Economics & Business Archive

This month, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk faced protests in the capital followed by the defection of a member of his governing party in parliament. In an email interview, Aleks Szczerbiak, professor of politics and contemporary European studies at the University of Sussex, explained the sources of Polish discontent and the implications for the stability of Tusk’s government. WPR: What is driving the dissatisfaction with Tusk’s government? Aleks Szczerbiak: The slump in support for Tusk’s government is due to a number of factors. Continued economic sluggishness has accompanied a growing perception that the government is drifting and has failed to […]

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is meeting U.S. President Barack Obama today at the White House, where the two leaders are expected to reach deals on defense cooperation and trade in nuclear technology. That reflects the interest on both sides to move past the “differences and divisions have taken center stage in recent months,” as Richard Fontaine explained in World Politics Review last month: Despite drift in some key areas of the relationship, the underlying strategic rationale for it remains. Washington is rebalancing its foreign policy to Asia, attempting to allot that region greater diplomatic attention, military resources and commercial […]

The Afghan government and its international supporters have long viewed the estimated $1 trillion to $3 trillion worth of natural resources thought to lie beneath Afghanistan’s rugged landscape as being among the country’s best prospects for economic independence. But hopes of developing Afghanistan’s extravagant array of natural resources—including world class deposits of iron, gold, copper, lithium and lucrative rare earth metals—are in serious jeopardy. Wavering international investors, Afghanistan’s unresolved and contested new draft law concerning resource extraction and the political uncertainty associated with next year’s presidential elections and substantial NATO drawdown risk dashing efforts to transform Afghanistan into an economically […]

This month, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy offered to hold talks with Catalonia but did not offer a vote on independence for the Spanish region whose citizens have long sought greater autonomy. In an email interview, Elisenda Paluzie, a professor of economic theory at the University of Barcelona, explained the state of the Catalan independence movement. WPR: What is the state of the Catalan independence movement in terms of its degree of organization and level of popular support? Elisenda Paluzie: On one hand, there is an important grassroots movement for independence, which has strong popular support and is very diverse […]

Last week the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government under Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif completed its first 100 days in office. The elections in May, though marred by rigging and irregularities, made history as Pakistan’s first democratic transition. But if Pakistanis were jubilant about this milestone at the time, their joy had faded by the time of my visit last month. Sharif campaigned on five major promises: that he would set the economy on track, end energy shortages in three years, end U.S. drone strikes on Pakistani territory, tackle terrorism and pursue positive relations with neighbors. In pre-election polls, 81 percent […]

Venezuela was historically a reliable U.S. ally in Latin America, if always aspiring to more autonomy and a larger role in the region. This relationship was based on oil commerce and the fact that Venezuela was democratic during a period in which most other Latin American democracies broke down. During the 14 years of the Hugo Chavez government, of course, this changed. After assuming the presidency in 1999, Chavez developed an antagonistic relationship with Washington and sought to develop alternative regional relationships and leadership, all while maintaining robust commercial exchange with the U.S. During the government of Chavez’s successor, Nicolas […]

In late-August, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda decided to accelerate their integration under the regional body the East African Community (EAC) without involving EAC member state Tanzania, potentially signalling the emergence of a two-speed East African integration process. In an email interview, Stefan Reith, head of the Tanzania office of the German political foundation Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, explained the progress to date of East African integration and the obstacles to its implementation. WPR: What steps has the East African Community taken so far toward greater political integration? Stefan Reith: Unlike other African regional integration mechanisms like the Southern African Development Community, the Common […]

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party are in a buoyant mood. Their resounding victory in July’s presidential and parliamentary elections, by means both fair and foul, releases them from an inconvenient four-year power-sharing arrangement with their rivals, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). They can now resume sole responsibility for mismanaging the country. The election outcome was a foregone conclusion. The pre-election manipulation was so thorough, and the electorate so cowed by the painful memories of 2008, that ZANU-PF did not even have to resort to large-scale violence in order to deliver the result it desired. Early signs […]

Timor-Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao paid a three-day visit to Vietnam this month to promote bilateral relations. In an email interview, Michael Leach, associate professor of politics and public policy at Australia’s Swinburne University researching Timor-Leste politics, explained Timor-Leste’s foreign policy priorities and its growing role in its region. WPR: Which countries are Timor-Leste’s closest regional partners? Michael Leach: Indonesia and Australia will remain Timor-Leste’s most important regional partners for the foreseeable future. Indonesia is Timor-Leste’s largest trading partner, though bilateral trade is overwhelmingly skewed in favor of Indonesian exports of essential and consumer goods. Despite minor tensions over small […]

In the decades after its independence in October 1960, Nigeria periodically found itself at a series of crossroads. The 1960s were characterized by a devastating civil war and internal tensions that nearly drove the country apart; the 1970s saw a burgeoning oil and gas industry as well as governance achievements—notably efforts to develop a national identity and the adoption of a new constitutional framework that ushered in a government with an executive president at its center and, ultimately, a handover to civilian rule, albeit a short-lived one, in 1979. Indeed, in a large and complex country with a population consisting […]

In its public rhetoric, the Chinese government has long recognized the need for reforms, but for a number of reasons it has often struggled to implement many of these changes. These include overarching ideological resistance, factional disagreements within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the government, lobbying and disruption from vested interest groups, poor policy implementation and pressure from popular opinion. Beijing’s list of promised reforms is considerable. From the host of commitments agreed as part of China’s 2001 accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), to Wen Jiabao’s repeated allusions to political change, to Xi Jinping’s intimations of broad-based […]

On Aug. 6, an appeals court in Chile suspended another electricity megaproject, marking the latest in a series of power-generation setbacks for the increasingly energy-starved nation. That same week, Rene Muga, general manager of the Chilean Electric Power Association, told an energy conference that power consumption in Chile will double by 2025, further calling into question how the country will respond to this increasingly critical need. Chile has struggled to meet rising electricity demand in the face of growing environmental concerns, and the suspension of the 740-megawatt, $1.4 billion Punta Alcalde thermoelectric plant raises questions about the long-term economic implications […]

Last month, Tanzania imported 591 military transport vehicles from India in an effort to improve the transport capabilities of the Tanzania People’s Defense Force. In an email interview, Laxman Kumar Behera, a research fellow at the Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses in New Delhi specializing in the Indian defense industry, explained the dynamics of India’s defense exports. The views expressed are the author’s own. WPR: What are the main countries to which India exports defense products, and what does it sell them? Laxman Kumar Behera: The Indian defense industry mainly exports to Asian and African countries, though it also […]

Mexico’s new president, Enrique Pena Nieto, has promised to move his country down a path of reform. He has already made significant changes to education policy and has outlined major moves in Mexico’s energy sector. Yet promised shifts in security policy have yet to materialize, and skeptics question whether the president’s bold plans will produce lasting changes. This special report looks at Mexico’s chances for reform under Pena Nieto. Governance A More Ambitious Vision for MexicoBy Antonio GarzaFebruary 20, 2013 At Long Last, Mexico’s Bright FutureBy Frida GhitisJanuary 3, 2013 Mexico’s Peña Nieto Will Have Trouble Keeping Reform PromisesBy David […]

Since early 2013, the rate of border skirmishes between the Pakistani and Indian militaries has accelerated. Though the incidents have been scattered and casualties few, they represent an uptick from 2012: Thus far in 2013 there have been 42 cease-fire violations along the Line of Control (LoC), while in all of 2012 there were only 28. The increased military activity on the border has elicited accusations from both sides, even during a time of increased dialogue and political moves toward greater cooperation. The border incidents have also prompted international concern about the future of Kashmir and stability in the region […]

TIMBUKTU, Mali—The ancient desert town of Timbuktu, like much of northern Mali, is struggling to recover from the effects of a yearlong rebel occupation. Banks, schools, gas stations and other public services in the “city of 333 saints” are still inoperative but are expected to resume full operation as soon as Mali’s new head of state is sworn in on Sept. 4. The inauguration will nominally end the political drama of the past year and a half, but the deep-rooted crisis that gave birth to a self-declared independent state in Mali’s north will remain. Timbuktu fell into rebel hands on […]