Moulding a Plural & Enterprising Polity & Citizenry A Clarion call for a Resilient Ethiopianism -RL Vol XII No CCCXIII, MMXVIII

Moulding a Plural & Enterprising Polity & Citizenry

A Clarion call for a Resilient Ethiopianism

Public Lecture - RL Vol XII No CCCXIII, MMXVIII

Costantinos Berhutesfa Costantinos, PhD

Professor of Public Policy & Sustainable Institutional Reforms

https://addisababa.academia.edu/CostyCostantinos

Abstract

Students of the 1970s demanded land to the tiller and the equality of nations & nationalities, an ideological arsenal that informed the era and that continues to enlighten politics heretofore, undergirded the ubiquity of imperious economic policy, the stress on political organisation and the national question. Half a century later, a human rights crisis stemming from the protest against impunity is emergent, triggered by identity issues, mal governance, corruption and impunity of officials. The state must look into local elders (shimagiles) to contain the mayhem. Coupled with this, lodged in a highly turbulent region, new martial and security scenarios threaten the nation. Hence, while ethnic liberation has been accomplished, Ethiopianness must now take the front stage to defend and advance the nation. While nations & nationalities have realised their freedom, what is simmering on is exigency for pluralistic governance and the statutory veneration they deserve as Ethiopians. The transformation achieved so far also means citizens are becoming more affluent and civically refined, demanding to be heard. A collective psyche that puts so much trust in the trappings of hegemony must be supplanted by a social awareness that gives due respect to the highest moral and professional benchmarks in social life. State collapse that stems from a society, which is not based on strong institutional pillars and robust meritocracy in its public administration, is bound to fail. Thus, the merit system is consequential as a tried and tested route to success in constitutional self-governance. The mystique of power is closely linked to the lack of execution of constitutional rules and political institutions such as the coordinates of the state and pillars of civil society.

In advancing the economy, private sector, capital and liberalisation of the big state owned enterprises that would unleash untapped billions for development, are indispensable allies to employment and livelihood security. In its transformational stance, the state must focus on streamlining discretionary rule of officials, eliminate monopolies and the economic distortions that facilitate them and improve accountability. Finally, a requisite for pluralism is a spirit of tolerance and transparency - discords resolved in a spirit of respect for the views of citizens. Visionary leadership, political will and public support are vital to the state’s legitimacy that twigs from meritorious choices to district-cum-zonal officers that are in direct contact with the populace and reform of policy-making and governing institutions. Society’s watchdogs and responsible and independent media are indispensable assets in curbing corruption and pursuing good governance goals consistently and in varying contexts, but do so without resorting to a self-defeating, overly scripted and stage-managed political gambit. The protests and the apologies herald a new era of openness, albeit at a price!

Key words: Ethiopianism, meritocracy, pluralism, human rights, corruption, mal governance,

Updated 2018

See paper here or  https://www.academia.edu/36977537/Moulding_a_Plural_and_Enterprising_Polity_and_Citizenry_-_A_Clarion_call_for_a_Resilient_Ethiopianism_RL_Vol_XII_No_CCCXIII_MMXVIII

Public Policy exigencies for Platform Economy & Social Media regulation Is Politics underhandedly mining Social Networks? RL Vol XII No CCCIX, MMXVIII

Public Policy exigencies for

Platform Economy & Social Media regulation

Is Politics underhandedly mining Social Networks?

Public Lecture - RL Vol XII No CCCIX, MMXVIII

Costantinos Berhutesfa Costantinos, PhD

Professor of Public Policy & Sustainable Institutional Reforms

https://addisababa.academia.edu/CostyCostantinos

Abstract

     Social media, through its heavy reliance on memes, is reshaping human language via unprecedented mixing of idioms, dialects, and alphabets. What long-term effects will it have on the way we speak, write and listen? Relative anonymity in social media is a double-edged sword: while users can express their ideas more freely, the space is also crowded by false alarms and an even newer player in the field — clandestine influencers who are learning the lexicon of new media. How do we balance anonymity with veracity? Netscape founder wrote a widely read essay in 2011 entitled, ‘Why software is eating the world’, but this was not taken seriously believing this was a metaphor. Now, the world faces the challenge of extracting the world from the jaws of Internet (Mcnamee, 2018).

