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11. Third Generation Civil-Military Relations and the 'New Revolution in Military Affairs'

Author:
Frederik Rosén
Publication Date:
03-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
This paper identifies a new development in civil-military relations, which I suggest calling third-generation civil-military relations. Third-generation civil-military relations are the product of military organisations embarking on civil governance roles and the creation of deep partnerships between military and civil agencies. They appear to be less dramatic than 'traditional' civil-military relations (Blue Helmets, Provincial Reconstructions Teams) in that they do not create the same visible alignment on the ground between military and non-military identities. Yet they do represent a momentous development for the US military's engagement in Afghanistan in particular, as well as challenging our understanding of the role of the military in global security, thus adding a new complexity to international security cooperation. This complexity concerns differing opinions with regard to what kinds of tasks the military should do and what it should not. It is about norms and principles rather than about violent consequences for civilians. There are many tasks for which most military organisations are unsuitable, because they lack the necessary expertise and institutional capability. But these are practical matters rather than being about the normative 'should' questions: Should the military train civil police? Should the military work on civil reform areas in the Afghan Ministry of Interior? Should the military engage in civil justice-sector reform? The common reply to such questions is – or has been – no. Yet developments on the ground point precisely towards such an expansion of military affairs.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Foreign Policy, and War
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, and Central Asia

12. Disaggregating the Pakistani Taliban: Does the good, the bad and the ugly Taliban distinction represent a failed policy?

Author:
Mona Kanwal Sheik
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Until now debates on initiating dialogue with the Taliban have mainly focused on the Afghan Taliban, whereas many of the difficulties that U.S. and NATO forces are facing stem from the militant spillover from Pakistan. This brief outlines why it is important to broaden the debate through a disaggregation of the major factions of the Pakistani Taliban and discusses in what sense a “good, bad and ugly Taliban” distinction can be a viable policy option.
Topic:
NATO
Political Geography:
Pakistan, United States, Europe, and Taliban

13. The Marshal's Baton

Author:
Svend Aage Christensen
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
In a letter dated 6 January 2009, the Danish foreign minister, Per Stig Møller, asked DIIS to draw up a report based on the documentary evidence concerning the 1968 crash of a B-52 bomber a few miles from Thule Air Base in northwestern Greenland. The B-52 had four hydrogen bombs on board. For more than four decades, the official American and Danish explanations have consistently stated that all four nuclear weapons were destroyed in the accident.
Topic:
Nuclear Weapons and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
United States and Greenland

14. Modern Non-proliferation and Disarmament: Denmark and the G8 global partnership

Author:
Cindy Vestergaard
Publication Date:
10-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction was established at the 2002 G8 Summit with a total financial commitment of up to US$20 billion over ten years. Denmark's contributions to the initiative totalled over 18 million EUR, but no new commitments have been announced since 2004. Leading up to the 2010 G8 summit, Denmark has an opportunity to discuss its role in the newly expanded and extended Global Partnership (GP) and raise its international non-proliferation and disarmament profile. This report outlines how the history of non-proliferation and disarmament assistance has developed into its modern form, and the potential for future programming. It lays out the progress made in the GP's five priority project areas, contributions by donors, and the potential for Denmark to contribute to a global effort. The report makes ten recommendations for how Denmark can raise its non-proliferation profile and contribute to an expanded GP by tapping into areas where its unique and already-established expertise can be assembled into an effective niche assistance programme.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, International Cooperation, International Organization, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
United States, United Kingdom, and Denmark

15. On the measure of power and the power of measure in International Relations

Author:
Stefano Guzzini
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Power is a central concept in theories of International Relations. Its explanatory role shows in such a key concept as the 'balance of power' which predicts that allied groups of states will tend to balance their respective powers. But it also plays an important role for understanding the outcome of conflicts, since here 'power' has often been likened to a 'cause': getting someone else to do what he/she would not have otherwise done. Knowing power distributions therefore is said to explain state behaviour and the outcome of their interaction. Such power analysis must assume the measurability of power. Unfortunately, as this Working Paper argues, such measure is of no avail, not because we have not yet thought enough about it, but because it is not possible. There are two main reasons. First, because of the missing fungibility of power resources, no standard of measure can be established. And secondly, for understanding power phenomena and the very value of such resources in the first place, we need to analyse legitimacy, which is, however, not reducible to any objective measure. Still, since power as a measurable fact appears crucial in the language and bargaining of international politics, measures of power are agreed to and constructed as a social fact: diplomats must agree first on what counts before they can start counting. The second part of the paper therefore moves the analysis of power away from the illusion of an objective measure to the political battle over defining the criteria of power, which in turn has political effects. In other words, besides understanding what power means, one has also to assess what its understanding, if shared, does. Being tied to the idea of responsibility in our political discourse ('ought implies can'), the act attributing power to actors asks them to justify their action or non-action: it 'empowers' certain actions. The paper illustrates such interactive effects by discussing the present debate about US power, showing the way we conceive power, if it becomes shared, implies and legitimates particular foreign policy action.
Topic:
Foreign Policy and International Affairs
Political Geography:
United States

