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Begin New Search Topic International Security Content Type Special Report

31. The Quest for a Regional Order in the Middle East

Author:
Marc Otte
Publication Date:
02-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
EGMONT - The Royal Institute for International Relations
Abstract:
The Middle East is once again going through a period of war and upheaval, including mass murder of civilians, state failure, transnational terrorism, sectarian wars, physical and societal destruction, massive arms purchases, use of nonconventional weapons (notably chemical) and a permanent risk of proliferation of WMD. These developments are a threat to the region, but also to the rest of the world and to Europe in particular. The current turmoil should not be underestimated for its potential to trigger an even bigger hot war that could involve other players, if only because of miscalculations by some of the parties involved.
Topic:
International Security and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Middle East

32. Trends in international arms transfers 2017

Author:
Pieter D. Wezeman
Publication Date:
03-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Abstract:
The volume of international transfers of major weapons in 2013–17 was 10 per cent higher than in 2008–12. This is a continuation of the upward trend that began in the early 2000s. The flow of arms to the Middle East and Asia and Oceania increased between 2008–12 and 2013–17, while there was a decrease in the flow to the Americas, Africa and Europe.
Topic:
International Security
Political Geography:
Global Focus

33. Citizen Security in Latin America: Facts and Figures

Author:
Robert Muggah and Katherine Aguirre Tobón
Publication Date:
04-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Igarapé Institute
Abstract:
Many Latin American countries, states and cities are facing a chronic public security crisis. In spite of more than a decade of modest economic growth, crime and victimization rates are rising, not dropping. Nevertheless, recent information of 2017 show some signs of improvement. Criminal violence is routinely singled out as one of the top concerns of citizens from across Mexico, Central America and South America. And there are warning signs that the region ́s high rates of criminal violence and victimization will continue rising if nothing is done. Latin American priorities and approaches to public security have shifted over the past two decades, with growing attention devoted to citizen security. In contrast to traditional law and order approaches to crime, citizen security privileges a more comprehensive and people-centered conceptualization of security and safety – including more data-driven policing, smarter approaches to criminal justice, alternatives to incarceration, and investments in primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. The following report sets out the broad parameters of Latin America ‘s crime challenges and explores innovations in promoting public safety and citizen security. It also underlines the heterogeneity of Latin America ́s security environment, including the strong differences between regions, countries, states and cities. Taken together, the report issues a descriptive assessment of the scope and scale of the challenges, as well as opportunities for CAF to support partners in their efforts to prevent and reduce crime and improve safety for all Latin Americans.
Topic:
Security, Crime, International Security, Violence, and Data
Political Geography:
Latin America and Mexico

34. North Korea’s Military Strategy, 2018

Author:
Chun In-bum
Publication Date:
08-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI)
Abstract:
As the focus shifted from North Korea’s military advances in 2017 to its diplomatic offensive in 2018, we should not lose sight of the strategic thinking behind gaining the maximum time to develop the capacity to extend its military threat. At present North Korea needs time to perfect its nuclear strike capability. It has been very successful in developing missile capabilities, but it needs additional time to achieve its goals. Starting with high-level North-South talks on March 5, 2018, the DPRK has just gained what it needs most: time. Whenever the first talks begin with the United States and the DPRK, there should be no surprise if the DPRK comes with an improved capability to threaten the alliance. Thus, for an extended period in 2018, as diplomacy proceeds, we should expect a subdued North Korean approach: not flaunting its nuclear weapons and missiles, while striving to boost capabilities for the struggle ahead. In the seven years since Kim Jong-un officially inherited the leadership of the DPRK, his stated policy has been byungjin ( 병진, 竝進), the pursuit of both economic and military development. In conjunction with purges and efforts to eliminate rivals, byungjin may, in part, derive from Kim’s efforts at the outset of his tenure to consolidate political power. Through it, Kim displayed moderate economic flexibility, thereby gaining favor with the North Korean people through facilitating an improvement in living standards. It is tempting to see byungjin as a sign of the regime’s weakness, or as an indication of moderation, either of which would prompt the eventual collapse of the Kim regime. Correspondingly, one might see it as a reflection of Kim’s immaturity, inexperience, and lack of political and strategic acumen. These viewpoints reflect mirror imaging more than a sophisticated understanding of North Korea. Byungjin may be more of a political device and a strategic communications element of a grand strategy, as opposed to the regime’s strategy. It may be a significant instrument in the regime’s effort to maintain elite cohesion and focus the energies of the North Korean people toward productive pursuits that likewise add to the regime’s legitimacy and staying power. It by no means suggests any diminishing of the priority of making advances in nuclear and missile development in order to pose a more serious threat. Since taking power, Kim’s regime has fired close to one hundred missiles of wide variety and range compared to thirty-one for his father and grandfather combined. He has also conducted four nuclear tests, boasting of a thermal nuclear capability. During his 2018 New Year’s address, Kim Jong-un proclaimed that the DPRK had perfected its nuclear and intercontinental missile capabilities, supporting North Korea’s constitutional claim to be a nuclear power. Despite an upsurge in diplomacy after this address, we should keep our eyes on its military advances.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Economics, International Security, Military Strategy, and Weapons
Political Geography:
Asia, North Korea, and Korea

