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Begin New Search Content Type Policy Brief Publication Year within 5 Years

3411. Respondents' perceptions in Kosovo and Serbia towards public institutions

Author:
Plator Avdiu
Publication Date:
12-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS)
Abstract:
This overview is one of the outputs of the regional project “Western Balkans Security Barometer” (WBSB), led by the Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS) in partnership with the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) in Serbia. Bearing in mind the complexities and the ongoing political dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia that could potentially lead to resolution, the project was initiated by launching the first regional survey targeting both countries. This edition of the WBSB presents the findings of this survey conducted simultaneously in Kosovo and Serbia in September-October 2020.
Topic:
Security, Corruption, and Institutions
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe, Kosovo, and Serbia

3412. Between a rock and a hard place: Kosovo's challenges in dealing with the COVID-19 Pandemic Authors:

Author:
Teuta Avdimetaj, Shpat Balaj, and Plator Avdiu
Publication Date:
12-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS)
Abstract:
This study provides a critical overview of Kosovo’s national framework in emergency response and crisis management, including the legal and strategic framework in dealing with emergencies as well as the roles of key institutions involved in emergency planning and response. In doing so, it seeks to elucidate factors that can influence the efficacy of the institutional response to crises due to potential gaps in the legislative framework, ambiguity over roles and responsibilities, coordination issues among the relevant institutions, insufficient allocation of funds, limited training and staff capacities among others.
Topic:
Crisis Management, Institutions, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe and Kosovo

3413. Understanding the new pact on migration and asylum

Author:
Ramona Bloj and Stefanie Buzmaniuk
Publication Date:
11-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Robert Schuman Foundation (RSF)
Abstract:
In 2019, 22.9 million people or 4.7% of the total population of the European Union were non-European citizens. According to the European Commission, in the same year, the Member States granted 3 million first time resident permits to third country citizens. Whilst the number of asylum requests totalled 1.28 million in 2015, it decreased to 689,000 in 2019. Across the Union, figures vary from one country to another: if we look at the number of migrants in 2019, Germany took in the most with 13.4 million, i.e. 15.7% of its population, followed by France (8.3 million), Spain (6.5 million) and Italy (6.2 million). In the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Poland, according to the OECD was the leading destination of temporary working migrants, ahead of the USA; in 2018 Poland delivered more than a million new permits to extra-European workers.
Topic:
Migration, Treaties and Agreements, European Union, and Asylum
Political Geography:
Europe

3414. European Democracy, a fundamental system to be protected

Author:
Eric Maurice
Publication Date:
12-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Robert Schuman Foundation (RSF)
Abstract:
Democracy is the political and moral foundation of the European Union and its Member States. Its smooth functioning endeavours to pacify political alternation, reduce social tensions and eliminate judicial arbitrariness, thus guaranteeing civil peace and the prosperity of European societies. Moreover, in a world where the markers of liberal democracy resulting from the European Enlightenment are receding, the value of democracy is a tool of the Union's power and influence. In the absence of a functioning democracy the Union and its Member States would lose their capacity to act and defend their interests, either via the upkeep of rules-based multilateralism or the projection of their values and standards that are emulated by others.
Topic:
European Union, Democracy, Multilateralism, and Regional Integration
Political Geography:
Europe

3415. Economic recovery and climate: for Europe and the world, two battles to fight at once

Author:
Clémence Pèlegrin
Publication Date:
12-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Robert Schuman Foundation (RSF)
Abstract:
The global economic and sanitary situation has accelerated many States’ commitments to fight climate change and, more specifically, the inclusion of climate issues in national recovery plans. Almost a year after the announcement of the Green Deal by the European Commission, and several weeks after ambitious climate announcements made by China and Japan, Europe will be playing an important round in its commitments at the forthcoming European Council on 10th and 11th December.
Topic:
Climate Change, Economics, Carbon Emissions, and Economic Recovery
Political Geography:
Europe

