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4592. Peace Operations and Organised Crime
- Author:
- James Cockayne and Daniel Pfister
- Publication Date:
- 06-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
- Abstract:
- Peace operations have an important role to play in fighting organised crime for two reasons: Organised crime can act as a significant peace spoiler by undermining peace processes and endangering human security following conflict and in fragile states. The criminalised components of conflict help to sustain the material basis for war-fighting and reduce the incentives for a turn towards peace. Organised crime operating in conflict situations thus creates a more challenging operational environment for peace operations and peace processes.
- Topic:
- Security, Political Violence, Crime, Peace Studies, and War
4593. Operationalising Mediation Support: Lessons from Mediation Experiences in the OSCE Area
- Author:
- Miriam Fugfugosh
- Publication Date:
- 07-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
- Abstract:
- The OSCE area is marked by a number of common characteristics that define the overall context for mediation efforts. Some of the main commonalities highlighted during the Consultation were: the significant roles of global and regional actors in the OSCE area, including the United States, the member states of the European Union, Russia, Turkey and Iran; the multiplicity of international and regional organisations active in the area, such as the United Nations (UN), Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Council of Europe (CoE), European Union (EU), and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); and the protracted nature of the so-called 'frozen' conflicts, such as the Transdniestrian, Georgian-Abkhaz, Georgian-Ossetian and Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts. These characteristics pose significant challenges for mediation efforts in the region.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, Democratization, and Globalization
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, Europe, Iran, and Turkey
4594. Middle East Perspectives: Conference Proceedings from Gstaad, Switzerland
- Author:
- Shai Feldman, Shahram Chubin, Abdulaziz Sager, and David L. Aaron
- Publication Date:
- 09-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
- Abstract:
- The Middle East and its security remains a vital ingredient in international security. The region's tensions, conflicts and stability are of fundamental concern to a wide range of actors, whose interests or proximity make it a priority. The novelty today is the increasing inter-relations of these conflicts and instability and the limitations of outside power influence. This, together with the appearance of new actors in the region, namely India and China, seems likely to transform diplomacy in the future. Regional dynamics, which are increasingly resistant to outside power influence or control, continue to shape the strategic environment. These dynamic forces, ranging from terrorism, sectarianism, and on-going conflicts, intersect and add to the region's instability and fragmentation. The conflict zone (from the Levant to Iran) overlaps the “energy ellipse” (in the Gulf), that is, the dependence of much of the world on this region for energy supplies. Superimposed on this is the related feature of the region, namely the emergence in the GCC of the 'super rich' states, carving out a new niche and economic identity with their newfound wealth. The region is thus complex: unstable, vulnerable, and wealthy in parts. Weak, shattered, or embryonic states (Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine) co-exist with strong states like Egypt, cautious ones like Saudi Arabia, and ambitious ones, notably Iran. What seems clear from the perspective of 2008 is the continuing need for international engagement, combined with a recognition that this engagement must be constructive and cannot substitute for local initiatives or substitute for local forces, which at best, can only be harnessed, not controlled.
- Topic:
- Security, Ethnic Conflict, Oil, and War
- Political Geography:
- China, Iraq, Middle East, India, Palestine, Arabia, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Egypt
4595. Missile Defence Systems: Global and Regional Implications
- Author:
- Dennis M. Gormley, Catherine M. Kelleher, and Scott Warren
- Publication Date:
- 10-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
- Abstract:
- The GCSP hosted a workshop on missile defence systems, supported by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. A range of experts, officials and academics contributed to the policy discussion on current and future issues related to missile defence systems. Participants sought to develop a common understanding of current missile defence capabilities, as well as potential threats. Throughout the workshop, experts explored military-technical and political-diplomatic responses to these identified threats.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Nuclear Weapons, War, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- Switzerland
4596. Code of Conduct: Tool for Self-Regulation for Private Military and Security Companies
- Author:
- Nils Rosemann
- Publication Date:
- 01-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- This study aims to illustrate patterns of behavioural rules derived from corporate obligations, and to deduce from these a draft Code of Conduct (CoC) for Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs). The purpose of a Code of Conduct for Private Military and Security Companies is to oblige such companies to comply with international human rights standards and the norms of international humanitarian law (IHL), thus improving the protection of human rights. In addition to drawing up a CoC together with implementation and monitoring mechanisms, this study aims to list the requirements of the relevant industry on the one hand, as well as of the stakeholders in politics and civil society on the other. It will then compare the divergence between the two in order to assess the potential success of an initiative for the recognition of a CoC for Private Military and Security Companies. Finally, this study will draw up specific options of action and recommendations related to the process of adopting a CoC.
- Topic:
- Conflict Prevention, Security, and Human Rights
- Political Geography:
- Germany
4597. Jihadist Terrorist Use of Strategic Communication Management Techniques
- Author:
- Carsten Bockstette
- Publication Date:
- 12-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies
- Abstract:
- As long as the East bloc existed, military conflicts were largely determined by the policy of the USA and the USSR and were therefore part of the East-West conflict. Since this symmetrical-global conflict was decided in favor of the West, numerous asymmetrical conflicts have erupted around the globe in the aftermath. Terrorist conflicts have become a worldwide menace. Jihadist terrorism has spread beyond the borders of the regions in which it had its origin and has reached a global dimension. To offset this threat requires knowledge of what motivates, feeds and sanctions jihadist terrorists and their followers. Research and analysis of the root causes and underlying conditions, motivators and enablers of terrorism including the agitation propaganda of jihadist terrorists are vital to shaping appropriate countermeasures to the threat from Islamic terrorism. The interaction and dependencies between media and terrorism are still to be fully investigated. Research gaps exist concerning the media effects of terrorism and its interaction therewith. In particular, the utilization of the Internet by terrorists needs further research. One way to begin this investigation, the approach this paper takes, is to look at the jihadist use of strategic communication management techniques according to the elements that are used to generate a strategic communication management plan.
- Topic:
- Security, Cold War, Islam, Terrorism, and Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- United States
4598. Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Afghanistan
- Author:
- Markus Gauster
- Publication Date:
- 01-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies
- Abstract:
- Since the beginning of the US-led intervention in Afghanistan and the fall of the Taliban-regime in Kabul, the international community has focused on the implementation of security, the political transformation and the economic (re-)construction of the country. Through resolutions of the UN Security Council, civil and military Stability/Reconstruction (S/R) operations have been set up to provide assistance to the weak Afghan government. The efforts of ICM in Afghanistan have led to a surge in civilian activities provided by the armed forces and have caused an increased debate on the legitimacy , principles, range and rules of civil-military interaction.
- Topic:
- Security, NATO, and War
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Asia
4599. Governance and Security Sector Reform
- Author:
- Emmanuel B. Osho Coker
- Publication Date:
- 10-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform
- Abstract:
- The working paper series on Sierra Leone is part of the research programme 'Security System Transformation in Sierra Leone, 1997-2007'. These working papers present perspectives from both Sierra Leone and the United Kingdom regarding the implementation of activities broadly defined as security sector reform (SSR) in the period towards the end of and following the Sierra Leone war.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Sierra Leone
4600. The Security and Development Nexus: A Case Study of Sierra Leone, 2004-2006
- Author:
- Mark White
- Publication Date:
- 10-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform
- Abstract:
- In my observations below, I will not focus on the individual successes within the Sierra Leonean security sector itself over the duration of the security sector reform (SSR) process. Instead, I will focus on the interconnections and disjuncture between security and development that occurred during my time in Sierra Leone. I will also attempt to demonstrate that whilst significant progress has been made since 1999 in ensuring that security and development are inter-related , there is still some way to go before they are fully integrated into either policy or programmatic practice.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, and Development
- Political Geography:
- Africa, United Kingdom, and Sierra Leone