7,045 research outputs found
Individual Leadership in Guiding Change in Global Governance Institutions: Theory and Practice
It is increasingly accepted that in order for international organizations to address fully the panoply of threats and concerns at the international level the current structure of global governance, particularly the design of major international institutions, requires some level of reform. In different fields and at different levels, this reform has been discussed and debated, but has mostly stalled. Increasingly, it is the executive heads of an organization that are called upon to show stronger leadership during times of crisis and change. No longer viewed as merely managers or administrative posts, the leadership shown byexecutive heads of international organizations is now strongly linked with the effectiveness of these organizations. This working paper seeks to understand the role of leaders in driving, and responding to, change in international organizations. What does leadership, a term often used in relation to national politics, mean in the context of an international organization? How do leaders drive change within these bodies, and how do they effectively respond to external and internal challenges and threats? This paper argues that individual leaders, particularly during times of crisis, can play an important role in guiding change and reform. The first part discusses the concept of leadership in the context of international organizations, and discusses some of the ways in which executive heads can pursue change and reform in their organization. The second part turns to the specific example of the UN Secretary General, an executive head who, despite having a relatively minor role on paper, in some cases has been able to implement meaningful change in the organization. The paper argues that executive heads can and should show greater political leadership in reforming organizations and improving their effectiveness
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Comparing the 'Four Pillars' of Global Economic Governance: A Critical Analysis of the Institutional Design of the FSB, IMF, World Bank, and WTO
Why are the intergovernmental organizations referred to as the ‘four pillars’ of international economic governance designed the way they are? Although much of their institutional design—issues like voting, membership, mandate, and funding—can be traced back to the history of the organization and the circumstances in which states established it, the institutional setup of each organization should ideally correspond with the type of public good it seeks to provide. Formal organizations like the World Trade Organization (WTO) are treaty-based, requiring strict conditions for membership and a high degree of legal rules and enforcement. They were also established to carry out a specific function, such as balance of payment issues for the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Bodies such as the Financial Stability Board (FSB), the new player in the field of economic governance, are less formal, and are concerned with monitoring, advising, and coordination of regulatory efforts. In some cases, the roles of these organizations have expanded into new areas, or they have had functions replaced by other international bodies, especially in the wake of events such as the 1997 and 2008 financial crises. This article seeks to understand how the design of these institutions is influenced not only by the states that established them, but also by the overarching goals the organization seeks to achieve, and its place within the broader framework of global economic governance. The article begins by comparing the institutional design of the IMF, the WTO, the World Bank, and the FSB. It compares the organizations’ legal basis, membership, organs, and decision-making processes, as well as the methods by which they develop and enforce rules for the global economy. The article examines how these very different institutional setups relate to the goals of each organization. How has the design and function of these organizations changed over time, and to what extent has this change been due to the changing role of the organization, especially in light of events such as the 1997 and 2008 financial crises? Particular emphasis is given to the level of formality with which these organizations operate—when does the organization require strict rules regarding funding, voting, and membership, and when are more informal processes more appropriate? Finally, the article seeks to understand to what extent these organizations, despite their differences in terms of mandate, structure, and methods are able to work together effectively and develop policies that are mutually consistent. An understanding of these dynamics will be useful in further discussions about how these organizations might be designed and structured better in order to address the challenges facing the global economy
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The Lisbon Treaty and the Status of the European Union in the International Arena: The May 2011 Upgrade at the UN General Assembly
Path integral formulation of the tunneling dynamics of a superfluid Fermi gas in an optical potential
To describe the tunneling dynamics of a stack of two-dimensional fermionic
superfluids in an optical potential, we derive an effective action functional
from a path integral treatment. This effective action leads, in the saddle
point approximation, to equations of motion for the density and the phase of
the superfluid Fermi gas in each layer. In the strong coupling limit (where
bosonic molecules are formed) these equations reduce to a discrete nonlinear
Schrodinger equation, where the molecular tunneling amplitude is reduced for
large binding energies. In the weak coupling (BCS) regime, we study the
evolution of the stacked superfluids and derive an approximate analytical
expression for the Josephson oscillation frequency in an external harmonic
potential. Both in the weak and intermediate coupling regimes the detection of
the Josephson oscillations described by our path integral treatment constitutes
experimental evidence for the fermionic superfluid regime.Comment: 13 pages + 2 figure
The vortex state in the BEC to BCS crossover: a path-integral description
We derive a path-integral description of the vortex state of a fermionic
superfluid in the crossover region between the molecular condensate (BEC)
regime and the Cooper pairing (BCS) regime. This path-integral formalism,
supplemented by a suitable choice for the saddle point value of the pairing
field in the presence of a vortex, offers a unified description that
encompasses both the BEC and BCS limits. The vortex core size is studied as a
function of the tunable interaction strength between the fermionic atoms. We
find that in the BEC regime, the core size is determined by the molecular
healing length, whereas in the BCS regime, the core size is proportional only
to the Fermi wave length. The observation of such quantized vortices in dilute
Fermi gases would provide an unambiguous proof of the realization of
superfluidity in these gases.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure
Finite-temperature Wigner solid and other phases of ripplonic polarons on a helium film
Electrons on liquid helium can form different phases depending on density,
and temperature. Also the electron-ripplon coupling strength influences the
phase diagram, through the formation of so-called "ripplonic polarons", that
change how electrons are localized, and that shifts the transition between the
Wigner solid and the liquid phase. We use an all-coupling, finite-temperature
variational method to study the formation of a ripplopolaron Wigner solid on a
liquid helium film for different regimes of the electron-ripplon coupling
strength. In addition to the three known phases of the ripplopolaron system
(electron Wigner solid, polaron Wigner solid, and electron fluid), we define
and identify a fourth distinct phase, the ripplopolaron liquid. We analyse the
transitions between these four phases and calculate the corresponding phase
diagrams. This reveals a reentrant melting of the electron solid as a function
of temperature. The calculated regions of existence of the Wigner solid are in
agreement with recent experimental data.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with
arXiv:1012.4576, arXiv:0709.4140 by other author
Correlations in Free Fermionic States
We study correlations in a bipartite, Fermionic, free state in terms of
perturbations induced by one party on the other. In particular, we show that
all so conditioned free states can be modelled by an auxiliary Fermionic system
and a suitable completely positive map.Comment: 17 pages, no figure
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