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842. Counting for the sake of counting. The pratical manifestations of a criminological knowledge in local organisations dedicated to security | Compter pour compter Les manifestations pratiques de savoirs criminologiques dans les instances locales de sécurité
- Author:
- Élodie Lemaire and Laurence Proteau
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Cultures & Conflits
- Institution:
- Cultures & Conflits
- Abstract:
- Social agents in charge of the coordination of local security committees dedicated to delinquency and its prevention seem to integrate submissvely the tools offered by the “new criminology” (such as local observatories, statistics, mapping, population profiling). In reality, such tools are mobilised for various reasons that are not only geared towards efficiency. The agents in charge not only use quantitative techniques because they believe in their legitimacy. They also use them as a way to consolidate the legitimacy of their roles. These roles are indeed quite new in the security landscape in France, and mobilising such criminological tools enable the agents to claim a particular form of expertise.
- Topic:
- Security, Criminal Justice, and Statistics
- Political Geography:
- Europe and France
843. Comprehensive Security and Integrated Defence
- Author:
- Henrik Breitenbauch, Martin Hurt, Tomas Jermalavicius, Pauli Järvenpää, and Piret Pernik
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- International Centre for Defence and Security - ICDS
- Abstract:
- The Estonian Government began employing an integrated approach to national defence in 2010. Pursuant to the National Defence Strategy, subsequent steps will include submission for Cabinet approval of the non-military sections of the National Defence Development Plan for 2013-2022. These sections deal in a coordinated manner with both military defence and essential non-military activities. The Ministry of Defence is currently drafting a National Defence Act. The report was commissioned in order to document the current state of implementation of the integrated national defence model. The Estonian Government began employing an integrated approach to national defence in 2010. Pursuant to the National Defence Strategy, subsequent steps will include submission for Cabinet approval of the non-military sections of the National Defence Development Plan for 2013-2022. These sections deal in a coordinated manner with both military defence and essential non-military activities. The Ministry of Defence is currently drafting a National Defence Act. The report was commissioned in order to document the current state of implementation of the integrated national defence model. The report identifies conditions for the successful interactions of national security and defence stakeholders in the strategic framework of comprehensive security and integrated defence. It reviews the literature on comprehensive and integrated approaches to complex security and defence challenges and extracts some key factors underpinning the effective whole-of-government and whole-of-society efforts. It then considers experiences of several nations – Denmark, Finland, The Netherlands and Sweden – in building integrated security and defence systems. Finally, the paper investigates the ‘state of play’ in Estonia when it comes to implementing the concept of integrated defence. It closes with the recommendations to Estonia‘s policymakers.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Government, and Military Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Eurasia, Finland, Estonia, Denmark, Sweden, and Netherlands
844. Accountability or not? Managing of public funds in Kosovo Security Sector
- Author:
- Skender Perteshi
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS)
- Abstract:
- This study aims to analyze financial accountability of Kosovo security sector and advocate for its continuous enhancement. It is focused mainly on the current state of affairs and the trends in this sector. Therefore, the period of 2010-2013 serves as reference point for chronological perspective of this study. Whereas, the scope of this study is restricted to financial management, procurement and auditing of the following institutions: Ministry of Internal Affairs, Kosovo Police, Kosovo Ministry of Kosovo Security Force and Kosovo Security Force. Due to the institutional modalities and the lack of transparency as provided by the law, the research team has intentionally excluded from this study the Kosovo Intelligence Agency, even though it considers that the absence of financial transparency of this institution is in contradiction with the principles of accountability of public funds. The analysis reveals that general legal framework on financial management is also applicable to the security sector. Regardless of the existence of such legal framework, several weaknesses, may be detrimental to public funds as result of loopholes. One of the key dimensions in financial control is internal auditing, which is considered to be in its infancy. Audit units of the security institutions employs very small number of staff compared to the number of staff and volume of work in the financial sector. Therefore, the number of audits remains relatively small targeting only some of the most important areas. One of the main weaknesses of these institutions is the lack of solid written plans. There is also lack of efficiency in executing the expenses as defined in the agenda. This makes the supervision of expenses and financial management in security sector more problematic. Following the same lines, public procurement management is at a concerning stage. Identified problems are mainly related to the evaluation process, lack of clarity of specifications during the application process, as well as many other shortcomings in the supervision of public procurement in the security sector. On the other hand, out of all complaints taken by the Public Procurement Review Body, it 50% of complaints filed by various economic operators have resulted to be grounded on evidence by returning the tendering process to either re-evaluation or re-tendering.
- Topic:
- Security, Accountability, Procurement, and Public Finance
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Kosovo, and Balkans
845. Inclusion or Exclusion - Minorities in the Security Sector in Post-Independent Kosovo
- Author:
- Donika Emini
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS)
- Abstract:
- The audience and the stakeholders of this paper are the security institutions in Kosovo, the Government of Kosovo, ethnic communities, their representatives and the international community involved in this process. Also, this paper seeks to provide an analytical framework on the existing state of affairs with respect to representation and inclusion of ethnic minorities in Kosovo’s security sector. The paper offers a description on the establishment of security institutions in Kosovo. It also maps the main actors in the security sector in Kosovo, by offering a brief critical assessment to the current legal framework dealing with the inclusion of ethnic minorities in the security sector, as well as mechanisms and institutional responsibility for the inclusion of ethnic minorities. Also, the paper offers an assessment to the current situation of ethnic minorities’ inclusion and participation in the Kosovo Police (KP), the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) and the Kosovo Security Council (KSC) along with the challenges these institutions face in fulfilling the requirements provided by the legal framework.
- Topic:
- Security, Minorities, Institutions, Exclusion, and Inclusion
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Kosovo, and Balkans
846. Kosovo’s Membership and Representation in Regional Security Initiatives
- Author:
- Donika Emini
- Publication Date:
- 09-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS)
- Abstract:
- In particular, the challenges are present with respect to Kosovo’s access to defense related regional initiatives. While Kosovo’s recent membership in the RCC is expected to open the doors for representation and access to other regional security initiatives, the findings in this paper show that the progress is limited and accompanied by a wide variety of challenges. By not being fully-fledged member, Kosovo is constrained in benefiting from joint operations and activities in the field of rule of law, justice and security. Consequently, the political agreements reached in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia and the concept of introducing regional cooperation in the Western Balkans, are seriously challenged.
- Topic:
- Security, Treaties and Agreements, Rule of Law, Representation, Justice, and Regional Security
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Kosovo, and Balkans
847. Kosovo Security Barometer - Fourth Edition
- Author:
- Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS)
- Publication Date:
- 12-2014
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS)
- Abstract:
- The fourth edition of the KSB provides a summary of public perceptions on: security and justice institutions; risks and threats towards citizens and economic stability; and internal and external threats. Compared to the previous versions, this edition of the KSB includes respondents’ answers to a set of additional questions pertaining to data protection. The survey was carried out in the second half of October 2014, through face-to-face interviews conducted around Kosovo.The national sample from which the research was drawn featured 1,101 households, following a representative sample of the population above 18 years old in Kosovo. The ethnic breakdown of the interviewed respondents used for the purposes of this ediction of the KSB was: 87.92percent K-Albanian, 9.08 percent K-Serbian, and 3 percent others (Bosnian 1.0 percent, Turks 1.0 percent, and RAE 1.0 percent). Perceptions presented in this report are a summary of information gathered from respondents and it only demonstrates how people perceive these institutions. Hence, this report does not represent a conclusive assessment of the quality of the work of the institutions subject to this study.
- Topic:
- Security, Public Opinion, Privacy, Institutions, Survey, Economic Stability, and Data Collection
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Kosovo, and Balkans
848. Chasing the Nordic option after independence
- Author:
- Alyson J. K. Bailes
- Publication Date:
- 06-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- Scotland the brave new world
- Topic:
- Security and Foreign Policy
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Scotland
849. Merkel's Unfinished Business: Why Germany Needs to Act Strategically
- Author:
- Judy Dempsey
- Publication Date:
- 09-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel will soon face parliamentary elections. On her eight-year watch, her governing coalition has failed to develop foreign policy, security, and defense strategies. This weakens Europe's ability to think and act strategically and limits the European Union's (EU's) influence in its immediate neighborhood and beyond. There is much unfinished business that the next chancellor, be it Merkel or someone else, will have to manage.
- Topic:
- Security, Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Germany
850. The Global Arctic: The Growing Arctic Interests of Russia, China, the United States and the European Union
- Author:
- Juha Käpylä and Harri Mikkola
- Publication Date:
- 08-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Finnish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- With exciting economic opportunities and serious environmental challenges, the Arctic is transforming and re-emerging as a geopolitically important region. Major global players within and without the Arctic are paying greater attention to the region. While Russia is a traditional Arctic state with significant economic and security interests in the region, China, the US and the EU have also expressed their Arctic interests more explicitly. They are keen to tap into the economic potential and have a say in the way the region becomes accessed, exploited and governed. As a result, the Arctic is no longer a spatially or administratively confined region, but is instead taking its new form in the midst of contemporary global politics. The globalization and economization of the Arctic will most likely downplay environmentalism and reduce the relative influence of the indigenous people and small Arctic states in Arctic affairs. Arctic governance is also likely to turn more complex and complicated as the economic and political stakes are raised.
- Topic:
- Security, Foreign Policy, Climate Change, Development, International Trade and Finance, Oil, and Natural Resources
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, China, and Europe
851. Linking instruments in development and foreign policy: Comprehensive approaches in the EU
- Author:
- Christel Vincentz Rasmussen
- Publication Date:
- 08-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
- Abstract:
- The EU is currently working at defining a comprehensive approach linking development and other instruments in external action. The Lisbon Treaty has contributed to a reorganisation of the institutions in Brussels, affecting crisis management structures and the organisation of external relations. Comprehensive approaches are not new in the EU system, in particular an integrated approach for conflict prevention and a concept for civil–military coordination were developed in the 2000s. However, a forthcoming communication on a comprehensive approach in external action constitutes an occasion to clarify and operationalise the approach in a new, post-Lisbon, institutional setting as well as consolidating the formal EU commitment to working comprehensively.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, Security, Foreign Policy, Development, Human Rights, Humanitarian Aid, and Foreign Aid
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Brussels
852. Cyber world: site under construction
- Author:
- Patryk Pawlak
- Publication Date:
- 09-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- European Union Institute for Security Studies
- Abstract:
- The Union's cyber security policy may still be in its infancy and hampered by difficulties, but the EU could yet become a key player in the field – if it plays its cards wisely. While the US has been seriously hit by the scandal surrounding the secret NSA surveillance programmes, the struggle over how to frame internet governance goes on and, more than ever, needs core stakeholders capable of defending freedom, democracy and the rule of law in cyberspace.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Intelligence, Science and Technology, and Communications
- Political Geography:
- United States and Europe
853. Feed the world? The challenges of global food security
- Author:
- Costanza Caputi
- Publication Date:
- 06-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- European Union Institute for Security Studies
- Abstract:
- According to the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), food security exists when 'all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life'. This is determined by the four key dimensions of availability, access, utilisation and stability of food supply.
- Topic:
- Security, Agriculture, Development, and Food
- Political Geography:
- Europe and United Nations
854. Renewables: do they matter for foreign policy?
- Author:
- Iana Dreyer
- Publication Date:
- 06-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- European Union Institute for Security Studies
- Abstract:
- Energy has played an important role in the geopolitics of the 20th century and continues to do so today. But the politics of renewable energy has remained largely confined to national boundaries and has had few international ramifications. Is this set to change? What is and could be the role of renewables in European energy diplomacy?
- Topic:
- Security, Climate Change, Development, Energy Policy, and Natural Resources
- Political Geography:
- Europe
855. Europe: spread (not lost) in space
- Author:
- Lucia Marta
- Publication Date:
- 06-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- European Union Institute for Security Studies
- Abstract:
- Since the launch of its two 'flagship programmes' in the late 1990s, the European Union (EU) has been increasingly involved in space activities. The earth observation programme GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security, recently renamed Copernicus) and Galileo (positioning and navigation, just like the American GPS) will soon be operational and will support a whole spectrum of European policies, from environment and transport to security and defence.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Economics, Science and Technology, and Military Strategy
- Political Geography:
- America and Europe
856. Russia Still Matters: Strategic Challenges and Opportunities for the Obama Administration
- Author:
- John W. Parker and Michael Kofman
- Publication Date:
- 03-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Abstract:
- Russia's institution of a ban on American adoptions of Russian orphans, an appalling response by the Duma to U.S. sanctions against officials involved in the Sergei Magnitsky case,1 was a clear indicator that bilateral relations will assume a lower priority in the next 4 years for both capitals. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the measure despite open misgivings by some of his own key aides and against the opposition of most of Russia's civil society. The Russian Internet response was scathing, producing an instant winner for best sick joke of 2012: “An educated American family has decided to adopt a developmentally disabled Duma deputy.”.
- Topic:
- Security, Foreign Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, Islam, Nuclear Weapons, and Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, Europe, and Middle East
857. Time for Tough Love in Transatlantic Relations
- Author:
- Anand Menon
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- The furore that greeted news that negotiations were to start on a transatlantic free trade agreement revealed not only the potential importance of any putative deal, but also the tendency of Europeans to view international politics almost uniquely in economic terms. This neglect of security and broader geostrategic issues is short-sighted and dangerous. It is precisely the liberal world order in place since the Second World War that has allowed Europeans to develop their economic potential. Leaving it to the United States to preserve that order is an increasingly problematic strategy, with the US ever more reluctant to police the world in the way it once did. The US has, for many years, asked its partners to contribute more to the preservation of common security interests. Given the failure of these attempts to date, it might be time for Washington to resort to tougher tactics in an attempt to entice Europeans out of their geostrategic retirement.
- Topic:
- Security and Politics
- Political Geography:
- United States, Europe, and Washington
858. The 'TTIP-ing Point': How the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Could Impact European Defence
- Author:
- Daniel Fiott
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- The European Union and the United States are on the verge of agreeing to a transatlantic free trade agreement. The proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is aimed at boosting EU and US economic growth, but the negotiating partners have not excluded the defence sector from negotiations. Europe is at a tipping point regarding the rationale for its defence-industrial integration efforts. Any TTIP extending to the defence sector will raise questions about the nature of the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base, and, crucially, how it impacts the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the Common Security and Defence Policy.
- Topic:
- Security
- Political Geography:
- United States and Europe
859. Europe: Strategic Drifter
- Author:
- Jakub Grygiel
- Publication Date:
- 08-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The National Interest
- Abstract:
- THE EUROPEAN Union's unfolding crisis tends to be seen as purely economic in nature and consequence. The EU is a common market, with a common currency adopted by most of its members and with fiscal problems of one kind or another facing almost all of its capitals. Most analyses of the euro crisis focus, therefore, on the economic and financial impact of whatever “euro exit” may occur or of a European fiscal centralization. In the worst case, they project a full-fledged breakup of the common currency and perhaps even the EU itself. Not much can be added to this sea of analysis except a pinch of skepticism: nobody really knows the full economic impact, positive or negative, of such potential developments. In fact, not even European leaders seem to have a clear idea of how to mitigate the economic and political morass of the Continent. While it is certain that the EU of the future will be different, it isn't clear just how. If we look at the current situation of the EU from a security perspective, however, it becomes much more difficult to foresee any long-term positive outcome. That's because the euro troubles of today will have powerful negative effects on the security of the region, resulting in challenges that will preoccupy Europeans as well as Americans in the years to come.
- Topic:
- Security and Economics
- Political Geography:
- America and Europe
860. Securing the State: National Security and Secret Intelligence
- Author:
- David Omand
- Publication Date:
- 09-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- PRISM
- Institution:
- Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
- Abstract:
- Consider the artist Michelangelo standing in front of a block of Carrara marble rough-hewn from the quarry. As he later described that moment, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” Sculptors need the patience to recognize that many small steps will be needed to realize their vision. The sculptor needs a strategic sixth sense that can continuously adapt the design to the conditions of the material while testing whether each small incision, however immediately appealing and easily achieved, will end up weakening the final structure. The sculptor needs the confidence to know that the design can be adjusted in response to the inevitable small slips and misjudgments made along the way. Call it the ability to hold the desired ends in mind while being continuously aware of the ways open for achieving them and the means that are at hand. Even the most technically skilled sculptor equipped with the sharpest chisels needs to have a clear sense of the end state – to see at the outset, “the angel in the marble” – that could be the final result of all the labor to come. That is the strategic cast of mind needed for planning modern counter-terrorism.
- Topic:
- Security and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- United States and Europe