         The platform economy is economic and social activity facilitated by platforms. Such platforms are typically online matchmakers or technology frameworks. By far the most common type are ‘transaction platforms’, also known as ‘digital matchmakers’. A second type is the ‘innovation platform’, which provides a common technology framework upon which others can build, such as the many independent developers who work on Microsoft's platform. Forerunners to contemporary digital economic platforms can be found throughout history, especially in the second half of the 20th century. Yet it was only in the year 2000 that the ‘platform’ metaphor started to be widely used to describe digital matchmakers and innovation platforms. Especially after the financial crises of 2008, companies operating with the new ‘platform business model’ have swiftly came to control an increasing share of the world's overall economic activity, many times by disrupting traditional business.

        The conflict, the desire to speak publicly and the fear of the consequences of this act or the burden of responsibility derives from the fact that the right to freedom of expression of the thoughts and feelings is the natural human right. Public policy on social media regulation is a legal, ethical and moral dispensation by the executive branch of government, curved out of constitutional, legislative and administrative laws, vis-à-vis a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. Social media must be regulated without hampering the bill of rights on freedom of expression but, for pundits it may suggests itself and seems within reach, only to elude; appears readily practicable only to resist realisation.

         Key words: public policy, regulatory environment, platform economy, social media, innovation platform, ’

See paper here or  https://www.academia.edu/36943048/Public_Policy_exigencies_for_Platform_Economy_and_Social_Media_regulation_Is_Politics_underhandedly_mining_Social_Networks_RL_Vol_XII_No_CCCIX_MMXV

Transcending Partisanship - Think Piece on Macro-Strategy & Meta-Policy Trajectories for Ethiopia’s Sustainable Revitalisation Think Piece - Annotated Summary RL Vol. XII No. CCCXCIV, MMXVIII

Transcending Partisanship

 Think Piece on  

Macro-Strategy & Meta-Policy Trajectories for Ethiopia’s Sustainable Revitalisation

Think Piece - Annotated Summary RL Vol. XII No. CCCXCIV, MMXVIII

Costantinos Berhutesfa Costantinos, PhD

Professor of Public Policy & Sustainable Institutional Reforms

https://addisababa.academia.edu/CostyCostantinos

Abstract

Despite the upsurge of ethnic politics in the past generation,  it is abundantly clear that the bonds of Etyopiyawinet  are alive and well  (Donald Levine, 2005)

       The Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) emphasises macroeconomic stability as the primary policy objective, based on a case scenario of an average annual growth rate of 10% but the state still has snags in demarcating its governing and mercantile roles, resulting in significantly tinsel fiscal behaviour, added to the chronic economic disorderliness, tainted by graft and influence peddling. Hence, political reforms are essential for the implementation and sustainability of the change. Prime Minister Abiy inherits a spectacular economic and infrastructure growth, hundreds of thousands graduating yearly from vocational schools and universities, an increase in life expectancy of ten years in a decade and meeting the MDGs, but, as citizens become more educated, they demand a greater political voice, and that such demands must be met. Hence, the paper outlines a 24-month task for the Ethiopian leadership to achieve livelihood stability and bring in peace and security. The agenda for 2018-2020 encompasses public policy and public administration and economic and social governance.

        The action plan zero’s on the state’s essential task: participatory policy & strategy development; governance and administration refinement; kitchen cabinet think tank to support the Executive and liberalisation of SoEs with IPOs sold domestically and internationally. The private sector’s essential task hinges on technology transfer and development, investment promotion, employment generation and management and marketing research. Investment and the full or partial liberalisation of the huge parastatals through IPOs and reform of party endowments will advance structural transformation. The civil society agenda stems from a need for a politically assertive civil society in a democratic dispensation. The Academia’s essential task hones on think tanks that continually remodel, expand, advance, renovate, cultivate and develop mighty economies even when their models are doing well. It is focused on policy & strategy research and nation branding. Sen’s claim that no famine has occurred in history in a functioning democracy is not only a “Western” desire to impose good governance, it is a basic human right. Let this stand as a testimony to an open invitation of a renewed commitment to contribute to stemming the tide of famine, displacement and human distress but it suggests itself seems within reach only to elude and appears readily practicable only to resist realisation.

