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Begin New Search Topic Security Political Geography Europe Content Type Case Study

1. The Wider Balkan Region at the Crossroads of a New Regional Energy Matrix

Author:
Sergiu Mitrescu and Vuk Vuksanovic
Publication Date:
10-2022
Content Type:
Case Study
Institution:
Belgrade Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:
The study analyzes the challenges faced by the Balkan region from an energy perspective and describes the struggle of different actors in the energy field, manifested especially through the emergence of new transport networks. The various interconnections built between the states in the region bring hope that this area will be fully integrated into the European gas network in the coming years. The complicated history of the Balkans and the relationship with Russia, still a very present actor in the region, especially from an energy point of view, creates a complex context. The study also takes into account the places that Serbia and Romania occupy in the European energy architecture, the bilateral cooperation possibilities, the degree of dependence on gas from Russia. The study provides an opportunity to reflect on the systemic changes currently underway in the energy field and their deep geopolitical implications. The Black Sea has acquired a new regional importance, not only because of the security context created by the war in Ukraine, but also because of the change that may take place following gas discoveries in Romania’s exclusive economic zone, something that could turn the country into an important regional exporter.
Topic:
Security, Energy Policy, Regional Cooperation, and Gas
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Balkans

2. Thirty years of politico-military acquis and contribution to transparency and confidence-building in the Euro-Atlantic region

Author:
Loïc Simonet
Publication Date:
10-2022
Content Type:
Case Study
Institution:
Austrian Institute for International Affairs (OIIP)
Abstract:
In 2022, the Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC), the OSCE key decision-making body responsible for the 1st dimension of security (politico-military), commemorates the 30th anniversary of its creation. Even if this anniversary happens in midst of the most serious security crisis in Europe since the end of the Second World War, it provides with the opportunity to revisit the history of post-Cold War and the evolution of the overall security situation on our continent, and to highlight the FSC’s unique normative contribution to confidence and security building. This study, sponsored by the Austrian Delegation to the OSCE (Chair of the FSC in 2021), has been produced by Dr. Loïc Simonet, Affiliated Researcher to the oiip, who represented France at the Forum between 2008 and 2012.
Topic:
Security, Transparency, and Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe and Atlantic Ocean

3. The Contribution of Parliament's to Sustainable Development Goal 16 Through Security Sector Governance and Reform

Author:
Merle Jasper
Publication Date:
11-2021
Content Type:
Case Study
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
The United Nations’ 2030 Agenda is a global action plan for sustainable development and a key priority for the UN and its member states. Within the 2030 Agenda, SDG 16 has a pivotal role highlighting the security-development nexus and emphasizing the need for strong institutions which adhere to good governance principles. The achievement of SDG 16 requires that national security sectors are well governed, subject to civilian oversight, and respectful of human rights and the rule of law. Against this background, this case study compilation circles in on parliaments, as key oversight actors, and questions how they contribute to SDG 16 through their role in security sector governance and reform. It is based on an explorative review of four country studies on Colombian, Georgia, Nigeria and the Philippines, written by regional experts. Their observations form the foundation for a comparative analysis of common challenges and effective practices of parliaments contributing to the achievement of SDG 16.
Topic:
Security, Development, Governance, Reform, Sustainable Development Goals, Sustainability, and Parliamentarism
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, Asia, Philippines, Colombia, South America, Georgia, Nigeria, and Oceania

4. Ombuds Institutions for the Armed Forces: Selected Case Studies

Author:
William McDermott, Kim Piaget, Lada Sadiković, Mary McFadyen, Riina Turtio, Tamar Pataraia, Aida Alymbaeva, Bogdan Kryklyvenko, and Susan Atkins
Publication Date:
01-2017
Content Type:
Case Study
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
Ombuds institutions for the armed forces are key actors in establishing good governance and implementing democratic controls of the security sector. These institutions are tasked with protecting the human rights and fundamental freedoms of armed forces personnel, as well as providing oversight and preventing maladministration of the armed forces. This publication highlights good practices and lessons learned in seven case studies of ombuds institutions for the armed forces from the following OSCE states: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Finland, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, United Kingdom.
Topic:
Security, Human Rights, Governance, and Armed Forces
Political Geography:
United Kingdom, Europe, Central Asia, Ukraine, Canada, Finland, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, North America, and Bosnia and Herzegovina

5. Private Security in Practice: Case Studies from Southeast Europe

Author:
Franziska Klopfer, Nelleke van Amstel, Ola Çami Arjan Dyrmishi, Rositsa Dzhekova, Donika Emini, Anton Kojouharev, Marko Milošević, Žarko Petrović, and Mentor Vrajolli
Publication Date:
01-2016
Content Type:
Case Study
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
Why and how should private security be regulated? A group of researchers from Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Serbia and Switzerland has been examining these questions as part of a multi-year project called the Private Security Research Collaboration Southeast Europe (“PSRC”) 1 . The interest of the state in interfering with the activities of private security companies is twofold: first, to ensure that basic pillars of the modern democratic state such as the protection of human rights and the democratic order are not threatened. Second, because the stability of the state and the happiness and prosperity of its citizens also depend on factors such as functioning security and economy. In order to better target its regulation of private security, it would therefore be important for the state to know how private security companies (PSCs) impact on a country’s human rights situation, the democratic order, a functioning security and (to a lesser extent) economy. For Private Security in Practice: Case studies from Southeast Europe the PSRC researchers assembled eight case studies that explore the impact that private security has on security, human rights and the democratic order in four Southeast European countries: Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo and Serbia. Since regulation should not only limit the negative impact but also foster the positive contribution that private security can make, the authors specifically looked at how challenges posed by PSCs could be avoided and how opportunities can be seized.
Topic:
Security, Governance, Law Enforcement, and Weapons
Political Geography:
Geneva, Europe, Kosovo, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Albania

6. Security Risks and Instabilities in Southeastern Europe: Recommended Strategies to the EU in the Process of Differentiated Integration of the Region by the Union

Author:
Plamen Pantev
Publication Date:
11-2000
Content Type:
Case Study
Institution:
Institute for Security and International Studies (ISIS)
Abstract:
The chain of events and developments in Southeastern Europe during the 1990s provoked increasingly sophisticated political reactions, political approaches and longer-term strategies towards the region on the part of the EU. The firm requirement for ethnic tolerance and respect of human rights constitutes one end of the range of EU positions concerning Southeastern Europe. The gradual beginning of the process of integration of some countries from the region in the Union constitutes the other end. At the end of the 1990s, these positions gravitated towards two principles – regionality and conditionality. These principles are partly overlapping and mutually reinforcing, but to some extent also contradictory. The institutional arrangements of these two principles by the EU are identified with the Stability Pact (July 1999) for the principle of regionality, on the one hand, and with the accession negotiations and the Stabilisation and Association Process for the principle of conditionality, on the other hand.
Topic:
Security, European Union, Regional Integration, and Risk
Political Geography:
Europe and Southeast Europe

7. Conflict Prevention in the Baltic States: The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

Author:
Rob Zaagman
Publication Date:
01-1999
Content Type:
Case Study
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues
Abstract:
The importance of national minority questions has long been recognised by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and this organisation has dealt with them extensively. Initially overshadowed by the East-West stand-off, minority issues were framed exclusively in terms of individual human rights, in particular the rights of persons belonging to national minorities. In “post-Wall” Europe, however, the explosive potential of many of them —e.g., in Yugoslavia and the Caucasus—became all too apparent. It also became clear that in this new era international violence would be mainly a consequence of domestic conflicts. Moreover, soon after the break-up of the Soviet Union the issue of the ethnic Russians outside the Russian Federation became an important factor in international relations in the OSCE area. As a result, minority issues are now mainly seen from the angle of conflict prevention, although this does include the continued pursuit of the implementation of human rights. The importance the OSCE attaches to minority issues as problems of peace and security is reflected most prominently in the office of the High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) which was established in 1992 to prevent violent ethnic conflict. Equally, it finds its reflection in the mandates of most, if not all, of the long-term missions the OSCE has established over the years, of which inter-ethnic issues are the main and sometimes exclusive component. These developments fit in the increased emphasis the OSCE has been putting on conflict prevention, playing the role of an impartial, non-coercive third party. Against this background, the tense inter-ethnic relations in Estonia and Latvia were addressed early on by the OSCE. Even though no inter-ethnic violence had taken place, a number of factors made for a volatile mix in both Baltic states: firstly, the existence of domestic tensions between a large minority of mainly Russians without citizenship who had to get used to postSoviet realities and a majority determined to preserve and strengthen its own identity; and secondly, increasing international tensions because of the active interest which neighbouring Russia, mainly for geopolitical reasons, was taking in the condition of its kinfolk in Estonia and Latvia. By contrast, these factors were absent in the third Baltic state, Lithuania. As analysed in the following, the situations in Estonia and Latvia were typically cases for which the OSCE High Commissioner had been established. They demonstrate the extent to which international involvement can keep domestic conflicts tractable—by helping the parties to devise policies and positions which avoid an escalation of disputes and possibly irreconcilable differences—and thus at the same time prevent the build-up of international conflict potential. They are also showcases for the specific approach the OSCE High Commissioner has developed in dealing with tense inter-ethnic situations. Although for reasons of space the main emphasis of this paper will be on Estonia, it should be realised that many similar issues are at stake in Latvia.
Topic:
Security, Minorities, Conflict, and Identity
Political Geography:
Europe, Eastern Europe, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, and Baltic States

8. Bulgaria and the European Union in the Process of Buliding a Common European Defence

Author:
Plamen Pantev, Valeri Ratchev, and Tilcho K. Ivanov
Publication Date:
09-1996
Content Type:
Case Study
Institution:
Institute for Security and International Studies (ISIS)
Abstract:
During the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) of the European Union (EU) for reviewing the provisions of the Maastricht Treaty once again public and experts around the world realize the dramatic improvement of the security situation of the old continent that European integration led to. Few would doubt about the impact IGC will have on the security of the broader area of the Northern Hemisphere and the world in general. This is even more true considering the coincidental interaction of the EU with the evolutionary developments of the Western European Union (WEU), the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and of the internal national adaptations in the once divided into East and West parts of the Euroatlantic social, economic, political and defence space. Important outlines of a new design for the Euroatlantic security architecture with stronger European security and defence identity are already drawn. One should soberly admit that whatever political decisions are taken in the next two years, some more time would be needed to give a better shape and clarity of the new security design and its defence component. Bulgaria's structured dialogue with and pre-accession strategy to the EU as well as her formal submission of an application for full membership of the Union and the intensified dialogue that stemmed from it logically bring the country to the need of taking decisions for practical adaptation to the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the future Common European Defence (CED) of the EU. These evolutionary developments importantly coincide in a non contradictory manner with the deepening involvement of the country in the activities of the WEU, NATO's instruments - the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC) and the Partnership for Peace (PFP) programme, with the efforts of the governments of the Balkan and the Black Sea regions to improve their stability and strengthen regional peace and with the procedures of formulating a concept for the European security in the 21 century by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Treaties and Agreements, and European Union
Political Geography:
Europe and Bulgaria

9. Bulgaria and the Balkans in the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union

Author:
Plamen Pantev, Valeri Ratchev, and Venelin Tsachevski
Publication Date:
07-1995
Content Type:
Case Study
Institution:
Institute for Security and International Studies (ISIS)
Abstract:
Bulgaria's integration in the European Union (EU) became an undoubted strategic objective of the country, forming the basis of a national consensus among the political forces and society in general. The association stage of the integration process implies the beginning of an active, purposeful adaptation of the different branches of national policy to the main directions of EU's common undertakings. This means that the country's foreign relations and national security policy need to adapt to the Common foreign and security policy (CFSP), Common defence policy (CDP) and Common Defence (CD) of EU. A short study cannot cover all essential details about the character, history, formation and implementation of CFSP of EU, as well as specific issues touching certain Bulgarian interests. The Institute for Security and International Studies, recognising the special meaning of the forthcoming Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) in 1996 of EU member states, will carry out three other shorter studies, in addition to the present one. This should help develop a better picture of the following issues: the political dialogue of EU with the associated countries in Central and Eastern Europe (ACCEE); the economic factors of stability on the Balkan peninsula; and Russia's relations with EU and the repercussions for Southeast Europe.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, Politics, European Union, and Dialogue
Political Geography:
Europe, Eastern Europe, Bulgaria, and Balkans