Nordic responses to Brexit: Making the best of a difficult situation
This policy brief examines how the British decision to withdraw from the EU has influenced the political debates in and foreign policies of the five Nordic states – Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. With the exception of Iceland, all these countries had a stated preference for Britain to remain in the EU – not least due to historical ties and the tendency of Britain and the Nordic countries to have similar approaches to European integration. Three general findings can be highlighted: First, Brexit has featured prominently in political debates in all the Nordic countries since the British referendum, and the causes and consequences of the Brexit vote continue to be discussed with vigour. In all the Nordic countries, Brexit has also stirred debates about their current relationships with the EU, prompting EU critics to demand new privileges or opt-outs. Overall, however, the Nordic governments, supported by a stable majority among their populations, have signalled that they wish to preserve their EU membership or current forms of association models, with the access and benefits these provide. Second, for all the Nordic countries, securing good relations with Britain post-Brexit is a key priority, but they have generally indicated that maintaining good relations with the EU must come first. Finally, the Nordic governments are well aware that Brexit could create a vacuum in EU policy-making, perhaps tipping the balance among internal clusters. Britain has been a highly visible member of the ‘Northern’ grouping in the EU, and its absence is likely to be noticed. As the Nordic countries are about to lose what has at times been a powerful ally in EU decision-making, they may have to forge new coalitions to safeguard their interests.
Haiti: A Political Economy Analysis
Haiti is governed by a small economic elite and the majority of its poor and marginalized population has no access to power. This report analyses the historical roots of the deep socio-economic and political cleavage in Haiti and the consequences of repeated cycles of foreign interference, economic liberalization policies, increased food insecurity and natural disasters. The report reveals that the elections in 2010/2011 and 2015/2016 only served to exacerbate this cleavage. The elections in 2016 had a record low participation of 17.3%. Many of Haiti’s poor abstained from voting due to lack of confidence in the elections, as well as due to extremely difficult socio-economic conditions post-earthquake in 2010/2011, and post-Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Since the earthquake in 2010, there has been a heavy presence of international actors in Haiti. Whereas several of these actors put pressure on Haiti to hold elections relatively short time after the disaster, most of the foreign actors, and particularly the United States and the EU, showed little concern about fraud and low voter turnout. The elections brought President Michel Martelly to power in 2011 and President Jovenel Moïse to power in 2016, both of them representing the economic elite in Haiti. They invested in agribusiness and special economic zones benefiting the economic elite, but further marginalizing small-scale farmers. These two presidents also succeeded in reestablishing the Haitian Army, an institution with extremely bad reputation in Haiti, due to its past severe human rights violations.
BOOK: Taxing Africa: Coercion, Reform and Development
New book on Taxation in Africa by Mick Moore (ICTD), Wilson Prichard (ICTD) and Odd-Helge Fjeldstad (CMI).
Impact of non-tariff barriers on trade within the Eurasian Economic Union
How great is the impact of non-tariff barriers on trade in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and how much will internal trade grow if they are eliminated? The Treaty on the EAEU declares removal of non-tariff barriers as a common goal. This article estimates the impact of non-tariff barriers on trade in goods in the EAEU based on 2010–2015 trade data. The empirical approach draws on the Haveman and Thursby disaggregated model. The estimates show that various trade-growth effects can be observed in different trade groups if non-tariff barriers are reduced or fully eliminated. Agriculture and the food industry have the highest growth potential: around 40% growth with a 50% reduction of barriers. The highest growth potential is found for trade between Belarus and Kazakhstan. The most significant effects are observed for member-states that are small in terms of the size of the economy and for which the internal trade share is large.
Customs Capacity Building for WCO Members 2012-2015
International trade offers a wealth of opportunities for low-income countries to reduce poverty and achieve growth in today’s global economic landscape. In such an environment, customs administrations play a critical role not only in border security, combatting illicit transactions, and collecting revenue, but also in facilitating cross-border trade. For many poor countries, however, maintaining a modern and capable customs office remains a difficult endeavour. As a result, many multilateral organisations have responded with providing external financial assistance and technical support to build capacity within customs offices in the developing world. This report provides an end-review of the project “Customs Capacity Building for WCO Members 2012–2015,” funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) and implemented by the World Customs Organization (WCO). This project aimed not only to develop the knowledge and skills of customs officers, but likewise to assist the customs administration in applying modern management and customs practices. Beneficiaries of this project consisted of customs offices in the following seven countries: Liberia, Rwanda.
The challenges of illicit economies and financial flows
– Illicit economies pitch the advantages of borderless transport, communications and financial flows against legal systems that remain bound by the confines of the Westphalian nation state. What to do?
Ethiopia: A Political Economy Analysis
This report provides an overview and analysis of some key issues pertaining to the political economy of Ethiopia in a historical perspective. The continuous rule of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) since 1991 has advanced a revolutionary democracy founded on the idea that the EPRDF itself should be the vanguard party both representing and leading the people. This form of central dirigisme has produced a developmental state with authoritarian features and opaque boundaries between the party and the state system. The strong and assertive party, having its clear vision of the developmental objectives and means, has produced a self-determined state apparatus that seldom yields to internal or international pressure. It has also produced impressive economic results over the last decade and a half, especially in the central and urban areas, and now aspires to become a middle-income country by 2025. Against this economic performance, there are critical concerns regarding democracy, human rights, uneven distribution and growing inequalities. The political space has gradually narrowed since the contentious 2005-elections, and there are currently no opposition parties with parliamentary representation. The invocation of a ten months state of emergency following the popular anti-government protests in 2015 and 2016, is just one expression of how human rights are being truncated, the lack of an open political space and the regime’s authoritarian features. Despite this, international actors maintain their relations to Ethiopia and continue to provide development assistance. This is partly due to the government’s performance in other domestic areas, but also a recognition of Ethiopia’s important regional role in providing stability in the Horn of Africa. The government has known to capitalize on the international actors’ need for a stable partner in the region, which has provided leeway for both its domestic and international affairs. It is thus unlikely that Ethiopia would be challenged by any other regional state or combination of states. Nor is it expected that any of its international partners would challenge Ethiopia, for instance by putting conditions pertaining to domestic political and human rights issues before the concern for regional stability. Any challenges to the regime and political stability are more likely to emerge from within – whether in the form of further popular political unrest, or disagreements within the EPRDF government or its coalition parties.
The Market for Anarchy
The Market for Anarchy project seeks to better understand how state behaviour is shaped by assessments of and responses to different types of risks....
The New Politics of Development: Fragility, Taxation and State-building
The TaxCapDev Research Network invites you to this two-day conference on taxation and state building in fragile states.
REPORT: Building tax systems in fragile states
New report from the TaxCapDev network recommends nine entry points for Norwegian support to taxation in fragile states.