The Realist Case for Global Reform

Does a hard-headed Realist approach to international politics necessarily involve skepticism towards progressive foreign policy initiatives and global reform? Should proponents of Realism always be seen as morally complacent and politically combative? In this major reconsideration of the main figures of international political theory, Bill Scheuerman challenges conventional wisdom to reveal a neglected tradition of Progressive Realism with much to contribute to contemporary debates about international policy-making and world government. Far from seeing international reform as well-meaning but potentially irresponsible , Progressive Realists like E. H. Carr, John Herz, Hans J. Morgenthau, and Reinhold Niebuhr developed forward-looking ideas which offer an indispensable corrective to many presently influential views about global politics. Progressive Realism, Scheuerman argues, offers a compelling and provocative vision of radical global change which – when properly interpreted, can help buttress current efforts to address the most pressing international issues. After recovering key subterranean strands in mid-twentieth century Realism, Scheuerman underscores their relevance to contemporary international theory. Criticizing more recent Realists for abandoning their tradition's best insights, he also demonstrates that reform-minded international theories –including versions of Cosmopolitanism, Constructivism, the English School, Liberalism, and Republicanism – could all benefit from taking Progressive Realism seriously. A major contribution both to the history of international relations and contemporary debates in international theory, The Realist Case for Global Reform concludes by considering how Progressive Realism informs the foreign policies of US President Barack Obama.

Based on research presented at The Harvard Business School’s first-ever conference on business approaches to poverty alleviation, Business Solutions for the Global Poor brings together perspectives from leading academics and corporate, non-profit and public sector managers. The contributors draw on practical and dynamic how-to insights from leading BOP ventures from more than twenty countries world-wide. This important volume reflects poverty’s multi-faceted nature and a broad range of actors—multinational and local businesses, entrepreneurs, civil society organizations and governments—that play a role in its alleviation.

Praise for The Markets Never Sleep «An excellent primer for futures and the global financial market, a clear voice of their importance for all traders. Tom also gives an easy-to-understand professional approach to discipline, money management, and the 'numbers' to watch that indicate market direction. Help for all traders to earn bigger, more consistent profits.» –Ned W. Bennett, CEO, optionsXpress, Inc. «Well . . . they've done it again! Tom and Patsy have written another insightful and entertaining book on understanding and trading the world's markets. The Markets Never Sleep shows how to analyze all the global markets and use timing and money management to control losses and reap significant rewards without using up all of one's emotional energy. In other words, everything needed to make trading fun and profitable!» –Russ Mothershed, former corporate executive and current DTI student «Trading follows the sun, as Busby points out, and with a click of one's mouse, traders today have the full advantage of global trading. Busby makes a compelling case for opportunistic trading. In an easy-to-follow outline, he shares trading strategies to ensure a high probability of profit. The Markets Never Sleep is a must-read for traders and investors who seek insight navigating the global markets.» –Chuck Dukas, President, TRENDadvisor.com

Many of the problems that lie at the heart of the current financial crisis stem from a significant but little-known development that occurred in the early 1980s: investors changed their investment criteria. This change gave rise to a conflict – a silent war – between executives in charge of the world's largest corporations, on the one hand, and credit agencies whose task it is to enforce the criteria on investors' behalf, on the other. The credit agencies that flourished in New York, London and elsewhere acquired a great deal of power because their ratings now reflected investors new priorities, and so controlled the ability of corporations to gain access to capital. The rise of the credit agencies thereby also represented a new model of capitalism, quite different from the old model of the risk-taking entrepreneur. To attract investment capital, corporations now have to employ enormous resources to create the illusion that capital is directed in line with the new expectations imposed by the credit agencies. The result is that devious reporting on companies' activities has become endemic. Drawing on more than six years of fieldwork carried out in some of the world's most powerful corporations and credit rating agencies on Wall Street, this short book describes, for the first time, the unspoken conflict that shapes the global economy. Anthropologist Alexandra Ouroussoff describes with startling clarity the effects of Wall Street's silent war: from the financial community's inability to price risk accurately (now recognised as a major cause of the financial crisis) to the deep reasons behind credit analysts' misplaced faith in numbers. Yet the book's most important contribution is its path-breaking analysis of the conditions of the conflict itself, here revealed as an unintended consequence of a much deeper transformation in the conditions underlying capitalism's success.

Many of the problems that lie at the heart of the current financial crisis stem from a significant but little-known development that occurred in the early 1980s: investors changed their investment criteria. This change gave rise to a conflict – a silent war – between executives in charge of the world's largest corporations, on the one hand, and credit agencies whose task it is to enforce the criteria on investors' behalf, on the other. The credit agencies that flourished in New York, London and elsewhere acquired a great deal of power because their ratings now reflected investors new priorities, and so controlled the ability of corporations to gain access to capital. The rise of the credit agencies thereby also represented a new model of capitalism, quite different from the old model of the risk-taking entrepreneur. To attract investment capital, corporations now have to employ enormous resources to create the illusion that capital is directed in line with the new expectations imposed by the credit agencies. The result is that devious reporting on companies' activities has become endemic. Drawing on more than six years of fieldwork carried out in some of the world's most powerful corporations and credit rating agencies on Wall Street, this short book describes, for the first time, the unspoken conflict that shapes the global economy. Anthropologist Alexandra Ouroussoff describes with startling clarity the effects of Wall Street's silent war: from the financial community's inability to price risk accurately (now recognised as a major cause of the financial crisis) to the deep reasons behind credit analysts' misplaced faith in numbers. Yet the book's most important contribution is its path-breaking analysis of the conditions of the conflict itself, here revealed as an unintended consequence of a much deeper transformation in the conditions underlying capitalism's success.

A comprehensive resource providing extensive coverage of the state of the art in credit secruritisations, derivatives, and risk management Credit Securitisations and Derivatives is a one-stop resource presenting the very latest thinking and developments in the field of credit risk. Written by leading thinkers from academia, the industry, and the regulatory environment, the book tackles areas such as business cycles; correlation modelling and interactions between financial markets, institutions, and instruments in relation to securitisations and credit derivatives; credit portfolio risk; credit portfolio risk tranching; credit ratings for securitisations; counterparty credit risk and clearing of derivatives contracts and liquidity risk. As well as a thorough analysis of the existing models used in the industry, the book will also draw on real life cases to illustrate model performance under different parameters and the impact that using the wrong risk measures can have.

The twin forces of ideological change and the technology revolution make globalization the single most important issue facing executives today. But many companies who have developed a presence in the global market now face the challenges inherent in creating a multinational presence with the demands of the «unglobal consumer» who does not have a «one size fits all» need. Here, HBS Professors John Quelch and Deshpande bring together 13 Harvard Business School professors to discuss these and other problems and benefits encountered by executives in global markets. Topics to be discussed include: operating costs of global advertising and marketing services, global product standards; managing global supply chains; global account management; global brands; global knowledge sharing and performance drivers; managing global customers; and social marketing for global economic development.

An essential introduction to global health in the modern world Foundations for Global Health Practice offers a comprehensive introduction to global health with a focus on ethical engagement and participatory approaches. With a multi-sectoral perspective grounded in Sustainable Development Goals, the text prepares students for engagement in health care and public health and goes beyond traditional global health texts to include chapters on mental health, agriculture and nutrition, water and sanitation, and climate change. In addition to presenting core concepts, the book outlines principles for practice that enable students and faculty to plan and prepare for fieldwork in global health. The book also offers perspectives from global health practitioners from a range of disciplinary and geographic perspectives. Exercises, readings, discussion guides and information about global health competencies and careers facilitate personal discernment and enable students to systematically develop their own professional goals and strategies for enriching, respectful, and ethical global health engagement. Understand the essential concepts, systems, and principles of global health Engage in up-to-date discussion of global health challenges and solutions Learn practical skills for engagement in health care and beyond Explore individual values and what it means to be an agent for change Prevention, cooperation, equity, and social justice are the central themes of global health, a field that emphasizes the interdisciplinary, cross-sector, and cross-boundary nature of health care on a global scale. As the world becomes ever smaller and society becomes more and more interconnected, the broad view becomes as critical as the granular nature of practice. Foundations for Global Health Practice provides a complete and highly relevant introduction to this rich and rewarding field.

An in-depth look at the best ways to navigate the post-reform world of derivatives and futures The derivatives market is one of the largest, and most important financial markets in the world. It's also one of the least understood. Today we are witnessing the unprecedented reform and reshaping of this market, and along with these events, the entire life cycle of a derivatives transaction has been affected. Accordingly, nearly all market participants in the modern economy need to view the handling of risk by derivatives in a very different way. Many aspects of financial services reform are based on a belief that derivatives caused the Great Recession of 2008. While the difficulties we now face cannot be blamed solely on derivatives, the need to understand this market, and the financial products that trade within it, has never been greater. The Post-Reform Guide to Derivatives and Futures provides straightforward descriptions of these important investment products, the market in which they trade, and the law that now, after July 16, 2011, governs their use in America and creates challenges for investors throughout the world. Author Gordon Peery is an attorney who works exclusively in the derivatives markets and specializes in derivatives and futures reform and market structure. Since representing clients in Congressional hearings involving Enron Corp., he has developed extensive experience in this field. With this guide, he reveals how derivatives law, and market practice throughout the world, began to change in historic ways beginning in 2011, and what you must do to keep up with these changes. Explains what derivatives and futures are, who trades them, and what must be done to manage risk in the post reform world Accurately reflects the futures and derivatives markets as they exist today and how they will be transformed by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Highlights the risks and common disputes regarding derivatives and futures, and offers recommendations for best practices in light of the evolving law governing derivatives The financial crisis has changed the rules of Wall Street, especially when it comes to derivatives and futures. The Post-Reform Guide to Derivatives and Futures will help you navigate this evolving field and put you in a better position to make the most informed decisions within it.

The first decade of the 21st Century has been disastrous for financial institutions, derivatives and risk management. Counterparty credit risk has become the key element of financial risk management, highlighted by the bankruptcy of the investment bank Lehman Brothers and failure of other high profile institutions such as Bear Sterns, AIG, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The sudden realisation of extensive counterparty risks has severely compromised the health of global financial markets. Counterparty risk is now a key problem for all financial institutions. This book explains the emergence of counterparty risk during the recent credit crisis. The quantification of firm-wide credit exposure for trading desks and businesses is discussed alongside risk mitigation methods such as netting and collateral management (margining). Banks and other financial institutions have been recently developing their capabilities for pricing counterparty risk and these elements are considered in detail via a characterisation of credit value adjustment (CVA). The implications of an institution valuing their own default via debt value adjustment (DVA) are also considered at length. Hedging aspects, together with the associated instruments such as credit defaults swaps (CDSs) and contingent CDS (CCDS) are described in full. A key feature of the credit crisis has been the realisation of wrong-way risks illustrated by the failure of monoline insurance companies. Wrong-way counterparty risks are addressed in detail in relation to interest rate, foreign exchange, commodity and, in particular, credit derivative products. Portfolio counterparty risk is covered, together with the regulatory aspects as defined by the Basel II capital requirements. The management of counterparty risk within an institution is also discussed in detail. Finally, the design and benefits of central clearing, a recent development to attempt to control the rapid growth of counterparty risk, is considered. This book is unique in being practically focused but also covering the more technical aspects. It is an invaluable complete reference guide for any market practitioner with any responsibility or interest within the area of counterparty credit risk.