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71. International Engagement in Failed States

Author:
Louise Riis Andersen
Publication Date:
10-2005
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Failed states have made it to the top of the international agenda following 11 September 2001. This paper gives an overview of the debate on 'what to do'. Firstly, it suggests an explanation of where these so-called failed states are coming from: Why do some states self-destruct? Secondly, four different approaches to failed states are presented and discussed - with special emphasis on the dilemmas and predicaments they each hold. The paper concludes that the question of what to do with failed states requires a political answer. Not a technical one.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Government, and Terrorism

72. Kosovo Indepencence - de Jure Versus de Facto

Author:
Niels Aadal Rasmussen
Publication Date:
10-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
This report will first describe the present status of Kosovo, and then review relevant considerations of its future status, on the one hand focussing on international law – the de jure status, and on the other hand focussing on sustainability – the de facto stat us. This approach of de jure versus de facto is primarily an analytical tool, chosen because it sheds light on a number of considerations relevant to the negotiation process that will determine the future status of Kosovo. Second, this approach reflects the fact that while the Kosovo Albanian s want maximum self-determination, they realize that they are dependent on international assistance. In contrast, the Serbs believe that international legal considerations of a conservative or conservationist nature are essential, but they admit that they cannot take responsibility for Kosovo's security or economy. To put it briefly, the Albanians want independence de jure but not de facto, while the Serbs want independence de facto but not de jure.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe, Kosovo, Albania, and Maryland

73. Farewell to Conscription? The Case of Denmark

Author:
Pertti Joenniemi
Publication Date:
04-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
This contribution probes the essence of Denmark as a political project by using conscription as an inroad and employing it as a lens that provides insight into the way some of the key constitutive relationships underpinning Denmark have been unfolding over time. Conscription is approached by focusing on its discursive features, those furnishing it with – or depriving it of – ideational power.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Security, and Politics
Political Geography:
Europe and Denmark

74. Regional Histories of Development and Security: Seguridad a la Americana

Author:
Fiona Wilson
Publication Date:
02-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The argument of this paper is that there is nothing new about the political connection made between development and security. This has characterized US relations with Latin America grounded in the Monroe Doctrine (giving the US right to intervene) that dates back to 1823. The focus here is on the 1960's, the aftermath of the Cuban Revolution, when the securitydevelopment complex was put firmly in place through the build-up of the region's armed forces militaries and an aggressive, anti-communist ideology under the aegis of the US military. In this context, the paper revisits a visionary paper written by the Brazilian economist Celso Furtado in 1966 when in exile, giving his (Latin American) analysis of the securitydevelopment complex and need to react against US economic hegemony, an important strand in dependency theory.
Topic:
Security, Development, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
United States, Brazil, Cuba, and Central America

75. Vernacular Security: Governmentality, Traditionality and ontological (In)Security in Indonesia

Author:
Nils Ole Bubandt
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Tracing the political history of the global concept of 'security' through a variety of national and regional inflections in Indonesia, this paper argues for the analytical usefulness of the concept of 'vernacular security'. Entailed in this is a proposal to treat the concept of security as a socially situated and discursively defined category that needs a politically contextualised explication rather than as an analytical category that needs refined definition and consistent use.
Topic:
Security, Globalization, and Politics
Political Geography:
Indonesia and Asia

76. Carry on Killing: Global Governance, Humanitarianism and Terror

Author:
Mark Duffield
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
In this working paper, Mark Duffield analyses the new security-development terrain in terms of theoretical and historical relations between sovereignty and governance, between hard and soft forms of power. His focus is on the structure and functions of global governance and the current crisis of the non-governmental humanitarian organizations whose relations to sovereignty have become evermore exposed as humanitarian interventions have been substituted by operations for regime change in the global "borderlands".
Topic:
Security, Development, Globalization, and Terrorism

77. Missile Defence in the United States

Author:
Bertel Heurlin
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The basic arguments of this paper are, first, that the current US-missile defense, being operative from fall 2004, is based upon the former experiences with missile defense, second, that missile defense closely associated with weapons of mass destruction has gained the highest priority in American national security policy due to the 9.11 attacks, and third, that the superior argument for establishing an American missile defense is to maintain global, long term political-strategic superiority.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
United States and Asia

78. Asian Ballistic Missiles and Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Impact of Missile Defences

Author:
Bjørn Møller
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The paper analyses critically the threat perceptions of the West, and especially the United States, regarding ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction in the hands of Asian states. Reviewing Southwest, South and Northeast Asia it finds these regions to be more stable as commonly assumed and little evidence to support the assumption that the states in these regions are undeterrable. A deployment by the United States of ballistic missile defences is thus found to be both superfluous and possibly destabilising. However, a mobile boost-phase defence is found to be less potentially destabilising than other missile defence "architectures".
Topic:
Security and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
United States and Asia

79. Privatisation of Conflict, Security and War

Author:
Bjørn Moller
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The paper assesses the general trend towards privatisation, in the developed as well as the developing world, where even "high politics" is increasingly performed by, or outsourced to, non-state actors. This is both the case for foreign and security politics, including war, where the use by states (as principals) of agents such as guerrilla movements, militias and private military companies (PMCs) is becoming more frequent. The special case of PMCs is analysed at length, coming out in favour of a combined legalisation and regulation, which is found to open up opportunities for military missions such as humanitarian interventions, not least in Africa, which would otherwise not be undertaken.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Foreign Policy, and Development

80. Security Models and their Applicability to the Gulf: The Potential of European Lessons Applied

Author:
Bjørn Moller
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The paper, written for a joint project of the Gulf Research Center in Dubai and the Bertelsmann Foundation, explores whether the lessons from the transformation of Europe from a conflict formation into a security community could be transferred to the Persian Gulf region. It records and analyses the European experience with "security models" actually applied such as balance-ofpower, nuclear deterrence, arms control and confidence-building, democratic peace, regional integration etc. as well as various alternative models such as common security and defensive restructuring of the armed forces. It further analyses the structure and dynamics of the Persian Gulf region, finding few of the European models to be really applicable. It concludes with outlining two different scenarios for the development of the region after the invasion and occupation of Iraq.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution and Security
Political Geography:
Iraq, Europe, and Middle East