acase@tulane.edu

The purpose of this thesis to analyze the problems caused in Mexico by the lack of regulations of the New York Convention, related to the requirement of arbitrators to issue a reasoned arbitral award or, more specifically, a founded and motivated arbitral award (fundado y motivado) The Mexican Constitution establishes the obligation to found and motivate every act of authority, including judicial decisions. This obligation has been a vital protection to people's rights and liberties in Mexico against illegal acts from the authorities. Unfortunately, the New York Convention does not obligate arbitrators to reason the awards This situation may generate a conflict of law within the Mexican legal system, that is, between the Constitution and the application of the New York Convention. The constitutional norm which establishes the obligation to found and motivate arbitral awards is considered as an imperious norm (mandatory norm); therefore, it should not be ignored and cannot be waived by the parties The Constitution is unanimously considered by Mexican doctrine and, more importantly, by the Mexican Supreme Court of Justice, as the Supreme Law in the Mexican legal system where no laws, including international treaties, are allowed to contradict the principles and fundamental rights granted by such Supreme Law. The amparo suit, or constitutional injunction suit, is a specific legal figure created to impede or to bar any act or law considered unconstitutional The purpose of this research is to analyzed the possibility to set aside an arbitral award for lack of reasoning (lack of foundation and motivation), by the federal court in Mexico through the amparo trial arguing the unconstitutionality act of a judge that try to enforce an unreasoned arbitral award The issue at hand is whether federal courts in Mexico can properly set aside an award through an amparo suit, although acting in accordance with the international legal system especially without breaching Mexico's obligations under the VCLT. Considering that the Article V (II) (b) of the New York Convention may provide with the public policy exception a way out / acase@tulane.edu

Review of the literature discloses that there has not been any thorough study of the UN voting cohesion of the Afro-Arab group per se. The emphasis of this study concerns the voting behavior of the Afro-Arab states in the GA over a lengthy period of time (twenty-three sessions). This study, therefore, attempts to provide accurate evidence and thorough analysis in order to achieve insights into the actual role of the Afro-Arab countries The voting behavior of the Afro-Arab states is examined on two levels: micro and macro. On the micro level, the African and Arab states are studied as separate caucusing groups. Each group is engaged in frequent meetings when the GA is in session in order to discuss a variety of issues. The agenda usually includes the issues affecting the common interests of the LAS-OAU groups, whether such issues will cause internal disagreements or not, e.g., Afro-Arab issues. Other issues, which are expected to cause disagreement among their membership, the LAS-OAU offices purposely avoid placing on their agenda, e.g., East-West issues. The group concern and focus are not only on matters of common interests but, as much as possible, are extended to the issues which reflect partial and divergent interests, e.g., nuclear weapons On the macro level, the Afro-Arab states are examined as a united group. They have joint meetings to coordinate and collaborate their efforts to reach agreement on issues vital to them before the voting process takes place. The degree of coordination between both groups depends on the types of issues. A higher level of voting consistency was exhibited on issues of common interests, and a lower degree of voting solidarity on matters of divergent concerns The Afro-Arab states seem to be more effective in the process of developing rather than enforcing the decision of the UN. Consequently, in the latest period of study the agenda of the UN incorporates more issues involving Afro-Arab matters. However, enforcing the decisions of the UNGA depends on the collaboration of the non-Afro-Arab states as well. Several factors affecting the voting cohesion of the Afro-Arab states were identified: national interest, pan-nationalism, North-South and East-West systems, and the level of coordination and collaboration. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.) / acase@tulane.edu

