Content Type: Policy Brief - CIAO Search Results

6701. Reaching for Justice: The participation of victims at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia,

Author:: Johanna Herman
Publication Date:: 01-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre on Human Rights in Conflict
Abstract:: This policy paper is based on research in Cambodia, assessing the activities and strategies regarding participation of victims before the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), funded by the University of East London Promising Researcher grant. It is hoped by the international community and by Cambodian civil society that the participation of victims will play a key part in ensuring that the ECCC has a lasting impact on Cambodia. The ECCC, in common with other hybrid tribunals, is expected to engage the affected society and victims, since it is located within the country rather than based elsewhere as the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY) are. This policy paper reviews how the victim participation process functioned during the first case and the preparation for the second case at the ECCC, and offers insights to improve practice at the ECCC and other courts that are undertaking other forms of victim participation
Topic:: International Affairs
Political Geography:: Global Focus

6702. Staple Food Prices in Botswana

Author:: BIDPA
Publication Date:: 05-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis
Abstract:: What were the Causes of the 2007-9 Global Food Crisis? i) The main causes for the food crisis were the increase in oil prices together with subsidies for bio-fuels provided by food exporting countries. The introduction of bio-fuel subsidies by the US for maize derived ethanol contributed significantly to the food crisis. Changes in the value of the US dollar also worsened the crisis. ii) Almost all major food exporting countries have now established substantial bio-fuel mandates whereby a certain percentage of national transport fuel requirements will come renewable sources biofuels. These can easily be raised for bio-diesel which creates an increase in demand for the feedstock. This is a low cost way for governments of providing state support for farmers. iii) According to the World Bank, for every one percentage point increase in the barrel price of oil the price of maize will rise by 0.9% for all oil prices above USD50 per barrel (World Bank 2009, p7). This now links oil prices directly to maize.
Topic:: Markets, Food, Economy, and Food Crisis
Political Geography:: Africa and Botswana

6703. Deepening East Asian Economic Integration in Services

Author:: Phillippa Dee
Publication Date:: 10-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)
Abstract:: In services markets, there may be legitimate reasons to regulate. Integration efforts should target regulatory restrictions that explicitly limit competition, and those that are intended to meet legitimate objectives, but are clearly more burdensome than need to be. In health and maritime, ASEAN is already relatively liberal by international standards, although there is still scope to promote cross-border trade and ease costly cabotage restrictions. In telecommunications, the residual foreign equity limits are hard to understand, given that past reforms and current technologies have ensured that most markets are already relatively competitive. In finance, there is substantially more to do, despite progress made during the Asian financial crisis. And in air transport, despite commitments to open skies, there is a need to further align the content of bilateral air services agreements with regional integration objectives.
Topic:: International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Bilateral Relations, and Services
Political Geography:: Asia and Southeast Asia

6704. Comprehensive Asia Development Plan and Beyond -Growth Strategies for More Prosperous and Equitable East Asia

Author:: Takeshi Fujimoto, Shochiro Hara, and Fukunari Kimura
Publication Date:: 10-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)
Abstract:: Let's dream of our bright and prosperous future. In the year of 2020, sixteen East Asia Summit (EAS) member countries can reach doubled per capita income compared with their income level in 2008 with proper policy guidance; eight countries may join developed countries with per capita income exceeding US$10,000, five countries could enjoy the status of newly industrialized countries with per capita income between US$3,000 and US$10,000, and three countries would have per capita income above US$1,000. The Comprehensive Asia Development Plan (CADP) provides immediate policy guidance for industrialization through the development of logistics and other economic infrastructure. Beyond CADP, EAS member countries will face novel policy challenges that developing countries in the world have not broken through yet. This policy brief claims that establishing four virtuous cycles will be the key and we must have the courage to meet a number of policy challenges.
Topic:: Development, International Trade and Finance, Regional Cooperation, and Economic Growth
Political Geography:: East Asia and Asia

6705. New START Verification: Fitting the Means to the Ends

Author:: Greg Thielmann
Publication Date:: 02-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Arms Control Association
Abstract:: The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) promises to lock in significant reductions in U.S. and Russian strategic arsenals by establishing lower ceilings on deployed weapons. The treaty’s veriﬁcation provisions are means to that end--providing conﬁdence that the sides are complying with those lower limits. Although the goal is to establish the high conﬁdence levels maintained during the 15 years of the original START (1994-2009), the successor agreement will achieve that goal with more focused and up-to-date methods, including innovative veriﬁcation provisions for deployed warhead ceilings. START’s multilayered limits and the elaborate veriﬁcation measures ﬂowing out of them were born of the Cold War. New START veriﬁcation can be streamlined in accordance with the new, simpliﬁed limits and in response to post-Cold War realities. In assessing the new treaty, it is critical that veriﬁcation provisions be judged by how well they fulﬁll their core function.
Topic:: Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, and New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START)
Political Geography:: Russia, Eurasia, North America, and United States of America

6706. New START Verification: Up to the Challenge

Author:: Greg Thielmann
Publication Date:: 05-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Arms Control Association
Abstract:: The multilayered limits of the original Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) and the elaborate verification measures flowing out of them were born of the difficult negotiations conducted in the waning days of the Soviet Union. The streamlined verification measures in the New START agreement, finalized in April 2010, are an appropriate response to the replacement treaty’s specific limits, which are designed to address post-Cold War realities. Combining proof-tested measures from 15 years of START implementation with new approaches to contemporary challenges, New START verification provisions are well suited to fulfill their core function. These provisions promise to permit the same high confidence in compliance achieved when the original START was in force, but will do so with more focused and up-to-date methods, including innovative verification provisions for monitoring deployed warhead ceilings.
Topic:: Arms Control and Proliferation, Cold War, Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, and New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START)
Political Geography:: Global Focus

6707. Did the Mexican Revolution Change the Privilees of The Elite or Not? The Relationship between the Government and the Media

Author:: Juan Enrique Huerta Wong
Publication Date:: 01-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:: The investigation in education and its role in social stratification has been the focus of attention in the sociology literature for a number of decades now. However, very little is known as to what takes place in Latin America. The supposed point of departure to study education and its role in social stratification is that education should act to break the inertias between origins and destinies. This article has asked the question whether education is a factor that contributes to break the cycle of persistent inequality in Mexico, and also if this is a form to evaluate the achievements of the social contract that came out of the Mexican Revolution, which this year, 2010, celebrates its century of existence. This is so because one of the main objectives of the revolution was to cut down the privileges of the dominant class, and along with it, the intergenerational transmission of wealth that perpetuates inequality. Two models of structural equations were compared to evaluate the relationship between wealth in the home of origin, the schooling of the parents, childhood academic achievement, the final schooling of the ego, and its economic wellbeing. The results show that there are statistical differences between the cases of Mexico and Chile in terms of the process of stratification. In Mexico, the wealth of the home of origin and the childhood academic achievement are the variables that best explain both the final level of schooling as well as the socioeconomic wellbeing of ego. In Chile, education functions as a variable that interrupts the weight of the inter-generational legacy. It is discussed then that the State in Mexico has failed in providing an educational system that can break the inertia of the association between origins and destinies, and the implications of the importance of childhood academic achievement, which calls upon keeping children in their classrooms, at least for the time period that the law mandates.
Topic:: Education, History, Elites, and Social Mobility
Political Geography:: South America, Latin America, Mexico, and Chile

6708. Reporte sobre Democracia y Autonomías en Bolivia en el periodo de Evo Morales

Author:: Diego Ayo Saucedo
Publication Date:: 01-2010
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:: La realidad Bolivia ha tenido cambios enormes en la última década. En una apretada síntesis se puede definir los siguientes periodos. De 1985 a 2000, fase de establecimiento y consolidación del modelo de democracia representativa de mercado con rasgos multiculturales. De 2000 a 2005, fase de declive y derrumbe del “modelo.” De 2005 a 2010, fase de transición a un modelo descolonizador, autonómico, productivo y solidario. De 2010 en adelante, fase de implementación del nuevo modelo.
Topic:: Development, Democracy, Autonomy, and Evo Morales
Political Geography:: South America and Bolivia

6709. Strength in numbers? Comparing EU military capabilities in 2009 with 1999

Author:: Daniel Keohane and Charlotte Blommestijn
Publication Date:: 12-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: European Union Institute for Security Studies
Abstract:: EU governments formally launched the European Security and Defence Policy (now renamed the Common Security and Defence Policy) in lune 1999, shortly after NATO's war in Kosovo. That war exposed huge equip¬ment gaps between US and European armed forces. Euopeans did not have adequate transport or communica¬tions equipment, or enough deployable soldiers. Since the Helsinki summit in December 1999 therefore, EU governments have committed themselves to a number of military reform plans. The essential aim of these plans has been to develop more useful equipment for international peacekeeping, such as transport planes and helicopters, and encourage a reform of national armies oriented away from territorial defence towards external deployments.
Topic:: Security and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:: Europe, Kosovo, and Balkans

6710. The Relationship between the Responsibility to Protect and the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict

Publication Date:: 01-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Abstract:: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) holds an open debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict (POC) twice yearly. Following the UNSC's reaffirmation of the World Summit agreement on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) populations from genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Resolutions 1674 (2006) and 1894 (2009) on POC, discussion of R2P has been an important component of these debates. This is reflected in government statements, presentations by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, and in the Secretary-General's 2007 report on POC where he referred to the agreement on R2P as a "cardinal achievement."
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Security, Human Rights, and Armed Struggle
Political Geography:: United Nations

6711. Controlling Corporate Lobbying and Financing of Political Activities

Publication Date:: 06-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Transparency International
Abstract:: Corporate lobbying and financing of political activities are carried out by most large corporations. Lobbying enables them to understand, track and shape the development of legislation and regulation. Financial and in-kind contributions to parties and campaigns can be used to support a country's political process and development. Both sets of activities, when undertaken with integrity and transparency by a company, can be a legitimate and positive force. Yet, the extensive funds at the disposal of businesses and the close relationship that exists between many companies and lawmakers can lead to undue, unfair influence in a country's policies and politics.
Topic:: Corruption, Democratization, and Politics

6712. The Carter Center News: Fall 2009

Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Carter Center
Abstract:: President Carter tells the story of the inspiration for The Carter Center by recalling how in 1981 amid fundraising for his presidential library and trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his life, he awoke one night and sat up in bed. Mrs. Carter, worried, asked him what was wrong. He replied that he wanted to create an institute similar to Camp David adjacent to the new library, where warring factions could go for mediation. And so The Carter Center was born.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Human Rights, Humanitarian Aid, Poverty, and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:: Sudan

6713. U.S.-Japan-India Strategic Dialogue December 4 – December 6, 2009

Publication Date:: 12-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Japan Institute Of International Affairs (JIIA)
Abstract:: Recognizing the strategic potential for expanding cooperation on regional and global challenges and the shared values among the United States, Japan and India, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), and the Japan Institute for International Affairs (JIIA) initiated the U.S.-Japan-India Strategic Dialogue in June 2006.
Topic:: Globalization, Industrial Policy, International Trade and Finance, Regional Cooperation, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:: United States, Japan, and India

6714. Making Anti-Corruption Regulation Effective for the Private Sector

Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Transparency International
Abstract:: A comprehensive regulatory framework for the private sector is a prerequisite for a transparent, honest and just society: where regulation is weak, corruption risks grow strong. As the primary rule makers and enforcers, governments have a responsibility to ensure the effective regulation of markets, protection of citizens and enforcement of laws. Ultimately, an inadequate or unstable regulatory framework for the private sector — without the will, power or resources to enforce legislation — facilitates the marginalisation of stakeholder rights, distortion of markets and negligent or corrupt practices.
Topic:: Security, Corruption, Genocide, Markets, and Law
Political Geography:: Russia, United Kingdom, and Brazil

