Digital Commons Network^™

A Community Of Practice For Chinese Ngos, Reza Hasmath, Jennifer Yj Hsu

Reza Hasmath

A community of practice represents an important resource for the sharing of sector-specific knowledge. It is a mechanism for Chinese NGOs to learn from each other, and collaborate. Drawing upon original data elicited from over 100 NGOs, this article examines the organizational capacity for Chinese NGOs to cultivate a mature community of practice. We find that there are inherent headwinds that Chinese NGOs will have to navigate to accomplish this goal. On the one hand, the majority of NGOs in our sample do not see themselves as part of a community of experts, which presents a huge challenge for the …

A Political Theory Of Kulturkampf: Evidence From Imperial Prussia & Republican Turkey, Ioannis N. Grigoriadis, Theocharis Grigoriadis

Theocharis Grigoriadis

No abstract provided.

Religion, Administration & Public Goods: Experimental Evidence From Russia, Theocharis N. Grigoriadis

Theocharis Grigoriadis

In this paper, I argue that religion matters for the provision of public goods. I identify three normative foundations of Eastern Orthodox monasticism with strong economic implications: 1. solidarity, 2. obedience, and 3. universal discipline. I propose and solve a public goods game with a three-tier hierarchy, where these norms are modeled as treatments. Obedience and universal discipline facilitate the provision of threshold public goods in equilibrium, whereas solidarity does not. Empirical evidence is drawn from public goods experiments run with regional bureaucrats in Tomsk and Novosibirsk, Russia. The introduction of the same three norms as experimental treatments produces different …

Religious Origins Of Democracy & Dictatorship, Theocharis Grigoriadis

Theocharis Grigoriadis

Weber considered the Protestant work ethic the foundation of modern capitalism. I extend Weber’s theory by arguing that states with predominantly Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Muslim populations have had a stronger inclination toward underdevelopment and dictatorship than states with Protestant or Jewish majorities. This is the case because their respective religious collectives (monastery, tariqa) promote the hierarchical provision of common goods at the expense of market incentives. I define the aforementioned three religions as collectivist, in contrast to Protestantism and Judaism, which I define as individualist. I provide a historical overview that designates the Jewish kibbutz as the collective …

How Modern India Looks At Its Premodernity, Ananya Vajpeyi

Ananya Vajpeyi

No abstract provided.

Realism And Pm Narendra Modi’S Foreign Policy: Identification Of Gaps, Vivek Kumar Srivastava Dr.

Vivek Kumar Srivastava Dr.

Indian PM Narendra Modi is a dynamic leader. There are several discussions on his foreign policy, most of these have not studied it with a realist perspective. The present paper uses realist theoretical framework to identify the gaps in foreign policy.

Contested Religious Space In Jakarta: Negotiating Politics, Capital And Ethnicity, Chang Yau Hoon

Chang Yau HOON

No abstract provided.

Mapping Chineseness On The Landscape Of Chinese Churches In Indonesia, Chang Yau Hoon

Chang Yau HOON

No abstract provided.

God And Discipline: Religious Education And Character Building In A Christian School In Jakarta, Chang Yau Hoon

Chang Yau HOON

No abstract provided.

Young People’S Attitudes Towards Interethnic And Inter-Religious Socializing, Courtship And Marriage In Indonesia, Lyn Parker, Chang Yau Hoon

Chang Yau HOON

No abstract provided.

Reading Between The Poverty Lines, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

The proposed Rangarajan method on measurement of poverty in India borrows elements from three earlier methods – those of Alagh, Lakdawala and Tendulkar. An important departure in the Rangarajan method is to compute the poverty line commodity basket by combining items from two fractile groups to address the relatively higher expenses for some essential non-food items. This, while being statistically plausible, poses a behavioural dilemma, as there will be no fractile group that will satisfy both. As an alternative, we suggest dual poverty lines where the fi rst is computed on the basis of average calorie, protein and fat requirements …

Evolving Chineseness, Ethnicity And Business: The Making Of Ethnic Chinese As A 'Market-Dominant Minority' In Indonesia, Chang Yau Hoon

Chang Yau HOON

No abstract provided.

Introduction: Coping With Change - Understanding Ethnic Chinese Business Behavior, Chang Yau Hoon

Chang Yau HOON

No abstract provided.

Opium Trade And Conflict In Afghanistan, Vivek Kumar Srivastava Dr.

Vivek Kumar Srivastava Dr.

This paper explores the role of opium cultivation in Afghanistan and the world.

