Intergovernmental Cooperation Research Articles

Evaluating Impact of Farmland Recessive Morphology Transition on High-Quality Agricultural Development in China

Recessive morphology transition (RMT) involves the smooth transition of farmland property rights, input structure, quality, and function. China’s agriculture has changed from a period of high-speed growth to a period of high-quality development. Compared with dominant morphology transition (DMT) characterized by quantitative focus, it is of more practical significance to explore the impact of RMT on high-quality agricultural development (HAD). This paper firstly constructed a multidimensional index system to quantify HAD. Based on analysis of the impact mechanism of RMT on HAD, a spatial econometric model was established to explore the impact by making use of the panel data of 27 provinces in China from 2003–2017. The results indicated that RMT and HAD both have positive geospatial correlation. Furthermore, the spatial econometric model provides more accurate results of the impact of RMT on HAD than panel models. If the RMT in a local province increases by 1%, HAD could be augmented by 0.13%. Likewise, RMT has a strong positive spatial spillover effect on HAD. If the RMT in a certain province increases by 1%, HAD could add 1.22% in neighboring provinces. The analysis suggests that spatial coordination of farmland use is an important foundation for constructing high-quality development association of regional agriculture. It is necessary to strengthen intergovernmental cooperation in the process of farmland recessive morphology transition and high-quality agricultural development.

Improving Information Cooperation During Search and Rescue Operations in the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation

A complex analysis of the security situation in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation shows the limited independent capabilities of the EMERCOM of Russia in solving the problems of search and rescue at sea area across the entire width of territorial waters. An effective method for organizing search and rescue at sea in the Arctic can be interagency and intergovernmental cooperation based on the Agreement on Cooperation in Aviation and Maritime Search and Rescue in the Arctic and the Polar Code. In order to increase the efficiency of the tasks being solved, it is proposed to strengthen the coordinating role of the control bodies of functional and territorial subsystems in their search and rescue activities in internal waters and the territorial sea. The authors proposed a solution consisting of the integration of information resources of information and coordination centers in Murmansk and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky with the information capabilities of the functional subsystems of the EMERCOM of Russia and equipping Arctic complex emergency rescue centers with ice-class ships.

Развитие системы информационного взаимодействия в интересах обеспечения безопасности в Арктической зоне РФ

A complex analysis of the security situation in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation shows the limited independent capabilities of the EMERCOM of Russia in solving the problems of search and rescue at sea area across the entire width of territorial waters. An effective method for organizing search and rescue at sea in the Arctic can be interagency and intergovernmental cooperation based on the Agreement on Cooperation in Aviation and Maritime Search and Rescue in the Arctic and the Polar Code. In order to increase the efficiency of the tasks being solved, it is proposed to strengthen the coordinating role of the control bodies of functional and territorial subsystems in their search and rescue activities in internal waters and the territorial sea. The authors proposed a solution consisting of the integration of information resources of information and coordination centers in Murmansk and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky with the information capabilities of the functional subsystems of the EMERCOM of Russia and equipping Arctic complex emergency rescue centers with ice-class ships.

Unified procurement information system to control intergovernmental cooperation

This paper concentrates on the prospects for the intergovernmental cooperation which can create a stable basis for improving existing information tools and setting up the innovative means of legal regulation in the field of digital public procurement. The purpose of the study is to propose a modern model for the state regulation of procurement activities. The study supports the idea of the universal digital transformation of public procurement systems all over the world. It is also supposed to demonstrate what problems a newly developed model, aimed at introducing well-based digital public procurement, might face at the legislative level. The dataset has been obtained using dialectical, logical, comparative, and legal research methods. The tools used to assess the possibility of developing an legal regulation model in the field of public procurement can be applied by public authorities in various countries and international communities.

Corporate Governance in EU Agencies: The Europol Case

There is a trend in government to establish semi-autonomous public organizations, “Agencies”, to carry out public tasks, implement policies, regulate markets and policy sectors or deliver public services. Once an Agency is established, it is necessary to ensure proper governance. The object of this paper is to answer three Research Questions. RQ1: “Is EU Agencies governance subject to change over time”? If the answer is “Yes”, a second question (RQ2) pops up: ‘Why EU Agencies’ governance is subject to change?” Last but not least, change has to be implemented. The topic is developed in relation to the choice made by the European Union, the one-size-fits-all model that makes the work of controllers simple. Are we sure that such a model “is the best choice for EU Agencies’ governance?” (RQ3). If RQ1 is self-evident, more interesting are RQ2 and RQ3 because explain the nature of change (Why) and How to change was introduced. In this quest, the tasks assigned to the Board of Directors and the Executive Director are mapped against Agencies’ mission. In the case of the European Police Office, in eight years three founding acts – an international Convention, a Council decision and a Regulation – have changed the tasks of the Board of Directors and the Executive Director in line with the evolution of the political scenario: from intergovernmental cooperation to a policy assigned by the Lisbon Treaty to the European Union.

Beyond borders: analysis of the students' mobility flows at Sapienza University of Rome

The promotion of mobility among academic staff and students is one of the main objectives of the Bologna Process, a mechanism that has been defined by the European Commission aimed to promote intergovernmental cooperation between the European countries in the field of the higher education. In this respect, according to the last Erasmus+ Annual Report (2019), almost 10 million people took part in the Erasmus program during the last three decades and the increase of this phenomenon has been recorded in all of the European countries. As far as Italy is concerned, in 2018 (year of last available data), 76,847 participants in 1,055 Italian projects benefited from mobility in higher education, vocational education and training, school education, adult learning and youth for a total grant amount of €147.83 million. Going into detail, the number of incoming students and trainees increased by 45.8% from the 2010/2011 academic year to the 2017/2018 academic year while the number of outgoing students and trainees increased by 75.6%. Starting from this consideration, the purpose of the study was to analyze data regarding mobility flows (both incoming and outgoing) during the last academic year (2018/2019) at Sapienza University of Rome, which, together with Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna and the University of Padua, is one of the top three Italian universities with the highest rate of incoming foreign students. Data will be analyzed through the use of profile analysis whose aim is to compare the same dependent variable (i.e., the opportunity for a mobility period abroad) between two different groups of incoming and outgoing students taking into account both demographic variables (i.e., gender, student age at the beginning of the experience, countries of the original and destination institutions) and variables of the academic career (i.e., exam grades and credits obtained).

A fair and progressive carbon price for a sustainable economy

The principle of “common but differentiated responsibility”, as a key concept of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), acknowledges the conditions for a generally acceptable and differentiated pricing mechanism on carbon emissions. With reference to this principle, carbon price determination has become a necessary instrument for sustainable policies. Considering the development gaps and the historical responsibility of the OECD's countries, a single carbon price would raise a major issue of equity between “developed” and “developing” countries. Although from a climate perspective each molecule of CO2 produces the same level of damage despite the nature or the location of the activity generating the emissions, all CO2 emissions are not on an equal footing. Indeed, some are necessary to improve the lives of people in “developing” countries when others can be considered not indispensable, especially beyond a certain level of development. In this policy paper, we explain how the price of carbon should be fixed according to a reference price depending on the Human Development Index (HDI) and CO2 emissions per capita.The HDI criterion enables to integrate progressivity into taxation while distinguishing what is essential from what is not. By taking a reference price based on the HDI, countries with low HDIs should pay a lower carbon price. However, with same HDI levels, countries with higher CO2 emissions should pay a penalty on the reference price.Our policy paper analyses the benefits of a differentiated and progressive carbon pricing mechanism to facilitate intergovernmental cooperation for a more sustainable economy.

A Strategy for the Seventies: Circular A-95 and US Regional Planning

In 1982, President Ronald Reagan issued Executive Order 12372, revoking a relatively obscure publication issued by the Office of Management and Budget in 1969, Circular No. A-95. One of many policy changes that were part of a broad effort to rebalance how power was shared between the federal government, the states, and municipalities, Reagan’s pen stroke ended what for many planners had been a critical piece of urban policy during the 1970s. Part of President Lyndon Johnson’s 1960s Great Society programs, an era when federal assistance to state and local governments in support of domestic policy increased significantly, A-95 had established a coordination and review process that local governments receiving federal funding for planning development projects would be required to follow. The program was designed to force local governments to engage in more comprehensive regional coordination. For the next 12 years, almost every planner across the country, at some point or another, worked within the A-95 process. But researchers who examined A-95 during its short life struggled to produce solid evidence of its effectiveness. Absent a clear metric of the program’s success or failure, the history and legacy of the A-95 program has since been largely neglected. This paper explores the history of Circular A-95, a booklet issued by the US Office of Management and Budget to guide the implementation of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act of 1968. We argue that the rules contained in the A-95 circular should be understood as an effort to create a framework for regional planning. Using primary documents and secondary literature, we conclude that the program deserves to be re-read as an important attempt to use federal power to establish a pragmatic national planning policy in the United States in the latter half of the 20th century.

Wearable Aiegens-Based Lateral Flow Test Strip for Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2 N Protein and BRD Protein

\Accurate and rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 is significant for early tracing, isolating and treating the infected patients, which will efficiently prevent the virus large-scale spread from human to human. In this paper, two kinds of novel quantitative lateral flow test strip for N and RBD antigens of SARS-CoV-2 were established with high sensitivity, which utilize AIE luminogens (AIEgens) as reporter. Because of the high brightness and resistance of quenching property in aqueous of the AIEgens, the limit of detection of 7.2 ng/mL for N protein and 6.9 ng/mL for RBD protein could be achieved with the AIEgens-based lateral flow test strip. Furthermore, it was negative for other protein or antigen samples assay, which demonstrated the great specificity of the test strategy. A N95 mask equipped with the test strip was designed to employ as the antigen collector with excellent enrichment effect. Compared with the other two test strips based on the Au nanoparticle and FITC, the well-designed AIEgens-based lateral flow test strip presented high sensitivity and excellent anti-interference capacity in complex bio-samples. Furthermore, the AIEgens-based lateral flow test strip assay could be built as a promising platform for the emergency usage at pandemic.Funding: This work was supported by the NSFC (51961160730, 51873092, and 81921004), the National Key R&D Program of China (Intergovernmental Cooperation Project, 2017YFE0132200), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, and the Tianjin Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (19JCJQJC61200).Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Intergovernmental cooperation networks, national policy positions and partisan ideologies: longitudinal evidence from the Council of the European Union

ABSTRACT This study describes and explains the evolution of cooperation networks among member states in the European Union. We examine the effects of similarities between states in their policy positions on specific controversial issues, the ideological orientations of their national governments, and the presence of populist parties in national governments. This builds on a prominent explanation of political ties, according to which political actors who share similar characteristics are likely to cooperate. The analysis examines cooperation networks in the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper I), one of the highest-level committees in the Council, in the period 2003–2018. The findings indicate that states with similar policy positions on specific controversial issues tend to form cooperative relationships, while party ideology indirectly and relatively weakly affects the formation of ties. Surprisingly, the presence of populist parties is unrelated to network evolution. These findings have implications for the extent to which cooperation in the Council is shaped by national democratic processes.

Respon Pemerintah dan Pengusaha Lokal dalam Menangani Masalah “Zero-Dollar Tourist” Cina di Bali

In 2017, Bali visited by 1.3 million Chinese tourist. This great number positively appreciated for the local socio-economic benefit. However, unfortunately it led to serious concern because of the ‘zero-dollar tourist’ issue, the tourist that contributed nothing on the island as all payment cash, fee, and commissions went back to China. This article identifies the raise of Chinese tourist in Bali, the response of tourism stakeholders, and Governmental policy innovations to win the zero-dollar tourist. The data sourced from newspaper, research reports, interviews, and online article journals as well as online video. The results indicated that the visit of Chinese tourists in Bali, specifically before the pandemic Covid-19, was affected by the inter-government cooperation policies, aviation supplies, and tourism advertising. The high quantity visitors of Chinese tourist were responded positively, but the practice of zero-dollar tourist was caused the negatively point of view. The Bali Government shut the illegal Chinese-related souvenir shops down and encouraged travel agent to take Chinese tourist to shopped in locally-owned outlets.

Waste-to-wealth in ASEAN countries: A case on e-waste generation from mobile phone

The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential economic value of e-waste generation in ASEAN countries. The data used in this study was based on various reports. As the reliable information on e-waste generation in ASEAN countries is scarce, the study only evaluated the potential economic value of e-waste generation from mobile phone. The results showed that the potential economic value of e-waste from mobile phone around the world was valued at US$ 18,545.27 million. For ASEAN countries, it was valued at US$ 2,019.06 million, higher than 27 developed countries in European Union that valued at US$ 1,286.59 million. Currently, apart from the ineffective implementation of e-waste regulation, the lack of reliable information and data to estimate e-waste generation and its future projection was a common problem faced by ASEAN countries that impending the development of sustainable e-waste management. Therefore, the potential economic value of e-waste generation in ASEAN countries could be higher, if various other products were included in the analysis with a reliable information and data. Finally, some recommendation was made that includes the need a thorough intergovernmental cooperation and collaboration among ASEAN countries in order to reap a potential economic benefit from continuously growing e-waste in this region.

