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3601. Monica Gariup: European Security Culture: Language, Theory and Policy

Author:
Kadri Kaan Renda
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:
Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:
Monica Gariup's European Security Culture: Language, Theory and Policy is one of the few in-depth and systematic studies on European security culture. This book focuses on the emergence of a European security culture since the foundation of the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP). The author aims to develop an analytical framework to analyze the role of language and discourse in the construction of security culture and eventually security policy of the European Union (EU). The author's purpose is operationalizing culture through the empirical analysis of texts so that cultural and discursive sources of security in European security policy can be revealed.
Political Geography:
Europe

3602. The Rule of Law in Independent Kosovo

Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
More than two years after declaring independence, Kosovo struggles with uneven rule of law and a weak justice system that is failing its citizens. The police, public prosecutors and courts are erratic performers, prone to political interference and abuse of office. Organised crime and corruption are widespread and growing. Realising that prosperity, relations with the European Union (EU) and affirmation as an independent state depend on the rule of law, the government has taken important steps, replacing key officials and passing long-delayed reforms. But critical weaknesses remain, notably in the courts, and the government, supported by the international community, must act swiftly to curtail them.
Topic:
Government and Governance
Political Geography:
Europe, Kosovo, and Balkans

3603. Furthering Democracy through the European Union's Development Policy: Legal Limitations and Possibilities

Author:
Morten Broberg
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
This working paper provides an analysis of the efforts by the European Union to support democracy building in developing countries. It focuses on the specific question of the legal obligations of, and limits for, the European Union in seeking to further democracy through its policies directed at developing countries. The core of the paper is an examination of the legal framework governing the Union's relations with developing countries and the possibilities for furthering democracy. The paper considers the European Union's determination of whether a third country complies, in legal terms, with its 'democratic obligations', and how it is able to control and sanction non-compliance. On the basis of these examinations the possibilities of furthering democracy and the rule of law in the Union's development cooperation legislation are analysed.
Topic:
Democratization, Development, International Law, Third World, and Governance
Political Geography:
Europe

3604. Think twice before engaging in Yemen

Author:
Peter Albrecht
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Yemen has caught the eye of the international community above all because it has been portrayed as a hotbed of radicalisation and a training ground for al-Qaeda. As a state, Yemen is broadly considered to be both fragile and on the brink of failure. This Policy Brief argues that for a variety of reasons – largely relating to the political system and dynamics within the country – support from Europe and North America will have limited effect. There are limited, if any, technical solutions to the challenges that confront the country; only political ones. International actors from outside the regional context must therefore think twice before engaging and, above all, have a good understanding of the political system that they will be engaging with.
Topic:
International Relations and Islam
Political Geography:
Europe, Middle East, Yemen, and Arabia

3605. European Governance and Damovracy: Power and Protest in the EU Richard Balme and Didier Chabanet

Author:
Ahmet Arabaci
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
Balme ve Didier'in kitabı, Avrupa'daki yönetişim ve demokrasiyi hem teorik çerçevesi, hem de ampirik bulgularıyla incelemektedir. Yazarlar, Avrupa'daki gelişmeleri hem Avrupa Birliği (AB) entegrasyonunun getirdiği siyasal fırsat yapıları ve tehditleri bağlamında, hem de AB'yi ve Avrupa ülkelerini etkileyen küresel siyasal aktiviteler bağlamında analiz etmektedirler.
Political Geography:
Europe

3606. Imagining Iraq, Defining Its Future

Author:
Missy Ryan
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
BAGHDAD, Iraq—In a neglected graveyard, headstones of British soldiers lie discarded in the sand, sheared off by nearby bomb blasts, toppled by vandals, and crumbled by the passage of 90 years since these young men died in an unfamiliar desert land while their generals and statesmen conjured up a country called Iraq. The British war cemetery, which sits on the edge of a Baghdad thruway, is one of the visible reminders of the first Western occupation of modern Iraq, when European powers divvied up the spoils of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I and British administrators endowed Iraq with the foundations of a modern state.
Political Geography:
Iraq and Europe

3607. The Mediterranean Energy Scene: What Now? What Next?

Author:
Silvia Colombo and Ian Lesser
Publication Date:
04-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
The paper provides a summary of the key issues raised in the third meeting of the Mediterranean Strategy Group which was convened in Rome to discuss the problem of energy security and cooperation in the Mediterranean from a transatlantic perspective. The meeting looked into the impact of geopolitical and economic variables on energy security around the Mediterranean, including the role and interests of “new” actors such as China, Russia and India. It also examined the outlook for new oil, gas, nuclear and electric power transmission projects, the prospects for alternative energy schemes, and the implications for strategy and policy affecting governments and the private sectors.
Topic:
Security, Energy Policy, International Cooperation, Regional Cooperation, and Natural Resources
Political Geography:
Russia, China, Europe, and India

3608. Combining Realism with Vision Options for NATO's new Strategic Concept

Author:
Riccardo Alcaro
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
Elaborating a Strategic Concept is a delicate undertaking which implies a good deal of resolve, far - sightedness, and realism. Allies should neither search for a new North Star nor give in to the temptation of de facto acceptance of the status quo as the optimal solution. Instead, they should make choices reflecting a synthesis, not just a list, of their security priorities. In particular, they should consider the future of the allied deterrence and defence strategies in a security environment characterised by significant political and technological changes, including by thinking about steps towards withdrawing US nuclear weapons in Europe and creating an integrated missile defence system; learn the lessons from the Balkans and Afghanistan and accord greater priority to stabilisation than to rapid reaction capabilities; recognise that compromises will be inevitable if they are serious about considering Russia as a partner, and start by pausing for a while with enlargement. Allies should also make it clear that they have no ambition of turning NATO into a world gendarme and shift towards cooperative crisis management.
Topic:
NATO, Treaties and Agreements, and International Security
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Russia, United States, and Europe

3609. Civilization and Empire: China and Japan's Encounter with European International Society

Author:
Tetsuya Sakai
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
Situated in the twenty-first century world, the idea of an empire justified by the notion of 'civilization's mission' might seem anachronistic and indifferent to us. Contemporary International Society, however, cannot be totally free from the lineage of civilization and empire descending from the European International Society of the late nineteenth century. The problem of 'failed states' and states that abuse human rights, which has surfaced after the demise of the Cold War, often calls into question whether or not it is necessary for Contemporary International Society to utilize its 'civilizing' mode of interaction and intervene in such states. While such arguments are often inspired by a genuine desire to bring about a more humane international life, it cannot be denied that they have uncomfortable similarities with the late nineteenth century (pp. 182–183). International Society still has a dualistic mode: coexistence among 'civilized' states and 'civilizing' backward states.
Political Geography:
Japan, China, and Europe

3610. Not just global rhetoric: Japan's substantive actualization of its human security foreign policy

Author:
Tan Hsien-Li
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
While there is much theoretical and academic discussion of human security, as well as regional expressions of human security by the Organization of American States, African Union, and the European Union, little of this is translated into substance except for Japan, which has incorporated human security into foreign policy. This paper examines Japan's definition and aspiration for human security, especially its plans to expand development aid through this modality in Southeast Asia. This scrutiny will encompass Japanese human security foreign policy and its substantive action through the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the UN Trust Fund for Human Security. Thus, the potential for Japanese human security cooperation with Southeast Asian partners will be reviewed in light of Japan's projected trajectory. The paper concludes by positing that bilateral engagement might be expected for the considerable future and suggests policy consolidation before regional engagement can be effected.
Political Geography:
Africa, Japan, America, Europe, and Southeast Asia