           Key words: GTP, peace, employment, investment, liberalisation, civil society, private sector, kitchen cabinet

Restricted / embargoed June 5, 2018

See paper here or  https://www.academia.edu/36789934/Transcending_Partisanship_Think_Piece_on_Macro-Strategy_and_Meta-Policy_Trajectories_for_Ethiopia_s_Sustainable_Revitalisation_RL_Vol._XII_No._CCCXCIV_MMXVIII

An Alpenglow of Peace & Prosperity beams over the Greater Horn of Africa & the Red Sea enclave – Beyond the Impasse in Eritrea and Ethiopia - RL Vol. XI No. CCXCVI, MMXVII

An Alpenglow of Peace & Prosperity beams over the Greater Horn of Africa & the Red Sea enclave –

Beyond the Impasse in Eritrea and Ethiopia

Public Lecture - RL Vol. XI No. CCXCVI, MMXVII

Costantinos Berhutesfa Costantinos, PhD

Professor of Public Policy & Sustainable Institutional Reforms

https://addisababa.academia.edu/CostyCostantinos

Abstract

Ethio-Eritrea relations go back thousands of years. The commonalty arising from shared language, religion, culture and history go back to Axumite kingdom more than 3000 years ago. In May 1993, Ethiopia recognised Eritrea as an independent and sovereign state, welcoming and accepting the near‑unanimous choice of independence by the Eritrean people. Historically, Abyssinia has been the target of attack for religious and territorial gain reasons. Dervish, Mahadists and Italian invaders have challenged Ethiopia that occupied one of the most geostrategic regions in the world – the Red Sea. It is not for naught that most Great Powers scrambled their navies to the region ostensibly to combat piracy in recent times. Ostensibly aggravating the region’s security was the Ethio-Eritrean war of 1998-2000 that claimed the lives of tens of thousands and gave terrorists a field day in the Horn. The two have never come face to face since then until now, when negotiations towards a détente and peace talks have started in earnest.

The resurgence of peace talks between the two sisterly nations will also be an antidote to the perennial challenges of poverty, illiteracy and human insecurity that have made the Horn of Africa a basket case for international charity, thousands drowning in the sea and butchered by human traffickers and terrorists. Moreover, peace in these two nations will have great dividends not only to their populace but also to the Horn at large. Beyond schmaltzy gestures and platitudes, issues of shared prosperity and the fate of communities in the border area would transform the containment into détente, if they agree based on the conciliatory give and take based on people’s priorities.

Indeed, there is no more compelling raison d'être nor a mission-objective so utterly entrenched in the preservation and, even advancement of human-kind, than a leadership that can lead a social league to relate cogently to a peaceful region. It enters politics and society in relatively abstract and plain form, yet pundits expect it to land itself to the immediate and vital socio-political experience. It may suggests itself, and seems within reach, only to elude and may appears readily practicable only to resist realisation. The ultimate goal of peace and prosperity must guide the negotiations as an open invitation and stand as a testimony to the commitment of both parties to an enduring statesmanship that can obviate the process

Key words: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Peace, Development, Border, Horn of Africa, GCC, Yemen,

See paper here or  https://www.academia.edu/36915584/An_Alpenglow_of_Peace_and_Prosperity_beams_over_the_Greater_Horn_of_Africa_and_the_Red_Sea_enclave_Beyond_the_Impasse_in_Eritrea_and_Ethiopia_RL_Vol._XI_No._CCXCVI_MMXVII

World Trade Tariff War and its impact on Sustainable Global Growth Public Policies - RL Vol. XII No. CCCXCV, MMXVIII

World Trade Tariff War and its impact on Sustainable Global Growth Public Policies - Public lecture series - RL Vol. XII No. CCCXCV, MMXVIII, Costantinos Berhutesfa Costantinos, PhD, Professor of Public Policy & Sustainable Institutional Reforms - https://addisababa.academia.edu/CostyCostantinos

