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711. Proceedings from the Second International Conference “Security Sector Governance: The Role of Democratic Institutions & International Best Practices”

Author:
Philipp H. Fluri and Oleksiy Melnyk
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Razumkov Centre
Abstract:
This publication offers the proceedings of the Conference II “Security Sector Governance: The Role of Democratic Institutions & International Best Practices”. Following the Conference I findings, participants elaborated current challenges related to the role of democratic institutions in the Ukrainian Security Sector Governance and worked out solutions based on possible accommodation of best international practices in Ukrainian realities. This publication offers presentations of the key speakers and the summaries of the Working Group discussions. General assessments, conclusions and proposals are those of the participants and do not necessarily coincide with the positions of DCAF, the Razumkov Centre or the official position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. Publication was made possible in the framework of the joint DCAF-Razumkov Centre Project “Monitoring Ukraine’s Security Governance Challenges” sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
Topic:
Security, Civil Society, Human Rights, International Organization, Governance, Media, Legislation, and Oversight
Political Geography:
Europe, Ukraine, and Global Focus

712. Global Peace Index 2017: Measuring peace in a complex world

Publication Date:
06-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP)
Abstract:
The GPI covers 99.7 per cent of the world’s population, using 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators from highly respected sources and measures the state of peace using three thematic domains: the level of Societal Safety and Security; the extent of Ongoing Domestic and International Conflict; and the degree of Militarisation. In addition to presenting the findings from the 2017 GPI, this year’s report includes analysis of the Positive Peace factors that are most important for transitioning to higher levels of peace and how deteriorations in Positive Peace are linked to the rise of populism in Europe. The report also assesses the trends in peacekeeping and militarisation, including a cost/benefit analysis highlighting the positive economic benefits from early peacebuilding interventions.
Topic:
Economics, Peace Studies, Conflict, Violence, and Peace
Political Geography:
Global Focus

713. Most Nuclear Ban Treaty Proponents are Lagging in Implementing Sound Export Control Legislation

Author:
David Albright, Sarah Burkhard, Allison Lach, and Andrea Stricker
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute for Science and International Security
Abstract:
Using data compiled from a new index by our Institute, the Peddling Peril Index, which we will soon release, three quarters of the countries that voted in July 2017 in favor of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons lack adequate export control legislation. These countries lack a firm basis to control the export or retransfer of nuclear and nuclear-related commodities that are critical to the production and possession of nuclear weapons. If the UN Ban Treaty proponent countries truly seek a world without nuclear weapons, they should take the lead in ensuring that all countries, including their own, have effective strategic trade control systems able to prevent the spread of dangerous commodities and facilities that are critical to the production, maintenance, and improvement of nuclear weapons.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, United Nations, Exports, and Illegal Trade
Political Geography:
Global Focus

714. Policy Tensions Related to Gender and Peacekeeping: The Need for a Two-Level Game

Author:
Margaret Jenkins
Publication Date:
10-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS)
Abstract:
Dr. Margaret Jenkins, in “Policy Tensions Related to Gender and Peacekeeping: The Need for a Two-Level Game,” critiques the assumptions that typically underlie gender mainstreaming initiatives in peace support operations to understand why progress has been slow. Jenkins argues that there has not been enough focus on the end-goals for gender mainstreaming – analysis of what a completely gender-mainstreamed peacekeeping operation would entail. She examines the tensions between common assumptions on the one hand, and policy and practice on the other, offering specific suggestions to bridge these gaps: Avoid gendered assumptions about how women behave. Advocates for women’s inclusion often make assumptions about the skills and characteristics women can bring to peace and security (e.g., women are better listeners than men, are more sensitive or caring, or are more attuned to the needs of women and children). However, these assumptions have not been fully corroborated; in particular, there is little evidence that the presence of women changes the attitudes of male peacekeepers or reduces sexual exploitation and abuse. Moreover, such assumptions may undermine longer- term gender equality goals. There needs to be more rigorous understanding of how men and women are treated on deployment, whether they have different roles, and whether these different roles have a different effect on the mission and its objectives. Gender mainstreaming should consider possible policy responses to current unequal gender pressures and norms (e.g., care responsibilities at home), while simultaneously working to transform these gender parameters to create truly gender mainstreamed peace support operations.
Topic:
Peacekeeping, Women, Norms, Equality, Inclusion, and Gender
Political Geography:
Global Focus

715. Disrupted: The Feminist Foreign Policy Issue

Author:
Marissa Conway
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy
Abstract:
It seems wonderfully fitting that we're celebrating the Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy's one year anniversary with the launch of Disrupted, focusing this issue on none other than feminist foreign policy itself. At CFFP, our endgame is the adoption of feminist foreign policy worldwide as we believe it to be one of the best solutions to combat the elitest, inequitable, and harmful foreign policies we see all too often. The aim of this journal is to highlight both established and emerging voices, and to seek to understand how the everyday actions of people - actions which might seem simply social or even private - are decidedly politically charged, and vice versa. We challenge assumptions about the unquestioned objectivity of policy - assumptions which miscalculate power structures and tend to leave an analysis of international politics lacking. We attempt to understand how the identities of both subjugated and the elite interact to reify systemic bias, and perhaps most importantly, we do not presume the authority to speak on behalf of anyone else. Ultimately, we see a feminist analysis of foreign policy not only as compelling, but as indispensable to achieve a more equal world. Thank you so much for supporting this publication. CFFP is a grassroots, volunteer run organization and we're proud to lead the way in making foreign policy more feminist, more transparent, and more intersectional. With your support we're amplifying a different and more nuanced conversation that can better inform policy decisions and begin to alleviate inequality at both a global and local level.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, Climate Change, War, Feminism, and Young Adults
Political Geography:
Global Focus

