published_or_final_version / abstract / China Development Studies / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / Politics and Public Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

By the second half of the 1980s, the USSR was on the br i nk of the most ambitious and far-reaching reform programme f or decades. This study concentrates on a policy area which is an integral element of the overall economic reform strategy - foreign economic relations with the developed capitalist countries. Gorbachev's policy of 'opening up' to the West is a continuation of a process which began during the 1960s but was interrupted as the USSR entered a phase of retreat f rom the world economy between 1976 and 1985. The Soviet policy line was not followed by all of its CMEA allies, most notably Hungary where the intention was declared to pursue further integration into the world economy. Concentrating on the USSR and Hungary in particular, this study examines the range of factors, internal as well a s external, which influenced CMEA countries' policies on economic relations with the OECD countries between 1976 and 1985. A number of important issues are covered, including the following. The reasons why the USSR and Hungary preferred different long term strategies. The role of nonleadership groups in each country's policy process. What the most important long term influences on CMEA countries' relations with the world economy are. Factors which affect East European leaderships' abilities to implement radical reform in the domestic economy and in foreign economic relations. The relationship between foreign trade poli cy and domestic economic and political reform. The case studies show how all the above issues a r e interrelated and highlight a range of phenomena applicable to all CMEA countries during a decade in which they faced acute dilemmas over their future development.

The first story explores how the wave of social change that craves creative space design and integration has improved and is improving Seoul city's environment and Seoulites' lives. Focusing on Design Seoul project - Seoul's scenery reconstructing plans, the first story reports the whole city-level renovations happening in terms of space and people's minds and its positive influences on South Korean's lives. The second story investigates the changing phase of Korean society caused by growing number of foreign workers from Southeast Asia and China in the last 10 years as Korean society has become a more multi-racial community. The story shows the issues raised by the social change and works to be done. Combining the two feature stories, this report addresses how Korean society is changing in various aspects. / text

This study is about determining the circumstances which make, the inter- national sales of technology and know-how-through licensing arrangements a viable alternative to FDI and foreign trade for manufacturing firms. It identifies basic motivations for licensing, and examines company characteristics of British'companies in relation to observed licensing strategy overseas. In addition, it examines the effect on licensing of competition in the-sales of technology. A conceptual model of foreign licensing is tested on cross-sectional data gathered from 202 UK-based. and non-UK based companies. Data for 50 of these firms which were not engaged in any licensing activity, were obtained through direct phone calls and from their annual reports for 1980. Data for the remaining-152 companies, -which were involved in licensing arrangements, were obtained through mailed questionnaires and from published sources. In addition, 33 of these company's managers in charge of licensing were interviewed. The data was analysed by a battery of univariate and multivariate techniques. With regard to the costs and benefits of licensing, company executive responses show explicitly two common directions for their evaluation and concern. A company whose foreign licensing consists predominantly of granting licence rights for the use of its patents, trademarks and know-how in industries other than those in which it is itself active, or in the manufacture of products it does not choose to make or market overseas, is generally satisfied to assess the success of its activity by the volume of royalty receipts minus such easily determined direct costs as are incurred in negotiating, obtaining, and maintaining the licence contracts. Companies which are licensing proprietary rights and know-how relating to its own particular products and activities in contrast are much more involved with the licensee, have higher profit opportunity but greater loss exposure, and have much more opportunity to influence the indirect costs and indirect benefits generated by the licensing agreements. Other findings related to cost-benefit of licensing are that companies (1) which spend a relatively larger percentage of value-added on R&D, (2) which are relatively large in their industry, (3) which are more highly diversified, or (4) which have less experience in foreign manufacturing operations are more likely to license in order to supplement their FDI. Also, if there is competition in the sale of technology, managers are more willing-to-licence than to invest, providing the company does not try to preserve its market position in older products facing competition. The results of the study also show that companies which are involved in licensing are indeed distinguishable from those that do not have any licensing engagement, by a number of discriminatory characteristics. The research also shows that these companies do evaluate licensing as an alternative to FDI when they consider manufacturing in host-market. Finally, there is evidence that the firms which are enjoying-relative scale in their industry,. are highly diversified and have high R&D intensity are likely to adoptapolicy involving reciprocal exchange of technology licence with other innovative firms in their industry.

While serving as the Presidential Envoy to Iraq, historians, journalists, and students alike became acquainted with Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III for the first time. Those same observers judged Ambassador Bremer’s work and effectiveness, without knowing anything about his previous career and how his prior experiences shaped his intellectual growth as a Foreign Service Officer. Therefore, this thesis effectively serves as an opportunity for observers of the Iraq War and historians to put the fourteen months Ambassador Bremer served in Iraq into a greater context. The Thesis tracks his early Foreign Service postings, through his enormous impact on the Cold War as Ambassador to the Netherlands, up through the bi-partisan report that he chaired, which is sometimes referred to as the “Bremer Report.” His career before Iraq allowed him to gain experience in diplomacy, studying terrorism, and preparing himself intellectually to understand and attempt to solve problems in different areas of the world and different sectors within government and out. Additionally, the Thesis discusses two issues during Ambassador Bremer’s time in Iraq. One of the issues, based on interviews with each party, re-explains the nature of the relationship between Ambassador Bremer and Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez. This discussion also presents evidence as to why difficulties at the time did exist, although the overall nature of them have been greatly exaggerated. Lastly, the Thesis discusses the decision to disband the Iraqi Army, and attempts to place that decision in the context of Ambassador Bremer’s prior career and decision making. / text

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) has a dual purpose of protecting United States businesses (and importantly, their investors) and combating corruption abroad. The latter purpose is the focus of this study. Reduced corruption has been linked to improving human rights conditions and supporting development projects; thus, if the FCPA reduces corruption, it can positively impact other United States' concerns. Given this importance, this study seeks to determine whether the FCPA reduces corruption in targeted countries. FCPA enforcement actions brought by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from 1998 to 2012 were compiled and allocated by country where the underlying bribery took place. The top ten countries from which the most FCPA enforcement actions arose were selected for individual case study. The level of corruption in each country was approximated with the World Bank's Control of Corruption Indicator (CCI) for the relevant time period of 1998 to 2012. The number of FCPA enforcement actions are compared to this CCI score to determine if the FCPA reduced corruption in those countries relative to countries without as many FCPA enforcement actions. This comparison, both individually and collectively, is not able to demonstrate that FCPA enforcement reduced levels of corruption in those countries that gave rise to the most enforcement actions. Thus, although the FCPA may be an important tool in the toolbox of international regulations the United States uses in combatting corruption, as well as promoting human rights and international development, it alone does not appear to significantly reduce corruption abroad. / text

As a large export country of international students and an active player on the globalization arena, China’s attractiveness for its overseas students has increased significantly so it sees the greatest amount of overseas returnees in recent years. Nonetheless, considerable numbers of postgraduate students with strong academic and professional competence choose to stay in the host country. The paper aims at seeking understanding of the main considerations of these young talents when they decide to stay after graduation. The “push-pull” factor framework in higher education firstly raised by P. G. Altbach is used to analyse the online interview data of 12 participants who are working or pursuing further study in the receiving country. The results reveal that freedoms and constraints in aspects of career/academic development and cultural/social life in both home and host countries are placed the most emphasis. What the interviewees valued most are: access to different career choices and professional development, fair competition, freedom of lifestyle and cultural recognition. This paper provides information useful for approaching the “brain drain, brain gain or brain circulation” problem in the Chinese context and outlines the importance of efforts made by Chinese higher education system and the whole society to retain the bright brains. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

During the Administrations of Presidents Geisel (March 1974-March 1979) and Figueiredo (March 1979-March 1985) South America became a top priority area for Brazilian foreign policy. Brazil's diplomatic, economic and especially commercial relations with her neighbours acquired an intensity and depth never seen before. However, despite growing interest in the study of Brazil's external relations, no systematic effort has been undertaken to explain this central aspect of her foreign policy and its effects on inter-state relations in South America. This thesis purports to account for the changes explaining Brazil's increasing interest in the region, the economic and political objectives she pursued in South America during the last decade and the main features of her regional policy - mainly its cooperative character and its emphasis on maximising her economic gains. The difficulties Brazil encountered in attaining her aims and the achievements with which her efforts were rewarded also constitute an aim of this work. In the course of the last decade Brazil increased her economic and commercial influence in the buffer states of the River Plate basin, transformed her conflictive relation with Argentina into one of cooperation and understanding and created an atmosphere favourable to the development of greater cooperation with her Amazonian neighbours. In doing so Brazil managed simultaneously to maximise her economic gains, further her regional influence and reduce her neighbours' apprehension towards her own internal expansion and the rapid development of her national power. Brazil's foreign policy in South America not only contributed to reduce her geographic, economic and political isolation from her neighbours but by favouring bilateral cooperation with them consolidated for herself a peaceful strategic environment in South America. The efforts of the last decade have paved the way for future cooperation with her South American counterparts in those areas in which she wishes to do so, while keeping her freedom of action to expand her economic and political relations to other areas of the world. Furthermore, they have allowed her to bring her degree of regional influence more in line with her relative advantages vis-á-vis her South American neighbours without making them feel threatened by such developments.

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