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43151. Mauritania's Islamists

Author:
Alex Thurston
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
Islamists have become an important political force in Mauritania since formal Islamist associations first emerged in the 1970s. Islamist activism has contributed to the ongoing Islamization of Mauritanian society, as is evident from the proliferation of mosques and Islamic associations in the capital, Nouakchott, and elsewhere. In the 1990s, political liberalization allowed Islamists to participate in elections as independents, and since its legalization in 2007, Tewassoul, the strongest Islamist party in Mauritania today, has become a significant minority voice in the country's politics and has built ties with Islamists elsewhere in the Arab world. These moderate Islamists who participate in elections hold different beliefs and goals from Mauritania's jihadist fringe. Overall, Mauritanian Islamism does not currently pose a threat to the United States. The mainstream of the movement appears committed to democracy and, even so, is unlikely to take power. Islamist parties like Tewassoul have never captured a large share of the vote in elections, and moderate Islamist leaders have explicitly rejected using violence to take over the state. Indeed, the United States may even find an upside to the Islamists' rise: Mainstream Islamist leaders publicly condemn the Muslim terrorist group Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which the Mauritanian government has been combating since 2005.
Topic:
Democratization, Islam, Politics, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States and North Africa

43152. Egypt's Judges in a Revolutionary Age

Author:
Nathan J. Brown
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
Egypt's tumultuous uprising of 2011 was about many things, but among the most central was a demand by legions of political activists and large crowds of mobilized citizens that public authority in the country be reconstructed to operate in a clearly accountable manner, fully governed by the rule of law. Egyptian judges might therefore be expected to look upon the post-uprising environment as a time when they can finally realize a vision that they have been articulating for a generation in the face of an imperious and impervious presidency: A state ruled by law in which they will be insulated from political pressures and private interests, providing full autonomy to individual judges and to the judiciary as a body to issue decisions that will be respected and implemented by all the agencies of the Egyptian state.
Topic:
Democratization, Regime Change, and Law
Political Geography:
Middle East, Arabia, and Egypt

43153. Turkey and the Bomb

Author:
Sinan Ülgen
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
Though most states that want a nuclear weapon can get one through determined effort, the fact remains that most choose not to proliferate. Turkey is no exception. Not even the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran is likely to push Ankara to develop its own nuclear weapons. The only circumstance where such a scenario would acquire a degree of likelihood is a breakdown in Turkey's security relationship with the United States.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Diplomacy, Economics, Nuclear Weapons, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
United States, Turkey, and Middle East

43154. The State of Iraq

Author:
Marina Ottaway and Danial Kaysi
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
Within days of the official ceremonies marking the end of the U.S. mission in Iraq, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki moved to indict Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi on terrorism charges and sought to remove Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq from his position, triggering a major political crisis that fully revealed Iraq as an unstable, undemocratic country governed by raw competition for power and barely affected by institutional arrangements. Large-scale violence immediately flared up again, with a series of terrorist attacks against mostly Shi'i targets reminiscent of the worst days of 2006.
Topic:
Security, Political Violence, Democratization, Development, Ethnic Conflict, Terrorism, War, Fragile/Failed State, and Sectarian violence
Political Geography:
Iraq, Middle East, Arabia, and Kurdistan

43155. Toward a Political Settlement in Afghanistan

Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
A negotiated political settlement is a desirable outcome to the conflict in Afghanistan, but current talks with the Taliban are unlikely to result in a sustainable peace. There is a risk that negotiations under present conditions could further destabilise the country and region. Debilitated by internal political divisions and external pressures, the Karzai government is poorly positioned to cut a deal with leaders of the insurgency. Afghanistan's security forces are ill-prepared to handle the power vacuum that will occur following the exit of international troops. As political competition heats up within the country in the run-up to NATO's withdrawal of combat forces at the end of 2014, the differing priorities and preferences of the parties to the conflict – from the Afghan government to the Taliban leadership to key regional and wider international actors – will further undermine the prospects of peace. To avoid another civil war, a major course correction is needed that results in the appointment of a UN-mandated mediation team and the adoption of a more realistic approach to resolution of the conflict.
Topic:
Ethnic Conflict, Islam, Treaties and Agreements, and War
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Taliban

43156. Digital Media in the Arab World One Year After the Revolutions

Author:
Jeffrey Ghannam
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
National Endowment for Democracy
Abstract:
The Arab region is experiencing a profound media shift. The year following the start of the Arab revolutions–in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and violent uprisings in Syria, Yemen, and Bahrain–was followed by continued repression and threats to the exercise of free expression online and offline. But the year also saw great strides in the numbers of Arabs across the region turning to social media platforms and the ascendancy of online engagement. This report traces and analyzes the enabling of tens of millions of individuals–as well as established news outlets–to attract wide global followings with Facebook and Twitter updates and YouTube videos about rapidly changing events. The widely diverse and pluralistic online communities in the Arab world are creating and sharing content, calling into question the future of the many state-owned or self-censored media that provide less in the way of engagement that Arab audiences have come to expect.
Topic:
Democratization, Politics, Science and Technology, Mass Media, and Regime Change
Political Geography:
Middle East, Libya, Yemen, Arabia, Syria, Egypt, Bahrain, and Tunisia

43157. Dallying with Reform in a Divided Jordan

Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
Something is brewing in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It is not so much that protests have been spreading since 2011; the country has experienced these before and so far they remain relatively small. It is, rather, who is behind them and from where dissatisfaction stems. East Bankers – Jordanians who inhabited the area before the arrival of the first Palestinian refugees in 1948 – have long formed the pillar of support for a regime that played on their fears concerning the Palestinian-origin majority. That pillar is showing cracks. The authorities retain several assets: popular anxiety about instability; U.S. and Gulf Arab political and material support; and persistent intercommunal divisions within the opposition. But in a fast-changing region, they would be reckless to assume they can avoid both far-reaching change and turmoil. Ultimately, they must either undertake the former one or experience the latter.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Civil Society, Democratization, Regime Change, and Political Activism
Political Geography:
United States, Middle East, Arabia, and Jordan

43158. Kyrgyzstan: Widening Ethnic Divisions in the South

Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
Kyrgyzstan's government has failed to calm ethnic tensions in the south, which continue to grow since the 2010 violence, largely because of the state's neglect and southern leaders' anti-Uzbek policies. Osh, the country's second city, where more than 420 people died in ethnic clashes in June of that year, remains dominated by its powerful mayor, an ardent Kyrgyz nationalist who has made it clear that he pays little attention to leaders in the capital. While a superficial quiet has settled on the city, neither the Kyrgyz nor Uzbek community feels it can hold. Uzbeks are subject to illegal detentions and abuse by security forces and have been forced out of public life. The government needs to act to reverse these worsening trends, while donors should insist on improvements in the treatment of the Uzbek minority.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, Ethnic Conflict, Government, and Political Activism
Political Geography:
Central Asia and Kyrgyzstan

43159. Full speed ahead: The government broadband report Q1 2012

Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Economist Intelligence Unit
Abstract:
The issue of high-speed internet access remains at the forefront of the policy agenda in both developed and emerging markets. While circumstances and concerns differ from one country to the next, the motivations for public-sector involvement remain the same. Governments are keen to bridge the digital divide between urban and rural areas by bringing basic broadband services of between 1Mbps and 5Mbps to all. Yet governments also want to facilitate greater rollout of so-called next-generation networks (NGNs) that can provide broadband speeds of between 40Mbps and 100Mbps, and sometimes higher.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, Science and Technology, and Foreign Direct Investment

43160. The Issue Network as a Deliberative Space: A Case Study of the Danish Asylum Issue on the Internet

Author:
Jacob Oermen
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Central European University Political Science Journal
Institution:
Central European University
Abstract:
Through an analysis of the Danish asylum issue network on the Internet, this article discusses the possibilities of the online sphere as a deliberative space, where politics is happening. By assessing the hyperlink structure of the issue network and a subsequent content analysis of the claims presented by the various actors on the issue the study finds that even though the network contains the overall structures for a functioning deliberative space, the actual deliberation occurring between the actors is very limited. The issue network approach in this case study is seen to be a good way to identify relevant political issues online, but it does not manage to bring together the various antagonistic actors in one deliberative space online. In a triangulation of the results from the two separate analyses, the study further finds evidence, which suggests that the relationship between hyperlinks and deliberative activity is not as definitive as it is often assumed in network analysis.

43161. Democracy and Economic Freedom: A Static Panel Data Analysis of South Asia

Author:
M. Zakir Saadullah Khan
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Central European University Political Science Journal
Institution:
Central European University
Abstract:
Economic freedom leads to and maintains democracy – this hypothesis popularly known as Hayek-Lipset-Friedman hypothesis has been examined empirically in this study for South Asian region. Using data on economic freedom and political freedom (democracy) for a panel of five South Asian countries over the period 1995-2008, the Granger-causality test confirms that democratic society must be economically free, it does not happen other way round. Applying static panel data estimation technique this study also finds significant positive relationship between democracy and economic freedom and the degree of responsiveness of economic freedom on democracy is found less proportionate in South Asian countries. It is also found that economic prosperity fosters democracy in this region, whereas government spending does not have significant impact on the level of democracy in South Asian countries.
Political Geography:
South Asia

43162. The Multiplicity of Truths about Human Trafficking: Beyond "The Sex Slave" Discourse

Author:
Sule Tomkinson
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Central European University Political Science Journal
Institution:
Central European University
Abstract:
Dominant anti-trafficking discourse adopts a single voice in presenting the victim of trafficking as a young, innocent and naïve woman who is deceived and coerced into the sex industry. She suffers physically at the hands of individual men: traffickers, procurers and clients. This is informed by a neo-abolitionist perspective. This article aims to serve as a critique of this discourse by presenting the polarization between two camps in trafficking literature: neo-abolitionists, who see human trafficking as a grave human rights violation that amounts to slavery and equates sex work with trafficking, and pro-rights that perceive it as something within unauthorized international migration, initiated by the women themselves who want to ameliorate their lives. Through a critical literature review, I echo the position of pro-rights group and note that trafficking must be understood and addressed within the larger framework of exploitation of undocumented workers that are vulnerable to exploitation, not from an isolated and distinct location that aims to identify and paternalistically protect “passive victims”.

43163. Between Non-Intervention and the Protection of Human Rights: A Moral Argument in Defence of Humanitarian Intervention

Author:
Oana Florina Pop
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Central European University Political Science Journal
Institution:
Central European University
Abstract:
Although humanitarian intervention has been a recurrent issue in moral and political philosophy for some years, much disagreement over its moral justifiability persists among scholars. The common denominator of previous views is their reliance on the assumption that solving the moral problem of humanitarian intervention comes down to making a choice between preserving sovereignty or protecting human rights. The present thesis follows a different strategy: it proceeds from an understanding of the moral puzzle humanitarian intervention presents us with by exploring the philosophical underpinnings of sovereignty and human rights. I argue that humanitarian intervention is morally justified when human rights violations are purposive, systematic, extensive, and preventing or ending them represents an emergency, because it aims to restore a genuine form of sovereignty, consistent with its moral rationale (the sovereignty-centered argument). Additional requirements deriving from this purpose further constrain the justifiability of humanitarian intervention.
Topic:
Human Rights
Political Geography:
United Nations

43164. Alexander Mühlen. International Negotiations: Confrontation, Competition, Cooperation (Münster: LIT Verlag, 2010)

Author:
Dylan Kissane
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Central European University Political Science Journal
Institution:
Central European University
Abstract:
Successful negotiators, remarked author Jim Hennig, have formed the habit of doing those things that unsuccessful negotiators dislike and will not do. Armed with Alexander Mühlen's new political negotiation manual, the student of international negotiation will at the very least know what is expected of a master of conciliation and, more likely, emerge from their reading with a deep understanding of negotiation tools, tactics and strategy. Heavy with specific and relevant examples from the international political and business spheres and including four detailed practical role play activities aimed at student and professional readers, Mühlen's book could well serve as a core text for tertiary students in both Bachelor and Master's degree programs.

43165. Mojeed Olujinmi A. Alabi and Wahab Olasupo Egbewole (eds.) Perspectives on the Legislature in the Government of Nigeria (Kingdom of Morocco African Training and Research Centre in Administration for Development, 2010).

Author:
Alexander B. Makulilo
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Central European University Political Science Journal
Institution:
Central European University
Abstract:
The legislature remains an important institution of democracy worldwide. It is the home of the elected representatives of the people and often largely responsible for law making, budgeting as well as overseeing the powers of the executive. In Africa, as elsewhere in the Third World, parliaments have had a checkered history. The executive arm of the government, more often than not, has monopolized political space, normally through excessive ruling party discipline, thereby undermining the powers of legislatures. Yet some countries in the region have experienced a history of military coups with the consequence of halting democratic practices and the functions of legislatures. Nigeria is one country in which military coups became the order of the day. With the restoration of democratic governance in Nigeria, the newly instituted legislature is a clear symbol that distinguishes democratic governance from the authoritarian past. Perspective on the Legislature in the Government of Nigeria is a much needed study to understand how this institution functions in a nascent democratic nation like Nigeria.
Political Geography:
Africa, Nigeria, and Morocco

43166. Graham Smith, Democratic Innovations: Designing Institutions for Citizen Participation (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009).

Author:
Daniela Sirinic
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Central European University Political Science Journal
Institution:
Central European University
Abstract:
Resurgence and reappraisal of democracies and democratic ideals in the 21st century has surely received its due share of academic attention. However, growing discontent with the existing forms and practices of representative democracy has facilitated the emergence and revival of ideas of deliberative and direct democracy. As a critical examination of the existing practices of 'democratic innovations', Graham Smith's book is a systematic and coherent collection of previously disengaged thoughts, practices and criticisms that were under-analyzed in the literature. Moreover, as a unique amalgam of democratic theory and new practices, it is the first comprehensive study of the different forms of democratic innovations.
Political Geography:
New York

43167. Upendra Chidella, Parameshwar Rama Bhat and Vikram Singh Sirola, In Defense of Liberal-Pluralism (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009).

Author:
Karina Shyrokykh
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Central European University Political Science Journal
Institution:
Central European University
Abstract:
Diversity of opinions, claims and actions are an undeniable fact of any society. There were many books devoted to the discussion of the ways in which diversity should be treated. Kantian and Neo-Kantian philosophers appealed to universality of reason and higher-order values, Rawls appealed to equality and justice. The authors of the book claim that both arguments are not enough to provide a background for the interpersonal framework, they see a solution of the problem in liberal-pluralism which essentially combines Kantian and Rawlsian arguments. They argue that the key to the problem is reasonability which should be based on principles of equality, justice, rights, fairness, cooperation, reciprocity, and tolerance.

43168. Larbi Touaf and Soumia Boutkhil (eds.), The World as a Global Agora: Critical Perspectives on Public Space (Newcastle Upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2008).

Author:
Viktoria Potapkina
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Central European University Political Science Journal
Institution:
Central European University
Abstract:
Public spaces have for centuries played an important role in the formation and development of societies, both as a physical space for gathering and debating, as well as a symbolic notion representing the core values of democracy. Such places have developed in a way that reflects the beliefs, public values, as well as the culture and a sense of community for the inhabitants of many areas. Public spaces remain a crucial concept in many developed and developing societies, as well as a vital component of the more traditional communities around the world. Nevertheless, as our ever more globalizing and liberalizing planet continues on its path of economic commercialization, privatization and subtle fragmentation, public spaces begin taking on new appearances. As public spaces form and deform under the influence of the present day media and information technology, they seem to morph into a new concept, slowly losing their initial shape and purpose, while nonetheless remaining a fundamental principle of participatory democracy and an essential component of public life, regardless of what shape they take. Modern developing and traditional societies all tend to continue valuing the symbolic significance of public space, as it is grounded in the “collective socio-political consciousness as the basis for a general sense of civic action.” (pp. xi). This is the common denominator for the essays on architecture , sociology, gender, and literary criticisms that place themselves around the debates about the concept of public space presented in The World as a Global Agora: Critical Perspectives on Public Space. The essays presented in the book originate from a two- day conference on public space, held at the Faculty of Letters at Mohammed I University in Oujda, Morocco in 2007, in itself a significant event as it was being held in a country with no historic precedents of such institutions.
Political Geography:
Morocco