716. From the Ground Up: A Preliminary Dialogue on the Nexus of Economic Policy, Gender and Violent Extremism

Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN)
Abstract:
Women peace practitioners and rights activists have long been concerned by decisions made at global and national levels that at the local level impact dynamics of economic exclusion, threaten social cohesion and exacerbate vulnerabilities to radicalization. Violent extremism and state responses to it place significant economic burden on societies. The members of the Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership (WASL) have consistently draw attention to this gap between policy intentions and realities on the ground. Their lived experiences of the economic dynamics in contexts affected by violent extremism, combined with desk research on the state of current policy and practice, and the multistakeholder Global Solutions Exchange (GSX)2 meeting on these issues held at the UNDP headquarters in New York in March 2017, inform the findings of this report.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Violent Extremism, Women, Economic Inequality, WPS, and Political Extremism
Political Geography:
Global Focus

717. Preventing Violent Extremism, Protecting Rights and Community Policing: Why Civil Society and Security Sector Partnerships Matter

Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN)
Abstract:
In February 2017 the Global Solutions Exchange (GSX) meeting on the nexus of security, gender and extremism was held in London bringing members of the Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership (WASL) and other women and youth-led organizations engaged in the prevention of violent extremism efforts together with military and security personnel, representatives of governments and multilateral organizations to analyze the impact of security interventions in contributing to and mitigating extremist violence. They also highlighted their own practical experiences in engaging the security sector to prevent and counter violent extremism including through trust building with communities, respect of human rights, and gender sensitivity as well as the provision of training to the police and military. Their experiences, combined with desk research on the state of current policy and practice, and consultations with over 70 women peacebuilders from 30 countries at ICAN’s 2015 and 2016 annual Women, Peace and Security forums inform this report.
Topic:
Security, Gender Issues, Violent Extremism, WPS, and Political Extremism
Political Geography:
Global Focus and Global South

718. Education, Identity and Rising Extremism: From Preventing Violent Extremism to Promoting Peace, Resilience, Equal Rights and Pluralism (PREP)

Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN)
Abstract:
In November 2016, during ICAN’s fifth annual Women, Peace and Security forum, members of the Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership (WASL) and other women-led organizations in over 30 countries analyzed the role of formal and informal education in contributing to enabling conditions and mitigating extremist violence. They also highlighted their own practical experiences and lessons learnt in providing education to prevent violent extremism by fostering peace, resilience, equal rights and pluralism (PREP) in formal and informal spaces, including through the teachings of alternative religious narratives. Their experiences, combined with desk research on the state of current policy and practice, and the first multi-stakeholder Global Solutions Exchange (GSX) meeting on the nexus of education, gender and extremism held at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris in March 2017, inform the findings of this report.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Human Rights, Violent Extremism, Women, Resilience, Pluralism, Equality, WPS, and Political Extremism
Political Geography:
Global Focus and Global South

719. National Action Plans on Preventing Violent Extremism: A Gendered Content Analysis

Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN)
Abstract:
Due to the importance of National Action Plans as policy instruments in the prevention of and protection against violent extremism, and the ongoing work in this realm by national governments and civil society organizations, the International Civil Society Network (ICAN) sought to gain a better understanding of the content of the plans that have been published thus far in 2017, and to highlight good practices and gaps particularly in relation to the inclusion of civil society and gender perspectives and priorities. To this end, ICAN conducted a content analysis of nine NAPs, analyzing whether and how specific themes and target groups were discussed, including education, media, civil society, gender/ women, and human rights.
Topic:
Civil Society, Violent Extremism, Women, Gender Based Violence, Policy Implementation, WPS, and Civil Society Organizations
Political Geography:
Global Focus

720. Untangling the Web: A Blueprint for Reforming American Security Sector Assistance

Author:
Rose Jackson
Publication Date:
01-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
Since the attacks of 9/11, the United States has spent more than $250 billion building up military and police forces around the world. From attempts to build whole armies in Iraq and Afghanistan to efforts to help Yemen or Nigeria fight terrorism, the impact of these efforts has been mixed and in some cases counterproductive, exacerbating local corruption, human rights abuses, and even terrorism. A knot of U.S. offices and agencies have evolved to provide this aid, mostly pulling in different directions. Untangling the Web: A Blueprint for Reforming American Security Sector Assistance describes the main failures in the system and sets out immediate steps the next administration can take to improve how the U.S. government plans, coordinates, and executes its security-related assistance. This would significantly increase transparency and accountability and link the aid more closely to the human rights, development, and governance outcomes that are essential to U.S. foreign policy interests and national security.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, National Security, Terrorism, War, International Security, Military Affairs, Counter-terrorism, and Grand Strategy
Political Geography:
Middle East and Global Focus