6715. Building Corporate Integrity Systems to Address Corruption Risks

Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Transparency International
Abstract:: Corporate integrity is often perceived to be the product of ethical leadership, strong compliance and effective regulations that prevent and sanction wrong-doing. While these elements are essential, each on their own is not sufficient to comprehensively and sustainably tackle the broad range of interrelated corruption risks that face companies.
Topic:: Corruption, Crime, International Trade and Finance, and Markets

6716. Countering Cartels to End Corruption and Protect the Consumer

Publication Date:: 07-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Transparency International
Abstract:: Cartels are illegal and costly. They inflate prices for consumers, exact an economic toll on countries and undermine the integrity of companies. Cartels can form in any sector, ranging from health care and transport, to construction and telecommunications. They leave no industry untouched or consumer unburdened. When companies engage in collusion by conspiring to fix prices, markets become inefficient and consumers bear unjustified price hikes that can reach up to 100 per cent.
Topic:: Corruption, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Law

6717. Strengthening Corporate Governance to Combat Corruption

Publication Date:: 03-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Transparency International
Abstract:: The collapse of global financial markets in September 2008 has ignited a debate on what caused their quick undoing. As captured in the comments of the OECD Secretary-General, there is a growing sentiment that poor corporate governance is one of the forces to blame. It allowed the transparency, accountability and integrity of companies to be compromised and for abuses to go unchecked, particularly on matters of corruption.
Topic:: Corruption, Genocide, Markets, and Financial Crisis

6718. Post-War and Post-Conflict Challenges for Development Cooperation

Author:: Sabine Kurtenbach
Publication Date:: 05-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Institute for Development and Peace
Abstract:: Conflict and violence have become an important context for development cooperation during the last decade. Donors not only have to cope with the consequences of conflict in their day-to-day work on the ground, but also need to develop strategies in the fields of early warning and prevention, as well as instruments for conflict analysis and conflic-sensitive approaches for cooperation. At the same time, external actors have been important supporters for many peace processes aiming at the termination of armed conflicts and violence. When wars or armed conflicts end (or at least when violence on the ground decreases) the hope for sustainable peacebuilding grows. UN General Secretary Ban Ki Moon pointed out the importance of the immediate post-conflict/post-war period in a report to the Security Council on June 11, 2009: “The immediate post-conflict period offers a window of opportunity to provide basic security, deliver peace dividends, shore up and build confidence in the political process, and strengthen core national capacity to lead peacebuilding efforts.” This gives a first impression of the many challenges internal and external actors face; at the same time experiences on the ground show that liberal peacebuilding conceived as a profound transformation process is a difficult endeavour.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, Development, War, and Armed Struggle
Political Geography:: United Nations

6719. The Foreign Policy of Iran: Ideology and pragmatism in the Islamic Republic

Author:: Katrine Barnekow Rasmussen
Publication Date:: 03-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: This is a brief English version of a Danish DIIS Report on the foreign policy of Iran. In the Report, Iran's foreign policy is investigated both ideologically and in respect of its pragmatic motivations.
Topic:: International Relations, Security, Foreign Policy, Islam, Oil, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:: United States, Iran, and Asia

6720. Are the northern sea routes really the shortest?

Author:: Svend Aage Christensen
Publication Date:: 03-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: We hear a lot about changes in the extension of the ice cover in the Arctic Ocean. Reading the headlines in the newspapers one gets the impression that the Arctic Ocean will soon be ice-free.
Topic:: Climate Change, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, Treaties and Agreements, and International Affairs

6721. Afghanistan: New U.S. Administration, New Directions

Publication Date:: 03-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: International Crisis Group
Abstract:: Seven years after the U.S.-led intervention in Afghanistan the country is still at war against extremists and has developed few resilient institutions. A policy review by the Obama administration has reopened debate about how to defeat the forces of violent global jihadism – al-Qaeda and its Taliban protectors – in Afghanistan and in neighbouring Pakistan. In most cases, the ideas on offer – from declaring victory and pulling out, to negotiating with the insurgents, to organising regional conferences, to prioritising relationships with favoured individuals and allies over the development of strong democratic institutions – have been tried at least once in the past two decades, with no success: we know now what not to do.
Topic:: Political Violence, Islam, and War
Political Geography:: Afghanistan, United States, and Central Asia

6722. North Caucasus Weekly - Volume X, Issue 9

Publication Date:: 03-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: North Caucasus Weekly (formerly Chechnya Weekly), The Jamestown Foundation
Abstract:: In this issue: Six Policemen Killed in Ingushetia Bombing Kadyrov Faces Fresh Accusations of Ordering Hits Abroad Kadyrov Defends Honor Killings Kadyrov Again Invited Zakaev to Return to Chechnya Briefs Dokka Umarov Suffers Setback in Turkey By Mairbek Vatchagaev.
Topic:: Security and Ethnic Conflict
Political Geography:: Russia and Turkey

6723. The Future of the Chiang Mai Initiative: An Asian Monetary Fund?

Author:: C. Randall Henning
Publication Date:: 02-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:: In September 1997, at the outset of the last global financial crisis, the Japanese Ministry of Finance proposed the creation of an Asian Monetary Fund. Although this particular proposal was scuttled, the idea of a common regional fund on which East Asian governments might draw in times of financial turmoil survives. The region's disaffection from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), stemming from the 1997–98 crisis, sustains this idea and a desire on the part of individual countries to self-insure with large holdings of foreign exchange reserves. East Asian governments and central banks have created a set of bilateral swap arrangements (BSAs) dubbed the Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI) and are negotiating among themselves to build these BSAs into a more comprehensive facility. Some Asian officials hope that such a facility could underpin exchange rate cooperation and monetary integration in the region, although such proposals remain for the moment long-term visions.
Topic:: Economics, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, Regional Cooperation, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:: Japan, Israel, and Asia

6724. Money for the Auto Industry: Consistent with WTO Rules?

Author:: Gary Clyde Hufbauer and Claire Brunel
Publication Date:: 02-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:: As the financial crisis threatens to lead to a depression, the woes of the automobile industry are second only to the distress of the financial sector. Employment in the US auto industry dropped 9 percent between 2007 and 2008, with much more to follow in 2009. Overall, US auto sales dropped 18 percent between 2007 and 2008, and sales of SUVs plunged 44 percent on a year-over-year basis. Since some sort of financing is required for 90 percent of US car sales, the global credit freeze hit the auto industry with a second blow.
Topic:: Economics, International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, Poverty, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:: United States

6725. A Green Recovery? Assessing US Economic Stimulus and the Prospects for International Coordination

Author:: Trevor Houser, Shashank Mohan, and Robert Heilmayr
Publication Date:: 02-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:: As the 111th Congress begins and a new president takes office, the economic crisis dominates the US policy agenda. The financial system remains in a tenuous state despite massive bank recapitalization, and the economy, more than a year into the current recession, shows no signs of recovery. Given the scale of the challenge Washington faces and the amount of money required to combat it, there will likely be little room for other legislative priorities. As a result, policymakers are hoping to direct government spending over the next two years in a way that not only generates short-term economic growth and employment but also addresses long-term policy goals sidelined by the current crisis.
Topic:: International Relations, Climate Change, Economics, Environment, International Political Economy, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:: United States

6726. Buy American: Bad for Jobs, Worse for Reputation

Author:: Gary Clyde Hufbauer and Jeffrey J. Schott
Publication Date:: 02-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:: On January 28, 2009, the US House of Representatives passed its economic stimulus plan, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Out of the bill's 700 text pages, a small half-page section attracted enormous media attention: the section requiring that all public projects funded by the stimulus plan must use only iron and steel produced in the United States (box 1). Another provision, which drew less attention, extends the so-called Berry Amendment (an old Buy American provision) to uniforms purchased by the Department of Homeland Security.
Topic:: Economics, Globalization, Government, Industrial Policy, International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, and International Affairs
Political Geography:: United States

6727. Did Reagan Rule In Vain? A Closer Look at True Expenditure Levels in the United States and Europe

Author:: Jacob Funk Kirkegaard
Publication Date:: 01-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:: It is generally believed that the United States is a country of low taxes and small government, at least when compared with countries in Europe (and until the financial crisis so greatly expanded the role of the federal government in the United States in late 2008). Fully accounting for the role, size, and effect of the government in an economy is a complex endeavor, however, and it is hardly accomplished by repeatedly restating differences in top marginal tax rates, overall tax burdens, or gross sizes of governments in GDP terms.
Topic:: Economics, Government, Political Economy, and Privatization
Political Geography:: United States and Europe

6728. Recruitment of Rule of Law Specialists for the Civilian Response Corps

Author:: Michael Dziedzic and Scott Carlson
Publication Date:: 01-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: For more than a decade, experienced international practitioners and peace scholars have recognized that multilateral interventions in societies ravaged by internal conflict cannot succeed unless they come prepared to deal with the inevitable void in public security and inability of the legal system to function effectively. In 1998, two core components of any solution to this crucial deficiency were highlighted in Policing the New World Disorder. First, “...the capacity of the international community to mobilize CIVPOL [civilian police] personnel should be strengthened, both within contributing states and at the United Nations.” Second, “The task of rebuilding or reforming the public security apparatus requires that the judicial process, associated legal code s, and penal system be addressed during the earliest stages...” The Report of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations (2000, commonly referred to as the Brahimi Report) urged “...Member States to establish enhanced national 'pools' of police officers and related experts, earmarked for deployment to United Nations peace operations, to help meet the high demand f or civilian police and related criminal justice/rule of law expertise in peace operations dealing with inter-state conflict.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Globalization

6729. Dr. Ali Al-Dabbagh's Iraq-based Formula for Regional Cooperation

Author:: Elizabeth Detwiler
Publication Date:: 01-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: USIP recently hosted Dr. Ali Al-Dabbagh, official spokesman for the Iraqi government, He unveiled a far-reaching regional initiative to increase economic and strategic cooperation in the Middle East. The initiative represents a new level of consciousness and independence in Iraqi foreign policy.
Topic:: Foreign Policy and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:: Iraq and Middle East

6730. The Private Sector in Security Sector Reform: Essential But Not Yet Optimized

Author:: Robert Perito
Publication Date:: 01-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: While the U.S. and world economies are slowing markedly, Security Sector Reform (SSR) is a growth industry for the private sector. U.S. government employees may set SSR policy and design projects, but implementation is extensively outsourced to private contractors. With the forthcoming surge of U.S. military forces into Afghanistan, the U.S. Army has announced contracts worth $1.1 billion for the construction of military bases and training centers for Afghan military and police. Private firms supply everything from construction materials to trainers and administrative staff. Private contractors operating in Pakistan and Afghanistan are required to provide their own security. Up to 15 percent of the cost of construction will go to private security firms, which guard convoys, facilities and personnel.
Topic:: Security, Economics, Government, International Trade and Finance, and Markets
Political Geography:: Pakistan, Afghanistan, and United States

6731. Building Blocks for Citizenship and a Peaceful Transition in Sudan

Author:: Kelly Campbell, Linda Bishai, and Jacki Wilson
Publication Date:: 03-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: Sudan's upcoming elections in 2009 raise hopes and concerns for the country's future. According to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in 2005 between the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), Sudan is scheduled to hold national and state level elections in 2009. (Elections are to take place for president of the Government of National Unity, president of the Government of Southern Sudan, members of the National Assembly and the South Sudan Legislative Assembly, and governors and state legislatures in all of Sudan's 25 states) However, delays in each phase of electoral preparation—including the passage of the electoral law, the appointment of the nine National Election Commission members responsible for overseeing elections, and the census—have raised doubts about whether the elections will be held within the timeframe outlined in the CPA.
Topic:: Political Violence, Civil Society, Democratization, Government, Peace Studies, and War
Political Geography:: Africa, Sudan, and South Sudan

