Thesis (Ph. D. (International Politics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2016 / The United States of America’s (US) foreign policy towards Africa has been the subject for debate. This is partly because the country’s relationship with African countries is not consistent. By and large, such relations are shaped by a number of factors which include political orientation and material resources. Within this context, the present study uses case studies from two different parts of Africa to tease out US foreign policy towards Africa. This explorative study uses Ghana and the United Republic of Tanzania (hereafter referred to as Tanzania) as test cases to compare and critique the post-Cold War foreign policy of the US towards Africa. It does this by first analysing and constructing the theoretical material on the three pillars of the US Africa policy (oil, democracy and security) and subsequently, contemporaneously locating the US relationship with Ghana and Tanzania. Largely, the study carries a historical sensibility as it traces the US relationship with Ghana and Tanzania from as far as the colonial era. History is crucial in this regard because the past provides a sound basis for understanding the present and future. To add, in International Politics theory holds sway and history is used as a laboratory. In this thesis, the researcher proposes Afrocentricity as an alternative theoretical paradigm crucial in understanding US foreign policy towards Africa. As it shall be seen, such a paradigm (theoretical lens) remains critical in highlighting the peculiarity of the US relationship with Ghana and Tanzania. It is envisaged that a deeper understanding of the US foreign policy towards Ghana and Tanzania is achievable when its analysis and interpretation is located within a broader continental context of Africa. To realise the purpose of this study, the researcher relies methodologically on interdisciplinary critical discourse and conversations in their widest forms. With reference to the test cases for this study, the agenda for democratic consolidation features prominently on both of them while oil is only applicable to Ghana in this regard. In contrast, Tanzania distinguishes itself both as a victim of terrorism and equally so as a strategic partner on the US anti-terrorism efforts in East Africa. Yet, oil in West Africa’s Ghana is important for the US both as an economic resource and a strategic energy source during wartime periods. Overall the ‘differential’ foreign policy towards individual African states is also a significant observation which dispels the myth of a universal US foreign policy framework. Keywords: Africa, Afrocentricity, democracy, East Africa, foreign policy, Ghana, oil, security, Tanzania, United States of America, West Africa.

This study examines economic integration within the European Union (EU) as a factor in conflict transformation and peace-building. European responses to causes of frequent conflicts and wars after the end of WWII focused on the search for peace, economic cooperation and prosperity. This thesis will focus on three elements: economic interdependence, the expansion of the free market, and economic integration. In-depth examination of these factors reveals that economic interdependence or the exchange of goods and services across inter-state and international boundaries only, is not sufficient to bring peace among states. Economic inter-dependence may reduce the impact of war, but cannot maintain sustainable peace. Unfair competition fanned by economic nationalism was a strong obstacle to free trade in Europe in the early 19th century. In the 21st century, the expansion of free trade, with increased understanding has enhanced reduction in interstate conflicts. However, free trade, in and of itself does not constitute a strong factor for a sustainable peace. Free trade may encourage democracy, but the expansion of free trade coupled with interdependence, does not bring sustainable peace. The EU has successfully established sustainable peace through economic integration-the creation of the single market that established freedom of movement, people, goods, services; and a single currency that facilitates easy transactions. The single market also abolished tariffs and custom duties. By and large, economic integration within the EU has been successful in creating a sustainable peace because economic interdependence, and the expansion of the free market have been combined with political integration by building democratic institutions at the intergovernmental and transnational levels.

