Ralph A Stamm

The Two Sides of Press Freedom

Don't let it yellow: Freedom of Press / Photo: just.Luc, flickr

Freedom of press is challenged, if not restricted, in such places as Yemen, Venezuela, the US and Austria, say the authors of a Swiss public radio (DRS) program. As various as the countries are the causes of that challenge.

Whereas the makers of Al-Ayam in Aden are sitting on piles of newspapers because the Yemeni government prevents them from distributing their publication, Yemen Times is trying to accommodate the government in Sana’a by exercising self-censorship. In Latin America, Hugo Chavez is infamous for his hard hand on media, but also in Argentina the government has tried to restrict them.

But not all restrictions are due to despots, juntas or skittish administrations.

In the US, the challenge to press freedom is economic in nature: the financial crisis has severely weakened metropolitan newspapers. As an example, the DRS reporter mentions the Boston Globe, which during senatorial elections in previous years would dissect each candidate. Not so this time: Massachusetts’ citizens hardly know their new senator of choice, Scott Brown.

Continue reading “The Two Sides of Press Freedom”
Categories
Business and Finance

LNG from PNG

You may know that Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a tropical country located on the world’s second largest island in Oceania. You may also know that most of PNG’s 7 million inhabitants live in rural areas. You could call PNG a developing country: In the 2007 Human Development Index it is ranked 148 of 182, between Kenya and Haiti. You may know that PNG is rich of natural resources, including precious metals, timber and oil. What you would not expect, however, is PNG to be a major hydrocarbon producer.

Well, it’s time to revise your knowledge.

In a joint venture with firms from Japan, Australia and Papua, ExxonMobil plans “to develop gas fields in the Southern Highlands and Western Province of PNG and transport the gas via pipeline to an LNG (liquified natural gas) facility near Port Moresby (the capital) for shipment to markets overseas. The project will provide energy for the Asia-Pacific region, jobs and economic benefits for PNG.”

Economic benefits indeed; the question is for whom. According to a study, the project will double the country’s GDP and increase its exports of oil and gas four-fold. This gigantic endeavor – total capital investment is thought to amount to $10 billion, which is as much as the country’s annual GDP – raises two questions. First: Why is PNG’s oil and gas only now being exploited so intensively? Second: What is the project’s overall impact on PNG and its people?

The PNG LNG project / Illustration: screenshot from www.pnglng.com
Continue reading “LNG from PNG”

ISN Weekly Theme: UN (Ir)Relevance

UN-toilet-paper
Photo: Bernardo Londoy/flickr

On the occasion of the 64th UN General Assembly the ISN asks whether the UN makes a difference in world politics.

In the ISN podcast this week, I ask Ambassador Christian Wenaweser of Liechtenstein to evaluate the work of the UN. Due to the media’s focus on peace and security, people tend to neglect the UN”s activities in the fields of human rights and development, says Wenaweser.

The UN faces management problems. The five permanent members of the Security Council are unhealthily influential, and this is not only in the Council. Yet, according to Wenaweser, the organization has achieved much, for example in responding to the 2004 tsunami disaster or in promoting international criminal justice.

What else do we offer on the UN?

  • Security Watch features a story by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on the vast agenda facing UN leaders at the 64th General Assembly.

  • In our policy briefs section Eric Rosand of the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation examines the strengths of the UN’s Terrorism Prevention Branch and identifies challenges lying ahead.

  • Rob Jenkins of the Crisis States Research Centre writes on the two-year old UN Peacekeeping Commission and its role in disseminating international norms, in our publications section.

This and more you’ll find on the ISN website.

Democratic Fundamentalism in Switzerland

Imagine you are asked to vote on a treaty concluded between your home and your neighboring country. The treaty aims at improving cooperation in border control matters between the two states. Would you vote in favor of or against adopting the treaty? Or would you not go to the polls at all?

How much democratic control of foreign policy? Photo: courtesy of Kanton Glarus
How much direct democracy in foreign policy-making? Photo: courtesy of Kanton Glarus

The Action for an Independent and Neutral Switzerland (AUNS) launched a popular initiative, which, if adopted by Swiss voters, will amend the Constitution so as to require a popular vote on all but the most trivial international treaties. What sounds like empowerment from a committed democrat’s point of view sounds like handcuffs from a foreign policymaker’s perspective.

Yet, the motivation behind AUNS’ initiative is not so much democratic as politically strategic. The group’s main goal is to prevent Switzerland from joining the EU, overtly, or as they fear, covertly. AUNS members, which unsuccessfully vowed against Switzerland joining the UN in 2002, lament that the Swiss political elite is too open-minded toward the world. The strategy they employ is an old one: If you think the majority of the people is behind your cause, you ask them, if not, you ignore them.

Continue reading “Democratic Fundamentalism in Switzerland”

ISN Weekly Theme: Japan Changes

Street scene in Tokyo/Photo: James D Law
Street scene in Tokyo/Photo: James D Law, flickr

As Europeans celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, in Japan, the Cold War political system has just been overthrown. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which together with the bureaucracy and big business formed the clichéd ‘iron triangle,’ has been defeated. The victorious Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), which will take over the government, has promised to loosen the grip of the bureaucracy. However, in taking power from the bureaucrats, DPJ politicians face a dilemma, according to Dan Harada in our latest edition of ISN Podcasts.

At this historic moment in the country’s political history, we present to you some of our resources on Japan:

  • In the Policy Briefs section, Alexandru Luta explains what ‘Climate Sudoku’ means, as Japanese interest groups, ministries and NGOs argue over greenhouse gas reduction targets

  • We present to you Japan’s post-war constitution, with the legendary Article 9, “Reunciation of War,” as well as the DPJ’s platform for government in the Primary Resources section

  • In the Publications section, Axel Berkofsky examines the past, present and future of bilateral relations between North Korea and Japan

  • We introduce you to the Japan Forum on International Relations (JFIR), as well as the the National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS) in the IR Directory