6732. Reconstructing Gaza – Lessons from Lebanon

Author:: Alistair Harris
Publication Date:: 03-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: Last week's international donor conference to address the question of humanitarian assistance to Gaza underscores the myriad challenges confronting the process. Namely, how should the international community respond to the complex issues surrounding assistance in post-conflict recovery and reconstruction, particularly when several key donors reject any contact with Hamas, the governing authority on the ground? By any estimation, the Gaza reconstruction process will face several perplexing issues: How can billions of US dollars be effectively, transparently and accountably dispersed in a coordinated way, when several key donors and the Government of Israel reject any moves that will bolster the fortunes of Hamas, who m they classify as a terrorist organisation? What impact will an emerging Palestinian National Unity Government have on the mechanisms for overcoming many donors' reluctance to deal directly with Hamas? What opportunities and challenges does the reconstruction of Gaza pose for a rapprochement between Hamas and Fatah? Who will lead the reconstruction process and how will meaningful activity take place in the face of severe restrictions on access and movement? With Hamas in power in Gaza and Israel ref using to consider opening their common borders until kidnapped Israeli Defence Forces Corporal Gilad Shalit is released by Hamas, how is meaningful recovery and reconstruction even possible? In the absence of a credible political process, what use is reconstruction anyway if it merely returns the population of Gaza to their pre-conflict socio-economic imperilment? Lebanon faced a similar situation following the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Foreign Policy, Political Violence, Humanitarian Aid, Peace Studies, and War
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, Palestine, Arabia, Gaza, and Lebanon

6733. Resolving the Crisis over Constitutional Interpretation in Afghanistan

Author:: J Alexander Thier and John Dempsey
Publication Date:: 03-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: The current political crisis over elections in Afghanistan stems, in part, from a fundamental gap in Afghanistan's legal and political system: lack of agreement on what entity(s) has the power to resolve constitutional disputes, and how that power is accessed. Without a clear path to settling constitutional disagreements, the system becomes deadlocked as disputes arise, exacerbating tensions between Afghanistan's fragile institutions and factionalized political elite.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Foreign Policy, Political Violence, and War
Political Geography:: Afghanistan, United States, and Central Asia

6734. Indonesia: Deep Distrust in Aceh as Elections Approach

Publication Date:: 03-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: International Crisis Group
Abstract:: Tensions in Aceh are high as elections approach, although they have receded somewhat from a peak in mid-February. The murders of three former combatants of the Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, GAM), other shootings and numerous grenade attacks over the last two months – all with unidentified perpetrators – have set the province on edge, and there remains a risk of sporadic, low-level violence before and after general elections on 9 April. Disputes over the results, with 44 parties competing for seats in district, provincial and national legislatures using a new and complicated system of voting, are also likely. There is little danger in the short term of violence escalating out of control, let alone a return to armed conflict, but the underlying causes of the tensions are not just election-related and need to be addressed if peace is to be preserved in the long term.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Security, Political Violence, and Democratization
Political Geography:: Indonesia, Asia, Australia/Pacific, and Southeast Asia

6735. A Draft Convention on Illicit Trade in Precious Metals and Precious Gems

Author:: Jonas Hartelius
Publication Date:: 02-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: EastWest Institute
Abstract:: Precious metals and gemstones have long been valued for their aesthetic properties and ability to retain (or increase) their value. Many precious metals today are also used in the manufacture of high technology commodities. Their high value makes precious metals and precious gems attractive to criminals. They have several functions in the criminal economy: They are attractive goods for theft and other forms of criminal acquisition, calling for special protection on the part of the owners and governments. They can be used for re-circulating stolen goods, including jewelry, antiques, and works of art, through fragmentation, smelting, and other forms of destruction or transformation. Such processes reduce or even destroy the commercial or cultural value of the material, but they also increase the difficulties for police and other authorities to trace the material and bring criminals to justice. They can be used for transporting and transferring valuables outside regular channels and thus finance war, civil conflicts, terrorism, and other forms of dangerous crime. They can be used to hide criminal assets and thus make recovery more difficult. They can be used for tax evasion through smuggling, hiding of assets, etc. The full extent or value of criminal activities with precious metals and precious gems has not been fully investigated. It can safely be assumed, however, that the criminal market in these goods is considerable.
Topic:: Globalization, International Law, International Trade and Finance, Treaties and Agreements, and United Nations
Political Geography:: United States

6736. WSC 5: Protecting People, Economies, and Infrastructure

Author:: Christine Lynch, Devon Tucker, Michael Harvey, and Jacqueline McLaren Miller
Publication Date:: 02-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: EastWest Institute
Abstract:: Drawing on a diverse array of opinions from Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America, the EastWest Institute's Fifth Worldwide Security Conference brought together specialists from the spheres of policy, academia, and civil society. Participants addressed a variety of issues on the contemporary global security landscape. These ranged from specific security threats (whether illicit trade, the targeting of critical infrastructure or cyber crime) to the role of interested actors (such as business, NGOs, and media), as well as a focus on potential strategies to counter terrorism and extremism (either in terms of constructing global cooperative architectures or, more controversially, the possibility of opening dialogue with the terrorists). A variety of policy recommendations emerged from each session—detailed in the main body of the report—but there were several recurring themes binding the debate together and animating the core arguments of proceedings as a whole. These policy recommendations were not necessarily consensus recommendations but reflected a wide range of debated policy prescriptions.
Topic:: International Relations, Security, Economics, Education, Globalization, Human Rights, International Security, and Political Theory
Political Geography:: Africa, Europe, Asia, and North America

6737. Obama, Hillary Clinton, and China: Be Strategic, Be Green

Author:: Liu Xuecheng and Robert Oxnam
Publication Date:: 02-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: EastWest Institute
Abstract:: Young and charismatic Barack Obama won a historic victory in the U.S. presidential election. This victory has sparked an international frenzy filled with hope and expectations. Obama, who ran on a platform of “change,” has vowed to rebuild U.S. national power, reshape its international image, and renew its global leadership. However, he will face daunting internal and external challenges—fighting the disastrous financial crisis and economic recession, bringing the war on terror to an end, and coping with emerging powers, including China. What relevance does his victory have for U.S. policy toward China? Will Obama's China policy be one of change or continuity? What would we expect from the Obama administration in cultivating the future course for a China-U.S. constructive and cooperative partnership? These questions are the real concerns of the Chinese people as political power changes hands in the United States.
Topic:: Conflict Prevention, Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, and International Affairs
Political Geography:: United States and China

6738. North Korea's Missile Launch: The Risks of Overreaction

Publication Date:: 03-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: International Crisis Group
Abstract:: North Korea says it is preparing to launch an experimental communications satellite using a rocket that is part of its ballistic missile program. This would be in the face of an international outcry, and of what is a strong though not definitive argument that it violates two UN Security Council resolutions. Japan has been most vocally opposed, saying it will shoot down the rocket if it threatens to fall on its territory. But even if the test is successful, it would only slightly increase security risks, while an overblown response would likely jeopardise the Six-Party Talks to end North Korea's nuclear program. What is needed is a calm, coordinated response from the key actors to raise pressure on Pyongyang to return to the talks rather than a divided reaction that only fulfils the North's desire to widen splits among its neighbours.
Topic:: Security, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and International Security
Political Geography:: Israel, Asia, and North Korea

6739. Does the Doctor Need a Boss?

Author:: Michael F. Cannon and Arnold Kling
Publication Date:: 01-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: The traditional model of medical delivery, in which the doctor is trained, respected, and compensated as an independent craftsman, is anachronistic. When a patient has multiple ailments, there is no longer a simple doctor patient or doctor-patient-specialist relationship. Instead, there are multiple specialists who have an impact on the patient, each with a set of interdependencies and difficult coordination issues that increase exponentially with the number of ailments involved.
Topic:: Economics, Health, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:: United States

6740. Confronting reality: responding to war criminals living in Australia

Author:: Fergus Hanson
Publication Date:: 02-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:: It was as recently as 1994 that 800,000 Rwandans were systematically slaughtered and the world was reminded that genocide is still possible. July the following year it happened again, when more than 7,000 men were murdered in the Srebrenica massacre. Today, the killing continues in places like Darfur where the death toll now stands in the hundreds of thousands and the Democratic Republic of Congo where the toll stands in the millions. The crimes committed in these and the many other conflicts of recent decades – the mass killing of civilian populations, the rape of countless women and widespread use of torture – have shaken the conscience of the world.
Topic:: Crime, Government, International Cooperation, and International Affairs
Political Geography:: Australia/Pacific

6741. Refining the G-20 agenda

Author:: Stephen Grenville
Publication Date:: 03-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:: What began as the sub-prime crisis in America is now universally recognised as a Global Financial Crisis (GFC). While the consequences are clearly global, however, the required policy responses may be largely domestic, as indeed they have been so far. Nevertheless, financial markets are looking to the forthcoming G-20 Leaders' London meeting in April, in the hope that it will produce confidence-boosting measures. Realistically, what can be done at the international level? The central issue to be explored here is the extent to which an international response is relevant to the GFC, in the form of policy coordination or cooperation in rule-setting of the kind that could be orchestrated by the G-20 Leaders.
Topic:: Climate Change, Economics, International Cooperation, International Organization, International Trade and Finance, and Markets
Political Geography:: America and London

6742. A New Direction for U.S. Policy in the Caspian Region

Author:: Martha Brill Olcott
Publication Date:: 02-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:: With Washington's influence on the Caspian region at its lowest ebb in many years, the Obama administration could reverse this trend with a new approach that accepts Russia's presence and China's interest as historical and geographical givens and emphasizes short- and medium-term problem solving in multilateral and bilateral settings instead of long-term political and economic transformations. The United States can accomplish more in the Caspian region by focusing on military reform and building security capacity than on forming military alliances. The United States should switch from a multiple pipeline strategy to a policy that advances competition by promoting market pricing for energy producers, consumers, and transit states. The United States could facilitate the introduction of renewable sources of energy as a stimulus to economic recovery and a source of enhanced social security. The United States should develop a nuanced strategy that encourages political development through social and educational programs and local capacity building. The Obama administration should name a high-level official as a presidential envoy to this region.
Topic:: Security, Foreign Policy, Development, Economics, and Nuclear Weapons
Political Geography:: Russia, United States, China, Washington, and Central Asia

6743. Democracy Promotion Under Obama: Finding a Way Forward

Author:: Thomas Carothers
Publication Date:: 02-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:: The Bush's administration's highly problematic legacy on democracy promotion and general pessimism about the global state of democracy create pressure on the Obama administration to pull the United States substantially back from supporting democracy abroad. Although dissociating U.S. democracy support from the errors of the Bush approach is crucial, a broad realist corrective of U.S. policy is not necessary. The way forward for Obama will be more about changing how the United States goes about supporting democracy abroad than about what emphasis to place on democracy relative to other interests. Cardinal values of Obama's political philosophy and style—non-confrontational, measured, persistent, bipartisan, cooperative, effective, and empowering—provide a natural basis for a new framework to help the United States regain its place as a respected, trusted, and influential ally of democracy around the world.
Topic:: Security, Foreign Policy, Democratization, Terrorism, and War
Political Geography:: United States

