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35502. Will warming Cuba-EU ties open up U.S.-Cuba relations?
- Author:
- Sarah Stephens and Joel Brito
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Americas Quarterly
- Institution:
- Council of the Americas
- Abstract:
- The EU has recognized that its Common Position has failed to improve human rights in Cuba. It's time for the U.S. to do the same with its embargo. The EU is engaged in a discussion that will yield no change in human rights conditions on the island. The U.S. would be wise not to follow the EU's lead.
- Political Geography:
- United States and Cuba
35503. Some of our hemisphere's emerging leaders in politics, business, civil society, and the arts
- Author:
- Mari Hayman
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Americas Quarterly
- Institution:
- Council of the Americas
- Abstract:
- Lisa Besserman could be at home anywhere in the world; but last year, the Queens, New York, native put down roots in Argentina to launch Startup Buenos Aires, to motivate, support and connect startups across the globe. The 29-year-old tech entrepreneur, named one of the “100 Most Influential Tech Women on Twitter” by Business Insider Australia in May, says that her goal is to put Buenos Aires “on the map of global startup ecosystems.”
- Political Geography:
- New York, Argentina, and Australia
35504. A snapshot of policy trends and successes in the region
- Author:
- Cynthia J. Arnson, Jaana Remes, Patricia Ellen, and Raúl Rodríguez-Barocio
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Americas Quarterly
- Institution:
- Council of the Americas
- Abstract:
- Colombia's 2014 presidential elections marked a watershed in the country's politics. This was not because incumbent President Juan Manuel Santos won by nearly six percentage points, after having narrowly lost the first round to Óscar Iván Zuluaga, a hardliner backed by Santos's political nemesis, former president Álvaro Uribe.
- Political Geography:
- Colombia
35505. AQ Panorama
- Author:
- Leani García, Rebecca Bintrim, and Mercedes Laxague
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Americas Quarterly
- Institution:
- Council of the Americas
- Abstract:
- Stay up-to-date with the latest trends and events from around the hemisphere with AQ's Panorama. Each issue, AQ packs its bags and offers readers travel tips on a new Americas destination.
- Political Geography:
- United States and America
35506. Fresh Look Reviews
- Author:
- Johanna Mendelson Forman, Anthony Spanakos, and Roger-Mark De Souza
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Americas Quarterly
- Institution:
- Council of the Americas
- Abstract:
- Fresh, unique perspectives on recent books from across the hemisphere originally published in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Venezuela Before Chávez: Anatomy of an Economic Collapse by Ricardo Hausmann and Francisco R. Rodríguez Oil Sparks in the Amazon: Local Conflicts, Indigenous Populations, and Natural Resources by Patricia I. Vásquez Security in South America: The Role of States and Regional Organizations by Rodrigo Tavares
- Political Geography:
- America, Latin America, and Venezuela
35507. Traffic death rates across the Americas
- Author:
- Wilda Escarfuller
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Americas Quarterly
- Institution:
- Council of the Americas
- Abstract:
- The statistics are shocking. Latin America and the Caribbean have the countries with the number one (Dominican Republic) and number three (Venezuela) highest number of traffic deaths per capita in the world. Only Thailand comes close, with 38.1 traffic deaths in 2010 for every 100,000 citizens, placing it second in these grim rankings.
- Political Geography:
- America, Latin America, Caribbean, and Venezuela
35508. The Eastern Partnership, the Russia-Ukraine War, and the Impact on the South Caucasus
- Author:
- Amanda Paul
- Publication Date:
- 02-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- The South Caucasus is a fragmented and security challenged region. Despite hopes that the Eastern Partnership (EaP) would act as a transformative tool to strengthen democracy, stability, security and regional cooperation, this has not happened. Rather the EaP has produced limited results, with the region today more fragmented than it was five years ago. Russia's war against Ukraine has further exacerbated the situation as it raised concerns over the extent to which the South Caucasus countries could genuinely rely on the West. Today, Armenia, and Georgia have different geostrategic trajectories. While Georgia has stuck to the Euro-Atlantic track, Armenia joined the Russian-led Eurasian Union in January 2015. Meanwhile Azerbaijan has the luxury of choosing not to choose. Developments in the region have demonstrated that a one size fits all approach does not work and a more differentiated policy is required.
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia
35509. A Changing Picture with Unaltered Contours: US-Iran Antagonism in the Context of the Iraq-Syria Crisis
- Author:
- Riccardo Alcaro
- Publication Date:
- 02-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- Such is the magnitude of the crisis in Iraq and Syria that experts have started wondering whether the area will witness a major realignment between the main rival camps, the US and its allies on the one hand and Iran and its proxies on the other. The US and Iran – so the argument goes – share a critical interest in fighting the Islamic State and keep Iraq from total breakdown. Only by joining forces can they bring stability to the region, which incidentally should also serve as an incentive for both parties to reach a compromise on the nuclear issue. This interpretation, however, fails to account for the effects that a US-Iran rapprochement would have on the US's system of alliances in the region. US-Iran relations are likely to remain antagonistic, although the Iraq-Syria crisis and the nuclear issue have indeed the potential to re-orientate them along a less adversarial pattern.
- Political Geography:
- Iraq, Iran, and Syria
35510. Morocco's Power Sector Transition: Achievements and Potential
- Author:
- Tayeb Amegroud
- Publication Date:
- 02-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- As the only North African country with no own oil resources, Morocco is the largest energy importer in the region. The country is faced with the challenging task of meeting rising local demand while keeping its import bill under control. Against this backdrop, Morocco is pursuing an ambitious, cost- effective energy transition aimed at endowing the country with a sustainable, competitive and secure energy sector. This paper assesses the achievements and constraints facing the Moroccan energy system with a focus on the power sector, which is responsible for the transformation or production of more than half of the country's primary energy. It also dwells on existing policies aimed at integrating the Moroccan energy market into the regional and Euro-Mediterranean energy systems by exploiting its strategic position at the crossroads between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
- Political Geography:
- North Africa and Morocco
35511. TSG IntelBrief: Ukraine at a Crossroads
- Publication Date:
- 02-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Soufan Group
- Abstract:
- It has been 348 days since Russia moved into Crimea, kicking off an increasingly serious threat not just to the Ukrainian people but to wider European stability In the nearly one year since the armed fighting began, Russian President Vladimir Putin has pushed aside assumed psychological barriers of behavior that the EU and NATO had hoped would bolster their decreased military deterrent towards armed aggression A meeting this Wednesday between Russia and its armed proxy Ukrainian separatists, Germany, France, and Ukraine shows how serious the crisis has become, with real concerns as to what happens when talks can\'t stop the shooting Russia will insist any agreement make official the rebel gains of the last year, which would then mark the second time European borders have been remade by force in this conflict, since Russia has demonstrated it will escalate more so than the EU or NATO.
- Topic:
- NATO
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, and Ukraine
35512. Labour Mobility in Europe: An untapped resource?
- Author:
- Matthias Busse, Mikkel Barslund, and Joscha Schwarzwälder
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
- Abstract:
- The right of free movement of persons is a cornerstone of the European Union and, according to a Eurobarometer survey, one of the most popular accomplishments of the EU. Since its establishment this right has been steadily built upon and expanded, in particular with respect to mobile EU workers. Barriers to (labour) mobility have been substantially reduced as part of creating the single market and also as a means to achieve the EU2020 goals of smart and inclusive growth. And yet the prevailing view in academic circles and among policy-makers is that intra-EU labour mobility is too low; too low to support the single labour market as anything but a notion and too low to play anything other than a modest role in helping to rebalance the eurozone after the crisis.
- Political Geography:
- Europe
35513. The ECB's QE: Time to break the doom loop between banks and their governments
- Author:
- Willem Pieter De Groen
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
- Abstract:
- The recent crises have shown that the eurozone countries' government debt is not immune to default. Applying a large-exposure requirement also to eurozone government debt would be a logical measure towards breaking the bank-government doom loop, given the low probability and high loss-given government default. But what would be the impact of the application of the large-exposure requirement on the banking sector as well as on government funding? This CEPS Policy Brief presents the results of a simulation exercise performed for 109 systemic banks in the eurozone, showing that their eurozone government debt portfolios would have to decrease by 3.2% or €63 billion, if a 50% of own-funds cap would be applied on large exposures. The eurozone central banks' demand for sovereign bonds under the extended asset purchase programme further creates momentum to start gradually implementing the restriction.
35514. Sudan: The Prospects for "National Dialogue"
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Prospects for an inclusive national dialogue President Omar al-Bashir promised in January 2014 are fading, making a soft-landing end to Sudan's crises more doubtful. Sceptics who warned that the ruling party was unwilling and unable to make needed concessions have been vindicated. Peacemaking in Darfur and the Two Areas (Blue Nile and South Kordofan) and potential merging of these negotiations with the national dialogue were dealt a blow with suspension of African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP)-mediated “parallel” talks in Addis Ababa in December. A separate German-backed initiative has elicited a more unified and constructive approach from the armed and unarmed opposition, but no breakthrough yet. The government still holds many cards – including formidable means of coercion – and has little sympathy for the increasingly unified demand of the armed and political opposition for a really inclusive process and true power sharing. Unless both sides give ground, a continuation of intense war and humanitarian crises is inevitable.
- Political Geography:
- Sudan
35515. Leveraging Local Knowledge for Peacebuilding and Statebuilding in Africa
- Author:
- Andrea Ó Súilleabháin
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute
- Abstract:
- The call for national and local ownership of peacebuilding and statebuilding design and practice has grown louder in recent years. The principles of leveraging local knowledge and attending to local context have gained increasing prominence and visibility in international policy. Standards of field practice for international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and peacebuilding missions now regularly include consultation of local perspectives and engagement of local actors. But regional, national, and community-level knowledge have not found effective channels to influence and inform the international decision-making process. Translating these principles into practice—in terms of peacebuilding and statebuilding mechanisms, processes, and programs on the ground—is an enduring challenge for the United Nations and international actors.
- Topic:
- Government and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- Africa
35516. The mighty metropolis
- Author:
- Mathieu Lefevre
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- Sometime in the middle of 2009, the number of people living in cities exceeded the world's rural population for the first time in history. By 2050, some 70 per cent of the world's population will live on only 3 per cent of the earth's surface – in cities. These conurbations are becoming global economic and geo-political players to be reckoned with. This will radically affect the way we live, work and plan for the future.
35517. EU Governance: Struggle Between Cooperation and Competition
- Author:
- N. Nevra Esentürk
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
- Institution:
- Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
- Abstract:
- EU governance is characterized as a multi-level system in which various actors are involved in the policy-making procedure at multiple levels in a non-hierarchical way. During the course of the European integration process, EU governance has been brought forward as a response to the citizens' quest for a legitimacy through enhanced democratization in the decision-making mechanisms and as a tool that would increase the leverage and competitiveness of the EU to have an efficient way of functioning for the enlargement of the Union. In that respect, the legitimacy and the representative power of the EU and its institutions are put under scrutiny, as powerful and at the same time efficient decision-making mechanisms are necessary for the EU. However, although significant changes are enshrined in the Lisbon Treaty regarding the decision-making procedure and policy outcomes, it has been limited with struggle between cooperation and competition at vertical and horizontal levels under the shadow of supranational hierarchy that has created mistrust on the EU institutions and decision-making structures from the perspective of citizens. The article addresses this issue on the grounds of the reasons and the circumstances in which EU governance emerged, the principles and characteristics it is based on, the means and ways it utilizes, and the effects on the decisionmaking process of the EU.
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Lisbon
35518. Looking Within and Without: The Path to Tread by Muslims
- Author:
- Shamsul Khan and Mahjabeen Ahmad
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
- Institution:
- Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
- Abstract:
- There is no doubt that relation between the Muslim world and the West is often dominated by simmering distrust and antagonistic feelings although they may not always boil over. Tensions and recriminations abound and so do arguments and justifications. The need to find common grounds do not get translated into intentions or sincere efforts to move forward as the past casts a long shadow over the present. Typecasting a billion-plus fellow human beings or their faith as objects of dread or hatred as is being done by the West through fomenting Islamophobia needs to be prevented. Muslims must be able to reassert their true identity and earn their rightful place in a world dominated by Western power and influence. This may begin to happen if Muslims denounce and repudiate all the wrong that is being done in the name of their great religion, speak for themselves, develop religious and community leaders who are well equipped to impart the right knowledge and effectively address contemporary issues that confront Muslim societies and countries, and revive the spirit and unity of the ummah. Only then can they effectively fight not just the menace of Islamophobia, but also the injustices and discrimination in their own countries and those that are perpetrated by the West. The West must also turn their gaze inward and admit their role in creating this 'Great Divide'; they need to realize that their overbearing attitude toward Muslims and relentless depiction of the latter as their common folk devil will inevitably have undesirable, serious, and long-term consequences.
35519. Sustainable Democracy and the Paradox of the Arab Spring: The Egypt Experience
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
- Institution:
- Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
- Abstract:
- <p>The Arab spring began with an uprising in Tunisia and subsequently spread to Egypt, Bahrain, Morocco, Libya, Yemen and Syria. The protest has been referred to as the Arab spring and for others the Arab democratic revolution. Despite the substantial variants of the revolt it explains a component of a great collective shift from long tenure and authoritarian rule. The aftermath of the transition from authoritarianism to democracy should have been the establishment of independent democratic structures. This is the only way that a sustainable democracy can be guaranteed. This is where such factors as religion (Islam), monarchies, military and fundamentalism, come to be a crucial factor in analysing and assessing the success or failure of the Arab democratic revolution. This paper is of the opinion that a sustainable democracy within the Arab world cannot be guaranteed, in view of the above contesting variables for political/state power and influence. Each of these variables is not only anti democratic but present a contradiction in democracy. Egypt experience is instructive. What is thus needed is a frame work to manage and structure these diversities toward providing sustainable democratic political institutions that are in consonance with democratic tenets without radically changing the norms, values and nuances of the Arab society</p>
35520. Rethinking the Conflict- Proneness of Oil-Rentiers State in Historical Context
- Author:
- Muhammed Kürsad Özekin and Zeynep Arıöz
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
- Institution:
- Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
- Abstract:
- With the rise of intra-state conflicts in the Middle East, particularly in the last two decades, the causality relationship between oil wealth and political stability has become a matter of debate in the literature. However, despite the proliferating research interest, the impact of oil revenues on regime stability and civil conflicts still remains contested in both theoretical and empirical terms. Bearing this limitation in mind, this article aims to present a fairly general but analytically broadened framework to explain the relationship between the decline of the oil-rentier states, and the rise of intra-state conflicts experienced in the Middle East in the past two decades. Putting matter into the historical context of the state formation and the colonial legacy in the Middle East this study presents a slightly different reading of the causality relation between oil revenue and the conflict-proneness of rentier states. Thus this article, to a certain extent, moves beyond the conventional explanations of the rentier state theory and argues that oil revenue cannot be taken as an explanatory variable of conflicts per se.
- Political Geography:
- Middle East
35521. Religion as a Factor in Israeli-Turkish Relations: A Constructivist Overlook
- Author:
- Tugçe Ersoy Oztürk
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
- Institution:
- Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
- Abstract:
- The influence of religion in the foreign policy has recently begun to be discussed among the scholars of international relations field. That the role of religion as an attribute of individuals and communities and in its institutional connections with the state cannot be ignored has started to be widely accepted. This study argues that besides the material reasons stemming from realpolitik, there are also behind the scene, certain “cultural codes” that have played an important role on the actions and discourses of Turkey's leaders on the foreign policies and especially on the deterioration of Israeli - Turkish relations. This study seeks to find the effects, if there are, of religion in the Israeli - Turkish relations by exemplifying Turkey in its relations with Israel to see whether the recent rupture is a result of the religious orientation of AKP government.
- Political Geography:
- Turkey and Israel
35522. An Empirical Look to the Arab Spring: Causes and Consequences
- Author:
- Muhammed Kürsad Özekin and Hasan Hüseyin Akkaş
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
- Institution:
- Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
- Abstract:
- This article pursues two main objectives. First, mainly drawing on empirical evidences rather than journalistic impressions and reports on the Arap Spring, it aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the sets of socio-economic and socio-political factors that have been deeply rooted in the region for more than half a century and which have driven (and continue to drive) a wave of uprisings across the region commonly labelled as the 'Arab Spring'. Thus, this study expects to present a slightly different reading of the Arap Spring by placing the issue into the socio-economic and socio-political context of the recent past. Secondly, by considering a range of factors such as the responses of the regimes, the role of security forces, the ethnic and sectarian makeup of the societies and the politico-institutional feature of states, it explains how the unfolding of events has differed from country to country and why some uprisings have succeeded in toppling regimes and others have not.
- Political Geography:
- Arabia
35523. Turkeys Development Assistance to Fragile States: From Sporadic Actions to System Building Practices
- Author:
- Deniz Göle
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
- Institution:
- Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
- Abstract:
- This article aims at presenting policy recommendations for Turkish decision makers with a view to address Turkey's needs to ensure effective and timely development assistance to fragile states. The analysis begins with a quick look at the controversial relation between aid, growth and poverty in order to provide a basis for understanding aid effectiveness as well as some of the ongoing debates and limitations in the development assistance field. It then gives an insight on the current state of Turkey's development assistance to fragile states and briefly explains major characteristics of Turkey's aid policies and practices in fragile state contexts. The study focuses on describing the necessity for shifting Turkey's development assistance paradigm and is concluded with recommending a new paradigm along with its operational framework in three pillars namely; Institutionalizing Peace, Building the Functional State and Risk Distribution.
- Political Geography:
- Turkey
35524. The Changing Military Balance in the Koreas and Northeast Asia
- Author:
- Anthony H. Cordesman and Aaron Linn
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- The tensions between the Koreas – and the potential involvement of the People's Republic of China (China or PRC), Japan, Russia, and the United States of America (US) in a Korean conflict – create a nearly open-ended spectrum of possible conflicts. These conflicts could range from posturing and threats – “wars of intimidation” – to a major conventional conflict on the Korean Peninsula, intervention by outside powers like the US and China, and the extreme of nuclear conflict.
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, Japan, China, Korea, and Northeast Asia
35525. Editor's Note: The Economic War And The Silence Of The Academy
- Author:
- Paulo Fagundes Visentini
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
- Institution:
- Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
- Abstract:
- The last several years have been characterized by a growing acceleration of International Relations. With the end of the Cold War, amidst the Gorbachev government, the fall of the Eastern European socialist regimes in 1989 and the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, there was room for a reordering of forces in the world-system. When the vacuum started to be occupied by old and new international players, the situation turned into a War of Positions. China and the other emerging nations, especially the members of BRICS, were able to gain more leverage. But this precarious balance was significantly affected by the economic crisis of OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries since 2008-09.
- Political Geography:
- China, Europe, and Soviet Union
35526. The Brazil-United States Bilateral Relations In The Dilma Rousseff Administration, 2011-2014
- Author:
- Cristina Soreanu Pecequilo
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
- Institution:
- Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
- Abstract:
- The Brazil - U.S. bilateral relations are structural in the evolution of the Brazilian international relations because of the political, economic, strategic and ideological weight that the U.S. holds on the country's agenda. This weight results from a complex combination of factors that involves the nature of the U.S. power resources, its projection capacity and Brazil's perception of itself and about such partner. This trend of the debate ideologization and internal polarization that breaks down into currents which are in favor or against an autonomous foreign policy, in opposition to the alignment with the U.S., has remained until the twenty - first century, going through the administration of Luis Inácio Lula da Silva (2003/2010) and reaching that of Dilma Rousseff (2011/2014).
- Political Geography:
- United States and Brazil
35527. The Return Of Geopolitics: The Ascension Of Brics
- Author:
- Ronaldo Carmona
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
- Institution:
- Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
- Abstract:
- The sixth BRICS Summit, which took place in the Brazilian city of Fortaleza last July, by starting the second cycle of annual Meetings of Heads of State of five major developing nations of the world 3, marked a qualitative leap of the alliance, which enters a new phase, strengthening the trend to a polycentric world.
- Political Geography:
- Brazil
35528. From Containment Policy To Reemergence: Russia Is Back On The Chessboard
- Author:
- Diego Pautasso
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
- Institution:
- Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
- Abstract:
- The US government became used to face the world, especially after the Cold War end, as a chessboard. But a chessboard in which it was the only chess player to play – the others were just pieces . This practice reflected the disintegration of the USSR and the North - American perception that the world had turned unipolar. During the 1990s, China prioritized modernization and the overcoming of the vulnerabilities resulting from the socialist camp's collapse; Brazil, with great economic hardships (unemployment, foreign debt with the IMF, stagnation), had a foreign policy with a high degree of alignment towards the decision - making centers of the international system; India initiated reforms and sought to overcome the constraints related to the stressed tensions with Pakistan and due to the effects of going nuclear; and Russia faced a unique disorganization during a peace scenario. Naturally, such scenario reduced the scope of peripheral countries which s eek an autonomous and/or non - aligned international insertion.
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, Russia, and Brazil
35529. China Also Looks Towards The Arctic
- Author:
- Alexandre Pereira da Silva
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
- Institution:
- Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
- Abstract:
- The increasing defrost in Arctic ice layer has been causing great concern among environmentalists. On the other hand, the actual possibility of decreasing the amount of ice in the Arctic opens up a set of new perspectives for the region, both for countries bordering the area and for the ones elsewhere. Within the second list, a certain state deserves particular attention: China.
- Political Geography:
- China
35530. Apartheid South Africa's Nuclear Weapons Programme And Its Impact On Southern Africa
- Author:
- Jo-Ansie van Wyk
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
- Institution:
- Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
- Abstract:
- Apartheid South Africa's nuclear related activities in Southern Africa have a long history. Apart from, inter alia, the development and existence of at least six nuclear devices (which was denied for decades), South Africa operated a nuclear test site in the Kalahari Desert on the border of Botswana, utilised uranium from Southwest Africa (now independent Namibia), and employed a nuclear deterrent strategy in response to Soviet support for Angola and liberation movements in the region. This elicited responses from the so - called Frontline States (FLS) as well as the members of the Southern African Development Community (SADCC). Therefore, the purpose of this contribution is to determine the extent of South Africa's nuclear activities as well as its impact on the region from the mid - 1970s until 1991. This period covers the period since the Portuguese regime's collapse in 1974 and its domino effect in Southern Africa, the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the termination of the Cold War.
- Political Geography:
- South Africa, Soviet Union, Angola, and Botswana
35531. The Military Strategic Planning In Argentina (2003-2013): Reflections On The Political Administration Of Defense
- Author:
- Iván Poczynok and Luciano Anzelini
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
- Institution:
- Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
- Abstract:
- The national defense policy of Argentina has experienced advances and regressions since the democratic return in 1983. This result has been connected to the dynamics that civil - military relations have inherited from the dictatorial period. The necessity to subordinate the Armed Forces dominated the defense agenda during most part of the democratic period, constituting the core problem of this jurisdiction.
- Political Geography:
- Argentina
35532. Cooperative Security: Confidence-Building Measures With Brazil In Times Of Argentinian Democracy
- Author:
- Gisela Pereyra Doval and Miguela Varela
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
- Institution:
- Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
- Abstract:
- The overcome of the bipolar dynamic s between the Soviet and the American bloc has led to an increasing concern about the study of security in regional geopolitical environment. Thus, the Copenhagen School proposed new tools to analyze and understand the relations between states within the framework of European security itself, which distinguishes it from the traditional theories of international relations, most of them from North America. The Copenhagen School believes that the phenomena produced by the end of the Cold War and the globalization process are not included or covered by the dominant models on security and there is a need to redefine some of the concepts used so far.
- Political Geography:
- America, Europe, Brazil, Soviet Union, and North America
35533. In The Shadow Of Empire: Reflecting On The Political-Strategic Position Of The Small States In Europe And The Caribbean Basin During The Cold War
- Author:
- Mitchell Belfer
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
- Institution:
- Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
- Abstract:
- Any evaluation of 20 th century international political and socio - economic engagements inevitably draws heavily on the literature depicting the relations between and within the Cold War blocs. Such cognitive benchmarking has become so extensive that even the earth - shattering World Wars, which preceded US - Soviet brinkmanship, have been sewn together to the Cold War so as to produce a meta - narrative as a means of understanding the dynamics of international relations themselves. For instance, WWI has not merely entered the history books for what it produced; it has also come to be seen as producing the right conditions for Russia's communist revolution and the US's rise to inherit the position of Western leadership — two necessary prequels to the half century of Cold War. But not before these two ideologically opposed blocs join forces to rid the world of fascism and the German pivot in European affairs. WWII has come to represent three chapters in the story of civilisation: the story of genocide (re: Nazi Germany's quest to exterminate world Jewry), the story of non - nationalistic secular ideological struggles and the story of power beyond the pale of power (re: the nuclearisation of power). In other words, WWII has also, largely, been included as a necessary chapter to the Cold War. And certainly it was. Without WWII it is difficult to imagine how, or if, the USSR would have driven west and occupied Central Europe, whether the West European states would not have deployed East, if the US would have deepened its engagements to Europe or any number of dynamics would have unfolded. It is clear that the Cold War is a defining period of international relations history.
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, Europe, Soviet Union, Germany, and Caribbean
35534. Innovation And The Warlike Phenomenon
- Author:
- Lucas Pereira Rezende and Rafael Ávila
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
- Institution:
- Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
- Abstract:
- War is a human activity responsible for social, political and economic changes. Also, much of our history is meddled with the history of war (Ávila and Rangel 2009 ). Although it is understood that war is not solely responsible for these changes, it is, nevertheless, one of the phenomena that most directly generate ruptures in these spheres. War is also responsible for several technical and technological changes, and it has generated some significant innovation processes with great impact on the way of life of societies throughout history.
35535. Argentina Facing The Palestinian - Israeli Question: A Study On The Positions Adopted By The Alfonsín Administration (1983 - 1989)
- Author:
- Ornela Fabani
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
- Institution:
- Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
- Abstract:
- Different actors and even geographical areas with which Argentina has prioritized its ties can be traced overtime. However, the Middle East has never had a special place in the agenda of external relations of the country. On the contrary, it has been a marginal area with regard to its relations both in political and economic terms. This can be explained by the geographical gap between those territories; also, by the lack of shared idiosyncrasies, such as religion , and social and cultural terms, since the South American country is markedly different from the states comprising the space that has been called the Middle East – an area in which, moreover, coexist different ethnic and religious groups, as well as different political regimes, and which has become internationally notorious internationally for its high number of conflicts.
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Argentina, and South America
35536. COMPLETE EDITION: GEOPOLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
- Author:
- Paulo Fagundes Visentini
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
- Institution:
- Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
- Abstract:
- The Brazil-U.S. bilateral relations are structural in the evolution of the Brazilian international relations because of the political, economic, strategic and ideological weight that the U.S. holds on the country's agenda. This weight results from a complex combination of factors that involves the nature of the U.S. power resources, its projection capacity and Brazil's perception of itself and about such partner. This trend of the debate ideologization and internal polarization that breaks down into currents which are in favor or against an autonomous foreign policy, in opposition to the alignment with the U.S., has remained until the twenty-first century, going through the administration of Luis Inácio Lula da Silva (2003/2010) and reaching that of Dilma Rousseff (2011/2014).Whereas in the Lula administration the international assertiveness prevailed and raised Brazil's global presence, even facing the U.S. and despite criticism, Dilma Rousseff‟s period seems to represent an inflection point in this process. Such difference would correspond to an attempt to reconcile the aspects of autonomy and alignment. Nonetheless, this process has proved to be quite controversial and sensitive, since the option for an autonomous foreign policy refers to a project of state and not just a project of government. This equation failed to take into account the comprehensive elements of the exchange and the U.S. position as hegemon. Facing this scenario, this article seeks to analyze the evolution of the bilateral relations in the Rousseff administration, identifying its main pillars, controversies, limitations and opportunities, having as backdrop the broader context of Brazil's international relations as an emerging country. It is a contemporary analysis, which will bring a study based on conjunctural themes and long-term considerations about the strategic views of both partners. For that purpose, the text is divided into two parts: diversification and accommodation (2011/2012), detachment, rethinking and stagnation (2013/2014).
- Political Geography:
- United States and Brazil
35537. Difficult Decisions: The GAL and "Schwarz-Grün" in Hamburg
- Author:
- Alice Cooper
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- German Politics and Society
- Institution:
- German Politics and Society Journal
- Abstract:
- In 2008 the first state-level CDU-Green coalition was formed in Hamburg. Drawing on the literature on party goals (vote-, office-, policy, internal cohesion- and democracy-seeking), this article examines the GAL's decisions to join and to end the coalition. It examines the trade-offs between party goals as they evolved in different phases of “schwarz-grün,” with particular reference to the Greens' education reform agenda. While policy- and vote-seeking complemented each other during the election campaign, vote-, office- and party unity-seeking conflicted with each other in the Greens' decision to enter a coalition with the CDU. Later, policy- and democracy-seeking conflicted with each other when a referendum organized by a citizens' initiative defeated the Greens' education reform, a defeat that contributed significantly to the premature end of the CDU-Green coalition. New elections led to defeats for vote-, office-, and policy-seeking when the SPD achieved an absolute majority.
35538. The Higher the Better? A Comparative Analysis of Sociodemographic Characteristics and Human Capital of German Federal Government Members
- Author:
- Katrin Scharfenkamp and Alexander Dilger
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- German Politics and Society
- Institution:
- German Politics and Society Journal
- Abstract:
- Are the highest politicians better qualified than their peers? In this article, we analyze differences between chancellors, vice chancellors, and ministers of the inner or residual cabinets of the German federal governments between 1949 and 2009 with respect to their social backgrounds and educational, economic, as well as political human capital. Different statistical methods reveal no clear primacy of chancellors or vice chancellors over other members of government. Interestingly, inner cabinets have higher qualifications than residual cabinets, as well as partly chancellors and vice chancellors.
- Political Geography:
- Germany
35539. Losing Literature: The Reduction of the GDR to History
- Author:
- Elizabeth Priester Steding
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- German Politics and Society
- Institution:
- German Politics and Society Journal
- Abstract:
- Federal and state curricula not only determine much of what is taught in school, they also reveal what is important to political and cultural leaders and ultimately help shape a country's narrative. This article examines how the GDR currently is addressed in history and literature curricula for the Oberstufe. While state history curricula consistently require coverage of the GDR, literature curricula vary widely, with a few states clearly including GDR literature and many states completely omitting it. If GDR literature is ignored in state curricula, it risks being ignored in the classroom, limiting student understanding of the GDR to historical facts and depriving them of an opportunity to better understand both past and current German society.
- Political Geography:
- Germany
35540. Eastern German Cooperative Farming: On the Cusp of a New Generation
- Author:
- Dylan Bennett
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- German Politics and Society
- Institution:
- German Politics and Society Journal
- Abstract:
- The decline and dissolution of eastern Germany's agricultural production cooperatives (APC s) has been anticipated by formal economic theory since reunification on the grounds of inefficiency. 1 Yet, more recent scholarship on the varieties of capitalism tells us that efficiency does not lead to simple convergence of market forms, but rather that different institutional solutions and social systems of production can achieve desired ends—including efficiency—with varied designs. 2 Today, the cooperative farm sector, under- pinned by conservative, democratic governance, persists without naiveté and little nostalgia on the cusp of a new postcommunist generation and still accounts for the largest share of agricultural production in eastern Germany. Even if the cooperative farming sector follows a slow decline, the firms will convert or persist depending less on their ability to achieve efficiency as on their ability to maintain productive land holdings, and to promote a new generation of management and enthusiastic members committed not to nostalgia but toward the future of their own lives, their firms, and their local communities. Some of the cooperatives are likely to persist for a long time. In this article, in an effort to understand the environment in which cooperatives face the future, I provide an eyewitness account of the internal politics between workers and bosses, highlight survival strategies, consider the institutional constraints and supports facing cooperatives, and sketch portraits of the farmers who face the task of carrying the cooperative tradition forward.
- Political Geography:
- Germany
35541. A chronic protection problem: the DPRK and the Responsibility to Protect
- Author:
- Alex J. Bellamy
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- Until recently, the human rights situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) had elicited relatively little attention from institutions, activists and analysts concerned with the implementation of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and protection of populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. However, on 18 November 2014, the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution that referred to R2P and called on the UN Security Council to refer the situation in the DPRK to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and adopt targeted sanctions. Although it remains to be seen whether the Security Council will take up this challenge, ten of the Council's 15 members indicated privately their support for the initiative.
- Topic:
- United Nations
- Political Geography:
- Korea
35542. Securing China's core interests: the state of the debate in China
- Author:
- Shaun Breslin, Jinghan Zeng, and Yuefan Xiao
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- As China has grown stronger, some observers have identified an assertive turn in Chinese foreign policy. Evidence to support this argument includes the increasingly frequent evocation of China's 'core interests'—a set of interests that represents the non-negotiable bottom lines of Chinese foreign policy. When new concepts, ideas and political agendas are introduced in China, there is seldom a shared understanding of how they should be defined; the process of populating the concept with real meaning often takes place incrementally. This, the article argues, is what has happened with the notion of core interests. While there are some agreed bottom lines, what issues deserve to be defined (and thus protected) as core interests remains somewhat blurred and open to question. By using content analysis to study 108 articles by Chinese scholars, this article analyses Chinese academic discourse of China's core interests. The authors' main finding is that 'core interests' is a vague concept in the Chinese discourse, despite its increasing use by the government to legitimize its diplomatic actions and claims. The article argues that this vagueness not only makes it difficult to predict Chinese diplomatic behaviour on key issues, but also allows external observers a rich source of opinions to select from to help support pre-existing views on the nature of China as a global power.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Government, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- China
35543. Engagement without recognition: the limits of diplomatic interaction with contested states
- Author:
- James Ker-Lindsay
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- This article examines the extent to which states are able to interact at an official level with a contested or de facto state—a state that has unilaterally declared independence but is not a member of the United Nations—without being understood to have recognized it. This is an area of increasing interest and relevance to policymakers as the number of contested states has grown in recent years. In many cases, interaction may be important for ongoing peace efforts. However, there are also instances when a state is prevented from recognizing the territory in question for specific domestic or foreign policy reasons and so has to find alternative means by which to cooperate. Drawing on several key examples, notably Kosovo and the 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus', but also with reference to Abkhazia, the article explores the limits of interaction across various different forms of bilateral and multilateral diplomatic activity. As is shown, albeit with some significant provisos, legal theory and historic practice suggest that diplomatic engagement does not constitute recognition if there is no underlying intent to recognize. This means that there is in fact a very high degree of latitude regarding the limits of diplomatic engagement with contested states. This is especially the case in bilateral contexts. Indeed, in some circumstances, the level of engagement can even amount to recognition in all but name.
- Topic:
- Diplomacy
35544. Why wealthy countries must not drop nuclear energy: coal power, climate change and the fate of the global poor
- Author:
- Reinhard Wolf
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- Current estimates indicate that several hundred thousand deaths per year can be attributed to climate change. Developed countries have reacted to this growing disaster by increasing the use of renewable energies, but what is to be done with the additional electricity thus generated? Should it be used for cutting back coal-fired energy production or can it be used for substituting nuclear energy? Priority must be given to replacing coal power, since developed countries have a strong duty to minimize the physical harm caused by their electricity generation. Dropping nuclear energy prior to coal power cannot be justified because the risks of nuclear energy pale in comparison to the suffering that emissions from coalfired plants inflict both on their host countries and on poorer countries in the global South that (a) do not benefit from this energy and (b) have far less capacity to cope with the effects of climate change or other environmental damages. This article argues that when faced with a choice between operating coal-fired power plants or nuclear reactors, governments are obliged to opt for nuclear energy.
- Topic:
- Climate Change and Government
35545. Why a British referendum on EU membership will not solve the Europe question
- Author:
- Andrew Glencross
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- This article scrutinizes the merits of holding a referendum over UK membership of the EU. It queries the assumption that direct democracy can somehow resolve the longstanding Europe question in British politics. To do this, the analysis traces the existence of an exceptionalist approach to the EU within Britain, now associated with re-negotiating UK membership in the shadow of a referendum. The article argues that the prospects for a radical reconfiguration of the UK's treaty obligations are slim, thereby increasing the risk of a vote to withdraw. Yet withdrawal would be the opposite of a simple solution to the Europe question. Political and economic interests dictate lengthy politicking over a highly complex post-Brexit settlement revisiting free movement of goods, services, capital and people. Such negotiations undermine any mooted cathartic benefits of a popular vote, while Eurosceptics will remain dissatisfied in the event of a yes, a result likely to further destabilize the Conservative Party. Consequently, the simplicity and decisiveness that a referendum—particularly one that spurns the EU—promises is merely a mirage as relations with the EU necessarily form part of an enduring British political conversation.
- Topic:
- Politics
- Political Geography:
- Britain and Europe
35546. Scholarship and the ship of state: rethinking the Anglo-American strategic decline analogy
- Author:
- Katherine C. Epstein
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- This article uses the centenary of the First World War as an opportunity to re-examine a major element of the existing literature on the war—the strategic implications of supposed British decline—as well as analogies to the contemporary United States based upon that interpretation of history. It argues that the standard declinist interpretation of British strategy rests to a surprising degree upon the work of the naval historian Arthur Marder, and that Marder's archival research and conceptual framework were weaker than is generally realized. It suggests that more recent work appearing since Marder is stronger and renders the declinist strategic interpretation difficult to maintain. It concludes by considering the implications of this new work for analogies between the United States today and First World War-era Britain, and for the use of history in contemporary policy debates.