43169. Silja Häusermann, The Politics of Welfare State Reform in Continental Europe – Modernization in Hard Times (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010)

Author:
Imre Szabó
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Central European University Political Science Journal
Institution:
Central European University
Abstract:
Human imagination is more easily captured by spectacular, one-off events than by more long-term, but equally important processes. Social scientists cannot completely escape this fascination with sudden changes and ruptures either. Usually they are more concerned with revolutions and rapid overhauls of social systems (like the Thatcherite reforms) than with “longue durée” phenomena. Their bias is reinforced by practical considerations as well: when studying interruptive events, it is easier to distinguish between new and old, between “innovators” and “conservatives”. When it comes to long-term transformational dynamics, it may be difficult to recognize change at all. Boundaries between the old and the new are often blurred, and traditional and newly emerging institutions may coexist. What can be even harder is to explore the causes of the change and the role that different political actors played during the process. Despite all these difficulties, there are a few promising works that deal with long-term transformations of socio-political systems. Silja Hä usermann's book, The Politics of Welfare State Reform in Continental Europe – Modernization in Hard Times certainly belongs to this group.
Political Geography:
Europe

43170. Abrajano, Marisa A. and Michael R. Alvarez, New Faces, New Voices: The Hispanic Electorate in America (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010).

Author:
Ksenia Krauer-Pacheco
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Central European University Political Science Journal
Institution:
Central European University
Abstract:
In recent years, politicians and researchers in the United States have become more aware of the importance of the Hispanic electorate because of the ever increasing Latino population. This, in turn, has spurred a growing interest in its political behavior and preferences. In this context, Marisa A. Abrajano and R. Michael Alvarez's most recent book represents a good analysis of the largest minority group in the United States. New faces, new voices: the Hispanic electorate in America resulted from a research project aimed at understanding the political behavior of Hispanics in the United States since the late 1990s. Two main goals were successfully achieved in the pages of the book: firstly, to demonstrate why the Hispanic electorate is such a diverse and complex group, particularly when compared to other ethnic and racial minority groups in the United States; and secondly, to dispel some of the pieces of conventional wisdom about the Hispanic electorate, many of which have affected the way in which campaigns, elected officials, the media, and even the average American voter, perceive this group.
Topic:
Political Violence
Political Geography:
United States and America

43171. Bonnie Honing, Emergency Politics (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009).

Author:
Martino Bianchi
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Central European University Political Science Journal
Institution:
Central European University
Abstract:
A wide debate about emergency politics in democracy is particularly welcome in a period in which long-lasting concern about security in the Western world is now coupled with an economic crisis whose effects are still not clear and whose development are unforeseeable. This new contribution, written by Bonnie Honig, is hence highly interesting as it tries to disclose the links between the normal democratic politics and the discretionary politics which occurs in emergency situations.
Topic:
Politics

43172. Nidhi Trehan and Nando Sigona (eds.), Romani Politics in Contemporary Europe: Poverty, Ethnic Mobilization, and the Neo-liberal Order (Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010).

Author:
Ivana Tomovska
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Central European University Political Science Journal
Institution:
Central European University
Abstract:
Romani communities throughout Western, Eastern and Southeast European countries experience poverty, socio-economic marginalization with additional increasing intolerance and discrimination by the majority population. The marginalization involves exclusion from labour markets, exclusion and segregation within the education system, difficult access to services including healthcare services, extreme forms of spatial segregation; in a word, exclusion from the right to exercise active citizenship. In addition, Romani people experience very concrete security issues such as: police brutality, racism, intolerance and violent outbursts against them. With Romani issues on the raise one cannot help but wonder what politics and policy actions are taking place around those issues. Who is creating the politics, what are the roles and degrees of influence by internal movements within the Romani constituencies as well as external influences? Many of these questions are addressed in Nidhi Trehan's and Fernando (Nando) Sigona's Romani Politics in Contemporary Europe.
Political Geography:
Europe

43173. Eiki Berg, Piret Ehin (eds.), Identity and Foreign Policy. Baltic-Russian Relations and European Integration (Survey: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2008).

Author:
Ana Dinescu
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Central European University Political Science Journal
Institution:
Central European University
Abstract:
For Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, both the EU and NATO integration processes were considered as the ultimate guarantee of a definitive status quo in the European and trans-Atlantic community. As members of the two main international organizations, the danger of possible aggression from the part of the Russian Federation was significantly diminished. But, instead of a likely normalization process of the relations between each of the three Baltic States and the Russian Federation, the regional foreign affairs agenda registered consistent moments of tension. How the situation might be explained using the current repertoire provided by theories of international relations.
Topic:
International Relations
Political Geography:
Russia

43174. Smart muddling through: rethinking UK national strategy beyond Afghanistan

Author:
Paul Cornish and Andrew Doorman
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
When the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition was formed in May 2010 it was confronted with a Ministry of Defence (MoD) in crisis, with armed forces committed to intensive combat operations in Afghanistan and with an unenviable financial situation. Yet within five months the coalition government had published a new National Security Strategy (NSS—the third in three years), a new Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) and a spending review. Among the United Kingdom's allies, France and Australia had prepared their defence white papers of 2008 and 2009 respectively in the context of a more benign global economic environment, while the United States used its national security policy of 2010 to provide a strategic overview without setting out in much detail what it would require of the relevant departments. The UK was effectively, therefore, the first western state to undertake a complete defence and security review in the 'age of austerity'. To add to the challenge, the coalition recognized that there were also problems within its own machinery of government, and came up with some novel solutions. In a radical step, it decided that national security would henceforth be overseen by a new National Security Council (NSC) chaired by the Prime Minister. A National Security Advisor—a new appointment in UK government—would lead Cabinet Office support to the NSC and the review process. The novelty of these arrangements raised questions about whether a more established system might be required to manage such a major review of UK national security. Nevertheless, the strategy review proceeded apace.
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, United Kingdom, and Australia

