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3131. Cultural Challenges in Military Operations

Author:
Tibor Szvircsev Tresch and Cees M. Coops
Publication Date:
10-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
On 15 and 16 March 2007 a conference was held at the NATO Defense College on the topic of “Cultural Challenges in Military Operations”. It offered a preliminary overview of the operational and multicultural challenges of cooperation among different forces with NGOs, IOs and the local population in theatres.
Topic:
Defense Policy, NATO, International Cooperation, and International Security
Political Geography:
Middle East and Yugoslavia

3132. Divergences entre Israël et les pays européens de l'OTAN sur la sécurité durable de l'Etat d'Israël

Author:
Ilan Greilsammer
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
Au départ de cette recherche il y a une constatation: l'importance des divergences entre Israël et les pays européens de l'OTAN, concernant les solutions durables au conflit israélo-arabe, et concernant la sécurité d'Israël.
Topic:
Security, NATO, and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
Middle East and Israel

3133. Co-chairmen's report of brainstorming "Implementing the un general assembly's counter-terrorism strategy: addressing youth radicalisation in the Mediterranean region. Lessons learned, best practices and recommendations"

Publication Date:
07-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
The Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) and the Center for Global Counter Terrorism Co-operation (Center) convened a brainstorming on 11 - 12 July in Rome on “Implementing the UN General Assembly's Counter-Terrorism Strategy: Addressing Youth Radicalisation in the Mediterranean Region. Lessons Learned, Best Practices and Recommendations.” The event was organised in co-operation with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Centro Studi sul Federalismo (Turin), with the support of the Compagnia di San Paolo. The participants included experts from the UN and other multilateral bodies, officials from the Italian and German governments, and academic and other non-government experts from the United States, Europe and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The meeting also included a roundtable of representatives of the “Consulta Giovanile per il Pluralismo Religioso e Culturale” (Youth Consultative Council), a youth advisory board recently established by the Italian Ministries of Youth and Sport and Interior to enhance the role of youth in promoting dialogue and tolerance among different cultures and religions. The Rt. Hon. Giovanna Melandri, the Italian Minister for Youth Policies and Sport addressed the brainstorming.
Topic:
Civil Society, Islam, Science and Technology, Terrorism, and United Nations
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, Middle East, and North Africa

3134. The Pentagon and Global Development: Making Sense of the DoD's Expanding Role

Author:
Stewart Patrick and Kaysie Brown
Publication Date:
11-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
One of the most striking trends in U.S. foreign aid policy is the surging role of the Department of Defense (DoD). The Pentagon now accounts for over 20 percent of U.S. official development assistance (ODA). DoD has also expanded its provision of non-ODA assistance, including training and equipping of foreign military forces in fragile states. These trends raise concerns that U.S. foreign and development policies may become subordinated to a narrow, short-term security agenda at the expense of broader, longer-term diploma tic goals and institution-building efforts in the developing world. We find that the overwhelming bulk of ODA provided directly by DoD goes to Iraq and Afghanistan, which are violent environments that require the military to take a lead role through instruments like Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) and the use of Commanders' Emergency Response Program (CERP) funds. This funding surge is in principle temporary and likely to disappear when the U.S. involvement in both wars ends. But beyond these two conflicts, DoD has expanded (or proposes to expand) its operations in the developing world to include a number of activities that might be more appropriately undertaken by the State Department, USAID and other civilian actors. These initiatives include: the use of “Section 1206” authorities to train and equip foreign security forces; the establishment of the new Combatant Command for Africa (AFRICOM); and the administration's proposed Building Global Partnerships (BGP) Act, which would expand DoD's assistance authorities.
Topic:
Defense Policy
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Africa, United States, Iraq, Middle East, and Asia

