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Begin New Search Content Type Working Paper Publishing Institution Center on International Cooperation Author Sarah Cliffe Publication Year within 10 Years Publication Year within 25 Years

1. Looking Ahead: Trends and Solutions for 2022

Author:
Sarah Cliffe
Publication Date:
01-2022
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
It would be good to write a very optimistic piece at the dawn of 2022—and indeed we do try to focus in this piece not just on trends but on solutions. Yet, overall, it is impossible to avoid “telling it as it is”—internationally and for multilateral action, the year has not had an auspicious start. Omicron is sweeping through communities worldwide, with many hospital systems warning of the risk of being overwhelmed. The political instability of which we and many others have long warned, driven by economic and governance links, is coming to pass. Kazakhstan is the most recent example, but this also covers the quintupling of coups in Africa in 2021, and heightened polarization in many Western, Asian, and Latin American electoral processes.
Topic:
Governance, Multilateralism, Humanitarian Crisis, Instability, and Peacebuilding
Political Geography:
Africa, Kazakhstan, Latin America, and West Asia

2. Blowback from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Author:
Sarah Cliffe, Leah Zamore, and James Traub
Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
While the Ukrainian army and people continue to resist, the costs of Russia's invasion in human terms are mounting. As of March 15, the United Nations (UN) had verified 1,900 civilian casualties, including 726 deaths (fifty of them children), as Russia intensifies its assault on civilian targets, seizes the Zaporizhzhia nuclear site, lays siege to Mariupol which is without food, energy, or water in freezing temperatures, continues to threaten Kyiv, begins a push on Odesa and assaults Kharkiv with heavy and indiscriminate shelling.
Topic:
Security, War Crimes, Armed Conflict, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Ukraine

3. Good Peacebuilding Financing: Recommendations for Revitalizing Commitments

Author:
Sarah Cliffe, Paige Arthur, and Betty N. Wainaina
Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
At a moment of intense global pressure due to the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, support for prevention and peacebuilding remains as vital as ever. This brief offers action-oriented recommendations to advance new and more inclusive approaches to peacebuilding financing on the eve of the UN High-level Meeting on Peacebuilding Financing.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, United Nations, Finance, and Peacebuilding
Political Geography:
Global Focus

4. Recent UN Votes on Ukraine: What Needs to be Done to Maintain International Unity (Part I)

Author:
Sarah Cliffe, Faiza Shaheen, Leah Zamore, Karina Gerlach, and Nendirmwa Noel
Publication Date:
04-2022
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
Horrific images of the loss of life and humanitarian suffering in Ukraine continue to come to light, including significant evidence of large-scale human rights abuses. As the war in Ukraine looks likely to enter a period of rearming, redeployment and renewed attacks in the East, maintaining international pressure for a negotiated peace agreement that maintains territorial integrity and upholds international law will be crucial.
Topic:
International Law, Multilateralism, Humanitarian Crisis, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:
Europe and Ukraine

5. Food for Thought – Talking Points on Food Prices

Author:
Nendirmwa Noel and Sarah Cliffe
Publication Date:
04-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
This short memo summarizes issues linking the COVID-19 pandemic and food prices. There is a real risk of a food price crisis emerging as a result of the pandemic, for the following reasons: Food systems are facing a complex set of demand and supply shocks during the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes increased demand due to hoarding versus decreased demand due to containment measures; lower prices for food system inputs, such as petroleum, versus decreased supply due to disruption of production, transport and trade. There seems to be a risk that rice, and possibly wheat, see a price surge which disconnects them from the downward trend in other basic commodities. There is also undoubtedly a risk that specific countries and large urban settlements see sharp increases in prices of scarce commodities, as protests in Afghanistan and in Nigeria have already shown this week. The crisis is coming just as farmers in many parts of the world are about to begin planting, and action is therefore needed now.
Topic:
Governance, Food Security, Multilateralism, Crisis Management, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6. Population Movements, COVID-19, and Conflict Risk

Author:
Sarah Cliffe, Leah Zamore, and Nendirmwa Noel
Publication Date:
04-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
As the coronavirus pandemic spreads across the globe, people are also moving in response to the threat of the virus and the actions states have taken to stem its transmission. This memo examines population movements in pandemics and offers relevant policy recommendations. In this policy memo, Sarah Cliffe, Leah Zamore, and Nendirmwa Noel detail the history of population movements during pandemics, provide an overview of the internal and cross-border movements now taking place around the world, and give examples of the restrictions and other measures governments are implementing to to respond. They also supply a number of concrete policy recommendations goverments can take now to improve their management of internal and cross-border movement in the face of COVID-19.
Topic:
Governance, Conflict, Borders, Humanitarian Crisis, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Global Focus

7. COVID-19, Election Governance, and Preventing Electoral Violence

Author:
Sarah Cliffe
Publication Date:
11-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a global impact on the conduct of elections, with countries and territories across every region affected. Governments and electoral authorities have responded with innovative practices—but the challenges posed by the pandemic have also revealed gaps and weaknesses that must be addressed. Lessons from the COVID-19 era can help with preparedness for future challenges such as holding elections in the wake of natural disasters or in highly polarized contexts. In this briefing, Kevin Casas-Zamora, the Secretary-General of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, joins CIC's Sarah Cliffe and Nendirmwa Noel to take a look at how countries have handled elections during the pandemic so far, exploring options for ensuring good election governance and preventing electoral violence. The briefing examines decisions about postponing elections or holding them as scheduled, as well as changes to the campaigning and voting processes due to public health measures. It also addresses impact on turnout, lessons on the conduct of credible elections during COVID-19, lessons for preventing election-related violence, and approaches to combat electoral misinformation and disinformation.
Topic:
Governance, Elections, Violence, Peace, Humanitarian Crisis, COVID-19, and Society
Political Geography:
Global Focus