6744. Palestine and Israel: Time for Plan B

Author:: Nathan J. Brown
Publication Date:: 02-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:: The international effort to achieve a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict has come to a dead end, at least for the present. Things can—and might well—get worse unless the United States and other outside actors couple a realistic view of the present with a serious effort to push for a more promising future. The first step in a new diplomatic approach must be to establish a cease-fire that builds on the common interest of both Israel and Hamas to avoid fighting in the short term. A new cease-fire should be clear and perhaps even written; mediators (whether Arab or European) must be willing to make an agreement more attractive to both sides to sustain (Hamas can be enticed by some opening of the border with Egypt; Israel will demand serious efforts against the supply of arms to Hamas). The second step must be an armistice that would offer each side what they crave for the present—Israel would get quiet and a limit on arms to Hamas; Palestinians would get open borders, a freeze on settlements, and an opportunity to rebuild their shattered institutions. Such an armistice must go beyond a one-year cease-fire to become something sustainable for at least five to ten years. Finally, the calm provided by the armistice must be used to rebuild Palestinian institutions and force Palestinians and Israelis to confront rather than avoid the choices before them.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Islam, Peace Studies, Terrorism, and War
Political Geography:: United States, Europe, Middle East, Israel, Palestine, Arabia, and Egypt

6745. North Caucasus Weekly - Volume X, Issue 11

Publication Date:: 03-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: North Caucasus Weekly (formerly Chechnya Weekly), The Jamestown Foundation
Abstract:: In this issue: Four Militants Killed in Kabardino-Balkaria Militants and Security Forces Battle in Dagestan General Asks Chechens to Inform on Rebels Briefs Ingush Insurgency Approaches Major CrossroadsBy Mairbek Vatchagaev Exclusive Interview with Anzor Astemirov, March 2009By Fatima Tlisova.
Topic:: Security and Ethnic Conflict
Political Geography:: Russia

6746. Zimbabwe: Engaging the Inclusive Government

Publication Date:: 04-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: International Crisis Group
Abstract:: After nearly a year of seemingly endless talks brokered by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Zimbabwe's long-ruling ZANU-PF party and the two factions of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) formed a coalition government in February. Opposition entry into government is a landmark development, and broad segments of the population are optimistic for the first time in years that a decade of repression and decline can be reversed. There is considerable international scepticism whether the flawed arrangement can succeed; many are tempted, with some reason, to second-guess the decision of mainstream MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai to accept the deal under SADC and ZANU-PF pressure. But he had no good alternative, given a collapsed economy and humanitarian catastrophe from which his constituency was suffering. Donors should re-engage and apply a “humanitarian plus” aid strategy. South Africa, in collaboration with SADC, should negotiate retirement of hardline senior security leaders in the lifespan of the inclusive government.
Topic:: Civil Society, Democratization, Government, and Post Colonialism
Political Geography:: Africa and Zimbabwe

6747. The Carter Center News Spring 2009

Publication Date:: 04-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Carter Center
Abstract:: Last November, The Carter Center was one of the sponsors of a major health initiative in Ethiopia, in which some 5 million people were treated for trachoma and tested (and treated, when needed) for malaria in a one-week campaign. You might wonder how many staff members The Carter Center sent from Atlanta headquarters to Ethiopia to handle this unprecedented, labor-intensive effort, called Maltra week. We sent one person.
Topic:: Health and Poverty
Political Geography:: Africa, United States, and Ethiopia

6748. Annual Review of Global Peace Operations 2009

Publication Date:: 01-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:: After several years of continuous expansion, reform and resiliency, in 2008 global peacekeeping was pushed to the brink. This publication warned in 2006 that peacekeeping faced a risk of overstretch. In 2007 it highlighted the mounting pressures on peacekeeping organizations, while stressing that peace operations had shown surprising resilience. By 2008 peacekeeping was spread increasingly thin, in many respects the victim of its own success. Our thematic review that year was by Lakhdhar Brahimi and Salman Ahmed. It cautioned that we risked unlearning the central lesson of the Brahimi Report: that peacekeeping is not a substitute for an effective political process.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, International Organization, Non-Governmental Organization, and Peace Studies

6749. Providing Aid in Insecure Environments: 2009 Update- Trends in violence against aid workers and the operational response

Author:: Abby Stoddard, Adele Harmer, and Victoria DiDomenico
Publication Date:: 04-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:: In 2008, 260 humanitarian aid workers were killed, kidnapped or seriously injured in violent attacks. This toll is the highest of the 12 years that our study has tracked these incidents. The absolute number of attacks against aid workers has risen steeply over the past three years, with an annual average almost three times higher than the previous nine years. Relative rates of attacks per numbers of aid workers in the field have also increased — by 61%. The 2008 fatality rate for international aid workers exceeds that of UN peacekeeping troops.
Topic:: Security, Political Violence, Human Welfare, Humanitarian Aid, and International Organization

6750. The Future of Peacekeeping Operations: Fighting Political Fatigue and Overstretch

Author:: Richard Gowan
Publication Date:: 04-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:: In the last sixth months, NATO and the UN have both confronted the possibility that their largest individual peace operations may fail. In Afghanistan, NATO troops have struggled to contain the Taliban. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) the UN was unable to halt rebel attacks that displaced as many as 250,000 people last September.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, Security, International Cooperation, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:: Taliban and Democratic Republic of the Congo

6751. Options for a Democratic Taiwan

Author:: Kerry Brown
Publication Date:: 03-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Chatham House
Abstract:: Over the last two decades, as Mainland China has been developing and liberalizing its economy, Taiwan has been undergoing an equally remarkable but very different political transformation, from martial law in 1987 to its current status as one of the most vibrant, stable democracies in Asia. Despite its eventful experience of the democratization process, the parliamentary and presidential elections in 2008 proved that Taiwan is now a mature, and stable, democracy. It has passed the ultimate test, seeing the successful transition of rule from one party to another and back again, without social turmoil. Economic performance over the same period has been less striking. Once among the fastestgrowing economies, Taiwan is now afflicted by a relatively low growth rate, and problems over the outflow of capital and investment to the Mainland. The potential for conflict over cross-straits relations remains but it has been significantly reduced under President Ma and by the Mainland Chinese government's greater accommodation with a democratic Taiwan in the last decade. The risk of a military conflict between the two sides, which could drag in the US, and therefore the rest of the world, cannot be entirely discounted, however. Taiwan's greatest challenges in the next decade remain the same as in the last – to maintain its identity, to develop its democratic system, and to handle relations with the Mainland in a way that preserves its interests while avoiding conflict. Taiwan's system, which has so far proved itself robust and effective, faces a new challenge too: how to benefit from the increase in Mainland investment abroad.
Topic:: Democratization, Economics, and Markets
Political Geography:: United States, China, Israel, Taiwan, and Asia

6752. Africa's New Human Rights Court: Whistling in the Wind?

Author:: Sonya Sceats
Publication Date:: 03-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Chatham House
Abstract:: Human rights abuses on a massive scale continue to afflict the lives of millions of people across the continent of Africa. As in other parts of the world, the obstacles in pursuing justice are currently insurmountable for most victims. Against this troubling backdrop, the African Union (AU) has decided to add a human rights section to its new court which has been agreed upon but not yet set up. This court is called the African Court of Justice and Human Rights. In the meantime, another pan-African human rights court, the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, has recently opened in Arusha, Tanzania. This court will be wound down to make way for the African Court of Justice and Human Rights but is expected to operate for the next few years at least. These two courts represent the third instalment in efforts since the Second World War to create regional human rights courts. Because they have broad powers to enforce socio-economic rights and the collective rights of peoples, they may be setting an example for new developments around the world. This briefing paper focuses on the African Court of Justice and Human Rights, but it also explains key features of the interim African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights. It addresses questions including: Can victims of human rights abuses bring cases? Will the Court be able to try African heads of state? Will governments comply with judgments?
Topic:: Human Rights, Human Welfare, and Torture
Political Geography:: Africa

6753. Oil, Gas and International Insecurity: Tackling a Self-fuelling Fire

Author:: Daniel Litvin
Publication Date:: 03-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Chatham House
Abstract:: In the United States, European Union and Asia, fears about dependence on oil and gas imports from unstable regions have become a major theme of political debate. This paper provides a high-level and historical perspective on this complex issue. Dependence on oil and gas imports raises real economic- and political-security issues for many countries. Neither the global economic crisis nor climate change policies - both of which look set to restrain oil and gas demand - will solve the problem entirely. In fact, over the next few decades it is likely to become worse.
Topic:: Climate Change, Energy Policy, and Oil
Political Geography:: United States, Europe, and Asia

6754. Trade and the Global Economic Crisis: Immediate Challenges and Long-term Threats

Author:: Jim Rollo and Peter Holmes
Publication Date:: 03-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Chatham House
Abstract:: The collapse of world trade is threatening to create a negative feedback loop to the global economy. Some countries have seen their trade fall by 30–50% in the year to February 2009, a bigger fall than between 1929 and 1930. Annual figures for world trade in 2008 show a big fall in the fourth quarter – a trend that has been accelerating. The world's trade ministers have failed to get the Doha Development Agenda back on track, despite direct instructions from the G20 leaders to do so quickly after the November summit in Washington, DC. This failure sends a very powerful negative signal about the G20's lack of policy coordination on even bigger issues. There is a two-way interaction between trade and the macro-economy at a national and global level. The current crisis is threatening countries that rely on export-led growth, a strategy that has led billions out of poverty. It is imperative for there to be recognition that the current shrinkage in global trade is a macro-economic problem requiring macro-economic solutions, and that the necessary actions must be coordinated.
Topic:: Conflict Prevention, Economics, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Political Economy

6755. North Africa: The Hidden Risks to Regional Stability

Author:: Claire Spencer
Publication Date:: 04-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Chatham House
Abstract:: North Africa may not be as stable as it looks: socio-economic and political pressures are fracturing the consensus between governments and governed and may overtake terrorism and criminality as the region's main destabilizing forces. With political leadership in the region effectively a lifelong position, the growth of authoritarianism is undermining the prospects for achieving political and economic liberalization. Despite the worsening global economic climate, a window of opportunity exists to accelerate socially sensitive and productive domestic investment and open space for greater autonomous political and economic development. Success depends on renegotiating the social contracts on which North Africa's states are based. A broadening of participation, above all through the extension of legal employment, targeted investment on education, health and skills, and the establishment of independent legal and regulatory frameworks, will go some way towards addressing socio-economic stresses. A change in the political environment, however, requires a re-evaluation of how the region's security climate is seen from outside, with adjustments in the kind of support given to regional governments by its key international partners, the European Union and the United States.
Topic:: International Relations, Security, Islam, and International Security
Political Geography:: Africa, United States, and Arabia

6756. Immigration in Europe at a Time of Economic Hardship

Author:: Toby Archer
Publication Date:: 02-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:: The global recession is resetting the context of the immigration debate across Europe. Immigration is one of the most visible manifestations of globalization for large numbers of Europeans. Globalization is a disruptive process challenging long held social assumptions and beliefs. It creates resistance, and concern over immigration is part of this. The recession is amplifying this effect significantly. The costs and benefits of globalization have never been equally shared, either within states or amongst them. Certain social groups fear immigration more than others, particularly in labour competition. The recession is leading to national or nationalist priorities becoming more popular and xenophobia can result. Political leaders understand this and even those who actively try to explain the advantages of immigration still tend to discuss it unhelpfully as a security issue. Immigration is a legally complex set of interrelated but different issues. The public discourse tends to not separate them, leading to all immigration issues being politically loaded. The EU plays an important role, but because borders and who can cross them is so closely linked to notions of sovereignty, the Union takes a secondary position to national policies.
Topic:: Globalization, Migration, and International Affairs
Political Geography:: Europe

