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10882. Report on Regional Consultation on The Responsibility to Protect
- Publication Date:
- 04-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
- Abstract:
- Five years have passed since the signing of the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document, when United Nations (UN) member states agreed to the Responsibility to Protect (RtoP). Contained in paragraph 138 of the World Summit Outcome Document is a commitment by states to prevent four specific types of mass atrocities – ethnic cleansing, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. It was a significant commitment outlining sovereignty as responsibility. ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member states were part of this historic signing, recalling incidents of mass atrocities in their own region, such as in Cambodia and East Timor. Since the 2005 World Summit, there have been numerous regional developments, within Southeast Asia, in the areas of conflict prevention, early warning mechanisms and protection frameworks for its populations, such as the recent establishment of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) and the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC). However, there has been little discussion on what traction exists and how to operationalise RtoP in the region. In addition, there have been few avenues in Southeast Asia, for policymakers, civil society members, academics and the media to collectively discuss how RtoP is viewed in the region, how it can be better promoted and whether there are any lessons to be learned from past experiences in the region.
- Topic:
- Security, Civil Society, and Regional Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Asia
10883. Inward FDI in Colombia and its policy context
- Author:
- Miguel Posada Betancourt
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Colombia used to be a synonym for violence and drugs, but not anymore. Today, the country has one of the best performing economies in Latin America, and violence levels have been dramatically reduced. The outgoing administration made improving investor confidence and the business environment one of the pillars of its policy. As a result of important reforms and aggressive campaigns to promote the country as an attractive location, inward foreign direct investment (IFDI) has risen to unprecedented levels. Due to these positive changes, Colombia has been designated a “top reformer” for the past four years in the World Bank's Doing Business reports, and the new Government has promised to maintain and reinforce efforts to attract foreign investment. Even though IFDI flows decreased in the past two years as a consequence of the economic and financial crisis, many foreign affiliates in Colombia achieved positive profits. A country that a decade ago was avoided is now in many investors' plans.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, War on Drugs, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Colombia and Latin America
10884. Winds From the East: How the People's Republic of China Seeks to Influence the Media in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia
- Author:
- Andy Mosher and Douglas Farah
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- National Endowment for Democracy
- Abstract:
- The People's Republic of China (PRC) is using various components of public diplomacy to influence the media in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. China's primary purposes appear to be to present China as a reliable friend and partner, as well as to make sure that China's image in the developing world is positive. As part of its efforts to do this, the Chinese government seeks to fundamentally reshape much of the world's media in its own image, away from a watchdog stance toward the government to one where the government's interests are the paramount concern in deciding what to disseminate. The Chinese efforts often result in helping authoritarian governments expand control of their local media.
- Topic:
- Mass Media
- Political Geography:
- Africa, China, Latin America, and Southeast Asia
10885. Squaring the Circle: Palestinian Security Reform under Occupation
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Who could be against Palestinian security reform? In the past few years, the Palestinian Authority (PA) largely has restored order and a sense of personal safety in the West Bank, something unthinkable during the second intifada. Militias no longer roam streets, uniformed security forces are back, Palestinians mostly seem pleased; even Israel – with reason to be sceptical and despite recent attacks on West Bank settlers – is encouraged. Initial steps, long overdue, have been taken to reorganise an unwieldy security sector, where overlapping, unaccountable branches had become fiefdoms of powerful chiefs. West Bankers applaud the changes but are far less comfortable with their accompaniment: unparalleled security cooperation with Israel and crackdown on opposition groups – notably but not exclusively Hamas – affecting civil society broadly. Without serious progress toward ending the occupation and intra-Palestinian divisions, support for the security measures risks diminishing, PA legitimacy could further shrivel, and ordinary Palestinians' patience – without which none of this can be sustained – will wear thin.
- Topic:
- Security, Regional Cooperation, and Counterinsurgency
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and Arabia
10886. Azerbaijan: Vulnerable Stability
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Ilham Aliyev's presidency has been marked by stabilisation of the political life of the country and economic growth driven by oil exports. This stability, however, has come with the consolidation of authoritarian rule, greater suppression of freedoms and an increased reliance by elites on corruption and patronage networks to dominate virtually all aspects of public life. With a marginalised and demoralised opposition, little independent media and rent-seeking elites who have vested interests in the preservation of his power, Ilham Aliyev has a level of control over society that his father never possessed. The international community has little leverage with which to pressure the regime, but it should do more to persuade the leadership to see that even its own self-interests lie in gradual but genuine liberalisation.
- Topic:
- Corruption, Government, Human Rights, Politics, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Azerbaijan
10887. Inward FDI in Peru and its policy context
- Author:
- Benjamin Chavez and Jaime Dupuy
- Publication Date:
- 08-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Peru has shifted from being a small FDI player in the Latin America and Caribbean region in the 1990s to being the sixth largest FDI host country in 2008. With inflows of US$ 6.9 and US$ 4.8 billions in 2008 and 2009, respectively, Peru has managed to contain the impact of the financial crisis on inward FDI (IFDI). The main determinants of the improved FDI performance were: a stable economic and FDI policy since 1992;) vast natural resources; strong gross domestic product (GDP) and market growth; and an export-oriented economy, especially during the past decade. In recent years, Peru has become one of the fastest growing economies in Latin America and a diversified commercial hub for IFDI in the region.
- Topic:
- Economics, Monetary Policy, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Latin America, Caribbean, and Peru
10888. Eritrea: The Siege State
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Eritrea has been deeply troubled since independence in 1991. Following the devastating war with Ethiopia (1998-2000), an authoritarian, militarised regime has further tightened political space, tolerating neither opposition nor dissent. Relations are difficult with the region and the wider international community. At African Union (AU) behest, the UN Security Council imposed sanctions in 2009 for its support of the Somali Islamic insurgency. It has become, in effect, a siege state, whose government is suspicious of its own population, neighbours and the wider world. Economically crippled at birth, it is a poor country from which tens of thousands of youths are fleeing, forming large asylum-seeking communities in Europe and North America. But Eritrea is an extreme reflection of its region's rough political environment, not its sole spoiler. More effort to understand the roots of its suspicions and greater engagement rather than further isolation would be a more promising international prescription for dealing with the genuine risks it represents.
- Topic:
- Islam, United Nations, Insurgency, Fragile/Failed State, and Sanctions
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Europe, North America, Ethiopia, and Eritrea
10889. Common Cause: The case for working with our cultural values
- Author:
- Tom Crompton
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- This executive summary is more than a condensed version of the overall document: it also provides a map of the report. The report itself amasses a considerable body of empirical evidence in support of the case that it builds. This evidence is presented both in the main body of the document and in the appendices. This summary provides an overview of the case that the report builds, and a guide to finding particular parts of this argument substantiated in the main text. Concepts and key arguments in bold type are indexed to the relevant sections of the main report.
- Topic:
- Development and Culture
10890. Budgetary Savings from Military Restraint
- Author:
- Benjamin H. Friedman and Christopher Preble
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The United States needs a defense budget worthy of its name, one that protects Americans rather than wasting vast sums embroiling us in controversies remote from our interests. This paper outlines such a defense strategy and the substantial cuts in military spending that it allows. That strategy discourages the occupation of failing states and indefinite commitments to defend healthy ones. With fewer missions, the military can shrink its force structure—reducing personnel, the weapons and vehicles procured for them, and operational costs. The resulting force would be more elite, less strained, and far less expensive. By avoiding needless military conflict and protecting our prosperity, these changes would make Americans more secure.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Debt
- Political Geography:
- United States and America