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58052. The Role of Small Arms during the 2003-2004 Conflict in Iraq
- Author:
- Gilbert Burnham, Riyadh Lafta, Les Roberts, and Richard Garfield
- Publication Date:
- 09-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Small Arms Survey
- Abstract:
- Iraq underwent a particularly deadly war with neighbouring Iran during the 1980s with perhaps a million deaths occurring. Following the Persian Gulf war of 1991, more than 60,000 Iraqis were believed to have been killed by the government in retaliation for perceived support of the US-led coalition during the conflict. The level of violence within Iraq has not been well recorded in recent years and, in fact, no survey or census-based estimate of crude mortality has been made in Iraq since 1997 and the last estimate of mortality in children under five years of age was a UNICEF-sponsored demographic survey of 1999.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Arms Control and Proliferation, and War
- Political Geography:
- Iraq and Middle East
58053. Silencing Guns: Local Perspectives on Small Arms and Armed Violence in Rural Pacific Islands Communities
- Author:
- Emile LeBrun and Robert Muggah
- Publication Date:
- 06-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Small Arms Survey
- Abstract:
- At a time when the funding for weapons reduction and armed conflict prevention work is at an all-time high and still growing, the lack of accessible, standard evaluative tools is becoming more and more conspicuous. Though this partly stems from a debate within the disarmament community as to what the right set of measures should be, it is also a reaction to the practical difficulty—in some cases, outright impossibility—of collecting quantitative data on armed violence, especially in rural areas. Clearly, there is a great need for alternative means of assessing and reporting on the impacts of both small arms availability and misuse, and efforts to reduce those impacts.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, International Relations, and Arms Control and Proliferation
- Political Geography:
- Australia/Pacific and Island
58054. Beslan: Russia's 9/11?
- Author:
- John B. Dunlop
- Publication Date:
- 10-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Jamestown Foundation
- Abstract:
- According to official Russian statistics, in the period between 1-3 September 2004, 330 individuals perished in a terrorist incident at School Number 1 in the town of Beslan in the southern Russian Republic of North Ossetia. Of those who died, 317 were hostages—186 of them children. Ten were soldiers from the Russian FSB's spetsnaz (special forces). Two were personnel from the Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations. One was a resident of Beslan killed while helping to evacuate the hostages during the storming of the building. Seven hundred and twenty-eight persons were said to have been wounded. A majority of the hostages who died—more than 160—perished under the school's collapsed roof. The Mothers of Beslan committee, comprised of mothers of pupils who perished in the building, provided even higher figures. “218 of those killed were found with burns,” they claim.
- Topic:
- Government, Human Welfare, and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- Russia
58055. The East Asian Experience: The Poverty of "Picking Winners"
- Author:
- Barry Desker and Deborah Elms
- Publication Date:
- 12-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
- Abstract:
- Many leaders in Africa argue that East Asia's success in economic growth and development is due to special prowess in "picking winners." That is, the state is assume to have adequately identified future growth areas and effectively channeled investments into specific firms or industries. We argue, however, that this assessment is not accurate. Even where states have attempted to follow this path, they have frequently made a hash of it. The wrong sectors or firms have been identified. Public monies have been squandered or siphoned off for private enrichment. Instead, the successful East Asian states have focused their attention on consistently creating competitive market environments. They have invested in the hard and soft infrastructure (like road, ports and education) necessary for success in an increasingly globalized economy. It is these types of policies that currently hold out the greatest prospects for growth in Africa.