Abstract

The reason why countries join WTO is that governments may be in the position to pursue what is known as beggar-thy-neighbour policies and that they will agree to sign international trade agreements as a way of mitigating the incentives to do so. The world economy became more interconnected towards the end of the millennium. No one should be surprised that there has been a backlash to globalisation, given the scale of disruption that has resulted from more interconnected economies. What is surprising is that it has arrived now. That is because globalisation, at least in the form we have known it, levelled off a decade ago. Moreover, that shows a crucial risk of the recent push to re-set the terms of the global economy — including tariffs on steel and aluminium and punitive actions against China that President Trump has introduced. It is coming after the major costs of globalisation have already been borne and it comes just as billions of people who have become integrated into the global economy over the last three decades are starting to become rich enough to become valuable consumers. Historically, the US has focused on staying out of trade wars. Not so under President Trump, who has announced plans to slap sweeping tariffs on steel and aluminium imports and asserted that trade wars are good and easy to win. The case the White House is making is that the tariffs necessary to protect vulnerable US industries and ultimately their effects will not be that big of a deal. Nevertheless, there is actually plenty of cause for concern. For the first time, the private sector has a recognised role in achieving the global development agenda. Indeed, in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), published in 2000, there was only a passing reference to the private sector, and that was to call on technology companies to enhance cell phone availability and internet penetration. With the private sector shackled by such trade wars, there will be little incentive to invest in human and sustainable development. In fact, now that traditional sources of development finance such as USAID and EU are also under threat from populist states that are trying to kill development aid for what it is worth. The Economist Intelligence Unit, says its analysis of a trade-war scenario between the US and China suggests that the US, and especially its consumers, would be amongst the biggest losers. Given globalised supply chains, however, the ramifications would be felt by producers and consumers far and wide. A global trade war could hurt consumers around the world by making it harder for all companies to operate, forcing them to push higher prices onto their customers.

Key words: trade war, trade deficit, protectionism, terms-of-trade, WTO sustainable growth,, public policies,

See lecture here or https://www.academia.edu/36893307/World_Trade_Tariff_War_and_its_impact_on_Sustainable_Global_Growth_Public_Policies

Prof. Abiy Ford

Peacekeepers’ withdrawal from Somalia – A Somali Success Story or a new lifeline for Global Terrorism

Peacekeepers’ withdrawal from Somalia –

A Somali Success Story or a new lifeline for Global Terrorism

Public Lecture - RL Vol XI No CCCXIII, MMXVII

Costantinos Berhutesfa Costantinos, PhD

Professor of Public Policy & Sustainable Institutional Reforms

https://addisababa.academia.edu/CostyCostantinos

Abstract

Somalia has been labelled a failed state since 1991. The persistent threat from Somali Warlords, Islamic Courts and al Qeada & al-Shabaab had wreaked Somalia beyond repair. The international community’s response was to institute an active, regional peacekeeping mission. It is mandated to stabilise Somalia. Under its protection, in 2012, Somalia had its first presidential election since 1967. This year Parliament elected former PM Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, as president. The paper discusses the challenges posed by al-Shabaab, led mostly by foreign extremists that impose a foreign ideology brutally on the Somali people. It is the main threat to peace that AMISOM is fighting; in what has become al-Shabaab’s raison d’être. The presence of foreign troops has allowed it to flourish with its despotic pious decrees. Without a battle against peacekeepers to unite it, al-Shabaab would likely splinter into nationalist factions.

The move to increase martial power to AMISOM must resist the temptation to allow history to repeat itself. Instead, the leadership should negotiate with the moderate elements of the protagonists. The recommendations augur on a Strategy of Constructive Disengagement for international community, premises of Alternative Conflict Management (ACM) whose approaches derive from several factors that shape conflict management articulation of process and strategy - openness, political agency and ideology and identifying the root causes of the conflict. It argues for developing a culture of and constituency for peace in Somalia, building bridges between peoples, religious factions and the state and healing the wounds of war and displacement. In the end, we have seen how disastrous it is to rely exclusively on martial action to stabilise nations. The Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen military intervention has only produced mayhem on the local populace killing more than a million citizens and displacing half of their populations. Dialogue for peace with all stakeholders will finally prove that Somalia’s sheer un-governability is both its curse and its blessing.

Key words: Somalia, AMISOM, al-Shabaab, Alternative Conflict Management

See Lecture here or https://www.academia.edu/35444430/Peacekeepers_withdrawal_from_Somalia_-_A_Somali_Success_Story_or_a_new_lifeline_for_Global_Terrorism_RL_Vol_XI_No_CCCXIII_MMXVII

The Global Governance Architecture: Drifts in International Economic & Partnership

The Global Governance Architecture:

Drifts in International Economic &Partnership

The Bretton Woods Giants & BRICS (NDB & AIIB)

Public lecture RL Vol XI No XXVII, CXXIV, MMXVII

Costantinos Berhutesfa Costantinos, PhD

Professor of Public Policy & Sustainable Institutional Reforms

https://addisababa.academia.edu/CostyCostantinos

Abstract

The Bretton Woods Institutions are the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). They were set up at a meeting of 43 countries in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA in 1944. Their aims were to help rebuild the shattered post-war economy and to promote international economic cooperation. It was developed at the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference. It has been apparent since before the turn of the century that the post-World War II governance structures were untenable, because the assumptions that formed their foundation were beginning to crumble. Because of the challenges facing these institutions, the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors established an eminent persons group on global financial governance to make recommendations on how to reform the world economy’s institutional infrastructure.

Now, the world is now casting its eyes on Xiamen, the coastal city in China’s Fujian Province, as it just hosted the ninth BRICS Summit themed deepening the BRICS partnership and opening up a brighter future. Over the past decade, the BRICS bloc has transformed itself from a concept to an entity by strengthening dialogue, deepening cooperation and establishing the New Development Bank and Contingent Reserve Arrangement. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is a new multilateral financial institution founded to bring countries together to address the daunting infrastructure needs across Asia. There are two issues important issues here. One is whether the BRICS or the G20 will ignore or substitute for the views of the G77 or larger bodies of developing countries whose voices are only too rarely heard in international policy discourse. The second is whether the BRICS countries’ dealings with other countries of the South are following desirable patterns or simply replicating North-South interaction.

Key words: BRICS, IMF, World Bank, China, NDB, AIIB,

See lecture here or https://www.academia.edu/35296389/Drifts_in_the_Global_Governance_Architecture_RL_Vol_XI_No_CCCXI_MMXVII.pdf

Artificial Intelligence, the Singularity, Critical Thinking & Policy Realisation

Artificial Intelligence, the 

Singularity, Critical Thinking & Policy Realisation

Policy Reflections in the Rarefied Ambience of Erudite & Jurisdictive Milieu

Public Lecture - RL Vol XI No XIII, CXXIII, MMXVII

Costantinos Berhutesfa Costantinos, PhD

Professor of Public Policy, School of Graduate Studies,

College of Business and Economics, AAU

Abstract

Habermas differentiates three primary generic cognitive areas in which human interest generates and interprets knowledge - termed knowledge constitutive, determining the mode of discovering knowledge as well as whether knowledge claims can be warranted. These areas define cognitive interests (learning domains) grounded in unique aspects of social existence -- work, interaction and power. Much of the historical-hermeneutic disciplines belong to the domain of the practical, while the emancipatory domain identifies self-knowledge or self-reflection - interest in the way one sees oneself, one’s roles and social expectations.

On the other hand, the 21st century will be dominated by algorithms, arguably the single most important concept in our world. Natural algorithms have ruled every century with life in it since Darwin discovered the fundamental algorithm of evolution. Out of that dumb process-logic, arises all the intelligence and complexity of all living systems. Algorithmic forces exist and exert their powers in systemic and relational ways; they are not driven by isolatable and intrinsic traits. They require sequential steps, built from iterative if-then-else logic, driven by richer information processes than physical forces. Closely associated with this is the Singularity, an era in which intelligence will become increasingly non-biological and trillions of times more powerful than it is today. It heralds the dawning of a new civilization that will enable people to transcend biological limitations amplifying their creativity. It emerges from Artificial Intelligence that denotes electronic, digital, virtual or other non-biological and/or disembodied entities, which exhibit the function of intelligence.

Machine-learning systems excel at prediction and governments have much to gain from applying algorithms to public policy, but controversies loom. (The Economist, 2016). Nevertheless, what does such critical thinking, singularity, algorithmic forces  & artificial intelligence have to do with public policy - a legal, ethical & moral dispensation by the executive branch of government, but emerging from constitutional, legislative and administrative laws, vis-à-vis a class of issues in a manner consistent with institutional customs?

Key words: critical thinking, public policy, algorithm, singularity, artificial intelligence

See lecture here or  

https://www.academia.edu/35490358/Artificial_Intelligence_Heralds_Titanic_Prospects_for_Humankind_-_Public_Policy_Trajectories_Financing_Developing_and_Regulating_Artificial_Intelligence_to_ensure_Public_Safety_in_a_Terror-Ridden_World_RL_Vol_XI_No_CCCX_MMXVII