Pub Date : 2019-01-23DOI: 10.22215/RERA.V12I2.1182
Domenico Valenza
Since the late 1990s, transparency has emerged as a major governance pillar helping resource-rich countries improve their performance and escape the resource curse. Within this debate, a few scholars have pointed to the correlation between ownership structure and transparency, and have argued that under state ownership, transparency should not be expected, as government officials refrain from strengthening institutions to retain their discretionary power. This study attempts to challenge scholarly existing knowledge by comparing transparency performances in two resource-rich countries with similar ownership structures, Norway and Russia. To this end, it analyses data from the Revenue Governance Index (2017). Overall, such a correlation is not confirmed. While in some cases, state ownership can in fact generate greater opacity, the example of Norway confirms that retaining control can also enhance transparency. As a result, it is suggested to look attentively at the features of state ownership, and in particular, at countries’ institutional quality.
{"title":"Transparency in Commodity-Rich Countries: Is State Ownership to Blame?","authors":"Domenico Valenza","doi":"10.22215/RERA.V12I2.1182","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22215/RERA.V12I2.1182","url":null,"abstract":"Since the late 1990s, transparency has emerged as a major governance pillar helping resource-rich countries improve their performance and escape the resource curse. Within this debate, a few scholars have pointed to the correlation between ownership structure and transparency, and have argued that under state ownership, transparency should not be expected, as government officials refrain from strengthening institutions to retain their discretionary power. \u0000This study attempts to challenge scholarly existing knowledge by comparing transparency performances in two resource-rich countries with similar ownership structures, Norway and Russia. To this end, it analyses data from the Revenue Governance Index (2017). Overall, such a correlation is not confirmed. While in some cases, state ownership can in fact generate greater opacity, the example of Norway confirms that retaining control can also enhance transparency. As a result, it is suggested to look attentively at the features of state ownership, and in particular, at countries’ institutional quality.","PeriodicalId":409606,"journal":{"name":"Review of European and Russian Affairs","volume":"47 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134520256","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-12-20DOI: 10.22215/rera.v12i2.1310
Tatsiana Shaban
The European Union’s neighbourhood is complex and still far from being stable. In Ukraine, significant progress has occurred in many areas of transition; however, much work remains to be done, especially in the field of regional development and governance where many legacies of the Soviet model remain. At the crossroads between East and West, Ukraine presents an interesting case of policy development as an expression of European Union (EU) external governance. This paper asks the question: why was the relationship between the EU and Ukraine fairly unsuccessful at promoting stability in the region and in Ukraine? What was missing in the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) in Ukraine that rendered the EU unable to prevent a conflict on the ground? By identifying security, territorial, and institutional challenges and opportunities the EU has faced in Ukraine, this paper underlines the most important factors accounting for the performance of its external governance and crisis management in Ukraine.
{"title":"The European Union’s Policy towards its Eastern Neighbours: The Crisis in Ukraine","authors":"Tatsiana Shaban","doi":"10.22215/rera.v12i2.1310","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22215/rera.v12i2.1310","url":null,"abstract":"The European Union’s neighbourhood is complex and still far from being stable. In Ukraine, significant progress has occurred in many areas of transition; however, much work remains to be done, especially in the field of regional development and governance where many legacies of the Soviet model remain. At the crossroads between East and West, Ukraine presents an interesting case of policy development as an expression of European Union (EU) external governance. This paper asks the question: why was the relationship between the EU and Ukraine fairly unsuccessful at promoting stability in the region and in Ukraine? What was missing in the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) in Ukraine that rendered the EU unable to prevent a conflict on the ground? By identifying security, territorial, and institutional challenges and opportunities the EU has faced in Ukraine, this paper underlines the most important factors accounting for the performance of its external governance and crisis management in Ukraine.","PeriodicalId":409606,"journal":{"name":"Review of European and Russian Affairs","volume":"23 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114738647","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}