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3442. Pugwash Note on the Iran Nuclear Agreement and Middle Eastern Security
- Author:
- Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs
- Publication Date:
- 12-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs
- Abstract:
- This is a very short note addressing the issue of the Iran nuclear agreement and pointing out some key issues that are relevant to enhancing Middle Eastern security.
- Topic:
- Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, Diplomacy, Nuclear Weapons, Military Strategy, Conflict, Peace, and Denuclearization
- Political Geography:
- Iran and Middle East
3443. The Status of Erbil-Baghdad Relations
- Author:
- Dlawer Ala'Aldeen
- Publication Date:
- 09-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Middle East Research Institute (MERI)
- Abstract:
- In Iraq, politics is personal, and the politics of Baghdad-Erbil relations is no exception. Improvements and deteriorations in this relationship have largely been dictated by interpersonal dynamics, such as the rapport and mutual confidence between leaders. In May 2020, the Kurdistan Region’s major political parties played an unusually decisive role in having Mustafa Al-Kadhimi selected as the Prime Minister (PM) of Iraq. The Kurdistan Democratic Party and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan declared their support for his designation before he was officially nominated by the Iraqi President, Barham Salih. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) leaders knew Al-Kadhimi personally and had enjoyed good working relations with him when he was the chief of intelligence. Importantly, they believed that demonstrating early support was a worthwhile investment that could help to extend the period of tension-free engagement between Erbil and Baghdad, similar to what they experienced with Al-Kadhimi’s predecessor, Adil Abdul Mahdi. After a period of frozen relations that followed the Kurdish referendum for independence in September 2017, Erbil-Baghdad relations regained a degree of normality in the run up to the 2018 elections and were further bolstered by the appointment of Adil Abdul Mahdi, a personal friend and close associate of many KRG leaders. In 2019, Baghdad agreed to send Erbil 12.67% of the federal budget; in return, the KRG agreed to offer Baghdad 250,000 barrels of exported oil per day. For various reasons, the KRG never delivered the oil or its revenue, and the Shia political parties exerted unbearable pressure on the PM to cut the KRG from the national budget altogether. Nevertheless, Abdul Mahdi’s government continued to send the Kurdistan Region its share of the budget. Negotiations continued, and both sides eventually reached a comprehensive agreement to resolve the revenue issues from the KRG’s oil sales and border crossing customs. These negotiations, as well as the implementation of previous agreements, were suspended upon the resignation of Abdul Mahdi’s government at the end of November 2019. Nevertheless, budgetary payments to the KRG, minus the calculated revenue from the agreed KRG oil exports, continued until April 2020 (total IQD 454b, c. $278m). Unexpectedly though, in the final few weeks of his premiership, Abdul Mahdi ordered the finance ministryto halt the delivery of the KRG’s public-sector salary payments.
- Topic:
- Politics, Governance, Leadership, and Local
- Political Geography:
- Iraq and Middle East
3444. Policy Papers by Women of Color: Diverse Voices on Chemical, Biological, Radiological & Nuclear Security, and Global Health Security Policy
- Author:
- Wardah Amir, Sara Z. Kutchesfahani, Jennyfer Ambe, Rahwa Osman, Seema Gahlaut, Nomsa Ndongwe, Togzhan Kassenova, Kimberly Ma, Jasmine Owens, Celeste Rogers, Sylvia Mishra, Liza Arias, Sumaya Malas, Jessica J. Lee, Jessica Gott, April Arnold, and Takiva Pierce
- Publication Date:
- 10-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security and Conflict Transformation (WCAPS)
- Abstract:
- This edition features articles from member sin two of the WCAPS working groups: Chemical, Biological, Radiological & Nuclear Security; and Global Health Security. A critical goal of WCAPS is to cultivate a new generation of women of color in the areas of peace and security, foreign policy, and national security.
- Topic:
- Security, Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, Infrastructure, Disarmament, Nonproliferation, Biological Weapons, Chemical Weapons, COVID-19, and Global Health
- Political Geography:
- China, North Korea, Global Focus, and United States of America
3445. COVID-19 and the Informal Sector: What it means for women now and in the future
- Author:
- Turkan Mukhtarova
- Publication Date:
- 07-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS)
- Abstract:
- Approximately five months into the global COVID-19 crisis, the short- and long-term damage to national economies—especially in the developing world—continues to be felt disproportionately by poor women. Initial analysis of data from countries including Brazil, India, Russia, and Kenya suggests women workers are particularly vulnerable to the current economic crisis because national lockdowns have brought the informal sector to a halt. Informal sector workers are those with no written contracts, paid leave, health benefits, or social security. Women outnumber men in the informal sector in a majority of least developed economies, and as a result, more women have found themselves out of work during the pandemic. This policy brief explores common problems facing informal women workers such as seasonal farm laborers and street vendors due to COVID-19. It also suggests policies for mitigating the economic damage to their livelihoods, including cash transfers, suspension of debts, and protections from eviction.
- Topic:
- Women, COVID-19, Economic Security, and Informal Economy
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
3446. Advancing Women’s Participation in Track II Peace Processes: Good and emerging practices
- Author:
- Agathe Christien
- Publication Date:
- 02-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS)
- Abstract:
- Diplomacy and peace processes are multi-tracked. They happen at multiple levels, from official peace negotiations to informal peacebuilding initiatives. Meaningful participation of women across all tracks is essential to building sustainable peace. While women remain underrepresented in official Track I peace processes, Track II diplomacy has offered women a space to meaningfully participate in conflict-resolution efforts. From past peace processes in Liberia and Myanmar to ongoing efforts in Afghanistan and the Caucasus, Track II diplomacy is both common and especially important for women. This policy brief is designed for an audience of conflict resolution practitioners and policymakers and seeks to capture the most successful and promising practices, highlight how to overcome common constraints, and propose indicators to assess the success of women’s participation in these informal processes.
- Topic:
- Diplomacy, Women, Peace, and Participation
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Caucasus, Liberia, and Myanmar
3447. Reframing Women’s Roles in Peace Processes: Beyond the Negotiating Table
- Author:
- Anjali Dayal and Agathe Christien
- Publication Date:
- 02-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS)
- Abstract:
- Increasing women’s participation in peace processes is an important goal for the international community, and evidence suggests that more inclusive peace processes involving meaningful contributions by women are more likely to help achieve sustainable peace. Today, women remain largely excluded from formal Track I peace processes, even as they play a major role in informal Track II peace processes. This brief offers a systematic review of women’s extensive, varied involvement in informal peace processes based on our comprehensive mapping of informal peace processes with women’s involvement. It finds that women advocate for peace in a variety of different ways, even when formal negotiations are closed to them, including meaningful advocacy for a more gender-just post-conflict society. Supporting women in their informal efforts to shape the peace is as important of a goal as advocating for more women at the formal negotiating table. Women who are excluded from formal negotiations have voices that deserve amplification, alternative visions of the peace that warrant consideration, and roles to play in helping societies confront the complex legacies of conflict. Better incorporating women’s Track II initiatives into formal peace processes would offer a more comprehensive and inclusive approach to peacebuilding, fostering local ownership and buy-in for negotiations while elevating the concerns and expertise of those excluded from elite negotiations between warring parties.
- Topic:
- Women, Negotiation, Peace, Participation, and Inclusion
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
3448. 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
3449. 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
3450. 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