3135. UNIFIL: Old lessons for the new force

Author:
Richard Gowan
Publication Date:
06-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
Peacekeeping is a repetitive business. All too often, international forces are required to return to crumbling states that have already played host to one or more peace operations – and in some cases seem to have become dependent on outside interventions. Take Haiti, to which five separate UN missions have been deployed in the last fifteen years. Or Timor-Leste, which remained stable for less than five months after the UN departed in December 2005 – UN police are back there now, alongside Australian troops. Or, looking at a longer timeframe, think of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the 1960s, the UN deployed nearly 20,000 troops to the former Belgian colony. Today, it has similar-sized force back in the country - few analysts believe it should withdraw soon. And then there is Lebanon. Next year will be the thirtieth anniversary of the UN's first deployment to the south of the country. After last summer's crisis and the ensuing surge of UN troops, there may be blue helmets around to mark such anniversaries for a while yet. And it is possible to identify a series of recurring patterns in Lebanese peacekeeping.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, Peace Studies, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Turkey, Middle East, and Lebanon

3136. The Pugwash Newsletter: To the Pugwash Community

Publication Date:
07-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs
Abstract:
Celebrations in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs are occurring around the world in 2007. National groups from Denmark to Russia, Sri Lanka to the United States, and Spain to Japan, are organizing events to commemorate the very first meeting, held in July 1957 at the home of Cyrus Eaton in Pugwash, Nova Scotia, and to remind the world of the ever-present threat posed by nuclear weapons.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Nuclear Weapons
Political Geography:
Russia, Japan, Iraq, Middle East, Denmark, and Spain

3137. The Pugwash Newsletter: To the Pugwash Community

Publication Date:
12-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs
Abstract:
The year 2007 marks the 50th anniversary of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. Little could the original 21 participants at the July 1957 meeting in Pugwash, Nova Scotia have imagined that, fifty years later, the Pugwash organization would have convened over 320 workshops, symposia and conferences on major security issues, have national groups and representatives in more than 50 countries around the world, and have been honored with the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
Europe and Middle East

3138. Bridging Boundaries: The Equalization Strategies of Stigmatized Ethno-racial Groups Compared

Author:
Michèle Lamont and Christopher Bail
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Abstract:
This article offers a framework for analyzing variations in how members of stigmatized ethnoracial groups establish equivalence with dominant groups through the comparative study of “equalization strategies.” Whereas extant scholarship on anti-racism has focused on the struggle of social movements against institutional and political exclusion and social justice, we are concerned with the “everyday” anti-racist strategies deployed by members of stigmatized groups. We seek to compare how these strategies vary according to the permeability of inter-group boundaries. The first section defines our research problem and the second section locates our agenda within the current literature. The third section sketches an empirical context for the comparative analysis of equalization strategies across four cases: Palestinian citizens of Israel, Catholics in Northern Ireland, blacks in Brazil, and Québécois in Canada. Whereas the first two cases are examples of ethnic conflict where group boundaries are tightly policed, the second cases exemplify more permeable boundaries. We conclude by offering tentative hypotheses about the relationship between the permeability of inter-group boundaries and the salience and range of equalization strategies used by members of stigmatized ethno-racial groups to establish equivalence with their counterparts in dominant majority groups.
Topic:
Civil Society
Political Geography:
United Kingdom, Europe, Middle East, Canada, Israel, Brazil, South America, and North Ireland

3139. Electing the Lebanese President

Publication Date:
10-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
The meeting of the Lebanese Parliament on Tuesday 23 October 2007 to elect a new President of the Republic has been adjourned to 21 November. After earlier attempts to hold the vote failed to take place and without any parliamentary consensus on procedures or candidates, this IFES Lebanon briefing paper outlines some of the key constitutional and procedural issues that may arise.
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, and Government
Political Geography:
Middle East, Arabia, and Lebanon

3140. Jordan: Little presence outside WEF

Publication Date:
06-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Media Tenor International
Abstract:
Coverage on the Middle East continues to be very prominent in many countries, particularly the United States, where close to 80% of all its international coverage is devoted to the region. In German television, other European countries together received the same volumes as the Middle East. This is a very high ratio, considering that German troops are only involved in Afghanistan, and not in other Arab countries. Coverage on the Middle East is considerably subdued in South African television when compared to other measured countries, perhaps because events in Europe received considerably more attention. German television committed the largest share of its coverage to international news (44%), followed by the United States and Britain (37%), while Arab television dedicated 29% of its coverage to the international arena. The lowest share of international focus was in South African television news (24%).
Topic:
Political Violence, Islam, Terrorism, War, and Mass Media
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, Iraq, Europe, Middle East, and Arabia