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5831. Legal Aspects of Security Sector Reform in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

Author:
Zoran Pajic
Publication Date:
04-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
The broadening and deepening of the concept of security has focused renewed attention on the appropriate role of the security sector in the political and economic systems of the states. Bloated and poorly regulated militaries are seen as a primary cause of severe distortion in the allocation of national resources between the security and non-security sectors. The negative development impact of a dysfunctional security sector is magnified in countries that have experienced a significant deterioration in their capacity to deliver services and in war-torn societies. In such cases, there is an urgent need to restore physical security, to optimise the use of scarce public resources, and to attract sustained external support for the recovery process.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, and Government
Political Geography:
Europe and Yugoslavia

5832. Learning From Best Practices of Parliamentary Oversight of the Security Sector

Author:
Hans Born
Publication Date:
04-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
Winston Churchill once labelled the parliament as the workshop of democracy, and it goes without saying that the parliament does play a central role in any democracy, though this role may greatly vary across political systems. While parliaments may range from ornamental to significant governing partners, they have some common characteristics, which include three basic functions that they perform: representing the people, making (or: shaping) laws, and exercising oversight. Parliaments articulate the wishes of the people by drafting new laws and overseeing the proper execution of those policies by the government. In short: the parliament is the mediator between government and the people.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Democratization, and Politics
Political Geography:
Europe

5833. Democratic Oversight of the Security Sector. What Does it Mean?

Author:
Hans Born
Publication Date:
04-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
Democracy always implicitly presumes unlimited civilian supremacy over the command of the armed forces – anything short of that defines an incomplete democracy. But what exactly is democratic oversight, and how can we conceptualise it? Generally speaking, we see a state's system of democratic oversight as being a product of its system of government, politics, history and culture. Aditionally, as there are many different cultures and political systems, many different norms and practices of democratic oversight also exist. Consequently, and for better or worse, there is no single, definitive normative model for democratic oversight. At least several models are present, some of which appear to contradict others. Keeping this in mind, the main question of this chapter is 'how can democratic oversight be conceptualised?' The following questions relating to the issue will be addressed:
Topic:
Defense Policy, Democratization, and Politics
Political Geography:
Europe

5834. The Russian Federal Border Service: Lessons for Planning and Establishing Border Security Systems

Author:
Vladimir Mochalov
Publication Date:
03-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
Following the disintegration of the USSR, there was no decrease in the total length of the Russian border in comparison with that of the Soviet Union (more than 60'000 km²). The number of bordering countries rose from fifteen to sixteen. Furthermore, 13'500 km² of new boundaries were created. This figure represented a fifth overall length of the border). Yet, the new boundaries were not formalised in legal terms, they were not appropriately equipped and, in fact, lacked border guard control.
Topic:
Security, Government, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Asia, and Soviet Union

5835. Border Security Systems: The Hungarian Case Study

Author:
Zoltán Szabó
Publication Date:
03-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
The Hungarian Republic is making significant efforts in trying to comply with European Union requirements. An efficient security policy that ensures the reliable surveillance of the borders, as well as the provision of the necessary access, is extremely important for Hungary, the "Visegrad region", and the EU. According to the EU, "Hungary is on the right track to adopt current and future union practices, if the pace of development remains constant and the development and training programmes of the most important institutions are realised".
Topic:
Security, Migration, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe and Hungary

5836. The Finnish Border Security Concept

Author:
Arto Niemenkari
Publication Date:
03-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
The Finnish Frontier Guard was established in 1919 and has always been subordinated to the Ministry of the Interior, with the exception of the period between 1939 and 1944. Throughout the war, the Frontier Guard troops participated in the defence of our country with excellent success. The Frontier Guard developed into its current form after the Second World War when the Coast Guard was integrated Frontier Guard and border control was extended to Finland's western and northern borders. In the past few years, the activities and the structure of the Frontier Guard have been examined to respond to the changes in the immediate surroundings. This development work still continues.
Topic:
Security, Migration, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

5837. EU/Schengen Requirements for National Border Security Systems

Author:
Arto Niemenkari
Publication Date:
03-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
This paper is a compilation of European Union requirements relating to border security. The main sources for this document are the EU's common negotiation positions for candidate countries, i.e. the so-called "Schengen paper", reports and analyses made by the Collective Evaluation Working Group as well as the Schengen Evaluation Working Group. The primary purpose of this document is to clarify some basic requirements and characteristics for national border security systems, enabling them to become compatible with EU structures.
Topic:
Security, Migration, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe

5838. US-Russian Lessons for South Asia

Author:
Zia Mia, R. Rajaraman, and Frank von Hippel
Publication Date:
08-2002
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Foreign Policy In Focus
Abstract:
The current South Asian crisis seems to have ebbed, but the underlying dynamic remains. The next crisis will be even more dangerous if South Asia's nuclear confrontation develops in the same direction as the U.S.-Russian standoff, with nuclear missiles on alert, aimed at each other and ready to launch on warning. As Lee Butler, former head of the U.S. Strategic Command, has said, the U.S. and Soviet Union survived their crises, "no thanks to deterrence, but only by the grace of God." Will South Asia be so fortunate?
Topic:
International Relations
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Europe, South Asia, and Asia

5839. 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

5840. 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