43175. The limited capacity of management to rescue UK defence policy: a review and a word of caution

Author:
Trevor Taylor
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
In terms of press coverage and political debate, the story of British defence since the end of the Cold War has been marked by three themes: policy (direction and review), management (shortcomings and initiatives), and military operations, although academic studies and courses tend to neglect the management domain. In principle, these three elements should be closely linked, with policy defining the evolving state of the world and constraining the direction of the country's military response, management delivering the leadership, organization and coordination to build the forces to enable the policy to be implemented, and military operations being undertaken in line with the policy guidance and management preparations made. In practice, however, there have been significant disjunctions between the operations mounted and the policy and management. Military operations launched since 1990 have all been something of a surprise, most of them requiring significant extra funding to be obtained through Urgent Operational Requirements (UORs) to enhance and modify British capabilities before the operations could begin. The concept of Force Elements at Readiness (FE@R), the key output of the mainstream defence budget, came to be recognized in the MoD as of only limited utility unless consideration of the specific attributes of a particular adversary, the physical environment of the envisaged operation and the contribution of allies were also included in the equation.
Topic:
Cold War
Political Geography:
United Kingdom

43176. Military doctrine, command philosophy and the generation of fighting power: genesis and theory

Author:
Geoffrey Sloan
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
It was the British maritime strategist Sir Julian Corbett who, on the eve of the First World War, described doctrine as 'the soul of warfare'. This assertion conceals as much as it reveals, leaving out any explanation of how doctrine is formulated, disseminated or used, and any account of the relationship between doctrine and command philosophy. It is only through a synthesis of these two factors that fighting power can be generated. Doctrine can be described as a force multiplier in that a fighting organization that applies it consistently will be able to take on a larger force in battle and win. It is often analysed and evaluated in isolation from command philosophy. How, then, do we define doctrine and what are the major variants of command philosophy? What is the nature of the relationship between doctrine and command philosophy? Is it possible to identify and assess the component parts of doctrine, and to understand how they manifest themselves at the tactical, operational and strategic levels of war?
Topic:
War
Political Geography:
United States

43177. British civil–military relations and the problem of risk

Author:
Timothy Edmunds
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
The theme of risk pervades the western security discourse at the beginning of the 2010s. The United Kingdom's 2010 National Security Strategy (NSS) employs the term 'risk' no fewer than 545 times, while its 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) mentions the word 96 times. The United States' 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) uses the words 'risk' or 'risks' 95 times over the course of its analysis. Risk is an explicit theme in the Australian Defence White Paper of 2009, Germany's Defence Policy Guidelines of 2011, The French White Paper on Defence and National Security of 2008 and the Spanish Security Strategy of 2011. It is also implicit in almost all other western security documentation since 2001 in one way or another.
Political Geography:
United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia

43178. British judicial engagement and the juridification of the armed forces

Author:
Anthony Forster
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
The term 'juridification' was first used by Gerry Rubin over a decade ago to describe ways in which the British court-martial system was being altered by civil judgments that civilianized the military legal system and reduced the autonomy of the armed forces. Since then, little scholarly attention has been focused on legal developments and their impact on traditional forms of governance of the British armed forces—especially its hierarchical and tradition-based approach to the conduct of its business. More recently, Christopher Dandeker has explored the 'right' of, versus the 'need' for, the British armed forces to be different from the society they serve, and I have explored the impact of wars since 1997 on the three branches of the British state and on the relationship of the state to its citizens. The focus in the present article is on the consequences of changes to the legal framework for the British armed forces. This is of interest not just because the armed forces have been so regularly deployed in combat over the last decade and a half, but also because as an organization the British military has been based on strong hierarchies, self-referential judgments, strong internal (but poor external) transparency and, above all, certainty of process and basic presuppositions that underpin all its activities.
Political Geography:
United Kingdom

43179. NATO's 2012 Chicago summit: a chance to ignore the issues once again?

Author:
Andrew M. Dorman
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
The NATO organization and its members are beginning to gear themselves up for the forthcoming summit in Chicago in May 2012. Such summits are always important, especially when they are held in the United States. For example, the 1999 Washington summit held to mark the alliance's 50th anniversary occurred against the background of an apparently failing war in Kosovo and a US President fearing impeachment as a result of the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Moreover, this summit is happening in a US presidential election year and in a location particularly symbolic for the current incumbent President Obama. It will also follow on from the French presidential elections, thus presenting the first opportunity for either the new French president or a re-elected Nicolas Sarkozy to make a mark on the international scene.
Political Geography:
United States, Washington, and Chicago