Chinese Direct Investments in the Russian Far East Economy

The Far East is traditionally very attractive to Chinese business. The region has everything to attract Chinese investments: geographic proximity, accumulated experience of cooperation, differences in economic development and factors of complementarity. All these facts have an impact on the economic ties of the Russian Far East and the PRC. In theory, the Far East should become the main beneficiary of the strategic partnership between Moscow and Beijing. Currently, the four southern regions of the Russian Far East demonstrate different models of China’s economic activity, depending on the historical background and the level of economic development. The bulk of Chinese investment in the Russian economy comes from intergovernmental cooperation, especially in the energy sector and large infrastructure projects, while there are few private investors from China. Therefore, Chinese investors face the problem of transforming their activities and looking for new business opportunities. This paper systematizes the main projects of Russian-Chinese investment cooperation carried out through intergovernmental agreements, as well as investigates the dynamics of direct investment from China. Despite the positive trend, it was revealed that the total amount of accumulated investments is decreasing with debt instruments being the main share of it. In the northern regions of the Far East, the activity of Chinese investors is practically excluded. The authors identify the main problems of Russian-Chinese investment cooperation in the Far East based on the analysis of Russian and foreign studies.

Local Government’s Tax Practices From A Cooperative Federalism Perspective

This study analyses intergovernmental revenue policies and its practices in Nepal, specifically focusing on the role of local governments (LGs) in tax administration. Both qualitative and quantitative data were used in this study that concluded LGs are gradually institutionalising internal revenue bases, and rates at the local level. The constitution 2015 has provisioned that the local governments can autonomously execute various functions including legislative, administrative, financial management, tax administration and so on. Nonetheless, imperfect experience, inadequate technical skills, limited legal and procedural grounds, and weak institutional capacity, LGs are collecting tax. Result shows tax enforcement process has been implemented with limited consultation with the taxpayers and minimal coordination with the provincial and federal government. This has created number of criticisms to the LGs about their unaccountability to the taxpaying citizens. Thus, some recommendations such as integration of technical management capacity with local, provincial, and federal level for efficient fiscal administration systems; and digitization and automation of taxation for intergovernmental cooperation have been provided for improving local economic and effective tax administration at the local level.

THE FUTURE OF THE COMMON SECURITY DEFENCE POLICY AND A CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION

THE FUTURE OF THE COMMON SECURITY DEFENCE POLICY AND A CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION

(R)evolution of the Axiology of Human Rights, Political Freedom and Security as a Determinant of UN Pragmatism

The state, under the Westphalian order, was both the creator and product of international law which determined its position as the central actor of this system. The norms of international law defined the normative content of the internal security regime, where state security was identical with security as such in international relations. The reality that laid the foundation for this logical syllogism has been subject to gradual transformation that had its climax in the early decades of the 21st century. The states, previously holding monopoly of using force in international relations, which allowed for prevention of wars by means of intergovernmental agreements or maintenance of peace through institutionalized intergovernmental cooperation, lost their exclusive authority to use force. Stipulating ‘non-war’ by means of an (intergovernmental) international treaty became impossible since the non-state actors who apply force pursue counter-systemic goals and reject the international (and internal) order based on the rule of law. The state sovereignty, whose significant albeit not exclusive referent was autocracy and total power, has been transformed from the title of claim to cease the violation by the state into the personal right to protection (vested in an individual or minority/people/mankind in general). International law, which did not constitute a system until as late as the second half of the 20th century, not only obtained such character relatively quickly, but also has been subject to constitutionalization. The inherent unity of the international law as the common legal system of the international community is subject, along with this community, to fundamental divergence: into the law governing (internal) relationships between members of the, transatlantic, security community, which form a normatively and institutionally interrelated selfcontained regime on the one hand, and the international law that governs the relations between the countries of the Western Hemisphere and other subjects of the international law on the other hand. These factors determine the shift of the security paradigm: new actors, new normative content, different binding effect of the norms and, above all, new rules. The new paradigm of security in the international law dimension correlates with the shift in metaphors that build concepts significant to the international law such as state, sovereignty, security, and international treaty. These transformations set the stage for the legitimization of actions taken by the subjects of legal protection in the international law dimension.

