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38762. Strategy and Force Planning in a Time of Austerity
- Author:
- Michael J. Meese
- Publication Date:
- 05-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Abstract:
- On February 13, 1989, General Colin Powell, who was in a transition between National Security Advisor and Commander of U.S. Army Forces Command, addressed the reality of strategy: “All of the sophisticated talk about grand strategy is helpful, but show me your budgets and I will tell you what your strategy is.”1 What General Powell meant is that the definition of the U.S. role in the world and its strategic goals flow from budgets, not the other way around. This paper fleshes out General Powell's observation by focusing on the means part of the ends, ways, and means of strategy in order to explain how austerity affects force planning and strategy. By first examining budget reductions as a general matter, the paper describes today's austere U.S. budgetary environment. It concludes with the current strategic options that will likely characterize the contemporary discussion of strategy and force planning.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Financial Crisis, and Budget
- Political Geography:
- United States
38763. Targeted Killing of Terrorists
- Author:
- Nicholas Rostow
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Abstract:
- The struggle against terrorism—more specifically, the effort to prevent terrorist attacks—has raised difficult legal and policy issues including so-called targeted killing, or the killing of specific individuals because of their involvement in terrorist organizations and operations. As we shall see, this form of targeted killing involves domestic and international legal authorities and policy and prudential issues. A substantial number of countries confronting what they consider to be terrorist attacks and threats engage in targeted killings. Each has to resolve questions about authorities and prudence because, while terrorists are always criminals, they also may be lawful military targets. The dual character of terrorists leads to the conclusion that, as a matter of policy, a state should weigh the totality of the circumstances and conclude that no other action is reasonable to prevent a terrorist attack before engaging in the targeted killing. Careful analysis in advance may preempt problems later.
- Topic:
- International Law, Terrorism, and Counterinsurgency
- Political Geography:
- America
38764. Local accountability in Mozambique
- Author:
- Julia Bastian
- Publication Date:
- 09-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute for Development and Peace
- Abstract:
- The debate on decentralization has identified local accountability as a key factor for successful decentralization processes in developing countries, stressing that the account ability of subnational governments towards the national level may prove detrimental to their accountability to the citizens. Based on the distinction of formal and informal institutions and the discussion of accountability as a concept, this Working Paper identifies accountability mechanisms relevant at the local level and analyses their functioning, interaction and factors that influence their effectiveness. This analytical grid is then applied to the case study of Mozambique, in a structured and focused comparison of the municipalities of Beira and Catandica. The analysis shows that accountability mechanisms at national level do not necessarily undermine accountability towards the citizens, but even may have an activating effect on other accountability mechanisms. Funding, access to information, political competition at the local level and informal influences that emanate from formal organizations, such as political parties, are factors that influence the effectiveness of accountability mechanisms at the local level.
- Topic:
- Government, Governance, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Mozambique
38765. Improving Access to Food in Sub-Saharan Africa: Using the Diffusion of Agroecological Information to Mitigate Climate Change Effects
- Author:
- Suhani Bhushan and Stephanie C. Fauquier
- Publication Date:
- 11-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- By 2050, the world's population is expected to exceed nine billion people. Population growth is occurring most rapidly in Africa, which will see the population grow from one billion to 2.1 billion by 2050. Africa will see significant population growth; however, agricultural output is not growing at the same rate. Africa's abundant natural resources are being used ineffectively, and the country is unlikely to sustain current population growth. According to reGina Jane Jere (2014), "Barely a fraction of fertile agricultural land [in Africa] is being cultivated - just 10 percent of the 400 million hectares."
- Topic:
- Agriculture
- Political Geography:
- Africa
38766. A Call to the Conference of the New England Governors and Eastern Canada Premiers for Bilateral Energy Governance
- Author:
- Andrew Adams, Lyne Maheu, and Kieran McDougal
- Publication Date:
- 11-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- The Northern Pass Transmission Project is mired in political deadlock due to conflict over its potential impacts and current assessment process. Although the proposal has little political support within New Hampshire, the US Department of Energy (DOE's) assessment process is moving forward. New England has become increasingly dependent on natural gas for power generation, which has dramatically risen in price recently, and the Northern Pass presents an opportunity to diversify the region's electrical supply. However, as the project stands, New Hampshire bears a majority of the economic, social and ecological costs, while receiving little of the regional benefit of affordable, flexible and reliable energy. There may be similar alternatives to the Northern Pass that secure the regional benefits of energy security and reliability while also reducing local costs. Without comparing the Northern Pass against alternative infrastructure projects, policy makers cannot assess which project generates the most net benefits. This policy brief contrasts the local and regional impacts of the Northern Pass, in order to shed light on the deficiencies that arise when analysing energy infrastructure projects in isolation.
