Leaving the Nest: The Rise of Regional Financial Arrangements and the Future of Global Governance

This article examines the impact of regional financial arrangements (RFAs) on the global liquidity regime. It argues that the design of RFAs could potentially alter the global regime, whether by strengthening it and making it more coherent or by decentring the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and destabilizing it. To determine possible outcomes, this analysis deploys a ‘middle‐up’ approach that focuses on the institutional design of these RFAs. It first draws on the rational design of institutions framework to identify the internal characteristics of RFAs that are most relevant to their capabilities and capacities. It then applies these insights to the interactions of RFAs with the IMF, building on Aggarwal's (1998) concept of ‘nested’ versus ‘parallel’ institutions, to create an analytical lens through which to assess the nature and sustainability of nested linkages. Through an analysis of the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) and the Latin American Reserve Fund (FLAR), the article demonstrates the usefulness of this lens. It concludes by considering three circumstances in which fault lines created by these RFAs’ institutional design could be activated, permitting an institution to ‘leave the nest’, including changing intentions of principals, creation of parallel capabilities and facilities, and failure of the global regime to address regional needs in a crisis.     

Protecting historic Hanoi in a context of heritage contestation

Abstract

Since the introduction of the doi moi (renovation) policies in 1986, economic liberalisation and modernisation have led to redevelopment pressures on the cultural heritage of Vietnam's cities. A lively debate has ensued, most notably in the capital. Hanoi, about what is worth keeping. The views of international and local developers are opposed to the ‘Vietnamese heritage only’ of the most narrowly nationalistic of politicians and planners. The complicated decision‐making environment is made more difficult by the presence of Western planning advisers who argue for the protection of the French and Russian layers in Hanoi's cultural landscape. This is part of a long history of heritage contestation and redefinition in Hanoi which largely reflects the succession of political regimes controlling the city. Consideration of key philosophical and practical issues is timely given the current intervention by the Australian Hanoi Planning and Development Control Project team which is helping shape the future of a variously‐defined ‘historic Hanoi’.     

Lesions as Therapy: Surgical Intervention in Parkinson's Disease Prior to L-Dopa

The study of Parkinson's disease has undergone vast changes across its almost 200 year history. Over this period, research scientists have added dramatic detail to their understanding both of the motor system in general and the etiology of Parkinson's disease specifically This expanded understanding has been facilitated, particularly, by the work of clinicians with the goal of improving treatments designed to ameliorate its symptoms. This article examines the evolution of one particular clinical approach, the production of lesions to segments of the basal ganglia, from its inception, through its “golden era,” disuse, and rebirth.     

Heat treatment in the South African Middle Stone Age: temperature induced transformations of silcrete and their technological implications

It was recently found that silcrete raw material was heat-treated during the South African Middle Stone Age (MSA) for altering its flaking properties. This finding led to hypotheses about the implications for the MSA hunter-gatherers such as the cost of thermal treatment in terms of investment and firewood. To date, these hypotheses lack a solid basis, for data on the thermal transformations of South African silcrete and, hence, the necessary heating procedure and heating environment, is missing. In order to produce such data, we conducted an experimental study within the framework of the Diepkloof project. This work is based on the petrographic, mineralogical and structural analysis of South African silcrete from the West Coast and its thermal transformations. Our results shed light on the nature of these transformations, the ideal heating temperatures and the tolerated heating speed. The processes occurring in silcrete are comparable to flint, i.e. the loss of chemically bound ‘water’ and the formation of new Si–O–Si bonds, but their intensity is less pronounced. Effective heating temperatures are significantly higher than for flint and the heating speed tolerated by South African silcrete is relatively fast. These findings imply that silcrete heat treatment cannot be directly compared with flint heat treatment. Unlike flint, heating silcrete does not require the setup of a dedicated heating environment and may have been performed in the same time as other fire related activities. This would represent only a minor supplementary investment in time and firewood. These results have broad implications for the discussion about technological evolution and the acquisition of specialised knowledge in the MSA.