Perspectives on Global Affairs – serie

Drawing on fieldwork conducted in both countries between late 2023 and 2024, the chapters, written by a diverse group of contributors from the private sector, government, civil society, and academia, offer fresh insights into emerging trends in good governance.

This volume discusses the negotiation processes that failed to resolve the Venezuelan crisis between 2014 and 2024, proposing an analytical framework to explain conflict intractability. The core argument is that negotiation collapse is likely to happen in a deadlock scenario under conditions of a Hard (polarization), Unstable (fragmentation), Self-Serving (profiteering) Stalemate (HUSSS). The book explores how the presence of HUSSS in negotiations impacts conflict intractability, signaling the need to rethink the conceptualization of intractability from a protracted space to a dynamic one.                “Venezuelan Negotiations – From Deadlock to Collapse (2014-2024) provides a comprehensive look at the repeated efforts to resolve the conflict between the autocratic regime of Nicolas Maduro and Venezuela's democratic opposition, putting it in a theoretical framework that helps to explain why this conflict has proven so intractable.  It is an invaluable resource for anyone seeking to understand one of the Western Hemisphere's most tragic conflicts today.”  Francis Fukuyama, Stanford University

This book offers a comparative analysis of how Special Economic Zones (SEZs) shaped the early trajectories of market transition and development in China, Russia, and Vietnam. It investigates how variations in institutional capacity, governance structures, and state-market relations conditioned the ability of SEZs to serve as catalysts for reform and engines of growth. Conceived as experimental arenas within broader transformation processes, SEZs showcase both the possibilities and limitations inherent in systemic change—succeeding where coherent institutions, adaptive governance, and investment converged, and faltering where these foundations were weak or absent. By discussing these experiences, the book draws broader lessons for contemporary emerging economies navigating the challenges of structural transformation and offers analytical insights on institutional dynamics underpinning sustainable development and deeper economic integration.