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81. The Eastern Partnership and Estonia: Policy Recommendations

Author:
Merle Maigre and Kaarel Kaas
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Centre for Defence and Security - ICDS
Abstract:
ICDS researchers Kaarel Kaas and Merle Maigre have completed a Policy Brief with recommendations and suggestions for Estonia’s engagement with the EU’s Eastern Partnership. The European Union’s Eastern Partnership establishes a new political instrument for the promotion of democracy and economic reforms in the EU’s eastern neighbourhood. Since the war in Georgia in August 2008 and the gas crisis in the winter of 2008/2009, it has become clear that the developments in Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus and the South Caucasus have a direct impact on the security of the EU and Estonia, as well. It is, therefore, in the interests of Estonia to provide maximum support for our eastern partners in their reform efforts and convergence with the EU.
Topic:
Reform, European Union, Partnerships, and Democracy
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Ukraine, Moldova, Estonia, South Caucasus, and Belarus

82. Defence R&D: Lessons from NATO Allies

Author:
Tomas Jermalavicius
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
International Centre for Defence and Security - ICDS
Abstract:
Defence research and development (R&D) is a field of strategic significance in developing modern defence organisations as well as the entire national security sector. In knowledge-based societies, pursuit of state-of-the-art military capabilities, organisational innovation in the armed forces, sensible long-term management of security threats and risks or deeper integration with allies go hand in hand with investments in scientific research and effective use of their results. The importance of this field is well acknowledged by NATO, which continuously calls its member states to devote at least 2% of their defence budgets to R&D programmes. So, today’s choices made in the national defence R&D strategy will have an impact on Estonia’s security and defence as well as its credibility within the Alliance 10-20 years down the road. The ICDS has completed a small study on general trends in this sector and on how several small NATO allies – Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands – think and go about their defence R&D, which will hopefully serve as a source of new ideas and will stimulate a debate on the merits and shortcomings of the approach adopted by Estonia.
Topic:
NATO, Development, National Security, Science and Technology, and Research
Political Geography:
Europe, Norway, Estonia, Denmark, and Netherlands

83. Rebranding Russia: Norms, Politics and Power

Author:
Andrey Makarychev
Publication Date:
02-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:
This working paper argues that Russia is in the process of re-branding itself internationally, with a variety of normative arguments increasingly creeping into its wider international discourse. By appealing to norms, Russia tries to reformulate the key messages it sends to the world and implant the concept of its power worldwide. Yet given that Russia's normative messages are often met with scarce enthusiasm in Europe, it is of utmost importance to uncover how the normative segment in Russian foreign policy is perceived, evaluated and debated both inside Russia and elsewhere. Within this framework, this paper focuses on a set of case studies highlighting the normative and non-normative dimensions of Russian foreign policy. These include Russia-EU transborder cooperation, Moscow's policies towards Estonia, Poland, Ukraine/Georgia and the UK, Russian strategies in the 'war on terror' and energy issues.
Topic:
International Relations and Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
Russia, United Kingdom, Europe, Ukraine, Asia, Poland, Moscow, Estonia, and Georgia

84. Cyber War I: Estonia Attacked from Russia

Author:
Kertu Ruus
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
European Affairs
Institution:
The European Institute
Abstract:
Suddenly, the lights go out. Communication lines fall silent. Internet connections are lost. People venturing into the congested streets discover that banks are closed, ATMs are malfunctioning, traffic lights are jammed. Radio and TV stations cannot broadcast. The airports and train stations are shut down. Food production halts, and the water supply starts rapidly diminishing as pumps stop working. Looters are on the rampage; panic grips the public; the police cannot maintain order. This grim picture is not the opening scene of a Hollywood fantasy, but the beginning of a cyber attack, as described by Sami Saydjari, president of Professionals for Cyber Defense, to a Congressional homeland defense subcommittee in April 2007. In vivid terms, he described how a superpower can be reduced to third-world status by a cyber take-down of a nation's electronic infrastructure. The defense expert called his description “a plausible scenario” – and one for which the United States is unprepared. Even if military computer systems are usually protected against outside interference, most civilian electronic systems remain vulnerable to a massive assault that enjoyed the sponsorship of a state.
Topic:
Security, NATO, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Europe, and Estonia

85. Battling Botnets and Online Mobs: Estonia's Defense Efforts during the Internet War

Author:
Gadi Evron
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Institution:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:
What would happen if tomorrow the Internet ceased to function? To most critics, and particularly state officials and policy makers, the possibility that the Internet could one day suddenly disappear is no more than a mere speculation, a highly improbable concept. On May 2007, the events that took place in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, proved everyone wrong. On that day, Estonia fell victim to the first-ever, real Internet war. This article delves into the political context that shaped the incident and analyzes some of the key lessons and policy implications that emerged as a consequence.
Political Geography:
Estonia

86. A U.S. Vision of Europe

Author:
Lisa Bronson
Publication Date:
06-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Connections
Institution:
Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
Abstract:
I want to begin by thanking the conference organizers for what has truly been a splendid effort. I'd like to thank the Ministry of Defense and the Government of Estonia for agreeing to host the Third Conference of the Partnership for Peace (PfP) Consortium.
Political Geography:
Europe and Estonia

87. A Conversation with Toomas Hendrik Ilves (CC\' 76), President of the Republic of Estonia and Mikheil Saakashvili (LAW\' 94), President of the Republic of Georgia

Author:
Toomas Hendrik Ilves and Mikheil Saakashvili
Publication Date:
09-2007
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Columbia University World Leaders Forum
Abstract:
President Lee C. Bollinger moderates a discussion between President Toomas Hendrik Ilves and President Mikheil Saakashvili. This event is co-sponsored by the Harriman Institute.
Topic:
Economics, Emerging Markets, Politics, Regional Cooperation, and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe, Estonia, and Georgia

88. The Aspect of Culture in the Social Inclusion of Ethnic Minorities Evaluation of the Impact of Inclusion Policies under the Open Method of Co-ordination in the European Union: Assessing the Cultural Policies of Six Member States Final Report Estonia

Author:
Abel Kirsch, Tarmo Tuisk, and Mait Talts
Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Abstract:
The Estonian National Report on Strategies for Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2006-2008 has been prepared within the framework of EU Open Method of Coordination and in accordance with updated aims and principles adopted by the Council of Europe in March 2006.
Topic:
Ethnic Conflict and Human Rights
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe and Estonia

89. Rights of People with Intellectual Disabilities: Access to Education and Employment

Publication Date:
08-2005
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
Produced by the Open Society EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program and Mental Health Initiative, Rights of People with Intellectual Disabilities: Access to Education and Employment is a series of 12 country reports on the rights of people with intellectual disabilities in Europe. The reports monitor the degree to which existing international standards and national legislation are heeded and applied. Each report includes specific policy recommendations targeting both domestic and international decisionmakers.
Topic:
Human Rights, Disability, Mental Health, and Domestic Policy
Political Geography:
Greece, Estonia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Croatia, and Latvia

90. Equal Opportunities for Women and Men

Publication Date:
05-2005
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
Gender equality is still far from being a reality in Central and Eastern Europe, according to the report Equal Opportunities for Women and Men: Monitoring Law and Practice in New Member States and Accession Countries of the European Union, published by OSI's Network Women's Program. The findings and recommendations in Equal Opportunities for Women and Men are based on monitoring conducted by national gender equality experts and local NGO representatives in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Turkey. The report describes existing national institutional mechanisms, policies, and programs on gender equality, and highlights several shortcomings. The research identified a general lack of awareness among men and women about how gender inequality affects their daily lives as well as a lack of political will to enforce existing national and EU gender equality policies. The report's key recommendations include a call for governments to establish regular monitoring of how equal pay principles are practiced in both the public and private sectors and making these monitoring results public; they urge the governments in Bulgaria, Hungary, and Poland to adopt official gender equality strategies; and appeal to all governments to collect gender disaggregated statistical data, without which gender equality policies can hardly be successful.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Women, Men, and Equality
Political Geography:
Turkey, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic, and Slovakia