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46412. A Governmentality Approach to Peace Operations
- Author:
- Elisa Lucia
- Publication Date:
- 12-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- In this book, Laura Zanotti uses Foucault's governmentality theory and genealogical method to trace the formation of the political rationale of the post-Cold War international security regime. Interestingly, she goes beyond the literature focusing on the capacity and legitimacy of international organisations to question how the legitimisation of discourses of international order developed. She convincingly demonstrates that, in the 1990s, discourses of democracy converged with discourses of collective security: democratisation became a means to create a peaceful world and non-democratic states were constructed as ''political monsters'' to be ''normalized''. Democracy was operationalised through the doctrine of ''good governance'', which became the organising principle for UN intervention as a universalised technical solution to achieve peace, democracy and development. In addition, at the beginning of the 2000s, the concept of ''human security'' emerged and converged with these previous discourses. It expanded the definition of international threat and shifted ''the referent and source of legitimacy of international organizations from states to population'' (19). As a consequence, political monsters endangering the human rights of their own population s lost, to a certain extent, their right to full sovereignty, and this opened the way for legitimizing forcible intervention through the ''responsibility to protect'' concept.
- Topic:
- Security
46413. Russia's Dual State
- Author:
- Felix Hett
- Publication Date:
- 12-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- The eagle in Russia's coat of arms has two heads and, on and off since its first sighting in the Middle Ages, scholars have been tempted to identify it with dualisms in Russian politics and society. Richard Sakwa, known to be a meticulous observer of both, doessoagaininhisnewbook,albeitinan innovative way.
- Political Geography:
- Russia
46414. Time for a Common European Effort on Raw Materials
- Author:
- Roderick Kefferpütz
- Publication Date:
- 12-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
- Abstract:
- At long last commodity prices have declined from their pre-summer highs. Many raw materials are now trading at significantly lower prices, giving temporary respite to industry. Red-hot copper, the bellwether of the metals sector, for example, has pulled back from its peak of $10,000 a tonne. Even the astronomical rise of the previously little-known rare earth elements has reversed.
- Topic:
- Economics, Markets, and Natural Resources
- Political Geography:
- Europe
46415. Misguided policies risk breaking up the eurozone and the EU
- Author:
- Stefano Micossi
- Publication Date:
- 12-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
- Abstract:
- I met Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa in the early 1970s as a new young professional in the Research Department of Banca d'Italia, where he was head of the monetary policy unit. Many of us newcomers, fresh from American graduate studies, were appalled by the Bank's monetary approach, replete with quantitative controls and administrative measures to channel funds to an insatiable Treasury.
- Topic:
- Economics, Regional Cooperation, Monetary Policy, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- America and Europe
46416. EU Federalism in Crisis
- Author:
- Karel Lannoo
- Publication Date:
- 12-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
- Abstract:
- One positive effect of the euro crisis is that it has provoked Europe to engage in a profound debate on the form and degree of federalism it needs. Even if, until recently, many would have argued that Europe is not a federal state, the EU already has many elements of such a governance model in place, of which European citizens are hardly aware. Many competences are uniquely attributed to the EU. Legislation in several fields of EU competence can be adopted with a qualified majority of member states. Only in a few areas, such as taxation, is unanimity still required, even after the new Lisbon Treaty has come into effect. The same applies for changes to the EU Treaty itself.
- Topic:
- Economics, Regional Cooperation, Monetary Policy, Financial Crisis, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Europe
46417. Agreement needed on liquidity provision to restore confidence in the eurozone
- Author:
- Stefano Micossi
- Publication Date:
- 11-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
- Abstract:
- Some eighteen months after the first Greek rescue (May 2010), there is little doubt that the multiple attempts at crisis management in the eurozone have failed to restore confidence. Indeed, following each round of emergency measures agreed by the eurozone summits, matters have turned for the worse (see Figure 1 for the widening spreads, over the German Bund, for sovereign borrowing in the eurozone). At the time of writing, contagion has spread beyond Spain and Italy to the core sovereigns, with France close to losing its triple A rating and even Germany experiencing partial failure in a Bund auction on November 23rd. Spreads are also opening up for Austria, Belgium, Finland and even the virtuous Netherlands. Meanwhile, the banking system Europe- wide is under increasing strain, with term funding all but closed for any bank with significant exposure to distressed sovereign debtors and the interbank market close to seizing up. Deposit withdrawals have surfaced in a number of large banks from the periphery. The euro has started to weaken in foreign exchange markets, narrowing the room for a distinction between eurozone debt crisis and euro-currency crisis from which some observers were until recently drawing comfort.
- Topic:
- Economics, Regional Cooperation, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Germany
46418. Standards Regulations for the Geologic Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Waste
- Author:
- Rodney C. Ewing
- Publication Date:
- 03-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), Stanford University
- Abstract:
- This paper draws on my experience as a reviewer of the scientific programs and performance assessments of the geological repository for transuranic waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico and the proposed repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. In addition, I have served on numerous committees of the National Research Council that have addressed many aspects of nuclear waste management. These comments and recommendations focus on standards and regulations for licensing a geological repository for SNF and HLW; however, I have added a brief annex on the classification of nuclear wastes. The initial classification of the waste determines the disposal strategy: deep geological disposal vs. near surface disposal.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Environment, Science and Technology, and Nuclear Power
- Political Geography:
- Mexico
46419. Engendering Haiti's Reconstruction: The Legal and Economic Case for Mainstreaming Women in Post-Disaster Programming
- Author:
- Jennifer S. Rosenberg
- Publication Date:
- 12-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Human Rights Human Welfare (University of Denver)
- Abstract:
- On January 12, 2010, an earthquake of devastating magnitude shook Haiti, killing over 250,000, reducing much of the country's infrastructure to rubble—including its government—and leaving millions of people without homes and livelihoods. As Haiti lurches toward an era of rebuilding and renewal, the ways in which priorities are set and resources spent can either accelerate the rate at which Haitians are able to emerge from poverty and achieve economic development—or they can substantially inhibit the country's path toward recovery. One of the most critical factors that will determine which path Haiti takes is the extent to which gender concerns are brought to the fore in the reconstruction process. Gender mainstreaming, as a technical term in the development field, involves ensuring that gender perspectives and attention to the goal of gender equality are central to all activities, from policy development to legislative drafting. Such a women-focused approach is not only imperative from a moral justice and human rights perspective, but also a vital component of a successful economic development strategy.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Gender Issues, Health, Human Rights, Human Welfare, and Natural Disasters
46420. Women in Afghanistan: A Human Rights Tragedy Ten Years after 9/11
- Author:
- Hayat Alvi
- Publication Date:
- 11-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Human Rights Human Welfare (University of Denver)
- Abstract:
- Ten years after the September 11th attacks in the United States and the military campaign in Afghanistan, there is some good news, but unfortunately still much bad news pertaining to women in Afghanistan. The patterns of politics, security/military operations, religious fanaticism, heavily patriarchal structures and practices, and ongoing insurgent violence continue to threaten girls and women in the most insidious ways. Although women's rights and freedoms in Afghanistan have finally entered the radar screen of the international community's consciousness, they still linger in the margins in many respects.
- Topic:
- Security, Gender Issues, Human Rights, Human Welfare, War, and Counterinsurgency
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and United States