Administering Empire. Business Diplomacy in Early Modern Sweden: The Cases of Abraham Cabiljau and the Gothenburg Company

The article illustrates the importance of business diplomacy practised by free agents, who navigated and negotiated between northern European empires for widespread commercial, legal and administrative developments. Abraham Cabiljau’s career is an example from the early modern Swedish empire, which stands on the threshold of a new era. In the Swedish empire, Cabiljau was involved in several different sectors, from military recruitment to the development of state accounting and administration of international trade. He represents the Swedish empire’s vast economic relationships with international merchant networks operating in a broad spectrum of military and commercial arenas. The Swedish empire was economically dependent on the financial resources of the merchants in Amsterdam, and economic prosperity was not the sole contribution of these merchants. The education, knowledge and connections provided by Cabiljau greatly enhanced the administration and organisation of Sweden’s international trade by importing a new legal mindset and organisational culture. In return, northern mining resources and Baltic commerce were alluring for Dutch merchants. We argue that the modelling of international organisations was an essential part of Swedish economic development. However, the first Swedish trading companies remained an experimental attempt to transplant the Dutch East India Company (VOC) model to Sweden. Individuals like Cabiljau represent key actors who ignited, taught and promoted commercial law development in Sweden, on which international commerce was later built upon, with long-lasting impacts.

Dynamics of Interests and Positions in the Field of Economic Integration of Russia and Belarus (2019–2020)

Introduction. Economic cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus is based on the platforms of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Union State, and the Eurasian Economic Union. These associations contribute to the identification and promotion of promising business niches and areas of economic integration, taking into account the interests of the participating countries. The Union State, embodying a more multidimensional idea of integration, encourages us to turn to a deeper and more substantive analysis of the relationship between various factors and spheres. The purpose of the article is to identify positive and negative constants and dominants of economic interaction between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus in the general course of integration processes in the CIS and in the context of current challenges of modernity for both countries and the Union State. Materials and Methods. The main research methods are diachronic analysis, event analysis and the method of studying documents. The main sources are materials posted on the Internet resources of integration associations with the participation of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. Results. The key actors – state and non-state participants in the economic integration of Russia and Belarus – are identified, the degree of their involvement in integration processes and the dynamics of interaction are characterized. The most attractive traditional spheres of Russian-Belarusian integration are shown, as well as new vectors determined by current needs. Discussion and Conclusion. A moderate positive scenario is considered the most likely in the field of economic integration of Russia and Belarus. The deepening of integration is determined by the content and orientation of the “road maps”, the established economic relationships and political motives in the internal and external spheres. However, the economy in the process of union building largely continues to follow politics. The necessity of closer coupling of efforts within the framework of the CGB and the EAEU is shown. At the same time, the “dissolution” of the Union State in the EAEU and subordination to it in the logic of integration development are assessed as undesirable.

Tun Mahathir’s administration of Malaysia’s relationship with Bangladesh: A preliminary appraisal

This study examines the pertinency and materiality of Malaysia’s affiliation with Bangladesh. It presents the picture of deep reciprocal relationships in trading and investment, workforce issues, and the societal, religious and cultural exchange between Malaysia and Bangladesh that deserve elevated research to get ideas of a further snapshot. The historiographic approach and literature-based qualitative method apply to this research and uses written primary and secondary sources to gather information. Several published texts and archival documents examine to achieve the objective. In terms of significance, the result of this study would craft a narrative of a new spear of the economic relationships, societal circumstance, and cultural contact that especially evident during Tun Mahathir administration when he served Malaysia as the fourth Prime Minister that would deserve supplementary study. Furthermore, it would serve to understand the characteristics of the subsequent engagements of Malaysia with Bangladesh.

Through Exchange: Karatani Compared With Marx

The following paper has as its object the political philosophy of K. Karatani, in particular its relationship with the work of Marx. Japanese philosopher, in fact, reinterprets some elements of Marxian theory in the light of Kantian categories, hybridizing the ethical and moral theory of the latter with the critique of the political economy of the former. The result of Karatani's project can be seen, in particular, in two works. With the first, Transcritique, Karatani moves into the realm of philosophy to construct a method that holds the two theoretical poles together. The concept of 'Transcritique', in fact, represents the junction between Kantian and Marxian insights. With the second work, 'The Structure of World History', the Japanese philosopher shifts the analytical focus from ethics to economics, proposing a different interpretation of capitalism and its historical cycles. The shift of the observation of the capitalist system from the sphere of production to that of exchange represents the analytical novelty. Carrying through to the end the methodology developed in the previous work, Karatani traces back to exchange all the productive, institutional and political dynamics produced over time. Cycles of accumulation thus become cycles of exchange. The author, in fact, determines a correspondence between the specific modes of exchange and the consequent political structures, highlighting the centrality that money occupies, both in the theoretical elaboration and in political reality. The prevailing mode of production, based on the exchange of commodities, relies on the absolute mobility of money and on the strength of the state political institution, which acts as a hinge between the global dimension of exchanges and the territorial need for the appropriation of surplus-value. Karatani's critique is embodied in a political proposal, articulated through two key figures: community and cosmopolitanism. With the first term, the philosopher opposes the materiality of human relationships based on reciprocity to the abstract equivalence of economic relationships. By the second term, he shows the need for an extended political practice in which the pursuit of local freedom goes hand in hand with the realization of global justice. The paper traces these themes both through direct exposure of Karatani's work and by offering critical comparisons with other authors who have addressed similar issues. Finally, the purpose of this paper is to emphasize the originality of the Japanese author's philosophical-historical work, suspended between utopia and pragmatism, also through criticism, in order to highlight its strengths and underline its potential weaknesses.

Methodology of Research on the Demand for Development of Transport Infrastructure and Rolling Stock for Perishable Goods Transportation

In the context of globalisation of economic relationships, intensification of transportation and technological solutions, the methodology of research and development of transport infrastructure requires improvement and adaptation to dynamically changing conditions of the transportation market.The objective of the work is to formalise and to develop a methodology for studying transport infrastructure, including specialised isothermal rolling stock. The initial data on cargo turnover were processed by the methods of mathematical statistics, and the technical parameters of innovative isothermal rolling stock were substantiated using the methods of T. Saaty analytic hierarchy process, expert assessment, and update engineering design process.The article provides an analysis of the cargo turnover of perishable goods transported by railway refrigerated transport in Russia in terms of volumes, types of rolling stock, and origin. The main origin-destination cargo flows are presented by types of transportation (domestic, transit, export, import transport operations). It has been determined that key factors in development of isothermal rolling stock for transportation of perishable goods in the transport system of the country refer to transportation of meat, fish, beer, soft drinks, juices in the segment of domestic transportation. The analysis shows that there are no structural and quantitative shifts in terms of types of transportation and types of cargo.The strategy for development of vehicles for transportation of perishable goods and the methodology are presented in a block diagram, in sections: «statement of the research problem», «decision-making stages», «decision implementation methods and algorithms». It is shown that the problem includes not only development of stationary railway infrastructure and of stages in development of isothermal rolling stock, but also the need to solve organisational, technical, technological, regulatory, and legal problems, as well as tariff regulation.The issues of methodology for designing an innovative isothermal rolling stock are considered referring to possible prospects for its development and areas of operation, as well as to a set of engineering and technological solutions. The study of linear dimensions and useful section of the loading space of various types of isothermal bodies shows the advantage of wagons and swap bodies in comparison with large-capacity refrigerated containers.It is proposed to design a prototype of innovative isothermal rolling stock on the basis of a universal isothermal swap body, configured with various types of refrigerating equipment with specified technical parameters that best meet the requirements of the modern transportation market. The areas of possible use of various types of isothermal rolling stock are analysed considering long-term forecasts for development of agricultural, fishing and processing industries.

Economic Relationships Between Selling and Rental Prices in the Italian Housing Market

In this paper the relationship between price and rent dynamics in the Italian housing market is studied. The aim is reached through the implementation of a multivariate autoregressive model (VAR), that makes it possible to explain the interdependencies of multiple time series. The analysis considers a series of macroeconomic variables in the model that in the deductive interpretation of the phenomenon and on the basis of other experiences in current literature, were evaluated as potential keys to understanding the relationship between prices and rents. The variables selected, along with residential realestate prices and real residential rents, were: the real short term interest rate, the time series of the annual differences between the actual and the expected Gross Domestic Product, real investments in housing. The data series cover the period from 1980 to 2008. The results obtained show some peculiarities of the Italian real estate market.

Cointegration test for the long-run economic relationships of East Africa community: evidence from a meta-analysis

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to test and analyze the equilibrium economic relationships of the East Africa Community (EAC).Design/methodology/approachTo attain the study's purpose the authors applied the Johansen cointegration test, including long-run structural modeling (LRSM), vector-error-correlation-model (VECM) and variance-decomposition (VDC).FindingsAt I(1), both Philips‐Peron (PP) and Kwiatkowski–Phillips–Schmidt–Shin (KPSS) tests show that the East Africa member states' economies are cointegrated. The result was further substantiated by the tests based on Johansen cointegration and VECM procedures, showing significant long-run and short-run economic relations. The result further reveals that despite some uncommon issues among member states such as Tanzania and Kenya, however, their economic relationships remain significant though it is negative. Moreover, the finding revealed positive and significant short-run economic relationships between Kenya, Burundi and Rwanda.Originality/valueThe paper applies the cointegration techniques in the context of EAC. The result is likely to be adding value to the policymaker and also to the existing literature on the subject. This may trigger policy implications and open new research direction within the region and out.

The Oxford Handbook of the Jewish Diaspora

The reality of diaspora has shaped Jewish history, its demography, its economic relationships, and the politics that impacted the lives of Jews with each other and with the non-Jews among whom they lived. Jews have moved around the globe since the beginning of their history, maintaining relationships with their former Jewish neighbors, who had chosen other destinations and at the same time forging relationships in their new homes with Jews from widely different places of origin.