The trade agenda has undergone significant transformations during the last 25 years. Negotiations have moved from the reciprocal reduction of tariff barriers to include the construction and harmonization of regulatory frameworks in different policy areas, while trade liberalization has simultaneously advanced at the regional and multilateral levels.This research explores under what conditions the launch of trade negotiations - symmetric (South- outh), asymmetric (North-South), and multilateral - have a differential impact on domestic governance. Based on a systematic and contextualized comparative analysis of the complex constellation of domestic actors and interests, and the relationships and interactions established among them in a particular institutional setting, our study argues that these different trade agendas generate diverse policy dynamics. Findings show that the variation in the scope of the agenda, the uncertainty of political outcomes, and the technical requirements attached to these negotiations have important consequences for the ways in which domestic state and non-state actors define their interests and collective action strategies. / La agenda comercial ha sufrido importantes modificaciones durante los últimos 25 años. Las negociaciones han pasado de la reducción recíproca de tarifas a la construcción y armonización regulatoria en distintas áreas de política, mientras que la liberalización comercial ha avanzado simultáneamente a nivel regional y multilateral.Esta investigación explora bajo qué condiciones el lanzamiento de negociaciones comerciales - imétricas (Sur-Sur), asimétricas (Norte-Sur) y multilaterales - tiene un impacto diferente sobre la gobernanza doméstica. A través de la comparación sistemática y contextualizada de la compleja constelación de actores e intereses domésticos, y de las relaciones e interacciones establecidas entre ellos en un determinado escenario institucional, nuestro estudio plantea que estas distintas agendas generan diferentes dinámicas políticas. Los resultados muestran que la variación en el alcance de la agenda, la incertidumbre de los resultados políticos, y los requisitos técnicos de estas negociaciones tienen importantes consecuencias sobre la manera en que los actores estatales y no estatales definen sus intereses y estrategias de acción colectiva.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Miami University, Dept. of Political Science, 2007. / Title from second page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 204-222).

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:23:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-04-11Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:48:11Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 freitas_vra_me_mar.pdf: 1041684 bytes, checksum: cc680e5306268f94b1048aa24ace9450 (MD5) / Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo realizar uma comparação entre as estratégias de inserção na economia internacional do Brasil e do México nos anos 1990. Por meio de pesquisa bibliográfica, tomaremos como referencial as medidas de política econômica e de política externa adotadas por ambos os países no Mercosul, no caso brasileiro, e no Nafta, no caso mexicano. Para tal, é necessário fazer uma contextualização política e econômica do período anterior, sobretudo, a década de 1980, que marcou o fim de uma etapa histórica para uma nova forma de desenvolvimento. A crise da dívida externa que afetou diretamente a economia da maior parte dos países latino-americanos marcou o fim do modelo nacional desenvolvimentista, ou modelo de substituição de importações, dando espaço ao modelo econômico amparado em políticas neoliberais. Desse modo, no contexto da globalização, esse novo processo de desenvolvimento é responsável pela adoção de novas estratégias de política econômica e pela modificação da natureza da política externa, no que se refere às implicações das mudanças internacionais e domésticas, para a formulação da política externa. Pretendemos, portanto, compreender quais foram essas estratégias de inserção e os seus reflexos econômicos, bem como analisar sua relação com os processos de integração econômica regional e com a formulação da política externa de ambos os países. / This research aims to conduct a comparison between the strategies of insertion into the international economy of Brazil and Mexico in the 1990s. Through literature, we take as reference the economic policy measures and the foreign policy adopted by Brazil in Mercosul, and Mexico in NAFTA. This way, a political and an economic context of the previous period is necessary, especially the 1980s, which defined the end of an historic step towards a new form of development. The foreign debt crisis which directly affected the economy of most Latin American countries marked the end of the national development model, or model of import substitution, leaving a gap, that later would be filled up by the economic model of neoliberal policies supported. Thus, in the context of globalization, this new development process is responsible for adopting new strategies for economic policy and by changing the nature of foreign policy, regarding the implications of international and domestics transitions, to the formulation of foreign policy. Therefore, we aim to understand what were those insertion’s strategies and their economic consequences, as well as examine their relationship with the processes of regional economic integration and the formulation of foreign policy of both countries.