43180. Towards a 'post-American' alliance? NATO burden-sharing after Libya

Author:
Ellen Hallams and Benjamin Schreer
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
On 31 October 2011 NATO successfully ended its seven-month military mission in Libya (Operation Unified Protector). Coalition air strikes were instrumental in protecting civilians and ousting the Qadhafi regime. In terms of alliance politics, the operation also seemed to reflect a new transatlantic burden-sharing model. The United States, the most powerful military actor within NATO, decided to play only a supporting role, forcing some European allies, predominantly France and Britain, to take the lead. Consequently, some commentators saw the Libya campaign as a 'historical milestone' for the Atlantic alliance and a potential model for future NATO burden-sharing. The US government seemed to share this view. In a speech in Brussels in October 2011, acting Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta described the Libya operation as an example of a more equal transatlantic burden-sharing arrangement. He also emphasized that the current level of US commitment to the alliance was unsustainable owing to the significant pressure on the US defence budget. In June that year his predecessor as Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, had also called for better burden-sharing across the Atlantic. Specifically, he criticized the lack of defence spending on the part of most European allies and predicted a 'dim, if not dismal, future' for the alliance if this trend is not reversed. NATO's Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, has also called for members of the alliance to make renewed efforts to come to a better burden- sharing arrangement whereby European allies invest more in 'smart defense', with its emphasis on the pooling and sharing of military resources.
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, France, and Libya

43181. The politics of US missile defence cooperation with Europe and Russia

Author:
Jeffrey Mankoff
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
During its first three years, the Obama administration compiled an impressive record on the politically fraught issue of European ballistic missile defence (MD) cooperation on three different levels: domestically, vis-à-vis Europe and NATO, and in relations with Russia. The administration's MD design, known as the European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA), will rely on land- and sea-based interceptors to shoot down missiles launched towards Europe by Iran or other Middle Eastern states. It has strong bipartisan support at home and is being implemented in close collaboration with NATO, which agreed in 2010 to make the protection of allies' territory from ballistic missiles a priority. Meanwhile, the Obama administration has ardently pursued MD cooperation with Russia, which has long regarded US missile defence as a threat to its own strategic deterrence capabilities. Given political realities in the US, the administration has little choice but to proceed with plans to deploy a European MD system. Nevertheless, its focus on MD cooperation as a kind of magic bullet in relations with both its European allies and Russia appears too ambitious, and risks doing more harm than good—unless the administration can do a better job of managing expectations, while embedding its ideas for MD cooperation into a broader security dialogue with both the Europeans and Russia.
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Middle East

43182. Multilateral cooperation and the prevention of nuclear terrorism: pragmatism over idealism

Author:
Wyn Q. Bowen, Matthew Cottee, and Christopher Hobbs
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
International concern over nuclear terrorism has increased steadily since 11 September 2001 (9/11), prompting a series of formal and informal policy initiatives designed, either specifically or partially, to enhance multilateral cooperation to prevent it. Key examples include the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT), the G8 Global Partnership against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction (GP), United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) 1373 and 1540, and the establishment of an Office of Nuclear Security at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The politically most notable initiative so far has been President Barack Obama's Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) of April 2010, which raised international awareness of the nuclear terror threat and sought to strengthen preventive efforts in this area.
Political Geography:
United Nations

43183. Review Article: American civil–military relations today: the continuing relevance of Samuel P Huntington's 'The soldier and the state'

Author:
Suzanne C. Nielsen
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
Fifty-five years after it was first published, Samuel P. Huntington's The soldier and the state remains an essential starting point for serious discussions of American civil–military relations. This is remarkable for two reasons. First, the United States has seen enormous changes in its strategic environment in the past six decades. The country has gone from fearing for its survival during the Cold War to enjoying a concentration of military and economic power arguably unprecedented in human history. Second, the field of civil–military relations has been an active area of research in which political scientists, military sociologists and historians have made important and valuable contributions. However, even as these scholars have critiqued and built upon Huntington's work, they have not transcended it. To this day, a course in civil–military relations would be incomplete if The soldier and the state did not appear on the syllabus. It needs to be there not just to enable students to see how the field of civil–military relations has moved on, but also to expose them to concepts that remain foundational.
Political Geography:
United States and America

43184. Review Article: The evolution of the responsibility to protect: at a crossroads?

Author:
Phil Orchard
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
Ten years have passed since the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) unveiled the report which first introduced the language of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), and six have passed since a modified version of the doctrine was endorsed by the member states of the United Nations in the World Summit Outcome Document. The introduction of the R2P doctrine has done two major things: it has reframed what had become an entrenched debate around the legality and legitimacy of humanitarian intervention; and it has provided an important focus for how the international community should respond. It has, Alex Bellamy argues, created 'a collection of shared expectations'.
Political Geography:
United Nations

43185. Review Article: The Crimean War and its lessons for today

Author:
David Benn
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
The Crimean War of 1854–6 has been described in many books. Nevertheless, the present book, written by a professor of history at the University of London, does in important ways supply a new dimension to the subject. It provides a wealth of new colour and detail, mentioning for instance that France bore the brunt of the fighting and that 40 American doctors volunteered their services on the Russian side. Above all, it places the war in its historical context, relying not just on English but on French, Russian and Turkish sources. The subject is of obvious importance to diplomatic historians—and also to military historians, if only because it seems to provide a textbook example of how not to conduct a war.
Topic:
War
Political Geography:
Russia, America, and London

43186. Incumbents without a Campaign Finance Advantage: Competition and Money in Chile's Congressional Elections

Author:
Joel Johnson
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Research from various countries has shown that incumbents in legislative elections raise and spend more money when they face a tougher contest. A statistical analysis of Chilean candidates' campaign finance disclosures shows the opposite: an inverse relationship between incumbent spending and electoral competitiveness. This occurs because Chile's deputies are relatively limited in their influence over policy and pork and because the congressional electoral system makes most competitive contests relevant only to the intra-coalitional balance of power. This account implies that political finance is as much a function of political systems and the supply of contributions as it is candidates' demand for funds, and motivates several hypotheses about campaign finance in Chile. Among others, the analysis confirms that incumbents and challengers compete on a level playing field, spending similar amounts of campaign finance. The paper also illustrates that incumbents and challengers fare equally well in Chile's “secret” donation system.
Political Geography:
Chile