- Topic:
- Economics, Energy Policy, Politics, and Infrastructure
- Political Geography:
- Canada and England
38767. Let Bygones Be Bygones: The Case for India's Inclusion in APEC
- Author:
- Kevin Carmichael
- Publication Date:
- 11-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will miss the 2014 Beijing APEC summit. His former spokesman says it does not matter. "[I]t's safe to say that Canada won't lose out by skipping this particular summit, at this particular time, for this particular reason," Andrew McDougall (2014) wrote in an opinion article posted on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's (CBC's) website on November. In early October, a US State Department official told an audience in Washington, DC that Beijing was shaping up to be a "good" summit, in part because US President Barack Obama was planning to attend after missing the previous two APEC leaders' meetings (Wang 2014).
- Topic:
- Economics and Regional Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- United States, India, and Asia
38768. Ukraine: Stress at the IMF
- Author:
- Susan Schadler
- Publication Date:
- 10-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- In April 2014, in a departure from its normal aversion to lending to countries in conflict, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a US$17 billion loan to Ukraine to be disbursed over two years. At the time, Ukraine was three weeks away from a presidential election; engaged in combat with an armed separatist movement backed by Russia, its largest trading partner and supplier of energy; and experiencing a significant drain in foreign exchange reserves and bank deposits along with soaring yields on sovereign debt. The country was also reaping the returns of decades of economic mismanagement. Dire from both political and economic perspectives, the situation had the markings of a case where the IMF has the expertise to be usefully engaged, but there were also red flags demarcating circumstances that can hobble the IMF's effectiveness.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Monetary Fund, and Foreign Aid
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Ukraine
38769. The 2014 Survey of Progress in International Economic Governance
- Author:
- Domenico Lombardi, Barry Carin, and David Kempthorne
- Publication Date:
- 11-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- The annual CIGI Survey of Progress in International Economic Governance assesses progress in four dimensions of international economic governance: macroeconomic and financial cooperation; cooperation on financial regulation; cooperation on trade; and cooperation on climate change. Governance related to these dimensions is scored on the following progress scale: 0%-19% represents "major regression"; 20%-39% represents "some regression"; 40%-59% indicates "minimal progress"; 60%-79% characterizes progress; and 80%-100% represents "major progress." Recognizing the difficulty of making objective judgments given the complexity of the issues, the results are offered as a range of subjective opinions from CIGI experts with diverse backgrounds.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Economics, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- United States and Europe
38770. Changing the Channel: Cultivating Security Cooperation in Northeast Asia
- Author:
- Alex Brouse and Dustin McDonald
- Publication Date:
- 11-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- High tensions in Northeast Asia are cause for considerable alarm. Of particular concern for the maintenance of global security are the disputes over Senkaku/Diaoyu and Dokdo/Takeshima islands. Strong grievances rooted in history and rising nationalistic sentiment in China, South Korea and Japan have made the positions of the respective parties currently irreconcilable. The tension surrounding the issue of territorial control, particularly between China and Japan, has the potential to spark a military confrontation. Due to a lack of empathy and the propensity to overestimate threats from neighbours, the region is especially volatile. Public commitments by US President Barack Obama in support of the US-Japan Mutual Security Treaty could ensure that any military confrontation between China and Japan might quickly escalate and draw the United States into direct conflict with China. In order to improve empathy, a concerted effort must be made to change the channel and work on issues where interests do align. Nowhere do the interests of China, South Korea, Japan and the United States align more than on the issue of North Korean denuclearization. By working together on an issue of mutual concern, these four countries can counter the rapid erosion of trust. By cultivating a cooperative attitude, tensions can be lowered, increasing the prospects for peaceful management of current acute disputes.
- Topic:
- Conflict Prevention, Arms Control and Proliferation, Diplomacy, and Peacekeeping
- Political Geography:
- United States, Japan, China, and South Korea