China’s International Transboundary Rivers: Politics, Security and Diplomacy of Shared Water Resources
Lei Xie, Jia Shaofeng
Taylor & Francis (2017)
China has forty major transboundary watercourses with neighbouring countries, and has frequently been accused of harming its downstream neighbours through its domestic water management policies, such as the construction of dams for hydropower. This book provides an understanding of water security in Asia by investigating how shared water resources affect China’s relationships with neighbouring countries in South, East, Southeast and Central Asia.
Since China is an upstream state on most of its shared transboundary rivers, the country’s international water policy is at the core of Asia’s water security. These water disputes have had strong implications for China’s interstate relations, and also influenced its international water policy alongside domestic concerns over water resource management.
This book investigates China’s policy responses to domestic water crises and examines China’s international water policy as well as its strategy in dealing with international cooperation. The authors describe the key elements of water diplomacy in Asia which demonstrate varying degrees of effectiveness of environmental agreements. It shows how China has established various institutional arrangements with neighbouring countries, primarily in the form of bilateral agreements over hydrological data exchange. Detailed case studies are included of the Mekong, Brahmaputra, Ili and Amur rivers.
Dr Lei Xie was appointed Lecturer in Politics at the University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus in September 2010. After receiving her doctoral degree from Environmental Policy Group at Wageningen University in 2007, she has worked as a Research Associate at Camborne School of Mines, University of Exeter and Visiting Research Fellow at Department of International Politics, City University London. Dr. Xie’s research focuses on transnational social movements, environmental politics and environmental communication.
Deterring Russia in Europe: Defence Strategies for Neighbouring States
Edited by Nora Vanaga, Toms Rostoks
Routledge (2018)
This edited volume examines deterrence and the defense efforts of European states neighboring Russia, following the Crimean intervention.
Deterrence, after being largely absent from debates among academics and policy-makers for almost a quarter of a century, has made a comeback in Europe. Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the start of the military conflict in Ukraine’s Donbass region, eastern and northern European states have revised their assessments of Russia’s policies and intentions. The approach used by Russia in Ukraine has rendered lessons learned from the Cold War deterrence only partially applicable due to the changing security situation in Europe. The emergence of the cyber realm, a smaller emphasis on nuclear deterrence, and the ideological conflict between Russia and the West, are among the key differences between the Cold War and the current security environment. Structured into two parts, the first part discusses conceptual aspects of deterrence, while the second discusses ten country case studies, which include both NATO and non-NATO countries. This allows for an in-depth analysis of the changing character of deterrence and its practical application by Russia’s European neighbours.
This volume will be of much interest to students of strategic studies, European politics, Russian foreign policy, security studies and international relations in general.
Nora Vanaga is a senior researcher at the Centre for Security and Strategic Research at the National Defence Academy of Latvia. She has published many book chapters and academic articles dealing with international security and defence issues.
Toms Rostoks is a researcher at the Centre for Security and Strategic Research at the National Defence Academy of Latvia. He is also Associate Professor in international relations at the Department of Political Science, University of Latvia.
The Global Anti-Corruption Regime: The Case of Papua New Guinea
Hannah Harris
Taylor & Francis (2018)
This book tackles the challenging topic of corruption. It explores the evolution of a global prohibition regime against corrupt activity (the global anti-corruption regime). It analyses the structure of the transnational legal framework against corruption, evaluating the impact of global anti-corruption efforts at a national level. The book focuses on the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) as the primary tool of the global anti-corruption regime. It provides new and engaging material gathered in the field, including first-hand accounts from actors at international, regional, and domestic levels. By documenting the experiences of diverse actors, the book makes a substantial contribution to literature on corruption and anti-corruption efforts. Synthesising empirical research with an exploration of theoretical literature on corruption and regime evolution results in novel suggestions for improvement of the global anti-corruption regime and its legal tools.
The Global Anti-Corruption Regime is a well-rounded text with a wealth of new information that will be valuable to both academic and policy audiences. It clarifies the factors that prevent current anti-corruption efforts from successfully eliminating corrupt activity and applies the five-stage model of global prohibition regime evolution to the global anti-corruption regime. It will be of interest to researchers, academics, policymakers, and students interested in anti-corruption law, comparative law, transnational criminal law, international law, international relations, politics, economics, and trade.
Dr Hannah Harris is a legal research specialist focusing on transnational dynamics that impact law and policy. She teaches in the Faculty of Law at the University of New South Wales Sydney and is also a freelance data scientist.
Co-Production and Public Service Management: Citizenship, Governance and Public Services Management
Victor Pestoff
Routledge (2018)
This volume compiles a dozen essays, by one of the most prolific proponents of co-production as a solution for many of the challenges facing public services and democratic governance at the outset of the 21st Century. Co-production is considered a partnership between citizens and public service providers that is essential for meeting a growing number of social challenges, since neither the government nor citizens can solve them on their own.
These challenges include, among other things, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of public services in times of financial strain; increasing the legitimacy of the public sector after decades of questioning its ability with the spread of New Public Management; promoting social integration and cultural pluralism in increasingly diverse societies when millions of refugees and immigrants are on the move; tackling the threat of burgeoning populism following the rise of anti-immigrant and anti-global parties in many countries in recent years; and finally, finding viable solutions for meeting the growing needs of aging populations in many parts of the world.
This volume addresses issues related to the successful development and implementation of a policy shift toward greater citizen participation in the design and delivery of the services they depend on in their daily lives and greater citizen involvement in resolving these tenacious problems, facilitated by the active support of governments across the globe. Moreover, it explores participatory public service management that empowers the front-line staff providing public services. Together with users/citizens they can insure the democratic governance of public service provision.
Victor A. Pestoff is Guest Professor at the Civil Society Research Unit at Ersta Skondal University College, Stockholm, Sweden.
Poverty Alleviation and Poverty of Aid: Pakistan
Fayyaz Baqir
Taylor & Francis (2018)
Aid effectiveness has emerged as an intensely debated issue amongst policy makers, donors, development practitioners, civil society and academics during the past decade. This debate revolves around one important question: does official development assistance complement, duplicate or disregard the local resource endowment in offering support to recipient economies?
This book draws on Pakistan’s experience in responding to this question with a diverse range of examples. It focuses on a central idea: no aid effectiveness without an effective receiving mechanism. Pakistan is among the top aid recipient countries in the developing economies. It was a shining model in the sixties and it ranks among the highly underperforming countries after the new millennium. This book offers an insight into the dynamics of success and failure of Pakistan in availing foreign financial and technical assistance for human development and poverty alleviation. It draws on field experiences to present case studies on water, shelter, health, education, and health and safety at work to identify the causes and consequences of aid in relation to social reality. Findings relate to developing economies and would be of interest to a wide range of individuals within the development sector.
Fayyaz Baqir has served as CEO of the Trust for Voluntary Organizations (TVO), Senior Civil Society Advisor of the United Nations, and a development professional at Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP). He has researched and taught at McGill University, Georgetown University, Harvard University, University of Idaho, Wellesley College, Tilburg University (The Netherlands), Gothenburg University (Sweden), Quaid e Azam University, Punjab University and National Defence University (Pakistan) on themes relating to inclusive governance, participatory development and sustainable change. He received a Top Contributors’ Award from UNDP’s Global Poverty Reduction Network in 2007 and 2008 and an Outstanding Performance Award from UNDP for creating a vibrant small grants programme for low-income communities in Pakistan. He has travelled to more than 40 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North and South America as part of his professional work.