Leaving the nest: the rise of regional financial arrangements and the future of global governance

This article examines the impact of regional financial arrangements (RFAs) on the global liquidity regime. It argues that the design of RFAs could potentially alter the global regime, whether by strengthening it and making it more coherent or by decentring the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and destabilizing it. To determine possible outcomes, this analysis deploys a ‘middle‐up’ approach that focuses on the institutional design of these RFAs. It first draws on the rational design of institutions framework to identify the internal characteristics of RFAs that are most relevant to their capabilities and capacities. It then applies these insights to the interactions of RFAs with the IMF, building on Aggarwal's (1998) concept of ‘nested’ versus ‘parallel’ institutions, to create an analytical lens through which to assess the nature and sustainability of nested linkages. Through an analysis of the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) and the Latin American Reserve Fund (FLAR), the article demonstrates the usefulness of this lens. It concludes by considering three circumstances in which fault lines created by these RFAs’ institutional design could be activated, permitting an institution to ‘leave the nest’, including changing intentions of principals, creation of parallel capabilities and facilities, and failure of the global regime to address regional needs in a crisis.The authors would like to thank Veronica Artola, Masatsugu Asakawa, Ana Maria Carrasquilla, Junhong Chang, Paolo Hernando, Hoe Ee Khor, Kazunori Koike, Jae Young Lee, Ser-Jin Lee, Guillermo Perry, Yoichi Nemoto, Freddy Trujillo, Masaaki Watanabe, Yasuto Watanabe, Akihiko Yoshida, and others who wished to remain anonymous, for their generosity in providing in-person interviews. Further, the authors would like to thank various central bank and ministry of finance officials of both FLAR and CMIM member countries. We also thank Jose Antonio Ocampo, Diana Barrowclough, and participants in the 'Beyond Bretton Woods' Workshop at Boston University (where an earlier version of this article was presented in September 2017) for their feedback on our broader research projects on RFAs. Last but not least, the authors wish to thank the anonymous referees for their constructive comments. This work builds upon previous work funded by UNCTAD and the Global Economic Governance Initiative at the Global Development Policy Center at Boston University. (UNCTAD; Global Economic Governance Initiative at the Global Development Policy Center at Boston University)Accepted manuscrip

Sport policy convergence: a framework for analysis

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis Group in European Sport Management Quarterly on 30th April 2012, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/16184742.2012.669390The growth in the comparative analysis of sport management processes and policy has led to an increased interest in the concept of convergence. However, the concept is too often treated as unproblematic in definition, measurement and operationalisation. It is argued in this paper that a more effective framework for examining claims of convergence is one that analyses the concept in terms of seven dimensions which can be explored through a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection. It is also argued that a deeper understanding of the process of convergence can be gained by operationalising the concept in the context of a selected range of meso-level theories of the policy process or of specific aspects of the process. The proposed analytic framework provides not only a definition of convergence but also the basis for a more nuanced investigation of hypotheses of convergence

Challenges of tracking topical discussion networks online

Attempts to map online networks, representing relationships between people and sites, have covered sites including Facebook, Twitter, and blogs. However, the predominant approach of static network visualization, treating months of data as a single case rather than depicting changes over time or between topics, remains a flawed process. As different events and themes provoke varying interactions and conversations, it is proposed that case-by-case analysis would aid studies of online social networks by further examining the dynamics of links and information flows. This study uses hyperlink analysis of a population of French political blogs to compare connections between sites from January to August 2009. Themes discussed in this period were identified for subsequent analysis of topic-oriented networks. By comparing static blogrolls with topical citations within posts, this research addresses challenges and methods in mapping online networks, providing new information on temporal aspects of linking behaviors and information flows within these systems

Polynomial algorithms for parametric minquantile and maxcovering planar location problems with locational constraints

maximal covering, minimal quantile, single facility location, Euclidean distance, polyhedral distance, sensitivity analysis, 90B85, 90C31,

An improvement and an extension of the Elzinga & Hearn's algorithm to the 1-center problem in ℝ n withl 2b -normswithl 2b -norms

Location, 1-Center, Cluster Analysis,

Zombies and IR: a critical reading

The zombie genre is quickly becoming a feature of International Relations (IR) classrooms and pedagogical toolkits as scholars enthusiastically embrace the undead as a vehicle for teaching the discipline. This article offers a cautionary note on a generally positive move to embrace the use of zombieism in IR. It shows how an uncritical use of a zombie apocalypse as a vehicle for teaching IR can reinforce existing divisions in the field, essentialise country positions, crowd out heterodox approaches, reinforce gender stereotypes and dehumanise people. To guard against these problems, the article shows how Zombie IR can be better used to think critically and normatively about world politics