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492. 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
493. 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
494. 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
495. 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
496. 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
497. The Role of the EU in International Non-proliferation and Disarmament Assistance
- Author:
- Ian Anthony
- Publication Date:
- 09-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
- Abstract:
- While states are responsible for honouring any commitments to one another that they make, it has become obvious that they are not always capable of doing so. Where the failure to implement agreed undertakings reflects a lack of financial or technical capacity rather than a deliberate effort to undermine the terms of an agreement it is preferable for all parties to offer assistance rather than criticism and punishment. Since the end of the cold war a new type of international cooperation has taken place as states have rendered practical assistance to one another to reduce common threats arising from weapons of mass destruction (WMD) as well as weapons-related materials and expertise. In broad terms this assistance has been of three types: facilitating the dismantlement and destruction of weapons; the establishment of a safe and secure chain of custody over weapons or other items; and demilitarization and conversion projects.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- Europe
498. The household water crisis in Syria's Greater Damascus Region'
- Author:
- Elie Elhadj
- Publication Date:
- 05-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
- Abstract:
- Damascus residents talk in recent years of long periods of daily water shut-offs for most months especially between June and the following January. “ In 2001 … stringent water rationing was in force in Damascus… the authorities … shut off the capital's piped water supply for 20 hours each day (compared with 16 hours previously) from July of that year. Europa Publications (2002: p.979).”
- Topic:
- International Relations, Development, Environment, and Human Welfare
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Syria
499. Global Best Practices: Judicial Councils: Lessons Learned from Europe and Latin America
- Author:
- Sandra Elena and Violaine Autheman
- Publication Date:
- 04-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Academy of Political Science
- Abstract:
- International and regional human rights treaties recognize the right to a fair trial by an independent tribunal in the determination of rights and obligations in civil, commercial and administrative matters and in the determination of criminal charges. The right to a fair trial and its core components, including the “reasonable time” requirement and the principle of judicial independence, is now universally accepted. Building upon the declarations of principle of legally binding conventions, international and regional expert guidelines and principles have aimed at fleshing out the specific elements of judicial independence. In addition, international and regional human rights courts and commissions have interpreted the provisions of human rights treaties and shed some light on the minimum standards and components of the right to a fair trial and judicial independence.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Human Rights, and International Law
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Latin America
500. China Brief, A Prisoner's Dilemma: The EU's China Arms Embargo
- Author:
- Willy Lam, Richard A. Bitzinger, Alexandr Nemets, and Enzio Von Pfeil
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Jamestown Foundation
- Abstract:
- In April, the European Union (EU) dodged a bullet by refusing to take up the issue of overturning its 15-year-old ban on selling arms to China. Supporters of lifting the embargo, led by France and Germany, are unlikely to abandon their quest, however, and the issue will likely come up again for review, perhaps as early as this summer. If it lifts the ban, the EU risks further damaging a transatlantic alliance already strained over Iraq and other issues, with very little likelihood that its defense industry would see much, if any, benefit.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Government, and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- China, Europe, and Israel