6757. Czech Point: A Mid-Term Evaluation of an On-Going Small State Presidency

Author:: Tiia Lehtonen
Publication Date:: 03-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:: The Czech EU Presidency has now reached its mid-term. It can be reasonably argued that the change of Presidency came at a challenging time for both the EU and the Czech Republic itself. The initial priorities of the Czech Presidency, the 'three Es', were ambitious to say the least, and the provisional results in implementing them are consequently modest at best. The internal disorder of the Czech administration has had a visible and rather negative impact on its competence to run a successful Presidency. The lack of a genuine consensus on various EU issues within the Czech political elite and the autonomy of President Klaus have resulted in problems in terms of satisfactorily driving forward the individual priorities and the Union as a whole. As calls for protectionism have increased in the light of the recession, it has become ever more difficult for the Czech Republic to take a leading position in the EU within the realm of the economic crisis and to find common grounds for all member states. The first European Council meeting under the Czech Presidency will be held on 19th and 20th March in Brussels. Another significant opportunity for the Czechs to exert an influence will be during the G20 Summit in early April.
Topic:: Democratization, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:: Eastern Europe and Czech Republic

6758. Haiti: Saving the Environment, Preventing Instability and Conflict

Publication Date:: 04-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: International Crisis Group
Abstract:: Reversing a decades-long trend of environmental destruction is essential to Haiti's development, social and economic stability and, ultimately, security. Instability and violent conflict are not attributable solely to environmental degradation. But they are made more likely by the latter's interaction with such factors as weak institutions and governance, political fragility, pervasive and extreme poverty, vulnerability to natural disasters, rapid population growth, urban overcrowding and social and economic inequality. Concerted national effort and international support is required to stop deforestation and land erosion; reduce energy shortages and charcoal dependence; address rural and urban pollution, including the absence of a solid waste collection and recycling system; and strengthen an inadequate capacity to cope with natural disasters.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, and Post Colonialism

6759. Nigeria: Seizing the Moment in the Niger Delta

Publication Date:: 04-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: International Crisis Group
Abstract:: The report of the government-constituted Technical Committee on the Niger Delta, submitted to Nigeria's President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua on 1 December 2008, offers an opportunity to reduce violent conflict significantly and begin longer-term regional development in the oil-rich region. The government needs to respond urgently and positively, in particular by accepting a third-party mediator to facilitate discussions of amnesty and demobilisation of militants, in order to dispel growing misgivings in the Delta, save the region from further violence and organised criminality, and ensure Nigeria's continued reliability as a leading source of energy for the world.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Oil, and War
Political Geography:: Africa

6760. Just peace? Peacebuilding and rule of law in Africa: Lessons for policymakers

Author:: Olga Martin-Ortega, Chandra Lekha Sriram, and Johanna Herman
Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre on Human Rights in Conflict
Abstract:: Rule of law promotion is integral to peacebuilding, but not always well integrated It is important to distinguish between technical delivery of rule of law assistance and access to justice as perceived by the population Rule of law promotion and transitional justice may be complementary, or competitive Despite emphasis on the formal sector, informal justice processes are often most accessible to the vast majority Such informal processes may be transformed both by conflict and by peacebuilding activities Emphasis on state institutions in rule of law promotion can inadvertently undermine equal access to justice Given these challenges, the international community faces serious dilemmas about whom to engage, and particularly whether to engage the informal sector at all.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, Peace Studies, and Poverty
Political Geography:: Africa

6761. Indonesia: Radicalisation of the "Palembang Group"

Publication Date:: 05-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: International Crisis Group
Abstract:: Indonesia has earned well-deserved praise for its handling of home-grown extremism, but the problem has not gone away. In April 2009, ten men involved in a jihadi group in Palembang, South Sumatra, were sent to prison on terrorism charges for killing a Christian teacher and planning more ambitious attacks. Their history provides an unusually detailed case study of radicalisation - the process by which law-abiding individuals become willing to use violence to achieve their goals. The sobering revelation from Palembang is how easy that transformation can be if the right ingredients are present: a core group of individuals, a charismatic leader, motivation and opportunity. Another ingredient, access to weapons, is important but not essential: the Palembang group carried out its first attack with a hammer and only later moved to making bombs.
Topic:: Political Violence and Islam
Political Geography:: Asia

6762. Which Diaspora for Whose Development? Some Critical Questions about the Roles of African Diaspora Organizations as Development Actorse

Author:: Oliver Bakewell
Publication Date:: 05-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: Today there is great interest in diasporas' role in development across Africa and much enthusiasm for identifying policies that can maximise their contribution. In this new DIIS Brief Oliver Bakewell, senior research officer at the International Migration Institute, University of Oxford, raises four questions that challenge uncritical enthusiasm for diasporas' increased involvement in development: 1) Who is in the diaspora? 2) Where is the diaspora? 3) How does diaspora engagement affect accountability? And 4) What ideas of development are being used?
Topic:: Democratization, Development, and Migration
Political Geography:: Africa

6763. African Diaspora Organizations and Homeland Development: The case of Somali and Ghanaian associations in Denmark

Author:: Nauja Kleist
Publication Date:: 05-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: Diaspora and migrant associations are often praised as new 'agents of change' for their contributions to development in their countries of origin. While much is known about Latin American hometown associations, there has been less focus on African diaspora associations. This DIIS Brief examines Somali and Ghanaian migrant associations in Denmark and their involvement in development. It shows how associations involve themselves on the basis of particular loyalties and emphasizes the importance of local partners and collaboration.
Topic:: Migration, Poverty, and Diaspora
Political Geography:: Africa, Europe, Denmark, and Latin America

6764. The Concept of Normative Power in World Politics

Author:: Ian Manners
Publication Date:: 05-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: The social sciences have many different understandings of 'normative power'. The purpose of this brief is to help clarify the concept of normative power in world politics as developed in European Union (EU) studies over the last ten years. The brief uses a five-point conceptualisation of normative power as being ideational; involving principles, actions, and impact; as well as having broader consequences in world politics. For each point both a general observation about world politics and a specific comment about the EU is made.
Topic:: International Relations, Foreign Policy, and International Affairs
Political Geography:: Europe

6765. Turkey's Local Elections of 2009: Results, Trends and the Future

Author:: ALİ ÇARKOĞLU
Publication Date:: 05-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: This article aims at presenting a descriptive account of the March 2009 local elections in Turkey. Comparing the general and local elections since 2004, an overall evaluation of trends in electoral preferences is presented. Using provincial general council election results, a detailed geographical comparative analysis of the 2004 and 2009 local elections is also carried out. The analyses show that the AKP's rise has stalled but it still remains as the dominant power in the party system. The electoral map continues to be divided between the coastal western and most developed provinces where the opposition is significantly supported, the east and southeastern provinces where the Kurdish ethnic electoral support is rising and the more conservative provinces in between where the AKP continues to be dominant with the MHP trailing behind. Even though the March 2009 elections had all the characteristics of a local election, they also revel the rising trends in electoral behaviour in Turkey.
Topic:: Democratization, Ethnic Conflict, and Politics
Political Geography:: Turkey and Asia

6766. Davutoğlu Era in Turkish Foreign Policy

Author:: Bülent Aras
Publication Date:: 05-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Ahmet Davutoğlu was appointed Foreign Minister of Turkey on May 1, 2009. Chief advisor to the Prime Minister since 2002, Davutoğlu is known as the intellectual architect of Turkish foreign policy under the AK Party. He articulated a novel foreign policy vision and succeeded, to a considerable extent, in changing the rhetoric and practice of Turkish foreign policy. Turkey's new dynamic and multidimensional foreign policy line is visible on the ground, most notably to date in the country's numerous and significant efforts to address chronic problems in the neighboring regions. Davutoğlu's duty will now shift from the intellectual design of policies to greater actual involvement in foreign policy, as he undertakes his new responsibilities as Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Davutoğlu era in Turkish foreign policy will deepen Turkey's involvement in regional politics, international organizations, and world politics.
Topic:: International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Power Politics
Political Geography:: Turkey and Asia

6767. The Virtuous Twins: Protecting Human Rights and Improving Security in Colombia

Publication Date:: 05-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: International Crisis Group
Abstract:: Over seven years, the government of President Álvaro Uribe has produced important security gains, but these have been accompanied by serious human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law (IHL). Colombia is still not close to the end of its armed conflict. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the National Liberation Army (ELN), paramilitary successors and new illegal armed groups (NIAGs) – all responsible for multiple atrocities against civilians – can survive with drug financing and, to a degree, due to the state's inability to extend its legitimate presence into many rural areas. To move toward lasting peace, the Uribe administration must not only maintain its security achievements but also urgently improve its security policy by addressing serious human rights issues and expanding the rule of law and national reach of the state's civilian institutions. Holding to account senior military involved in extrajudicial killings is a first step but insufficient to curb abuses. International cooperation should focus on supporting the fight to end impunity and protect basic rights.
Topic:: Security, Democratization, and Human Rights
Political Geography:: Latin America

6768. Protecting the Contiguity of Israel: The E-1 Area and the Link Between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim

Author:: Nadav Shragai
Publication Date:: 05-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:: The E-1 area is a part of the Israeli city of Maale Adumim, located immediately adjacent to Jerusalem. There is an E-1 construction plan that was devised in order to link Maale Adumim and its 36,000 residents to Jerusalem. Every Israeli prime minister since Yitzhak Rabin has supported the plan. The E-1 site covers an area of largely uninhabited, state-owned land. Without control of the E-1 area, Israel is apprehensive about a Palestinian belt of construction that will threaten Jerusalem from the east, block the city's development eastward, and undermine Israel's control of the Jerusalem-Jericho road. This major artery is of paramount strategic importance for Israel in order to transport troops and equipment eastward and northward via the Jordan Rift Valley in time of war. Contrary to reports, the completion of E-1 would not cut the West Bank in half and undermine Palestinian contiguity. Israel has planned a new road that would allow Palestinian traffic coming from the south to pass eastward of Maale Adumim and continue northward to connect with the cities in the northern West Bank. This Palestinian bypass road would actually reduce the time for Palestinian drivers traveling in a north-south direction who would encounter no Israeli roadblocks. The main threat to Israel's future contiguity comes from encroachments on E-1 made by illegal Palestinian construction. Israeli and Palestinian construction in the West Bank has been governed by the legal terms of the Oslo II Interim Agreement from September 28, 1995. The area around E-1 is within Area C, where, according to Oslo II, Israel retained the powers of zoning and planning. As a result, much of the recently completed Palestinian construction there is illegal. In contrast, none of the Oslo Agreements prohibited Israeli settlement activity, though Israel undertook unilateral limitations upon itself in this area in recent years. Israeli construction of E-1 will not undermine Palestinian contiguity, but were Israel to lose control of E-1, the contiguity of Israel would be severely compromised.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, Imperialism, and Post Colonialism
Political Geography:: Israel, Palestine, and Jerusalem

