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3302. Turkey's New Vision for “Man's Best Hope for Peace”: United Nations Reform and Reorganization of the Security Council
- Author:
- C. Akça Ataç
- Publication Date:
- 01-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- Despite its present reputation as weak, inefficient, and discreditable, the United Nations is one of humanity's most noble endeavors. Although the structure of the Security Council prevents its decision-making procedures from being more democratic, the UN still seeks to suppress aggression, respect self-determination, and promote human rights and well-being. Furthermore, political cosmopolitans' proposals for comprehensive UN reform, which goes far beyond increasing the number of permanent members of the Security Council, give us hope for substantial improvement. Nevertheless, the UN is still the sum of the states it is comprised of and UN reform depends on the broader and ambitious project of state reform as both concept and practice. Within this context, this paper argues that focusing exclusively on the Security Council and the geographical distribution of permanent membership only harms the comprehensiveness of the analyses seeking to reform the UN from a larger perspective. The fact that the success of a UN reform is closely related with the enhancement of member states' ethical capacities should also be taken into consideration. The next round of debates for a proper solution to the UN impasse takes place in 2015, and Turkey is emerging as an enthusiastic voice for further reform and for its own potential permanent membership in the Security Council. However, Turkey has also developed a significantly anti-UN discourse unprecedented in its foreign policy, which now runs the risk of curtailing the country's capacity to partake in substantial change in UN decision-making procedures. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu currently acts as a statesman, insisting on a statist reform (which focuses more on states' individual interests) of the Security Council. Interestingly, in the 1990s, when Davutoğlu was a university professor, his views of the UN tended to be more cosmopolitan and suggested a civilization-based solution. This paper, while elaborating on the discussions of reforming the UN from a cosmopolitan perspective, also probes Davutoğlu's conflicting approaches to the issue. It thus seeks to argue that Turkey, instead of pushing for a purely statist model, should consider supporting pluralistic, multilevel, and more-complex participation in the UN's decision-making procedures.
- Topic:
- Security, Foreign Policy, Cold War, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- Turkey
3303. Governance Transfer by the Southern African Development Community (SADC). A B2 Case Study Report
- Author:
- Anna van der Vleuten
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700
- Abstract:
- As early as 1992, the Treaty of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) already included a commitment to human rights, democracy, and the rule of law as governance standards in its member states, but it was in 2001 that SADC significantly broadened its efforts at governance transfer. SADC focuses in particular on standards related to gender, (socioeconomic) human rights, and (electoral) democracy, which are promoted and protected through various instruments including military interventions and sanctions in the framework of security cooperation. While the rule of law and good governance have also gained a more prominent place on the agenda since 2001, standards and instruments are less developed. Overall, there is a significant gap between the prescription of standards and policies on the one hand and the implementation of measures on the other. The suspension of the SADC Tribunal in 2010 following its rulings on human rights issues clearly shows the limits of SADC as an active promoter vis-à-vis its member states.
- Topic:
- Security, Development, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Africa
3304. Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Children
- Author:
- Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, Princeton University
- Abstract:
- The report discusses specific, concrete, and targeted actions that can be taken within the framework of the UN’s Children and Armed Conflict agenda to put an end to and to prevent the recruitment and use of children by state actors and non-state armed groups, as well as to end and to prevent other grave violations against children. Recommendations in the report focus support mechanisms for the campaign to end the recruitment and use of children by government security forces by 2016; the role of partnerships in promoting the children and armed conflict agenda; and addressing other grave violations committed against children in situations of armed conflict, specifically attacks on schools and hospitals. The report also provides targeted recommendations for action to the Security Council and its Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, the Secretary-General and his Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, UN member states, regional and subregional organizations and arrangements, and donors. The report is the result of a workshop convened at Princeton University in December 2013 by the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, and the Permanent Mission of Liechtenstein to the UN.
- Topic:
- Security, United Nations, Children, and Armed Conflict
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
3305. Military Security within the Framework of Security Studies: Research Results
- Author:
- Ryszard Szpyra
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Connections
- Institution:
- Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
- Abstract:
- Abstract: The present article is based on a number of key assumptions as well as a con- ceptual system of military security, which is anchored in the theoretical system of security studies. Since these two disciplines are relatively young, there is a need to analyze them for the purpose of determining the basic theoretical apparatus in the field of security stud- ies. This article presents an original definition and description of the fundamental nature of security as well as a general description of military security. It includes the vital do- main of the subject’s own activity leading to the maintenance of the proper level of secu- rity. The paper contains original definitions of such basic categories as security, state se- curity and military security. Indeed, much of the content is based on theories used in pre- vious research, but these have served merely as “bricks” that are used to fill in the already existing theoretical structure. Thus, through a specific redesign, a structure compatible with the basic tenets of security studies has been devised, also taking into account recent results of other sciences that cover military affairs.
- Topic:
- Security, Military Strategy, Military Affairs, and NGOs
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Poland
3306. Central Asian States: Matching Military Means to Strategic Ends
- Author:
- Vitaly Gelfgat
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Connections
- Institution:
- Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
- Abstract:
- Over the past two decades of independent history, the Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) have developed pragmatic and largely nonideological national security strategies rooted in their perceptions and prioritization of the complex regional realities. The states’ attempts to match their military and security services capabilities to handle a variety of external and internal security challenges highlights the fact that the Central Asian states regard these capabilities as critical elements of hard power. At the same time, while often utilized to help quell various sources of domestic instability, all Central Asian militaries have lacked up-to-date operational experience. A review of their tactical proficiency in dealing with internal conflicts shows that although Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have contained sociopolitical unrest better than Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, all the states struggled to reform and adapt their armed forces to successfully deliver on their doctrinal obligations. This is because they have remained largely outside of contemporary international military interventions such as Operation Iraqi Freedom, the International Security Assistance Force or Kosovo Forces.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, National Security, and Military Strategy
- Political Geography:
- Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Asia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan
3307. Russia’s View of Its Relations with Georgia after the 2012 Elections: Implications for Regional Stability
- Author:
- Nikolai Silaev and Andrei Sushentsov
- Publication Date:
- 12-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Connections
- Institution:
- Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
- Abstract:
- The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of political developments in Georgia since the 2012 parliamentary elections on Russo-Georgian relations. First, the authors examine the effect of changes in Georgia’s politics towards the Caucasus, Russia and the Euro-Atlantic region. Second, the authors analyze the opportunities for improving Russo-Georgian relations through studying the three following aspects of this bilateral relationship: creation of common economic space between Russia, Georgia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia; transformation of the Georgian North Caucasus Policy and its shift to-wards cooperation with Moscow; and implications of Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration for the regional security. The article suggests that Russo-Georgian relations are not doomed to be strained and have the potential for improvement.
- Topic:
- Security, Development, Imperialism, and Regional Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, Eastern Europe, and Georgia
3308. The Ukrainian Crisis and its Effect on the Project to Establish a Eurasian Economic Union Russian Politics in Times of Change: Internal and External Factors of Transformation Russia’s View of Its Relations with Georgia after the 2012 Elections: Implications for Regional Stability The “Color Revolutions” and “Arab Spring” in Russian Official Discourse Russia and the Arab Spring The Transfer of Power in Central Asia and Threats to Regional Stability
- Author:
- Sergei Shenin
- Publication Date:
- 12-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Connections
- Institution:
- Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
- Abstract:
- It is no secret that authoritarian forms of government are predominant across post-So-viet space, although some are softer than others. In Moscow, Astana, Minsk, Dushanbe, Ashkhabad and so forth across almost the entire region, each country is governed by “strong personalities,” some enlightened, others not. Even today’s Ukraine, which is a little closer to the West in terms of geography and mentality, con-tinues to hesitantly fluctuate between poles of democracy and authoritarianism. Truth be told, these endless oscillations will ultimately mean the death of the country. Authoritarianism offers uncontested advantages that help the former Soviet repub-lics to find and maintain stability during transition: authoritarian methods are the short-est path to consensus, and facilitate control and governance. The population, mean-while, has no objection to “strong personalities,” tolerating figures that might be over-thrown elsewhere, because they are “saviors of the homeland” – a legend discreetly confirmed by all-pervasive state propaganda. All of history, both recent and more dis-tant, tells us of endless “foreign chicanery,” the permanent state of being “surrounded by enemies,” as if living in a “besieged fortress,” where it is so often necessary to “power through,” “resist and rebuff” and so on, and so forth.
- Topic:
- Security, Regional Cooperation, Authoritarianism, and Political stability
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Eastern Europe
3309. Security regionalism and flaws of externally forged peace in Sudan: The IGAD peace process and its aftermath
- Author:
- Aleksi Ylönen
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- African Journal on Conflict Resolution
- Institution:
- The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
- Abstract:
- During 1983-2005 Sudan hosted one of Africa’s longest insurgencies. Throughout the conflict a number of competing peace initiatives coincided, but a process under the mediation authority of the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD) prevailed. However, although initiated in 1993, the IGAD process only accelerated after the September 2001 attacks on the United States (US) and was consequently finalised through the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in less than four years’ time. Although it was presented as IGAD’s success as a conflict resolution body, in reality the organisation’s role in the making of peace in Sudan was to a large extent conditioned by the involvement of a narrow selection of Western stakeholders. This article examines the IGAD peace process in Sudan, highlighting the dynamics and relative roles of the principal actors involved. It argues that although the negotiations were portrayed as inherently sub-regional, and adhering to the idea of ‘African solutions for African problems’, a closer analysis reveals that the peace process was dominated by external protagonists. This resulted in the interests of Western actors, particularly the US, playing a prominent role in the negotiated agreement, consequences of which are currently experienced both in Sudan and South Sudan.
- Topic:
- Security, Insurgency, Peace, Regionalism, and Post-Conflict
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Sudan, and South Sudan
3310. Financing for the Implementation of National Action Plans on UN Security Council Resolution 1325: Critical for Advancing Women's Human Rights, Peace and Security
- Author:
- Dewi Suralaga and Mavic Cabrera-Balleza
- Publication Date:
- 10-2014
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP)
- Abstract:
- In 2000, the United Nations Security Council adopted the landmark resolution 1325(2000) on Women and Peace and Security, a historic recognition of the gender dimension of conflict, the disproportionate impact of conflict on women and girls, and the significant, yet often unrecognized, contributions women have made – frequently in the face of grave threats and unrelenting opposition – to sustained conflict resolution and peacebuilding. As we approach the 15-year anniversary of the resolution and the world continues to be plagued by unresolved conflicts and new threats to peace, human security and dignity, efforts to implement UNSCR 1325 and, indeed, the full Women and Peace and Security agenda) must be redoubled. The time is ripe to accelerate adequate and predictable funding. Though a host of factors contribute to the success of resolution 1325 (2000) implementation, adequate funding remains paramount among these. Yet, OECD recently reported that only three per cent of peace and security funding targets gender equality and women’s empowerment as a principal objective.1 Therefore sustainable and adequate financing continues to be a significant challenge. Despite being at the forefront of work to advance the Women and Peace and Security agenda, women’s rights groups, networks and movements face uniquely difficult obstacles in accessing sustainable funding for their work, particularly at the grassroots level. While governments hold primary responsibility for the implementation of resolution 1325(2000), women’s rights groups and movements are vital to addressing the context specific root causes of conflict and building a transformative and sustainable peace. Funding women’s rights groups and movements would go far in addressing the “implementation deficit” faced by the WPS agenda.
- Topic:
- Security, Gender Issues, United Nations, Women, Peace, and WPS
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus