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11. The G8 Global Partnership on Weapons of Mass Destruction: What Next?

Author:
Daniil Kobyakov and Vladimir Orlov
Publication Date:
06-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:
Since the inception of the G8 Global Partnership (GP) program in Kananaskis on June 27 2002, the program has passed through different stages. Initially, it was just a loud political declaration, adopted by the leaders of the G8 following the attacks of 9/11. A Russian participant of the Kananaskis Summit later recalled with some surprise how smoothly and, to some extent, unexpectedly for the Russians involved the "$20 billion" pledge was shaped in that Canadian village. Interviewed on a major European GP-related conference a year after the Kananaskis summit, he was frank to exclaim: "Arriving in Kananaskis, we [Russians] could hardly even expect that this whole giant wave now called Global Partnership would be born from our discussions of non-proliferation and counter-terrorism".
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
Russia

12. Preventing the Brain Drain: Russia and Beyond

Author:
Vitaly Fedchenko
Publication Date:
04-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:
As Lao-Tzu once said, 'Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime'. This sentence expresses the essence of effective assistance. If you want to provide somebody with food, there are two options: either to supply him during all his lifetime or to teach him how to earn a living. Similarly, if you want a state to get rid of WMD capabilities, there is always an option to blow up some facilities, but the next day it would be necessary to check whether no new WMD capabilities have developed. Another option is to make the process self-sustaining on the ground, ensuring that the state itself is looking after it.
Topic:
International Relations, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
Russia

13. The G8 Global Partnership: Background and Current Status

Author:
Cristina Chuen
Publication Date:
04-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:
The Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction is nearly three years old. While the initiative—launched on June 27, 2002, at the G8 annual summit in Kananaskis, Canadai—brought new donors to the table and added a new sense of urgency to nonproliferation projects in Russia, to date the programs have yielded mixed results. There is much that remains to be done if the next seven years are going to fulfill the promise of Kananaskis.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
Russia

14. The Role of the EU in International Non-proliferation and Disarmament Assistance

Author:
Ian Anthony
Publication Date:
09-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:
While states are responsible for honouring any commitments to one another that they make, it has become obvious that they are not always capable of doing so. Where the failure to implement agreed undertakings reflects a lack of financial or technical capacity rather than a deliberate effort to undermine the terms of an agreement it is preferable for all parties to offer assistance rather than criticism and punishment. Since the end of the cold war a new type of international cooperation has taken place as states have rendered practical assistance to one another to reduce common threats arising from weapons of mass destruction (WMD) as well as weapons-related materials and expertise. In broad terms this assistance has been of three types: facilitating the dismantlement and destruction of weapons; the establishment of a safe and secure chain of custody over weapons or other items; and demilitarization and conversion projects.
Topic:
International Relations, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
Europe

15. The Brahimi Report: Four Years On. Proceedings from the Workshop on Peacekeeping Operations

Author:
Thierry Tardy
Publication Date:
06-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:
The United Nations has reached, in 2003/04, a level of commitment in peace operations that has not been seen since the mid-1990s with, as of June 2004, 16 operations and over 55,000 military personnel and civilian police being deployed in operations which include a wide variety of activities. In this context, the implementation of the Brahimi Report on Peace Operations is examined on four levels of analysis.
Topic:
International Relations, International Cooperation, Peace Studies, and United Nations

16. The European Union: Energy Security and the Periphery

Author:
John Gault
Publication Date:
08-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:
Europe relies upon imported energy, and the degree of this reliance will increase in coming decades. Internal (primarily North Sea) production of liquid fuels will decline, and production of natural gas will reach a plateau, so that incremental hydrocarbon requirements will necessarily come from external sources. This trend of rising energy imports has important security implications.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and Energy Policy
Political Geography:
Europe

17. Transatlantic Relations in a Unipolar World

Author:
William Wohlforth
Publication Date:
08-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:
The state of transatlantic relations is normal - arguably in crisis, arguably not; poised for fundamental change, or for basic continuity. The usual question for conferences on transatlantic relations is whether this situation will continue. My purpose in this paper is to set forth a perspective on the future of the transatlantic relationship based on the central realist proposition that the distribution of capabilities among states is an important background influence on their behaviour. Major changes in international relations often arise from changes in the distribution of power. Important features of the Cold War resulted from the great concentration of power in the United States and the Soviet Union - a condition that came to be called "bipolarity." The Cold War ended in significant measure owing to changes in the distribution of power - namely, the decline and fall of the Soviet Union. As a result of Soviet and Russian decline, a new unipolar distribution has emerged with new consequences for international politics in general and the transatlantic relationship in particular.
Topic:
International Relations and NATO
Political Geography:
United States and Europe