Joan Martínez Alier analyses in his paper the negative tendencies of the impacts of the economy on the environment and the rising conflicts of ecological distribution. The text is in Spanish.
Archive for the ‘Development Policy’ Category
Dilemmas of Contemporary Environmentalism
Friday, March 4th, 2011
The EU-Free Trade Agreement with Colombia and Peru
Saturday, January 8th, 2011
“This publication contains an overview of the FTA’s history, of human rights violations in Colombia and Peru as well as a critical analysis of the draft agreement which recently leaked to the public. It appears that the main beneficiaries of the agreement would be European transnational corporations (TNCs) working in Colombia and Peru. The text, therefore, describes European TNCs’ activities in these two Andean countries and their involvement in human rights violations, particularly in commercial agriculture and extractive industries like mining and petroleum.” (From the Introduction of the book)
The Second Conquest: The EU Free Trade Agreement with Colombia and Peru – by Thomas Fritz | FDCL (Berlin), TNI (Amsterdam), October 2010, ISBN: 978-3-923020-50-8
The EU Trade Policy on Raw Materials
Friday, December 24th, 2010
The New Resource Grab: How EU Trade Policy on Raw Materials is Undermining Development – WEED, 2010, in German, English and French
From the introduction: … The Raw Materials Initiative, launched in 2008 by the European Commission, stressed the EU’s dependence on ‘strategically important raw materials’ such as ‘high-tech’ metals like cobalt, platinum, rare earths and titanium as well as other raw materials, such as wood, chemicals, hides and skins. The key problem with securing access to these materials was said to be the ‘proliferation of government measures that distort international trade in raw materials’, notably export taxes and ‘restrictive investment rules’. The main countries applying these restrictive measures were identified as the emerging countries of China, Russia, Ukraine, Argentina, South Africa and India. But other developing countries, notably in resource-rich Africa and South America, were also on the EU target list. …
Download book from WEED homepage »
Die EU versucht ihre Rohstoffinteressen über Freihandelsabkommen durchzusetzen. Entwicklungsländer sollen Handelsbarrieren abbauen und neuen Investitionsregeln zustimmen. Das hat Folgen.
Acting for the Transformation of Our Societies
Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010
“Acting for the transformation of our societies – Examples from different World Regions” – RLS-Conference in Brussels, October 2010
For a long time the left has highlighted the emerging problems of the neoliberal counter-revolution. Persuasive analysis of the backgrounds of different but interconnected crisis have been developed. But what is less developed is the capability of the left to present concrete steps how to change the world we live in today. Although many of us may have a vision about the future structure of our societies, the question is how to go from the here and now towards more equal and sustainable societies in the future.
Entry Projects to a Politics of Solidarity: A Radical Practice Test of Counter-hegemony in Times of the Crisis of Neo-liberal Financial Market Capitalism
Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010
By Michael Brie, Director of the Institute of Social Analysis, Rosa Luxemburg Foundation (Berlin)
An analysis of Antonio Gramsci’s concept of hegemony reveals a “magic square” which societal forces must form in order to successfully challenge the ruling structure in a counter-hegemonic manner: The first side of that square is the emergence of the possibility for a new and higher societal stage of productivity. The old power and property structures must have proven themselves as chains binding the new productive forces. The second concerns individual life opportunities. “Society” or “classes” do nothing; rather, it is always concrete people in concrete groups who take the risk of dissident action, or of refusal, upon themselves. The third is the necessary interconnection of conflicting interests, a historic compromise which links very different or even contrary classes and social groups. The fourth is that none of this is possible without a new moral foundation, a superior system of values.
Association Agreements between the European Union and Latin America
Thursday, April 8th, 2010
Acuerdos de Asociación Europa-América Latina: Socios privilegiados o tratados de libre comercio? – RLF Brussels, 2010
Association Agreements with Latin America are increasingly pushed by the European Union. The brochure “Association Agreements European Union – Latin America – Privileged partnerships or Free Trade Agreements?” gives insights into impacts of Association Agreements with the EU on specific sectors, such as agrofuels, water and energy, investments and services, analyses the negotiation processes between the European Union and the Andean Region, and explaines the political context of the probably soon be signed EU-Central American Association Agreement.
The authors are academic researchers and/or associated with civil society organisations that are active in the Hemispheric Social Alliance, a network that originated in the opposition to the American Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA, span. ALCA).
The studies in detail: El Savador (context of EU-Central American Association Agreement and study on anticipated outcomes for micro and meso enterprises), Costa Rica (legal and institutional changes for energy and water), Nicaragua and Guatemala (changing role of agrofuels and impact on association agreements), Colombia and Peru (negotiation processes of association agreements and general overview on experiences with trade agreements in Latin America), Bolivia (role of social movements in the negotiation process), Chile and Mexico (experiences with free trade agreements, impact on investments and services).
Social and Climate Justice Caravan
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009Social and Climate Justice Caravan (Bulletin), 2009
Download Caravan Bulletin here
From the text: India Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Watch, has created Joint Action Committees across India, led by those who will be most affected by corporate rise in the retail sector. In 2007, during two major mobilizations hundreds of thousands of peopled were joining protest marches against backdoor entry of retail demanding “Corporations to quit retail”. A year later FDI Watch coordinated a halla bol (speak up!) mobilization with major actions happening simultaneously in various parts of the country.
Delhi: Responding to the national call of India FDI Watch Campaign to take the fight to the doorsteps of supermarkets, hundreds of small shopkeepers and street vendors staged militant protest at the doorsteps of Reliance Fresh, Subhiksha and More in the Shakarpur area of Delhi. The protesters forced corporations to down their shutters and locked them. A ten-headed tall effigy was also burnt. Each head of the effigy was symbolizing corporations namely Wal-Mart, Tesco, Reliance Fresh, Big Bazaar, Subhiksha, More, Spencers, Big Apple, Metro and Carrefour.
English