The effects of diplomatic sanctions and engagement on the severity of ongoing genocides or politicides

This study tests the effects of diplomatic sanctions and engagement on reducing the severity of ongoing instances of genocide or politicide. I argue that neither diplomatic measure will be effective in slowing or stopping the killing. I argue that diplomatic sanctions merely reduce the flow of information without credibly signalling intent or commitment, while diplomatic engagement does not challenge perpetrators. Neither policy raises the costs of perpetrating genocide or politicide. Therefore, neither is expected to be useful in mitigating ongoing atrocities. Ordered logit analyses of ongoing genocides and politicides from 1976 to 2008 confirm these assumptions, and demonstrate that changing levels of diplomatic representation with atrocity perpetrators may make policymakers feel like they are ‘doing something’, but does little to reduce the lethality of ongoing mass killing. Under one set of circumstances, increased engagement even exacerbates the atrocities.     

The self‐limiting success of Iran sanctions

Economic sanctions have often been considered an important tool for disciplining adversaries and compelling them to offer important concessions. History, however, suggests otherwise. Economic penalties rarely cause states to abandon important national assets. After decades of struggling under punitive financial measures, Iran has persisted with its objectionable policies ranging from terrorism to proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. All this suggests that ideological regimes that put a premium on their political priorities and which are seemingly insensitive to the mounting costs of their belligerence may not be suitable candidates for the type of cost‐benefit analysis that sanctions diplomacy invites.     

The symbolic purposes of sanctions: Australian and Canadian reactions to Afghanistan

Academic and political debates about international sanctions tend to focus on the instrumental purposes of these measures—their ability to hurt a target state sufficiently to cause it to change its behaviour. By contrast, the symbolic purposes of sanctions are commonly assumed not to be as important. Such assumptions are appropriate for states which have the capabilities necessary to achieve these ends—great powers or regional powers targetting very weak neighbours, for example. But are these assumptions useful in explaining the sanctions policies of non‐great powers, particularly those which impose sanctions against great powers? This paper explores the case of Australian and Canadian sanctions against the USSR after the invasion of Afghanistan and demonstrates the fallacy of such assumptions, and argues that symbolic purposes were much more important than the instrumental utilities normally associated with sanctions theory.     

The effectiveness of UN and EU sanctions: lessons for the twenty‐first century

A fractious UN Security Council has contributed to the decline in effectiveness of a number of UN sanctions adopted in recent years. Yet they remain a tool of the Council, for example with regard to Libya in 2011. The challenge is to understand how UN, country (US) and regional sanctions (EU, AU, Arab League) can be meaningful in such a climate. The four books reviewed make various suggestions, from clarity of mandate to better evaluating impact. Mikael Eriksson's Targeting peace seeks to evaluate the complexity of the sanctions policy process. He argues that effectiveness comes partly from understanding politics (episodes of sanctions), but also from institutional reform—‘black box’ processes, as he calls them. Sanctions are more successful as part of a wider package. Clara Portela in European Union sanctions and foreign policy examines the use of sanctions as a political tool, including the suspension of development aid and the withdrawal of trade privileges. She shows how the EU plays an important role in signalling and constraining when UN sanctions are weak. For example, informal measures like the 2003 EU decision to invite only dissidents to national day receptions in Havanna resulted in the release of detainees that it had aimed for. The high rate of success of development aid cut‐off stands in sharp contrast with EU Common Foreign and Security Policy sanctions. The unintended consequence of good intentions is also highlighted by both Portela and Eriksson—Zimbabwe in particular but also Côte d'Ivoire and Iran pose similar challenges. The imposition of EU or UN sanctions is easier than reaching consensus to lift them, although events in Burma (Myanmar) in 2012 have resulted in smooth suspensions of most US and EU sanctions. All four books show that targeted sanctions cannot be seen as stand‐alone measures, nor assessed in isolation. Sanctions are multi‐faceted and require detailed assessment of political context, episode and institutional process.     