The evolution of integration policy of Charles de Gaulle (mid 1950s – late 1960s)

This article traces the evolution of the Western European policy of the General Charles de Gaulle during his presidency. In the early 1950s, he willingly cooperated with the European countries in terms of creating the economic union; however, in the course of solution of decolonization issues and, namely the Algerian problem that constrained the implementation of the key vectors of state policy, the president began focused on advancing the concept of national mightiness of France and commitment to the principles of intergovernmental cooperation in the development of integration. Charles de Gaulle fought for the foundation of the political union “Europe of the Homelands”, in which France would be assigned a significant role. The article analyzes de Gaulle’s failures in negotiations with the “P5+1” countries, which once again demonstrated to the Europeans that building integration is a long and complex process that does not tolerate rapid decisions and requires the ability to compromise. Special attention is turned to the development of integration policy of the General Charles de Gaulle based on his formal speeches, correspondence, and memoirs. De Gaulle's efforts in the sphere of integration policy of the Fifth Republic yielded certain results. First and foremost, he was able to establish the superiority of national principles in addressing the general policy issues in the European Community. Secondly, he prevented the Great Britain from joining the Common Market, as from his opinion it was an economic and political competitor of France. Thirdly, de Gaulle strengthened the international reputation of France as the country that was at the dawn and in the lead of the integration processes in Europe.

Socio-cultural characteristics of the Russian Indigenous communities in the Barents region

Legal regulation of socio-cultural processes taking place in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region (BEAR) is not effective without involving indigenous communities, which is a specific population group representing the traditional ethno-cultural landscape of the region, unchanged for centuries and affected by globalization. Owing to the cross-border nature of the BEAR, socio-cultural characteristics acquire special synergetic properties determining the vectors of intergovernmental cooperation. With areas of its land making up the largest part of the BEAR, Russia seems to be the key actor in its socio-cultural development. It is difficult to estimate the progress of the unity without understanding the legal and political background of Russia in the field of indigenous issues. This paper sheds light on the policy and regulations on indigenous-related issues in Russia by examining five cases of regions which are part of the Russian Arctic Zone and the BEAR members. The authors compare the essential actions and measures the Russian Arctic regions have taken for complying with the international indigenous agenda. The paper also makes an effort to examine the potential for cooperation in the BEAR through establishing institutional, political and legal mechanisms. The conclusion arrived at is that Russia needs to take major steps to ensure progress and development of its part of the BEAR and to contribute to the BEAR development by fostering further discussion and cooperation on indigenous rights, joint decision-making, clean environment, education and native languages, peace and security.

Gone with the wind? Emissions of neighboring coal-fired power plants and local public health in China

Based on a nationwide representative county-level dataset from China, this article empirically examines the spillover effects of air pollution from neighboring coal-fired power plants on local mortality rates due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. We combine data on power plants' industrial output with information on wind direction and speed to proxy for air pollution, and find that air pollution from neighboring power plants indeed has significant negative effects on local public health. The resulting treatment costs are also enormous. Our findings shed light on the necessity of intergovernmental cooperation in environmental governance.

Narrative Ju-jitsu: counter-narratives to European union

ABSTRACT Recent scholarship has increasingly recognised the crucial role of political narratives in and for European integration. Since its earliest days, supporters have justified integration by telling stories about its beneficial contribution to peace, prosperity, and democracy. In this article and the special issue, we contribute to the burgeoning literature on (counter)narratives to European ‘union’ (any integration beyond intergovernmental cooperation), and to work on Euroscepticism. The special issue is also at the cutting edge of narratives research in its conceptual innovation and its focus on the narrating actors and concrete instances of narration. We demonstrate that in a narrative ju-jitsu, opponents of European union take up the themes of key pro-integration narratives and return their force against the EU. As well as examining nationalist Euroscepticism in specific countries, we study how cooperation among nationalists across Europe and beyond encourages convergence of their counter-narratives. These counter-narratives do not merely reject European union but increasingly argue for an alternative kind of ‘Europe’. They therefore interact with the increasing competition among proliferating pro-integration narratives, which have formed as old stories such as that of Europe as peace-bringer seem to have become less convincing.