Joel Wickwire

The Founding Fathers debated the role that taxes should play in establishing the United States of America at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Article I of the U.S. Constitution provides that "Congress shall have the Power To lay and collect Taxes,"1 but it was not until 1913 when the Sixteenth Amendment was enacted that Congress was given the "power to lay and collect taxes on incomes"2 from citizens and their corporations. The ability of taxes to act as a force on policy was apparent early for the Federalists. James Madison wrote in Federalist 42 that "after the year 1808, the importation of slaves, and to lay an intermediate duty of ten dollars per head, as a discouragement to such importations."3 This view was not shared by all. Thomas Jefferson wrote "[t]o take from one, because it is thought that his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association."4 In today's world, taxes have become as much a part of life as death, but much more complicated. Two major issues currently being addressed that stem back to these early concerns the Founding Fathers discussed are 1) how corporate income tax is applied in the U.S. and abroad, and 2) how taxes work to influence policy in areas such as environmental protection. This blog will discuss these two tax issues in an effort to address the problems nations face when trying to provide a competitive market for domestic and international corporations to operate their businesses within. It will also explore how the mechanism of taxation provides a means to correct behavior that has been generally determined detrimental to society such as pollution. In reviewing global concerns pertaining to the taxation of industry, as was addressed by the Framers of the Constitution, it may be discovered that an organization's income could actually benefit from focusing on policy stemming from external business attributes such as eliminating pollution. Issue: Corporate Income Tax In recent history, corporations like Apple Inc. have been accused of sidestepping billions of dollars in taxes that should have been paid to the U.S. government.5 In what could be considered Jeffersonian in style, Apple Inc., along with other organizations, has chosen to seek tax relief through redefining itself as a multinational corporation, a form of transformation called inversion. "A corporate inversion is a paper transaction in which an American corporation reincorporates in a foreign nation without moving any of its operations to that country. The principle reason that a corporation will invert is to save money on taxes, in some cases as much as $60 million annually."6 Apple Inc. stands out as an example due to its rapid growth. In what might have been an evasion of millions of dollars in taxes turned out to be the evasion of billions of dollars. Individuals such as John Kerry during his presidential race in 2004 went as far as to say that he wanted all instances of inversion to be halted 500 days prior to his taking office.7 There is no question that taxation can be a powerful tool when placed into the hands of lawmakers.8 Taxes are as effective a way to attract business as they are at being a way to change it. In the past the United Kingdom, China, and Russia have provided tax incentives to nations who wish to conduct their businesses in a place where taxes may be less burdensome than in their native country.9

The United States Constitution empowers Congress “[t]o promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.”  This utilitarian view of intellectual property is aligned with 19th Century British political theorist Jeremy Bentham who contended in the spirit of legal positivism that “[p]roperty and law are born together, and die together.  Before laws were made there was no property; take laws away, and property ceases.”  Challenging modern U.S. boundaries of Intellectual Property law (IP law) was probably not President Barack Obama’s mission when enacting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) but it has manifested as one of the more intriguing and controversial issues being discussed by the medical field and the Supreme Court...

The Intelligence Community (IC) in the United States (US) is comprised of 16 different agencies that rely on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) as a legal basis to conduct surveillance.  FISA “defines the process for requesting judicial authorization for electronic surveillance of persons engaged in espionage or international terrorism against the United States on behalf of a foreign power.”  The Supreme Court of the United States has written that “no governmental interest is more compelling”  than that of national security.  This is a notion that is probably shared by most Americans...

The resurgence in recent years of domestic and international finance crimes like money laundering is being addressed through the enactment of laws aimed at combatting such behavior.  Heba Shams, The World Bank External Affairs Manager for North Africa and the Middle East, discusses in her book Legal Globalization: Money Laundering Law and Other Cases, that this type of activity is rarely confined to the borders of a particular nation in today’s international banking and business environment...

Mandatory arbitration clauses are found within legal contracts of most industries today.  Dr. Greorgios I. Zekos in his article “Constitutionality of Commerce and Maritime Arbitration”  offers a critical perspective of the increased use of alternative forms of dispute resolution such arbitration.  With an increasingly crowded court system arbitration clauses are useful when settling disputes, however, Zekos expresses the opinion that “[m]andatory arbitration threatens a basic principle of any justice system, the constitutional right to take a dispute to court.”  Can binding terms within an arbitration clause impose unconscionable terms upon an individual?

The Founding Fathers debated the role that taxes should play in establishing the United States of America at the Constitutional Convention in 1787.  Article I of the U.S. Constitution provides that “Congress shall have the Power To lay and collect Taxes,”  but it was not until 1913 when the Sixteenth Amendment was enacted that Congress was given the “power to lay and collect taxes on incomes”  from citizens and their corporations...

