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3082. Iran's Security Sector: An Overview
- Author:
- Wilfried Buchta
- Publication Date:
- 08-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- The intention of this paper is to give an overview of the internal structure of the security sector of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI), one of the few states in the Islamic world in which in general the security sector is submitted to the control of the civilian leadership. This paper will not deal with the issues of WMD, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iran's open and covert support for militant Islamic groups abroad, the system's fight against exiled militant opposition groups or Tehran's policy towards Iraq prior to and after the US invasion, although some aspects of the security sectors' tasks are connected to these issues. Instead the paper will focus on the relationship between civilian leadership and the influential heads of the different branches of the security sector, a relationship which is extremely complex and often defies explanation. Therefore it is vital to offer some explanatory remarks on the overall political structure of the system and its main features.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, Islam, and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, Iran, Middle East, and Israel
3083. Jordanian Security Sector Governance: Between Theory and Practice
- Author:
- Nawaf Tell
- Publication Date:
- 08-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- The security sector has played a vital role in the establishment and the survival of the Jordanian State ever since its creation in the early 1920s. The function of Jordan's security sector has varied and evolved over time depending on both the domestic and the regional considerations. Indeed, from enforcing state authority within the state in the early stages of the Jordanian State, the security sector has now moved to protecting the sovereign integrity of Jordan and maintaining the country's stability in the shadow of regional upheavals.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, Politics, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Middle East
3084. The Best Papers from the 2003 DCAF-IISS Young Faces Conference
- Author:
- Nicu Popescu, Margareta Mamaliga, and Ivan Zverzhanovski
- Publication Date:
- 07-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- Following a decade of devastating conflicts, the countries of South Eastern Europe have now intensified their efforts to reform the security sector, foster security cooperation in the region and move more swiftly towards the membership in Euro-Atlantic integrations. Beyond any doubt, to succeed in these efforts, the whole region will have to develop and heavily rely upon a new generation of civilian security and defence experts.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, and Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- Europe
3085. Adaptation of Security Structures to Contemporary Threats
- Author:
- Theodor H. Winkler
- Publication Date:
- 04-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- International security has entered into a period of profound change. This process was initiated by the end of the Cold War and its rigid, yet stable bipolar power structures. It was further accelerated by the attacks of 11 September 2001 as well as the US war against Iraq. This new security environment is bound to require a no less profound corresponding reform of the security sector and renders the principle of good governance of the security sector even more imperative.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, and NATO
- Political Geography:
- Europe and United Nations
3086. Ukrainian Democratic Development and Euro-Atlantic Integration: A Natural Convergence, But A Difficult Path
- Author:
- James Green
- Publication Date:
- 03-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- For over a thousand years, Ukraine\'s national strength and independence has been linked to democratic self-governance. In the Kyiv Rus, popular assemblies called \'vetches\' elected representatives and provided popular input into governmental policy. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Cossack hetman and foremen were elected by the Cossack Radas, which also debated and approved government policies. Beginning in the 14th century and lasting until the early 19th century, many Ukrainian towns and cities – Lviv, Kyiv, Vinnitsa, Zhytomyr, Chernigiv, Glukhov, Lubny, Poltava – flourished under the political and economic self-government provided by Magdeburg Law, which offered liberation from feudal duties, the election of city authorities, and rule of law. This link continues to the present; the modern Ukrainian state was born out of the convergence of movements for national independence and democracy that brought down the Soviet Union. Although neither of these attributes is yet fully consolidated in the young Ukrainian state, the country\'s best hope for success lies in its democratic elements: a system, albeit imperfect, of electing government officials and legislators, elements within the judiciary willing to uphold human rights and the rule of law, journalists and editors willing to take risks to report the truth, non-governmental organizations that provide a means for citizens to mobilize in order to advance their common interests.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Ukraine, and Soviet Union
3087. NATO Membership Is A Realistic Goal If Ukraine Shows Courage And Resolve
- Author:
- James Green
- Publication Date:
- 03-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- For many Ukrainians today, the possibility of membership in NATO seems like a far-off dream. Yet ten years ago this January, when NATO Heads of State meeting in Brussels confirmed the Alliance's openness to “democratic states to our East,” the goal of NATO membership must have seemed just as unreal to the populations of other Eastern and Central European countries. Who could imagine that a Romania just beginning to recover from the political and economic devastation wrought by Ceausescu's misrule could possibly meet the “principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law” set forth in the North Atlantic Treaty? That NATO would cross Russia's 'red line' and invite the former Soviet republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to join the Alliance? Or that the Alliance would accept the candidacy of Bulgaria, considered by many in the Soviet Union as the 'Sixteenth Republic'? Yet all these nations, plus Slovakia and Slovenia, will be joining NATO in June 2004 at the Istanbul Summit. Added to Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, which joined the Alliance at the Washington Summit in 1999, ten Central and Eastern European countries will have joined NATO in the ten years since the Brussels Summit. The success of these Eastern and Central European countries in overcoming scepticism, pessimism, and the burden of their difficult histories – and in the process transforming themselves from post-communist societies into members of the community of Euro-Atlantic democracies – is proof that far-off dreams can come true if a nation's leaders have clear political vision and will, supported by a systematic and resolute approach to implementing reforms.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, and NATO
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Washington, and Ukraine
3088. Civil Society and Democratic Oversight of the Security Sector: A Preliminary Investigation
- Author:
- Marina Caparini
- Publication Date:
- 01-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- Civil society has become a popular term in academic, policy and foreign assistance circles. A significant body of literature and research has developed around the concept, and its key role in consolidating and sustaining democracy is now widely recognised by academics and policy-makers alike. Successive waves of democratisation in Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe have led experts to view civil society as a crucial agent for limiting authoritarian government, strengthening the empowerment of the people, and enforcing political accountability. It is considered a crucial factor in improving the quality and inclusiveness of governance.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, Civil Society, and Democratization
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Latin America
3089. Missile Defense All Over Again
- Author:
- Michelle Ciarrocca
- Publication Date:
- 10-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Foreign Policy In Focus
- Abstract:
- Under President Clinton, it became U.S. policy to deploy a National Missile Defense (NMD) system "as soon as technologically feasible." However, Clinton's commitment to missile defense was tempered by his pledge to base a deployment decision on four criteria: the overall cost of the program, its technical feasibility, an assessment of the ballistic missile threat facing the United States, and the impact that NMD might have on arms control and arms reduction efforts. In contrast, President Bush has set no criteria to constrain deployment.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Government
- Political Geography:
- United States
3090. U.S. Military Bases in Latin America and the Caribbean
- Author:
- John Lindsay-Poland
- Publication Date:
- 08-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Foreign Policy In Focus
- Abstract:
- The United States maintains a complex web of military facilities and functions in Latin America and the Caribbean, what the U.S. Southern Command (known as SouthCom) calls its "theater architecture." U.S. military facilities represent tangible commitments to an ineffective supply-side drug war and to underlying policy priorities, including ensuring access to strategic resources, especially oil.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Government
- Political Geography:
- United States, Latin America, and Caribbean