Number of results to display per page
Search Results
562. Qatar and Expanded Contours of Small State Diplomacy
- Author:
- Bessma Momani and Andrew F. Cooper
- Publication Date:
- 09-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- It is increasingly obvious that Qatar is playing above its weight in the international role. There is no one script that defines Qatar's diplomatic role. It is best seen as a maverick, willing to work with the US as well as Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. It operates a complex form of public diplomacy via Al-Jazeera and other high profile initiatives at the same time as it mediates behind the scenes with Israel and Lebanon. Qatar's role as a unique hybrid diplomatic actor is reinforced by the enthusiastic support it displayed towards the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, including operational support for the UN Security Resolution to place a no-fly zone with respect to the Qaddafi's regime, while being more circumspect on the uprising in Bahrain. Such an extensive, unconventional and differentiated approach creates risks as well as opportunities. Yet, through a combination of resources and vision, it is skilled resilience not vulnerability that defines Qatar.
- Topic:
- Security, Diplomacy, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- Iran, Libya, Egypt, Bahrain, Tunisia, and Dublin
563. Europe's Palestine Problem
- Author:
- Rory Miller
- Publication Date:
- 09-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Foreign Affairs
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- In the middle of a stalled peace process, one of the few things Israeli and Palestinian officials agree on is that U.S. President Barack Obama deserves much of the blame for the impasse. Israeli policymakers are furious with the demand that Obama made early in his term that Israel freeze settlement construction in the West Bank and with his declaration in May that Israel's 1967 borders should serve as the starting point for peace discussions. Palestinian leaders, for their part, believe that Obama has failed to fulfill the promise he made in his June 2009 Cairo speech to back their legitimate aspirations for statehood, and they are irritated that he has not forced the Israelis to continue the settlement freeze. The recent decisions by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to strike a unity deal with Hamas and press for UN recognition of Palestinian statehood is a sign of how frustrated with Washington he has become. In the face of this impasse, a variety of international figures are now asking Europe to step in. Arab leaders such as former Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa have called on Europe to take charge of the peace process. In a May meeting with EU officials, for example, King Abdullah of Jordan urged Europe "to intensify efforts with a view to removing the obstacles that impede the resumption of the peace process." The EU's current political and diplomatic leaders need no encouragement. They already seem to feel that they have both a right and a duty to help solve the conflict. Last year, then French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Miguel Ángel Moratinos, his Spanish counterpart, said in a joint statement that the EU "must play a role because it is a friend of Israel and of the Palestinian Authority [PA] and above all because its own long-term security is at stake."
- Topic:
- Security and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- United States, Europe, and Palestine
564. Palestine Goes to the UN
- Author:
- Khaled Elgindy
- Publication Date:
- 09-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Foreign Affairs
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and chair of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), plans to call on the United Nations in September to recognize a Palestinian state and admit it as a full member of the organization. This strategy marks a dramatic shift in the Palestinians' approach to the conflict with Israel: they are not seeking to revive the moribund peace process; they are seeking to bypass it altogether. Following the collapse of direct negotiations last fall, Abbas and his Fatah-dominated leadership launched an aggressive diplomatic campaign to secure broad international recognition of a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders as a prelude to applying for formal UN membership this fall. If the Palestinian bid to get full UN membership in September is defeated in the UN Security Council -- a U.S. veto is all but assured -- the PA says it is prepared to take the matter to the General Assembly. Initially, the plan was to seek a two-thirds majority vote there to obtain a nonbinding resolution under the "Uniting for Peace" procedure, which allows the General Assembly to act when a lack of unanimity on the Security Council prevents it from fulfilling its "primary responsibility" of maintaining "international peace and security." The PA has since backed away from this option and is now planning to seek a simple majority in the General Assembly, which would allow Palestine to be recognized as a "nonmember state" of the UN, alongside Kosovo, Taiwan, and Vatican City.
- Topic:
- United Nations
- Political Geography:
- United States, Taiwan, Palestine, Kosovo, and Vatican city
565. Improving United Nations Intelligence: Lessons from the Field
- Author:
- Melanie Ramjoué
- Publication Date:
- 08-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
- Abstract:
- The past twenty years have seen an exponential growth of UN peacekeeping in terms of breadth of mandates, scale and duration of operations. Where peacekeepers in the 1960s, 70s and 80s were deployed primarily to monitor ceasefires, they now investigate human rights violations, provide electoral support, and occasionally even support active combat operations. This surge has required a five-fold rise in the UN peacekeeping budget over the past ten years, from USD 1.5 billion in 1999 to almost USD 8 billion in 2011; it has similarly led to a four-fold increase in UN personnel deployed to support peacekeeping activities, from 27,000 military, civilian and police peacekeepers in 1999 to over 120,000 in 2011.
- Topic:
- Intelligence, International Organization, United Nations, and Peacekeeping
- Political Geography:
- Geneva, Finland, Germany, Estonia, and Denmark
566. After the Quartet Statement: Is Abbas the Odd Man Out?
- Author:
- David Makovsky
- Publication Date:
- 09-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
- Abstract:
- In the wake of the UN speeches and Netanyahu's acceptance of unconditional talks, Abbas now seems to be the odd man out, though renewed Israeli construction in east Jerusalem could alter that dynamic.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Treaties and Agreements, United Nations, and Peacekeeping
- Political Geography:
- Arabia
567. A Memo to Ban Ki-moon
- Author:
- Richard Gowan and Bruce D. Jones
- Publication Date:
- 06-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center on International Cooperation
- Abstract:
- Congratulations. You have not only won a second five---year term at the United Nations, but you also won with a minimum of fuss. In a month in which the Security Council has been rocked by disputes over Syria, all fifteen members backed you. Last week, the General Assembly gave you unanimous support.
- Topic:
- International Organization, United Nations, International Affairs, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- United States and Syria
568. Adapting Norwegian Civilian Capacity for the Future: Implications of the Guéhenno Report
- Author:
- John Karlsrud
- Publication Date:
- 11-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
- Abstract:
- With vacancy rates averaging at 22% in peace operations around the world for the last decade, and at some instances at twice that rate, it is time for reform of how the UN recruits, deploys and manages civilian capacity in peace operations. To this effect, a UN advisory group report containing a range of recommendations on how the UN can improve in this area was issued in May 2011. As a first step, Under-Secretary-General Susana Malcorra, who was charged with the follow-up of the report, suggested the creation of a Civilian Partnership Cell that should connect the needs of the UN with the civilian capacities of rostering organisations and member states through a virtual web-portal. However, for now only the virtual web-portal will be implemented with the existing budget. Member states have already expressed support for the idea of creating a partnership cell during both consultations with the UN Advisory Group and after launching of the report. The Government of Norway and Norwegian rostering and training organisations should, therefore, in cooperation with international partners, keep up the pressure on the UN to implement this initiative, as well as some of the other key reforms suggested in the report.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, United Nations, and Peacekeeping
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Middle East
569. W[h]ither the Kyoto Protocol? Durban and Beyond
- Author:
- Daniel Bodansky
- Publication Date:
- 08-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- On December 31, 2012, the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period will expire. Unless states agree to a second commitment period, requiring a further round of emissions cuts, the Protocol will no longer impose any quantitative limits on states' greenhouse gas emissions. Although, as a legal matter, the Protocol will continue in force, it will be a largely empty shell, doing little if anything to curb global warming.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, International Cooperation, Treaties and Agreements, and United Nations
570. Watching While the Frog Boils: Strategic Folly in the Afghan Security Sector
- Author:
- Christian Dennys
- Publication Date:
- 10-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- International approaches to the Afghan security sector over the last nine years have exhibited the tendencies of security sector reform (SSR), counterinsurgency (COIN) and stabilization, and exposed the inherent tensions between them. This paper argues that while an SSR, COIN or stabilization approach may have been appropriate at the beginning of the post-Taliban period or currently, actual practice has been to attempt all three simultaneously. This leads to confusion, and the combined approaches tend to undermine one another as they attempt to address the security issues facing Afghanistan. The paper concludes that, ultimately, the lack of strategic direction and focus in the international intervention — as demonstrated by the evolution of United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions, the plethora of international missions and interventions in the security sector, and the realities on the ground — has served both Afghanistan and its international partners poorly
- Topic:
- Security, International Cooperation, United Nations, and War
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan