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29461. Why Africa Matters to US National Security

Author:
Grant Harris
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
African nations have rarely been perceived as essential partners in the pursuit of US national security and economic interests, but a re-assessment of Africa’s strategic importance is past due. Transnational threats emanating from the continent continue to evolve, and trade and investment relationships have deepened. A better and broader understanding of the threats and opportunities posed by the countries of Africa is urgently needed, both to strengthen United States-Africa bilateral relations and to create a coherent regional policy.
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Africa

29462. A Roadmap for US Engagement with Colombia

Author:
Roy Blunt and Ben Cardin
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
The Atlantic Council’s Colombia Peace and Prosperity Task Force, co-chaired by Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), has been working for the past year to put forward recommendations for continued US engagement in Colombia. Today, Colombia is a strategic US partner. Its achievements and experience fighting international networks of organized crime have transformed the country into an exporter of security expertise and training. It is the view of this high-level Task Force that Colombia continues to symbolize a bipartisan US foreign policy success story. Read our report to find out the task force's full recommendations.
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Colombia

29463. Building a Better Future

Author:
Luis Cosenza
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
To many Americans, the difficult issues facing Central America’s Northern Triangle—El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—may seem distant. But the future of the United States is tied to these countries as some of our closest neighbors. Geography alone demonstrates that their stability and prosperity is critical to our national interest.
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

29464. Gender Equality as a National Security Priority

Author:
Julia M. Santucci
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for a New American Security (CNAS)
Abstract:
The Obama administration made efforts to advance gender equality around the world one of its core national security and foreign policy priorities, based on the premise that countries are more stable, secure, and prosperous when women enjoy the same rights as men, participate fully in their countries’ political systems and economies, and live free from violence. A growing body of research makes a compelling case about these links. Former Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Cathy Russell and former National Security Advisor Tom Donilon sum up much of the evidence in this Medium piece, noting that advancing gender equality around the world helps grow global gross domestic product, decreases hunger, strengthens the prospects for peace agreements to succeed, and counters violent extremism.1
Topic:
Gender Issues
Political Geography:
America

29465. The shrinking Euro-Mediterranean policy space

Author:
Gonzalo Escribano
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Elcano Royal Institute
Abstract:
This analysis addresses changes in the Euro-Mediterranean strategic context and the erosion of the economic incentives built into Euro-Mediterranean policy to deal with such transformation. It also puts the case for a reformulation of Euro-Mediterranean policies, but argues that, rather than pursuing an incremental continuity, the EU should engineer a more radical overhaul of its mechanisms of governance, its instruments and its discourse.
Topic:
International Political Economy and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Europe

29466. The Euro's Difficult Future

Author:
Luigi Bonatti
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
In The Euro’s Difficult Future – Competitiveness Imbalances and the Eurozone’s North-South Divide author Luigi Bonatti, a professor of economics at the University of Trento in Italy, stresses that the existing North-South competitiveness divide creates growing tensions between member countries and fuels hostility towards European Union institutions. The paper illustrates why this competitiveness divide is structural, cannot be tackled by macroeconomic policies, and could threaten the euro’s survival.
Topic:
International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Europe

29467. Myanmar: Justice sector reform must include local dispute resolution

Author:
Helene Maria Kyed
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:
In Myanmar, ordinary citizens prefer to have crimes and disputes resolved within their village or neighborhood. There is a clear preference for avoiding conflict escalation, rather than punishing perpetrators. The official courts are seen as places to avoid whenever possible. They are mistrusted, associated with high costs, and many feel intimidated by them due to fear of authority and formality. Reforming the official judiciary is important in Myanmar, but even if the courts functioned according to international standards, there would still be a demand for local forms of dispute resolution focused on reconciliation and negotiated settlements. This is due to culturally and religiously informed perceptions of problems and injustices, related to shame, fate and Buddhist beliefs in past life deeds. This policy brief by Helene Maria Kyed argues that any support to justice sector reform in Myanmar should include already existing local dispute resolution mechanisms and take local perceptions of justice serious, rather than alone focus on the official judiciary and international rule of law principles. It is important to base programming on inclusive dialogues about justice at the local level, and invest in building trust and gaining context-specific knowledge.
Topic:
Human Rights and International Security
Political Geography:
Myanmar

29468. Three myths about Catalonia’s independence movement

Author:
Francisco de Borja
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)
Abstract:
Spain faces its worst constitutional crisis since the failed 1981 coup d’état, driven by Brexit­ style populism A romantic framing of foreign crises where self-determination is involved is a common trap. The imagery of “oppressors” vs “freedom fighters” is appealing and, to their credit, the leaders of Catalonia have been successful in promoting their agenda abroad in just such terms – sometimes going as far as referencing Nelson Mandela’s struggle against apartheid. Combined with the soft power appeal of cosmopolitan Barcelona, there is much confusion abroad on the nature of the current crisis in Catalonia, and myths and stereotypes abound – helped by the likes of Assange and similar figures. This article seeks to test some of these myths, in order to shed light not only on the Catalonian referendum debate but on the wider issues for pluralistic democracies and the rule of law. The dynamics in the Catalan debate are similar to those at play in other European countries in the age of populism and are therefore of fundamental importance for the future of Europe as a whole.
Topic:
International Cooperation and Democracy
Political Geography:
Spain

29469. Unpacked: US NAFTA renegotiations

Author:
Joseph Parilla
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Brookings Fellow Joseph Parilla discusses the renegotiation of NAFTA 25 years after its creation and explains the importance of NAFTA to the U.S. economy at both the national and local level.
Topic:
International Political Economy and International Affairs
Political Geography:
America and Global Focus

29470. Political and Social Change in Egypt: Preludes to the January Uprising

Author:
Andrea Teti
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Arab Transformations Project, University of Aberdeen
Abstract:
The Arab Transformations Project is an international research project operating within the European Commission’s FP7 framework. The project looks comparatively at attitudes and behaviours in the context of the social, political and economic transformations taking place across Middle East and North Africa since February 2011. The countries covered are Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq.
Topic:
International Security and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Middle East