Archive for 2010

Jim Callaghan: A Successful Prime Minister?

Tom Pettinger • Dec 7 2010 • Essays

Callaghan cannot take the blame for the economic instability he inherited. Callaghan held successes throughout his term in office, inflation fell from 16% and 24% the two previous years before he took office, down to nearly 8% in 1978. Whilst he was successful to an extent, there were clear failings; his premiership is tainted by the decision not to go to the polls in the autumn of 1978, and the IMF crisis which is seen to be a blot on his economic record

Quid pro CO2: The Era of Carbon Conditionality

Andrew Stobo Sniderman • Dec 6 2010 • Articles

At Copenhagen in December 2009, during the much-hyped leaders’ summit to negotiate a climate change deal, American hypocrisy met Chinese obstructionism. Americans demanded emissions reductions without a credible plan at home. According to most reports, the Chinese stripped the Copenhagen Accord of much of its early ambition, including seemingly distant commitments to 2050. The West plans carbon conditionality. The rest expect reciprocity, and some countries will be in a position to demand it.

China’s role in the global political economy

Juan Rodriguez • Dec 6 2010 • Essays

Today we know China as the new form of communism which came about after the death of Mao Zedong in 1976 and the further solidification of Deng Xiaoping as paramount leader of the Chinese communist party. China has come a long way since 1978, growing at more than 20% a year. However, it is still relatively young power in the international arena, lacking the maturity and reputation of America

A Leaderless European Union

Sharanya Ravichandran • Dec 5 2010 • Essays

There are several actors within the Union that have a hand in processing policies and legislation, all of them demonstrating elements of leadership. However, there is no one individual or group whose powers extend above the rest to lead and have final say on both design and execution of a particular policy. The Union works in the form of both supranational institutions, and through liberal intergovernmentalism in the form of cooperation and teamwork from the member states

Outer Space, and Security as Integration in Europe

Bleddyn E. Bowen • Dec 5 2010 • Essays

Wæver claims that security is indivisible, that security on the European level equates to security on the state level. Therefore the state-level definition of security must be similar, if not the same, as the European-level definition. This mitigates the validity of his concepts. Europe may not yet be a true, or complete, referent object because state interests have to be satisfied to keep Spaceship Europe in orbit

Hot times?

Rodger A Payne • Dec 5 2010 • Articles

This blog went silent again for a few months and I’m very sorry about that. I taught International Security this term and spent a lot of time thinking about the war in Afghanistan and the prospects of Iranian proliferation. And not much time thinking about climate change politics.

The Politics of Oil in the Niger Delta

Emmanuel Duru • Dec 5 2010 • Articles

For centuries, the people of the Niger Delta were content to engage in farming, fishing and other endeavours, unaware that underneath their soil was one of nature’s most prized minerals, Petroleum. With the discovery of oil by Shell D’Archy, the forerunner of Shell Petroleum Development Corporation in 1956 at Oloibiri, Bayelsa State and its consequent exportation two years later, oil production has remained a mixed bag of fortune and misfortune

Secularism and Respect for Religion

Tariq Modood • Dec 4 2010 • Articles

Religion-politics separationist view, which is clearly normative rather than scientific, can take quite different forms, either as an idea or as practice and can be more or less restrictive, I shall call ‘secularism’. While acknowledging the variety of forms it can take I want to argue that one of the most important distinctions we need to make is between moderate and radical secularism.

Iran and Britain: The Politics of Oil and Coup D’état after the Fall of Reza Shah

Maysam Behravesh • Dec 2 2010 • Articles

Mosaddeq’s preoccupation with the nationalization of Iran’s oil sector derived from his belief that such a venture, once realized, could bring economic prosperity, national autonomy and political sovereignty in its wake. The loss of Abadan Oil Refinery dealt Britain’s prestige a stinging blow at a time when it was struggling to adapt itself to the disintegration of empire and come to terms with the ascendance of the US

Uyghur Nationalism and China

Christopher Attwood • Dec 2 2010 •

How the Uyghur population conceptualises its struggle is vital for the continued existence of the movement. Is the Uyghur movement a drive for human rights? A fight for increased autonomy? Or indeed a full blown separatist insurgency? On the other hand, how the PRC views the ‘Uyghur problem’ will have a direct bearing on the way it handles problems within Xinjiang in the future.

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