Month: April 2010

Back to the 80s? Bring Them On!

80s sneaker wallpaper / photo: roberlan, flickr

One fine Manic Monday, election campaign strategists of the British Labour Party put out an ad admonishing voters: “Don’t let him [David Cameron] take Britain back to the 1980s.”

But weren’t the 1980s supposed to be The Best of Times?

At least we of Generation Y tend to think so. Back in the 80s, we were not yet so politically aware. Some of us played with Barbie dolls (you guessed it: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun), others practiced the Moonwalk, watched Alf or kept ourselves busy growing mullets – yes, Madonna said so: “Express Yourself“.

Actually, we do not necessarily associate the 1980s with rampant greed, a growing economic gap, poverty, unfettered capitalism, a roll-back of the welfare state and the looming threat of nuclear extinction.

Rather, we think of 80s rock: big hair; Dirty Dancing; a booming stock market; pegged jeans; neon colors; Money for Nothing – all, baby, Hurts So Good!

The New York Times recently commented on Hillary Clinton’s voluminous hairstyle, suspiciously resembling the big bumpy hair donned by women in the (presumably conservative) 80s. And that coming from a Democrat! (But then again, Obama these days is often compared to Ronald Reagan – a Democrat version of the Reagan phenomenon, that is.)

The Tories skillfully responded to the Labour ad, playing on the 1980s nostalgia. They released a slightly modified version of the Labour poster portraying Mr Cameron as Gene Hunt from the BBC’s popular Ashes To Ashes series. Come’on, the 80s weren’t that Bad after all!

So the moral of this campaign flop is: if you want to invoke bad memories of conservative politics in Britain, don’t use the culturally rather successful 1980s to make your point.

I hope Labour has learned its lesson; otherwise, it will turn out to be a very Cruel Summer for Gordon Brown’s party.

Talking Intellectual Property This Week

Private property sign on unlocked door / photo: great sea, flickr

Intellectual property rights (IPR) were originally created to promote the advancement of science and the arts.

But does today’s IPR system serve the public good?

Our weekly theme this week tries to bring out the intense polarization of the debate over the purpose and usefulness of today’s intellectual property rights system.

Professor Ian Angell from the LSE provides an Analysis of the current state of IPR, arguing that IP legislation has become highly protectionist, stifles innovation and hinders free market competition.

In our podcast interview, patent attorney John Moetteli counters Angell’s main argument and explains how the patent system indeed encourages innovation in a competitive, capitalist system.

Security Watch articles about ‘green’ technology patents, the futility of digital rights management and much more.

Publications housed in our Digital Library, including analyses of IP-related issues in international trade agreements.

Primary Resources, including the WTO TRIPS Agreement.

Links to relevant websites, among them a database that provides access to national copyright and related rights legislation of UNESCO member states.

Our IR Directory with relevant organizations, such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

UK Foreign Policy After Brown

UK Conservative Party leader David Cameron at the 2010 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland / Remy Steinegger, flickr

Their campaign slogan is “Vote for Change.” But in terms of foreign policy, if David Cameron’s Conservative Party maintain their opinion poll lead over Labour and go on to take office after the British general election on 6 May, change is likely to be conspicuous mostly by its absence. As The Economist pointed out last week, with the notable exception of Britain’s relations with the EU, “foreign policy is distinguished by the broad agreement it commands in Westminster […]. For the time being, politics, to a degree that some find heartening and others worryingly complacent, still stops at the water’s edge.”

Take Afghanistan, a war that bleeds popular support with every British fatality (281 now since 2001) but one that neither the Conservatives nor the Liberal Democrats – the UK’s third largest party (and possible kingmakers if voting ends in a stalemated ‘hung’ parliament)  – offer to end Britain’s military involvement with any time soon. Indeed, and quite apart from any security fallout, a hasty withdrawal would deal a serious blow to the UK’s longstanding ‘special relationship’ with the US, which the Conservatives are (uncontroversially) committed to upholding.

Continue reading “UK Foreign Policy After Brown”
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The ISN Weekly Quiz: Sudan Looks Ahead

As the Sudanese go to the polls, find out how much you know about their country, our focus this week, in the ISN Weekly Quiz.

[QUIZZIN 14]

After the Storm: ISN Resources on Kyrgyzstan

Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, peaceful after popular unrest toppled the government of President Bakiev, photo: Michael Reuter/flickr

“The chaos provides a unique opportunity for the superpower trio to cooperate” writes Dr John CK Daly in a commentary for ISN Security Watch, referring to China, Russia and the US, which all have their stakes in Kyrgyzstan. Domestically, the self-proclaimed interim government lead by Roza Otunbayeva and its successors are likely to face a revolution in 2015 again, unless they meet the people’s demands for justice and fiscal relief, predicts Dr Daly.

With the Institute for Public Policy (IPP) and the Social Research Center (SRC), the ISN has two partner organizations based in Bishkek that focus their research on Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia. Further ISN partners covering the region include Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) and EurasiaNet.

The ISN also supports the Russian and Eurasian Security Network (RES), a global initiative by leading academic institutes, think tanks, NGOs and media organizations. RES provides the framework for studies of security-related developments in Russia and the states of the Eurasian region, including Kyrgyzstan.

Finally, our Digital Library offers hundreds of publications, news articles, weblinks and primary resources on the country. Now it’s up to you to get informed.