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Keren Yarhi-Milo provides an original framework, based on insights from psychology, to explain why some political leaders are more willing to use military force to defend their reputation than others. Rather than focusing on a leader's background, beliefs, bargaining skills, or biases, Yarhi-Milo draws a systematic link between a trait called self-monitoring and foreign policy behavior. She examines self-monitoring among national leaders and advisers and shows that while high self-monitors modify their behavior strategically to cultivate image-enhancing status, low self-monitors are less likely to change their behavior in response to reputation concerns. Exploring self-monitoring through case studies of foreign policy crises during the terms of U.S. presidents Carter, Reagan, and Clinton, Yarhi-Milo disproves the notion that hawks are always more likely than doves to fight for reputation. Instead, Yarhi-Milo demonstrates that a decision maker's propensity for impression management is directly associated with the use of force to restore a reputation for resolve on the international stage. Who Fights for Reputation offers a brand-new understanding of the pivotal influence that psychological factors have on political leadership, military engagement, and the protection of public prestige.

Shocking moments in society create an extraordinary political environment that permits political and opinion changes that are unlikely during times of normal politics. Strong emotions felt by the public during catastrophes - even if experienced only vicariously through media coverage - are a powerful motivator of public opinion and activism. This is particularly true when emotional reactions coincide with attributing blame to governmental agencies or officials. By examining public opinion during one extraordinary event, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Lonna Rae Atkeson and Cherie D. Maestas show how media information interacts with emotion in shaping a wide range of political opinions about government and political leaders. Catastrophic events bring citizens together, provide common experiences and information, and create opinions that transcend traditional political boundaries. These moments encourage citizens to re-examine their understanding of government, its leaders and its role in a society from a less partisan perspective.

Not all international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) are created equal, Some have emerged as \"leading INGOs\" that command deference from various powerful audiences and are well-positioned to influence the practices of states, corporations, and other INGOs. Yet Sarah S. Stroup and Wendy H. Wong make a strong case for the tenuous nature of this position: in order to retain their authority, INGOs such as Greenpeace, Oxfam, and Amnesty International refrain from expressing radical opinions that severely damage their long-term reputation. Stroup and Wong contend such INGOs must constantly adjust their behavior to maintain a delicate equilibrium that preserves their status. Activists, scholars, and students seeking to understand how international organizations garner and conserve power-and how this affects their ability to fulfill their stated missions-will find much of value in The Authority Trap . The authors use case studies that illuminate how INGOs are received by three main audiences: NGO peers, state policymakers, and corporations. In the end, the authors argue, the more authority an INGO has, the more constrained is its ability to affect the conduct of world politics.

Background Ultra-processed food companies in Thailand have rapidly expanded, and they play an important role in the domestic economy and public policy. These companies influence policy-making by building networks with political authorities and using various strategies to pursue their interests. Increased consumption of ultra-processed foods has been shown to be strongly associated with obesity and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which are a growing public health concern in Thailand. This study investigated the commercial determinants of health (CDOH) strategies of the major ultra-processed food companies in Thailand. Methods This study employed document review to classify CDOH’s strategies of ultra-processed food companies in Thailand. The authors searched publicly available information by 15 ultra-processed food companies, including both national and transnational companies, between January 2019 and December 2024. In addition, 30 semi-structured interviews were conducted with field experts to provide additional insights to support the findings from the document review. Thematic analysis was used to interpret the data. Results National ultra-processed food companies in Thailand employ all seven strategies of CDOH, namely: (1) Political, (2) Scientific, (3) Marketing, (4) Supply chain and waste management, (5) Labour and employment, (6) Financial, and (7) Reputation management strategies. Transnational companies employed all but one of the seven strategies (labour and employment). Conclusions The wide array of CDOH strategies used to shape public policy and opinion may hinder efforts to protect the health of Thais from obesity and diet-related NCDs. To counter this, the authors recommend systematic monitoring of CDOH strategies, stronger accountability for the ultra-processed food companies, mandatory lobbyist registration, stricter management of conflict of interest between government officials and food companies, and strict enforcement of relevant legislation.

In 2001, following the events of September 11 and the Anthrax attacks, the United States government began an aggressive campaign to secure the nation against biological catastrophe. Its agenda included building National Biocontainment Laboratories (NBLs), secure facilities intended for research on biodefense applications, at participating universities around the country. In Community at Risk, Thomas D. Beamish examines the civic response to local universities' plans to develop NBLs in three communities: Roxbury, MA; Davis, CA; and Galveston, TX. At a time when the country's anxiety over its security had peaked, reactions to the biolabs ranged from vocal public opposition to acceptance and embrace. He argues that these divergent responses can be accounted for by the civic conventions, relations, and virtues specific to each locale. Together, these elements clustered, providing a foundation for public dialogue. In contrast to conventional micro- and macro-level accounts of how risk is perceived and managed, Beamish's analysis of each case reveals the pivotal role played by meso-level contexts and political dynamics. Community at Risk provides a new framework for understanding risk disputes and their prevalence in American civic life.

This work presents and critically evaluates attempts to theorize and conceptualize public diplomacy within several disciplines, including international relations, strategic studies, diplomatic studies, public relations, and communication. It also examines research methods used to investigate public diplomacy, including models, paradigms, case studies, and comparative analysis. The work identifies promising directions as well as weaknesses and gaps in existing knowledge and methodology and outlines a new research agenda. The presented analysis and examples suggest that only a systematic multidisciplinary effort and close collaboration between researchers and practitioners can lead to a coherent theory of public diplomacy.

Background South Africa is reported to have one of the highest per capita rates of alcohol consumption among drinkers globally, with alcohol harms exacerbating socio-economic inequalities in the country. The Draft Liquor Amendment Bill 2016 proposed new restrictions on alcohol advertising, availability, and liability of retailers and manufacturers for harm related to any contravention of the regulations. To date, the Bill has not progressed through the legislative process. The alcohol industry is known to use a diverse set of strategies to delay evidence-based policies globally. Methods We aimed to explore Bill-related activity by industry within the National Economic and Development Labour Council, a multi-stakeholder forum that assesses socio-economic policies before they reach parliament. On 06 July 2023 we made a Request for Access to Record, using form two of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA), no. 2 of 2000 to the National Economic and Development Labour Council for access to minutes of all meetings, reports, and any other publications related to the Bill between January 2016 and December 2022. Informed by Ulucanlar et al’s (2023) model and taxonomies of corporate political activity, we extracted data on industry Bill-related activity and thematically analysed key events, presented here as a narrative synthesis. Results We identified activity by 14 alcohol industry organisations related to the Bill between 2016 and 2022. Industry representation on five National Economic and Development Labour Council-related committees identified between 2017 and 2021 facilitated their involvement in Bill-related discussions and supported access to other government departments. Community representation was low in all committees compared to industry, labour, and government. Industry funded two socio-economic assessments of the Bill in 2017 and 2022, despite an independent socio-economic impact assessment having already been completed. The 2017 report delayed progress of the Bill, and the 2022 ‘re-evaluation’ was more critical of the proposed measures, with the differing conclusions attributed to different methodologies. During the covid-19 pandemic, industry used a ‘carrot and stick’ approach of legal threats and donations to attempt to move towards self-regulation via a social compact. The National Economic and Development Labour Council confirmed in 2023 that the social compact was unsuccessful. Conclusions Early ‘regulatory capture’ gave the alcohol industry the opportunity to shape assessment of the Bill within the National Economic and Development Labour Council. Our findings are in line with previous studies on corporate influence on policy globally, and support calls for a reassessment of the role and proportion of industry representation within the National Economic and Development Labour Council locally.

Why do sovereign governments make international legal commitments, and what effect does international law have on state behavior? Very little empirical research tries to answer these questions in a systematic way. This article examines patterns of commitment to and compliance with international monetary law. I consider the signal governments try to send by committing themselves through international legal commitments, and I argue that reputational concerns explain patterns of compliance. One of the most important findings is that governments commit to and comply with legal obligations if other countries in their region do so. Competitive market forces, rather than overt policy pressure from the International Monetary Fund, are the most likely “enforcement” mechanism. Legal commitment has an extremely positive effect on governments that have recently removed restrictive policies, which indicates a desire to reestablish a reputation for compliance.

The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of the Korean government's policies for building world class universities (WCUs) and their implications for Korean higher education institutions. Primarily through an extensive literature review, but also through a discussion of field interviews and the experiences of one of the authors as a public official in education policy making, this study examines the Korean government's policies to establish WCUs, as well as the outcomes and consequences of these policies. Using the framework suggested by Salmi (The challenge of establishing world-class universities. The World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009), the study seeks to answer the following research questions: (a) What policies has the Korean government implemented to build WCUs since the late 1990s? (b) How has the government's quest to build WCUs transformed the Korean higher education system? Specifically, how have HEIs in Korea responded to the policies implemented? (c) What issues and challenges has the Korean higher education system confronted in its quest to build WCUs? (HRK / Abstract übernommen).

How can property rights be protected and contracts be enforced in countries where the rule of law is ineffective or absent? How can firms from advanced market economies do business in such circumstances? InLawlessness and Economics, Avinash Dixit examines the theory of private institutions that transcend or supplement weak economic governance from the state. In much of the world and through much of history, private mechanisms--such as long-term relationships, arbitration, social networks to disseminate information and norms to impose sanctions, and for-profit enforcement services--have grown up in place of formal, state-governed institutions. Even in countries with strong legal systems, many of these mechanisms continue under the shadow of the law. Numerous case studies and empirical investigations have demonstrated the variety, importance, and merits, and drawbacks of such institutions. This book builds on these studies and constructs a toolkit of theoretical models to analyze them. The models shed new conceptual light on the different modes of governance, and deepen our understanding of the interaction of the alternative institutions with each other and with the government's law. For example, one model explains the limit on the size of social networks and illuminates problems in the transition to more formal legal systems as economies grow beyond this limit. Other models explain why for-profit enforcement is inefficient. The models also help us understand why state law dovetails with some non-state institutions and collides with others. This can help less-developed countries and transition economies devise better processes for the introduction or reform of their formal legal systems.