Praised by international organizations, Slovenia and Estonia constitute the most successful post-communist economies. These two states are likewise success stories when it comes to democratic consolidation and state-building. Slovenia has opted for gradual market reforms guided by social justice while Estonia quickly reformed its Soviet economy into one of the most liberal in the world. Still, I argue that their roots of success coincide. Crucial opportunities of civil initiatives were never repressed in Slovenia and Estonia during the Communist period as in several other Yugoslav and Soviet republics. Distinct national identities continued to form and re-form during these decades and became deliberated rather than repressed, later strengthening reform capacities in decisive areas. In Estonia, national identities were further emphasized by ethically dubious processes that locked large Russian-speaking minorities out of citizenship.

Li Bennich-Björkman is Johan Skytte professor in political science at University of Uppsala, Sweden. She has published on the organisation of creativity, Organising Innovative Research, (Elsevier/Pergamon Press, 1997), on educational policies, integration and political culture. A dominant theme in her present research on Eastern Europe and post-Soviet States has been how historical and cultural legacies relate to the divergent post-communist trajectories. A particular focus has been on the three Baltic States. Within this framework, Ukraine has been included. Recent research activities have concerned the impact of the European Union on elite values and political culture in Ukraine, Bulgaria and Romania. Her latest publication is a monograph published with Palgrave/Macmillan, Political Culture under Institutional Pressure. How Institutions Transform Early Socialization, (2007), dealing mainly with the Estonian Diaspora. Articles have appeared in the Journal of Baltic Studies (2006), East European Politics and Societies (2007) and Nationalities Papers (2007) as well as Higher Education Quarterly (2007). Comparative state-building in Estonia and Latvia was addressed in a recently published volume on Building Democracy East of the Elbe (Routledge/Sage:2006).

In this session of the Shorenstein APARC Corporate Affiliate Visiting Fellows Research Presentations, the following will be presented:

Kazuhiko Ejima, "Reconstructing Japan's Public Finance"

Japan, the second largest economy in the world, is secretly facing public finance crisis with the worst debt-to-GDP ratio among developed countries. What led Japan into such crisis? How to get rid of it? In Japan, it is widely believed that raising the consumption tax is the best approach to fixing Japan’s finances. In contrast, Ejima argues, based on an assessment of the current political situation, that any new budget reconstruction plan should focus more on the expenditure side than on the revenue side, and that it should include reform of the public sector.

Naoki Hiyama, "Newspaper as an Industry:  Seeking New Business Model - Beyond Free News Website"

From the beginning of the internet age, for newspaper companies in advanced countries, revenue from print paper has declined. Still, web news sites are not profitable. Hiyama’s research presentation will explore how newspaper companies can survive in this internet age.

Kaoru Fukushima, "Present and Future Condition of Solar Power Generation Market in Japan and California"

California is enthusiastic about environment. PG&E fully cooperates with people to install solar power on rooftops. California has good geographical conditions for solar power compared to Japan. However, the diffusion of solar power in California is much smaller than that in Japan. What is the reason? What is the perspective for the future in Japan / in California? Fukushima’s research will analyze the difference from various aspects.

In this session of the Shorenstein APARC Corporate Affiliate Visiting Fellows Research Presentations, the following will be presented:

Mari Ichinomoto, "The Method for Attracting Semiconductor Industries with Fabless Policies in Japan"

Recently most local governments in Japan are exploring overseas firms who have interests to expand their business in Japan. But now other Asian countries are becoming tougher competitors. What can the local governments do to achieve their mission? Is there a good way to compete against other countries in order to achieve their goal?

Takao Isozaki, "Organization Change - Preparation for DBJ's Privatization"

The Development Bank of Japan (DBJ), one of the Japanese governmental financial institutions, will be fully privatized for 5 to 7 years. Isozaki’s research examines what kind of aspects DBJ's workers should take into account as preparation for its privatization process.

Hisashi Kanazashi, "Comparison and Analysis of US-Japan Policies for Innovation"

After catching up with developed countries and experiencing the collapse of the bubble economy, Japan has struggled to recover. The key word during the struggle was “innovation”, and the Japanese government has pushed many reforms to encourage it. However, is the reform for innovation in Japan sufficient? The goal of Kanazashi’s research is to examine it by analyzing the recent trend of start-ups and comparing policies in the United States and in Japan.

In this session of the Shorenstein APARC Corporate Affiliate Visiting Fellows Research Presentations, the following will be presented:

Atsushi Goto, "What is the Optimum Strategy for Broadcasting Companies?"

Goto’s research will describe the potential risks for broadcasters and then categorize top-tier broadcasters into several groups based on their strategies. Additionally, he will explain the optimum strategy for broadcasters, hypothetically, and the argument that he has made with experts in this area. Finally, Goto will conclude with the outlook of the broadcasting market.

Natsuki Kamiya, "Bilingual Education for Children of Immigrants"

The 1989 revision of Japan’s Immigration Law facilitated an influx of Brazilians to Japan. As a result, there are 50,000 Brazilians in the Shizuoka Prefecture. Although they have Japanese ancestry, their lack of proficiency in the Japanese language makes it difficult for them to assimilate into Japanese society. Kamiya’s research will cover bilingual education in the United States in order to make policies that will help Brazilian children learn Japanese while retaining Portuguese.

Yotaro Akamine, "Produce or Reduce? A Feasibility Study of Introducing Heat Pump Water Heaters as an Environmental Solution in California"

In 2006, a strong environmental regulation, AB32, became effective in California. Akamine’s research shows the feasibility of introducing "heat pump water heater", Japanese commercialized technology, as a solution to the environmental issue, as compared to solar photovoltaic business, which has prevailed in California.

Xiangning Zhang, "The Practices of the American Energy Policies -- American Major Oil Companies' Development Strategies and Practices"

The high oil prices ushered in the third global energy crisis. The United States has issued and put in force a series of new policies and acts to try to establish an energy jurisprudence through legislation. It is now a transitional period in the new energy age, where oil and gas still play a critical role in the energy consumption structure, but alternative resources are getting more attention. Major oil companies are becoming super giants in the integrated energy industry. The United States faces a long road ahead until it reaches parity with its European neighbors in new energy policies and practices.

In this session of Shorenstein APARC Corporate Affiliate Visiting Fellows Research Presentations, the following will be presented:

Soichi Yushina, "The Role of Intellectual Property in the Innovation System"

Some Japanese working in the intellectual property field believe that in Silicon Valley (1) worker mobility is very fast and (2) trade secret is not protected sufficiently. Yushina’s research will try to answer if this is true or a myth?

Xuteng Hu, "Corporate Governance of China's Overseas Listed State-Controlled Companies"

Corporate governance is always the most complicated and difficult issue in both theoretical research and practical management of modern companies in the world. Corporate governance has become a hot issue in economic community, especially after Enron's bankruptcy. Hu's research focuses on the corporate governance of these companies and their operation, taking into account the rules on their relationship with parent companies, appointment of executives, formation of board of directors and supervisor board, information disclosure, and protection of medium and small investors' interests.

Noriaki Komori, "Key Success Factors for Online Commerce"

Amazon.com is the largest pure-online commerce company. In researching what the key success factors are, Komori describes their customer centric culture and technology to develop their system.

As President 1999-2007, Dr. Vike-Freiberga has been instrumental in achieving Latvia's membership in the European Union and NATO. She is active in international politics, was named Special Envoy to the Secretary General on United Nations reform and was official candidate for UN Secretary General in 2006.

Born 1937 in Riga, Latvia, Vaira Vike and her family fled the country in 1945 to escape the Soviet occupation and became refugees in Germany and Morocco. After arriving in Canada in 1954, she obtained a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Toronto and her Ph.D. in experimental psychology in 1965 from McGill University in Montreal. She speaks Latvian, English, French, German and Spanish.

Dr. Vike-Freiberga has been Professor of psychology at the University of Montreal, president of various Canadian professional and scholarly associations, incl. Académie I of the Royal Society of Canada, Vice-Chairman, Science Council of Canada, Chair, Human Factors Panel, NATO Science Program. She is member of the Council of Women World Leaders.

She has published ten books and numerous articles, essays and book chapters in addition to her extensive speaking engagements. Dr. Vike-Freiberga has received many highest Orders of Merit, medals and awards including the 2005 Hannah Arendt Prize for political thought for her advocacy of social issues, moral values, European historical dialogue and democracy, and the 2006 Walter-Hallstein Prize for discourse on the identity and future of the EU.

Since July 1960, Dr. Vike-Freiberga has been married to Imants Freibergs, Professor of Informatics at the University of Quebec in Montreal and since 2001 President of the Latvian Information and Communication Technologies Association.

This seminar is jointly sponsored by the Forum on Contemporary Europe and the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies.