The Jamaican government, led by Prime Minister Bruce Golding, recently announced that it would extradite Christopher Dudus Coke to the United States on charges of trafficking drugs and guns. Shortly after the announcement, violent clashes broke out between the Jamaican security forces attempting to apprehend Coke and the armed gangs in his stronghold of Tivoli Gardens in west Kingston. As of May 26, The New York Times reported a death toll of 44 in the clash.
How Can Jamaica Free Itself from Gang Politics?
Center for the Study of African Economies Podcast
The Center for the Study of African Economies (CSAE), a research center in the Oxford Economics Department, held its annual conference in March. CSAE Communications Officer Karin Loudon took some time during the conference to talk to Paul about charter cities. You can listen to the resulting podcast here.
21 May 2010 | Brandon Fuller | Permalink |
D+C Interview
Paul recently spoke at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Berlin where he had a chance to speak with the editor of Germany’s Development and Cooperation Journal editor Hans Dembowski. You can read the full interview here.
HD: Isn’t the idea of starting a new city and deliberately defining new rules undemocratic and authoritarian?
PR: Rules may be legitimate to people because they voted for officials who made the rules. The same rules may be legitimate to others because they opted to move to a place where they apply. Many migrants respect the rules in destination countries. Nobody should be forced to come to what I’ve called a charter city, but more poor people should have the choice of moving somewhere with more opportunities. Charter cities would eventually develop systems of full democratic participation. Right now, the world needs more healthy new cities to accept the millions who want a change.
Charter Cities and Potential Migration
Since the fall of 2009, Gallup has been releasing results from a worldwide survey conducted between 2007 and 2009. The survey suggests that roughly 700 million people worldwide would move permanently to another country if given the chance.
Gallup estimates that 38% of adults from sub-Saharan African countries would make a permanent move if they could. The desire to move tended to be stronger among people in countries with medium to low Human Development Index (HDI) scores compared to people from countries with high HDI scores. Of the residents in the developing world who would like to move permanently to another country, 80% would like to move to developed countries like the United States, Canada, France, and Spain.
Center for Global Development Q&A
Paul answers questions about charter cities from Center for Global Development vice president Lawrence MacDonald.
Q: To some people, this is going to sound like a new version of colonialism or imperialism. Is it?
A: Let me pose a related question: Suppose a family from Haiti is granted the right to live in Vancouver as permanent residents but not as Canadian citizens. Is it colonialism or imperialism to offer this option to them? Or for them to accept? Because the family would be free to make the choice about whether to live in Canada, the answer is plainly no.
In the same way, charter cities are based entirely on voluntary actions. Only a country that wants to establish a charter city will do so. Only people who want to live and work under the rules specified in the city’s charter will move there. Free choice is essential for the legitimacy of the rules in a charter city. It is also what makes a charter city very different from colonial occupation.
Here & Now Interview
Robin Young, host of WBUR’s Here & Now, recently interviewed Paul about charter cities, specifically the notion that charter cities could create more choices for Haitians.
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