This thesis answers the following research question: to what extent do the Chinese government and Chinese companies contribute to the development of Pakistan’s domestic wind energy industry through...Show moreThis thesis answers the following research question: to what extent do the Chinese government and Chinese companies contribute to the development of Pakistan’s domestic wind energy industry through technology transfer (TT)? In order to assess this question, I use China as a benchmark for successful TT in the wind industry. The main finding is that there is evidence that the Chinese government and Chinese companies contribute to the development of Pakistan’s wind energy industry through TT. The Chinese government does so through its involvement in several Pakistani knowledge institutions. As for Chinese companies, they go to great lengths to employ and train Pakistani engineers, and one Chinese company even works together with a Pakistani engineering company. That being said, this thesis also finds that Chinese companies are outcompeting Pakistani companies. This prevents Pakistani companies from gaining valuable learning experiences and may also dissuade them from investing in wind-related technologies. However, this is not some scheme by the Chinese government to hollow out a fledgling Pakistani industry. Instead, it is a result of ineffective policies by the Pakistani government itself. This thesis contains three important takeaways. First, it shows that, when it comes to providing training opportunities for locals in Pakistan, Chinese companies follow their government’s official objectives. Second, it underlines earlier findings by Schneider et al. (2021, 25) by showing that local actors play a crucial role in determining the outcomes of Chinese foreign economic activities. Chinese actors cannot single-handedly ensure TT in their foreign operations; the interactive nature of TT also demands strenuous efforts by companies and government institutions in the receiving countries. Third, by using China as a benchmark, this thesis also shows us that—when it comes to developing a domestic wind energy industry—a highly coordinated, state-led approach like the one adopted by China is more effective than Pakistan’s market-driven approach.Show less
The Waldegrave Initiative is the name given to a policy introduced in 1992 by Lord Waldegrave, an English Conservative politician who served in the British Cabinet from 1990 – 1997. Under this...Show moreThe Waldegrave Initiative is the name given to a policy introduced in 1992 by Lord Waldegrave, an English Conservative politician who served in the British Cabinet from 1990 – 1997. Under this policy, all government departments were encouraged to re-examine what had been previously regarded as particularly sensitive records, with the objective of declassifying a greater quantity of information. This initiative is widely regarded as the precursor to the UK’s Freedom of Information Act 2000, and it set a precedent of declassification across Western democracies. The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British organisation formed 22 July 1940 by Winston Churchill to conduct espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance in occupied Europe against the Axis powers as well as to aid local resistance movements. As Mark Seaman put it, the SOE was formed to “foster occupied Europe’s resistance groups” and ensure that “Nazi occupation wasn’t an easy thing”. It operated in all countries or former countries occupied by or attacked by the Axis forces, except where demarcation lines were agreed with Britain's principal allies – namely the Soviet Union and the United States of America. Initially it was also involved in the formation of the Auxiliary Units, a top secret "stay-behind" resistance organisation, which would have been activated in the event of a German invasion of mainland Britain. To those who were part of the SOE or liaised with it, it was sometimes referred to as "the Baker Street Irregulars" (after the location of its London headquarters). It was also known as "Churchill's Secret Army" or the "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare". For security purposes various branches, and sometimes the organisation as a whole, were concealed behind names such as the "Joint Technical Board" or the "Inter-Service Research Bureau" as well as fictitious branches of the Air Ministry, Admiralty, or War Office. This dispersion in part accounts for the disparity and inconsistency of the records currently held in the National Archives in Kew, London, which will be discussed in further detail later in this thesis. Prior to the Waldegrave Initiative, little archival material relating to the SOE was in public circulation or publicly available. However, a limited number of oral testimonies by SOE contemporaries were in circulation and a small number of historical works and memoirs were published. Following release of records under the Waldegrave Initiative from 1992 onwards, a range of new publications have appeared. However, to date, little analysis has been carried out to identify the impact of such previously classified information on this historiography. Through such analysis, this thesis aims to add to the body of knowledge around the Waldegrave Initiative and its implications. Due to the size of the SOE, it is impracticable to analyse in detail the whole of the SOE’s activities in the time and resources available. Hence, this thesis takes one SOE related activity – Freshman – and analyses in detail the scale and scope of the potential for the records released under Waldegrave to impact its historiography. From this analysis, key impacts and conclusions are drawn. It should be noted however that, as this thesis only has the scope for one case study, any conclusions drawn based on the evidence and this will limit analysis given in the following prose. This does not mean the research undertaken for, the analysis, or conclusions of this thesis are not important. It is overdue for such an assessment of the potential use of these records released under Waldegrave for the SOE historiography to take place. In a boarder context, this assessment helps us understand the importance of such government transparency schemes for re-evaluation and amendment to the existing historiography.Show less
