This second booklet of reflections on Black Sea security issues is the companion volume to the one published during the continuation of the seminar sponsored by the NSC at Constanta (Romana) on 6 and 7 June 2005 on the subject of “The Role of the Wider Black Sea Area in a Future European Security Space”.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and Development
The main objective of this paper is to encourage open debate and reform action in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region on the need to create the legal and political enabling environment necessary to promote good governance, the Rule of Law and citizen participation. The paper notes that many of the defamation laws in the region still contain criminal penalties, including high fines and imprisonment, and that the threat and enforcement of these laws and policies leads to government censorship, self-censorship and sometimes imprisonment. These practices are now well understood as counter to international obligations and best practices as well as to the guarantees of a free media and free speech enshrined in most MENA Constitutions. The net result of these practices is a culture of secrecy that presents high barriers to sustainable economic and political reform. Collectively, this secrecy effectively muzzles open discussion and critical reform debate and makes the promotion of basic human rights and a good governance reform agenda virtually impossible.
May 15, 2005 elections presented the Ethiopian people a remarkable opportunity to express their political views by participating in a poll that offered them a meaningful choice. In contrast to earlier elections in 1995 and 2000, opposition parties did not boycott but rather competed vigorously across the country. Opposition party mistrust of the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE), reports of intimidation and violence, and highly polarizing rhetoric raised concerns during the pre-election period but did not deter opposition parties from campaigning in nearly every constituency. Live, televised debates on matters of public policy, opposition party access to state-owned media, and huge, peaceful rallies in the final week of campaigning made it clear that these elections would represent a critical moment in Ethiopia's political development. The Ethiopian people recognized this opportunity and turned out in overwhelming numbers to vote, forcing some polling stations in Addis Ababa to stay open 24 hours to accommodate those in line.
Topic:
International Relations, Democratization, and Human Rights
Security sector reform (SSR) focuses on security institutions of a state, namely the military, police, intelligence and criminal justice institutions, in order to make them capable of delivering security to citizens consistent with democratic norms. Despite the promotion of comprehensive SSR frameworks and guidelines, projects overwhelmingly focus on the reform of traditional security institutions (ie military and police training). Strengthening civil oversight and governance of the overall security sector are still marginal activities.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Development, and Government
Tomas Valasek, Giovanni Gasparini, Annalisa Monaco, Roberto Menotti, Gerard Quille, and Alyson J. K. Bailes
Publication Date:
05-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Security Information Service
Abstract:
Alyson Bailes captures the essence of the present context and challenge facing Europe in the early decades of the 21st Century with her opening observation that: “Europe has arrived at a point in history when its conception of security, and security ambitions, are possibly running ahead of the contemporary realities: while its military concepts and assets are lagging behind.”
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and Defense Policy
South Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons
Abstract:
The MRE message is comparatively simple when compared to the SALW message. Even in countries that have not signed the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty1 it is possible to say that all remaining minefields and all items of unexploded ordnance can be considered a hazard, and that anyone finding any mines or UXO should report them. The SALW issue is more complex, as SALW Awareness messages struggle with the problem that not all weapons are illegal and weapon ownership is – in general – not stigmatised. SALW Awareness projects must therefore struggle with the emphasis they place on either (a) attempting to stigmatise gun ownership with the long term aim of reducing the number of weapons in circulation or (b) concentrating on achieving the comparatively short term aim of preventing accidental injuries resulting from poor gun storage and handling. This problem of 'selection and maintenance of the aim' does not occur in MRE.
Topic:
International Relations, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies, City University of New York
Abstract:
Anniversaries are a typical time to take stock and think about change. The United Nations (UN) roller coaster ride has been severe in the post-Cold War era – from the euphoria surrounding Security Council decision-making to use military force against Iraq in 1990-1991 when "renaissance" was the common multilateral refrain, to the current morass after severe divisions over the decision by the United States (U.S.) and United Kingdom (UK) to go to war in Iraq in 2003 with a return to the "dark ages" of unilateralism.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Development, and International Organization
Centre for International Peace and Security Studies
Abstract:
The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) was concluded at the end of the 1960s, a decade which saw the drama of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the height of the nuclear arms race between the superpowers, and the entry of France and China into the club of countries that had tested nuclear weapons. The basic bargain underlying the NPT allows countries to surrender their right to develop nuclear weapons in return for access to international assistance in civilian nuclear technology. Five countries (the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France, and China) that had tested nuclear devices before 1 January 1967, were conferred the status of Nuclear Weapon State (NWS) by Article IX. All other signatories (Non Nuclear Weapon States or NNWSs) pledged to abjure the development and diffusion of nuclear weapons technology.
Topic:
International Relations, Globalization, Nuclear Weapons, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
United States, China, United Kingdom, France, Soviet Union, and Cuba
In 1995, at one of the largest international conferences ever held, women from around the world, representing both governments and the private sector, gathered in Beijing to set forth a platform for the political, economic, and social empowerment of women.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, and Gender Issues
On December 26, 2004, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake off the west coast of Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, triggered a tsunami—a series of giant waves—that inundated coastal areas of Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, and Malaysia, as well as Indian Ocean islands and parts of East Africa.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, Economics, and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and East Africa