Agricultural commodity derivatives were first introduced in South Africa in 1996 after the deregulation of the former marketing system. In the context of its proposed functions, namely price discovery and risk management, the question arose as to whether the futures market developed over time to performed its role efficiently. According to the Efficient Markets Hypothesis (EMH) an efficient market is one that accurately incorporates all information available at any point in time. The purpose of the research was to address the issue of price discovery efficiency, firstly, focusing on the weak-form methodology. Secondly, considering the behaviour of futures prices over time, the study addressed the concern of anomalies in daily returns – phenomena contradictory to the EMH by implication. Thirdly, as a means of defining the sources of inefficiency, the role of scheduled public information and its impact on futures prices was examined. Therefore, the primary objective of the research was to investigate and identify the main components of agricultural futures market inefficiency within the unique price formation structure of South African grain markets. The assessment of this problem is important in terms of evaluating the growth and development of the futures market for different grain commodities to date. The Exchange needs to review rules and regulations on a frequent basis in order to ensure proper functioning at all times especially in the case of a relatively new and fast growing market. The study contributed to the knowledge of understanding the price adjustment process and its implications for market efficiency in the context of the three grain markets considered. The weak-form efficiency was tested using a co-integration based model. Analysing daily spot and futures prices of white maize, yellow maize, and wheat, results indicated that all three markets were efficient and unbiased. Non-parametric tests revealed the significant presence of day-of-the-week and turn-of-the-month effects in the futures returns of the three commodities. Further non-parametric analyses suggested a high degree of uncertainty in futures returns around scheduled agricultural and macroeconomic information release dates also contributing significantly to the identified anomalies. It was concluded that (1) the markets’ ability to anticipate the contents of future information to be released, (2) the current skewed size distribution of broking members, (3) the significant role of the R/$ exchange rate in the price formation process of South African grains and, therefore, (4) the relationship to and influence of the broader economy enhanced the return effects (anomalies) creating opportunity for profitable arbitrage. This conclusion was mainly attributed to South Africa’s status as a price-taker in the world grain complex as well as the relatively short existence of the local agricultural futures markets.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-19T19:29:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 707777 bytes, checksum: 440e94fc072905974958e730a2dc0ab3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 1995-12-11 / In this work, it is sought to explain the behavior of the agriculture products in Colima during the period of 1980-1992 and, to analyze the possible effects of the NAFTA in the agriculture in the state Colima. In the first part of the analysis our period is divided in two stages: the first stage that corresponds to the period of economy crisis and its consequence in the agriculture of Mexico, as well as various policy and controls which the politicians were adopted by the State to adjust the economy. The impact due to this and their effects on the agriculture that allows us to identify the cultivations that are affected. This first stage (1982-85) it is characterized by the recession, inflation, drop in the exports and political macroeconomic of adjustment, among them the commercial opening. In the second stage (1985-88) it allows to identify the strong commercial opening of Mexico and their effects in the economy and particularly in the agriculture of the country and in Colima explaining how the behavior of the agricultural, in the given characteristics and structure of agricultural sector. This would allow to explain what happened with the agriculture during the period of commercial liberalization. In second part leaves it seeks to analyze what will happen in the agriculture with the NAFTA in place. For this, our first step will be to identify in that agricultural products Colima presents comparative advantages and the capacity to compete in the international market. It is starting from that knowledge that will be tried to analyze the possible effects of the liberalization structuring theoretical scenario of effects in agricultural structure. This way the objective is to respond to the two questions; what happened in the agriculture in the first liberalization stage? and is it expected that it will happen in front of the NAFTA in the second liberalization stage? The retrospective analysis will allow to understand the tendencies and to explain the present, as well as its transformations in the structure of the agricultural product in Colima during the considered