6769. Al Jazeera and Qatar: The Muslim Brothers' Dark Empire?

Author:: Zvi Mazel
Publication Date:: 05-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:: There has been a significant presence of the Muslim Brothers (also known as the Muslim Brotherhood) in Qatar since the second half of the twentieth century. The first wave came from Egypt in 1954 after Nasser had smashed their organization. The next wave came from Syria in 1982 after Hafez el-Assad bombed their stronghold in Hama. The last group arrived after September 11, 2001 - from Saudi Arabia. In 1995, the present Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, deposed his father in a bloodless palace coup. One of his first steps was to establish the Al Jazeera satellite channel in 1996, which is the most viewed station in the Arab world with an estimated audience of some 60 million. There was never any doubt about the network's political orientation. Al Jazeera immediately launched scathing attacks on Israel during the Second Intifada and went on to incendiary broadcasts against the United States at the time of the Afghanistan conflict and over Iraq. It was later revealed to be in contact with bin Laden, and was the medium of choice for the video and audio cassettes of bin Laden and his men. During the U.S. war in Iraq, the Americans accused the station of being pro-Saddam, and after the war, of presenting the terrorist groups active in the country in a positive light. One of its reporters stationed in Baghdad always seemed to arrive suspiciously quickly, with his camera, at the site of terror attacks. During the Second Lebanon War in 2006, Al Jazeera behaved as a Hizbullah spokesman. During the Gaza war, a senior Al Jazeera reporter stationed himself at Shifa Hospital, from where he broadcast a stream of carefully selected horror pictures. The Egyptian Maamun Fendi wrote in Asharq Alawsat that some 50 percent of the network's personnel belong to the Muslim Brothers. He believes that Qatar, by embracing the Brothers while hosting American bases, has found the perfect formula against retaliation by Arab leaders and attacks by Islamic extremists. Al Jazeera has become a weapon in the hands of an ambitious emir who may be driven by the Muslim Brothers and who is threatening the stability of the Middle East. With the Muslim Brothers increasingly aligned in recent years with Iran, by repeatedly attacking the Sunni Arab regimes and inciting against them, Al Jazeera is serving as an important instrument for Tehran and its effort to undermine their internal stability.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Islam, and Mass Media
Political Geography:: United States, Iraq, Middle East, and Arabia

6770. The Russian Handicap to U.S. Iran Policy

Publication Date:: 04-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:: There are voices in the Obama Administration who believe that the Kremlin is able and willing to exert pressure on Iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons. However, perceived geopolitical and economic benefits in the unstable Persian Gulf, in which American influence is on the wane, outweigh Russia's concerns about a nuclear-armed Iran. The Kremlin sees Iran not as a threat but as a partner or an ad-hoc ally to challenge U.S. influence. Today, both Russia and Iran favor a strategy of "multipolarity," both in the Middle East and worldwide. This strategy seeks to dilute American power, revise current international financial institutions, and weaken or neuter NATO and the OSCE, while forging a counterbalance to the Euro-Atlantic alliance. Russian technological aid is evident throughout the Iranian missile and space programs. Russian scientists and expertise have played a direct and indirect role in these programs for years. According to some reports, Russian specialists are helping to develop the longer-range Shahab-5, and Russia has exported missile production facilities to Iran. Moscow has signed a contract to sell advanced long-range S-300 air-defense systems to Iran. Once Iran has air defenses to repel Israeli or American air strikes and nuclear warheads for its ballistic missiles, it will possess the capacity to destroy Israel (an openly stated goal of the regime) and strike targets throughout the Middle East, in Europe, and the Indian subcontinent. Beyond that, if and when an ICBM capability is achieved, Tehran will be able to threaten the U.S. homeland directly. Given the substantial Russian interests and ambitions, any grand bargain would almost certainly require an excessively high price paid by the United States to the detriment of its friends and allies. Russia simply does not view the situation through the same lens as the U.S.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Foreign Policy, Economics, and Nuclear Weapons
Political Geography:: Russia, United States, Europe, Iran, and Middle East

6771. The Growing Threat of Radical Islamic Groups in Germany

Author:: David Perl
Publication Date:: 04-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:: Germany has been increasingly forced to confront "homegrown" Islamist terrorism, the threat of radicalized converts to Islam, and the threat of non-integrated Muslim immigrants. In 2003, Iranian-backed Hizbullah was found to have identified Israeli, Jewish, and American facilities in Germany as terror targets. Which are the prominent radical Islamic groups operating in Germany? The Islamic Jihad Union (IJU), one of the most significant threats to German national security, is a Sunni terrorist organization closely associated with al-Qaeda. IJU is well known to the German public due to frequent video threats published on the Internet and on television. Hizb ut-Tahir al-Islami (HuT) is a clandestine, radical Islamist political organization that operates in 40 countries around the world including Germany, which banned the organization in 2003. Prior to its ban, HuT operated mainly in college towns in Germany, and orchestrated a terrorist attack in 2006, when two terrorists placed two suitcases containing bombs (which failed to detonate) on regional trains in Germany. The Islamic Center in Hamburg (IZH), which was under the direct guidance of Iran's Ayatollah Khameini between 1978 and 1980, is considered to be the most important Hizbullah base in Germany and is the institution most engaged in exporting the Islamic Revolution of Iran. It has branches in Berlin, Munich, Muenster, and Hannover, pointing to the ability of Hizbullah to launch attacks within Germany at any time in line with directives from the Iranian Supreme Leadership. Millî Görüş (MG), a radical Islamic group associated with Islamist parties in Turkey, is anti-Western, anti-Semitic, anti-Israeli, and opposes integration into Western society by the 2.5 million Turkish immigrants and their families in Germany. Yakup Akbay of the Fathi Mosque in Munich told Turkish television in 2007: "When Europe, as we hope, will be Islamized, the credit has to be given to the Turkish community. That's the reason for us doing the groundwork."
Topic:: Political Violence, Islam, Terrorism, and Armed Struggle
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, and Germany

6772. The European Union Report on Jerusalem: Distortions and Omissions

Author:: Nadav Shragai
Publication Date:: 04-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:: An imbalanced EU position paper on Jerusalem written in December 2008, and recently leaked to the media, completely ignores Israel's historical and legal rights to its capital. The EU attack refers primarily to the City of David, located just beyond Jerusalem's Old City walls, an area identified by archaeologists and historians as the location of King David's capital some 3,000 years ago. Archaeological excavations took place there during Ottoman rule, as well as under the ensuing British Mandatory rule, and they have continued under Israeli rule as well. About 20 years ago a wave of new, illegal construction by Palestinians began on the site, causing significant and sometimes irreversible damage to the antiquities there. The Jerusalem municipality intends to offer the delinquent residents generous compensation and alternative land in the city. Jerusalem has had a Jewish majority for the last 150 years - at least since 1864. Israel's position in Jerusalem under international law derives from the Palestine Mandate, where the League of Nations recognized "the historical tie between the Jewish people and Palestine," and called "for the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine." The 1949 Armistice Agreement between Israel and Jordan did not fix the final boundaries between the parties, but only the lines of military separation at the close of the 1948 war. At the demand of the Arab side, the Armistice Agreement stipulated that it did not serve to predetermine the rights of any party in the final resolution of conflict. In other words, upon the outbreak of the Six-Day War, the 1967 lines enjoyed no diplomatic status. In 1967, Israel agreed to allow the Muslim Waqf to manage the Temple Mount area, with a view toward preventing inter-religious conflict at one of the world's most sensitive sites. This was a huge concession on Israel's part that has never been properly recognized. By doing so, Israel has underscored its intention to assure freedom of access to members of all faiths at all of the holy sites in Jerusalem.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution and Post Colonialism
Political Geography:: Europe, Middle East, Israel, and Jerusalem

6773. The Obama Administration and Implications for Freedom and Democracy in the Middle East

Author:: Scott Carpenter
Publication Date:: 04-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:: The Obama administration marks the return of a so-called "realist" approach and an intentional downplaying of President Bush's vision of an America that would use its power actively to advance freedom around the world. Few will lament the demise of Bush's "Freedom Agenda," which came to be seen as dangerous naivete which risked the stability of the region and with it Israel's security. The height of folly was the Palestinian elections in January 2006 when, in contradiction to the Oslo Accords, Hamas was allowed to compete and ultimately win without laying down its weapons. Too late, the administration recognized it could no longer take the risk of bringing potentially hostile forces to power through democratic elections. Unfortunately, neither approach addresses the structural and demographic time bombs in the region. A youth "bulge" requires the creation of 100 million new jobs by 2010, according to the World Bank. Yet if economic reform is to be advanced and sustained, democratic development must also take place. The U.S. government can use Arab governments' insecurity regarding Iran as leverage to encourage real reform. This is particularly true for Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia - now engaged in the ideological fight of their lives with Iran and its reactionary allies. Only by establishing a new bargain with these regimes that stresses the need for them to respect internal civil and political rights, while forging a joint response to the reactionary threat, can the U.S. offer a true alternative to theocratic and minority rule. This is not to say that democratic and economic reform need be the priority for the West, but it must remain a priority, if otherwise intractable problems which pose a longer-term national security threat are to be addressed. Allowing autocrats to continue to get away with inaction will simply make the coming tidal wave of Iranian-style revolutions larger and more damaging, placing Israel's existence in even greater jeopardy than it is now.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Security, Foreign Policy, and Democratization
Political Geography:: United States, Middle East, and Egypt

6774. The Role of Radical Islamic Groups in Israel: Implications for Israeli-Arab Coexistence

Author:: Mordechai Kedar
Publication Date:: 03-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:: Many in the Arab world felt deep humiliation due to George W. Bush. The Islamic view is that Islam came to the world to replace Judaism and Christianity, and all of the sudden comes a religious Christian president and occupies Iraq, the capital of the Islamic Abbasid Caliphate and the beating heart of Arab history. So when Bush left office, this was viewed as a victory for Allah over the modern Crusaders. The core question is to whom does this country belong? According to the Arab narrative, this has been an Arab Islamic state since the days of Omar, the caliph who conquered the country in the seventh century. According to Islamic tradition, he declared that the country between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River is waqf land, meaning it belongs forever to Muslims all over the world, and no one else could ever have it According to Islam, land can only go one way, to become Islamic, and it can never go the other way, just like Spain, Sicily, and parts of the Balkans, which at different stages of history were lands of Islam. This is why Hamas and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood cannot even begin to consider recognizing the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state on the land of Palestine. At the same time, Jews feel that this country belongs to them. From the Jewish perspective, this country was populated by Jews and two Jewish kingdoms were here until 1900 years ago. We Jews were expelled with no justification and we came back to our country. This is what gives justification to the Jews having our state here and not in Uganda, Argentina or Birobijan. It even appears in the Koran that this country had been given to the Jews. In 2006 a document approved by the Committee of Arab Local Authorities in Israel - entitled: "The Future Vision of the Palestinian Arabs in Israel and their Relations with the State" - opened with the statement: "Israel is the outcome of a colonialist action which was initiated by the Jewish-Zionist elites in Europe and in the West." To call Israel a colonialist state means a total denial of Jewish history, and echoes the Islamic approach to Jewish history. According to this approach, since Islam came to the world in the year 622 CE with the hijra of Mohammed from Mecca to Medina, all of history before that time lost any meaning or significance.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, Islam, Terrorism, and Territorial Disputes
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, and Arabia

6775. The Obama Administration Reaches Out to Syria: Implications for Israel

Author:: David Schenker
Publication Date:: 03-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:: In early March, two senior U.S. officials traveled to Damascus for the highest-level bilateral meeting in years, part of the new administration's policy of "engagement." Washington seeks to test Damascus' intentions to distance itself from Iran. While a "strategic realignment" of Damascus is unlikely, in the short term the diplomatic opening is sure to alleviate international pressure on Damascus. The Assad regime made no secret of its preference for Barack Obama last November. At the same time, Syrian regime spokesmen appear to be setting preconditions for an effective dialogue, saying Washington would first have to drop the Syria Accountability Act sanctions and remove Syria from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism. U.S. diplomatic engagement with Syria comes at a particularly sensitive time, just a few months before the Lebanese elections, where the "March 14" ruling coalition faces a stiff challenge from the Hizbullah-led "March 8" opposition, and Washington has taken steps to shore up support for its allies. Should the U.S. dialogue with Damascus progress, Washington might consent to take on an enhanced role in resumed Israeli-Syrian negotiations. However, U.S. participation on the Syria track could conceivably result in additional pressure for Israeli concessions in advance of any discernible modifications in Syria's posture toward Hizbullah and Hamas. Based on Syria's track record, there is little reason to be optimistic that the Obama administration will succeed where others have failed. Washington should not necessarily be faulted for trying, as long as the administration remains cognizant of the nature of the regime. Damascus today remains a brutal dictatorship, which derives its regional influence almost exclusively through its support for terrorism in neighboring states and, by extension, through its 30-year strategic alliance with Tehran.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution and Foreign Policy
Political Geography:: United States, Iran, Washington, Middle East, and Syria