43187. United by Discord, Divided by Consensus: National and Sub-national Articulation in Bolivia and Peru, 2000– 2010

Author:
Alberto Vergara
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
From 2000 to 2010, Bolivia and Peru underwent similar processes of political decentralization toward the meso level of the government. Three elections later in Peru and two in Bolivia, the ability of national political parties to articulate interests differs markedly between the two countries. Peru tends toward fragmentation with national parties incapable of participating or successfully competing in subnational elections, while in Bolivia, the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) – and other parties to a lesser extent – are increasingly capable of participating and winning subnational offices. This paper argues that, despite having undergone very similar institutional reforms, the difference between the cases can largely be explained by two “society-side” variables: the caliber of the political ideas in debate and political social density. The substantive quality of ideas in debate and a greater political social density have been crucial to the Bolivian trend, while their absence has lessened the possibility of anything similar occurring in Peru. In general terms, the article sheds light on the social conditions that favor party- building in a context of decentralization reform.
Political Geography:
Peru and Bolivia

43188. Pursuing Centralization amidst Decentralization: The Politics of Brazil's Innovative Response to HIV/AIDS

Author:
Eduardo Gómez
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
In recent years, Brazil has been highly revered for its response to HIV/AIDS. Despite the government's delayed response, why and how did the national AIDS program eventually become so successful? This is even further puzzling when one considers the challenges associated with Brazil's decentralized response to healthcare needs, lack of subnational resources and political will to effectively implement AIDS policy. This article maintains that Brazil's successful response eventually required the strategic centralization of national AIDS bureaucratic and policy authority, entailing policies designed to aid local governments while creating fiscal policies incentivizing sub-national compliance with the national bureaucracy and more effective policy implementation. Taking advantage of renewed political support, kindled by international pressures and the president's reputation building pursuits, the sources of AIDS officials' success, however, resided not in their technical and financial prowess, but in their ability to forge historically- based partnerships with civic AIDS NGOs and social movements sharing like-minded ideational beliefs in policy centralization. This article also discusses how these findings contribute new insights into theories addressing the reasons for centralization, as well as the ideational sources of gradual institutional change.
Topic:
Civil Society and Government
Political Geography:
Brazil

43189. Measuring Legislative Input on Presidential Agendas (Argentina, 1999– 2007)

Author:
Alejandro Bonvecchi and Javier Zelaznik
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Presidential agenda success is usually accounted for through measures of interbranch cooperation, such as bill approval rates, participation rates, and roll-call data of support from presidential initiatives. These measures do not provide an accurate picture of presidential agenda success because they cannot capture the ability of presidents or Congress to shape the substance of legislation. To overcome this limitation, this paper proposes a combination of two measures of influence on legislative outcomes: the Legislative Input Score for partisan involvement in lawmaking, and the Barrett and Eshbaugh-Soha Scale for legislative substance. To illustrate the potential of these measures, it puts them to work in analyzing the ability of presidents to control the substance of their proposed legislation in Argentina between 1999 and 2007. Preliminary results show that when agenda success is measured with these scores, presidents can consistently shape legislative substance regardless of popularity, coalition size, and honeymoon periods.
Political Geography:
Argentina

43190. U.S. Democracy and the Japanese American Legacy

Author:
Diane Adachi
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Diplomatic Courier
Abstract:
On October 5, 2010, President Obama signed into legislation Congressional Gold Medal of Honors for the Nissei veterans that made up the 442 Regimental Combat Team and its 1st Battalion the 100th Infantry, the most decorated units in military history serving during the period of Japanese American incarceration.
Political Geography:
Japan and America

43191. Why Piracy Matters

Author:
J. Peter Pham
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Diplomatic Courier
Abstract:
Last year, Somali pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden and the western Indian Ocean attacked some 237 merchant vessels, successfully hijacking 28 of them; through the end of January this year, they assaulted another 13 ships and captured 2—leaving the marauders holding a total 10 vessels and 159 hostages. However, with the tragic exception of the seizure of the MV Quest last February which resulted in the killing of the four American yachters on board, none of the hijackings have involved U.S. vessels or citizens. Hence the question arises whether, in these times of fiscal austerity, the United States should—beyond general humanitarian sentiments of empathy for the victims—really be all that concerned about a phenomenon on the other side of the world that does not directly threaten the country's security.
Political Geography:
United States and America

43192. Op-Ed: The Next Steve Jobs

Author:
Lindsey Mask
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Diplomatic Courier
Abstract:
They say if you want to be like Steve Jobs you have to love what you do, think outside of the box, and work until you get it absolutely perfect. It was certainly a loss to the world when Steve Jobs passed away on October 5th of last year. And while we mourned the loss, we began to clamor about who might be the “next Steve Jobs.” I joined in the mental task of trying to figure out which country would win the unseen race. I started asking myself the same questions: would an American be beat to the golden throne as leading avant-garde visionary? Would the next Steve Jobs come from India or China? When asking yourself who the next Steve Jobs will be, do you imagine that person as a woman?
Political Geography:
China, America, and India