- Topic:
- War
- Political Geography:
- Britain, United States, and America
35547. Global multipolarity, European security and implications for UK grand strategy: back to the future, once again
- Author:
- David Blagden
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- The international system is returning to multipolarity—a situation of multiple Great Powers—drawing the post-Cold War 'unipolar moment' of comprehensive US political, economic and military dominance to an end. The rise of new Great Powers, namely the 'BRICs'—Brazil, Russia, India, and most importantly, China—and the return of multipolarity at the global level in turn carries security implications for western Europe. While peaceful political relations within the European Union have attained a remarkable level of strategic, institutional and normative embeddedness, there are five factors associated with a return of Great Power competition in the wider world that may negatively impact on the western European strategic environment: the resurgence of an increasingly belligerent Russia; the erosion of the US military commitment to Europe; the risk of international military crises with the potential to embroil European states; the elevated incentive for states to acquire nuclear weapons; and the vulnerability of economically vital European sea lines and supply chains. These five factors must, in turn, be reflected in European states' strategic behaviour. In particular, for the United Kingdom—one of western Europe's two principal military powers, and its only insular (offshore) power—the return of Great Power competition at the global level suggests that a return to offshore balancing would be a more appropriate choice than an ongoing commitment to direct military interventions of the kind that have characterized post-2001 British strategy.
- Topic:
- Security and Cold War
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, Europe, and Brazil
35548. Complex security and strategic latency: the UK Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015
- Author:
- Paul Cornish and Andrew M. Dorman
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- Whichever party or parties form the next UK government, a Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) is expected to begin soon after the general election in May. The review might be a 'light touch' exercise—little more than a reaffirmation of the SDSR produced by the coalition government in 2010. It seems more likely, however, that the review will be a lengthier, more deliberate exercise and one which might even last into 2016. For those most closely engaged in the process the challenge is more complex than that confronted by their predecessors in 2010. The international security context is more confused and contradictory; the UK's financial predicament is still grave; security threats and challenges will emerge that cannot be ignored; the population's appetite for foreign military engagement appears nevertheless to be restricted; and prevailing conditions suggest that the risk-based approach to national strategy might be proving difficult to sustain. Two key questions should be asked of the review. First, in the light of recent military experiences, what is the purpose of the United Kingdom's armed forces? Second, will SDSR 2015–16 sustain the risk-based approach to national strategy set out in 2010, and if so how convincingly? Beginning with a review of the background against which SDSR 2015–16 will be prepared, this article examines both enduring and immediate challenges to the national strategic process in the United Kingdom and concludes by arguing for strategic latency as a conceptual device which can complement, if not reinvigorate, the risk-based approach to national strategy and defence.
- Topic:
- Security
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom
35549. From terrorism to 'radicalization' to 'extremism': counterterrorism imperative or loss of focus?
- Author:
- Anthony Richards
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- This article argues that there has been an increasing convergence of the discourses of terrorism, radicalization and, more lately, extremism in the UK and that this has caused counterterrorism to lose its focus. This is particularly evident in the counterterrorism emphasis on non-violent but extremist ideology that is said to be 'conducive' to terrorism. Yet, terrorism is ineluctably about violence or the threat of violence; hence, if a non-violent ideology is in and of itself culpable for terrorism in some way then it ceases to be non-violent. The article argues that there should be a clearer distinction made between (non-violent) extremism of thought and extremism of method because it is surely violence and the threat of violence (integral to terrorism) that should be the focus of counterterrorism. The concern is that counterterrorism has gone beyond its remit of countering terrorism and has ventured into the broader realm of tackling ideological threats to the state.
- Topic:
- Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom
35550. Review article: Troublemakers: Laura Poitras and the problem of dissent
- Author:
- Alex Danchev
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- This review article considers three works by the distinguished documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras: My country, my country (2006); The oath (2010); and the recently released Citizenfour (2014), focusing on the whistle-blower Edward Snowden. Poitras describes these works as a trilogy about American power after 9/11, but they are also about disobedience and resistance, or the problem of dissent. The article argues for the significance (and the virtue) of Poitras's project, as film maker and troublemaker, and for the necessity of what Solzhenitsyn calls civil valour. You can listen to Alex Danchev discussing his review article in IA's March podcast here http://cht.hm/1N5JeoK
- Political Geography:
- America
35551. Review article: The 100 billion dollar brain: central intelligence machinery in the UK and the US
- Author:
- Richard J. Aldrich
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- The 'Five Eyes' alliance, led by the United States, spends close to 100 billion dollars a year on intelligence. This review article argues that western countries are distinguished by their sophisticated approach to the making of intelligence-led national security policy. Political leaders and policy-makers who access this sensitive material are often involved in elaborate systems that constitute part of the core executive and which seek to task and improve the intelligence leviathan. Western intelligence therefore has a 'central brain' that devotes considerable energy to both analysis and management. By contrast, in the majority of other states around the world, the orientation of intelligence has often been inward facing, with a high priority given to regime security. Some would suggest that intelligence has been an important component of western power projection, while others would argue that this process has been over-expensive and has under-delivered, not least in the last decade. Either way, the debates about development of the central intelligence machinery that supports western security policies are of the first importance and fortunately this discussion has been advanced by the appearance of several valuable new studies: these are discussed in this review article.
- Topic:
- Politics
- Political Geography:
- United States and United Kingdom
35552. The Changing Role of International Negotiations in EU Climate Policy
- Author:
- Oliver Geden and Severin Fischer
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- For many years, the EU pursued the strategy of 'leading by example' in international climate negotiations. Climate policy has generally been seen as one of the few policy fields in which the EU is able to develop coherent positions and speak with a single voice. Since the Copenhagen climate summit, however, frictions inside the EU and a paradigm shift have become increasingly evident. With the October 2014 compromise in the European Council on a new framework for 2030, the international climate negotiations have become less important and a more incremental domestic approach has prevailed.
- Political Geography:
- Europe
35553. Is the US-China Climate Agreement a Game-changer?
- Author:
- Luigi Carafa
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- The United States and China recently announced a joint climate agreement that creates unprecedented political momentum for the Paris COP21 to be held in December 2015. Yet, it is unclear whether such a deal is an historic breakthrough or business as usual policy. A closer look at the US-China climate agreement shows that the chances that the agreed measures have of limiting global warming to 2°C are very few. If seen in terms of concrete policy action, the US pledge comes closer to a pathway compatible with a 2°C target. By contrast, however, China's pledges are far from consistent with a 2°C pathway. As the COP21 approaches, it is becoming clear that China matters more than ever for an effective climate deal. But it is also becoming increasingly clear that, in the best case scenario, Beijing will support a start now/sprint later agreement in Paris.
- Topic:
- Climate Change
- Political Geography:
- United States and China
35554. International Climate Negotiations
- Author:
- Steinar Andresen
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- Most observers agree that more than 20 years of UN climate negotiations have been a failure. Some argue that the top-down approach is one important reason for this and that a bottom-up approach or more exclusive club approaches would have rendered better results. Based on experience with these approaches so far this is far from self-evident and there are limits to what can be achieved by clever institutional design when deep-seated political conflicts prevail. Many approaches are also hybrids between the various approaches and the future climate regime will probably contain elements of both the top-down and the bottom-up approach. However no quick fixes can be expected for this exceedingly 'malign' problem.
- Topic:
- Climate Change
35555. Justice and Climate Finance
- Author:
- Steven Vanderheiden
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- Institutional mechanisms for administering international climate finance constitute key components of an effect global climate regime, and the Green Climate Fund represents what promises to become the most important such mechanism. As the Fund begins to serve its function of transferring economic resources from developed to developing countries to support mitigation and adaptation activities, it faces several obstacles. Since contributions to the Fund by states or private parties are voluntary, they are not necessarily based on the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change's "common but differentiated responsibilities" principle. Its governing instrument also departs from UNFCCC principles. In addition, the Fund faces a significant ambition gap in pledges to fund its operations. By instantiating several informal means of applying climate justice norms to assessments of national contributions to climate finance, some of this resistance might be overcome, increasing support for the Fund and, with this, increasing prospects for reaching consensus on a new climate treaty architecture at COP 21.
35556. Lessons from the EU's ETS for a New International Climate Agreement
- Author:
- Tomas Wyns
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- Intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) for mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions are expected to be an important part of a post-2020 climate agreement under the UNFCCC. However, it is not certain yet what these INDCs will contain and how they will be assessed. The EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) faced similar challenges in its first years (2005-12). Thus, the mechanisms and lessons learned under the EU ETS could be applied to the INDCs to create a governance and assessment system that increases transparency and builds trust among parties to the UNFCCC.
- Topic:
- Climate Change
- Political Geography:
- Europe
35557. REDD+ as a Tool of Global Forest Governance
- Author:
- Ernesto Roessing Neto
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- Given the lack of a multilateral convention on forests, global deforestation is being addressed through various initiatives, public and private, local and global. Since 2005, the creation of a mechanism for addressing deforestation (among other things) has been moving forward within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) regime. Known as REDD+, it is meant to provide incentives to developing countries in return for forest conservation, with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. REDD+ could lead to lower levels of deforestation and forest degradation, and to the incorporation of customary governance arrangements in national policy instruments, albeit with some risk of centralisation of forest governance. It could also have a negative social and environmental impact if too much emphasis is put on carbon without adopting the proper social and environmental safeguards.
- Topic:
- United Nations and Governance
35558. Carbon Capture and Storage
- Author:
- Jennie C. Stephens
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- As the threats of climate change grow, the need to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuel burning is increasingly acknowledged by governments around the world. The potential of carbon capture and storage (CCS), a set of technologies that offers a politically appealing vision of a 'cleaner' way to use fossil fuels, has provided powerful motivation for large public and private investments in CCS technology. But investing in CCS is controversial because, although some consider it a critical climate mitigation technology, others view it as an expensive fossil fuel subsidy that could inadvertently perpetuate, rather than reduce, fossil fuel reliance.
