US Authorities Research Articles

(Mis)Governing World Football? Agency and (Non)Accountability in FIFA

Abstract —We identify the variables that have enabled the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to evade internal and external legal and juridical rules and processes, allowing it to prioritise the interests of its leaders and staff rather than its stakeholders. An interdisciplinary theoretical framework highlights the weaknesses of the legal systems, democratic processes, market mechanisms and regulatory regimes governing FIFA’s activities since its foundation. The historical processes transforming FIFA into a wealthy enterprise whose leaders could abuse their power with impunity are reviewed. An evaluation of the structural reforms introduced in 2016 following the exposure of FIFA corruption by US authorities in 2015 then shows how they have strengthened the internal and external rules and procedures enabling stakeholders to hold FIFA to account, whilst arguing that the reforms have not eliminated the leadership’s ability to ‘capture’ its democratic processes, exploit its monopolistic controls over lucrative contracts and evade regulatory controls.

‘What are they thinking of?’

This article explains the thinking underlying recent activism in digital markets by competition regulators – with reference to cases undertaken by the CMA, the European Commission and the US authorities, and to the new UK and EU regulatory regimes for competition in digital markets. It addresses some common misconceptions about competition authorities’ thinking on digital markets, and identifies strategies most likely to be effective for tech companies in dealing with competition authorities. It argues that: (i) the consumer and competition benefits brought by the tech industry are real and substantial; (ii) contrary to common belief, these benefits are recognized by competition authorities; (iii) recent competition regulatory activism should be understood in the context of a belief that it is necessary to preserve those benefits, by allowing new generations of tech disruptors to emerge; (iv) when tech companies face competition investigations or interventions, they should resist the temptation to kneejerk dismissal of all possible concerns, which is unlikely to be effective in advancing their business interests, because it misunderstands the authorities’ thinking; and (v) smarter strategies involve engaging with the specific facts of a particular case (economic, legal and technical) to challenge whether proposed interventions or remedies are, in reality, both effective and proportionate.

Learning and Knowledge Loss: Returning Antiquities from Fordham University to Italy

Abstract In May 2021 a group of 96 classical antiquities was seized from Fordham University where they had formed part of their museum collection. The seizure was directly linked to the investigation by US authorities of objects that had been handled by the dealer Edoardo Almagià. The Fordham material was dominated by objects derived from Italy: Apulian, Campanian, and Paestan figure-decorated pottery; red-on-white ware associated with Crustumerium in Lazio; and Etruscan pottery, architectural terracottas, and terracotta votives. The objects were all donated to Fordham by William D. Walsh and had largely been acquired at auctions or through a narrow group of Manhattan galleries.

Thrombolysis for Ischemic Stroke Despite Recent Ingestion of Direct Oral Anticoagulants - A Growing Dilemma Also in India.

The administration of intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) for patients with acute ischemic stroke who have recently ingested direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) presents a clinical challenge due to the perceived increased risk of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). Traditional guidelines from the US and European authorities advise against IVT within 48 h of last DOAC ingestion, unless specific coagulation tests indicate safety. However, emerging observational studies suggest that IVT might be safe in selected patients. A US stroke registry study and a global multicenter cohort study both reported no significant increase in symptomatic ICH among patients on DOACs compared to those not on anticoagulants. A systematic review of all published observational studies further supported these findings, showing comparable bleeding rates and functional outcomes in DOAC-treated patients. Reversal agents like idarucizumab for dabigatran have demonstrated potential in facilitating safer IVT administration, though logistical and cost-related barriers limit their widespread use. The variability in global guidelines reflects differing approaches to risk assessment and resource availability, highlighting the need for individualized treatment decisions. In India, the increasing prevalence of atrial fibrillation and stroke as well as prescription of DOACs necessitate adapted guidelines that consider local health-care infrastructure. Despite the promising observational data, the lack of randomized controlled trials underscores the need for further research to establish robust evidence for IVT use in this context. Collaborative international efforts and inclusion of diverse patient populations in future studies will be crucial to refine treatment protocols and improve outcomes for stroke patients on DOACs.

Trends in multi-jurisdictional enforcement of anti-corruption in the global petroleum industry

Abstract The global petroleum industry has been much maligned over the past 10–15 years for its involvement in foreign corrupt activities due to well-publicized instances of US-led prosecution for bribery of foreign public officials. Among the high-profile cases include the infamous Technip, Snamprogetti, Kellogg Brown & Root, JGC (TSKJ) conspiracy bribing Nigerian officials of the Bonny Island LNG terminal to the far-reaching Odebrecht/Petrobras Brazilian Lava Jato and more recent global Unaoil bribery scandals. What these cases and others have in common is the incidence of ‘multi-jurisdictional’ prosecution for foreign bribery rather than simply prosecution by US authorities as occurred prior to 2005. Through detailed quantitative analysis, we show how this multi-jurisdictional enforcement is a petroleum industry trend. The financial and reputational risk in terms of both likelihood and impact of a foreign bribery event has increased dramatically over the past 10 years. Despite this increased risk, we found little evidence of a risk-based compliance approach among industry participants. We show that the current practice of limiting liability is not an efficient risk-based approach towards corruption compliance and is not likely to meet new anti-corruption compliance guidelines by international regulators. Our research examines a possible cause-and-effect model behind this heightened corruption risk. We profile and describe the nature of the top 10 petroleum industry multi-jurisdictional bribery cases. We then provide a display of a corruption event’s drivers, consequences, and barriers in the form of a risk-based ‘bow-tie’ diagram. Finally, we recommend ways the industry can move towards a more risk-based corruption compliance approach.

A Chip War Made in Germany? US Techno‐Dependencies, China Chokepoints, and the German Semiconductor Industry

<p>As geo-economic and geopolitical rivalries intensify, the US is weaponizing its power in global semiconductor supply chains to restrict Chinese technological development. To win this chip war against China, the US must compel key foreign firms in Asia and Europe not to supply its adversary with the materials, tools, and know-how needed to make advanced semiconductors. But will these firms agree to follow the US chip embargo and avoid the lucrative Chinese market? This article examines Germany’s “China chokepoint” firms, whose identity and behavior remain critically understudied. Drawing on novel data sets and annual company reports, we show that German firms across three case studies are highly “techno-dependent” on the US. Despite this techno-dependence, German firms have so far sought to circumnavigate US export controls. This constitutes a puzzle because Germany’s semiconductor firms are no more involved in the Chinese market than are firms in Japan and South Korea—which have frequently signaled voluntary compliance or even withdrawn from China in anticipation of harsher US sanctions. To resolve this puzzle, we map out Germany’s semiconductor network and demonstrate that it is tightly articulated with Germany’s auto industry—which is in turn heavily exposed to Chinese markets. We propose that this secondary exposure, through firms’ embeddedness in Germany’s “national production regime,” encourages them to resist the US chip embargo. In this way, we contribute empirical and conceptual insights to international political economy scholarship on firms as geo-economic actors, actively engaged in a protracted and contentious policy process with US authorities.</p>

Peter Quill : Multimedia, Anti-Communism, and Science Superhero

ABSTRACT This article assesses Peter Quill, a radio thriller drama that aired on WGN (1938–1940) and evinces the early multimedia interaction of newspaper-owned radio stations through a tie-up with the Chicago Tribune, its owner. The paper condensed each week’s program with a visual summary, while the program dramatically echoed and amplified the paper’s anticommunist stance and rightist ideology through another mode and medium. Peter Quill aided US authorities in stymieing the Red Circle, a fifth-column communist group that typically overwhelmed the capabilities of law enforcement and the military. Quill also provides a scientific genius superhero that anticipates the Cold War.

A NARRATIVE ON OVERSEAS LISTINGS BY CHINESE FIRMS

Overseas listings by domestic firms are one of the ways for a country to attract foreign capital. China leads the world in the number and value of overseas listings. This paper documents the evolution of Chinese firms’ initial public offerings outside mainland China. We pay special attention to the role of the listing criteria of various exchanges in this evolution. We discuss important reforms of the listing requirements in both mainland and Hong Kong and their effects on the listing location choices by Chinese firms. Finally, we examine the delisting pressure on Chinese stocks from the US exchanges from both the Chinese and US authorities.

Transnational Legal Spillover? A Re-Appraisal of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention

Abstract Can prosecutions by US authorities help spread enforcement of foreign bribery laws to other countries? In this article, we explore this question by re-examining earlier scholarship that found that US prosecutions of foreign corporations under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) increase the likelihood that the corporation's home state will enforce its own foreign bribery laws. Using a conditional-frailty Cox model that allows us to model foreign bribery enforcement actions as repeat-events, we do not find evidence that FCPA prosecutions lead to sustained increases of foreign bribery enforcement by target countries. We also find that prior results are not robust to the inclusion of an important confounding variable: a country's level of exposure to corruption in their trading partners. Still, while our findings indicate a more limited role of US law enforcement in this area, we nonetheless see many promising avenues for future research on transnational law enforcement and its consequences.

Accounting quality and countries institutional characteristics: Evidence from multinational firms

This paper investigates the dynamics of cross-listing in the US and accounting quality. Using an unbalanced panel of 11,780 observations for the period 2000–2019, we show that cross-listing improves accounting quality (in terms of conservatism, earnings management and informational relevance). This result holds for both types of cross-listing (i.e., exchange and OTC listing). Moreover, taking institutional variables into account leads to the conclusion that companies from countries with a weak legal and informational environment have better accounting quality following compliance with the strict standards of shareholder protection and disclosure of information imposed by US authorities. Finally, a complementary analysis shows us that companies listed in the US benefit from a better accounting quality record and less investment inefficiency. This explains why cross-listing in the US reduces the inefficiency of investments thanks to better accounting quality.

Oppenheimer lessons

US authorities celebrated Robert Oppenheimer for developing atomic weapons but sidelined him when he wanted to advise them on their use. It’s an episode that has many lessons for us today, says Robert P Crease.

Indigenous sport nationalism, settler borders, and (in)convenient solutions: media framing of the 2010 Iroquois Nationals passport dispute

ABSTRACT This study examines mainstream media coverage of the Iroquois Nationals’ withdrawal from the 2010 men’s World Lacrosse Championship as a result of failing to meet the requirements of US and UK immigration authorities. While the team’s refusal to use either US or Canadian passports in international travels raised important questions about Indigenous sovereignty in settler states, mainstream media largely framed the incident as an issue readily resolvable by short-term bureaucratic and technical solutions. The findings shed some light on the limitations of this coverage but also highlight the value of sport as a site where the underlying tensions within settler colonial states manifest.

The Imperative of Regulation: The Co-creation of a Medical and Non-medical US Opioid Crisis.

The ravaging COVID-19 pandemic has almost pushed into oblivion the fact that the United States is still struggling with an immense addiction crisis. Drug overdose deaths rose from 16,849 in 1999 to nearly 110000-of which an estimated 75,000 involved opioids-in 2022. On a yearly basis, the opioid casualty rate is higher than the combined number of victims of firearm violence and car accidents. The Covid-19 epidemic might have helped to worsen the addiction crisis by stimulating drug use among adolescents and diverting national attention to yet another public health crisis. In the past decade the sharpest increase in deaths occurred among those related to fentanyl and fentanyl analogs (illicitly manufactured, synthetic opioids of greater potency). In the first opioid crisis wave (1998-2010), opioid-related deaths were mainly associated with prescription opioids such as Oxycontin (oxycodone hydrochloride). The mass prescription of these narcotic drugs did anything but control the pervasive phenomenon of 'addiction on prescription' that played such an important role in the emergence and robustness of the US opioid crisis. Using a long-term drug lifecycle analytic approach in this article I will show how opioid producing pharmaceutical companies created a medical market for opioid painkillers. They thus fueled a consumer demand for potent opioid drugs that was eagerly capitalized on by criminal entrepreneurs and their international logistic networks. I will also point out the failure of US authorities to effectively respond to this crisis due to the gap between narcotic product regulation, regulation of marketing practices and the rise of a corporate dominated health care system. Ironically, this turned the most powerful geopolitical force in the war against drugs into its greatest victim. Due to formulary availability and regulatory barriers to accessibility European countries have been relatively protected against following suit the US opioid crisis.

International Crimes of Western Colonialism

Abstract Does colonialism still exist in the 21st century? Philippe Sands provides a resounding affirmation to this question in his recent book The Last Colony. Sands expounds upon the circumstances surrounding the Chagos archipelago, the most recently colonized territory by the United Kingdom, which triggers further discussions about the ability of international law to address colonial crimes. Sands’ tale proves that it is possible to challenge colonisers by using the existing tools of international law. Yet, the efficacy of justice efforts remains inadequate for the victims of colonial crimes. In addition to evaluating the critical contributions of The Last Colony, this review essay examines the international crime of forced displacement and how it has been tackled by international courts within other contexts. Drawing on the recent Human Rights Watch report documenting the offences committed by the UK and US authorities against the Chagossians, the essay assesses which elements of the colonial crime of forced evictions attain the gravity threshold for crimes against humanity. And finally, the essay argues for the need for greater awareness and accountability for such crimes and their lasting effects on individuals and societies.

“SUMMITS OF THE AMERICAS” AS AN ATTEMPT TO REVIVE THE MONROE DOCTRINE IN MODERN CONDITIONS

Almost two hundred years, the Monroe doctrine has been an ideological justification of the US policy to promote its interests and subdue the Western Hemisphere, despite statements about its cancellation in February 2013. Over time, the US authorities have used different tools for its implementation. Those tools were based on a specific internal and international situation. A new format of relations - Summits of the Americas - the regular meetings of all the American states' heads (except Cuba) was offered to the neighboring states under new geopolitical conditions at the turn of the 20th-21st century in order to discuss the most burning problems of the region and deal with them. In reality, after almost thirty years of this policy it becomes obvious that the United States are not going to abandon the continuation of their neocolonial course or to solve the most complex socio-economic problems of the peoples of America. At the same time, the latter are against interference in their internal affairs and the dictates of American interests.

“SUMMITS OF THE AMERICAS” AS AN ATTEMPT TO REVIVE THE MONROE DOCTRINE IN MODERN CONDITIONS

Almost two hundred years, the Monroe doctrine has been an ideological justification of the US policy to promote its interests and subdue the Western Hemisphere, despite statements about its cancellation in February 2013. Over time, the US authorities have used different tools for its implementation. Those tools were based on a specific internal and international situation. A new format of relations - Summits of the Americas - the regular meetings of all the American states' heads (except Cuba) was offered to the neighboring states under new geopolitical conditions at the turn of the 20th-21st century in order to discuss the most burning problems of the region and deal with them. In reality, after almost thirty years of this policy it becomes obvious that the United States are not going to abandon the continuation of their neocolonial course or to solve the most complex socio-economic problems of the peoples of America. At the same time, the latter are against interference in their internal affairs and the dictates of American interests.

Moderating Globalization: Is There a Role for Antitrust Law? A Comparison of the Relevance of Entry, Expansion and Imports in US and EU Merger Proceedings

This paper attempts to locate the issue of innovation and foreign entry, in particular new entrants from China, in recent US and EU merger decisions. In the first part, the paper examines to what extend US and EU authorities considered foreign entry in recent major merger decisions such as Bayer/Monsanto, Dow/DuPont and ChemChina/Syngenta. The outcome of this short analysis shows that the EU Commission has in recent years begun to accept the argument of foreign entry, in particular from China, as long as the market shares of the merging parties are not too high. The US has not explicitly discussed the question of foreign entry in the above-named decisions. However, in the case Whirlpool/Maytag the US authorities accepted, despite high market shares of the parties, the argument of foreign entry and approved the merger. With regards to innovation, entry into future product markets is not considered favourable to the merging parties by the EU Commission. ‘Innovation competition’ or early ‘pipeline products’ is rather used as an argument to demonstrate that the merging parties hold market power in product markets in the future. Based on the selected case law, the US authorities, by contrast, did recognize entry into future product markets as an argument in favour of the merging parties. In its second part, the paper looks at the pros and cons of forming ‘national champions’ and discusses competition law enforcement in light of the numerous and politically powerful Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Global competition/antitrust law and policy, foreign entry in merger decisions and China, innovation competition, entry criteria in US/EU mergers, climate change

ამერიკის შეერთებული შტატებისა და რუსეთის ურთიერთობები ახლო აღმოსავლეთის რეგიონში

The main global geopolitical discourse of the 20th century was to divide the world into two parts, the spheres of influence of Soviet and West. The United States was the leader of the West, which was perceived by Russia as a major geopolitical opponent. The political leadership of Russia, at first with inertia, and then thoroughly continued this course of Soviet Union. The US authorities showed a relatively less reactional policy on the Russian Federation than it did to the Soviet Union. However, the final cooperative agreement on the main geopolitical issues has not been reached between the two states. The Persian Gulf and the Middle Eastern region in general have always been a wide area of interest to Russia. Such a persistent interest in the region is due to a very simple reason – the Middle East is the southern flank of Russia's borders. Consequently, Russia's foreign policy will always have a leading influence in the region. Consequently, the US – Russia interests also appear in this region. One of the leading directions in Russia's geopolitics is the United States. Currently, there is a highly tense relationship between the US and Russia due to the Ukrainian war. Nevertheless, both large international actors are more or less aware of how much their relationship depends on the fate of humanity as a whole. Russia and the US were allies in World War II. This historical memory also exists between them, but ideological and civilizational differences have not allowed the parties to lay the groundwork for somewhat peaceful and fair world. Relationships between them are more rivalry than cooperation. At present, Russia has imposed heavy economic sanctions from the US and the West.

Does regionalism increase industrial policy space? An analytical framework applied to the East African textiles and apparel sector

We introduce a multidimensional and multilevel framework for industrial policy space as the set of legally permitted, economically viable and politico-institutionally feasible policy options for industrial development, given constraints at the national, regional and global levels. This is applied to the East African Community (EAC) textiles and apparel (T&A) sector, using data from policy documents and semi-structured interviews. The EAC customs union nominally transfers trade policy sovereignty to the regional level, but we present evidence showing how the duty remission scheme allows governments to provide targeted trade policy rents to domestic T&A firms, maintaining national legal policy space. This comes at a cost, because firms benefiting from national duty remission rents may not sell their goods duty free in other EAC countries, so the expanded economic policy space offered by regional integration is curtailed. In the political-institutional sphere, the EAC allowed a new policy option to emerge at the regional level – import substitution of used clothes – but global-level policy space constraints prevented implementation when US authorities threatened to remove trade preferences underpinning thousands of jobs. Regional integration policies should take into account tensions between different dimensions and levels of industrial policy space to maximise prospects for sustainable development.

Improved understanding of biorisk for research involving microbial modification using annotated sequences of concern.

Regulation of research on microbes that cause disease in humans has historically been focused on taxonomic lists of 'bad bugs'. However, given our increased knowledge of these pathogens through inexpensive genome sequencing, 5decades of research in microbial pathogenesis, and the burgeoning capacity of synthetic biologists, the limitations of this approach are apparent. With heightened scientific and public attention focused on biosafety and biosecurity, and an ongoing review by US authorities of dual-use research oversight, this article proposes the incorporation of sequences of concern (SoCs) into the biorisk management regime governing genetic engineering of pathogens. SoCs enable pathogenesis in all microbes infecting hosts that are 'of concern' to human civilization. Here we review the functions of SoCs (FunSoCs) and discuss how they might bring clarity to potentially problematic research outcomes involving infectious agents. We believe that annotation of SoCs with FunSoCs has the potential to improve the likelihood that dual use research of concern is recognized by both scientists and regulators before it occurs.