43193. Where Are The Vatican's Women Diplomats?

Author:
Maria St. Catherine De Grâce Sharpe
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Diplomatic Courier
Abstract:
Lifting the veil on the Vatican's gender apartheidic all-male “Human Rights” diplomacy – the Holy See's “Human Rights” diplomacy from the perspective of the "First Lady of Vatican/Holy See Pontifical Ecclesiastical Diplomacy.”00
Topic:
Human Rights
Political Geography:
United Nations

43194. A Patron for Cultural Diplomacy

Author:
Ana Carcani
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Diplomatic Courier
Abstract:
Susan Lehrman is no stranger to the Diplomatic community in Washington. A consummate philanthropist and businesswoman, she has also served her city and her communities as a de facto cultural ambassador. In a city full of top ranking diplomats, she stands out in her efforts to bring people together. And her work has not gone unnoticed. Two of Washington's celebrated ambassadors are honoring Lehrman with top honors. In April, Lehrman has been nominated to receive the Medal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation for her “Contributions to International Cooperation”. Also that month, Lehrman will receive another top honor; she will become a Chevalier in France's national Order de Légion d'Honneur. She was specially recognized for this honor by France's President, Nicolas Sarkozy, who made the award from his personal reserve.
Political Geography:
Russia and Washington

43195. Feeding a Growing World Sustainably and Nutritiously

Author:
Dan Glickman
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Diplomatic Courier
Abstract:
Few human experiences are as universal as the need for food. Ensuring people have enough to eat is the foundation for good health and economic prosperity. Today, almost a billion people are chronically hungry and 1.5 billion are overweight or obese. As the world population grows, incomes rise, and climate shifts, there is a real risk that these rates will increase, hindering economic growth and creating conditions that foster instability.
Topic:
Health

43196. How Davos is Moving the World's Leaders into the Future

Author:
Chrisella Sagers
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Diplomatic Courier
Abstract:
The world as we know it is fundamentally changing. As globalization picks up pace, sending ideas and products across the globe at lightning speed, the political, social, and economic models that have shaped our world for the past century are failing. The year 2011 will go down in the history books as a year of revolutions and riots, alongside other such red-letter years as 1789, 1848, 1868, 1911, and 1968.
Topic:
Globalization

43197. China's Shale Gas Strategy

Author:
Ralph Winnie
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Diplomatic Courier
Abstract:
Over the past twenty years, China has experienced dramatic economic growth, transforming itself from a basically agrarian society into the world's second largest economy behind only the United States. Since the initiation of economic and political reforms in 1978, China has produced an average annual growth rate of 10 percent. From 1978 to 2008, China increased its GDP 83 times (NBS, 2009) and lifted over two hundred million of its people out of poverty. This has continued to generate increased energy supply. Within China's energy sector, production was stimulated by the clarification of mineral exploration rights, the development of transportation and roadway infrastructure projects, diversification of management structures and the liberalization of environmental and safety regulation.
Topic:
Economics
Political Geography:
United States and China

43198. The Dynamic Change in China and Russia's Military Diplomacy

Author:
Ralph Winnie
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Diplomatic Courier
Abstract:
The Kremlin recently revealed that Moscow has pledged $640 billion in an effort to bring 80 percent of the Russian military establishment up to modern standards by 2020. Consequently, Vladimir Popovkin, Deputy Defense Minister in charge of arms procurement, recently suggested to the media that the Russian Defense Ministry plans to buy around 600 airplanes and 1000 helicopters. He further stated that the Ministry was planning to fund the development of a “new liquid fuel heavy intercontinental ballistic missile to replace aging RS-18 Stilleto and RS-20 Satan”. These missiles would be able to carry up to 10 warheads with solid fuel missiles each carrying a maximum of three warheads. It was further revealed that the Russian government plans to lend $24 billion to defense companies to help prepare for bigger contracts after 2015.
Topic:
Development and Diplomacy
Political Geography:
Russia and China

43199. The China Puzzle, Part III: One Step Forward and Two Steps Back?

Author:
Margaret J. Nencheck
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Diplomatic Courier
Abstract:
February 2012 marked the 40th anniversary of President Richard Nixon's historic trip to China. In hindsight, Nixon's decision to open relations with China is seen as one of the major diplomatic achievements of the latter half of the 20th century. Forty years later, a generation of Millennials is learning Mandarin, working and studying in China, and thinking deeply about the prospect of American decline in an Asian century. To mark this milestone, members of Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP), each with unique perspectives on China and East Asian affairs, gave their views on China's role in today's world. This is the third in a four-part series.
Topic:
Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
China, America, and East Asia

43200. Course-Correcting the Conversation Surrounding 'Corrective Rape'

Author:
John Bavoso
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Diplomatic Courier
Abstract:
Last May, 24-year-old Johannesburg resident Noxolo Nogwaza was brutally raped, stabbed repeatedly with shards of broken glass, and beaten with rocks by a group of young men, then left to die from her injuries. Her body was subsequently dumped in a very public part of her township. Despite living and dying in country where it is said that the percentage of women and girls that will become sexual assault survivors is greater than the number that will be taught to read, Nogwaza's murder made national and international headlines because of her sexuality. She had been on her way home from dropping off her girlfriend when she was attacked, and neighbors reported hearing her attackers shouting homophobic slurs throughout the crime. Noxolo Nogwaza wasn't just a target of rape; she was a target of so-called “corrective” rape – a crime in which gangs of heterosexual men commit a sexual assault with the stated purpose of “curing” or “correcting” their victims' sexuality.