Serious Conflicts Of Interest Research Articles

The effect of dividend smoothing on bond spreads: Evidence from Japan

This study investigates the impact of dividend smoothing on bond spreads, using data on Japanese bond-issuing firms. The regression results show that, although dividend smoothing is not systematically associated with bond spreads, it moderates the relationship between target payout ratios and bond spreads for firms facing serious conflicts of interest between shareholders and bondholders over dividends. Specifically, when the level of dividend smoothing is low, the relationship between target payout ratios and bond spreads is positive. However, when the level of dividend smoothing is high, target payout ratios are unrelated to bond spreads.

Who Owns Children’s DNA?

In recent years, DNA has become increasingly easy to collect, test, and sequence, making it far more accessible to law enforcement. While legal scholars have examined this phenomenon generally, this Article examines the control and use of children’s DNA, asking who ultimately owns children’s DNA. I explore two common ways parents—currently considered “owners” of children’s DNA— might turn over children’s DNA to law enforcement: (1) “consensual” searches and (2) direct-to-consumer testing. My fundamental thesis is that parental consent is an insufficient safeguard to protect a child’s DNA from law enforcement. At present, the law leaves parents in complete control of children’s DNA, with parents’ and children’s interests viewed as totally unified. This Article is the first to argue that parents might have serious conflicts of interest and even encourage (or be the ones) sharing DNA with law enforcement. This Article contributes to the literature by using the functional logic of a property rights framework, including property law’s rare virtue of historically recognizing children’s and parents’ interests as separate. A property-like interest in one’s DNA leads to solutions that create safeguards beyond parental consent. Ultimately, I advocate for moving from a framework of parents-as-owners to parents-as-fiduciaries—of both children’s DNA and of children themselves.

Entrepreneurial Passion and Venture Capitalists' Willingness to Invest: The Role of Relational Capital.

Venture capital investment has serious conflicts of interest and information asymmetry. Venture capitalists often make investment decisions on the basis of the passion of entrepreneurs, including enthusiasm and preparedness, in the process of interacting with them. Most of the previous research on relational capital have focused on the cooperative relationship between suppliers and buyers. However, the role of relational capital in the process of partnership between venture capitalists and entrepreneurs has not been revealed. On the basis of signaling theory, we explore the relationship between entrepreneurial passion and venture capitalists’ willingness to invest. We also examine the mediating and moderating roles of relational capital. This study takes 79 projects between venture capitalists and entrepreneurs as samples for empirical analysis to verify our hypothesis. Results show that entrepreneurs’ enthusiasm and preparedness have a significant positive impact on venture capitalists’ willingness to invest. Relational capital plays a mediating role between entrepreneurial passion and venture capitalists’ willingness to invest. Relational capital positively moderates the relationship between preparedness and venture capitalists’ willingness to invest but has no moderating effect between enthusiasm and venture capitalists’ willingness to invest. Results deepen the understanding of the relationship between entrepreneurs’ passion and venture capitalists’ willingness to invest, which has guiding significance for venture capital practice in China.

Corporate Governance of Banks and Financial Institutions: Economic Theory, Supervisory Practice, Evidence and Policy

Banks are special, and so is the corporate governance of banks and other financial institutions as compared with the general corporate governance of non-banks. Empirical evidence, mostly gathered after the financial crisis, confirms this. Banks practicing good corporate governance in the traditional, shareholder-oriented style fared less well than banks having less shareholder-prone boards and less shareholder influence. The special governance of banks and other financial institutions is firmly embedded in bank supervisory law and regulation. Most recently there has been intense discussion on the purpose of (non-bank) corporations. Shareholder governance and stakeholder governance have been and still are the two different prevailing regimes in the United States and in Europe, particularly in Germany. Yet for banks this difference has given way to stakeholder and, more particularly, creditor or debtholder governance, certainly in bank supervision and regulation. The implications of this for research and reform are still uncertain and controversial. The regulatory core issues for the corporate governance of banks are manifold. A key problem is the composition and qualification of the (one tier or two tier) board. The legislative task is to enhance independent as well as qualified control. Yet the proposal of giving creditors a special seat in the board disregards the reality of labor codetermination. Giving bank supervisors a permanent seat in the board would create serious conflicts of interest since they would have to supervise themselves. There are many other important special issues of bank governance, for example the duties and liabilities of bank directors in particular as far as risk and compliance are concerned, but also the remuneration paid to bank directors and senior managers or key function holders. Claw-back provisions, either imposed by law or introduced by banks themselves, exist already in certain countries and are beneficial. Much depends on enforcement, an understudied topic.

