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Begin New Search Political Geography United States Content Type Working Paper Publishing Institution European Union Institute for Security Studies

1. The future of the CWC in the post-destruction phase

Author:
Jean Pascal Zanders, Richard Guthrie, Cindy Vestergaard, Ralf Trapp, and Yasemin Balci
Publication Date:
03-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Union Institute for Security Studies
Abstract:
At the 17 th Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) held in November 2012, the subject generating the most debate concerned the place of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in CWC meetings and whether their role should be rather passive (i.e. 'attend') or be characterised by more active involvement (i.e. 'participate'). The latter option would allow them to address States Parties at meetings or organise side events within (rather than outside) the conference building. Addressing one of the core functions of the disarmament treaty, Libya, Russia and the United States reported in detail on progress and issues affecting the destruction of their respective chemical weapon (CW) stockpiles. Despite the fact that all three countries had missed the ultimate destruction deadline of April 2012, no state raised its flag to comment, question or protest about the delays. When the negotiators of the CWC concluded their business in September 1992 and decided to forward the treaty text to the UN General Assembly (UNGA) for assent, missing the destruction deadlines was universally viewed as one of the worst possible breaches of the CWC. In practice, a robust verification regime combined with permanent in - formation sharing, voluntary transparency beyond the requirements in the Convention, and dialogue over the years yielded commonly approved decisions to extend the destruction deadlines with strict monitoring and reporting requirements. Confident that the holders of the three largest declared CW stockpiles have no malicious intent, States Parties can continue with the implementation of all dimensions of the CWC without recriminations or deadlock.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, International Cooperation, International Law, International Organization, and Nuclear Weapons
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, and Libya

2. The EU-US security and justice agenda in action

Author:
Patryk Pawlak (ed)
Publication Date:
12-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Union Institute for Security Studies
Abstract:
The development of homeland security policies in the post 9/11 context has given rise to several interesting debates at the transatlantic level, the most important of which has focused on the balance between liberty and security. EU-US cooperation in this domain has resulted in a strengthening of the security dimension of numerous policy areas which in the view of civil liberty organisations and certain EU bodies and institutions has entailed an unacceptable intrusion into the private lives of citizens and limitation of their freedoms. The implementation of the commitments to 'work in partnership in a broad coalition to combat the evil of terrorism' and to 'vigorously pursue cooperation' adopted at the Joint EU-US Ministerial of 20 September 2001 has proven particularly difficult. While initial disagreements were mostly caused by the unilateralist approach of the United States and a lack of mutual trust and understanding on both sides of the Atlantic, the discussions have slowly evolved towards increasing consensus on substantive points leading to specific policy choices. Many of the objections expressed by the European Parliament and civil liberties organisations in Europe have concerned the increasing powers of government agencies and the diminishing rights of citizens. The debate has gradually become more heated, fuelled by press reports about the expanding use of personal information collected by private actors for commercial purposes (e.g. PNR, SWIFT) or the application of advanced technologies to protect the homeland (e.g. terrorist profiling and data mining). All this has positioned the transatlantic security dialogue between two poles: security and liberty.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Defense Policy, International Cooperation, Terrorism, Bilateral Relations, and Counterinsurgency
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

3. Transforming the Quartet principles: Hamas and the Peace Process

Author:
Carolin Goerzig
Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Union Institute for Security Studies
Abstract:
Despite the clear necessity of an inclusive approach that involves all relevant actors, the Middle East Quartet (comprising the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and Russia) has made political and financial cooperation with the Palestinian Authority dependent on the recognition of the three Quartet principles — the recognition of Israel, the renunciation of violence and adherence to previous diplomatic agreements — in exchange for the recognition of a Palestinian government. But instead of compelling Hamas to consider compliance, the Quartet principles have in fact led the group to become more entrenched in its defiant stance. There is a fundamental problem with the three Quartet conditions. While decision-makers proclaim that the three principles come as a package and are inseparable, it is precisely the fact that they are so interlocked and that Hamas is required to comply with them simultaneously that makes compliance problematic. This is the case because the three principles are mutually constraining to such an extent that complying with one principle effectively prevents Hamas from complying with another. Originally, the three Quartet principles were intended as a basis or a framework for a potential peace process. They define the conditions a negotiating partner has to fulfil in order to take part in Middle East peace talks. In reality, however, they have acted as an impediment. This paper seeks to find a way of overcoming the constraints that the EU has imposed upon itself by insisting on simultaneous adherence to the three Quartet principles. It looks at what room for manoeuvre there remains for the EU within the framework of the Quartet conditions and at how they can be modified in such a way that they facilitate rather than obstruct compliance.
Topic:
Political Violence, Islam, Politics, Terrorism, Armed Struggle, and Territorial Disputes
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Europe, Middle East, Israel, Palestine, Arabia, and United Nations

4. The interpolar world: a new scenario

Author:
Giovanni Grevi
Publication Date:
06-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Union Institute for Security Studies
Abstract:
Everyone agrees the world is changing. The question is in which direction? This paper offers an original contribution to the debate on the future shape of the international system. Based on a diagnosis of current developments, it argues that many factors point to the emergence of an 'interpolar' world. Interpolarity can be defined as multipolarity in the age of interdependence. The redistribution of power at the global level, leading to a multipolar international system, and deepening interdependence are the two basic dimensions of the transition away from the post-Cold War world. All too often, however, they are treated as separate issues. The real challenge lies in finding a new synthesis between the shifting balance of power and the governance of interdependence.
Topic:
International Relations, Cold War, Economics, and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

5. International terrorism: the changing threat and the EU's response

Author:
Paul Wilkinson
Publication Date:
10-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Union Institute for Security Studies
Abstract:
If any Europeans observing the 9/11 atrocities in the United States had comforted themselves with the belief that Western Europe was immune from such attacks, this illusion should have been dispelled by the train bombings in Madrid in March 2004 and the July 2005 bombings of Underground trains and a double-decker bus in London, apparently by suicide bombers with links to the Al Qaeda network.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, and London

6. From America's protégé to constructive European. Polish security policy in the twenty-first century

Author:
Marcin Zaborowski
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Union Institute for Security Studies
Abstract:
Following the events of 11 September 2001, Poland emerged as one of the United States's key allies, arguably its protégé, in Central and Eastern Europe. The close affinity of interests on security matters between the United States and Poland became particularly apparent in Iraq, where Warsaw proved to be a strong and highly vocal supporter of Washington. However, at the same time, Poland has been progressively drawn into the internal workings of the EU, and as a consequence its perspectives on European security have evolved towards a more 'EU-positive' attitude. This, coupled with disappointment over the war in Iraq, has meant that Poland's Atlanticism is increasingly questioned, with calls for a more pro-European attitude growing. This paper will reflect upon these debates and argue that Poland's Atlanticism is indeed changing. Focusing on the Iraq conflict and perspectives towards the EU's security ambitions, this paper will show that Warsaw has strived to reconcile its Atlanticism with a concomitant engagement in the European Union's CSFP and ESDP. The paper concludes that Poland's Atlanticism is likely to be toned down in the future as Poland becomes more focused on developing its policies in an EU context and in cooperation with individual member states.
Topic:
Security and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States, America, Europe, Washington, and Poland

7. EU cooperative threat reduction activities in Russia

Author:
Burkard Schmitt
Publication Date:
06-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Union Institute for Security Studies
Abstract:
To strengthen the security structure of an erstwhile enemy, and a country that hard-nosed defence analysts and military planners - think of the last two US Nuclear Posture Reviews – still view as a potential threat, is quite an unorthodox and innovative way to address one's own security concerns. Yet cooperative threat reduction (CTR) has become part and parcel of Western security policy. A considerable number of NATO and European Union (EU) member states are involved in this sort of activity, as is the EU itself, including its most genuinely European actor, the European Commission (EC).
Topic:
International Cooperation and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Europe, and Soviet Union

8. Iraq: The Transatlantic Debate

Author:
Philip H. Gordon
Publication Date:
12-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Union Institute for Security Studies
Abstract:
Most Americans see the regime of Saddam Hussein as a major threat to regional and international security that must be thwarted, even if that means threatening or even using military force. If Saddam were to acquire nuclear weapons, they fear, he would seek to use them to dominate the Middle East, possibly invading his neighbours as he has in the past and perhaps deterring the United States from stopping him. His nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, moreover, might end up in the hands of Islamic terrorists who would show no compunction about using them against the United States, or Saddam himself might do so out of a thirst for vengeance. Whereas failure to act in Iraq would make a mockery of the United Nations Security Council and international law, a decisive action to topple Saddam would liberate the Iraqi people, allow the United States to lift sanctions on Iraq and withdraw its forces from Saudi Arabia, and perhaps make progress toward a freer and more democratic Middle East.
Topic:
Security and NATO
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, Europe, Middle East, Saudi Arabia, and United Nations

9. The United States: The Empire of Force or the Force of Empire?

Author:
Pierre Hassner
Publication Date:
09-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Union Institute for Security Studies
Abstract:
There is no society or policy that does not have its contradictions, but some have more than others, and that is certainly true of the United States. Raymond Aron evoked a classic paradox in giving his book on the United States the title The Imperial Republic. That paradox has two aspects. Firstly, are the republic's institutions (which are designed to guarantee citizens' rights and a separation of powers) suited to the running of an empire, or are they prejudicial to the decision-making ability and continuity that that implies? Conversely, does not the expenditure on empire, in terms of resources and time, and in particular the methods used to acquire and preserve it, affect the economic, political and moral health of the republican homeland? These dilemmas are made even more acute since, on the one hand, this is not a classic empire, like that of Rome, but rather a bourgeois, individualist one based on the acquisition of wealth rather than the winning of wars and, on the other hand, this is the first truly world-wide empire and has appeared at a moment when the threats facing humankind raise key questions on the interests of the international system and the planet itself, over and above those of the 'hyperpower'.
Topic:
Security and Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

10. Enlargement and European Defence After 11 September

Author:
Pal Dunay, Jiri Sedivy, and Jacek Saryusz-Wolski
Publication Date:
06-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Union Institute for Security Studies
Abstract:
The jury is still out on the extent to which 11 September has changed the concept – let alone the perception – of security. All the more so for European security at large, whose contours are still quite blurred. As for the European Union proper, 11 September has triggered a prompt response in the field of internal security, while the military reaction has been either channelled through NATO and the UN or managed individually (and bilaterally with the United States) by both member and applicant states. More indirectly, 11 September has increased the pressure towards enlargement by pushing for a faster and broader accession of the current candidates in order to further stabilise the Union's immediate neighbourhood: a quintessential case of security policy by other means, one is tempted to say, in line with a long tradition in the European integration process. Moreover, for similar reasons, the Atlantic Alliance, too, is likely to enlarge more quickly and more extensively than previously envisaged. Key decisions in those directions are to be taken in Prague (NATO) and Copenhagen (EU) later this year. For the Union, anyway, the endgame has already started. With it, the enlargement process will have come almost full circle: 'from Copenhagen to Copenhagen', so to speak, in just under ten years.
Topic:
Security and Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, and United Nations