- Topic:
- Economics and Poverty
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Israel, and East Asia
58056. Africa and the Challenge of Globalization
- Author:
- Jeffrey Herbst
- Publication Date:
- 12-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper provides an overview of Africa's economic performance. Although the continent appeared headed for economic success in the early days of independence, based particularly on natural resource endowments, Africa's economic growth has stagnated while the rest of the world has experienced continuous, often spectacular, growth. The countries in Africa that have had the worst performance are those that contain the majority of the population. These states, in particular, suffer most from a crisis of governance and lack the policy and legal frameworks to grow quickly. The states in Africa can be divided into six categories and each grouping faces a different set of challenges from globalization: 1) high performers ready to globalize; 2) countries on an upward trajectory; 3) large, poorly performing countries; 4) poorly performing countries; 5) countries in collapse; and 6) oil producing countries. Only the states in the first two groupings are currently able to participate in the globalized economy.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, and Globalization
- Political Geography:
- Africa
58057. The Impact of RMA on Conventional Deterrence: A Theoretical Analysis
- Author:
- Manjeet S. Pardesi
- Publication Date:
- 12-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
- Abstract:
- This research aims to theoretically study if deterrence will prevail if and when states with RMA-ed militaries are faced with the prospect of conventional war. To answer this question, this study analyzes the impact of transformation on conventional deterrence in the event of a military standoff for three theoretical scenarios–(1) RMA capable conventional military vs. RMA-incapable conventional military (with the former state being nuclear or non-nuclear and with the latter being non-nuclear), (2) two RMA-capable conventional militaries (both states non-nuclear), and (3) two RMA-capable conventional militaries (both states nuclear). The study concludes that the current defense transformation is revolutionary simply because it permits the possibility of a limited conventional armed conflict between two nuclear weapons states (including great powers) and as such attempts to resuscitate the role of conventional military power in international politics. On the other hand, analogous to the nuclear revolution, the possession of RMA capabilities by two non-nuclear belligerents is likely to render large-scale conventional armed conflicts with unlimited military objectives between them unthinkable. However, this study warns that deterrence is weakened when only one state in an adversarial dyad is RMA-capable. Moreover, in any dyad involving RMA-capable states, deterrence is weakened when the RMA-capable state contemplates a strategy of limited aims (political and/or military) vis-à-vis its adversary. This tendency is all the more pronounced when it is contemplating a limited war waged with air power and missile strikes (low-cost, low-risk) than a limited war for territorial gains.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Defense Policy, Development, and War
58058. Local Elections and Democracy in Indonesia: The Case of the Riau Archipelago
- Author:
- Nankyung Choi
- Publication Date:
- 11-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
- Abstract:
- In this essay, I examine the dynamics and outcomes of Indonesia's first ever direct local executive elections in a case study of the gubernatorial election in the Riau Archipelago. Specifically, I examine the election processes, identify the major issues before, during, and after the elections, and assess voters' participation. I then examine the ways direct local executive elections have affected the dynamics of local politics in the country. Overall, this essay aims to further develop our understanding of political dynamics in the Riau Archipelago and grasp the practical significance of local political change in Indonesia more broadly.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Government, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Southeast Asia
58059. Geopolitics, Grand Strategy and the Bush Doctrine
- Author:
- Simon Dalby
- Publication Date:
- 10-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
- Abstract:
- Geopolitics is about the largest scale geographical specification of political matters. Geopolitical reasoning provides the spatial framings within which grand strategy is constructed. The Bush doctrine, elaborated in response to the events of September 11th 2001 and its formulation of a "Global War on Terror" draws heavily on antecedent formulations from both the first Bush administration and the Project for a New American Century. But in doing so it both misconstrues the nature of the events of September 11th and attempts a grand strategy that is flawed. It is flawed both because of its failure to understand the geography of terror and, given the Bush administration's flat denials that America is an empire, a reluctance to learn lessons from imperial history and adopt appropriate strategies and force structures to accomplish its ostensible goals.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States
58060. Piracy in Southeast Asia New Trends, Issues and Responses
- Author:
- Catherine Zara Raymond
- Publication Date:
- 10-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
- Abstract:
- Piracy has plagued the region of Southeast Asia for many centuries and continues to do so to the present day. Despite increased efforts by the regional countries to reduce the problem, pirate attacks take place on an alarmingly regular basis in what are some of the world's most strategically important waterways. This paper will examine the phenomenon of piracy in Southeast Asia, in particular that which occurs in and around the waters of Indonesia and the Straits of Malacca. The trends which have emerged in recent years will be highlighted; specifically the types of attacks which take place, the different groups carrying out the attacks, the equipment they use and their targeting patterns. The study will then examine the causes of piracy, its impact and finally the responses of the region's states to the problem.
- Topic:
- Crime, Economics, and Regional Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Southeast Asia