Fed Data Dependent Talking Points Are Here to Stay
With AIT the Fed is able to remain flexible, based on incoming data, at decision making points, and it is able to maintain its credibility by sticking to a clear decision making framework without being held accountable for getting inflation to 2% by a specific date. Thus, Fed officials cannot discuss at what point they would have enough data to begin reducing interest rates without publicly disclosing (if one exists) the Fed’s timeline for AIT — in turn losing its decision making flexibility and potentially damaging their credibility by not reaching 2% inflation within a set period.
The Anatomy and Implications of Repealing the Reporting Requirement of the UN’s 1533 Sanctions Regime in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Beginning in 2003, the UN established the 1533 Sanctions Regime for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to signal support for a negotiated settlement to the conflict, help facilitate Security Sector Reform (SSR) and improve Weapons and Ammunition Management (WAM). Within the sanctions regime, a requirement for member states selling weapons to the government of the DRC to inform the UN Security Council[1], known as the “Reporting Requirement,” was a point of controversy for the DRC and its allies…
Data Dependence and US Monetary Policy
Richard Clarida, vice-chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the Federal Reserve, made a speech entitled “Data Dependence and U.S. Monetary Policy” on November 27, 2018. The following is a short brief on decision making frameworks and subsequent communications on monetary policy decisions and incoming data.
Chapter Review: Material Politics, Disputes Along the Pipeline
Notwithstanding the monist-dualist speedbump, Barry’s political geography lens of analysis for pipelines and infrastructure projects illuminates a new and worthwhile space of analysis for international relations and critically highlights that transparency is a strategic tool and not in principle a conduit for good social and environmental governance.
Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Analysis
The conflict in Nagorno Karabakh is the result of ethnic isolation in the Southern Caucuses and the recent diplomatic and economic isolation of Azerbaijan. As with the Russian led agreement from in 1994, the current Russian led ceasefire does not address the underlying cause of the conflict. United States engagement in the peace process is necessary to address the fundamental issues and create lasting peace. After a decade of mixed action and mixed results in peacebuilding by the international community, United States’ involvement in Nagorno Karabakh could set a new tone for the next decade of international peacebuilding. This is also an opportunity for the Biden Administration to accomplish its goals of ending “forever wars” and to “restore and reimagine partnerships.” To be successful, the United States must negotiate for a peace agreement built on the themes of social, political and economic integration. The most likely and practical option is for the United States to engage is by a new coalition, with itself as the non-military, political negotiator for peace. An unlikely, but highly rewarding NATO option is also presented.
Article Review: Dessler “What is At Stake in the Agency Structure Debate”
Dessler’s expanded ontology under the transformational model cannot be thought of as presenting any objective truth. Rather, it achieves its own goal of accepting social rules for a structural interpretation of international relations. Dessler has a personal purpose for how he decides to expand ontology. Thus, as much as Dessler achieves eliminating structural determinism of Waltz’s theory, not recognizing Dessler’s own agency as an actor in international relations ignores the deterministic aspect of accepting any theory as objective, dualist and separate from the world the theorist theorizes.