16. Combating illicit financial flows from poor countries. Estimating the possible gains

Author:
Jakob Vestergaard and Martin Højland
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
If the UN Millennium Development Goals are to be reached by 2015, development aid needs to be tripled – which is most unlikely. Instead, countries should unite in a concerted multilateral effort to combat illicit financial flows: for every dollar poor countries receive in development assistance, more than eight dollars are illegally transferred back to rich countries, most of it in order avoid local taxation. Effectively combating these illicit financial flows would generate more financial resources for development than foreign aid is likely to ever do – and help build a sustainable tax base in developing countries for the benefit of future development efforts.
Topic:
Corruption, Crime, and Economics
Political Geography:
United States, United Kingdom, Europe, London, Belgium, Switzerland, Ireland, and Luxembourg

17. Sarkozysm: New European and foreign policy into old French bottles?

Author:
Ulla Holm
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The Gaullist French president Nicolas Sarkozy has announced that France has to break with French past policies. The break refers to the launch of a new French European policy, re-enter in NATO's military integrated structure, up-grading of human rights in international politics and a new World Order. However, the analysis demonstrates that Sarkozy does not break with the past. Sarkozy's activism, his permanent speed and change of issue hide the fact that he continues Charles de Gaulle's and late president Francois Mitterrand's European and foreign policy which was guided by the concept of a 'European Europe', a multipolar world, France being allied to the US but not aligned and France as a politically visible actor in Europe and in international politics. The means to accomplish French European and foreign policy visions changes according to the specific European and international situation. The re-enter in NATO's Military integrated structure is such a change, but Sarkozy does not break with the past concept of not being automatically aligned with the US. Sarkozysm exists, but as we argue in this working paper Sarkozysm is an amalgam of past policies whose purpose is to satisfy all French societal layers and to strike a balance between Gaullism and Mitterrandism.
Topic:
Foreign Policy and NATO
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, and France

18. "2009 – Time for detente and disarmament"

Author:
Hans Blix
Publication Date:
11-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The Cold War ended but it seems to be here again. The title for this paper is '2009 - time for détente and disarmament'. It really should have read 'high time for détente and disarmament' because the Cold War ended about twenty years ago and yet today it seems as if it were still here. We hear of plans for new nuclear weapons, the development and testing of missiles and antimissiles, plans for a further expansion of NATO and a chill in the cooperation between EU and Russia as a consequence of the war in Georgia.
Topic:
Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, North Korea, and Georgia

19. "Bringing in the Americans?" – Assessing EU And U.S. Post-Kyoto Policies Options towards a Copenhagen Protocol in 2009

Author:
Christian Hald-Mortensen
Publication Date:
08-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Bringing in the Americans is the first task for the UN-COP-15 for the Danish government along with its EU partners. The key contents of the EU's climate leadership towards the climate conference are assessed, such as the-20% by 2020 reduction target, the effort sharing agreement and reforms of the European Trading Scheme. EU climate leadership is both based on strong public support and economic features such as a lower energy intensity of production than the U.S. The EU and Danish strategy converge in promoting the concept of a "low-carbon economy", based on first-mover advantage exports in renewables technology, such as wind power. The contents of the "Danish example" are assessed; decoupling economic growth and emissions within a "lowcarbon economy"-storyline.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, Treaties and Agreements, and United Nations
Political Geography:
United States, America, and Europe

20. A new transatlantic relationship? European responses to US global hegemony

Author:
Trine Flockhart
Publication Date:
07-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The paper addresses the question of how Europe (in NATO and the EU) has responded to changes in US announced and operational strategic and military policy and what the principal factors are for explaining European responses to what is perceived as a new form of American hegemony. The discussion is centered around the question of whether the United States has altered it conception of hegemony from one based on consent to one based on 'a preponderance of force', and therefore to have abandoned the crucial process of consensus building through persuasion, which has formed the foundation for the post-war Euro-Atlantic community. If so, then the problem relates more to the fundamental question of maintaining the security community during significant international change and perceived changes in European and American interests than it does to the specific policy content of American foreign policy. European reactions to the perceived change in American foreign policy have been varied in style and rhetoric, but can be di vided into those that have been concerned with safeguarding the achievements of the post-war era by following the United States wherever it may choose to go, or those who see a need for constructing a different relationship with the United States based on a more independent European foreign policy stance.
Topic:
International Relations and Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
United States, America, and Europe