period. To reach this objectives, the importance and the behavior of the indicators of the supply will be analyzed in the period from 1980 to 1992, as well as seasonal, productivity of each cultivation in the State of Colima: like Corn, Fríjol, Rice, Sorghum, Sugar Cane and Coffee, Lemon, Mango, Banana, Melon. On the demand side, they will be analyzed with respect to the demand in the market and the domestic prices, as well as the external market, their specific characteristic for the products and behavior of the international prices. With relationship to the theoretical mark, they will be used to conceptualize the theoretical concept. The theory of the international trade the neoclassical focus of the comparative advantages, using like model to measure the cost of the domestic resources and the Matrix of Analysis of Politics, this last one instrumental theoretical it was developed recently to analyze the micro effects and macroeconomic of political commercial. / Neste trabalho, pretende-se explicar o comportamento da agricultura em Colima, no período de 1980-1992 e analisar os possíveis efeitos do Nafta na agricultura do Estado. Na primeira parte da análise, divide-se o período em duas etapas. A primeira corresponde à fase de crise da economia mexicana e, em conseqüência, da agricultura mexicana, e investiga-se quais foram as políticas adotadas pelo Estado para ajustar a economia e quais os seus efeitos sobre a agricultura, além de identificar as culturas mais afetadas. Essa etapa (1982-1985) caracteriza-se pela recessão, inflação, queda das exportações e políticas macroeconômicas de ajuste, entre elas a abertura comercial. Na segunda etapa (1985-1988), evidenciam-se a forte abertura comercial do México e seus efeitos na economia e, particularmente, na agricultura do país e de Colima, ou seja, qual foi o comportamento da oferta agrícola, dadas as suas características de sua estrutura agrícola. Isso permitirá explicar o que aconteceu com a agricultura durante esse período. Na segunda parte do trabalho, pretende-se analisar o que acontece na agricultura com a implantação do Nafta. Para isso, é necessário identificar os produtos agrícolas de Colima que apresentam vantagens comparativas e quais poderão competir no mercado internacional. É a partir dessas informações que se analisam os possíveis efeitos da liberalização em Colima, estruturando cenários teóricos de efeitos na sua estrutura agrícola. Assim, o objetivo deste estudo é responder a duas perguntas: o que aconteceu na agricultura de Colima na primeira etapa da liberalização comercial? O que acontece quando o Nafta começa a influenciar a liberalização? A análise retrospectiva permitirá compreender as tendências e explicar o presente, assim como as mudanças na estrutura do produto agrícola em Colima durante o período considerado. Para atingir este objetivo, serão analisados a importância e o comportamento dos indicadores da oferta no período de 1980 a 1992, assim como a sazonalidade e a produtividade de cada cultura no Estado de Colima: milho, feijão, arroz, sorgo, cana- de-açúcar e café, limão, manga, banana, melão. Serão analisados a demanda no mercado e os preços domésticos, assim como o mercado exterior, suas principais características por produto e comportamento dos preços internacionais. Em relação ao marco teórico, será utilizada a teoria do comércio internacional sob o enfoque neoclássico das vantagens comparativas, utilizando como modelo de mensuração os custos dos recursos domésticos e a Matriz de Análise de Política, desenvolvida recentemente para analisar os efeitos micro e macroeconômicos de políticas comerciais.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-02T11:16:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2014-02-27Bitstream added on 2014-12-02T11:20:48Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000786751.pdf: 582946 bytes, checksum: d48b203fe7f6ecf4ac6dd1559a0c3796 (MD5) / A política externa brasileira para a América do Sul durante os anos Lula da Silva (2003-2010) foi considerada enfática e assertiva, visando o desenvolvimento de seu entorno regional como parte de um processo maior de desenvolvimento nacional. No entanto, a análise do cenário sul-americano deste período revela o surgimento de um projeto alternativo ao brasileiro: o bolivariano. O presidente venezuelano Hugo Chávez procurou utilizar os recursos petroleiros, que inundavam seu país durante a bonança econômica dos anos 2000, para financiar iniciativas baseadas nas ideias de Bolívar e no chamado “socialismo do século XXI”. Diante da ascensão de um novo projeto regional, este estudo procura indicar de que forma o Brasil de Lula conseguiu garantir a supremacia de seu esquema para a região, representado pela União das Nações Sul-Americanas (UNASUL), frente a alternativa apresentada por Chávez, a Aliança Bolivariana para as Américas (ALBA) / Brazilian foreign policy to South America during the years Lula da Silva (2003-2010) was considered emphatic, assertive, aiming to develop its regional environment as part of a larger process of national development. However, analysis of the South American landscape of this period reveals the emergence of an alternative project to Brazil: the Bolivarian. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez sought to use the oil revenues that flooded their country during the economic boom of the 2000s, to finance based on the ideas of Bolivar and the so-called socialism of the XXI century initiatives. Given the rise of a new regional project, this study seeks to outline how Lula's Brazil managed to ensure the supremacy of his scheme for the region, represented by the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), compared to alternative presented by Chavez the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA)