Tacit knowledge and the economic geography of context, or The undefinable tacitness of being (there)

Within economic geography and industrial economics, interestin the concept of tacit knowledge has grown steadily in recentyears. Nelson and Winter helped revive this interest in thework of Michael Polanyi by using the idea of tacit knowledgeto inform their analysis of routines and evolutionary dynamicsof technological change. More recently, the concept has receivedcloser scrutiny. This paper offers a further contribution tothis project by offering a critical analysis of the prevailingimplicit and explicit economic geographies of tacit knowledge,focusing on the relationship between tacit knowledge and institutions.While much of the innovation literature focuses on a singlequestion – can tacit knowledge be effectively shared overlong distances – the paper argues that this issue cannotbe properly addressed without considering a broader range ofrelated questions. It highlights three tacit knowledge problemswhich, together, provide a more complete view of this issue.First, how is tacit knowledge produced? Second, how do firmsfind and appropriate tacit knowledge? Third, how is tacit knowledgereproduced or shared – that is, how does tacit knowledgepromote social learning processes, and must the participantsbe geographically proximate in order for effective learningto occur? The paper revisits Michael Polanyi's original conceptionof tacit knowledge, showing it to be limited by its experientialand cognitive emphasis, with insufficient attention devotedto the role and origins of social context. Alternatively, thepaper argues that one cannot sort out the geography of tacitknowledge without inquiring into the foundations of contextand culture, and the institutional underpinnings of economicactivity, taking the work of another Polanyi – Karl –as the logical starting point.     

Multilateral sanctions against terror suspects and the violation of due process standards

The UN and EU sanctions regimes against suspected terrorists at first clearly violated commonly accepted due process standards. Both organizations gradually reformed the procedures that regulated which individuals and entities were subject to sanctions, yet the UN procedures in particular still evince important shortcomings. While international law scholars have debated how the sanctions regimes must be designed to be consistent with international law, political science scholars have, as yet, largely held back from looking into why the regimes evolved in the way they did. This article suggests that court decisions and proceedings and, in the case of the UN, falling commitment from member states, have prompted the UN Security Council and the Council of the EU to implement limited reforms. However, courts did not challenge the sanctions regimes per se and there was no substantial pressure from civil society actors. Moreover, owing to the competences and working methods of the UN Security Council and the Council of the EU, powerful member states could fairly easily deflect reform proposals from disaffected states and other UN and EU bodies.     

The ethnic versus the economic frontiers of Poland

The soil which has developed at any given location is considered to be the result of five interacting factors: parent material, time, climate, topography and biotic factors. This paper discusses the role of these factors in the development of Scottish soils, which fall into three broad categories: leached soils, gley soils and organic soils. The intention is to provide a context for the case studies that follow in later papers.     

The enforcement problem in Resolution 2094 and the United Nations Security Council sanctions regime: sanctioning North Korea

This article deconstructs United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2094 through the preambulatory statements, objectives, obligations, and implementation and enforcement provisions of UNSC Resolution 2094. The article proceeds in three parts. First, it reviews the academic literature on UNSC sanctions and their application in the North Korean case. Second, it deconstructs UNSC Resolution 2094 according to the common structural components of international legal instruments to assess the level of congruence between the objectives of UNSC Resolution 2094, its enforcement mechanisms and outcomes. Third, it explores the weaknesses of UNSC Resolution 2094, focusing on the gap between the objectives and enforcement mechanisms found in the resolution. The inability of the UNSC sanctions regime to prevent North Korea reaching the cusp of becoming a nuclear weapons power is evidence of the international community's weak leverage over Pyongyang, a situation arising from the vulnerability of South Korea to a North Korean attack and the cross-cutting strategic priorities of China; the absence of economic linkages between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the primary sanctions-sender state in the USA; and North Korea's commitment to a nuclear weapons capability as the foundation of its medium-term economic development strategy, its institutional governance structure and associated ideological commitments.     

The economic effects of PTAs

This paper gives a short history of the development of preferential trade agreements (PTAs), followed by a summary of the economics of PTAs. The paper then examines the typical coverage of recent PTAs, and assesses their likely economic effects. Political economy considerations mean that PTAs have tended to be selective in two important ways—they have tended to be preferential, even in the provisions that go beyond goods trade, and they have tended to target only those provisions that explicitly discriminate against foreigners. This selectivity means that PTAs are an inferior path to deeper economic integration. For most of the Asian region, comprehensive domestic regulatory reform dominates as an integration strategy, while PTAs deliver relatively trivial gains. Multilateral action is an intermediate strategy, and is important for delivering trade liberalisation in sensitive sectors or in highly protected economies. These results appear to be relatively robust to the size of the PTA grouping.     