- Topic:
- Climate Change and Government
35559. Spreading Oil, Spreading Conflict?
- Author:
- Kathrin Keil
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- In order to assess whether the Arctic region is evolving into a region of cooperation or one of confrontation, a thorough understanding of the existing (and evolving) bilateral, regional and international institutional frameworks with relevant regulations for the Arctic and their adequacy for solving possible controversies is paramount. Disputes can flare up over various issues, as the Arctic has aptly demonstrated in recent years. Whether these disputes erupt into conflict or are handled cooperatively depends significantly on the rules and regulations that parties have put in place. While most of the literature deals with resource ownership, it is argued here that the more significant potential sources of controversy between Arctic states are issues of responsibility, liability, precaution and preparedness concerning possible transboundary environmental risks and dangers and, generally, protection of the fragile Arctic ecosystem.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution and Oil
- Political Geography:
- Arctic
35560. China's Views of the TPP
- Author:
- Zhang Xiaotong
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- The Chinese policy and academic communities have mixed views about the US-led TPP, either viewing it as a strategic attempt at encircling China, or as a positive spur for domestic reform and opening-up. Although the Chinese government adopted an open and flexible attitude towards the TPP, it has moved strategically by accelerating the negotiations of the RCEP and China-Korea FTA, as well as updating its FTA with ASEAN. A more interesting development is China's new initiatives for building two grand silk roads, one to Central Asia, leading on to Europe, and the other to Southeast Asia, leading on to the Indian Ocean. Both represent China's renewed confidence in finding its role in Asia.
- Topic:
- Government
- Political Geography:
- China, Europe, and Asia
35561. The Chinese People's Liberation Army 'Post-modern' Navy
- Author:
- Andrea Ghiselli
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- Developments at both the doctrinal and operational level suggest that the 'post-modernisation' of China's PLA Navy (PLAN) has started. Issues such as the maritime disputes in the East and South China Seas and how to create a network of bases or 'footholds' outside Asia might slow down or temporarily halt this process. However, as China's economic presence expands on a global scale, its security interests and those of the international community will overlap increasingly with one another. Consequently, once its transformation has been completed, the PLAN is likely to become a global and cooperative force.
- Topic:
- Security and Development
- Political Geography:
- China
35562. Decoding the PLA Navy's Hegemonic Ambitions
- Author:
- Claudia Astarita
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- Review of: China's naval power : an offensive realist approach / Yves-Heng Lim. - Farnham and Burlington : Ashgate, 2014. - xii, 217 p. - (Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy Studies series). - ISBN 978-1-4094-5184-6 ; 978-1-4094-5185-3 (ebk) ; 978-1-4724-0270-7 (ePUB)
- Political Geography:
- China
35563. China's Political Dilemma: Change or Continuity?
- Author:
- Silvia Menegazzi
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- Review of: Following the leader : ruling China, from Deng Xiaoping to Xi Jinping / David M. Lampton. - Berkeley : University of California Press, 2013. - xiii, 293 p. : ill. - ISBN 978-0-520281-21-9 ; China's foreign policy / Stuart Harris. - Cambridge ; Malden : Polity Press, 2014. - 356 p. - ISBN 978-0-7456-6246-6 ; 978-0-7456-6247-3 (pbk) ; China's foreign policy : who makes it, and how is it made? / edited by Gilbert Rozman. - New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. - 343 p. - ISBN 978-1-137-34406-9 ; 978-1-137-34409-0 (pbk)
- Political Geography:
- China
35564. Identifying and Resolving Inter-creditor and Debtor-Creditor Equity Issues in Sovereign Debt Restructuring
- Author:
- Domenico Lombardi, Joseph E. Stiglitz, Skylar Brooks, and Martin Guzman
- Publication Date:
- 01-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- Much analysis of sovereign debt restructuring focuses on distributional conflict between sovereign debtors and their creditors. There is also an analytical tendency to see creditors as a relatively homogenous group with like interests. In reality, however, there is considerable diversity among creditors. Different types of creditors have different political and financial claims and thus different — at times, divergent or conflictive — interests. This means that the burden- sharing exercise of sovereign debt restructuring is played out not just between debtors and creditors, but also, importantly, between different types of creditors.
35565. Further Reform of Sovereign Debt Restructuring: An Agenda for 2015
- Author:
- Richard Gitlin and Brett House
- Publication Date:
- 01-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 68/304 “Towards the establishment of a multilateral legal framework for sovereign debt restructuring processes” (UN 2014), passed by a split vote on September 9, 2014, expressed the will of many member states to move toward the development of a multilateral framework for sovereign debt restructuring. Coming a little over a decade after the rejection of the IMF's Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanism (SDRM) proposal (Krueger 2001) in 2003, this UNGA resolution represents a substantial renewal of interest in statutory- and treaty-based approaches to treating distressed sovereign debt.
- Topic:
- United Nations
35566. The Arctic Council Leadership Merry-go-round: Words of Advice as the United States Assumes the Arctic Council Chairmanship
- Author:
- Jennifer Spence
- Publication Date:
- 01-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- In April 2015, Canada will hand the chairmanship of the Arctic Council to the United States. As the chair, the United States will have an opportunity to shape the priorities of the Arctic Council for the next two years and communicate its vision for the future of the circumpolar region. In anticipation of acquiring this leadership role, the United States first provided a sense of its vision for the chairmanship on September 30, 2014 in Washington, DC, during the Passing the Arctic Council Torch conference supported by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Centre for International Governance Innovation.
- Political Geography:
- United States, Washington, and Canada
35567. Yemen at War
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Yemen is at war. The country is now divided between the Huthi movement, which controls the north and is rapidly advancing south, and the anti-Huthi coalition backed by Western and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) allies that President Abdo Robo Mansour Hadi is cobbling together. On 25 March, the Huthis captured a strategic military base north of the port city of Aden and took the defence minister hostage. That evening Saudi Arabia launched a military campaign, in coordination with nine other, mostly Arab states, to stop the Huthi advance and restore his government. Hadi left for Riyadh and will attend an Arab League summit on 28 March. No major party seems truly to want to halt what threatens to become a regional war. The slim chance to salvage a political process requires that regional actors immediately cease military action and help the domestic parties agree on a broadly acceptable president or presidential council. Only then can Yemenis return to the political negotiating table to address other outstanding issues.
- Political Geography:
- Yemen and Saudi Arabia
35568. Editors' Introduction
- Author:
- Dan Moore and Aaron Kreaden
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Journal of International Law and International Relations
- Institution:
- Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto
- Abstract:
- In its advisory opinion on Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence, released about a month before this issue went to press, the International Court of Justice was forced to reflect on the appropriate role of the international judiciary in political disputes. Finding that it had the jurisdiction to consider the General Assembly's question, the Court rejected the idea that there can be a clear division between the political and the legal: “the fact that a question has political aspects does not suffice to deprive it of its character as a legal question”.
- Political Geography:
- Kosovo
35569. Editors' Introduction
- Author:
- Megan Dersnah, Ryan Liss, and Brendan Morrison
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Journal of International Law and International Relations
- Institution:
- Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto
- Abstract:
- This was a year of big changes for the Journal: the largest staff in its history by a significant margin, a new production schedule, and our first full year affiliated with the new Munk School for Global Affairs. The Editors-in-Chief are indebted to the many people that helped implement these changes seamlessly and contributed tireless efforts to bring this Volume together. While we cannot thank everyone directly, please know that your contributions were very much appreciated.
35570. TSG IntelBrief: Iran Deal Remains Elusive
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Soufan Group
- Abstract:
- Iran and the P5+1 countries are expected to issue a joint statement today that outlines most aspects of a comprehensive nuclear deal, but defers some still thorny issues to further talks A key remaining sticking point is Iran's demand for immediate and comprehensive lifting of sanctions, which the P5+1 cannot accept The United States is attempting to reassure nervous regional partners, such as Israel and Arab Gulf states, that the U.S. is not making too many concessions for the sake of a deal U.S. allies in the region are concerned that lifting sanctions, even if done gradually, will enable Iran to provide even more military and financial aid to the Assad regime in Syria, Shi'a militias in Iraq, and the Houthi movement in Yemen.
- Topic:
- Government
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, Yemen, and Syria
35571. TSG IntelBrief: Bin Ladinism vs. Assad in Syria
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Soufan Group
- Abstract:
- The seizure of Idlib, Syria on March 27 by a newly formed coalition led by al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate makes it ever clearer that the conflict in Syria has devolved into two camps: extremist followers of the violent ideology of bin Ladinism and supporters of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad The rebel coalition, led by al-Nusra Front with its effective fighting force and recently seized advanced weaponry and Jaysh al-Fatah, a group divided amongst itself between various shades of Islamist factions that include groups like Ahrar al-Sham, accomplished in several days what rebel groups had been unable to do for four years: take effective control of the provincial capital of Idlib The loss of Idlib is a significant setback for the Assad regime, which conceded the provincial capital of Raqqa in 2013 to the Islamic State; with the regime in Damascus, there are now three extremist capitals in one broken country As success begets success, al-Nusra will attract more groups and supporters who believe it is the only realistic chance of toppling Assad, rallying more to its extremist ranks even if only out of necessity.
- Topic:
- Islam
- Political Geography:
- Syria
35572. TSG IntelBrief: A War of Frustrations
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Soufan Group
- Abstract:
- There hasn't been a lasting and successful end to an armed conflict in the Middle East in decades, and the newest fighting in Yemen can be seen through a lens of deep regional frustration over countless issues that seem to defy solutions The entire region is frustrated with the worsening status quo, but the consensus and creativity to meaningfully address the challenges is lacking, even with the newly announced Arab 'rapid response force' to an extremist problem that has been openly growing for a decade The only actors not frustrated are non-state actors, who fill the ever-widening chasm between what regional governments can deliver and what their populations demand.