6776. The Future of the Two-State Solution

Author:: Giora Eiland
Publication Date:: 02-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:: While the outlines of a two-state solution are generally known, the maximum that any government of Israel will be ready to offer the Palestinians and still survive politically is much less than the minimum that any Palestinian leader can accept. The real gap between both sides is much greater than what is perceived, and that gap is growing. The level of trust between both sides has changed. There are fewer Israelis who believe that the real intention of the Palestinians is to have only a small Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. Furthermore, there is less trust in the Palestinians' abilities to keep their commitments, even if they undertake the right commitments. In Gaza today there is, for all practical purposes, an independent state led by Hamas. It is not part of the Palestinian Authority because that is what the Palestinians decided. If there is an accountable state in Gaza, although it is an enemy state, Israel has a degree of deterrence because there is another party that has something to lose. Current Israeli policy claims that Israel's goal is to bring about the collapse of the Hamas government in Gaza, but that is not going to happen. If we make Gaza double or triple its current size by adding an additional 600 sq. km. of territory from Egyptian Sinai, this could give Gaza the space it needs. Suddenly Gaza would have the space to build a new city of a million people, along with a real seaport and airport, and to create the conditions that would make economic expansion possible At the same time, Israel needs 600 sq. km. in the West Bank because the 1967 line is unacceptable from a security point of view. In return, Israel could give to Egypt 600 sq. km. in the Negev in southern Israel. At the end of the day no one loses land, while multilateral swaps enable us to solve the currently intractable problem of Gaza and solve Israeli needs in the West Bank. Egypt can gain significant benefits from this arrangement. The new seaport and airport next to Egypt can become major economic connections between the Gulf and Europe. Furthermore, Egypt could get a land corridor to enable movement from Egypt to the rest of the Middle East without the need to cross Israel.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Treaties and Agreements, and Territorial Disputes
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and Gaza

6777. The Saudi Connection to the Mumbai Massacres: Strategic Implications for Israel

Author:: Jonathan Fighel
Publication Date:: 02-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:: The Mumbai attacks have been linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba and radical Islamic groups in Kashmir generally. Yet it would be a mistake to see Lashkar only as a local organization with only a local agenda. Saudi Arabia has contributed very much to what Lashkar-e-Taiba looks like, how it thinks, its motivation, ideology, and funding. Saudi Arabia presents itself as the protector and the spearhead of the defense of Muslims around the world against what they define as the Western cultural attack. The Saudis are very committed to recruiting, funding, and funneling ideology to embattled Muslim minorities, and use Muslim charities as their tool to implement this policy. The Saudi methodology is to take advantage of a humanitarian crisis to get a foot in the door. Who could be against assisting widows and orphans and setting up schools and clinics? Some of the money is indeed funneled to support terrorism - families of suicide bombers. The notion of global Islam has also penetrated to Gaza and exists under the umbrella of Hamas, which is enabling a revival of global jihadi organizations there such as Jaish al-Islam and others. This phenomenon is radicalizing the already radicalized society in Gaza. Hamas could agree to a hudna (calm) for fifty years, but there will be no recognition of Israel or a cessation of the struggle against it. If Hamas was ready to act pragmatically, it would no longer be Hamas. And then the frustrated factions within Hamas would break off and join up with the radical global jihadi organizations in Gaza.
Topic:: Political Violence, Islam, Post Colonialism, and Terrorism
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, Gaza, Arab Countries, and Mumbai

6778. European Reactions to Israel's Gaza Operation

Author:: Tamas Berzi
Publication Date:: 01-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:: Many countries such as Italy, Germany, and the Czech Republic showed understanding for Israel and described Israel's actions as self-defense. These countries generally used strong language against Hamas and demanded that it stop the rocket attacks unconditionally. At the time of the start of the Israeli airstrikes, the European presidency was held by France. On December 27, the Presidency of the Council of the European Union condemned both the Israeli air raids and the Palestinian rocket strikes on Israel from Gaza and called for an immediate end to these activities. The statement also condemned the disproportionate use of force. As of January 1, 2009, the Czech Republic took over the role of the Presidency of the European Union. On January 3, the presidency described the Israeli ground operations as an act of self-defense. This drew heavy criticism from many European countries, and the Czechs apologized for the "misunderstanding" and issued a new statement, but one that did not call for an "immediate" ceasefire. In diplomatic language there is a significant difference between "as soon as possible" and "immediate." France has been traditionally the main driving force behind European foreign policy. The separate Sarkozy visit to Israel and his humanitarian ceasefire proposal showed that France was not ready to relinquish its positions to the Czech Republic. The Czech positions during Israel's Gaza operation indicate that the current presidency will work toward a more favorable international environment for Israel. However, Israel should try to make the most of it, since the upcoming Swedish presidency, which starts on July 1, 2009, will most likely be a more difficult time for Israel.
Topic:: War and Territorial Disputes
Political Geography:: Europe, Middle East, Israel, Arabia, Gaza, Germany, and Italy

6779. The George Mitchell Appointment: The Tactics of "Symmetrical Negotiations" May Not Work in "Asymmetrical Conflicts"

Author:: Lenny Ben-David
Publication Date:: 01-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:: The appointment of former Senator George J. Mitchell as Middle East envoy was warmly received in Washington, Jerusalem, and Ramallah. Yet, the Middle East that Mitchell will confront today is much changed from the one he wrestled with eight years ago as chairman of the 2001 Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee, which was created to investigate the outbreak of the Second Intifada. The 2001 Mitchell Report was seen as an "even-handed" document, reflecting President Clinton's directive to "strive to steer clear of...finger-pointing. As a result, the committee attempted - even at the risk of straining credibility - to split the blame for the crisis. The Mitchell Committee could not ignore Palestinian terrorism and the Palestinian use of civilians as human shields. Israel's transgression - and there had to be one to balance Palestinian sins - was its settlement activity. The committee recommended a "freeze [of] all settlement activity, including the 'natural growth' of existing settlements." Israelis objected that the freeze - never mandated in the interim stages of the Oslo Accords - would serve to reward the Palestinians' terrorism. The committee was appointed before the 9/11 al-Qaeda attack. Its report came prior to the capture of two weapons-laden ships bound for Gaza - the Santorini in May 2001 and the Karine A in January 2002 - and prior to President Bush's 2004 recognition of "new realities on the ground [in the territories], including already existing major Israeli populations centers." Bush continued: "[I]t is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949." The 2001 Mitchell Report was issued years before Hamas' coup in Gaza. Hamas remains dedicated to Israel's destruction. Its alliance with Iran and its affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood mark Hamas as an enemy of moderate Arab regimes. Hamas may yet prove to be a fatal flaw to Mitchell's axiom that "there is no such thing as a conflict that can't be ended."
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Foreign Policy, and Islam
Political Geography:: United States, Washington, Middle East, and Arabia

6780. Averting Iranian Influence in Post-War Gaza: The Rehabilitation Issue

Author:: Shimon Shapira
Publication Date:: 01-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:: Immediately upon the end of the fighting in Gaza, the international community will enlist on behalf of an extensive rehabilitation project to enable the Palestinian population to return to their homes and get on with their civil and economic lives. It is of prime importance to prevent Iran from acquiring influence in post-war Gaza through any assistance programs. Following the Second Lebanon War in 2006, Iran and Hizbullah grasped the political and economic significance of the rehabilitation project in the Shiite areas of southern Lebanon damaged during the war. Hizbullah directed the rehabilitation work, while totally ignoring the central Lebanese government, and in this manner regained and even reinforced its influence within the Shiite community. Iran is already positioning itself for influence in post-war Gaza. On January 14, 2009, the Deputy Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Ali Akbar Mohtashami, arrived in Lebanon heading a 40-man delegation in order to direct Iranian support for Hamas. The main objective for Israel and the international community should be to deny Iran the attainment of this objective and to transform the Palestinian Authority, headed by Mahmoud Abbas, into the principal factor, along with Egypt, entrusted with the rehabilitation work in Gaza.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Foreign Policy, War, and Power Politics
Political Geography:: United States, Iran, Middle East, Palestine, Gaza, and Lebanon

6781. What's Behind Western Condemnation of Israel's War Against Hamas?

Author:: Efraim Karsh
Publication Date:: 01-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:: With a unanimity that has become all too familiar, politicians, the media, NGOs, and church leaders across the globe took their cue to denounce Israel's legitimate act of self-defense against one of the world's most extreme terror organizations. This chorus of disapproval is in stark contrast to the utter indifference to far bloodier conflicts that have been going on around the world. Why do citizens in democracies enthusiastically embrace a radical Islamist group that not only seeks the destruction of a fellow democracy but is overtly committed to the substitution of a world-wide Islamic caliphate for the existing international order? Decades of mistreatment of the Palestinians by the Arab states have gone virtually unnoticed. Only when they interact with Israel do the Palestinians win the world's attention. The fact that international coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict has invariably reflected a degree of intensity and emotional involvement well beyond the normal level to be expected of impartial observers would seem to suggest that it is a manifestation of longstanding prejudice that has been brought out into the open by the conflict. The Palestinians are but the latest lightning rod unleashed against the Jews, their supposed victimization reaffirming the millenarian demonization of the Jews in general, and the medieval blood libel - that Jews delight in the blood of others.
Topic:: Political Violence, Islam, Terrorism, and Armed Struggle
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

6782. Oversight or Overlooked? Civil Society\'s Role in Monitoring and Reforming Security Systems and the Practice of Counterterrorism

Publication Date:: 03-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame
Abstract:: This report considers civil society\'s role in monitoring Security System Reform (SSR) and counterterrorism both in policy and in practice. It argues that civil society engagement, particularly with local actors, is central to ensuring proper civilian oversight and the overall effectiveness of both SSR and counterterrorism efforts and examines how efforts to engage civil society may be improved.
Topic:: Security, Civil Society, Terrorism, and Counterinsurgency

6783. Overdue Process: Protecting Human Rights while Sanctioning Alleged Terrorists

Author:: David Cortright, Alistair Millar, George A. Lopez, and Linda Gerber-Stellingwerf
Publication Date:: 04-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame
Abstract:: Practices used by the United Nations Security Council in the name of countering terrorism have led to serious concerns about violations of human rights and limitations on the work of civil society groups. The use of blacklisting has eroded due process rights and discredited elements of the international fight against terrorism. Enhanced efforts to create clear and fair listing procedures are urgently needed and long overdue.
Topic:: Civil Society, Human Rights, International Organization, Terrorism, and United Nations
Political Geography:: Europe and Taliban

6784. Fiji: the flailing state

Publication Date:: 04-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:: Fiji's President Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda announced on 10 April 2009 that he had abrogated Fiji's 1997 constitution, appointed himself head of state, revoked the appointment of all judicial officers and would direct an interim government to hold parliamentary elections by September 2014. The President's announcement followed a Court of Appeal judgement on 9 April which ruled that Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama's December 2006 coup was illegal and directed the President to appoint an independent third person to lead an interim government and call for fresh elections under the 1997 constitution. On 11 April, President Iloilo reappointed Bainimarama as interim Prime Minister, who subsequently imposed strict censorship on the media, deported Australian journalist Sean Dorney, arrested a number of opponents and removed the Reserve Bank Governor, Savenaca Narube.
Topic:: Development, Economics, Foreign Aid, and Fragile/Failed State
Political Geography:: Australia/Pacific

