The statistics on self-determination conflicts are worrisome. Some 67 armed self-determination conflicts have occurred in the world since 1955, not counting the wars of independence in the former European colonies. Of them, 35% are 'ongoing' and have been in that phase for the median duration of 17 years. Another 30% of these conflicts are of a 'contained' status. Yet another 15% have ended with agreements, which are 'contested' by parties within the minority group or the government, or both. All in all, 80% of armed self-determination conflicts - instead of being settled - persist and are apt to inspire new generations of freedom fighters (for some) and terrorists (for others).
Although Italy, in comparison to its Northern neighbours, is not a country of constructivists (Lucarelli and Menotti 2002), many of the themes crucial to constructivism are common currency in Italian academia. For constructivism stands for a series of debates in social theory which made a perhaps late yet virulent intrusion into the discipline of International Relations. Its content is probably best understood as the focus which bundles recent discussions on epistemology and the sociology of knowledge, on the agent-structure debate and the ontological status of social facts, and on the reciprocal relationship between these two.
This paper is about a partnership, the aim of which is to create a Europe without divides. A partnership where the vision is to transcend the divide between membership and non-membership and to create co-operation in trade, in stability and security, and in democracy on all levels. The paper examines the implementation of the EU-Russia partnership and its strategy not only on the rhetorical level but also in a micro-perspective seen from a border region (mostly from the EU-side), from a space where the divides whether economic, social or of any other kind are most clearly manifested. As borders manifest social conflict a study of the implementation of the partnership agreement on this micro-level will make visible not only the taken-for-granted assumptions and practices but also new and emerging divides. As a concrete case the creation of a European information society is studied. Will the partners be united in virtual space without divides? Conclusions are drawn on the nature of the partnership, the relationship between the partners and the perspective of a Europe without divides.
The world is now several years into the twenty-first century. However, Africa remains a place faced with many difficulties, from violent conflicts to poverty and disease. A cursory examination of Africa today shows that the majority of the people in this region are not able to raise their incomes, and that the number of Africans living in poverty continues to increase, despite the fact that their countries receive considerable aid from the international community.
Topic:
Development, Human Welfare, and Non-Governmental Organization
Promoting good governance and improving governance in Africa has drawn increasing attention from the international community as a new approach to solving a variety of problems such as military conflicts, poverty, and sluggish economic development. The question of how to achieve good governance came under the spotlight in the 1990s following the end of the Cold War era. Establishing good governance, along with democratization, has now come to be recognized an issue related to the "conditionality" imposed by donor countries on recipients in exchange for financial assistance.
The purpose of this paper is to present my own views on Yemen's moves to democratize. In order to do so, I will analyze a variety of issues related to the electoral system in Yemen and Yemeni political parties.
SEE remains an important area worthy of continued international attention and support. Things have improved but still a way to go before stability and prosperity are assured. Djindic assassination is a challenge yet also an opportunity. Responsibility primarily falls on to shoulders of the EU, both in terms of financial resources and political engagement. EU accept s this and US actively supports it. SP is one manifestation. SEE-EU Thessaloniki Summit represents centerpiece of this year's boost to the prospects for eventual integration into Europe. It will be an opportunity to signal EU political intentions as to next steps in the entire region. In my view this can only be a reaffirmed perspective for future membership. We need to show concrete results in order to avoid “fatigue” in competition with Iraq, North Korea and other hot spots.
Relations between China and Japan have weathered 30 turbulent years since the normalization of diplomatic ties in 1972. This period of 30 years can be divided roughly in half into the first and second parts. From 1972 to the late 1980s, when the world had the bipolar polygenetic political and military structures, the two countries took down the barriers of the Cold War to restore normal exchanges between the states and their cooperative relationship achieved rapid development in areas of trade, finance and technologies. In the period between the end of the Cold War and the present day, the bilateral relationship has entered the new stage where friction and collaboration coexist as do competition and cooperation amid the progress in political multipolarization and economic globalization of the world.
Topic:
International Trade and Finance and Regional Cooperation
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:
The Maritime Terrorist Threat is a hydra that continues to pose a clear and present danger to world commerce and, ultimately to the very well being of nations. The global stream of explosive carnage with truck bombs in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) on 13 May 2003, gas station bombing attacks across Pakistan on 15 May 2003, truck bombs in Casablanca (Morocco) on 16 May 2003 and in Jakarta (Indonesia) on 5 August 2003 serve as gruesome reminders that the war on global terrorism is far from over. In fact the war is getting tougher. We have not yet seen 'the turning of the tide'. A new wave of attacks is imminent around the world. More than on land and in the air, the vast maritime domain makes policing a Herculean enterprise, and it continues to be vulnerable to potentially devastating terrorist attacks. The paper argues that in order to effectively deal with the common threat of maritime terrorism, the world's naval forces and their respective home-front elements such as coastguard, costums, and port authorities must work hand-in-glove with the shipping community to enhance multi-agency integration and to forge great multilateral cooperation in order to protect vulnerable hulls and safeguard homelands at ports and at sea. It stands to reason then that the protracted, if not interminable fight against maritime terrorism remains to be urgently joined and decidedly joint in effort.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, International Trade and Finance, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Jakarta, and Riyadh
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:
This paper traces the 'securitisation' of US foreign economic policy since the advent of the Bush administration. It does so with reference to US economic policy in East Asia. It argues that in the context of US economic and military preponderance in the world order, the US has been able to resist the temptation to link foreign economic and security policy. While there was evidence of the securitisation of economic globalisation in US policy from day one of the Bush administration, it was 9/11 that firmed up this trend. For the key members of the Bush foreign policy team, globalisation is now seen not simply in neo-liberal economic terms, but also through the lenses of the national security agenda of the United States. Economic globalisation is now not only a benefit, but also a 'security problem'. 9/11 offered the opportunity for what we might call the 'unilateralist-idealists', in the Bush administration, to set in train their project for a post-sovereign approach to American foreign policy. The paper identifies some intellectual contradictions in current US strategy and raises a series of question about the implication for world order of the consolidation of the trends identified in the paper.