Hertie School Research Repository
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The Politics of Return : Dynamics of Depoliticization and Institutionalization in the Domestic and International Governance of Migrant Return
No full textQuestions of migration control have long been of central concern to wealthy Western states that attract large numbers of new immigrants. While border control measures aimed at deciding who is allowed to enter state territory and who is prevented from doing so are generally accepted as a legitimate sovereign prerogative, the removal of resident non-citizens tends to be far more controversial. Deportation, i.e., the enforcement of legal obligations to leave the country, is often considered a “cruel power” (Gibney 2008: 147) on the part of the state because it bears the potential of tearing vulnerable individuals from their families and breaking other social ties. In liberal democracies, return enforcement has therefore traditionally been considered a measure of last resort, rather than a normal policy option. This normative assessment is closely interlinked with liberal-democratic states’ emphasis on individual rights (Hampshire 2013: 44-47). This rights-based identity leads to instances in which not only non-citizens’ right to physical integrity, but also their right to family life and their claims to social belonging in their country of residence may trump the state’s prerogative to control access to its territory, and delegitimize forced return. In line with these considerations, the enforcement of former colonial citizens’ legal obligation to leave the United Kingdom (UK) was denounced as “un-British” during the late 1970s.2 In Germany and elsewhere in Europe, so-called guest worker programmes became discredited as domestic authorities proved unwilling or unable to enforce the idea of strictly temporary stay (Pagenstecher 1995). In addition, both the UK and Germany have over the course of the past four decades enacted a number of one-off regularizations of asylum seekers whose applications had been rejected, but who were granted legal residence on the basis of their extended stay in the respective country (cf. Baldwin-Edwards/Kraler 2009)
The Political Economy of Sovereign Rating Criteria : What Rating Agencies Demand from National Governments
No full textSovereign rating downgrades have led to strong criticism of the criteria used by the three major rating agencies, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, and Fitch. But which criteria do rating agencies actually use for evaluating the creditworthiness of sovereign states? The existing literature points to a few basic macroeconomic factors. This book shows that, in addition, rating agencies take political factors into account, in particular a country’s economic liberalization policies, international economic agreements, and political institutions. The book demonstrates the importance of political factors for sovereign ratings based on a new data set for 145 rated countries, which is the largest sample analyzed in the literature thus far. Methodologically, the study combines panel econometric evidence with a text analysis of a unique database of more than 1,200 rating announcements. In 72 per cent of these rating announcements, rating agencies refer to political factors as a key rating determinant.
This book argues that rating agencies have good reason for taking political indicators into account as well. (...
Brexit and Academic Citizenship
No full textThis working paper collects a series of personal reflections on the outcome of the Brexit referendum. The essays do not engage with the legal and constitutional issues that arise from this event – these aspects have received comment elsewhere. Rather, the editor has solicited personal reflections from a group whose scholarly journey included the European University Institute, a hub for transforming, and integrating Europe. Aware of this privileged positions, the authors shed light on how the result of the referendum and its aftermath may impact the UK and the European Union
Transferpotenziale des deutschen dualen Studiums. Eine Bestimmung zentraler Faktoren anhand der Fallstudien Brasilien und Frankreich
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Which Social Media Facilitate Online Public Opinion in China?
No full textWhy does online public opinion emerge in some social media more easily than in others? Building on research on authoritarian deliberation, we describe spaces for political discussion in Chinese cyberspace in terms of interactivity, which results in different forms of political discussion. Drawing on semi-structured qualitative expert interviews with information and communications technology professionals at Tencent, Weibo, and Baidu, we explain how major social media differ in terms of their structure and the company’s motivation. We specify which features are more likely to facilitate the emergence of online public opinion in Chinese social media and provide preliminary evidence from 92 semi-structured interviews with Internet users
The time has come for evidence-based anticorruption
No full textDespite significant investment, contemporary anticorruption efforts have failed to be effective. A new index — the Index of Public Integrity — offers a transparent, evidence-based approach to controlling corruption and measuring progress