6785. A Billion Hungry People: Governments and aid agencies must rise to the challenge

Publication Date:: 01-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The food price increases of 2007 and 2008 focused attention on a global food crisis that was already affecting more than 850 million people. Even before the 2008 food riots, some 16,000 children were dying every day from hunger-related causes – one every five seconds. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that by the end of 2008, rising prices had added 109 million to the ranks of the hungry. Today, about one in six of the world's population goes short of food, almost a billion people.
Topic:: International Relations, Humanitarian Aid, Third World, Foreign Aid, Food, and Famine

6786. Blind Optimism: Challenging the myths about private health care in poor countries

Publication Date:: 02-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The stakes could not be higher. Every minute a woman dies in pregnancy or childbirth for want of simple medical care; every hour 300 people die of AIDS-related illnesses; and every day 5,000 children are killed by pneumonia. The world is badly off-course to achieve the internationally agreed health Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). To get back on-course and achieve universal and equitable health care for all requires a massive expansion of health services. To fail in this endeavour will be to abandon hundreds of millions of people to an early death and a life blighted by sickness. The critical question is how can such a massive scale up be achieved?
Topic:: Health, Humanitarian Aid, Third World, and Foreign Aid

6787. 4-a-week: Changing food consumption in the UK to benefit people and planet

Publication Date:: 03-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Food shopping may seem an innocent, even mundane, chore. But the food we buy every week can have huge impacts on people and environments seemingly worlds away from our regular dash round the shops. The futures of some of the world's poorest people and of the global environment are intimately linked to the contents of our shopping baskets.
Topic:: Environment, Political Economy, and Food
Political Geography:: United Kingdom and Europe

6788. Caught in the Conflict: Civilians and the international security strategy in Afghanistan

Publication Date:: 04-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The intensification and spread of the conflict in Afghanistan is increasingly affecting civilians. In 2008 there were over 2,100 civilian casualties, 55% of which were caused by militants. Despite steps to reduce civilian casualties, international military forces (IMF) caused 552 civilian deaths through airstrikes in 2008, which is up by 72% on 2007. IMF have also carried out or supported raids and search operations, a large number of which have involved an excessive use of force, including loss of life, physical assault, dam age to property and theft, as well as aggressive and improper treatment of women. Such conduct not only generates anger and mistrust towards foreign troops, but is steadily eroding popular support for the international presence in the country. Furthermore, many individuals detained by Afghan and US forces are held for long periods without charge or trial, and there are allegations of mistreatment and torture.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, Human Rights, and War
Political Geography:: Afghanistan, United States, and Central Asia

6789. What Happened at the G20? Initial Analysis of the London Summit

Publication Date:: 04-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: G20 leaders met for the second time in London on 2 April, as the global economic crisis began to crash across the borders of poor countries with ever-greater severity. Oxfam's research shows rising human impacts in the shape of job losses, falling remittances to the families of migrant workers and a particularly severe impact on women workers in global supply chains. Based on the latest forecasts, published on the eve of the summit, Oxfam estimates that the crisis could push 100 million people into poverty in 2009 alone.
Topic:: Economics, Gender Issues, Globalization, International Organization, Poverty, and Labor Issues
Political Geography:: London

6790. Close to Home: UK poverty and the economic downturn

Publication Date:: 04-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The major social policy challenge of the current economic recession is how to prevent a precipitous rise in poverty in the UK. In addition to limiting the numbers of people plunged into poverty because of the recession, government must also mitigate the impact on people already living below the poverty line. But, this paper will argue, response s to the recession present an opportunity to make a step-change, ensuring that actions taken also help build a fairer, more sustainable society in which poverty is ended in the long-term.
Topic:: Economics, Globalization, Poverty, and Labor Issues
Political Geography:: Europe

6791. A Business Case for Fighting Poverty

Publication Date:: 05-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Even in hard times, it can make commercial sense for companies to develop markets that include poor people, and business models that address poverty. Businesses that create decent jobs, access to markets or goods and services that benefit low-income groups in emerging economies help to build healthier, wealthier, and more highly skilled communities. Those communities will provide the customers, suppliers, and employees that companies need for sustainable growth.
Topic:: Development, Economics, Markets, Poverty, and Non State Actors

6792. Making Pooled Funding Work for People in Crisis

Author:: Tanja Schuemer-Cross
Publication Date:: 05-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: International humanitarian aid provides relief to tens of millions of people each year: in 2007 to more than 43 million people through UN humanitarian appeals alone. However, it is also often too little, too late, and unpredictable, or inappropriate to the needs of communities, including specific groups such as women and girls. The UN-led reforms since 2005 to improve humanitarian aid have begun - but only begun - to make a difference to this variable performance.
Topic:: Development, Humanitarian Aid, Poverty, Third World, and Foreign Aid

6793. The G20 Meetings: No Common Framework, No Consensus

Author:: Michael Pettis
Publication Date:: 05-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:: Participants in the recently completed G20 meeting in London agreed on a number of measures, some substantial and some merely symbolic, but they sidestepped the real issues dividing the major economic powers and, in so doing, failed to address the root causes of the global trade and investment imbalances. This was almost inevitable. China, Europe, and the United States have incompatible conceptual frameworks for understanding the causes of the global financial crisis; furthermore, their conflicting domestic political constraints make agreement on solutions hard to reach. Europeans believe that the root cause of the crisis was excessively deregulated financial systems, and they are skeptical about U.S. and Chinese calls for fiscal expansion, worrying that excessive spending would prolong the imbalances and make the ultimate adjustment more difficult. China also believes that the roots of the crisis lie within the structure of the global financial system, although Beijing insists that it was mainly the reserve status of the U.S. dollar that permitted imbalances to develop to unsustainable levels. China is particularly vulnerable to trade protection and seeks to maintain open markets for its continued export of domestic overcapacity. Like the United States, it is pushing for more aggressive, globally coordinated fiscal expansion. However, because of rigidities in its financial system and development model, its fiscal response to the crisis may exacerbate the difficult global adjustment and may, ironically, increase the chances of trade friction. In a time of contracting demand, the United States controls two-thirds of the most valuable resource in the world: net demand. Consequently, it is U.S. policies that will determine the pace and direction of the global recovery, along with the institutional framework that will govern trade and investment relationships for decades to come. The crisis puts the United States more firmly at the center of the emerging world order than ever. So far, the United States has not understood the need to consider the global outcomes of its recovery policies. Until the major powers can reach consensus about the roots of the imbalance and cooperate on policies to promote recovery, it is likely that the world economy will get worse before it gets better. The United States will drive the recovery process, but in order to do so effectively it will need to recognize its position of strength and negotiate the appropriate agreements with other major powers, especially China, on the pace and nature of the adjustment.
Topic:: Economics, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:: United States, China, Europe, and London

6794. 2009 Estimates of Fundamental Equilibrium Exchange Rates

Author:: William R. Cline and John Williamson
Publication Date:: 06-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:: When we first published our estimates of fundamental equilibrium exchange rates (FEERs) in July 2008 (Cline and Williamson 2008), we stated that this was intended to be a regular series of publications. This policy brief updates those estimates in light of the momentous changes in the world economy during the past year. Many of those changes, notably changes in actual exchange rates, should not influence FEERs, except insofar as we allow a range of variation of the target current account balance. But equally clearly, one does expect some of the changes, notably forecasts of the prices of oil and other commodities, to be important determinants of equilibrium exchange rates.

6795. The Alien Tort Statute of 1789: Time for a Fresh Look

Author:: Gary Clyde Hufbauer
Publication Date:: 05-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:: In 2007 the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that US companies that had done business with apartheid South Africa could be found liable for monetary damages under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) of 1789 (Khulumani v. Barclay Nat. Bank Ltd., 504 F.3d 254 [2d Cir. 2007]). Liability arises, the Second Circuit declared, from their possible connections with human rights violations committed by South Africa during the apartheid era. Firms named in the suit include Bank of America, IBM, Coca-Cola, and General Motors. The governments of the United Kingdom, Germany, and Switzerland all opposed the lawsuit, as did the government of South Africa, which argued that the suit ran counter to its policy of reconciliation. The Bush administration also opposed the suit, but the Second Circuit rejected the argument that the cases could be dismissed for foreign policy reasons.
Topic:: Apartheid, Human Rights, International Law, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:: Africa, United States, United Kingdom, America, South Africa, and Germany

6796. Energy Efficiency in Buildings: A Global Economic Perspective

Author:: Trevor Houser
Publication Date:: 04-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:: At the 2008 summit in Hokkaido, Japan, G-8 leaders called for a 50 percent global reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 to avoid “the most serious consequences of climate change.” Meeting this goal will require transforming the way energy is produced, delivered, and consumed across all sectors of the economy and regions of the world. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that the building sector alone will need to reduce annual emissions by 8.2 gigatons below business-as-usual by 2050, an amount equal to nearly one third of global emissions today (IEA 2008a).
Topic:: Climate Change, Energy Policy, and International Cooperation
Political Geography:: Japan

6797. US Taxation of Multinational Corporations: What Makes Sense, What Doesn't

Author:: Gary Clyde Hufbauer and Jisun Kim
Publication Date:: 03-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:: As the administration and Congress catch their breath from rescuing the economy, their thoughts are quickly turning to other issues—including the structure of the US tax system. Everyone agrees that the US tax system inflicts enormous complexity on the American public. But reform is never easy. Who pays the tax burden ranks among the most contentious issues that Congress has historically faced, and this time around will be no different.
Topic:: Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:: United States

6798. Pressing the "Reset Button" on US-Russia Relations

Author:: Anders Åslund and Andrew Kuchins
Publication Date:: 03-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:: Whither Russia? Russia's economic circumstances as well as its articulated goals hold the answer to this eternal question. Drawing on our analysis in the forthcoming book The Russia Balance Sheet, we outline here a policy approach for the Barack Obama administration. We believe our views reflect to some degree an emerging consensus for the new administration's Russia policy. Russia is important for US foreign policy in many ways. The United States needs a more constructive relationship with Russia to address many core global security issues including nuclear security and nonproliferation, terrorism, energy, and climate change.
Topic:: International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Economics
Political Geography:: Russia and United States

6799. North Korea: Getting Back to Talks

Publication Date:: 06-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: International Crisis Group
Abstract:: The motivations for North Korea's second nuclear test are, as with many of its actions, mostly impenetrable. It may be the latest step in an unrelenting drive to become a permanent nuclear state or it could be advertising nuclear wares to potential buyers. It may be driving up the price others will pay for the North to give up its weapons or it might be about ensuring that the military will accept whatever decision Kim Jong-il has made on his successor. Most likely, North Korea's nuclear weapons program serves multiple purposes for the leadership. Whatever the rationale, there are no good options in response. Finding a way to resume talks on ending the nuclear program may appear to reward Pyongyang's bad behaviour, but diplomacy is still the least bad option. At the same time, the UN Security Council's strong and united condemnation of the test in Resolution 1874 must be enforced, while containment of proliferation and deterrence of North Korean provocations need to be boosted.
Topic:: Nuclear Weapons and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:: Israel, Asia, and North Korea

6800. Pakistan's IDP Crisis: Challenges and Opportunities

Publication Date:: 06-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: International Crisis Group
Abstract:: In the wake of a conceptually flawed peace agreement, the Taliban takeover of large parts of Malakand division, subsequent military action in the area, almost three million internally displaced persons (IDPs) have fled to camps, homes, schools and other places of shelter across Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP). The challenge for the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led government and international actors is to make relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts responsive to needs and empower local communities in Malakand Division. Failure to do so will reverse any gains on the battlefield and boost radical Islamist groups.
Topic:: Terrorism, War, and Insurgency
Political Geography:: Pakistan, Central Asia, Asia, and Taliban

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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS