Global Policy最新文献

In the wake of the Hamas–Hezbollah war with Israel following the 7 October 2023, the Iran–Israel shadow war escalated into direct military conflict. While addressing the characteristics of Iran's deterrence strategy, the present contribution argues that in case of escalation in the Middle East region, the so-called ‘forward defence’ doctrine may not guarantee the survival of the Islamic Republic in Iran. Consequently, any direct military aggression against Iranian nuclear facilities could provoke Iran's withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and prompt a significant reevaluation of its nuclear strategy. This study draws on 18 semi-structured interviews conducted with Iranian military, political and religious officials and historians and scholars specialising in nuclear security. It goes against research that asserts Shia Islam serves as a barrier to Iran's development of nuclear weapons.

The emergence of governance by numbers (GBN) has seen the increasing use of metrics to influence government and corporate behaviour, but its uptake varies significantly across international organisations. This study examines the adoption of GBN in global labour governance at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Using a comparative institutional approach, we highlight the ILO's resistance to developing indicators of decent work and economic performance, despite support from the labour movement. Conversely, the OECD has fully embraced GBN through labour market performance measurements, which makes some of its normative proposals less visible due to their qualitative nature. We conclude that the adoption of GBN is not inevitable and depends on the organisational cultures and structures of international organisations.

Cambodia is a least developed country (LDC); however, it may graduate from the LDC status by 2029 Membership in the World Trade Organisation, will require Cambodia to provide patent protection for medicines that meet standard criteria. This qualitative policy analysis examines Cambodia's readiness for LDC graduation in terms of protecting access to medicines and explores how it can prepare to mitigate the impact of graduation on access to medicines. The study employed a single case study design that included analysis of key informant interviews and documents retrieved from a targeted literature review and website scans. The Health Policy Triangle framework informed the research design, methods, data collection, and analysis. While Cambodia has established structures and processes to facilitate preparations for LDC graduation and engaged with UN agencies that support sustainable graduation, there has been little focus on the implications of graduation for access to medicines. To prepare for graduation Cambodia will need technical assistance to reform its patent-related laws and policies. This study demonstrates that LDCs are poorly equipped for the introduction of patent protection and agencies tasked with supporting LDC graduation need to provide assistance to protect access to medicines in countries planning graduation.

As central banks move to adopt digital currencies (CBDCs), two issues arise: the implications for monetary sovereignty and the potential efficiencies from cross-border interoperability. The former is particularly a concern for emerging market central banks, while the latter affects all states. Emerging markets have used capital flow management (CFM) tools to control capital flows that may overheat and destabilize the macroeconomy. The effectiveness of CFM implementation depends on how CBDCs carry out cross-border payments. This article discusses how CFM tools would function under different models of interoperability. While there are three broad models of cross-border CBDC payments, the key debate centers on two alternatives: the hub-and-spoke model and the common-platform model. Three ongoing projects, in which the Bank of International Settlement and central banks are participating, test these two models. This article compares the differences in these projects on a delegation to private intermediaries and notes the common platform model's demonstrated capacity for implementing jurisdiction-specific capital flow measures. It concludes with a case analysis of the Chinese e-CNY and capital flow tools. States should consider the interests of emerging markets in joining cross-border platforms that allow them to interact with their trading and investment partners while avoiding destabilizing cross-border flows.

Policies and regulations have the potential to shape the dynamics of digital transformations, preventing negative health outcomes and creating healthier and safer digital environments. To gain insight into how countries are approaching safety in digital environments for children and adolescents, the Digital Transformations for Health-Lab (DTH-Lab) team analyzed policies and regulations worldwide, mapping national strategies to protect young people from online harms, including restrictions on smartphone use. While existing legislation often addresses the mental and physical health consequences of online sexual exploitation, abuse, and cyberbullying, other online risks like exposure to inappropriate content, addictive applications, and misleading marketing practices, along with their associated health impacts, are largely overlooked. A surprising finding is the limited involvement of health ministries or departments in shaping these policies. These results underscore the urgent need for the health sector to take a more proactive role in improving the safety and well-being of children and adolescents in digital environments. International agencies, nongovernmental organizations, health professional associations, civil society, and researchers must establish a narrative that encourages and supports the active participation of the health sector, especially through public health approaches that can support and shape effective policy responses with children's and adolescents' well-being at heart in the digital age.

The EU has increasingly embraced foresight—a discipline aimed at enhancing preparedness by systematically exploring plausible futures—to minimise uncertainty and inform anticipatory governance. Within this context, the STOA Unit of the European Parliament has been actively engaged in foresight activities, developing the STEEPED framework for conducting systemic analyses of the ecosystems, in which the innovation, event or crisis is placed. The goal of the STEEPED framework is to offer a comprehensive system view. The STEEPED framework has been employed to guide horizon scanning, trend analyses and stakeholder selection. Specifically, stakeholder engagement is a crucial element in foresight analyses. The effectiveness of foresight analysis largely depends on stakeholders' ability to augment discussions via expertise and lived experiences. We explore how, through the STEEPED framework, STOA has informed foresight analysis and stakeholder mapping in the 10 years since its inception. Although the framework may represent a robust approach to analysis, it could be enhanced by more directly focusing on aspects such as affiliation, stakeholders' features and relations, highlighted in academic research on stakeholder mapping. We propose a novel framework in the form of a checklist that integrates principles from the STEEPED framework with perspectives from scholarly literature.

Syrian refugee entrepreneurs in Norway navigate a financing and support system that they find largely exclusive and unaccepting when it comes to launching and operating a new business. Using a case study of a Syrian Muslim immigrant entrepreneur and a lecture on the topic by a religious leader in a major mosque in Oslo, this paper utilizes a theoretical framework on moral economies and entrepreneurship to argue that there is a “mismatch” between the interests and needs of Syrian entrepreneurs for financial and social support, with the extremely limited offerings available in Norway. This leaves the entrepreneurs challenged to navigate the financial and moral issues on their own. The paper explores four key policy implications along the way that would enhance the possibilities for Muslim immigrant entrepreneurs to access and utilize financial and social support for opening and running a business in Norway. The paper concludes by linking the financial exclusion experienced by the Syrian entrepreneurs to their broader experiences attempting to integrate and become a positive part of Norwegian society through entrepreneurship, which is challenged in this context of exclusion.