Assessment of the Trend and Development of Regional Economy in Central Asia

Assessment the trend of regional economic development is significant to address the economic situation and developmental policy. This study assesses the regional economic development in Central Asia since 1992. Several developmental indicators were applied. The results demonstrated that the regional economy was gradually growing. Relatively, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan enjoyed a rapid economic growth. Production of oil increased in Kazakhstan as exporting rose to China whereas declined in Uzbekistan – shifted to natural gas. Central Asia is moving gradually toward industrial and trade economic sector. Nevertheless, enormous natural resources were exported from Central Asia to China and Russia, and strong economic relationship was established with Europe, India and Algeria. Therefore, this research is significant for general understanding in economic growth of Central Asia, and it may be helpful for further studies.

Petani Karawang Melawan Kemiskinan Dalam Kuasa-Politik ; Studi Observasi Partisipatif Tahun 2004-2005

Agricultural world was a leading sector in longterm development in the past goverment (Orde Baru). Agricultural sector was always as a priority in every stages of five years goverment developmental planning. Unfortuneatly those regulation concept and theories of the goverment only putting farmers as an object not as subject in order to develop political images for commercial agencies. Goverment developmental policy in New Order, which top-dwon system, induced farmer dependency especially in Karawang district. Therefore, most of them start to build a contrary system to against the policies. This studies using participatory observational, interviews, and intensif dialogue among farmers in Karawang district. Literature data analysis using modernity, developmental, societies and political sociological theories. The reformation era become a first momentum for Karawang’s farmers to reorganize and institutionalize their ”heiding resistance”. After five years of reformation, their organization became participative and independent. Through this organization, farmers capable to create diplomacy, democracy, advocacy, networking and strengthen literacy in order to reorganize their political empowerment.

Lucien Paye’s commune Reform

After the Allied liberation of Algeria in late 1942, de Gaulle’s provisional government sought, as did Britain, to cling onto empire through a developmental policy. A 1943 reform commission focused in particular on the problem of a peasant ‘Malthusian’ crisis in which demographic growth outran basic food supplies, an agenda that became even more pressing after the 1945 famine and bloody revolt in the Sétif region. A young technocrat, Lucien Paye, appointed Director of Reform, formed plans to tackle the peasant problem through a programme, the Plan d’action communale (PACs), of economic modernization, closely tied to a communal reform. A case study of the PACs in the Chelif shows how the initiative was hamstrung by lack of investment, but conservative politicians brought the programme to an abrupt halt in February 1948, and unleashed a phase of mass electoral fraud. This gave a further lease of life to the moribund caid-CM system, and strengthened the nationalist currents that favoured preparation of an armed revolt.

The developmental policy of halal product guarantee in the paradigm of maqāṣid sharī`ah in Indonesia

The guarantee of halal products that meet the quality, hygiene, health and safety standards has become a primary need for every person to protect religion and soul. This study aims to elaborate government policies related to regulations in supporting the development of halal industry and its barriers to implement halal product guarantee. In addition, this study also tries to reveal halal industrial development strategies. This article is qualitative research using library approach. The research findings show that to guarantee halal product in a systematic and comprehensive way for Indonesian society, the government has issued JPH Law which contains maqāṣid sharī`ah values. Besides, it is found difficulties in the process of obtaining halal certification faced by the producers. This study implies that it still needs rules from the government to support the implementation of JPH Law so that it can encourage the development of halal industry, which finally can establish Indonesia as the epicentre of the world sharia economy.

Cultural Heritage as a Means for Local Development in Mediterranean Historic Cities—The Need for an Urban Policy

Urban and regional development have not stopped engaging, troubling, and dividing the international scientific community and national and regional policy-making bodies. The wide range of consequences brought on by the current multifaceted downturn at all geographical scales requires the continuous investigation of practices and the designation of innovative mechanisms or tools to formulate new developmental axes for action, able to respond to contemporary needs and challenges. This holds true particularly in an age, such as the one we are currently experiencing, of network organization of infrastructures and functions dominated by the knowledge economy. Within this framework, we estimate that the response to an attempt to restructure production in Greece and increase support for its cities and regions could be sought by setting up collaboration networks with cultural heritageand support creative entrepreneurship as key developmental “elements”, focusing on strategies for recovery, modernization, and a return to historic cities and regional settlements. Specifically, using inputs from a collaboration project among historic cities in the Mediterranean, and an ongoing research in fragmented insular regions with many historic cities and settlements in the Aegean, we maintain that the goal of restoring local communities could be sought though initiatives or actions to preserve and diffuselocal traditions and know-how in the framework of an overall urban developmental policy capable of ensuring ongoing collaboration and networking at all geographical levels and categories of space. In this rationale, this article attempts to contribute to the debate by stating proposals in the framework of principles and guidelines that should govern the formulation of this urban policy, which is still missing in Greece.