Trade measures play several important functions in multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). However, because they restrict the free flow of goods between countries, these measures also potentially conflict with trade rules contained in the WTO Agreements. This paper demonstrates how the...

Objectives: We examine whether the factors which lead governments to enact smoking bans in public places are similar to those which shape their willingness or ability to successfully put them into effect. Methods: Using a large sample (N=99 to 184) of low-, middle- and high-income countries,...

Existing country studies of the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW), the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) and related measures, while sharing the same basic methodological approach, differ with respect to the valuation of important items. This paper provides a critical, but...

Sending diplomatic missions abroad and receiving foreign missions at home is in the political and economic interest of countries. But such missions depend on domestic and foreign political will and they also cost scarce resources. This article demonstrates that the global pattern of diplomatic...

Terrorism is an instrument for groups that cannot achieve their political goals legally. One important strategic function of terrorism is to weaken the government - either directly by attacking representatives or supporters of the government or indirectly by causing a political response, which...

The newly established International Criminal Court (ICC) promises justice to the victims of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Past offenders can be punished, while future potential offenders may be deterred by the prospect of punishment. Yet, justice is no substitute for...

The Stern Review on The Economics of Climate Change is one of the few cost-benefit analyses of climate change to come out in favour of immediate and decisive action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The choice of a low discount rate is the main reason for the Review's divergence in conclusions...

Recent anxieties over the digital divide have centered on the observation that uptake of the internet is shaped by a number of identifiable, place-based factors. Yet is the internet any more a product of material geography than previous communication technologies? Our contribution in the present...

An emerging "clash of civilizations" should reveal itself in patterns of international terror¬ism. Huntington himself explicitly refers to terrorism in the conflict between specific civilizations, and particularly so in the clash between the Islamic civilization and the West. We confront his...

Famine mortality is preventable by government action and yet some famines kill. We develop a political theory of famine mortality based on the selectorate theory of Bueno de Mesquita et al. (2002, 2003). We argue that it can be politically rational for a government, democratic or not, to remain...