Global And Regional Determinants Of Regime Type: Pakistan, Jakob A Friedman

Jakob A Friedman

Abstract: Traditional fields of study for international relations (IR) scholars have revolved around the question of how regimes interact with one another in the international sphere. This paper deals with answering the question of how regimes emerge in the first place. To this end, there are two competing narratives in IR, which seek to explain the origins of regime type. The first is that regimes are shaped entirely by a given nations regional security concerns, the other is that regimes emerge in response to global political paradigms. Throughout the exploration of the political history of Pakistan, this paper seeks to …

Identity Politics And Foreign Policy: Taiwan’S Relations With China And Japan, 1895-2012, Yinan He

Yinan He

Nation is a product of self-other separation and exclusion. Divergent, or even competing, narratives about the national Self and Other advanced by various nationalist entrepreneurs can shape conflicting policy preferences regarding the foreign country in question. The two primary Others for defining Taiwan's identity, China and Japan, have been frequently set against one another in its political discourses as elites wage a pitched battle over whom the Taiwanese are and where their future lies. This was evident during Japanese colonization in 1895-1945, the rule by the KMT regime after the war, and post-democratization period. For the new KMT government led …

Good Practices In Standard Setting For Domestic Worker Contracts, Piyasiri Wickramasekara

PIYASIRI WICKRAMASEKARA

The presentation discusses international good practices in model or standard employment contracts in protection of migrant domestic workers. International instruments negotiated by ILO and UN constituents are the best sources of good practices. It outlines the provisions in international instruments, particularly the ILO Convention on Domestic Workers, 2011 (No. 189). The author maintains that for maximum effectiveness, the model/standard contracts should be mutually recognized by countries of origin and destination, and duly enforced to ensure compliance by employers, and supplemented by other measures. The author concludes that there is a large unfinished agenda in ensuring decent work for domestic workers.

Multicultural Citizenship Education In Indonesia: The Case Of A Chinese Christian School, Chang Yau Hoon

Chang Yau HOON

No abstract provided.

Secularity, Religion And The Possibilities For Religious Citizenship, Lyn Parker, Chang Yau Hoon

Chang Yau HOON

No abstract provided.

Mainstreaming Migration In Development Agendas: South Asia, Piyasiri Wickramasekara

PIYASIRI WICKRAMASEKARA

The presentation addresses the issue of mainstreaming labour migration into development agendas of South Asian countries. Starting with definitions, it identifies tools which can be used for mainstreaming: national development plans, PRSPs, national labour migration policies, and sectoral policies, among others. It reviews the role of remittances, return migration and diaspora engagement as mechanisms for mainstreaming. It raises some contradictions and ambiguities in the regional and international discourse on the issue. finally it raises the role of migration in the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

Rebuilding 2014 Afghanistan (Pakistan Observer), Shams Uz Zaman Mr.

Mr. Shams uz Zaman

Proposes a strategy to rebuild Afghanistan.

Olive Branch Or Bellicosity (Pakistan Observer), Shams Uz Zaman Mr.

Mr. Shams uz Zaman

Differentiates between the options of talking to militants or taking military action.

Budget Transparency In Afghanistan: A Pathway To Building Public Trust In The State, Nematullah Bizhan

International Budget Partnership

This case study discusses major improvements in government budget transparency and public engagement in Afghanistan, presenting an analysis of the roles of the following actors in the trend toward more open budgeting: 1) the International Budget Partnership, foreign donors, civil society organizations, and the media; 2) the government; and 3) the legislature. This paper argues that by increasing its OBI score from 8 in 2008 to 21 in 2010, Afghanistan has made important progress, though it still remains below average. But donors, CSOs, and to some extent the media are putting increasing pressure on the government to improve its Public …

The Re-Emerging Dragon, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

Remarks prepared for the CEFAM China Conference, 22 January 2013.

Check against delivery.

Rethinking Crises And The Accretion Of Executive Power: The "War On Terror" And Conditionality Evidence From Seven Political Systems, Riccardo Pelizzo, John E. Owens

riccardo pelizzo

External shocks to democratic systems are likely to threaten the stability of relations between the executive and the representative assembly. This article investigates the impact of the so-called “war on terror” on executive-assembly relations in comparative perspective. We analyze data from seven countries, which varied in terms of form of government, level of democracy, culture, social structure, and geographic location, to evaluate its effects. We find that whereas in some systems the “war on terror” altered the balance of power between the executive and the assembly, in other cases the extant balance of power was preserved. We postulate various conditions …

Chinese Indonesians Reassessed: A Critical Review, Siew Min Sai, Chang Yau Hoon

Chang Yau HOON

No abstract provided.

"By Race, I Am Chinese; And By Grace, I Am Christian”: Chineseness And Christianity In Indonesia, Chang Yau Hoon

Chang Yau HOON

No abstract provided.

To The Peoples: Christianity And Ethnicity In China's Minority Areas, Francis Khek Gee Lim

Francis Khek Gee Lim

No abstract provided.

Pak Nukes: Frenzy In Western Media (Cpc Journal, No.1025, Us Air Force, Alabama), Shams Uz Zaman Mr.

Mr. Shams uz Zaman

Focus on the reports published in the US media against Pakistani nuclear capability.

Rural Poverty = Information Poverty? Computers As New Knowledge Brokers In Rural India, Payal Arora

Payal Arora

No abstract provided.