June 2013

A quarterly publication of The Centre for International Governance Innovation

CIGI and Australian think tank co-host workshop on Asia-Pacific security

• For more information on the CIGI-ASPI workshop, please click here.

New volume of Canada Among Nations
focuses on Canada-Africa relations

Over 25 policy specialists are telling Canada's government, civil society and business leaders to get ready for a new type of relationship with an assertive and self-confident Africa. Canada-Africa Relations: Looking Back, Looking Ahead is the newest volume in the influential Canada Among Nations book series. Co-edited by CIGI President Rohinton Medhora and featuring a Foreword by the Rt. Hon. Paul Martin, the 27th volume delves deeply into the challenges and opportunities that Canada and Africa share in foreign policy, conflict management, investment and trade, development and health, and research capacity. The book is published by CIGI in partnership with the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA) at Carleton University.

• Click here for more information on Canada Among Nations or to purchase the book.

CIGI convenes expert workshop in Iqaluit
on Arctic governance and shipping issues

As Canada assumed the chair of the Arctic Council in May 2013, CIGI was keen to discuss prospects for Canadian marine transportation development and governance in the Arctic. Experts, including CIGI Senior Fellow John Higginbotham and researcher James Manicom, met in Iqaluit, Nunavut, where they focused on current and proposed government policies, potential obstacles to Canadian Arctic shipping operations, and governance frameworks at the national and international level.

• To read CBC News' coverage of this CIGI workshop, click here.
• To learn more about the Arctic governance project, click here.

Rt. Hon. Joe Clark issues call
for Canada to "lead from beside"

Technological advancements, new sources of conflict and the rise of non-state actors will change the way countries like Canada lead on the world stage, according to a former Canadian Prime Minister. The Rt. Hon. Joe Clark spoke recently at a sold-out CIGI Signature Lecture on "leading from beside" and the immense opportunity for innovative partnerships and soft-power at the global level. "What role might Canada play in the marriage of mandate and immigration?" Mr. Clark asked, in light of power shifts that will see more engagement between state and non-state actors.

• Click here to watch the lecture.
• Click here to read a blog post about the event.

David F. Gordon delivers talk on China:
Where will the new leadership go?

CIGI's fourth Global Policy Forum (GPF) event, held in Ottawa, featured fresh insight on Xi Jinping and China's new leadership. David F. Gordon, Eurasia Group's head of research and director of global macro analysis, delivered the exclusive address, which covered topics including what the world can expect from China and how the country will tackle its domestic and international challenges. The GPF is an exclusive, invitation-only series of talks offering authoritative analysis on policy-relevant issues affecting Canada and its place in the world.

• Click here to watch the lecture.

CIGI paper discusses next steps
for the Millennium Development Goals

As we are now less than 1,000 days from the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) deadline, the world must ask itself: what comes next? Marking the conclusion of a multi-year, international consultation, CIGI and the Korean Development Institute issued an innovative report outlining 10 new comprehensive goals that should succeed the MDGs. Co-authored by CIGI Senior Fellow Barry Carin, the CIGI Paper argues that international development beyond 2015 should be framed around "one-world" goals that advance human development in poor and rich countries alike.

• Click here to read or order The Millennium Development Goals and Post-2015: Squaring the Circle.

CIGI papers look at market impact
of short sellers, adverse herding behaviour

Despite the well-known history of short selling during times of financial turmoil, the current literature is almost completely silent on the impact of short-sale constraints on institutional investors' feedback trading behaviour. A team of CIGI-sponsored researchers led by CIGI Senior Fellow Pierre Siklos is changing that with their project Essays in Financial Governance: Promoting Cooperation in Financial Regulation and Policies. Pierre's team examined bans on selected financial stocks in six countries during the 2008-2009 global financial crisis and found that such bans may actually amplify market downturns rather than attenuate them and may lead to adverse herding among investors.

• Click here to read or order Short-selling Bans and Institutional Investors' Herding Behaviour: Evidence from the Global Financial Crisis.
• Click here to read or order Are Short Sellers Positive Feedback Traders? Evidence from the Global Financial Crisis.