This aim of this thesis is to analyse the demand for labour from trade with a selection of South Africa’s trading partners. It is expected that labour demand will be greater in trade with developed blocs. Trade between developing blocs, however, is thought to be more skilled labour intensive and such trade should have greater linkages. This ought to feed through into greater labour demand so that South-South trade may be more ‘labour creating’ than expected. As it is more skill intensive, it may also be more dynamic, which has implications for future growth and development. Factor content methodology is used to assess labour demand. Calculations consider linkages to other sectors (which will increase labour demand) and the use of scarce resources (which has an opportunity cost to labour). The findings support the claim that trade with developing blocs is more professional labour intensive. Evidence that it may be more dynamic and have greater linkages to labour is borne out in exports to SADC. Greater labour demand through linkages, however, is not evident in net trade to SADC. Neither are they of significance in trade with any of the other developing blocs so labour effects due to linkages appear to be negligible. The advantages of South-South trade may rather lie in the dynamic benefits that trade in higher technology goods provides. When scarce resources such as capital and professional labour are taken into account, it is found that labour demand is negative in net trade to all blocs. However, even without the problem of scarce resources, most blocs have a negative demand for labour in net trade. The indication is that with the present trade patterns, South Africa cannot expect trade to increase labour demand. Policy which could improve this situation would be to increase labour force skills, improve the flexibility of the labour market and develop sectors which are both more advanced as well as labour intensive. Despite the negative impact of trade on labour in general, it is found that trade does differ by direction and that for each labour type there are certain blocs where labour demand is positive. This is also the case in net trade for particular sectors. Such information could be used as part of a targeted trade policy to assist in the marketing of particular sectors in trade and also for increasing labour demand for certain labour groups.

[pt] Criada em 1948 no seio das Nações Unidas, a CEPAL surgiu como parte do esforço de construção de novas instituições internacionais com o propósito de apoiar o desenvolvimento regional. Contrapondo-se ao ressurgimento das teorias clássicas sobre o comércio internacional - sobretudo o princípio ricardiano sobre as vantagens comparativas- a CEPAL apresentará a tese da deterioração dos termos de intercâmbio, denunciando as assimetrias da divisão internacional do trabalho, que tendia perpetuar o subdesenvolvimento da periferia e não permitir sua industrialização. Ao contrário da originalidade das teorias e propostas dos anos 1950, o pensamento cepalino não seria capaz de responder à ofensiva liberal que vinha ocorrendo desde os anos 1970, seguindo as profundas mudanças no sistema econômico internacional. A agenda da CEPAL nos anos 1990 seria elaborada num novo contexto, após quase duas décadas de experimento neoliberal na região. O presente trabalho objetiva compreender as razões da incapacidade da CEPAL em se opor às teses do novo reformismo liberal, através de uma análise sobre sua trajetória nos últimos cinqüenta anos. / [en] Created in 1948 in the core of the United Nations, ECLAC emerged as part of the construction effort to build new international institutions with the purpose to support regional development. Contraposing itself to the resurging of the classical theories over international trade - specially the ricardian principle about comparative advantages- ECLAC will present the thesis over the deterioration of the terms of exchange, denouncing the asymmetries of the international division of labor, which tended to perpetuate underdevelopment in the periphery and not to permit its industrialization. On the contrary of the originality of the theories and proposals of the 1950 s, ECLAC s thought would not be able to answer to the liberal offensive which was being happening since the 1970 s, following the deep changes in the international economic system. ECLAC s agenda in the 1990 s would be elaborated in a new context, after almost two decades of neoliberal experiment in the region. This work seeks to understand the reasons of ECLAC s incapacity to oppose itself to the thesis of the new liberal reformism, through an analysis about its trajectory in the last fifty years.