Number of results to display per page
Search Results
6512. Somalia's Divided Islamists
- Publication Date:
- 05-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- The growing internal schisms and factionalism within Somalia's Islamist movement risk plunging the country even deeper into violence and bloodshed, with dangerous implications for the wider region and beyond. These divisions are also aggravating the political crisis by polarising groups further along ideological, theological and clan lines. However, a limited opportunity may now exist for Somalia's political actors and the international community to capitalise on these divisions and re-alignments to reach out to the increasing numbers of domestic militants disenchanted with the growing influence of foreign jihadis and extremist elements bent on pursuing a global agenda.
- Topic:
- Islam, Fragile/Failed State, Governance, and Sectarian violence
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Somalia
6513. Timor-Leste: Oecusse and the Indonesian Border
- Publication Date:
- 05-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Indonesia and Timor-Leste have done much to normalise relations ten years after the end to Indonesian rule in the former province, but the goodwill between capitals is not yet matched by full cooperation on the border. The costs are greatest in Oecusse, Timor-Leste's isolated enclave inside Indonesian West Timor. Negotiators have so far failed to agree on two segments of Oecusse's border, leaving open the risk that minor local disputes could be politicised and escalate into larger conflicts. Without a final demarcation, steps to improve management of the porous border have stalled. Initiatives that would promote exchanges and lessen the enclave's isolation remain unimplemented. As the bonds between the two nations grow, they should prioritise this unfinished business. Leaving it unresolved can only promote crime, corruption and the possibility of conflict.
- Topic:
- Conflict Prevention, Political Violence, Bilateral Relations, and Territorial Disputes
- Political Geography:
- Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and Southeast Asia
6514. Think twice before engaging in Yemen
- Author:
- Peter Albrecht
- Publication Date:
- 05-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
- Abstract:
- Yemen has caught the eye of the international community above all because it has been portrayed as a hotbed of radicalisation and a training ground for al-Qaeda. As a state, Yemen is broadly considered to be both fragile and on the brink of failure. This Policy Brief argues that for a variety of reasons – largely relating to the political system and dynamics within the country – support from Europe and North America will have limited effect. There are limited, if any, technical solutions to the challenges that confront the country; only political ones. International actors from outside the regional context must therefore think twice before engaging and, above all, have a good understanding of the political system that they will be engaging with.
- Topic:
- International Relations and Islam
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Middle East, Yemen, and Arabia
6515. Beyond the Truth: Can Reparations Move Peace and Justice Forward in Timor-Leste?
- Author:
- Leigh-Ashley Lipscomb
- Publication Date:
- 03-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- East-West Center
- Abstract:
- After hundreds of years as a Portuguese colony and then decades of Indonesian occupation, Timor-Leste (East Timor) finally became independent in 2002. Since then, Timor-Leste has been in the process of building itself as a sovereign nation, fighting to shake off its tumultuous past. Timor-Leste must now decide how best to resolve issues stemming from a brief civil war and Indonesian invasion and occupation (1975–1999), including grave human rights violations on all sides of the conflict. Human rights trials in both Timor-Leste and Indonesia have produced unsatisfying results, but two separate truth commissions recommended reparations—both intrastate and interstate—as a key element of reconciliation and healing. Critical questions remain, however, concerning the value, scope, and implementation of a reparations program within Timor-Leste or between Indonesia and Timor- Leste. Only a sincere, informed, and transparent decision-making process will result in a reparations program that could be a significant and successful part of moving peace and justice forward.
- Topic:
- Ethnic Conflict, Human Rights, International Affairs, and Reconstruction
- Political Geography:
- Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and Southeast Asia
6516. Very Low Fertility in Asia: Is There a Problem? Can It Be Solved?
- Author:
- Sidney B. Westley, Robert D. Retherford, and Minja Kim Choe
- Publication Date:
- 05-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- East-West Center
- Abstract:
- Fifty years ago, women in Asia were having, on average, more than five children each, and there was widespread fear of a “population explosion” in the region. Then birth rates began to fall—in several countries more steeply than anyone had anticipated. This unexpected trend has now raised concerns about the social and economic impact of extremely low fertility. Today, four of Asia's most prosperous economies—Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan—have among the lowest birth rates in the world. With women having, on average, only one child each, these societies have expanding elderly populations and a shrinking workforce to pay for social services and drive economic growth. And in Japan, overall population numbers are already going down. Why are women choosing to have so few children? How are policy- makers responding to these trends? Government leaders have initiated a variety of policies and programs designed to encourage marriage and childbearing, but to what effect? Given current social and economic trends, it is unlikely that Asia' s steep fertility decline will be reversed, at least not in the for eseeable future.
- Topic:
- Demographics, Health, and Population
- Political Geography:
- Japan, Taiwan, Asia, South Korea, and Singapore
6517. Medical Disasters and the Growth of the FDA
- Author:
- Ronald Hamowy
- Publication Date:
- 02-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Independent Institute
- Abstract:
- There is strong evidence that the spectacular growth in the size of the federal government is a result of its expansion following one crisis or another, either real or imagined. After the crisis it gains new powers that become the norm for the next stage of growth. The Food and Drug Administration provides a particularly apt example of this increase in powers as a response to a series of crises, each of which has increased the regulatory authority of the agency. The Food and Drug Administration, which did not even exist before the twentieth century, now possesses massive regulatory powers over products that account for no less than twenty-five cents of every dollar spent by the American consumer, totaling well over $1 trillion annually. Historical investigation shows that the agency has been able to take advantage of several perceived crises, the combined effect of which was to increase its authority to determine what Americans ingest to the point where today, at least in the case of drugs, it is the agency—and not the consumer—that determines when and what is available. A regulatory agency originally established to ensure that consumers would be provided with full and accurate information on the drugs available to them has become one that determines which drugs are available, when they might be administered, and who may ingest them. This essay traces this growth in terms of the legislative reaction to three crises, the diphtheria antitoxin crisis of 1901, the sulfanilamide crisis of 1937, and the thalidomide crisis of 1960.
- Topic:
- Government and Health Care Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States
6518. Nuclear Energy, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament: Briefing Notes for the 2010 NPT Review Conference
- Author:
- Christine Wing and François Carrel-Billiard
- Publication Date:
- 04-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute
- Abstract:
- The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference that is being held in New York in May 2010 coincides with the fortieth anniversary of the entry into force of the treaty. Although the NPT is commonly hailed as an essential pillar of international security, opinions greatly diverge when it comes to assessing the implementation of the treaty's three main objectives: promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy, preventing the diversion of nuclear materials to weapons, and committing states to engage in disarmament.
- Topic:
- Diplomacy, Energy Policy, Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and International Security
- Political Geography:
- New York and North Korea
6519. Analyzing the New UN Sanctions Proposal on Iran
- Author:
- Patrick Clawson, Jeffrey White, and Michael Singh
- Publication Date:
- 05-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
- Abstract:
- The May 18 draft resolution proposing additional sanctions to curb Iran's nuclear program is backed by all five permanent members of the UN Security Council. Although this unanimity is the proposal's principal strength, it comes at the cost of making the draft weaker in some sections than ideas discussed previously by the Obama administration. The following is an analysis of some of the resolution's key elements.
- Topic:
- Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, United Nations, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Sanctions
- Political Geography:
- Iran and Central Asia
6520. Iran Gets Negative Reviews in Iraq, Even from Shiites
- Author:
- David Pollock and Ahmed Ali
- Publication Date:
- 05-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
- Abstract:
- Two months after nationwide elections, Iraq's government formation process is still on hold. The final voting results have yet to be announced as disputes over recounts and candidate disqualifications linger. Nor is it clear how a governing majority will be formed, and power shared, among the four major party alliances, each of which garnered somewhere between 16 percent and 28 percent of the vote: the Kurdish bloc and its affiliates; the largely Sunni or secular Iraqiyah party led by a former prime minister of Shiite origin, Ayad Allawi; incumbent prime minister Nouri al-Maliki's largely Shiite State of Law Alliance (SLA); and SLA's rival Shiite/Sadrist list, the Iraqi National Alliance (INA), a coalition that includes the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq.
- Topic:
- Islam, Politics, and Sectarianism
- Political Geography:
- Iraq, Iran, and Central Asia