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Begin New Search Political Geography Global Focus Publication Year within 5 Years

2841. World System Mobility: The Relevance of the Semiperiphery Concept for Development Projects in the 21st Century

Author:
Alexandre Freitas
Publication Date:
01-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:
Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:
The objective of this article is to discuss the relevance of the concept of semiperiphery to analyze the world system in the 21st century. First, the main concepts of the world-system approach will be analyzed. In the second part, a more in-depth examination of the question of the semi-periphery will be made through its political and economic characteristics. Later, we will examine the empirical attempts to define the semiperiphery, its role in the reproduction of the capitalist world-economy and the question of mobility in the world-system hierarchy. In conclusion, the role of government apparatus in the issue of development and overcoming the status of semi-periphery in the capitalist world-system will be highlighted.
Topic:
Development, Capitalism, Mobility, and World System
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2842. The Contemporary World-System: A Contribution tom the Debate on Development in the World-Systems Theory

Author:
Analúcia Danilevicz Pereira and Salvatore Gasparini Xerri
Publication Date:
07-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:
Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:
This work analyzes the development in World-System Theory as produced by the flow of appropriation of global surplus value through the international division of labor, creating the divisions between center, semiperiphery and periphery in the capitalist world-economy. It thus aims to explore how the global appropriation of surplus value in the capitalist world-economy produces variations in the level of development of its different regions. To this end, it contextualizes and conceptualizes its elements on its spatial and temporal dimensions. It defines surplus value and the form of its global accumulation, and in this sense explores the succession of capitalist hegemonies, in their dialectical relationship with the system's progress, enabling the approach to the international division of labor, and how the monopoly over finance and technologies allows the center of the system to consolidate a structure that ensures the transfer of capital and surplus value from the other regions to it. It follows that the development of a particular country or region in the capitalist world-economy depends on its ability to accumulate surplus value globally. Additionally, it is observed that the conditions imposed by the system structure prevent initiatives of autonomous development by its parts, being necessary to break with them for such a project to be possible
Topic:
Development, Globalization, Capitalism, and World System
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2843. Wallerstein, Arrighi, and Amin: Imperialism in Fordist Capitalism

Author:
Luiz Felipe Brandao Osorio
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:
Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:
Imperialism takes on a new guise after the Second World War. In a panorama of expanding production relations, capitalism becomes, in fact, a mode of world production, based on Fordism. In this dynamic, new elements are incorporated into the analysis of international relations, such as the periphery, unequal exchanges, the transfer of value, and the world system, which end up not only eclipsing imperialism but also giving it other outlines. In this tone, it is necessary to investigate three influential authors, such as Wallerstein, Arrighi, and Amin, demonstrating their place and their limits in the central debate of international relations. Over time, the three, due to the vigor of their ideas and political engagement, became essential authors for criticizing the moment of capitalism in which we are inserted, even if it is to refute them. Studying it means unraveling yet another important knot in the task of investigating imperialism, an essential concept for understanding reality.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Imperialism, and Capitalism
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2844. Implementing the UN Management Reform: Progress and Implications for Peace Operations

Author:
Wolfgang Weiszegger
Publication Date:
07-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Peace Institute (IPI)
Abstract:
In September 2017, UN Secretary-General António Guterres proposed a new management paradigm to enable the UN to confront global challenges and remain relevant in a fast-changing world. The new management paradigm would bring decision making closer to the point of delivery, empower managers, increase accountability and transparency, reduce duplicative structures and overlapping mandates, increase support for the field, and reform the planning and budgeting processes. Eighteen months after the management reform came into effect, this paper examines the implementation of the reform and its impact on peace operations from the perspective of both UN headquarters and the field. The paper highlights the current state of the reform, identifies good practices, flags areas for possible improvement or attention, and offers forward-looking recommendations for UN headquarters, mission leaders and managers in the field, global or regional support offices, member states, and staff at large. While the reform is still a work in progress, it has continued to gain momentum, and implementation has become more systematic. Nonetheless, the paper concludes that greater effort must be made to get input from personnel in peace operations to ensure that the reform responds to their needs and constraints. More work is also needed to fully realize the potential of the management reform and ensure that it aligns with parallel reforms underway in the UN peace and security architecture and development system.
Topic:
United Nations, Peacekeeping, Reform, and Accountability
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2845. The Peacebuilding Commission and Climate-Related Security Risks: A More Favourable Political Environment?

Author:
Jake Sherman and Florian Krampe
Publication Date:
09-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Peace Institute (IPI)
Abstract:
Climate change and the associated climate-related security risks increase instability and have significant adverse effects on peacebuilding. Within the UN, however, there is a lack of consensus on which organs are most appropriate to respond to climate-related security risks. Most of the bodies addressing climate change do not address its intersection with peace and security, while many member states have concerns about the role of the UN Security Council on climate change. In this context, the UN Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) seems well placed to complement and advance discussions on climate-related security risks in other UN bodies, including the Security Council. This paper—a joint publication of IPI and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)—aims to identify areas and ways in which the PBC is preventing and mitigating climate-related security risks and to map the political positions of PBC members on this topic. It also looks at opportunities for the PBC to strengthen its engagement on climate-related security issues. The paper identifies a number of attributes that uniquely position the PBC as a forum for states to seek international support for addressing climate-related security challenges: it emphasizes national ownership, has a mandate to work across the three pillars of the UN, brings together a wide range of UN organs, and convenes relevant stakeholders from within and outside the UN system. The paper concludes that a gradual but steady approach to addressing climate-related security risks in the PBC is likely to encourage more countries to seek its support on these issues.
Topic:
Security, Climate Change, United Nations, and Peace
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2846. Woman First, Soldier Second: Taboos and Stigmas Facing Military Women in UN Peace Operations

Author:
Lotte Vermeij
Publication Date:
10-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Peace Institute (IPI)
Abstract:
Despite efforts to increase the participation of women uniformed peacekeepers, military women continue to face taboos and stigmas that are barriers to their inclusion and successful deployment. These range from gender stereotypes that cause military women to face more scrutiny than their male counterparts to difficulties speaking up about discriminatory and sexualized behavior, including racism, sexual harassment, and assault. Being confronted with persistent taboos and stigmas can have far-reaching consequences for military women before, during, and after deployment. This paper, which is based on interviews with 142 military women from fifty-three countries, assesses the taboos and stigmas facing military women at three levels: (1) at the individual and community levels; (2) within their national defense structures; and (3) during deployment to UN peace operations. It also looks at the strategies women use to mitigate these taboos and stigmas and the formal and informal support structures they turn to. The paper concludes with recommendations for national defense structures and the UN: For national defense structures, it recommends improving standards of behavior and accountability, educating men and women on taboos and stigmas, recruiting and retaining more women, proactively reaching out to and selecting women for deployment to peace operations, providing women the support they need, and designing equipment that better suits women’s needs. For the UN Department of Peace Operations, it recommends strengthening narratives on the importance of female peacekeepers, ensuring that all peacekeepers respect UN values, developing mission-specific gender strategies and plans, engaging more firmly with troop-contributing countries, making recruitment and selection processes more gender-sensitive, holding personnel accountable for discriminatory and sexualized behavior, and establishing in-mission support systems.
Topic:
Security, United Nations, Peacekeeping, Women, and Peace
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2847. UN Reform and Mission Planning: Too Great Expectations?

Author:
Marc Jacquand
Publication Date:
11-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Peace Institute (IPI)
Abstract:
Since 2017, the UN system has undergone a historic process of reform at several levels and across many entities. Several of these reforms have either directly aimed at improving the planning of UN missions or included elements that have a significant bearing on mission planning. As the focus shifts from designing to implementing these reforms, it is possible to begin reflecting on whether these aims have been met. This paper takes stock of the various strands of UN reform and explores their impact on the planning of UN missions, drawing on the experiences of four missions that have recently started or transitioned. In addition to the peace and security, management, and development system reforms, it looks at the impact of several other recent initiatives. These include the launch of a series of independent strategic reviews of peace operations, the reinvigorated use of the secretary-general’s transition planning directives, the rollout of the Comprehensive Performance Assessment System, and the establishment of the Executive Committee. The paper concludes by recommending that the UN consider: Tying together the strands of reform related to planning to prevent fragmentation; Making increased and better use of peace and security management mechanisms at the initial stages of planning to ensure that UN leaders have a unified tone and vision; More formally and transparently involving the Security Council in strategic reviews; Clarifying and strengthening the role of all relevant departments and the shared regional divisions in the mission budget process; Repositioning DPO’s planning cell in the Office of Shared Services to move toward a shared planning capacity; and Incentivizing lateral movement of personnel across departments and entities to broaden their perspectives.
Topic:
United Nations, Peacekeeping, Reform, and Transparency
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2848. Community Engagement in UN Peacekeeping Operations: A People-Centered Approach to Protecting Civilians

Author:
Harley Henigson
Publication Date:
11-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Peace Institute (IPI)
Abstract:
As the practice of the protection of civilians (POC) has evolved in peacekeeping missions, the UN has increasingly focused on “people-centered” approaches. As a result, community engagement has emerged as a core component of POC efforts. By engaging with communities, missions can build trust, gather information, and build a protective environment, ultimately improving their ability to protect civilians. This paper examines the positive implications and impact of this increased focus on community engagement, as well as the challenges and risks it can pose for communities and missions. It analyzes the community engagement activities of the military, police, and civilian components of the UN missions in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, and South Sudan. The paper concludes with recommendations for these four missions, the UN Secretariat, and UN member states on the Security Council: UN member states should continue to refine the language on community engagement in peacekeeping mandates. The UN Secretariat should develop more in-depth modules on community engagement in relevant training materials. Relevant UN stakeholders should explore how missions’ military personnel can improve their community engagement. The UN Secretariat and missions should optimize their use of community liaison assistants. The UN Department of Peace Operations should continue to explore where the unarmed civilian protection methodology could complement community engagement by UN missions.
Topic:
United Nations, Peacekeeping, Civilians, and Community Engagement
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2849. Parallel Tracks or Connected Pieces?: UN Peace Operations, Local Mediation, and Peace Processes

Author:
Arthur Boutellis, Delphine Mechoulan, and Marie-Joelle Zahar
Publication Date:
12-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Peace Institute (IPI)
Abstract:
Track-1 mediation processes have increasingly struggled to deliver comprehensive peace agreements that address fragmented conflict dynamics and include local communities’ needs. As a result, local mediation has increasingly been a focus for the UN, including for UN peace operations. UN peace operations can play an important role in supporting local mediation initiatives, whether these initiatives are separate from, complementary to, or integrated into national processes. This paper considers how local mediation fits into the broader political strategies of UN peace operations. Building on a series of country case studies published by IPI and the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs’ Mediation Support Unit, it provides preliminary answers to whether, when, where, and how the UN can engage in local mediation efforts. It explores what capacities the UN would need to increase its engagement in local mediation, what role it can play, and how it could better configure itself and engage in partnerships. While this paper does not advocate for UN peace operations to engage more or less in local mediation processes, it concludes that missions ought to assess whether, when, and how short-term investments in local mediation can contribute to longer-term, sustainable conflict resolution. In each case, they should tailor their role based on informed strategic decisions and appropriate partnerships and as part of a broader effort to strengthen and foster greater coherence in national peace processes.
Topic:
United Nations, Peacekeeping, and Mediation
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2850. The Accountability System for the Protection of Civilians in UN Peacekeeping

Author:
Namie Di Razza
Publication Date:
12-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
International Peace Institute (IPI)
Abstract:
Over the last two decades, UN peacekeeping operations have striven to protect civilians from physical violence. The protection of civilians (POC) is now based on a clear normative and policy framework, and its practical implementation relies on a number of innovative tools, tailored and multidimensional approaches, and the more proactive posture of peacekeepers. On a number of occasions, however, UN missions have failed to prevent or respond to threats despite being aware of the risk, receiving adequate warning of an attack, or being in the proximity when abuses were committed. Numerous reports and investigations into these incidents have highlighted shortcomings in performance and called for more accountability. Despite institutional ambitions, however, there is still limited accountability for the actors involved in protecting civilians. To help address this challenge, IPI undertook a project to map how existing accountability mechanisms in the UN could be applied to peacekeeping missions with POC mandates. Through a combination of desk research and key informant interviews, IPI developed a set of tools to help guide the UN and its member states in building a robust, multi-actor, multilayer “system of accountability for POC.”
Topic:
United Nations, Peacekeeping, Accountability, and Civilians
Political Geography:
Africa, Darfur, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Central African Republic, and Global Focus