CIGI co-publishes paper series on internationalization of currencies

A new paper series co-published by the Asian Development Bank, CIGI and the Hong Kong Institute for Monetary Research focuses on the constructive role Asian and BRICS nations can play in reforming the international monetary system, in key areas such as currency internationalization and orderly adjustment. The partners have published four of 10 papers, and will publish the remaining papers over the coming months. Papers in The BRICS and Asia, Currency Internationalization and International Monetary Reform series include:

• The Russian Federation: International Monetary Reform and Currency Internationalization, by Juliet Johnson.
• A Practical Approach to International Monetary System Reform: Building Settlement Infrastructure for Regional Currencies, by Changyong Rhee and Lea Sumulong.
• Brazil: Policy Responses to the Global Crisis and the Challenges Ahead, by Monica Baumgarten de Bolle.
• Global Turmoil: The International Monetary System Today, by Benjamin J. Cohen.

Len Edwards appointed Distinguished Fellow, to lead CIGI project on security cooperation

CIGI is pleased to welcome policy expert Len Edwards, who became as a Distinguished Fellow in May. Mr. Edwards has over 40 years of experience with the Government of Canada, having served in senior roles such as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and International Trade. At CIGI, Mr. Edwards co-chairs CIGI's project on enhancing security cooperation between Australia and Canadian in the Asia-Pacific region.

• For more information on Mr. Edwards's appointment, click here.

CIGI appoints Internet expert Laura DeNardis as Senior Fellow

In March, CIGI appointed Laura E. DeNardis as Senior Fellow. Professor DeNardis is a scholar of Internet architecture and governance and an Associate Professor at the School of Communication at American University in Washington, D.C. At CIGI, Professor DeNardis will join the Global Security program's project on Internet governance.

• For more information on Professor DeNardis' appointment, click here.

Economic historian Harold James appointed Senior Fellow, to write Essay on Itnernational Finance

Economic and financial historian Harold James joined CIGI as a Senior Fellow in June. Mr. James is Professor of History at Princeton University and holds a joint appointment as Professor of International Affairs at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School. During his time at CIGI, Mr. James will author the inaugural CIGI Essay on International Finance, which will be published ahead of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group, in October 2013.

• For more information on Harold James's CIGI appointment, click here.

Sovereign debt experts Richard Gitlin and Brett House appointed Senior Fellows

June also saw the appointments of sovereign debt crisis experts Richard Gitlin and Brett House as CIGI Senior Fellows. Mr. Gitlin, an international bankruptcy lawyer who now runs his own advisory firm, played a leading role in the development of practices and procedures for successfully resolving complex global restructuring and insolvency cases. Mr. House is a Chazen Visiting Scholar at Columbia Business School and a Senior Fellow at the Jeanne Sauvé Foundation at McGill University. During their time at CIGI, Messrs. Gitlin and House will co-author a CIGI paper on the proposal for the Sovereign Debt Forum and will join related research and outreach activities.

• For more information on their appointment, click here.

John Ravenhill to lead Balsillie School of International Affairs

CIGI is pleased to welcome Professor John Ravenhill to the CIGI community as the incoming director of the Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA). The BSIA board announced Professor Ravenhill's appointment in early June, and he will begin his five-year term on September 1. Professor Ravenhill joins the BSIA from the Australian National University where he is currently Head of the School of Politics and International Relations in the Research School of Social Sciences.

• For more information on Professor Ravenhill's appointment, click here.

CIGI launches online bookstore

The new online bookstore is a platform to purchase hard copies of publications through CIGI. Our publications will remain online free in certain digital formats. Please visit the bookstore to order printed copies of select CIGI publications.

• Click here to visit the CIGI Bookstore.

CIGI to fund research in global finance, international dairy trade, refugee aid and geo-engineering

Faculty members from Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo are receiving Collaborative Research Awards to conduct research on pressing global governance challenges.

Four new projects, which align with one of CIGI's research themes -- global economy, global security, environment and energy, and global development -- will receive up to $30,000 in funding.

• Click here to read more on the CIGI Collaborative Research awards.