3416. White-Crusade: How to Prevent Right-Wing Extremists from Exploiting the Internet

Author:
Christina Schori Liang and Matthew John Cross
Publication Date:
07-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:
Right-wing extremists (RWEs) are using the current protests over police brutality in the United States as a cover to commit terroristic acts and to grow their numbers. They present a significant danger to public safety and security and are a growing threat in the West. Despite this, the rise of right-wing extremism (a homogenized term for white ethnonationalists, alt-rights, white supremacist groups, male supremacist groups, and right-wing anti-government extremists) has not been afforded the priority and attention it justly deserves. There are three reasons for this. First, the global narrative maintains that terrorism rests almost exclusively in the hands of a balaclava-clad Salafi-jihadist holding a Kalashnikov. Second, Western right-wing media has largely pushed back against covering the rise of right-wing extremism and the media as a whole has failed to contextualize the systematic threat RWEs present. Third, the global pandemic has forced governments to focus their attention on maintaining public health and socioeconomic order and have consequently failed to see how RWEs are subversively using the pandemic to support and expand their own agenda.
Topic:
Internet, Radical Right, Digitization, and Political Extremism
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

3417. The Future of Mediation in the Post-COVID World

Author:
Itonde Kakoma and Edward Marques
Publication Date:
09-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:
The UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the state of the world today in two words “uncertainty” and “instability”.28 These two terms will remain the defining characteristics of the future. If we want international peacemaking structures to remain relevant then the evolving nature of conflict must be taken more seriously. Doing so will require addressing fundamental questions including but not limited to: what does an effective mandate look like in the current geopolitical climate? What might de-escalation mechanisms or a ceasefire look like for hybrid or cyber conflicts? How can virtual safe space for dialogue be secured? How do we ensure that peace agreements hold, when the parties to the conflict are so many, and so far away from the conflict itself? How can we advance international cooperation on peacemaking in the absence of an effective UN Security Council? Given the increasingly blurred lines between peace and conflict, the basic concepts of global peace and security and thus the future of peace mediation will need to be reconceived.
Topic:
Diplomacy, International Cooperation, Peace, Pandemic, COVID-19, and Mediation
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3418. The impact of regulatory frameworks on the global digital communications industry

Author:
Robert Dewar and Ellie Templeton
Publication Date:
10-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:
A range of regulatory frameworks have been imposed by national governments and intergovernmental actors to control the operations of the digital communications sector. Whilst exercising their rights to manage entities operating within their jurisdictions, the imposition of economic restrictions has a significant impact beyond limiting commercial operations. This policy brief will analyse the impact of regulatory frameworks on the digital communications industry by exploring three high-profile programmes of restrictions imposed by three very different international actors
Topic:
Communications, Governance, Regulation, and Industry
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3419. Partial Local Autonomy in Southern Syria: Conditions, Durability, and Replicability

Author:
Alexander Decina
Publication Date:
11-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:
In July 2018, Daraa Governorate, once home to an array of rebel groups and local governance councils, supported by significant international assistance, was partially recaptured by the Government of Syria (GoS). Through a combination of force and negotiations, the GoS has restored control over key routes and infrastructure, although a number of former rebel groups have retained limited autonomy in their own communities. Since then, poor security and economic conditions, inadequate services, and competition between and among GoS security actors and former opposition factions have challenged the status quo in Daraa, but, by and large, the situation has held. These negotiated outcomes – and the GoS’s willingness to accept them – were predicated upon multiple factors, including the relatively moderate nature of southern opposition factions, Russian and Israeli military postures, and the historical connections of the Military Intelligence Directorate (MID) in Daraa. While lessons learned from the south are important, the particular conditions and outcomes i
Topic:
Security, Governance, Local, and Autonomy
Political Geography:
Middle East and Syria

3420. Freedom under Siege: Freedom of Association and Assembly in Sub-Saharan Africa

Author:
Selby Xinwa
Publication Date:
02-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
This briefing paper provides an overview of the shrinking civic space as well as the situation on the violations of the rights to freedom of association and assembly in sub-Saharan Africa. It also highlights innovation and strategic advocacy approaches employed by sub-Saharan Africa's civil society to defend their civic participation space.
Topic:
Civil Society, Transitional Justice, Advocacy, Civil Liberties, and Civic Engagement
Political Geography:
Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa