Hydrogen has emerged as one of the focal points of international interest on decarbonization. Many countries formulated strategies for the hydrogen economy. South Korea established its hydrogen ...policy framework in 2005, which outlined specific visions, objectives, tactics, and expected outcomes. However, following fourteen years of modest advancement, the government adopted a revised policy direction, culminating in the “2019 Hydrogen Economy Roadmap.” This new roadmap adjusted goals and strategies to better align with contemporary demands. With this compelling case, we aim to analyze the evolution of South Korea's hydrogen policy over this period, highlighting the key drivers behind the renewed emphasis on hydrogen, utilizing the multi-level perspective framework. The outcomes of this comparative study are poised to contribute in understanding of energy transition efforts for traditional industries.
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•South Korea's two national strategies for hydrogen economy in 2005 and 2019 are compared from the multi-level perspective.•The ‘05 and ‘19 strategies show a discontinuous evolution.•There found persisted and shared visions such as sustainability, economic perspectives, and energy security.•The ‘19 Roadmap is more realistic and concrete, due to technological maturity and industrial readiness, which lacked in 2005.
The signing of the 2002 United Nations' Trafficking Protocol marked a major global shift in efforts to combat human trafficking. Based on its four pillars (4Ps) (i.e. prevention, protection, ...prosecution, & partnership), all signatory member States were expected (legally binding) to model their response strategies around the 4Ps, which also align with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals number 5 (i.e. gender equality) and 8 (i.e. decent work and economic growth). As a signatory member of the Trafficking Protocol and rated as a Tier 1 country, Canada is presented as a case study of how, despite the considerable resources and initiatives being directed to combatting human trafficking, there remain notable gaps and limitations in the country's efforts to combat human trafficking. Drawing on a wide range of examples and available data, it is suggested that Canada's effort resembles a "quilted patchwork." The article concludes with several recommendations on how Canada can address the various limitations and close the gaps across the respective pillars.
Governments worldwide are strategically investing in artificial intelligence (AI) to improve public services and streamline internal operations. In this context, national AI strategies play a pivotal ...role. This study uses combined qualitative research methods analyzing 28 national AI strategies (i.e., the texts). Our aim is to delve into how governments define and position AI applications within the public sector. Specifically, the study explores how the texts convey AI's application in this context employing a public value(s) perspective. Its discursive analytical approach coupled with a comprehensive take on public value theory (Moore, 1995) engenders novel insights into national discourses on AI in the public sector. Against this background we draw on public administration and policy research in our analysis of three dominant discourses that we identify in the texts, i.e. empowerment through information, enhanced administrative practices, and improved service delivery. We find that the discourses involve different positions in relation to governments' use of AI and depend on particular actors and types of public service. Commonly, they concern government objectives to tackle critical societal issues through AI, such as in the areas of health and social care and employment. In particular, the discourse of enhanced administrative practices commonly positioned AI as a tool to optimize internal processes, resource allocation, and organizational management. On the other hand, the discourse of improved service delivery similarly placed public services front and center, while the discourse of empowerment through information framed AI as being able to enhance citizens' service experiences. Interestingly, discourses emphasizing the policymaking function, i.e., AI applied to the development of public policy,—receives limited attention. Our findings underscore strategic prioritizations. While efficiency and service delivery dominate the discourse, citizen engagement remains underemphasized. We argue that policymakers must strike a balance, ensuring AI aligns with broader societal outcomes while addressing democratic imperatives.
•AI strategies express intentions to accelerate governments' adoption of AI applications.•Many strategies frame the use of AI in government as a decision-support tool.•The study finds discursive nuances concerning the strategic use of AI in government.•Certain public values envisioned from AI use, viz. efficiency, agility, and inclusion.•Viewing AI only as automation may constrain other innovative solutions for public value.
•Over 130 countries have produced national development plans to show their priorities for achieving SDGs.•Many of the plans are a product of national consensus processes although some are produced ...mainly technocratic elites.•The five year (medium term) plan is the most popular although some countries have longer term visions documents.•National Planning Commissions are back and play a lead role although Economic Ministries still dominate the process.•A majority of national plans lack financing strategies a factor that can affect implementation and achievement of SDGs.
The number of countries with a national development plan has more than doubled, from about 62 in 2006 to 134 in 2018. More than 80 per cent of the global population now lives in a country with a national development plan of one form or another. This is a stunning recovery of a practice that had been discredited in the 1980s and 1990s as a relic of directed economies and state-led development. Several factors have fostered this re-emergence but from about 2015 the momentum for producing plans has accelerated, driven in part by a need to plan for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Based on an analysis of 107 national development plans, and drawing insights from 10 case study countries, this paper analyses ‘new’ national development planning and identifies the types and content of the plans, and their implications for the sustainable development agenda. The paper generates a typology of the new national plans, analyses their characteristics and explores the ways in which the new national development planning and the SDGs may interact. The study finds greater ownership and political control of the processes leading to plan production. It also finds that the plans vary in terms of the evidence used, the degree of internal consistency between different parts of the same plan, the process of developing the plan (inclusive or elite-driven), and the extent to which they are clear on how they will be financed. In contrast to 20th-century national development plans the new-generation plans are often underpinned by theories of collaborative rationality rather than by linear rationality. This new generation of national plans has been neglected by academic researchers and merits much greater examination, especially to understand the ways in which their implementation can enhance the achievement of the SDGs.
Geographic peripheries in Italy are defined by the government in an institutional document as areas affected by increasing depopulation, high rates of demographic ageing, geographic marginality, and ...various degrees and forms of inequalities in the provision of services and infrastructure. These so-called ‘inner areas’ are identified based on the level of accessibility to three citizenship rights (mobility, education, and health) and characterized by nonuniform socio-economic and infrastructure conditions, a heterogeneity that raises questions about the criteria used for their definition. This paper therefore proposes an alternative approach to describe the features of marginality related to mobility, demographic, and socio-economic conditions in Italy, discussing the institutional classification of the inner areas. Based on the literature review, we select a set of indicators to identify different geographies of marginality. Combining them in a cluster analysis, we identify the most disadvantaged territories in terms of mobility, demographics, and economics, highlighting different forms of marginality that challenge territorial cohesion policies and address more selective and place-based measures.
•Proposing an approach to assess different conditions of socio-spatial marginality in Italy.•Applying a cluster analysis based on socio economic, demographic and mobility indicators.•Highlighting geographies of marginal territories in Italy.•Defining fragile territories as places where conditions of marginality overlap.
The evolution of the digital economy and society is reflected in an overall increase in the economic efficiency and improvement in all areas. It is essential that the progress of the digital society ...is constantly monitored for a vision of the implementation of the strategies pursued. This article presents an analysis of the digital society from the perspective of the priorities established by the National Strategy for the Digital Agenda 2020 following the stage of digitalization of the Romanian economy in relation to European trends. The paper presents the evolution of the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) indicators and of the National Strategy on Digital Agenda for Romania (SNADR) indicators between 2016 and 2019, highlighting the situation in Romania, providing a theoretical basis for strategic guidelines, as well as a comparation between DESI and SNADR indicators.
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