IEE Publications

Read about new publications of our IEE members.

Book Publications

PHD IDS alumna Annika Engelbert has published her PhD thesis on public procurement law in Sub-Sahara Africa.
Public procurement is a core government activity that is highly prone to corruption. Why, despite joint efforts of national governments and the international donor community to strengthen statutory frameworks, are public procurement systems in Sub-Saharan Africa still insufficiently equipped to prevent corruption? It is the purpose of the book to advance Law and Development research by (a) assessing the effectiveness of institutional means to curb procurement-related corruption in Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda; (b) treating law as a means to foster development, and (c) applying qualitative research methods to establish causal mechanisms between law and the social phenomenon of corruption. The book shows that while procurement systems are on paper well suited to serve as anti-corruption instruments, implementation gaps are significant; thus, 'law in books' and 'law in action' differ to a large extent. The reasons are unearthed on the political, institutional, and individual level.
Annika Engelbert (2017): Public Procurement Law in Sub-Saharan Africa. A Means to Curb Corruption?. Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, (Recht und Verfassung in Afrika – Law and Constitution in Africa, Vol. 31) - 289 pp. - ISBN 978-3-8487-4026-0.

Ruth Knoblich, IEE research fellow, and current visiting researcher at the Intellectual Property (IP) Unit, University of Cape Town, published a book on global power shifts in the international IP regime, analysing the interests, strategies, and influence of Brazil, India, and China.
Recognizing the emergence of countries such as Brazil, India and China (so-called ‘BIC states’) as new knowledge powers, the book inquires the potential consequences of these dynamics for the global regulation of IP rights. Taking access to genetic ressources and the protection of traditional knowledge as a case study, the study traces the influence of the BIC states on the existing international system for the protection of IP rights.
Ruth Knoblich (2017): Die globale Regulierung geistiger Eigentumsrechte. Interessen, Strategien und Einfluss Brasiliens, Indiens und Chinas [The global regulation of intellectual property rights. Interests, strategies and influence of Brazil, India and China]. Springer. ISBN (softcover): 978-3-658-03724-6 / ISBN (ebook): 978-3-658-03725-3.

Journal Articles

PhD IDS fellow Themba Nyassulu from Malawi published an article on “Harnessing Economic Impacts of Migrant Remittances for Development in Sub-Saharan Africa”.
The paper departs from the observation that the recent rise in migrant remittances across Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the important issues currently dominating economic policy discourse in the region. Given the large volume of remittance flows, it is obvious that they have important positive and negative economic effects on the individual families and economies that receive them. Therefore, the paper critically examines channels through which remittance transfers affect microeconomic and macroeconomic activity, and suggests policy options available to Sub-Saharan African countries in terms of harnessing their development potential. The paper affirms that prospects for remittances to facilitate economic development remain high, provided that recipient countries put in place institutional frameworks capable of mitigating the malign effects and enhancing the benign effects of remittances.
Themba Nyasulu (2017): Harnessing Economic Impacts of Migrant Remittances for Development: A Critical Review of the Literature. In: African Human Mobility Review (AHMR), Vol. 3(1), pp.645-670. Available at: http://sihma.org.za/online_journal/ahmr-vol-3-no1-january-april-2017/

Raffael Beier published a paper on urban development policies in Tunis and Casablanca in a German-language journal on the Near and Middle East.
Against the backdrop of Arab cities receiving global public attention as locations of revolt during 2011, the article focuses on the specific relationship between urban places and protest and inquires to what extent urban development policies in Tunis and Casablanca have reacted to the Arab Spring. A key observation made by the author is a recent focus on developing and building large-scale mega projects, apart from attempts at a structural reform of urban development policy in Tunisia and an increasing relevance of security and stability-related concerns in urban development policies.
Raffael Beier (2017): Tunis und Casablanca - Stadtentwicklungspolitiken zwischen "Worlding" und Sozialverträglichkeit [Tunis and Casablanca – Urban Development Policies between „Worlding“ and Social Acceptability]. In: inamo 89, Informationsprojekt Naher und Mittlerer Osten, Vol. 23 (Spring Issue), pp. 24-28.

At the end of last year, Raffael Beier also published a report on the first workshop of the Working Group Stadt/Raum of the Institute for Social Movement Studies which was themed “What is the “Urban” in Urban Social Movements?”.
Raffael Beier (2016): Workshop Report. First Workshop of the Working Group Stadt / Raum of the Institute for Social Movement Studies: What is the "Urban" in Urban Social Movements? In: Moving the Social, Vol. 56, pp. 149-154. Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.13154/mts.56.2016.149-153.

Markus Kaltenborn co-authored an article on the legal implications of the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations.
The contribution elucidates the “soft law” character of the document and stresses that, while it does not create legal obligations by itself, it largely reflects and reinforces existing international law.
Markus Kaltenborn / Heike Kuhn (2017): Acceptance, not enforcement – The legal implications of the UN-2030-Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. In: Development and Cooperation (D+C) April Issue, https://www.dandc.eu/en/article/2030-agenda-largely-reflects-and-reinforces-existing-international-law.

Book Contributions

Markus Kaltenborn contributed a chapter to a recent treatise on the Council of Europe. The books bringing together both specialist scholars and practitioners to offer profound insights into the functioning of one of the most influential organizations in Europe.
The contribution from Markus Kaltenborn elucidates the work of the European Centre for Global Interdependence and Solidarity, commonly known as the North-South-Centre. The North-South Centre is significant for the relationship of Council of Europe members with developing countries since it was established with the mandate to promote dialogue between North and South, foster solidarity and raise awareness of global interdependence.
Markus Kaltenborn (2017): European Centre for Global Interdependence and Solidarity – North-South-Centre (NSC), in: Stefanie Schmahl/Marten Breuer (eds.), Council of Europe: Its Law and Policies, Oxford: Oxford University Press, § 18, ISBN: 9780199672523.

Johannes Norpoth contributed a chapter to a volume on recent developments in International Economic Law. The paper critically discusses a recent settlement of a trade dispute between Indonesia and the United States of America (US) at the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s dispute settlement system in light of the theory of efficient breach.
The Mutually Agreed Solution (MAS) to the US–Clove Cigarettes case between the United States (US) and Indonesia evokes the idea of the WTO dispute settlement system allowing for efficient breach. Through the MAS, the case was declared settled based on mutual commitments of the two parties, while the original violation by the US remains in place. The paper first discusses whether MAS are a means through which WTO law allows such flexibility, concluding that such a view is tenable despite valid objections. Then, it inquires whether the MAS found between Indonesia and the US can be considered an efficient breach. In this context, the paper analyses the mutual commitments of the US and Indonesia with specific attention to the potential role of power in the settlement. The paper argues that, from a legal perspective, the MAS between Indonesia and the US cannot be considered a case of efficient breach; although politically, the situation established through the MAS resembles a situation of efficient breach. The paper finds that power imbalances played a role in the settlement and suggests that the case study of this specific MAS highlights systemic risks in the current practice of handling the settlement of WTO disputes through MAS.
Johannes Norpoth (2017): The Mutually Agreed Solution Between Indonesia and the United States in US-Clove Cigarettes: A Case of Efficient Breach (or Power Politics)? In: Giovanna Adinolfi; Freya Baetens; Jose Caiado; Angela Lupone; Anna Micara (eds.): International Economic Law – Contemporary Issues, Springer, pp. 129-147. ISBN (hardcover): 978-3-319-44644-8 / ISBN (ebook): 978-3-319-44645-5.