- Topic:
- Economics and Government
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Yemen, and Algeria
35573. Nuclear Iran: A Glossary
- Author:
- Simon Henderson and Olli Heinonen
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- Iran's nuclear program dates from the late 1950s. By the 1960s, the united states had supplied the iranians with a small research reactor. Later, the shah had ambitious plans to construct twenty-three nuclear power reactors, and initial orders were placed with west german and french companies. Iran also started to invest in nuclear fuel-cycle services, though was unable, due to u.s. Pressure, to obtain reprocessing or uranium enrichment plants. It did, however, invest in the eurodif enrichment plant in france and the roessing uranium mine in namibia, shareholdings it maintains today. When iran signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty in 1968 and ratified it in 1970, all its nuclear activities became subject to inspection by the international atomic energy agency (iaea).
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iran, and Namibia
35574. TSG IntelBrief: A Wider War in Yemen
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Soufan Group
- Abstract:
- The crisis in Yemen is primarily a Yemeni one, with legitimate internal issues and dysfunction that will not be improved by turning the crisis into a regional sectarian fight Once the genie of sectarian war is out of the bottle in Yemen, it will be impossible to put back, as seen in Iraq and Syria; the result will be years of conflict that could have been avoided by addressing the conflict as a local one As acknowledged by the U.S. State Department, Saudi Arabia does have legitimate concerns about what happens with its southern neighbor; however, treating the crisis as a primarily sectarian issue will likely be counterproductive The rhetoric on all sides and in their respective social media echo chambers is increasingly sectarian, escalating the conflict to the point where only Sunni extremists and Shi'a hardliners benefit and the people of Yemen suffer.
- Topic:
- War
- Political Geography:
- Yemen and Syria
35575. Missed Opportunity: The Politics of Police Reform in Egypt and Tunisia
- Author:
- Yezid Sayigh
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- Police forces and security agencies genuinely accountable to democratically elected civilian authorities have not emerged in either Egypt or Tunisia four years after popular uprisings forced the countries' longtime leaders from power. Ministries of interior remain black boxes with opaque decisionmaking processes, governed by officer networks that have resisted meaningful reform, financial transparency, and political oversight. Until governments reform their security sectors, rather than appease them, the culture of police impunity will deepen and democratic transition will remain impossible in Egypt and at risk in Tunisia.
- Political Geography:
- Egypt and Tunisia
35576. TSG IntelBrief: Iran's Strategic Expansion
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Soufan Group
- Abstract:
- Outside of its own borders, Iran now has significant proxy presence and influence in four countries encompassing 1.1 million square kilometers and 82 million people, in Yemen, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon It has done this by leveraging tactical decisions made by other countries into its own strategic expansion; from Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and now Yemen, Iran is taking advantage of the short-term actions of others in its long-term plan The complete collapse of the U.S.-aided Yemeni president and the associated counterterrorism and military support is just the latest example of measures intended to address immediate pressures, which ultimately benefit Iran-all while U.S. airstrikes support Iraqi and Iranian militias in Tikrit against the immediate threat of the Islamic State It's not that Iranian leaders are all-knowing, masterful chess players but rather that the Middle East has for decades been a battlefield of ad hoc stability measures by numerous countries that have enabled Iran to steadily project power, to the extreme concern of countries such as Saudi Arabia, which has now launched airstrikes in Yemen.
- Topic:
- Security
- Political Geography:
- Iraq, Iran, Middle East, Yemen, and Syria
35577. TSG IntelBrief: Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State: Same in All but Name
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Soufan Group
- Abstract:
- The Islamic State and al-Qaeda have more in common than sets them apart, as both groups embrace 'bin Ladinism' even as their leaderships differ on tactics and priorities As the fortunes of the two groups wax and wane, their shared characteristics are likely to become more pronounced and their rivalries less so For the moment, the competition between them weakens their appeal and blunts their impact; any trend towards reconciliation or partnership could magnify the threat they pose across the Arab world.
- Topic:
- Islam
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Yemen, and Arabia
35578. Editors' Note
- Author:
- Louis Century and Tim Hughes
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Journal of International Law and International Relations
- Institution:
- Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto
- Abstract:
- We are in a period of change for academic journals, and JILIR is no exception. Cycle times for the publication of information, even academic information, are increasingly condensed. Pressure to expedite processes and render quick decisions is intense, and maintaining this pace is difficult for a student-run process wed to the ebbs and flows of the academic calendar. These challenges are amplified for JILIR, a multi-disciplinary journal edited collaboratively by students in different faculties and fields of research. This collaboration, however, remains JILIR's greatest strength, and we are proud that the quality of our publication remains our central focus. The works contained in this issue are demonstrative of the forward-looking and multi-disciplinary scholarship that journals like ours are uniquely positioned to provide.
35579. Editors' Note
- Author:
- Graham M. Smith, Kate Robertson, and Jonathan Bright
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Journal of International Law and International Relations
- Institution:
- Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto
- Abstract:
- JILIR is predicated upon collaboration. Collaboration between disciplines, allowing us to showcase world-leading scholarship at the intersection of international law and international relations. Collaboration between schools, with the Munk School of Global Affairs and the University of Toronto Faculty of Law offering us a shared intellectual home and a deep pool of talented student volunteers. Collaboration amongst our staff – 80 in total – who worked together seamlessly to bring this issue to print. And most e and forbearance through many months and many rounds of revisions.
35580. Editors' Note
- Author:
- Lin Cong, Caroline Senini, and Sean Tyler
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Journal of International Law and International Relations
- Institution:
- Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto
- Abstract:
- JILIR is a joint project of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and the Munk School of Global Affairs. It is our goal to facilitate and promote scholarly exploration of the nexus of international law and international relations. Our commitment to this endeavor stems from a belief in the complementarity of these fields and the value of stimulating conversation on their common themes. The recent expansion of the Master of Global Affairs program at the Munk School of Global Affairs boosts the diversity of voices in our review process and better equips the journal to ensure it achieves this mandate.
35581. The Ukraine Crisis: Risks of Renewed Military Conflict after Minsk II
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- A second agreement in Minsk on 12 February produced a ceasefire that for now is mostly holding and measures to de-escalate the conflict. Many officials locally and in Kyiv, Moscow and the West, nevertheless, believe war could resume in Ukraine's east within weeks. If it does, much will depend on the quality of top commanders on both sides. Ukraine's army is enmeshed in a command crisis the country's leaders seem unwilling to admit or address. For the separatist rebels, the command and control Moscow provides could give them the advantage in any new fighting. Meanwhile, President Petro Poroshenko faces criticism from his Western allies about the slow pace of reform, opposition from the political establishment as he tries to pass legislation required by the Minsk agreement and a steady stream of complaints from Donetsk and Moscow that the measures do not go far enough.
- Political Geography:
- Ukraine and Moscow
35582. TSG IntelBrief: The Iraqification of Yemen
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Soufan Group
- Abstract:
- The horrific suicide bombings at Sana'a mosques, which killed at least 137 people, are the worst such attacks in 20 years and an omen of sectarian conflict that the beleaguered country has so far avoided With worsening sectarian violence, terrible governance, terrorist groups on the rise, meddling regional powers, and a tribal population awash with weapons but little else, Yemen resembles post-2009 Iraq, with significant differences but troubling similarities The Iraqification of Yemen will be a disaster for that country and an international community that is already unable to deal with Syria, Iraq, Libya, and other failing states The Houthi advance into the central town of Taiz, after calling for a general mobilization against the supporters of deposed/exiled president Hadi, and the fighting in Aden show the situation is escalating and could easily follow the path of Iraq, as more sectarian violence and regional demands tear the country apart.
- Topic:
- Governance
- Political Geography:
- Iraq, Yemen, and Syria
35583. TSG IntelBrief: The Local War on Global "Jihad"
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Soufan Group
- Abstract:
- As the tragedy in Tunis shows, the realities of the new terror spectacular of low-scale attacks with large-scale reactions-carried out by malevolent actors driven by motivation as much as affiliation-have pushed away the responsibility of effective counterterrorism from national agencies down to local police and security The age of large-scale international intervention into conflict areas has passed for the moment and the battlefield is shifting back from war zones to disaffected neighborhoods-forcing intelligence agencies to work extremely closely with local police to disrupt known wolves of terror instead of documenting their crimes after the fact While the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the Bardo Museum attack, it's not as clear-cut as that, with family and social ties driving exposure to the ideology of bin Ladinism shared by AQIM and the Islamic State; and police are forced to look closely at smaller and more quickly radicalized networks instead of the organizational charts built with advanced analytical tools.
- Topic:
- Security and War
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan and Libya
35584. TSG IntelBrief: Terrorism Strikes in Tunis
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Soufan Group
- Abstract:
- The brazen terrorist attack in the heart of Tunis, at the Bardo National Museum, is the most serious attack to take place in Tunisia since 2002, and presents the tourism-dependent country with serious challenges in how to respond effectively and proportionately Such an attack was nearly inevitable, given the disproportionately large number of Tunisians who have traveled to fight with the Islamic State, as well as being squeezed in a vise of extremism with Libya to the east and Algeria to the west There have been no claims of responsibility but there is no shortage of plausible suspects, with both the Islamic State and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb active in the country There will likely be more attacks in Tunisia, though perhaps of a smaller but equally destabilizing nature, as the government increases pressure on networks, leaving the field open for Charlie Hebdo-styled attacks which are harder to disrupt given the smaller numbers of actors.
- Topic:
- Government
- Political Geography:
- Libya, Syria, and Tunisia
35585. A Transatlantic Approach for the Arab World: Stability through Inclusivity, Good Governance, and Prosperity
- Author:
- Amy Hawthorne, Frances G. Burwell, and Danya Greenfield
- Publication Date:
- 01-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- A new Atlantic Council report warns against the tendency of Europe and the United States to sideline political and economic reform in the Middle East while they pursue urgent security priorities in this turbulent region. Instead, the transatlantic partners should forge a shared strategy to encourage political systems that can protect Arab citizens' basic rights, provide security, deliver broad prosperity, and mitigate violent extremism.
- Political Geography:
- United States, Europe, and Middle East
35586. False Dichotomy: Stability Versus Reform in the Arab World
- Author:
- Danya Greenfield and Faysal Itani
- Publication Date:
- 02-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- To cling to current short-sighted policies and to help sustain dysfunctional states in the Middle East for the sake of short-term security would condemn the region to poverty and further instability, which threaten to have negative consequences for US interests.
- Political Geography:
- United States and Middle East
35587. ISIS War Game II: The Escalation Challenge
- Author:
- Bilal Y. Saab and Michael S. Tyson
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- In September 2014, Bilal Y. Saab, Resident Senior Fellow for Middle East Security at the Atlantic Council's Brent Scowcroft on International Security, and Michael S. Tyson, Marine Corps Senior Fellow at the Scowcroft Center, predicted in a simulation exercise (for results, see "ISIS War Game: The Coming Stalemate") conducted at the Scowcroft Center's Middle East Peace and Security Initiative that the most likely scenario was a military stalemate. They also realized that such a stalemate was not stable. Since the conclusion of the first war game, ISIS's regional attacks have increased in scope, lethality, and level of sophistication, as evidenced by its military and terrorist operations in Libya, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Lebanon.
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Egypt
35588. Islamic Jihad and Western Faith
- Author:
- Craig Biddle
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Objective Standard
- Institution:
- The Objective Standard
- Abstract:
- Islamic states and jihadists who attack and murder Westerners and other disbelievers are motivated to do so by their religion, Islam. Everyone paying attention knows this (including those who pretend not to).
35589. Islam vs. Free Speech
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Objective Standard
- Institution:
- The Objective Standard
- Abstract:
- Charlie HebdoThat many Muslims oppose free speech—often violently—is again made obvious by this week's terrorist attacks in France. There, two groups of Muslim terrorists slaughtered sixteen people, twelve at or near the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical publication that ran “offensive” images of Muhammad.
- Topic:
- Government
- Political Geography:
- France
35590. Piketty's Rickety Assault on Capital
- Author:
- Richard M. Salsman
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Objective Standard
- Institution:
- The Objective Standard
- Abstract:
- Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century makes an important contribution to the economic history of industrialization since the early 18th century. His collection of data on the distribution of income and wealth around the globe, drawn mainly from tax records, surveys, and national reports, is rigorous and comprehensive; no one before has collected such credible material in this important sub-field of economics. Piketty is also to be credited for presenting the data in scores of easy-to-interpret graphs and for making it available online for those wishing to verify the presentation and/or investigate alternative empirical patterns.
- Topic:
- Economics
35591. Circumcision in America
- Author:
- Joseph England
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Objective Standard
- Institution:
- The Objective Standard
- Abstract:
- Every year throughout sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, between four and five million girls suffer gruesome genital mutilation at the hands of tribal “cutters” or circumcisers. Far from being regarded as barbaric criminals from whom children should be hidden, these wielders of sharpened rocks, broken glass, rusty metal, and (only sometimes) scalpels occupy a special position of power and influence in their communities. Parents voluntarily, sometimes enthusiastically, bring their young and infant daughters to be mutilated. Though methods vary in severity, in as many as 10 percent of cases, a cutter shears a girl's labia for “beauty,” excises her clitoris to deprive her of sexual pleasure later in life, and sews closed her vagina to ensure virginity until marriage.
- Political Geography:
- Africa, America, and Middle East
35592. The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels
- Author:
- Alex Epstein
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Objective Standard
- Institution:
- The Objective Standard
- Abstract:
- Who would argue that producing and using fossil fuels is not only not shameful, but also positively virtuous? Alex Epstein would. And he has done so eloquently and thoroughly in his book, The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels.
- Topic:
- Government
- Political Geography:
- Germany
35593. The Frackers
- Author:
- Gregory Zuckerman
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Objective Standard
- Institution:
- The Objective Standard
- Abstract:
- The Frackers: The Outrageous Inside Story of the New Billionaire Wildcatters, the second book by Wall Street Journal reporter Gregory Zuckerman, tells the story of the development, over the past several decades, of the amazing technology by which oil and gas have been made to flow from previously unyielding stone, in quantities tallied in the hundreds of billions of barrels and trillions of cubic feet. Zuckerman's complex narrative crisscrosses the country to Texas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and the badlands of Montana and the Dakotas. The book is the result of (among other things) more than a hundred hours of interviews with those whose story it tells; Zuckerman often uses the perspective gained from these firsthand accounts to give the story a fly-on-the-boardroom-wall feel.
- Topic:
- Development
35594. Stuff Matters
- Author:
- Mark Miodownik
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Objective Standard
- Institution:
- The Objective Standard
- Abstract:
- In May 1985, a young Mark Miodownik sat on a train, with a fresh thirteen-centimeter stab wound in his back, and thought about what had just happened. Moments earlier, a man had approached him saying he had a knife and asking for money. Miodownik had decided to keep his assailant talking until the train doors were closing, and then push quickly past him to safety. That didn't work out so well. Although his assailant did not have a knife, he had a razor blade. And it had sliced through Miodownik's thick leather coat and multiple layers of clothing, severely lacerating his back.
35595. From the Editor, Spring 2015
- Author:
- Craig Biddle
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Objective Standard
- Institution:
- The Objective Standard
- Abstract:
- This, the spring 2015 issue of The Objective Standard, begins our tenth year of publication; so let me start by extending a hearty thank-you to all of our subscribers and donors who have supported our vital work over the years. In a culture largely hostile to the ideas we elucidate and apply, the success of a publication such as TOS requires financial and spiritual support from the relative few who see the value of what we do. You are that few. You have made possible everything we have done—every article, every blog post, every video, every word. Without your support, TOS would have folded long ago, as most Objectivist periodicals have. Because of your support, however, TOS has not only survived, it has established and maintained a level of quality and clarity that has made and is making a difference. Here's an indication of the kind of correspondence we receive from people who discover TOS.
- Political Geography:
- America
35596. TSG IntelBrief: Turkey and Syria: A Troubled History
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Soufan Group
- Abstract:
- Turkey will play a significant role in Syria's future, more so than any other neighbor, though the history between the two nations has been a troubled one Although Turkey's President Erdogan was at first keen to have good relations with Syria's President Assad, and succeeded in doing so, since 2011, they have gone sour Turkey is determined to influence the outcome of Syria's civil war, even if it finds no support from its allies The reappointment of Hakan Fidan to head the Turkish Intelligence Service may usher in a more active phase of Turkish involvement in the conflict.
- Topic:
- Development and War
- Political Geography:
- Turkey and Syria
35597. TSG IntelBrief: The Islamic State After Tikrit
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Soufan Group
- Abstract:
- Iraqi security forces, which include more Shi'a militia than Iraqi army personnel, have retaken nearly all of Tikrit, with Islamic State fighters still holding out in the center of the city The tomb of former dictator Saddam Hussein was destroyed during the fighting; the Islamic State is placing the blame on Shi'a militia while the Iraqi government says Islamic State fighters were responsible It is unlikely that the destruction of the tomb will rally many Sunnis to the Islamic State's cause, though it doesn't help lower sectarian tensions; it will be far more destructive if sectarian fighting follows the fall of Tikrit and other towns The Islamic State will seek every opportunity to turn this conflict into a repeat of Saddam's 1980-1988 war on Iran, where the Iraqi Sunni battle the Shi'a of both countries; only if the Shi'a militia oblige the group by perpetrating atrocities and oppression towards the Sunni population they liberated will this be achievable.
- Topic:
- Security and Government
- Political Geography:
- Iraq and Iran
35598. TSG IntelBrief: Syria: Four Years of War
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Soufan Group
- Abstract:
- The fourth anniversary of the start of the Syrian uprising has passed and the conflict sees no end in sight The humanitarian consequences of the conflict overwhelm the capacity of the international community to deal with them The involvement of malign non-state actors has complicated political options, both in the region and beyond Syria has become part of the counterterrorism agenda, and will likely be resolved in that context-however, any solution will take time.
- Topic:
- United Nations
- Political Geography:
- Syria
35599. TSG IntelBrief: A Weakened Caliphate Expands
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Soufan Group
- Abstract:
- The Islamic State accepted Boko Haram\'s allegiance, or bay\'at, pledged to the Iraq and Syria-based extremist group over the weekend Given the recent military setbacks for Boko Haram and the Islamic State, and their increasing convergence, this development is unsurprising and a propaganda victory for both groups The alliance may spark an escalation of attacks in northeast Nigeria, as Boko Haram seeks to prove itself to the Islamic State The announcement may also internationalize Boko Haram\'s fight and draw jihadists to Nigeria from across the Middle East and North Africa.
- Topic:
- Government
- Political Geography:
- Iraq and Syria
35600. TSG IntelBrief: The Cubs of the Caliphate
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Soufan Group
- Abstract:
- The recent Islamic State video showing a young child apparently shooting and killing a captive is another tragic example of extremist groups not just preying on children but turning children into predators In creating what they call 'cubs of the caliphate' who become killers at a young age, the Islamic State is attempting to ensure its future regardless of territorial losses, by putting children on a path from which there is almost no return In January the group released a video showing another child shooting alleged Russian agents, with the same message that it is grooming the next generation of killers Potential Islamic State affiliate Boko Haram also uses young children to kill, forcing them to become suicide bombers to devastating effect; and the group has no shortage of victims given its propensity for kidnapping.
- Political Geography:
- Russia