35. Hamas Finds Gaza Tunnels’ $500 Million Loss Worse Than Madoff

Author:
Pal Think
Publication Date:
09-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Pal-Think For Strategic Studies
Abstract:
Investment opportunities are rare in the Gaza Strip. So when Nabila Ghabin saw one last year, she pawned her car and jewelry and put $12,000 into a network of tunnels that brought in supplies smuggled from Egypt. She was one of about 4,000 Gazans who gave cash to middlemen and tunnel operators in 2008 as Israel blocked the overland passage of goods. Then Israeli warplanes bombed the tunnels before and during the Dec. 27 to Jan. 18 Gaza offensive and the investments collapsed. Now investors, who lost as much as $500 million, want their money back from Hamas, which runs Gaza. Hamas Economics Minister Ziad Zaza says about 200 people were taken into custody in connection with the tunnel investments; most have been released. Hamas is offering a partial repayment of 16.5 cents on the dollar using money recovered from Ihab al-Kurd, the biggest tunnel operator. The imbroglio over the 800 to 1,000 tunnels has deepened Hamas’s decline in public opinion in Gaza and highlights the Wild West nature of the underground economy that supports this jammed enclave of 1.4 million people
Topic:
International Political Economy, International Security, and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Gaza

36. The “Deal of the Century”: The Final Stage of the Oslo Accords

Author:
Joseph Massad
Publication Date:
11-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Al Jazeera Center for Studies
Abstract:
Donald Trump’s “Deal of the century” is the final phase of the 1993 Oslo Accords, which formalized the final liquidation of the Palestinian anti-colonial national struggle for independence and liberation. The “Deal” is nothing more or less than the last step of the so-called “peace process.” In order to understand the aims of the “Deal,” we need to go back to the Oslo Accords, which anticipated this step and assiduously prepared the ground for it. Since the beginning of the so-called “peace process” inaugurated in Madrid in 1991, the PLO, through its unofficial negotiators, conceded Palestinian rights one by one, in a gradual process culminating in the official PLO signing of the Declaration of Principles in Washington D.C. on September 13, 1993.
Topic:
International Security and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

37. Too Close for Comfort: How Algeria Faces the Libyan Conflict

Author:
Jalel Harchaoui
Publication Date:
07-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Small Arms Survey
Abstract:
In March 2011, Algeria opposed the Arab League’s request for a Western military intervention against the Qaddafi regime in Libya. The anarchy and arms proliferation that resulted from the ensuing war were a shock to Algeria’s own national security. This Briefing Paper explores the underpinnings of Algeria’s foreign policy, and how it has evolved with respect to the ongoing crises in Libya, and offers insight into future prospects. The Paper notes that Algerian foreign policy has engaged with a wide variety of Libyan actors from 2011 to the present, playing a key role in international efforts to form an effective government. At the same time, Algeria has moved beyond its strict policy of ‘no boots on the ground’ to a more flexible stance on direct intervention. At its core, however, Algeria remains committed to compromise and dialogue with all parties, a stance that sometimes puts it at odds with the West.
Topic:
International Security and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Libya

38. Water Crises, Security and Climate Change

Author:
Geoffrey Kemp and Luke Hagberg
Publication Date:
12-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Abstract:
The historically severe drought in Syria from 2006-2011 led to the migration of rural communities to already overburdened urban centers, which concurrent with the state’s mismanagement of freshwater resources, helped foment the social unrest and the uprisings against President Bashar al-Assad. The ongoing conflict has had repercussions around the globe with refugees fleeing to, and having an unmistakable political impact upon, neighboring states and Europe. The war in Yemen was rooted in the Arab Spring, but while the attempts to overthrow President Ali Abdullah Saleh were eventually successful, the political transition was not. The overextraction of Yemen’s groundwater led to an unprecedented water crisis that has been exacerbated by the civil war. Terrorist cells, militant insurgencies, and foreign interventions have undermined efforts to reform the Yemeni government and address this humanitarian catastrophe.
Topic:
International Security, International Affairs, and Water
Political Geography:
Global Focus

39. 2017-18 Key Strategic Issues List

Author:
Todd E Col Key
Publication Date:
07-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
Abstract:
Today's global security environment remains volatile, uncertain, ano complex. Resurgent, revanchist, and unstable states, and radical terrorist organizations continue to challenge the international order, undermine peace and stability, and threaten U.S. interests. In the face of this, the United States Army remains America's combat force of decision. If the political leaders of the United States decide to deploy its Army, the Nation's opponents know they will be defeated. This certainty is the foundation of America's deterrent capability
Topic:
International Security
Political Geography:
Global Focus

40. Armed Robotic Systems Emergence: Weapons Systems Life Cycles Analysis and New Strategic Realities

Author:
Dr. Robert J. Bunker
Publication Date:
11-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
Abstract:
Armed robotic systems—drones and droids—now emerging on the battlefield portend new strategic realities not only for U.S. forces but also for our allies and future potential belligerents. Numerous questions of immediate warfighting importance come to mind with the fielding of these drones and droids that are viewed as still being in their experimental and entrepreneurial stage of development. By drawing upon historical weapons systems life cycles case studies, focusing on the early 9th through the mid-16th-century knight, the mid-19th through the later 20th-century battleship, and the early 20th through the early 21st-century tank, the monograph provides military historical context related to their emergence, and better allows both for questions related to warfighting to be addressed, and policy recommendations related to them to be initially provided.
Topic:
International Security
Political Geography:
Global Focus