It’s a Material World

What parts of our culture do we value and want to protect? This pamphlet explores the future of heritage conservation, and why to survive it must involve everyone.

The choice of what things to conserve and how to conserve them simultaneously reflects and creates social value. This pamphlet demonstrates the social value of caring for the material world, and highlights the importance of conservation as being integral not only to the culture and heritage sector but also to social well-being.  

How things are kept and cared for demonstrates their significance not just as objects, buildings or landscapes, but in terms of how much value we place on them. Conservation sustains and refreshes the values of the past – giving us an understanding of where we have come from – and reflects values for the present and the future.

In addition to providing recommendations for conservators, this pamphlet calls for action from policymakers, cultural professionals and the public as well. All of these groups have an interest in conservation and caring for the material world, and they all have a part to play in connecting conservation to some of the major challenges we face as a society, both in the UK and internationally. Caring for the material world is an essential part of the maintenance of our public realm. It is rooted in the profession of conservation. We need both to protect that profession, and put the values of conservation at the heart of policy thinking.

Turkey in Europe: The economic case for Turkish membership of the European Union

This new FPC pamphlet supported by Business for New Europe makes the economic and business case for Turkish membership of the European Union and outlines the political challenges faced by both sides in making accession a reality.

Edited by Adam Hug, it contains contributions from: Rt Hon David Miliband MP, Rt Hon William Hague MP, Commissioner Olli Rehn, Roland Rudd (Chairman, Business for New Europe) Dr Mehmet Ugur (University of Greenwich), Prof Refik Erzan (Bogazici University), Dr Bahadir Kaleagasi (TUSIAD, the Turkish business association), Sir Julian Horn Smith, (UK Co-Chair, Turkish British Business Council) and Dr Gareth Winrow (formerly of Istanbul Bilgi University).

by The Foreign Policy Centre

Renewing American Leadership

After Iraq, we may be tempted to turn inward. That would be a mistake. The American moment is not over, but it must be seized anew. We must bring the war to a responsible end and then renew our leadership — military, diplomatic, moral — to confront new threats and capitalize on new opportunities. America cannot meet this century’s challenges alone; the world cannot meet them without America.

by Barack Obama, Foreign Affairs

Beyond banking: What the financial crisis means for the EU

The world is in the midst of a financial crisis which will have far-reaching implications for the EU – not just for the region’s immediate economic outlook, but also for the future of the euro, financial regulation, economic reform and global governance.

The crisis will also impact the EU’s ambitions to tackle climate change as well as its relations with the US, Russia and China. This CER policy brief examines how the financial crisis will affect the politics and economics of the EU.

Centre for European Reform

Is EU competition policy and obstacle to innovation and growth?

European countries need to improve their record of developing high-tech businesses if they are to prosper. This was explicitly recognised in the EU’s Lisbon agenda of economic reforms launched in 2000.

The reasons for Europe’s poor record of innovation are complex, but one factor may be competition policy. In this CER essay, Simon Tilford argues that EU competition rules are less favourable to innovation and hence competition than their advocates believe. 

Essay by Simon Tilford, Centre for European Reform

Privatization - Reviving the Momentum

Privatization - Reviving the Momentum calls for a new wave of privatizations, which could net the exchequer in excess of £20bn. Given the worsening state of the economy and the increasing tightness of the public finances, the report notes that such an inflow of funds would be very welcome.

In addition to the revenues generated for the government, a new wave of privatizations would also deliver significant operational benefits. Previous privatizations have delivered a wide range of improvements, including increased investment, lower prices, greater choice and better service for customers - as well as underpinning billions of pounds worth of economic activity. The leading privatization candidates identified by the report include the Royal Mail, Channel 4, BBC Worldwide, Scottish Water, Northern Ireland Water, Glas Cymru, the National Air Traffic Control System, as well as government stakes in British Energy and the Nuclear industry.

After the Apocalypse

A collection of perspectives on the correct response to the credit crisis and economic downturn from a group of distinguished experts.

by Demos

Network Citizens

Humans are social animals, spinning intricate webs of relationships with friends, colleagues, neighbours and enemies. These networks have always been with us, but the advance of networking technologies, changes to our interconnected economy and an altering job market have super-charged the power of networking, catapulting it to the heart of organisational thinking.