Revenue structure of the dual-role as investor-contractors in PPP project

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to discuss the phenomenon of dual-role participants in public-private partnership (PPP) projects. Contractors who are also investors hold a dual-role that can improve project financing and technical ability. However, speculation without effort from the dual-role subjects can result in serious conflicts of interest between pure and dual-role investors. The authors considered contractors’ decisions regarding whether to invest and exert effort and discussed the distribution of interests between pure and dual-role investors based on different strategy combinations. The authors also analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of the dual-role phenomenon through the income model.Design/methodology/approachBased on game theory, this study constructed four types of revenue structure models for pure and dual-role investors in different decision-making choices. Then, the authors performed a comparative analysis of the dual-role participant’s income in different models.FindingsWhen the contractor becomes a dual-role subject and expends significant effort (m1*), the revenue of stakeholders can be increased, which can achieve a win-win outcome. Meanwhile, the level of effort of the contractor can be guaranteed when the government or project company limits the investment proportion,rj. For a contractor, the channel of becoming a dual-role subject and expending effort is suggested for maximizing investment return.Originality/valueThe study optimized the PPP project system and investment structure and offered specific governance instruments for a PPP project company to prevent speculation by dual-role subject. Concretely, a dual-role subject was discussed in the context of PPPs; this discussion offers new insight for researchers. Four revenue models based on different contractor strategies were established, a finding that is beneficial for further improving the revenue governance of PPP projects. Finally, the study used a quantitative model to validate the advantages of the dual-role phenomenon, and the authors found that the proportion of equity can impact a dual-role investor’s effort level, thereby curbing speculation to produce a win-win outcome.

Genetically Modified Organisms

We have the same tired non-regulation of GMOs in India that is replete with the most serious conflicts of interest that make their regulation impossible; a 3-in-1 embodiment of promoter, funder and regulator. And to provide the required support structure to this corrupted process, our agri-institutions with a group of public-sector scientists (retired and current), together, a powerful lobbying force, underpin the push for the wholesale introduction of GMOs and their emerging ‘Avatars’ into Indian agriculture. It is a measure of their mindset that Bt cotton is promoted as an ‘outstanding success’ in order to justify other Bt crops.

Never form the same interests and goals of all parties? How to make the integrated medical reform really promote people's health: a case study of Anhui

Since 2009, China is carrying out a new round of medical and health system reform, the ultimate goal is to reduce the economic burden of patients, promote the health of residents. However, there are still serious conflicts of interest between medical institutions, medical insurance and patients in the past eight years. Most local governments rely on administrative measure to reform, medical institutions are in a passive position, do not pay attention to the economic burden and health of patients, the reform is not sustainable. This study investigates the new experiment in Anhui Province that is expected to solve the problem of administration and fragmentation of the service system by promoting the reform of the county medical service alliance. The targeted population of the reform are government administrators, hospital administrators, medical staff and rural and remote residents. Through the medical insurance payment with global budget according to regional population, the policy can form the community of interests and responsibility of the county medical service alliance. Medicare department funds fund to the leader hospital of the alliance, the county hospital and the rural hospitals can improve population health, promote patients to the rural areas, increase the balance of health care fund by the police of health promotion and prevention with the family doctors contract service, the county hospitals with counterpart assistance and so on. Anhui Province uses the way of county medical service alliance and payment reform to adjust the interests of the main relationship through the operation of medical insurance funds, by other factors less affected, so the reform has good transferability. Through the integration of the nearly two years, the relationship of the county and township medical institutions is more closely, the medical technology level of the primary medical institutions has been improved obviously. The health consciousness and health level of the rural and remote residents have been improved. The residents gradually choose to be first diagnosed at the primary medical institutions, the economic burden of the residents' diseases is reduced, the function of the rural doctors has changed and they become more concerned about the importance of basic medical care, meanwhile the policy enhances the enthusiasm of rural doctor.

