capital Humano emergida en la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Sin embargo, el aditamento dentro de estas "recomendaciones" estriba en la imposición de un nuevo artefacto de financiamiento donde la prioridad concedida a la Educación Básica implica la desinversión de los otros niveles educativos. Más allá de esta retórica, el sentido solapado es la conformación de un sujeto disciplinado y un orden social inmune a los conflictos generados por la desigualdad. Esta maquinaria de dominación se complementa con el empobrecimiento de la formación docente, reducida a la adquisición de un repertorio de técnicas de enseñanza. En consecuencia, se le enajena al educador la posibilidad de tomar decisiones autónomamente que involucra el trabajo con el conocimiento

El Norte de Africa y el Sahel y la Estrategia Global de Seguridad de la Unión Europea

El objetivo del artículo es exponer una adecuada y necesaria redefinición de la política de la UE hacia el Norte de África y el Sahel, tanto en términos geográficos como en términos estratégicos de acuerdo con lo expuesto en la nueva Estrategia Global Europea. En este sentido, se revisarán los postulados y la evolución de la antigua Estrategia Europea de Seguridad (EES) y su consiguiente Política de Vecindad (ENP), en comparación con la recién lanzada Estrategia. La nueva Estrategia es concebida como una guía para el desarrollo de la política exterior y de seguridad que la UE ha de llevar a cabo, inter alia, en su periferia. Lamentablemente su concepción de esta zona regional resulta anclada en el pasado.

Production planning, pricing and market coordination for news vendor problem with price dependent demand

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-08

The Origins and Legacy of a Currency Board in Argentina

This is a qualitative case study of the adoption of a currency board in Argentina in 1991. It presents a discursive analysis and intellectual history of four overlaying and mutually influencing stories of Convertibility’s adoption. It is (1) the story of how Menem aligned himself to the Washington Consensus as a means to win a Presidential election. This ideological alignment influences and is influenced by a (2) reconstitution of the Peronist Party’s historically entrenched identity. This in turn re-fashion the whole system of interest articulation and relative power of interest groups in Argentina. The adoption of a currency board also marks the pace of (3) the entrenchment neoliberal interests across a domestic network of neoliberal think-tanks, technocrats, politicians, and “technopoles” articulating neoliberal interests outside of the Washington Consensus, within an International Neoliberal Network. Argentina’s adoption of a currency board falls in line with the Corner Solutions, a neoliberal doctrine promoted to influence developing countries to adopt two forms of exchange rate regimes that allow for less government involvement, including a currency board. Argentina starts as a test country and then becomes (4) an ideological stepping stone to help promote the creation of currency boards across more “developing” countries. These stories are not sequential but concurrent, and they help advance an alternative critique of neoliberalism that focuses on specifics to induce case-specific lessons versus a theory claiming to provide any universal truth.

Political Strategy, Leadership, and Policy Entrepreneurship in Japanese Defense Policy and Politics: A Comparison of Three Prime Ministerships

Since the end of the Cold War, Japan’s defense policy and politics has gone through significant changes. Throughout the post cold war period, US-Japan alliance managers, politicians with differing visions and preferences, scholars, think tanks, and the actions of foreign governments have all played significant roles in influencing these changes. Along with these actors, the Japanese prime minister has played an important, if sometimes subtle, role in the realm of defense policy and politics. Japanese prime ministers, though significantly weaker than many heads of state, nevertheless play an important role in policy by empowering different actors (bureaucratic actors, independent commissions, or civil actors), through personal diplomacy, through agenda-setting, and through symbolic acts of state. The power of the prime minister to influence policy processes, however, has frequently varied by prime minister. My dissertation investigates how different political strategies and entrepreneurial insights by the prime minister have influenced defense policy and politics since the end of the Cold War. In addition, it seeks to explain how the quality of political strategy and entrepreneurial insight employed by different prime ministers was important in the success of different approaches to defense. My dissertation employs a comparative case study approach to examine how different prime ministerial strategies have mattered in the realm of Japanese defense policy and politics. Three prime ministers have been chosen: Prime Minister Hashimoto Ryutaro (1996-1998); Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro (2001-2006); and Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio (2009-2010). These prime ministers have been chosen to provide maximum contrast on issues of policy preference, cabinet management, choice of partners, and overall strategy. As my dissertation finds, the quality of political strategy has been an important aspect of Japan’s defense transformation. Successful strategies have frequently used the knowledge and accumulated personal networks of bureaucrats, supplemented bureaucratic initiatives with top-down personal diplomacy, and used a revitalized US-Japan strategic relationship as a political resource for a stronger prime ministership. Though alternative approaches, such as those that have looked to displace the influence of bureaucrats and the US in defense policy, have been less successful, this dissertation also finds theoretical evidence that alternatives may exist.