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152. New Meeting Note: Security and Development in the Sahel-Sahara
- Author:
- Mireille Affa'a-Mindzie
- Publication Date:
- 10-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute
- Abstract:
- After the severe twin crises that nearly brought Mali to its knees in January 2012, the country is gradually recovering from their debilitating consequences. In August 2013, Mali successfully elected its new president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, thus putting an end to an eighteen-month-long transitional government that was put in place following the March 2012 coup. Even though the violence has abated and renewed hope seems to be in the air, the structural causes of the Malian conflict are still stubbornly present and their consequences are still being felt by neighboring Sahel countries that suffer from similar underlying ills. The situation in Mali and other concerned states in the region generated a renewed interest in the Sahel-Sahara region and in efforts to stabilize this region. This prompted the International Peace Institute, the Executive Secretariat of the Strategy for Security and Development in the Sahel-Saharan Areas of Niger (SDS Sahel Niger), and the Centre for Strategies and Security for the Sahel Sahara (Centre 4S) to convene an international seminar on security and development in the Sahel-Sahara on February 15 and 16, 2013, in Niamey, Niger.
- Topic:
- Security, Civil Society, Development, Economics, Peace Studies, and Foreign Aid
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Nigeria
153. Building Police Institutions in Fragile States
- Author:
- Richard Downie
- Publication Date:
- 01-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- The police are one of the most critical institutions of the state. This is particularly true in nations emerging from conflict, which are characterized by insecurity and high levels of crime. Without security, governments cannot begin rebuilding their economies and improving the lives of their citizens. As a result, they will continue to struggle for legitimacy, and a return to conflict will remain an ever-present risk. A nation's military has an important role to play in dealing with external threats and establishing basic security in the immediate aftermath of conflict, but the police are the institution best suited for dealing with internal security and addressing the safety needs of the public. For citizens, a police officer is the symbolic representation of state authority. Their view of the state and their acceptance of its authority are partially shaped by their interactions with the police.
- Topic:
- Security, Political Violence, Civil Society, Corruption, and Crime
- Political Geography:
- Africa
154. Peace Operations in Africa: Lessons Learned Since 2000
- Author:
- Paul D. Williams
- Publication Date:
- 07-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Africa Center for Strategic Studies
- Abstract:
- More than 50 peace operations have deployed in Africa since 2000, including multiple African-led or hybrid African Union/United Nations initiatives. The frequency of these deployments underscores the ongoing importance of these operations in the playbook of regional and multilateral bodies to prevent conflict, protect civilians, and enforce ceasefires and peace agreements. Recent operations have featured increasingly ambitious goals and complex institutional partnerships. The achievements and shortcomings of these operations offer vital lessons for optimizing this increasingly central but still evolving tool for addressing conflict and instability.
- Topic:
- Security and Peace Studies
- Political Geography:
- Africa
155. Stabilizing Afghanistan: Proposals for Improving Security, Governance, and Aid/Economic Development
- Author:
- Tobias Ellwood
- Publication Date:
- 04-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- Afghanistan's future remains bleak. After a painful decade, all must now admit that Plan A (as outlined in the Bonn Accord1 and confirmed in the Afghan constitution has yet to create the necessary foundations for stability. Much of the international community privately acknowledges the gloomy outlook and now seeks a decent interval of stability after 2014 to distance itself from the responsibility for what might happen next as global attention turns to the jihadist threat in the Sahel region of Africa.
- Topic:
- Security, Development, Economics, International Cooperation, Governance, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Africa
156. Security Cooperation in SADC: SADC on the Way to Security Community?
- Author:
- Linda Piknerová
- Publication Date:
- 06-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Obrana a strategie (Defence & Strategy)
- Institution:
- University of Defence
- Abstract:
- This text aims to analyze security cooperation in the Southern African Development Community. The article is based on two theoretical approaches, the first one is a concept of security community, the second one is a human security. Both theories have become widely accepted in the early 1990s because of their ability to cover wider international changes. The Southern African Development Community is seen as a regional integration plan which aspires to become a security community in Karl Deutsch's sense. Beside the both mentioned theories, the text deals with the history of security cooperation in the south of Africa and its changes. The main discussed question is wheher the SADC could be understood as a newly emerging security community.
- Topic:
- Security, NATO, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Africa, Iran, Middle East, Asia, France, and Arabia
157. South Sudan's emergency state
- Author:
- Jort Hemmer
- Publication Date:
- 09-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
- Abstract:
- Monday July 9th 2012 marked South Sudan's first anniversary as an independent state. But one year down the road, what is there to celebrate for this newborn polity? Faced with political stability and enduring external and domestic threats to its security, the nascent state of South Sudan has evolved into a patronage and crisis management tool for the ruling elite, putting the benefits of governance well beyond the reach of the majority of the population. There is little doubt that continuing conflict with Sudan, extreme underdevelopment and dependence on oil revenues will ensure that South Sudan remains a state in emergency for years to come. In many ways the characteristics and uses of this emergency dominate domestic political calculus. Essential institutional reforms have been postponed, as has any real democratic opening. Until a measure of calm in South Sudan's relations with Sudan is achieved, donors will have to look for areas of engagement where their objectives do not interfere with the short-term interests of a government that subsists on a war footing. In this regard South Sudan's decision to suspend oil production and the subsequent need to generate alternative revenues may offer new opportunities.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, Development, and Oil
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Sudan
158. The mercy of neighbours: security and governance in a new Somalia
- Author:
- Roland Marchal
- Publication Date:
- 07-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
- Abstract:
- Somalia has long been a byword for statelessness and extreme insecurity. However, eight years of transitional rule are set to end in 2012, and expectations are rising that continued military-led stabilisation, changing regional security dynamics and efforts to rebuild the Somalia state might soon enable the country to declare an end to two decades of civil war.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, Development, Islam, Fragile/Failed State, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Somalia
159. East Africa: Regional Security Organisations and Dynamics
- Author:
- Katja Lindskov Jacobsen and Johannes Riber Nordby
- Publication Date:
- 08-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- The security situation in parts of East Africa is fragile and recently Denmark has begun to take an interest in regional security organisations.
- Topic:
- Security, Food, and Fragile/Failed State
- Political Geography:
- Africa and East Africa
160. Mali : pour une action internationale résolue et concertée
- Publication Date:
- 09-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- En l'absence de décisions rapides, fortes et cohérentes aux niveaux régional (Communauté économique des Etats d'Afrique de l'Ouest, Cedeao), continental (Union Africaine, UA) et international (Nations unies) avant la fin de ce mois de septembre, la situation politique, sécuritaire, économique et sociale au Mali se détériorera. Tous les scénarios sont encore ouverts, y compris celui d'un nouveau coup d'Etat militaire et de troubles sociaux dans la capitale, aboutissant à une remise en cause des institutions de transition et à un chaos propice à la propagation de l'extrémisme religieux et de la violence terroriste au Mali et au- delà. Aucun des trois acteurs qui se partagent le pouvoir, le président intérimaire Di oncounda Traoré, le Premier ministre Cheick Modibo Diarra et le chef de l'exjunte, le capitaine Amadou Sanogo, ne dispose d'une légitimité populaire et d'une compétence suffisantes pour éviter une crise plus aiguë. Le pays a urgemment besoin de la mobilisation des meilleures compétences maliennes au-delà des clivages politiques et non d'une bataille de positionnement à la tête d'un Etat qui risque de s'écrouler.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, Economics, Politics, and Insurgency
- Political Geography:
- Africa