A Research Agenda for Examining the Role of Compensation Consultants in the Executive Pay Process

Executive compensation has risen dramatically during the past several years. In some cases, organizations have lost money and value, while their executives have received generous if not excessive compensation. The business press has brought this issue to the attention of the American public and Congress, resulting in increasing examination of all parties involved in the pay-setting process. The selection and use of compensation consultants has come under particular scrutiny. Critics have argued that these firms suffer from serious conflicts of interest, such that they may be partly responsible for the rise in pay and the decoupling of pay from performance. Academic attention to the impact of compensation consultants in the pay-setting process, however, has been lacking, and thus most of the analysis of the subject is based on anecdotal evidence and superficial arguments. In the interest of fostering a more rigorous approach, this paper presents several theoretical perspectives that could be used to examine and explain the influence of compensation consultants on executive compensation. We present these theories in light of a specific case and suggest directions for future research.

Interactions between medical residents and drug companies: a national survey after the Mediator® affair.

BackgroundThe present study aimed to describe exposure and attitudes of French medical residents towards pharmaceutical industry. The study was performed shortly after the Mediator affair which revealed several serious conflicts of interest inside the French health system.Methods and FindingsA cross-sectional study was implemented among residents from 6 French medical faculties. Independent education in pharmacology, attitudes towards the practices of pharmaceutical sales representatives, opinions concerning the pharmaceutical industry, quality of information provided by the pharmaceutical industry, and opinions about pharmaceutical company sponsorship were investigated through a web-based questionnaire. We also assessed potential changes in resident attitudes following the Mediator affair. The mean value of exposure to drug companies was 1.9 times per month. Global opinions towards drug company information were negative for 42.7% of the residents and positive for only 8.2%. Surprisingly, 81.6% of residents claimed that they had not changed their practices regarding drug information since the Mediator affair. Multivariate analyses found that residents in anesthesiology were less likely to be exposed than others (OR = 0.17 CI95% [0.05–0.61]), exposure was significantly higher at the beginning of residence (p<0.001) and residents who had a more positive opinion were more frequently exposed to drug companies (OR = 2.12 CI95% [1.07–4.22]).ConclusionsResident exposure to drug companies is around 1 contact every 2 weeks. Global opinion towards drug information provided by pharmaceutical companies was negative for around 1 out of 2 residents. In contrast, residents tend to consider the influences of the Mediator affair on their practice as relatively low. This survey enabled us to identify profiles of residents who are obviously less exposed to pharmaceutical industry. Current regulatory provisions are not sufficient, indicating that further efforts are necessary to develop a culture of disclosure of conflict of interest and of transparency in residents.

Unfair playing field.

I fully agree with the change of the name of The Psychiatrist to the Psychiatric Bulletin.1 The phrase ‘unfair playing field’ is very important. For the past 50 years in psychiatric publishing it would appear that there were serious conflicts of interest not declared. For example, an editor and reviewers have reviewed papers where they are competing for research funds in the same areas as the papers submitted. In addition, many of these same people have been on committees deciding on funding for research in the same area as the paper that is being submitted or have other associations with the authors of the paper of one kind or another. Serious conflicts of interest particularly related to the ‘golden circle’ of people who are both editors, submitters of papers and on funding bodies. This controls what is allowed to be published and what topics are allowed to be funded and has damaged research and publication in the past 50 years. In a way it seems as if ‘might is right’ - the mighty being inside the golden publishing circle. It would be interesting for somebody to do a review of publications in psychiatry journals for the past 50 years to see where these conflicts of interest occurred and were undeclared. It is probably a more sociological task.

On British-American Special Relations through 9.11 Event

For a long time, America and Britain have been keeping a kind of special relations. Britain has always been the follower of America in many international issues, and paced with America accordingly. When 9.11 Event broke out, Britain still was the first one who wanted to cooperate with America to fight against terrorism. In the process of European integration, Britain was relatively isolated, known as “Europe’s orphan”. Strengthening the special relations with the United States, can not only enhance the status of the United Kingdom in Europe, but also can enhance Britain's standing in international affairs. Therefore, Britain seized the very opportunity to maintain consistency with the United States.However, there were some serious conflicts of interest between Britain and the United States in other parts of the world. It seemed that there are no so-called special relations between them. From time to time, the United States was dragged on the British interest edge, mainly because Britain wanted the United States to bear some responsibilities for it, while Britain did not want itself to be the most powerful country as to bear the responsibility of maintaining the present situation.

The HPV vaccine controversy: Where are the women? Where are the men? Where is the money?

Should the HPV vaccine be mandatory for young women? Many proponents of mandatory vaccinations argue that it is good for women. Yet feminists have reason to be concerned. A partial list of reasons that are cause for skepticism include the following: (1) the fact that there are large expenses associated with the vaccination, which could lead to some serious conflicts of interest; (2) the fact that men carry this virus, yet there is no push to vaccinate them; and (3) the fact that it is not clear that the vaccine has been sufficiently tested to ensure women’s safety. This paper will examine legislation to make the HPV vaccine mandatory and will discuss the implications that surround it.

The HPV vaccine controversy: Where are the women? Where are the men? Where is the money?

Should the HPV vaccine be mandatory for young women? Many proponents of mandatory vaccinations argue that it is good for women. Yet feminists have reason to be concerned. A partial list of reasons that are cause for skepticism include the following: (1) the fact that there are large expenses associated with the vaccination, which could lead to some serious conflicts of interest; (2) the fact that men carry this virus, yet there is no push to vaccinate them; and (3) the fact that it is not clear that the vaccine has been sufficiently tested to ensure women’s safety. This paper will examine legislation to make the HPV vaccine mandatory and will discuss the implications that surround it.

Rethinking Medical Professionalism: The Role of Information Technology and Practice Innovations

Physician leaders and the public have become increasingly concerned about the erosion of medical professionalism. Changes in the organization, economics, and technology of medical care have made it difficult to maintain competence, meet patients' expectations, escape serious conflicts of interest, and distribute finite resources fairly. Information technology (IT), electronic health records (EHRs), improved models of disease management, and new ways of relating to and sharing responsibility for patients' care can contribute to both professionalism and quality of care. The potential of IT, EHRs, and other practice facilitators for professionalism is assessed through diverse but relevant literatures, examination of relevant websites, and experience in working with medical leaders on renewing professionalism. IT and EHRs are the basis of needed efforts to reinforce medical competence, improve relationships with patients, implement disease management programs, and, by increasing transparency and accountability, help reduce some conflicts of interest. Barriers include the misalignment of goals with payment incentives and time pressures in meeting patients' expectations and practice demands. Implementing IT and EHRs in small, dispersed medical practices is particularly challenging because of short-term financial costs, disruptions in practice caused by learning and adaptation, and the lack of confidence in needed support services. Large organized systems like the VA, Kaiser Permanente, and general practice in the United Kingdom have successfully overcome such challenges. IT and the other tools examined in this article are important adjuncts to professional capacities and aspirations. They have potential to help reverse the decline of primary care and make physicians' practices more effective and rewarding. The cooperation, collaboration, and shared responsibility of government, insurers, medical organizations, and physicians, as well as financial and technical support, are needed to implement these tools in the United States' dispersed and fragmented medical care system.

Coventina's Column

Another month, another medical implant panic. Scarcely had the public calmed down after the poly implant prothese breast implants furore than another news story emerges of foreign bodies inserted therapeutically into people’s bodies causing iatrogenic harm. This time it is metal-onmetal hip implants (i.e. those in which both the head and the lining of the cup are made from a cobalt–chromium alloy). An excellent article on the subject summarizes the problem (BMJ 2012;344:e1410). These hip implants, which have been used on many millions of patients worldwide, not only have a higher failure rate (11.8% for re-surfacing and 13.6% for total hip replacement in metal on metal hips compared with 3.3% and 4.9% in hips made of other materials), but they release metal ions. These can destroy bone and muscle, leading to worse disability than that caused by the disease for which they were implanted. Even more seriously, the leak of chromium and cobalt ions into the blood and lymph may lead to cancer – these ions were found to be carcinogenic in lab animals as far back as the 1980s. They were also linked to cardiomyopathy in 1966. The internal memos show the manufacturers of the metal-on-metal implants were aware of the fears of carcinogenicity in humans in 2005, but as so often happens in big business, commercial concerns took precedence over health concerns. Three members of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)’s appointed investigations group had serious conflicts of interest and were linked to a major manufacturer of the implants. Key expert advise was ignored, and even when the group recommended that risks of genotoxicity should be discussed with all the patients before they consented to a metal on metal hip in 2007, this was not communicated to the surgeons. This major regulatory breakdown led to continued widespread use of these implants until 2011, when concerns were again raised. This is the kind of fiasco one might expect in a non-democratic country where corruption is rife and freedom of information is not a right; that this occurred in the West beggars belief and makes a travesty of our values. The individuals who placed people with blatant financial interests on the MHRA group and the companies that ignored expert evidence and advise should be subjected to a full investigation and disciplined. Drug and medical device companies wield vast power. This should never again be allowed to encroach upon the field of regulation, which should be 100% free of conflicts of interest.

The Doctor-Patient Relationship

(Reprinted with permission from Simon RI, Shuman DW: The doctor-patient relationship, in Clinical Manual of Psychiatry and Law. Arlington VA, American Psychiatric Publishing Inc. 2007; 17–36)

My Kingdom for a Horse: Resolving Conflicts of Interest in Asset Management

Racehorse trainers operate asset management businesses in which the assets owned by outside clients compete with those owned by managers for the latter's time, care and attention. Although this potentially leads to serious conflicts of interest, we find no evidence of an agency problem: in a sample of 8000 racehorses and their associated stables, client-owned horses perform no worse than trainer-owned horses on average. However, this outcome is not uniform across stables: the average performance advantage of client-owned horses over their trainer-owned counterparts is positive in big stables where client-owners provide much of the trainer's income, but is negative in small stables with relatively few outside clients. Agents with more to lose apparently behave better.

Defending professional independence: ACCME's proposed new guidelines for commercial support of CME.

ON JANUARY 14 OF THIS YEAR, THE ACCREDITAtion Council on Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) released a draft of proposed new and stronger standards for the commercial support of continuing medical education (CME) and requested comments from the medical community. The following month, the Washington Legal Foundation (WLF), a legal think tank, issued a highly critical commentary, in which it recommended that the ACCME withdraw its proposals because they were unnecessary, counterproductive, and possibly even illegal. Both the proposed new ACCME standards and the WLF critique raise issues of the greatest importance to our profession with respect to the growing intrusion of the pharmaceutical companies into medical education. These issues need to be discussed and clearly understood before the ACCME issues its final guidelines. Two years ago I argued that our profession had made a serious mistake in the way it has allowed pharmaceutical companies to participate in CME. I pointed out that current guidelines for “unrestricted support” in fact permit companies to become much too involved in the selection of topics and speakers and in the actual content of presentations. I was particularly critical of the ACCME for accrediting “medical education and communication companies” (MECCs), which prepare CME programs under contract with pharmaceutical firms and select and pay the speakers. I urged the ACCME to strengthen its guidelines to ensure more separation between professional education and pharmaceutical marketing. Predictably, industry spokespersons defended the status quo. They said that without the financial help of the pharmaceutical companies, professional providers of CME would not be able to continue their programs. Their argument gains support from a recent Wall Street Journal article that states that industry contributed more than 60% of the total support for CME in 2001. The largesse from industry has helped persuade far too many in our profession to believe that medicine cannot afford to educate its own without partnering with pharmaceutical firms. But as industry’s involvement with professional CME has continued to grow, I suspect that leaders in medical education are becoming embarrassed by the spreading media coverage of the financial ties between pharmaceutical businesses and the profession, and they are uncomfortable when such connections generate conflicts of interest. As an example, consider a recent report in The New York Times, which was simultaneously featured in the PBS television program NOW With Bill Moyers. The article described how large advertising agencies that produce advertisements for drug companies have recently acquired MECCs, as well as businesses that conduct clinical trials under contract with these same drug companies. The chief executive officer of one of the largest of these advertising agencies is quoted as saying, “We provide services that go from the beginning of drug development all the way to the launch of your products.” These “services” include the creation of accredited CME programs that reinforce the agency’s advertising campaigns for its drug company clients. What clearer demonstration could there be of the commercial purposes of industrysupported CME and what more compelling argument could be made against accrediting MECCs or allowing industry involvement in the selection of CME content and speakers? Evidently concerned about these serious conflicts of interest, the ACCME decided to rewrite and strengthen its 1992 standards for commercial support of CME, and the announcement was prominently reported by the Wall Street Journal. While the proposed new standards do not prohibit any input by commercial interests into accredited CME programs (a prohibition that I advocate), they do state that MECCs, and CME teachers who are paid to serve as speakers or consultants for pharmaceutical companies, have a conflict of interest that cannot be managed simply by disclosure. Unfortunately, the current draft does not clearly explain how such conflicts should be handled. However, a reasonable interpretation of the intent of the guidelines is that, except for special circumstances (not yet defined), MECCs should not provide accredited CME programs that concern drug therapy, and teachers who are paid by drug companies as lecturers or consultants should not be allowed to participate in programs about drug products made by those companies. Whether that will be the final language of the proposed standards will depend on how they are modified after the ACCME receives comments from the CME community and other interested parties. Also unanswered is the question of whether, and how, the ACCME will enforce any strengthened standards.

