scholarly journals The Role of Unfree Labour in Capitalist Development: Spain and Its Empire, Nineteenth to the Twenty-First Centuries

2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (S24) ◽  
pp. 187-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Mendiola

AbstractThis article contributes to the debate on the persistence of forced labour within capitalist development. It focuses on Spain, which has been deeply rooted in the global economy, firstly as a colonial metropolis, and later as part of the European Union. In the first place, I analyse the different modalities of unfree labour that are included in the taxonomy established by the Global Collaboratory on the History of Labour Relations, taking into account the different political regimes in which they are inserted. Therefore, the legal framework regarding unfree labour is analysed for four different political contexts: liberal revolution with colonial empire (1812–1874); liberal parliamentarism with colonial empire (1874–1936); civil war and fascist dictatorship, with decolonization (1936–1975); and parliamentary democracy within globalization (1975–2014). The article goes on to deal with the importance of the main economic reasons driving the demand for forced labour: relative labour shortage and the search for increasing profits. In the conclusion, and taking the Spanish case as a basis, I suggest a series of challenges for furthering the global debate on the role of forced labour under capitalism.

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devrimi Kaya ◽  
Robert J. Kirsch ◽  
Klaus Henselmann

This paper analyzes the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as intermediaries in encouraging the European Union (EU) to adopt International Accounting Standards (IAS). Our analysis begins with the 1973 founding of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC), and ends with 2002 when the binding EU regulation was approved. We document the many pathways of interaction between European supranational, governmental bodies and the IASC/IASB, as well as important regional NGOs, such as the Union Européenne des Experts Comptables, Économiques et Financiers (UEC), the Groupe d'Etudes des Experts Comptables de la Communauté Économique Européenne (Groupe d'Etudes), and their successor, the Fédération des Experts Comptables Européens (FEE). This study investigates, through personal interviews of key individuals involved in making the history of the organizations studied, and an extensive set of primary sources, how NGOs filled key roles in the process of harmonization of international accounting standards.


Author(s):  
Paul Stevens

This chapter is concerned with the role of oil and gas in the economic development of the global economy. It focuses on the context in which established and newer oil and gas producers in developing countries must frame their policies to optimize the benefits of such resources. It outlines a history of the issue over the last twenty-five years. It considers oil and gas as factor inputs, their role in global trade, the role of oil prices in the macroeconomy and the impact of the geopolitics of oil and gas. It then considers various conventional views of the future of oil and gas in the primary energy mix. Finally, it challenges the drivers behind these conventional views of the future with an emphasis on why they may prove to be different from what is expected and how this may change the context in which producers must frame their policy responses.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur Blouin

Abstract Can divide-and-rule colonial policy be responsible for contemporary ethnic tension? This paper empirically investigates the role of a divisive and extractive colonial policy on Hutu-Tutsi discord in Rwanda and Burundi. It shows that Hutu with a family history of subjugation to forced labour by Tutsi chiefs are less trusting of Tutsi today and less willing to partner with Tutsi for a cooperative task. This may have implications for agriculture insurance agreements since Hutu are more agrarian and Tutsi are more pastoral. Indeed, Hutu with a forced labour family history make fewer inter-household insurance agreements and are more likely to experience default.


Author(s):  
Genevieve LeBaron

This introductory Chapter provides an overview of the political, methodological, and ethical challenges of researching forced labour in the global economy tackled in this Volume. It argues that in spite of these challenges, researchers are pioneering fresh approaches to understanding the business of forced labour that are anchored in strong empirical methods, rather than outdated theoretical propositions or sensationalist newspaper headlines. This burgeoning and interdisciplinary body of research challenges conventional narratives about the nature and role of modern slavery. It reveals that rather than an individualised, randomly occurring human rights issue caused by the moral shortcomings and greed of unscrupulous employers, severe labour exploitation is a coherent and predictable feature of many sectors and regions within the global political economy. The methodological reflections contained within this Volume offer a resource for academics and practitioners seeking to understand forced labour, the factors that shape vulnerability to this phenomenon, and the variegated mechanisms through which businesses systemically profit from labour exploitation.


Global Jurist ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Letizia Casertano

Abstract In recent years the phenomenon of the illicit trafficking in cultural assets has been addressed by international and European lawmakers as an important phenomenon within the complex criminal networks used for the financing of international terrorism. The factors that contribute most to its development include in particular the availability of advanced technologies for plundering archaeological sites and e-commerce, which has sped up trade by breaking down space-time barriers, along also with armed conflict, political instability and poverty. In order to bring about change and put an end to the phenomenon, some significant legislative choices have recently been implemented in the European Union. The aim is to create a regime that is as uniform as possible along with a network of standardised controls capable of intercepting illicit trafficking. The concerns of art market operators surrounding the introduction of new rules and regulations can be appreciated if it is considered that the vibrant lawful market of artworks operates in accordance with tried and tested arrangements. This article will seek to provide an account of the phenomenon in its full complexity, highlighting the most significant recent developments within the European Union. It will also discuss the role of information and digital technologies in the area of cultural heritage. In particular, the existing European legal framework represented by the main legal instruments adopted by the international community and by the European Union will be sketched out, including both civil law and criminal law responses to the illicit trafficking of cultural heritage. Within this context the importance of the issues of traceability within art transactions, which are mostly paper-based, will be investigated along with other related issues such as digital tracking of artworks (digital passports), art security systems and authentication technologies.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valsamis Mitsilegas ◽  
Fabio Giuffrida

The last decades have witnessed a growing emphasis on the relationship between environmental law and criminal law. Legislation aimed at tackling environmental crime has been adopted at national,eu, and international level and has been gradually evolving over time. These developments notwithstanding, the current legal framework faces a number of challenges in tackling the largely inter-related phenomena of transnational, organised and economic environmental crime. This study of Valsamis Mitsilegas and Fabio Giuffrida addresses these challenges by focusing on the role of the European Union- and more specifically its criminal justice agencies (Europol and Eurojust)- in tackling transnational environmental crime. The study analyses the role of Eurojust and Europol in supporting and coordinating the competent national authorities dealing with investigations and/or prosecutions on transnational environmental crime, and it shows that, for the time being, the full potential of these agencies is not adequately fulfilled with regard to fighting this phenomenon effectively.


2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (03) ◽  
pp. 915-943 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabio de Sá e Silva ◽  
David M. Trubek

This study explores the role of corporate lawyers in the construction and operation of a key area of the Brazilian economy over a thirty-year period. It looks at three periods in the history of the Brazilian telecoms sector: the fall of state monopoly; global restructuring, neoliberalism, and privatization; and the recent resurgence of state activism. In the first two periods, lawyers worked to facilitate privatization and to create a lightly regulated market for telecoms services that attracted foreign capital. Things changed, however, when the industry was faced with new industrial and social policies. In this period, lawyers oscillated between resisting government intrusion and negotiating engagement with regulators. This sequence of events encompasses changes in the field of state power, hierarchies in the legal profession, and core-periphery relations, which invite new syntheses of existing theoretical traditions about law, lawyers, and capitalist development in emerging economies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 865-882
Author(s):  
Vladimir I. Fokin ◽  
Elena E. Elts

Russia and China have both shown increasing interest in the promotion their cultural achievements and have utilized culture as essential soft-power resource. Moreover, the concept of ‘soft power’ has gained popularity in Russia’s and China’s academic and political discourse. Russian-Chinese cultural cooperation is gaining momentum due to this exchange, and the scale and the depth of the cultural projects have expanded. At the moment, museums are involved in development of diplomatic relations, including within the framework of friendship societies, and through the development of the Russian-Chinese tourism. ‘Red tourism’ (it means visiting the monuments of the revolutionary history of Russia) in particular has expanded through the implementation of cultural seasons, Cross-Years of Culture, and the promotion of cultural exchanges of contemporary art. As shown in the case of Hermitage, Moscow Kremlin Museums, National Museum of China, Palace Museum ‘Gugong’ in Beijing, famous world museums have been carrying out the ambitious development programmes, scaling up their resource capacities, and since the beginning of the 21st century have begun to promote their brand. The article considers the potential for museums to participate in the development of bilateral relations, and in improving the foreign-policy image of both countries. The authors’ research reveals the features of museum diplomacy, areas of museums’ international activities that enhanced the efficiency of Russia’s and China’s soft power and identifies the common avenues for disseminating the neoliberal messages in museum sphere. Moreover, particular attention is paid by the authors’ to ‘soft power’ rankings and to lists of the most visited museums. Furthermore, new modalities of international museum cooperation are discussed by the authors, with a focus on areas of joint collaboration within the framework of SCO, BRICS, and the “One belt, one road” initiative. The authors conclude that there is a need to improve the legal framework for Russian-Chinese museum cooperation in response to the deepening interaction and transformation of the role of museums in both international and bilateral relations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 193-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena V. Chesnokova

The features of the joint educational project of RUDN and RFCFS on preparation of masters on the program “Forensic activity in law enforcement” are illustrated. Among them is the direct connection of the teaching staff of the Department “Forensic activity” of the law Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, represented by employees of the RFCFS, with practical expert activities. The role of the joint council for the protection of scientific degrees of doctor and candidate of Sciences in the specialty 12.00.12 - criminalistics, forensic activity, operational-search activity created on the basis of the RUDN and RFCFS is considered. It represents the final link in the system of training of higher education personnel in the field of forensic activity. The main forms of international activities of the Department, which include the study and exchange of experience in the framework of relations between the CIS member States, the Shanghai cooperation organization (SCO), the European Union (EU), are considered. Presented the prospects of its development in preparation for placement as a mandatory discipline “the Theory of judicial examination” in the educational process of bachelors and the creation of transferable teaching materials on forensics and criminology that contains integrated knowledge about the history of the development of the modern state of science in Russia and abroad to attract foreign students.


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