This dissertation adds to our understanding of change in international politics by exploring political implications of the ecocentric worldview widely espoused by transnational environmental interest groups (TEIGs). Ecocentric policies demand that protection of the ecosystem be the central concern in policy-making, politically, socially and economically, both domestically and internationally The principles, norms and values preferred by TEIGs are holistic; they require radical change in social, economic and political institutions. This provokes resistance by currently dominant institutions, including states, which tend to resist ecocentric policies even while recognizing a need for environmental protection. Ecocentrism challenges the fundamental doctrine of the international system, state sovereignty, thus attacking the approach to the study of international politics known as 'realism.' Societies react to change through cultural adaptation. Political cultures are sets of shared attitudes toward political objects, diffused through a common interpretation of common symbols among an identifiable group, and manifest in the political institutions created by the group. Ascription of political legitimacy (that which is perceived by a society as rational, effective, and right) is largely dependent on political culture Dealing effectively with transnational problems requires transnational cooperation. This study argues that effective transnational cooperation requires transcultural acceptance of common principles, norms and values; from a realist perspective an unlikely prospect. Postmaterialism, of which environmentalism is an intrinsic element, is thought by some scholars to represent a fundamental change in the way citizens of advanced industrial democracies view the world. Postmaterialism emphasizes quality of life issues such as belongingness, self-expression, and equality, in contrast with earlier 'materialist' emphases upon economic and military security. The postmaterialist emphasis upon pluralistic participatory democracy, however, is inconsistent with the universalistic, holistic ethos of ecocentricity National political cultures are a finite set of subcultural types, each with its peculiar cosmology. Subcultures of the same type are easy to link transnationally, but the type of subculture TEIGs represent is congenitally unlikely to provide a foundation for mass political parties in pluralistic societies. A new international political culture would have to be built on a worldview common among existing cultures to ensure international cooperation / acase@tulane.edu

acase@tulane.edu

acase@tulane.edu

acase@tulane.edu

This dissertation presents a study of the nature of the formation of expectations for, and empirical patterns of, the Deutsche Mark/dollar and Yen/dollar exchange rates for the time period of July 1976 to June 1986. A discussion of the interdependent characteristics of monetary policy formation and institutional aspects of the central banks of the United States, West Germany, and Japan follows, with the purpose of characterizing policy interaction effects on formation of expectations in the 1976-1980 and 1980-85 subperiods--prior to, and after, the inception of significant changes in monetary policies in each of the three countries. / The statistical studies produce conflicting results, but the strongest indication is for behavior of exchange rate levels consistent with rational expectation theories of market efficiency for each of the two subperiods, but not for the full period. In particular, there is indication of serial correlation in the residuals for the full period tests. Variance ratio tests for trend reversion suggest persistence of returns which increase by a degree less than proportional to the increase in length of lag period, suggesting reversion to a central value. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-05, Section: A, page: 1836. / Major Professor: George Macesich. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

Many of the relatively large number of transitions to more democratic political systems in Third World countries during the 1980s were anomalies for important theories of regime transition, because they occurred during times of economic difficulties and increased dependence by poor countries on richer, industrialized states. Modernization theory, for example, would lead us to expect that economic growth is necessary for the emergence of democracy, while dependency theory stipulates that increased reliance by poor countries on investment from multinational corporations fosters dictatorial regimes that create economic environments attractive to those corporations. At least some of the anomalies might be accounted for by a model that emphasizes the liberalizing impact of economic restructuring programs instituted by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, especially in those countries with debt-servicing difficulties that made them more vulnerable to that impact. Analyses of data on regime transitions in the 1980s indicate that highly indebted countries committed to economic stabilization under agreements signed with either official multilateral agencies or commercial banks were more likely to democratize in the 1980s. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-05, Section: A, page: 1883. / Major Professor: James Lee Ray. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

By any standards, the evolution of the European Union has been dramatic. Born in the devastation of the immediate post-war years, it brought together countries which had faced each other in conflict only a few years earlier. Predictably, the political rationale for its establishment in 1958 was peace, but the key to achieving this goal was to be economic growth. Economic growth was expected to increase the absolute wealth of member states, as well as improve the relative economic performance of poorer regions. / This latter view is consistent with neoclassical economic theories of regional integration which predict a convergence of wealth levels as integration proceeds. Issues of convergence and divergence are particularly significant for economic communities, as it has been demonstrated that such organizations are especially vulnerable to political tensions which result from uneven distributions of wealth. / Given the importance of wealth disparities for the integration process, this study traces their development over a thirty year period. It also assesses whether such economic trends have influenced public support for the European Union. / The results of the analysis indicate that economic convergence has occurred within the European Union since its inception. The original members became more alike economically, and three of the EU's four poorest members moved closer to this core group. It was also discovered that public evaluations of the EU are shaped by economic conditions. However, the most significant indicator of public support for the European Union was found to be the length of a country's membership in that organization. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-08, Section: A, page: 3289. / Major Professor: Dale L. Smith. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.