The orthopaedic surgeon and industry. Ethics and industry incentives.

Physicians may receive various gifts and incentives from companies that make pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Although such incentives may benefit patients and physicians, they often pose serious conflicts of interest that violate a physician's professional responsibility. The physician-patient relationship is predicated on the physician acting in the best interest of the patient. The application of medical knowledge to complex clinical circumstances is difficult, even without biased sources of information and internal conflicts attributable to financial incentives. Yet, industry resources often are dedicated to the dissemination of information and incentives aimed to influence decisions not necessarily aimed at the goals of the patient. Physicians often are unaware of the nature of the incentives and commonly deny their demonstrated impact. Any incentive that is designed to impede, rather than enhance, the clinician's ability to make optimal patient care decisions is unethical for a physician to accept. These incentives should play no role in the practice of orthopaedic surgery.

Flexibility or Irrelevance: Ways Forward for the ARF

The Evolving Security Environment Whether ripe for rivalry or simply witnessing the ripening of divergent national viewpoints, the Asia-Pacific will undergo potentially dramatic and unpredictable developments in the coming decades. The litany of potential problems and flashpoints is by now familiar: uneven economic development across and within states; regime instability and pressures for political reform; full-fledged military confrontation on the Korean peninsula, punctuated by military probings and, more recently, missile or attempted satellite launches; clashing interests and occasional military fire over claims in the Spratlys; major arms purchases throughout Southeast Asia in a context of suspicion and unclear military intent; historical enmities unresolved, particularly in Northeast Asia; and the growing military might of a potential hegemon with unclear bounds on its strategic interests.(1) After several years of gestation, the Regional Forum (ARF) was formally launched in 1994 to deal explicitly with issues affecting regional security. The was born in part as a rejection of a European model of security that is based on a combination of great-power politics and legalistic institutionalism. Instead, the embraced the ASEAN Way of dealing with conflicts of interest - discussion and dialogue to seek out the matters acceptable to all involved parties. An extraordinary number of dialogues have commenced. Working groups have been convened on confidence-building measures (CBMs), preventive diplomacy, and conflict resolution, which also comprise the three stages through which the regional security dialogue is supposed to progress. Major statements of policy have been accepted on the issue of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Membership has expanded to include virtually all regional actors as well as the world's major powers and political groupings, reaching to Europe. Yet there is an incongruity between the assumptions and processes of the ARF, on the one hand, and the nature of some of the security challenges facing the Asia-Pacific region, on the other. On the most fundamental level, the wide variety of threats to stability - in their origins, intensity, and likely maturation - decreases the likelihood that an essentially unitary approach to security can successfully manage all of them. Looking more closely at the kinds of hard decisions and choices that are necessary to solve some of these conflicts, one can conclude that identity-building by itself will not address such realities. Failure to resolve emerging conflicts incurs two very serious risks for the ARF. First, it will appear irrelevant should it become bogged down in preliminary CBM discussions without ever tackling serious conflicts of interest or threatening behaviour. The progress that is made in identity-building will then mistakenly appear to be erroneous or even harmful. Secondly, the could find itself overtaken by longer-term and irreversible trends, such as Chinese power projection or simply China's growing presence, which the chooses to sweep under the rug on a meeting-by-meeting and dialogue-by-dialogue basis. In order to thrive, then, the ASEAN Way of unanimity, informality, and low-profile dialogue, and the ARF Path of moving sequentially from trust to conflict prevention and then conflict resolution must be transformed into a strategy for dealing with concrete problems in the near term. This will require breaking with the ARF's traditions of unanimity and consensus-building. It requires sub-regional and bilateral arrangements. It will necessitate the refocusing of energy away from CBMs and promises of future progress on preventive diplomacy and conflict resolution and towards specific problems requiring hard political choices and deadlines. In sum, the would continue to perform long-term identity-, network-, and consensus-building, but it would actively sanction smaller groupings of states that would take the initiative on more pressing security challenges. …