Ireland Statecraft

8/8/2019 Ireland Statecraft

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Topic A:

Should the developed nations use trade barriers to decrease human rights and environmental

abuses in developing countries?

Irelands economic freedom score is 81.3, making its economy the 5th freest in the 2010 Index. Its

score has decreased by 0.9 point from last year, reflecting lower scores in monetary freedom,

government spending, and financial freedom. The Irish economy was able to maintain its status as

freest economy in the Europe region in the 2010 Index. Ireland has ratified the OECD Anti-Bribery

Convention and is a member of the OECD Working Group on Bribery and the Group of States against

Corruption. Labour regulations are flexible.

Despite the crisis, Irelands overall levels of economic freedom remain high, sustained by such

institutional strengths as strong protection of property rights, a low level of corruption, efficient

business regulations, and competitive tax rates. These strengths provide solid foundations on which to

build recovery and curb long-term unemployment.

The overall freedom to conduct a business is well protected under Irelands regulatory environment.

Bankruptcy procedures are straightforward. Non-tariff barriers reflected in EU and Irish policy

include agricultural and manufacturing subsidies, quotas, import restrictions and bans.


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As a participant in the EUs Common Agricultural Policy, the Irish government subsidizes

agricultural production, distorting the prices of agricultural products. It also influences prices through

state-owned enterprises. There is no approval process for foreign investment or capital inflows unless

the company is applying for incentives. There are no restrictions or barriers with respect to current

transfers, repatriation of profits, or access to foreign exchange

On similar grounds,

Ireland understands that countries have to develop their own trade and macroeconomicpolicies and to decide on their implementation. It is different from the past when trade

conditionality was imposed by the WB and IMF through structural adjustments loan

programs.

Ireland promotes liberalisation of trade to developed countries that adopts a protectionistpolicysubsidies, anti-dumping procedures that hurt exports from developing countries.

A country in its liberalization policy has to include not only lowering tariffs, but alsosimplifying customs procedures for exporters/importers, improving infrastructure such as

ports, roads, introducing IT for monitoring movement of goods, providing adequate financial

mechanisms for trade transactions.

Most economists agree that trade liberalization could positively affect economic growth, but the

differences are at what stage of development a country should open its market. So far, the

liberalization of trade has been pushed by international organizations mostly towards developing

countries through structural adjustment loans conditionality of the World Bank and IMF, within the

World Trade Organization negotiation framework.

In the last year or so, there is more understanding in the world that industrialized countries

protectionist trade policies are on the expense of developing countries, in particular of the leastdeveloped countries. The World Bank, IMF, UNCTAD change their focus from imposing

liberalization of trade in developing countries to eliminating tariff and non-tariff barriers in developed

countries, especially in Quad countriesCanada, the EU, Japan, and the United States. An important

step in transforming the international trade in a tool for economic growth for developing countries

could be the engagement in debates policy makers from the industrialized countries.


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Topic B:

Unification of Africa

Gautam Buddha once said, Unity can only be manifested by the Binary. Unity itself and the

idea of Unity are already two

This essentially means that the whole idea of African Unification and the actual unification

happen to be different. And to what things stand, as of today, African Unification is

something a distant and unwarranted reality. What we have seen, practised and learned from

the EU, provokes us to bring forth issues which may arise and which carry enough risk

inherent to devastate something, which today, the whole world believes to be the next hot

spot for investment, development and growth.

We would like to highlight the important endogenous components of the process of

Economic Unification of Africa,

The Common Governance Body

African States does not show sufficient commitment towards their unification politicalobjectives and means-ends calculation, thus we have our reservations to their formally

declared aims and purposes, which exhaust their ideological and strategic intentions.

The way they envision the concepts and goals of political unification in specificcontexts may be at variance with the global meaning or sense attributed to them.

We believe that the specific mode of concern about African unification may be more

revolutionary than process-based, egalitarian than liberal, or more substantive than

procedural. Or, it may switch from the liberal code or structural model of union to the

revolutionary code unpredictably; making the task of describing their integrating

reform objectives a bit difficult.

Finally the articulation of ideas and ends of unification are not monolithic. It ismodulated within the network of domestic and foreign participants. It includes

statements of aims for general audiences, like the goal of securing peace and

stability and prevention of balkanisation.


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The Common Currency

Due to the lack of monetary checks and legal controls, the fake currency notes cancause devaluation of currency and havoc in the market place

There is disparity among the nations regarding their current currency valuations andimport & export portfolios. There are representations of specific interests, identities,

goals, claims, and demands, different in various country groups and economic

communities.

Interest rates

Disparity in interest rates, which needs to be there as all participating nations havedifferent set of long-term objectives and non-convergent growth maps

Currently there are 47 countries which receive UN aids, in case of common currency,the nations among these which happen to rely on the fiscal aids from UN to a larger

extent will get affected as on a whole the new common currency will have lesser

conversion value as compared to their current national currency.

Other than the significant effect on these variables, there may be some other issues which

need to be pondered about. These issues are:

Educational levels: The current educational level as provided on the United Nations site

informs us that almost 50% of the African children do not have the formal primary education.

With such low level of education, it would be very difficult for the people to gauge the

impact and respond to such a mammoth change and understand the importance of it.

Cultural diversity and economic disparity among the participating countries: Given the

expansive nature of the African cultures and the huge chunk of population believing and

adhering to these cultures, it would be very difficult to have common fundamentals of the

union and livelihood support structures.


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A MODEL Representation for the effective development of African Union:

Thus, political and economic integration depends upon the emergence of supportive set of

political institutions that are recurrent and valued patterns of political behaviour that give

shape and regularity to politics. The upshot of the development of political culture for

African total integration depends on the rules and configuration of political institutions.

Also, the promoters or supporters of African integration and development have to efficiently

realise in practice the potential of the ideas and goals they promote.

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Ireland Statecraft