Studying the presence of enclave bias in the Former Yugoslavia prior to the war provides insight on the impact of intolerance on intergroup contact. Enclaves in other nations like Moldova continue to experience tensions with their neighbors. These tensions have at times slowed the progress of the peacetime negotiations being conducted there while at other times have brought the talks to a standstill with neither party willing to agree on an issue. Overtime, productive negotiations have taken place though encouraging capacity building projects rather than escalated violence. How have these talks persisted through these hard times?  How has this process been legitimized? This paper explores the nature of the enclaves in Moldova, how aspects of intergroup contact theory may contribute to facilitating negotiations that produce these integrative solutions. It is not easy for a divided nation like Moldova to seek a peaceful status qua when its neighbor Ukraine is combatting Russian, but it has.

To draw no envy, SHAKSPEARE, on thy name,
Am I thus ample to thy book and fame ;
While I confess thy writings to be such,
As neither Man nor Muse can praise too much.
-Ben Johnson
The contemporary playwright of William Shakespeare, Ben Johnson, wrote the above passage as a tribute to the bard shortly after his death.  It speaks of envy, fame and praise.  It is difficult to imagine rivaling Shakespeare at the Globe Theater but it is true, Johnson and Shakespeare had a well-documented rivalry and most certainly influenced each other to a certain extent.  It is this contemporary relationship between members of the Renaissance and early modern period I would like to focus on in this essay.  Shakespeare’s plays range from the history of the English monarchies to more creative pieces such as The Tempest.  However, almost all of his plays provoke love between unsuspecting partners and contentions between uncertain powers.  It is on the former of these two provocations that will be most prominent here.

“[T]he current system of jurisdiction is not satisfactory, since it allows several States to claim regulatory rights over one and the same situation… [resulting] in overregulation, which is harmful to the individual over whom jurisdiction is exercised, and harmful to international relations”
Establishing jurisdiction under international law, in accordance with United States (US) Law, can be a complicated matter often involving multiple layers of authoritative entities that could potentially assert their jurisdiction.  In the US, the common sources of jurisdiction are state and federal courts but this can be further broken into territorial (ratione loci) or subject matter (ratione temporis, personae, materiae) jurisdictions.

“[T]he current system of jurisdiction is not satisfactory, since it allows several States to claim regulatory rights over one and the same situation… [resulting] in overregulation, which is harmful to the individual over whom jurisdiction is exercised, and harmful to international relations”
Establishing jurisdiction under international law, in accordance with United States (US) Law, can be a complicated matter often involving multiple layers of authoritative entities that could potentially assert their jurisdiction.  In the US, the common sources of jurisdiction are state and federal courts but this can be further broken into territorial (ratione loci) or subject matter (ratione temporis, personae, materiae) jurisdictions.

The functionality of the international legal system is frustrated due to the overly complex relationships between international courts and between law enforcement agencies due to the pluralistic nature of international law. In reviewing the applicability of contemporary arguments for improving legal principles like due diligence and jurisdiction on existing international legislation and case law, this research aims at better informing practitioners of international law and politics because it is in these spheres that all nations must interact. A brief history of the problem of legal pluralism is provided followed by the development of the legal principles propositioned as being key to improving the international legal system. The analysis portion of this research project focuses on where these principles are present in various international courts and how these practices need to be emphasized. How these principles are mechanized through the operations of such agencies as International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is also discussed. This paper reveals that while the international legal system is fragmented, it is poised to embrace a higher standard of legal processes that are embedded in the principles of due diligence and jurisdictional reasonableness.

Contributed research for Professor Yonah Alexander
Recorded history has repeatedly provided tactical and strategic lessons on the nature of political relations within, between, and among nations. Numerous universal postulates for the conduct of statecraft have been offered by philosophers, politicians, scholars, and other observers reflecting on the experiences of diverse societies regarding what does and does not work.

Contributed research for Professor Yonah Alexander - Humanity has always been challenged by natural and man-made disasters. Over time, every community, country, and region has been threatened by both “mother nature” and the human instigations of extremism and violence from individuals or collective sources.
These calamities have been studied academically for many years in order to learn lessons from the past, identify potential future natural and man-made catastrophes, and arrive at recommendations for preventative policies and actions to be carried out at governmental, intergovernmental, and nongovernmental levels.

Contributed research for Yonah Alexander
Director, Inter-University Center for Terrorism Studies
Lord Palmerston, Britain’s Prime Minister, famously declared at the House of Commons in 1848: “...we have no eternal allies, and we have no eternal enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow.”1 Indeed, history teaches us that foreign policies of states are motivated by what their leaders perceive as “national interests.” Since nothing is static in evolving strategic trends, the relationships between Russia and the rest of the world have fluctuated between the status of “foe” and the status of “friend” in accordance with perceptions and considerations—on both sides—of “national interests.”

Contribute research to publication for Professor Yonah Alexander
Director, Inter-University Center for Terrorism Studies, and Senior Fellow, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies
A Generic Context
From the dawn of history, humanity has continuously been challenged by both Mother Nature and man-made disasters. The former inflicts upon societies a wide-range of calamities, including hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, tsunamis, monsoons, famine, drought, heat waves, and wildfires. From the “Great Flood” during Noah’s era to the latest earthquakes in Japan and Ecuador, these events underscore the gravity of environmental threats, from ancient to modern times.

Contributed Research to publication for Professor Yonah Alexander
Director, Inter-University Center for Terrorism Studies, and Senior Fellow, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies
From time immemorial humanity has been challenged by a wide range of man- made calamities, usually resulting from criminality, corruption, political violence, and economic and technological disasters. These events have been labeled by historians and contemporary observers as dangers bringing fear, suffering, destruction, and death. Such misfortunes were also characterized as multiple forms of “humanitarian and security crises” facing all societies...

The Industrial and American Revolutions
At the end of the 18th Century the British colonies in North America had largely an agrarian economy. Most critical manufactured goods were imported from Europe, traded for agricultural products. In the same period the Industrial Revolution in Europe was in full swing. Competition between countries’ industries was keen. The intellectual property and trade secrets of one were targets for others. British laws forbid the export or transfer of manufacturing knowledge. One aim of the spies of the Industrial Revolution, like Francis Cabot Lowell, was to improve the domestic production of manufactured goods, such as cotton.

Wickwire, Joel. 2020. “Occasionem Cognosce.” The Intelligencer. Vol. 25, No 4. Fall-Summer 2020.

The world of intellectual property law today is rife with lawsuits that would have unenforceable in the past. Apple Computer alone is party to a plethora of cases involving intellectual property, both foreign and domestic, and has been since its inception. In fact, the movie “Pirates of Silicon Valley” tells the story of how Bill Gates infiltrated Apple, learnt their innovative operating system, and then rebranded it as Windows under Microsoft.  An equally audacious effort to infiltrate an industry is documented by Robert Fortune in his 1847 book called “Three Years’ Wanderings in The Northern Provinces of China.” His story describes having been sent by the British government to China to obtain tea seeds for the purpose of relieving England’s dependency on China. However, unlike Steve Jobs, along Fortune’s journey, he was literally attacked by pirates.

Wickwire, Joel. 2020. “The British Tea Heist - Industrial Intelligence, Circa 1847." The Intelligencer. Vol. 25, No 3. Winter-Spring 2020.

In The Conduct of Intelligence in Democracies: Processes, Practices and Cultures editors Florina Cristiana Matei and Carolyn Halladay fill a gap in intelligence literature, that of a comparative study between international intelligence practices. In their words, they sought “to provide readers with international views on the role and place of (effective) intelligence in a democratic milieu” (p. xi). There are of course challenges in achieving such an objective when the subject matter of which they are investigating is by its very nature composed of classified information and secret operations. The authors offer a wide range of case studies from various regions including Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America.

Book Review, Editors: Florina Cristiana Matei and Carolyn Halladay. 2018. The Conduct of Intelligence in Democracies: Processes Practices, and Cultures. Global Security and International Studies. Spring 2020.

Andrea R Harrington’s book, International Organizations and the Law, conducts an encyclopedic examination of the nature of international organizations (IOs), providing a comprehensive investigation of historical and contemporary IOs that comprise the world’s increasingly controversial security apparatus. One of the most important themes throughout the text is the notion of legitimacy. Harrington argues that for international organizations to retain their legitimacy on the world stage, they must exhibit “elements of openness and flexibility, and an understanding of the law and rules that are applicable…” (p. 275). IOs are extremely complicated entities that perform a vast number of services within many different jurisdictions.

Book Review, Harrington, Andrea. 2018. International Organizations and the Law, Global Security and International Studies. Winter 2019

With a rise in populism and to a degree, state contraction, there are questions regarding states’ obligations to international law. Recently passed domestic laws like the controversial Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act that enables victims of state sponsored terrorism to hold those states liable for those acts are also of concern. So, to what extent is a nation-state required under international law to demonstrate due diligence in preventing domestic activity that might cause harm beyond its borders and to protect those foreign nationals under its de facto control?

Book Review, Kuleza, Joanna. 2016. Due Diligence in International Law, Global Security and International Studies. Vol 4, No 1, Spr/Sum 2019