The economic consequences of economists

During 1991, disquiet with the policy recommendations and ultimate economic effects of economists began to feature in debates over economic policy in Australia. One example was the emergence of a conservative critique of economic liberalism; another was the publication of Michael Pusey's research showing that ‘econocrats’, notably those in the federal bureaucracy, have distinctive, politically significant attitudes to the role of government. This paper considers the influence of economic orthodoxy as part of a broader phenomenon—the peculiarity and underdevelopment of our public institutional framework. In Australia, forms of intervention required for full employment simply do not exist. This partially explains both our comparatively poor macroeconomic performance since the 1970s and the propensity of government to embrace policies that abrogate social democratic commitments while economic conditions worsen.     

The economic geography of the impacts of climate change

Our ability to understand the geographical dispersion of theimpacts of climate change has not yet progressed to the pointof being able to quantify costs and benefits distributed acrossglobe along one or more climate scenarios in any meaningfulway. We respond to this chaotic state of affairs by offeringa brief introduction to the potential impacts of a changingclimate along five geographically dispersed portraits of howthe future climate might evolve and by presenting a modern approachto contemplating vulnerability to climate impacts that has beendesigned explicitly to reflect geographic diversity and uncertainty.Three case studies are offered to provide direct evidence ofthe potential value of adaptation in reducing the cost of climateimpacts, the versatility of thinking about the determinantsof adaptive capacity for specific regions or sectors, and thefeasibility of exploring both across a wide range of ‘not-implausible’climate and socio-economic scenarios. Three overarching themesemerge: adaptation matters, geographic diversity is critical,and enormous uncertainty must be recognized and accommodated.     

The impact of the opening of Tianjin on economic changes in its hinterland

Although the opening of Tianjin was forced, it actually accelerated the connection of Tianjin and its hinterland with the international market. The opening brought great changes to the structure of agriculture, animal husbandry, and industry and commerce in the hinterland; encouraged the development of market orientation and international orientation in the hinterland’s economy; and greatly improved the occupational organization and income of most farmers and herdsmen. The opening resulted in great progress for the whole modern economy of the hinterland and thereby provided an exemplary case for the study of problems related to the economic modernization process of China. __________ Translated from: Shixue Yuekan 史学月刊 (Journal of Historical Science), No. 1, 2004     

The economic transformation of Malta in the 1960s

AFRICA

Africa in Transition: Geographical Essays. Edited by B. W. Hodder and D. R. Harris. 9 × 5 ¾. Pp. XII + 378. 41 figs. London, Methuen, 1967. 50s.

Libya. By Helmuth Kanter. Geomedical Monograph Series 1. 12 × 8 ½. Text (German and English) plates and 17 maps. Springer‐Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York: 1967. $12.00.

South West Africa and its Human Issues. By J. H. Wellington. 8 ¾ × 5 ¾. 452 pp. Plates, figures. Oxford U. Press, 1967, 84s.

AUSTRALIA

Australia's North‐West. Alex Kerr, 9 ¾ × 6 ¾. 439 pp. 19 figs. 71 tables. University of Western Australia Press, 1967. $8.00.

GEOMORPHOLOGY

Recherches de Geomorphologie en Ecosse du Nord‐ouest. By A. Godard. 10 ½ × 8 ¼. Pp. 685. 180 maps and diagrams, 7 folding maps. 63 photographs. Publications de la Faculté des Lettres de l'Université de Strasbourg, 1965. £7 17s.

Processes of Coastal Development. By V. P. Zenkovitch. Edited by J. A. Steers. Edinburgh: Oliver &; Boyd, 1967. 12 gns.

ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

Readings in Economic Geography. Edited by Howard G. Roepke. 10 ¼ × 7 ¼. John Wiley, 1967. 56s.

Agricultural Geography. By Leslie Symons. 8 ¾ + 5 ¾. Bell, London, 1967, 30s.

Early Crop Production in the British Isles. Memoir No. 9, Symposia in Agricultural Meteorology, edited by J. A. Taylor. University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, 1966.

Quantitative Geography. Part 1 Economic and Cultural Topics. Edited by W. L. Garrison and D. F. Marble. North Western University Studies in Geography No. 13. 9 × 6. 287 pages. Evanston, Illinois, 1967. $3.75.

The Geographer and Urban Studies. By David Thorpe. 10 × 8. 24 pp. + appendix. 9 figures. University of Durham, Department of Geography Occasional Papers, No. 8. 1966. 2s.

GENERAL

Models in Geography. Edited by R. J. Chorley and P. Haggett. 9 ½ × 6 ½. Methuen, 1967. £6.

CARTOGRAPHY and SURVEY

International Yearbook of Cartography. Vol. VI, 1966. Edited by Prof. Ed. Imhof. 9 ¾ × 6 ¾. G. Philip &; Son, Ltd., London, 1966. 52/6d.

Original Survey and Land Subdivision. By Norman J. W. Thrower. 8 ½ × 5 ½. Pp. xxi + 160. Chicago: Association of American Geographers, 1966.

DISCOVERY

The Pacific Basin: A History of its Geographical Exploration. American Geographical Society Publication No. 38. 10 × 8. 457 pp. Maps and plates. Edited by Herman R. Friis. New York, 1967.

EDUCATIONAL

A Sample Geography of Great Britain. E. R. Burrell and J. Hancock. 7 ¼ × 9 ½. 176 pp. 143 maps, diagrams, tables. I.L.U.S. map. 6 O.S. maps. 4 end cover maps. Methuen Co. Ltd. Price 21s.

Africa. By Ronald Miller. 8 ½ × 5 ¾. 272 pp. 61 figures. 68 plates. Index. Nelson's Geography Texts. 1967. 15s.

General Geography Part I. By G. M. Chapman. 7 × 9. 182 pp. Index. G. Bell &; Sons Ltd. 1967. 17/6d.

General Geography. By H. R. Cain and F. J. Monkhouse. 6 ½ × 8. 216 pp. Index. Book I of Longman's Graded Geographies. 1967. 12/6d.

Sketch Map Geographies. Bk. 2. British Isles. By P. Speak and A. H. C. Carter. 7 ¼ × 9 ¾. Longman's 1967. (Limp Cover 7/‐.)

North America and Asia including U.S.S.R. By R. C. Honeybone and N. J. Graves. 8 × 5 ¼. 446 pp. Index. Heinemann. Geography for Schools. Bk. 3. 18s. (North America is published separately at 12s. 6d.). 1966.

A Geography of New Zealand. By E. J. Baggaley. 4 ¼ × 7. Pp. xii + 228. Index. 38 plates. 15 maps. Thomas Nelson (Australia) Ltd., Melbourne. 1967. $1.35.     

The economic importance of plant resources represented on archaeological sites

Techniques for estimating the economic importance of plants represented on archaeological sites have usually assumed that plant samples were random in composition. The effects of crop-processing activities and other factors upon the composition of each sample have frequently been overlooked, or their importance minimized. This article proposes an alternative approach and suggests that the economic value of a prehistoric plant resource can be ascertained by considering its context within crop-processing activities. It is argued that the merits of this technique are that it provides a more accurate means, first, of distinguishing between actual and potential plant resources, and secondly, of evaluating their importance.     

The economic development of West Africa

Almost all documented landslides in Scotland belong to one of four categories: non‐rotational rock slope failures (major rockfalls, translational slides, topples or sags, often in some combination); rotational rock slope failures; debris flows; and translational slides in drift or regolith. Non‐rotational rock slope failures are particularly common on Highland metamorphic rocks, especially schists, and on igneous scarps in the Hebrides and Midland Valley; rotational rock slope failures almost invariably occur in weak sedimentary rocks overlain by resistant igneous rocks; and debris flows are most common on sandy drift or regolith. Former glacial activity has also been of importance in determining landslide distribution. The great majority of rock slope failures are ancient features, but debris flows and small translational slides in drift (both triggered mainly by intensive rainstorms) are much more frequent at present and cause much greater damage, particularly to communications.     

The economic of agricultural land tenure

This article sheds new light on the interesting but little-studied figure of Thomas Scott of Canterbury (1566–1635). In presenting Scott's ideas I will modify the interpretation laid out by Peter Clark whose groundbreaking study, ‘Thomas Scott and the Growth of Urban Opposition to the Early Stuart Regime’, is still the only secondary source that pays detailed attention to Scott and his thought, especially his religious opinions. The necessity to revisit Clark's interpretation of Scott's place within the political and doctrinal debates of early Stuart England stems from the conviction that his political work and his ideological stances deserve more subtle attention. Most importantly, they were part of the emerging reaction against the policies of the first two Stuart Kings which can be labelled ‘country patriotism’. Finally, the elucidation of Scott's writings will provide a novel insight into an early configuration of English national identity.