Principles and Economic Style Moulded Into Sustainability and Foreign Policy Interests
“The concept of the Social Market Economy links the principle of freedom on the market and the instrument of competitive economics with the principle of solidarity and with mechanisms of social compensation. This link is not a mere smart decision of a purely institutional wisdom, but it lays on a decision on values which is borne by the moral foundations of our European culture”. This is the statement of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community. Most politicians and even academics who see themselves as Catholics normally take seriously most doctrinal declarations of this church’s leadership. Thus, it is expected that such declarations are to be found to a larger or smaller extent in drafted legislation and in created institutions. From such statements, the Social Market Economy develops advantages and shortcomings. Its advantages are related to its purpose of organising economic and social life at a national level in such a way that a competitive and creative balance of power between the economic agents, government and individuals as actors is achieved. Another advantage is its attempt at inclusiveness which is done via the corporatist approach in social and professional relations. Convincing individuals to join professional groups and defend their common interest is an inclusive and integrative approach. Nevertheless, corporatism can also be a shortcoming of the Social Market Economy because it induces a danger. If professional groups defend their interests in common, they have quite a big chance to dominate not only some of the members of parliament via their professional affiliation but even minister and thus parts of government. Particular interests are served here, even though they are not individual interests but small group interests. This happens at the expense of the general interest when such corporatist groups from within the Social Market Economy delay and sometimes block necessary economic reforms. Following the economic and financial crisis in 2007–2009, the national economic and social system in place in Germany and Austria had become known enough in order for the term “social market economy” to be adopted in art. 3 (3) of the EU Treaty of Lisbon. Thus, this system managed to pass from a national terminology in economic policy, which at times was even taken for a mere political label given in Germany, to a legally consecrated term enshrined in the EU Treaty texts.
Globalisierung, Sicherheit und Wirtschaftspolitik
The current economic crisis has intensified the debate on globalisation. There is a widespread scepticism about it, which can be instrumentalised by extremist groups and thus may lead to violence and terror. On the other hand, globalisation and the international division of labour may well contribute to peace since it raises the opportunity cost of violence, terror and war. The paper investigates the empirical evidence, which is straightforward for international official conflicts: they are reduced by globalisation and trade. With respect to terror, the evidence is less clear: some studies claim a terror enhancing effect of globalisation, some the opposite. Therefore, it seems necessary to improve the knowledge about the effects of international trade, besides keeping markets open to further reduce the potential of international conflict. Die gegenwartige Weltwirtschaftskrise hat die Diskussion um die Wirkungen der Globalisierung und einer kapitalistischen Wirtschaftsordnung neu entfacht, vielfach herrscht eine grose Skepsis uber die moglichen negativen Wirkungen der Globalisierung. Derartig motivierte Sorgen konnen sich durch radikale Krafte instrumentalisieren lassen und Konflikte beziehungsweise Gewalt entfachen. Auf der anderen Seite kann Globalisierung friedensstiftend wirken, weil der Handel zum gegenseitigen Vorteil aus Fremden Partner macht. Vor diesem Hintergrund untersucht der Aufsatz die Evidenz und gibt einen Uberblick uber die relevante Literatur. Es zeigt sich, dass zwischenstaatliche Konflikte eindeutig durch internationale Arbeitsteilung reduziert werden. Fur Terrorakte kann keine klare Evidenz gesehen werden. Daraus ist die wirtschaftspolitische Schlussfolgerung zu ziehen, die Markte offen zu halten und die Kenntnisse uber die Wirkungsmechanismen in breiten Kreisen der Bevolkerung zu verbessern.
The uprising of the marginalised: a socio-economic perspective of the Syrian uprising
More than three years after the outbreak of protests in a number of Arab countries, the role of socio-economic factors in these events is attracting more attention. One of the cases that needs more research is Syria. More than three years into the Syrian uprising, the socio-economic roots of the protest movement that became one of the bloodiest civil conflicts in the history of the Middle East need to be examined. While it has been observed that the Syrian uprising, contrary to some ‘Arab Spring’ countries, has been an uprising of more marginalised social groups with a strong role played by poorer segments in the society, particularly rural and rural-to-urban migrants, the socio-economic explanation for this is still underdeveloped. This paper aims at contributing to a better understanding of this issue by examining the political and socio-economic compromise that underlined the rule of the Ba’th party in Syria for four decades and unpacking how a combination of internal and external shifts that started in the 1990s and intensified in the 2000s led to the erosion of this compromise, providing the background to the events that began in 2011.