Abbas resigns!

Look at this!!

Abbas resigns!

I think that from our classes that you'll be able to understand all of this article!  Please let me know!!

Maestro.

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Timezone

The timezone is great sometimes!! The post I just made is dated today, 13th October 2009, and the time in Hermosillo is 8.55pm. The two articles whose links I just sent you are both dated the 14th October. That means that tomorrow when you see my posts and the message I sent you on Webtec that the articles are from "today's" news. Wonderful, isn't it?

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Lisbon Treaty Developments

Dear Students,

After hearing the Irish vote yes to the Lisbon Treaty on October 02nd, we are now seeing some very interesting developments in Europe.

The final country that needs to ratify the treaty for it to come into effect is the Czech Republic. Its Parliament has already ratified the document, but the President, Vaclav Klaus, is against the treaty and does not want to sign. Without his signature it cannot come into effect in any of the 27 countries.

This is a tense political situation because he is now facing pressure from the entire EU to sign - and there are reports that the Czech Government may force him out of office to enable the treaty to come into effect!

Obviously this is a dangerous situation, but from a uniquely academic point of view I feel that we should all follow this situation closely over the next two weeks, which will be crucial.

To understand how the President is delaying the ratification, and to put this into perspective, I include two articles (in Spanish) for you to read. The first explains today's news from the European Commission. The second speaks about Tony Blair and the possibilities that he could be the first EU President.

1) http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Barroso/condena/Praga/aislamiento/firma/tratado/europeo/elpepuint/20091014elpepiint_3/Tes

2) http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/presidente/Europa/elpepuint/20091014elpepiint_4/Tes

I actively want everyone to follow these issues over the next couple of weeks as they are very important.

See you in the next class.

Maestro.

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Extra Resources - Articles

A few articles for those of you interested to read them:

1)  Mexico's Recession shows the downside of close US links

I think given what we have been doing in class, that you will be able to follow the essentials of what this piece from Reuters is suggesting. 

2)  OECD in the News (1)

I took the previous link from this page, which lists some recent publications from the OECD concerning Mexico.  You might like to look at what further information is available.

3)  OECD in the News (2)

Finally, a nice article from El Imparcial mentioning the OECD, just to show you that there is some relevance to what we talk about in class, and even our local newspaper is interested!

Happy reading!!

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Economic Integration.....

I feel that this class is going well. Group 3 was very good in trying to understand the difference between economic globalisation and economic integration, or at least the view I presented to them - but always remember to refute what you don´t agree with, and try to justify your point of view - healthy debate is good!

The point I most want to reinforce is that I was presenting economic integration as one of the many DRIVERS of globalisation - hence, I don´t see them as the same, but instead I see globalisation and this interconnectedness as being driven by the free-trade ideal in which we live, where countries are attempting to bring down trade barriers between themselves.

I presented the various stages to you, from the first step of a "Free Trade Area" - that is your NAFTA - up to "Economic Union," which many believe the best example is the European Union with its single currency. Remember we discussed how interesting it was to have "Political Union" at the end of the scale, reminding us that there are "consequences" to these economic decisions that countries make - in line with "Spillover theory."

I appreciate that these ideas could be making your head spin, hence this post to clarify some things for you, and invite you to write your own posts reflecting your understanding of this class.
I leave you with this interesting image that I found on the internet, and quotation from Jack Welch, in relation to our topic......what do you think the picture is telling us about the characteristics of globalisation?

"Globalization has changed us into a company that searches the world, not just to sell or to source, but to find intellectual capital - the world's best talents and greatest ideas" - Jack Welch

Have a good weekend!

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Global Economic Cooperation....G20 Meeting on the way!

I am not going to keep my pleasure a secret! How fitting that we are discussing globalisation and economic integration, whilst under our very noses and in front of our eyes we are witnessing economic events whose impacts are expected to be long-lasting, and perhaps fundamentally change the very nature of the economic system in which we live.

We talk about globalisation, and if you like, you may now say that even regulation is becoming globalised - countries, in the wake of the economic crisis, want to work together more and more, to prevent future problems. Such acts can only serve to economically integrate countries further, albeit without a formal document or agreement.

So my pleasure stems from the fact that all what I speak about in class can be directly connected to the world around us - we are not looking at history, nor are we looking at the future, but today Ladies and Gentlemen. Always take the chance to read and passively learn more - even if you don´t understand everything, constant exposure helps you build knowledge.

A new era of global economic co-operation.


This article written by the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown discusses his (and we can assume the British people) views on what must be done at the upcoming G20 meeting. I want to draw your attention to two parts:

"Now is not the time to lose our focus, however – the recovery is not automatic – rather it is the moment to redouble our efforts. We must not switch off the life support we are giving to our economies. People are still losing their jobs, their homes and – in some cases – their hope and we must not fail them. Complacency is the enemy of recovery.

So at next week's G20 Summit in Pittsburgh concerted international co-operation is again required. To this end, I am proposing a new global compact to entrench economic recovery and secure stability, growth and jobs."


Here, he proposes his idea for a "global compact." Later, he goes on to say......

"Our international financial institutions have a vital role in supporting this drive to recovery and growth, so I have been consulting widely within the G20 and beyond to develop proposals on modernising them.

They must be better placed to meet the challenges of globalisation, promote sustainable global growth and prevent and respond to future crises."

And there you have the connection with globalisation. You see how international institutions, economic globalisation, and the world economy in general, are all connected?

Comments on this article, and an exploration of your own thoughts, are as always most welcome.

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A future for the European Union?

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I continue to come across articles that warrant a view for those interested in this topic.

Does the EU have a future?

This article has a Euro-sceptic point of view, and supposes that the European Union will become more irrelevant as the shape of the world order and of the international system are taken into account.

The opinion of the state of the world in the 21st Century is made clear from the beginning, and I quote:

"Broadly speaking, the world is run at the outset of the 21st Century by the United States and China together in uneasy condominium. This is the surprising reality of our era. The pattern is unlikely to change much until India takes its full place, perhaps in 40 years."

This gives us an indication from the beginning of the tone that we can continue to expect. Pay attention to how the article believes that the economic crisis has essentially revived economic nationalism and the idea of "national needs first, European (EU) needs second."

We are also given, although in brief, an overview of the apparatus that the EU now has at its disposal, including a single currency, a Euro army, and a "foreign office" - referring to the diplomatic network of the EU. The article focuses on the Lisbon treaty towards the end........all themes that we will pick up on in class......

I thoroughly hope that you will feel a little "EU saturation" by the end of my class. Please feel free to comment on some of the issues raised in this blog, particularly on the ideas of balance of power and Europe´s future place in the world - what do you feel the author is really trying to say and would you agree with his views?

I encourage you to post comments and please send me a Webtec message to add your matricula to the label.

Thank you.

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